Wednesday, November 19
Headlines
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House, Senate pass bill demanding DOJ release Epstein files. In a 427–1 vote, the House of Representatives passed legislation to force the Justice Department to release all of the files pertaining to the investigation into the deceased child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. House Speaker Mike Johnson and most GOP members had sought to delay a vote but relented after President Trump—a former friend of Epstein’s—dropped his opposition to it. Hours later, the Senate unanimously passed the bill as is, despite Johnson’s hopes that it would be amended. Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana was the lone “no” vote in the House, saying it doesn’t do enough to protect the names of people who might be innocent. The bill now heads to Trump’s desk to be signed.
Meta won its antitrust trial. A US federal judge ruled that the FTC failed to prove that the Facebook parent company’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp constituted an illegal social media monopoly. Initially filed in 2020, the FTC’s suit alleged that Meta’s two blockbuster purchases stifled competition, citing CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s 2008 statement that “it is better to buy than compete.” During his testimony, Zuck denied that Meta acquires competitors that it sees as threats. The ruling is a major win for Meta and a blow to the federal government’s quest across multiple administrations to rein in Big Tech companies. Judges recently ruled that Google operated illegal monopolies in search and advertising, while antitrust cases against Apple and Amazon are pending.
Trump met MBS ahead of expected deals. President Trump hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House yesterday for a meeting that was supposed to be about deals between the US and Saudi Arabia, but Trump made headlines when he played down the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whom US intelligence determined was killed at the behest of bin Salman. “Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen,” Trump said of the murder victim. The president also praised the crown prince’s human rights record, which Amnesty International has characterized as “an unprecedented crackdown on freedom of expression.” Today, Saudi Arabia is set to announce several deals with US companies, including Amazon and xAI, according to Semafor.—AE
Robert Reich
Honor comes with wealth. The only exception is pedophilia.
Friends,
When Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) arrived at the White House yesterday, he was met by a Marine band, officers on horseback carrying the Saudi and American flags, and fighter jets flying over the White House in a V formation.
It was far more pomp than visiting foreign leaders normally receive.
What had the crown prince done to merit such honor from the United States?
He has helped broker a tentative peace between Hamas and Israel. But so have Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates.
The real reason for the honor is that MBS and the Saudis are doing lots of business with Trump’s family — and this visit is part of the payoff.
It’s MBS’s effort to rehabilitate his reputation after Saudi operatives murdered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and chopped his body into pieces with a bone saw — a killing that U.S. intelligence determined was greenlit by MBS.
At A Glance
How Raising Cane’s keeps its dipping sauce a secret.
"Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" leads Game Awards nominations.
New British coin design honors Freddie Mercury.
See this year's Nature Photographer of the Year winners.
Cambridge Dictionary's word of the year is "parasocial."
Are there benefits to taking a cold shower?
Each generation's favorite Crayola Crayon colors.
Clickbait: Meet the silent book club.
Historybook: President James Garfield born (1831); President Abraham Lincoln delivers Gettysburg Address (1863); Indira Gandhi, first and only female prime minister of India, born (1917); Actress Meg Ryan born (1961); First lady Rosalynn Carter dies (2023).
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Metropolitan Museum of Art announces "Costume Art" as inaugural exhibition in Costume Institute's nearly 12,000-square-foot Condé M. Nast Galleries, opening May 2026; Met Gala dress code announcement expected in early 2026 (More)
> Post Malone, Lil Jon, and Jack White to headline NFL Thanksgiving halftime shows (More) | Influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul to fight former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in professional match streamed on Netflix Dec. 19 (More)
> Tom Cruise and Dolly Parton among lifetime achievement honorees at Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Governors Awards (More)
Science & Technology
> Jeff Bezos launches startup focused on AI applications in engineering and manufacturing; he will serve as co-CEO alongside former Google scientist (More)
> Report reveals National Institutes of Health funding cuts affected over 74,000 participants across 383 clinical trials from late February to mid-August; cuts disproportionately impacted infectious disease studies (More)
> Scientists build digital copy of mouse brain cortex with supercomputer, enabling them to simulate neurological diseases and test treatments virtually (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.9%, Dow -1.2%, Nasdaq -0.8%) as tech slumps weigh on markets; investors look ahead to delayed September jobs report, set for Thursday release (More)
> Novo Nordisk cuts direct-to-consumer prices for weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic to $349 per month for existing cash-paying patients on most doses; offers limited-time $199 monthly price to new cash-paying patients on lower doses (More)
> Ford partners with Amazon to sell certified used vehicles on the retail giant's auto marketplace, becoming second brand name to do so after Hyundai; initial rollout is in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Dallas (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> US House expected to vote today on whether to compel the Justice Department to release files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (More) | UN Security Council approves US plan authorizing international stabilization force in Gaza (More)
> Federal agents say they have detained over 130 people in Charlotte, North Carolina, since Friday as part of an ongoing immigration crackdown; roughly 200 agents are due to be redeployed to New Orleans this upcoming weekend (More)
> Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk calls explosion on railway track 60 miles from Warsaw an "act of sabotage"; investigators have not publicly identified a suspect or motive behind the attack, which has disrupted aid delivery to Ukraine (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
RUMORS
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A FACIST is an authoritarian ruler, a member of a fascist party, or someone with extremely right-wing, dictatorial views.
- An AUTHORITARIAN is a person who believes in or practices blind submission to authority, or a government that concentrates power in a leader or an elite not responsible to the people.
- A DICTATOR is a person who believes in or practices blind submission to authority, or a government that concentrates power in a leader or an elite not responsible to the people.
A RACIST is a person who holds the belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities, and that one's own race is superior to others.
Let me remind the reader(s) that:
- it was the Democratic Party that concocted the RUSSIAN HOAX, primarily lead by Hiliary Clinton and pushed by several Democratic Senators and Congress people.
- it was the Democratic Party who misinterpreted the Jan 6 speech by Donald Trump and tried to prosecute him for treason.
- it was the Democratic Party and its proxies (AGs, Judges, etc.) who prosecuted Trump for crimes that were later proved to be false.
- it was the Democratic Party and its proxies who have tried to SLOW DOWN almost every single thing that trump has tried to accomplish, that includes:
- reducing government waste
- removing illegal immigrants
- establishing tariffs on imports
- reducing crime and violence in cities
- improving the military
- improving the economy
- reducing the cost of living
- reducing taxes
TO ME...
It sounds like the Democrats are more authoritarian and racist that the Republicans are...
It also sounds like the Democratic Socialist are more authoritarian and racist than the Republicans are...
But hey... that's just me...
Does quantum gravity exist?
A visualization of how the earth creates a warp in spacetime, in line with general relativity theory. But where does the quantum realm fit in? (Image credit: NASA)A new discovery suggests gravitational fields can enable matter to become quantum entangled — and that's even if the concept of quantum gravity does not exist. The idea comes from two London-based physicists who are challenging the way we think about quantum fields and how classical gravity operates.
The search for quantum gravity is the next big step in physics, as researchers seek to unify the physics of the very small with that of the very large. Quantum mechanics explains the former while general relativity theory — which famously describes how gravity works — explains the latter. Both quantum physics and the theory of general relativity were products of the first quarter of the 20th century, but 100 years later, scientists are still none the wiser as to how the two can be unified. As it stands, the theories contradict one another.
Tuesday, November 18
Headlines
Saudi crown prince to visit the White House today. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will be in DC today for his first trip to the US since the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. MBS and President Trump are expected to discuss deepening ties on commerce, AI, and possibly nuclear energy. Trump is hoping to move forward with the $600 billion investment pledge Saudi Arabia made when he was there in May, while MBS is looking for security guarantees. In advance of the visit, Trump announced yesterday that the US would sell stealthy F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia. But the Wall Street Journal points out that with oil prices down and big commitments to domestic projects, MBS may have less money to spend on “checkbook diplomacy.” Still, many CEOs are expected at the dinner honoring him tonight.
Sinclair buys stake in Scripps, hoping for local TV consolidation. The two broadcast station owners don’t have a merger deal yet, but Sinclair, which owns 178 affiliate stations, revealed in a regulatory filing yesterday that they’ve had “constructive” talks and that it has taken an 8% stake in Scripps, which owns ~60 stations. Investors like the idea: Scripps stock soared 40%. The effort to purchase Scripps comes after Sinclair began a strategic review to consider potential sales and acquisitions. Its push to get even bigger also follows the company pressing the FCC to relax rules that ban a broadcaster from owning stations that reach more than 39% of the country—and FCC Chair Brendan Carr has said he agrees.
Trump says he would sign the bill to release Epstein files if it passes. With the House poised to vote on a bill to force the Justice Department to release its files on the late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein this week, President Trump told reporters yesterday he’d sign it, though he also said, “The whole thing is a hoax.” The president had opposed such a release for months and had urged lawmakers to reject the bill, but on Sunday, he abruptly shifted his position, saying on Truth Social that Republicans should support it. Trump’s change of heart led more Republicans to publicly support the bipartisan measure yesterday, according to Politico. Meanwhile, former Treasury Secretary and former Harvard President Larry Summers is stepping back from his public commitments after his emails with Epstein were made public.—AR
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