New York Giants co-owner John Mara was the target of another banner message from a fan before the team played the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
The plane flew over MetLife Stadium with a message that read, “Mr. Mara enough – we don’t stop until you fire everyone.”
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A plane pulls a banner, directed at New York Giants owner John Mara, over Met Life Stadium before the Baltimore Ravens game, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in East Rutherford, New Jersey.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Another plane flew over the stadium last week that implored Mara to “fire everyone.” The message came before the Giants lost to the New Orleans Saints in the final moments. Sunday’s game didn’t get any better as the Ravens jumped out to a 14-0 lead.
It’s been a season of turmoil for the Giants. It started with the departure of Saquon Barkley to the Philadelphia Eagles and included the release of Daniel Jones.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson carries the ball against the New York Giants, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in East Rutherford, New Jersey.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
49ERS’ DE’VONDRE CAMPBELL’S REFUSAL TO ENTER GAME LIKELY TO LEAD TO SUSPENSION: REPORT
The Giants appear to be in for a complete reset going into the 2025 season. The status of head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen is unclear, and it begs the question about other unknowns for the team going into the new year.
New York entered its Week 15 matchup against Baltimore 32nd in points scored, 26th in yards gained and 16th in points and yards allowed.
New York Giants owner John Mara before the Giants play the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Oct. 28, 2024.(Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images)
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The Giants are a far cry from what fans thought they would be after Daboll’s first season as head coach in 2022. New York won a playoff game that season but only won six games in 2023 and are on track to have one of their worst seasons since 2017.
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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.
Tennessee Titans defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat went viral on Sunday for his run back during a fumble recovery against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was trying to go down for a sack in the second quarter when he was hit and the ball was knocked out of his arms before he hit the ground. Sweat recovered the fumble and started to turn up the field.
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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow eludes a sack attempt by Tennessee Titans defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024.(Denny Simmons/The Tennessean/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Sweat, who is 6-foot-4 and 366 pounds, was met by Bengals offensive lineman Alex Cappa and he hit him with a vicious stiff arm. Sweat returned the fumble 30 yards and set Tennessee up at their own 41-yard line.
Unfortunately, Titans quarterback Will Levis turned the ball over with a fumble of his own on the team’s next possession. It led to a touchdown pass from Burrow to defensive end Sam Hubbard and tied the game at 14 apiece with 5:13 to go in the first half.
JOE THEISMANN REVEALS HIS STANCE ON AZEEZ AL-SHAAIR’S CONTROVERSIAL HIT ON TREVOR LAWRENCE
Tennessee Titans defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Dec. 8, 2024.(Steve Roberts-Imagn Images)
It was the first fumble recovery of the defensive lineman’s career.
Sweat’s play was the talk of the NFL world.
The Titans selected Sweat in the second round of the 2024 draft out of Texas. He’s now played in 14 games for the Titans this season. He had 38 tackles, one sack and a pass breakup going into the matchup against the Bengals.
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Tennessee Titans defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat takes the field for the Jacksonville Jaguars game at Nissan Stadium, Dec. 8, 2024.(Steve Roberts-Imagn Images)
Cincinnati entered the game 5-8 and Tennessee was 3-10.
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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.
Families of Israeli hostages held a rally in New York City’s Central Park on Sunday, and called for President Biden and President-elect Trump to bring them home.
“Seize the opportunity, seal the deal, and bring the hostages home,” a press release from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.
Photos from the rally show dozens of participants, some holding signs with photos of hostages, and others speaking with microphones and megaphones.
“Please join me for a minute, close your eyes, and imagine the emotional moment we will feel when our government seals the deal, when they release everyone, every single hostage,” Yarden Gonen, sister of hostage Romi Gonen, said in a statement. “And see in your eyes the hugs we will share with our loved ones when we finally see them free from Hamas’ hands. And even for those who didn’t survive, may they have a proper burial in Israel, and may the families find closure. By Hanukkah.”
AMERICAN-ISRAELI IDF PLATOON COMMANDER KILLED IN BATTLE, BODY HELD IN GAZA, IDF SAYS
Participants in Sunday’s protest at Central Park held signs with photographs of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.(The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters)
Dozens of people called on lawmakers to bring U.S. hostages in the Middle East home.(The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters)
Weeks ago, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on social media that Capt. Omer Neutra, 21, from New York was killed in battle on Oct. 7, 2023, and “his body has been held hostage in Gaza since.”
Prior to the X posting, it was believed that Neutra was alive and being held hostage.
Due to Neutra’s body being held by Hamas, he is still considered one of seven American hostages held in Gaza.
7 US HOSTAGES STILL HELD BY HAMAS TERRORISTS AS FAMILIES PLEAD FOR THEIR RELEASE: ‘THIS IS URGENT’
An image of Omer Neutra is displayed at his memorial service, Dec. 3, 2024, at the Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, New York.(AP Photo/Philip Marcelo)
“Being an American was always a big part of my identity,” hostage Itay Chen’s brother, Roy Chen, said in a statement. “We just got back from a meaningful week in Washington. The message remains the same: it will take leadership to make hard decisions. We are strong enough to make that deal. While we rebuild our country and plan ahead for a better future, we must finish the suffering of the hostages. We must bring them all home now.”
Itay Chen, 19-year-old U.S.-Israeli citizen, was on active duty in a tank unit on Oct. 7, 2023.(Hostage Family Forum)
Chen, a U.S.-Israeli citizen who was kidnapped on Oct. 7 while Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel and massacred hundreds, was confirmed dead in March by the IDF.
Fox News’ Yonat Friling and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
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Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie slammed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ dismissal of the drone activity and said that to suggest it wasn’t unusual activity was ridiculous.
“Is this a mass hysteria of some sort?” ABC News host George Stephanopoulos asked the former governor. The ABC News host also just spoke to Mayorkas, who said the public had no reason to be concerned about the drones and that they hadn’t seen any unusual activity.
Dozens of drones have been spotted flying throughout New Jersey over the last few weeks, as government officials have yet to determine where they’re coming from or who operates them.
“Here’s why, George,” Christie said. “Because of answers like the secretary just gave. They’re not answering the questions.”
Chris Christie joined ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Sunday to react to the drones that have been spotted flying through New Jersey.(Screenshot/ABC)
MORE THAN 20 DAYS INTO PHENOMENON, PENTAGON STILL HAS NO ANSWERS ABOUT ORIGINS OF MYSTERIOUS NJ DRONES
“To say this is not unusual activity, it’s just wrong. I’ve lived in New Jersey my whole life. This is the first time that I’ve noticed drones over my house. And I was in a restaurant in Monmouth County on Friday night, had people at the bar coming up to me and saying, ‘Gov. Murphy won’t tell me anything. The president won’t tell me anything,’” Christie said.
Christie detailed his own experience, and said he had stopped drones flying over his house in New Jersey a couple of days ago.
“The Biden Administration and state authorities have to be more vocal and let people know exactly what they’re doing. This interview this morning was a bit of a better step, but I think much too little too late, and when people see this kind of activity, it’s a new-ish technology to most people, and they’re worried about it and concerned,” he added.
Stephanopoulos asked, “so you don’t think it’s the kind of thing where once people become focused on it, they actually see things that they wouldn’t necessarily pay attention to in the past?”
George Stephanopoulos speaks during ABC’s “This Week.”(ABC/Paula Lobo via Getty Images)
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Christie said it might be “some of that,” but said people, including himself, were seeing drones fly above their homes for the first time in their lives.
The former governor said if he was still governor he’d want “our state police to be able to have the authority to bring those drones down and find out why they’re doing what they’re doing, and of course, you would have to coordinate with the FAA.”
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“What we’re going to find, George, is you’re going to have individuals acting as drone vigilantes, and they’ll start taking them down. That’s not what they want, because they’re now an important part of commerce and law enforcement uses them frequently for surveillance and other things. We need to be able to operate in a safe way, and we’re not doing that,” he added.
The mother of American journalist Austin Tice, who was taken captive during a reporting trip to Syria in August 2012, voiced hope on Sunday that upheaval in Syria will lead to freedom for her son.
Debra Tice said news that Missouri resident Travis Timmerman had been freed from a Syrian prison by rebels felt “like a rehearsal.” Her children woke her up when images of Timmerman began circulating on social media misidentifying him as Tice.
Asked if Timmerman’s misidentification was a moment of false hope, Debra Tice instead characterized it as a moment of joy to be shared. Timmerman has said he had traveled into Syria for a spiritual mission earlier this year and was arrested for entering the country illegally.
AMERICAN FREED FROM SYRIAN PRISON AFTER ASSAD’S OVERTHROW TAKEN OUT OF COUNTRY BY US MILITARY
Austin Tice, who worked as a freelance reporter for the Washington Post and McClatchy, was taken captive during a reporting trip to Syria in 2012. His mother (pictured) voiced hope Sunday that Syria’s upheaval will lead to her son’s freedom.(Evelyn Hockstein)
“It was almost like having a rehearsal … an inkling of what it’s really going to feel like when it is Austin walking free,” she told NBC television’s “Meet the Press”.
Tice is the focus of a massive search following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last week after 13 years of civil war. Rebels, led by the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, have released thousands of people from prisons in Damascus where Assad held political opponents, ordinary civilians and foreigners.
A week after Assad’s ouster, some U.S. officials fear that Tice could have been killed during a recent round of Israeli airstrikes. Officials are also concerned that if Tice was being held underground in a cell, he may have run out of breathable air as Assad’s forces shut off the electricity in many of the prisons in Damascus before the president fled.
Debra Tice said the news of Travis Timmerman’s recent prison release from Syria has given her newfound hope that her son Austin Tice will walk free.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call)
SYRIA’S LIBERATED POLITICAL PRISONS REVEAL GRIM REALITY OF BASHAR ASSAD’S REGIME OF TORTURE
Asked whether the U.S. government should be looking for Tice on the ground in Syria, Debra Tice was cautious, expressing gratitude for efforts by journalists and other civilians on the ground searching for him, including from the organization Hostage Aid Worldwide.
“The U.S. government has made the decision that they’re not going into Damascus. So, my feeling is, if they don’t want to be there, they shouldn’t be there. And the people that are there are the people that are determined,” she said.
Tice, who worked as a freelance reporter for the Washington Post and McClatchy, was one of the first U.S. journalists to make it into Syria after the outbreak of the civil war.
Debra Tice holds a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington on May 2, 2023.(Evelyn Hockstein)
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In August 2012, during fighting in Aleppo, he was taken captive.
Weeks later, a YouTube video was published showing Tice blindfolded, hands tied behind his back. He was led up a hill by armed men in what appeared to be Afghan garb and shouting “God is great” in an apparent bid to blame Islamist rebels for his capture, although the video only gained attention when it was posted on a Facebook page associated with Assad supporters.
On Friday, Reuters was first to report that in 2013 Tice, a former Marine, managed to slip out of his cell and was seen moving between houses in the streets of Damascus’ upscale Mazzeh neighborhood.
A top advisor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams abruptly resigned on Sunday amid a federal investigation into a corruption and bribery indictment against Adams.
The advisor, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, has had her phones seized and her home searched as part of the investigation. She issued a lengthy statement regarding her departure in tandem with Adams on Sunday, saying she plans to spend more time with her family.
“To my political partner, brother, and friend, Mayor Eric Adams: I thank you for seeking me out, way back in 2004, and asking me to run your Senate campaign. I thank you for seeing in me things that I did not see in myself,” Lewis-Martin said.
“I extend humble gratitude to you for encouraging me to be my authentic self and for having my back during some trying times. As you would say, this has been a good ride; I will use author’s license and say that this has been an amazing ride,” she added.
NYC MAYOR ADAMS MEETS WITH TRUMP BORDER CZAR: ‘WE HAVE THE SAME DESIRE’ TO GO AFTER ILLEGAL MIGRANT CRIMINALS
New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks to reporters after a news conference in New York on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Adams’ statement echoed his aide’s friendly tone.
“Ingrid has not been just a friend, a confidant, and trusted advisor, but also a sister. We’ve always talked about when this day would come, and while we’ve long planned for it, it is still hard to know that Ingrid won’t be right next door every day,” Adams said.
“I, and every New Yorker, owe her a debt of gratitude for her decades of service to our city. While she gets to spend a lot more time with her granddaughter, I know Ingrid will still stay involved in moving our city forward from the sidelines as she continues to root for our administration and our city,” he added.
VENEZUELAN GANG MEMBERS LINKED TO VIOLENT APARTMENT TAKEOVER ARRESTED IN NEW YORK CITY
The announcement comes just days after Adams met with incoming border czar Tom Homan. Adams has adopted a more aggressive immigration stance following President-elect Trump’s win in November.
Incoming border czar Tom Homan spoke with Dr. Phil about the Trump administration’s plan to deport illegal migrants.(The Dr. Phil Podcast YouTube channel)
“It went great,” Homan told Sean Hannity on Thursday night. “Look, I sat down with the mayor for well over an hour. He gets it. And today he proved that as the mayor in New York City, he’s more concerned with public safety than politics. I wish the mayor of Chicago and the San Diego City council mayor and Governor Pritzker, I wish they’d all take a page out of Mayor Eric Adams’ playbook.”
Homan recalled how the “ex-cop” came out of Adams during their closed-door meeting Thursday in New York.
NYC HOME IS NEARLY 60K ‘CRIMINAL’ MIGRANTS: REPORT
“He really cares about public safety, and he’s putting politics aside. He wants to help ICE take criminal threats off the street. He wants to help ICE look for national security threats. He wants to help ICE find over 340,000 missing children, which many are going to be in the city. So a great meeting.”
Incoming border czar Tom Homan met with New York City Mayor Eric Adams in the Big Apple on Thursday where they discussed the city’s ongoing migrant crisis and ways of deporting criminal illegal migrants who have been terrorizing the city’s streets.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, left and Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images, right.)
“Hats off to the mayor for coming to the table and working with us,” credited Homan.
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Homan disclosed that since his meeting with the New York mayor, other leaders from across the aisle have reached out to him.
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
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EXCLUSIVE: Johnny Damon still remembers when he first met Donald Trump. But just as much, Damon remembers how certain people have treated him for being friends with Trump.
“Unfortunately, whenever you say you’re friends with Donald Trump, we have a lot of people who just can not understand that,” Damon told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
The former MLB star met Trump during his time with the New York Yankees, and met him directly through the organization. After Damon left the Boston Red Sox for the Yankees in December 2005, Trump, who was then a New York City businessman and reality TV star, invited the baseball star to play golf in Mar-a-Lago. They were joined by former New York Mets captain David Wright on the green.
And when Trump found out that Damon was coming to New York to play for the Yankees, a team Trump had been well-connected to over the years, he made a pitch to Damon to move into one of his buildings. But Damon had already moved into a place in the Bloomberg Building.
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Johnny Damon and Donald Trump attend the “Celebrity Apprentice” red carpet event at Trump Tower on Feb. 3, 2015, in New York City.(D Dipasupil/FilmMagic)
Ten years later, Trump may have gotten his revenge on Damon for not buying a place in his building. In 2015, Damon appeared in the seventh season of “Celebrity Apprentice,” where Trump fired Damon in the sixth episode for writing a bad product jingle.
But none of that stopped the two from becoming close friends. For Damon, that friendship blossomed into staunch political support. It was a level of support that Damon had to be prepared to defend himself over.
“We’ve just been really good friends, and I’m glad that he’s back in office and I’m glad we have somebody who’s going to be out there, somebody who’s going to answer questions, somebody who’s going to do the work to make America great again,” Damon said.
“Unfortunately, this last administration, we can’t see anything positive that they’ve done, and hopefully, Donald Trump doesn’t get any backlash for anything he’s doing because he’s already done more than what President Biden has done in his four years and Trump’s not even in office right now. So I’m very, very happy my friend is back in office.”
Damon knows about the backlash to Trump because he has been on the receiving end of it too.
Damon famously endorsed Trump in 2016, and even spoke at one of his rallies in Orlando that November, igniting backlash from left-leaning baseball fans on social media at the time.
“I disowned him when he sold his soul to the devil (Go Sox). Is there a way to double-disown him?” one disgruntled Boston Red Sox fan wrote on X (then known as Twitter) in a 2016 response to footage of Damon at the rally.
TRUMP TO PRESIDE OVER HISTORIC SPORTING EVENTS — WHICH TEAMS AND STARS COULD SKIP WHITE HOUSE VISITS?
Johnny Damon during Johnny Damon and Bubba Crosby Attend the Celebration of Yankees Universe Day, May 16, 2006, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.(Duffy-Marie Arnoult/WireImage)
Another user insulted Damon’s intelligence, writing, “Stupid is as stupid does. No one said he was smart,” in response to the 2016 footage.
But after Trump won in 2016, Damon’s loyalty amid the backlash paid off with a chance to launch a career in politics.
In December 2020, Trump appointed Damon to serve on the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. Damon joined fellow Yankees World Series champion Mariano Rivera, former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, UFC fighter Colby Covington and NFL Hall of Famer Troy Vincent.
The appointment inspired Damon to consider a future in politics, but that ended after a run-in with police.
In February 2021, Damon was arrested in Florida for a DUI. Leaked bodycam footage of his arrest showed a drunk Damon claiming that he was being targeted for supporting Trump. It came just a month after Jan. 6.
“Hey, bro, I’m a good f—ing guy. I know people are trying to target me because I’m a Trump supporter,” Damon told a police officer in the video. The officer said Damon’s support for Trump had nothing to do with the arrest, to which Damon responded, “Yeah… it does.”
Damon, who has previously had to deal with backlash for supporting Trump, told Fox News Digital that he had three beers before he got in the car, and his mind was on politics the whole night.
“I was getting ready to run for politics, and thinking about it seriously, and then I get pulled over,” Damon said, adding that he disagreed with what the police officer’s breathalyzer test said about his blood alcohol level.
“Unfortunately, people want to go after great citizens, and at the end of the day I’m going to continue to be who I am.”
Police reported that Damon had a blood-alcohol content of 0.30% – more than triple the legal limit in Florida. He was also charged with resisting arrest without violence. His wife, Michelle Mangan-Damon, was charged with battery on a law-enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence.
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Former President Trump and Johnny Damon ahead of the LIV Golf Invitational Series event at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, on Aug. 10, 2023.(Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)
Damon acknowledges that he made a “stupid” decision driving that night after drinking. But he believes at this point in his life he has overcome it by doing charity work and is now committed to raising his kids.
Still, Damon’s support and fondness for Trump isn’t going anywhere, no matter what anyone’s response to it is.
“I’m going to continue to be friends with him,” Damon said. “And I support my friends through the thick and thin, the good and the bad, so that’s who I am and that’s who I’m going to continue to be.”
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Cody Rhodes retained the Undisputed WWE Championship with a victory over Kevin Owens at Saturday Night’s Main Event in New York, but the fireworks really started after the match was over.
Rhodes used the chair Owens brought into the match after two referees were knocked out. He hit the patented Cross Rhodes finishing maneuver after Owens missed with a chair shot. As “The American Nightmare” celebrated, Owens returned to the ring to attack the champion.
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Cody Rhodes enters the ring during Saturday Night Main Event at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Dec. 14, 2024, in Uniondale, New York.(WWE/Getty Images)
Owens nailed Rhodes with an “illegal” package piledriver. Rhodes left the arena on a stretcher.
As Owens walked toward gorilla position, WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque confronted Owens. Levesque shoved Owens as the two got nose-to-nose. WWE security guards had to separate the two as Levesque went to check on Rhodes.
It was the second time Owens used the package piledriver on a SmackDown superstar. He used it on Randy Orton, which left Orton down and out and also taken out of an arena on stretcher.
It’s unclear what the future held for both Owens and Rhodes in the aftermath.
Elsewhere, Chelsea Green made history with a win over Michin. Green rolled over Michin’s back in the corner and hit an incredible unpretty-her move and picked up the pinfall.
JASON KELCE RECALLS WRESTLEMANIA 40 EXPERIENCE, COMMENTS ON PRO WRESTLING BEING ‘FAKE’
Nick Aldis and Chelsea Green celebrate her win during Saturday Night Main Event on Dec. 14, 2024, in Uniondale, New York.(WWE/Getty Images)
Green became the first United States women’s champion as WWE unveiled the midcard belt a few weeks ago.
It has been a long time coming for Green, who made her first appearance in WWE in 2014 before becoming a contestant on “Tough Enough” in 2015. She then made an impact with TNA Wrestling and Lucha Underground before she got a real chance with WWE NXT.
She was a surprising release in 2021 and eventually made a return to TNA and became a tag-team champion with Deonna Purrazzo in 2022. She returned to WWE in 2023 and became a tag-team champion with Sonya Deville and later Piper Niven.
Green entered the U.S. title tournament and defeated Blair Davenport and Bianca Belair in a triple-threat match and Bayley in a singles match to earn a chance at winning the title. She completed her dream on Saturday night, winning her first singles title.
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The logo for World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE, appears above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Sept. 13, 2019.(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
Here are the rest of the results.
Drew McIntyre def. Sami Zayn via pinfall.
Liv Morgan def. Iyo Sky via pinfall to retain the Women’s World Championship.
Gunther def. Finn Balor and Damian Priest via pinfall to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.
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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.
The $15 million dollar settlement between ABC News, George Stephanopoulos and President-Elect Donald Trump was cheered by those with basic objectivity and common sense, while the left again lost its collective mind in what has been a daily occurrence since the election on Nov. 5
The settlement was one ABC News had to strike, for the evidence against them was clear as day on video. To review, Stephanopoulos, who is billed as a news anchor but acts and sounds more like the Democratic operative and pitbull he once was in the Clinton administration, repeated on ten occasions during a March interview with Rep. Nancy Mace, (R-SC), the false allegation that Trump was found liable for rape in a civil case brought by E. Jean Carroll that took place in a New York courtroom earlier this year.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS AND ABC APOLOGIZE TO TRUMP, AGREE TO PAY $15M TO SETTLE DEFAMATION CASE
Stephanopoulos also claimed Trump was found guilty of defaming Carroll.
Two problems: That’s not what the jury had found.
“How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?” Stephanopoulos piously asked Mace on ABC’s “This Week.” on March 10.
ABC George Stephanopoulos(Getty Images)
“You’ve endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape,” he also declared. Mace was being interrogated on her endorsement because she was sexually assaulted at age 16, prompting Stephanopoulos to attempt to shame her and portray her as a hypocrite.
Trump promptly sued ABC and the anchor for defamation. The case was proceeding when the network made a stunning announcement on Saturday that it would apologize and pay $15 million to Trump’s “Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for Plaintiff, as Presidents of the United States of America have established in the past.”
The network will also pay Trump’s legal fees, which were approximately $1 million.
The victory for the 45th and soon-to-be 47th president adds to his stunning post-election run on the legal front. In the past 40 days, Special Counsel Jack Smith dropped his two federal cases against Trump. In Georgia, the RICO case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis continues to collapse, with Willis now ordered by a Georgia judge to turn over all communications she may have had with Smith, with many legal analysts saying the case was already in serious jeopardy. And in New York, Judge Juan Merchan granted Trump’s legal team’s request to dismiss all charges from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case while pushing his sentencing date off until after he leaves office. The case will likely be thrown out on appeal well before then.
Conservative and moderate commentators trashed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for bringing a case against former U.S. Marine Daniel Penny, who was charged for the death of homeless man, Jordan Neely in 2023.(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
On the left, the meltdown continued over the settlement.
“Wow. Feels like one more mainstream news organization bending the knee,” wrote media analyst Eric Daggans of taxpayer-funded NPR on X.
“Knee bent. Ring kissed. Another legacy news outlet chooses obedience,” said Marc Elias, the Democrat lawyer who helped push the discredited Steele dossier.
“ABC’s settlement with Trump feels like it could be an inflection point in the Orbanization of our politics. I hope it isn’t,” opined Bill Kristol on X, in attempting to connect Trump to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., a rape survivor, says she felt personally attacked by ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos. (Fox News)
In addition to clearly mischaracterizing the court’s decision, ABC News likely settled here also because it feared what may be revealed in the discovery process. Remember, the news division at the network is run by Dana Walden, an old and dear friend of Vice President Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff. Walden introduced the pair about a decade ago.
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ABC also was rightly accused of overwhelming bias in the first and only presidential debate between Harris and Trump, with moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis fact-checking Trump five times while never doing the same to Harris despite ample opportunities. And according to the Media Research Center, of the first 100 stories ABC News did on Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, ALL 100 were positive.
For Trump, he’s having the best six weeks of his life. He won the popular vote when few believed he could. He swept every swing state, proving many pollsters and forecasters wrong. Again. Republicans took back the Senate and held the House.
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Polls show a majority of voters approve of his transition. And for the first time, the RealClearPolitics average of polls shows more voters view Trump favorably than unfavorably. In 2016, he was more than 35 points underwater between his favorable/unfavorable numbers.
Media outlets will undoubtedly be more careful with their language and rhetoric moving forward.
And maybe, just maybe, they’ll engage in less activism and more journalism during Trump: The Sequel.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., had two thoughts about President Biden pardoning his son Hunter Biden after previously saying he would not, while talking to NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker on Sunday.
“When you have his opponents going after his family as a father, as a parent, I think we can all understand Biden trying to protect his, his son and his family,” Sanders said. “On the other hand, I think the precedent being set is kind of a dangerous one. It was a very wide open pardon, which could, under different circumstances, lead to problems in terms of future presidents.”
Despite that, Sanders believes that Biden leaves a “strong legacy” due to being progressive on domestic policies. He also said that “the economy today in many ways is in very strong shape.”
Sanders even went as far as to say Biden was the most progressive president since Franklin D. Roosevelt.
ILLINOIS GOVERNOR SAYS ‘VIOLENT’ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SHOULD BE DEPORTED, OPEN TO MEETING WITH TRUMP OFFICIALS
Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 19, 2024.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Discussing the minimum wage, Sanders told Welker he would work with President-elect Trump to raise it, as it has stood at $7.25 an hour since 2009.
Welker said Trump acknowledged it was too low, but Sanders said the last time he tried to get it raised to $15 an hour was two years ago and no Republicans voted for it.
FORMER DEM CONGRESSMAN WHO LOST BY 109 VOTES IN 2020 CONFIRMED TO LIFETIME JUDICIAL SEAT
Sen. Bernie Sanders said he believes the U.S. should raise the minimum wage to $17 an hour.(iStock)
President Biden walks with Hunter Biden toward Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, July 26, 2024.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
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“Look, a $7.25 per hour minimum wage is an absolute disgrace,” Sanders said. “We have millions of people in this country who are working for starvation wages. They cannot afford housing, that cannot afford to adequately feed their kids.”
Sanders now believes the minimum wage should be $17 an hour, and hopes lawmakers “can work in a bipartisan way to finally accomplish that goal.”
