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Apr 29, 2025 - World

A retired judge and author is accusing CBS and President Donald Trump of "negotiating a bribe" under the guise of a federal lawsuit settlement, a former judge wrote in a new opinion piece in Newsweek."To be sure, a pantomime is being played out," wrote Thomas G. Moukawsher, a legal scholar and former Connecticut Superior Court judge. "The parties are pretending to be earnestly negotiating the settlement of a federal lawsuit. But they should not delude themselves. They are negotiating a bribe."Moukawsher claimed the "bribe" is one of Trump's "new favorite grifts" whereby he files "bogus personal lawsuits against people he could hurt with presidential power," then demands a payoff. "He has already collected $15 million from ABC News and $25 million from Meta for some seriously silly suits," he wrote."But this one's the worst," Moukawsher claimed. "Trump alleges that '60 Minutes' used an excerpt from a pre-election interview with Kamala Harris that made her look more coherent than if it had used a longer version. That's it. That's all. From this Trump has demanded $20 billion, payable to him personally. He says, but has offered no proof, that this bit of snipping set off a tsunami."As icing on the cake, Trump claimed he's not the only victim because the '60 Minutes' piece "perpetrated a gigantic fraud on the public" and "devastated his revenues" from his Truth Social platform."The claims are too stupid for any adult to accept, not to mention any of the players involved who attended law school," Moukawsher wrote, "So why is CBS parleying for a payoff?"ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituentThe answer has to do with quid pro quo: CBS's parent company, Paramount Global, needs approval from the Federal Communications Commission so it can be bought by Skydance Media. And Trump's appointed chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, "has made it clear that Trump's complaint about CBS will come up in the discussions about whether to approve the transfer."Moukawsher defines bribery in his piece as "directly or indirectly" giving "anything of value to any public official... with intent to influence an official act." He continued, "Bribery also includes when an official 'demands' or 'seeks' 'anything of value personally or for any other person or entity,' in return 'for being influenced in the performance of any official act.'"Moukawsher concluded by saying the statute of limitations for prosecuting people who bribe the president of the United States is five years, and that Trump has less than four years left in office. "CBS, Trump, their lawyers, the mediator, and Redstone should run from this farce," he wrote, before a Democratic administration takes the helm.Read the Newsweek article here.

Apr 29, 2025 - World

Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) marked President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office by applauding Americans who are "standing up" against his social policies, economic upheaval, and government cuts.A fundraising email signed by "AOC's Team" began, "We won’t mince words: the first 100 days of Trump’s second term haven’t been easy. But people across the country are standing up against his attacks on the working class," adding that "Trump’s fascist agenda has already incurred over 200 lawsuits and obstacles."Also read: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituentThe email then went on to list the various forms of dissent going on across the country, including legal action against cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency; the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Kilmar Abrego Garcia; and protests against MAGA allies like Marjorie Taylor Greene, "who got rich from his corrupt tariff scheme."The email concluded by citing Trump's approval rating "at just 39% — the lowest of any President in their first 100 days since WWII," and by offering a rallying cry."Don’t let these people’s bull---- get you down. What is so important for us to understand is that as long as we don’t give up, it’s not over. They’re relying on us giving up. Hell no."AOC and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) spent their recess from Congress embarking on a "Fighting Oligarchy" tour that included stops in Montana, California, Idaho, Utah, and Arizona. The goal, according to their website, was to "have real discussions across America on how we move forward to take on the Oligarchs and corporate interests who have so much power and influence in this country."

Apr 29, 2025 - World

President Donald Trump claimed that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos "fixed" the program that began his Tuesday news cycle. Punchbowl News reported that Amazon would list the additional cost imposed on items due to tariffs. The report was about the Amazon site "Haul," which is the under $20 site that Amazon launched to compete with Temu. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt attacked Amazon and Bezos on Tuesday morning, calling the move a "hostile and political act by Amazon." She held up a photo of Bezos as she torched the company. Asked about it by reporters upon leaving the White House, Trump confirmed he spoke with Bezos about the matter. ALSO READ: 'We’ve made a mistake': Trump’s trade war sends GOP into frenzy"Great. Jeff Bezos was very nice. He was terrific. He solved the problem very quickly and he did the right thing, and he's a good guy," Trump said about their conversation. It wasn't long after the press briefing that Amazon's spokesperson said that the idea was “never approved” and is “not going to happen.” It was never something being looked at for the regular Amazon site, only "Amazon Haul." Last week, Temu and similar vendors began listing the price increases resulting from the tariffs to inform customers. Bezos was attacked online for what people called caving in. See Trump in the video below or at the link here. - YouTube youtu.be

Apr 29, 2025 - World

Amazon stocks fell by 2% Tuesday after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed the retail giant for a "hostile and political act" over President Donald Trump's tariffs, according to Forbes. Two percent of Amazon's $1.97 trillion USD market capitalization comes out to a loss of $3.9 billion. The White House was responding to a Punchbowl News report "citing an unnamed source with knowledge of the plan...to show how much of a good’s cost on the site comes from tariffs," Forbes reported. Trump called Amazon owner Jeff Bezos directly to harp on the report, according to two White House officials who talked with CNN, adding the president was “pi----” Soon after that call, "an Amazon spokesman released a statement clarifying the move wasn't considered for the main Amazon site but was considered for Amazon Haul." A revised statement asserted, "This was never approved and not going to happen.'" Also read: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituent Bezos endured a well-publicized feud with Trump during the president's first term over unflattering reporting in The Washington Post, which Bezos owns. As Trump prepared to take office for his second term, Bezos and other tech giant billionaires like Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and SpaceX's Elon Musk got onboard with the Trump administration. All three attended Trump's inauguration, and Bezos donated $1 million. Public reaction to transparent tariff pricing was positive at first, with comments like, "Every outlet should do this," from Philadelphia-based journalist Victoria Brownworth on X before news circulated that Amazon was backtracking. Bezos was then trashed on social media, with the likes of MSNBC's Elise Jordan quipping, "For about thirty seconds it seemed like Amazon cared more about customers than the White House but nope." Forbes reported, "Amazon will report earnings for 2025’s first quarter Thursday afternoon. The company brought in $638 billion in revenue last year, trailing only Walmart as the highest company by sales in the world." Read the Forbes article here.

Apr 29, 2025 - World

CNN's Alayna Treene reported Tuesday that President Donald Trump called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos purportedly to chew him out over reports that the company planned to reveal price increases due to the administration's imposed tariffs on its website. "Trump called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos Tuesday morning to complain about reports that his company was considering displaying the cost U.S. tariffs next to prices for certain products on its website, two senior White House officials told @CNN."In subsequent posts, Treene wrote, "The call came shortly after one of the senior officials phoned the president to inform him of the story The controversy comes as Trump & Bezos have grown increasingly close in recent months. Bezos often visits the West Wing when in Washington to meet with the president."Treene continued, "Soon after the call between Trump & Bezos, an Amazon spokesman released a statement clarifying the move wasn't considered for the main Amazon site but was considered for Amazon Haul The spox later sent CNN a revised stmt, adding: 'This was never approved and not going to happen.'"Also read: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituentThe situation began with reporting from Punchbowl News that was headlined, "Amazon to display tariff costs for consumers."The White House responded in a Tuesday morning press briefing, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling Amazon's reported move as "a hostile and political act by Amazon."CNN's Kaitlan Collins called Leavitt's comments "remarkable" and an "incredibly aggressive response.""If I had told you this was the response from the White House eight years ago, you might not have been as surprised," Collins continued. "That was when the president was openly feuding with Jeff Bezos, was highly critical of The Washington Post and its coverage of him. But Jeff Bezos came to the president's inauguration. He was seated there among him. He has had dinner with him. He's been here at the White House since then. And, so, it is remarkable to to hear what the White House's response to that was."The Washington Post's Jeff Stein then broke the news on X that "Amazon Spox now saying this was never under consideration for the main Amazon website. Says Amazon Haul has considered listing import price duties on certain products."Bezos hasn't yet publicly commented on the controversy.