Alex Jones concedes Sandy Hook attack was ‘100% real’
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones says he now understands he was irresponsible to declare the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre a hoax, and he now believes it was “100% real.” The jury in Austin, Texas, began deliberating Wednesday how much the conspiracy theorist and Infowars host owes the parents of one of the children who were killed in the 2012 attack in Newtown, Connecticut. Testimony wrapped up with Jones telling the jurors that any compensation above $2 million would sink his Texas-based company. Jones also acknowledged that he was wrong to push false claims that the massacre didn’t happen. The parents suing Jones testified Tuesday that an apology wouldn’t suffice and that Jones must be held accountable. They are seeking at least $150 million.
Giuliani unlikely to face criminal charges in lobbying inquiry
As Rudy Giuliani comes under intensifying scrutiny for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, another legal threat is fading: the criminal inquiry into his ties to Ukraine during the presidential campaign. The investigation, conducted by federal prosecutors and the FBI, has examined whether Giuliani illegally lobbied the Trump administration on behalf of Ukrainian officials who helped him impugn Joe Biden, then expected to be the Democratic nominee. But after nearly three years, that inquiry into Giuliani, the former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, is unlikely to result in charges, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Jackie Walorski, Indiana congresswoman, killed in car crash
Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., was killed in a car accident in her district Wednesday, according to her office. She was 58. Walorski’s husband, Dean Swihart, was informed of her death by the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office, her office said in a statement. Walorski was traveling with two aides who were also killed in the crash when a passenger car and a sport utility vehicle collided head on: Zachery Potts, 27, her district director, and Emma Thomson, 28, her communications director, according to the Elkhart County sheriff. The driver of the oncoming car was also killed.
Newsom asks Hollywood to stop filming in conservative states
Widening his attack on Republican states for their positions on guns, civil rights and abortion, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California on Wednesday called on Hollywood to “walk the walk” on liberal values by bringing back their productions from states such as Georgia and Oklahoma. Newsom issued the challenge through an ad in Variety that asked the state’s left-leaning creative community to “take stock of your values — and those of your employees — when doing business in those states.” The Democratic governor also endorsed a proposal that would provide a $1.65 billion, five-year extension of California’s film and television production tax credit program.
Biden issues executive order on abortion access, calling for more study
Even before the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, Democrats have pressured President Joe Biden to take action to protect abortion rights. Then Wednesday, after weeks of study by his administration, Biden took further action by signing an executive order to protect abortion rights — by further studying what he could do to protect abortion rights. The order directed the secretary of health and human services to “consider actions” to guard access to abortion and other health services, to “consider all appropriate actions” to advise doctors unsure of their legal obligations and to “evaluate the adequacy” of data collection about abortion.
Senate supports NATO membership for Sweden and Finland
The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a treaty that would expand NATO to include Finland and Sweden, with Republicans and Democrats linking arms to pave the way for one of the most significant expansions of the alliance in decades amid Russia’s continued assault on Ukraine. The vote was 95-1, with only Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., opposing. The lopsided tally, far surpassing the two-thirds support necessary to approve a treaty, underscored the bipartisan appetite for a more muscular Western military alliance even amid threats from Russian officials that Sweden and Finland would face retaliation should they join NATO.
UN leader slams oil companies’ ‘grotesque greed’
The secretary-general of the United Nations, António Guterres, slammed oil companies on Wednesday for their “grotesque greed” and excessive profiting from rising fuel prices during the Ukraine war. He called for countries to tax those profits and distribute the proceeds to the poor. The combined profits of the largest energy companies in the first quarter of this year were approximately $100 billion, Guterres said. He said every country had a role in the energy crisis and could be part of a solution, adding that there was “no room for hypocrisy.”
Russia seems to mass force along front near Kherson
The Russian army appears to be massing forces for an attack along the same southern battlefront where Kyiv’s troops are planning one, the Ukrainian military warned Wednesday. Ukraine has been recapturing territory near Kherson with the help of long-range, U.S.-provided rockets striking ammunition depots, command posts and bridges deep behind Russian lines. The strikes on bridges over the Dnieper River, which separates Kherson from Russian supply lines to the occupied peninsula of Crimea, had been seen as particularly hopeful for Kyiv. The Russian army has begun using barges to cross the river.
Sri Lanka targets organizers of protests that toppled president
The Sri Lankan government is cracking down on the people who participated in a protest movement that toppled the island nation’s president last month, arresting several demonstration leaders, slapping others with travel bans and ordering the clearing of the last remaining protest tents. Protesters had blamed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for the country’s economic collapse. Rajapaksa’s successor as president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, immediately declared a state of emergency and made it clear he was going after the protest organizers. He called some protesters a “fascist” threat and said authorities would take action against those who had occupied government buildings.
By wire sources