Noteworthy News

[Nanny]

[quote='The Valkyrie' pid='2229732' dateline='1745050166']

I knew Fosters would get a rise.

Swan is far better.

But, right now, my beers of choice are Steinlager Pure and Grolsch.

No Bass? The was one of my top choices when I was in a beer mood.

Boru

Whereupon I stole her passport and her wig
And headed for the airport and the midnight flight, you dig?
And fourteen hours later I was down in Adelaide
Lookin' through the want ads sippin' Fosters in the shade

Warren Zevon

[Angrboda]

Jury finds NY Times not liable in Sarah Palin defamation case

A federal jury in Manhattan on Tuesday found the New York Times not liable for allegedly defaming Sarah Palin in a 2017 editorial about gun control, dealing the former Republican U.S. vice presidential candidate a second loss at trial.

The verdict came in a retrial of Palin's case, after a federal appeals court threw out a 2022 verdict in the Times' favor.

The jury deliberated for around two hours after a weeklong trial.

In a statement after the verdict, New York Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha said, "The decision reaffirms an important tenet of American law: publishers are not liable for honest mistakes.”

Palin's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Palin, 61, who also served as Alaska's governor, sued the newspaper and former editorial page editor James Bennet over a June 14, 2017, article that wrongly suggested she may have incited a January 2011 mass shooting in an Arizona parking lot.

Six people were killed and Democratic U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords was seriously wounded in the attack.

Bennet said he was under deadline pressure when he added language to "America's Lethal Politics" that linked the attack to a map from Palin's political action committee that put Giffords and other Democrats under crosshairs.

The Times quickly acknowledged its mistake and apologized, publishing a correction 14 hours after the editorial appeared online.

Lawyers for Palin said that wasn't enough because the backtracking didn't mention her by name.

In her closing argument, Times' lawyer Felicia Ellsworth alluded to the high burden that Palin, a public figure, had in order to hold the newspaper liable.

"To win this case, Governor Palin needs to prove that the New York Times and James Bennet did not care about the truth," she said. "There has not been one shred of evidence showing anything other than an honest mistake."

Palin lawyer Ken Turkel said it was more than that.

""This is not an honest mistake about a passing reference" to Palin, he said in his closing argument. "For her, it was a life-changer."

[Angrboda]

Global markets reversed course following US President Donald Trump’s shift in tone on both China and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Stocks rebounded, the US dollar strengthened, and gold prices retreated as investor sentiment improved.

Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, President Trump stated that tariffs on China would be reduced “substantially,” though “they won’t be zero”. His comments echoed earlier remarks by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said that high tariffs were not sustainable and that a de-escalation in the US–China trade war was expected.

https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/0...stantially

[Mister Agenda]

If he could keep his mouth shut for the rest of his term, we could get out of this without a recession, if it's not already too late. Of course, he's not capable of keeping his mouth shut, so there's that.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Global markets reversed course following US President Donald Trump’s shift in tone on both China and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Stocks rebounded, the US dollar strengthened, and gold prices retreated as investor sentiment improved.

Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, President Trump stated that tariffs on China would be reduced “substantially,” though “they won’t be zero”. His comments echoed earlier remarks by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said that high tariffs were not sustainable and that a de-escalation in the US–China trade war was expected.

https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/0...stantially

Short version: Trump lost and caved.

Boru

[Thumpalumpacus]

Short version: Trump lost and caved.

Boru

To your point:

China has sent back planes it ordered from the US in its latest retaliation over Trump tariffs, the boss of aircraft maker Boeing has said.

Kelly Ortberg said two planes had already been returned and another would follow after trade tensions between the two countries escalated.

Boeing's chief executive told CNBC that 50 more planes were due to go to China this year but their customers had indicated they will not take delivery of them.

The US put 145% tariffs on imports from China and it hit back with a 125% tax on US products.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said he was optimistic about improving trade relations with China, saying the level of tariffs he had imposed would "come down substantially, but it won't be zero".

However, Mr Ortberg said China "have in fact stopped taking delivery of aircraft because of tariff environment".

Boeing is America's largest exporter with about 70% of its commercial aircraft sales outside of the US.

Mr Ortberg said Boeing was assessing options to re-market 41 of the already built planes to other customers as there was high demand from other airlines.

He said there were nine planes not yet in Boeing's production system and he wanted to "understand their intentions and if necessary we can assign to other customers".

He added Boeing was "not going continue to build aircraft for customers who will not take them".

Later in the afternoon, Mr Ortberg told an investor call "there is not a day that goes by that we're not engaged with either cabinet secretaries or either POTUS himself (President Trump) regarding the trade war between China and the USA."

He added he was "very hopeful we'll get to some negotiations".

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3evw059x04o

Caving to both Chinese and domestic pressure, clearly.

Oh, and speaking of caving:

Tesla boss Elon Musk has pledged to "significantly" cut back his role in the US government after the electric car firm reported a huge drop in profit and sales for the start of this year.

Musk has led the newly created advisory body - the Department for Government Efficiency (Doge) - since last year, putting the world's richest man at the heart of cutting US spending and jobs.

But Musk said his "time allocation to Doge" would "drop significantly" from next month, adding he would spend only one to two days per week on it after accusations he has taken his focus off Tesla.

His political involvement has sparked protests and boycotts of Tesla cars around the world.

Temporary government employees, such as Musk, are normally limited to working 130 days a year which, if counted from the day of President Donald Trump's inauguration, is set to expire late next month.

But it is unclear when Musk, who contributed more than a quarter of a billion dollars to Trump's re-election, will step down completely.

Trump said earlier this month he would keep Musk "as long as I could keep him".

Trump said earlier this month he would keep Musk "as long as I could keep him".

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0x50yr46lo

This is how we will have to limit these cretins -- hit them in the wallet. I cannot reprint the VsLY sales chart in the article, but Tesla shares have lost about 50% in value since Musk started working for Trump in January.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Short version: Trump lost and caved.

Boru

To your point:

China has sent back planes it ordered from the US in its latest retaliation over Trump tariffs, the boss of aircraft maker Boeing has said.

Kelly Ortberg said two planes had already been returned and another would follow after trade tensions between the two countries escalated.

Boeing's chief executive told CNBC that 50 more planes were due to go to China this year but their customers had indicated they will not take delivery of them.

The US put 145% tariffs on imports from China and it hit back with a 125% tax on US products.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said he was optimistic about improving trade relations with China, saying the level of tariffs he had imposed would "come down substantially, but it won't be zero".

However, Mr Ortberg said China "have in fact stopped taking delivery of aircraft because of tariff environment".

Boeing is America's largest exporter with about 70% of its commercial aircraft sales outside of the US.

Mr Ortberg said Boeing was assessing options to re-market 41 of the already built planes to other customers as there was high demand from other airlines.

He said there were nine planes not yet in Boeing's production system and he wanted to "understand their intentions and if necessary we can assign to other customers".

He added Boeing was "not going continue to build aircraft for customers who will not take them".

Later in the afternoon, Mr Ortberg told an investor call "there is not a day that goes by that we're not engaged with either cabinet secretaries or either POTUS himself (President Trump) regarding the trade war between China and the USA."

He added he was "very hopeful we'll get to some negotiations".

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3evw059x04o

Caving to both Chinese and domestic pressure, clearly.

Oh, and speaking of caving:

Tesla boss Elon Musk has pledged to "significantly" cut back his role in the US government after the electric car firm reported a huge drop in profit and sales for the start of this year.

Musk has led the newly created advisory body - the Department for Government Efficiency (Doge) - since last year, putting the world's richest man at the heart of cutting US spending and jobs.

But Musk said his "time allocation to Doge" would "drop significantly" from next month, adding he would spend only one to two days per week on it after accusations he has taken his focus off Tesla.

His political involvement has sparked protests and boycotts of Tesla cars around the world.

Temporary government employees, such as Musk, are normally limited to working 130 days a year which, if counted from the day of President Donald Trump's inauguration, is set to expire late next month.

But it is unclear when Musk, who contributed more than a quarter of a billion dollars to Trump's re-election, will step down completely.

Trump said earlier this month he would keep Musk "as long as I could keep him".

Trump said earlier this month he would keep Musk "as long as I could keep him".

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0x50yr46lo

This is how we will have to limit these cretins -- hit them in the wallet. I cannot reprint the VsLY sales chart in the article, but Tesla shares have lost about 50% in value since Musk started working for Trump in January.

The worst of the damage is already done - no one trusts the US as a trading partner any more. Even worse, that lack of trust is long-term. It’s going to be difficult to win back, even when Trump is out of office.

Boru

[Thumpalumpacus]

The worst of the damage is already done - no one trusts the US as a trading partner any more. Even worse, that lack of trust is long-term. It’s going to be difficult to win back, even when Trump is out of office.

Boru

Right. Knowing that the American electorate may vote in an autocratic dolt at any time, I can't say I blame them for not trusting us.

[Alan V]

The worst of the damage is already done - no one trusts the US as a trading partner any more. Even worse, that lack of trust is long-term. It’s going to be difficult to win back, even when Trump is out of office.

Boru

Perhaps this lack of trust will be a problem as long as Republicans are in control of the government, since they are doing little to control Trump's abuse of tariffs.

They should be thinking about where their party will be post-Trump.

Of course, by then the rest of the world may have set up new alliances which exclude the U.S.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Perhaps this lack of trust will be a problem as long as Republicans are in control of the government, since they are doing little to control Trump's abuse of tariffs.

They should be thinking about where their party will be post-Trump.

Of course, by then the rest of the world may have set up new alliances which exclude the U.S.

These trust issues will outlast Republican control of our government, because any country entering into a trade deal or security treaty with us will have no idea when said agreements are abrogated by yet another isolationist elected to office.

After WWI, Pres Wilson proposed the League of Nations in order to define and secure international relations in a peaceful setting. The fact that an isolationist Senate refused to ratify it not only damaged the league itself, it also damaged international trust in our word. That trust was never reignited until Hitler forced it in 1939 by attacking those who would soon become our allies.

I'm not so sanguine as you are about this being a passing issue. I only hope it doesn't take a similar cataclysm to make the world regard us once again as loyal, faithful friends.