Entertainment
Fox Lawsuit Highlights Effects Of Conspiracies On Dominion
FOX PHOENIX — Elected leaders in Arizona’s most populous county are bracing for what could happen when the county’s $2 million-a-year contract for voting equipment expires.
Maricopa County officials, which encompasses Phoenix, say they have no reservations about their current vendor, Dominion Voting Systems. The issue is that the company has become entangled in a web of conspiracy theories since the 2020 presidential election, which has eroded public trust in US elections among conservative voters, led to calls to ban voting machines in some areas, and triggered death threats against election officials across the country.
“I am concerned about my security if we re-enlist Dominion,” Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican elected in 2020, stated in court. “It went from a company that no one had heard of to one of the most demonized brands in the United States or the world.”
The Colorado-based voting machine company’s unexpected turnaround is at the core of a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit it has filed against Fox News. The trial is set to begin in mid-April. On multiple occasions, Dominion says Fox defamed it by airing false claims about the company’s voting machines and software. Court documents and testimony showed that several Fox hosts and executives did not believe the claims made by former President Donald Trump and his supporters since the 2020 election, but they continued to broadcast them, in part because they were afraid of losing viewers.
Defamation lawsuit it has filed against Fox News.
As Trump and his fellow Republicans argued that he shouldn’t have lost to Democrat Joe Biden, Fox said it was reporting on newsworthy allegations. The network says that Dominion has exaggerated how much it’s worth, couldn’t have done the damage it’s accused of and has played down security worries about its machines. Fox’s lawyers also say that the court documents show that Dominion is in good financial shape.
According to Fox, the case has no merit, and the outrageous damage claim only highlights its overt attempt to censor constitutionally protected speech.
Dominion has shown proof that it lost business contracts and opportunities in the last two years. It cites misinformation as the reason officials in Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee have ended contracts with it, while counties in Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, and Ohio have yet to choose to renew.
One expert estimated that Dominion had lost nearly $16 million in profits due to customers who either terminated their contracts early or decided not to renew in a report the company submitted in November as part of its lawsuit.
According to the same estimate, Dominion has already lost $72.3 million in potential contract extensions, extra equipment sales and service contracts with current customers, and new business.
Overall, the expert estimated that the company’s value had dropped by $920 million, which included the anticipated taxes the company would have to pay if it were awarded damages. The expert also estimated additional missed opportunities, which have not been officially disclosed.
Overall, the expert estimated that the company’s value had dropped by $920 million.
A Dominion spokeswoman, Stephanie Walstrom, said, “The evidence will show that before Fox started spreading and endorsing lies about Dominion voting machines, Dominion was a valuable, quickly growing business that was executing its plan to grow.”
The company’s difficulties are far from over, as conspiracy theories about the last presidential race have permeated much of the Republican Party. Trump supporters still travel the nation, meeting with community groups and holding forums to spread election conspiracies.
Some county officials, citing constituent concerns, have used the conspiracies to justify refusing to certify election results and have fed efforts to decertify or ban voting equipment.
“People aren’t acting rationally,” said Lawrence Norden, a Brennan Center for Justice election security expert who has pushed for increased voter access and funding for elected offices. “They’re canceling contracts at a high cost to their taxpayers.”
Recent actions, such as in Shasta County, California, where the board of supervisors ended its contract with Dominion early, are not included in the Dominion expert’s report. The board cited a loss of public trust in the machines used in the county to tabulate paper ballots marked by hand at a meeting in January.
Trump received 65% of the vote in Shasta County in 2020.
“Dominion has to prove to me that we have a free and fair election,” said Patrick Henry Jones, Chair of the Board of Supervisors, who led the campaign to end the contract. “Just because we’re all sitting here and elected doesn’t mean we’ve always had free and fair elections.”
The board is now pursuing a proposal fox to count ballots by hand, which experts believe needs to be more accurate and takes longer in all but the smallest jurisdictions. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a Trump supporter, has vowed to help them eliminate their voting machines.
Lindell stated in an interview that he is willing to contribute to the expenses of any lawsuits that Shasta County may face.
“They have the right to use paper ballots and a hand count,” Lindell said. “They must be brave, or we will not be able to get rid of these machines.”
Shasta County Clerk and Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen fox has defended the voting equipment and blamed “disproven conspiracy theories” for undermining the county’s election system and employees. She has warned that the county is at risk of being unable to hold elections.
“Their actions have jeopardized the security of our elections and set a dangerous precedent that encourages outsiders to undermine our elections at the county level,” Darling Allen testified to Congress earlier this month.
Election security experts were worried that three companies already dominated the market.
She estimated that hand-counting all ballots in a presidential election with 50 candidates would cost at least $1.6 million and necessitate the employment of nearly 1,300 temporary workers. More than 111,000 people are enrolled to vote in the county.
Election security experts were worried that three companies already dominated the market for voting machines before the 2020 election. fox Election Systems & Software, a Dominion competitor, has not reported contract cancellations but has been forced to defend its image amid the voting machine conspiracies.
In a recent hearing, Fox’s attorney, Erin Murphy, told the Delaware Superior Court judge presiding over the defamation case that Dominion has “a real speculation problem” regarding its claims for damages and that Dominion’s lost-profits argument appears to be based on the presumption that it would have won every contract it sought if Fox’s coverage of the election fraud allegations had not occurred.
That ignores the reality that Dominion’s competitors have occasionally offered lower bids or more appealing technology, according to Murphy. Fox has used internal communications, such as one in which a Dominion worker said, “God, our products stink,” and a federal advisory that describes possible security holes found in a Dominion system.
Maricopa County, Arizona, has been at the vanguard of Dominion conspiracy theories. In 2021, the GOP-controlled Legislature used its subpoena power to seize the county’s voting equipment and hired a company run by Trump supporters to comb through it for proof that the machines had been tampered with. The company discovered none, and project manager Doug Logan admitted in a private text message revealed in an unrelated lawsuit that “the Dominion machine is quite precise.” Nonetheless, mistrust persists.
Waldeep Singh, Dominion’s senior vice president of sales, stated in a court filing that the situation in Arizona has made doing business there impossible. He blamed conspiracy theories for the company’s failure to gain business in Yavapai County, a conservative rural county north of Phoenix.
“All I can tell you is that, based on my experience and our trajectory at the time in Arizona,” Singh said, “we were trending in a very positive direction.”
“I don’t think we’ll win anything in Arizona again,” he said.
SOURCE – (AP)
(VOR News) – The “Merc with a Mouth” will return to the big screen in Deadpool & Wolverine this weekend, and his contribution to Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe extends beyond his R rating.
“Deadpool & Wolverine,” the third standalone feature film featuring Ryan Reynolds as the regenerative reprobate, is expected to gross between $160 million and $180 million in its opening weekend at the domestic box office.
The movie has already surpassed the greatest number of ticket pre-sales in 2024, according to data provided by Fandango. It is anticipated that it will break numerous records during its opening weekend.
Most noteworthy among these accomplishments is the most successful premiere for an R-rated film in history, as well as the largest domestic opening of 2024.
Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” has achieved the highest opening of the year with a total of $154.2 million, as per the data provided by Comscore.
Additionally, the first “Deadpool” film has achieved the highest début for any R-rated feature film with a total of $132.4 million.
Mike Bowers, the president and CEO of Harkins Theatres, a theatre corporation located in Arizona, stated, “I am confident that this will be the largest R-rated film to ever be released if it is released.” Furthermore, it is already one of the most successful presale films in the annals of our company.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” was initially rated R because of its trailer.
It is also the 34th Deadpool & Wolverine film to be released under the Marvel Cinematic Universe banner. The two Deadpool films that preceded it, both of which were rated R, were produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox.
The reintroduction of the X-Men and Fantastic Four into the broader Marvel catalogue was the consequence of Disney’s acquisition of the corporation in 2019.
Similar to other Marvel Cinematic Universe films, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is benefiting from the enthusiasm of its audience.
Audiences are anxious to view the film during its opening weekend in order to prevent spoilers. Disney has maintained the confidentiality of the majority of the film’s content, and only a limited number of press screenings have been conducted prior to the film’s release.
Bowers anticipates that individuals will continue to return for additional viewings in the weeks following the film’s premiere.
He made the observation that “this is a film that there is so much happening, so many jokes and funny sequences that no one is going to be able to eat just one, you know, they’re going to be back.”
Ellis Jacob, the president and chief executive officer of Cineplex, the largest cinema theatre operator in Canada, echoed Bower’s viewpoint. Jacob asserted that “Deadpool & Wolverine” is replete with Easter eggs and that viewers will revisit the film to attempt to locate them all.
Furthermore, he stated that a substantial number of moviegoers are purchasing tickets for premium screenings, such as IMAX, Dolby, and ScreenX, which are more expensive.
Additionally, Marvel has collaborated with movie theatres to grant licenses for items such as collector popcorn tubs and drink containers, which the theatre operators anticipate will be in high demand.
Historically, concessions have been the most profitable revenue source for movie theatres, and the presence of limited-edition products can result in even greater sales of food and beverages.
” Deadpool & Wolverine” is an essential Marvel release.
Shawn Robbins, Deadpool & Wolverine the inventor and owner of Box Office Theory, announced that Disney had “slowed down the pace” and had scheduled fewer films in the series that has dominated the global box office for over a decade. Box Office Theory is also associated with Robbins.
He stated that Disney is making an effort to correct the course after a series of theatrical errors and poor box office performance, as well as a flood of streaming content that overwhelmed even the most devoted fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Robbins pointed out that “in the end, despite the fact that this is a Marvel movie, it may be viewed equally as a midsummer action comedy that stars personalities and brands that are loved by both die-hard fans and casual viewers.”
The fact that Reynolds and Jackman have both made a name for themselves in Deadpool & Wolverine popular culture and have maintained a cordial relationship through interviews and social media makes them an ideal pairing.
Likewise, there is genuine curiosity regarding the first R-rated film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and whether it will retain the qualities that made the first two Deadpool films and [Jackman’s 2017 Wolverine film] Logan so successful.
SOURCE: CNBC
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Turner Sports hopes to continue its long-standing relationship with the NBA.
On Monday, Warner Bros. Discovery informed the league that it will match Amazon Prime Video’s $1.8 billion annual bid. Turner has had an NBA package since 1984, and games have been broadcast on TNT since the network started in 1988.
“We studied the offers and accepted one of them. This will allow fans to continue to experience our unequaled coverage, including the greatest live game productions in the business and our legendary studio shows and talent, as we build on our proven 40-year commitment for many more years,” WBD stated. “We submitted our matching paperwork to the league today.” We are looking forward to the NBA completing our new contract.”
Warner Bros. Discovery Informs NBA It Will Match Amazon Prime Video’s Offer To Carry Games
The NBA Board of Governors approved the league’s 11-year media rights deals with Disney, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video on Tuesday at its meeting in Las Vegas. WBD received all three contracts on Wednesday, beginning the five-day clock for deciding whether to match.
The new deals, for $76 billion, will begin with the 2025-26 season and entail a game being shown or streamed nationally every night during the second half of the season.
The Prime Video package would have offered games on Thursday night after it finished carrying NFL games. The other nights were Friday and Saturday.
TNT would air games on Thursday, with the other nights being streamed on Max.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav warned at an RBC Investor Conference in November 2022 that Turner and WBD “don’t have to have the NBA.”
Warner Bros. Discovery and the league could not negotiate an agreement during their exclusive bargaining period, which ended in April. Zaslav and TNT Sports Chairman/CEO Luis Silberwasser have recently announced that they intend to match one of the agreements.
“During our four-decade collaboration with the NBA, we have consistently provided exceptional coverage for basketball fans. WBD stated that they behaved in good faith to offer strong proposals that were fair to both parties throughout exclusive and non-exclusive negotiations to maintain their long-standing collaboration. “Regrettably, the league notified us of its intention to accept other offers for the games in our current rights package, leaving us to proceed under the matching rights provision, which is an integral part of our current agreement and the rights we have paid for under it.”
NBC and WBD would alternate broadcasting one of the conference finals series. ESPN and ABC will continue to broadcast the league’s top package and will host conference finals and the NBA Finals each year.
According to people familiar with the negotiations, Amazon’s offer contained a mechanism for paying many years in advance into an escrow account, which many thought would be difficult to match. However, WBD has informed the league that it has the financial resources to do so.
“The Ringer’s” Bill Simmons originally mentioned the Amazon provision on “The Town” podcast.
People talked to the AP anonymously because they were not at liberty to discuss such serious topics.
Warner Bros. Discovery Informs NBA It Will Match Amazon Prime Video’s Offer To Carry Games
WBD pays $1.4 billion per season under the existing nine-year contract, which expires after next season.
WBD is making a large financial investment, but it is necessary. Without the NBA, it would have struggled to charge its present subscriber fees to cable and satellite companies.
Retaining the NBA would also ensure that the popular “Inside the NBA” show will continue. Charles Barkley was dismissive of WBD’s negotiation position and did not believe it would match. Barkley revealed at the end of this season that he planned to retire following the next season.
SOURCE – (AP)
Celebrity
American Who Made Social Media Threats Against Taylor Swift Detained Ahead Of German Concert
BERLIN — An American man who made threats against Taylor Swift on social media was seized before her first concert in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and will be held in custody until her gigs there end, authorities said Thursday.
swift | AP news Image
American Who Made Social Media Threats Against Taylor Swift Detained Ahead Of German Concert
According to police, the accused stalker, a 34-year-old whose name has not been disclosed, had a ticket to Taylor’s concert at Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins-Arena on Wednesday. They stated that he was detained at event admission checks because an early assessment could not completely rule out a risk.
According to police, the man threatened Taylor and her partner on social media. They say he was detained after receiving tips from the event’s organizers.
The American superstar will perform in Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday as part of her Eras tour. According to authorities, a local court has ordered that the suspected stalker be detained until Saturday.
They went on to say that Swift and the audience were always safe. The event drew approximately 60,000 people on Wednesday evening and went off without incident.
American Who Made Social Media Threats Against Taylor Swift Detained Ahead Of German Concert
Before the concerts, Gelsenkirchen temporarily renamed the town “Swiftkirchen” and honored the singer on a “Walk of Fame” dedicated to local luminaries.
Taylor has plans to perform in two more German cities after Gelsenkirchen: Hamburg and Munich.
SOURCE | AP
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