LA Times Owner May Add Bias Meter to Site Next Year

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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LA Times Owner May Add Bias Meter to Site Next Year

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) The Los Angeles Times’ owner recently revealed that the newspaper will add a bias meter to its website in 2025.

Patrick Soon-Shiong, the biotech billionaire who acquired the newspaper in 2018, told CNN political commentator Scott Jennings on his Flyover Country podcast that he’s been “quietly building” an AI meter “behind the scenes,” adding that it would be available on the website in January 2025.

“Somebody could understand as they read it that the source of the article has some level of bias,” he said. “And what we need to do is not have what we call confirmation bias and then that story automatically, the reader can press a button and get both sides of that exact same story based on that story and then give comments.”

He then stated that the reason why the mainstream media is dying is because the major news outlets failed to separate news and opinion sections.

The Los Angeles Times Guild, the union representing hundreds of the newspaper’s newsroom staffers, criticized the Times owner for claiming that the newspaper is highly biased, stating that Soon-Shiong didn’t provide any evidence or examples.

“Our members — and all Times staffers — abide by a strict set of ethics guidelines, which call for fairness, precision, transparency, vigilance against bias and an earnest search to understand all sides of an issue,” the union stated Thursday. “Those longstanding principles will continue guiding our work.”

The recent news came after the newspaper decided not to endorse former Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris for president, which resulted in leftists canceling their newspaper subscriptions and journalists at the Times quitting their jobs to protest the decision.

Soon after the 2024 election, the newspaper’s leadership announced that it fired everyone on its far-left editorial board to ensure the newspaper would become politically neutral. After doing that, the Times hired Jennings to be a part of the new, unbiased editorial board.

Biden Takes Home the Prize for ‘Worst President’ in Modern History

Luis Cornelio
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Biden Takes Home the Prize for ‘Worst President’ in Modern History

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) President Joe Biden has accomplished yet another remarkable feat on his way out of the White House: he is viewed as the “worst president” in modern American history. 

A J.L. Partners poll conducted for the Daily Mail ranked Biden worse than Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon, both former presidents who left office amid politically damning scandals. 

According to the Mail, Biden consistently landed at the bottom in the poll of 1,006 voters ranking the last nine presidents, making him the worst president in 47 years. 

What’s more, forty-four percent of voters ranked Biden among the worst two, while only 14 percent placed him in the top two. 

J.L. Partners cofounder James Johnson referred to the results as “diabolical” for the reputation of the embattled and outgoing one-term president. 

“There’s always a recency bias and as Joe Biden is the incumbent, he starts off at a disadvantage there,” Johnson told the Mail. “But regardless of that, these numbers are worse than I expected.” 

Johnson said voters looked at Biden’s age, overall conduct in office, the botched and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan, the invasion at the southern border and “and decided that, in their view, it qualifies him to be the worst president in modern history.” 

The pollster added that Biden went from being the “man who beat Trump to the man who let him back in, and who voters feel has been fundamentally a bad president.” 

The poll found that more than half of Americans disapproved of Biden’s unprecedented and broad pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, with his approval rating plummeting to 37 percent. 

The results follow the Nov. 5 election, where Americans sent a clear message: they wanted to turn the page away from the Biden-Harris administration. 

Biden had withdrawn from the Democratic nomination after Trump exposed his cognitive decline in the first debate, leading to what some described as a “coup d’état.” 

Democrats were concerned that a Trump presidency would be imminent had Biden remained on the ballot. Their efforts failed, as Trump emerged victorious in the 2024 election, dealing a humiliating defeat to Biden’s successor and vice president, Kamala Harris. 

Biden’s tenure saw skyrocketing inflation, an illegal alien invasion at the southern border, rising crime and several wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Trump, set to be sworn in on Jan. 20, has vowed to reserve Biden’s blunders. 

Crews Recover Body of Woman Who Fell in Pa. Sinkhole While Searching for Cat

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Crews Recover Body of Woman Who Fell in Pa. Sinkhole While Searching for Cat

(Headline USA) The remains of a woman who fell into a sinkhole were recovered Friday, four days after she went missing while searching for her cat, a state police spokesperson said.

Trooper Steve Limani said the body of 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard was sent to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy after rescuers used machinery to bring her to the surface.

Limani told reporters Pollard was found at about 11 a.m. approximately 30 feet  underground, some 12 feet from the opening of the sinkhole. Limani said Pollard apparently landed on a cone-shaped pile of debris created by the crumbling mine, then rolled or otherwise moved toward the southwest to where her body was recovered.

The autopsy may help determine whether Pollard was killed by the fall, Limani said.

The announcement came in the fourth day of the search for Pollard, who had last been seen Monday evening, looking for the cat near a restaurant half a mile from her home in the village of Marguerite.

Axel Hayes, Pollard’s son, said a state trooper told him and other family members that her body had been found.

“I was hoping for the best, I really was,” Hayes said in a phone interview. “I was hoping she was still alive, maybe in a coma or something. I wasn’t expecting all of this.”

Mike O’Barto, who chairs the Unity Township Board of Supervisors, said the tragedy was deeply felt among his friends and neighbors.

“Unity Township is a tight-knit community. We are made of several coal mining towns. And of course, Marguerite’s one of them,” O’Barto said. “And when people suffer, we all suffer. The people of Unity Township are sad today.”

Pollard’s family reported her missing around 1 a.m. Tuesday as the temperature in the area dropped below freezing.

The search focused on a sinkhole that began as a manhole-size gap and may have only recently opened above where coal was mined until about 70 years ago. Hunters and restaurant workers who were in the area in the hours before Pollard’s disappearance told police they hadn’t noticed the sinkhole.

Police said they found Pollard’s car parked about 20 feet from the sinkhole with her 5-year-old granddaughter inside. The cat, Pepper, has not reappeared, Hayes said.

The effort to find Pollard—which a fire official said lasted about 80 hours—included lowering a pole camera with a sensitive listening device into the hole, although it detected nothing. Crews removed a massive amount of soil and rock to try to reach the area where they believed she fell into the chasm about 30 feet deep.

Pollard grew up in Jeanette, about 12 miles from Unity Township, where she lived for much of her adult life. She previously worked at Walmart and was married for more than 40 years.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

N.J. Town Council that Banned Flags, Constitution Backs Down and Apologizes

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N.J. Town Council that Banned Flags, Constitution Backs Down and Apologizes

(Headline USA) City officials in Edison, New Jersey this week repealed their decision to ban the American flag, the U.S. Constitution, and other props during public meetings after backlash from local residents.

The rule, Ordinance 2239, prohibited props during the public comment section of town meetings in order to maintain “good order” throughout the meetings.

At least two local residents who protested the rule by bringing their own props, including an American flag and a copy of the Constitution, were expelled from a council meeting last week for violating the rule.

Afterwards, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression warned Edison officials that it would bring legal action against the town to protect residents’ First Amendment rights.

“Edison Township can expect to hear from FIRE in short order,” the organization said in a statement.

Facing the possibility of a lawsuit, Edison Council President Nishith Patel, who had ordered the two residents to be removed by local law enforcement for displaying the props, backed down and said American flags will now be permitted in council meetings.

“It was never, ever the intent of this council to ban the American flag,” Patel said. “Let me be very clear. The Edison Council has never, nor will we ever ban the American flag from our public meetings.”

Patel continued to try to avoid his previous decision to remove the residents.

“Our nation’s flag as well as our state’s flag are both prominently displayed in our council chamber,” he added. “We proudly and humbly begin each council meeting with the pledge of allegiance to our flag.”

Patel added that if any of his remarks during the previous council meeting implied otherwise, “I apologize.”

Edison Mayor Sam Joshi confirmed Patel “humbly apologized” for his role in the matter.

It is not clear whether Patel has personally apologized to the town residents he evicted, including local lawyer Joel Bassoff, who waved an American flag as he addressed Patel and the rest of the council.

Patel also threatened to remove resident Russ Azarello, who similarly stood at the podium addressing the council while waving several small American flags.

“I’m going to have to warn you that those are props and those are against—if you continue holding them…,” Patel told Azarello.

“How does this disrupt the flow of the meeting?” Azarello shot back. “Holding this is my expression of freedom of speech. If that is offensive to someone, then you’re in the wrong country.” 

Azarello said he isn’t buying Patel’s coerced apology.

“There was no confusion,” he said. “It was ill intent all from the get-go.”

Boston City Council Votes to Defy Deportations under Trump

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Boston City Council Votes to Defy Deportations under Trump

(Headline USA) The Boston City Council unanimously voted this week to uphold the city’s sanctuary status and defy attempted deportations by President-elect Donald Trump.

The measure, titled the “Trust Act,” was first passed in 2014 and amended during Trump’s first term in 2019 to protect illegal migrants from “unjust enforcement actions.”

The policy prevents local law enforcement from working with federal immigration authorities and bans police from keeping illegals in custody for deportation unless there is a criminal warrant.

This week, the Boston City Council amended the resolution again to state that “proposals for mass deportations represent a direct attack on Boston’s immigrant families, and threaten to tear communities apart.”

The resolution specifically cites the incoming Trump administration, stating, “The City of Boston shall continue to monitor and respond to federal immigration policies that may impact its residents, reaffirming its commitment to protect immigrant communities from unjust enforcement actions and to uphold the Trust Act, recognizing that protecting the rights and dignity of all residents, regardless of immigration status, is essential for a safe and welcoming city for all.”

Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, a Democrat, argued the updated resolution is necessary “as the national climate grows increasingly hostile towards immigrant communities.”

She added, “As a city built on the strength of its diverse communities, Boston remains steadfast in its commitment to protecting the rights [and] dignity of all its residents, regardless of status.”

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, also a Democrat, has likewise vowed to resist any effort by the incoming Trump administration to deport the city’s illegal migrants.

“What we can do is make sure that we are doing our part to protect our residents in every possible way, that we are not cooperating with those efforts that actually threaten the safety of everyone by causing widespread fear and having large-scale economic impact,” she said last month.

The city’s opposition to Trump’s agenda comes as ICE officials in the Boston area have made several arrests of illegal migrants charged with violent crimes, including child sex offenses.

DOZENS of Banks Participated in FBI’s Warrantless Surveillance of J6ers, Report Reveals

Ken Silva
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DOZENS of Banks Participated in FBI’s Warrantless Surveillance of J6ers, Report Reveals

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Last year, an FBI whistleblower revealed that Bank of America provided a trove of data about January 6 protestors to the FBI—voluntarily and without a warrant.

It turns out, that was just the tip of the iceberg.

According to a Friday report from the House Weaponization Subcommittee, an estimated 50 financial institutions—and possibly more—participated in the FBI’s warrantless surveillance of J6ers. Financial institutions provided records for J6ers who committed crimes, ones who were entirely peaceful, and some who didn’t even go onto Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021.

The financial institutions provided records to the FBI pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act, which was enacted in 1970 with the aim of curtailing money laundering. The BSA requires financial institutions to file suspicious activity reports, or SARs, when they see financial transactions that may be illegal.

According to the report, the Weaponization Subcommittee interviewed former FBI counterterrorism official Peter Sullivan, who helped lead the bureau’s initiative to collect J6ers’ financial data. Sullivan told congressional investigators that he spoke to an estimated 50 financial institutions, and all were cooperative.

“Despite stating that the [suspicious activity report] filing process was voluntary, Sullivan could not recall a single financial institution that declined to produce a SAR,” the Weaponization report said.

In a couple rare cases, banks pushed back against the FBI’s sweeping requests. FBI was not pleased, according to the report.

In one case, for example, Sullivan sent a list of J6ers to Standard Chartered PLC, which requested a subpoena in response. The report doesn’t explain how the matter was resolved.

In another instance with Standard Chartered, the FBI requested the bank to “run the following name and associated selectors in response to an Equity Check.” Standard Chartered responded, telling the FBI it found “an exact name match,” but again asking for a subpoena.

Again, it’s not clear how that issue was resolved.

Along with revealing the scope of the FBI’s financial surveillance of J6ers, the report also questioned the legality of the surveillance. As per law, banks are supposed to file SARs on their own initiative—but with J6ers, the FBI would ask the banks to research their clients and file SARs on them.

“While avoiding making outright demands for this information, documents show that the FBI avoids requests for legal process and routinely operates on the edge of what is permissible information sharing under the BSA,” the report found.

“By soliciting financial institutions for SAR filings directly, the FBI is treating financial institutions as arms of law enforcement charged with investigating whether a customer has engaged in any ‘suspicious activity’ on the FBI’s behalf.”

Along with Standard Chartered, other banks named in the report included MUFG and Banco Santander. Not all the 50-plus banks were named.

The report also touched on issues spanning wider than Jan. 6. According to the report, the Weaponization Subcommittee obtained documents showing that the U.S. government views the use of a Virtual Private Network, or VPN, as suspicious—meaning that people who use VPNs when conducting financial transactions risk being de-banked.

The Weaponization report called for Congress to enact reforms to improve U.S. financial privacy.

“Congress could restore Fourth Amendment protections to Americans’ financial records,” the report said. “In order to end warrantless surveillance, Congress could require a warrant before law enforcement can gain access to Americans’ private financial information.”

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Village People Founder Now Supports Trump’s Use of ‘Y.M.C.A.’

Maire Clayton
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Village People Founder Now Supports Trump’s Use of ‘Y.M.C.A.’

(Maire Clayton, Headline USA) Village People founding member Victor Willis announced he changed his stance on allowing President-elect Donald Trump to use the iconic “Y.M.C.A.” song.

In a Thursday interview with Fox & Friends First, Willis explained how he came to that decision after years of wanting the president-elect to stop using the song.

“I decided to allow the president-elect’s continued use of ‘Y.M.C.A.’ because he seems to genuinely, genuinely like the song and so many other artists were stopping him from using their music,” he said.

In a Monday Facebook post, Willis added he grew tired of receiving thousands of complaints over Trump using the tune that he requested he stop playing it in 2020.

He said he thought about pulling the Trump campaign’s political use license of the song but ultimately decided against it.

Willis said he has financially benefited from the resurgence of the song and thanked Trump for using it.

“The financial benefits have been great as well as Y.M.C.A. is estimated to gross several million dollars since the President Elect’s continued use of the song,” he wrote. “Therefore, I’m glad I allowed the President Elect’s continued use of Y.M.C.A. And I thank him for choosing to use my song.”

Willis discussed whether or not he would perform the iconic hit at Trump’s inauguration.

“If you were to ask me today if the Village People would perform at the inauguration, I would probably say not because we’d be concerned about endorsement,” he told Fox News.

The songwriter added that if asked it would be something to seriously think about.

“However, because the president-elect has done so much for ‘Y.M.C.A.’ and brought so much joy to so many people, the song has actually gone back to No. 1, and it’s still No. 1 today,” he continued, “so if he were to ask the Village People to perform the song live for him, we’d have to seriously consider it.”

Illegal Aliens Whine about Frozen Meals in Tax-Funded Luxury Hotels

Luis Cornelio
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Illegal Aliens Whine about Frozen Meals in Tax-Funded Luxury Hotels

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Some illegal aliens apparently never heard of the phrase, “beggars can’t be choosers,” unashamedly complaining that taxpayers are only footing their luxury hotel stays and frozen meals. 

Two individuals, seemingly residing in the U.S. unlawfully, aired their grievances during an interview on The Nate Friedman Show, voicing disgust that the taxpayer-funded hotels only offered three frozen meals daily.

“I didn’t eat that food because that was frozen food,” a woman told Friedman, speaking with an apparent Venezuelan accent and in Spanish.

A man, also with a Venezuelan accent, echoed these sentiments, affirming, “No one there would eat that food because it was frozen food.”

The unnamed woman added that she “did not get any help in that shelter,” except, “a roof to sleep under and that’s it, because not even the food.” 

Friedman’s voiceover said it “felt” odd to hear a foreign national complain about taxpayer-funded services “when there are homeless Americans who can’t get those same resources and certainly not as safely as migrants can.” 

Earlier in the interview, the woman said she stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan before moving to another taxpayer-funded hotel in Queens, New York. 

The duo claimed to have relocated to the New Jersey home of a sibling, where they’ve been working ever since. They sell food to illegal aliens still living in the hotel, who refuse to eat frozen meals. 

“We are not the only ones selling food. There’s also a lot of sellers because that helps a lot of the shelters,” the man said. 

These comments have since gained viral attention on X, particularly as President-elect Donald Trump vows to shut down rampant illegal immigration. 

During President Joe Biden’s administration, the U.S. recorded the highest number of illegal border crossings in its history.

Many illegal aliens settled in liberal cities due to lenient policies and sanctuary laws, drawing the anger of many residents. 

In New York City alone, taxpayers were on the hook for the $5 billion bill in expenses accumulated because of the illegal alien invasion. This only covered two years, according to ABC 33/40. 

In addition to the costs, some illegal aliens have been involved and convicted of high-profile crimes.

This was the case of Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan national, who was convicted of viciously murdering Laken Riley, a beloved Georgia nursing student.

REPORT: Federal Gov’t Wasting Billions on Unused Office Space as 94% Work Remotely

Matt Lamb
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REPORT: Federal Gov’t Wasting Billions on Unused Office Space as 94% Work Remotely

(Matt Lamb, Headline USA) A new Senate report revealed that millions of federal workers—including those who handle sensitive information, such as Social Security payments and tax returns—are working from home more than two years since the widely accepted end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the founder of the new Senate DOGE Caucus, released the report, titled “Out of Office.”

In total, 94% of federal workers clock in remotely at least some of the time, Ernst announced, while 33% never come into the office.

Even when workers are offered higher “locality pay,” ostensibly to attract them to an area with a high cost of living, many continue to collect it without living there. Ernst’s office reported some teleworkers “live more than 2,000 miles away from their office.”

Meanwhile, billions of dollars are wasted on unused offices that must be heated and maintained, despite a 12% occupancy rate. The maintenance of all offices costs the federal government “more than $8 billion every year,” according to the Iowa senator’s office.

This has caused health problems too, as the few remaining workers in offices are subjected to the harms of “stagnant water,” as disease builds up, threatening the health of employees, Ernst previously found.

Her office announced she had provided a “roadmap” to Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, identifying “$2 trillion in waste” that the two billionaire entrepreneurs can consider in their recommendations to President-elect Donald Trump as the heads of the Department of Government Efficiency, a semi-official advisory panel tasked with helping scale down the federal bureaucracy.

“For years, I have been tracking down bureaucrats relaxing in bubble baths, playing golf, getting arrested, and doing just about everything besides their job,” Ernst stated in a press release.

“It would almost be funny if it wasn’t happening on the taxpayers’ dime and at the expense of veterans, seniors, small business owners, and Americans in need of competent service from government agencies,” she added.

She threatened to get federal workers fired if they won’t come back to the office, saying, “if they don’t want to, I will make their wish come true.”

Some entities do not plan to change anytime soon.

President Joe Biden’s administration just signed a deal with the American Federation of Government Employees to allow 42,000 Social Security workers to stay remote until 2029, according to Bloomberg.

Ernst’s office flagged Social Security as one problematic agency.

“Folks in Iowa caring for the disadvantaged contacted me frustrated by the lack of responsiveness from the local Social Security Administration office where employees telework several days a week,” Ernst said in the report. “Months passed before receiving replies to simple questions, causing significant delays serving the elderly and disabled.”

The relaxed attitude toward showing up and performing a job in office also creates national security risks, Ernst, a veteran, said.

Late last year into January of this year, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin decided to take a few days off for a surgery without following standard protocol and informing the president and others he would be unavailable in case of a major national security issue.

Cruz Blasts Leftists Who Believe Chopping Off Child’s Genitals Same as Taking an Aspirin

Julianna Frieman
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Cruz Blasts Leftists Who Believe Chopping Off Child’s Genitals Same as Taking an Aspirin

(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Sen. Ted Cruz, D-Texas, blasted leftist activists like U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Friday for holding the belief that chopping off a child’s private parts in transgender sex-change surgeries is a medical choice comparable to taking an aspirin.

On his Verdict podcast, Cruz weighed in on United States v. Skrmetti, a case surrounding the constitutionality of Tennessee law restricting minors from accessing medical procedures allowing them to preset as the opposite gender.

He called out the court’s three liberal justices for supporting “mutilating and sterilizing children” but predicted that the Tennessee law will be upheld.

“They are all in on mutilating and sterilizing children. This is not a fringe view on the left,” the senator said. “Today’s elected Democrats, and sadly, the left-wing activist they put on the courts are absolutely committed to this extreme agenda.”

During oral arguments, Sotomayor interrupted the Tennessee solicitor general and said, “Every medical treatment has a risk. Even taking aspirin. There is always going to be a percentage of the population under any medic treatment that’s gonna suffer harm.”

Cruz did not appreciate Sotomayor’s minimization of the harms of gender-bending surgeries on kids, pointing out, “In their view, severing a child’s genitals is comparable to taking aspirin.”

He called out Sotomayor for falsely saying millions of children were getting “relief” from sex-change surgeries but warned that the Democrat agenda promotes transgender conversions at that scale.

“Let’s be clear, that’s the left’s world view is that sterilizing little boys and little girls, mutilating them, making them permanently unable to have children, that should be happening on the scale of millions and millions of little boys and little girls,” Cruz said.

Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and the American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.

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