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Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch compared CNNs town hall last week with Donald Trump to Fox News post-2020 election coverage, the source of the companys $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.

Last week, we can look at it factually, CNN had a town hall with the former president where he made a lot of allegations about the [2020] election, Murdoch said at the MoffettNathanson Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference. If you believe that it was newsworthy to have a former president, also a candidate for the next presidential election, if you believe that was newsworthy in 2023, well certainly it was newsworthy in 2020 to report on similar allegations.

Michael Nathanson, who interviewed Murdoch, had asked him whether Fox News would do anything differently to not place shareholders in future jeopardy of more litigation. Murdoch, though, insisted that Fox would have won the case eventually.

Murdoch said that in the Dominion Voting Systems case, we were denied our ability to rely on a First Amendment defense, and we were denied an ability to rely on newsworthiness.

The judge in the case, Eric Davis, removed those defenses in a summary judgment decision weeks before a trial was scheduled to star. Davis concluded that those defenses were not supported by case law.

Dominion Voting Systems sued Fox for $1.6 billion in the aftermath of the election, and was armed with a trove of documents and text messages. Dominions legal team was prepared to show that network personalities and executives doubted or knew Trumps election rigging claims were false but let them be amplified on the air anyway. Trump did not cite Dominion specifically in his CNN town hall, but his allies Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell brought up the company in multiple appearances on the network in the weeks after the election.

The case was settled just after a jury was selected. Dominion was poised to call Rupert Murdoch, the Fox Corp. executive chairman, to testify, and it is likely that he would have been asked about a portion of his deposition. He admitted that some Fox hosts endorsed Trumps false election claims.

Murdoch said that had the Dominion case gone forward, we were going to be in a multi-year, prolonged legal battle, which we would ultimately win, but the distraction to the company, the distraction to our growth plans, our management, would have been extraordinarily costly, which is why we decided to settle. He said that it was a difficult decision to make but ultimately the right decision, because I dont believe Fox News or any of our hosts engaged in any defamation the whole period.

Fox News also faces another major lawsuit related to its 2020 coverage, this one from Smartmatic, another voting systems company.

Less than a week after the settlement, the network parted ways with Tucker Carlson, whose show was the top rated primetime show on the news networks.

Murdoch would not go into the reasons for why Carlson was dropped, but defended the decision.

Im not going to go into programming at Fox News short of saying that all our programming decisions are made with the long-term interests of the the Fox News brand and the Fox News business at heart, he said.

He pointed to past decisions in which top rated personalities left the network or were let go.

Bill OReilly was a superstar. Megyn Kelly was a superstar. Glenn Beck was a superstar, he said. And were able to move forward with programming decisions that ultimately result in long-term growth and profitability of the business.

The network has seen a ratings dip in primetime since Carlsons exit, but the replacement show, Fox News Tonight, has generally won the time period in total viewers. That said, MSNBC beat Fox News in primetime on Monday, largely due to the top rated program for the night, The Rachel Maddow Show, which airs once a week. Fox News The Five, aired at 5 p.m. ET, was still the most watched cable news show overall.

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Lachlan Murdoch Compares CNNs Donald Trump Town Hall To Fox Newss Coverage Of His Unfounded Election Claims: If You Believe That Is Newsworthy In...

The universe, according to quantum mechanics, is built out of probabilities. An electron is neither here nor there but instead has a likelihood of being in multiple locationsmore a cloud of possibilities than a point. An atom zips around at an undefined speed. Physicists have even engineered laser beams to emit an undefined number of photonsnot 1 or 10 or 10,000, but some probability of a range of particles. In the classical world, the closest conceptual cousin is a dice spinning in midair. Before it lands, the dices state is best represented in probabilities for each side.

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Such a state of uncertainty is known as a quantum superposition state. Superposition would be absurd if it wasnt experimentally verified. Physicists have observed an electrons location in a state of superposition in thedouble-slit experiment, which reveals how an electron behaves like a wave with an undefined location. Theyve even used quantum superposition to make new-generation devices, fromquantum computers that seek to supercharge computing power to highly sensitive detectors that measuregravitational waves.

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But despite the evidence, quantum mechanics and superposition have one major flaw: Their implications contradict human intuition. Objects that we can see around us dont show off these properties. The speed of a car isnt undefined; it can be measured. The sandwich in your hand doesnt have an undefined location. We clearly dont see superpositions in macroscopic objects, says physicist Matteo Fadel of ETH Zrich. We dont seeSchrdingers cats walking around.

Fadel wants to understand where the boundary is between the quantum and classical worlds. Quantum mechanics clearly applies to atoms and molecules, but its unclear how the rules transition into the macroscopic everyday world that we experience. To that end, he and his colleagues have been performing experiments on progressively larger objects looking for that transition. In arecent paper inPhysical Review Letters, they created a superposition state in the most massiveobject to date: a sapphire crystal about the size of a grain of sand. That may not sound very big, but its about 1016 atomshuge compared with materials typically used in quantum experiments, which are at atomic or molecular scale.

Specifically, the experiment focused on vibrations within the crystal. At room temperature, even when an object appears stationary to the naked eye, the atoms that make up the object are actually vibrating, with colder temperatures corresponding to slower vibrations. Using a special refrigerator, Fadels team cooled their crystal to near absolute zerowhich is defined as the temperature at which atoms stop moving entirely. In practice, it is impossible to build a refrigerator that reaches absolute zero, as that would require an infinite amount of energy.

Near absolute zero, the weird rules of quantum mechanics start to apply to vibrations. If you think of a guitar string, you can pluck it to vibrate softly or loudly or at any volume in between. But in crystals cooled to this super-low temperature, the atoms can only vibrate at discrete, set intensities. It turns out that this is because when vibrations get this quiet, sound actually occurs in discrete units known as phonons. You can think of a phonon as a particle of sound, just as a photon is a particle of light. The minimum amount of vibration that any object can harbor is a single phonon.

Fadels group created a state in which the crystal contained a superposition of a single phonon and zero phonons. In a sense, the crystal is in a state where it is still and vibrating at the same time, says Fadel. To do this, they use microwave pulses to make a tiny superconducting circuit produce a force field that they can control with high precision. This force field pushes a small piece of material connected to the crystal to introduce single phonons of vibration. As the largest object to exhibit quantum weirdness to date, it pushes physicists understanding of the interface between the quantum and classical world.

Specifically, the experiment touches on a central mystery in quantum mechanics, known as the measurement problem. According to the most popular interpretation of quantum mechanics, the act of measuring an object in superposition using a macroscopic device (something relatively large, like a camera or a Geiger counter) destroys the superposition. For example, in the double-slit experiment, if you use a device to detect an electron, you dont see it in all of its potential wave positions, but fixed, seemingly at random, at one particular spot.

But other physicists have proposed alternatives to help explain quantum mechanics that do not involve measurement, known as collapse models. These suppose that quantum mechanics, as currently accepted, is an approximate theory. As objects get bigger, some yet undiscovered phenomenon prevents the objects from existing in superposition statesand that it is this, not the act of measuring superpositions, that prevents us from encountering them in the world around us. By pushing quantum superposition to bigger objects, Fadels experiment constrains what that unknown phenomenon can be, says Timothy Kovachy, a professor of physics at Northwestern University who was not involved in the experiment.

The benefits of controlling individual vibrations in crystals extend beyond simply investigating quantum theorythere are practical applications too. Researchers are developing technologies that make use of phonons in objects like Fadels crystal as precise sensors. For example, objects that harbor individual phonons can measure the mass of extremely light objects, says physicist Amir Safavi-Naeini of Stanford University. Extremely light forces can cause changes in these delicate quantum states. For example, if a protein landed on a crystal similar to Fadels, researchers could measure the small changes in the crystals vibration frequency to determine the proteins mass.

In addition, researchers are interested in using quantum vibrations to store information for quantum computers, which store and manipulate information encoded in superposition. Vibrations tend to last relatively long, which make them a promising candidate for quantum memory, says Safavi-Naeini. Sound doesnt travel in a vacuum, he says. When a vibration on the surface of an object or inside it hits a boundary, it just stops there. That property of sound tends to preserve the information longer than in photons, commonly used in prototype quantum computers, although researchers still need to develop phonon-based technology. (Scientists are still exploring the commercial applications of quantum computers in general, but many think their increased processing power could be useful in designing new materials and pharmaceutical drugs.)

In future work, Fadel wants to perform similar experiments on even bigger objects. He also wants to study how gravity might affect quantum states. Physicists theory of gravity describes the behavior of large objects precisely, while quantum mechanics describes microscopic objects precisely. If you think about quantum computers or quantum sensors, they will inevitably be large systems. So it is crucial to understand if quantum mechanics breaks down for systems of larger size, says Fadel.

As researchers delve deeper into quantum mechanics, its weirdness has evolved from a thought experiment to a practical question. Understanding where the boundaries lie between the quantum and the classical worlds will influence the development of future scientific devices and computersif this knowledge can be found. These are fundamental, almost philosophical experiments, says Fadel. But they are also important for future technologies.

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This Is the Quietest Sound in the Universe - WIRED

Some questions for the Los Angeles Dodgers:

What happens next year if a group and out-of-state senator complain that the team is even acknowledging the LGBTQ+ community with a Pride Night? Will they cancel the event altogether?

What happens in two or three years if a group and an out-of-state senator complain that the team acknowledges the pioneering Jackie Robinson and highlights the racism he experienced while playing, alleging that it is "critical race theory"? Will the Dodgers stop recognizing Robinson?

The Dodgers folded like a house of cards in a light breeze this week when conservative politicalCatholic groups and an opportunistic Florida politician complained that the baseball team was honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence for decades of good deeds. What's to stop the next odious group from getting the organization to abandon its decisions?

The Dodgers have opened the door for anyone to step up, make a minor fuss and get their stance supported, no matter how disgraceful or faulty the reason. They can't now be surprised if a clown car's worth of crying zealots comes rolling through.

Great job. Really.

As part of this year's annual Pride Night on June 16, the Dodgers were set to honor the Los Angeles chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence for its years of community service. The Sisters are a 44-year-old satirical group that dresses in nun's habits as they minister to, in the group's own words, "those on the edges" of society. They first appeared in San Francisco in 1979 and began caring for gay men with HIV/AIDS at a time when very few would. Since then, SPI chapters across the country and around the world have continued to work throughout their communities to help those most in need. They are about inclusion and spreading campy joy wherever they go.

The Dodgers are scheduled to hold a Pride Night on June 16 at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) must have felt like he needed to grab the sectarian spotlight back from others in his partywho have been fighting culture wars against the LGBTQ+ community. Rubio and the group CatholicVote the president of which called the Sisters a "hate group," which is objectively false denounced the Dodgers for honoring the Sisters. In a letter to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, Rubio said he opposed the group because it "mocks Christians through diabolical parodies of our faith."

The team caved to those howls and is rescinding the Sisters' award, audaciously using the phrase "spirit of unity" and saying "we are removing [the Sisters] from this year's group of honorees" in the same pathetic social media statement.

And now that there is an outcry about the Dodgers' embarrassing capitulation, with multiple LGBTQ+ groups saying they won't attend the team's Pride Night due to its treatment of the Sisters, the Dodgers are scrambling, reportedly trying to find a compromise.

Compromise how? You cannot be tolerant of the intolerant, and the team already failed that test.

The Dodgers can't reinvite the Sisters after this. Well, they could try, but if the Sisters' response were to lift the hems of their habits and show the Dodgers their behinds, no one could really blame them.

Some of us are terrified by the speed at which human rights are being stripped away from Americans who are just trying to live, whether at a drag brunch or as a drag performer, or for pregnant people who do not want to be pregnant for whatever their personal reasons, or for Black or Muslim or Native American people who want their children to be able to read books with characters who look like them and tell the stories of their ancestors.

A big part of the reason these things are happening so quickly is because of organizations like the Dodgers giving in at the slightest sign of complaint or discomfort and prioritizing the objections of the intolerant over standing in support of the oppressed.

What is the point of having a Pride Night if you aren't going to go all-in? Its very essence is supposed to be inclusion, creating a welcoming atmosphere or at least the illusion of one; looking at you, myriad NHL teams for those who far too often have been told they don't belong.

The Dodgers want credit for celebrating Pride, but this week they showed that they aren't committed to the cause of uplifting the LGBTQ+ community, which chooses a rainbow as its symbol for a reason: because members of the community come in many metaphorical colors.

You cannot say you want to celebrate Pride and then pick and choose which LGBTQ+ groups are acceptable.

Or, as the San Francisco Sisters wrote in condemning the Dodgers' decision, "Do not let people who hate us all decide that some parts of our community are more tolerable than others, that some shall be seated at the table while others are locked out."

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Dodgers lost meaning, purpose of Pride Night in caving to culture war pressure - Yahoo Sports

Ron DeSantis doesnt just want to run for the presidency, the Florida governor seems to already have declared himself president as he tries to wrest clear federal responsibilities away from the U.S. government with a new Florida law that heavily penalizes employment of undocumented immigrants, gives state officials more authority to investigate potential immigration violations and forces hospitals to collect immigration status, among other things.

Almost 150 years ago, in 1875s Chy Lung vs. Freeman, the Supreme Court established that regulating immigration was exclusively the domain of the national government, not states. That hasnt stopped plenty of states from trying it anyway. Thirteen years ago, Arizona set off the modern wave of immigration organizing in enacting the disastrous SB 1070, most of which was eventually struck down by the Supreme Court as a violation of the Supremacy Clause.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

More recently, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has taken it upon himself to appear tough on the border, sending National Guardsmen to an ill-fated and ultimately pointless deployment, almost setting off an international incident with Mexico over truck inspections, and of course busing migrants here and elsewhere without any coordination or notice.

Apparently envious of the havoc Abbott was wreaking, DeSantis joined the clown show, using a shadowy former Army counterintelligence agent to trick migrants into boarding planes bound for Marthas Vineyard, paid for by a dedicated state fund that this law has now expanded. DeSantis seems wholly indifferent or apathetic to the fact that the consequences of his culture war are being suffered by his own state.

Since the law was enacted, there have been reports of employees fearful of returning to work in a variety of industries, and even attempting to arrange boycotts. The short-term impacts are still uncertain, but it seems clear that in the long run, Florida will lose out on the contributions of an important population, just as it will face a brain drain from DeSantis heavy-handed crackdown on academia and anti-business war with Disney. The governor doesnt care; his eyes are set northwards, to Washington..

Originally posted here:
Going the Ron way: DeSantis' new immigration law and culture wars will backfire - New York Daily News

Michael Gove

Minister says focus should be on economics and public services a day after Suella Bravermans highly partisan speech

Conservatives need to recognise that elections are won on economics and public services rather than culture wars, Michael Gove has said in what will be seen as a rebuke to Suella Braverman.

Addressing the National Conservatism (NatCon) conference in Westminster, a day after Braverman gave a highly partisan speech to the same event which condemned experts and elites and political correctness, Gove was at pains to make no direct criticism of the home secretary.

But asked in an onstage interview whether Conservatives needed to engage with such issues, Gove highlighted what he said were the virtues of gentleness and stability and discourse.

He said: I think that the overwhelming majority of people in this country prefer civility. This goes to the whole question of the so-called culture war that is raging at the moment.

There are certain principles you should defend, absolutely. And it is absolutely critical that we dont deny biological reality or that we dont feel that we should apologise for aspects of our past, which are genuine sources of pride.

But we should do so with the self-confidence that means we dont need to be strident.

Gove, the communities secretary, said the changing media and social media landscape had helped increase the prominence of culture war issues. The way in which algorithms work tends to drive people towards poles, and the way in which particular sections of the media work means that they tend to become echo chambers, he added

However, he argued, voters were far more likely to judge parties and governments on other areas.

I actually think that economics is still central, Gove said. When it comes to the boring and vulgar task of winning general elections, and the even more boring and even more dispiriting task of government, the most important thing to do is to concentrate on the right economic policies, the right policies for public service delivery and so on.

Goves words are a polite rebuttal of the increasing tendency of some Tories, as highlighted by the NatCon gathering, organised by a rightwing US thinktank, to take more overtly combative approach to subjects like race and sexuality, and to borrow ideas from populists such as Hungarys Viktor Orbn and Giorgia Meloni of Italy.

Braverman devoted much of her speech to railing against what she said was an attempt by the left to devalue Britains heritage, while Tory MP Miriam Cates said cultural Marxism was one reason for the UKs falling birthrate.

Gove, who was at pains to praise Bravermans call for a reduction in legal migration numbers, said such divergent views were a sign that our party and our broader movement is healthy, that you can have debate.

However, he did stress the need for recognising what is distinctive and cherished in Britain and in the United Kingdom, amid a conference which has seen other speakers praise Orbn and Donald Trump, and describe a supposed plot by leftwing groups to eradicate democracy.

In some of the commentary that there has been around national conservatism, I think people are trying to suggest that this is somehow an attempt to import American ideas, American ideology and American conservatism into the UK, Gove said, saying this should not be the case.

He also gently dismissed the idea of another argument by a Tory MP, Andrea Jenkyns, at a grassroots Tory conference on Saturday, that many of her party colleagues would fit better in the Liberal Democrats.

Gove said: The coalition government was five fascinating years, but I cant think of a single Conservative who reminds me of Chris Huhne.

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Michael Gove says Tories will not win election with culture wars - The Guardian