Practically two years in the past at the moment — Sept. 2, 2022 — Jeff German, an investigative journalist for the Las Vegas Journal-Overview, was discovered stabbed to dying exterior of his house. Inside days, German’s fellow journalists and the police turned their consideration to Robert Telles, a Clark County public administrator who was the topic of German’s reporting.
The New York Times’ Isabelle Taft noted, “A couple of months earlier than his dying, Mr. German wrote an article for The Las Vegas Overview-Journal describing workers’ complaints that Mr. Telles had created a poisonous work surroundings, demonstrated favoritism and had an improper relationship with a workers member. Mr. Telles denied the allegations. He misplaced his re-election bid a month after the article got here out, and Mr. German stored reporting.”
Telles was ultimately arrested and, on Wednesday, after an 11-day trial, he was discovered responsible of homicide within the first diploma.
The Washington Post’s Praveena Somasundaram wrote, “The prosecution rested its case on Aug. 19 after 4 days of witnesses and shows that relied closely on the proof police recovered from Telles’ house, photographs and surveillance video from the day of the stabbing, and a match between Telles’ DNA and DNA recovered from beneath German’s fingernails.”
The Las Vegas Journal-Review’s Katelyn Newberg wrote, “Jurors weighed eight days of testimony from dozens of witnesses, together with detectives, forensic consultants, and people who knew Telles, together with three days of testimony from Telles himself. Telles gave a story testimony to the jury, with out being interrupted by his lawyer, earlier than dealing with cross-examination by prosecutors.”
Throughout his testimony, Telles mentioned, “This factor has been sort of a nightmare. I wish to say unequivocally: I’m harmless. I didn’t kill Mr. German. And I’ve bought rather a lot to share with you all.”
With out being requested a query by his lawyer, Telles spoke for almost three hours, and claimed he was framed and that German was murdered by knowledgeable hitman.
The jury wasn’t satisfied of what Telles needed to share.
Clark County Chief Deputy District Lawyer Pamela Weckerly mentioned, “In the long run, this case isn’t about politics. It’s not about alleged inappropriate relationships. It’s not about who’s an excellent boss or who’s an excellent supervisor or favoritism at work. It’s nearly homicide.”
In an announcement, Overview-Journal govt editor Glenn Cook dinner mentioned, “At present a Clark County jury delivered a measure of justice for Jeff German, and we hope it brings some solace to his household, mates and colleagues. Jeff was killed for doing the sort of work during which he took nice pleasure: His reporting held an elected official accountable for dangerous habits and empowered voters to decide on another person for the job.”
Cook dinner went on to say, “Robert Telles may have joined the lengthy line of publicly shamed Nevada politicians who’ve gone on with their lives, out of the highlight or again in it. As a substitute, he carried out a premeditated revenge killing with terrifying savagery. At present additionally introduced a measure of justice for slain journalists all around the world. Our jobs are more and more dangerous and generally harmful. In lots of nations, the killers of journalists go unpunished. Not so in Las Vegas. Our due to police and prosecutors, whose diligent work gained this conviction. Let’s additionally do not forget that this group has misplaced rather more than a trusted journalist. Jeff was an excellent man who left behind a household who beloved him and mates who cherished him. His homicide stays an outrage. He’s missed.”
As Taft wrote for the Occasions, “Earlier than his dying, Mr. German had additionally begun reporting a couple of Las Vegas lawyer accused of working a $500 million Ponzi scheme that ensnared lots of of traders. He left behind folders of courtroom paperwork, and a Washington Submit reporter picked up the place he left off. The article was published final 12 months.”
And for extra background on that, here’s a story that my colleague, Amaris Castillo, wrote in early 2023.
Two years in the past, former Alaska Gov. and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin misplaced her closely-watched defamation go well with in opposition to The New York Occasions.
On Wednesday, a federal appeals courtroom granted her a brand new trial. The Second U.S. Circuit Courtroom of Appeals mentioned in its ruling, “Sadly, a number of main points at trial — particularly, the faulty exclusion of proof, an inaccurate jury instruction, a legally faulty response to a mid-deliberation jury query, and jurors studying throughout deliberations of the district courtroom’s Rule 50 dismissal ruling — impugn the reliability of that verdict.”
This all goes again to a 2017 editorial within the Occasions. Palin mentioned the editorial wrongly linked a map that Palin’s political motion committee had posted to the 2011 capturing that injured former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, killed six folks and injured a number of others. The Occasions apologized for the piece, however Palin mentioned her status had been broken.
As CNN’s Hadas Gold noted, “Palin sued the Occasions, however a jury in 2022 discovered Palin didn’t show ‘precise malice,’ the authorized normal Palin needed to meet in her defamation case as a result of she is a public determine. However throughout deliberations, Choose Jed Rakoff dominated that Palin’s attorneys didn’t show a key component of their case, and that he would have put aside the jury’s verdict ought to it have discovered for Palin.”
Palin’s attraction mentioned the jury may need been swayed by what the choose mentioned.
Palin’s lawyer, Shane Vogt, mentioned, “Governor Palin may be very pleased with at the moment’s resolution, which is a major step ahead within the means of holding publishers accountable for content material that misleads readers and the general public on the whole.”
In the meantime, a Occasions spokesperson mentioned, “This resolution is disappointing. We’re assured we are going to prevail in a retrial.”
The New York Times’ David Enrich wrote, “The case was additionally freighted with additional significance as a result of Ms. Palin’s legal professionals hoped to make use of it as a car to overturn the Supreme Courtroom’s landmark First Modification resolution in New York Occasions v. Sullivan. That 1964 ruling, in addition to a handful of subsequent circumstances, has made it a lot more durable for public figures like Ms. Palin to win libel lawsuits.”
Enrich added, “Whereas many view the Sullivan resolution as a linchpin of the free press, a rising refrain of principally conservative critics, together with Justice Clarence Thomas, have argued lately that the precedent unfairly shields information organizations from accountability once they hurt folks’s reputations. The appeals courtroom’s 56-page ruling on Wednesday didn’t interact with the argument by Ms. Palin’s aspect that the Sullivan precedent was out of date. As a substitute, the three judges — all appointed by Republican presidents — faulted Choose Rakoff’s dealing with of the trial. (In 2019, the identical appeals courtroom reversed his resolution to dismiss the lawsuit earlier than trial.)”
“Donald Trump was a horrible president.” Who mentioned that? Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And it wasn’t like he mentioned it years in the past. He mentioned it final month.
However as of late final week, Kennedy is absolutely finishorsing and campaigning for Trump after his personal impartial presidential marketing campaign crashed after months of barely hovering above the bottom.
RFK additionally referred to as Trump’s overseas insurance policies “absurd and terrifying.” That, too, got here only in the near past — in June.
These are simply two of the various occasions that Kennedy harshly criticized Trump. In a chunk for The New York Occasions, Tim Balk chronicled, “12 Times Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Criticized Trump.”
Balk wrote, “Mr. Kennedy had spent the higher a part of a decade lobbing assaults at Mr. Trump, portraying him as a buffoonish, anti-democratic bully who led a feckless administration.”
And now he’s one among Trump’s greatest supporters.
Actress Cheryl Hines, left, and husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attend the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” last season premiere in January in Los Angeles. (Photograph by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Now that Kennedy has thrown all his assist behind Trump, you would possibly surprise what RFK’s spouse, actress Cheryl Hines of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fame, thinks of what her husband has achieved.
Not a lot, apparently.
Kennedy appeared on “TMZ Live” on Tuesday and admitted that his spouse will not be pleased about her husband trumpeting for Trump.
Kennedy mentioned, “She is a lifelong Democrat and the thought of me supporting Donald Trump was, like I mentioned, it was one thing she would have by no means imagined, one thing that she by no means wished in her life. I believe it causes her a variety of discomfort and I’m very grateful to her for giving me assist, however she was not any individual who was clamoring for this transfer. I’d say the alternative is true.”
Kennedy mentioned, “She went together with it as a result of she loves me and he or she wished to be supportive of me, nevertheless it was not one thing she ever inspired.”
Adam Verdugo is stepping down as govt producer of the “CBS Night Information” simply because the newscast prepares for main adjustments. Anchor Norah O’Donnell is leaving the newcast after the election and might be changed by John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois, with Margaret Brennan reporting from Washington, D.C.
In a memo to workers, Verdugo wrote that the “time is correct for me to maneuver on to the subsequent chapter. This was not a straightforward resolution to make, however as we all know on this enterprise, there may be by no means a ‘proper’ time.”
Carolyn Cremen will function interim govt producer via the election. “60 Minutes” govt producer Invoice Owens will take over as supervisor producer of the “CBS Night Information” later this 12 months. Owens will proceed to supervise “60 Minutes.”
(Photograph courtesy of ESPN)
If you happen to’re a sports activities fan, you know the way robust it’s to generally discover the sport you wish to watch. Is it on ESPN? Fox Sports activities? CBS or one other community? Someplace like Amazon Prime or Peacock?
Effectively, ESPN launched one thing Wednesday on the ESPN app and ESPN.com referred to as “The place to Watch.” It’s a information to let followers know the place they’ll watch the sport they wish to watch. And never solely is it for occasions being proven by ESPN/ABC, nevertheless it’s for all broadcast, cable and regional sports activities networks, in addition to streaming providers. Here’s a teaser video.
Throughout an ESPN media occasion on Wednesday, Brian Marshall, Vice President of Sports activities Product & Expertise at Disney Leisure & ESPN Expertise, instructed reporters, “Fifty p.c of our followers have instructed us they’ll’t work out the place to see their favourite groups play. In order that led to our ideas for this venture. How can we assist our followers out?”
Followers can seek for particular occasions or groups and customise their information to prioritize their favourite groups or the sports activities they most like to look at, and all of it may be tied to their ESPN profile and personalization preferences.
I’m an avid sports activities watcher and often can discover the sport I wish to watch with out an excessive amount of bother. However with extra networks and, specifically, streaming providers getting concerned in reside sports activities, a spot that tells followers precisely the place to go is a forward-thinking thought. And, let’s face it, it advantages ESPN, which reveals extra sporting occasions than anybody.
Good investigative work right here from the Detroit Free Press’ Matthew Dolan: “Millions of older cars, trucks with dangerous defects aren’t getting fixed.”
The Los Angeles Occasions’ Stacy Perman with, “‘A hugely flawed system.’ Teachers flag safety problems for kids on film sets.”
Have suggestions or a tip? Electronic mail Poynter senior media author Tom Jones at [email protected].
The Poynter Report is our day by day media e-newsletter. To have it delivered to your inbox Monday-Friday, enroll here.
