That Fictional Atlantic Story on Measles Wasn't Identified as Such Initially

Too Good To Check: The Surprising Trend in Law-Enforcement Deaths

For eight days after the Federal Trade Commission challenged Apple News on its bias, neither Apple nor the rest of the Big Four News Apps linked to a single story on the federal scrutiny despite its massive implications and widespread media attention . Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook on Feb. 11, right on the heels of a bombshell MRC study showing that Apple News did not have even one right-leaning article in its morning editions in January (620-0). Both Ferguson’s letter and MRC’s study sparked widespread media coverage, including stories from the New York Post and even left-leaning media such as The Washington Post, The Associated Press, CBS News, Business Insiderand The New York Times.  In the letter, Ferguson called out Apple News for having “systematically promoted news articles from left-wing news outlets and suppressed news articles from more conservative publications.” For an entire week after Ferguson released the letter — from Feb. 11 to Feb. 18 — not only Apple News but also Google News, MSN and Yahoo News completely ignored the story. “This is no accident,” MRC Free Speech VP Dan Schneider said of the Big Four News Apps’ blackout. “There were dozens of stories from both left and right-leaning outlets that these tech giants could have published. This was one of the biggest national stories of the week but anybody getting their news from the apps would have never known of it.” ICYMI: FTC Chair Ferguson Puts Apple News on Notice after MRC Exposés & Apple News Continues Rejection of Right-Leaning Outlets in January Notably, Ferguson had specifically called on Apple News to take action in his letter. While stating the “FTC is not the speech police,” and that he cannot require specific news curation, he reminded the Big Tech company “of your obligations under the FTC Act.”  He added, “Any act or practice by Apple News to suppress or promote news articles based on the perceived ideological or political viewpoint of the article or publication, if inconsistent with Apple‘s terms of service or the reasonable expectations of consumers, may violate the FTC Act.” Ferguson advised Apple to apply the FTC Act requirements to Apple News. While Ferguson cited a November MRC studyshowing Apple News promoted only one right-leaning article in November, MRC has done numerous studies since then to illustrate blatant bias. Apple News is particularly guilty, but so also are the others in the Big Four News Apps. For instance, on Feb. 13, MRC revealed that it took Apple News 100 days to put a right-leaning outlet’s article in its morning articles.  In January, MRC found Yahoo News did not include a single right-leaning article in its top 20 for 16 days of the month. Likewise, Google News included only three percent of right-leaning outlets’ content in its top 20 morning editions throughout January. Methodology: During the time period Feb. 11 - Feb. 18, 2026, MRC researchers examined the top 20 AllSides-rated news stories featured on Apple News, Google News, MSN and Yahoo News each day at approximately 8:30 AM ET.

Wednesday’s White House press briefing featured a wild detour away from reality when CBS senior White House and campaign correspondent Ed O’Keefe — who’s one of the least-expected elite media journalists to ask something crazy — wondered aloud to press Secretary Karoline Leavitt if President Trump has ever been falsely accused of being a racist. Following a question about the administration’s efforts to remove markers on slavery from Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, he expressed confusion over a portion of Trump’s Truth Social post on the passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson Jr. in which the President said he’s been “falsely and consistently called a racist by the scoundrels and lunatics on the radical left.” O’Keefe then asked: “Where or when does the President believe he has been falsely called racist?” Leavitt couldn’t believe it: “You’re kidding, right?” CBS’s @EdOKeefe: “Yesterday in his statement about Jesse Jackson the President said ‘despite the fact that I am falsely inconsistently called a racist by the scoundrels and lunatics on the radical left, Democrats all, it was always my pleasure to help Jesse along the way.’ Where… pic.twitter.com/Gjok3xVq9T — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 18, 2026 Leavitt cut right to the chase by warning O’Keefe she would “pull you a plethora of examples” by having “my team...start going through the internet of radical Democrats throughout the years, Ed, who have accused this president falsely of being a racist on ensure there’s many people in this room and on network television across the country who have accused him of the same.” She then segued this into previewing President Trump’s Black History Month event later that day that she said would “talk about how his policies are advancing opportunity and prosperity for all Americans through record tax cuts, through the Trump Accounts that all Americans can access, regardless of race.” “There’s a lot this President has done for all Americans regardless of race and he has absolutely been falsely called and smeared as a racist and I am happy to provide you those receipts and we gladly will right after this briefing,” she later added. Along with the various White House social media accounts posting a torrent of examples of liberals hurling racism charges at Trump, we have plenty of our own thanks to the vast NewsBusters archives. Our Geoff Dickens posted the worst of Trump Derangement Syndrome from 2010-2019 as part of his worst of the decade notable quotables, highlighted by moments such as CNN’s Van James calling the 2016 election a “white-lash” by Trump and his voters against black Americans and then-ABC kook Terry Moran saying on Inauguration Day 2017 Trump has “neo-Nazi” tendencies. Dickens also found that, in 2018, beloved liberal professor Michael Eric Dyson said on The View Trump is “a bigot-in-chief and a racist in residence” who “gets up every morning and excretes the feces of his moral depravity” on America. By 2020, Joy Reid said the GOP was the modern-day apartheid party and pal Tiffany Cross asserted black Republicans speaking at the Republican National Convention were on par with a minstrel show. Then-CNN host Chris Cuomo had one of the worst quotes of 2021 when he declared Trump has engaged in the “boldest attempt since the era of Jim Crow” to harm African-Americans and there’s a through line between Trump and the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. And, just last year, there was PBS insisting Trump deployed “overtly racist rhetoric” in a speech about affordability, MS NOW’s Rachel Maddow comparing Trump’s America to Japanese internment, and The View’s Sunny Hostin lamenting Trump’s America is “sickened” by racism. Needless to say, O’Keefe stepped in it. As for the actual doo-doo being spewed by the hundreds of millions into the Potomac River, CBSNews.com’s Jennifer Jacobs and then Fox’s Peter Doocy had the questions about the federal government’s reaction to the destruction of a D.C. Water pipe: CBS’s @JenniferJJacobs: “And on the sewage spill, the sewage pipe that broke on the Potomac, can you give us an update on the federal government’s response? And officials have told CBS that some of that aging infrastructure is a concern that this particular pipe wasn't of the… pic.twitter.com/v0vl3FdTux — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 18, 2026 DOOCY TIME: “So, you that said any of the three Democrats just need to ask. A few minutes ago, Maryland Governor Wes Moore asked.”@PressSec @KarolineLeavitt: “Wow.”@PDoocy: “He said, ‘if the President wants me to ask nicely, the response is this. Please, Mr. President, do… pic.twitter.com/kWskJGS3n5 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 18, 2026 Doocy’s second question was blunt in wondering if the President’s worried the various America 250 celebrations later this year on the National Mall will be ruined by an putrid Potomac stench: .@PDoocy: “To your point about that, there are a lot of events coming up for America 250. The president wants people from all over to come to the nation's capital. Is he worried that by this summer the Potomac River will still smell like poop?”@PressSec @KarolineLeavitt: “He is… pic.twitter.com/A4cIdHkUKW — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 18, 2026 Rewinding to the beginning of the briefing, Leavitt opened in part with a lengthy statement on the state of the economy and the Trump successes downplayed or ignored by the elite media: WATCH: @PressSec @KarolineLeavitt opens Wednesday’s press briefing with a MASSIVE tally of economic wins under President Trump... “We’re seeing promising signs every day that 2026 is going to be a record successful year for the American people, just as President Trump promised… pic.twitter.com/0o7yq2quUM — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 18, 2026 Inside Sources scored the “new media seat,” sending managing editor Michael Graham to ask about energy prices in the blue-dominated Northeast and plans for an Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) facility in Leavitt’s home state of New Hampshire: NEW: @InsideSourcesDC’s @IAMMGraham was today’s “new media seat” recipient at today’s White House press briefing.... Graham: “So, you mentioned gas. We didn’t mention natural gas. And back where you live, your friends and family are paying among the highest prices for natural… pic.twitter.com/QgcpzW9Rdk — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 18, 2026 .@InsideSourcesDC’s @IAMMGraham: “So, right down the street from your alma mater, St. Anslem College, there’s talk about building an ICE facility that’s causing a lot of political [drama] in New Hampshire And for the Republican governor, Kelly Ayotte. Seem to be some… pic.twitter.com/ENjYCApUoq — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 18, 2026 Later on, Beni Rae Harmony with our friends at Real America’s Voice and then Univision’s Pedro Rojas brought up two of the latest far-left lunacy in deep blue states vis-à-vis illegal immigration (click “expand”): HARMONY: So, Governor JB Pritzer just recently signed the bill — the law went into effect in January that is supposedly going to allocate about $2.5 billion to illegals to go to college on financial aid in the state of Illinois. What is the White House’s reaction to this? Illinois is already, by 2027, they’re supposed to have a $3 billion deficit. What’s your reaction to that? LEAVITT: Yeah, we’ll have to take a look at that. I would say the President certainly thinks that Governor Pritzker is not doing a very good job of managing his state as evidenced by not only the waste, fraud, and abuse but also the crime in the city of Chicago that, unfortunately, Governor Pritzker has refused to pick up the phone call — phone and called the White House and ask for help on, which is something his residents want him to do, but he refuses to do for political reasons. As for the specific money, we’ll take a look and get you an answer. (....) ROJAS: Governor Moore in Maryland said he was ending the law enforcement cooperation with ICE and, by doing that, a lot of local sheriffs are not happy about that. In fact, they met today in Annapolis to come up with legal action. What is the message of the White House to those sheriffs and to the residents of Maryland? LEAVITT: Well, first of all, it’s another despicable action by Governor Moore. Why would you prevent your state and local law enforcement with cooperating with federal law enforcement? If you just ask them — to your point, if you ask sheriffs across the country if they want to have that level of cooperation and coordination with the federal government, of course they do. It makes their jobs easier, it keeps them out of hostile and dangerous environments. It allows them to detain criminals who have committed heinous crimes in our country with — with the most safe circumstances possible. So, the President, of course, continues to stand on the side of law enforcement and this is another just horrible and frankly political action taken by Governor Wes Moore, and unfortunately, the people of his state are going to reap the consequences of it. To see the relevant transcript from the February 18 briefing, click here.

Over 100,000 students have already applied after the explosive launch of Texas School Choice — which Gov. Greg Abbott (R) calls “the biggest and best rollout of school choice in the history of the United States of America.”“And it’s really a gamechanger for education in our state. You know, one thing about school choice is it provides school competition,” Abbott tells Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck on “The Glenn Beck Program.”“What we want to see is competition in public education, private education, homeschool education. And when we have that, it is going to lead to better educational products for all the kids in the state of Texas,” he continues.“And listen, if this can be done in the state of Texas, there is a lot of talk that this could sweep across the United States and truly transform education in the country,” he adds.“Can you tell me either the demographics, or the income brackets, that are mostly benefiting from this? Because there’s people who say this is going to benefit the rich,” Glenn comments.“I’m laughing because all those talking points are nothing more than the teacher union talking points,” Abbott laughs.“There are, income wise, three different buckets for school choice in the state of Texas. The first would be low income, which would be capped at 200% of the poverty level. The second bucket would be the gap between the 200% poverty level to the 500% poverty level. And then the third would be anybody above the 500% poverty level,” he explains.“And what we have in applicants so far out of about 100,000, they break down pretty evenly among those three different income levels,” he adds.However, Glenn is still curious as to how exactly this will create competition between public schools.“Public schools have had a monopoly on educating kids in the state of Texas, and they didn’t have to get up every day and find a way to compete and provide a better education product for their kids. They didn’t have to pay as much attention in the classroom and in doing what needed to be done to truly provide the kind of product that parents look forward to taking their child to every single day,” Abbott explains.“Now, however, with a robust school choice program that’s being oversubscribed, which means that it may be expanding in the future, it means that public schools, they’re going to have to get back to the basics,” he continues, adding, “They’re going to have to provide the quality of education that will lead to a child actually learning.”Want more from Glenn Beck?To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

A short film made entirely with artificial intelligence has viewers up in arms and saying they are willing to boycott theaters that show it.The film is reportedly set to be shown in thousands of theaters across the United States after winning an AI film festival.'Even for AI slop this is bad.'The short in question is called "Thanksgiving Day," made by Igor Alferov.As reported by AI Films Studio, the winner of the Frame Forward AI film festival was left to a public vote, with the grand prize of getting a full theatrical run across 14,000 screens in 2,300 theaters.Deadline announced "Thanksgiving Day" as the festival's inaugural winner on Tuesday and confirmed that it would receive a two-week run in theaters through Screenvision Media.However, movie fans were none too pleased to hear that news.Spoilers for the short film are listed below.The film, which features a bear and a duck in a seemingly Soviet-inspired spaceship, has the animal astronauts being exploited by various space thugs, which are also animals. A space cop beaver extorts the pair for money. Then, a pig, who is seemingly an environmental inspector, takes even more money before a rat "quarantine zone inspector" takes all their food.Finally, a space turkey stops by and restocks the travelers' fridge for Thanksgiving.RELATED: AI bots are hiring humans now. Next stop: Slaves by choice? The two-minute film received near-unanimously negative responses on YouTube, which included comments like "literal slop" and "I hated every second of that.""If I see this or another other ai slop before my movie im going to the front desk and getting a refund and leaving [sic]," another viewer wrote."Even for AI slop this is bad," a user named Davie Jones wrote, while yet another unhappy audience member said, "this is complete garbage dude."On X, a lone commenter replied to Deadline with one word:"Pathetic."Multiple (unconfirmed) reports have surfaced online citing that AMC would be one of the theater chains showing the short before movie trailers air.RELATED: My school’s AI challenge raised a scary question: What do students need me for? Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty ImagesWhile AMC has seemingly not announced this, and it is unclear where the claim derives from, it is true that AMC partners with Screenvision Media. On its website, Screenvision Media notes that its partnership officer signed a long-term contract with AMC as one of its 10 largest exhibitor partners.This rumor prompted users to discuss possible boycotts of AMC online.X user Nate Leport said he would "drive the extra 20 minutes" to a different theater after reading the claim."We need to protest at every" AMC in the country, another user suggested."I would rather have out of place feeling local business ads than this to be honest," Jackie wrote.Finally, Matthew wrote on X, "Upon reading this I will no longer go to your theaters for anything."Return reached out to AMC about the overwhelmingly negative response and asked if the theater chain plans to air the short film or any other AI films. This article will be updated with any applicable responses.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Five Franciscan friars who traveled from Spain in the late 16th century to what is now Georgia were savagely murdered for defending the dignity of the sacrament of marriage. They are now well on their way to sainthood.Monsignor Fred Nijem, drawing from the notes of Fr. Conrad Harkins — the vice-postulator for the canonization cause of the Georgia Martyrs — explained in Southern Cross magazine that "the missionaries met their death near present-day Darien. The reason for their death was their defense of the sanctity of marriage. The catalyst for their death was their refusal to allow a Catholic to take a second wife."'They gave explicit and immediate witness of fidelity to Christ.'According to the official website for the Georgia Martyrs, the friars lived for years with the coastal Indians of the Guale territory, learning their language, preaching the gospel, and welcoming many into the faith.Among the coastal converts was a man named Juanillo, next in line to become tribal chief.Friar Pedro de Corpa challenged the newly minted Christian's decision to take a second wife, vowing to oppose his rise to power if he persisted in his polygamic choice. The Indian evidently did not appreciate this challenge to his power.Msgr. Nijem indicated that:Juanillo left the mission and returned under cover of darkness, and bludgeoned Fr. Pedro to death, and impaled his severed head at the mission landing. The remaining four missionaries were also killed. The Guales had decided to dispatch all the "troublesome friars," who interfered with them having many wives.All of the nearby friars were brutally murdered except for Friar Francisco de Avila, who was kidnapped and tortured until St. Augustine's governor managed to secure his release — 10 months later. Despite the cruelty he suffered at the hands of the Indians, de Avila refused to testify against them at trial in order to spare their lives.RELATED: 'Pure bigotry': CNN fearmongers about 'Christian nationalism' in election-narrative tease St. Francis of Assisi. Photo by: Bildagentur-online/Universal Images Group via Getty Images.Prior to his death, Pope Francis recognized the murdered men of the Order of Friars Minor — four of whom were priests — as martyrs whose slayings were committed out of hatred for the Catholic faith.The Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints recently announced that the Georgia Martyrs — Friars Pedro de Corpa, Blas Rodríguez de Cuacos, Miguel de Añón, and Francisco de Veráscola as well as lay brother Antonio de Badajoz — will be beatified at a ceremony in Savannah, Georgia, on Oct. 31.An English translation of the dicastery's announcement notes that "aware of the risks connected to the apostolate, they gave explicit and immediate witness of fidelity to Christ and His message by fully transmitting the teaching of the Church."The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops notes on its website that "all Christians are called to be saints. Saints are persons in heaven (officially canonized or not), who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation."Where official recognition by the Catholic Church goes, there are three steps to sainthood.First, a candidate who "lived a heroically virtuous life or offered their life" is recognized by the pope as "venerable." The second stage is beatification, which requires a finding of "one miracle acquired through the candidate's intercession." Finally, for canonization, a second miracle is required.The UCCB noted, however, that "the pope may waive these requirements. A miracle is not required prior to a martyr's beatification, but one is required before canonization."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

On the American Top 40 this week: plenty of favorites from Britain shared the charts with classics from the good old U.S. of A. The post Radio Hits in February 1967: B-Sides Rule appeared first on Best Classic Bands.

At the height of his drug empire in 1972, Frank Matthews — better known as “Black Caesar” — was operating out of nearly every region in the country. With a foothold in 21 states, it was perhaps no surprise that Matthews was eventually caught and arrested in Florida, for attempting to sell 40 pounds of pure cocaine. But on July 2, 1973, when he was set to appear in court, Matthews vanished — along with his girlfriend and $20 million — and has never been seen again. Frank Matthews’ Early Start With Crime Public DomainFrank Matthews’ downfall began after a 1973 arrest in Las Vegas. Frank Larry Matthews was born on February 13, 1944, in Durham, North Carolina. He was raised by his aunt after his mother died when he was four, and at some point, he earned the moniker “Pee Wee.” He was a fairly good student but dropped out of school when he was in seventh grade. Instead, Matthews started a gang that stole chickens from farms around Durham. After one such attempt, a farmer caught Matthews, who assaulted him. Matthews was arrested and charged with theft and assault. He spent a year in reform school in nearby Raleigh, and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after his release. Soon, he was running a numbers racket. Graduating From Bookmaking To Drugs Through his racket, Matthews became closely connected to members of the Black Mafia, an organized crime family dealing large amounts of drugs. He was arrested in 1963 for drug-related crimes but avoided jail by agreeing to leave the city. Soon after, he moved to the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn where he returned to his numbers game. But the numbers proved to be less fruitful than they had once been, and so Matthews turned back to drug dealing. By then, the Italian Mafia was the leader of wholesale drugs, and he attempted to work for the Gambino and Bonanno families before meeting “Spanish Raymond” Marquez, who gave him his first kilo of cocaine and a guarantee for more in the future if he sold it all. The partnership proved to be one of the most successful in drug crime history. Frank Matthews frequently received shipments of cocaine and heroin from South America. By the 1970s, he was handling millions of dollars worth of drugs, making nearly $10 million in 1972 according to the IRS. Eventually, Matthews had his operation running throughout New York City, Philadelphia, and a number of other major cities, eventually becoming the wholesaler to the Black Mafia. Expanding His Empire Public DomainFrank Matthews’ Staten Island home was surrounded by homes of the Italian Mafia. Before heading west, Matthews made a full life for himself and his wife and children in New York. He purchased a home at 925 Prospect Place in Brooklyn and a home at 101 East 56th Street. Both homes were heavily protected and surrounded by guards. To afford the homes and lifestyle, Matthews often went to Las Vegas to have money laundered at the casinos for a low fee. He was arrested while there, but he was released soon after, leaving for a meeting in Atlanta for drug dealers in Black and Latino communities. When the DEA caught wind of the meeting, they began to monitor the attendees — and especially Matthews. At the meeting, it was decided that the leaders would begin to sell a wider range of drugs, possibly to throw off investigators from their larger operations — and to unseat the Mafia as the kingpin of the drug trade. On another trip to Las Vegas in 1972, the DEA received a tip that gave them the legal action to tap his hotel phone lines. After overhearing his conversation about a coming transaction, the transaction never happened, and Matthews entered a feud with a member of the Genovese crime family after the drugs were not delivered. But this was the beginning of the end for Matthews’ career. The Empire Crumbles — And Frank Matthews Escapes The same year, police were finally able to arrest Frank Matthews in Florida. He was charged with attempting to sell 40 pounds of cocaine. Matthews flew back to Las Vegas one last time, where he was arrested again. Public DomainFrank Matthews escaped sentencing in 1973 and remains at large. A federal magistrate set Matthew’s bail at $5 million, but when Matthews agreed not to fight extradition to New York, it was cut in half. Once in New York, it was reduced again to $325,000. Charged with six counts of tax evasion and conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine, he faced up to 50 years in prison. But then on July 2, 1973, Matthews never arrived at his court hearing in Brooklyn. It is rumored that Matthews took $20 million and his girlfriend and fled outside the U.S. to avoid conviction. He left behind his entire family, including his wife, three sons, and the mansions throughout New York, including a recently purchased home in a Staten Island neighborhood popular with the Italian Mafia. The FBI put out a bounty for Matthews for $20,000. At the time, it was the highest amount set by the agency, used only one other time for the capture of the infamous bank robber John Dillinger. Today, there are many theories about what happened to Frank Matthews. Some believe he escaped to Venezuela to hide out with “Spanish Raymond” Marquez. Others believe he may have been captured by other crime families or the Black Mafia. More believe he is still alive, and he would be 71 years old today in 2022. Frank Matthews became one of the most infamous drug dealers in history, and not just because of his escape, but because of the sheer size and capacity of his operation. Despite that, his whereabouts, and what became of his operation, remain unknown. After reading about Frank Matthews, learn about Rafael Caro Quintero, the “Narcos” drug lord still on the run. Then, read about the deadliest mafia hitmen in history and the gruesome stories behind them. The post Inside The Multi-Million-Dollar Drug Empire Of Frank Matthews, The ‘Black Caesar’ Who Rivaled The Mafia appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Stunning and BRAVE: Reason Sen Chris Van Hollen Gives for Skipping Trump's SOTU Backfires SPECTACULARLY