Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media at a press conference held in the back parking lot of landscaping company on November 7, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Chris McGrath/Getty Images Redeem now Rupert Murdoch and a top lieutenant privately disparaged Rudy Giuliani, court documents say.  Col Allan, a former New York Post editor, said of Giuliani: "I think the booze has got to him." They described Giuliani's election fraud claims as "deranged," yet Fox News broadcast them anyway.  Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. .inline-newsletter-signup.loading { width: 100%; max-width: 640px; margin: 0 auto; visibility: hidden; } Fox News billionaire, Rupert Murdoch, and one of his top executives privately disparaged Rudy Giuliani as he pushed conspiracy theories about voter fraud in the 2020 election, court documents show. The legal documents, filed as part of a defamation lawsuit against Fox News by election machines company Dominion, suggest Murdoch and his top advisors privately believed the election fraud claims to be false, yet continued to promote them.The documents contain an exchange between Murdoch and Col Allan, a former editor in chief of the New York Post, in which they discuss speeches by Giuliani about the 2020 election results. "Rupert told Allan, 'Just saw a bit of Rudy ranting. A terrible influence on Donald.' Allan agreed, responding that Giuliani was 'unhinged. Has been for a while. I think booze has got him.'" Murdoch and Allan appeared to be discussing a bizarre press conference Giuliani held on November 7, 2020, at the Four Seasons garden center outside Philadelphia, which had apparently been mistakenly booked in a mixup with the Four Seasons hotel in the city. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and Trump attorney, played a leading role in pushing false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. "Rupert told the New York Post's Col Allan that "[w]ith several states now disappointingly favoring Biden hard to claim foul everywhere"—and that half of what Trump was saying was "bullshit and damaging.", the documents say."Allan responded that they would prepare "an editorial admiring Trump's achievements in office but urging him to consider the nation and his own legacy as it becomes increasingly clear he has lost office. It is time for acceptance and dignity." Rupert: "That's great. Thanks."  Claims have long circulated that Giuliani drinks excessively, with Trump aide Jason Miller claiming to the Jan. 6 committee that on Election Night 2020 he appeared visibly drunk as he urged Trump to refuse to concede his defeat. Giuliani has denied claims he has a drinking problem, and has also denied claims he was drunk on Election Night, 2020.  Insider has contacted his attorney for comment. Giuliani spearheaded legal efforts to overturn Trump's which were all defeated in court. He is facing a separate lawsuit from Dominion over his promotion of election fraud claims about the company, and has had his New York legal license revoked. Despite the misgivings by Murdoch and his top lieutenants, Giuliani continued to appear on Fox News where he pushed the baseless election fraud claims.  Fox News has disputed the Dominion lawsuit, saying that its right to discuss Trump's election fraud claims because it is protected under the First Amendment. "Dominion's lawsuit has always been more about what will generate headlines than what can withstand legal and factual scrutiny," it said in a statement. "Their summary judgment motion took an extreme, unsupported view of defamation law that would prevent journalists from basic reporting and their efforts to publicly smear Fox for covering and commenting on allegations by a sitting President of the United States should be recognized for what it is: a blatant violation of the First Amendment." .content-lock-lock .hidden { display: none; } Sign up for notifications from Insider! Stay up to date with what you want to know. Subscribe to push notifications Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

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People experienced reduced sleep quantity and efficiency coupled with heightened stress, negative mood, and alcohol use in the period surrounding the 2020 election, according to new research published in the journal Sleep Health.“Anecdotally, my experience of politics is that they have become increasingly divisive over the last 10-15 years, and really across my lifetime as a whole. As such, I was personally curious as to whether and how this increased divisiveness affects our emotional well-being and sleep,” said study author Tony Cunningham, a member of the faculty and the director of the Center for Sleep and Cognition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.“From a scientific perspective, the effect of major socio-political events on aspects of mental health and well-being is one of those things that you would think is well researched but when I looked into the literature it had really only been explored by a few pioneering studies, and ours is the first to associate changes in emotional well-being on Election Day with changes in sleep later on Election Night.”“Finally, the potential for global effects really interested us,” the researcher explained. “As globalization has increased and we have become more and more connected via the internet, we were wondering if the lines between communities and nations may be blurring with regard to the effects of these major event.”The study was conducted as part of a larger investigation into the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that collected data during a period before and after the 2020 U.S. election. The study included both U.S. and non-U.S. residents, with a total of 543 participants ranging in age from 18 to 90.The participants received daily surveys during a period prior to the election (October 1-13) and the days surrounding the election (October 30-November 12). The surveys, which were delivered in the morning, asked the participants to assess their previous night’s sleep by recording their bedtimes, time required to fall asleep, number of awakenings through the night, morning wake time and time spent napping during the day. They also reported the previous night’s alcohol consumption. Mood was assessed using a validated questionnaire as well as questions from a standard depression screening tool.The researchers found that stress levels were consistent for both U.S. and non-U.S. participants during October but increased sharply leading up to and on Election Day, with U.S. participants reporting higher levels of stress than non-U.S. participants. Among U.S. participants, alcohol consumption increased significantly on three specific days: Halloween, Election Day, and November 7. Among non-U.S. participants who drank, in contrast, there was no change in alcohol consumption during November.In addition to increased alcohol use, Election Day also evoked heightened stress and negative affect among U.S. participants, which in turn was associated with reduced sleep amount and efficiency.“The most relatable point might be the association between daytime mood and subsequent sleep,” Cunningham told PsyPost. “We found that worsened mood and emotional well-being during the day correlated with poorer sleep later that evening. While it was associated with the election in this case, this is likely true on a daily basis – when we have bad days we may have poorer sleep at night, though this should be validated with further research.“With regards to future elections though, I think this study speaks to the need to have an awareness of how we and others may be affected during these highly stressful events. While we may feel compelled to stay tuned into all of the news, it may be in the best interest of our sleep and mental health to take a break and engage in some self-care.”The researchers found that stress levels dropped once the election was officially called November 7, among both U.S. participants and non-U.S. participants > However, the changes in stress levels were significantly greater in U.S. participants.“The most surprising thing to me was that this data was part of a larger study investigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep and emotional well-being,” Cunningham said. “While we definitely saw movement in these measures over the course of the pandemic, at no point in our COVID-19 data collection did we see any changes nearly as dramatic as what we saw in the weeks surrounding the election.”“I think this largely speaks to how we perceived the two events: stress related to the pandemic was much more chronic without a clear end in sight (even today), while stress surrounding the election was much more acute.”The results are in line with previous research, which has found that people in the United States tended to report higher levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety in the lead up to the 2020 election. Similar findings have been observed for the 2016 election.But the study, like all research, includes some caveats.“Far and away the biggest limitation of the study is the lack of diversity of the sample,” Cunningham explained. “While we were able to recruit both a U.S. and international sample, a vast majority of the sample was comprised of white, liberal females from the northeastern United States. This study should be conducted with a focus on recruiting a much more diverse sample racially, ethnically, by sex and gender, and across the political spectrum.”“Other questions worth following up on is if sleep behavior leading up to Election Day has an effect on Election Day mood and stress as the relationship between these are thought to be reciprocal. Also this was an investigation on just one major sociopolitical event. It would be interesting to learn more about what features of an event are capable of generating this kind of an effect, especially of global magnitude (e.g., number of people involved, tone, potential implications, etc.)”“The data collection associated with this study also occurred with the backdrop pre-vaccine COVID-19,” Cunningham added. “In line with what we mentioned above, it was actually surprising to see as much movement in these measures as we did given the simultaneous chronic stress we were all experiencing at the time associated with the early days of the pandemic. Future research should definitely follow up to determine how much the context of the pandemic may have affected our results.”The study, “How the 2020 US Presidential election impacted sleep and its relationship to public mood and alcohol consumption“, was authored by Tony J. Cunningham, Eric C. Fields, Dan Denis, PhD, Ryan Bottary, Robert Stickgold, and Elizabeth A. Kensinger.

A state GOP legislator who attended the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and pushes the lie that the 2020 election was stolen is now helping lead the Michigan House Republicans’ campaign committee, raising concerns from a democracy expert who called the appointment “a warning bell” for Michigan voters. State Rep. Angela Rigas (R-Caledonia) is one of the GOP lawmakers appointed to be an executive member of the campaign committee, the caucus’ leadership panel that works to elect and reelect Republicans to the chamber, House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) announced Feb. 21. Rep. Angela Rigas | Michigan House photo Rigas is an election denier and was in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, in support of former President Donald Trump, who lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden. Rigas — who was endorsed by Trump in her campaign for the 79th House District — has admitted to participating in the rally and claims she was tear-gassed within the Capitol grounds. The riot left five people dead and more than 140 police officers injured. Disproven claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election incited the armed, far-right mob of Trump supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol building two years ago. “In both the 2020 and 2022 elections, Michiganders rejected politicians who denied lawful election results or who distorted facts for political gain,” said Matt Patton, Michigan policy advocate for Protect Democracy. “Appointments like this should be a warning bell for Michigan voters who believe facts matter and that acknowledging clear winners and losers of elections is the bedrock of democracy itself.” Rigas has said that she considers being called an “insurrectionist” and “terrorist” a “compliment,” and believes participants in the insurrection were “exercising their God-given Constitutional rights.” She has also espoused anti-vaccine rhetoric, was involved in rallies protesting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19 health orders and is a member of the Michigan House Freedom Caucus that has been combative with new Democratic leadership. House Republicans spokesperson Gus Portela did not respond to an inquiry regarding the optics of having a January 6 participant in the panel’s leadership team. Rigas said in a statement Friday that she is “excited to start my new role as Executive Board member of the House Republican Campaign Committee.” “I’m honored to work with many other great Representatives around the state to make Michigan red in 2024 and ensure we gain a Republican majority and the People’s Chamber,”she added. State Rep. Andrew Beeler (R-Port Huron) was tapped by Hall to lead the HRCC. “We’re going to stop the radical Democrat agenda that seeks to tax families and small businesses into oblivion,” Beeler said Tuesday. Half of incoming Michigan GOP lawmakers are election deniers More members of the HRCC leadership team include state Rep. Bill G. Schuette (R-Midland) in the vice chair role; state Rep. Mike Harris (R-Clarkston) as recruitment chair; state Rep. Jaime Greene (R-Richmond) as recruitment vice chair; state Rep. Graham Filler (R-St. Johns) as finance chair and state Rep. Tom Kunse (R-Clare) as finance vice chair. Rigas is joined by fellow state Reps. Bryan Posthumus (R-Cannon Twp.), Phil Green (R-Millington), Luke Meerman (R-Coopersville), Pat Outman (R-Six Lakes), John Roth (R-Traverse City), Mark Tisdel (R-Rochester Hills), Matthew Bierlein (R-Vassar), Nancy De Boer (R-Holland), Gina Johnsen (R-Lake Odessa), Thomas Kuhn (R-Troy) and Kathy Schmaltz (R-Jackson) as executive members on the committee. Beeler, Posthumus, Meerman, Outman and Roth have also, in various ways, denied the results of the 2020 election, as the Advance previously reported. SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST. DONATE

Former Louisville Metro Police officer Myles Cosgrove will remain terminated, according to a Jefferson County Circuit Court.According to WDRB, Judge Melissa Bellows agreed with Cosgrove’s termination, which was upheld by the Louisville Police Merit Board in December 2021 with a 5-2 vote. Bellows ruled the board had "substantial evidence" to fire Cosgrove and said in a statement, "Even normal citizens must exercise the 'highest degree of care' in ascertaining whether they are shooting at a legitimate target. Cosgrove seems to be arguing that he should be held to a less stringent standard than an ordinary Kentucky resident, despite having considerably more legal privileges. A normal citizen who violated these principles could be subject to criminal liability."Taylor and her boyfriend Kenneth Walker were in bed when they were startled by a banging on her apartment door around midnight on March 13, 2020. Police, holding a drug warrant, used a battering ram to break down the door. Taylor was killed when Mattingly and two other officers opened fire. Cosgrove reportedly fired 16 shots into Taylor’s apartment.Last year, the U.S. Justice Department prosecutors charged three Louisville cops of conspiring to falsify the Taylor warrant earlier this year. Kelly Goodlett, one of the former officers, pleaded guilty and admitted to aiding in fabricating a false connection between Taylor and a wanted drug dealer. Two other former officers involved in the warrant, Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, are scheduled to go on trial in federal court this year.

Dover, Del. — Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch acknowledged that some Fox News commentators endorsed the false allegations by former President Donald Trump and his allies that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and that he didn't step in to stop them from promoting the claims, according to excerpts of a deposition unsealed Monday.The claims and the company's handling of them are at the heart of a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against the cable news giant by Dominion Voting Systems. The recently unsealed documents include excerpts from a deposition in which Murdoch was asked about whether he was aware that some of the network's commentators - Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, Jeanine Pirro and Sean Hannity - at times endorsed the false election claims. Murdoch replied, "Yes. They endorsed." The Murdoch deposition is the latest filing in the defamation case to reveal concerns at the top-rated network over how it was handling Trump's claims as its ratings plummeted after the network called Arizona for Joe Biden, angering Trump and his supporters. An earlier filing showed a gulf between the stolen election narrative the network was airing in primetime and doubts about the claims raised by its stars behind the scenes. In one text, from Nov. 16, 2020, Fox News host Tucker Carlson said "Sidney Powell is lying" about having evidence for election fraud, referring to one of Trump's lawyers. The Dominion case is the latest example showing that those who were spreading false information about the 2020 election knew there was no evidence to support it. The now-disbanded House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol disclosed that many of Trump's top advisers repeatedly warned him that the allegations he was making about fraud were false - and yet the president continued making the claims. Murdoch urged in September 2020, weeks before the election, that Dobbs be fired because he was "an extremist," according to Dominion's court filing. Murdoch also said he thought it was "really bad" for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to be advising Trump because Giuliani's "judgment was bad" and he was "an extreme partisan," according to a deposition excerpt. Murdoch was asked whether he could have requested that Powell and Giuliani not be put on the air: "I could have. But I didn't," he replied.After the Jan. 6 rioting at the Capitol, former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who sits on the board of Fox News Corporation, had an email exchange with Murdoch. He told the Fox News chairman he believed that "some high percentage of Americans" thought the election was stolen "because they got a diet of information telling them the election was stolen from what they believe were credible sources." Murdoch responded to Ryan's email with a note saying, "Thanks Paul. Wake-up call for Hannity, who has been privately disgusted by Trump for weeks, but was scared to lose viewers."      Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems, which sells electronic voting hardware and software, is suing both Fox News Network and parent company Fox Corp. for defamation. Dominion contends that some Fox News employees deliberately amplified false claims by supporters of Trump that Dominion machines had changed votes in the 2020 election, and that Fox provided a platform for guests to make false and defamatory statements about the company. Dominion attorneys contend that executives in the "chain of command" at both Fox News and Fox Corp. knew the network was broadcasting "known lies, had the power to stop it, but chose to let it continue. That was wrong, and for that, FC and FNN are both liable." Attorneys for Fox Corp. note in their filing that Murdoch also testified that he never discussed Dominion or voter fraud with any of the accused Fox News hosts. They say Dominion has produced "zero evidentiary support" for the claim that high-level executives at Fox Corp. had any role in creating or publishing the statements at issue. Dominion's contention that the company should be held liable because Murdoch might have had the power to step in and prevent the challenged statements from being aired, they said, "has no basis in defamation law, would obliterate the distinction between corporate parents and subsidiaries, and finds no support in the evidence." The "handful of selective quotes" cited by Dominion have nothing to do with the statements that Dominion has challenged as defamatory, according to Fox Corp. attorneys. "Dominion repeatedly asked Fox News executives, hosts, and staff whether Fox Corporation employees played a role in the publication of the statements it challenges," they wrote. "The answer - every single time, for every single witness - was no." Meanwhile, Fox News attorneys note that when voting-technology companies denied the allegations being made by Trump and his surrogates, Fox News aired those denials, while some Fox News hosts offered protected opinion commentary about Trump's allegations.