Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News

Drudge Retort

User Info

LAMPLIGHTER

Subscribe to LAMPLIGHTER+'s blog Subscribe

Menu

Special Features

Friday, February 27, 2026

People had voiced concern over Olive's tendency to break into routine customer interactions with fictional details about its life and family.


Netflix Inc. dropped out of the fight to buy Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., clearing the way for rival bidder Paramount Skydance Corp. to clinch its $111 billion deal for the historic Hollywood studio. read more


Geometry of tread patterns determines frequency, so blocks were designed to play Star Wars music.


Former President Bill Clinton on Friday told members of the Republican-led House Oversight Committee investigating his ties to Jeffrey Epstein that "I saw nothing" and "did nothing wrong," and criticized the panel for making his wife sit for a deposition.


American sympathies in the Middle East have shifted dramatically toward the Palestinians, according to new Gallup polling, after decades of overwhelming support for the Israelis.


Comments

FedEx says it will return to customers any refunds it gets back from Trump's illegal tariffs
www.ksbw.com

... Delivery company FedEx said in a statement on Thursday that it will return any tariff refund it might get to shippers and customers who paid them.

The statement came after FedEx filed suit in the U.S. Court of International Trade to request a refund on what it paid for tariffs set by President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the IEEPA tariffs are illegal.

More than 1,000 companies have filed suit in the U.S. Court of International Trade in efforts to recoup costs from the illegal tariffs, including large U.S. corporations like Costco and Revlon.

"If refunds are issued to FedEx, we will issue refunds to the shippers and consumers who originally bore those charges," FedEx said in a statement on Thursday. "When that will happen and the exact process for requesting and issuing refunds will depend in part on future guidance from the government and the court." ...


@#5

Found this ...

How Netflix Forced Paramount to Cough Up More for Warner Bros.
finance.yahoo.com

... David Ellison finally got what he wanted but his prize didn't come cheap.

His pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. was nearly thwarted by a wealthy rival suitor, Netflix Inc., which ultimately forced Ellison's Paramount Skydance Corp. to shell out at least $31 billion more than it planned for the legendary Hollywood studio.

The staggering price, representing one of the biggest media deals in the past decade, came to $31-a-share in cash, or $111 billion including debt, and was high enough for Netflix to walk away rather than increase its offer of $27.75.

Ellison had to add in other sweeteners too, including securing additional backing of his billionaire father, taking on $57.5 billion in debt and agreeing to pay the $2.8 billion breakup fee to Netflix.

"We engaged with four bidders, which led to eight price increases and have thus far achieved a 63% increase in value versus the first offer received in September, delivering significant value for WBD shareholders throughout the process," Warner Bros. Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav told investors on a recent call to discuss earnings. ...



... the swath of young, mostly male, voters that he influenced and brought to the Republican Party in recent years. ...

Pres Trump seems to be driving them away.

Young Voters Are Turning Away From Trump.
time.com

... One year into President Donald Trump's second term, a key demographic that helped him win the White House is abandoning him in droves.

Trump's support among young people has cratered over the last year, according to several recent polls"the drop among young men has been particularly stark. ...

The decline among young men is particularly notable because Trump won the group in 2024 after his campaign courted them heavily, a strategy that led him to make appearances on podcasts popular with the demographic, such as Joe Rogan and Theo Von.

A poll last week from the nonpartisan think tank Third Way shows that Trump's job approval has declined among young men aged 18-29, with 32% approving and 66% disapproving of his performance in office.

The reasons for the decline are varied -- he has lost ground on issues ranging from the economy and immigration to foreign policy and healthcare. ...



Excerpt of fmr Pres Clinton's opening statement ...

... PRESIDENT CLINTON'S OPENING STATEMENT TO THE HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE

AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY - FEBRUARY 27, 2026

NOTE: ONLY THE COMMITTEE CAN CONFIRM WHAT WAS DELIVERED IN THE ROOM

Good morning. Welcome to Chappaqua.

I'm here today for two reasons. The first is that I love my country. And America was built upon the idea that no person is above the law, even Presidents -- especially Presidents.

Democracy requires every person to play their part, and I hope that by being here today, we can bring ourselves a little further away from the brink and back to being a country where we can disagree with one another civilly- where the search for truth and justice outweighs the partisan urge to score points and create spectacle. I'll do my part, and I hope you'll do yours.

The second reason I'm here is that the girls and women whose lives Jeffrey Epstein destroyed deserve not only justice, but healing. They've been waiting too long for both.

Though my brief acquaintance with Epstein ended years before his crimes came to light, and though I never witnessed during our limited interactions any indication of what was truly going on, I am here to offer what little I know so that it might prevent anything like this from ever happening again.

But before we start, I have to get personal. You made Hillary come in. She had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. Nothing. She has no memory of even meeting him. She neither traveled with him nor visited any of his properties. Whether you subpoenaed 10 people or 10,000, including her was simply not right.

We began this hearing with me raising my hand and taking an oath to tell the truth.

But everyone has a responsibility to be honest with those they represent. Whether you raised your right hand or not, each and every one of us owes nothing less than truth and accuracy to the American people. ...




Even CNN's MAGA Star Admits They Fumbled by Inviting Hillary to Destroy Them
www.yahoo.com

... CNN's resident MAGA panelist is at a loss about why Republicans demanded Hillary Clinton testify about her relationship with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Scott Jennings appeared on NewsNight with Abby Phillip on Thursday and admitted that he didn't see the benefit of deposing Clinton. He suggested that dragging her in front of Congress was a shot in the dark and hoped that her husband's testimony would be more worthwhile. ...

Update ...

Columbia student detained by ICE will be 'released imminently,' Trump tells Mamdani
abc7ny.com

... The Columbia student who was detained by the Department of Homeland Security will be released "imminently," President Donald Trump told Mayor Zohran Mamdani after the two met in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.

Just got off the phone with President Trump. In our meeting earlier, I shared my concerns about Columbia student Elaina Aghayeva, who was detained by ICE this morning. He has just informed me that she will be released imminently.
t.co
-- Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) February 26, 2026

...


Related ...

The Clintons are in the hot seat -- and lawmakers are hungry for Epstein-related prosecutions
www.politico.com

... House members are eyeing a new phase in their monthslong investigation into Jeffrey Epstein: A race to produce results that match the stunning Epstein fallout across the globe and satisfy an electorate clamoring for accountability. ...

This week's interviews of Bill and Hillary Clinton " who are scheduled to testify to lawmakers under subpoena and behind closed doors about their relationships with Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell " could be a pivotal moment in this effort.

Bill Clinton has maintained that he was an acquaintance of Epstein's but stopped communicating with him at least a decade before his arrest in 2019, and he has not been accused of wrongdoing.

His spokesperson Angel Urena posted on social media in 2019 that the former president traveled on Epstein's plane four times internationally in 2002 and 2003, but that Secret Service details were present "on every leg of the trip." Hillary Clinton has said she has no memory of meeting Epstein at all. A spokesperson for the Clintons did not respond to a request for comment.

But the Clintons' depositions before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee come as the recent arrests in Britain of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, and ex-ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson, have only intensified the pressure on Congress to produce similarly dramatic impacts closer to home.

That means both Clintons will be put under a microscope for any potential transgression, whether it relates to the late financier's sex trafficking conviction or not.

"Obviously, the committee wants to see some people be held accountable," said Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) in an interview in advance of the high-profile depositions. The former president will testify Friday, and the former secretary of state Thursday, both in Chappaqua, New York. ...




@#7

AIs can't stop recommending nuclear strikes in war game simulations
www.newscientist.com

... Leading AIs from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google opted to use nuclear weapons in simulated war games in 95 per cent of cases ...

Drudge Retort
 

Home | Breaking News | Comments | User Blogs | Stats | Back Page | RSS Feed | RSS Spec | DMCA Compliance | Privacy