Donald Trump loses Electric Avenue legal fight with Eddy Grant

Former US President Donald Trump has been found liable to pay damages to London singer and songwriter Eddy Grant for using his song Electric Avenue without permission.

It has taken Mr Grant, 76, more than four years to sue the Republican candidate in this year’s presidential election in the US courts, over his 2020 campaign video that used a 40-second clip of the song.

The video was viewed 13.7 million times before Twitter, now known as X, took it down.

A federal judge in Manhattan ruled Mr Trump breached Mr Grant’s copyright for his 1983 hit, and is now liable for damages as well as paying for the singer’s legal fees.

Source: Donald Trump loses Electric Avenue legal fight with Eddy Grant

Is Donald Trump really serious about being a dictator? – Los Angeles Times

…“I consider Trump a very serious threat to American democracy,” said Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution and the author of numerous books about democracy. “He has repeatedly demonstrated in word and deed that he does not value democracy, does not respect constitutional norms, does not accept the results of democratic elections if he loses and only values the friendship of strongman autocrats like Orban and Putin rather than our democratic allies.”

I met Diamond in July 2019, when Trump was 2½ years into his presidency. He had just published “Ill Winds: Saving Democracy From Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency,” a disturbing look at the retreat of democracy and rise of authoritarians around the world. An entire chapter, titled “The Decline of American Democracy,” is devoted to Trump.

“We can survive sleaze and vulgarity in a president,” Diamond wrote. “We can challenge and reverse bad policies. But the threat that Trump poses to America’s democratic institutions and norms is unprecedented.”

And, Diamond told me Thursday by email from Taiwan, the threat has only grown more serious, especially since the Supreme Court undermined the bedrock American ideal that no one is above the law.

“He is much more unhinged now than he was when he ran in 2016 or 2020, and I truly fear for his potential to abuse presidential power and weaponize it against his opponents,” Diamond wrote, “even more so in light of the recent Supreme Court decision expanding immunity from prosecution for virtually anything a president does in office that can be claimed to be an official act.”

One of the most distressing aspects of Trump’s popularity is his supporters’ willingness to accept a president with unchecked authority…

Source: Is Donald Trump really serious about being a dictator? – Los Angeles Times

Vance won’t back away from false claims about migrants in Ohio – Los Angeles Times

But it wasn’t just Springfield officials who were refuting the claims. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said Sunday that “there’s a lot of garbage on the internet and, you know, this is a piece of garbage that was simply not true. There’s no evidence of this at all.”

He went on to say: “Let me tell you what we do know, though. What we know is that the Haitians who are in Springfield are legal. They came to Springfield to work. Ohio is on the move, and Springfield has really made a great resurgence with a lot of companies coming in. These Haitians came in to work for these companies. What the companies tell us is that they are very good workers. They’re very happy to have them there. And, frankly, that’s helped the economy.”

Still, the narrative has dominated the Trump’s campaign messaging over the last week and is highlighting how some in the Republican Party are willing to embrace and amplify false claims as part of the inflammatory and anti-immigrant rhetoric that Trump has promoted throughout his campaigns.

Source: Vance won’t back away from false claims about migrants in Ohio – Los Angeles Times

California firefighters’ union says Trump should ‘be ashamed’ – Los Angeles Times

The president of the California Professional Firefighters union said this weekend that former President Trump “should be ashamed” of his threat to withhold federal firefighting aid to the state if he were elected.

Brian K. Rice, president of the California Professional Firefighters union, which represents more than 35,000 firefighters, said in a statement Saturday evening that it “is shocking that we have a presidential candidate who is threatening our public safety.”

“His rhetoric is dangerous, his ideas on public safety are dangerous, and his ignorant rhetoric has grown exponentially,” Rice said.

Source: California firefighters’ union says Trump should ‘be ashamed’ – Los Angeles Times

Opinion: The GOP House earns its ‘do-nothing’ label all over again – Los Angeles Times

…Democrats have long been favored, slightly, to regain control of the House, and their takeover prospects improved after Harris replaced Biden atop the party’s ticket. If voters strip House Republicans of the majority, the farright extremists will be relegated to the backbench where they belong. “Moses” Johnson will be retired as speaker. And Democrats, led by their leader, New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, will school the Republicans on how a bill actually becomes law.

A Democratic House, and the first Black speaker. That’s the ticket.

Source: Opinion: The GOP House earns its ‘do-nothing’ label all over again – Los Angeles Times

Haitians in Ohio find solidarity at church after false pet-eating claims – Los Angeles Times

For many Haitian immigrants, Sunday mornings in Springfield, Ohio, are spent joyfully worshiping God as they sing and pray in their native Creole. This Sunday, they needed that uplifting balm more than ever.

Their community is reeling — confused, frustrated, hurt — from false accusations that they are eating their neighbor’s cats and dogs. The now viral and highly politicized rumors are being fueled by former President Trump, his running mate, JD Vance, and others, and violent threats against the community are upending daily life in their city.

“Jesus is with us in truth, and the truth is that Haitians are not eating pets and geese in Springfield,” said the Rev. Carl Ruby, preaching at Central Christian Church. He invited community members to join his congregation in prayer and peaceful protest of the false rumors leveled against their Haitian neighbors…

Source: Haitians in Ohio find solidarity at church after false pet-eating claims – Los Angeles Times

JD Vance admits he is willing to ‘create stories’ to get media attention | US elections 2024 | The Guardian

In a stunning admission, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, JD Vance, said he was willing “to create stories” on the campaign trail while defending his spreading false, racist rumors of pets being abducted and eaten in a town in his home state of Ohio.

Vance’s remarks came during an appearance on Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, where he said he felt the need “to create stories so that the … media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people”.

Asked by the CNN host Dana Bash whether the false rumors centering on Springfield, Ohio, were “a story that you created”, Vance replied, “Yes!” He then said the claims were rooted in “accounts from … constituents” and that he as well as the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, had spoken publicly about them to draw attention to Springfield’s relatively large Haitian population.

Source: JD Vance admits he is willing to ‘create stories’ to get media attention | US elections 2024 | The Guardian

Global Experts Sound Alarm: Immediate Action Is Needed in Order To Prevent an H5N1 Pandemic

As the global risk of H5N1 influenza escalates with outbreaks affecting various species and spreading across continents, including the U.S., three international experts in vaccines and public health are advocating for a comprehensive and well-funded strategy to tackle this and future potential pandemic flu threats. They suggest considering voluntary vaccinations for those currently at risk of exposure.

“At this critical juncture, decisions about vaccine development, stockpiling, and deployment will shape our ability to respond to immediate and future pandemic risks,” write Jesse Goodman, MD, PhD; Rick A. Bright, PhD; and Nicole Lurie, MD, MSPH, in a JAMA Viewpoint published Sept. 4.

The current outbreak of H5N1 in North America has infected poultry, cows, wild birds, and marine and terrestrial mammals, along with at least 13 humans, primarily on dairy and poultry farms. No human-to-human transmission has been reported.

“It is highly concerning that this H5N1 strain, compared with prior ones, has had unprecedented spread among mammals,” says Goodman. “Although human cases have so far been relatively mild, the threat of a pandemic is real, given the virus’s widespread and continued presence close to humans and its potential to reassort with human influenza viruses or mutate to acquire the ability to transmit among humans…”

Source: Global Experts Sound Alarm: Immediate Action Is Needed in Order To Prevent an H5N1 Pandemic

(7) Thousands take to streets in Israel to call for Gaza hostage deal • FRANCE 24 English – YouTube

Thousands of people again took to the streets of Israel’s main cities on Saturday in a bid to increase pressure on the government to secure the release of hostages in Gaza. Of 251 captives seized during Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the ongoing war, 97 are still held in the Gaza Strip including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.