Will Russia accept a ceasefire deal without a land swap?
U.S. Political Analyst Eric Ham on what he expects from Trump hosting Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House.
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Toronto Sun
a few seconds ago
- Toronto Sun
Conservative network Newsmax agrees to pay $67M in defamation case over bogus 2020 election claims
Published Aug 18, 2025 • 3 minute read News anchors work at Newsmax's booth during the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 16, 2024. Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP via Getty Images DENVER — The conservative network Newsmax will pay $67 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of defaming a voting equipment company by spreading lies about President Donald Trump's 2020 election loss, according to documents filed Monday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The settlement comes after Fox News Channel paid $787.5 million to settle a similar lawsuit in 2023 and Newsmax paid what court papers describe as $40 million to settle a libel lawsuit from a different voting machine manufacturer, Smartmatic, which also was a target of pro-Trump conspiracy theories on the network. Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis had ruled earlier that Newsmax did indeed defame Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems by airing false information about the company and its equipment. But Davis left it to a jury to eventually decide whether that was done with malice, and, if so, how much Dominion deserved from Newsmax in damages. Newsmax and Dominion reached the settlement before the trial could take place. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The settlement was disclosed by Newsmax in a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It said the deal was reached Friday. 'Newsmax believed it was critically important for the American people to hear both sides of the election disputes that arose in 2020,' the company said in a statement. 'We stand by our coverage as fair, balanced, and conducted within professional standards of journalism.' A spokesperson for Dominion said the company was pleased to have settled the lawsuit. The disclosure of the settlement came as Trump, who lost his 2020 reelection bid to Democrat Joe Biden, vowed in a social media post Monday to eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines such as those supplied by Dominion and other companies. It was unclear how the Republican president could achieve that. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The same judge also handled the Dominion-Fox News case and made a similar ruling that the network repeated numerous lies by Trump's allies about his 2020 loss despite internal communications showing Fox officials knew the claims were bogus. At the time, Davis found it was 'CRYSTAL clear' that none of the allegations was true. Internal correspondence from Newsmax officials likewise shows they knew the claims were baseless. 'How long are we going to play along with election fraud?' Newsmax host Bob Sellers said two days after the 2020 election was called for Biden, according to internal documents revealed as part of the case. Newsmax took pride that it was not calling the election for Biden and, the internal documents show, saw a business opportunity in catering to viewers who believed Trump won. Private communications that surfaced as part of Dominion's earlier defamation case against Fox News also revealed how the network's business interests intersected with decisions it made related to coverage of Trump's 2020 election claims. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. At Newsmax, employees repeatedly warned against false allegations from pro-Trump guests such as attorney Sidney Powell, according to documents in the lawsuit. In one text, even Newsmax owner Chris Ruddy, a Trump ally, said he found it 'scary' that Trump was meeting with Powell. Dominion was at the heart of many of the wild claims aired by guests on Newsmax and elsewhere, who promoted a conspiracy theory involving deceased Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez to rig the machines for Biden. The network retracted some of the more bombastic allegations in December 2020. Though Trump has insisted his fraud claims are real, there's no evidence they were, and the lawsuits in the Fox and Newsmax cases show how some of the president's biggest supporters knew they were false at the time. Trump's then-attorney general, William Barr, said there was no evidence of widespread fraud. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Trump and his backers lost dozens of lawsuits alleging fraud, some before Trump-appointed judges. Numerous recounts, reviews and audits of the election results, including some run by Republicans, turned up no signs of significant wrongdoing or error and affirmed Biden's win. After returning to office, Trump pardoned those who tried to halt the transfer of power during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and directed his Department of Justice to investigate Chris Krebs, a former Trump cybersecurity appointee who had vouched for the security and accuracy of the 2020 election. As an initial trial date approached in the Dominion case earlier this year, Trump issued an executive order attacking the law firm that litigated it and the Fox case, Susman Godfrey. The order, part of a series targeting law firms Trump has tussled with, cited Susman Godfrey's work on elections and said the government would not do business with any of its clients or permit any of its staff in federal buildings. A federal judge put that action on hold, saying the framers would view it as 'a shocking abuse of power. ' Columnists Columnists World Canada Sunshine Girls
Toronto Star
31 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Zelenskyy arrives at White House for critical talks with Trump, European leaders on war with Russia
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived at the White House for talks with President Donald Trump and key European leaders as the U.S. leader presses for a quick end to the brutal Russia-Ukraine war. Monday's hastily assembled meeting comes after Trump met on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has said that the onus is now on Zelenskyy to agree to concessions that he said could end the war.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Hamas cites progress in ceasefire talks as Palestinian death toll passes 62,000
RAFAH, Egypt -- Hamas said Monday it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that would still need Israel's approval, as Gaza's Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from 22 months of war has passed 62,000. U.S. President Donald Trump meanwhile appeared to cast doubt on the long-running negotiations. 'We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be,' he posted on his Truth Social site. Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavy populated areas after the ceasefire talks appeared to have broken down last month, raising the possibility of a worsening of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which experts say is sliding into famine. Plans to expand the offensive, which are in part aimed at pressuring Hamas, have sparked international outrage and infuriated many Israelis who fear for the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack that started the war. Hundreds of thousands took part in mass protests on Sunday calling for their return. `Extensive efforts' to revive talks Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said mediators are 'exerting extensive efforts' to revive a U.S. proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, during which some hostages would be released and the sides would negotiate a lasting ceasefire and the return of the rest. He spoke during a visit to Egypt's Rafah crossing with Gaza, which has not functioned since Israel seized the Palestinian side in May 2024. He was accompanied by Mohammad Mustafa, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, which has been largely sidelined since the war began. Abdelatty said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani had joined the talks, which include senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, who arrived in Cairo last week. He said they are open to other ideas, including for a comprehensive deal that would release all the hostages at once. Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, later told The Associated Press that the militant group had accepted the proposal introduced by the mediators, without elaborating. An Egyptian official, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, said the proposal includes changes to Israel's pullback of its forces and guarantees for negotiations on a lasting ceasefire during the initial truce. The official said it is almost identical to an earlier proposal accepted by Israel, which has not yet joined the latest talks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas has been disarmed, and to maintain lasting security control over Gaza. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Palestinian death toll surpasses 62,000 Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians, in the attack that ignited the war. Fifty hostages are still inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. The Gaza Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the war had climbed to 62,004, with another 156,230 people wounded. It does not say how many were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties. Israel disputes its toll but has not provided its own. The ministry said 1,965 people have been killed while seeking humanitarian aid since May, either in the chaos around U.N. convoys or while heading to sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor. Witnesses, health officials and the U.N. human rights office say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired toward crowds of people seeking aid. Israel says it has only fired warning shots at people who approached its forces. GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired into the air on rare occasions to prevent deadly crowding. More deaths linked to malnutrition Experts have warned that Israel's ongoing offensive is pushing Gaza toward famine, even after it eased a complete 2 1/2-month blockade on the territory in May. The Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that five more people, including two children, died of malnutrition-related causes. It says at least 112 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began, and 151 adults have died since the ministry started tracking adult malnutrition deaths in June. Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of 'carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation.' Israel has rejected such allegations, saying it allows in enough food and accusing the UN of failing to promptly deliver it. UN agencies say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order in the territory, around three-quarters of which is now controlled by Israel. Israeli lawmaker denied visa to Australia In a separate development, far-right Israeli lawmaker Simcha Rothman accused Australia of antisemitism after it denied him a visa for a speaking tour. Rothman is a member of the Religious Zionism party, which supports the continuation of the war, the mass relocation of Palestinians through what it describes as voluntary migration and the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza. 'The Australian government's decision to deny me the opportunity to come and speak to my people, due to expressing simple and clear positions, is clear and blatant antisemitism that gives a boost to terrorism,' Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Rothman saying on Monday. Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke defended the move, saying: 'If you are coming to Australia to spread a message of hate and division, we don't want you here.' In response, Israel revoked the visas of Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority and told the Israeli Embassy in Australia to 'carefully examine' any official visa applications from Australia to Israel, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar wrote on X. Australia joined 27 other Western-allied nations in a joint statement last month calling for an end to the war and joined a smaller circle of countries in sanctioning two far-right Israeli government ministers accused of inciting violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. ------ By Victoria Eastwood, Samy Magdy And Melanie Lidman Magdy reported from Cairo and Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Rod McGuirk contributed from Canberra, Australia.
