Birdie's Arjav Ezekiel takes home James Beard
Why it matters: The Beards are like the Oscars for the American hospitality industry, and win can be a huge boost in business for restaurants.
Driving the news: Ezekiel won in the new Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service category.
It's one of three new categories focused on beverages at the James Beard Awards.
What they're saying:"It feels like a big win for our city," Ezekiel told Axios at the ceremony in Chicago. "I think people assume Austin is a cocktail city, but we're very fast becoming a wine city."
Between the lines: Birdie's continues to be a standout in Austin's culinary scene, and Ezekiel was Austin's only finalist at this year's awards.
The restaurant's chef and co-owner, Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel, was a finalist in the Best Texas Chef category last year.
Zoom out: Houston's Belly of the Beast chef Thomas Bille nabbed the title of Best Chef in Texas, beating out four other finalists in the regional category.
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Los Angeles Times
3 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Newsmax to pay $67 million to settle Dominion suit over 2020 election fraud claims
Newsmax will pay $67 million to settle a defamation suit filed by Dominion Voting Systems over false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election that aired on the right wing news channel. The network announced the settlement with the voting equipment maker Monday, but did not apologize for its reporting. '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.' Earlier this year, Delaware Court Judge Eric Davis ruled that Newsmax made defamatory statements about Dominion in its reporting on President Trump's allegations that the company was involved in rigging the 2020 presidential election to favor Joe Biden. He was ready to send the case to a jury that would have determined if Newsmax acted with malice and whether any damages should be awarded to Dominion. Newsmax was among the channels presenting false claims by President Trump's allies and supporters that Dominion, a provider of vote-counting machines and software, was created in Venezuela to rig elections for leader Hugo Chavez and that it has the ability to switch votes. 'We are pleased to have settled this matter,' a Dominion representative said in a statement. Fox News settled a similar case with Dominiion in April 2023 for $787.5 million after it aired incorrect election claims. Newsmax previously settled a defamation suit filed by Smartmatic, another voting equipment company that has sued right wing outlets over their reporting on Trump's false claims. The terms of the settlement were confidential. In that case, Davis also ruled that false statements were made, but ruled that Smartmatic had to prove the actual financial damage of Newsmax's actions. Smartmatic is in litigation with Fox News, looking for $2.7 billion in damages. If the case isn't settled, it will go trial in New York next year. Fox News has argued that there is no evidence Smartmatic has lost any business due to its reporting. The network argued that reporting on Trump's false claims was newsworthy and protected under the 1st amendment.
UPI
4 minutes ago
- UPI
Newsmax settles defamation suit by Dominion Voting Systems for $67M
A Newsmax banner hangs at the entrance of the New York Stock Exchange before the closing bell on Wall Street on March 31. The conservative media company's stock price jumped more than 700% in its first day of trading on the NYSE. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Newsmax on Monday agreed to pay $67 million to Dominion Voting Systems in a defamation suit against the conservative media company over its 2020 presidential election coverage. The announcement came as President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated his criticism of certain voting machines and mail-in ballots. Newmax announced the agreement in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in which the two sides mutually agreed to resolve the litigation. Dominion, a private company based in Denver, provides voting equipment to jurisdictions in 28 states. The systems include touchscreen screens and paper ballot scanning devices. The settlement will be paid in installments over three years, which the company said it "expects to fund through revenues." Newsmax, which went public in March with an initial public offering of $10 per share for $75 million, has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion. Last September, Newsmax agreed to a settlement with another voting machine company, Smartmatic, before a trial. The settlement of $40 million wasn't disclosed until March. In 2021, Dominion filed suit against Newsmax, seeking $1.6 billion and alleging certain statements made in Newsmax's coverage about the election were defamatory. "We are pleased to have settled this matter," a Dominion spokesperson told CNN, declining to comment further. "The judiciary's willingness to punish news organizations for reporting on matters of urgent national debate undermines the role of the press in a free society," Newsmax said in a news release. After Joe Biden was declared the winner against Donald Trump in November 2020, Newsmax hosts and guests falsely claimed the election results were fraudulent and specifically took aim at voting machines. Newmax didn't disclose whether there would be an on-air apology or acknowledgement about false claims that voting results were incorrect. "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." Newsmax said it determined that Delaware Court Judge Eric Davis, who was presiding over the case, would not provide a fair trial in which the company could present standard libel defenses to a jury. He presided over the voting machine company's defamation suit against Fox News, in which $787 million was awarded in April 2023 in a suit settlement. Davis, who was appointed by a Democratic governor, Jack Markell, in 2010, earlier this year ruled that Newsmax aired defamatory statements about the company. He said a jury would decide if the lies were intentional and if so how much would be awarded. "From the very beginning, Judge Davis ruled in ways that strongly favored the plaintiffs and limited Newsmax's ability to defend itself," Newsmax said. The judge indicated that he likely would refuse to allow the jury to hear that Fox News had already paid Dominion $787 million. Newsmax also noted Dominion was permitted to comb through extensive communications, including personal emails, cellphone text messages and other documents of reporters and company executives unrelated to the case. "The Delaware Court under Judge Davis effectively enforced a confiscation of our property because our reporting was not always sympathetic to Joe Biden," Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy said. Newmax, which is the fourth-highest-rated network of all major pay TV providers, became a public company in March and is listed on the Nasdaq. Its main offices are in New York City and Boca Raton, Fla. The company reaches more than 40 million Americans regularly through Newsmax TV, the Newsmax App, website and publications. Trump, who continues to claim he won the 2020 election despite being told otherwise in court cases and audits, blasted the use of mail-in ballots and voting machines on Monday morning in a post on Truth Social. "I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we're at it, Highly "Inaccurate," Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election," Trump posted. Trump, who became a resident of Palm Beach in Florida in September 2019, has sometimes voted via absentee ballot, which is essentially the same thing as mail-in ballots. His legal residence previously was New York City. Trump also spoke against the U.S. voting system during his appearance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. "Mail-in ballots are corrupt," he said. "You can never have a real democracy with mail-in ballots."
Associated Press
26 minutes ago
- Associated Press
BHG Financial Closes a New ABS Transaction of $500 Million
BHG 2025-2CON is a 100% consumer loan transaction, highlighting the growing demand for the consumer loan product. DAVIE, FL / ACCESS Newswire / August 18, 2025 / BHG Financial, the leader in small business lending and facilitating unsecured personal loans and creator of one of the largest community bank networks in the country, sponsored BHG 2025-2CON, a $500 million ABS transaction that closed on August 14, 2025. This is the largest ABS transaction for the company to date. BHG 2025-2CON priced at a weighted average coupon of 5.25% with a 99% advance rate, a meaningful reduction in cost of funds compared to BHG Financial's prior transaction, BHG 2025-1CON. The transaction was received favorably by investors, generating orders exceeding $1.51 billion, representing a 3.0x oversubscription at the upsized amount. The strong investor demand allowed BHG Financial to upsize the transaction while tightening the weighted average spread, which resulted in the largest gross spread of any preceding ABS deal. This marks the 11th 144A ABS transaction sponsored by BHG since the start of its securitization program in 2020, and the third to be collateralized by 100% consumer loans originated by Pinnacle Bank and County Bank. The other eight securitizations sponsored by BHG Financial included a mix of small business commercial and consumer loans. Kroll Bond Rating Agency, LLC and Fitch Ratings, Inc. both assigned a preliminary AAA (sf) rating on the Class A notes of BHG 2025-2CON. Truist Securities, Inc. acted as the sole Structuring Agent on the transaction. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., BMO Capital Markets Corp., and Capital One Securities, Inc., were joint bookrunners. Co-Managers on the transaction were ATLAS SP Securities, a division of Apollo Global Securities LLC, Regions Securities LLC, and FHN Financial Securities Corp. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. KBRA's ratings are subject to all of the terms and conditions set forth in the related report and KBRA's website, which you should review and understand, and can be accessed here. Fitch's ratings are subject to all of the terms and conditions set forth in the related report and Fitch's website, which you should review and understand, and can be accessed here. About BHG Financial BHG Financial is a national leader in providing financial solutions to American consumers and financial institutions. Since 2001, BHG has facilitated more than $24 billion in loans, helping customers achieve greater financial flexibility in their business and personal lives. With customizable financing, a simplified process, longer loan terms, and personalized service, the BHG Financial approach to lending helps set the company apart in the market. BHG Financial also provides high-quality assets to more than 1,700 national banks that are members of its Institutional Network, one of the largest in the country. Members have access to the BHG Financial state-of-the-art loan delivery platform and premium regulatory services. BHG Financial is partially owned by Pinnacle Bank and has headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and Syracuse, NY. For more information, visit Contact Information Brooke Niemeyer Director of Communications [email protected] SOURCE: BHG Financial press release
