Thursday updates

Lots of little ones today.

Zachary Young, the Navy vet who successfully sued CNN for defamation and settled for $5,000,000 in January , had his subsequent cases against the AP and ‘Puck’ tossed.

Judge William Henry of Florida’s 14th Judicial Circuit, who also presided over Zachary Young’s successful CNN trial, granted two motions on Friday to dismiss defamation lawsuits against The Associated Press and Puck. The judge compared Young’s follow-up lawsuits to movie sequels that “should not be made.”

“It is said that for some movies or television shows, sequels or reboots should not be made. Oftentimes, the storyline is forced, new characters are not properly developed, inconsistencies arise between the original plot and the sequel’s, or the writers and producers are just lazy and trying to cash in on a previously successful idea. The same can be said of this case,” Henry wrote. Fox News

Young says he will appeal the AP case. The Puck case was dismissed with prejudice, so the judge’s decision is final.

 

Ilan Omar says she is “not a millionaire.” Her financial disclosure statements show otherwise.

The 2025 disclosure, first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, shows that Omar and her husband, Tim Mynett, have a net worth ranging from $6 million to $30 million, despite claims earlier this year that she was “not a millionaire.” The vast majority of the wealth comes from Mynett’s two companies, a winery in California and a venture capital firm.

Disclosures from the end of 2023 showed that those ownership stakes were valued at just $51,000, and they grew little in 2024.

She claims no income from either. The winery shows a value between $1-5 million and the VC firm between $5-25 million. Pretty good growth, from $51K to a minimum of $6 million in nine months. But of course she gets nothing from it… right. Bet if they got divorced she’s ask for 50% of it, at minimum, as her “right”.

The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled against a bush pilot who was flying to a dry village where no alcohol is allowed (wth?) with a passenger who had several cases of beer and the pilot who had a single sixpack of Bud. And of course, though the pilot was charged with only a misdemeanor, Alaska is trying to seize his $95,000 plane under asset forfeiture.

“Alcohol abuse in rural Alaska leads to increased crime; disorders, such as alcoholism; conditions, such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder; and death, imposing substantial costs on public health and the administration of justice. Within this context, it is clear that the illegal importation of even a six-pack of beer causes grave societal harm,” the ruling states. “This factor strongly suggests that the forfeiture is not grossly disproportional.”  Reason

The pilot has been fighting this for 13 years. Me, I think Alaska just fell off my destination list.

And an ending to make you smile. Sure did me.

The United States announced Wednesday it had seized more than 700,000 pounds (300,000 kilograms) of meth precursor chemicals that officials said were en route from China to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel.

13,000 barrels, 35 TONS, not going to make it to the labs.  Apparently this was two seizures combined. No word on which service did the heavy lifting, but Bravo Zulu to them.

The chemicals would have been used to make 420,000 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value in Houston of $569 million, Pirro said. AFP

I’ve seen the ‘street value’ calculations before and have no doubt that it’s exaggerated, but 13,000 barrels the cartel isn’t getting? Good stuff!

Category: Afghanistan, Crime