News Factory Provides the Latest and Most Up-to-Date News, You Can Stay Informed and Connected to the World.
⎯ 《 News • Factory 》
West Bank: At least two Palestinian gunmen killed in Israeli Nablus raid
West Bank: At least two Palestinian gunmen killed in Israeli Nablus raid
The Palestinian presidency condemns the killing of three men, as Israel says troops came under fire.
2023-05-22 19:23
Kaitlan Collins: CNN’s rising star who went head-to-head with Trump
Kaitlan Collins: CNN’s rising star who went head-to-head with Trump
A journalist who was once banned from a White House event for asking awkward questions about Vladimir Putin is moderating an event featuring a man facing legal jeopardy who lied about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, in a town hall aired on the cable news network he blamed for publishing fake news. We’re talking about CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins and Donald Trump, who of course wants to be president once again, in his first time back on the news network he has spent years disparaging. On Wednesday night the pair broadcast from a New Hampshire liberal arts college, where Mr Trump faced questions from Collins and an audience of 400 Republican and centrist voters during primetime on CNN. Collins became known to most in her previous role as CNN’s White House correspondent. She delivered breaking news from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in a commanding, confident tone throughout the Trump presidency, fast becoming a familiar face onscreen and known as a political authority. Born in Alabama to a family she has previously described as “apolitical”, Collins graduated from Alabama University in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, moving into the field shortly afterwards. After spending two years working on the entertainment desk of The Daily Caller, the outlet founded by Tucker Carlson in 2010, Collins moved over to become the website’s White House correspondent, having also covered the 2016 election for the outlet. “The day [Mr Trump] was inaugurated was my first day covering the White House, and it was obviously an adventure that started that day,” she said in an interview with In Style magazine. “We had no idea what was ahead of us.” In 2017, she joined CNN’s politics team, becoming their White House correspondent – a role that saw her clash with then-president Trump and his press secretaries on multiple occasions. Indeed, one such occasion in 2018 saw her barred from a White House press event after asking supposedly “inappropriate” questions about topics including Russian president Vladimir Putin during Mr Trump’s meeting with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. “They said, ‘You are dis-invited from the press availability in the Rose Garden today,’” Collins told CNN at the time. “They said that the questions I asked were inappropriate for that venue. And they said I was shouting.” Her line of questioning often didn’t hit well with the Trump White House, who unofficially declared war on CNN during Mr Trump’s 2016 campaign and White House term, and she was once described by then-press secretary Kayleigh McEnany as an “activist”. Yet for all her “inappropriate” questions and CNN affiliation, Collins appears to have escaped the former president’s scathing online attacks that many of her colleagues have been subject to – suggesting she is far better placed than others to take point at the town hall. Indeed, she is thought to have been offered the role thanks in large part to her experience interviewing the former president. “He wants to intimidate and bully [the press] so you don’t ask him what he doesn’t want to get asked about. You have to remember to focus on the question and get an answer. Being banned by him really prepared me for that,” she told In Style regarding previous interviews with Mr Trump. More recently, in September 2022, Collins moved over to host CNN This Morning with Don Lemon and Poppy Harlow as part of a major shake-up of the network’s schedule by incoming CEO Chris Licht. The transition was far from smooth. Lemon parted ways with CNN in April amid a furore over sexist comments on air, but not before he had reportedly screamed at Collins off-air, leaving her in tears. There may be more big changes ahead for Collins as just hours before the New Hampshire town hall, Dyland Byers of Puck News reported that Licht plans to offer Collins a new contract to serve as the host of the network’s 9pm primetime hour. The move could be announced as early as next week as CNN continues its pivot towards a more centrist posture. “Kaitlan’s offer is not contingent on her performance at tonight’s town hall, but, given the Trump X-factor, those 90 minutes have the potential to modify, accelerate, or stifle the arc of her career,” Byers said. “At the very least, her performance tonight will set the tone for a new Collins era at CNN, which, barring any f***-ups, will run at least through the 2024 presidential election.” There is always pressure on town hall moderators to keep things on course as there are many moving parts to such a format. In this case, the subject answering questions — Mr Trump — has just been found liable for sexual abuse and faces a multitude of other legal woes and investigations ranging from alleged financial irregularities and election interference to his role in the events surrounding the Capitol riot on 6 January 2021. As a journalist on the rise, Collins has had to deal with controversy and challenging situations before during her time at CNN. However, Wednesday’s town hall — which generated a significant backlash over whether it’s appropriate to platform Mr Trump — was perhaps her biggest test to date and something of a potential crossroads for the network, her career, and the Oval Office prospects of Mr Trump. Regarding the pressure she was under ahead of the broadcast, one Washington insider said: “Kaitlan has big brass ones, she should do a good job.” On Wednesday night, Collins had an impossible task of trying to push back against a tsunami of falsehoods as Mr Trump steamrolled over her fact checks and objections, and refused to answer some questions directly as the audience cheered and laughed with him. In an especially combative moment regarding why he wouldn’t return classified material to the government, he called her a “nasty person”. She remained unphased and continued to press him on the matter and rounded out the town hall in a more interrogative way than she began, asking about Mr Trump’s interference in the 2020 election in Georgia, and whether he would accept the result of the 2024 election. There were earlier moments in which Twitter users howled at the lack of any pushback from Collins, including one completely false statement from Trump about abortion in the ninth month of pregnancy or even after birth. Collins had strong moments, at one point forcefully challenging Mr Trump: “The election was not rigged, Mr President. You cannot keep saying that all night long.” Much of the criticism was less about Collins’s performance and more about using a format that makes it extremely difficult to fact-check in real-time, as well as having an overly friendly audience. The overall decision to offer Mr Trump airtime to spout disinformation has been the main point of anger. It remains to be seen how or whether Wednesday’s broadcast will impact Collins professionally. Reporters who know her from her time in Washington tweeted their support and lauded her journalistic abilities, and as Byers wrote, her prospects are not contingent on her performance. Most fury is directed at CNN which has been condemned as “shameful” for allowing the “disastrous” broadcast to go ahead and give Mr Trump a platform from which to spread falsehoods. Justin Baragona of The Daily Beast reported that a CNN on-air personality told him: “It is so bad. I was cautiously optimistic despite the criticism. It is awful. It’s a Trump infomercial. We’re going to get crushed.” Podcaster and author Wajahat Ali tweeted: “Kaitlan Collins was placed in an impossible situation by CNN leadership. She did well considering the circumstances. But set up to fail. Shameful stuff by Licht and Zaslav.” Earlier, in response to the “nasty person” barb from Mr Trump, Ali wrote: “Congrats, Chris Licht and CNN leadership. Bravo. What a way to treat your employees.” Matthew Gertz of Media Matters for America wrote: “The venue for CNN's Trump town hall will be ‘filled with about 400 voters who are Republicans or Republican-leaning independents.’ I've never seen a network try this hard to get their own anchor booed live on their own airwaves.” Read More CNN Trump town hall — live: Kaitlan Collins prepares to face Trump as calls grow to boycott network over event Cheney launches anti-Trump ad ahead of ex-president’s CNN town hall Trump appearing at CNN town hall after sex assault verdict CNN sparks fury with Trump’s ‘volcano of bulls***’ town hall where he repeats Big Lie and gives Putin a pass Disastrous Trump town hall begs the question: What was CNN thinking? Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement
2023-05-11 11:46
Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyer struggles in cross-examination of Caroline Ellison, govt's key witness
Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyer struggles in cross-examination of Caroline Ellison, govt's key witness
Sam Bankman-Fried’s defense lawyer has struggled through a meandering cross-examination of the FTX founder’s former girlfriend Thursday, keeping both the judge and the public guessing as to his strategy in countering the testimony of the government’s key witness
2023-10-13 01:53
Ukraine-Russia war – live: Deadly Russian attack on memorial service was no blind strike, says Zelensky
Ukraine-Russia war – live: Deadly Russian attack on memorial service was no blind strike, says Zelensky
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said a Russian missile attack that killed 51 people at a memorial service was “no blind strike” and that Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were striking. A Russian missile slammed into a cafe and shop in a village in northeastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing 51 people in Hroza village in the eastern Kharkiv region. The attack – thought to have been carried out using an Iskander ballistic missile – appears to have caused one of the biggest civilian death tolls in any single Russian strike. “One-fifth of this village has died in a single terrorist attack,” said regional Governor Oleh Synehubov. Mr Zelensky, who was attending a summit with European leaders, said: “Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were hitting. This was no blind strike.” Separately, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was forced into a major retreat from a Crimea port, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War. At least 10 of Vladimir Putin’s warships retreated 237 miles to “bases further in the Russian rear” following intensified Ukrainian attacks. Read More Former Russian state TV journalist gets 8 1/2-year sentence in absentia for Ukraine war criticism Russia facing ‘functional defeat’ in the Black Sea – but Kyiv allies warn they are running out of ammunition Russia may attack civilian ships with sea mines and blame Ukraine, UK warns
2023-10-06 05:17
A New Jersey woman is arrested on suspicion of posing as a doctor and prescribing medicine for more than a year
A New Jersey woman is arrested on suspicion of posing as a doctor and prescribing medicine for more than a year
A New Jersey woman was arrested Wednesday, accused of posing as a doctor and prescribing medicine to people.
2023-07-28 08:21
Union sues to strike down US debt limit as default looms
Union sues to strike down US debt limit as default looms
By Daniel Wiessner A union for U.S. federal government employees filed a lawsuit on Monday claiming a law
2023-05-09 03:58
California attorney general blames Florida for charter flight that took migrants to Sacramento
California attorney general blames Florida for charter flight that took migrants to Sacramento
Florida appears to have arranged for a group of South American migrants to be transported from Texas to California and dropped off in Sacramento
2023-06-05 23:20
xQc reacts to MrBeast's video featuring $100,000,000 house: 'This needs a redo'
xQc reacts to MrBeast's video featuring $100,000,000 house: 'This needs a redo'
xQc fans love his hot take on MrBeast's video, call him 'reactor of our time'
2023-10-17 16:57
When will Britney Spears' autobiography be released? Singer's lawyers fear memoir could be used against her in divorce with Sam Asghari
When will Britney Spears' autobiography be released? Singer's lawyers fear memoir could be used against her in divorce with Sam Asghari
A source revealed that Britney Spears' autobiography depicts a 'real-life fairytale' romance, in stark contrast with the outcome of the marriage
2023-08-18 17:49
'Is she getting more trimmer?' Ashley Graham's unrecognizable look in sheer dress sparks concern among fans
'Is she getting more trimmer?' Ashley Graham's unrecognizable look in sheer dress sparks concern among fans
The supermodel who was spotted attending the Cannes Film Festival in France sparked concern over her unrecognizable look after a dramatic weight loss
2023-05-23 10:26
Reese's $25,000 promotion may violate sweepstakes laws
Reese's $25,000 promotion may violate sweepstakes laws
Reese’s may be violating state and federal laws with a sweepstakes offer currently advertised on packs of peanut butter cups
2023-10-17 04:15
Paris riots – latest: Police officer who shot teen dead under investigation for homicide as 150 arrested
Paris riots – latest: Police officer who shot teen dead under investigation for homicide as 150 arrested
The police officer who fatally shot a 17-year-old boy in a Paris suburb has been placed under formal investigation for voluntary homicide, a French prosecutor said today. The announcement came as Paris witnessed a second night of violent protests with rioters setting cars and public buildings ablaze over the fatal police shooting of teenager Nahel during a traffic stop. Police arrested 150 people overnight, with French president Emmanuel Macron condemning the violence as “unjustifiable. The epicentre of the unrest was in Nanterre, a working-class town in the western outskirts of Paris. The killing, caught on video, shocked the country and stirred up long-simmering tensions between locals and officials in disadvantaged neighbourhoods around France. Clashes first erupted on Tuesday night in and around Nanterre, following which the government deployed 2,000 police to maintain law and order. “The last few hours have been marked by scenes of violence against police stations but also schools and town halls, and thus institutions of the Republic and these scenes are wholly unjustifiable,” Mr Macron said. Read More Second night of riots erupt in Paris over police shooting of teenager as 150 arrested Paris riots: Video shows police interacting with teenager during fatal traffic stop French National Assembly observes minute’s silence for teenager fatally shot by police
2023-06-29 18:47