A "gathering storm" of financial crimes, opioid addiction and years of "living a lie" culminated with the moment that Alex Murdaugh murdered his wife Maggie and son Paul, according to the prosecution's dramatic closing statement in a closely watched murder trial that has captured the nation's attention. In Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Wednesday, prosecutor Creighton Waters described how the once-powerful attorney had spent years "on the hamster wheel" avoiding accountabilty as he stole millions of dollars from his law firm and its clients. While keeping up the pretence of a respected attorney and carrying on his prominent family's legacy, he had actually been "living a lie" for the last decade and the "pressure became overwhelming". The storm then "crescendoed" to that "day of reckoning" on 7 June 2021 when Mr Murdaugh turned into a "family annihilator", shooting his wife and son dead on the grounds of the wealthy family's sprawling 1,700-acre Moselle estate. |
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| Five US intelligence agencies conclude it is 'very unlikely' that a secret device or foreign adversary was behind symptoms |
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| Former president claims media mogul is 'aiding and abetting the destruction of America with fake news' |
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| Allie Phillips' story reignited debate over abortion rights following Supreme Court's decision to strike down Roe v Wade |
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| Forty-five years ago, the illustrious filmmaker's coffin disappeared from a Swiss cemetery |
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What do Dominion's court filings tell us about Fox's coverage of the 2020 election? |
Right-wing media giant Fox News is facing a $1.6bn defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, a Denver-based manufacturer of voting machines, over the network's coverage of the 2020 presidential election and Donald Trump's bogus claims that the contest was "rigged". In a 192-page court filing published on 16 February containing private messages from many of the network's biggest stars, Dominion argues: "From the top down, Fox knew 'the Dominion stuff' was 'total bs'. Yet despite knowing the truth – or at minimum, recklessly disregarding that truth – Fox spread and endorsed these 'outlandish voter fraud claims' about Dominion even as it internally recognised the lies as 'crazy', 'absurd' and 'shockingly reckless'." Attorneys for Fox, however, have argued that Dominion has mischaracterised the record and "the facts by cherry-picking soundbites" and "omitting key context" and has accused the company of seeking a "staggering" figure in damages aimed at winning headlines, silencing protected speech and enriching its owner and investors. Here is a brief overview of some of the claims the court documents contain, including sworn depositions and internal messages from prominent Fox News personalities like Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham and owner Rupert Murdoch discussing coverage of the 2020 election's aftermath. |
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– The settlement agreed with Vanessa Bryant after she launched a lawsuit against Los Angeles County over photographs that were taken of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed her husband, NBA legend Kobe Bryant, and one of their daughters. |
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"I was attacked in a restaurant tonight by an insane [woman] and screamed at by her adult son… They are self righteous, insane, and completely out of control. I was sitting at my table, working with my staff, and never even noticed these people until they turned into demons. People used to respect others even if they had different views. But not anymore. Our country is gone." |
– The ever-newsworthy Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene reports an unpleasant experience in public and suddenly takes an interest in respecting people with different viewpoints. |
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