Musk’s Starlink Was Not Connected to Vote Tabulation, Contrary to Online Claims

President-elect Donald Trump won the presidential race propelled by victories in all seven swing states. Trump not only won the electoral college, but he is ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris in the popular vote by about 2.6 million votes, as of Nov. 18.

In a statement days after the election, Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, wrote, “As we have said repeatedly, our election infrastructure has never been more secure and the election community never better prepared to deliver safe, secure, free, and fair elections for the American people. … Importantly, we have no evidence of any malicious activity that had a material impact on the security or integrity of our election infrastructure.”

Nevertheless, baseless accusations of 2024 election interference have spread on social media. Most recently, claims from partisan users are targeting Elon Musk’s Starlink system, a division of SpaceX that provides satellite-based broadband internet.

Musk, CEO of SpaceX, endorsed Trump, who announced on Nov. 12 that Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, would lead what Trump is calling the Department of Government Efficiency. Trump said the new department would “provide advice and guidance from outside of Government,” CNN reported.

The social media posts have falsely claimed that Musk, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin conspired to rig the election in Trump’s favor by using Starlink to systematically switch votes across swing states. We debunked a similar conspiracy theory that a secret supercomputer and accompanying software program were used to switch votes from Trump to President-elect Joe Biden in 2020. Federal and state officials, as well as experts who study election security, flatly rejected such claims at the time.

Take Out the Trash: A Proposal to Revitalize the Democratic Party (OPINION)

Democrats are currently in disarray. It’s time to identify our adversaries and assert our demands to build a party capable of winning.

The Democratic Party leadership bears significant responsibility for Donald Trump's return to the White House. While various factors contributed to this outcome, it is important to recognize that Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and their supporters engaged in considerable political malpractice despite numerous warnings from key voices and constituencies.

Multiple governments worldwide, regardless of their ideologies, have faced electoral losses this year, indicating that Harris had a tough battle ahead. However, this challenge was exacerbated by the reality that Biden and Harris spent an entire year alienating core constituencies of the Democratic Party. They supported Israel's actions in Gaza, which many viewed as detrimental, and failed to clearly attribute the blame for the economic struggles of the working class to the individuals and interest groups responsible.

If we want a Democratic Party that can achieve different outcomes, we must hold the current leadership accountable for its failures. This means the Democratic Party should pair our demands for change with concrete accountability measures. The Democratic Party must target the Democratic leadership with campaigns that emphasize the principles of electoral success while penalizing those responsible for the party's ongoing defeats. I am building a campaign to do precisely that, and here’s how I believe we can succeed.

Thousands of Women Serve in Combat Roles — Pentagon Nominee Hegseth Says They Shouldn’t

Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, surprised many in Washington when he was nominated by Trump for the position of Secretary of Defense. Despite having seemingly little experience in defense policy and a somewhat modest military background—spending 13 years as a part-time member of the National Guard and achieving the rank of major—Hegseth's nomination raised concerns within the defense community.

It remains uncertain how Hegseth would manage the Defense Department, which is the largest federal agency and one of the biggest bureaucracies in the world. However, he has made his views clear: he is critical of military service by women and opposes allowing female troops to serve in combat roles.

"It hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, and has made fighting more complicated," Hegseth stated during a recent appearance on "The Shawn Ryan Show."

On a recent show, he told the host that he was "straight-up saying we should not have women in combat roles." He expressed similar views in his book published in June, stating, "Women are life givers, regardless of what the abortion industry might want us to think." A spokeswoman for Fox News informed 'TELL IT LIKE IT IS' Defense News on Monday that Hegseth is no longer associated with the network.

Currently, around 3,800 women are serving in frontline Army combat roles, which include infantry, cavalry, armor, and field artillery positions. This data, reviewed by 'TELL IT LIKE IT IS' Defense News, encompasses active duty, reserve, and National Guard personnel, and includes both enlisted soldiers and officers.

Among these women, fewer than 10 are female Green Berets serving in the Army's most elite units, according to multiple defense officials with direct knowledge of the situation. At least one of these women is transgender. Additionally, one woman is currently going through the rigorous Special Forces training pipeline, indicating a gradual but significant shift in the composition of the Army's combat forces.

House Has Approved A Comprehensive Veterans Bill Following A Bipartisan Compromise

A wide-ranging veterans policy bill that would bolster home caregiver programs and support for homeless veterans, among other areas, was approved by the House on Monday evening after election-season politics stalled the bill for months.

Tweaks were made to the legislation between when it was first introduced over the summer and Monday's vote that got Democrats on board with the bill, allowing it to easily pass the House in a bipartisan 389-9 vote.

But the backbone of the bill -- language aimed at making it easier for aging and disabled veterans to get home- and community-based nursing care -- remained intact in the version of the bill approved Monday.

"For nearly the entire 118th Congress, the House and Senate committees on Veterans Affairs have worked together to develop a bipartisan package of common-sense proposals," House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., said on the House floor Monday afternoon. "The Dole Act is a result of that work and would enhance, reform and modernize nearly every part of the VA. Specifically, the Dole Act would change the landscape for elderly veterans and finally give them a choice in where they choose to live out their sunset years."

Dubbed the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, the marquee provisions in the bill would increase the Department of Veterans Affairs' share of covering home nursing care from 65% to 100% of costs and make several other changes to increase the accessibility of home nursing care for veterans.

Oklahoma Wrestling Posts Several Strong Performances at Daktronics Invite

BROOKINGS, S.D. | Beric Jordan (125A), KJ Evans (149B), Landyn Sommer (157B) and Juan Mora (285A) led the way for the No. 21 Oklahoma wrestling team on Sunday at the Warren Williamson Daktronics Invite, as each titled in their respective weight brackets and combined for a 12-0 record.

In his Sooner debut, Jordan dominated his way through the top bracket at 125-pounds, picking up a pair of major decision wins over Minnesota's Quincy Hulverson and Blake Beissel while also landing a third period pin on Air Force's Nico Tocci to cap a 3-0 day.

Evans, in the 149-pound B bracket, enjoyed a perfect 3-0 day with decision-wins against Mykey Ramos (Arizona State) and Colin Dupill (South Dakota State), as well as a tech fall against Jack Nelson (Minnesota).

Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes Named SEC Freshman of the Week

The guard led all SEC freshmen with 22.5 points per game in a pair of wins last week

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | The SEC announced Wednesday that Vanderbilt women’s basketball player Mikayla Blakes has earned the SEC Freshman of the Week honors. It is the first career weekly conference honor for the guard.

It is the first career weekly SEC accolade for Blakes, who led all SEC freshmen in scoring this past week at 22.5 points per game. She shot 46.9 percent from the field (15-of-32) to help the Commodores to a pair of wins over South Florida (Nov. 14) and Butler (Nov. 17). Her performance helped Vanderbilt improve to 4-0 for the third-straight season.

The highlight of her week came in last Sunday’s 81-62 home win over Butler, where she scored a career-best 29 points. Blakes’ 29-point performance against the Bulldogs ties her for the fifth-most points scored in a game by a Vanderbilt freshman, tying her with three other Commodores. The guard also became the fifth Vandy freshman to register 29 or more points in a game, becoming the first since Iyana Moore’s 32-point performance vs. Alabama State on Dec. 28, 2021. She hit a personal-best four 3-point field goals and added a career-high three steals in the win over Butler. It is Blakes’ second 20-point performance of her young Vandy career, as she registered 23 points in the season-opening win over Lipscomb on Nov. 4.

The Somerset, New Jersey, native opened the week by scoring 16 points in her first collegiate road game, helping the Commodores post a 62-49 win at South Florida on Nov. 14. She hit two 3-pointers and added two steals to her stat line. Blakes has had multiple steals and made at least two 3-point field goals in every game this season.

Razorbacks Prepare to Compete in the Iowa Hawkeye Midseason Invite

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. | The Razorbacks are set to compete in the Iowa Invite, which runs from Thursday to Saturday.

The Razorbacks are coming off a 176-111 victory against in-state rival University of Arkansas-Little Rock and have a record of 5-3 for the season. In addition to facing the Hawkeyes, the Razorbacks will compete against teams from Colorado State, Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, Nebraska, Northern Iowa, and San Diego State. The Iowa Invite features all women's swimming and diving teams and will follow a structure similar to this year’s conference championships. This event will mark the first time the Razorbacks have faced Iowa, Northern Iowa, and San Diego State.

Coach Harper spoke about the importance of the Midseason Invite, saying, “The Iowa Invite will be a unique event featuring nine women’s teams from across the country. Iowa has a great facility, so we are excited to compete against teams that will bring out the best in our ladies!”

Preliminary heats will begin on Thursday at 9:00 AM CST.

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-- By Andre Leday 

© Copyright 2024 JWT Communications. All rights reserved. This article cannot be republished, rebroadcast, rewritten, or distributed in any form without written permission.

TV REVIEW: ‘Interior Chinatown’ Struggles to Turn an Allegorical Novel Into a Show

The novel “Interior Chinatown” is formatted like a script, taking its title from the screenwriting convention of beginning scenes by indicating whether they take place indoors or out. Its author, Charles Yu, frequently works in television, with credits on shows like “Westworld” and “Legion.” (Yu’s brother, Kelvin, created the Disney+ series “American Born Chinese.”) And the book is principally a commentary on film and TV tropes as they relate to Asian-American stereotypes, a project that could well be furthered by a jump to the screen. 

But despite a background so seemingly suited for adaptation, “Interior Chinatown” struggles as an actual show. Yu himself created the 10-episode Hulu series, partnering with executive producer and pilot director Taika Waititi to bring the novel’s surreal, allegorical world to life. Compared to a book’s hermetically sealed environment, television requires a multiplicity of perspectives and the forward momentum of plot, especially when stretched — as Yu has opted to — into 45-minute installments. These necessary elements end up diluting, rather than augmenting, the novel’s original insights, turning a singular, compact fable into a middling mystery.

Shyne: ‘Nobody Would Listen’ to Warnings about Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, and More We Learned From His Documentary

Toward the end of “The Honorable Shyne,” the flawed yet redeeming Andscape documentary that premiered on Hulu Monday, Moses Barrow — the current leader of the opposition in Belize’s House of Representatives and one-time Diddy protege known as Shyne — ruminates on the life of…sea turtles. By this point in the film, the director Marcus A. Clarke (“Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali,” “THE WZRD”) has highlighted the Belizean ocean coast as a transformative place for the protagonist.

Water as a symbol of rebirth is a well-worn trope yet it works because of the poignancy Barrow imbues into the scene. He posits that the reptiles can only grow into the swimmers they’re intended to become if they’re left to their own devices while on land. The turtles’ struggle to reach the water ultimately strengthens their muscles. “The design of life is evolution,” Barrow remarks. “To mold you, shape you.”

In other words, it’s the journey not the destination. And few rappers have lived a life quite like Moses “Shyne” Barrow. He was born in Belize (to an estranged father who would later be elected the country’s first Black prime minister) and emigrated with his mother to Brooklyn at 10 years old. He lived rough on the streets of Flatbush during his teenage years, and that authenticity made him a hot commodity as record labels got wind of his rapping talents. After a bidding war, he signed with Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Records to begin work on his self-titled debut album. Then in December 1999, while partying with Combs and his then girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, he was involved in a high-profile shooting at Club New York that left Natania Reuben with bullet fragments in her face and several others injured. Diddy was acquitted while Barrow spent nearly nine years in prison, until his release in 2009.