NYC campaign seeks money for LA fire victims. The question: Is it real?
Questions are swirling about a campaign on billboards and taxi cabs across New York City asking for donations to help Los Angeles wildfire victims. It turns out that the ads direct people to donate to a private company belonging to an LA-based Instagram influencer instead of one of the other well-known causes.
A photo taken by The City shows a six-sided billboard cube under the famous Coca-Cola ad at West 47th and Broadway Streets. The cube promotes a donation link with the words “Los Angeles is on fire. We need your help.”
The link takes you to Lineo, the newly launched company of 27-year-old Alec Celestin. He describes himself as an “entertainment and tech disruptor, as well as a “mini Elon,” referring to Elon Musk.
His website says the Lineo Rescue Fund is a way to “act when others can’t.” The website mentions his team has gone to LA’s fire danger zones where help is limited.
The site also claims that “every dollar contributes to making an impact” in various ways, including supplies, rebuilding communities and environmental recovery.
The fund’s site claims they have raised more than $280,000. Nearly $270,000 came from Celestin himself, as seen in the donations list.
Celestin’s business ventures have included creating and launching a canned cocktail with fellow influencer Bryce Hall. They’ve also worked with Fanfix, a platform for creators to post paid content for their subscribers.
He’s currently working at a similar company called Passes.
Fanfix sued Celestin, accusing him of stealing internal financial metrics and sharing them with Passes. That court case is still pending.
Celestin told The City he never stole confidential information from the company. Meanwhile, relief efforts are ramping up in response to the LA wildfire destruction. And law enforcement officials are warning people to look out for potential scams.
Celestin has not been accused of any wrongdoing or charged with a crime related to his fundraising campaign.
MacKenzie Scott announces plans to donate another $2 billion to nonprofits
MacKenzie Scott announced Wednesday, Dec. 18, another $2 billion in donations to various nonprofits. Over the past five years, the philanthropist has given part of her wealth to “mission-aligned ventures” that create economic opportunity.
Since 2019, Scott has donated $19.2 billion to close to 2,500 nonprofits with the support of her advisers. The author published a blog post detailing her giving on her website, Yield Giving.
“I’ve asked the investment team helping me manage the assets I’m working to give away to source funds and companies focused on for-profit solutions to these challenges,” Scott wrote.
She said her advisers help manage her assets and create a fund for companies to pull directly from. Her website says it was established with the idea of “adding value by giving up control.”
Scott has created a trust-based system with unrestricted grants. It allows recipients to spend the funding however necessary to further their organization’s mission.
While Scott has signaled her support for a wide array of groups –– from affordable housing to educational support for girls in Africa –– experts said the billionaire is starting to focus more on issues surrounding poverty.
Even with her significant giving, Forbes estimates Scott’s wealth to be more than $30 billion.
Scott’s wealth partially stems from her divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and the shares in the company that she received following the separation.
House Republicans block release of Matt Gaetz ethics report
Republicans block efforts by their Democratic colleagues to release the House Ethics Committee’s report on its investigation into former Congressman Matt Gaetz. And the manhunt continues for the gunman in the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Friday, Dec. 6, 2024.
House Republicans block release of Matt Gaetz ethics report
The House Ethics Committee’s report on its investigation into former Congressman Matt Gaetz will not be made public — at least for now. Thursday, Dec. 5, House Republicans blocked two separate Democratic resolutions to release the report, voting to refer the matter back to the committee.
Lawmakers voted along almost entirely party lines to table an effort from Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) to force the report’s immediate release, saying the former Florida congressman is no longer under the House’s jurisdiction because he resigned.
Gaetz left Congress last month after President-elect Donald Trump announced he was nominating the Republican lawmaker to become the nation’s next attorney general. That all happened just days before the ethics report was supposed to be released.
Gaetz later withdrew from consideration for the job after it became clear he would not get the Senate support needed to win confirmation, amid allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor and illicit drug use. He’s also denied those allegations.
Another effort by Democratic Congressman Steve Cohen of Tennessee was also blocked.
Casten blasted the House’s decision in a statement after the vote, saying, “Today, the majority of the House of Representatives took the easy way out. They could have ensured a vote on whether or not former members should be held accountable when they face serious and credible allegations of sexual misconduct — including having sex with minors. Instead, the House voted to sweep these allegations under the rug and set an unfortunate precedent that, if you are ever facing scrutiny, resigning from Congress can make your problems go away.”
Casten added he will continue to try to get the report released.
Tonight the House of Representatives voted to sweep credible allegations of sexual misconduct under the rug.
I retain options to pursue the release of the Gaetz Report.
Congressman Michael Guest (R-MS), the committee chairman, said there no longer is the same urgency to release the report because Gaetz has left Congress and stepped aside as Trump’s choice to head the Justice Department.
Elon Musk spent more than $250 million getting Trump re-elected
Billionaire Elon Musk spent almost a quarter of a billion dollars in supporting Donald Trump’s reelection, according to Federal Election Commission filings released late Thursday, Dec. 5. While that accounts for just a fraction of Musk’s wealth as the richest man in the world, it’s a massive amount to come from just one single donor.
Musk donated most of that money to his America PAC, making three donations of $25 million each in the final weeks of the race. Over the course of the campaign, he gave America PAC a total of $239 million in cash and in-kind contributions.
Musk also spent more than $40 million on checks to voters in swing states who signed a petition in support of the Constitution.
According to the filings, Musk also put $20 million into a PAC named after the late liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. That PAC was behind political ads claiming Trump does not support a federal abortion ban and he and Ginsburg had that in common.
New images released as manhunt continues in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing
Police have released new information about the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as the manhunt continues for the gunman. Investigators released new images Thursday of a hooded man who they say is “a person of interest” wanted for questioning in the slaying of the health insurance executive.
Police sources confirmed to multiple news outlets the images were taken from a surveillance camera inside a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Officials said the man used a fake New Jersey ID to check into the hostel.
The sources said the suspect is believed to have traveled from Atlanta to New York City on a Greyhound bus the Sunday before Thanksgiving, Nov. 24, then later checked in to the hostel. Greyhound is reportedly cooperating with the investigation.
The gunman shot Thompson multiple times at point-blank range as he was walking into a New York City Hilton hotel. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. Authorities said the shooting was “premeditated” and a “brazen, targeted attack.”
According to multiple reports, the bullet casings located at the scene had the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written on them. The gun used in the shooting has not been recovered.
Police are still searching for a motive in the deadly shooting.
Aftershocks rock California after magnitude 7 earthquake
Dozens of aftershocks have been reported in California after a powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake rattled a large part of the west coast Thursday. The epicenter of the earthquake was around 50 miles southwest of the northern port city Eureka in the Pacific Ocean.
A tsunami warning briefly went into effect from Oregon down to central California, but that has since been canceled. Evacuation orders have also been lifted.
California’s governor signed a state of emergency and said damage assessments are underway. So far, only minor damage and no injuries have been reported.
NASA delays next two manned moon missions
We’ve waited decades to see an astronaut walk on the moon again, and now, we’ll have to wait a little longer.
NASA announced Thursday it is delaying its next two Artemis moon missions to address an issue with the Orion crew capsule that will be housing the astronauts and its heat shield. The agency said the Artemis II mission that will fly a crew around the moon has been pushed from September of this year to no earlier than April of 2026.
The Artemis III mission, which will see the first moon landing in more than 50 years, set for 2026 will now happen no earlier than mid-2027.
Taylor Swift’s recording-breaking Eras tour ends this weekend
The tour kicked off in March of last year with Swift putting on the 3.5-hour concert more than 150 times in front of sold-out crowds across five continents.
Transatlantic election friction: Trump, Musk versus UK Labour Party
Former President Trump has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against the Harris-Walz campaign and the Labour Party of the United Kingdom. Trump alleges that the U.K. is interfering in the election by recruiting party members to campaign for Harris in swing states. He claims that the British group made illegal foreign national contributions and has significant influence over the Harris campaign’s messaging.
In the FEC complaint, Trump’s lawyer stated, “When representatives of the British government previously sought to go door-to-door in America, it did not end well for them. This past week marked the 243 anniversary of the surrender of British forces at the Battle of Yorktown, a military victory that ensured that the United States would be politically independent of Great Britain. It appears that the Labour Party and the Harris for President campaign have forgotten the message.”
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said party members have traveled to the U.S. “pretty much every election,” and they do so in their spare time as volunteers. The BBC reported that Labour staffers campaigning in the U.S. have taken leave from their roles and are funding their own trips.
The Trump campaign is questioning this activity, pointing to a now-deleted post on LinkedIn by Labour Party leader Sofia Patel. The campaign claims the post was recruiting current and former members to campaign for Harris in North Carolina, with 100 members signing up, and that Patel would help “sort out their housing.”
The filing suggests the language of the post implied that travel costs would be covered for those who signed up.
Starmer maintains that the party has done nothing illegal and stated that he will work with whoever becomes president, regardless of the outcome in November.
This dispute between Trump and the Labour Party comes as Trump ally Elon Musk is engaged in his own feud with the group.
The “Center for Countering Digital Hate,” which is linked to the Labour Party and aims to stop the spread of misinformation online, had internal documents leaked by a whistleblower, according to journalist Matt Taibbi’s report.
The documents revealed the group’s agenda, with the top item stating, “Kill Musk’s Twitter.”
The group reportedly planned to achieve this by targeting and harassing X advertisers, using EU regulations as leverage to persuade them to withdraw their financial support from the platform.
Musk reposted the Taibbi report on X with the caption, “This is war.” The Labour Party has not commented on the claims contained in the report.
A few prominent political figures across the pond have also campaigned directly for Trump. Included is former MEP and current Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage, who has appeared at multiple Trump campaign events in the past, this year visiting the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Judge weighs Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments in schools
A federal judge will hear arguments Monday, Oct. 21, over Louisiana’s new law requiring the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public schools statewide by Jan. 1. Lawyers for parents seeking to block the law will argue it violates the United States Constitution by infringing on students’ religious freedom.
State lawyers argue the lawsuit should be thrown out – not only because the posters haven’t even gone up yet, but because they say the Ten Commandments have historical significance and influence on American law.
The Louisiana law applies to all public K-12 schools and state-funded university classrooms and requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed on a poster or framed document at least 11 inches by 14 inches where the text is the central focus and “printed in a large, easily readable font.”
Each poster must also be paired with a four-paragraph context statement that says the Ten Commandments “were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries,” among other things.
School systems will not have to use public money for the posters. Instead, the displays will be paid for by donations or the posters themselves will be donated by groups or organizations. Meanwhile, questions still linger about how the requirement will be enforced if a teacher refuses to hang up the Ten Commandments and what happens if there are not enough donations to satisfy the mandate.
Harvard faces ‘fundraising crisis’ as donors cut ties over protests
Harvard University has experienced a $151 million drop in fundraising for fiscal year 2024. That represents a 14% decline compared to last year and marks one of the largest decreases in a decade.
Breaking down the figures, contributions to the endowment fell by $193 million from the previous fiscal year. However, the university benefitted from an increase of $42 million in current-use gift donations.
Endowment gifts are critical for Harvard’s long-term financial health, as they fund scholarships, research and operational costs. Unlike current-use gifts, which can be spent immediately, endowment contributions are preserved, with only their investment returns available for use.
The decline in endowment donations raises concerns about Harvard’s ability to expand programs in the future.
The Crimson, the university’s newspaper, labeled the issue as a “fundraising crisis” for Harvard, noting that several billionaire donors have publicly severed ties with the university following pro-Palestinian protests and encampments that engulfed campus grounds.
Philanthropy accounts for 45% of the university’s revenue. Current President Alan Garber privately warned alumni earlier this year about the considerable decline in contributions, according to The Crimson.
While expressing concern over the current figures, Garber indicated there are signs of improvement. He noted that donors are “reassured by the direction” the university is taking and are “relieved” that the current academic year has been “quieter” than last year.
Netflix saw a spike in cancellations after co-founder endorsed Kamala Harris
New details have emerged about what led to a surge in Netflix cancellations over the summer. Many of those cancellations may have been supporters of former President Donald Trump after the service’s co-founder and chairman endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
Reed Hastings publicly endorsed Harris and revealed that he donated $7 million to the Harris campaign. His endorsement and donation sparked an immediate backlash.
The hashtag #CancelNetflix began trending on X, with many users sharing screenshots, canceling their accounts. July 26 was Netflix’s sharpest spike in cancellations this year.
According to Bloomberg, the platform’s rate of cancellations jumped by 2.8% in July, the highest seen since it phased out its cheapest, basic subscription tier last year. Though Netflix typically boasts one of the lowest cancellation rates in the streaming industry, the impact of Hastings’ endorsement seems to have resonated deeply with some subscribers.
The entertainment industry has been no stranger to backlash over political involvement.
Disney spent the last two years in a public battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, R, after the company spoke out against a state law restricting classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Most recently, Disney faced scrutiny over the close ties between Kamala Harris and its entertainment co-chair, Dana Walden.
For Trump supporters hoping to make a statement, Hastings has long been a vocal Democratic donor. He supported Hillary Clinton in 2016, later contributing millions to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s, D, recall defense in 2021.
With Netflix’s next financial results set to released in October, the long-term impact of these cancellations on revenue is still unclear.
At least 3 dead as Helene barrels through southeastern US
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida overnight as a major Category 4 storm, leaving at least 3 people dead and leading to massive power outages. And the Oakland A’s have played their final home game after 57 years. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.
At least 3 dead as Helene barrels through southeastern U.S.
The storm brought the anticipated life-threatening storm surge, strong winds and heavy rains. Meteorologists say just because the storm has weakened significantly, does not make it less dangerous.
Authorities in Pasco County, Florida rescued people trapped by heavy flooding. One person was killed on Interstate 4 near Tampa when a sign fell on their car, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Authorities in Wheeler County, Georgia said two people were killed when an apparent tornado overturned a mobile home. Two others died in Laurens County, according to emergency officials.
As of early Friday morning, more than one million people in Florida were without power, as were hundreds of thousands more in Georgia. Power outages linked to Helene have also been reported in South Carolina and North Carolina.
The National Hurricane Center said tropical storm conditions will be felt throughout the southeast throughout Friday, with strong, damaging winds likely to “penetrate as far inland as the higher terrain of the southern Appalachians.”
Trump says he will meet with Zelenskyy to hear ‘victory plan’
The decision comes after there was some doubt whether the meeting between the two would occur — after both Trump and Zelenskyy have been critical of each other.
On Thursday, the Ukrainian president met with both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris separately to discuss his plan to defeat Russia. Biden pledged to send billions of dollars more in missiles, drones, weapons, and supplies.
Meanwhile, Harris told Zelenskyy recent calls for Ukraine to give over some of its land to Russia are “dangerous and unacceptable,” referring to recent suggestions by Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance. Both have suggested Ukraine should cut a deal quickly to end the war that’s been going on for almost three years now.
Trump has stated that if he wins the November election, he will end the Russia-Ukraine war even before he takes office.
Zelenskyy also met with members of Congress Thursday in an effort to shore up American support for the ongoing war.
DOJ expected to announce charges in alleged Iranian hack of Trump campaign
Investigators said Iran gained access to Trump campaign emails and sent files to various media outlets and the Biden-Harris campaign this summer, before President Biden dropped out of the race and Vice President Harris took over as the Democratic nominee.
Reports said multiple Iranian hackers will be charged. Sources told ABC News the Trump campaign has been informed of the charges.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams to appear in federal court
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is set to make an appearance in federal court Friday. He will be arraigned on charges including bribery, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national.
It marked the second time this year the state has employed this controversial method.
Miller was sentenced to death in 2000 for a 1999 shooting that killed three men he had worked with, after he accused them of spreading rumors about him.
The Alabama Department of Corrections said the procedure involved Miller being fitted with a mask and nitrogen gas flowing into his system for about 15 minutes.
According to the Associated Press, Miller’s final words were, “I didn’t do anything to be here.”
The game had plenty of emotion as well as some interruptions. Somebody threw a smoke bomb onto the field at one point, and a fan ran onto the field and made a dash for it, as well.
In the end, A’s fans soaked up all the memories, staying well past the final out.
The team will now relocate to Sacramento for the next three seasons before moving to their new permanent home in Las Vegas in 2028.
National Park Foundation receives historic $100 million donation
The National Park Foundation received a historic $100 million donation from Lilly Endowment Inc., marking the largest single gift ever for U.S. national parks. Currently, the National Park Foundation is amid taking donations for its “Campaign for National Parks,” aiming to raise $1 billion for park preservation efforts.
“From majestic mountains to vibrant coral reefs to the Lincoln Memorial, national parks embody a tapestry of breathtaking landscapes, diverse ecosystems, and rich cultural heritage,” the National Park Foundation said in a statement. “But these cherished places are facing a growing number of challenges, threatening what they have offered visitors for more than a century.”
The president and CEO of the National Park Foundation says this $100 million gift will significantly bolster their efforts to preserve America’s parks.
According to a news release, the gift will go toward inspiring the next generation of park stewards, conserving and preserving threatened parks and wildlife, ensuring a world-class visitor experience, and telling a more complete story of America.
The National Park Service had a $3.3 billion budget in the 2024 fiscal year.
The CEO emphasized that this grant would allow the foundation to strengthen efforts to ensure national parks are accessible for everyone, for generations to come, by promising to enhance programming and ensure the long-term viability of the nation’s parks, monuments and historic sites.
Can Kamala Harris take over Biden’s $96 million war chest? Expect a fight.
The money is pouring in for the Democrats since President Joe Biden announced he was bowing out of the race. The Democratic political action committee ActBlue fundraised more than $50 million in the first day after Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place on the ticket.
But as new money floods in, questions hang over who gets the existing Biden-Harris war chest worth around $96 million. The campaign is quickly moving forward as if those funds now belong to Harris. However, there is little doubt Republicans plan to challenge this with the Federal Election Commission and in court.
Trump-appointed FEC Chair Sean Cooksey said the issue is complicated and unprecedented in an interview with NPR.
“I think there’s a number of different avenues that I could expect different parties to challenge this attempted transfer, this attempted change to the presidential committee,” Cooksey said. “There’s a process in which private parties can file complaints with the Federal Election Commission, there’s also a process in which they can prospectively ask for advisory opinions. One of the problems with those processes is they can take a lot time and we don’t have a lot of time up until the election.”
Not all FEC commissioners agree. Biden-appointed FEC commissioner Dara Lindenbaum told The New York Times she does not think it is an open question because Harris’ name is already on the campaign committee registration form.
“It’s very clear,” she said. “If Kamala Harris is the Democratic presidential nominee, she gets to use all the money in the account.”
What is clear in the early debates about the $96 million war chest is that two people with the same job see it differently.
Straight Arrow News interviewed Jerry Goldfeder for some clarity. Goldfeder is senior counsel at Cozen O’Connor law firm and director of Fordham Law School’s Voting Rights and Democracy Project.
This interview has been edited for clarity. Watch the full conversation in the video above.
Jerry Goldfeder: It’s relatively simple. She was a principal of the Biden-Harris Campaign Committee, the authorized committee of the campaign for the presidential and vice presidential candidacies of those people, and she continues to be a principal of the new committee, which is Harris for President. So the funds get transferred quite easily.
Simone Del Rosario: Do you think that ease that you’re talking about is part of the reason why Democrats are coalescing behind her? That these funds could easily be transferred to her campaign, whereas someone else might have a more difficult time fundraising?
Jerry Goldfeder: Well, it would be a factor if it couldn’t be transferred, but frankly, the tremendous support for her is based upon her tremendous record as vice president and who she is as a candidate and as a person. People know her. People in the Democratic Party know her. People really respect her. People really like her. She’s done her work among the Democrats throughout the country and I think there’s a strong feeling that she would make a great president. People, as I say, really respect her and like her.
Simone Del Rosario: Although it’s not a foregone conclusion, it really does seem like there’s not a lot of significant challenges to Harris being the nominee at this point, but let’s put that aside for a second. If the nominee ends up being someone other than Harris, whose name is on that campaign committee registration form, how does the funding work? From there, what happens to this $96 million?
Jerry Goldfeder: Well, that’s an extremely hypothetical question because I think it’s pretty clear she will be the nominee. But let’s go with your hypothetical for a moment. If, in fact, it’s another candidate who is the nominee, all the money from Biden-Harris could be transferred to the party. It could be transferred to an independent expenditure organization. It can be used on behalf of the nominee, indirectly, but legally.
Simone Del Rosario: Is there any chance that these funds would have to be refunded in any kind of way?
Jerry Goldfeder: No.
Simone Del Rosario: What funds specifically are in question here? Campaign finance is such a thorny issue for people who aren’t steeped in it every single day.
Jerry Goldfeder: Most normal people don’t know and don’t want to know any of the ins and outs of campaign finance law. When somebody runs for election or for reelection, there’s an authorized campaign committee, and that committee gathers monies in order to spend for its campaign. So people contribute to the Biden-Harris campaign, to the campaign committee. That’s what we’re talking about here. And the Biden-Harris campaign committee, which has millions of dollars, can transfer to the Harris campaign committee. It’s actually not really even a transfer, because it’s basically the same committee. It’s just renamed.
Simone Del Rosario: The FEC expects to face all sorts of challenges. What does that process look like when there are only months to go before the election?
Jerry Goldfeder: The Federal Election Commission is not known for acting swiftly, and in this case, I think that there’ll be some challenges by Republicans, just for the sake of it. Some of them will be heartfelt and they really believe it, and some of them will just be just to try to bollocks up, the works, but the FEC is not going to take any action that’s going to interfere with Kamala Harris and her new running mate from using the funds that have already been raised. And, needless to say, the new funds too.
Simone Del Rosario: What about the courts? Could they tie up this money and prevent her from using these funds?
Jerry Goldfeder: It’s hard to believe that something like that is going to happen in this campaign. I think that’s just the Republicans trying to raise an issue that is pretty bogus.