Latest news with #BrianFlood
Fox News
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump cuts millions in taxpayer funding for pushing COVID ‘cover-up'
At the frenetic pace of the Trump administration wins, it's easy to lose sight of smaller but still important successes. The administration just terminated a contract, and let three others lapse, with Springer Nature. Springer Nature is an academic publishing company which includes a consortium of science publications. Funding such a thing may seem innocuous, but Springer is a behemoth in the scientific publishing world and prone to error and politicized decision-making. As Brian Flood reported at Fox News in late June, "The German-owned Springer Nature was forced to issue 2,923 retractions in 2024, according to Retraction Watch. The publishing giant has also been accused of significantly downplaying the COVID lab-leak theory and censoring content to appease the Chinese government. It also has a peer review process that critics believe is dominated by woke groupthink." Springer has long been considered a company dedicated to political goals and not scientific ones. Their journals had spent much of the pandemic downplaying the COVID-19 lab leak theory concluding in the journal Nature Medicine, as early as March 17, 2020, that, "since we observed all notable SARS-CoV-2 features, including the optimized RBD and polybasic cleavage site, in related coronaviruses in nature, we do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible." The paper was called "The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2" and its goal was to remove all discussion of the lab leak theory. A House Oversight committee, in July 2023, found that "Dr. Fauci and Dr. Collins tracked the paper through the review and publication process. And finally, Dr. Collins expressed dismay when Proximal Origin did not successfully kill the lab leak theory. He subsequently asked Dr. Fauci if there was anything more they could do. The next day, Dr. Fauci directly cited Proximal Origin from the White House podium." The committee concluded, "Dr. Collins and Dr. Fauci used Proximal Origin to attempt to kill the lab leak theory. This is the anatomy of a cover-up." In 2017, Springer "confirmed that it is restricting access to hundreds of articles that cover topics deemed sensitive to Chinese authorities." The censorship isn't limited to Covid and China. Two years ago, Springer retracted a peer-reviewed paper on gender dysphoria after pressure from activists who did not approve of the findings. Michael Bailey, the author of the study, had never had an article retracted before. This is not science. This is a political point of view. Springer Nature also charges scientists exorbitant amounts to publish their work. One study found that in just three years, Springer collected $589.7 million in "article processing charges." The researcher on that study found the scientific publishing companies "reach between 30% and 40%, well above most industries." This is not a company that should be receiving public funds and it's exactly the sort of thing that would have gone unnoticed in previous Republican administrations. Why are we funding any private publishing company, much less a foreign one with a leftist political bent? The Trump administration's laser focus on cost-cutting, but also on making the cuts specifically to politicized, bloated, entities like Springer is worth celebrating. Transparency is also a focus of the administration. On July 1, National Institutes of Health head Jay Bhattacharya posted about a new NIH policy to release all research to the public as soon as it is published. "The American people should have immediate free access to the science that we so generously fund through the @NIH. Starting today, we do." The Trump administration cuts to Springer are around $20 million and, a source told Axios, billions more are being evaluated. It's a strong start. Most Americans will be asking why we ever funded a company like this in the first place. President Donald Trump gets to say: we don't anymore.
CTV News
08-06-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
New sports exhibition shines a light of New Brunswick's history of rowing
The New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame is located in Fredericton. (Source: Facebook/NB Sports Hall of Fame) Days after the Confederation of Canada, the newly-formed country had its first sports heroes and they hailed from New Brunswick. The Paris Crew – comprised of Elijah Ross, Robert Fulton, Samuel Hutton and George Price – was a rowing team that squared off against world-class competition at the Paris Exposition in 1867. They placed first in the international regatta, winning scores of fans back home and inspiring the next generation of rowers in their home province. The history of rowing runs deep and long in New Brunswick, and a new permanent exhibition in Fredericton aims to highlight and celebrate it. The New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame is planning to launch the History of Rowing exhibition this summer, exploring the trailblazers of the sport. 'Brian Flood was the lead behind this,' said Stephen Andersen, outreach coordinator with the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame. 'During COVID, the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame changed a lot. A new theatre was put in and there is a piece that is unfinished. What do we want to do with this space?' Flood, who passed away last year, was a rowing icon in his own right, winning medals at several national competitions with his brother Henry in the 1980s. They were both inducted to the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. Andersen said much of New Brunswick's history of rowing can be traced back to its relationship with its waterways. 'From an economic standpoint, the Saint John River was a major trading hub and transportation hub,' he said. 'Rowing on the water was a fact of life.' The new exhibition will feature a timeline honouring major moments in rowing like the Paris Crew and Indigenous rowers. It will also explore the stories of major athletes like Hilton Belyea, Ed Winchester and Jillian Rose Blois. 'We want people to take away an experience,' Andersen said. 'We want to hit on all the rowing motifs. We want to ensure we're telling these stories. We want to hit the broad strokes.' Andersen said they hope to open the exhibit by the end of summer. They have fundraised $20,000 for the project, which will be matched by the J.T. Clark Family Foundation. 'We don't want to rush it,' he said. 'We want to make sure we're hitting the right notes in the exhibit creation. 'This is a nation-building thing. Canada has 40-plus medals in rowing, largely because of what happened in New Brunswick.' For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fox News dominates news competitors on YouTube with 410 million video views in January
Fox News continued its dominance on YouTube as the No. 1 news brand on the platform for three consecutive months. During the month of January, Fox News reached a whopping 410 million video views, marking the network's second-best performance on YouTube ever, according to Emplifi. Fox News trounced its closest news competitor, NBC News, by a staggering 242 million views, a 145% lead over the Peacock network. It's the largest gap over any other news brand in history. Fox News Posts Best January In History, Marking 23 Years As No. 1 Cable News Network As Cnn And Msnbc Flounder Among other news rivals, MSNBC trailed behind with 153 million views on YouTube in January, followed by ABC with 140 million, CNN with 137 million, CBS News with 62 million and The New York Times with 7 million. Fox News Channel also had its highest-rated January in history, marking 23 consecutive years as the No. 1 network in cable news as CNN and MSNBC continued to struggle. Read On The Fox News App 'The Will Cain Show' Debuts With 3.5 Million Viewers, Marking Biggest Daytime Premiere In Fox News' History Fox News aired the top 603 most-watched programs on cable news since Election Day. During January, the network was home to the top 270 cable news telecasts in America. Fox News Channel averaged 1.9 million total day viewers during January to finish as the most-watched network in all of cable. During the primetime hours of 8-11 p.m. ET, Fox News dominated cable news competitors with an average audience of 2.8 million viewers. Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this article source: Fox News dominates news competitors on YouTube with 410 million video views in January
