The Latest on the News Corp Scandal
Last week, we discussed the state of play in the News Corp phone hacking scandal and why the U.S. government needs to launch an investigation. Since then, a lot — far too much to cover in this space — has happened. Here’s a rundown of some key details, by the numbers:
0
The number of times Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch, or Rebekah Brooks accepted any responsibility for the growing scandal.
1
The number of law firms fighting to weaken a key anti-corruption law shared by News Corp and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which launched a campaign to weaken the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act shortly after receiving a $1 million gift from News Corp.
1
The number of pies thrown in Rupert Murdoch’s face during his testimony before Parliament
2
The number of investigations of News Corp opened in the U.S. so far (Department of Justice and FBI).
2
The number of senior police officials who resigned this week over allegations of improper relationships with News International.
3
The number of current or former News Corp executives who testified before Parliament on Tuesday: Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch, and Rebekah Brooks.
10
The number of hours former News International chief Rebekah Brooks spent in questioning this past Sunday after she was arrested.
12
The percentage of American voters who view Rupert Murdoch favorably.
23
The percentage of “very conservative” American voters who view Murdoch favorably.
23
The number of meetings or social gatherings Prime Minister David Cameron had with News Corp executives since becoming prime minister, approximately one-third of all meetings Cameron has had with media organizations.
77
The percentage of Americans who want the Department of Justice to investigate News Corp, including 69 percent of Republicans
1,059
The number of words in a shocking Wall Street Journal editorial that defended News Corp and attacked the Guardian and others.
4,000+
The estimated number of victims of phone hacking in the U.K. alone.
150,000+
The number of people who have signed petitions calling for investigations of News Corp in the U.S.
$29.5 MILLION
The amount News Corp paid to buy a rival company, just as a trial about News Corp’s alleged hacking of the company was getting underway.
$655 MILLION
The total amount News Corp has paid out “to make embarrassing charges of corporate espionage and anticompetitive behavior go away.”
Evening Brief: Imporant Stories That You May Have Missed
In light of uncompromising Republican obstructionism, Faiz Shakir, editor-in-chief of Think Progress, has a solution to President Obama’s low rate of confirmation for his nominees. In an op-ed in the Washington Post, Shakir makes the case the White House should take the muzzle off its nominees and allow them to make their own case for confirmation and defend themselves in the media.
Congressman Allen West (R-FL) has had a week full of public relations disasters and offensive statements. That doesn’t mean he’s ready for it to end though. Now, West is claiming liberals see him as “a threat because I’m the guy that got off of their 21st Century plantation.”
The Gang of Six plan to reduce the national debt is even worse than you think.
The News Corp-owned Times of London shows its sympathy for the victims of the serious criminal allegations leveled against it and its parent company by printing a cartoon depicting starving children bemoaning the phone hacking covering.
The House GOP shows its disdain for women worldwide by voting to reinstate the global gag rule.
Why does the Gang of Six want to repeal the CLASS Act?: “This combination of cuts and repeal of CLASS threatens to put millions of families in financial and physical jeopardy.”
Archie comics are officially all in on gay rights.
Big banks get bigger: “The assets held by the five largest American banks — Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs — grew 3 percent last year compared to the year prior, according to their most recent quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. They held $8.7 trillion in assets as of June 30, compared to $8.4 trillion the same time last year.”
After learning his state’s credit rating could be jeopardized if the federal government defaulted on its debt, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) flip-flopped, and called for Congress to come to a compromise “immediately.”
Worth A Thousand Words: Gay “Barabarians” Demand Ex-Gay “Discipline” From Bachmann Clinic
Via ThinkProgress LGBT’s Zack Ford:
Today a group of gay “barbarians” descended upon Marcus Bachmann’s Christian counseling center to protest the harmful ex-gay therapy offered there. During a radio interview in 2010, Bachmann compared gay people to “barbarians” who need to be “disciplined.” Organized by Nick Espinosa, who famously showered Newt Gingrich with glitter, the protest glittered Bachmann’s empty waiting room and reception area, chanting “You can’t pray away the gay — baby, I was born this way!”
