85 super game
DENVER (AP) — The Denver Broncos signed left tackle Garett Bolles to a four-year extension on Thursday, locking up a big piece to protect rookie quarterback Bo Nix. Bolles has spent his entire career with the organization after being drafted out of Utah with the 20th overall pick in 2017. He has a chance this season to help the Broncos into the postseason for the first time since they won Super Bowl 50 after the 2015 season. The Broncos (8-5) are currently in the seventh and final playoff spot in the AFC. They can put some distance between them and Indianapolis on Sunday (6-7) with a win over the Colts. After an up-and-down start in Denver, Bolles has developed into a dependable pass protector. He's allowed one sack and 24 quarterback pressures over 13 starts this season. What's more, his 4.9 percent quarterback pressure rate is the second-lowest mark among tackles with at least 200 pass blocking snaps this season, according to NextGen Stats. With time to scan the field, Nix leads all rookies in completions (277), yards passing (2,842), offensive touchdowns (22) and passing touchdowns (17). Bolles earned second-team Associated Press All-Pro honors after the 2020 season. On social media , Bolles posted: “Broncos Country, It’s been a great 8 years! Thanks for everything! And ... I’m not leaving. The show goes on!” Since 2017, Bolles has allowed the sixth-fewest sacks (36) among tackles with at least 3,100 snaps. The extension of Bolles means the Broncos have all five starting offensive linemen on board through next season. Guard Quinn Meinerz agreed to four-year contract extension in July. The Broncos also signed cornerback Patrick Surtain II to a four-year contract extension in September worth $96 million, including $77.5 million in guarantees. Linebacker Jonathon Cooper agreed to a four-year, $60 million extension in November. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflWASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of almost 1,500 people, the largest one-day act of presidential clemency. He also issued pardons to 39 people convicted of non-violent crimes, several of whom would get lighter sentences if convicted now, the White House announced Thursday. The commutations are for people who were placed on home confinement during the Covid-19 pandemic as part of an effort to reduce prison populations. “America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances. As President, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses,” Biden said in a statement. The White House did not name the 39 people being pardoned and said the president intends to issue more pardons in the final weeks of his presidency. This isn’t the first time Biden has issued sweeping pardons or commutations. In 2022, Biden pardoned those convicted of federal simple marijuana possession offenses. A year later, he expanded that relief to include those convicted of use or sale of marijuana, and earlier this year he offered pardons to former military servicemembers convicted of offenses based on their sexual orientation. Earlier this month, Biden signed a pardon of his own son, Hunter, who was convicted of federal gun charges and had previously pleaded guilty in a separate felony tax case. The president issued the pardon after years of claiming he would not, saying the prosecution of his son was politically motivated. The move was widely criticized by both Democrats and Republicans. President-elect Donald Trump pardoned people close to him during his first term, including Charles Kushner, his daughter Ivanka’s father-in-law, who he recently nominated to be U.S. ambassador to France. Trump has also suggested he may pardon those convicted of involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol when he retakes the White House. Biden had been on track to use presidential clemency more sparingly than any president since John Adams. The Office of the Pardon Attorney, the Justice Department lawyers who review petitions from federal convicts, had a backlog of more than 15,000 cases as of Sept. 30. Under the U.S. Constitution, the president has the power “to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States.” That includes the power to grant a full pardon, which restores all civil rights, and to shorten sentences. But it applies only to federal crimes, and the president has no power to commute the sentences of more than 2,000 prisoners awaiting execution for state crimes.
The immigration policy changes promised by president-elect Donald Trump raise much concern across the states. During his recent sit-down on NBC’s Meet the Press, Trump detailed that he will deport those illegals residing in the US, a move that can send millions of people—whole families—into exodus, especially those holding mixed statuses. His proposal will majorly impact family units that contain at least one illegal resident and one U.S.-born citizen or legal citizen. Trump’s deportation policy is seen to be a measure to oblige what he calls “the necessity” of securing U.S. immigration law. His proposal to deport even the whole family, to which U.S.-born children belong, has provoked wide criticism. “I don’t want to be breaking up families, so the only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back,” Trump said in that interview. The ‘Mixed-Status’ Households Affected The policy would likely affect the 4.7 million “mixed-status” households in the U.S. These households contain at least one undocumented person and at least one legal resident or U.S.-born child. Trump’s proposal raises serious concerns about the well-being of children who may be legally in the country but face the prospect of deportation with their undocumented parents. The Center for Migration Studies has noted that nearly half of the 2.8 million households with undocumented residents also contain at least one child born in the United States. This has caused people to raise alarms about a greater social and emotional cost to children and families when deportations take place. It could be unprecedented family disruption, compelling children born here, who are citizens, to leave their homes and communities. Birthright Citizenship And The 14th Amendment The proposal of the president to end birthright citizenship, a central aspect of the 14th Amendment, has also garnered huge attention. The 14th Amendment grants citizenship to everyone born on the American soil, irrespective of whether the parents are documented immigrants or undocumented immigrants. According to Trump, he has decided to challenge this particular provision and eliminate it as his first act in the administration. “We have to end it. It’s ridiculous,” Trump said, although he did not specify how he would circumvent the Constitution to achieve this goal. Legal scholars have questioned the constitutionality of such a move, speculating that it would most likely face significant legal resistance. The 14th Amendment has been a part of U.S. jurisprudence, and efforts to roll it back would likely trigger considerable judicial scrutiny. Mixed Reactions To Mass Deportations Trump’s mass deportation approach has been met with a divided reaction. While some of his supporters view this as a necessary step to enforce U.S. immigration laws, others have strongly voiced humanitarian objections. The deporting of millions of people, including those who have lived in the U.S. for years and contributed to its economy and society, could have far-reaching consequences. The social and economic impacts on families, especially those with U.S.-born children, remain a major concern. ALSO READ | Ten People Injured As Police Officer On Motorcycle Crashes Into Crowd At California ParadeWellness influencers on social media more likely to oppose COVID-19 vaccination, study findsWade Financial Advisory Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. ( NASDAQ:AMZN – Free Report ) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,988 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. Wade Financial Advisory Inc’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 184,594 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $34,395,000 after purchasing an additional 16,392 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 51,091 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $9,520,000 after purchasing an additional 5,828 shares in the last quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 14,368 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $2,677,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,847,177 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $550,217,000 after purchasing an additional 14,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 119,205 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $22,211,000 after purchasing an additional 19,231 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.20% of the company’s stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AMZN shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Amazon.com from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Monday, October 7th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $197.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Amazon.com from $245.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amazon.com has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.20. Amazon.com Trading Up 2.9 % Shares of AMZN stock opened at $227.03 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $197.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 48.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 12-month low of $143.64 and a 12-month high of $227.15. Amazon.com ( NASDAQ:AMZN – Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.29. Amazon.com had a net margin of 8.04% and a return on equity of 22.41%. The company had revenue of $158.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year. Insider Activity In other news, CEO Matthew S. Garman sold 15,260 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.19, for a total value of $3,054,899.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 349,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,918,559.59. The trade was a 4.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link . Also, insider Jeffrey P. Bezos sold 2,996,362 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.85, for a total transaction of $625,790,203.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 917,416,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $191,602,535,437.60. The trade was a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,030,183 shares of company stock worth $1,252,883,795. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock. Amazon.com Company Profile ( Free Report ) Amazon.com, Inc engages in the retail sale of consumer products, advertising, and subscriptions service through online and physical stores in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TVs, Echo, Ring, Blink, and eero; and develops and produces media content. Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Amazon.com What Are Earnings Reports? Fast-Growing Companies That Are Still Undervalued Do Real Estate Investment Trusts Deserve a Place in Your Portfolio? Top Cybersecurity Stock Picks for 2025 Trading Stocks: RSI and Why it’s Useful Archer or Joby: Which Aviation Company Might Rise Fastest? Receive News & Ratings for Amazon.com Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Amazon.com and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .German GDP downgraded in new blow for struggling economy
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Biden says Assad's fall in Syria is a 'fundamental act of justice,' but 'a moment of risk'Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of NVIDIA Co. ( NASDAQ:NVDA – Free Report ) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 75,062 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,419 shares during the period. NVIDIA makes up about 2.3% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in NVIDIA were worth $9,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NVIDIA during the second quarter worth about $25,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. lifted its stake in NVIDIA by 1,900.0% during the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in NVIDIA during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in NVIDIA during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in NVIDIA during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 65.27% of the company’s stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NVDA shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on NVIDIA from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush lifted their price objective on NVIDIA from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on NVIDIA from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on NVIDIA from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on NVIDIA from $189.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NVIDIA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.15. Insider Transactions at NVIDIA In related news, Director John Dabiri sold 716 shares of NVIDIA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total transaction of $101,672.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,831,764. This trade represents a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link . Also, CEO Jen Hsun Huang sold 120,000 shares of NVIDIA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total transaction of $12,639,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 75,895,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,994,108,405.88. The trade was a 0.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,796,986 shares of company stock valued at $214,418,399. 4.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. NVIDIA Stock Down 1.8 % Shares of NASDAQ:NVDA opened at $142.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. NVIDIA Co. has a 12 month low of $45.60 and a 12 month high of $152.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $138.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.58. The company has a market cap of $3.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.06, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.63. NVIDIA ( NASDAQ:NVDA – Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The computer hardware maker reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.12. NVIDIA had a net margin of 55.69% and a return on equity of 114.83%. The company had revenue of $35.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 93.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NVIDIA Co. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year. NVIDIA Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. NVIDIA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1.57%. NVIDIA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, August 28th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the computer hardware maker to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued. About NVIDIA ( Free Report ) NVIDIA Corporation provides graphics and compute and networking solutions in the United States, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and internationally. The Graphics segment offers GeForce GPUs for gaming and PCs, the GeForce NOW game streaming service and related infrastructure, and solutions for gaming platforms; Quadro/NVIDIA RTX GPUs for enterprise workstation graphics; virtual GPU or vGPU software for cloud-based visual and virtual computing; automotive platforms for infotainment systems; and Omniverse software for building and operating metaverse and 3D internet applications. Read More Five stocks we like better than NVIDIA 3 Monster Growth Stocks to Buy Now Fast-Growing Companies That Are Still Undervalued How to Invest in Small Cap Stocks Top Cybersecurity Stock Picks for 2025 How to Find Undervalued Stocks Archer or Joby: Which Aviation Company Might Rise Fastest? Receive News & Ratings for NVIDIA Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for NVIDIA and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .JEFFERSON PARK — A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit six Northwest Side constituents filed against Ald. James Gardiner (45th) for blocking them or deleting their comments on his official Facebook page. The residents’ lawsuit, filed in 2021 , alleged Gardiner violated the First Amendment by silencing them, even though he was aware of the laws barring him from doing so. In September 2023, U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman ruled in the residents’ favor , upholding a 2019 advisory opinion issued by the Chicago Board of Ethics that warned City Council members who use social media to communicate with constituents and city residents should not block people from following their accounts. Coleman also ruled that Gardiner, who has since unblocked all of the residents, is not allowed to block future constituents from his page. Gardiner and the residents reached a settlement on Friday, with the alderman agreeing to pay a total of $157,500 — $4,000 to each of the six plaintiffs and $133,500 toward attorney’s fees and litigation costs, according to court documents. The six plaintiffs are Pete Czosnyka, Peter Barash, Adam Vavrick, Dominick Maino, Steve Held and James Suh. “The fact remains that during my first month in office, my staff sought guidance from the Executive Director of the Board of Ethics (Steve Berlin). My office was advised to block due to doxxing and the nature of harassing comments by certain followers,” Gardiner said in a statement released in response to the settlement. The city is expected to pay about half of Gardiner’s legal costs, Nadig Newspapers reported . Law Department spokeswoman Kristen Cabanban declined to answer questions about the city’s contribution to the settlement, saying it would be “inappropriate to comment on ongoing litigation.” Gardiner also declined to confirm Nadig’s reporting. Adele Nicholas, one of the attorneys representing the residents who sued the alderman, said she has “every reason to believe” Nadig Newspapers’ reports are correct. She said Gardiner’s attorneys suggested the city should be part of the settlement. In October 2021, just a few months after the lawsuit was filed, the city of Chicago was dismissed as a defendant, according to court documents. “Our settlement is with Alderman Gardiner,” Nicholas said. “That is who is responsible for the payment under the agreement.” Gardiner has 60 days to make the payment, Nicholas said. Maino — who was blocked from Gardiner’s page in the summer of 2019 and unblocked in 2021, a few days after the lawsuit was filed — called Gardiner a “hypocrite” for advocating for less government spending while getting the city to pay for his legal fees. Gardiner recently voted against the city’s 2025 budget. “He’s up at the podium screaming about the budget and then he gets the city to pay for his sins,” Maino said. “There’s something wrong with that.” In his statement, Gardiner said the city’s Board of Ethics advised him to block certain constituents for harassing comments and “doxxing,” which refers to publishing someone’s private information . However, according to court documents, a former employee of Gardiner’s testified that the alderman only shared selective information with the board when seeking guidance. Tanya King, who worked for Gardiner from May to November 2019, testified that when she spoke to the Board of Ethics on Gardiner’s behalf, he told her what to tell the board and “selectively chose screenshots made by Czosnyka in response to people who were calling him names, threatening him and falsely claiming that he was a ‘criminal’ to make it look like Czosnyka was engaged in unwarranted harassment of other constituents,” according to court documents. Czosnyka, who was blocked from Gardiner’s page for about two years, said other Facebook commenters falsely wrote that Czosnyka has a criminal record and is a stalker, posted Photoshopped images of him behind bars and shared his home address. King testified that Gardiner asked his supporters to respond to his critics online, according to court records. Czosnyka said he sometimes identified other Facebook commenters as being city employees, but he never shared anyone’s home address. Similarly, Maino said he shared Gardiner’s office location, which is publicly accessible information, but never shared any private information about Gardiner or participated in doxxing. Steve Berlin, executive director of the Board of Ethics, said the board by law cannot comment on whether it issued an informal advisory opinion. “Whenever the Board does advise persons on how to comply with the City’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance laws, which it does regularly, that advice is always consistent with applicable law,” Berlin wrote in an email to Block Club. In his statement, Gardiner said “the 45th Ward would be better served if funding to settle this case were donated to organizations that raise awareness for those within our community suffering from chronic mental illness.” The alderman’s statement shows Gardiner did not “learn his lesson,” Czosnyka said. “He wants to make it seem like this was all because of some extremists,” Maino said. “I’m a medical professional, Pete [Czosnyka] was an engineer, James [Suh] is a businessman. These are not extremists. These are people who care about their community and the leaders within that community.” Nicholas said social media has become an important place where elected officials can engage with their constituents and where residents can give feedback. “Social media has really become the modern-day public square,” Nicholas said. “When [elected officials] use it as a kind of forum, they have to think about the First Amendment implications.” The settlement is Gardiner’s latest brush with controversy. In 2023, the city’s Office of Inspector General found Gardiner directed city employees to issue “unfounded citations” to Czosnyka in 2019. In 2021, the Cook County Democratic Party stripped Gardiner of his committee posts and formally reprimanded him after text messages leaked showing the alderman using misogynistic and sexist language in reference to colleagues and constituents. Get a free print! Help us reach our goal of 900 subscribers by Dec. 31 to sustain and expand our coverage and you’ll get a free neighborhood print. There are three ways to qualify: Purchase a new subscription , upgrade your current subscription or gift a subscription . Don’t wait — support Block Club and we’ll send you a print of your choice! Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast: Related
Print Morning Briefing: Dec. 14, 2024Del Bigtree, a leading voice in the anti-vaccine movement, brought in a record windfall last year for the nonprofit group he founded, according to the latest tax filings. The Informed Consent Action Network, known as ICAN, reported $23 million in revenue for 2023, a 74% increase from the previous year. The group spent nearly $17 million on efforts including legal battles and anti-vaccine advocacy, an increase of about 25% from the year before. The tax documents, obtained by NBC News from ICAN, show the increasing prominence and profitability of the anti-vaccine movement in the ongoing fight over vaccine policies and public health. The pandemic supercharged groups like ICAN , which reported about $3.5 million in revenue in 2019, expanding the audience interested in anti-vaccine content and growing the coffers of those who produce it. Numerous studies have found that vaccines are safe and save lives , and are not linked to autism , but that hasn’t stopped misinformation from spreading. Revenue for Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had been on the rise as well until last year, when it dropped more than 30% , to $16 million. This loss coincided with Kennedy taking a leave from his positions as chairman and chief litigation counsel to launch an unsuccessful presidential bid. But ICAN’s revenue continued to grow, and Bigtree’s profile has risen. The former television producer and anti-vaccine filmmaker, whose organization was known for attention-grabbing stunts and filing freedom of information requests , became communications director for Kennedy’s third-party presidential campaign and advised Kennedy as he prepared for his potential role as secretary of Health and Human Services . Bigtree and ICAN did not respond to requests for comment. Katie Miller, a spokesperson for Kennedy’s transition team who was recently named to join the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, said Bigtree was never involved in the transition, and his views “do not represent Mr. Kennedy’s or President Trump’s administration.” ICAN is not required to disclose individual donors, though tax documents filed last year show large donations from family foundations and donor-advised funds, philanthropic intermediaries that combine and anonymize donations. The group has celebrated what it characterizes as several big wins last year, including litigation that forced Mississippi to grant religious exemptions from vaccines. The group says it plans to pursue a similar strategy targeting the five other states that don’t allow religious exemptions. ICAN relies on individual supporters to fund production of anti-vaccine content, including “The HighWire,” a weekly anti-vaccine and conspiracy-laden internet show hosted by Bigtree that the group describes as its educational arm. Bigtree punctuates the show not with commercials but with impassioned pleas for donations, recently with multimillion-dollar fundraising goals associated with specific legal fights. ICAN’s largest expenditure last year, $6 million, was to the New York law firm Siri & Glimstad, which pursues public records requests, intervenes in state anti-vaccine fights and petitions the federal government to pause or revoke vaccines, including one for polio . Led by Aaron Siri, an attorney and Kennedy adviser, the firm, aided by dozens of attorneys working on vaccine cases, has been paid some $20 million by ICAN since 2017, according to tax documents. Siri defended his work in an email to NBC News, saying his petitions sought increased safety for vaccines and that ICAN’s financial support was “trivial” compared to spending by the pharmaceutical industry. Miller said Siri was no longer involved in the transition and that he does not represent Kennedy’s views. ICAN describes its legal efforts as “advocating for humanity’s right to informed consent.” Experts have described it as an exploitation of the courts. “Again and again, this anti-vaccine group misrepresented both the legal and the factual meanings of court decisions, settlements, and other legal actions to create a narrative to galvanize its followers and influence newcomers,” a 2022 article in the Northwestern Journal of Law and Social Policy read. (Siri called the article “replete with categorically false claims.”) The intent of other spending was less clear. ICAN paid $176,000 for “research consulting” to a U.K. company headed by a chiropractor who has lectured on what he claims are dangers from vaccines and 5G technology. The group also paid $152,000 for consulting to Uncover DC, a news website founded and edited by Tracy Diaz, known online as Tracy Beanz, a popular conspiracy theorist and early promoter in the QAnon movement. Diaz, who describes her site as “actual journalism,” posts news releases for ICAN and writes for the nonprofit’s website as a contributor. Bigtree took home a $234,000 salary from ICAN in 2023, in addition to his income from paid speaking engagements (he says he only charges for ticketed events). Bigtree also earned $350,000 for consulting and communications work on Kennedy’s presidential campaign over the past two years through KFP Consulting, a Texas organization registered to Bigtree. Bigtree now helms a super PAC (MAHA Alliance) and a nonprofit organization (MAHA Action), both short for Make America Healthy Again, a spin on Trump’s MAGA motto adopted by Kennedy after he dropped out of the race and endorsed the ultimately winning candidate. Bigtree acknowledged his multiple streams of income and endeavors on “The HighWire” in November. “I feel incredibly blessed by God that I had all these opportunities converging all at once,” he said.
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