Brian Williams Trolls Fox News By Showing Capitol Riot Ad It Rejected

The liberal political action committee MeidasTouch said Fox News rejected its ad denouncing the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, so it encouraged people to retweet the commercial.

Brian Williams and MSNBC went one better on Monday, showing the spot for free to his viewers and sprinkling in some commentary. (See the video below.)

“We have a pretty good reach too, so we’ve chosen to air it tonight,” the anchor said. “While you watch, ask yourself what isn’t factual about it, which people in it aren’t real.”

The ad spotlights the deadly siege from the perspective of law enforcement defending the Capitol that day. Williams appears to be jabbing at those trying to downplay the insurrection, including Fox News.

The commercial serves as a powerful indictment of GOP deniers and others as officers recall the horror of what they faced from the pro-Trump mob that day. But Williams’ on-air endorsement packed extra punch.

“It’s about the attempt to overturn our election ― the insurrection of 1-6 ― and the story is told by those in the fight,” he said.

MeidasTouch asked to reserve nearly $185,000 of air time for Fox News between June 6 and June 15, including seven days on “Fox and Friends,” the Los Angeles Times reported. But the PAC told the newspaper it was informed on Friday that the ad would not run on the conservative channel.

A Fox News spokesperson said it wasn’t the first time the network had rejected a MeidasTouch ad. 

RELATED…

The US State Department just relaxed COVID-19 travel advisories on Canada and Mexico

• The US State Department revised travel advisories about Canada and Mexico.
• Previously, it warned against all travel to both countries due to COVID-19 risk.
• Now, it asks that people with plans to travel to Canada or Mexico to just “reconsider.”
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

The US Department of State on Tuesday relaxed its COVID-19 travel advisories for people planning trips to Canada and Mexico. 

The State Department now recommends people in the US with plans to travel to either Canada or Mexico “reconsider” their plans due to the risk of COVID-19, a Level 3 advisory from the department.

Previously, the State Department had urged Americans against all travel to Canada or Mexico under its most serious Level 4 “Do Not Travel” designation. 

More than 51% of the US population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As the vaccination rate has increased, so has air travel. At the end of May, the Transportation Security Administration said it had screened nearly 2 million air travelers — the highest number since the pandemic began.

Herald morning quiz: June 9

Test your brains with the Herald’s morning quiz. Be sure to check back on nzherald.co.nz at 3pm for the afternoon quiz.

To challenge yourself with more quizzes, CLICK HERE.

Ravens sign former Broncos guard Michael Schofield – The Denver Post

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens have signed guard Michael Schofield.

The team announced the move Tuesday. Schofield played 11 games last season for the Carolina Panthers, starting three.

Prior to that, Schofield played for the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos. The 30-year-old Schofield has appeared in 87 career games with 69 starts.

Schofield started all 16 games for the Chargers in 2018 and 2019. He spent time last season on the COVID-19/reserve list.

Denver drafted Schofield in the third round in 2014 out of Michigan.

Stock Alert: FB Financial Down 4%

Shares of bank holding company FB Financial Corp (FBK) are down 4 percent on Tuesday’s trading even as the company announced the pricing of an earlier announced underwritten public offering of 2.5 million shares.

The company said that all shares will be sold by Vice-Chairman James Ayers and the public offering will close on June 10. FB Financial said that it is not selling any stock in this transaction and will not receive any proceeds from the public offering.

Currently trading at $40.74, the stock has traded between $21.97 and $49.62 during the past 52 weeks.

Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers a no-show as team’s mandatory minicamp kicks off

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Aaron Rodgers failed to report to mandatory minicamp Tuesday, the strongest message sent so far to the Green Bay Packers that the quarterback is unhappy with the organization.

Rodgers was nowhere to be seen at Clarke Hinkle Field when the Packers gathered at 11 a.m. CT to kick off the first of three minicamp sessions, officially making him a holdout.

Rodgers' displeasure with the organization is no secret. For more than a month, he has remained quiet as reports of his rift with the franchise swirled. In his lone interview with ESPN's Kenny Mayne a couple weeks ago, Rodgers declined to say whether he was demanding a trade, but also laid out his grievances with the Packers.

Oil Futures Settle Notably Higher

Crude oil futures settled notably higher on Tuesday after positive news on the coronavirus vaccine front raised hopes that the demand for oil will see a steady increase in the coming months.

According to reports, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S.’ top infectious disease expert, has said both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca Covid vaccines are effective against the Delta variant post two doses.

Many countries including the U.S. are looking to gradually ease travel restrictions.

However, a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) that showed the agency has cut its 2021 world oil demand growth forecast by 10,000 barrels per day to 5.41 million bpd, limited oil’s uptick.

In its monthly forecast, the agency cut its oil demand growth estimate for 2022 by 90,000 bpd to 3.64 million bpd.

Traders also continued to weigh the prospects of Iranian oil coming into the market. Iran and global powers will enter a fifth round of talks on June 10 in Vienna that could include Washington lifting economic sanctions on Iranian oil exports.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended up by $0.82 or about 1.2% at $70.05 a barrel, the highest settlement since October 2018.

Brent crude futures moved up $0.82 or 1.16% to $72.31 a barrel.

Traders now look ahead to weekly inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the EIA. While API’s report is due later today, the EIA will release its inventory data Wednesday morning.