Melanie Schmitz

@melslien.bsky.social

252 Followers 443 Following

Editor, ABC/GMA

Transcript of Marty Baron speech: Many journalists wonder with considerable weariness what it is going to be like for us during the next four-perhaps eight-years. Will we be incessantly harassed and vilified? Will the new administration seize on on opportunities to try intimidating us? Will we face obstruction at every turn? If so, what do we do? The answer, I believe, is pretty simple. Just do our job. Do it as it's supposed to be done. Every day as I walk into our newsroom, I confront a wall that articulates a set of principles that were established in 1933 by a new owner for The Post, Eugene Meyer, whose family went on to publish The Post for 80 years. The principles begin like this: "The first mission of a newspaper is to tell the truth as nearly as the truth may be ascertained."
Screengrab of Nandor from "What We Do in the Shadows"; he is flying up into space with a GoPro strapped to his head and saying "Hi, it's Nandor here"
Wall Street Journal article: "OpenAI has cut ties with one of its top safety executives, on the grounds of sexual discrimination, after she voiced opposition to the controversial rollout of AI erotica in its ChatGPT product. The fast-growing artificial intelligence company fired the executive, Ryan Beiermeister, in early January, following a leave of absence, according to people familiar with the matter. OpenAI told her the termination was related to her sexual discrimination against a male colleague."
Image of a Cool Cat drinking tea with sunglasses on, a looming, jealous shark in the background
Politico article about Heritage Foundation's "expanded view of government’s role in lives of Americans": "The ultimate guidance in the new Heritage report is that U.S. policy 'encourage and protect the formation of families, not mere fertility,' recommending against any policies 'that undermine marriage and the formation of families, or reward or encourage needless delay in marriage and out-of-wedlock births.'" "Tax codes, Heritage writes, 'should not penalize marriage and encourage single parenthood,' and education policy 'should not coax young Americans to delay marriage while pursuing needless credentials.'"
Screenshot of an ABC News article: The two prosecutors, Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White, were locked out of their government devices and informed Wednesday morning they will be placed on leave, just hours after they filed a sentencing memorandum in the case of Taylor Taranto, the sources said. Taranto was pardoned by President Donald Trump over his involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol but faced a separate conviction for firearms and threat charges related to a June 2023 arrest near the home of former President Barack Obama where he was found in possession of two guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, as well as a machete. A day before Taranto's arrest, he claimed he would use a car bomb to drive into the National Institute of Standards and Technology. In their sentencing memorandum, Valdivia and White used only two sentences to detail Taranto's involvement in the Jan. 6 attack.
An escalator step with white letters scrawled across it reading "Bad Step"
Photo of a desk nameplate with a handmade paper ghost name tag next to it
SCREENSHOT OF AN ABC NEWS LIVEBLOG POST: Stephen Miller delivers heated remarks: 'We are the storm' White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller delivered heated remarks, as the several Trump administration officials begin to speak at the service. "We are the storm," Miller said.
A social media post from President Donald Trump: "Big WIN for the Great State of Texas!!! Everything Passed, on our way to FIVE more Congressional seats and saving your Rights, your Freedoms, and your Country, itself. Texas never lets us down. Florida, Indiana, and others are looking to do the same thing. More seats equals less Crime, a great Economy, and a STRONG SECOND AMENDMENT. It means Happiness and Peace. But Republicans, there is one thing even better - STOP MAIL-IN VOTING, a total fraud that has no bounds. Also, go to PAPER BALLOTS before it is too late - At one tenth the cost, faster, and more reliable. If we do these TWO things, we will pick up 100 more seats, and the CROOKED game of politics is over. God Bless America!!!"
Screenshot of a text message that reads "cramb."
Report from ABC News: Man arrested for driving car into 'No Kings' rally in Virginia A 21-year-old man allegedly accelerated his SUV into a crowd of people at a "No Kings Day" rally in Virginia, hitting at least one person, according to Culpeper police. No injuries were reported, police said. Joseph Checklick Jr. was arrested for reckless driving and may face additional charges, police said.
Excerpt from Benjamin Carter Hett's "The Death of Democracy": The first signs of something happening come a few minutes past nine o'clock on an icy winter evening in Berlin. Hans Flöter, a theology student, is walking home from an evening of study at the State Library on Unter den Linden. Crossing the square in front of the massive Reichstag, he hears a window breaking. Flöter alerts Karl Buwert, a police officer walking his beat in front of the building. Civic duty done, Flöter continues on his way home. Werner Thaler, a typesetter at the Nazi newspaper the Völkischer Beobachter (Nationalist Observer), also approaches Buwert: moving closer to the building and looking through a first-floor window, the two men think they see someone inside carrying a torch. Buwert fires his revolver at the glow, but without much result. Alarming news keeps coming. A young man wearing high military- style boots and a black coat appears at the Brandenburg Gate police sta- tion at 9:15 to report that the Reichstag is on fire. The police carefully note the time and the message, but in the excitement, they forget to take the man's name. His identity remains a mystery to this day. Within a few min- utes the glow of flames is clearly visible through the glass cupola over the Reid Reichstag's plenary chamber. At 9:27 the chamber explodes. Firefighters and police find themselves faced with a catastrophic fire at the heart of the building.
A gif of Nick Miller from "New Girl" saying, "Thin-crust pizza? No, thank you. I'm from Chicago."