Fox News host Tucker Carlson said in a text message after the 2020 election that he “passionately hated” Donald Trump, according to new court filings. Mr Carlson’s message to a colleague in January 2021 emerged as part of a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News. The electronic voting firm accuses the network of promoting baseless claims of vote-rigging in the election. Fox News denies defamation and says on-air comments were taken out of context. The latest filings in the case suggest Mr Carlson expressed his dislike of the outgoing US president two days before Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol to derail lawmakers from certifying Joe Biden’s election win. “We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights,” he wrote in a text sent on 4 January 2021. “I truly can’t wait.”  I hate him passionately,” he added. Mr Carlson, the top-rated host on the conservative network, also appeared to denigrate the Trump presidency in these private messages, despite lauding his achievements on air. “That’s the last four years. We’re all pretending we’ve got a lot to show for it, because admitting what a disaster it’s been is too tough to digest. But come on. There isn’t really an upside to Trump.”(BBC)…[+]

Two people died and eight were injured in a crush after a concert by rapper GloRilla in Rochester, New York. Police said the crowd began to surge and rush toward the exit, possibly when they thought they heard gunshots. However, there was “no evidence to support a shooting having occurred”, Rochester police lieutenant Nicholas Adams told ABC News. GloRilla, who had finished performing before the incident, said she was “devastated and heartbroken”. The Memphis musician, whose song F.N.F. (Let’s Go) was nominated for best rap performance at last month’s Grammy Awards, said she did not hear about the crush until she left the venue. “My fans mean the world to me,” she wrote on social media. “Praying for their families and for a speedy recovery of everyone affected.”(BBC)…[+]

Ukraine’s top athletes have paid defiant tributes to a Ukrainian prisoner of war (POW) shown apparently being killed by Russian troops in a video that has shocked the nation. The unarmed prisoner is seen smoking in a trench. “Glory to Ukraine!” he says, before being shot. Tennis star Elina Svitolina, Chelsea footballer Mykhailo Mudryk and others responded with “Glory to the Heroes!” in their video tribute. It is a battle cry in Ukraine’s army. The saying became popular among ordinary Ukrainians after Russia annexed Ukraine’s southern Crimea peninsula in 2014. It has seen a resurgence after Moscow’s full-scale invasion launched last year. In the tribute video posted online, Ukrainian athletes representing several sports appear one-by-one saying “Glory to the Heroes!” It comes after a passionate call by President Volodymyr Zelensky. “I want us all to respond to his words together, in unity: ‘Glory to the Hero! Glory to the Heroes! Glory to Ukraine!'” he said earlier this week. Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko and Taras Stepanenko, who plays for Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk feature in the video. Legendary former player and now coach Serhiy Rebrov is also shown. Separately, Ukraine’s heavyweight world champion, Oleksandr Usyk, recorded a video of himself reciting a poem dedicated to the shot soldier, whose identity remains unclear. “Glory to Ukraine! – for these words you got a bullet,” he reads. “You’re no more – but memory is eternal of you, fighter”.(BBC)…[+]