A senior CNN employee found himself in the hot seat during the fourth day of the civil trial between the U.S. Navy veteran and the cable news network he claims defamed him in a story about his work extracting people from war-torn Afghanistan.

Taking the stand was Fuzz Hogan, who is currently employed as a senior director with CNN’s standards and practices department.

The witness played a key role in the ongoing drama; at the time the story in question aired, Hogan worked as a fact-checker and was the person responsible for clearing the facts in the story itself.

Rudy Giuliani appeared in a federal courtroom in Manhattan on Friday for a hearing on whether he should be held in contempt after the onetime personal attorney for President-elect Donald Trump allegedly flouted multiple court orders in connection with the two Georgia election workers he defamed trying to collect the $148 million judgment awarded in their favor.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman, a Trump appointee, ordered Giuliani to appear in person for the Jan. 3 hearing on the contempt issue following numerous requests from the plaintiffs regarding his “consistent pattern of willful defiance” involving court orders to turn over of his personal property and provide information to plaintiffs for discovery.

Liman on Thursday rejected Giuliani’s last-minute request to appear virtually for the contempt hearing after the former New York City mayor said he was “having medical issues with his left knee” as well as “breathing problems due to lung issues” that were the result of him “being at the World Trade Center site on September 11, 2001.”

The hearing, which began at 10 a.m., went through the day and will be continued at the same time on Monday. However, Liman will allow Giuliani to appear virtually for the proceedings as he will not be questioned by plaintiff’s counsel again.

Updated Sept. 13, 2024.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public input on the draft environmental assessment and land use plan amendment for the proposed Morongo Canyon Highway 62 Multi-Tenant Wireless Broadband Communications Site project in San Bernardino County. If approved, the project would improve telecommunication and broadband connections for Morongo and Yucca valley communities.

The applicant, InterConnect Towers LLC, proposes to construct, operate, and maintain a broadband communication site with an access road and ancillary facilities on just over two acres of public lands in Morongo Valley in southeastern San Bernardino County.

“The BLM will consider potential site-specific effects the proposed communication site may have on visual resources,” said California Desert District Manager Shelly Lynch. “We want to hear from the community on this project.”

The BLM, as the lead federal agency for National Environmental Policy Act review, drafted an environmental assessment that considers scoping comments, issues, planning criteria, potential effects, alternatives, and mitigation measures.

Implementation of the proposal would require a BLM decision to amend the California Desert Conservation Area Plan, as amended by the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Area Plan, to modify the proposed action area visual resource objectives from retaining the existing character of the landscape to partially retaining the existing character of the landscape.

The BLM will hold an in-person public meeting with a virtual option on Thursday, Sept.5 at 5:30 p.m., at the Community Services District Multipurpose Room in Covington Park, located at 11165 Vale Drive in Morongo Valley, CA 92256.  Advance registration is required to attend virtually. The public comment period will close Oct. 7. (updated 09/13/2024)

Public comments may be submitted through the “Participate Now” function on the BLM National NEPA Register (preferred); emailed to blm_ca_ps_morongocommunicationsite@blm.gov; or delivered to “Morongo Communication Site Project EA,” Attn: Matt Toedtli, Project Manager, Bureau of Land Management, California Desert District Office, 1201 Bird Center Drive in Palm Springs, CA 92262.

For additional information, please email: blm_ca_ps_morongocommunicationsite@blm.gov.