• Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity said he's backing off his speculation about the 2016 murder of Democratic National Committee employee Seth Rich after talking with Rich's family, which had appealed to the media to stop. The decision Tuesday took Hannity off a potential collision course with his network, which earlier in the day had removed a week-old story about the case from its website because "it was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting." The report quoted a private investigator suggesting that Rich had some connection to WikiLeaks and its leaks of Democratic National Committee emails during the last campaign. Rich's family has said they don't believe that their son, who was shot in July 2016 in Washington, gave any information to WikiLeaks. The investigator has since recanted his claim, and the independent researcher Politifact.com has said the notion that Rich was involved in the leak was flimsy and illogical. No arrests have been made in the shooting. Washington police have said they think Rich was killed in a random robbery attempt. Hannity, Fox's biggest star and a leading conservative radio talk-show host, had said he doesn't believe the robbery theory. On Tuesday, Hannity said that after talking with Rich's brother and that "out of respect for the family's wishes for now, I am not discussing this matter at this time." But Hannity sent mixed signals about whether he was actually through with the Rich story, both on his show and in a later tweet."To the extent of my ability, I am not going to stop trying to find the truth," he said. He added that "at the proper time, we shall continue and talk a lot more."
• A Playboy centerfold was ordered to clean up graffiti Wednesday for secretly snapping a photo of a naked 71-year-old woman in a locker room and posting it online with a mocking comment. Dani Mathers pleaded no contest to misdemeanor invasion of privacy in Los Angeles County Superior Court regarding the case that sparked anger over the incident of so-called body shaming. Mathers, 30, had previously apologized for taking the photo at an LA Fitness club in July and posting it on Snapchat with the caption: "If I can't unsee this then you can't either." The posting was accompanied by a selfie of Mathers in a tank top with her hand over her mouth as if she's gasping in horror. The 2015 Playmate of the Year contended that she intended to send the photo privately to a friend and accidentally posted it publicly. Mathers will serve three years on probation and must not take photos of people or post them online without their permission. Her defense attorney, Thomas Mesereau, said outside court that Mathers "never intended to hurt anyone."
A Section on 05/25/2017