October 1, 2026
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Michael's Daily Memo
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My report card arrived this week, and I'm pleased to share the grade.
I made the Honor Roll.
Ad Fontes Media rates news sources for reliability and bias. The name is Latin for "to the source." Founder and CEO Vanessa Otero, a Denver patent attorney, started charting outlets as a hobby during the 2016 campaign, after watching friends trade biased links on Facebook and change no minds. Her company has since rated thousands of sources, including 915 TV and video shows.
What impresses me is the method. Every episode is scored by at least three trained analysts - one left-leaning, one center, one right-leaning. They watch full episodes together, pause to debate, and must cite the words behind each score. As Otero explained when she joined me on the radio, they also weigh the guests and how the host treats them. Cheerlead a like-minded guest and your score drifts outward. Push back on one from the other side and it moves toward the middle.
On the bias scale, -42 is the far left, +42 the far right, and zero is dead center. The newly released 2026 chart places my CNN program at +1.25, inside the green box of sources it calls "generally reliable and minimally biased." My podcast, drawn from the daily SiriusXM program, came in at -3.76.
For context: Bret Baier, 10.46. Fox & Friends, 19.87. 60 Minutes, -9.55. MS NOW, -18.67. Ben Shapiro, 19.68. Pod Save America, -22.33.
Ad Fontes never calls anyone unbiased. Otero says no such thing exists, and I agree. Plenty in my business would be disappointed by a score near zero. Their business model is dependent on fomenting disagreement.
Not me. I'm still chasing a Blutarsky: 0.0.
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DAILY POLL
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Should AI designers consider religious doctrine when programming morality?
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TOP STORY
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Flydubai Capt. Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot stabbed by a fellow pilot aboard flight FZ1073, reportedly unlocked the cockpit door before collapsing, allowing passengers to subdue the assailant and provide emergency medical care that helped keep him alive until the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
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TODAY'S YOUTUBE
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SPONSORED BY PARX CASINO
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IN OTHER NEWS
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Newly obtained records detail how a Cornell University student came to identify herself as a sexual assault victim after a 2024 fraternity party, leading to a university investigation, a lawsuit against seven men and the reopening of the case by prosecutors.
Sabato's Crystal Ball moved 11 House race ratings toward Democrats on Tuesday, including flipping Virginia's 1st District to a toss-up and pushing Virginia's 2nd and Pennsylvania's 7th into the lean-Democratic column ahead of the November midterms.
The wealthiest 0.1% of Americans now hold about $28 trillion, or 15% of the nation’s total household wealth, as stock-market gains have propelled their fortunes further ahead of both average Americans and other affluent households.
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A MESSAGE FROM COMCAST
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Nearly 1 million Americans across 30 states will begin receiving $500 refund checks this week with letters signed by President Donald Trump blaming his predecessor Joe Biden for overcharging consumers through ACA user fees, arriving five weeks before the midterm elections.
Sean "Diddy" Combs is serving his 50-month sentence at Fort Dix federal prison in relative luxury, with fellow inmates paid to cook, clean and give him massages while he uses contraband phones, drinks smuggled Hennessy and pops black-market antidepressants, four men who served time alongside him told NBC News.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were “strong indications” Iran was involved in a suspected terror plot near RAF Fairford, while defending the decision to release five arrested men on strict bail conditions and expressing confidence in British security services.
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CARTOONS
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by Steve Breen
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MORE NEWS
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used his State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico to brand mainstream reporters a 'national betrayal' driven by Trump Derangement Syndrome, accusing them of smearing the troops and undermining the military's mission.
A federal judge has approved Paramount’s settlement with 12 state attorneys general, clearing the final legal hurdle for its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which is expected to close Oct. 6.
Warner Bros. released an online ad for Alejandro G. Iñárritu's polarizing $125 million Tom Cruise film 'Digger' that juxtaposes brutal and rave critic quotes before Cruise's character declares, "F-- those people," urging moviegoers to decide for themselves ahead of the film's Oct. 2 release.
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For the Left
As the GOP base fractures and a historic win for Democrats seems more and more likely come November, talk show host John Stewart warns that a Senate majority leading Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries may disappoint Democrats if the party places its focus primarily on opposing President Trump.
For the Right
President Trump and VP Vance launched a 32-day campaign blitz today, targeting Republican-leaning states in an attempt to address lagging voter enthusiasm ahead of November’s midterm elections, a near-daily sprint to the finish line as the GOP struggles to bolster its candidates in typically-red districts.
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