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☆ Opinion: Why expelling me from the legislature backfired on Tennessee Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Justin J. Pearson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Editor’s Note: Tennessee Rep. Justin J. Pearson is a Democrat and former community activist in Memphis. And yet, calls for common sense gun reform measures fall on deaf ears in our legislature where a Republican supermajority is wildly out of step with most people’s values. People in Tennessee aren’t even required to purchase a permit to publicly carry guns in the state of Tennessee. And we are required by the Tennessee State Constitution to object to policies injurious to the well-being of our constituents. My constituents sent me to the Tennessee State House to continue this work in their name.

☆ Donald Trump isn't the first Trump to get arrested. His father Fred was arrested twice, reports say — once at a Ku Klux Klan riot, and another time over building code violations.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

His father Fred Trump was also arrested: Once in 1927 and again in 1976, per archived news reports. 1927 arrest: Ku Klux Klan riot, New York CityFred Trump was arrested in 1927 during a Ku Klux Klan riot in Queens on Memorial Day, per The New York Times. "Fred Trump of 175-24 Devonshire Road, Jamaica, was discharged," is all The Times mentioned of his name. Officials arrested Fred Trump just after he flew into Prince George's County from New York in September that year, The Post reported. Fred Trump was eventually released on a $1,000 bond and was free to return to New York, The Post reported.

☆ China's parliament approves changes to speed up 'emergency' laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Laurie Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The amendment to the Legislation Law, which governs how laws are enacted, gives the highest body of the national parliament, the roughly 170-member National People's Congress Standing Committee, special powers to pass laws after just one review session. Three years ago, China imposed a national security law on the semiautonomous city of Hong Kong, criminalising a broad range of vaguely defined offences intended to stifle dissent. China has repeatedly brushed off criticism of the law, saying it protects Hong Kong residents' freedoms and only targets a small minority of "criminals" who "endanger national security". The latest draft of the law, published March 5, did not define what constitutes an emergency situation. Reporting by Ryan Woo and Laurie Chen; Editing by Tom Hogue and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Super NachosIf you live in Pittsburgh, watching football is pretty much mandatory. Settled in the city after emigrating from India, chef Preeti Mistry’s family embraced the ritual with game-day spreads. "To me this is what America is all about," Ms. Mistry said.

☆ Adidas says dropping Kanye West could cost it more than $1 billion in sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Adidas’ breakup with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is a pricey one. The company warned Thursday that it’s expected to lose $1.3 billion (1.2 billion euro) in revenue this year because it’s unable to sell the designer’s Yeezy clothing and shoes. Adidas said selling the sneakers under its own branding would save the company about $300 million in royalty payments and marketing fees. Other options including destroying it or donating unsold Yeezy clothing. Adidas said it also expects “one-off costs” of $213 million (200 million euro) because of a “strategic review” the company is currently undergoing.

☆ Beijing's response to the US shooting down its balloon has been muted. It might be China's way of preparing for a future in which the roles are reversed, says international law expert.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China has to consider what it will do if the US sends balloons into Chinese airspace, a legal expert said. If Beijing pushes too hard on its response, its own rhetoric may backfire later, Julian Ku told NYT. In a statement on Sunday, China condemned the Department of Defense for destroying the balloon, saying the Pentagon "obviously overreacted" and "seriously violated international practices." "Moreover, they need to think about their own rights in case the US starts sending balloons or drones into China," Ku told the outlet. "We treat our enemies with fine wine, but for our enemies we got shotguns," China's ambassador to Sweden infamously said on radio in 2019.

☆ A close read of Beijing's official statement shows it doesn't think the US violated international law by shooting down its balloon, says a legal expert who studies China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China didn't accuse the US of violating international law when the Pentagon shot down its balloon. China has aggressively accused the US of breaking international law many times in the past. In the past, Beijing has accused the US of breaking international law even for actions like imposing visa restrictions on Chinese officials. "It contravenes international law and basic norms governing international relations and grossly interferes in China's internal affairs. In July, Wang similarly said that Hague Tribunal rulings in support of Philippine claims over the South China Sea "seriously" violated international law.

☆ Michael Haight is accused of killing his wife and 5 kids in a brutal Utah familicide. Police reports suggest he had a troubling pattern of aggression toward children.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Police say Michael Haight, 42, shot and killed his wife, Tausha Haight, 40, her mother, Gail Earl, 78, and the couple's five children, three girls, and two boys ages 4 to 17, before committing suicide. The couple had five children: Macie Haight, 17, Briley Haight, 12, Ammon Haight, 7, Sienna Haight, 7, and Gavin Haight, 4. The officer told her there was no indication Michael Haight would respond with violence, according to the report. At some point prior to the massacre, Tausha Haight told family members that her husband removed all the firearms from the home, her sister-in-law, told the AP. Park said he last met with Tausha Haight on Tuesday, January 3 — the day before the family's bodies were discovered.

☆ After Indiana Univ. stabbing, Asian American students say they haven’t received enough support from school
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Since the incident, a sense of shock has rippled through the school’s Asian community. The students say that conversations around the incident have been active among the Asian Americans on campus. Karen Cheng, a senior at the university and the president of the school’s Asian American Association, noted a similar sense of fear. As an Asian American woman, she said, public safety concerns predate the tragedy. But the community is also flanked by some areas with white supremacist activity, something many Asian American students are aware of, Cheng said.

☆ One civil rights icon has been overlooked in history books. His family is trying to change that.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Claretta-Bellamy-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Claretta Bellamy | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

This was why he believed they made such perfect activists in the civil rights movement. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. kneels in prayer with the Rev. Family photoAfter visiting the courthouse, the Reeses’ tour continues to the Brown Chapel AME. They also hold weekly discussions on a program called “The Lineage Podcast,” where they “fill in certain holes of the civil rights movement.”The Rev. “I always say that I feel honored to even be connected to a part of history that a lot of people are yearning for,” Marvin Reese said.

☆ Michael Cohen says Donald Trump 'doesn't care' that Ivanka's family is Jewish and he will not denounce Kanye West's antisemitism
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Michael Cohen said that Donald Trump won't apologize for failing to condemn Kanye West. The former president "doesn't care" that his daughter's family is Jewish, Cohen said on MSNBC. Cohen was asked about a Rolling Stone article that said Jewish Republicans are "begging" Trump to denounce Ye. Cohen responded: "He doesn't care that Ivanka married Jared, doesn't care that Ivanka converted. Cohen said Trump would not apologize for failing to condemn Ye because he "can't even acknowledge fault."

☆ Alito jokes about Black Santa and Ashley Madison during Supreme Court arguments
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Summer-Concepcion-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Justice Samuel Alito joked about Black Santa, children in Klan robes and dating websites as the Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in a case weighing a web designer's bid to avoid working on same-sex weddings because she is a conservative evangelical Christian. David Zalubowski / AP fileEric Olson, the Colorado solicitor general, said that the Black Santa wouldn’t have to follow through with the request since KKK outfits are not protected characteristics under accommodation laws. Alito quipped, “You do see a lot of Black children in Ku Klux Klan outfits, right? Kagan, who is Jewish, jumped in to confirm that Alito was correct, which drew laughter from those in attendance. Conservative justices on the high court appeared sympathetic toward the web designer’s bid as they heard arguments for more than two hours Monday.

☆ Justice Alito weirdly jokes that 'You do see a lot of Black children in Ku Klux Klan outfits all the time' while debating a free speech case and talking about Santa photos
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Justice Samuel Alito made a weird joke during oral arguments in a free speech case Monday. "You do see a lot of Black children in Ku Klux Klan outfits, right? Jackson's scenario was about a photography business not wanting to take photos of a mall Santa Claus with children who are not white. "No, because Ku Klux Klan outfits are not protected characteristics under public accommodation laws," Colorado Solicitor General Eric Olsen responded. "You do see a lot of Black children in Ku Klux Klan outfits, right?"

☆ Mississippi man who burned cross to intimidate Black neighbors pleads guilty to hate crime
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Minyvonne Burke | Minyvonne Burke Is A Senior Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A Mississippi man pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime after he burned a cross in his front yard to intimidate his Black neighbors. Cross-burning was used in the Jim Crow era by the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups as a form of racial intimidation of Black people. "Cox admitted that he burned the cross because of the victims’ race and because they were occupying a home next to his," the release stated. "Burning a cross invokes the long and painful history, particularly in Mississippi, of intimidation and impending physical violence against Black people," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. "The Department of Justice will continue to prosecute those who use racially-motivated violence to drive people away from their homes or communities."

☆ The political and spiritual symbolism of Mauna Loa’s historic eruption
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

For many in the Native Hawaiian community, it carried a larger cultural and political symbolism and a message to respect Indigenous communities and land. Many Native Hawaiians are drawing from their mythology around Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire and creator of the islands, to help assign meaning to the historic eruption. “You don’t have authority to shape our sacred lands.”The eruption, Ing said, “is Pelehonuamea saying, ‘They’re right. And Pele’s lava flow, ho’omanawanui said, is associated with a cleansing that the Native Hawaiian community receives with gratitude rather than fear. So now Pele is coming in.”The symbolism around the eruption can also be applied to another lasting colonial force on the island: the tourism industry, Ing said.

☆ Fed hikes and a stronger dollar are fueling risks of political instability in Africa
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

ACCRA, GHANA - NOVEMBER 05: Ghanaians march during the 'Ku Me Preko' demonstration on November 5, 2022, in Accra, Ghana. "Exposure to international interest rate changes is exacerbated by the large proportion of African public debt that is held in dollars." watch now"High public debt levels and elevated borrowing costs will constrain public spending, which will likely result in a deteriorating ESG and political risk landscape across the continent," Hunter added. Spotlight on Ghana Hunter pointed to Ghana as among the most affected by this negative feedback loop between a deepening public debt burden, a constrained fiscal position and a deteriorating ESG and political landscape. ACCRA, GHANA - NOVEMBER 05: Ghanaians march during the 'Ku Me Preko' demonstration on November 5, 2022, in Accra, Ghana.

Formal organizations like the Oath Keepers no longer define the American right-wing landscape. If Biden’s election was illegitimate, the Oath Keepers were ready to defend Trump’s legitimate one. And indeed, the trial has revealed the brazenness of the Oath Keepers, as well as some profound shifts happening in the American right. The evidence of a seditious conspiracy introduced in the Oath Keepers’ trial was damning, yet obvious. While certainly more polished, some of Masters’ talking points would not be out of place at an Oath Keepers meeting.

☆ Trump tells Ye that white supremacist Nick Fuentes 'really gets me' during Mar-a-Lago visit: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Trump dined with white supremacist Nick Fuentes and Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, at Mar-a-Lago. At one point during their visit, Trump told Ye, "I really like this guy. The 24-year-old activist participated in the 2017 white supremacist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, during which a neo-Nazi killed a counter-protester and injured 35 others. The Justice Department has characterized Fuentes as a "white supremacist" and the Anti-Defamation League, a civil rights group, has labeled him a "well-known white supremacist pundit and organizer." Reports about the meeting between Trump, Ye, and Fuentes surfaced on Wednesday, when Ye and Fuentes were seen walking through an airport together.

☆ Mexico's Pemex had a plan to fix its flaring problem, but abandoned it
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Stefanie Eschenbacher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

The broken commitment, which has not previously been reported, highlights the struggles of Mexico's oil regulator to rein in Pemex, a powerful state monopoly that is always closely connected to the government. The oil company has in recent quarterly reports stressed it was making efforts to clean up its operations and bring down flaring and other waste. Earlier this year, under increasing international criticism, Lopez Obrador said Pemex would invest $2 billion to improve infrastructure to reduce flaring and methane emissions. The regulator said in 2020 the company wasted 37.7% of the gas from Ku alone through flaring, venting or otherwise. One source said the regulator fined Pemex again for recurrence in 2021 but the oil company started legal proceedings to annul the fine, which are still pending.

☆ A spiral of violence and fear is creating angst for many voters ahead of the midterm elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Alex-Seitz-Wald-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Alex Seitz-Wald | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

For many voters, a vicious spiral of violence and fear is creating angst, paranoia and an overwhelming sense of dread that the nation is on the eve of destruction, according to a growing body of public opinion research. Polls show a large portion of Republicans fear democracy is in peril because they believe that elections are rigged against them. Frustrated by the fear that democracy no longer serves them, some Americans are becoming convinced that violence is the answer. Steele, the former head of the national GOP, said the public and political leaders both bear responsibility for protecting the republic. “But it also gives space for people who want a safer country to plan ahead, too.

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday reached a settlement with a group of protesters who filed a lawsuit alleging they were assaulted by his security guards outside of Trump Tower in 2015, lawyers for both sides said. We are very pleased with this outcome and are happy to finally put this matter to rest once and for all.”The suit stems from an incident in September 2015, when a group protesting then-candidate Trump’s comments about Mexican immigrants allege Trump’s security guards assaulted them on the sidewalk outside Trump’s Fifth Avenue building. The suit charges that Trump’s head of security punched one of the protesters in the head while trying to wrest away his “Make America racist again” sign. Trump’s testimony that he was in the dark about what his security officers were doing was disputed by his former lawyer Michael Cohen during his own videotaped deposition earlier this year. That testimony was also going to be played for the jury in the now-canceled trial.

☆ Kansas suspends coach Bill Self for 4 games after FBI probe into college basketball corruption
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Self and Townsend also will miss games against North Dakota State and Southern Utah along with a high-profile showdown between the No. Self and Townsend will rejoin the team to face North Carolina State at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas on Nov. 23. “We believe the actions we are announcing today move us closer to resolving this matter.”Making the Kansas case more complex, though, is the rapidly shifting landscape of college sports. “We look forward to commenting further when this process is fully resolved,” Girod said of the IARP process. “Until then, I want to reiterate our unwavering support of Coach Self and our men’s basketball program.”

☆ Arizona early voting marred by ballot box intimidation. Courts needs to intervene.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Richard L. Hasen | Richard L. Hasen Is Professor At Ucla School Of Law | Where He Directs Its Safeguarding Democracy Project. He Is An Nbc News Msnbc Election Law Analyst. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

First Amendment rights do not extend to threats of violence and voter intimidation. A great deal of the attention has been on ballot drop boxes. There has been no indication of any widespread fraud through the use of ballot drop boxes. Nonetheless, conspiracy theories about the drop boxes have continued to circulate, fueled in part by a widely debunked film by Dinesh D’Souza, “2000 Mules,” which uses false and unproven claims to try to show drop boxes being used for fraud. Reporting by NBC News shows that ballot drop box conspiracies have flooded Trump’s social media website, Truth Social, and that has led to organizing on the ground, including in places like Arizona.

☆ Julia Roberts says Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King paid the hospital bill for her birth
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Ariana Brockington | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

In honor of Julia Roberts’s 55th birthday, fans are recirculating the unbelievable historical fact that connects her to Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. “The King family paid for my hospital bills.”The television personality emphasized the significance and clarified, “Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. As Obsev reported, one of those children was the Kings’ daughter Yolanda King, who died in 2007 at the age of 51. Yolanda King was cast as the love interest of a white actor in one of the school’s productions and the two shared a kiss in a scene. Yolanda King said, “It was an extended family, it really was.

Jury selection begins Monday in a civil trial for a group of protesters who are suing former President Donald Trump and his company over allegations that they were assaulted by security personnel outside Trump Tower in New York in 2015. Five protesters filed the suit against Trump, the Trump Organization and his presidential campaign in 2015 after they said they were roughed up outside of Trump Tower while protesting comments then-candidate Trump made about Mexicans. Trump sat for a videotaped deposition in the case in October 2021, which will be played in court and will serve as his trial testimony. That testimony was later refuted by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen during his own videotaped deposition. Like Trump, Cohen will not appear in person at the trial, but lawyers will play his four-hour videotaped deposition for the jury as his trial testimony.

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