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☆ Justin Pearson sworn back in to Tennessee House
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Omar Younis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Democratic Tennessee state Representative Justin Pearson who was ousted from the Tennessee House of Representatives along with another young Black colleague for breaking decorum with a gun control demonstration on the House floor, is sworn in before returning to the state legislature after being reinstated in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. April 13, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin WurmNASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 13 (Reuters) - Tennessee state Representative Justin Pearson was sworn in on Thursday morning after he was reappointed to the legislature from which he and another Democratic colleague were expelled for leading a gun protest on the House of Representatives floor. "We've just been expelled, but we're back," Pearson told the crowd. We're going to keep fighting to end environmental racism and injustice," Pearson told reporters after his reappointment. Tennessee House Republicans, who have a supermajority, have said in a statement they will welcome back any expelled state lawmakers returned by county-level governments, so long as those members follow the legislature's rules.

☆ Justin Pearson due to be sworn back in to Tennessee statehouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Omar Younis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 13 (Reuters) - Tennessee state Representative Justin Pearson is due to be sworn in on Thursday after he was reappointed to the statehouse from which he and another Democratic colleague were expelled for leading a gun protest on the House floor. Pearson on Wednesday was appointed to his vacated seat by the county legislature that includes his Memphis district. Pearson will be sworn in for the third time this year. The state constitution gives local legislative bodies the power to appoint interim state representative to fill vacancies until special elections can be held. Jones and Pearson have said they will run in special elections, for which no date has yet been set.

☆ Customers saved a New York bar after it nearly shut down over rising rents. Its owner learned community is key to building a successful small business.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Erin Greenawald | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

These five small-business owners have built online brand communities that bring customers together. A community founded by Neir's Tavern in New York City helped save the business from closing when it faced financial difficulties. Experts identified 3 key factors to building a brand community that businesses can rely on for support. Gordon, Jones, McLoughlin, and other small-business owners shared their tips with Insider. But if your business does need help, McLoughlin says to just ask.

☆ Memphis-area commissioners vote to reinstate Justin Pearson to the Tennessee House after he was expelled by Republicans over a gun control protest
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Shelby County Commission voted to reinstate Justin Pearson back to his seat in the Tennessee House. Pearson was removed from the body alongside newly-reinstated state Rep. Justin Jones over a gun reform protest. On Wednesday, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously former state Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis back to the seat that he last occupied just last Thursday. Pearson, along with state Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville, had been expelled from the legislature for what Republicans said was a breach in decorum in leading an unauthorized gun control push on the House floor. Tennessee Republicans have denied that Pearson and Johnson were removed from the body because of race.

☆ 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.

REUTERS/Karen Pulfer FochtApril 9 (Reuters) - Two Tennessee Democrats who were expelled from the Republican-dominated state House of Representatives last week over their participation in a gun control protest said on Sunday that they hoped to soon reclaim their seats. Metro Council Member Kevin Rhoten said on Twitter that he had been bombarded with emails since Thursday asking him to vote to appoint Justin Jones for the District 52 seat, and that he planned to do that. "I would be honored to accept the appointment of the Shelby County Commission and to run in a special election," Pearson told NBC on Sunday. Videos posted to Twitter showed the two Black lawmakers, Representatives Jones and Pearson, shouting through a bullhorn on the House floor, saying "No action, no peace!" Only two other Tennessee state representatives have been expelled by their colleagues since the Civil War era: one in 1980 for soliciting a bribe in exchange for blocking legislation and another in 2016 after being accused of sexual misconduct by numerous women.

☆ Facebook, Twitter Rebuffed Sandy Hook Families’ Request for Data in Alex Jones Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Ted Mann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Alex Jones, accompanied by private security guards, arrived in October at the Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn.Twitter and Facebook rebuffed subpoenas from families of the Sandy Hook school massacre victims, who were seeking internal company data to show how conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s false claims about the killings spread on social media, according to court documents and lawyers for the families. The fight last year over access to the social-media platforms’ data played out largely behind the scenes of the legal battle to hold Mr. Jones liable for his claims. The families of the victims in the 2012 massacre, in which a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six educators inside a Newtown, Conn., elementary school, sued Mr. Jones and his companies, including the website Infowars, for defamation. Mr. Jones had claimed the shooting was an elaborate hoax.

☆ CNN's Van Jones presses a GOP state lawmaker on the Tennessee House voting to expel 2 Black Democratic legislators over their push for gun restrictions: 'Why are you being so unreasonable?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Van Jones last week pressed a Tennessee Republican over his caucus voting to oust two Democratic lawmakers. "You have not done this to anybody except for two people in 200 years," Jones told state Rep. Jeremy Faison. The GOP-led state House took the action after then-Reps. Jones and Pearson led a gun reform protest from the floor. Faison said he felt as though House Republicans followed the proper protocol. State Rep. Gloria Johnson, a white lawmaker who also joined the gun reform protest, was not expelled by House Republicans and remarked last week that "it's pretty clear" why she was spared.

[1/2] People exit the building after a vote on to expel two of three Democratic members for their role in a gun control demonstration at the statehouse last week, in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., April 6, 2023. On Thursday, the Tennessee House of Representatives' Republican supermajority voted to remove Democratic Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, two young Black legislators, over demonstrations pushing for stricter gun laws. On Thursday, President Joe Biden decried the expulsions of the state lawmakers on Twitter, calling them "shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent." The White House, which announced the trip, did not provide other details about the meeting, scheduled for Friday evening. Nearly 50 organizations, led by the gun safety advocacy group the Newtown Action Alliance, called for nationwide student walkouts in solidarity with those in Tennessee.

☆ Tennessee Republicans expelled two Democratic legislators who protested with anti-gun activists in the House
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Madison Hall | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Republicans in the Tennessee legislature just expelled a member for leading a gun reform protest in the House of Chambers. The Tennessee House of Representatives voted 75-25 on Thursday to expel state Rep. Justin Jones. The Tennessee House voted 75-25 on Thursday to expel Jones, with Rep. Justin Pearson also expelled after a 69-26 vote, according to CNN. Only two members of the Tennessee House have been expelled over the last 157 years. President Joe Biden addressed the Tennessee House leadership's focus on expelling the three, calling the move, "undemocratic."

☆ New York will demolish and elevate a waterfront park to fight floods, angering some neighbors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

A waterfront area in Battery Park City, which is at the center of a major climate resilience project. Emma Newburger | CNBCWagner Park, a cherished waterfront greenspace in Battery Park City, boasts unobstructed views of the Statue of Liberty and New York Harbor. Wagner Park will soon be demolished and built ten feet higher as part of the Battery Park City Resiliency Project. "The Wagner Park plan has gotten some critical attention from a few, but it's also gotten a lot of support." "This community is going to be fine one way or the other," Pawlowski said of Battery Park City.

☆ Crypto founders are running out of bank options after the collapses of SVB and Signature. Here's where they're scrambling to move their money.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( April Joyner | Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Crypto founders face dwindling banking options after the collapses of Silvergate and Signature Bank. After back-to-back collapses of several crypto- and startup-friendly banks — Silvergate, Signature, and Silicon Valley Bank — crypto founders face a huge void. Silvergate and Signature, in particular, filled a vital role in the financial system for crypto startups, several founders told Insider. Well before the collapse of SVB and downfall of Signature, crypto founders had found banking havens outside the US in locales such as Dubai and Singapore. "It's a recurring conversation that crypto companies have that are based out of the states," she said.

UFC 285 will stream live on March 4, with the main card starting at 10 p.m. Jon Jones will face Ciryl Gane for the UFC heavyweight title. How to watch UFC 285You can watch the main event of UFC 285 on ESPN+ at 10 p.m. Ways to save on the UFC 285 pay-per-view priceIf you're signing up for ESPN+ to stream UFC 285, you can snag a special discounted package. Here's the fight card for UFC 285: Jones vs. GaneESPNEarly Prelims — 5:30 p.m.

☆ I was promised a part in the 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' remake — instead I left LA jobless and in debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Eboni Boykin-Patterson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Rufus Burns played the role of Jazz in the viral short film 'Bel-Air,' based on the sitcom, 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.' When the television version of the short film was picked up by NBC, Burns believed he'd reprise the role. Rufus Burns played Jazz in the viral "Bel-Air" short film. We moved out to LA to start pre-production on 'Bel-Air,' and I worked for freeAs we started to get closer to pre-production for "Bel-Air," Cooper said I should move out to LA. Were you involved in the "Bel-Air" short film?

☆ NHL roundup: Connor McDavid's 49th, 50th goals can't stop Bruins
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Edmonton's Connor McDavid scored twice for the first 50-goal season of his NHL career. Rantanen has goals in five straight games and MacKinnon recorded at least a point in his eighth consecutive game. Andrei Kuzmenko scored the winner 48 seconds into the overtime for the Canucks, who are 3-1-1 in their past five games. Isac Lundestrom, Jakob Silfverberg and Troy Terry also scored goals for the Ducks, with Silfverberg recording his 150th in an Anaheim uniform. Tyler Johnson and Andreas Athanasiou each scored goals for the Blackhawks, who saw their season-best five-game winning streak come to an end.

The Sandy Hook families said that they need specialized assistance to review Jones' assets, income, and ability to pay those verdicts. Jones filed preliminary financial statements earlier in February, but listed several trusts that held unknown assets. Jones filed for personal bankruptcy in December, saying he could afford to pay less than 1% of the judgments handed down in two Sandy Hook defamation trials. Lopez will decide in March if Jones has to face a third Sandy Hook defamation trial. The Sandy Hook families have expressed concern that Jones is using bankruptcy to limit payments on the defamation judgments while attempting to collect income outside of the bankruptcy court's oversight.

☆ Fendi kicks off Milan fashion week with deconstructed suits
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Milan kicked off its leg of the month-long catwalk calendar on Wednesday, with Italian luxury label Fendi deconstructing masculine tailoring at its womenswear fashion show. Milan Fashion Week follows New York and London events in which designers have been presenting their creations for autumn/winter 2023-2024. At Fendi, designer Kim Jones added pleated skirt aprons and trains to tailored trouser suits as well as shoulder-baring sleeves to waistcoats. Milan Fashion Week will host more than 50 catwalk shows, including by big names such as Giorgio Armani, Prada, Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana, over the next few days, wrapping on Feb. 27. Reporting by Elisa Anzolin and Marie-Louise Gumuchian, Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Alex Jones bankruptcy filing shows that he has guns that belong to Jan. 6 rioters
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Taiyler Simone Mitchell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Alex Jones is holding onto firearms for January 6 rioters, The Washington Post reported. Jones filed for bankruptcy after a judge ordered he pays the families of Sandy Hook victims. Among the items, Jones wrote that he's "holding firearms for certain January 6th participants," the document reads, per the Post. Before Jones was ordered to pay the families, InfoWars had also filed for bankruptcy, but only after it transferred millions to other entities. According to the bankruptcy filing, in 2021 Jones reported making a gross income of $617,143.02 and approximately $639,000 in 2020.

☆ Howard Schultz declined Bernie Sanders’ request to testify before Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Dayun Park | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Howard Schultz has declined Bernie Sanders’ request to testify before Congress. While Starbucks Workers United has sought better pay and benefits, the company has apparently put efforts into retaliating against workers who tried to unionize. About 100 Starbucks stores across the U.S staged a three-day strike in December, following a one-day strike in November, to protest unfair labor practices. One of the main reasons Starbucks workers organized is to hold billionaire executives, like Schultz, accountable for their actions,” Starbucks Workers United said in a statement to CNN. A total of 338 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since 2021, 282 have been certified across 36 states and 56 didn’t get certified.

☆ A former sales director will get more than $86,000 after his boss allegedly said he didn't want a team of 'bald-headed 50-year-old men' who were a 'mirror image' of himself
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A former UK sales director will get more than $86,000 after alleging wrongful dismissal and age discrimination. Mark Jones, now in his 60s, claims his former boss said, "I don't want a team of bald-headed 50-year-old men." Jones says he was later put on a "sham" performance improvement plan that led to him resigning last year. Mark Jones was a sales director at UK-based cell phone company Tango Networks. "I don't want a team of bald-headed 50-year-old men — I want to change the dynamics," Hesketh allegedly said.

☆ Half of Americans say their financial position has worsened in the last year — the most since the Great Recession, Gallup poll finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

50% of Americans surveyed in a new Gallup poll said their financial situations are worsening. Lower-income Americans were the most likely to say their finances have deteriorated. Low-income Americans were the most likely to say their situation has deteriorated, according to Gallup, with 61% of respondents responding negatively. Upper-class Americans were more likely to say their situations remained the same or improved, per the poll. In 2020, 74% of respondents said they expected their financial situations would improve.

☆ The ‘Three Colors’ Trilogy’s Complex Connections
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Kristin M. Jones | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-three-colors-trilogys-complex-connections-11675717992

☆ George Santos' first House race took days to call in 2020. So he came to DC for new member orientation and had a blast before finding out he lost.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In 2020, Santos ran his first campaign and lost — but still went to DC for new member orientation. 'He seemed nice'In cases where a congressional election takes more than a few days to fully determine, both candidates are sometimes invited to take part in new member orientation. Adam Frisch, a Democrat who almost unseated Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert this past year, attended the orientation sessions in November as the vote-counting in Colorado dragged on. In 2018, current Republican Rep. Young Kim of California attended as well, despite ultimately losing her race that year. Santos at 2020 new member orientation, seated near Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas and Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs of California.

Buyers love interest rate buydowns because they come with reduced interest on their mortgage. That has led to an uptick in interest rate buydowns — money paid upfront to secure a lower interest rate. Jones saw interest rate buydowns increase last year, particularly in the second half of 2022. But interest rate buydowns can also be good for sellers even if buydown points come at a cost. To lower the interest rate permanently, each point costs 1% of the loan and usually lowers the interest rate by 0.25%.

☆ Man accused of torturing woman he held captive is using dating apps while on the run, police warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

SALEM, Ore. — A man accused of torturing a woman he held captive in Oregon, and who was convicted in Nevada of keeping another woman in captivity, is using dating apps to find people who can help him avoid the police or to find new victims, authorities said Friday. Benjamin Obadiah Foster, 36, is the subject of an intensive, round-the-clock search by police after a woman was found unconscious, bound and near death in Grants Pass, Oregon, on Tuesday. Foster’s public defender in the Las Vegas case did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment on Foster’s behalf. In 2019, before moving to Oregon, Foster held his then-girlfriend captive inside her Las Vegas apartment for two weeks. Hensman said he didn’t have time to think about how authorities in Nevada handled Foster’s crimes there.

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