Category: News

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Tony Award Winner, Oscar Nominee Diahann Carroll Passes Away At 84

Actress, singer, and trailblazer Diahann Carroll has passed away at the age of 84 due to cancer. The first African-American actress to win a Tony Award (in 1962 for her starring role in Richard Rodgers’ No Strings), Carroll broke down another barrier just a few years later when she became the first black woman to star as a middle-class single mother in the TV series, Julia. The show would run for 3 years and give greater visibility to black actresses on television. In 1974, she became only the fourth black actress to be nominated in the “Best Actress” category at the Academy Awards for the 1974 romantic drama Claudine. Younger audiences will remember her as the regal “Dominique Deveraux” on the 1980s nighttime soap opera, Dynasty. She returned to the theater as “Norma Desmond” in the 1995 Canadian premiere of Sunset Boulevard, and a replacement stint in Agnes of God.

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Trade Deficit Widens To $54.9 Billion In August

There are reports Donald Trump made a 'promise' to a foreign leader that concerned a U.S. intelligence official

There are reports Donald Trump made a 'promise' to a foreign leader that concerned a U.S. intelligence official The U.S. trade deficit widened in August for the first time in three months. From The Hill: The U.S. trade deficit grew to $54.9 billion in August, a 1.6 percent increase from July, and a spike over last year. When compared to the same period last year, the overall trade deficit was up $28.3 billion, or 7.1 percent, as exports dropped slightly and imports spiked. Analysts point to President Trump’s trade war as a factor in the increased deficit, though the strong dollar and the growing budget deficit are major factors as well. Donald Trump, somehow, found a strange, circuitous route to blame Hunter Biden for the trade deficit with China:

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Ukraine Envoy Told Giuliani Info Regarding Biden Was ‘Untrustworthy’

Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani (screen capture)
Via the Washington Post:

The former U.S. special envoy for Ukraine told House investigators on Thursday that he warned President Trump’s personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, that Giuliani was receiving untrustworthy information from Ukrainian political figures about former vice president Joe Biden and his son, according to two people familiar with his testimony.

Kurt Volker, who resigned last week after being named in a whistleblower complaint that sparked the House impeachment inquiry of Trump, said he tried to caution Guiliani that his sources, including Ukraine’s former top prosecutor, were unreliable and that he should be careful about putting faith in the prosecutor’s theories, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door meeting.

Volker’s testimony offers the first inside account of the Trump administration’s efforts to press for a Ukrainian investigation into Biden, who as a leading 2020 Democratic candidate to challenge Trump for the White House has become a fixed target of the president’s attacks.

ABC News adds that text messages have come to light that shows two American diplomats discussing the Trump administration withholding military aid. In the texts,  the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine writes to two other American diplomats that “I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.”

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LIVE On TV: Trump Invites China To Investigate Biden

Yesterday, I reported on the clash between Donald Trump and Reuters reporter Jeff Mason during a White House press event wherein Mason asked Trump what it was he wanted the president of Ukraine to do in regard to investigating former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Trump was evasive in the moment and went on a rant about European countries ‘not paying enough.’ Today, Trump was asked the question again – “What exactly did you hope the Ukrainian president would do about the Bidens?” – and this time, Trump not only said (live on TV) that Ukraine should investigate the Bidens but he also invited China to suss out dirt on the Bidens. Basically, Trump not only did what the whistleblower accused him of in his complaint to Congress, but he actually committed a second offense by inviting China, a geopolitical opponent of the U.S., to investigate his possible Democratic opponent in the 2020 presidential election.

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Conservatives Outraged Over Plans For Unisex Bathrooms

The city of Portland, Oregon, is currently undertaking a whopping $195,000,000 renovation of the Portland Municipal Building and one of the steps being taken is to redesign all of the restrooms to be gender-neutral. One result is the removal of all urinals. Local NBC News affiliate KGW8 reports that Chief Administrative Officer Tom Rinehart sent an email to employees explaining, “We will continue to have gender-specific (male and female) multi-stall restrooms that are readily available to any employee that prefers to use one. But, there will be no urinals in any restroom in the building.” Rinehart added, “This will give us the flexibility we need for any future changes in signage.” The plan – when all work is completed – will result in: • The building’s 1st, 3rd, and 15th floors will have large multi-stall bathrooms that men and women will use together • The other floors will have separate men’s and women’s bathrooms • Every floor will have at least one gender-neutral bathroom Pat Dooris, the KGW8 reporter who covered the story, makes a point to include “Gender and bathroom use has been a big deal when it comes to those who are transgender or gender fluid.” Well, yeah, if you are transgender and want to use a bathroom without being accosted, I would say that’s a ‘big deal.’ UCLA’s Williams Institute says research shows 9 percent of transgender people have been attacked using a public facility. Dooris also includes an interview with conservative talk show host Lars Larson who is outraged over the changes. “I think it’s ridiculous,” Larson tells Dooris. “First of all, I know that it already makes a lot of people uncomfortable. Secondly, its gonna take up a lot more space and third- anyone whose ever been to any public event – have you seen the line at the ladies’ room? Do you see any line at the men’s room?” When Larson says “makes a lot of people uncomfortable,” what he’s referring to are trans people getting to use a public bathroom. Larson also threw in a half-hearted pitch for water conservation noting that urinals use less water. Because conservatives are such environmental warriors? While Larson seems fixated on the idea that men will suddenly have to cope with lines at the restrooms, studies have shown that gender-neutral bathrooms actually creates ‘potty parity’ as they equalize the average time men and women wait to use the facilities. Plus, society has shifted and evolved on ‘bathroom policy’ for decades. For instance, until the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, it was legal to segregate bathrooms by race. It was 1990 when laws were finally passed to ensure bathrooms were accessible for people with disabilities or who use wheelchairs. And let’s face it: if unisex bathrooms were fine for the folks in the late 1990s TV series Ally McBeal, why can’t we handle them today?

Doing a quick search of the interwebs, it seems the only folks who are upset about the new bathrooms at the Portland Building are far-right conservative websites looking for something to get upset about. What do you think, readers? As new construction and building renovations occur, are gender-neutral bathrooms a step forward? (source: KGW8)

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High School Football Season Canceled After Allegations Of Locker Room Assault

A California high school has canceled the remainder of its football season amid allegations of sexual battery between players in a locker room altercation after a practice last week. Gilroy High School officials say a majority of players have chosen not to finish the season as a result of the alleged assault and subsequent investigation. Mercury News reports that the incident “involved four students that assaulted a fellow student after school.” The student who was allegedly attacked went to school officials on September 26, and after an investigation, juvenile citations for sexual battery were issued to four students. “We investigated the allegations and determined there was evidence to support a criminal complaint.,” said Gilroy police Capt. Joseph Deras. “The aggravating circumstance was the number of suspects involved, and the use of force or fear played a role in our arresting decision.” Deras added that the investigator’s reports have been forwarded to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office for review to determine if the students will face prosecution.

Because all of the individuals involved are minors, few details – including the names of the students – have been revealed. Police say there is currently no evidence that the alleged assault was a “hate-motivated crime.” The local CBS News affiliate KPIX reports that some students say they’d heard “several players were ‘roughhousing’ with one teammate and may have taken it too far.” KPIX adds that the remaining football season was forfeited because “only nine players remain on the team after others quit in protest.” Watching these and other news reports, the Gilroy High School students are apparently divided over the issue. In some interviews, there are students that seem to blame the alleged victim for the scandal…? Here’s an earlier report from KBCW:

(lead photo via Depositphotos)

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Trump Tries To Discredit Whistleblower For Approaching Congress

After the New York Times reported that the head of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, had been contacted regarding the outlines of the whistleblower’s concerns that Donald Trump had abused his power before it became public knowledge, Trump and his cohorts tried to spin this into a new conspiracy theory against him. Team Trump even tried to assert that Schiff helped write the whistleblower’s complaint. Nope. The thing is – this is the process when someone in government believes they’ve witnessed something gone awry. Via PBS:

The whistleblower who raised concerns about President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine spoke to staffers on the House Intelligence Committee before filing a formal complaint, giving Democrats advance warning of the accusations of wrongdoing that triggered their impeachment inquiry.

The whistleblower, a member of the intelligence community, contacted the committee for guidance on how to report “possible wrongdoing,” according to Patrick Boland, a spokesman for the Intelligence Committee’s chairman, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Boland said that “at no point did the committee review or receive the complaint in advance” and that it is a regular occurrence for whistleblowers to seek guidance from the committee.

“Consistent with the committee’s longstanding procedures, committee staff appropriately advised the whistleblower to contact an inspector general and to seek legal counsel,” Boland said. Other congressional committees follow a similar process.

In a news conference in the East Room of the White House after the article was published, Trump ranted, “He knew long before and helped write it, too. It’s a scam.” The NY Times states plainly: There is no evidence that Mr. Schiff did, and his spokesman said he saw no part of the complaint before it was filed.

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News Round-Up: October 2, 2019

Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Color me jealous of hottie Max Emerson (above) – after years of snuggling with my bestie Bruno, my two dogs now do not do the snuggle. And I miss it. • Playbill: Actor Joshua Henry, currently starring in the off-Broadway play The Wrong Man, was singing while an audience member in the front row was using a phone. Mid-performance and without halting, the actor, last on Broadway in the revival of Carousel, took the phone and threw it under the risers. The audience applauded his action. • LGBTQ Nation: Three YouTubers tested over 15,000 video titles and say LGBTQ keywords can trigger YouTube’s algorithm to demonetize and hide those videos. • Right Wing Watch: Pro-Trump activist and right-wing commentator Karyn Turk pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday for stealing more than $17,000 from her mother’s Social Security, reportedly to pay for her own lavish lifestyle. • KIT212: Kenneth recaps the Q&A by Debbie Harry in New York City on Monday night for her new memoir, Face It. • DC Universe: Deaf, transgender model Chella Man shares the first look at his new role as ‘Jericho Wilson,’ a deaf, bisexual super-hero making his premiere on TITANS.

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Stable Genius Has Meltdown At White House Press Conference

During a press conference with Donald Trump and Finland’s President Niinisto, Jeff Mason from Reuters asked Trump what he wanted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to do when Trump brought up the business ties to Ukraine of Hunter Biden, son of Joe Biden? Trump began: “What I want is the following — Why are we the only ones that give the big money to the Ukraine?” And he never actually answered the question, which spurred Mason to followup on the question. Serious props to Jeff Mason for trying to get an answer to his question. The Donald is a bit cray-cray here. And poor President Niinisto for having to be exposed to the Trumpster’s madness.

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Police Officer Sentenced To 10 Years For Shooting Death Of Neighbor

Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, who was found guilty of murder yesterday in the shooting death of her neighbor, Botham Jean, was sentenced to 10 years in prison today. She was facing between 5-99 years in prison. From NBC News:

Amber Guyger, the former Dallas police officer convicted of murder for fatally shooting her unarmed neighbor in his apartment, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison.

Guyger, 31, learned her fate after a sentencing hearing that included emotional testimony from the family of the victim, Botham Jean, and revelations that she shared racist and offensive texts and social media posts.

Prosecutors had asked jurors to sentence Guyger to at least 28 years — symbolic because Jean would have turned 28 last Sunday.

Guyger did not testify during her sentencing, but she has the opportunity to appeal the conviction in the unique case, which has gripped the city of Dallas and shattered the idea that law-abiding residents can be safe in their own homes.

The jury was allowed to consider whether Jean’s death was the result of “sudden passion,” which meant Guyger acted in the heat of the moment. It carried a lesser sentence of two to 20 years behind bars.

Guyger shot Jean after walking into his apartment thinking it was hers at the end of a shift. Believing he was a burglar in her home, she shot him while he was armed with just a bowl of ice cream. This stunning moment, between Jean’s brother and Guyger, happened at the sentencing today.