After spending days accepting Saudi Arabia’s explanation for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, despite the skepticism of world leaders, Donald Trump changed course saying, “Somebody really messed up.”
According to HuffPost, Trump told reporters at the White House today, “They had a very bad original concept. It was carried out poorly and the cover-up was one of the worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups. Very simple. Bad deal, should have never been thought of. Somebody really messed up.”
Full Trump quote on Saudi killing of Khashoggi:
“They had a very bad original concept. It was carried out poorly and the cover-up was one of the worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups. Very simple. Bad deal, should have never been thought of. Somebody really messed up.”
On Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey told lawmakers in his country that he did not believe Saudi Arabia’s initial explanation for Khashoggi’s death and openly accused Saudi officials of carrying out premeditated murder.
“The information obtained so far and the evidence found shows that Khashoggi was murdered in a ferocious manner,” Erdogan said.
Trump, who’s known for his own blunt style, called Erdogan’s comments “pretty rough.”
Trump also indicated that Congress should decide how to proceed on the matter.
“In terms of what we ultimately do, I’m going to leave it very much — in conjunction with me — I’m going to leave it up to Congress,” Trump said.
Explosive devices were sent to former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as to CNN’s offices in New York, sparking an intense investigation on Wednesday into whether a bomber is going after targets that have often been the subject of right-wing ire.
A law enforcement official said the three devices were similar to one found Monday at the home of George Soros, the billionaire philanthropist and liberal donor who has come under fierce criticism from conservatives and conspiracy theorists.
None of the devices harmed anyone. Law enforcement officials said they were investigating whether all the devices were sent by the same person or persons.
Clinton, Obama, Soros and CNN have all been frequent targets of Donald Trump in his campaign rhetoric.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders issued a statement condemning “the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton and other public figures.”
“These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” said Sanders according to the Associated Press. “The United States Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies are investigating and will take all appropriate actions to protect anyone threatened by these cowards.”
According to several reports, the package mailed to CNN’s offices was addressed to former CIA director John Brennan, who has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration since becoming a CNN commentator.
Everyone at CNN NY being evacuated. Swarms of NYPD outside — I wasn’t allowed to grab a coat or any of my belongings — told to immediately go to staircase pic.twitter.com/rtcAoKS6y9— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) October 24, 2018
One winning ticket was sold in South Carolina for Tuesday night’s record-breaking Mega Millions jackpot worth $1.6 billion.
The winning digits were 5-28-62-65-70, with a Megaball of 5.
The lone winner can choose to be paid over 30 years (nope), or take a lump sum that would come to about $905 million. After taxes, that would come to around $543,000,000.
This was the largest jackpot in Mega Millions history surpassing a $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot that was shared between three tickets in 2016.
The next Mega Millions drawing, which will occur on Oct. 26, will offer a jackpot worth a paltry $40 million.
Speaking to PrideSource, actress Melissa McCarthy was asked about her experience the first time she stepped into a gay bar after growing up in rural Illinois:
“I thought, “Where has this been all my life?” That’s the honest to god truth.
“There was a feeling of anything goes, you’re OK, no one’s gonna find you odd. What you’re wearing, who cares! What you’re doing, dancing all night! There just was a celebration innately built in.
“It’s like, I didn’t go there to be somber, I went because I was like, there’s such a feeling of unity and I never felt… I just… I really did, I had such a strong reaction to it.
“It’s like, I think, certainly, from many of my friends I was with as they came out and struggled with their families or had delightfully surprising responses from their family, to have a place to go where they were just fully accepted, a lot of joy went with that.
“So I kind of sat in the backdrop of that and enjoyed it.”
McCarthy plays lesbian “Lee Israel” in her latest film, poignant Oscar-worthy dramedy “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” currently in select theaters.
After stoking fears about “middle Eastern terrorists” being hidden in the midst of the caravan of migrants moving north through Mexico to the United States’ border, Donald Trump admitted today he has “no proof” that there actually ARE any terrorists traveling amid the caravan.
CNN’s Jim Acosta asked if he’s saying that there are terrorists in the caravan. Trump said “there could very well be,” adding, “I have very good information.”
He tagged in Vice President Mike Pence to talk about his call with the president of Honduras, and he said at one point it’s “inconceivable there would not be individuals from the Middle East as part of this growing caravan.” Acosta asked him directly if he has evidence of terrorists in the caravan, as opposed to just citing statistics.
Trump jumped in to say he’s spoken with the border patrol and they’ve intercepted “many people from the Middle East” and even ISIS at the border. Acosta again asked, “Are they in the caravan?” “They could very well be,” the President responded. “But there’s no proof,” Acosta noted.
“There’s no proof of anything. There’s no proof of anything. But they very well could be.”
Well, that settles that, huh?
Watch below.
President Trump on “Middle Easterners” in caravan: “There’s no proof of anything. There’s no proof of anything, but they very well could be.” pic.twitter.com/o0Vw8qaJvP
.@DonLemon: President Trump is “seizing on unsubstantiated, right-wing media reports that the caravan has been infiltrated by criminals and unknown Middle Easterners, a claim he made again tonight without offering a shred of evidence." https://t.co/oThTDByR16pic.twitter.com/L95vP9RxfT— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) October 23, 2018
A proud father posted an epic Twitter rant that went viral after his five-year-old son, Sam, was the victim of bullying and ‘toxic masculinity.’
This is my son, Sam. He’s 5. And today he learned how shitty and harmful #ToxicMasculinity is. My rage meter is spiking right now so excuse me if this is a little raw but there are some things I want to say about BS #gender norms (a thread) pic.twitter.com/NtoE2VHKsU
His middle boy, Sam, who Aaron calls a ‘boy’s boy,’ likes all kinds of things. For instance, he’s big on fishing, dirt, trucks and knee drops on the couch.
Sam is my middle child & he’s a terror. A “boy’s boy” as so many (not me) would say. He’s rough and tumble, he’s loud, he’s always dirty, loves trucks, plays sports and knee drops me from the couch. But he also loves a lot of “girl” things.
Sam also likes some ‘girl things,’ like collecting purses because “he likes to carry things around,” and wearing polish on his nails because they “look beautiful.”
I think Sam has great taste in colors, too.
Sam has a collection of purses because he likes to carry things around. And he also loves to have his nails painted bright colors because he thinks they “look beautiful.” And he’s right – they are beautiful… pic.twitter.com/tdMdpJZH5w
Sam recently wore his red nail polish to kindergarten.
His dad says Sam has “absolutely no concept of nail polish only being for girls or reason to think anyone would possibly have a problem with beautiful nails.”
I’m with you there, Aaron. Sam is rocking that red!
So he proudly wore his red nail polish to kindergarten this morning because Sam has absolutely no concept of nail polish only being for girls or reason to think anyone would possibly have a problem with beautiful nails. pic.twitter.com/WsHHupgw9H
But Sam’s classmates apparently have no sense of individuality or self-expression.
According to Aaron, Sam was “ridiculed for being a boy with nail polish.”
The kids called Sam names all day long and told him he should take it off.
But his classmates did have a problem. A big one. Sam was ridiculed for being a boy with nail polish. They called him names and told him to take it off. This lasted the entire day.
Sam was extremely upset and crying when his mom picked him up from school.
Sam couldn’t understand why the kids made fun of him and was “devastated at how the other kids turned on him.”
When my wife picked him up from school he collapsed into her arms and cried uncontrollably. He was devastated at how other kids turned on him, even his friends. He asked them to stop but that just made it worse. Only 1 kid stood up for him.
When Aaron got a call at work from Sam, who was still crying, dad told him that “his nails are BADASS!” and the only thing Sam should care about is whether HE likes his nails.
I’m liking Aaron more and more here, folks.
He called me at work, his words barely decipherable through the sobs, and I told him nothing those kids say matters. That his nails are BADASS! And the only thing that matters is whether he likes his nails. And then my heart broke…
Noting Sam’s “huge heart,” Aaron shared his pride that his son has never been afraid to be different because “different has never meant ‘bad.’”
My son is far from perfect but he’s got a huge heart and empathy for miles. He finds beauty in everything around him and for 5 years he’s never been afraid to be different because different has never meant “bad.” Until now.
Aaron also pointed out that “this toxic masculinity bullshit is LEARNED,” and learned from parents.
I know these kids are only in kindergarten but this toxic masculinity bullshit is LEARNED. Learned most of the time from parents. So parents, I hope you’re proud. I hope this is what you wanted. I hope you’re satisfied.
I hope you sleep well tonight knowing order has been at least partially restored and gender norms solidified for one more little boy whose terrible infraction was having the audacity to like brightly painted fingernails.
Aaron shared that he and his wife have spent years “preaching tolerance, acceptance, and the importance of expression,” but in just a single day Sam’s classmates were able to teach Sam ‘shame.’
My wife and I spent five years successfully preaching tolerance, acceptance, and the importance of expression and your kids unraveled that in one school day. He now feels the shame you desperately want to associate with being different.
Dad had a long talk with his son, and the upshot was Sam should not only keep wearing his nail polish, but it should be “an even brighter shade tomorrow.”
He also told Sam he should ask the kids why the nail polish got them so wound up.
Alright! Go Aaron, go!
But I want you to know I talked to Sam and I told him those other kids are just jealous of his nails. I told him to wear an even brighter shade tomorrow. And I told him to ask these kids why they’re so upset and see what they say.
Aaron went on to tell the Twitterverse that his son “is a goddamn fireworks show of a human being” and he had no intention of Sam’s light being diminished by “restrictive bullshit” like this.
Aaron for ‘Dad of the Year!’
I bet they don’t know. I bet their parents don’t even know. But what I do know is Sam is a goddamn fireworks show of a human being and I won’t let that be dulled for a second by this restrictive bullshit that’s been choking boys forever.
Dad also rightfully pointed out to Sam that lots of guys like “Thor & Capt. Jack Sparrow” wear nail polish.
He even threw New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski in the mix, although he wasn’t too sure of Gronk.
I told Sam he could take off the nail polish if he wanted but lots of guys wear it like Thor (@chrishemsworth) & Capt. Jack Sparrow. He asked if his fav football player @robgronkowski did. I’m not sure but I told him yes. Sorry, Gronk.
More importantly, though, Aaron told Sam that what other people think doesn’t matter because “what you wear and how you look should make YOU look good.”
Yaassssss!
But more importantly I told him it doesn’t matter what anyone else does because what you wear and how you look should make YOU look good. And to hell with everyone else.
Not only did Sam decide to leave his nail polish on, his 10-year-old brother painted HIS nails in solidarity.
After careful consideration, he’s leaving it on. Because he likes it and it makes him feel good. Then Sam’s 10-year-old brother painted HIS nails in solidarity with his sibling, at which point I nearly cried.
You know what happened next – Aaron decided to pain HIS nails as well.
Even though the shade, chosen by Sam, is a bit “understated,” dad liked it.
But Sam is sticking with his bright red because “it’s pretty and good luck for the Patriots.”
That moved me to paint MY nails. Sam picked out this color called “Main Squeeze” & I think it’s understated but lovely. Sam is sticking with red because “it’s pretty and good luck for the @patriots.” #ItsOnlyWeirdIfItDoesntWorkpic.twitter.com/KtuwldiEJw
Aaron wrapped up his Twitter thread saying that even though “intolerant parents and their offspring scored a minor victory,” they would not “win the war.”
Intolerant parents and their offspring scored a minor victory today but they won’t win the war. I know that because the Sams of the world aren’t going to suffer this bullshit anymore. Of that I have no doubt.
Dad signed off with a shout-out to his man, Sam, letting him know he always has his back.
Be brave and shine bright, my beautiful polished boy. Know that mom and dad always have your back and if the rest of the world has a problem with your nails, they can check out my nail polish! pic.twitter.com/fvjD2IZnNQ
This reminds me of the popular internet meme – “This is Aaron and Sam. They don’t care about other people’s rigid, intolerant views. Be like Aaron and Sam.”
Now, if Rob Gronkowski would just chime in with a pic of his nails painted red, that might just break the internet.
Just months after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a narrow ruling on Colorado baker Jack Phillips’ appeal for refusing to make a cake for a gay couple, another anti-LGBT bakery has asked the Supreme Court to consider their appeal.
The petition for review, filed last Friday by the conservative law firm First Liberty on behalf of Aaron and Melissa Klein of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, asserts the couple’s First Amendment rights to refuse service to a lesbian couple, according to SCOTUSblog.
In 2013, Laurel and Rachel Bowman-Cryer asked the Gresham, Oregon, bakery to sell them a cake for their upcoming commitment ceremony.
Based on her ‘deeply held religious beliefs,’ Melissa Klein refused to sell the couple a cake saying same-sex marriage was not consistent with her religious beliefs.
It’s worth underscoring that the Bowman-Cryers weren’t asking for a wedding cake, or holding any kind of religious ceremony, as marriage equality hadn’t been adopted by Oregon at the time.
Also, the state of Oregon’s public accommodation laws clearly prohibit any discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The lesbian couple filed a complaint with the state’s Bureau of Labor & Industries which found the bakery had, indeed, violated the state’s laws.
The Kleins appealed the decision to the Oregon Court of Appeals, but the Bureau’s decision was upheld.
The bakers then asked the Oregon Supreme Court to review the decision, but the state’s high court refused that request earlier this year.
It’s worth noting that this summer’s ruling regarding the Colorado baker was a win for Phillips only in that the Supreme Court felt the Colorado administrative agency that initially ruled against him appeared to be “too hostile” to Phillips’ religious beliefs. The Supreme Court never actually ruled on whether religious beliefs trump public accommodation laws.
The Supreme Court has several options regarding the petition for review.
In order to accept the case, at least four justices must vote to do so.
The court could decline the review completely, or decline to review but vacate the earlier rulings in Oregon remanding the case back to the earlier courts to review their decision.
That’s the route the high court took in June of this year regarding an anti-LGBT florist in Washington state, Barronelle Stutzman of Arlene’s Flowers.
According to SCOTUSblog, the state of Oregon now has 30 days to respond to the filing although a 30 extension is possible.
Should the Supreme Court choose to review the case, after oral arguments a decision would come down sometime before the end of June 2019.
First, for those of us who were actually raised in Nevada, it’s difficult to hear him continue to falsely claim that he was raised in Nevada or has any true connections to Nevadans.
The simple fact is that while he may have been born in Reno, he left as an infant and was raised on the East Coast, 3,000 miles away, in Washington, D.C., and moved here only in 2013, only one year later launching his political career. Aside from the occasional short visit, Adam never knew the state or its people. Perhaps if he had, he would stand for Nevada’s values rather than for those of his out-of-state donors.
If he responds to this column at all, it will probably be to say that he hardly knows the people writing this column. And in many ways that would be true. We never had a chance to get to know him, really — he spent his life in Washington, D.C., while we lived in Northern Nevada and grew up in public schools and on public lands. He moved to Nevada in 2013 so that he could lean on the reputation of a family that he hardly knew while tapping into support by donors who had no interest in our state or its people.
It’s worth saying that this column isn’t about politics. We would be proud to have a Laxalt running for office on Nov. 6, regardless of whether they were Republican or Democrat or independent, so long as we believed that they would be good for Nevada.
We’re writing because we care about Nevada and because we know the truth about this candidate. We think that you should, too.
The op-ed is signed Gabriel Urza, Kevin Nomura, Amy Nomura Solaro, Alexandra Urza, Kevan Danielle Laxalt, Michelle Terese Laxalt, Peter Laxalt, Michelle Janet Laxalt, Dr. Kevin Marie Laxalt, Dr. Kristin Laxalt, Monique Laxalt and Meggan Laxalt Mackey.
The Laxalt family points out even though Adam is currently the Attorney General of Nevada, his tenure as a practicing lawyer was considered “a train wreck” by his own law firm members.
The op-ed also says that Laxalt had worked to undermine current two-term governor of Nevada, Republican Brian Sandoval. Sandoval has notably refused to endorse Laxalt in this year’s race.
Q You said “lower tax cuts.” You said that you wanted tax cuts by November 1st. Congress isn’t even in session. How is that possible?
THE PRESIDENT: No, we’re going to be passing — no, no. We’re putting in a resolution sometime in the next week, or week and a half, two weeks.
Q A resolution where?
THE PRESIDENT: We’re going to put in — we’re giving a middle-income tax reduction of about 10 percent. We’re doing it now for middle-income people. This is not for business; this is for middle. That’s on top of the tax decrease that we’ve already given them.
Q Are you signing an executive order for that?
THE PRESIDENT: No. No. No. I’m going through Congress.
Q But Congress isn’t in session though.
THE PRESIDENT: We won’t have time to do the vote. We’ll do the vote later.
Q Congress is out.
THE PRESIDENT: We’ll do the vote after the election.
Trust and believe, there will be no “middle class tax cut” in the next week or two.
Additionally, Trump has been extremely resistant to believe that the Saudi Arabian government was involved in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, even though a mountain of evidence is turning up daily.
Trump’s primary reticence is due in part to an arms deal his administration did with the Saudis that he doesn’t want to endanger because he says it would cost the U.S. jobs.
Initially, he said the arms deal would create 450,000 jobs.
Then, just days later, he told Fox Business that the deal would create 500,000 jobs.
On Friday that number had grown to 600,000 jobs, and by Saturday the Donald said 1 million American jobs rely on all Saudi investments, which total $450 billion.
Suddenly one arms deal is going to triple that figure?
One more lie to note from the Trumpster:
The president has told folks at his campaign rallies that there are “middle Eastern terrorists” in the midst of the migrant caravan making it’s way towards the United States.
News networks have taken camera crews down to the caravan and looked for middle Eastern terrorists. Nope, none to be found. Watch the report below from CNN.
“Ginning up fear of the stranger is a tactic that’s as old as politics,” reports @BillWeirCNN from the migrant caravan heading towards the US. “But these folks, they’re oblivious and if they do know about the President’s tweets, it’s going to take more than that to stop them.” pic.twitter.com/bHMFE49dY5
Asked about fact there is no proof behind his claim there are “unknown Middle Easterners” in the caravan, POTUS says “there’s no proof of anything but there could very well be.”— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 23, 2018
After spending the past few months criss-crossing the country performing at various Pride events, out country music artist Ty Herndon recently hit the recording studio with DJ Little Steve to cut four songs for his dance floor fans.
“I have truly had the time of my life playing Pride festivals across America,” says the hunky country singer. “But, as much as the fans love country music, I noticed that I needed to bump up the party factor a bit.”
Herndon plans on releasing one track each week for the next four weeks beginning with his cover of the Whitney Houston classic, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”
In addition to “Dance,” Herndon recorded to new versions of his own songs (“Living in a Moment,” “That Kind of Night”) as well as the Marc Cohn hit, “Walking in Memphis,” which became a big hit for Cher.
Herndon debuted the dance remixes this past summer at Market Days in Chicago.
It is interesting to note that Herndon says he was inspired by his Pride performances to record the remixes, but in listening to his cover of “Dance,” the openly gay artist omits the lyric “I need a man who’ll take a chance, On a love that burns hot enough to last.”
Instead, he chose to repeat an earlier gender-neutral lyric. Hmm…
Since coming out in 2014, the “What Mattered Most” singer has been a loud and proud advocate for the LGBT community partnering with several organizations, most notably GLAAD.
His annual Cancer for Love and Acceptance fundraiser for GLAAD features out musicians as well as LGBT allies. This year’s concert, hosted by Herndon and out CMT host Cody Alan, featured performances by Ty, country music icons Tanya Tucker and Vince Gill as well as out UK sensation Calum Scott and Michael Ray.
