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Excerpt from www.billboard.com
Police in Suffolk, Va., are investigating the manner of death of 17-year-old rapper Rylo Huncho. A spokesperson for the Suffolk PD confirmed to Billboard on Tuesday morning (May 21) that an incident occurred on May 15 around 10 p.m. that “resulted in the death of a juvenile age 17” involving a “self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
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Excerpt from www.independent.co.uk
Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday condemned former president Donald Trump’s use of Nazi rhetoric after he shared — then deleted — a video referencing a “unified Reich” in the US after his hypothetical re-election this fall.
Harris told attendees at the Service Employees International Union convention in Philadelphia that the ex-president’s use of such rhetoric shows the stakes of this year’s presidential election.
“This kind of rhetoric is unsurprising coming from the former president and it is appalling,” she said. “And we’ve got to tell him who we are. And once again, it shows our freedoms and our very democracy are at stake”.
The 30-second clip, which was posted on Monday evening and quickly stoked outrage, showed several hypothetical news headlines in the instance that Trump wins the 2024 presidential election.
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Excerpt from www.wardsauto.com
U.S. anti-gay group launches boycott of Ford Ward’s Auto
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Excerpt from www.huffpost.com
In November, Calvin Hayden spoke to a fringe gathering of “America First” conservatives at a church in Kansas City. He told the crowd at Hope Family Fellowship Church that they were in the middle of a war between good and evil, that the Apple logo reminded him of Eve eating forbidden fruit, and that “a lot of the LGBT stuff and questioning the gender” might really be a Communist Chinese plot to “demasculinize our men and our warriors.”
Others on the lineup that day included Father James Altman, who had called for Pope Francis’ death two months prior, and Michael Flynn, Donald Trump’s former national security adviser and pardon recipient, who the following month would tell Alex Jones, “We’re moving towards the sound of the guns here, folks, and the sound of the guns is freedom.”
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Excerpt from www.thenation.com
Trust me: If President Joe Biden had faced hecklers or worse when he gave the Morehouse College commencement speech on Sunday, you would know about it. It would have led every newscast and dominated headlines in every paper, another dire portent of his alleged troubles with Black voters coming in November.
Instead, Biden faced a low-key protest, he clapped for and shook hands with the valedictorian who demanded a ceasefire in Gaza, and otherwise fared well. So you probably didn’t hear about it.
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Excerpt from www.politicususa.com
Fulton County DA Fani Willis was interviewed by Rachel Maddow the night before the Democratic primary and she cited her appearance on the show in her victory speech.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported:
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis routed Christian Wise Smith in the Democratic primary as she readied for a November contest against Republican Courtney Kramer. Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, meanwhile, easily won a full term.
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Excerpt from thehill.com
The LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD gave failing grades to several major social media platforms for how well they protect the safety, privacy and expression of the LGBTQ community online.
As part of the fourth annual Social Media Safety Index, GLAAD examined hate, disinformation, predominant anti-LGBTQ tropes, best policy practices, the suppression of LGBTQ content, artificial intelligence and data protection, regulation and the connections between “online hate and offline harm.”
The organization gave five of the six leading social media platforms a failing grade. Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter; YouTube; Meta’s Facebook; Instagram; and Threads all received a failing F grade on the index’s score card for the third consecutive year.
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Excerpt from www.motherjones.com
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday revealed evidence they said shows fugitive Chinese mogul Guo Wengui—as well as an unnamed person who was living with him—had the “opportunity and motive to start” a fire that severely damaged Guo’s lavish penthouse apartment hours after his March 2023 arrest.
Prosecutors shared the incendiary new information about the mysterious blaze, which erupted in the iconic Sherry Netherland building just off Central Park, the day before jury selection is set to start in Guo’s trial for allegedly executing a massive fraud scheme.
The fire reportedly broke out hours after Guo’s arrest at 6 am on March 15, 2023, while FBI agents were still searching the penthouse, causing severe damage to the property. Guo—a patron and ally of Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon who claims to be a leading critic of the Chinese Communist Party—has a devoted following made up of Chinese emigres. His supporters have alleged that FBI agents, or possibly Chinese agents, started the blaze.
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Excerpt from trendingpoliticsnews.com
Former President Donald Trump managed to send MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough into a tailspin during Tuesday’s segment of “Morning Joe.” Trump’s statements about potential actions should he return to the Oval Office in 2024 left the liberal host Scarborough floundering for words.
“You’re actually going to support a guy that has promised you he’s going to be a dictator on day one?” Scarborough asked his viewers.
“You know, are sitting around talking about you know, like this is some sort of college football game, and they’re just picking sides. Do they not see that this guy is promising, he’s promising to be an authoritarian? He’s talking about, you know, getting elected again after 2024, and I just—we know who Trump is.”
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Excerpt from phys.org
With more than 70 countries hosting national elections, 2024 is the biggest election year in history, according to The Economist. But how misinformation impacts elections, especially with the rise in content generated by artificial intelligence, continues to be of concern.
A research team examined misinformation narratives on social media in 2023 regarding the Taiwanese presidential election on January 13, 2024. They were especially interested in how narratives targeted relations between Taiwan and the United States.
Misinformation targeted mistrust and skepticism toward the U.S. rather than U.S. foreign policy directly, according to the study, which was published in the Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review.
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Excerpt from www.prdaily.com
An order of nuns associated with Benedictine College has distanced itself with a recent commencement speech that has drawn national attention to the tiny Catholic liberal arts college in Kansas.
Last week, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker addressed graduates by discussing a number of hot-button topics, including “the tyranny of diversity, equity and inclusion,” COVID-lockdowns and LGBTQ+ Pride. But the comments that drew the most attention were those addressed to women in the audience, whom he said had been told “diabolical lies” and that, on the day they received their degree, were “most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
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Excerpt from www.theblaze.com
The Kansas City Star published an essay demanding that the Kansas City Chiefs drop kicker Harrison Butker and hire a woman as his replacement.
Butker, a three-time Super Bowl champion, is one of the best kickers in the NFL. But he’s now facing down the barrel of cancel culture for giving a pro-Catholic speech that affirmed traditional values.
‘They could trade him for a solid kicker, or they could make a statement by signing a woman to kick.’
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Excerpt from crooksandliars.com
Guys – we are almost at the end!! The defense rested today after 2 witnesses testified on behalf of Donald Trump – and neither of them were named Donald Trump. I know, we are all completely and utterly shocked that the most honest man in the world, Donald Trump, who said for weeks on end that he was GAGGED and would absolutely, totally, 100% testify…wussed out at the last minute, like the utterly shameless coward that he is.
Ok, so today started with Trump whining about the temperature…
Trump: I’m fighting for 300 million people. It’s not like I like sitting in an icebox for 7,8,9 hours and it’s a very cold room pic.twitter.com/InBkBIwjGU
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 21, 2024
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Excerpt from www.kake.com
A draft of the agreement filed in court Tuesday says Giuliani would be “permanently enjoined from publishing, causing others to publish, and/or assisting in others’ publication of any statements that suggest that Plaintiffs, whether mentioned directly, indirectly, or by implication, engaged in wrongdoing in connection with the 2020 presidential election.”
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Excerpt from www.vox.com
Joe Biden was about to become president, and the Alito household was in distress.
On May 16, the New York Times reported that, during the tense period between the January 6 insurrection and Biden’s inauguration, Justice Samuel Alito’s family displayed an upside-down American flag outside their home. An upside-down flag is a distress signal — a way that soldiers or ships at sea show that they are in extraordinary danger.
Taken in isolation, it’s hard to draw sweeping conclusions from this flag. The Times reports that many supporters of the “Stop the Steal” campaign — former President Donald Trump’s failed effort to overthrow the 2020 presidential election — embraced an inverted American flag to signal their belief that the United States was in grave danger. Alito claims that the flag was raised by his wife “in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs.”
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Excerpt from whee.net(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Friday announced new grants aimed at further desegregating magnet schools, as he marked the 70th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling that desegregated America’s public schools.
“My Department of Education is investing $300 million, including another $20 million announced today to support diversity in our schools,” Biden said in remarks at an NAACP event at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The $20 million in new grants is for school districts in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina and Texas, to create magnet programs geared toward “attracting students from different social, economic, ethnic and racial backgrounds,” the White House said.
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Excerpt from www.thecollegefix.com
There will be no charges for the Idaho teenager who shouted a racial slur and then a vulgar comment toward the University of Utah women’s basketball team.
Furthermore, the city report on the incident undermines at least some of the claims of racial slurs.
Even though there is no indication the teenager or his friends are affiliated with extremist or racist groups, the Associated Press and National Public Radio both found it necessary to imply there was a link.
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Excerpt from thefederalist.com
In a hit piece skeptical of the Republican-led Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote, the Associated Press (AP) acknowledged that foreign nationals have been caught “illegally registering and even casting ballots.” But that fact doesn’t stop Democrats and their media allies from opposing safeguards like the SAVE Act that threaten the advantages Democrats gain from loose election laws.
“The specter of immigrants voting illegally in the U.S. has erupted into a leading election-year talking point for Republicans. They argue that legislation is necessary to protect the sanctity of the vote as the country faces unprecedented levels of illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border,” the AP’s Ali Swenson wrote.
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Excerpt from conservativeroof.com
Comedian Bill Maher stated on Monday during an appearance on CNN’s “AC360” that Republicans are “natural-born cultists,” and former President Donald Trump is their “American Caesar.”
“The Republican Party is unrecognizable, especially the congresspeople. They’re just there to do performative nonsense,” he said.
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Excerpt from www.popsci.comRecent reports that the H5N1 avian flu virus has been found in cow’s milk have raised questions about whether the U.S. milk supply is safe to drink. According to the federal Food and Drug Administration, the answer is yes, as long as the milk is pasteurized.
Nonetheless, raw (unpasteurized) milk sales are up, despite health experts’ warning that raw milk could contain high levels of the virus, along with many other pathogens.
As an extension food scientist in a state where raw milk sales are legal, I provide technical support to help processors produce high-quality, safe dairy foods. I also like to help people understand the confusing world of pasteurization methods on their milk labels, and why experts strongly discourage consuming raw milk and products made from it.
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Excerpt from www.pennlive.com
It seems Kid Rock made quite the impression during an interview with Rolling Stone recently. And what could’ve been a constructive interview quickly turned into an awkward one.
Rolling Stone Reporter David Peisner visited the “American Badass’” rocker’s home in rural Tennessee outside of Nashville for the interview that was published on May 19. During the visit Rock, also known as Robert James Ritchie, used racial slurs – including the n-word multiple times – and waved his gun around.
During the sit-down, Rock mentioned his white butler, whom he nicknamed “Uncle Tom,” a well-known derogatory name in reference to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 anti-slavery novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
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Excerpt from www.lowyinstitute.org
Delegates in Geneva are approaching the final stretch of negotiating a pandemic treaty which is up for adoption at this year’s World Health Assembly, beginning 27 May. If adopted, the treaty could make the world safer from future pandemics such as Covid-19, which killed an estimated 28.5 million people and will cost the global economy about US$13.8 (AU$21.3) trillion through 2024.
But damaging disinformation has surrounded the negotiations, including the pervasive falsehood that through the treaty, the World Health Organisation is usurping the sovereign rights of states to implement their own health policies. Despite being widely debunked by fact checkers and media outlets, the disinformation persists, not only in Australia but worldwide. This claim is categorically false. Here’s why.
The draft treaty in clear and explicit terms reaffirms that countries retain the sovereign right to adopt and implement their own health policies. The treaty, like most do, sets out activities that states “shall”, “should” and are otherwise encouraged to do, but at all times countries retain the power to legislate as they see fit in furtherance of the treaty’s aims. It is not intended to, and does not, dictate national policy. There is a deep tradition in international law that states maintain sovereignty to make their own policy decisions, including health policy.
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Excerpt from www.vanityfair.com
Marco Rubio declared Sunday that he might not accept the results of the 2024 election, a previously unthinkable statement for an elected official to make that is now basically a prerequisite for anyone hoping to be Donald Trump’s vice president.
Appearing on Meet the Press, the senator from Florida was asked by host Kristen Welker if he would “accept the election results of 2024, no matter what happens,” to which he responded, “No matter what happens? No. If it’s an unfair election, I think it’s gonna be contested by each side.” Then he claimed that “Democrats are the ones that have opposed every Republican victory since 2000, every single one.” Reminded that Democrats who’ve taken issue with election results have ultimately conceded, Rubio asked Welker if she had asked Democrats if they’d accept the election results. At no point did he acknowledge that denying the results of 2020 has basically become an official plank of the Republican Party—or that zero Democrats have incited a deadly insurrection because they couldn’t accept their election loss.
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Excerpt from www.theguardian.com
In a speech to union workers today in Philadelphia, the vice-president, Kamala Harris, said the use of the term “unified reich” in a video posted by Donald Trump was “appalling”.
“In this moment, extremists are trying to divide our nation, and we see them as they encourage xenophobia and hate,” Harris said.
“This kind of rhetoric is unsurprising coming from the former president and it is appalling. And we’ve got to tell him who we are. And once again it shows that our freedom and our very democracy are at stake.”
Joe Biden was also asked about the remark as he campaigned in New Hampshire.
“It would take too long,” he quipped as he exited a Veterans of Foreign Wars post to shouts of “criminal” and “traitor” from Trump supporters stationed outside.
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Excerpt from www.washingtontimes.com
Prosecutors rested their case against former President Donald Trump on Monday, clearing the way for Mr. Trump to mount his defense and setting the table for closing arguments after the Memorial Day break.
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Excerpt from mashable.com
In an interview with The Verge’s Nilay Patel, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai discussed AI-powered search, a major topic at the founder’s recent Google I/O developer conference.
At the event, Google announced a slew of new AI tools and models: Ask Photos, AI Agents, Project Astra, Gemini 1.5 Pro and Gemini 1.5 Flash, Nano, and AI Teammate, to name a few.
The most visible announcement for regular people is probably the addition of AI Overviews to Google Search. You’ve probably noticed that when you search anything on Google, an “AI Overview” will pop up, showing you an overview of the answer to your question using AI. Google is answering the question for you, making clicking links to other websites less necessary. It’s changing how web traffic might be traveled — which has many people freaked out. Pichai, of course, said there’s no cause for concern.
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Excerpt from ca.finance.yahoo.com
Volkswagen’s (VWAGY) Audi is pushing deeper into the Chinese market as US rivals like GM (GM) and Ford (F) look to minimize losses in the region and the US ramps up tariffs on Chinese EVs.
On Monday, Audi announced it had signed a deal with China’s state-owned SAIC to develop new EVs for the mainland.
Audi said the SAIC deal would begin with three new EV models covering the B and C segments — small to midsize vehicles — with the first model entering the market in 2025. Audi said the deal with SAIC will reduce its time to market by more than 30%.
Audi CEO Gernot Döllner said the deal “marks a significant milestone in Audi’s China strategy.”
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Excerpt from www.al-monitor.com
ANKARA — Turkey will observe one-day of national mourning after the helicopter crash Sunday that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi along with seven others, including the country’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting in Ankara on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the day of collective mourning aims to “share the deep pain experienced by the Iranian people.” Erdogan added that he had conveyed his condolences to Iran’s acting president, Mohammad Mokhber, during a phone call earlier in the day.
“We contacted the Iranian authorities and mobilized all our resources to contribute to the search and rescue efforts after the crash,” Erdogan said, adding, “We will continue to act in the same spirit.”
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Excerpt from au.news.yahoo.com
BEIJING (AP) — China’s Ministry of Commerce announced sanctions against Boeing and two other defense companies Monday for arms sales to Taiwan, on the day of Taiwan’s presidential inauguration.
The move is the latest in a series of sanctions Beijing has announced in recent years against defense companies for weapons sales to Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China considers as part of its own territory.
China’s Ministry of Commerce placed Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security unit, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, and General Dynamics Land Systems, on what is called an “unreliable entities” list, forbidding their further investment in China, in addition to travel bans on senior management for the companies.
