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Located next to a wastewater treatment plant, the River Raisin Bridge in Monroe, Michigan, isn’t photo-op material. The mud is deep and the puddles are enormous on a raw December morning. Still, camera crews and local politicians and union members gather as if Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is giving out gold bars. And in a way, he is. Buttigieg, clad in his standard crisp white shirt and blue tie, is here to announce $196 million in funding to rebuild the bridge before it deteriorates further and forces expensive and unsafe detours through the area.

Thousands of protesters gathered in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to demonstrate against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address before a joint session of Congress.

Netanyahu’s trip to the Capitol has been controversial since House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) first announced his plans to invite the prime minister in May. Several lawmakers declined to attend the joint session given the brutality of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, and the ongoing investigations into human rights violations committed by the Israeli military in their ongoing siege against Gaza.

Progressive Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman has been ousted from his New York Congressional seat after a contentious primary soaked in special interest money.

Democratic Westchester County Executive George Latimer secured the first victory in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (Aipac) $100 million effort to oust progressive lawmakers critical of Israel’s ongoing military siege against Palestinians in Gaza. The Associated Press called the race just before 9:45 p.m. E.T.

The race between Bowman and Latimer was the most expensive in the history of the House of Representatives,...

The Democratic primary in New York’s 16th Congressional District is getting ugly. The race between progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-n.Y.) and Westchester County Executive George Latimer is already the most expensive House primary ever, and now Latimer is facing accusations of using racist tactics against the incumbent congressman.

In a Thursday interview with Punchbowl News, Latimer said he expects Bowman to get at least 40 percent of the vote.”

“Does he have an obvious ethnic benefit? Yes,” Latimer said of Bowman, who is Black. “Will he get the people...

On Thursday, a hearing of the Congressional Oversight Committee descended into chaos after repeated outbursts from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). Tensions throughout the proceeding reached a tipping point in a heated exchange between Greene, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-n.Y.) after Greene made a comment attacking Crockett’s appearance.

The Republican-controlled committee had gathered to advance a resolution seeking to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress after a similar resolution had passed in the House Judiciary Committee earlier that day.

Greene...

A coalition of progressive organizations challenging the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (Aipac) efforts to unseat 2024 candidates critical of Israel has partnered with actor Wallace Shawn for an explainer video calling on others to join their mission.

“Reject Aipac” is a union of more than two dozen progressive activist groups, including Justice Democrats, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, and the IfNotNow Movement. The coalition seeks to lead “a seven-figure electoral defense campaign across paid media and field organizing efforts to defend members of Congress targeted by Aipac,...

US Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost has introduced a new bill titled the Create Art Act, aimed at providing federal grants to musicians, artists, and other creatives.

Announced today at a press conference and mini-concert in Washington DC, the Create Art Act — fully titled The Create (Cultivating Resources for Emerging Artists to Thrive and Excel) Art Act — hopes to create four new federal grants for artists, which would provide anywhere from $2,000 to $100,000 for artistic activities, projects, live performances, living expenses, and more.

Specifically, a “Progress Grant” would provide $2,000 to support a year of artist activities, while a “Development Fund” can grant up to $10,000 to cover living expenses during research and cultivation stages. For bigger projects, there will be a “Project Grant, providing up to $100,000 over the course of two years. There will also be a “Live Performance Grant,” which will give up to $35,000 for live performances.

The grants would be available...

Celebrities are speaking out about the Israel-Hamas war. Billie Eilish, Ava DuVernay, Mahershala Ali, and Phoebe Bridgers are among the celebrities who have worn pins at recent Hollywood awards ceremonies calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Many others, including America Ferrara, Jon Stewart, and Cate Blanchett, signed a letter calling on President Biden to demand an end to the hostilities in the ongoing war.

The latest conflict began on Oct. 7, when Palestinian militants launched an attack on Israel where at least 1,200 civilians were killed and hundreds more taken hostage. Israel responded by attacking Gaza, sparking a humanitarian crisis. More than 30,000 Palestinians have died in the war, according to the Gaza health ministry.

The war has divided people around the world, including in Hollywood. Some stars have been vocal in their support for Israel, including comedian Jerry Seinfeld and Will and Grace star Debra Messing, who have both visited the country...

Updated: During his State of the Union speech Thursday, Joe Biden exchanged words with Republican hecklers, skewered Donald Trump without naming him, and framed the November election as one of decency and democracy versus retribution and resentment.

Stretching over an hour, Biden appeared feisty and energetic, occasionally stumbling over his lines. More often than not, his speech was a campaign restart sprinkled with Sotu standards, the laundry list of accomplishments and references to the everyday figures in the gallery. Biden, aided by chants of “four more years,” seemed determined to show some verve and allay some of the fears of fretful Democrats.

One of the most contentious parts of the speech came when Biden slammed Republicans for rejecting a bipartisan border compromise, eliciting boos and some heckling from GOP members. At one moment, after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga) shouted at him to “remember Laken Riley,” a 22-year-old student...

Congressional representatives Rashida Tlaib and Jamaal Bowman introduced the proposed Living Wage for Musicians Act on Thursday, aimed at increasing streaming royalties for musicians online.

The resolution, created in partnership with the United Musicians and Allied Workers union, calls “for economic justice and fairness in streaming,” a release from Tlaib’s office reads.

Per the release, the act “would create a new streaming royalty, with the aim to compensate artists and musicians more fairly at a penny per stream when their music plays on streaming services.”

The report goes on to say that streaming has grown to represent 84 percent of recorded music industry revenue, but that Spotify, the leading music streaming platform, only pays an average per-stream royalty of $0.003, meaning an artist must reach 800,000 monthly streams to equal a full-time $15/hour job.

The proposed new royalty would be paid in addition to existing royalties, ensuring that artists receive at least...

US Representative Rashida Tlaib has introduced a new bill proposing higher streaming payments for musicians.

Dubbed the Living Wage For Musicians Act, the bill was introduced by Tlaib after the Michigan representative partnered with Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, United Musicians and Allied Workers (Umaw), and artists from across the nation.

Hoping to pave the way for musicians to earn higher pay, the bill would advocate for several changes, including the creation of a new streaming royalty rate that would raise payments to a minimum of one penny per stream, and a place a cap on songs after they hit one million streams. Currently, Spotify only pays around $0.003-$0.005 per stream.

A press release explained: “The royalty would be funded through platform subscription fees and a 10% levy on non-subscription revenue, and is designed to ensure that artists receive a minimum of one penny per stream, an amount calculated to...

A new bill introduced in the House of Representatives aims to overhaul the streaming royalty payment system in an effort to help musicians build more sustainable careers in the digital age.

Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mi) and Jamaal Bowman (D-ny) introduced the The Living Wage for Musicians Act in the House on Wednesday. The proposal is built around the establishment of an Artist Compensation Royalty Fund, which would pay artists directly, similar to SoundExchange’s model for satellite and internet radio royalties.

“Streaming has changed the music industry, but it...

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has set its sights on progressive candidates who dare to criticize Israel or its leaders, funding negative attack ads during their primaries, Politico reported. The group is expected to spend about $100 million on the efforts, sources told the outlet.

Aipac’s goal is “to make the statement this cycle that no one is safe from their wrath, that if you speak out, you can be targeted no matter how popular or how many cycles of incumbent you are,” Connor Farrell, president of the progressive fundraising group Left Rising,...

Update, 5:53 a.m. Pt, Wednesday: The “uncommitted” vote in Michigan’s Democratic primary garnered about 13.2% of the vote, while President Joe Biden received more than 81%, according to the latest results.

As huge of a victory as that is, the protest campaign to cast ballots for “uncommitted” drew more than 100,000 votes.

While progressives and moderates debate the significance of the protest vote — largely of Biden’s support for Israel in the war in Gaza — overlooked is what happened further down the ballot. Marianne Williamson, the self-help figure who had dropped out of the race, actually got more votes that Rep. Dean Phillips (D-mn), who was still in. She announced that she was “unsuspending” her campaign, even though she and Phillips were in the low single digits — also were beaten by the “uncommitted” vote.

In the GOP primary, Nikki Haley was drawing about 27% to Donald Trump’s 68%. Although Haley’s share...

Actor admits she ‘mistakenly and inadvertently conflated Muslims with radical Islamists and fundamentalists’ in a now-deleted post

Actor Selma Blair has apologised for an Islamophobic comment on social media, saying it “resulted in hurting countless people I never meant to, and I deeply regret this”.

Blair posted a lengthy statement on Instagram following a now-deleted comment on another post attacking state representatives Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib for voting against a bill banning Hamas members from the US. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Blair’s comment read in part: “Deport all these terrorist supporting goons. Islam has destroyed Muslim countries and then they come here and destroyed minds.”...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the notion of Palestinian statehood in a news conference on Thursday, claiming it “would endanger the state of Israel.” But he also invoked geographical language that has become a point of bitter contention as Israel’s continued military bombardment of Gaza continues in response to the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, saying that “in the future, the state of Israel has to control the entire area from the river to the sea,” according to an English translation of the speech from Israeli news channel i24News.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) has alleged that a fellow member of Congress, whom she declined to name, committed an “assault” against her.

The allegation is reportedly directed at Rep. Richard McCormick (R-Georgia) and stems from an incident on the House floor in early November.

Before the encounter, Greene and McCormick had been engaged in a dispute over competing resolutions to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) for her comments after Hamas attacked Israel.

On the day of the incident, McCormick was engaged in an unproductive conversation with another House Republican colleague about the vote to censure Tlaib.

When he turned around, McCormick saw Greene and placed his hands on her shoulders, shook her and remarked that he could have an honest conversation with her, and implied that he couldn’t have one with the person he had turned away from.

McCormick, however, denies that the interaction was a physical attack...

In one of his usual sweeping declarations about a policy change to X, formerly Twitter, Elon Musk on Friday declared that the terms “decolonization” and “from the river to the sea” are euphemisms that “necessarily imply genocide,” the use of which on the platform could “result in suspension.”

Both phrases are commonly used by activists calling for a Free Palestine, meaning an end to occupation and freedom of Palestinians between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. But they are interpreted by Israel supporters, Jewish advocacy groups and many others as antisemitic,...

CAA has dropped a pair of female Bipoc entrepreneurs who’ve gained attention in recent years for holding “anti-racist” dinner parties for an affluent white women audience, according to one of the founders who says they offended their agent with their vocal support for Palestine following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza.

On Nov. 13 Saira Rao told her followers on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, that she and her business partner Regina Jackson were now without representation due to “our words denouncing genocide. This is McCarthyism on steroids and ethnic cleansing. We are disgusted but not shocked. #FreePalestine.”

CAA’s New York-based Ally Shuster had been their agent. The Century City-based major agency did not return a request for comment. Rao and Jackson’s speaking and book agents also didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Their organization, Race2Dinner, bills itself as hosting small dinners in which,...

Hundreds of political appointees and government staffers representing over 40 U.S. agencies signed a letter to the Biden administration calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

According to The New York Times, which reviewed a copy of the letter, more than 400 individuals anonymously signed on to Tuesday’s missive demanding the president’s administration call more forcefully for de-escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Israel’s retaliatory siege against Gaza following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas, which killed 1,400 Israelis, has now killed more than 11,000 Palestinians.

The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has become a site for heated debate over the Israel-Hamas war, with the festival drawing protests from both sides.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, IDFA artistic director Orwa Nyrabia confirms that “around 10” directors have pulled their films from the festival lineup in protest over comments made by the IDFA. The Palestinian Film Institute (Pfi) over the weekend also announced it was pulling out from all organized activities at the IDFA film market.

“We respect the choices and the decisions of all filmmakers, whether that is to speak their minds on stage or online or to withdraw their films, all forms of peaceful protest, including criticism of our work, we honor and respect,” Nyrabia tells THR.

On Monday, the Pfi staged a demonstration outside the main IDFA headquarters to demand a ceasefire in Gaza, and to criticize the IDFA for its response...

Leading members of the Israeli film community are accusing the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam of “allowing and applauding” a pro-Palestinian protest that interrupted IDFA’s opening night ceremony, which saw three activists take the stage with a banner emblazoned with the slogan, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free.”

IDFA’s artistic director, Orwa Nyrabia, was in the middle of welcoming remarks Wednesday night when the demonstrators took the stage. Protesters shouted, “We stand up for Palestine! It’s a genocide! Ceasefire now, ceasefire now!” in reference to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza following the devastating October 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli citizens. Some audience members initially hooted, but then many applauded. Nyrabia clapped after the protesters finished their chants and he also applauded as they left the stage.

Meanwhile at @idfa pic.twitter.com/r5SLQExBXC

— Festivalists (@Festivalists) November 9, 2023

In a statement today, Nyrabia said he...

Over 100 congressional staffers staged a walkout in front of the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, calling on the representatives they work for to endorse a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.

The staffers held a vigil for the 1,400 Israelis killed in Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack against Israel, as well as the more than 10,000 Palestinians killed in Israel’s retaliatory siege against the Gaza Strip.

“We were horrified by the brutal October 7th attacks on Israeli civilians, and we are horrified by the overwhelming response by...

In a bipartisan vote, the House of Representatives censured Rashida Tlaib, a Democratic Representative from Michigan, for “promoting false narratives” and “calling for the destruction of the state of Israel”. The resolution to censure Tlaib was introduced by Republican Representative Rich McCormick of Georgia on Monday, following Tlaib’s repeated comments criticizing Israel for its response […]

The post House Votes to Censure Rashida Tlaib Over Controversial Israel Comments – Shocking Outcome Revealed! appeared first on Shockya.com.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) attacked her colleague and former friend, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado).

Greene famously stood alongside Boebert to heckle President Joe Biden during his 2022 State of the Union Address.

However, earlier this June, she called her colleague a “little b——“ on the House floor.

Green accused Boebert of copying her articles of impeachment against Biden, which Greene had previously asked her to sponsor.

In conversation with reporters outside of the Capitol, Greene expanded on her frustration with Boebert.

“I have defended her when she’s been attacked,” Greene said. “She and I have virtually the same voting record. We’re both members of the House Freedom Caucus. We should be natural allies… But for some reason, she has a great skill and talent for making most people here not like her. And so, it’s her issue.”

On Thursday, Greene posted on social media an attack on Rep.

House Republicans had a chaotic October — ousting Kevin McCarthy as Speaker, fighting bitterly about it for weeks, and then electing Mike Johnson to replace him, seemingly because no know knew him well enough to hate him. The GOP may have unanimously agreed to let a Christian nationalist election denier lead the caucus, but that doesn’t mean the infighting has stopped.

The party is now at odds over Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat whom Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wants to censure for participating in a Gaza ceasefire protest at the Capitol last month.

How do you deal with a world where finger-pointing, bureaucracy, mob actions and a lack of initiative stall progress? That was the running theme of Friday’s Real Time on HBO, as a downbeat Bill Maher took on a world that was clearly vexing him greatly.

The show started out with an appearance by former Democratic Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo and his former Chief of Staff, Melissa DeRosa, author of What’s Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics and Crisis.

Cuomo was forced to resign his post because of sexual harassment allegations. But there’s apparently more to the story than the accusations, and DeRosa and Cuomo blamed the New York Times and the lemming-like approach of the media in sloppily telling the story for Cuomo’s fall from grace.

Maher – who said he didn’t want to carry water for the two – did...

Protesters calling for U.S. support of a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and an end to the “ongoing atrocities against Palestinians,” occupied a building in the U.S. Capitol complex on Wednesday, with thousands gathering outside of the Capitol.

Following a brutal attack by Hamas militants against Israeli civilians last week, Israel has launched a retaliatory counteroffensive, and resource blockade, that has killed thousands of Palestinians — millions more remain effectively trapped in the Gaza Strip, with no end to the conflict in sight. President Biden...

Democratic lawmakers are condemning the Biden administration’s approval of ConocoPhillips’ massive Willow oil drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope. The decision represents a clear reversal of Biden’s 2020 campaign promise to end the approval of new oil and gas permits on federal lands and waters.

In a joint statement released through the House Natural Resources Committee, several Democratic lawmakers — including Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), committee ranking member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-n.Y.), and Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said the decision “ignores the voices of the people of Nuiqsut,...

An activist group of workers in the music industry that has previously pressed Spotify for increased royalty rates has trained its sights on SXSW.

On Tuesday the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (Umaw) published a petition signed by hundreds of artists that called on the Austin-based film, media and music festival to improve the compensation offered to “showcasing artists” (an international group of often indie musicians that perform at the festival each year) on its lineup. The petition, which was signed by Pedro the Lion, Jackie Mendoza and Katy Rea, contends that the festival has, “for at least a decade,” offered performing artists either a onetime payment of 250 for artists performing in a group, or 100 for solo artists, or a wristband to attend the festival in compensation for their performance. International musicians, the group says, can only receive a wristband in exchange for their performances per the festival’s current rules.

Megadonor and disgraced crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried burrowed his campaign cash so deep into the Democratic Party that lawmakers are now preparing internal investigations to be sure they’re rid of it — and prepared for any potential restitution to victims of Bankman-Fried’s crimes.

The campaign of Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-n.Y.) is currently conducting an internal assessment of any donations it may have received from political or professional associates of Bankman-Fried. Once those donations have been identified, the Torres campaign will set them aside for a fund it expects...

As the value of recorded music for most artists remains in the ditch and touring continues to lose its luster as a way for musicians to make even the barest semblance of a living, Drake has some advice for up-and-coming musicians: “keep going.”

On Instagram, the rapper shared a post from the Flyer Vault — an archival account dedicated to “documenting Toronto club and concert history” — that featured an invoice for what was likely Drake’s first live performance. The gig took place Aug. 19, 2006, at the now-shuttered venue, Kool Haus, with...

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is calling on her colleagues to ensure that musicians can actually make a living from their music. On Tuesday, July 26, the Michigan Democrat circulated a letter alerting her colleagues that she would be proposing a new Congressional Resolution to create a new royalty for streaming music.

While streaming services have become the primary mode of music consumption, many artists have criticized the meager amounts of money they receive, especially as the vast majority of those payouts go to the biggest artists with the most streams. Rep. Tlaib’s resolution,...

A year ago, President Joe Biden stood before a joint session of Congress to describe his soaring vision to transform the American economy. When he returned to the House chamber for his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night, that vision remained unrealized, stymied by the centrists in his party. But his calls to resurrect jettisoned elements of that agenda offered some cover to the much-maligned progressives in his party, his populist message dovetailing — at least in part — with the desires of Democrats’ left flank.

Biden called for...

Democrats in Congress are taking aim at the pending $43 billion merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, pushing the Justice Department to scrutinize the transaction on antitrust grounds.

In a letter sent Monday to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Justice Department antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter, the legislators assert that too much consolidation in media will hurt competition in Hollywood’s labor market and result in less diversity overall in content.

“This transaction raises significant antitrust concerns. In particular, the merger threatens to enhance the market power of the combined firm and substantially lessen competition in the media and entertainment industry, harming both consumers and American workers,” the letter states. “In light of these concerns, we respectfully urge the Department to conduct a thorough review of this transaction to ensure that it does not harm American consumers and workers by illegally harming competition.”

The letter was spearheaded by U.S. House member Joaquin Castro of Texas,...

A group congressional Democrats are calling for the censure of Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) for posting a bizarre animated video that depicted himself violently attacking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-n.Y.) and President Biden.

“For a member of Congress to post a manipulated video on his social media accounts depicting himself killing Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking President Biden is a clear cut case for censure,” the members said in a statement announcing their intent to introduce a censure resolution. “For that Member to post such a video on his official...

Twitter has suspended the account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-ga) for spreading misinformation about the Covid vaccine.

Greene had tweeted that the vaccines are “failing,” and that the Food and Drug Administration should not give its approval. She cited the spread of Covid among even fully vaccinated people.

A Twitter spokesperson told The New York Times that her tweet was labeled “misleading” as a violation of their Covid-19 misinformation policy. Her account will be in a read only mode for a week.

The Centers for Disease Control said that “some people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will still get sick because no vaccine is 100% effective,” but health officials have been advocating for vaccines as a way to reduce the likelihood of severe illness.

It’s still unclear exactly how many “breakthrough” cases there are in the United States, but data collected by NBC News showed that 125,000 fully vaccinated...

Sen. Bernie Sanders will introduce a resolution on Thursday aimed at blocking a planned $735 million sale of precision-guided weapons from the U.S. to Israel. And Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mark Pocan and Rashida Tlaib, introduced a similar measure in the House on Wednesday.

According to a draft of the resolution, first reported by the Washington Post, Sanders is looking to stop the planned sale of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) and Small Diameter Bombs as hostilities continue between the Israeli military and Hamas in and around Gaza. Congress has...

A group of Senate Democrats is calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East after a week of conflict between the Israeli military and Hamas that has left more than 200 people dead, including dozens of Palestinian women and children.

But the lawmakers’ push for an immediate end to the violence comes amid a broader split over whether the United States should push for an end to a conflict in which civilians are being killed. While some Democrats are calling for an immediate halt, others are keeping quiet or backing the ongoing Israeli military operation.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, the freshman Republican congresswoman from Georgia who has a history of beliefs in QAnon conspiracy theories and that mass school shootings were staged, was stripped of her committee assignments Thursday in a vote by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Lawmakers voted 230-199 to remove Greene from the committees as a sanction for her incendiary comments. Eleven Republicans joined with Democrats in favor of the resolution.

Greene has drawn extensive media attention since she was sworn in to Congress, but her views got extra focus last week as news outlets reported on her “likes” of Facebook posts that advocated violence against members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Another video surfaced in which she was shown berating David Hogg, one of the survivors of the Parkland, Fl, school shootings. Other postings advanced anti-Semitic and racist tropes.

Republicans, while condemning Greene’s views, argued that the vote...

Stephen Colbert ripped into Republican congresswoman Majorie Taylor Greene on Thursday’s episode of the “Late Show,” telling viewers that the Georgia representative has the “homicidal vote on lockdown” thanks to her dangerous past rhetoric about conspiracy theories and political violence.

Greene was elected to Congress last year and is infamous for her support of the widely debunked QAnon conspiracy. During her campaign, she was condemned for posting a meme that showed her holding a gun next to Democratic representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib. Just this week, as Greene received an appointment on the Education and Labor Committee, more disturbing comments from her online history have been revealed.

“In one Facebook post, a Greene supporter asked of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, ‘Now do we get to hang them?’ And Greene replied, ‘The stage is being set. Players are being put in place. We must be patient,...

Update: Congress is getting involved.

House Finance Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) announced on Thursday that she will “convene a hearing to examine the recent activity around GameStop (Gme) stock and other impacted stocks with a focus on short selling, online trading platforms, gamification and their systemic impact on our capital markets and retail investors.”

Incoming Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) also announced plans to hold a hearing. “American workers have known for years the Wall Street system is broken — they’ve been paying the price,” he wrote in a statement.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, along with more than 100 Democrats and one Republican, called for President Donald Trump’s removal after a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, leaving four dead and injuring multiple members of the Capitol Police. “This man is deadly. To our democracy and to our people,” Pelosi said of Trump.

pic.twitter.com/5w65A8XZJn

— PoliticsVideo23 (@politicsvideo23) January 7, 2021

“What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president,” Schumer...

It’s the holidays, it’s been a truly miserable year, overwhelming numbers of Americans are missing their families, those hit hardest by the pandemic and collapse of the economy are still waiting for relief from the government of one of the richest nations in the world, and last night, in front of a festive, ornament-dotted Christmas mantle, the president offered a giant, gift-wrapped box of false hope.

“The $900 billion package provides hardworking taxpayers with only $600 each in relief payments, and not enough money is given to small businesses,” President Trump declared.

As the country awaits the final results of the presidential election, there were major strides when it came to the representation of people of color and the LGBTQ community on many fronts — many film and TV figures from Hollywood celebrated as the world saw progress in the House and Senate.

“The Squad” which includes Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts won re-election to Congress and they have added more powerful voices to their crew including Cori Bush who was the first Black Congresswoman in the history of Missouri. Director Victoria Mahoney and RuPaul’s Drag Race season 12 winner Jaida Essence Hall were one of the many that sent their congratulations to Bush.

In addition to Bush, antiestablishment liberal and former school principal Jamaal Bowman defeated Conservative Party candidate Patrick McManus to take a seat in Congress.

The...

Democratic star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez routed Republican John Cummings in New York’s 14th Congressional District in Northern Queens and parts of the Bronx, taking 68% to the former NYPD officer’s 31% to secure a widely anticipated second term in the House.

In 2018, the eloquent, social media-savvy, self-proclaimed Democratic socialist won the seat with nearly 80% percent of the vote, defeating Queens County Democratic Party leader and longtime Congressman Joe Crowley in the primary. She swept into Congress with a historically diverse midterm group of freshman, including 36 women and 24 people of color and sits on the House Financial Services Committee and Oversight and Reform Committee.

Aoc, 31, has racked up many memorable moments in a relatively short time, including a searing takedown over the summer of Rep. Ted Yoho after he called her “crazy,” “disgusting” and a “f*cking bitch” on the steps of the Capitol within earshot of a reporter.

In a moving address to the House,...

Marjorie Taylor Greene, the GOP congressional candidate who has endorsed the baseless conspiracy theory QAnon, has won the 14th congressional district of Georgia, making her the first congressperson to officially endorse the conspiracy theory.

Taylor Greene, the projected favorite, won in an overwhelming victory against Democratic candidate Kevin Van Ausdal, racking up 78.4 percent of the vote. (Van Ausdal had to drop out of the race after his divorce prompted him to move back in with his family in Indiana.) She will represent northwestern Georgia in Congress, and is one of...

Joy Reid said her phrasing of a question that sought to compare how American media uses the word “radicalizing” in reference to Muslims compared to Christian Trump supporters was not “artful” and that she “should’ve been sensitive” to the harmful stereotypes of how Muslims are portrayed in the media.

“If Trump was a Muslim leader, not the leader of the Christian right, how would we in the media describe what he is doing? I asked that question on Monday, and there was a lot of conversation, particularly online, after the segment aired — some of which was, frankly, not in good faith,” Reid said on her Wednesday show. “But some of the conversation reflected the genuine feelings of people who had been subjected to the kind of stereotyping that I just described and who take matters like this to heart because of it. And we should all be sensitive to that,...

The Simpsons have shared an animated response from Marge Simpson after Trump campaign advisor and lawyer Jenna Ellis tweeted earlier this week that Democratic vice presidential nominee, “Kamala [Harris] sounds like Marge Simpson.”

On Friday, The Simpsons posted a short clip in which Marge (who’s long been voiced by Julie Kavner) appears on an empty stage and addresses Ellis’ comment, quipping, “The president’s senior adviser, Jenna Ellis, just said Kamala Harris sounds like me — Lisa says she doesn’t mean it as a compliment! If that’s so, as an ordinary suburban housewife,...

BBC director general Tony Hall has apologized 12 days after a reporter used the N-word on-air, prompting outrage from both viewers and the British broadcaster’s employees.

Up until Sunday, the BBC had staunchly defended social affairs correspondent Fiona Lamdin’s use of the word in describing a race hate attack, saying it had been signed off by senior editors and was justified by its context.

But after receiving 18,656 complaints, staff voicing their concerns on social media, and the resignation of BBC Radio 1Xtra presenter Sideman over the issue, Hall has intervened.

In an email to staff today, the director general said: “It should be clear that the BBC’s intention was to highlight an alleged racist attack. This is important journalism which the BBC should be reporting on and we will continue to do so.

“Yet despite these good intentions, I recognise that we have ended up creating distress amongst many people.