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January 2, 2025
Biden to honor Liz Cheney, Bennie Thompson with top civilian award
President Biden will award the Presidential Citizens Medal to former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who led the congressional committee that investigated the Jan. 6 , 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The Presidential Citizens Medal honors Americans who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens. It is the second-highest civilian honor a president can bestow and awarding it to Cheney and Thompson sends a signal.
President-elect Trump has criticized the pair repeatedly, falsely accusing them of breaking the law with their investigation into his actions on and around Jan. 6.
Is Donald Trump building a cabinet or a gang?
“If (insert white person’s name here) was Black, then…”
I’m sure you’ve probably heard it before. Often employed to illustrate our stigmatized perceptions of value, this comparison is perhaps the most commonly used racial analogy. If Scamming Hall-of-famer Brett Farve was Black, we’d call him a “welfare queen.” If uneducated, unqualified Caucasian Race Theorist Christopher Rufo was Black, he’d be a “diversity hire.” If horny high school dropout Lauren Boebert was Black, she’d be known as “the Baby Mama insurrectionist.”
Although this overused syllogism is often true, the analogy also undermines the entire premise of the argument. Plus, it is just lazy. Yes, Black people are treated differently. No one would argue white people aren’t often afforded a benefit of the doubt that Black people rarely enjoy. But if we actually viewed everyone through a truly objective lens, the “if” part wouldn’t even be necessary. Brett Favre is white and he is a welfare queen.
Christopher Rufo is an uneducated diversity hire who is also white. Lauren Boebert is a white single mom who is probably reading this with her fingers. We don’t have to manufacture a theoretical metaphor for white people; we can just call them what they are.
The greatest welfare kings and queens of white history
For instance, despite being a descendant of pimps, undesirable immigrants, and gang-affiliated thugs, Donald Trump is white. Trump’s Health Secretary nominee, Robert F Kennedy Jr., is white, and he is an unqualified diversity hire. Pete Hegseth is not Black, but multiple sources confirm that the potential Defense Secretary is a thot who will buss that thang wide open for a few shots of Hennessy. And, according to a new report from the House Ethics Committee, Trump wanted a crackhead pimp (Matt Gaetz) to serve as U.S. Attorney General.
FBI found 150 homemade bombs at Virginia home during search in December, prosecutors say
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Federal agents found one of the largest stockpiles of homemade explosives they have ever seized when they arrested a Virginia man on a firearms charge last month, according to a court filing by federal prosecutors.
Investigators seized more than 150 pipe bombs and other homemade devices when they searched the home of Brad Spafford northwest of Norfolk in December, the prosecutors said in a motion filed Monday. The prosecutors wrote that this is believed to be “the largest seizure by number of finished explosive devices in FBI history.”
Most of the bombs were found in a detached garage at the home in Isle of Wight County, along with tools and bomb-making materials including fuses and pieces of plastic pipe, according to court documents. The prosecutors also wrote: “Several additional apparent pipe bombs were found in a backpack in the home’s bedroom, completely unsecured,” in the home he shares with his wife and two young children.
Truth (Dictionary) and RELIGIOUS
The classic suggestion comes from Aristotle (384–322 bce): “To say of what is that it is, or of what is not that it is not, is true.” In other words, the world provides “what is” or “what is not,” and the true saying or thought corresponds to the fact so provided. This idea appeals to common sense and is the germ of what is called the correspondence theory of truth. As it stands, however, it is little more than a platitude and far less than a theory. Indeed, it may amount to merely a wordy paraphrase, whereby, instead of saying “that’s true” of some assertion, one says “that corresponds with the facts.” Only if the notions of fact and correspondence can be further developed will it be possible to understand truth in these terms.
BIBLE: John 14:6
Jesus Christ is "the way, and the truth, and the life"
Torah: Deuteronomy 6:4
"Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One")
The Holy Quran: 22:5-6,
"That is because Allah is the Truth, He alone gives life to the dead, and He alone is Most Capable of everything"
December 27, 2024
Americans are exhausted by political news. TV ratings and a new AP-NORC poll show they’re tuning out
NEW YORK (AP) — As a Democrat who immersed himself in political news during the presidential campaign, Ziad Aunallah has much in common with many Americans since the election. He’s tuned out.
“People are mentally exhausted,” said Aunallah, 45, of San Diego. “Everyone knows what is coming and we are just taking some time off.”
Television ratings — and now a new poll — clearly illustrate the phenomenon. About two-thirds of American adults say they have recently felt the need to limit media consumption about politics and government because of overload, according to the survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Smaller percentages of Americans are limiting their intake of news about overseas conflicts, the economy or climate change, the poll says. Politics stand out.
Election news on CNN and MSNBC was taking up too much of Sam Gude’s time before the election, said the 47-year-old electrician from Lincoln, Nebraska. “The last thing I want to watch right now is the interregnum,” said Gude, a Democrat and no fan of President-elect Donald Trump.
The poll, conducted in early December, found that about 7 in 10 Democrats say they are stepping back from political news. The percentage isn’t as high for Republicans, who have reason to celebrate Trump’s victory. Still, about 6 in 10 Republicans say they’ve felt the need to take some time off too, and the share for independents is similar.
Most Americans blame insurance profits and denials alongside the killer in UHC CEO death, poll finds
WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Americans believe health insurance profits and coverage denials share responsibility for the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO — although not as much as the person who pulled the trigger, according to a new poll.
In the survey from NORC at the University of Chicago, about 8 in 10 U.S. adults said the person who committed the killing has “a great deal” or “a moderate amount” of responsibility for the Dec. 4 shooting of Brian Thompson.
Despite that, some have cast Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old suspect charged with Thompson’s murder, as a heroic figure in the aftermath of his arrest, which gave rise to an outpouring of grievances about insurance companies. Police say the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition investigators found at the scene, echoing a phrase commonly used to describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims.
UnitedHealthcare has said Mangione was not a client.
About 7 in 10 adults say that denials for health care coverage by insurance companies, or the profits made by health insurance companies, also bear at least “a moderate amount” of responsibility for Thompson’s death. Younger Americans are particularly likely to see the murder as the result of a confluence of forces rather than just one person’s action.
The poll finds that the story of the slaying is being followed widely. About 7 in 10 said they had heard or read “a lot” or “some” about Thompson’s death.
Multiple factors were seen as responsible.
The Matt Gaetz ethics report, explained
This journalist is pushing back against the erasure of Native American history
After much back-and-forth, the House Ethics Committee released a bombshell report about alleged sexual misconduct by former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), stating that he broke multiple state laws and that he’s previously paid a minor for sex. Gaetz has categorically denied the allegations and on Monday filed a lawsuit aimed at preventing the report’s release.
The review, which is the culmination of a years-long investigation, contains multiple allegations of wrongdoing, including that Gaetz spent tens of thousands paying women, and in at least one instance a 17-year-old, for sex or drugs, and that he’s used illicit drugs like ecstasy and cocaine. Although the Ethics Committee concluded that Gaetz had not violated federal sex trafficking statutes, it found that the lawmaker had broken other state laws.
“The Committee concluded there was substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” the report reads.
There was some question about whether the report would be released, and substantial portions of it leaked before it was formally published. The Ethics Committee, a bipartisan panel that investigates wrongdoing by lawmakers, initially deadlocked when it came to releasing their results in the wake of Gaetz’s resignation from Congress. It’s uncommon for the panel to share its findings after a member is no longer in Congress, though it’s not unheard of.
This journalist is pushing back against the erasure of Native American history
This journalist is pushing back against the erasure of Native American history
Rebecca Nagle has turned the false history of Native American communities she received as a child into a career of truth-driven storytelling.
A writer, journalist and author, Nagle is the host of the documentary podcast “This Land” and author of the novel “By the Fire We Carry.”
Born in Joplin, Missouri, 38-year-old Nagle spent much of her youth in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma City with her Cherokee family members. She recalls Native history scarcely being addressed throughout her education.
“I remember making ships out of popsicle sticks to celebrate Columbus Day and asking questions that went unanswered. I definitely think my education was lacking when it came to that stuff in public school,” she said.
Her understanding of her family history and culture was primarily taught through her grandmother.
“Growing up, I learned a lot from my grandma. She made sure that we understood that we knew who our family was,” she said. “And then, of course, as an adult you sort of test what your family members told you about your family.”
A health care provider that faced dozens of prisoner lawsuits is filing for bankruptcy
A health care provider that faced dozens of prisoner lawsuits is filing for bankruptcy
Niki Capaci, a mother of seven, died last year while incarcerated in a New York jail. Her family is suing Wellpath, a top provider of medical care in that jail and hundreds of other facilities around the country, alleging medical neglect in the death of their loved one.
But that case and dozens of other wrongful death, personal injury and medical negligence lawsuits filed by incarcerated individuals and their families are delayed because the multimillion-dollar company filed for bankruptcy last month.
"I'm more frustrated about the fact that I feel like [Wellpath is] kind of trying to shirk responsibility," said Layla Capaci, Niki Capaci's sister. "I don't care as much about my day in court or the money. I care about there being some accountability, someone saying, 'Hey, we f****d up.' And I feel like this is kind of a way for them to avoid having to do that."
The company says that, while bankruptcy proceedings are ongoing, it will continue operating services in more than 400 facilities, including prisons, jails and hospitals, as it attempts to reduce approximately $550 million in debt and plans a reorganization of its Wellpath Correctional Healthcare division.
Healthcare cases to watch in Trump's second term
A health care provider that faced dozens of prisoner lawsuits is filing for bankruptcy
Dec 26 (Reuters) - When Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office for the second time next year, he will inherit a slew of lawsuits challenging the Biden administration's healthcare policies. The cases will give him an immediate opportunity to change course, before any new rules or legislation are passed, and could offer an early look at his administration's approach. Here are some of the cases to watch.
Many of the most closely watched lawsuits have centered on abortion rights in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 ruling allowing states to ban abortion. Trump shied away from offering specific policies on abortion during his campaign, but his administration will need to take positions in several pending cases.
One case, three Republican-led states are seeking to restrict the distribution of the abortion pill mifepristone. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration under Biden has defended loosening restrictions on the drug in recent years but could reverse course under Trump.
Another case involves abortions in medical emergencies. The Biden administration sued Idaho in 2022, alleging that the state's near-total abortion ban runs afoul of the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which requires hospitals to stabilize patients in medical emergencies, by potentially preventing medically necessary abortions.
December 13, 2024
Elon Musk and the age of shameless oligarchy
President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk have become an inseparable duo. Since Trump’s reelection, the richest man in the world — and one of Trump’s top campaign donors — has been a shadow trailing him at his Florida residence. The tech billionaire has taken center stage in the incoming administration, promising to slash $2 trillion from the federal government’s budget.
A whirlwind relationship developing between a politician — in this case, the president-elect — and a financial backer isn’t unusual. What stands out is how much the donor himself is in the spotlight. Tim Walz’s joke that Musk, not JD Vance, was Trump’s running mate, rings more true every day. “We’ve never really seen anyone be that directly connected with a campaign unless they were the candidate,” says Jason Seawright, a political science professor at Northwestern University and co-author of Billionaires and Stealth Politics.
It makes Musk an oddity among his billionaire class, who almost always use their influence quietly.
He’s showing other members of the ultra-wealthy a bold alternative to stealth politics, urged on by a president-elect who has embraced giving billionaires a seat at the table. A private citizen can grab power in full view of the public — as long as they’re rich enough, and have enough fans.
What exactly is driving the conspiracy theories about Sean 'Diddy' Combs?
The cases against Diddy aren't going away. Neither are the conspiracy theories.
Since Sean "Diddy" Combs' indictment and arrest in September, more than two dozen civil lawsuits have been filed against the media mogul for sexual assault, rape, sex trafficking and more.
Many of the complaints, as well as the federal charges, depict a pattern in which Combs allegedly exploited his stature across music, fashion and entertainment to victimize those who looked up to him — including minors. The federal charges against the mogul not only accuse him of misconduct, but also of using his employees, record label and many business outfits to organize and facilitate his crimes for years.
As these allegations have played out in court proceedings and legal documents, a web of rumors and speculation has also developed online. It has been bolstered by social media platforms and algorithms, and at times threatens to shroud the facts of the civil and criminal cases against Combs.
Combs has repeatedly denied, via his attorneys, that he has ever trafficked, drugged or sexually assaulted anyone.
And in one filing, his representation wrote that "by treating these ridiculous claims as anything but a pathetic extortion scheme, the government is fueling the fire of online conspiracy theories and making it impossible for Mr. Combs to have a fair trial." But the deluge of accusations against him, a surveillance video that shows him kicking his ex-girlfriend, the singer Cassie Ventura, in a Los Angeles hotel and new claims of Combs' aggressive behavior in the past have led many to wonder how such abuses of power went unchecked for so long — and who else might be complicit in cultivating a culture of silence around the alleged crimes.
The foods chefs urge people to try during Native American Heritage Month (and beyond)
The foods chefs urge people to try during Native American Heritage Month (and beyond)
The United States is known as a great melting of people, food and culture. In major cities across the country like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, people can find nearly any cuisine that fits their heart's desire.
However, as Chef Sean Sherman of the Oglala Lakota Tribe has pointed out in the past, these cities have few - if any - restaurants focused on Indigenous cuisines from the more than 570 recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Native entities. Each of these tribes has their distinct food traditions.
Eateries like Watecha Bowl, Tocabe: An American Indian Eatery, and Owamni aim to change that by reviving or paying homage to the centuries-old techniques and flavors passed down through generations.
"We all are on the same mission of food sovereignty," Watecha Bowl owner and entrepreneur Lawrence West told CBS News. "And introducing the world to Native American food."
West is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.
"The things that I cook and the way that I prepare food is very important because it only represents a certain heritage of people," he said.
West's restaurant Watecha Bowl is a fast-food eatery in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, that serves food and flavors from the Lakota Nation.
"I've had the privilege of feeding people from all over the world," West said. "I've fed people from all 50 states."
This year, his restaurant is giving out an Indian taco in exchange for a toy that will be donated to local Native American kids in foster care, according to the Facebook page with 30,000 followers.
Tocabe: An American Indian Eatery is a fast-casual restaurant that serves build-your-own Native American food in Denver, Colorado. Its goal is to "rebuild the original American food system."
Co-founder and President Ben Jacobs, told CBS News that he wants to make his cuisine accessible to everyone while offering a space for Native community members to feel at home. He is a tribal member of the Osage Nation of northeast Oklahoma.
December 5, 2024
The most vulnerable target of post-election hate? America’s kids.
The day after the presidential election, LaToya Bufford’s 16-year-old daughter got a text saying she had been “selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation.”
The text came from a number Bufford’s daughter didn’t recognize, but it addressed her by her full name. The teenager told her mom that some of her friends had gotten the message, too, but only those who, like her, are Black.
Bufford said her daughter didn’t have much visible reaction to the text. But Bufford herself was left frightened and on high alert.
“I was just shocked and so angry,” Bufford, who lives in Sacramento, California, told me. “If this could happen to my 16-year-old child,” she said, “I’m just scared about what could also happen.”
Bufford’s daughter was one of the middle school, high school, and college students in more than 20 states who received similar racist texts in the days following the election. The attacks have continued and broadened in the weeks since, with Latino and LGBTQ+ recipients getting messages threatening them with deportation or being sent to “reeducation camps,” according to the FBI. Some messages purported to be from “the Trump administration,” though the Trump campaign has said it had nothing to do with the messages.
The FBI is still investigating the wave of harassment, leaving kids and families wondering who got their names and phone numbers and sent them terrifying, personalized messages.
Senegal demands answers as the West African country commemorates a French colonial massacre
THIAROYE-SUR-MER, Senegal (AP) — Biram Senghor regularly pays his respects at a military cemetery in Thiaroye, a fishing village near Senegal’s capital Dakar, bowing in front of a different grave each time.
The 86-year-old has no way of knowing which grave belongs to his father, M’Bap Senghor, one of the hundreds of West African riflemen who fought for France during World War II but were likely killed on Dec. 1, 1944, by the French army after demanding unpaid wages.
In this cemetery, where they are supposedly buried, all the graves are anonymous and the exact location of the remains is unknown, as is the number of victims. The true scale and circumstances of the killings remain unclear as Senegal commemorates the 80th anniversary of the massacre on Sunday, threatening to reignite smoldering tensions between France and the former colony.
“I have been fighting to get swers for over 80 years,” says Biram Senghor. “(French President Emmanuel) Macron cannot do what the other French presidents before him did; France has to repent.”
The West Africans were members of the unit called “Tirailleurs Sénégalais,” a corps of colonial infantry in the French Army that fought in both World Wars. According to historians, there were disputes over unpaid wages in the days before the massacre and on Dec. 1, French troops turned on the unarmed African soldiers and shot them dead.
Syrian insurgents capture central city of Hama in severe setback to the Syrian president
Syrian insurgents capture central city of Hama in severe setback to the Syrian president
Syrian insurgents capture central city of Hama in severe setback to the Syrian president
BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian insurgents swept into the central city of Hama on Thursday and government forces withdrew, dealing another major blow to Syrian President Bashar Assad days after insurgents captured much of Aleppo, the country’s largest city.
The stunning weeklong offensive appeared likely to continue, with insurgents setting their sights on Homs, the country’s third-largest city. Homs, which is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Hama, is the gate to the capital, Damascus, Assad’s seat of power and the coastal region that is a base of support for him.
The offensive is being led by the jihadi group HTS and an umbrella group of Turkish-backed Syrian militias called the Syrian National Army. Their sudden capture of Aleppo, an ancient business hub in the north, was a stunning prize for Assad’s opponents and reignited the Syrian civil war that had been largely a stalemate for the past few years.
Fact check: What are Trump’s plans for US economy, immigration, abortion?
Syrian insurgents capture central city of Hama in severe setback to the Syrian president
Syrian insurgents capture central city of Hama in severe setback to the Syrian president
US president-elect made lots of promises about immigration, education, healthcare and abortion during his campaign, but what details do we know?
United States President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on the simple message that he will fix what he sees as the country’s problems: the border, inflation, housing prices, healthcare.
After Trump won the 2024 election, we asked PolitiFact readers to send us their questions about his campaign promises. Most were about taxes, immigration, abortion, the Affordable Care Act, Social Security and Medicare.
Trump and Republican congressional leaders appear poised to focus on immigration and economic promises. Republicans will have a Senate majority and, pending a few uncalled races, are also expected to have a narrow majority in the House of Representatives.
We tracked and rated 100 promises during Trump’s 2024 campaign. Some hinge on situations not entirely within his control – such as his promise to end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office.
November 26, 2024
A remote tribe is reeling from widespread illness and cancer. What role did the US government play?
OWYHEE, Nev. (AP) — The family placed flowers by a pair of weathered cowboy boots, as people quietly gathered for the memorial of the soft-spoken tribal chairman who mentored teens in the boxing ring and teased his grandkids on tractor rides.
Left unsaid, and what troubled Marvin Cota’s family deep down, was that his story ended like so many others on the remote Duck Valley Indian Reservation. He was healthy for decades. They found the cancer too late.
In the area, toxins are embedded in the soil and petroleum is in the groundwater — but no one can say for sure what has caused such widespread illness. Until recently, a now-razed U.S. maintenance building where fuel and herbicides were stored — and where Cota worked — was thought to be the main culprit. But the discovery of a decades-old document with a passing mention of Agent Orange chemicals suggests the government may have been more involved in contaminating the land.
Homan says he is willing to put Denver mayor ‘in jail’ over deportation position
Tom Homan, President-elect Trump’s pick for “border czar,” said he is willing to put Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D) in jail over his vow to protect migrants in the city after Trump promised a mass of deportations — particularly in sanctuary cities — when he returns to the White House.
“All he has to do is look at Arizona v. U.S. and he would see he’s breaking the law,” Homan, the former director of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said of Johnston in an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity.
“But, look, me and the Denver mayor, we agree on one thing. He’s willing to go to jail, I’m willing to put him in jail,” he added.
Johnston said in an earlier interview with Denverite that he would use the city’s police force to stop federal forces from deporting migrants. In an interview Friday with 9News, he walked back those comments but said he believes local citizens will help stop the planned deportations.
When asked if sanctuary cities are breaking the law by limiting or preventing their local authorities from cooperating with the federal government in enforcing immigration laws, Homan said yes and outlined the Trump administration’s plan to respond.
The election was a loss for Palestinians — and not just because Trump won
Since the war in Gaza began, the threat of a protest vote — in which voters would choose to abstain from the presidential election or vote for third-party candidates who had no shot of winning — hung over Democrats’ heads because of President Joe Biden’s unconditional support for Israel and its right-wing government. When Vice President Kamala Harris became the nominee, her lack of willingness to distance herself from Biden on this issue didn’t help alleviate that threat. Meanwhile, Donald Trump accused Democrats of not being sufficiently pro-Israel.
Throughout the election, pro-Palestinian voters tried to pressure Biden to change course, organizing protests on college campuses across the country and forming various campaigns to punish him at the ballot box. One group, the Uncommitted National Movement, asked Democratic voters to cast their ballots for “uncommitted” instead of Biden during the primaries, and they amassed hundreds of thousands of votes — enough to secure delegates at the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
But no matter how much pro-Palestinian voters pushed candidates to give them a better vision for how to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, none were willing to meaningfully address the concerns of pro-Palestinian voters. And for Americans who regarded Gaza as one of their top concerns, their choice boiled down to either punishing Democrats or stopping Trump. The result was an election in which neither outcome would have been a win for Palestinians.
All the President’s Billionaires: The Extraordinary Wealth in Trump’s Proposed Administration
Is 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. the new Billionaires’ Row?
President-elect Donald Trump – who often campaigned on the idea that he would “rescue our middle class” and fight for the average American – has chosen billionaires to help shape his administration.
So far Trump’s billionaire nods include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon, Wall Street executive Howard Lutnick, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and money manager Scott Bessent. With the exception of Musk and Ramaswamy – who were picked for an advisory body called the Department of Government Efficiency rather than a Cabinet position – the group will need to be confirmed by the Senate before they are official.
The total net worth of the billionaires in the Trump administration, as of the morning of Nov. 25, equals at least $344.4 billion – which is more than the GDP of 169 different countries. Since Musk and Ramaswamy won’t be part of Trump’s Cabinet, excluding them brings the net worth of Trump’s Cabinet to at least $10.7 billion, assuming all nominees are approved in the Senate.
The figures are most likely significantly higher, but finding the net worth of Bessent, a known billionaire, is tricky, and therefore he’s been left out of the above calculations.
What do the three main religions say about wealth and greed
Torah
Luke 12:15 -
"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
Holy Quran
Al-Taubah verse 9:34
O you who believe! Most surely many of the doctors of law and the monks eat away the property of men falsely, and turn (them) from Allah's way; and (as for) those who hoard up gold and silver and do not spend it in Allah's way, announce to them a painful chastisement,
Bible
Timothy 6:6-10
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs
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November 25, 2024
Feeling betrayed by increased minority support for Trump, Black women say they’re stepping back
ATLANTA (AP) — As she checked into a recent flight to Mexico for vacation, Teja Smith chuckled at the idea of joining another Women’s March on Washington.
As a Black woman, she just couldn’t see herself helping to replicate the largest act of resistance against then-President Donald Trump’s first term in January 2017.
Even in an election this year where Trump questioned his opponent’s race, held rallies featuring racist insults and falsely claimed Black migrants in Ohio were eating residents’ pets, he didn’t just win a second term. He became the first Republican in two decades to clinch the popular vote, although by a small margin.
“It’s like the people have spoken and this is what America looks like,” said Smith, the Los Angeles-based founder of the advocacy social media agency, Get Social. “And there’s not too much more fighting that you’re going to be able to do without losing your own sanity.”
After Trump was declared the winner over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, many politically engaged Black women said they were so dismayed by the outcome that they were reassessing — but not completely abandoning — their enthusiasm for electoral politics and movement organizing.
The size of Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory, explained in 5 charts
This article originally appeared on PolitiFact.
How big was President-elect Donald Trump’s victory? It was clear, but not a landslide by historical standards.
Trump won both the Electoral College and the popular vote; in fact, Trump this year became only the second Republican to win the popular vote since 1988.
The vast majority of counties saw their margins shift in Trump’s direction, both in places where Republicans historically do well and places where Democrats generally have an edge.
At the same time, Trump’s margins — both in raw votes and in percentages — were small by historical standards, even for the past quarter century, when close elections have been the rule, including the 2000 Florida recount election and Trump’s previous two races in 2016 and 2020.
Trump’s victory came without a big boost for down-ballot Republicans. The current narrow margin in the House is poised to remain, and Democrats won four Senate races in key battleground states even as Vice President Kamala Harris lost those states to Trump.
During his election night victory party, Trump declared that “America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate.”
Wayne Steger, a DePaul University political scientist, said the election delivered mixed signals.
Macy's says an employee hid as much as $154 million in expenses
Macy's says an employee hid as much as $154 million in expenses
A former Macy's employee allegedly hid up to $154 million in delivery expenses for nearly three years, the retailer announced on Monday.
Macy's said that it found an issue with delivery expenses in an accrual account and launched an independent investigation, according to a preliminary report on its third quarter earnings. The employee, who handled the company's small package delivery expense accounting, "intentionally made erroneous accounting accrual entries" to hide $132 to $154 million of cumulative delivery expenses from the fourth quarter in 2021 through the fiscal quarter that ended on Nov. 2, 2024, the company said.
During this time, the retailer said it recognized $4.36 billion of delivery expenses and added there is "no indication that the erroneous accounting accrual entries" impacted Macy's cash management or payments to vendors. The employee is no longer with Macy's and the investigation has found that no other employees were involved, according to the company.
Macy's said that it discovered the error earlier this month while it was preparing its financial statements for the third quarter, which ended on Nov. 2. As a result of the incident, Macy's said it was delaying the release of its third quarter earnings "to allow for completion of the independent investigation."
What Donald Trump’s Win Means For Immigration
Macy's says an employee hid as much as $154 million in expenses
President-elect Donald Trump has promised a sweeping overhaul of U.S. immigration policy, one that aims to build upon and escalate the already strident measures of his first term.
Per the plans he shared throughout his campaign, Trump intends to commence mass deportations of millions of people, a project that could be marked by widespread workplace raids and the involvement of the U.S. military, all while putting federal resources into expanding the border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Should Trump move forward with his proposed agenda, it would represent a dramatic shift in American immigration policy, targeting millions of undocumented immigrants and redefining the nation’s approach to newcomers.
Trump’s dark view of immigration has helped define his political career since he launched his first presidential campaign in 2015. His rhetoric around the issue has raised concerns that his immigration agenda is rooted in an idealized fantasy of racial purity. He said in a speech in December that migrants coming into the U.S. are “poisoning the blood of our country.” Last month, he said undocumented immigrants who commit murder have “bad genes.”
Lost homes and rising seas: A Nigerian coastal community fears extinction
Lagos, Nigeria – As a child growing up in Akodo-Ise, Kadiri Malik would pass a boulevard of coconut trees on his way down to the shore with his father to start the fishing day.
The two would walk, sometimes hand in hand, past lush vegetation before settling down to gather a bountiful harvest of fish. But that’s now a distant memory in the coastal village in Nigeria’s Lagos.
“This place used to be very beautiful,” the 40-year-old fisherman laments, sitting on the verandah of his house from where he can see the ocean in its blue, choppy glory. “[Now] all the coconut trees are no more, they have been taken by the water. The ocean used to be very far away, but now it is just a stone’s throw from us.”
The coconut belt used to be part of a scenic shoreline that brought economic gains for the fishing community and served as a natural buffer against the weather and natural disasters. But now, thousands of trees have been swallowed by the ocean.
Globally, coastal communities are grappling with the consequences of rising sea levels brought on by worsening climate change. Villages along Nigeria’s 853km (530-mile) coastline are no different, battling extreme weather events and accelerated sea level rise. Among the worst hit is Akodo-Ise, as it loses land to ocean encroachment.
St. Louis was once known as Mound City for its many Native American mounds. Just one remains
ST. LOUIS -- What is now St. Louis was once home to more than 100 mounds constructed by Native Americans — so many that St. Louis was once known as “Mound City.” Settlers tore most of them down, and just one remains.
Now, that last remaining earthen structure, Sugarloaf Mound, is closer to being back in the hands of the Osage Nation.
The city of St. Louis, the Osage Nation and the nonprofit Counterpublic announced on Thursday that an 86-year-old woman who owns a home that sits atop Sugarloaf Mound has agreed to sell it and eventually transfer the property to the tribe.
Meanwhile, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen plans to pass a resolution in January recognizing the Osage Nation's sovereignty, Alderman Cara Spencer said. Eventually, the goal is to develop a cultural and interpretive center at the site that overlooks the Mississippi River a few miles south of downtown.
“One step for our tribal sovereignty is reclaiming the lands that we inhabited for hundreds of years,” said Andrea Hunter, director of the Osage Nation Historic Preservation Office in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. "And to be able to at least salvage one mound in St. Louis, on the west side of the Mississippi River — it means a lot to us, to regain our heritage.”
November 21, 2024
Kenya cancels more than $2.5bn in deals with Adani after US indictment
Kenyan President William Ruto has ordered the cancellation of a procurement process that had been expected to award control of the country’s main airport to India’s Adani Group after its founder was indicted in the United States.
Ruto made the announcement on Thursday in his state of the nation address.
Under the proposed deal worth nearly $2bn, the Adani Group was to add a second runway at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and upgrade the passenger terminal in exchange for a 30-year lease.
Ruto also said he was cancelling a separate 30-year, $736m public-private partnership that an Adani Group firm signed with the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum last month to construct power transmission lines.
“I have directed agencies within the Ministry of Transport and within the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum to immediately cancel the ongoing procurement,” Ruto said, attributing the decision to “new information provided by investigative agencies and partner nations”.
Back to the Future
What will Trump 2.0 mean for education? His supporters have promised to return America’s public schools to the vision of the Founding Fathers. They might succeed, but not in the way they imagine. The results would be disastrous for all of us, including conservative Trump supporters.
With Trump’s Tuesday night announcement of Linda McMahon as his pick for secretary of education, we see some continuities with the president-elect’s first term. Just as the first Trump administration talked about merging the Education and Labor departments, so too McMahon brings together the world of work and school.
In the first Trump administration, McMahon ran the Small Business Administration, and she has lauded the idea of “apprenticeships” as a key education reform. Her organization, America First Policy Institute, focuses on education as “workforce innovation.” And just as Trump’s first secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, had no experience in the world of public schools, so McMahon’s experience running World Wrestling Entertainment has rendered her, in her words, an “outsider” in the field of education.
Most of the country shifted right in the 2024 presidential election
Most of the country shifted right in the 2024 presidential election
The country largely shifted to the right in this presidential election from where it was four years ago.
In 2020, President Biden won six of the seven most closely watched states, but this year, they all shifted toward President-elect Donald Trump.
What's more, Trump is on track to win the popular vote this time, when Biden won it by 7 million in 2020.
The suburbs have become increasingly diverse and populous. More than half of voters in 2024 were in suburban areas, according to exit polls. They have become swing areas, home to some of the most closely targeted House seats, and a good barometer of who will win the presidential election.
The winner in the suburbs has won 11 of the last 12 presidential elections, dating back to 1980. And this year that was Trump, 51%-47%, according to exit polls.
NOVEMBER 19, 2024
As Trump Seeks Mass Deportations, Workplace Raids May Not Help Much
Just over a year into Donald Trump’s first term as President, immigration agents raided a meat processing plant in Bean Station, Tennessee, arresting 104 workers.
It was the largest worksite raid in a decade. Two months later, 114 were arrested at a large-scale nursery in Sandusky, Ohio. The next year, immigration agents raided poultry plants in six towns in central Mississippi, arresting 680 workers in one day.
When Trump comes back to office in January, he plans to bring back the raids, after President Biden largely put a stop to such enforcement tactics.
“Worksite operations have to happen,” Tom Homan, Trump’s former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and his incoming “border czar,” said on “Fox and Friends” last week.
Worksite raids generate headlines and TV news stories, but the operations don’t lead to a significant number of deportations, according to those familiar with such operations. “They are flashy, they are disruptive, they are controversial—therefore, I would expect them” during the second Trump Administration, says John Sandweg, who was acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the Obama Administration. “But from a numbers perspective, they are not going to materially increase the count.”
America's first major immigration crackdown and the making and breaking of the West
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 is widely considered to be the first major immigration clampdown in American history. It's a riveting tale that parallels today and may provide insights into the economic consequences of immigration restrictions and mass deportations. This is Part 1 of that story, which explains how Chinese immigrants became a crucial workforce in the American West and why, despite their sacrifices and contributions creating the transcontinental railroad, the railroad's completion may have actually contributed to a populist backlash that sealed their fates.
Donner Memorial State Park in Truckee, California, is a place where natural beauty clashes with historic horror like maybe nowhere else on Earth. The park has a stunning alpine lake and inspiring views of the craggy, granite peaks of the Sierra Nevada. It's an awesome place to swim, boat, windsurf, hike, snowshoe, ski, picnic — you name it. It also just so happens to be the gruesome site where, in the winter of 1846-47, a snowbound Donner Party resorted to the most infamous incident of cannibalism in American history.
Texas Education Board to Vote on Bible-Infused Lessons in Public Schools
Texas Education Board to Vote on Bible-Infused Lessons in Public Schools
Texas education officials are expected to vote this week on whether to approve a new elementary-school curriculum that infuses teachings on the Bible into reading and language arts lessons.
The optional curriculum, one of most sweeping efforts in recent years to bring a Christian perspective to more students, would test the limits of religious instruction in public education.
It could also become a model for other states and for the administration of President-elect Donald J. Trump, who has promised to champion the conservative Christian movement in his second presidential term.
In the ascendant but highly contested push to expand the role of religion in public life, Texas has emerged as a leader. It was the first state to allow public schools to hire religious chaplains as school counselors, and the Republican-controlled legislature is expected to renew its attempts to require public-school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.
November 18, 2024
Accused of violating worker rights, SpaceX and Amazon go after labor board
Accused of violating worker rights, SpaceX and Amazon go after labor board
In the nearly four years that Joe Biden has been president, the National Labor Relations Board has taken an assertive — some say overly aggressive — approach to protecting workers' rights to organize and collectively bargain.
Now, SpaceX and Amazon are at the forefront of a corporate-led effort to monumentally change the labor agency.
On Monday, attorneys for the two companies will try to convince a panel of judges at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that the labor agency, created by Congress in 1935, is unconstitutional.
Their lawsuits are among more than two dozen challenges brought by companies who say the NLRB's structure gives it unchecked power to shape and enforce labor law.
Biden screwed up on inflation — badly
Accused of violating worker rights, SpaceX and Amazon go after labor board
There’s a pretty widespread consensus about which issue was most responsible for Kamala Harris’s defeat: inflation.
There’s much less consensus on what, if anything, Democrats could have done differently about it.
Polls have been clear for years that voters were irate about the inflation that occurred under the Biden administration — the highest in decades. Yet it’s also clear that Biden’s policies were not the primary cause of that inflation. It was a global phenomenon in the post-pandemic return to normal, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
Some of Biden’s defenders have argued he did the best he could with a bad hand. After all, his economic policy eventually resulted in a “soft landing” where inflation rates dropped without a recession. Additionally, incumbent parties have been struggling in elections nearly everywhere, and Harris’s loss was comparatively small compared to incumbents’ blowout defeats overseas.
There’s another theory of the case, which argues that Biden’s team shouldn’t be let off the hook so easily. The administration, critics say, screwed up on inflation in two distinct and avoidable ways.
About 20% of Americans regularly get their news from influencers on social media, report says
About 20% of Americans regularly get their news from influencers on social media, report says
About one in five Americans – and a virtually identical share of Republicans and Democrats – regularly get their news from digital influencers who are more likely to be found on the social media platform X, according to a report released Monday by the Pew Research Center.
The findings, drawn from a survey of more than 10,000 U.S. adults and an analysis of social media posts posted this summer by influencers, provide an indication of how Americans consumed the news during the height of the U.S. presidential campaign that President-elect Donald Trump ultimately won.
The study examined accounts run by people who post and talk regularly about current events - including through podcasts and newsletters - and have more than 100,000 followers on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X or TikTok. They include people across the political spectrum, such as the progressive podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen and conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro, as well as non-partisan personalities like Chris Cillizza, a former CNN analyst who now runs his own newsletter.
Black, Brown and Red: November 16, 2024
Women stock up on abortion pills and Plan B, fearing new restrictions under Trump
As millions of Americans were waking up last Wednesday morning to learn that Donald Trump won the presidency, it dawned on Dr. Angel Foster that she was about to be very busy.
Foster is co-founder of the Massachusetts Medication Abortion Access Project, or the MAP, a telehealth provider that sends abortion medication through the mail to patients across the U.S., including states where it's illegal.
On a typical day, Foster says between 130 and 140 people fill out the organization's intake form — but the day following the presidential election there were more than 1,000.
"It has been a very, very challenging couple of days for our team," says Foster, adding that many of these patients are not pregnant, but are instead buying the medication for future use.
What a Second Trump Term Means for the Constitution
America has the world’s longest-lasting written constitution. It’s been through a lot—one Civil War, two World Wars, a Great Depression, and all the shocks of the early 21st century. It’s been amended 27 times, though not since 1992. The document, you might think, has shown some staying power. But even after all of that, the 2024 U.S. election has some people asking whether it can go another round with President Donald Trump.
In thinking about the possible impacts on the Constitution of a second Trump term, it’s useful to separate out three different categories of constitutional rules.
First, there are norms: principles that are not written down in the Constitution and that aren’t enforced by judges. Norms emerge from practice, sometimes dating back to the days of George Washington. These are things like the understanding that the Attorney General has some degree of independence from the president, or that the Department of Justice should not be used to harass political opponents.
Georgia Poll Workers Defamed by Giuliani Receive Some of His Assets
Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the two Georgia poll workers defamed by Rudolph W. Giuliani after the 2020 election, received his watch collection, a ring and his vintage Mercedes-Benz on Friday.
The deliveries, which Mr. Giuliani’s lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, reported to the court on Friday, were a long time coming for the women, who are mother and daughter. It was also a small down payment on what the former New York City mayor owes them.
In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Mr. Giuliani spread lies about the women, asserting without evidence that they tried to steal the election from former President Donald J. Trump. At the time, Mr. Giuliani was working as Mr. Trump’s personal attorney and was helping to lead the effort to overturn the 2020 election results.
Mr. Giuliani’s false statements about the women led to a torrent of threats and harassment, upending the women’s lives and sending them into hiding.
How to tackle crime in Indian Country? Empower tribal justice, ex-Justice Department official says
WASHINGTON (AP) — A quarter-century ago, the Justice Department had few meaningful relationships with Native American tribes.
While the federal government worked with state and local police and courts, tribal justice systems did not have the same level of recognition, said Tracy Toulou, who oversaw the department’s Office of Tribal Justice from 2000 until his recent retirement. “They were essentially invisible,” he said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said Toulou built the office from an idea into an “institution within the Justice Department.”
Its relationships with the nation’s 574 federally recognized tribes are important, in part because federal authorities investigate and prosecute a set of major crimes on most reservations.
Public safety statistics reflect the serious challenges. Native Americans and Alaska Natives are more than twice as likely to be victims of a violent crime, and Native American women are at least two times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted compared with others.
Artificial intelligence Free learning and resources
You've probably heard about the artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms that power your favorite apps with data science and deep learning techniques. But how much do you really know about how AI works or how it's changing the world around us? Learn the basics of this technology, which has the potential to change every single job in the near future, and start building your skills with these free courses.
what does religion say about trumps plan for healthcare
Torah
Exodus 21:19This verse instructs that if someone injures another person, they must ensure that the injured person receives medical treatment.
Quran
Al-Maidha 10:57
Men! Now there has come to you an exhortation from your Lord, a healing for the ailments of the hearts, and a guidance and mercy for those who believe.
Bible
Matthew 9:12 “On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”
Why does Trump want to take it away?