Meghan McCain pushes back on a boycott supported by comedian John Leguizamo and model Chrissy Teigen
People are calling for a boycott of Goya Foods products for the chief executive’s support of President Donald Trump and it’s drawn the ire of Meghan McCain, co-host of “The View” on ABC.
Goya CEO Bob Unanue during a recent visit to the White House praised Trump, Fox News reports, and Trump detractors have called for a boycott of the company.
McCain, the daughter of the late U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, wrote in a Friday morning tweet that it “seems weird & callous.” She noted that thousands of people work for the New Jersey-based food manufacturer and shouldn’t have to suffer because of what their CEO says.
“It seems weird and callous to boycott a company who supplies food to the masses and employs 4,000 people during a pandemic,” McClain posted. “No matter what your politics, who wants more people out of work?
“Almost every CEO, boss, & person I interact with and consume products from disagrees with me,” she added.
It seems weird & callous to boycott a company who supplies food to the masses and employs 4,000 people during a pandemic. No matter what your politics, who wants more people out of work? Almost every CEO, boss, & person I interact with and consume products from disagrees with me.
Among the celebrity endorsements for a boycott of Goya are actor and comedian John Leguizamo and model Chrissy Teigen, who stated that boycotting Goya, in fact, would not affect its workers.
“The next step republicans will do (mark my words, they did this with my equinox tweets as well) is say you aren’t supporting the workers if you boycott,” Teigen posted on Twitter.
“You ARE. They should never feel they have to work for someone who agrees Mexicans are ‘vile’ ‘rapists,'” she said in a tweet.
The next step republicans will do (mark my words, they did this with my equinox tweets as well) is say you aren’t supporting the workers if you boycott. You ARE. They should never feel they have to work for someone who agrees Mexicans are “vile” “rapists” – FUCK this guy
Teigen, color commentator for “Lip Sync Battle” on Paramount Network, also stated that she would do all she could to financially support farmers who may get hit due to a Goya boycott.
“Support the workers by empowering them to be stronger than this absolute bastard,” Teigen said of Unanue. “I will personally do what I can to financially ensure these farms can carry on without them.”
Support the workers by empowering them to be stronger than this absolute bastard. I will personally do what I can to financially ensure these farms can carry on without them.
As reported by Fox News, Unanue attended a White House press conference with the President on Thursday where he said “we’re all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump, who is a builder.”
This statement inspired public outrage by those who are now vowing not to patronize Goya and give money to a Trump supporter.
Those supporting the boycott are posting under the hashtag #Goyaway
The nice thing about a free society is that you're FREE to boycott the shit out of companies like Goya that support racist, sociopathic criminal assholes like trump.
Don't like it, don't buy it.
Don't shop at places that sell it.#Goyaway
— datGuyInTheCorner (@datGuyInTheCor1) July 10, 2020
I will never buy another Goya product. Bump a boycott—I’m out, bitches—forever. Goya is a billion dollar company that has done nothing to help the plight of Hispanic people. And then you praise a man who has nothing but contempt for Hispanic people. Kiss my ass, Goya. #Goyawaypic.twitter.com/qb3cusaGAo
When a corporation with a predominately Latino customer base chooses to embrace the most vile, xenophobic, racist and predatory political figure of this era, its disqualifying.
Best of Ava | Warrior Nun | Netflix Kicking ass and taking names all before Sunday service. Watch Warrior Nun, Only on Netflix: https://ift.tt/3gTbuB5 SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/29qBUt7 About Netflix: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 183 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. Best of Ava | Warrior Nun | Netflix https://youtube.com/Netflix After waking up in a morgue, an orphaned teen discovers she now possesses superpowers as the chosen Halo-Bearer for a secret sect of demon-hunting nuns.
Five Republican senators have canceled plans to attend the party convention in Florida next month
President Donald Trump‘s divisive rhetoric appears to be starting to catch up with him.
With the Republican National Convention approaching next month, support for the incumbent among his own party could be dwindling.
USA Today reports that an increasing number of Republicans are “fed up” with the president and split from him for various reasons, including his stance on wearing a mask during the coronavirus pandemic, his tone addressing race relations in America and his support of keeping up Confederate statues.
“There’s a real disagreement between the president and his party in this election,” stated Alex Conant, GOP strategist and former aide to Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. “I think a lot of Republicans are really fed up with the president’s divisive strategy. People are just throwing up their hands with some of the rhetoric that’s coming out of the president. It’s really unhelpful not just to his own re-election, but also to keeping the Senate.”
Several GOP officials have announced they are canceling plans to attend the national convention scheduled in Jacksonville, Florida in late August. The lawmakers and party members are deeming their attendance unsafe because of the state’s recent surge of COVID-19 cases.
Among the Republicans who will be absent are Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Mitt Romney of Utah, Lamar Alexander of Tennesse, Susan Collins of Mine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, all citing the pandemic.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, has yet to make his decision on whether or not he’ll be present at the RNC.
“We’ll have to wait and see how things look in late August to determine whether or not we can safely convene with that many people,” he said.
Another GOP strategist, Matt Gorman, expressed that Republicans don’t have much incentive to attend this year’s RNC because of the likelihood of low attendance of media and donors.
“For a lot of these elected officials, it’s a chance to go there for fundraising and press attention,” Gorman said. “And if a lot of media folks are not planning to go and a lot of donors choose not to go because in-person fundraising is a bit less prevalent, then there’s not much incentive to show up.”
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The arts isn’t for the weak or the uninspired. Having the creativity to express one’s inspiration is needed in order to be successful. Amy Andrieux, the executive director of MoCADA (Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts) in Brooklyn, New York, took an interesting road by working in the media field to land a dream situation that suits her creative soul.
BLACK ENTERPRISE got into the mind of Andrieux long enough for her to express what it takes to do her job and what she has planned for many years at MoCADA.
How long have you been working at MoCADA and what is your role?
I’ve been working at MoCADA since August 2018. After working at Steve Stoute’s Translation L.L.C. and United Masters (which came after an international role working at Red Bull Media House), I took a break from working corporate media and advertising jobs to focus on my creative endeavors. When I picked up an amazing opportunity to do freelance writing for a big fashion magazine, I emailed all of the artists, musicians, designers, culture makers, and creatives I knew to keep me in the loop of what they working on. MoCADA reached back and I was so inspired, I wrote a full year strategic plan and sent it over. A week later, I was hired by the board as a consultant. Six months later, I was voted in as executive director.
I am responsible for keeping the MoCADA cultural engine alive, from expanding on our three arms of programming, including exhibitions, education, and community and now MoCADA Digital, to the business side of things like fundraising, networking, and creating opportunities to build more visibility for the artists we work with across the African diaspora. I have huge goals set for the next 20 years of MoCADA.
As a curator, what type of skills are needed and how has your background helped you obtain such a position?
As a native New Yorker, who grew up here during the ’90s, it is pretty hard not being a culture kid. So art, film, music, fashion, and social movements that empower marginalized people have always been fascinating to me. I dived into art pretty early. I made my own and even attended weekend art classes at Fashion Institute of Technology when I was in high school. But as a first generation American, art wasn’t a practical job. So I always did art on the side (curating and exploring), while I maintained a day job in media. While I don’t fit the traditional mold of what makes a curator in NYC, that’s what afforded me a way in. I’m a marketer by trade, and passionate about uplifting Black culture and connecting the dots of the diaspora in every way. Thinking differently, being innovative, and putting our people first got me the job.
What drives you to be successful in what you have done and are doing?
My mother used to say that I’m never satisfied, and at one point I used to believe that. I actually think there’s just so much more for me to learn, and challenges I want to conquer. I’m also a professor at New School University, Parsons School of Design, so I value education and also sharing what I’ve learned with the next generation and learning from them.
I’ve been blessed and lucky to explore so many roles and to have a longevity in the creative space internationally. I’m the “put your head down and hustle hard” type. So when I’m inspired, I go hard and that’s most of the time. I think I learned to leverage that and other skills and interests that make me a one-of-one, from some of the good and hard people that I’ve worked for and with over the years. It has also made me never accept less than what I know I can give or get. I just want Black people to be free and to express their innate creativity however they choose. And I like being a part of that process.
What do you think is the next trend in the arts that we should prepare for?
The thing about any type of art is not to follow the trend, but to be ahead of it. But because of COVID-19 closures, I’m hoping that we will see a rise in Black artists in the experimental world of AR/VR, and art that goes beyond just one or two mediums that can be used to create it. Artists have already been venturing into this space of participatory design, like how do you create an experience where the audience gets to contribute to how it is experienced, remembered, and how it evolved? I want to see more of this.
I firmly believe that the work Black artists create holds so much more weight culturally. Right now and maybe for the first time in a long while or ever, we are creating without the White gaze in mind—for us by us. So I’m paying attention to how that is taking us along a path toward Afrofuturism and how that connects to ideas about and from the past.Think Octavia Butler. Terence Nance. Mickalene Thomas.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to succeed in the field of arts and entertainment?
Go hard or stay home. But whichever way you choose, be sure to find and hone your own voice because that is what you sets you apart from the pack.
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The ‘Glee’ actress was reported missing after a boating trip with her son Wednesday
Newly released video footage shows Naya Rivera and her young son arriving at a California lake moments before the actress is believed to have gone missing earlier this week.
As reported by People Magazine, surveillance video captured Rivera, 33, on Wednesday pulling up in a black SUV to a boat launch at Lake Piru, which is about 50 miles north of Los Angeles, and soon after vacating the vehicle with Josey, the four-year-old son she shares with ex-husband Ryan Dorsey.
The Glee actress was wearing white shorts and a backpack, while Josey, whom Rivera helped out of the car, had a backpack on as well. She is seen removing a bag from the vehicle and then walking down the empty lot to the dock.
As they make their way down the dock, they approach what appears to a rental booth where they loaned a pontoon boat. They then get to the boat and ventured east in the water.
After the three-hour rental allotment expired and the boat was not returned, rental staff soon after found the boat out in the lake. Jose was seen in the boat, but Rivera was reported missing.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, who released the footage on Thursday, has since presumed Rivera dead and is currently conducting a recovery mission to locate her body.
Although more than 100 people are a part of the recovery search, Sgt. Kevin Donoghue of the sheriff’s office stated in a press conference that finding Rivera’s body may be unlikely. Donoghue said the process of searching the lake was “complicated” due to poor visibility and heavy debris in the lake, which also “makes it unsafe for divers and a complicated search.”
“If the body is entangled in something underneath the water, it may never come up,” Donoghue stated. “There’s a lot of trees and plants and such that are under the water that can cause entanglement.”
An incident report stated that Josey told investigators that he and his mother were swimming in the lake and that she did not return to the boat. Josey was found wearing a life jacket, while an adult-sized life vest was found in the boat.
“We don’t know if that just meant it was hers or if that was an extra life vest on the boat,” Donoghue said. “But seemingly, if she was somehow incapacitated and she had a life jacket, we would find her floating. Clearly, she is not.”
Josey has since been reunited with his father, Dorsey, and is said to be in “good health.”
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If you are a fan of late ’80s-mid ’90s hip-hop, then you should be familiar with the name Fu-Schnickens. If not, you may have heard NBA Hall of FamerShaquille O’Nealon one of their songs, “What’s Up Doc? (Can We Rock).” Being involved in hip-hop as an artist set group member Roderick “Chip Fu” Roachford on the road to being a successful entrepreneur in education.
Roachford started a program named M.A.A.T.H. (Music Appreciation, Art, Time, and Healing) that has been gaining interest in several education programs due, in part, to the connection with hip-hop, which resonates with students more than many subjects.
BLACK ENTERPRISE was educated about the type of curriculum that M.A.A.T.H incorporates and where the program is headed. We got the opportunity to speak to Roachford about the program and what’s in M.A.A.T.H.’s future.
How did your background in hip-hop help you on your quest to become anentrepreneur?
A. Being involved in hip-hop, I traveled extensively year-round and always asked about how kids in the countries I traveled to related to hip-hop. I researched if there were any curriculums in the school systems that used hip-hop as the foundation when teaching, and none of the schools had it. All they knew was what they saw on television or heard on the radio. This led to me wanting to bring that missing piece into the schools and the idea for M.A.A.T.H (Music Appreciation, Art, Time, and Healing) was born.
B. Having a strong background and career in hip-hop helped me to create the curriculum because of what I learned on my own from being a well-rounded and respected artist in the industry. And because I was able to ask some of my colleagues in the business certain questions first before actually creating the program. When it was time to present, the principals or teachers knew my history as an artist and allowed me to make the presentation.
Could you explain what M.A.A.T.H is and how it’s been helpful to those who are involved in the program?
M.A.A.T.H ( Music Appreciation, Art, Time, and Healing) was created because I wanted to build several programs that can help kids on all levels from middle school, high school, and college along with kids with special needs and adults that have autism. The program first began in housing and we joined PHC (Public Housing Communities) then several suspension sites reached out because the kids from housing started spreading the word about the program. Since then, M.A.A.T.H has been taught at 12 different schools and continues to grow.
The workshop/curriculum is designed to (1) Encourage young people to find their inner voices through various forms of musical expression including but not limited to rap, song, and spoken word. (2) Educate aspiring artists about the intricacies and complexities of the music business. (3) Provide an inspirational, motivational, and therapeutic outlet for all participants. Some of my former students are now facilitators at different schools and were paid through the program. In some schools, we partnered up with different teachers and helped them create new ways for kids to study, by creating songs to well-known music that had the study material in the songs and the success rate was incredible.
What motivated you to start M.A.A.T.H?
I was motivated to start M.A.A.T.H by my mother (Romania Roachford). She had a center for kids with special needs in Brooklyn called The AYAH daycare center. I saw how hard she worked to make this dream come to life and she believed that if you teach them all together, kids would be motivated by one another and it worked. I started putting the ideas together by watching her and I started in two schools before her passing to cancer. Her passing fueled me, even more, to make sure I continued the legacy on a higher scale, which helped me to include adults with autism and help them transition into living normal lives and introduce the curriculum to as many schools as possible.
Is there any plan to expand and/or start other programs?
I have already been asked for my curriculum to be used around the world by GHHG (Generation Hip Hop Global). I will be partnering with different companies and introducing my program in different cities that are having problems with engaging teens. We think by partnering up, we can learn more and help these places provide that platform and therapeutic outlet that’s needed.
What is it about hip-hop that allows the world to heal, elevate, and uplift people?
Hip-hop is a culture, it’s more than just music, and has been around for more than three decades. But it gave many people around the world the courage and helped them to find their voices to speak up about racial injustice or the harsh reality of some people’s lives. This voice or story is more than an American story, it became the voice worldwide and brought countries together that faced the same problems as we did. Seeing that we had the same problems around the world, other countries related to how we healed and helped to elevate one another and borrowed the same concepts. That’s the power of hip-hop.
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Electric vehicle makers hope to roll out super long-lasting batteries. That raises interesting questions about resources, performance—and a battery's second act.
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A new paper argues that the computing demands of deep learning are so great that progress on tasks like translation and self-driving is likely to slow.
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When it comes to the Black Lives Matter movement, the attorney general says it’s being used to push ‘a broader agenda.’
Attorney General William Barr rejects the idea of systemic racism in policing.
In an interview with ABC News, Barr acknowledged, however, that Black communities are often policed unfairly and that Black males specifically “are treated with extra suspicion and maybe not given the benefit of the doubt,” he said, calling it “a widespread phenomenon.”
“I think it is wrong if people are not respected appropriately and given their due,” he explained to ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas, “and I think it’s something we have to address.”
AG Barr’s comments come amid ongoing calls to defend law enforcement in wake of the high-profile police killings of unarmed Black Americans – including George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.
While Barr hopes Floyd’s death “is a catalyst for the kinds of changes that are needed,” he does not support the push to overhaul police departments via cutting/redirecting funds.
“Before the George Floyd incident I thought we were in a good place,” he said. “I think that this episode in Minneapolis showed that we still have some work to do in addressing the distrust that exists in the African American community toward law enforcement.”
Barr believes there is no “value in defunding the police.”
In fact, he calls for “more investment in the police” as step forward toward healing relations between law enforcement and urban communities.
.@WhoopiGoldberg reacts to Attorney General William Barr saying there is no systemic racism in policing: “There is no question that there is a problem.”
“We have to think about more investment in the police. So one of the things we’ve been talking about is trying to direct some of the [Health and Human Services] money and grant programs and sync it up with law enforcement spending so we can enable the departments to have co-responders,” he explained.
“That is, social workers and mental health experts who can go on certain kinds of calls to help,” Barr added.
When it comes to the Black Lives Matter movement, Barr said it’s being used to push “a broader agenda.”
“It’s used really to refer exclusively to black lives that are lost to police misconduct,” he said.
“But in terms of the proposition that black lives matter, obviously black lives matter. I think all lives all human life is is sacred and entitled to respect. And obviously, black lives matter.
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The actress originally posted the pic on her Instagram account in 2015, which sparked dating rumors between the duo at the time.
August Alsina is catching heat from Black Twitter after he read KeKe Palmer for filth over a simple misunderstanding.
It all started when a fan posted a #throwback photo of Palmer riding in a car with the R&B singer and captioned the image “This you?”
Keke confirmed, writing: “Yes girl. August was never my man lol. That’s why you’re still reaching to this day to figure out nothing,” she clapped back.
Palmer originally posted the pic on her Instagram account in 2015, which sparked dating rumors between the duo at the time.
“Everybody always thinks I’m dating August just because of the photo we took together on my Instagram page, but no I am not dating August Alsina, we’re just friends,” she told HelloBeautiful at the 2015 Essence Fest.
The photo resurfaced this week, seemingly in response to a tweet Palmer wrote which stated, “The theme is boundaries. Everybody doesn’t need to know your business, that’s not fake it’s honoring one’s privacy.”
Many fans assumed she was referring to Jada Pinkett Smith finally admitting to having an affair with Alsina back in the day.
When Alsina caught wind of Palmer’s response to their old photo, he snapped and put all her business out there in a pearl-clutching tweet.
“U absolutely right.I was NEVER ur man,” he wrote. “You could possibly never shortie. It seems u mad u got curved, but ur “friends” r the reason 4 that.Dey showed me an endless thread of txt/pics of me dat u sent, wrry’d abt who i date &BEGGED me 2 not further disturb ur mental instability,” he added.
U absolutely right.I was NEVER ur man. đŸ¤¨You could possibly never shortie. It seems u mad u got curved, but ur “friends” r the reason 4 that.Dey showed me an endless thread of txt/pics of me dat u sent, wrry’d abt who i date &BEGGED me 2 not further disturb ur mental instability. https://t.co/8JATP8RVlA
Fans of the singer were quick to call him out for misinterpreting Palmer’s remarks.
One user wrote, “August she didn’t even say anything bad about you! Did she deserve this?”
Another added, “as much as you’ve discussed your own mental & emotional struggles in the past, it’s funny that you decided to use her “mental instability” as an unprovoked attack on her.”
A third noted, “He a whole weirdo for this.. he need to be directing that energy at who he really mad at…Jada.”
He a whole weirdo for this.. he need to be directing that energy at who he really mad at…Jada
— Stream Invasion of Privacy (@BardiSims) July 10, 2020
Last month, Alsina dropped a bombshell when he confirmed longstanding rumors that he and Will Smith’s wife were once secret lovers.
“I totally gave myself to that relationship for years of my life, and I truly and really, really deeply love and have a ton of love for her,” August told Angela Yee of Pinkett Smith during a sit-down interview.
He added, “I devoted myself to it, I gave my full self to it — so much so to the point that I can die right now and be okay with knowing that I truly gave myself to somebody.”
In the July 10 episode of her Facebook Watch talk show, Red Table Talk, Pinkett Smith confirmed that she “got into an entanglement” with August about four and a half years ago.
She made it clear, however, that she didn’t cheat on her husband because they were separated at the time.
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The two paid homage to the man who inspired a renewed commitment to Black Lives Matter on a new joint project
This week Kid Cudi and Eminem fans got an unexpected treat when the two rappers decided to join forces on a new project that takes aim at everything from people who refuse to wear masks, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and the killing of George Floyd.
“Me and Moon Man @kidcudi got something coming tonight!” Eminem teased on Thursday.
Friday, the duo dropped “Adventures of Moon Man & Slim Shady,” and their new song was announced by Kid Cudi’s daughter, Vada, in a video shared on Twitter.
Eminem made it a point in his new music to send “prayers to George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery” and at one point in the track raps:
“And it’s nonstop fury (Yeah) ‘Cause I ain’t holding ‘em up like an armed robbery (Nah) And God’s my jury, so when I die, I’m not worried (Nah) Prayers to George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery (Yeah) How the f— is it that so many cops are dirty? (Huh?) Stop, man, please, officer, I’m sorry But I can’t breathe when I got you on top of me Your goddamn knee’s on my carotid artery (F—)“
The rappers also call out those who refuse to wear masks during the coronavirus pandemic, pointing out,
Half of us walking around like a zombie apocalypse Other half are just pissed off and (Yeah) Don’t wanna wear a mask and they’re just scoffing And that’s how you end up catching the s— off ‘em I just used the same basket as you shopping Now I’m in a f—in’ casket from you coughin’ (Damn)
The president’s longtime confidant had been sentenced to three years and four months in prison for lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstruction.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump called Roger Stone to inform his longtime political confidant that he would commute his sentence for crimes related to the Russia investigation, Stone told The Associated Press on Friday, just days before he was set to report to prison.
The White House later confirmed the commuting of the sentence in a statement, saying Stone was a victim of the Russia “hoax.”
The move, though short of a full pardon, is sure to alarm critics who have long railed against the president’s repeated interventions in the nation’s justice system.
Trump commutes the prison sentence of Roger Stone while the officers that killed Breonna Taylor are still free. The two systems of justice in this country must end.
“The president told me he thought my trial has been unfair,” Stone told the AP in a phone call from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Stone said he expressed his gratitude and was popping Champagne.
Stone had been sentenced in February to three years and four months in prison for lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. He was set to report to prison by Tuesday.
A commutation would not erase Stone’s felony convictions in the same way a pardon would, but it would protect him from serving prison time as a result.
The action, which Trump had foreshadowed in recent days, reflects his lingering rage over the Russia investigation and is a testament to his conviction that he and his associates were mistreated by agents and prosecutors. His administration has been eager to rewrite the narrative of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, with Trump’s own Justice Department moving in May to dismiss the criminal case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Stone, for his part, had been open about his desire for a pardon or commutation, appealing for the president’s help in a series of Instagram posts in which he maintained that his life could be in jeopardy if imprisoned during a pandemic. He had recently sought to postpone his surrender date by months after getting a brief extension from the judge.
Trump had repeatedly publicly inserted himself into Stone’s case, including just before Stone’s sentencing, when he suggested in a tweet that Stone was being subjected to a different standard than several prominent Democrats. He railed that the conviction “should be thrown out” and called the Justice Department’s initial sentencing recommendation “horrible and very unfair.”
“Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!” he wrote.
Stone, a larger-than-life political character who embraced his reputation as a dirty trickster, was the sixth Trump aide or adviser to have been convicted of charges brought as part of Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
A longtime Trump friend and informal adviser, Stone had boasted during the campaign that he was in contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange through a trusted intermediary and hinted at inside knowledge of WikiLeaks’ plans to release more than 19,000 emails hacked from the servers of the Democratic National Committee.
But Stone denied any wrongdoing and consistently criticized the case against him as politically motivated. He did not take the stand during his trial, did not speak at his sentencing, and his lawyers did not call any witnesses in his defense.
Trump also targeted those involved in the case. He retweeted a comment by Fox News commentator Andrew Napolitano that the jury appeared to have been biased against Trump, and called out Judge Amy Berman Jackson by name, saying “almost any judge in the country” would throw out the conviction.
The tweets continued even after Trump earned a public rebuke from his own attorney general, William Barr, who said the president’s comments were “making it impossible” for him to do his job. Barr was so incensed that he told people he was considering resigning over the matter.
Prosecutors had originally recommended Stone serve seven to nine years in federal prison. But, in a highly unusual move, Barr reversed that decision after a Trump tweet and recommended a more lenient punishment, prompting a mini-revolt inside the Justice Department, with the entire prosecution team resigning from the case.
Department officials have vehemently denied Barr was responding to Trump’s criticism and have insisted there was no contact with the White House over the decision. Barr has also pointed out that the judge, in imposing a 40-month sentence, had agreed with him that the original sentencing recommendation was excessive.
Barr, who was attorney general during Stone’s trial last fall, has said the prosecution was justified, and the Justice Department did not support Stone’s more recent effort to put off his surrender date. Though the Justice Department raised concerns about the handling of Flynn’s case, including what it said were irregularities about his FBI interview, prosecutors did not point to any similar issues or problems with the Stone prosecution.
Even so, the pardon will almost certainly contribute to the portrait of a president determined — particularly in an election year — to undo the effects of a Russia investigation that has shadowed his administration from the outset, and to intervene on behalf of political allies.
Trump, meanwhile, had long kept the door open to a reprieve.
“You’re going to see what happens. Let’s see what happens,” he said when asked in February whether Stone deserved prison time, adding, “Somebody has to stick up for the people.”
He told Sean Hannity in an interview Thursday night that it was a “disgrace they didn’t give him a retrial.” Asked if he was considering a pardon, he added: “I am always thinking.”
That language prompted preemptive rebuke from House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, who tweeted after the sentencing that “to pardon Stone when his crimes were committed to protect Trump would be a breathtaking act of corruption.”
The commutation was the latest example of Trump using his unlimited clemency power to pardon powerful men he believes have been mistreated by the justice system.
Trump went on a clemency spree in February commuting the 14-year prison sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, and pardoning former New York City police commissioner Bernie Kerik, financier Michael Milken and several others.
Trump has also offered clemency to other political allies, including Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was awaiting sentencing at the time, conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza, who had been convicted on campaign finance violations, and Conrad Black, a newspaper publisher convicted of fraud who had written a flattering book about the president.
Trump, however, has spent much more time trumpeting his decision to commute the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, who was serving life in prison for nonviolent drug offenses and who came to Trump’s attention after reality star Kim Kardashian West took up her cause. Her story was featured in a Trump campaign Super Bowl ad.
The songstress says she’s ready to tell her ‘unfiltered’ story
Mariah Carey is no stranger to headlines and speculation, but this week the iconic singer revealed that she is finally coming out with a memoir to share her story – her way.
According to Variety, the singer, songwriter and actress is planning to release “The Meaning of Mariah Carey” on Sept. 29. co-written by cultural critic Michaela Angela Davis.
“It took me a lifetime to have the courage and the clarity to write my memoir. I want to tell the story of the moments — the ups and downs, the triumphs and traumas, the debacles and the dreams, that contribute to the person I am today,” she wrote on social media on July 8.
“This book is composed of my memories, my mishaps, my struggles, my survival and my songs. Unfiltered. Writing this memoir was incredibly hard, humbling and healing. My sincere hope is that you are moved to a new understanding, not only about me, but also about the resilience of the human spirit.”
Singer Mariah Carey performs onstage during the Sixth Biennial UNICEF Ball Honoring David Beckham and C. L. Max Nikias presented by Louis Vuitton at Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel on January 12, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for U.S. Fund for UNICEF)
The memoir will be out in print and on Audible via Andy Cohen Books, is a imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group/Holt .Carey will voice her own life story on the audio version.
đŸ“– Delivered!
"I have learned that beauty has to flourish in the light" đŸ¦‹ pic.twitter.com/qzmtax49A2
Carey’s memoir should touch upon the highlights of her life thus far – from growing up biracial in Long Island, N.Y., to the multi-platinum recording career that’s earned her five Grammys, countless other accolades and the distinction of having the most #1 singles by a solo artist, to her controversial marriage to Sony head Tommy Mottola, and her subsequent marriage, divorce and two kids with TV host/actor/musician Nick Cannon.
Georgia State House Rep. Vernon Jones said he has more reasons not to support Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Jones wrote a column in The Atlanta Voice Tuesday doubling down on the stance he took earlier this year. In the column, Jones asked where Joe Biden and Barack Obama were on the issue of race when they were in office for eight years.
“I’ll tell you. They were absent in unifying this country,” Jones wrote.
“The black unemployment rate under Biden and the Obama administration averaged a horrific 12.8%,” he noted. “The number of black Americans in poverty barely fell during the Obama administration, going down by just 145,000 over eight years.”
“By comparison, 350,000 Black Americans were lifted out of poverty during just the first two years of the Trump administration,” Jones added.
A week after Jones endorsed Trump, he announced he was resigning due to the backlash he faced, but changed his mind a day later saying that “the outpouring of support I received was too great for me to ignore.”
Jones continued to attack Biden’s record, including drafting the 1994 Crime Bill, which many believe has lead to a disproportionate number of Black men and women in jails across the U.S.
“Biden is directly responsible for the mass incarceration policies of the 1980s and 1990s, which decimated the Black community.” Jones wrote. “Biden authored the 1994 Crime Bill, which imposed mandatory minimum sentences, disproportionately putting hundreds of thousands of young Black men in prison.”
In early 2019, Biden admitted some of his past stances on criminal justice were wrong, and—without specifically referencing the bill—said that drug sentencing disparities “trapped an entire generation.”
“It was a big mistake when it was made,” Biden said last year.
Jones also praised Trump for signing the First Step Act and other legislation that he believes makes a real difference.
“I am Black, and I am a Democrat, but, I ain’t voting for Biden this November,” Jones wrote.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the travel industry causing tourism boards and many businesses to completely reshape their operations to accommodate new travel restrictions due to the public health crisis. This week, the government of Barbados has revealed that it is considering introducing a new 12-month stamp for remote, digital nomads to attract more business travelers to rebuild the tourism sector.
“We came up with a concept and it is being refined now as ‘12-Month Barbados Welcome Stamp’,” said the Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley at the official reopening event according to Barbados Today. “This will allow people from the United States, Europe, and Latin America to come and do their jobs digitally for a couple of months and then go back home, if they feel they can work better in a more relaxed atmosphere such as next to a beach.”
“Government is committed to working with you on the promotion of new concepts like the 12-Month Barbados Welcome Stamp, being able to open our borders to persons traveling and making it as hospitable as ever for all of us, and making it available for Barbadians from every walk of life to believe that for special occasions, or just for so, that they can come out and be a part of this wonderful exercise,” she added.
The Prime Minister also went on to say that tourism officials will also be visiting different areas around the island to meet with residents and business leaders about effective ways to boost their sales that used to rely on tourism.
“We can’t be a post-COVID Barbados with the same problems as the pre-COVID Barbados,” said Minister of Tourism and International Transport Kerrie Symmonds tells Barbados Today. “So [if] we want to fix the [areas] to make it as attractive as possible, to make sure the experience is full of excitement, that it is a place we can comfortably come to stay, eat and play—and that is how we want to rebrand it,”
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He continued, “And that’s what my grandfather did. He came to this country to build, to grow, and to prosper. And we have an incredible builder and we pray, we pray for our leadership, our president and for our country, that we continue to prosper and to grow.”
Presumptive Republican nominee for US president Donald Trump visits Trump International Golf Links on June 25, 2016 in Aberdeen, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
The hashtag #GOYAWAY instantly started trending on Twitter, as users pointed out that this president has regularly attacked immigrants, particularly Hispanics for his entire presidency. In his first campaign speech for the presidency, he described Mexican immigrants as “rapists” and “criminals.”
Former Democratic presidential nominee, Julian Castrosaid that the company has been a staple of so many Latino households for generations. He said that as their CEO is “praising a president who villainizes and maliciously attacks Latinos for political gain. Americans should think twice before buying their products.”
.@GoyaFoods has been a staple of so many Latino households for generations.
Now their CEO, Bob Unanue, is praising a president who villainizes and maliciously attacks Latinos for political gain. Americans should think twice before buying their products. #Goyawayhttps://t.co/lZDQlK6TcU
Other social media users asked that people not throw Goya products away, but to donate them to a food bank.
The company itself had announced a plan to donate 1 million cans of their chickpeas and 1 million pounds of food to food banks, during the Rose Garden event. “Our country faces a time of historic challenge but we will meet that challenge together and continue to work towards greatness, focus on a strong recovery, and hold onto the hope for a healthier future for all,” Unanue also said in his statement.
Republican, Latina television personality, Ana Navarro-Cardenastweeted, “The CEO of Goya has every right to his opinion. Consumers have every right to theirs. It’s called freedom.”
Please don’t throw away food. Many hungry people in our country. Donate unwanted @GoyaFoods products to a food bank. There are many alternative Latin products in the market. The CEO of Goya has every right to his opinion. Consumers have every right to theirs. It’s called freedom. https://t.co/0HVfHT980opic.twitter.com/W56fyxfT0T
During the event, signed an executive order called the White House Prosperity Initiative to “improve access by Hispanic Americans to educational and economic opportunities.”
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This week, Angela Watercutter joins us to talk about why it's hard to unglue your eyes from bad news on social media. Plus, we share our tips for putting down the phone.
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From flying a plane to restoring art, YouTubers can truly teach you anything. Here are the best shows that have sparked our curiosity during quarantine.
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The International Baccalaureate program canceled its high-stakes exam because of Covid-19. The formula it used to "predict" scores puzzles students and teachers.
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Lead generation, defined as the action or process of identifying and cultivating potential customers for business products or services, is a significant part of a digital marketer’s work. That is to…
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The infamous racist extremist is calling for the president to ditch Mike Pence and nominate the Fox News host as VP.
David Duke, the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), has noted his support for Donald Trump’s re-election.
The infamous racist extremist is calling for Trump to ditch Mike Pence and nominate Fox News host Tucker Carlson as his vice president, Yahoo reports.
Duke noted that having a Trump/Carlson ticket is the only way to “stop the commie Bolsheviks.”
“President Trump! You have one last chance to turn the tables, win this election and save America — and yourself,” Duke posted on Twitter July 8. “Nominate Tucker Carlson for Vice President. This would energize your campaign beyond belief,” he added.
We have every right to fight to preserve our nation, heritage and culture. When vandals like Tammy Duckworth and Ilhan Omar tell us that we’re not allowed to question their patriotism, as they scream about how horrible this country is, we have every right to laugh in their faces. pic.twitter.com/0xjVtUaG3P
“Tucker Carlson now! We DON’T HAVE 4 YEARS. In 4 years there will be no dissident websites, platforms or email addresses, no dissidents allowed credit cards or bank accounts. No Freedom and Tucker will be off air before Biden is even sworn in. Tucker NOW! 4 Years is TOO LATE,” Duke tweeted.
“One more thing about Tucker Mr. President. It would make you IMPEACHMENT PROOF! And Tucker would whip those Republican cucks in line and make them defend our freedom of speech and the heritage of the American people!”
Duke also suggested Trump “replace Zio NeoCon warmonger Pompeo with Pence as Sec. of State.” .
He previously called Carlson a “hero” for supposedly “exposing white ethnic cleansing in America”,
We have a totally corrupt previous Administration, including a President and Vice President who spied on my campaign, AND GOT CAUGHT…and nothing happens to them. This crime was taking place even before my election, everyone knows it, and yet all are frozen stiff with fear….
Recently Duke retweeted a clip of Carlson’s “Undo Your Whiteness” segment and captioned it: “Anti-racism” has become the politically correct term replacing affirmative action aka *legal* (systemic) racial discrimination against White people in employment, promotions and scholarships.”
Duke developed a slight case of Trump derangement syndrome back in 2017 when he had a meltdown over the president condemning white supremacy, theGrio previously reported.
“Racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, Neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans,” Trump said after being criticized for saying that the violence and hatred was a result of “many sides.”
I would recommend you take a good look in the mirror & remember it was White Americans who put you in the presidency, not radical leftists. https://t.co/Rkfs7O2Ykr
“It’s amazing to see how the media is able to bully the President of the United States into going along with their FAKE NEWS narrative,” Duke said in a series of tweets claiming Trump had been manipulated by pressure from the media.
In a tweet in Thursday, Duke bragged that “Forbes said my support for Trump as the number 1 of 10 reasons why Trump won the nomination and election,” he wrote. “It sent a powerful signal to white folks & separated him from the field. Now, I say Trump has to get Tucker as his VP to win this crucial election & We need Tucker as the VP!”
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