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Published by AlterNet By Brandon Gage United States Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) declared on Wednesday night that the Republican Party cannot possibly be credibly accused of having a racism problem because it nominated Herschel Walker of Georgia for Senate. “They’re beating all our guys up. But what is it about this guy? He changes the entire narrative of the left. We’re a party of racists, Sean. Me and you are racist. The Republican Party is racist. Well what happens when the Republican Party elects and nominates Herschel Walker, an African-American, Black, Heisman Trophy winner, right, Olympian,” Gra… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story By Matthew Chapman According to the Tampa Bay Times, Dawn Peters, a right-wing candidate for school board in Pinellas County, Florida, has released a statement disavowing a number of conspiracy theories after social media posts of hers surfaced exposing her as a QAnon adherent. “Peters posted her statement after the Tampa Bay Times reported her critics were circulating 2-year-old screenshots from her social media accounts. The images showed her appearing to join others in a QAnon pledge and retweeting an item that called the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the moon landing and the coronavirus pandemi… Read More View the full article

Published by New York Daily News Kim Petras and Sam Smith are making music history in a big way. The two pop stars, both 30, recently released their dance floor-ready collaboration, “Unholy,” and after topping the Official U.K. Top 40 chart for the last four weeks, the anthem has now made it to No. 1 in the U.S. The song has topped the Billboard Hot 100 charts, the first time for both of them. With this week’s announcement, Petras, a German-born singer-songwriter, became the first openly transgender artist to have a No. 1 song in the U.S., while Smith, the British multi-Grammy-winning artist, became the first nonbinary musici… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Moira Warburton WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two U.S. voter-rights organizations have asked a federal judge to temporarily stop a grassroots group from monitoring voter drop boxes in Arizona for alleged voter fraud, the week after state officials asked federal prosecutors to probe the group for possible voter intimidation. A lawsuit filed by Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans and Vote Latino alleges the private group, Clean Elections USA, and its founder Melody Jennings are attempting to “bully and intimidate lawful Arizona voters” casting early votes in the midterm elections. Clean Elections USA describes itself as a “grassroots organization committed to election integrity.” It supports former President Donald Trump’s false claims that his 2020 defeat was the result of widespread fraud. For months it has been recruiting volunteers for drop box tailgate parties, where followers monitor ballot drop off locations for alleged fraud. Jennings could not be reached for immediate comment. The lawsuit was filed late on Monday in the U.S. District Court in Arizona. Arizona’s secretary of state last week asked the U.S. Department of Justice to probe a case of possible voter intimidation after a group of people linked to Clean Elections followed and filmed a voter dropping off a ballot. The lawsuit cites that case, as well as an Oct. 22 post on Trump’s Truth Social media platform from Jennings in which she referred to two people described in the lawsuit as armed and wearing tactical gear while watching a drop box as “our people.” Clean Elections USA is running a “coordinated campaign of vigilante voter intimidation” that violates the Voting Rights Act and the Klu Klux Klan Act, the lawsuit said. “We will take all necessary steps to stop the intimidation and harassment of seniors and all Arizonans who exercise their precious right to vote,” Saundra Cole, president of the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, said in a statement. The lawsuit asks U.S. District Judge Michael Liburdi, a Trump appointee, to impose a temporary restraining order blocking Clean Elections’ ballot-monitoring activities. Groups falsely claiming that election fraud is a widespread problem in the United States have been urging their members to register as poll watchers and election workers, building on a campaign of harassment of election workers that began in the lead-up to the 2020 election. (Reporting by Moira Warburton; Editing by Scott Malone and Josie Kao) View the full article

Published by AFP Jailed US basketball player Brittney Griner is seen on a screen via a video link during a court hearing near Moscow on October 25, 2022 Krasnogorsk (Russia) (AFP) – A Russian court on Tuesday rejected an appeal from US basketball star Brittney Griner of her nine-year prison term on drug charges, dismissing her plea for the “traumatic” sentence to be reduced. The court in Krasnogorsk near Moscow ruled to leave Griner’s August verdict “without change” in the case that came amid fierce tensions between Moscow and Washington over Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine. US President Joe Biden’s administration dismissed the ruling as “another sham judicial proceeding” that will keep Griner “wrongfully detained under intolerable circumstances” and vowed to continue pressing for her release. “The President has demonstrated that he is willing to go to extraordinary lengths and make tough decisions to bring Americans home,” US National Security advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement. Griner, a star in the Women’s National Basketball Association in the US, had pleaded by video link from her detention centre just outside the Russian capital for the sentence to be cut. “I really hope that the court will adjust this sentence because it has been very, very stressful and very traumatic,” Griner said. The 32-year-old was handed nine years in prison in August for possessing vape cartridges with a small quantity of cannabis oil, after she was arrested at a Moscow airport in February. Speaking slowly so her words could be translated into Russian, Griner asked the court for leniency given that the amount of cannabis found was “barely over the significant amount”. “I don’t understand the first court’s decision to give one year less than the max when I’ve been here almost eight months and people with more severe crimes have gotten less than what I was given,” she said. “So I just beg that the court… reassess my sentence.” Not expecting ‘miracles’ Griner’s lawyers said they were disappointed by Tuesday’s decision as it goes against standard legal practice. “Other defendants in similar criminal cases receive punishment in the form of a suspended sentence or a jail term not exceeding six years,” Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov said in a statement. “Thus, Brittney Griner remains one of the most severely punished defendants in Russia.” The lawyers said Griner is doing fine physically and that she spoke to her family last week on her birthday, but Tuesday’s decision was hard for Griner to take. “She had some hopes and these hopes vanished today,” Blagovolina told reports outside the court house. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the ruling “was not unexpected and Brittney Griner remains wrongly detained.” “It is time to bring this case to an end and bring BG home.” Griner’s lawyers hope to speak to her later this week about whether she wants to continue appealing the verdict in higher courts. When she was arrested, the two-time Olympic basketball gold medallist and Women’s NBA champion had been in Russia to play for the professional Yekaterinburg team, during her off-season from the Phoenix Mercury Women’s National Basketball Association side. She pleaded guilty to the charges, but said she did not intend to break the law or use the banned substance in Russia. Griner had testified that she had permission from a US doctor to use medicinal cannabis to relieve pain from her many injuries, and had never failed a drug test. The use of medical marijuana is not allowed in Russia. In August, Moscow said it was ready to discuss a prisoner swap for Griner, but there has been no apparent progress. Reports have suggested that Griner and another American jailed in Russia, Paul Whelan — a former US marine arrested in December 2018 and accused of spying — could be traded for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms trafficker serving 25 years in jail on a 2012 conviction. View the full article

Published by AFP Kanye West's partnership with Adidas helped him become a billionaire Berlin (AFP) – German sportswear giant Adidas said Tuesday it was ending its partnership with Kanye West after a series of anti-Semitic outbursts by the controversial rapper. Recent comments by West — now known formally as Ye — were “unacceptable, hateful and dangerous”, Adidas said in a statement. “After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately”. Adidas said it would “end production” of the highly successful “Yeezy” line designed together with West and “stop all payments to Ye and his companies”. The abrupt end to the collaboration between the sports outfitter and rapper would slash Adidas’s net income in 2022 by “up to 250 million euros ($246 million)”, the company estimated. Adidas’s decision to dump the artist was “overdue”, said Josef Schuster of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. “For weeks, West has caused worldwide furore with his anti-Semitic remarks,” Schuster said, adding that the rapper’s comments had become “intolerable”. T-shirt statement Adidas began a review of its relationship with West earlier this month after he appeared at a Paris fashion show wearing a shirt emblazoned with “White Lives Matter”, a slogan created as a backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement. Days later he was locked out of Twitter and Instagram for threatening to “Go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE”, using a reference to US military readiness. Comments made by West “violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness”, Adidas said Tuesday. The artist was associated with rival sportswear company Nike for years but broke away in 2013, lending his name to Adidas as they launched their first Yeezy shoe together in 2015 — a partnership that went on to make him a billionaire. Along with Beyonce, Stella McCartney and Pharrell Williams, West’s has been one of the top names used by Adidas to boost sales, especially online. Adidas’s announcement was followed later Tuesday by US company Gap, which said it was taking “immediate steps to remove Yeezy Gap product from our stores” in addition to shutting down YeezyGap.com. West and Gap had announced in September that they planned to end their partnership, although Gap said at the time it planned to release several co-branded products already in development. Paris-based fashion house Balenciaga also ended ties with the rapper last week, saying it “no longer (has) any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist”. One of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies, CAA, said on Monday it was dropping West, while film and TV producer MRC said it was shelving an already-finished documentary about the artist. Inflammatory remarks Adidas’s decision would stop West from “using the company’s immense platform to amplify his hateful ideology about Jews”, the World Jewish Congress said in a statement. The German group’s “delayed move” in response to the anti-Semitic comments had come after “massive public outcry”, the WJC said. Rights campaigners and entertainment world figures had heaped pressure on Adidas to stop working with the rapper. “Those who continue to do business with West are giving his misguided hate an audience”, wrote Hollywood super-agent Ari Emanuel in the Financial Times. “There should be no tolerance anywhere for West’s anti-Semitism.” West’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian also appeared to join the pile-on, without mentioning the father of her children by name. “Hate speech is never OK or excusable,” she wrote Monday on Twitter and Instagram. “I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end.” Adidas fell on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange following its announcement, finishing 3.2 percent lower. View the full article

Published by Euronews (English) Swifties rejoice! Taylor Swift’s latest album ‘Midnights’ has already surpassed 1 million units in the US, making it the top-selling album of 2022 so far. Hardly surprising considering that it’s Taylor Swift we’re talking about, a national treasure who must be protected at all costs and who just seems to be getting better and better with every record she graces us with. These are just facts. But it’s also worth noting that ‘Midnights’ broke the Spotify record for the highest number of streams on the first day of a release and has the largest sales week for any album since 2017, setting a moder… Read More View the full article

Published by The Boot Actor and comedian Leslie Jordan wasn’t done with country music yet, and a new interview makes it clear country music hadn’t had enough of him, either. Jordan — who died on Monday (Oct. 24) at age 67 — sat down CBS News‘ Anthony Mason two weeks ago in Nashville for a piece scheduled to air in November. However, the tragic news accelerated what might end up being his final television interview. Watch the full career-encompassing interview below. Portions were filmed at Nashville’s Eastside Bowl, where Jordan was filming a new music video with country duo LoCash and “The Git Up” singer Blanco Br… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Dolly Parton enjoyed a “special bond” with Leslie Jordan. The actor was killed in a car crash in Los Angeles on Monday morning (24.10.22), and Dolly has now paid a glowing tribute to the TV star. Dolly, 76, said in a statement: “Well, I am as hurt and shocked as if I have lost a family member. Leslie and I had a special bond, I think the world felt they had a special bond with him. “I know people always say ‘Oh, they will be missed,’ but in this case that could not be more true. He will be missed by everyone who knew him personally and by everyone who was entertained by him. Rest in peace lil’ brother.” Jordan was starring on the FOX sitcom, ‘Call Me Kat’, at the time of his death. And FOX Entertainment has also paid tribute to the late actor, describing Jordan as the “kindest person you could ever imagine” and the “truest of Southern gentlemen”. FOX said in a statement: “We are shocked and devastated by today’s tragic passing of Leslie Jordan. Leslie was far more than an Emmy Award-winning comedic talent with whom we’ve laughed alongside for all these years. “He was the kindest person you could ever imagine who simply lit up a room and brought pure joy and huge smiles to millions of people around the world. The truest of Southern gentlemen, Leslie carried an infectious exuberance, indelible sense of humour and, throughout, gifted us with countless fond memories that will last forever. “As we grieve this sad news, we also wish to extend our most profound sympathies to Leslie’s family, friends and fans, whom he held so dear.” View the full article

Published by DPA Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, speaks during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, following their meeting in Doha. Kay Nietfeld/dpa Qatar’s emir on Tuesday lashed out at the extent of criticim on the country’s hosting of the upcoming football World Cup, speaking of an “unprecedented campaign.” Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said in Doha that Qatar had initially believed that “some criticism could be positive and helpful” for the country’s development. But he said that that there is too much criticism on the staging of the November 20-December 18 tournament. “Ever since we have had the honour to stage the World Cup Qatar has been the subject of an unprecedented campaign that no host country has ever faced,” he said. The emir spoke of fabrications and double standards and that many people were questioning the real reasons and motives for the criticism, without giving details. Qatar has been criticised for many years over the treatment of migrant workers in the country. Reforms have been carried out but rights groups have said that more has to be done. The country has lately also come under attack in connection with the LGBTIQ+ community and the criminalisation of homosexuality. View the full article

Published by The Street By Danni Button Tori didn’t set out to be a financial influencer, but with great knowledge comes great responsibility. It’s not easy to find truly effective financial advice. Sure, there are more than enough voices online and on bookshelves that can give you standard tips for how to sort out your money. But will it actually work for you? After all, everyone’s relationship with money is different based on their diverse lived experiences. This is the gospel according to Tori Dunlop, the blogger and finance influencer who founded finance website HerFirst100K. She’s made it her mission to make fin… Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet By David Badash,The New Civil Rights Movement Governor Ron DeSantis twitched and appeared stunned when his Democratic opponent, former U.S. Congressman and former governor Charlie Crist asked if the Florida Republican would commit to serving the full four years if re-elected. “Ron, you talk about Joe Biden a lot. I understand, you think you’re going to be running against him, I can see how you might get confused, but you’re running for governor. You’re running for governor. And I have a question for you,” Crist said, hammering his points home. “Why don’t you look in the eyes of the people of t… Read More View the full article

Published by Global Voices A Klinika Bernardo nurse waiting for patients at the Philippines’ first Sundown Clinic (Raymund Villanueva/Kodao) This article by Raymund B. Villanueva was originally published on Kodao, an independent news site in the Philippines. An edited version is republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement. This story was made possible through a grant by the Philippine Press Institute under the auspices of the Hanns Seidel Foundation. “MM” [name changed for anonymity purposes] became a commercial sex worker soon after he became sexually active. He had earned a college degree and w… Read More View the full article

Published by Taste of Country Country stars are among the many who turned to social media to pay tribute to actor and singer Leslie Jordan after his untimely death on Monday (Oct. 24) at the age of 67. Jimmie Allen, Ty Herndon, Dolly Parton and more shared their tributes to Jordan, who died in Los Angeles on Monday after his car veered off the road and struck a building. Local law enforcement initially told TMZ that they suspect Jordan might have suffered a medical emergency that led to the crash. “LJ Rest In Love brother,” Allen writes. “Thanks for the talks and the 6am texts. You brought a smile to so many people.” Parto… Read More View the full article

Published by The Kansas City Star The weekend after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids spoke to a gathering of volunteers prepared to knock on doors ahead of Kansas’ August vote on abortion rights. At the time, campaigners and observers alike believed the vote — the first on abortion rights in the country — would be close. Davids, who was running unopposed in the Democratic primary, threw her political weight behind the vote-no effort. Come Election Day, the effort paid off. Abortion rights won big and Democrats found hope that they could stave off losses in what was expected to be a … Read More View the full article

Published by The Kansas City Star In 2018, we said Laura Kelly was the clear choice for Kansas governor, pointing out her “practical yet determined plan” to repair the fiscal damage of her predecessors. She executed that plan. Today, we strongly endorse Kelly, a Democrat and the incumbent governor, for the second term she now seeks. Kansans should not forget the disaster Kelly inherited when she took office in 2019. The state was still reeling from the tax cut “experiment” of former Gov. Sam Brownback, which led to cratering revenues and underfunded schools. Remember endless special sessions? Last-minute budget transfers? Plum… Read More View the full article

Published by The Charlotte Observer CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An untrue rumor that litter boxes are being placed in schools for students who dress up in furry costumes and identify as cats has made its way to two North Carolina school districts — despite the claim being easily debunked. After hearing chatter about litter boxes inside schools, an employee at North Lincoln High School in Lincolnton decided to put the rumor to rest. “There is nobody identifying as a cat at North Lincoln High School and we have no litter boxes!!!” the employee posted in a local Facebook group last month. “Quit spreading this stupidity!” A similar claim from… Read More View the full article

Published by uInterview.com Mary J. Blige visited the White House on Monday and gave an emotional speech about losing family to cancer at the kickoff event for several roundtables with organizations like The American Cancer Society. After the speech, Blige was seen being comforted by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden as the two of them held hands. “I lost aunts, not an aunt, but several family members to breast cancer,” Blige mentioned. “Grandmother to cervical cancer… and it just keeps going on and on.” The singer said she wished that her family had options for screenings to go get before it was too late, and noted the role of … Read More View the full article

Published by Fort Worth Star-Telegram FORT WORTH, Texas — A poll affiliated with the Democratic Policy Institute has Beto O’Rourke tailing Gov. Greg Abbott by 3 points in the race for Texas governor, a margin narrower than other recent polls. The poll was released Sunday, ahead of Monday’s start of early voting. Beacon Research surveyed 1,264 registered Texas voters between Oct. 15 and 19 for the nonprofit, which describes itself as developing “common sense policies that meet the needs and desires of the majority of our citizens.” The organization’s principal officer is Najy A. Metni, according to IRS documents — an O’Rourke donor… Read More View the full article