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Published by Reuters By Andrew Chung (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court last March rebuffed an emergency request by North Carolina Republicans to allow the use in November’s congressional elections of an electoral map they drew that a lower court invalidated for unlawfully disadvantaging Democrats. It was a short-term setback for the North Carolina Republicans, but they soon will get a chance to claim a bigger legal victory. Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested at the time that the justices take up the underlying legal dispute, one that could provide state legislators around the country the ability to enact election policies with less judicial oversight – a Republican goal. The Supreme Court in June announced it would hear the case in its new term, which begins on Monday. This showed the increasing willingness of its 6-3 conservative majority take on divisive issues as it steers the court on a rightward path. Following a term when its conservatives delivered blockbuster rulings curtailing abortion access and widening gun rights, the court returns from a summer recess ready to tackle more major cases. Potential rulings in upcoming cases could end affirmative action policies used by colleges and universities to increase campus racial diversity, hobble a federal law called the Voting Rights Act and make it easier for businesses to refuse service to LGBT people based on free-speech rights. “The justices are taking things that are causing real conflicts around the country, they’re taking issues even if there’s a lot of media attention, even if it’s a hot-button issue – and they’re going to decide it anyway,” said Megan Wold, an attorney and former law clerk to conservative Justice Samuel Alito. The addition of three justices appointed by Republican former President Donald Trump – Neil Gorsuch in 2017, Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 and Amy Coney Barrett in 2020 – gave the court its current conservative supermajority. According to Irv Gornstein, executive director of Georgetown University Law Center’s Supreme Court Institute, Kavanaugh now wields outsized influence over the speed and limits of the court’s rightward shift. Gornstein called Kavanaugh the “median justice.” He does not appear as far to the right as Justices Clarence Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch and Barrett, while Chief Justice John Roberts – an incrementalist conservative – and liberal Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson are to Kavanaugh’s left. Gornstein noted during a recent panel discussion in Washington that Kavanaugh has taken to opining on the limits of the majority’s rulings. In the abortion decision, for instance, he issued a separate opinion stating that interstate travel to obtain the procedure is constitutional. “Make no mistake, for now and for the foreseeable future, this is Justice Kavanaugh’s court,” Gornstein said. In its most recent term, there were 14 rulings decided on a 6-3 tally with the conservative justices on one side and the liberals on the other. That is up from 10 on strictly ideological lines the previous term, according to legal scholar Adam Feldman, who tracks court data at a website called “Empirical Scotus.” In the abortion decision, the court ruled 6-3 to uphold the restrictive Mississippi law at issue, though Roberts opposed outright overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade precedent. Similarly decided on 6-3 votes were the gun rights expansion, cases from Maine and Washington state favoring religious rights and another case that made it harder for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue rules addressing climate change. The court appears likely to continue to take up cases particularly important to conservatives, Feldman said. “They can look for cases that are going to be more ideological because even the weakest link on the right is still pretty far to the right,” Feldman added. MORE TRANSFORMATION Further transformation in U.S. law appears likely this term. Two cases could have profound implications for elections in 2024 and beyond. In the North Carolina case involving the Republican-drawn map of the state’s 14 U.S. House of Representatives districts, Republican lawmakers are advocating for a legal theory gaining popularity among conservatives that could restrict the power of state courts to review actions by state legislatures concerning federal elections. Endorsing the theory would undermine democratic norms, according to critics, even as Republicans at the state level pursue restrictive voting policies and electoral maps skewed in their favor. Alabama in another case is defending its Republican-drawn map of the state’s seven U.S. House districts that a lower court struck down as discriminatory against Black voters in violation of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Also closely watched are cases involving race-conscious student admissions programs used by Harvard University and the University of North Carolina to foster campus racial diversity. A group led by an anti-affirmative action activist challenged those policies as unlawfully discriminatory against Asian American and white applicants. The court will hear an evangelical Christian web designer’s free speech claim that she cannot be forced under a Colorado anti-discrimination law to produce websites for same-sex marriages. The court did not resolve that issue in a 2018 ruling in favor of a Christian Denver-area baker who refused on religious grounds to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. Other important cases could make it easier to build on property deemed wetlands without needing a permit under the federal Clean Water Act, or, in a case involving Taser-maker Axon Enterprise Inc, to challenge the authority of federal regulatory agencies without first undergoing an enforcement action. (Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Michelle Visage praises Virgin Atlantic bosses for scrapping the airline’s gendered uniform policy. The company has long been known for the smart red jackets and skirts – designed by Vivienne Westwood – worn by the female cabin crew members while male staff have been seen in burgundy trousers and blazers but workers will now be able to choose which uniform they want to wear as part of an update to the company’s gender identity policy. They’ve announced the news in a publicity campaign fronted by ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ star Michelle, who said of the changes: “As the mother of a non-binary child, and as an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, these efforts by Virgin Atlantic to further inclusivity for its people are extremely important and personal to me. “People feel empowered when they are wearing what best represents them, and this gender identity policy allows people to embrace who they are and bring their full selves to work.” Virgin Atlantic cabin crew member Jaime Forsstroem added: “The updated gender identity policy is so important to me. As a non-binary person, it allows me to be myself at work and have the choice in what uniform I wear.” The airline is also introducing optional pronoun badges for staff and travellers as well as updating ticketing systems to allow passengers to use gender neutral gender markers ‘U’ or ‘X’ and the gender-neutral title, ‘Mx’. Juha Jarvinen, Virgin Atlantic’s Chief Commercial Officer, commented: “At Virgin Atlantic, we believe that everyone can take on the world, no matter who they are. That’s why it’s so important that we enable our people to embrace their individuality and be their true selves at work. “It is for that reason that we want to allow our people to wear the uniform that best suits them and how they identify and ensure our customers are addressed by their preferred pronouns.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega A former executive of the Church of Scientology addressed the longtime speculation surrounding John Travolta‘s sexuality, revealing he once saw the actor kiss another man on the mouth, RadarOnline.com has learned. Mike Rinder, who was a high-level bigwig in the church before leaving in 2007, said he was in charge of damage control regarding the whispers surrounding Travolta’s sexual preference. Rinder claimed he witnessed the Pulp Fiction actor, now 68, nonchalantly kiss a male masseur while discussing “some public relations issues” in Travolta’s hotel room. Mega During their meeting, the ex-Scientologist alleged Travolta’s male masseur walked into the room wearing only a bathrobe and planted a kiss on the star’s lips. “‘I’ll be in soon,’ John said as the masseur headed toward the bedroom,” Rinder wrote in his bombshell book, A Billion Years: My Escape from a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology. Expressing his surprise over the alleged kiss, he said, “That was pretty shocking, right in front of a senior Scientology official. It was just not done. I guess it was indicative of the trust he placed on me.” Rinder — who co-hosted Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath — added this wasn’t the first time Travolta has been linked to alleged male lovers. Mega “Since the beginning of the ’90s, Travolta had been hounded by stories from various alleged male lovers, including one of his former pilots as well as a porn star,” Rinder wrote in his explosive book. When it came time to fight the rumors, the ex-Scientologist said he and the church did what they do best. “Realizing the potential PR damage a story of gay sex would have on the perfect Scientology couple of John and Kelly [Preston, Travolta’s then-wife, we dug up dirt on the sources and threatened the media with lawsuits,” Rinder claimed. The church has claimed it’s not anti-gay, “yet the threat of a story describing a Scientologist as gay would cause panic internally because for a Scientologist, not being ‘cured’ of homosexuality would indicate, that the tech doesn’t work,” he added. Mega “Much has been made of John’s sexuality and whatever the realities of his sexual orientation may be, I firmly believe he would be more open about it, were not for the stigma he feels due to his strong belief in Scientology,” Rinder added. RadarOnline.com has reached out to Travolta’s rep for comment. As for the Church of Scientology, a spokesperson hit back at the long list of allegations made in Rinder’s book. “Mike Rinder is an inveterate liar who seeks to profit from his dishonesty … He supports himself by orchestrating the harassment of his former Church and its leader through false police reports, incendiary propaganda and fraudulent media stories,” the representative stated. Travolta married Kelly Preston in 1991. Their marriage weathered the storm, including the death of their son Jett in 2009. Preston died after a battle with breast cancer in July 2020. She gave Scientology credit for helping her through Jett’s death. View the full article

Published by New York Daily News Netflix has removed an LGBTQ tag from its latest Ryan Murphy-created true-crime drama, following widespread backlash. “Monster: The Jeffery Dahmer Story” tells the chilling story of one of the nation’s most notorious serial killers, who killed 17 men and boys, some as young as 14, between 1978 and 1991. Most of them were people of color. The series, which is currently Netflix’s most watched show in the U.S. and several other countries, premiered on Friday. As some viewers pointed out on social media, Netflix used an “LGBTQ” tag to categorize the series. But shortly after its debut, several Twi… Read More View the full article

Published by DPA Artemis Technologies hydrofoiling workboat "Pioneer" out on Belfast Lough as the company unveiled plans for a 100% electric ferry. Brian Lawless/PA Wire/dpa Design plans for a zero emission 100% electric “flying” ferry have been unveiled. The EF-24 Passenger vessel uses cutting-edge hydrofoil technology to lift the craft out of the water, enabling it to sail above the waves. Maritime design company hydrofoil has described it as a “game changer” for the global high-speed ferry market. Raising the hull above the water dramatically cuts drag, delivering estimated fuel cost savings of up to 85% compared to conventional diesel-powered ferries. Artemis’s eco-friendly eFoiler technology generates zero emissions when the ferry is sailing while also producing minimal wake and noise. Aside from the environmental and economic benefits, the company says hydrofoiling also ensures a smooth ride regardless of water conditions, thus reducing instances of sea sickness. Artemis Technologies, which is based in Belfast, is a spin-off from the Artemis Racing team that competed in the America’s Cup. Its founder and CEO Dr Iain Percy is a two-time Team GB Olympic sailing champion and four-time America’s Cup veteran. The ferry will come into service in 2024, running a pilot service between Belfast and the nearby city of Bangor. The 24-metre vessels will be able to carry 150 passengers. The first ferry built will be called Zero. It will have a top speed of 38 knots and a battery range of 115 nautical miles at a 25-knots cruise speed. The ferry, which was formally launched to the global market on Monday, is among several zero-emission vessels being developed by Artemis Technologies as part of a £60 million project to design and manufacture commercially-viable green transport solutions for the maritime industry. Earlier this year, it launched what it hailed as a “world first” commercially-viable hydrofoil workboat. The Pioneer can now be seen cruising above the waves on Belfast Lough outside Artemis’s manufacturing plant in the city’s docklands. Like America’s Cup racing yachts, the technology involves attaching hydrofoil wings to the hull with vertical struts. Much like a plane taking off on a runway, the underwater wings drive the vessel up and out of the water as it picks up speed. Dr Percy believes Artemis can be a world leader in delivering transport alternatives for congested cities. “The zero-emission ferry that will be seen departing Belfast in 2024, aptly named Zero, will be the first we build at our manufacturing hub in the city, but it is only the start,” he said. “Many water-based cities around the world are grappling with the challenge of growing populations, congestion and pollution. “The EF-24 Passenger can provide an immediate green transport solution that competes economically with road and rail in places like San Francisco, New York, Venice, Istanbul, Dubai and Singapore – anywhere around the globe that is seeking sustainable transport alternatives that balance the requirement for people to continue to move around with the need to reduce carbon emissions. “Especially where new infrastructure is required like a new road or rail line, this ferry will not only be the cheapest, but also the fastest and least disruptive way to decarbonise transport networks in water-based cities.” Artemis has partnered with Condor Ferries to operate the Belfast-Bangor pilot scheme. The ferries will be fully accessible, with facilities on board including bike racks, cabin bag and overhead storage, baby-changing facilities and charging points. The vessels will also feature a new high-speed collision avoidance system developed in conjunction with tech experts from Queen’s University Belfast. Artemis leads the Belfast Maritime Consortium, which includes manufacturers, universities and local councils in Northern Ireland. View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Embattled congressman Matt Gaetz failed to garner nearly enough viewers to his newly launched streaming channel on Twitch, RadarOnline.com has learned. In a surprising development to come just days after Gaetz announced he would be launching his channel on the popular streaming platform, the 40-year-old congressman from Florida only received six viewers when it debuted on Thursday. Mega That is the revelation made in a newly published Independent report that compared Gaetz’s whopping 1.7 million followers on Twitter to the minuscule 1,600 followers he received on Twitch. The outlet also pointed out that although Gaetz has followers on Twitch, only six of those 1,600 tuned in to watch his stream. Gaetz’s inaugural livestream lasted 30 minutes and focused on a series of different topics, including the January 6 Capitol riots, the victim of a popular right-wing conspiracy theory named Ray Epps, and “wokeism” spreading in public schools throughout America. Gaetz was also joined by Darren Beattie, the former speechwriter to ex-President Donald Trump, as the pair discussed the myriad of different and controversial topics. Mega Even more surprising are reports that Gaetz left the chat for his stream running long after he signed off, resulting in a number of the congressman’s detractors storming the channel and leaving vulgar comments and unpleasant images for him – including many images allegedly depicting male genitalia. One of Twitch’s most popular streamers, named Hasan Piker, took to Twitter to criticize Gaetz’s decision to join the streaming platform. “This is certainly what we needed on the platform,” Piker tweeted sarcastically. Gaetz’s own account quickly retweeted the post, writing, “I agree. Thanks for tuning in [Hasan Piker]. Don’t forget to subscribe!” Other Twitch users ridiculed the congressman for the ongoing federal sex trafficking probe into Gaetz, while even more users pointed out the fact Gaetz joined Twitch just one day after a bombshell report revealed there is “widespread child predation” on the platform. Mega As RadarOnline.com previously reported, his new Twitch channel and the platform’s users mocking Gaetz over the sexual trafficking investigation into him came shortly after federal prosecutors recommended not charging Gaetz over the allegations against him. According to federal prosecutors, the testimonies of two key witnesses in the case against the congressman would most likely fail to convince a jury to convict Gaetz. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sarah N. Lynch and Chris Gallagher WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The trial of Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, and four others began on Tuesday in what will be the most high-profile case so far in the Justice Department’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Rhodes and his co-defendants Kelly Meggs, Thomas Caldwell, Jessica Watkins and Kenneth Harrelson are the first people in more than 10 years to face federal charges of seditious conspiracy under a Civil War-era statute that is rarely prosecuted and carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Seditious conspiracy is defined as two or more people plotting “to overthrow, put down or to destroy by force the government of the United States.” Supporters of former President Donald Trump, a Republican, stormed the U.S. Capitol in a failed attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden after Trump falsely claimed the election had been stolen from him. Five people died during and shortly after the riot, and about 140 police were injured. The Oath Keepers is an anti-government militia whose membership includes current and former U.S. military and law enforcement personnel. The five accused Oath Keeper defendants also face charges of conspiring to obstruct and obstructing an official proceeding, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, and conspiring to prevent an officer from discharging duties. In addition, the defendants who physically entered the Capitol building – Watkins, Meggs and Harrelson – are charged with property destruction. Watkins separately faces a civil disorder charge, while the other four are each charged with tampering for allegedly trying to destroy evidence. VIDEO CLIPS, TEXT MESSAGES The indictment against the five alleges they plotted to use force to oppose the peaceful transfer of power from Trump to Biden. Prosecutors have also said the defendants trained and planned for Jan. 6, the day Congress met to certify Biden’s win. Prosecutors say Rhodes led and coordinated the alleged plot, which involved the defendants setting up a “quick reaction force” and stockpiling weapons at a northern Virginia hotel. The indictment alleges Caldwell helped coordinate the quick reaction force teams, while Watkins, Harrelson and Meggs are accused of storming into the Capitol building in military-like formation. They are not accused of carrying guns onto Capitol grounds. Jury selection started on Tuesday and is expected to last for several days. The entire trial could last for six or seven weeks. On Tuesday, U.S. Judge Amit Mehta said that of the 150 prospective jurors who had filled out questionnaires, 29 had already been struck from the list based on the answers they provided. Mehta denied a request by the defense to move the trial to a different venue amid concerns they could not find enough impartial jurors. He noted that of the 150 prospective jurors, 40% indicated they had never heard of the Oath Keepers, while another 45% said they have not watched any of the televised congressional hearings on the Jan. 6 attack. The judge ordered a group of 30 prospective jurors to avoid watching or reading any news coverage about another congressional hearing due to begin on Tuesday. The trial is expected to feature testimony from dozens of witnesses, as well as video clips from the day of the attack, and both audio and text message exchanges among the defendants. Attorneys for some of the defendants are expected to argue that their clients believed they could be called to action if Trump invoked the Insurrection Act, a law that empowers the president to deploy troops to suppress civil disorder. However, they will not be permitted to claim that Trump ordered them to march on the Capitol or asked them to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election results. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Chris Gallagher, Editing by Ross Colvin and Alistair Bell) View the full article

Published by Reuters UK By Alvise Armellini and Chiara Rodriquez ROME (Reuters) – The LGBT community has “very real fears” after a conservative bloc dominated by the far-right won Italy’s general election, a leading gay rights campaigner told Reuters. The nationalist Brothers of Italy group, led by Giorgia Meloni, emerged as the largest party in the ballot and will lead the most right-wing government in Rome since World War Two. “Unfortunately there are very real fears” about an erosion of civil rights under the new administration, Fabrizio Marrazzo of the Gay Party said. Meloni is allied with the League, another far… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate will take an initial vote on a stopgap spending measure on Tuesday to keep federal agencies running past the end of this week, while Congress continues to negotiate bills to fund the government through the next fiscal year. President Joe Biden’s Democrats control both chambers of Congress and are expected to avoid an embarrassing partial government shutdown just six weeks before the Nov. 8 midterm elections, when control of Congress will be at stake. The bill, which would extend overall government funding through Dec. 16, calls for $12.3 billion in new money to help Ukraine turn back Russia’s invasion, House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro said in a statement. This includes new military and economic assistance. In addition, the measure authorizes Biden to direct the drawdown of up to $3.7 billion for the transfer to Ukraine of excess weapons from U.S. stocks. In early September, Biden requested $11.7 billion in military and economic aid. Amid reports of Russian forces threatening the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants and Russian President Vladimir Putin hinting that he might use nuclear weapons against Ukraine, the legislation would appropriate $35 million “to prepare for and respond to potential nuclear and radiological incidents in Ukraine,” according to a summary of the bill. Congress has resorted to this kind of last-minute temporary spending bill in 43 out of the past 46 years due to its failure to approve full-year appropriations in time for the Oct. 1 start of a federal fiscal year, according to a government study. A Tuesday evening Senate procedural vote is designed to speed action once Democrats and Republicans put the finishing touches on legislation. MANCHIN’S PERMITTING BILL A BARRIER The first vote’s outcome was unclear because of a fight over an add-on by Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who pressed to include an unrelated measure to speed up the government’s permitting process for energy projects. The proposed legislation includes permitting reform provisions and directs $250 million from the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act to “improve and accelerate reviews for designated projects.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged his fellow Republicans to vote against the temporary funding bill because of the Manchin provision, Politico reported. A McConnell aide did not respond to requests for comment. Some Democrats and environmentalists also are opposed, fearing it would spark more development of fossil fuel projects at a time when the effects of climate change from carbon emissions are accelerating. While Republicans normally favor quicker government reviews of fossil fuel projects, they have been angry at Manchin since he helped Democrats pass a bill this summer addressing climate change and lowering some healthcare costs. “This is a positive movement. And I would hope my friends would look at it that way,” Manchin said in an interview with CNN, referring to the inclusion of his permitting reforms in the temporary funding bill. But Senator Richard Shelby, the senior Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement: “If the Democrats insist on including permitting reform, I will oppose” advancing this temporary funding bill.” SPENDING BILL STILL EXPECTED TO PASS Even if Tuesday’s procedural vote fails, House and Senate leaders are expected to switch gears to promptly pass the spending bill by their Friday midnight deadline. That is when government agencies run out of money with Saturday’s start of a new fiscal year. Also included is a five-year renewal of Food and Drug Administration user fees being collected from drug and medical device companies to review their products and determine whether they are safe and effective, the bill summary showed. The law authorizing the collection of fees expires on Friday. Fresh funding for coronavirus aid and monkeypox vaccines that had been sought by Democrats did not make it into the legislation. DeLauro said she would continue pushing for such funding. With cold winter weather looming across the United States, the legislation provides an additional $1 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program “to help address pressure on low-income households’ pocketbooks due to inflation,” DeLauro said. The last time Congress allowed funding to lapse was in December 2018, when Democrats balked at paying for then-President Donald Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall. Following a record, 35-day impasse and partial government shutdown, Trump found ways to circumvent Congress to some degree, but the wall never was completed. (Reporting by Richard Cowan; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey and Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Scott Malone, Josie Kao and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by Chicago Tribune Transgender and nonbinary teens and young adults — who experience anxiety and depression at higher rates than others — often feel less mental distress after surgery to remove their breasts, according to a study out of Northwestern Medicine published Monday. It’s a finding that comes as a number of states are attempting to ban gender-confirming surgery for people younger than 18, and as hospitals, including in Chicago, have been criticized, and sometimes threatened, for the care they provide to transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming children. “Our findings are that top surgery (to remo… Read More View the full article

Published by New York Daily News “Dilbert” cartoonist Scott Adams’ recent announcement that his popular comic strip exploring the office culture grind was being trimmed out of dozens of newspapers is drawing renewed attention to the 65-year-old creator’s many controversies and sometimes NSFW politics, which have taken on a life of their own over the years. “Dilbert was cancelled in 77 newspapers this week,” the Windham, New York, native tweeted last week. The papers said to have cut ties with Dilbert are owned by Lee Enterprises, which reportedly revamped its funny pages in print and did away with numerous comic strips. Adams… Read More View the full article

Published by The Spun By Matt Hladik A pair of Kim Mulkey’s former players at Baylor are speaking out about their head coach’s silence on Brittney Griner. Asked by a reporter Monday for comment on Griner, who remains in a Russian prison, Mulkey declined to speak. The two-time national champion coach and her former star had a falling out after Griner accused Mulkey of telling players to remain quiet about being gay. Queen Egbo closed out her Baylor career this past season and played for Mulkey for three seasons before the coach left for LSU. The 2022 WNBA first-round pick blasted her former leader on Twitter. “A pla… Read More View the full article

Published by Miami Herald Six decades after Fidel Castro imprisoned gay men in forced labor camps and later sent them to Florida during the Mariel boatlift, Cuban same-sex couples will be able to marry and adopt children, after voters on the island ratified a new family code with 67% of the vote in a controversial referendum Sunday. The new code was ratified with only 47% of eligible voters casting a Yes vote, or 3,936,790 ballots out of the 8,447,467 eligible voters. Total participation, the government said, was 74%, an unusually high abstention rate for Cuba, where the government traditionally pressures citizens to v… Read More View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott are reportedly in the midst of a heated GOP rivalry following DeSantis’ controversial Martha’s Vineyard stunt earlier this month, RadarOnline.com has learned. In a surprising development to come after the two governors were seemingly on good terms, the two men’s political relationship has started to crumble after DeSantis failed to inform anyone on Abbott’s team of his plan to collect nearly 50 migrants in San Antonio and fly them to Massachusetts on September 14. Mega That is the revelation made in a newly published New York Times report that indicated DeSantis not only annoyed those in Martha’s Vineyard with his widely condemned stunt, but also fellow Republicans in Texas – particularly some of Abbott’s closest allies and aides. The new rivalry seemingly comes because Abbott was already in the process of relocating upwards of 11,000 Texas migrants to New York, Washington and Chicago in a well-orchestrated “relocation program” meant to protest the Biden Administration’s allegedly lax immigration policies. But months later, and after spending millions of Texas tax dollars on his efforts, Abbott was forced to sit and watch as the “national spotlight” shined on DeSantis’s Martha’s Vineyard stunt – despite the fact DeSantis only relocated a small margin of the number of migrants Abbott has relocated in recent months. Even more shocking is the fact that both governors have reportedly been engaged in “an increasingly high-stakes contest of one-upmanship” for years, with one governor introducing new policies in their state only for the other governor to follow suit in their state shortly after. Mega For example, Abbott proposed new legislation in August 2020 that would punish cities in Texas that chose to decrease funding for the police by stopping those cities from raising property tax revenue. One month later, DeSantis followed suit and threatened to cut state funding to Florida cities that cut funding for the police. Then, in June 2021, DeSantis signed into law a bill that prevents transgender girls from playing on female-only sports teams in his state’s public-school districts. That October, Abbott signed a nearly identical bill into law in Texas. But despite DeSantis and Abbott’s apparent rivalry and “high-stakes contest of one-upmanship,” others have suggested both men’s newfound animosity towards each other is a result of the quickly nearing 2024 presidential election. Mega “No one has ever been elected governor of even a small state who didn’t, somewhere deep in their heart, start dreaming about being president,” Chris Wilson, a pollster who has previously worked for both governors, recently said. “So it’s not shocking to see both Abbott and DeSantis jockeying at least a little toward 2024 or beyond,” Wilson added. View the full article

Published by New York Daily News When the Supreme Court begins its new term Monday, one of the most consequential cases involves not guns, abortion, gay rights or COVID-19 mandates, but the way states determine how legislative lines are drawn and votes are counted. If the conservative supermajority embraces the radical “independent state legislature” theory, it will deal a body blow to the integrity of American elections. Last year, after North Carolina legislators engaged in an extreme partisan gerrymander favoring Republicans, the state’s Supreme Court, citing clear violations of the state constitution, struck down the map…. Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet By David Badash,The New Civil Rights Movement A far right Republican state lawmaker in Pennsylvania who has worked to get prayer into schools is pushing a “Don’t Say Gay” bill and bragging that it goes even “further” than Florida’s, but wants it to be even broader. Republican state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz denies her legislation is a “Don’t Say Gay” bill, but as PennLive reports it states public and charter schools “may not offer instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity to a student in kindergarten through fifth grade.” Rep. Borowicz admits that although her bill expands on Florida’… Read More View the full article

Published by BOOM Live By The Conversation The rise of far-right politician Giorgia Meloni has left many outside Italy asking how her brand of what many argue is fascism can achieve such prominence in a country that has experienced life under the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini. The answer can be traced back to a recent normalisation of reactionary politics. In truth, the existence of a far-right government in Italy is not entirely without precedent in the post-war era. Between 1994 and 2011 a speciously labelled “centre-right” alliance – consisting of Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia (FI), various iterations of a … Read More View the full article

Published by Chicago Tribune “The movie I want to make?” Billy Eichner, co-writer and star of “Bros,” asked that in a conversation he recalls having during the development phase of “Bros.” with his director and co-writer Nicholas Stoller and producer Judd Apatow. “I said to Nick right off the bat,” Eichner is telling me, “even before we knew what the story was going to be: As much as I love ‘When Harry Met Sally’ we can’t just do ‘When Harry Met Sally,’ slip in two gay guys and have that be authentic to gay men’s experience.” Their response? “We don’t want you to hold back.” A year or so later, there they were, pitching t… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Normani hopes to “inspire” people through her music and her sense of style. The 26-year-old star – who shot to fame as a teenager as part of Fifth Harmony – wants to be remembered as someone who “didn’t play by the rules”. Asked how she sees herself, Normani replied: “That I really did my best to make a difference and really inspire. I feel like anytime that I talk about music, I always come back to representation. The passing of the baton, of passing of the torch. “I just pray that I do enough in order to make enough strides for the next generation to be able to start where I finish, and make the experience a bit easier, the way that those before me have for me. Not to say that I haven’t been doing anything, because it’s going to be a challenge of some sort, but I hope that I can make it a little bit easier.” The ‘Motivation’ hitmaker believes black women have been underrepresented in the entertainment industry for far too long. She told Girls United: “Representation has always been important to me and growing up, I didn’t always feel like I had that, to be able to look at the TV and see myself. “This is why the artists that I look up to mean so much to me and carry so much weight, but especially in the beauty space, I would say that it was sparse.” Normani also conceded that she’s gone through a personal evolution since she embarked on her solo career. The singer explained: “Me at 15 is fairly different than me at 26, and granted that comes with time and just evolution and experience.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online netflix Joe Exotic‘s former attorney is accusing the imprisoned reality star of becoming a drug dealer behind bars. Francisco Hernandez claimed the Tiger King star — real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage — admitted to him that he is using his Netflix earnings and fan donations to buy illicit substances. Hernandez discussed the alleged confession in a 147-page court filing, where he also addressed Exotic’s accusations that the lawyer had mismanaged his case. mega “Unbeknownst to Mr. Hernandez, some payments that Mr. Maldonado-Passage directed Mr. Hernandez to make [from his account] were cloaked payments for drug transactions in the prison,” Hernandez’s lawyer Roland Johnson said in the court documents. “Indeed, Mr. Maldonado-Passage would lie to Mr. Hernandez, referring to the payments as expenses for tiger food, among other descriptions.” The lawsuit further stated that Hernandez did not discover how the payments were truly being used until September 2021 — just over two years after the beginning of his 2019 trial — after the Netflix star was caught with a burner phone and later told Hernandez the truth about his alleged drug dealing. “Of course, Mr. Hernandez told Mr. Maldonado-Passage to cease facilitating the drug payments,” the court filing read. mega As Radar previously reported, Exotic was found guilty of over a dozen counts of wildlife crimes as well as two counts of hiring hitmen to kill his business rival Carol Baskin. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2020. However, the sentence was later adjusted to 21 years in January 2022, after a judge ruled they had used “improper sentencing guidelines” in the initial trial. Prior to the resentencing, the 59-year-old had been attempting to campaign for his release to get proper medical treatment following his diagnosis with prostate cancer. Exotic was fearful that between his already failing health and the ongoing pandemic, he would die in prison. mega “All medical treatment has been canceled. We now have Delta Covid in here. We are on lockdown,” the television personality explained at the time. “They pulled some positive inmates out of my unit. With this many guards going home, no mask in the community, and coming back – there is no way to avoid this.” Exotic is currently scheduled to be released from prison in 2037. The Sun was first to report Hernandez’ claims about Exotic’s alleged drug dealing. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Meghan, Duchess of Sussex dreamed of being “the Beyonce of the UK” when she married Prince Harry, it has been claimed. The former ‘Suits’ actress was shocked by the rules and restrictions that governed royal life and even after she and her husband decided to step back from official duties in January 2020, they were still told they would need to abide by a strict code of conduct. A source told Valentine Low for his new book ‘Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown’: “I think Meghan thought she was going to be the Beyoncé of the UK. Being part of the royal family would give her that kudos. Whereas what she discovered was that there were so many rules that were so ridiculous that she couldn’t even do the things that she could do as a private individual, which is tough . . . “It just required the decision-makers to sit around a table and say, ‘OK, what are we going to do about this? What do you need to feel better? And what can we give?’ ” According to the book – an extract from which was published by the Sunday Times newspaper – royal staff came up with five scenarios for Harry and Meghan after they voiced their intention to quit, ranging from continuing as working royals but with a month a year off, to spending most time privately but agreeing to a select number of official duties. However, it was said to be ultimately down to Queen Elizabeth that the idea of compromise was removed entirely. The book stated: “By the end of the week, the five scenarios had been worked through. The view from the palace establishment was that, however much time Harry and Meghan spent away from royal duties, anything they did would reflect on the institution. That meant that the normal rules about royal behaviour would apply. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. “But the Sussexes wanted their freedom: freedom to make money, freedom to dip their toes into American politics. There was no way for the two sides to reach an agreement on that point. “Crucially, it was the Queen who took the view that unless the couple were prepared to abide by the restrictions that applied to working members of the royal family, they could not be allowed to carry out official duties. “One source said: ‘There was a very clear view: you can’t be in and out. And if you’ve got such clarity of view, it’s very difficult to say, “Why don’t we go 10 per cent this way instead of 20 per cent?” ‘ Compromise was off the table, removed by the Queen.” Despite the criticism Harry and Meghan – who have children Archie, three, and Lili, 15 months, together – have faced for their decision to start a new life in the UK, one insider thinks it is the best thing that could have happened to the 38-year-old prince. A source “who knows Harry well” but is “upset” about their move said: “There is a part of me that thinks Meghan did Harry the greatest kindness anyone could do to him, which was to take him out of the royal family, because he was just desperately unhappy in the last couple of years in his working life. We knew he was unhappy, but we didn’t really know what the solution would be. She came along and found the solution.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic U.S. Representative Val Demings enters the final weeks of her campaign to unseat Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio in a stronger position than many observers had expected in conservative-leaning Florida. Demings, a former Orlando police chief, is the underdog against Rubio, who is seeking his third six-year term in the Senate and ran unsuccessfully for the 2016 Republican U.S. presidential nomination. But recent polls show Demings pulling close to Rubio ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm election, even as the state’s Republican Governor, Ron DeSantis, maintains a wide lead over Democratic challenger Charlie Crist. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, plans on Tuesday to make his first trip of this election cycle to Florida, where much of his attention is expected to be focused on DeSantis, a potential rival for the White House in 2024. Demings will not be joining Biden, whose job approval ratings remain near the lowest of his presidency. Her campaign said this is due to her commitments in Congress, though some embattled Democrats have expressed concern that joining Biden on stage could hurt their campaigns. While DeSantis is expected to easily fend off Crist’s challenge, some political observers have said that Rubio faces a closer race with Demings. Control of Congress is at stake on Nov. 8, with Democrats holding slim majorities in both the House of Representatives and Senate. Democrats currently hold the Senate by the narrowest possible margin, through Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote in a chamber split 50-50 between the parties. While Republicans are favored to win a majority in the House, competitive races in states including Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona have increased the chances for Biden’s party to successfully defend its Senate majority. Demings is hoping to add Florida to that list. Rubio has sought to link Demings closely to Biden, saying on Twitter last month that she is “just another blame-America-first rubber stamp” and accusing Democrats of allowing a rise in urban crime. “This race is about Val Demings versus Marco Rubio,” said Christian Slater, communications director for Demings’ campaign. “We have a clear contrast in this race: A cop on the beat who is a no-nonsense, straight-shooter with voters versus a career politician.” Demings has raised more campaign funds than Rubio, pulling in $47.2 million to the incumbent’s $36.5 million as of Aug. 3, the latest figures available. “I see both running hard – anything is possible,” said a Republican strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Rubio will need a strong turnout in Florida’s heavily conservative northwestern panhandle, the strategist added. Republicans nominated untested Senate candidates including former football star Herschel Walker in Georgia, television doctor Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania and venture capitalist and author J.D. Vance in Ohio, as well as far-right candidate Don Bolduc in New Hampshire. Holding seats like Rubio’s is thus all the more important for them. Allies of Demings acknowledge that she faces political headwinds in Florida including Biden’s low popularity. Biden lost the key election battleground state to Trump by 3 percentage points in 2020. An average of opinion polls published in the past month places Demings within about 3 percentage points of Rubio, according to RealClearPolitics. Demings has leaned hard on her 27-year career in law enforcement, identifying herself in ads as “the chief” rather than playing up her six years in the House. Demings also served as one of the Democratic House managers in Trump’s first Senate impeachment trial in 2020. If elected, Demings would become the first Black U.S. senator from Florida. There are no Black women currently serving in the Senate. Jose Parra, an adviser to the Florida Democratic Party, said that for Demings to win, she would need to boost turnout among voters in south Florida, including Rubio’s birthplace Miami, and lure independents in a vote-rich corridor traversing central Florida. “It’s going to be all about the independents,” Parra said. (Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Will Dunham and Scott Malone) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Britney Spears says Jennifer Lopez would “never” be treated the way she was during her conservatorship. The 40-year-old pop star regained control of her multimillion-dollar fortune and various aspects of her life when a conservatorship that had been governed by her family for 13 years was terminated back in 2021 and took to social media on Sunday (25.09.22) to allege that someone of similar stature like the ‘Hustlers’ actress would never have to endure the kind of rules she had to. She wrote on Instagram: “I’d like to see somebody tell Jennifer Lopez to sit down eight hours a day seven days a week … no car. I’d like to see a management team tell Jennifer Lopez to go through what I went through … what the f*** do you think she would do … her family would NEVER allow that.” The ‘Womanizer’ hitmaker went on to allege that her family had “locked her up” before reposting an old post where she referenced the lyrics of her deubt single ‘…Baby One More Time’ as she claimed rules of her conservatorship meant that she was forbidden from performing remixes of her signature song on tour. She added: “After 14 years of telling me no to what I wanted … it’s ruined for me … but that wasn’t the worst part … the worst part was my family locking me up in that place for four months. Jesus Christ. “Here’s me playing at my house with a different version of “Baby One More Time” … the WORD as in WORDS … Show me how you want it to be … tell me baby cause I need to know … give me a f****** sign … HIT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME !!! The first three tours I ever did EACH song was a remix so the sound was new for my fans … it was what I was known for … for 13 years I wanted remixes to my songs during the conservatorship … to make the songs and feel new.(sic)” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English ‘Schitt’s Creek’ star Dan Levy says fashion is “just like acting”. The 39-year-old actor – who plays David Rose in the CBS sitcom – has teamed up with British designer Steven Stokey-Daley to create an eyewear collection for his label SS Daley and he loves being able to express himself through clothes and accessories, because it is an extension of playing a character. In an interview with GQ, Dan – whose father is ‘American Pie’ star Eugene Levy – said: “I grew up in a house where my parents would give me one pair of jeans and a T-shirt to wear to school, but I’d be in the stores picking loads of different things off the racks. “I didn’t really have access to clothes until I got jobs and could buy for myself. Now to get close to designers I love is a joy. “Fashion is a variation on a theme and, just like acting, it’s a way someone expresses themselves and I love it.” SS Daley has already been worn by a host of celebrities, including Harry Styles and Josh O’Connor, and Dan feels proud to have contributed to Steven’s label. Dan – who regularly impresses with his fashion choices on the red carpet, including the 2021 Met Gala – hopes this eyewear collection will be the beginning of a long-running collaboration between the pair. He said: “Although he doesn’t need my support as he’s already doing so well, we’re playing a small part in a moment in a designer’s career which is meaningful as he ascends to greatness. “The collaboration came through Harry Lambert. We got introduced and he knew that I had an eyewear line and following that was six months of sampling, choosing acetate colours, figuring out the shapes with Steven. “I really hope we continue with the partnership, I’ve long been a fan of Steven’s work and it’s really fun to get involved.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Kanye West has compared his divorce to the death of Queen Elizabeth. The ‘Stronger’ rapper split from Kim Kardashian – the mother of his children North, nine, Saint, six, Chicago, four, and three-year-old Psalm – in February 2021 after six years of marriage, and he claimed losing his own “queen” has given him an understanding of how British people feel following the death of the 96-year-old monarch earlier this month. He wrote on his Instagram Story using his signature all-capital letter style: “London I know how you feel. I lost my queen too.” Shortly after Buckingham Palace announced the death of the queen, Kanye claimed the historical moment had given him a new perspective and he vowed to “release all grudges”. He shared photos of the monarch when she was younger and captioned his post: “Life is precious. Releasing all grudges today. Leaning into the light.” Last week, the 45-year-old rapper apologised for causing his ex-wife any “stress”. He said: “This is the mother of my children. I apologise for any stress that I have caused.” Kanye has often turned to social media platforms to discuss his issues with Kim – including repeated criticism of her then-boyfriend Pete Davidson – in recent months. But the ‘Bound 2’ hitmaker rubbished the suggestion that social media is inherently negative. Asked if platforms such as Instagram and Twitter are more “hurtful or beneficial” overall, Kanye replied: “Oh, that’s one of my favourite questions this interview. “I mean, we can use a car to rush somebody to a hospital – or we could use a car and accidentally hit somebody while we’re rushing somebody to the hospital. So it’s all in how we use it.” View the full article