Republicans pick Vivek Ramaswamy and the Democrats pick Dr. Amy Acton to be the nominees for governor.
Sherrod Brown, the former Ohio Democratic senator is the nominee to run against Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) which will be considered one of the most expensive races in history.
Ohio the soon to be eighth largest populated state will be a crucial test for Republicans.
The Republicans have forced a redistricting that phases out two congressional districts in their latest attempt to hold on to power.
President Donald J. Trump carried Ohio in 2016, 2020 and 2024. He carried the state for the first time in double digits. Vice President JD Vance is a resident of Cincinnati.
While I have the gubernatorial race as Lean Republican, Ramaswamy's challenge is to win over white voters who see him as a foreigner. Born in Cincinnati to Indian immigrants, he became a tech billionaire at age 29.
Ramaswamy became an investment partner at a hedge fund, before founding Roivant Sciences in 2014. He also co-founded an investment firm, Strive Asset Management, in 2022.
Ramaswamy largely remained apolitical until 2020, when he supported Donald Trump for the 2020 presidential election. In 2021, Ramaswamy wrote his first book, Woke Inc, and appeared on cable networks arguing against left-wing "woke" policies. He also became an active donor to the Republican Party. Ramaswamy briefly considered running in the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Ohio.
Ramaswamy describes himself as a conservative and an American nationalist. He has criticized environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) and affirmative action; however, Roivant Social Ventures, one of his companies, was working in support of DEI and ESG. He has promoted numerous conspiracy theories and false statements.
In April 2026, Forbes estimated Ramaswamy's net worth to be $2.5 billion; his wealth comes from biotech and financial businesses.
Acton must win over voters who felt that her role in the coronavirus pandemic saved lives not caused a burden. In Ohio, we lost over 64,000 residents. Acton, who was the chief health advisor to outgoing governor Mike DeWine became a national figure with her honest, campy and pretty competent explaining of the deadly pandemic.
Ramaswamy, a MAGA influncer and tech billionaire becomes the Republican nominee. He will face questions about his race, religion and his massive wealth.
She led Ohio's COVID-19 pandemic response and accompanied Governor DeWine during his daily afternoon press conferences throughout the spring of 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic response, Amy Acton supported temporarily closing bars and restaurants, limiting large gatherings, and closing K-12 schools statewide to combat COVID-19.[4] Prior to and immediately after serving as director of the Ohio Department of Health, she worked at the Columbus Foundation.
In the senate race, Brown is already known. In his three terms, Ohio has lagged in a lot of things. Mainly Ohio continues to be on the decline. He and then senator now Vice President JD Vance allowed Ohio to invest in Intel's superplant. The project is in limbo.
Brown and Vance failed to get adequate funding to the people of East Palestine.
Husted is controversial. He has ties to the First Energy scandal which Ohio Republican rushed to cover up. He also accepted donations from Les Wexner, the executive of L Brands, which is Victoria's Secret. Wexner has ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
I am going to be quite honest.
We are fucked regardless of who wins.
Israel is the biggest problem in Ohio.
Frank LaRose, the Secretary of State continues to accept the Israeli bonds.
Republicans allowed their congressional redistricting to happen. Now Republicans despite their unpopular policies could net two seats.
Gas prices are currently averaging in Ohio at $4.89⁹ a gallon.
Will this race be a determination of how the country moves forward?
Kid Cudi and M.I.A. feud. Cudi boots her off his tour after she went MAGA.
How can people got to concerts with tickets prices matching the prices of groceries?
Gas prices have surpassed $5.29⁹ a gallon in the United States. People are not going to tolerate this stuff much longer. It will be a reckoning come this election.
Kid Cudi, a rapper who addresses mental health, the vulnerable and the establishment kicked British rapper M.I.A. from his tour after she made an impromptu rant about President Donald J. Trump.
She endorsed the president in 2024.
This means Cudi and M.I.A. are openly feuding.
The rapper, whose legal name is Scott Mescudi, wrote on his Instagram story that M.I.A., the British rapper and singer, would no longer appear on his "Rebel Ragers" tour following his Dallas show.
Mescudi wrote that he had notified her team before the tour that he did not want "anything offensive" at his shows and was assured she understood.
"After the last couple shows, I've been flooding with messages from fans that were upset by her rants," Mescudi wrote. "This, to me, is very disappointing and I won't have someone on my tour making offensive remarks that upsets my fanbase."
Mescudi's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
M.I.A.'s legal name is Mathangi Arulpragasam, and she also often goes by Maya. She gained popularity in the early 2000s with singles such as "Paper Planes" and "Galang."
M.I.A. got booed heavily last night while opening for Kid Cudi…
she opened the show saying “we won’t do illegal (the song), though some of you could be in the audience” before going on a Republican rant…
At the Kid Cudi concert with MIA she started randomly started talking about how she’s a Republican & how at that concert there’s probably a bunch of illegals that she’s having to play too. People started booing her & quite a few left & asked for a refund.She ended her career. pic.twitter.com/nc9w4QpiD9
M.I.A. has responded after Kid Cudi kicked her off his our:
"I DON’T NEED THIS VIRTUE SIGNAL ERA TO ALL OF A SUDDEN ERASE AN ENTIRE LIFE I’VE LED. JESUS WAS AN IMMIGRANT AND A REBEL. I HAVE NO APPOLGY FOR THE JUDGEMENTAL THE WICKED AND THE IGNORENT, FOR THOSE ARE SPIRITS THAT WE… pic.twitter.com/Kztm1S1pWf
Kid Cudi fired artist MIA from his tour after she made offensive remarks about Immigrants saying that there were probably illegals at her concert. She also let everyone know she is a Republican.Kid Cudi had his team warn her to not cause problems,but she did & was fired. pic.twitter.com/jpH5RembB2
🔥🚨JUST IN: Billboard charting artist MIA came out as Conservative at Kid Cudi’s concert and got canceled for it. There is no place for this demonic culture in 2026. pic.twitter.com/OYmUI0fSaI
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) May 5, 2026
NEW: M.I.A. has been removed from Kid Cudi’s tour after going on strange republican rants and calling people in the audience “illegal” pic.twitter.com/PFPN6T5P1U
I WROTE ILLYGAL ON THE MAYA LP A SONG FROM 2010. I STARTED THIS INTRO TO THE SONG WITH THE STATEMENT SAYING I'M ILLYGAL, AND I SAID MY TEAM HASN'T GOTTEN VISAS YET. THEN PLAYED A SONG THAT HAD LYRICS SAYING "FU&% THE LAW", WHICH I STILL BELIEVE, IF THE LAW IS UNJUST F@%& IT.
It's unclear exactly what happened with Arulpragasam on the tour, but many fans posted online that she was booed onstage during Mescudi's Dallas show Saturday. Some clips of her comments were posted online, but the full context of her remarks is unclear.
She is alleged to have talked to the crowd about her Republican political views, according to a caption on one video, before she told the audience she would not perform her song "Illygal" though some in the crowd "might be."
"All right, I'm illegal," Arulpragasam said in a video from the show shared online. "Half of my team are not here because they didn't get the visa, OK? I want you to know that. All right, so don't listen to what the bots say on the internet."
Arulpragasam also said, "We should be above politics," according to the video.
Representatives for Arulpragasam did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
She did respond to the criticism on X, writing in one post that she wrote "Illygal" in 2010 and started the intro by saying her team had not received visas. She wrote that she had no apology for the judgmental, the wicked and the ignorant.
"I wrote borders and 'Illygal' and 'Paper Planes' before you thought immigrant rights were cool," she wrote in all-capital letters. "I've had thses battles by myself without the help of millions of fans backing me. I don't need this virtue signal era to all of a sudden erase an entire life I've led."
Arulpragasam pointed out that she cannot vote in the U.S. in response to a user on X who said she endorsed Trump. She also posted the question of whether the user would hate all Trump voters.
"We must unite to make this country, that everyone wants to live in a better place," she wrote.
The end is near for these elitist events. Americans are getting tired of the rich and powerful partying while they work their asses off.
Every year, the Manhattan Metropolitan Museum Of Art has this elitist event where celebrities, politicians and influncers come to donate annually to fund the museum.
It is like a costume ball for the elite.
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani and his wife will not attend the event.
The Gala is held annually on the first Monday of May, which marks the opening of the Costume Institute's annual fashion exhibit hosted on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Many of the attendees are depicted on the covers and pages of Vogue. Each year's event celebrates the specific theme of that year's Costume Institute exhibition, which sets the tone for the formal attire of the night.
Guests are expected to curate their fashions to match the theme of the annual exhibit, generally in haute couture. Fashion executive Anna Wintour, who was the editor-in-chief of Vogue, has chaired or co-chaired the Met Gala since 1995, except for the 1996 Met Gala, which was chaired by Wintour's successor at British Vogue, Liz Tilberis, who attended with her friend Diana, Princess of Wales.
Over time, the Met Gala has evolved beyond the New York fashion epicenter to become increasingly global and diverse in its perspective and scope.
The entry price for one ticket to attend the Met Gala rose to US$100,000 in 2026, up from $75,000 in 2025, which in turn had reflected an increase from $50,000 in 2023, to attend the annual gala in New York City.
In 2023, software company Launchmetrics found that the Met Gala generated nearly double the "media impact value" (the monetary value of publicity generated) for brands than the Super Bowl, at $995 million. In 2024, the Met Gala's figure rose to $1.4 billion.
Notwithstanding the historical dominance of American and Western European fashion designers represented, the Met Gala continues to evolve into a more international platform, with progressively increasing representation of celebrities and designers from outside the Western Hemisphere.
Elected amid growing public anxiety over income inequality, Mamdani announced he will skip the A-list gathering. "My focus is also on affordability and making the most expensive city in the United States affordable, and that's what I'm looking to spend a lot of my time focused on," he told news site Hell Gate last month.
Then there is the matter of the evening's sponsors. While fashion brands or tech behemoths like Instagram typically underwrite the affair, this year Amazon co-founder and executive chair, Jeff Bezos, and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, are the event's main benefactors. They are also honorary chairs. (Co-chairs Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Vogue's Anna Wintour remain the official hosts, while Saint Laurent is sponsoring the exhibition catalog.)
After the Met announced the Bezoses' participation, many social media users - who are the Met Gala's most enthusiastic promoters, tuning into Vogue's livestream and analyzing looks for days afterwards - called for a boycott. This has materialized as actual protests from groups including Everyone Hates Elon (as in Musk), which over the past few weeks has papered New York City with posters also urging a boycott. "The Bezos Met Gala: Brought to you by worker exploitation," reads one, in reference to the allegations of labor violations that have long swirled around Amazon's e-commerce business.
The recurring criticism has not stopped the gala from raising enormous funds: last year, it brought in a record $31 million. (By contrast, the New York Philharmonic's Opening Gala raised $3.3 million in 2025.)
Max Hollein, the museum's director and chief executive officer, said he saw the Met Gala as part of "the history of American philanthropy," where people across the political spectrum support culture and other causes. "Right now, maybe there's an added layer of scrutiny, an added layer of attention to that," he said. "But we will always be grateful for that support from various different sources."
The Met Gala is the primary fundraiser for the Met's Costume Institute, which houses over 33,000 objects spanning seven centuries. (It is oft-repeated that the Costume Institute is the only museum department that raises its own funds, although that is not accurate; every department receives money from the museum's overall operational budget, and supplements that with fundraising.)
The gala's funds support acquisitions of garments and accessories, but also the institute's reference library, which holds over 800 periodicals and 1,500 designer files pertaining to the history of fashion and clothing, dating back to the sixteenth century. The funds also support a conservation lab and storage space, as well as the Costume Institute's gallery spaces, including the 4,300-square-foot Anna Wintour Costume Center and the brand-new nearly 12,000-square-foot Condé M. Nast Galleries. Salaries for its 29-person staff also come from gala funds. The new galleries, located just off the museum's Great Hall, will allow the Costume Institute's exhibitions to remain open for much longer, increasing the reach and scope of the department's shows.
"It is one of the greatest collections of fashion, of costumes," Hollein said. Preservation and storage are "more challenging, more expensive" than for drawings or paintings, he said. "I think it's really important for people to understand, when we talk about the Met Gala, the money really goes into preserving this collection."
It is the presence of bold-faced names and the sheer amounts of money surrounding the event that seem to court the most controversy. Over the past two decades, Wintour has helped transform the party from an archetypal charity benefit into a celebrity-fueled phenomenon - an effort that has led to bigger and bigger ambitions for the museum, alongside ever-increasing ticket prices for gala attendees. Individual tickets are priced at $100,000 for 2026, while a table sells for $350,000, and guests must be invited by the museum to buy tickets.
The perception that the event is tone-deaf means that critics are eager to pounce and cry hypocrisy when, say, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wears a dress that reads "Tax the Rich" (as she did in 2021). Last year, Kennedy heir (and former Met Gala attendee) Jack Schlossberg, who is now mounting a congressional campaign in Manhattan, called for a boycott of the event in an Instagram post, citing "so much happening around the world and at home." (The post has since been deleted.)
For most, it is not the museum that warrants criticism, but the involvement of the Bezoses. On the morning of the gala, a group of organizations including the Service Employees International Union, the Strategic Organizing Center and the Amazon Labor Union will stage a Ball Without Billionaires, a fashion show in downtown New York in which workers from businesses including Amazon, Whole Foods and The Washington Post (all linked to Bezos) as well as Starbucks and Uber will serve as models, wearing clothes by ethically-minded designers.
"If there is that money to sponsor this gala, there should also be money to pay the workers fairly," said Cindy Castro, a New York-based designer who immigrated to the US from Ecuador, and whose pieces will appear at Monday's event.
"I want to raise awareness about our safety issues that we're having in the Amazon warehouses," said April Watson, an employee at an Amazon Warehouse in northeast Georgia who will model in Monday's show. She said that she and her fellow workers are pressured to pick and pack at faster and faster rates, receiving warnings that can lead to termination when their pace falls in the bottom 5%. "When I try to work fast with very heavy items, it's easy for me to do too much, and it has led me to be injured."
These morons can fly in space, own superyachts, buy private islands and then layoff the people who got them there.
She continued, "I want to do what I can to help there be systemic change that would make the warehouse safer for employees like myself."
In a statement to CNN, an Amazon spokesperson said of their warehouse worker expectations, "Safety is our top priority and at the core of everything we do. Amazon does not have fixed quotas at our facilities. Instead, we assess performance based on safe and achievable expectations and take into account time and tenure, peer performance, and adherence to safe work practices."
This is not Bezos's first time as the Met Gala's honorary chair. In 2012, Amazon sponsored the gala and the tech titan held the honorific, posing with the likes of Wintour, Miuccia Prada and Carey Mulligan.
While Watson was not working at Amazon then (she joined the company in 2021), she said, "My perception of him was different."
Back then, Bezos was worth an estimated $18.4 billion, according to Forbes, which made him the 26th richest person in the world. Now, he's worth an estimated $224 billion, and ranks fourth.
These days, Watson said, "Jeff Bezos seems almost like royalty. He is so wealthy, and I know that he is the one that started Amazon - he's very creative, and he's a good organizer. He built it. And now I feel like he's celebrating his success and just not interested in us who are at this bottom tier."
The Bezoses' recent high-profile outings - including a splashy wedding in Venice and a series of appearances at Paris Couture Week in January - have also made the gap between their lifestyle and that of most others more apparent. That has made them a more visible target, too.
And yet, without their support, this year's Met Gala - and its promotion of fashion as an art form, and of the notion that celebrities can craft a narrative through clothing that entertains us or even helps us better understand our world - may have been more modest in scale.
"What is important is that you need to evaluate the integrity of the institution, the profoundness of our program, and the proper use that is being applied for these funds," said Hollein.
What the Bezoses are providing funds for, he said, are the museum and Costume Institute's ethos and initiatives, not a donor's personal agenda. "This is not a show on Amazon. This is not a show on Lauren Sánchez's dresses. One needs to be really clear that what our donors are supporting is the program of the Met, and the ideas of our curators, and the integrity of the institution," he said. "And they don't want to have it any other way. That's exactly the donors that we want, and those are the donors that museums like ours need to have."
Wintour told CNN in late 2025 that Sánchez Bezos would be "a wonderful asset to the museum and the event," calling her a "great lover of costume and obviously of fashion."
Indeed, it is because of the Costume Institute and Met Gala that so many see fashion as they do today. Hollstein pointed to last year's show on Black dandyism, for example, or this year's, which will highlight "not only the dialogue between different arts about the dressed body, but different body types."
A museum, after all, is not a donors' playground, but a place for the world to access art.
"I always wanted to see the Met museum. I love art," Watson said. "Museums in general allow ordinary people - anyone - to come in and see, face to face, these priceless pieces of art."
If Republicans were popular, why would they need to push for Pennsylvania independent senator John Fetterman to join them?
Pennsylvania U.S. House Democrats refuse to endorse his reelection bid, many progressives are courting candidates to run a primary challenge against him. Fetterman seems to be more like a one and done like Kyrsten Sinema.
Fetterman has mental health issues such as depression. He also survived a mild stroke. He even has marital problems with Gisele Fetterman.
Elected as a Democrat but switched to be an independent, Fetterman has been the most controversial figure in the Democratic Caucus. He along with Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan have pissed off progressives.
They are the members of the tone deaf caucus.
Jonathan Martin of The Politico have reported that President Donald J. Trump and Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania have been pressuring Fetterman to flip if the Democrats do win back the Senate.
They are concerned about Maine, Georgia, Iowa and Ohio being lost.
Fetterman for the moment said he will not join the Republican Party.
“I’m [a Democrat] and I’m staying one,” added the senior senator from the Keystone State.
He is angered by the Democrats opposing Israel and not working on compromises with the president. Fetterman went as far to say the party is suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Fetterman has appeared on Fox, Newsmax, NewsNation and talk radio, all cock suckers to the president.
Abdul El-Sayed, Julia Stratton, Graham Platner and Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia vowed to not be Fetterman. Other than Ossoff, the three others said they vehemently oppose Schumer as the Democratic leader.
The political chameleon.
Fetterman shares a friendship with Republican controversial figures like McCormick and Katie Britt of Alabama.
During an interview with Fox News last Wednesday, Fetterman dismissed the idea of crossing the aisle.
“My voting record actually reflects that I am a Democrat. You know, what’s changed me with many of my other colleagues is that I don’t agree and I use like extreme rhetoric and say, but I support what I think most Americans should agree with these things. You know, the Democratic Party, you know, we became an open border party, without a doubt. And now that’s wrong, and I support to make our border more security, and deport all of the criminals right now,” he said. “So I can’t be a Republican because in many other areas, I disagree on that. So whether if I’m politically homeless or whatever, but I’m staying in my party.”
Despite the feuds with several Democrats, Fetterman said he will be cordial at best.
“Well, I mean, cordial,” replied Fetterman once he gathered himself. “But I’m not necessarily the popular guy, which is strange to me because it’s like, I am a Democrat and, you know, I’m the guy that flipped the seat.”
Pennsylvania y'all voted for this.
We are reminded that Fetterman had won running as a progressive. Despite the very fact that Black people warned Pennsylvania voters that he was problematic.
Fetterman had a mild stroke and did not have health insurance at the time. Guess who paid for it? The Israeli lobby. So now he became one of the loudest voices supporting the apartheid ethnostate of Israel. Many progressives also took issue with him defending President Donald J. Trump and the Republican concerns about gridlock.
There are rumors that Fetterman and Gisele are heading to divorce. I don't want to make speculations but I bet his ass was arguing with her. He has a known temper.
After all he chased a Black jogger with a shotgun when he was then town mayor of Braddock.
A sign of a stroke.
Notes: F.A.S.T.
Face, arms, speech and time. These are the signs of a stroke.
Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body. Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding speech. Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes. Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or lack of coordination.
The United States is founded on white supremacy, colonialism, criminality, ignorance and deprivation. White men running the United States are destroying it. Their greed, insecurities and failure to adapt to change will doom us all.
Conservatives are the reasons why slavery existed, genocides happened and war crimes are committed.
Republicans rally in the south to redistrict out all the Black and Latino districts after the U.S. Supreme Court rule the decision moot. The decision all but voids the Voting Acts Right of 1965. That landmark legislation is gone.
Republicans want to preserve their weak majority.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former supporter of the president said all of this will backfire.
For once, she is right.
If their ideas were popular, why would they want to do something that will affect them come election time?
The Republicans have a job approval of 23%. Democrats have a job approval of 25%.
President Donald J. Trump has a job approval of 31%. Vice President JD Vance has a job approval of 34%.
Congress has a job approval of 15%.
The Supreme Court has a job approval of 26%.
The John Roberts Court is ranked among the worst. It falls in the infamous Roger Taney Court.
Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas are pushing through their mid-session redistricting. With gas prices at an average of $4.59⁹, inflation at record levels, a war with Iran that is backfiring, anger with politicians taking vacations while the working class struggle, food prices surging, the basic necessities are depleting and world leaders are abandoning the U.S. dollar.
What are you to do?
Take away more freedoms and rig the system.
Republican governors in Alabama and Tennessee have summoned lawmakers into special sessions this week seeking new congressional districts after the U.S. Supreme Court weakened a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.
Republican Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has called legislators back to Montgomery starting Monday to approve contingency plans for special primary elections in hopes that the Supreme Court will allow the state to switch congressional maps ahead of the November midterms. It’s a move that Republicans legislative leaders said would “give our state a fighting chance to send seven Republican members to Congress.” The seven-member delegation currently has two Democrats.
In Tennessee, Republican Gov. Bill Lee also announced a special session starting Tuesday for the GOP-controlled Legislature to break up the state’s one Democratic-held House district, centered on the majority-Black city of Memphis.
The Supreme Court decision striking down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana said the drawing of the district map relied too much on race. The ruling began reverberating through statehouses across the South as Republicans eyed the possibility of getting new lines in place for the 2026 midterm elections, or at least 2028.
Trump encouraged the latest round of redistricting in a post on social media on Sunday, saying his party could gain 20 seats in the House.
“We should demand that State Legislatures do what the Supreme Court says must be done,” Trump said. “That is more important than administrative convenience.”
Florida approved new districts the day of the Supreme Court ruling, and Louisiana moved quickly to postpone its May 16 congressional primary, drawing lawsuits from Democrats and civil rights groups. The state’s Republican leadership started planning for a redraw that could eliminate one or both of its congressional districts now represented by a Black lawmaker. South Carolina’s governor suggested his state might also reconsider its congressional map.
“We should demand that State Legislatures do what the Supreme Court says must be done,” Trump said. “That is more important than administrative convenience.”
Florida approved new districts the day of the Supreme Court ruling, and Louisiana moved quickly to postpone its May 16 congressional primary, drawing lawsuits from Democrats and civil rights groups. The state’s Republican leadership started planning for a redraw that could eliminate one or both of its congressional districts now represented by a Black lawmaker. South Carolina’s governor suggested his state might also reconsider its congressional map.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, described the court decision and the redistricting scramble as an attempt to roll back the Civil Rights Movement.
“They said we’re going to allow partisan politicians to gerrymander you, so that even when you show up, your voice won’t have as much impact because we’ll play with the lines,” he said Sunday from the pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. once served as pastor. “That isn’t a new method. That’s an old method. That’s a Jim Crow method.”
White men leading the U.S. is now seen as problematic.
The Supreme Court ruling boosted an already intense national redistricting battle by providing Republican officials in some states potential new grounds to redraw voting districts.
Federal judges previously ordered Alabama to use a court-selected map with a second district with a substantial number of Black voters. The judges also ordered Alabama to use the new map until after the 2030 Census. Alabama is appealing that decision and is hoping the court, in light of the Louisiana ruling, will let Alabama revert to a 2023 map drawn by state lawmakers.
“As I continue saying, Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best,” Ivey said.
Tennessee’s move comes after a pressure campaign by Trump and other Republicans to reconfigure the state’s 9th Congressional District. Republicans have always been checkmated by the Voting Rights Act in their desire to spread the district’s Democratic voters around neighboring conservative districts and make it winnable, but the law may no longer be an impediment.
“We owe it to Tennesseans to ensure our congressional districts accurately reflect the will of Tennessee voters,” Lee said Friday. The move was encouraged by Trump, who wrote on social media Thursday that Lee had promised to work hard to give Republicans one extra seat.
The candidate qualifying period in Tennessee ended in March, and the primary election is scheduled for Aug. 6. Democrats noted that in 2022 the state Supreme Court checked additional redistricting because it was too close to an election. They argued that the court is their best hope this time around too.
“We cannot keep doing things like this and calling ourselves a democracy,” Democratic State Sen. Ramesh Akbari said at a news conference outside the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.
Alabama Democrats also sharply criticized the decision to try to change the maps ahead of looming elections.
“This special session is a blatant power grab by Republican leadership in Montgomery to eliminate seats held by Black Democrats,” said former Sen. Doug Jones, a Democratic candidate for Alabama governor.
Louisiana has suspended its May 16 congressional primary to allow time for lawmakers to approve new U.S. House districts, though that is being challenged in court.
Trump urged Texas Republicans last year to redraw U.S. House districts to give the party an advantage. Democrats in California responded by doing the same, then other states joined the battle. Lawmakers, commissions or courts have adopted new House districts in eight states.
See Trump gets away with the things these two did.
MAGA influencer caught a case which has him earning a federal sandwich.
Consenting adults having sex whether they're married, having an affair, engaging in a relationship of the opposite sex, engaging in a relationship of the same sex, engaging in a relationship with transgender Americans, engaging in a relationship with adult content creators, engaging in a relationship with prostitutes or escorts is not my business.
Having sex with anyone who intoxicated is a huge risk. Many inebriated people make decisions that cause cognitive issues. If a woman or man is drunk and has sex with a random stranger or the victims is too drunk to make decisions, many see it as sexual assault under the guise of consent. People who engage with drunk people often take a risk of an allegation of sexual abuse, theft or murder.
It is best to allow the drunk person to detoxify by letting them sleep in their filth. Bars and restaurants have the legal obligation to not allow drinks to people inebriated.
Also, if you leave your drink unattended, make sure you throw it away.
Again, heresy not an indictment or conviction.
Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline) at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or 988, or text the Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741). Both services are free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The deaf and hard of hearing can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889. All calls are confidential. Contact social media outlets directly if you are concerned about a friend’s social media updates or dial 911 in an emergency. Learn more on the Lifeline’s website or the Crisis Text Line’s website.
You can get help if you, a loved one or friend is dealing with drug abuse.
SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.
This one was a notorious troll who echoed the MAGA movement. He thought he could be like Myron Gaines or Andrew Tate.
He is part of the 25% of Black Americans who decided to give this complete moron a second term. Now he gonna learn that his support for President Donald J. Trump was a huge mistake. A total colossal cluster fuck.
And he did it in the most notorious county in Florida.
Polk County, Florida is best known for its aggressive campaign to end human trafficking and prostitution. They set up sting operations and entrapment to lure men, women and procurers. Procurement is basically pimping.
Craig Long, a self proclaimed MAGA influencer was arrested.
MAGA sheriff puts MAGA influncer on blast.
Polk County, Florida, Sheriff Grady Judd put an illegal immigrant, a Jan. 6 Capitol participant and a social media influencer front and center after a sweeping undercover sting netted 266 arrests tied to prostitution, human trafficking and child predators.
Polk County Sheriff Judd delivered a blunt breakdown Friday of what he called some of the "more outrageous events" uncovered during the multi-agency operation, Polk Around and Find Out.
"We made 266 total arrests," Judd said, adding "about 247 of them were in the human trafficking operation," with suspects collectively racking up "1,028 previous charges" before deputies "added 439 more charges to the repertoire."
Deputies arrested people from 11 states and 18 different countries.
"People that think, ‘Oh, this is low-level and not violent’ — yeah, that’s wrong. It is violent, and it’s dangerous," Judd said.
Among those highlighted was Ryan Yates, of Odessa, Florida, who had previously been convicted in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and later pardoned, Judd said.
"He got away with it with a federal system. But not here," Judd said. "He came here to violate the law. We arrested him."
Judd also singled out Craig Long II, 41, a Tampa-area fitness business owner and a self-proclaimed "MAGA influencer."
Florida has the highest rate of gun violence. But lets focus on vice and safety net.
On X, Long describes himself as "MAGA to the core."
"Well, I'm going to give him some content for his social media today. He was a previous felon who straightened up, really, what we want to see in life. Now he's an influencer," Judd said.
Another case involved Uno Garcia, an illegal immigrant from Cuba. Judd said Garcia brought his wife to engage in prostitution.
"So, it’s kind of a family affair," Judd said.
Shannon Brooks of Haines City, Florida, allegedly brought a 7-year-old into a room during a sexual encounter and left the child in a bathroom.
Judd said Brooks told the child, "Don’t answer the mf-ing phone. This is the kind of parenting that we want? Come on, man. What are you doing?"
In another case, Derek Partita, 37, left a 10-year-old child in a car while attempting to meet a prostitute.
"This is a very sad situation," Judd said.
Judd also pointed to J.R. Jackman, 27, who he said had a high-level military security clearance.
"Don’t you feel comfortable knowing a guy with top security clearance is coming to meet a prostitute?" Judd said.
The cookout doesn't like his barbecue.
Another suspect, Salvador Villarel, a county utilities employee, allegedly arrived in a government vehicle.
Authorities said 247 of the arrests were for prostitution-related offenses, while 19 involved suspects accused of attempting to meet minors for sex. They added that 34 of those arrested were in the U.S. illegally.
The operation involved federal, state and local agencies and is part of ongoing efforts to target both buyers and facilitators in prostitution networks, officials said. Cases remain pending.
This is fucking ridiculous. Regards of thr politics, I despise the law enforcement putting theses individuals faces out there like they're trophies. The economy sucks so much some have no fucking choice but to go into the business.
Like who gives a fuck about what two consenting adults do! Now if the victims are children or being threatened with violence in the course of engagement, we got problems.
But damn, let people do their business and move on. Gun violence is the biggest threat to the country. Not sexual engagement.
All the suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
It may be the end of the road for the disgraced former New York City mayor, Republican Rudolph Giuliani. The guy who got into office during the Sept. 11 tragedy turned into a far right conspiracy theorist devoted to election denialism is in the hospital in critical condition.
The former mayor still owes two former Georgia poll workers and if he dies, his assets are still up for grabs.
Rudy Giuliani, 81, is in critical but stable condition at a hospital, his spokesman said Sunday.
Spokesman Ted Goodman didn’t say what sent the 81-year-old to the hospital or how long he’s been there.
“Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has faced every challenge in his life with unwavering strength, and he’s fighting with that same level of strength as we speak,” Goodman said in a statement on social media. He said Giuliani “remains in critical but stable condition.”
Giuliani hosted his online show, “America’s Mayor Live,” Friday night from Palm Beach, Florida.
As he opened the show, he coughed and his voice sounded more raspy than usual. He remarked: “My voice is a little under the weather, so I won’t be able to speak as loudly as I usually do, but I’ll get closer to the microphone.”
Rudy Giuliani is America's grease pit.
Giuliani was dubbed “America’s mayor” in light of his leadership in New York after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.
He later became Trump’s personal attorney for a time and a vocal proponent of Trump’s allegations of fraud in the 2020 election, won by Democrat Joe Biden. Trump and his backers lost dozens of lawsuits claiming fraud, and numerous recounts, reviews and audits of the election results turned up no signs of significant wrongdoing or error.
“Our fabulous Rudy Giuliani, a True Warrior, and the Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR, has been hospitalized, and is in critical condition,” Trump wrote Sunday on his social media platform. “What a tragedy that he was treated so badly by the Radical Left Lunatics, Democrats ALL — AND HE WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING! They cheated on the Elections, fabricated hundreds of stories, did anything possible to destroy our Nation, and now, look at Rudy. So sad!”
Two former Georgia elections workers later won a $148 million defamation judgment against Giuliani. As they sought to collect the judgment, the former federal prosecutor was found in contempt of court and faced a trial this winter over the ownership of some of his assets. He ultimately struck a deal that let him keep his homes and various belongings, including prized World Series rings, in exchange for unspecified compensation and a promise to stop speaking ill of the ex-election workers.
Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss still getting paid.
Giuliani was hospitalized in September after suffering a fractured vertebra and other injuries in a car crash in New Hampshire.
Giuliani was elected New York’s mayor in 1993 after serving as one of the nation’s highest-profile prosecutors, taking on mobsters and crooked Wall Street traders.
He ran for the U.S. Senate in 2000 but abandoned his race against Hillary Rodham Clinton after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Giuliani has to use a wheelchair after that accident. That is the only thing he may keep.
Any proceeds or profits will go Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.
The Daily Wire is shuttering its Nashville branch. It has announced mass layoffs and some are signaling the far right media company is in some trouble.
When Ben Shapiro put his money on support of Israel, it cost him big time. His support for the apartheid genocidal ethnostate has his supporters questioning his loyalty to the United States.
When they filmed a movie in South Carolina, actors JC Kilcoyne and Jonathan Majors were injured when they fell outside a prop windows. The staff did a walkout after The Daily Wire failed to provide safe working conditions and union contractors.
Their feud with Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson exposed a rift within MAGA.
Shapiro's support for the aggression in Iran took the message off of America First.
Like Republicans and conservatives care about the United States.
A round of layoffs is underway at The Daily Wire, Barrett Media has confirmed.
The first reports surfaced on Friday afternoon. Political reporter Cameron Arcand took to social media to share that he was included in the round of layoffs enacted.
“I was impacted by layoffs today at The Daily Wire, so I am looking for opportunities in journalism/communications here in D.C.,” wrote Arcand.
In a statement, The Daily Wire confirmed it was undergoing a round of layoffs.
“Today, The Daily Wire made a difficult decision to restructure the organization, which included layoffs to a number of teams,” a company spokesperson confirmed to Barrett Media. “We are deeply grateful to those impacted. Their contributions were instrumental in building The Daily Wire into what it is today.
“The cuts were largely concentrated at our Nashville production office. As the company has invested in new formats, locations, and production models, our footprint there has evolved. Over the last year, we have added production staff in D.C., the Northeast, and Florida. This step allows us to focus our resources on an ambitious slate of new entertainment projects set to release this year.
“Additionally, we will continue to invest in our editorial team and investigative journalism where we have already added numerous new reporters across the country and established a DC bureau with a seat in the White House briefing room.”
It is unclear how many members of the company’s staff have departed as part of the ongoing exits. This round of layoffs at The Daily Wire follows cuts in March 2025.
This cop wore MAGA behind the badge. Now his actions bring questions about how he conduct police stops. He was involved in police shootings.
Only in the United States.
Police officers are limited in their free speech when on and off duty. They must be impartial and keep their politics at a distance. If they show up to work with political bumper stickers, it could give an impression of bias.
In the village of Forest Park, Illinois, they placed a police officer in the freezer after he conducted a traffic stop and detainment of a motorist off duty. He wore attire that confirmed support for President Donald J. Trump. He was filmed driving his private vehicle outside his jurisdiction.
A woman claims she was forcibly detained by an off-duty Forest Park police officer after a minor crash involving a curb.
The video, which has been widely shared online, shows part of the encounter. The officer has been identified as Lt. Dan Miller.
According to the social media post, the officer was driving an unmarked personal vehicle and cut the woman off in traffic before approaching her with a gun drawn and pulling her from her car.
The woman alleges she was handcuffed without the officer first checking on her condition and says he did not identify himself when asked. The post also claims the incident happened outside the officer’s jurisdiction.
He made so many mistakes.
Authorities have not confirmed those details.
Miller was previously involved in a 2017 on-duty shooting that left an unarmed man dead. The case later led to a lawsuit filed by the man’s family.
In a statement, Forest Park police said they are taking the allegations seriously.
"We are launching an investigation to examine what happened, and the results will be shared with the public and news media," the department said.
The officer has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.
It remains unclear where the incident took place.
FOX Chicago has reached out to the woman involved and is awaiting a response.
It took over a year but The Onion Media Group has finally taken control of InfoWars, the far right conspiracy website hosted by disgraced conservative agitator Alex Jones.
The company officially went dark on Thursday and in his last bastardization, he promises to return to the media soon.
Jones lost a major civil case involving his constant peddling of bullshit. He made remarks about the victims of the Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Connecticut. He claimed that it was a false flag and the survivors are crisis actors.
The families sued Jones and InfoWars for $950 million. The decision along with his divorce from former wife Kelly has literally broke him.
The Onion’s plan to take over the Infowars platforms that Alex Jones built into a bullhorn of conspiracy theories and turn them into parody sites was in limbo again Thursday, after a Texas court paused a proposed deal involving the satirical news outlet.
Austin-based Infowars is facing liquidation because of the more than $1 billion in defamation lawsuit judgments Jones owes relatives of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for calling the Connecticut massacre a hoax. The proposed licensing deal would give The Onion temporary authority to use Infowars’ trademarks, copyrights and intellectual property while a state receiver in Texas works toward liquidation.
A state judge in Austin had scheduled a hearing Thursday on whether to approve The Onion deal with the receiver. But the proceeding fizzled into a status conference because the Texas Third Court of Appeals late Wednesday approved an emergency motion by Jones’ lawyers that temporarily blocked the transfer of any Infowars assets. The judge set another hearing for May 28.
Lawyers for the Sandy Hook families had asked the Texas Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court ruling, but the high court did not issue a decision before Thursday’s hearing.
I will be back. And when he does come back, he will still be owning the victims of Sandy Hook.
“This newly insane, unprecedented legal stalling does nothing but delay our deal with the receiver to take control of InfoWars,” Ben Collins, The Onion’s CEO, said in a social media post ahead of the hearing. “We now expect new traps in Alex Jones’ amoral war to deny paying the Sandy Hook families, but we’re freshly surprised by the U.S. legal system’s appetite to put up with it.”
The Onion already has been selling Infowars merchandise on its own website, including T-shirts and tote bags with an Infowars logo that replaces the “o” with its trademark onion image. It wants to turn the Infowars platforms into comedy sites that would include spoofing Jones, conspiracy theories and right-wing talking points, while giving revenue to the Sandy Hook victims’ relatives.
Jones declared victory in videos posted on his social media sites after the appellate court ruling. He called The Onion’s plan illegal, citing pending appeals and his continuing personal bankruptcy case.
“I said days ago there’s no way the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas doesn’t overturn this — you know they’re all Democrats — because it’s so outrageous what you’ve done,” Jones said.
After Thursday’s hearing, Mark Bankston, a lawyer for some of the Sandy Hook victims’ relatives, accused Jones of delaying the liquidation of Infowars numerous times with court filings.
“As far as the world is concerned, Infowars is dead. Everybody knows that,” he said. “He’s trying to keep the bloated corpse of a media organization alive. It’s all a joke. Everybody knows where this is going.”
It’s not the first time The Onion has hit a legal setback in plans to take over Infowars.
In November 2024, the Chicago-based satirical outlet was named the winner of a bankruptcy court auction of the assets of Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, aimed at helping pay some of the defamation judgments. But a federal judge overturned the auction results, citing problems with process and The Onion’s bid.
Jones said on his show this week that he has a new studio nearing completion. He already has set up a new phone app and websites, including one that sells the dietary supplements, clothing and other merchandise he hawks on his shows. And his personal X account, where he posts videos of his shows and has 4.5 million followers, is not affected by any of the court cases.
On Thursday night, Jones toasted to his crew and viewers during a livestream on X as a clock ticked down to when he said his final moments in the building would hit.
“We’re not here anymore because they’re turning the power off at midnight,” he said.
This week, FAT Brands announced they are shuttering all Smokey Bones locations in the United States. The BBQ causal restaurant closed all the 130 locations.
Its franchise headquarters are in Beverly Hills, California. In January 2026, Smokey Bones had 31 restaurants in 15 Eastern states.nUnder its previous owner, Smokey Bones had as many as 128 restaurants across most of the United States. On April 28, 2026 Twin Hospitality closed all of its remaining Smokey Bones restaurants.
The closures come only months after Twin Hospitality Group, the FAT Brands subsidiary that operates Smokey Bones and the restaurant chain Twin Peaks, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Twin Hospitality announced in a January press release that both brands were expected to “remain open and operating as usual” during the proceedings, but later language in the same release failed to mention future plans for Smokey Bones.
“Twin Peaks has redefined the sports bar experience and built an iconic and highly profitable business,” Andy Wiederhorn, the CEO of Twin Hospitality, said at the time. “We are confident that the brand remains positioned for meaningful global expansion in the years to come.”
Smokey Bones once had nearly 130 locations across the United States, but ended up slimming down to just 73 sometime in 2007, Tasting Table reported. At the time of its acquisition by FAT Brands in 2023, there were 61 left across 16 states.
Earlier Wednesday, the Smokey Bones website indicated there were 20 restaurants still in operation at the time of the closures, across eight states: Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
