I swear if I hear another agitator or politician mention Hasan Piker.
These are the reasons why Americans hate politicians. They care more about the opinions of an agitator than the policies that are crippling the economy.
President Donald J. Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Congress, the Supreme Court, the junk food media, Israel, Russia and the United Nations are viewed extremely negatively.
Billionaires and elites are viewed negatively.
Corporations, private equity, social media and energy companies are viewed negatively.
But hey, let's worry about a progressive agitator.
Have you visited Dollar Tree lately?
It is no longer priced at $1.
It has prices at $1.25 or higher.
We are seeing the signs on the wall. The Chesapeake, Virginia company is seeing the tariffs ruin its once proud affordability racket. The company is now just like Dollar General and Family Dollar.
Items that you purchased once ago for only $1 is no longer available in the United States and Canada.
To combat the financial strain of import duties, Dollar Tree has implemented selective price hikes—moving certain cleaning supplies and household goods higher than the baseline $1.25 tier—alongside adjusting product sizes or discontinuing non-economical items.
Dollar Tree competes in the dollar store and low-end retail markets. Each Dollar Tree stocks a variety of products, including national, regional, and private-label brands. Departments found in a Dollar Tree store include health and beauty, food and snacks, party, seasonal décor, housewares, glassware, dinnerware, household cleaning supplies, candy, toys, gifts, gift bags, and wrap, stationery, craft supplies, teaching supplies, automotive, electronics, pet supplies, and books. Most Dollar Tree stores also sell frozen foods and dairy items such as milk, eggs, pizza, ice cream, frozen dinners, and pre-made baked goods. In August 2012, the company began accepting manufacturer coupons at all of its store locations.
Dollar Tree, and dollar stores in general, have been alleged to create food deserts: areas with poor access to healthy and affordable food. Dollar Tree disputes this claim, stating that it creates food options in areas that would otherwise be deserts.
If you're Black, Latino, a part of the LGBTQ community or an indigenous American, you voted to cut your own hands off. You voted to put gasoline on yourself and set yourself on fire.
Milo Yiannopoulos, once a fierce supporter of President Donald J. Trump and the America First movement, was detained by Immigration Customs and Enforcement while in New Orleans.
The far right agitator who became infamous for sparking a harassment campaign against comedian Leslie Jones. He is a British national and I thought he had a green card or American citizenship. He didn't get the Trump Gold Card like Nicki Minaj.
Immigration officials said that Yiannopoulos was arrested at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and accused him of entering the United States illegally in May 2019 through New York City. An immigration judge issued a final order of removal on July 22 after Yiannopoulos failed to show up for his immigration hearing, a DHS spokesperson wrote in an email.
“He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” a spokesperson for DHS wrote in an emailed statement.
ICE’s online detainee locator doesn’t say where Yiannopoulos is being held but directs family and legal representatives to the agency’s office in Alexandria, Louisiana, a deportation hub for international flights.
Representatives of Yiannopoulos did not respond to a request for comment. It is unclear whether he has legal representation.
The British national has most recently worked for the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, who is scheduled to perform in New Orleans on Friday evening.
Yiannopoulos is a well-known champion of conservative causes and has frequently taken provocative public positions criticizing feminism, Islam and immigrants. He has been especially supportive of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“Zero immigration for the next 20 years. No ifs, no buts,” Yiannopoulos wrote on the social platform X last year.
Laura Loomer, once an ally of Yiannopoulod was praising it.
“I was the first person to report on the fact that Milo was in the US illegally where he incited violence against President Trump and worked for Marjorie Traitor Greene,” Loomer wrote on X.
Yiannopoulos rose to infamy in the early 2010s as an incendiary writer for the conservative website Breitbart News. He resigned from the company in 2017 after a video of him endorsing pedophilia resurfaced online. He later apologized for the remarks and said he himself was a victim of sexual assault as a minor.
Yiannopoulos’ arrest comes amid a nationwide uptick in detentions as part of Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Controversy around Yiannopoulos ballooned in 2017 when he carried out what he called his “Troll Academy Tour” across college campuses nationwide. Fights broke out when some students protested Yiannopoulos’ appearances and accused him of hate speech, while others celebrated him as a champion of free speech. Around that time, BuzzFeed reported on Yiannopoulos’ cozy relationships with self-proclaimed white nationalists.
In recent years, Yiannopoulos continued to work in the orbit of conservative activism. In 2022, he was an intern for Marjorie Taylor Greene, according to The Washington Post. He subsequently ran the short-lived 2024 presidential campaign for Ye. Most recently, Yiannopolous has worked as a spokesperson for Ye, who has been beset by controversy of his own following antisemitic comments that the rapper has since apologized for.
Toronto sits on the north of Lake Ontario. Trump decides to make another dumb decision to rename Lake Ontario, Lake America.
The U.S. has never had a hostile relationship with Canada. Well when the domination was under British rule and invaded the U.S. in 1812.
But so far good relationship. That changed when an 80 year old curmudgeon named Donald J. Trump became the 45th/47th President of the United States.
On Thursday, President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order declaring the Great Lakes under U.S. sovereignty. He said that Lake Ontario is now Lake America.
Google Maps has not officially changed it yet. They have for the Gulf of Mexico (called the Gulf of America). They have for the Persian Gulf (called Arabian Gulf).
This decision comes amid tensions Washington instigated with Ottawa.
Prime Minister Mark Carney brushed off the renaming of the lake. He just said to the U.S. consumers, "get ready for an expensive fall and winter."
Trump said Thursday he is renaming Lake Ontario to be known as “Lake America” in the United States as he escalates his trade war with Canada.
The Republican president signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to update the lake’s name in the U.S. geographic naming service. Trump cannot force Canada to follow along, however.
Trump has been floating the idea of the name change in recent days as the U.S. announced it was imposing 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods over the weekend after talks between the countries broke down. Trump has been needling America’s northern neighbor since he returned to the White House last year, suggesting the ally with whom the U.S. once had warm relations should instead be absorbed as the 51st state.
Canada responded to Trump’s import taxes this week by imposing retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of American goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances and farm equipment.
Trump, who signed the order as he was sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, had a large sign behind him propped on a stand with a map of the Great Lakes. Over Lake Ontario, in big red letters, the map read “Lake America.”
On the other side of the president was another map with the words, “MAKING THE GREAT LAKES EVEN GREATER.”
Trump said as he was signing the order that he’d “notified all of the various people that we have to notify. So, we’ve done everything that you have to do.”
“And this is official, effective immediately,” he added.
But the executive order Trump signed shows that the changes are supposed to be made within 30 days.
Canadian officials dismissed Trump’s move.
Carney rejected the move, invoking the lake’s Indigenous roots and noting that the name predates both Canadian Confederation and the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
“Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always,” he wrote.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has traded insults with Trump, said on X: “It’s Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world. Now and forever.”
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said, “We’re into some real foolishness now. It’s Lake Ontario, buddy.”
The lake is one of multiple Great Lakes that the U.S. and Canada share borders along. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat whose state shares a border on the lake, wrote on X in response to the White House’s announcement that, “New York won’t be calling it that.”
There is no single international body that determines names of international bodies of water and Trump has wide latitude over how the U.S. government recognizes geographic places and landmarks.
The name Lake Ontario comes from the Huron Indigenous people’s word “oniatarí:io,” which means “lake of shining waters.” The province of Ontario, founded in 1867, took its name from the lake.
Trump said that while his action was not meant to send any particular geopolitical message, “Canada’s been ripping us off for a long time” on trade and military issues.
“They wanted to be treated like a state and they’re not a state,” the president said. “We just can’t do that anymore.”
“We love the people of Canada,” Trump added. “I don’t think their representatives do, an appropriate job. Maybe they’ll change. I really don’t know. It doesn’t make much difference.”
The move is reminiscent of his move last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
Trump scribbled his name with a Sharpie pen on the executive order, then held it up for the cameras, offering, “And we filed all the necessary papers, documents, everything else.”
He also suggested his push to rename bodies of water may not be finished.
“So, if you think about it, we have a gulf and we have a lake. Now, all we need is an ocean,” Trump said. “So maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them.”
Canadian actor Peter Cullen best known for his voice as Optimus Prime, the noble leader of the Autobots in The Transformers passed away.
Man my childhood.
President Donald J. Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Congess, Prime Minister Mark Carney, Parliament, Hollywood and animators across the world react to his passing.
Cullen, a prolific voice actor who enlivened scores of TV series, specials and movies, including Optimus Prime in the syndicated 1984 series “Transformers” and Eeyore in the Winnie the Pooh cartoon franchise, has died. He was 85.
His agent, Kevin Motley, said Cullen died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles. “His family asks that you honor his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty and always remember ‘be strong enough to be gentle,’” said a family statement.
Before his audition, Cullen only knew that he would be reading for the part of a truck, though giving voice to a vehicle didn’t seem that crazy. “You’re always auditioning for something in animation that’s a little off of the norm,” Cullen told the AP in 2019.
When Cullen read about the heroic Autobot leader that turned into a red cabover semitrailer, he thought about his older brother, who had served as a U.S. Marine in the Vietnam War.
“He was my hero, and he certainly was the mainstay behind the character,” Cullen said. “I just did an impression of Larry, and he’s still alive in my mind today because every time I do Prime, there’s my brother Larry.”
Cullen’s authoritative baritone as Optimus Prime also appeared in 2009’s “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” through “Dark of the Moon,” “Age of Extinction,” “The Last Knight,” “Bumblebee” and “Rise of the Beasts” in 2023.
A legend of animation, Peter Cullen.
His thoughtful, almost operatic lines would be quoted for decades by kids and adults alike: “I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars: We are here. We are waiting,” he said in the first movie. In another, he intoned: “Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing.”
Other highlights from Cullen’s prolific career include voicing Eeyore across various “Winnie-the-Pooh” projects, including Disney’s “The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” TV series that aired from 1988-91, as well as voicing the villainous KARR opposite KITT in the 1980s NBC series “Knight Rider,” and lending his pipes to King Kong in the Jeff Bridges-led “King Kong” remake in 1976.
Cullen would attend conventions around the country to meet with fans from multiple generations, often getting teary. He said parents sometimes got more excited than their children meeting him.
“I expect that I will run into a father with his son, and the father will more than likely get choked up,” Cullen said before MegaCon Orlando in 2019. “And then I get choked up, and then the kid is saying ‘What are these two grown men getting choked up about?’”
Cullen is survived by his four children, Angus, Claire, Pilar and Clay.
Pro Israel Democrats and Republican Mike Lawler have an obsession with an agitator who isn't running for office.
The Democratic Party are sabotaging their chances at winning the Midterms. Instead of putting forth policies that counter President Donald J. Trump and Republicans, they are doing bipartisan condemnation of a prominent progressive agitator who inspired people to vote for democratic socialists.
They are literally wasting more time talking about Hasan Piker than about the crumbling economy. The responses from Hakeem Jeffries, John Fetterman, Elissa Slotkin, Pete Aguilar, Hillary Scholten, Jared Moskowitz, Josh Gottheimer, Ritchie Torres, Cory Booker and Jacky Rosen was coordinated by their staff and AIPAC handlers.
Literally AIPAC has its tentacles all over this.
Republican Mike Lawler also is joining in on the pile on Piker.
They allow Randy Fine, Bill Maher, Mark Levin, Sean "Softball" Hannity, Chaya Raichik, Ben Shapiro, Laura Loomer, Andy Ogles, Tommy Tuberville, Brandon Gill, Jake Tapper and Jesse Watters spew anti-Muslim nonsense without even a condemnation.
Even if they did condemn the rhetoric of these assholes, it's always, we watered down round the circle denouncing.
I swear, if they continue this rambling about Piker, I am going to just sit it out.
I am tired of voting for bullshit. The Democratic Party thinks its key to winning is older Black voters, Jews and educated Americans. Well there are folks who are not into Republican Party policies but want to vote for the Democrats but can't because they want you to wait longer for change while they focus on the status quo. They want to chase after the elusive white voters.
Likely white women with biracial children are voting. Black women who are fed up with cost of living while they are working to succeed are voting. Black men who are tired of the stereotyping about them being violent and lazy are voting. Muslims tired of being told their religion is extreme when its not are voting. Arab Americans who are tired of being told to denounce someone who commits violence as its everyone are voting.
People are sick and tired of Israel.
People are tired of the junk food media focusing on distractions.
I want Angie Nixon, Abdul El-Sayed and even James Talarico to win their senate bids.
I want the Democrats to stop focusing on Piker and focus on the economy and the decline of this country. If you got time to condemn people who aren't running the government, you got time to do something as people running the government.
Democrats have a 48% chance of winning the House. They have a 43% chance of winning the Senate.
Republicans have a 47% chance of holding the House. They have a 49% chance of holding the Senate.
If you watched Tales from the Hood, Menace II Society, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood, Set It Off, The Player's Club and watch television programs, you saw a veteran actor portraying the role of the antagonist.
Samuel Monroe, Jr. has succumb to meningitis.
In early March, the junk food media reported he had meningitis which progressed throughout his body. They placed him in a coma and declared him brain dead.
Monroe Jr. died Thursday August 27 at a Los Angeles hospital. He was 52 years old. His mother Joyce Patton confirmed his death on Facebook. "I want to thank all of my Facebook family and friends new and old for praying for Samuel Monroe Jr., my son. But today God called him home. Please honor my final request to pray for the family especially his 3 children."
Monroe spent four months fighting for his life after being hospitalized in April with meningitis, MRSA pneumonia and complications that required dialysis.
His family revealed in April that the meningitis had gone untreated for approximately eight months, first contracted while he was filming in Las Vegas, because of repeated misdiagnoses at several hospitals.
His final months before they placed Monroe in a medically induced coma.
By the time he was properly diagnosed it had spread to his brain and spine. He suffered multiple seizures in recent weeks and doctors had warned his family he might spend the rest of his life in a vegetative state.
His wife Shawna Stewart, his mother and three children never stopped fighting for him.
Monroe built his career in the 1990s playing memorable supporting roles in films that defined Black cinema, Menace II Society in 1993, Tales from the Hood in 1995, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, Set It Off in 1996 and The Players Club in 1998. He is survived by his wife, his mother and his three children.
President Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance's trade war with Canada will cause a toilet paper shortage.
Okay, folks are going to start going into desperation mode come the Fall. It will be the months where electirc usage increases, the daylight decreases, gun violence increases, folks are debating whether they go to a necessity or cut back on their usual routines.
It may come to a point where you will be forced to stay at home.
I am not going to fast food restraurants.
I am not going to bars and nightclubs.
I am not going to movie theaters, concerts, plays or large gatherings.
I am basically staying at home and it still costs money.
So what I am saying is simple. Why did Joe Biden allow Donald J. Trump to return to power?
Cause he was tone deaf. The former president put his gamble on helping Ukraine and Israel which led to inflation. As Israel was committing a genocide, Biden continued to give the country its vast resources draining our resources. He cost himself a second term and Kamala Harris a historical victory.
Now as we are dealing with a tone deaf curmudgeon like Trump, his global instability led us to war with Iran at the behest of Israel. The junk food media isn't even covering the war crimes the U.S. and Israel are committing. They are so driving by buzz words like democratic socialism, Hasan Piker, transgender Americans and establishment.
Unaware, the war with Iran has quickly raised the cost of living globally.
Trump's fight with Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada will lead to another massive blow to the necessities. Toilet paper, lumber, ink, crabs, fish, shrimp, milk, shipping boxes, copper, bandages and syrup will increase within weeks.
The U.S. and Canada are now in a full-fledged trade war following the breakdown of negotiations last weekend, and toilet paper has emerged as a casualty. Canada has threatened to impose tariffs of between 25% and 50% on “toilet paper or face tissue stock” from Sept. 8 in retaliation for a 50% hike from Washington, D.C.
Canada announced retaliatory tariffs after its previously good relations with the U.S. deteriorated. Trump told Canadian leaders to “fall in line” or face consequences “far WORSE” than existing tariffs on Monday, while Carney accused Washington of trying to subordinate Canada.
While toilet paper and tissues are often made domestically in the U.S., they rely heavily on lumber-rich Canada for raw materials. Procter & Gamble, the owner of Charmin toilet paper, said last year that it would have to increase prices amid tariffs that were in place at the time.
The tariffs the president imposed on Canada will almost certainly trigger a trade war with our closest ally. It will lead to Canadian customs and border agencies pushing tougher border crossing inspections for any U.S. citizen traveling.
According to the World Bank, the U.S. imported $328 million worth of toilet paper from Canada in 2024, making Canada the largest exporter of the product to the U.S.
According to a report by The Guardian, the U.S. accounts for more than 20% of global tissue consumption despite having only 4% of the world’s population. The average American uses 141 rolls of toilet paper per year, making the U.S. No. 1 globally for toilet paper consumption, just ahead of Germany, where people use an average of 134 rolls annually.
Toilet paper isn’t the only product affected by the trade tensions. U.S. tariffs have also affected Canadian liquor, including popular whiskey brands Crown Royal and Canadian Club, which are currently subject to a 50% tariff.
While Canada has not introduced a tariff on American liquor, most Canadian provinces have imposed their own bans on American alcohol in retaliation for earlier tariffs on Canadian products. Trump had cited province-wide bans on American alcohol as justification for new tariffs against Canada. Carney has asked provincial leaders to consider putting American liquor back on the shelves.
The auto industry could also be affected, though cars and auto parts have been exempt from U.S. tariffs. Canada is the largest purchaser of U.S.-made cars, which could put pressure on American automakers that rely on Canadian demand.
According to Al Jazeera, U.S. households could face higher prices on 550 consumer goods imported from Canada because of Trump’s 50% tariff. This could significantly affect Americans, according to a report from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, an economic think tank, which found that U.S. importers and consumers absorb 96% of the tariff burden.
Legends never die. They transcend. Another major celebrity passed away.
A legendary actor who spanned for decades has passed away.
Just after hearing about Dolly Parton.
Yearly wrap up.
Tim Curry, the English actor and director who broke through iconic status from his role in the Rocky Horror Picture Show has passed away at 80.
He passed away from complications of his debilitating stroke in Los Angeles.
I am kid of the 1980s and 1990s. I grew up knowing Tim Curry voicing many animated villians on television.
Sources tell TMZ the actor -- who had been plagued with serious health issues for more than a decade -- passed away late Tuesday night at his Los Angeles home.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... police responded to his house at 11:23 PM Tuesday night. We're told there is no foul play suspected in the case.
He played Pennywise, the killer clown in It. He played Skullmaster, the archenemy in the Mighty Max franchise. He played Nigel Thornberry, the father of protagonist Eliza Thornberry in The Wild Thornberries. Captain Hook in Peter Pan and the Pirates. Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island.
Born April 19, 1946, in Grappenhall, England, Curry trained in drama at the University of Birmingham before sharpening his acting skills in theater. That traditional arts foundation never left Curry’s characteristically British approach to the craft. Even at his filmography’s most cinematic across film and TV, Curry retained an immediacy that recalled the high-risk potential of being on stage — as reflected in his Tony-nominated parts for “Amadeus,” “Spamalot,” and more.
It’s impossible to talk about Curry without stressing the mammoth impact of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975). A genre-bending, queer fringe film phenomenon that immortalized Curry as a countercultural icon decades before his death, the beloved indie remains the longest-running midnight movie of all time. As the simultaneously menacing and strangely sympathetic Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Curry didn’t just anchor the zany world created by writer and co-star Richard O’Brien. Instead, the movie’s unexpected main attraction became indelible proof of its timelessly powerful thesis of acceptance.
Equal parts sexy and satire, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” turned ritualized screening culture into an essential safe haven for theater-going weirdos that’s stood its ground for more than half a century. It’s well documented, but Curry’s singular contribution to the texture and mood of the genre filmmaking landscape around “Rocky Horror” cannot be overstated. Other performers have tried to replicate his command of audacious, boundary-pushing comedy, but few (if any) have succeeded.
After slowly changing the theatrical underworld as the king of midnight movies, Curry spent the rest of his acting career gleefully refusing to be pinned down. He was the embodiment of what happens when a classically trained performer with infinite talent decides typical taste is optional for his path through Hollywood, and any one Curry’s films is arguably worth reevaluating in the wake of his death.
In Ridley Scott’s “Legend” (1985), Curry disappeared under layers of prosthetics to deliver a demonic performance that’s so committed it became the epic fantasy film’s defining image. In the 1990 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s “It,” Curry used Pennywise the Dancing Clown as an avenue to redefine, intentionally or not, what serialized horror could even look like — doubling-down on the genre expertise in his earlier film adaptation of the boardgame “Clue.”
The deep voice of Tim Curry was known in television, film and radio.
The cherished cult classic from 1985 is an ideal showcase for Curry’s impeccable physical humor and timing. As the ever-exasperated butler, Wadsworth, Curry guides the main characters and audience through an escalating experiment in choose-your-own absurdity that sees pure chaos choreographed. That palpable elasticity extended into Curry’s voice work for animation, unearthing another layer of the late actor’s otherworldly talent. Curry’s turn in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas” (1997) is an oddly vivid example that shouldn’t be missed if you’re even vaguely tempted to the possibility of this particular performer speaking for a villainous pipe organ named Maestro Forte.
Over the years, Curry was also the voice of Nigel on “The Wild Thornberrys,” Emperor Palpatine in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” and Hexxus in “FernGully: The Last Rainforest” (1992). Whether by Curry’s charismatic nature or through a perfectionist drive to study, the late artist understood how to expand almost any creative assignment. Curry was the rare actor to recognize that genre films rely as much on their gutsy style as they do performers earnestly engaging with outrageous universes around them through a proportionately grounded sense of play.
He also appeared in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” (1992), “Muppet Treasure Island” (1996), and more. Curry never condescended to material, but consistently elevated scripts by taking them seriously. That paradox is at the heart of why Curry’s work will always endure. It’s also why so much of his filmography has found a second life in the cult film world of today. Sincerity and audacity are not opposing forces but complementary ones in this space, and for writers, retro programmers, and other film fans who came of age after midnight at the movies, Curry’s impact persists as its own kind of religion.
In his later years, even as Curry’s health declined following a major stroke in 2012, the actor remained a devoted presence in the ever-lasting orbit of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” — up through its triumphant 50th anniversary. Curry continued to make appearances for the film’s obsessives, who never stopped doing the “Time Warp” alongside him.
Another progressive defeats a pro Israel and legacy name opponent. The daughter of the late Georgia U.S. House member David Scott was defeated by Everton Blair.
Blair will serve the remaining term.
Rep-elect Everton Blair (D-GA) was backed by progressives and took a firm approach despite the establishment trying to label him as on of Hasan Piker's friends.
He will be Georgia's first openly gay U.S. House member. He is also the first Black openly gay member from the Deep South.
Though Blair's time in Congress is set to be temporary, it will be a first for the state of Georgia and restore a Democratic representative to the closely divided House of Representatives.
The New York Times reported that Everton Blair Jr. won Tuesday's runoff to the special election for U.S. representative for Georgia's 13th Congressional District. The win will send Blair to Congress to serve out the remainder of the term of Scott, who died in office in April. Blair defeated Marcye Scott, the deceased congressman's daughter, in a run-off after neither candidate received a majority of the votes in the first round of the special election to replace Scott.
Tuesday's victory will send Blair, the former chair of the Gwinnett County School Board in Georgia, to Washington D.C. to finish out Scott's term, which ends in January. Blair is not running in November's election, which will decide who occupies the seat for the full term that begins next year; Blair lost the Democratic primary for that race to Georgia State Representative Jasmine Clark. The 13th District, which represents eastern suburbs of Atlanta, is a heavily Democratic district, making Clark the clear frontrunner to win the seat in November.
Breaking new ground for Black and LGBTQ+ representation in Georgia
Blair, who graduated from Harvard and Stanford and served in the Obama administration, made history in 2019 when he came out as gay while serving as a member of the Gwinnett County Board of Education. His announcement made him only the second out gay Black man to serve in statewide office in Georgia and one of only a few openly gay elected officials in the state. Now Blair, who comes from a family of Jamaican immigrants and previously worked as a math teacher before becoming the first Black person to serve on the Gwinnett County Board of Education, will now be the first openly gay man elected to Congress from Georgia. He ran his congressional race as a progressive, receiving backing from Bernie Sanders' organization Our Revolution and the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. He also drew support from Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA), a prominent gun control pro Israel lawmaker.
Democrats fight for control of House of Representatives
Blair's election fills a Democratic seat in Congress left vacant by Scott's death at a time when Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House of Representatives. Blair will tighten that majority along with fellow Democrat Aisha Wahab, who recently won a special election to fill the U.S. House seat left vacant by Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April amid allegations of multiple assault and misconduct. Two other House seats remain open after the April resignations of Republican Tony Gonzales of Texas after he was alleged to have had an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, and Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, who resigned amid federal fraud allegations and recently lost the Democratic primary to regain her seat.
While Clark's likely election in November will aid Democrats in their hopes of retaking the House of Representatives, Blair's term in Congress will help ensure that Republicans maintain at most a paper-thin majority in the House for the remainder of this term. His election is the latest milestone for Blair and the state of Georgia and adds another progressive voice to the Democratic Party's representation in Congress.
Benjamin "Benny" Latimore, the Southern soul-blues singer, pianist, and songwriter who spent more than fifty years shaping the genre, has died at 86.
Only weeks before birthday.
Latimore was born in Charleston, Tennessee, in 1939, and grew up steeped in country radio, Baptist church hymns, and Delta blues. He broke into the music business as a backing pianist for Florida bands, including Steve Alaimo's, before landing his first studio sessions around 1965 with Henry Stone's Miami-based Dade label. A move to Glades Records in the early '70s paid off fast: his 1973 reworking of T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday" cracked the R&B Top 30, and a gender-flipped cover of Gladys Knight's "If You Were My Woman" followed soon after.
Then came the song that defined him. "Let's Straighten It Out" topped the R&B chart in 1974 and crossed into the Billboard Hot 100, a career peak he followed with two more Top 10 R&B hits, "Keep the Home Fire Burnin'" (1975) and "Somethin' 'Bout 'Cha" (1976), before the hit streak cooled toward the decade's end.
Rather than fade, Latimore rebuilt. He signed with Malaco Records in 1982 and released seven albums of modern blues material over the following years, stepping away briefly in the mid-'90s for a stint with J-Town before returning to Malaco in 2000. He later recorded for Mel Waiters' Brittney Records and, in 2007, launched his own label, LatStone, with longtime collaborator Henry Stone, the same producer who'd given him his first break decades earlier.
Even outside his own catalog, Latimore stayed busy in Miami's soul scene as a session pianist, playing on Joss Stone's The Soul Sessions and Mind Body & Soul alongside fellow Florida veterans Betty Wright, Timmy Thomas, and Willie Hale. He made a late-career television appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2014, and in 2017 was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
The special election runoff ends with a win for Sen. Darline Graham Nordone (R-SC).
She easily defeated Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC). This makes two huge losses for the far right Republican. He now can exit Congress along with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).
Graham Nordone, younger sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham who was appointed to complete his term, on Tuesday won a special primary runoff election to replace her brother on the November ballot, the Associated Press projects.
As of 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25, the special GOP primary runoff for U.S. Senate in South Carolina was called in favor of Darline Graham Nordone -- who is going by Darline Graham in the Senate.
Graham Nordone had secured at least 178,000 votes, defeating runoff opponent Norman in the special primary.
Graham Nordone was one of 10 Republican candidates vying for the U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina in the Aug. 11 special primary election, which was held following Lindsey Graham’s death. No candidate obtained enough of a majority to avoid a runoff, however.
Now Graham Nordone and Norman obtained the most votes out of the 10 Republican candidates, securing 32.8% and 24.6% of the vote, respectively. The two went head-to-head in a runoff election on Tuesday.
After winning Tuesday’s runoff, Graham Nordone will face off against Democratic nominee for Senate Dr. Annie Andrews in South Carolina’s general election this November.
Old is no longer cool.
Darline Graham serving remainder of late brother’s term in Senate
Graham Nordone was appointed in July to serve the remainder of Lindsey Graham’s term in the Senate, following his unexpected death. Lindsey Graham’s current Senate term is set to expire in January 2027.
The late Lindsey Graham had won his Senate primary in June, and was seeking a fifth term in the role. He died on July 11 from a believed tear in his aorta.
Lindsey Graham served as U.S. senator for South Carolina since 2003.
Following her appointment, Graham Nordone announced that she’d run for a full term to replace her brother in the Senate. Both her appointment and her Senate campaign were endorsed by President Donald J. Trump.
Graham Nordone was also endorsed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, whose seat will also be up for grabs in November.
Prior to her current nomination to Senate, Graham Nordone had not served in public office.
Graham Nordone will face off against Democratic nominee for Senate Dr. Annie Andrews in South Carolina’s general election this November.
About the special Republican primary runoff
The runoff election for the U.S. Senate special Republican primary took place on Tuesday, Aug. 25.
Eligible voters were helping to narrow the field of candidates ahead of the general midterm election on Nov. 3, 2026.
South Carolina’s last U.S. Senate special election was in 2014, when Tim Scott took office.
Anyone who meets the U.S. Constitution’s requirements and South Carolina’s requirements can run for the U.S. Senate special election.
Who can vote?
Any registered voter who voted in the June Republican primary -- or did not vote in either party’s primary -- can vote in the special election.
Anyone who voted in the June Democratic primary cannot vote in the special election.
The deadline to register to vote in the special election was July 12.
Voters can verify their registration status and view a sample ballot on the South Carolina Election Commission website.
We mourn Dolly Parton. She paved the way for singers like the late entertainer Aaliyah.
Today marks 25 years since her tragic death in a plane crash. She was among a handful of people who died in a plane crash after filming her music video in The Bahamas.
Aaliyah Dana Haughton was 22 year old when she died.
The singer and actress was wrapping up filming for her music video "Rock the Boat" when she and her entourage gathered on a charter plane. The pilot was apparently under the influence risked it all by carrying the entertainer, equipment, suitcases and several members in the film crew on a plane that was overweight.
The plane crashed shortly after take off.
The incident was filmed. There's a rumor that the footage of people trying to save the victims online but I had trouble trying to find it.
Nonetheless, Aaliyah was badly burned and could not be saved.
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Detroit, she first gained recognition at the age of 10, when she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside Gladys Knight. At the age of 12, Aaliyah signed with Jive Records and her uncle Barry Hankerson's Blackground Records. Hankerson introduced her to Robert Sylvester Kelly, who became her mentor and sexual abuser. Kelly was the lead songwriter and producer of her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number (1994). The album sold three million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
After allegations of an illegal marriage with Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed with Atlantic Records.
Her life was cut short.
That marriage became the nail in the coffin for Kelly. In his federal trial, witnesses claim that a 14 year old Aaliyah was in the back of a tour bus having sexual intercourse with Kelly. An associate of Kelly illegally bribed a state worker to forge documents making Aaliyah 18 years old when they got married.
Aaliyah was 15 at the time of the wedding, while Kelly was 27. To conceal her age, an associate of Kelly's allegedly bribed an Illinois official to obtain a fraudulent marriage license that listed Aaliyah's age as 18.
Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in federal time out.
Aaliyah worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, One in a Million (1996), which sold three million copies in the United States and more than eight million copies worldwide. In 2000, Aaliyah made her acting debut in the action film Romeo Must Die, alongside Jet Li. She contributed to the film's soundtrack, which was supported by her single "Try Again". The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 solely through airplay, becoming the first in the chart's history to do so. After completing the film, Aaliyah subsequently filmed her starring role in Queen of the Damned (which was released posthumously), and in July 2001, released her eponymous third album, which topped the Billboard 200. The album spawned the singles "We Need a Resolution", "Rock the Boat" and "More Than a Woman".
She spent months working on the album with her longtime friend and producer Timbaland. She also had the late Static Major, Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, Rapture and Bud'da help her work on the album.
She was engaged to then Roc-A-Fella Records CEO Damon "Dame" Dash and was happy with her life.
I still remember that night I've heard she died in a plane crash. It was heartbreaking.
Aaliyah was killed in the Marsh Harbour Cessna 402 crash along with eight other people on board, when the overloaded aircraft she was traveling in crashed shortly after takeoff. The pilot was later found to have traces of cocaine and alcohol in his body and was not qualified to fly the aircraft designated for the flight. Aaliyah's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the aircraft's operator, which was settled out of court. In the decades following her death, Aaliyah's music has continued to achieve commercial success, aided by several posthumous releases, including the compilation albums I Care 4 U (2002) and Ultimate Aaliyah (2005). She has sold 8.1 million albums in the US and an estimated 24 to 32 million albums worldwide. In 2010, Billboard listed her as the tenth most successful female R&B artist of the past 25 years, and the 27th most successful in history.
Her death shook the community. Rappers Jay-Z, the late DMX, Missy "Misdemeanor" Eliott, Timbaland and Lil Kim attended her funeral.
Aaliyah, hair stylist Eric Forman, Anthony Dodd, security guard Scott Gallin, Keith Wallace, make-up stylist Christopher Maldonado, and Blackground Records employees Douglas Kratz and Gina Smith --- were killed when pilot Luis Morales III was under the influence when he piloted the twin-engine Cessna 402 in the Bahamas.
Her death rocked the hip-hop community. She was riding on a wave of success at the time. She released her album which was self-titled as Aaliyah (Red). It would be her final album.
We miss you and wish you could be singing some of your hits.
