Thursday, March 28, 2024

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott: Might As Well Call Me.... Stop Whistling!

The far right label Black leaders a DEI hire. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott look at the Patapsco River and the destroyed Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Congress wants to ban TikTok for being "associated to China." Yet, X allows the most vile and racist figures back on the platform. It promotes propaganda from Russia, Israel and white nationalists. Congress doesn't want to drag Elon Musk into testify to why that platform is promoting election denialism, racism, graphic violence, adult content, child pornography, copyright infringement, malware, spam and misinformation.

President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Maryland's U.S. Representatives and Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott have promised to rebound after a cargo ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The bridge immediately collapsed and it killed at least six people.
Two people were rescued from the river; one had no injuries, while the other was transported to a hospital in critical condition. Six members of a construction crew working on the roadway were reported missing, presumed dead. Two bodies were recovered.

NOAA reported a water temperature of 47 °F (8 °C) at the time of the collapse. Two people were rescued from the river, one of whom was in "very serious" condition, while the other person was said to have walked off with no injuries. One of those rescued was a Mexican national. Six people – all part of the construction crew working on the bridge – were reported missing and are presumed dead following the suspension of a U.S. Coast Guard search effort. One of them was identified as a Honduran national; two were from Guatemala, and the others were from El Salvador and Mexico.

At least five submerged vehicles, including three passenger vehicles and a cement truck, were detected using sonar. Emergency services also used drones and infrared technology in search efforts. The bodies of two of the construction crew have been recovered from inside a pickup truck, 35-year-old Alejandro Fuentes of Mexico and 26-year-old Dorlian Cabrera of Guatemala. 38-year-old Maynor Sandoval of Honduras and 49-year-old Miguel Luna of El Salvador have been identified as among the missing.

The bridge which is part of the Baltimore Loop (Interstate 695) is indefinitely closed from the Sparrows Point at the Port of Baltimore to Maryland State Route 210.

Truck traffic which bypasses the city is now forced to alternate. It may spark concerns of rising costs in products affecting millions of Americans. 

Of course, the far right which has nothing but contempt for Biden will blame him.

I am assured that former president Donald J. Trump will lose 4% of the Black vote thanks to this. I am assured that Biden will fear the rise of that fool Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. trying to whitesplain to Blacks why he is the best choice over the two. All three of them support Israel, older than 70 and have been stuck on stupid.

Trump already is spreading conspiracy theories about the collapse. His allies are also involved in this noise. They are also dog whistling this with an attack on Scott, the crew and the victims.

The crew of MV Dali were Indian nationals. They were not injured. The pilots of the cargo ship will be investigated.

Scott, 39 is the current mayor of the city.

He is pretty pissed. This bridge affects the city and economy. We will see a rise in prices due to this.

He hopes the government can pass legislation to fast track a repair of the bridge. 

Mind you, the Francis Scott Key Bridge was privately funded through tolls and state bonds. A fast track to fixing the bridge could tale three years or longer but it will be done.

Now the racism.

X, formerly Twitter was sold to Elon Musk. He turned the social media platform into a free for all [but not limited]. He has been actively pushing anti-immigrant and anti-diversity propaganda through many of these extreme right influencers.

He has even went as far to make conspiracy theories to why the bridge collapsed.

Buttigieg is being attacked for this. Even though the bridge was nearly 50 years old, the cargo ship did not purposely hit bridge and it is because he is gay, the far right has to find some form of outrage over it.

Also this "comedian" named Elijah Schaffer at the Gateway Pundit decided to take this a little bit further by dehumanizing Scott to broken ebonics.

Scott on the other hand was called a DEI mayor because he looked like a "thug."

The account that made that remark since went viral and it prompt Scott to react to it on MSNBC's The Reid Out with Joy Reid. Scott flipped the word and called for Black America to know what's at stake this election.

Reid prefaced her interview with Scott, who is Black, by calling attention to a tweet describing Scott as “Baltimore’s DEI mayor.” That post, which references the acronym that stands for diversity, equity and inclusion, has generated more than 25 million views, along with a clarifying community note on X.

“I cannot believe I have to say this,” Reid began. “Brandon Scott was elected with 70 percent of the vote in 2020 in a city that is 61 percent Black. So by right-wing logic, a ‘diversity hire’ would have been a white man.”

Reid then asked Scott if he wanted to address the “tomfoolery” of those attacking him “for having the nerve to be Black and also a mayor.” He obliged.

“I know, and we all know, and you know very well that Black men and young Black men in particular have been the bogeyman for those who are racist and think that only straight, wealthy white men should have a say in anything,” Scott said. “We’ve been the bogeyman for them since the first day they brought us to this country. And what they mean by DEI, in my opinion, is Duly Elected Incumbent.”

Scott later told Reid he knows what those critics “want to say.”

“But they don’t have the courage to say the N-word, and the fact that I don’t believe in their untruthful and wrong ideology, and I am very proud of my heritage and who I am and where I come from, scares them,” Scott said.

He continued, “Because me being at my position means that their way of thinking, their way of life of being comfortable while everyone else suffers, is going to be at risk, and they should be afraid because that’s my purpose in life.”

To add more noise to this discussion. 

The controversial Talbert Swan, the Black Catholic bishop who is a leftist. He flat out said that all this anti-woke, anti-DEI, all this scapegoating Black issues is basically the far right and white supremacists definition of NIGGER.

DEI has become a frequent target for right-wing attacks in recent years including in Florida, which has banned the use of state and federal funds for DEI programs at public colleges, and Texas.

Others such as Florida congressional candidate Anthony Sabatini declared “DEI did this” in response to the collapse while Utah Rep. Phil Lyman, a GOP gubernatorial candidate in the state, took aim at Maryland port commissioner Karenthia A. Barber, the first Black woman to hold the title.

“This is what happens when you have Governors who prioritize diversity over the wellbeing and security of citizens,” wrote Lyman, who later posted that “DEI=DIE.”

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Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Joe Lieberman Passed Away!

Another hater bites the dust.

The 2000 former vice presidential candidate, Democratic [later independent] senator from Connecticut and No Labels co-chair has passed away.

Joe Lieberman was a bigot. He was an Islamophobic, a staunch supporter of Israel, a backer of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. He opposed the Iran Nuclear Deal. He was a leading figure in slapping "parental advisory" on hip-hop, rock and comedy albums. He pushed for the end of cartoons on Saturday. He was a supporter of bans on video games.

He supported the surveillance of Muslims and groups who opposed police brutality.

Lieberman was controversial politician who made his stake in being a total douchebag. 

He was Al Gore's running mate in 2000. He was a backer of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. He was defeated by Ned Lamont in the 2006 Connecticut Democratic senate primary. Lieberman ended up running as an independent and defeated Lamont.

Lieberman would end up being a headache to Barack Obama and Joe Biden. 

Lieberman died in New York City on Wednesday due to complications from a fall, the statement said. He was 82.

The Democrat-turned-independent was never shy about veering from the party line.

Lieberman’s independent streak and especially his needling of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential contest rankled many Democrats, the party he aligned with in the Senate. Yet his support for gay rights, civil rights, abortion rights and environmental causes at times won him the praise of many liberals over the years.

“In an era of political carbon copies, Joe Lieberman was a singularity. One of one,” said Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat. “He fought and won for what he believed was right and for the state he adored.”

Over the last decade, Lieberman helped lead No Labels, a centrist third-party movement that has said it will offer as-yet-unnamed candidates for president and vice president this year. Some groups aligned with Democrats oppose the effort, fearing it will help presumptive Republican nominee Donald J. Trump win the White House.

Al Gore and Joe Lieberman lost to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

The group on Wednesday called Lieberman’s unexpected death a “profound loss,” describing him as “a singular figure in American political life who always put his country before party.”

Lieberman came tantalizingly close to winning the vice presidency in the contentious 2000 presidential contest that was decided by a 537-vote margin victory for George W. Bush in Florida after a drawn-out recount, legal challenges and a Supreme Court decision. He was the first Jewish candidate on a major party’s presidential ticket and would have been the first Jewish vice president.

Gore said in a statement Wednesday night that he was profoundly saddened by the death of his one-time running mate. He called Lieberman “a truly gifted leader, whose affable personality and strong will made him a force to be reckoned with” and said his dedication to equality and fairness started at a young age, noting Lieberman traveled to the South to join the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

“It was an honor to stand side-by-side with him on the campaign trail,” Gore said.

Gore said in a statement Wednesday night that he was profoundly saddened by the death of his one-time running mate. He called Lieberman “a truly gifted leader, whose affable personality and strong will made him a force to be reckoned with” and said his dedication to equality and fairness started at a young age, noting Lieberman traveled to the South to join the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

“It was an honor to stand side-by-side with him on the campaign trail,” Gore said.

Lieberman sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 but dropped out after a weak showing in the early primaries. Four years later, he was an independent who was nearly chosen to be McCain’s running mate. He and McCain were close pals who shared hawkish views on military and national security matters.

McCain was leaning strongly toward choosing Lieberman for the ticket as the 2008 GOP convention neared, but he chose Sarah Palin at the last minute after “ferocious” blowback from conservatives over Lieberman’s liberal record, according to Steve Schmidt, who managed McCain’s campaign.

Lieberman generated controversy in 1998 when he scolded Clinton, his friend of many years, for “disgraceful behavior” in an explosive speech on the Senate floor during the height of the scandal over his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Yet Lieberman later voted against the impeachment of Clinton.

While he had a tortured relationship with Democrats, Lieberman defended his partisan switches as a matter of conscience, saying he always had the best interests of Connecticut voters at heart. Critics accused him of pursuing narrow self-interest and political expediency.

In announcing his retirement from the Senate in 2013, Lieberman acknowledged that he did “not always fit comfortably into conventional political boxes” and felt his first responsibility was to serve his constituents, state and country, not his political party.

During his final Senate speech, Lieberman urged Congress to look beyond party lines and partisan rancor to break Washington gridlock.

“It requires reaching across the aisle and finding partners from the opposite party,” said Lieberman. “That is what is desperately needed in Washington now.”

Years earlier, Lieberman was the first national Democrat to publicly criticize President Bill Clinton for his extramarital affair with a White House intern.

Lieberman backed McCain over Obama.

Harry Reid, who served as Senate Democratic leader, once said that while he didn’t always agree with the independent-minded Lieberman, he respected him.

“Regardless of our differences, I have never doubted Joe Lieberman’s principles or his patriotism,” Reid said. “And I respect his independent streak, as it stems from strong convictions.”

Privately, some Democrats were often less charitable about Lieberman’s forays across party lines, which they saw as disloyal. He bolted his party and turned independent after a 2006 Senate primary loss in Connecticut.

Lieberman’s strong support of the Iraq War had hurt his statewide popularity. Democrats rejected Lieberman and handed the 2006 primary to a political newcomer and an anti-war candidate, Ned Lamont, who is now serving a second term as Connecticut governor. Citing his Senate experience, congressional clout and support for the state’s defense industry, Lieberman went on to win reelection to a fourth term as an independent.

Many of his Democratic allies and longtime friends, including former Sen. Chris Dodd, had supported Lamont in that election. Lieberman was candid about what he considered a betrayal by old pals such as Dodd, but the two men later reconciled.

In a statement issued Wednesday expressing condolences, Lamont said he and Lieberman eventually became friends after their grueling and contentious race.

“While the senator and I had our political differences, he was a man of integrity and conviction, so our debate about the Iraq War was serious,” Lamont said in a statement. “I believe we agreed to disagree from a position of principle.”

“When the race was over, we stayed in touch as friends in the best traditions of American democracy. He will be missed,” he added.

After his rebound reelection in 2006, Lieberman decided to caucus with Democrats in the Senate, who let him head a committee in return because they needed his vote to help keep control of the closely divided chamber. But it wasn’t long until Lieberman was showing his independent streak and ruffling his Democratic caucus colleagues.

Despite the decision of Democrats to let him join their caucus as an independent, Lieberman was an enthusiastic backer of McCain in the 2008 presidential contest.

Lieberman’s speech at the 2008 GOP presidential nominating convention criticizing Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, struck a deep nerve with many Democrats.

Lieberman cast Obama as a political show horse, a lightweight with a thin record of accomplishment in the Senate despite his soaring eloquence as a speaker.

“In the Senate, during the 3 1/2 years that Sen. Obama has been a member, he has not reached across party lines to ... accomplish anything significant, nor has he been willing to take on powerful interest groups in the Democratic Party to get something done,” Lieberman said at the convention.

“Eloquence is no substitute for a record,” he said.

Lieberman campaigned heartily across the country for McCain. Many Democrats considered it a betrayal to Obama and his former party colleagues.

“Joe Lieberman has said things that are totally irresponsible when it comes to Barack Obama,” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California said in a radio interview during the 2008 race. On Wednesday, Pelosi called Lieberman a “leader of integrity and patriotism” while acknowledging they often disagreed on politics in a message posted on X.

After the election, there was speculation Senate Democrats might strip Lieberman of his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee as payback. Then-Sen. Patrick Leahy, the chair of the Judiciary Committee, was among those who said Lieberman should lose his chairmanship. Leahy branded Lieberman’s attacks on Obama as “beyond the pale.”

But at Obama’s urging, Senate Democrats decided not to punish Lieberman for supporting McCain and the GOP ticket. Obama was eager to strike a bipartisan tone for his presidency and giving Lieberman a pass helped reinforce that message. On Wednesday, Obama acknowledged they “didn’t always see eye-to-eye,” but noted Lieberman had an “extraordinary career in public service.”

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent and staunch liberal, called Lieberman’s convention comments a “slap in the face” for millions of Americans who backed Obama.

Connecticut Democrats considered censuring Lieberman. Longtime friend and former chairman of the state party, Nick Balletto, acknowledged many were unhappy with Lieberman and how that discontent overshadowed everything he had done for the state. Before the U.S. Senate, Lieberman served in the state Senate and as Connecticut Attorney General.

“He was the most genuine, honest, straightforward politician you’d probably ever meet. What you saw is what you got,” said Balletto. “His issues were the issues of the people ... He didn’t move because it was where the wind wanted to be today. He stayed strong in what he believed in his heart and his mind.”

Lieberman was known in the Senate for his hawkish foreign policy views, his pro-defense bent and his strong support for environmental causes.

Five weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, he became one of the first politicians to call for the ouster of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and later voted in favor of the military invasion of Iraq. His vocal support for the war would later help doom his candidacy in the 2006 Connecticut Democratic primary.

Lieberman tended to vote with Democrats on most issues and was a longtime supporter of abortion rights, a stance that would have proved problematic with conservatives had McCain chosen him as his running mate in 2008.

He played a key role in the legislation that created the Department of Homeland Security.

Lieberman grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, where his father ran a liquor store. Lieberman graduated from Yale University and Yale Law School in New Haven. As Connecticut’s attorney general from 1983 to 1988, he was a strong consumer and environmental advocate. Lieberman vaulted into the Senate by defeating moderate Republican incumbent Lowell Weicker in 1988.

After leaving the Senate in 2013, Lieberman joined a New York City law firm. His funeral will be held Friday at Congregation Agudath Sholom in his hometown of Stamford. An additional memorial service will be announced at a later date.

Lieberman and his wife, Hadassah, have four children.

Kyrsten Sinema, Joe Manchin and John Fetterman are headaches to Biden. I guess they graduated from the same bullshit factory.

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Free Speech Issues: Teacher Fired For Being A Rapper!

Day.
Non union charter school fires a teacher because she made a rap video. The teacher who also goes by the name Drippin' Honey was fired from a Michigan high school after a "concerned parent" made a fuss about a music video she made.

Damn it ain't like she slept with the students like many of these white women.

Sheesh.

Chile, we have too many things going on in the country. Gun violence is the No. 1 issue in the country. It affects 200 children a day. Many of them are getting killed by firearms bought legally by parents and children.

We have a teacher shortage. Many don't want to risk teaching due to the pressures of state mandates, lack of teaching supplies, Republicans trying to scrap teaching of diversity, banning criticism of Israel and gun violence.

Domonique Brown, whose rap name is Drippin' Honey, has been an educator for 7 years. She started teaching history at Taylor Preparatory High School in August.

But all that came to an abrupt end months after she says a parent came across one of her rap videos.

“The first meeting that I had with, like the principal and the dean, they had told me that the parent wished to stay anonymous and she felt as if she didn’t like my rap career and that I was a bad influence on the kids because I rap," she said.

She says she was fired in February because she’s a rapper. Before the firing, around Thanksgiving, she says there were meetings and an ultimatum.

“My mind and my heart were telling me two things. I couldn’t see myself, like, giving up my other passion just because somebody didn’t like it and they say, ‘Erase all your content.' That was the ultimatum. Erase all your content. I was like, 'Respectfully, I can’t do that,'" she said.

Brown acknowledges the profanity in her lyrics, but she says that has nothing to do with Taylor Prep and the positive impact she’s had on her students and the community.

I asked if she thinks the issue is her rap career or the (lyrical) content.

She replied, "The meetings was like so one-sided where they only told me what somebody didn’t like. They didn’t tell me, as if, ‘You did this wrong. You did that wrong’ ... that’s why I also [said] on my behalf, 'Well send me what am I doing wrong in writing.'”

The writing was on the wall. Despite that, in December, she won teacher of the month.

Night and weekends.

In February, on her last day, she created a music video with her students that has since gone viral on TikTok and it's called Drippin' 101.

Christina Lynn Lackley-Bah, a parent told 7 Action News, "As a parent, we long for teachers who support our children and who inspire them, and she was one of those teachers. So really disappointed."

Lackley-Bah says her son, an 11th grader, started a petition in support of Ms. Brown, gathering over 200 student signatures.

She says she's seen Brown's videos, and that they're no different than any other hip hop video a child can access on social media.

"For me, it doesn't matter what you do outside of the education structure. Like, once you leave that particular building and you go on with life, you do whatever you do," she said.

Brown says she misses her students and making an impact.

“These kids have their own goals, their own aspirations. I’m just trying to see how I can help them," she said.

Brown says she's speaking with an attorney about her termination.

7 Action News reached out to Taylor Prep High School for comment and received the following statement from spokeswoman Leah Nixon with National Heritage Academies:

"While student and employee privacy rights limit the details I can share, what I can say is that we are aware of the alleged claims by a former teacher. Student well-being remains at the forefront of everything we do, and we will continue fostering a distraction-free teaching and learning environment focused on student success."

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Conspiracy Theorist Kennedy Picks Nicole Shanahan For The VP!

Kennedy picks Nicole Shanahan to be his running mate.

Libertarian [uh, independent] candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., an environmental lawyer, conspiracy theorist and anti-vaccine activist, son of the late Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy. He announced he was running for president in 2023. He is considered a potential threat to Biden. However, his ties to extremists will be his downfall.

He is married to actress Cheryl Hines. 

He is a former addict to cocaine, heroin and alcohol. He said because of his father's assassination during the 1968 presidential campaign, Kennedy's life spiraled. 

He was going to run as a Democrat but realized that the donations from Democrats will not happen seeing that they are comfortable with President Joe Biden as their nominee.

No Labels rejected him because he rejects science and his past remarks about the vaccines to prevent pandemics like the coronavirus were too extreme.

The Libertarian Party was hoping to win him over. But the fact he is a Kennedy and the fact he is a loose cannon was the reasons to why they couldn't get him.

So as an independent, he could dent Biden's chances at his reelection. Matter of fact, Roger Stone, Steve Bannon and MAGA are bankrolling on it. They tried it with Bernie Sanders, Tara Reade, Hunter Biden's laptop, hiding in the basement, his gaffes, the look of confusion, the socialism tag, the not loyal to America [also Israel] jabs and attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Some of this sticks.

The economy, infrastructure, inflation, Ukraine, Israel, Russia, Gaza/West Bank, abortion, climate change, voter intimidation, defending democracy, extremism, social media, shrinkflation and the rematch will be on America's minds.

Biden has a large war chest. He also has the Kennedy family backing him over their own member. Three members currently serve under Biden. Caroline Kennedy is a U.S. Ambassador to Australia. Former Massachusetts congressman Joe Kennedy III is a special envoy to Northern Ireland. Victoria Reggie Kennedy is a U.S. Ambassador to Austria.

Former president Donald J. Trump has a war chest but it is no where close to Biden.

Trump is also a conspiracy theorist and election denier. He is hoping that Kennedy siphons votes from Biden.

Kennedy has money, but not enough for him to take on Biden and Trump.

However a vice presidential candidate will certainly drive the junk food media into covering it.

White voters will once again decide the votes.

Kennedy picks Nicole Shanahan as his running mate. She is half white, half Asian. She is dating Jacob Strumwasser. Shanahan was married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin from 2018 until their divorce in 2023.

Kennedy decided to challenge Biden for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, Shanahan donated the maximum of $6,600 to Kennedy's campaign. After Kennedy dropped out of the Democratic primaries in October 2023, instead announcing that he would run in the general election as an independent candidate, Shanahan said she was "incredibly disappointed" and would not support his run. 

In early 2024, however, Shanahan reversed course, and resumed backing Kennedy's candidacy. She donated $4 million to a super PAC to pay for a 30-second television Super Bowl ad, aired during Super Bowl LVIII, supporting the campaign. In addition to funding the ad's broadcast, Shanahan was also a "creative force" behind the ad, the total cost of which was variously said to be $5 million or (according to the super PAC's co-founder) $7 million. Numerous Kennedy family members have denounced his campaign, and criticized the Super Bowl ad for reusing footage from a 1960 presidential campaign ad supporting John F. Kennedy. 

The Kennedy campaign is full steam ahead.

Kennedy later apologized to members of his family who were offended by the ad, but ultimately defended and stood by the ad campaign—saying "I'm so sorry if the Super Bowl advertisement caused anyone in my family pain"—while also saying that his campaign was not directly involved with the super PAC's ad, as coordination between independent expenditure groups and campaigns is prohibited by law.

Shanahan was born in Roseville, California and grew up in Oakland, In a 2023 interview with People magazine, Shanahan said that she had a "very hard" childhood marked by traumatic experiences; she described her father, who died in 2014, as a sufferer of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. She said that her mother, who was born in China and emigrated from Guangzhou worked as a maid before becoming an accountant.

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Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Ronna McDaniel Off NBC News!

Ronna McDaniel won't appear on NBC News.

The winners and losers of 2024.

On Tuesday, the top executives at NBC News had announced that former Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel is fired out the cannon. Her hiring riled up not only the MSNBC crew but the NBC News top brass.

The NBC hosts and staff felt hiring McDaniel, an enabler of Donald J. Trump's false claims of the 2020 election and her attacks on the junk food media would stain the reputation the network built.

Basically, they didn't want a commentator who spreads misinformation and conspiracy theories on NBC. They have Fox, Lindell, Sinclair, Newsmax, Newsnation, Real America's Voice and One America News.

McDaniel was ousted following a meeting of top executives from NBC amid growing backlash to her hiring last week. McDaniel used her position as the RNC chair to spread falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election, and continued calling the election results into question even after thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde announced McDaniel’s firing in an email to staff late Tuesday afternoon.

“There is no doubt that the last several days have been difficult for the News Group,” Conde said. “After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC News contributor.”

Creative Artists Agency, which helped broker the deal to bring McDaniel on as a political analyst for the network, also cut ties with McDaniel on Tuesday, Variety reported. CAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

McDaniel announced her departure as the RNC’s chair in February as Lara Trump, Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, took over as co-chair. McDaniel was then hired by NBC to be an on-air contributor, the network announced last week.

Kristen Welker grilled McDaniel over the 2020 lies.

“It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team,” NBC News executive Carrie Budoff Brown said in a memo Friday, adding that McDaniel’s hiring would give “an insider’s perspective on national politics and the future of the Republican Party.”

Backlash to the news was widespread, with several prominent hosts and contributors for NBC expressing their frustration with the hiring. Just minutes after McDaniel made her debut on the network Sunday, Chuck Todd blasted the decision.

“So when NBC made the decision to give her NBC News’ credibility, you’ve got to ask yourself, ‘What does she bring NBC News?’” Todd asked on “Meet the Press,” a program that he previously moderated.

And MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow dedicated 29 minutes of her show on Monday to lambaste the decision, calling McDaniel’s hiring “inexplicable” and likening it to the hiring of a “mobster to work at the DA’s office.”

“I want to associate myself with all my colleagues, both at MSNBC and NBC News, who have voiced loud and principled objections to our company putting on the payroll someone who has not just attacked us as journalists, but is part of an ongoing project to get rid of our system of government,” Maddow said in part.

In his email to staff, Conde apologized for the hiring decision.

“I want to personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down,” he said. “While this was a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team, I approved it and take full responsibility for it.”

McDaniel is the niece of outgoing Utah senator, Republican Mitt Romney. Romney is a former governor of Massachusetts, the 2012 Republican nominee for president and a prominent critic of Trump.

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Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse!

Cargo ship destroys the Francis Scott Bridge in Baltimore.

Be warned, the videos are graphic.

Winners and losers of 2024.

All this money going to Israel.

We could use the billions to fix roads and bridges in our country. Especially given that Benjamin Netanyahu is throwing a tantrum at the U.S. for abstaining a crucial vote calling for a permanent ceasefire. Yet, he still begs us for billions of aid. 

President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas were notified of the collapse of the Francis Scott Bridge in Baltimore. A cargo ship from Singapore is responsible. So this means an international crisis and a federal investigation into who operated the vessel and how many causalities.

The U.S. Representatives of Maryland were notified as well. Who represents the city itself, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) and Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-MD).

The bridge which is part of Interstate 695 carries over 235,000 vehicles south of the City of Baltimore and is a major truck route. It affects travelers who need to bypass the city for Annapolis, Wilmington, Philadelphia, New York City, Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport and Washington, DC.

It is a mass causalities incident where it appears there are no survivors.

A cargo ship crashed into the decks of the Key Bridge around 1:30 am causing the structure to collapse into the Patapsco River.

Authorities said they were notified of the incident on Tuesday. The extent of the damage remains unclear but videos posted on social media showed a large vessel crashing into the bridge, causing it to collapse.

The Baltimore City Fire Department described the collapse as a mass-casualty incident and said workers were searching for seven people in the river.

"We received several 911 calls at around 1:30 a.m., that a vessel struck the Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing the collapse." Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department told Reuters. "This is currently a mass casualty incident and we are searching for seven people who are in the river."

Baltimore City mayor Brandon Harris is pissed. He acknowledged on X that the city and county leaders are going to do all they can to rebuild, find survivors and hold those responsible for this.

Ship tracking data from LSEG shows a Singapore-flagged container ship, the Dali, at the location along the Key Bridge where the accident occurred. Reuters, citing LSEG data show, reported that the registered owner of the ship is Grace Ocean Pte Ltd. and is managed by Synergy Marine Group.

"All lanes closed both directions for incident on I-695 Key Bridge," the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) said on X early Tuesday. "Traffic is being detoured."

The Francis Scott Key Bridge is a 1.6-mile, 4-lane bridge that crosses over the Patapsco River, according to the MDTA. It opened in 1977.

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Monday, March 25, 2024

Did He Did It?

Diddy right now. He gonna need a lot of drinks. His days are numbered.

The U.S. Marshals and FBI did a joint operation on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security on Sean "Puffy" Combs properties. The embattled rap mogul who performs under the name as Diddy is under federal watch. There are serious allegations of sexual trafficking and exploitation of underage minors.

While they were searching his properties, he took a private jet to Antigua 

It appears R. Kelly will see his old buddy in federal time out if a federal indictment is issued and Combs is found guilty. Hell, Big Suge Knight won't have the pleasure of being a disgraced media mogul in the iron college. Diddy joining the club soon.

Aaron Hall might want to get a lawyer.

Dan Schneider you better get a lawyer.

The winners and losers of 2024.

Combs is a subject of a federal investigation amid a wave of lawsuits that have been filed against the rap music mogul since November, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News on Monday.

Three women and a man have been interviewed by federal officials in Manhattan in relation to allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and the solicitation and distribution of illegal narcotics and firearms, the source said. Interviews with three other subjects are also scheduled, the source said.

Four law enforcement sources told NBC News that federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations on Monday executed search warrants at Los Angeles and Miami properties belonging to Combs. The sources said the warrant is out of the Southern District of New York.

HSI confirmed in a statement that it "executed law enforcement actions" in New York as part of an ongoing investigation, along with teams in Los Angeles and Miami.

Homeland Security officials seized phones from Combs in Miami before he was scheduled to depart for a trip to the Bahamas, according to three law enforcement sources familiar with the warrant. Combs was in the Miami area when authorities executed the searches, sources said. It is not clear if Combs made the trip as planned.

Diddy's days are numbered.

Representatives for Combs, 54, did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment Monday.

News of a federal investigation comes after public scrutiny of Combs’ behavior after his former romantic partner, Cassie, accused him of physically and sexually abusing her for years. She made the allegations in a lawsuit filed late last year in New York under the New York Adult Survivors Act, which offered a one-year window for adult victims of sexual assault to come forward with civil claims regardless of the statute of limitations. 

Cassie, whose full name is Casandra Ventura, settled with Combs on Nov. 17, the day after the suit was filed on terms that have not been disclosed. 

Since then, three other women have come forward with lawsuits in the Southern District of New York alleging that they were sexually assaulted by Combs. Two of the women said they were teenagers at the time of the alleged assaults. 

Douglas Wigdor, who represents Ventura and a Jane Doe who filed suit, said in a statement that the searches and investigation were hopefully the beginning of a process that “will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct.” 

Wigdor briefly represented Russian operative Tara Reade. He ended the representation after she lied about several credentials and her story accusing President Joe Biden of sexual assault.

“We will always support law enforcement when it seeks to prosecute those that have violated the law,” Wigdor said.  

Cassie is a hero.

An attorney for Joi Dickerson-Neal, one of Combs' accusers, declined to comment to NBC News.

Combs has denied each of the sexual assault allegations, calling them “sickening.” 

A producer who worked for Combs between September 2022 and November 2023 filed a lawsuit in February alleging that Combs sexually harassed, drugged and threatened him for more than a year. The former employee, Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, also alleged that he had video and audio evidence of Combs, his staff and others “engaging in serious illegal activity.”

Jones' attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, also represents Combs' accuser Liza Gardner. Blackburn said Monday that the federal investigation will not "prevent nor delay my clients’ pending and forthcoming actions for justice and resolution from the Combs RICO Enterprise.”

Shawn Holley, an attorney for Combs, previously denied Jones’ allegations and said that Combs’ team has “overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies.” 

One person who said he frequents the Los Angeles neighborhood where a search happened expressed shock.

Ryan Mendelsohn, 20, who used to live in the area and still regularly visits a nearby friend, told reporters he would see parties at the home and women outside. Other homes had parties, too, but that home had people there and women outside until 6 a.m., which was not usual, he said.

“I drive by a lot, and I see that — a lot of girls, maybe five or six girls outside, some leaving, some not, some going in,” adding he also saw Black Chevy Suburban SUVs there.

“I never thought anything of it,” said Mendelsohn, who said he did not know Combs lived there until Monday’s news coverage. “But now, it’s crazy.”

Since Ventura's suit and others have come forward accusing Combs of assault, the music mogul has been the center of scrutiny. He stepped down from his position as chairman of media network Revolt and Hulu pulled back from a planned reality series centered on his family. 

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Israel Pouts!

The U.S. finally takes the right direction.

The winners and losers of 2024.

The United Nations applauded the resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The United States finally backed off the veto and abstained.

The decision infuriated Benjamin Netanyahu and he cancelled a Joint Session of the Congress appearance by embattled House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).

These are the signs that President Joe Biden is concerned that he is losing his base because of his hawkish support for the ethno-state of Israel.

This also officially a feud between Biden and the far right Netanyahu.

Israel is now close to isolation and the push for sanctions are coming. If we can put sanctions on North Korea, Iran, Russia and Somalia, then it is time for Israel to be punished for its war crimes.

The UN Security Council passed on Monday morning a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during the month of Ramadan and calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

UN Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield offered assurances after the vote that the resolution meant the ceasefire must come as part of a hostage deal, but Netanyahu still followed through on a threat to cancel the meetings.

Netanyahu accused the U.S. of “retreating” from a “principled position” by allowing the vote to pass without conditioning the cease-fire on the release of hostages held by Hamas.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the administration was “kind of perplexed” by Netanyahu’s decision. He said the Israelis were “choosing to create a perception of daylight here when they don’t need to do that.”

Kirby and the American ambassador to the U.N. said the U.S. abstained because the resolution did not condemn Hamas. U.S. officials chose to abstain rather than veto the proposal “because it does fairly reflect our view that a cease-fire and the release of hostages come together,” Kirby said.

The 15-member council voted 14-0 to approve the resolution, which also demanded the release of all hostages taken captive during Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack in southern Israel. The chamber broke into loud applause after the vote.

The U.S. vetoed past Security Council cease-fire resolutions in large part because of the failure to tie them directly to the release of hostages, the failure to condemn Hamas’ attacks and the delicacy of ongoing negotiations. American officials have argued that the cease-fire and hostage releases are linked, while Russia, China and many other council members favored unconditional calls for a cease-fire.

The resolution approved Monday demands the release of hostages but does not make it a condition for the cease-fire for the month of Ramadan, which ends in April.

Hamas said it welcomed the U.N.'s move but said the cease-fire needs to be permanent.

We confirm our readiness to engage in an immediate prisoner exchange process that leads to the release of prisoners on both sides,” the group said. For months, the militants have sought a deal that includes a complete end to the conflict.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted: “This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable.”

Johnson's invite to Netanyahu ended when the U.S. took the side of the world.

The U.S. decision to abstain comes at a time of growing tensions between President Joe Biden’s administration and Netanyahu over Israel’s prosecution of the war, the high number of civilian casualties and the limited amounts of humanitarian assistance reaching Gaza. The two countries have also clashed over Netanyahu’s rejection of a Palestinian state, Jewish settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the expansion of settlements there.

In addition, the well-known antagonism between Netanyahu and Biden — which dates from Biden’s tenure as vice president — deepened after Biden questioned Israel’s strategy in combating Hamas.

Then Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), a Biden ally and staunch supporter of Israel, suggested that Netanyahu was not operating in Israel’s best interests and called for Israel to hold new elections. Biden signaled his approval of Schumer’s remarks, prompting a rebuke from Netanyahu.

During its U.S. visit, the Israeli delegation was to present White House officials with its plans for a possible ground invasion of Rafah, a city on the Egyptian border in southern Gaza where over 1 million Palestinian civilians have sought shelter from the war.

Last week, Netanyahu rebuffed a U.S. request to halt the planned Rafah invasion - vowing during a visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to act alone if necessary. Blinken warned that Israel could soon face growing international isolation, while Vice President Kamala Harris said Israel could soon face unspecified consequences if it launches the ground assault.

The Security Council vote came after Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution Friday that would have supported “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israeli-Hamas conflict. That resolution featured a weakened link between a cease-fire and the release of hostages, leaving it open to interpretation, and no time limit.

The United States warned that the resolution approved Monday could hurt negotiations to halt the hostilities, raising the possibility of another veto, this time by the Americans. The talks involve the U.S., Egypt and Qatar.

Because Ramadan ends April 9, the cease-fire demand would last for just two weeks, though the draft says the pause in fighting should lead to “a lasting sustainable cease-fire.”

Thomas-Greenfield, said the resolution “spoke out in support of the ongoing diplomatic efforts,” adding that negotiators were “getting closer” to a deal for a cease-fire with the release of all hostages, “but we’re not there yet.”

She urged the council and U.N. members across the world to “speak out and demand unequivocally that Hamas accepts the deal on the table.”

Thomas-Greenfield said the U.S. abstained because “certain edits” the U.S. requested were ignored, including a condemnation of Hamas.

The resolution, put forward by the 10 elected council members, was backed by Russia and China and the 22-nation Arab Group at the United Nations.

Netanyahu criticizes Biden and yet begs for American taxpayer money to fund his war and his luxury life.

Under the United Nations Charter, Security Council resolutions are legally binding on its 193 member nations, though they are often flouted.

Algeria’s U.N. ambassador, Amar Bendjama, the Arab representative on the council, thanked the council for “finally” demanding a cease-fire.

“We look forward to the commitment and the compliance of the Israeli occupying power with this resolution, for them to put an end to the bloodbath without any conditions, to end the suffering of the Palestinian people,” he said.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, told the council that the vote “must be a turning point” that leads to saving lives in Gaza and ending the “assault of atrocities against our people.”

Shortly before Monday’s vote, the elected members changed the final draft resolution to drop the word “permanent” from its demand that a Ramadan cease-fire should lead to a “sustainable” halt in fighting apparently at the request of the United States.

Russia complained that dropping the word could allow Israel “to resume its military operation in the Gaza Strip at any moment” after Ramadan and proposed an amendment to restore it. That amendment was defeated because it failed to get the minimum nine “yes” votes — with three council members voting in favor, the United States voting against, and 11 countries abstaining.

Since the start of the war, the Security Council has adopted two resolutions on the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, but none has called for a cease-fire.

Biden is fearing that his election chances are fading.

More than 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed during the fighting, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The agency does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

Gaza also faces a dire humanitarian emergency. A report from an international authority on hunger warned last week that “famine is imminent” in northern Gaza and that escalation of the war could push half of the territory’s 2.3 million people to the brink of starvation.

The United States has vetoed three resolutions demanding a cease-fire in Gaza, the most recent an Arab-backed measure on Feb. 20. That resolution was supported by 13 council members with one abstention, reflecting the overwhelming support for a cease-fire.

Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution in late October calling for humanitarian pauses in the fighting to deliver aid, the protection of civilians and a halt to arming Hamas. They said it did not reflect global calls for a cease-fire.

They again vetoed a U.S. resolution Friday, calling it ambiguous and saying it was not the direct demand to end the fighting that much of the world seeks.

That vote became another showdown involving world powers that are locked in tense disputes elsewhere, with the United States taking criticism for not being tough enough against its ally Israel, even as tensions between the two countries rise.

Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia and China on Monday of using the Gaza conflict “as a political cudgel, to try to divide this council at a time when we need to come together.”

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