Poet and activist Vivian Ayers Allen passed away. She was the mother of actress Phylicia Rashad and actress/director Debbie Allen.
The mother of two famous entertainers passed away.
Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen had to deal with the passing of Malcolm-Jamal Warner last month. Now their mother, famous poet and activist Vivian Ayers Allen has passed away.
Vivian Elizabeth Ayers Allen, the Pulitzer Prize–nominated poet, cultural activist, and mother of Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad, has died at the age of 102.
She celebrated her birthday only three weeks ago.
Late Wednesday night, Debbie shared the news on Instagram in a post that featured a photo montage of her mother through the years set to Stevie Wonder’s “Golden Lady,” and with the text “Into the Eternal Light Vivian Ayers.”
“Mommie you have transformed into that cosmic bird Hawk that lives and breathes Freedom,” the Emmy-winning choreographer and actress wrote in the caption. “We will follow your trail of golden dust and continue to climb higher.”
She added, “We promise ‘to be true, be beautiful, be free.”
Ayers Allen, born July 29, 1923, in Chester, South Carolina, was known for her fierce dedication and artistic passion that shaped both her career and her family. After marrying Andrew Arthur Allen Sr., she welcomed four children—musician Andrew “Tex” Allen Jr., actress-choreographer Debbie Allen, banking executive Hugh Allen, and actress Phylicia Rashad—each of whom has achieved great success in their respective fields. Following their 1954 divorce, Ayers Allen continued to build on a remarkable legacy as a Pulitzer Prize–nominated poet, playwright, literary agent, activist, and cultural curator.
In 1952, she wrote the poetry collection “Spice of Dawns,” which earned her a Pulitzer Prize nomination. In 1957, she wrote “Hawk,” an allegorical poem set in outer space. In 1966, she became the first Black faculty member at Rice University in Houston.
“As a child, it was amazing to have my mother — and somewhat disconcerting at times, because she wasn’t like other mothers,” Rashad said of their mother in a previous interview with NPR. “Other mothers didn’t get up at 3 o’clock in the morning to write. My mother did, every day.”
News of her death comes just two years after her family marked her milestone 100th birthday in August 2023 with multiple tributes and celebrations including at the Brainerd Institute in Chester, South Carolina, which featured Rashad reading “Hawk;” and another in Los Angeles at the Rhimes Performing Arts Center where Debbie, Angela Bassett, Jesse Williams, and Alexis Floyd honored her through performances and readings.
While discussing her mother with NPR, Rashad added just how impactful her legacy had been.
“It was my mother who gave us a real appreciation for art and literature as living things, not just as something hung on the wall or placed on the shelf — an appreciation for ideas and the power of thought and human intention,” she said. “My mother gave us a lot — she gave us everything.”
Former National Security Adviser under Donald J. Trump’s first administration had his home raided by the feds.
John Bolton, a former UN Ambassador under George W. Bush and prominent critic of Trump after leaving the White House is under federal watch.
Bolton was not detained and has not been charged with any crimes, said the person, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation by name and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
Messages left with a spokesperson for Bolton and the White House were not immediately returned. A lawyer who has represented Bolton had no immediate comment.
The Justice Department also had no comment, but leaders appeared to cryptically refer to the search of Bolton’s home in a series of social media posts Friday morning.
FBI Director Kash Patel, who in a 2023 book he wrote included Bolton in a list of “members of the Executive Branch Deep State,” posted on X: “NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission.” Attorney General Pam Bondi shared his post, adding: “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.”
Bolton is a warhawk and Zionist is no ally of the Democrats or progressive agitators.
He is a conservative who is fed up with Trumpism.
At the authorization of FBI Director Kash Patel and Homeland Security Kristi Noem, the FBI and Montgomery County Police carried out a no knock at the Bethesda, Maryland residence of Bolton.
Trump vows to go after critics. John Bolton was one of them.
The allegations of classified documents being taken from the National Security Administration without authorization has the FBI involved in this early morning surprise.
Trump has publicly attacked Bolton in the past for his criticism. Bolton did not endorse Trump in 2020 and 2024. He did not endorse Joe Biden or Kamala Harris.
This also comes as Trump launched attacks on his former FBI directors James Comey and Christopher Wray. He also targeted former CIA directors John Brennan and Gina Haspel.
The search of Bolton’s home comes as the Trump administration has taken steps to examine the activities of other perceived adversaries of the Republican president, including by authorizing a grand jury investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe. Officials are also conducting mortgage fraud investigations into Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought a civil fraud lawsuit against Trump and his company, and ex-Trump prosecutor Jack Smith faces an investigation from an independent watchdog office. Schiff and James have vigorously denied any wrongdoing through their lawyers.
In an ABC interview earlier this month, Bolton was asked about whether he was worried about the Trump administration taking action against him. Bolton said Trump had “already come after” him by taking away his security detail, and he added: “I think it is a retribution presidency.”
Bolton served as Trump’s third national security adviser for 17 months and clashed with him over Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea. He faced scrutiny during the first Trump administration over a book he wrote about his time in government that officials argued disclosed classified information, but the Justice Department in 2021 abandoned its lawsuit and dropped a separate grand jury investigation.
Bolton’s lawyers have said he moved forward with the book after a White House National Security Council official, with whom Bolton had worked for months, said the manuscript no longer contained classified information.
On his first day back in office this year, Trump revoked the security clearances of more than four dozen former intelligence officials, including Bolton. Bolton was also among a group of former Trump officials whose security details were canceled by Trump earlier this year.
Imagine getting a no knock warrant at 7:00 am.
Bolton’s scathing book, “The Room Where It Happened,” portrayed Trump as grossly ill-informed about foreign policy and said he “saw conspiracies behind rocks, and remained stunningly uninformed on how to run the White House, let alone the huge federal government.”
Trump responded by slamming Bolton as a “crazy” war-monger who would have led the country into “World War Six.”
Bolton served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush and also held positions in President Ronald Reagan’s administration. He had considered running for president in 2012 and 2016.
In 2022, an Iranian operative was charged in a plot to kill Bolton in presumed retaliation for a January 2020 U.S. airstrike that killed the country’s most powerful general. Bolton had by then left the Trump administration but tweeted, “Hope this is the first step to regime change in Tehran.”
All of this is a distraction from the Jeffrey Epstein files and the Israeli who fled the U.S. after being caught in a child sex sting.
Montero Lamar Hill, 26 is known professionally as Lil Nas X. He is a rapper, singer, media personality and internet troll. He is perhaps best known for his hit singles "Old Town Road" and "That's What I Want."
He is one of the most notable for being an openly gay, queer and bisexual entertainer. Yes, he acknowledged himself as such.
Naserati (as he is also known as) has prepared for the sophomore album Dreamboy.
The entertainer is open about his personal about his struggles. He is known for using drugs and dealing with Ball's palsy which cause his face to stiffening.
This week, the entertainer briefly taken to a hospital for a suspected overdose Thursday after Los Angeles police say he charged at officers responding to a report of a naked man walking on a busy boulevard.
X, was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor obstructing an officer and was being held in jail.
Officers found him walking on the normally very busy Ventura Boulevard in the Studio City neighborhood shortly before 6 a.m., Los Angeles police spokesman Officer Charles Miller said.
After charging at arriving police, he was taken into custody, but the officers, suspecting a drug overdose, took him to a hospital first, Miller said. There was no further word on his condition, but he was released from the hospital and taken to jail after just a few hours.
Spotted in Studio City, a Black man in underwear and boots with a safety cone on his head. Seriously, Lil Nas X needs to get mental health treatment.
Video obtained by TMZ appeared to show him on the street wearing only underwear and boots.
He was being held at Valley Jail in Van Nuys, near where the police found him.
Messages to Lil Nas X representatives seeking comment were not immediately answered.
The 26-year-old rapper and singer from Atlanta is best known for his huge hit from 2018, "Old Town Road," which merged country and hip-hop. It spent a record 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Known for his genre-bending, innovating sounds and style, his first full studio album, 2021's "Montero," went to No. 2 on the Billboard album chart and was nominated for a Grammy for album of the year.
Cash in the Herrs Potato Chips. A real money snack.
A huge political scandal rocked New York City and it goes to the embattled incumbent mayor Eric Adams.
While the Republicans and Democrats freak out over Zohran Mamdani, the independent mayor of America's largest city is somewhat involved in a scandal.
His former advisor tried to pass some greenbacks to a reporter in a potato chip bag.
Winnie Greco, a longtime Adams ally who resigned last year from her position as the mayor’s liaison to the Asian community after she was targeted in multiple investigations. She resurfaced recently as a consistent presence in his re-election campaign.
On Wednesday, City Hall reporter Katie Honan spotted Greco near the announcement of the opening of Adams’ newest campaign office, in Harlem. Greco later texted Honan after the event when she spotted her again and asked her to meet across the street from the campaign office next to a TD Bank.
Greco and Honan walked to the Whole Foods next door. While inside the store, Greco handed Honan the opened bag of chips with the top crumpled closed. Honan, thinking it was an offer of a light snack, told Greco more than once she could not accept the chips, but Greco insisted that she keep them.
The two parted ways. Before entering a nearby subway station, Honan opened the bag and discovered a red envelope inside stuffed with cash, at least one $100 bill and several $20 bills. The reporter then called Greco and told her she could not accept the money and asked if she was still nearby so she could give it back.
Greco said she’d left the area.
Honan told her she had to take the money back, and Greco said they could meet at some point in Chinatown.
The reporter then texted Greco, “I can’t take this, when can I give it back to you?” She did not get a response.
In an interview later Wednesday, THE CITY asked Greco what her intention was in handing money to the reporter. In response, she said she’d made “a mistake” and apologized over and over.
Eric Adams has some real interesting friends.
“I make a mistake,” she said. “I’m so sorry. It’s a culture thing. I don’t know. I don’t understand. I’m so sorry. I feel so bad right now. I’m so sorry honey.”
She then called THE CITY back, advising that we call her attorney, Steven Brill, and adding, “Can we forget about this? I try to be a good person. Please. Please. Please don’t do in the news nothing about me.”
“I just wanted to be her friend,” Greco added. “I just wanted to have one good friend. It’s nothing.”
Brill denied that his client’s payment to THE CITY reporter was nefarious in any way.
“I can see how this looks strange,” Brill said. “But I assure you that Winnie’s intent was purely innocent. In the Chinese culture, money is often given to others in a gesture of friendship and gratitude. Winnie is apologetic and embarrassed by any negative impression or confusion this may have caused.”
After THE CITY informed the Adams campaign about the interaction with Greco, campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro said Greco was immediately suspended from the campaign.
“We are shocked by these reports,” Shapiro said. “Winnie Grecco [sic] holds no position in this campaign and has been suspended from all VOLUNTEER campaign-related activities. Mayor Adams had no prior knowledge of this matter. He has always demanded the highest ethical and legal standards, and his sole focus remains on serving the people of New York City with integrity.”
Following the interaction at the Whole Foods, Honan brought the chips bag and envelope with money back to THE CITY’s office and handed it over to her editors. THE CITY then contacted the city Department of Investigation (DOI). Anticipating possible law enforcement investigations, THE CITY did not open the envelope or count the money inside.
“DOI received allegations from THE CITY and declines further comment,” said Diane Struzzi, DOI spokesperson.
Later Wednesday, federal prosecutors from the office of Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella contacted THE CITY’s lawyers.
The Brooklyn U.S. attorney has been investigating Greco since early last year after the FBI raided her homes in February 2024 following THE CITY’s reporting on illegal straw donations raised at Adams’ campaign fundraisers she’d organized.
The DOI is also looking into allegations uncovered by THE CITY that pressured a campaign volunteer to do personal tasks for her in exchange for getting him a city job.
A Long History
Greco has been a fixture of Adams’ political career for over a decade, during which time she helped him raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for his mayoral campaigns and connected him to influential members of the Chinese-American community while escorting him on multiple trips abroad to China.
She served for much of that time as an unpaid, volunteer “ambassador” to Brooklyn Borough Hall, while not taking any official roles for his political campaigns despite her prolific fundraising.
As part of the fundraising, she connected groups of campaign donors to Adams, with some contributors telling THE CITY and Documented in 2023 that they either did not give or were reimbursed by managers. Making donations under someone else’s name is illegal under the city’s public campaign finance program, which provides $8 for every $1 in small donations from New York City residents.
Greco also helped raise funds for a nonprofit linked to Brooklyn Borough Hall as a board member of One Brooklyn, which touted Adams’ initiatives and raised his profile ahead of his 2021 mayoral run.
Adams is secretly asking President Donald J. Trump for a pardon.
Over those same years, Greco also collected donations for a nonprofit organization of her own — with the stated goal of erecting a “friendship archway” in Brooklyn’s Chinatown that would serve as a gateway for businesses and culture. That venture, which relied on an archway being gifted by a district government of Beijing, collapsed, leaving some donors with questions about their contributions.
Her first appointment to a paid government job came when Adams became mayor in January 2022. Within days of attending his New Year’s Eve inauguration on a stage in Times Square with a small circle of close associates, Greco was named his Asian affairs director at a salary of $100,000, while her niece also landed a role at City Hall, eventually becoming one of the mayor’s schedulers.
Greco was so close to Adams and his inner circle that his senior advisor, Ingrid-Lewis Martin, was known to introduce Greco at events as “my sister.” Lewis-Martin is currently being prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for allegedly receiving bribes and is expected to be indicted Thursday on influence-peddling charges.
In November 2023, THE CITY reported on two instances where people who interacted with Greco alleged that she had misused her government position.
A businessperson told THE CITY that Greco allegedly demanded $10,000 to her archway nonprofit as the cost of entry to a Chinese-themed event with Adams at Gracie mansion, for what was a free event.
Additionally, a campaign volunteer claimed that Greco promised to help him get a city job if he helped oversee reservations to her home in The Bronx, which he did. After he was hired by the Adams administration, Greco continued to compel him to assist her with construction-related
In an unusual arrangement, Greco also lived for nearly nine months in a two-room suite at a Queens hotel that was under city contract to house formerly incarcerated individuals.
The mayor’s press office and an attorney for the hotel owners asserted to THE CITY that Greco paid for her hotel stay but did not provide evidence.
The city Department of Investigation opened a probe in November 2023 after THE CITY’s reporting. In February 2024, the FBI raided Greco’s Bronx home and a second house nearby she had purchased recently. She then went on medical leave for a few months and came back to City Hall with a new role, and an increased salary of close to $200,000.
This disgusting bigot is no longer plaguing the Earth. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family has passed away.
The death of a religious bigot.
James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, a white nationalist organization that embraces Christian nationalism, psuedoscience and religious intolerance has passed away at the age of 89.
Dobson, an anti-LGBTQ psychologist widely regarded as one of the most influential Christian leaders of the past half-century, passed away Thursday morning, the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute (JDFI) announced.
"Dr. Dobson was a pioneer — a man of deep conviction whose voice shaped the way generations view faith, family, and culture," said Gary Bauer, senior vice president of public policy at the JDFI.
"His bold leadership, integrity, and compassion helped equip countless families to thrive in a world of shifting values. He was a mentor, a counselor, and a steady voice of truth in turbulent times."
White Christian nationalists praying with Trump. Dobson was there.
Dobson founded Focus on the Family in 1977 and grew into one of the largest evangelical ministries in the world.
In 2010, after leaving Focus, Dobson created JDFI as a smaller but more personal institute to continue his mission, with a sharper emphasis on his own broadcast and teaching.
Dobson advocated for "family values"—the instruction of children in heterosexuality and traditional gender roles, which he believed are mandated by the Christian Bible. The goal of this is to promote heterosexual marriage, which he views as a cornerstone of civilization that must be protected from the dangers of feminism and the LGBT rights movement. Dobson seeks to equip his audience to fight in the American culture war, which he calls the "Civil War of Values".
MAGAland Marjorie Taylor Greene supports 94% of the president's agenda.
AIPAC is planning on spending millions to oust Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and soon Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). They openly declared that the United States must end its aid to Israel.
Omar and Tlaib openly want Israel as a country and entity dismantled.
Massie and Greene want all American influence out of the Middle East.
Greene might be right on those Jewish Space Lazers. The apartheid ethnostate has an Iron Beam which can shoot a partical beam on targets. Israel has used AI to target people in Gaza. The Mossad has used deadly terrorist tactics like the exploding pagers and cell phones in Lebanon.
Greene was earlier a feverant supporter of Israel. These past tweets showed how she "evolved" from the AIPAC script. Mind you, I do not endorse her as a person.
Pres Trump is right again!
And Joe Biden is going to bring Hamas in America as refugees to add to the chaos.
It’s just like 2020 all over again with a new cause.
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) May 1, 2024
.@AOC you’re responsible for attacks on Jewish people bc of your hate-Israel stance against Israel’s right to defend itself from from terrorists Hamas, calling Israel an apartheid state, & supporting terrorists groups.
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) May 18, 2021
Greene is still a stupid cocaine snorting, alcoholic adultrus bitch. But she wants to be on the right side of history. I guess her Jesus wants her to be a good Christian.
Greene, a white nationalist and conspiracy theorist has pissed off the lobby and some of the warhawks in MAGAland. The controversial Georgia lawmaker is demanding President Donald J. Trump keep his promises on being "America First."
Now she is demanding "America Only" and is sharing videos of Americans struggling under Trump's economy.
The policies under the president have put so many Americans in jeopardy of become homeless or defined as a member of the working poor.
Trump who flaunts "acoomplishments" has a job approval of 36%.
The Republicans have a job approval of 34% while Democrats have 32%.
Congress has a job approval of 24%.
Greene has an open feud with Republican establishment leaders.
Why did our government release a child sex predator from Israel who works directly under the Prime Minister of Israel?
And now Netanyahu is lying and completely denying it.
Why isn’t Mark Levin pitching a hissy fit over this??
On the bright note, Greene was jogging in Washington, DC with boyfriend Brian Glenn praising Trump's ridiculous attempt at seizing authority from mayor Muriel Bowser. The president issued a national emergency and forced the national guard to patrol the city. It is a ridiculous misuse of our federal government.
White leaders are ruining the world. The "Western" influnce in hierarchy is declining. Many other countries are starting to realize that the European Union, Russia, Israel, Great Britain, the United States, Australia and Canada are destined for collapse.
Colonialism is finally being exposed thanks to Trump, former presidents Joe Biden and George W. Bush.
Now we will see more partisan gerrymandered districts in the country.
Republicans have successfully achieved their goal to make Texas a stronghold.
After all the theatrics, leaving the state and public appearances in the junk food media, the Texas Democratic Party is still a minority. Soon, the U.S. House will have five competitive seats now favoring Republicans.
The Texas House on Wednesday approved redrawn congressional maps that would give Republicans a bigger edge in 2026, muscling through a partisan gerrymander that launched weeks of protests by Democrats and a widening national battle over redistricting.
The approval came at the urging of President Donald J. Trump, who pushed for the extraordinary mid-decade revision of congressional maps to give his party a better chance at holding onto the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections. The maps, which would give Republicans five more winnable seats, need to be approved by the GOP-controlled state Senate and signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott before they become official.
But the Texas House vote had presented the best chance for Democrats to derail the redraw.
Democratic legislators delayed the vote by two weeks by fleeing Texas earlier this month in protest, and they were assigned round-the-clock police monitoring upon their return to ensure they attended Wednesday’s session.
The approval of the Texas maps on an 88-52 party-line vote is likely to prompt California’s Democratic-controlled state Legislature this week to approve of a new House map creating five new Democratic-leaning districts. But the California map would require voter approval in November.
Democrats have also vowed to challenge the new Texas map in court and complained that Republicans made the political power move before passing legislation responding to deadly floods that swept the state last month.
Gov. Hot Wheels will sign the new Texas map into law.
Texas maps openly made to help GOP
Texas Republicans openly said they were acting in their party’s interest. State Rep. Todd Hunter, who wrote the legislation formally creating the new map, noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed politicians to redraw districts for nakedly partisan purposes.
“The underlying goal of this plan is straight forward: improve Republican political performance,” Hunter, a Republican, said on the floor. After nearly eight hours of debate, Hunter took the floor again to sum up the entire dispute as nothing more than a partisan fight. “What’s the difference, to the whole world listening? Republicans like it, and Democrats do not.”
Democrats said the disagreement was about more than partisanship.
“In a democracy, people choose their representatives,” State Rep. Chris Turner said. “This bill flips that on its head and lets politicians in Washington, D.C., choose their voters.”
State Rep. John H. Bucy blamed the president. “This is Donald Trump’s map,” Bucy said. “It clearly and deliberately manufactures five more Republican seats in Congress because Trump himself knows that the voters are rejecting his agenda.”
Redistricting becomes tool nationwide in battle for US House
The Republican power play has already triggered a national tit-for-tat battle as Democratic state lawmakers prepared to gather in California on Thursday to revise that state’s map to create five new Democratic seats.
“This is a new Democratic Party, this is a new day, this is new energy out there all across this country,” California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said on a call with reporters on Wednesday. “And we’re going to fight fire with fire.”
Katrina Pierson was Trump’s Black outreach director. Now she is a Texas state house member who is seeking a bid for the U.S. House.
A new California map would need to be approved by voters in a special election in November because that state normally operates with a nonpartisan commission drawing the map to avoid the very sort of political brawl that is playing out. Newsom himself backed the 2008 ballot measure to create that process, as did former President Barack Obama. But in a sign of Democrats’ stiffening resolve, Obama Tuesday night backed Newsom’s bid to redraw the California map, saying it was a necessary step to stave off the GOP’s Texas move.
“I think that approach is a smart, measured approach,” Obama said during a fundraiser for the Democratic Party’s main redistricting arm.
The incumbent president’s party usually loses seats in the midterm election, and the GOP currently controls the House of Representatives by a mere three votes. Trump is going beyond Texas in his push to remake the map. He’s pushed Republican leaders in conservative states like Indiana and Missouri to also try to create new Republican seats. Ohio Republicans were already revising their map before Texas moved. Democrats, meanwhile, are mulling reopening Maryland’s and New York’s maps as well.
However, more Democratic-run states have commission systems like California’s or other redistricting limits than Republican ones do, leaving the GOP with a freer hand to swiftly redraw maps. New York, for example, can’t draw new maps until 2028, and even then, only with voter approval.
Texas Democrats decry the new maps
In Texas, there was little that outnumbered Democrats could do other than fume and threaten a lawsuit to block the map. Because the Supreme Court has blessed purely partisan gerrymandering, the only way opponents can stop the new Texas map would be by arguing it violates the Voting Rights Act requirement to keep minority communities together so they can select representatives of their choice.
Democrats noted that, in every decade since the 1970s, courts have found that Texas’ legislature did violate the Voting Rights Act in redistricting, and that civil rights groups had an active lawsuit making similar allegations against the 2021 map that Republicans drew up.
Gov. Gavin Newsom plans on pushing a ballot measure to redraw California U.S. congressional districts to make the state a stronghold for Democrats.
Republicans contend the new map creates more new majority-minority seats than the previous one. Democrats and some civil rights groups have countered that the GOP does that through mainly a numbers game that leads to halving the number of the state’s House seats that will be represented by a Black representative.
State Rep. Ron Reynolds noted the country just marked the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act’s passage and warned GOP members about how they’d be remembered if they voted for what he called “this racial gerrymander.”
“Just like the people who were on the wrong side of history in 1965, history will be looking at the people who made the decisions in the body this day,” Reynolds, a Democrat, said.
Republicans hit back at criticism
Republicans spent far less time talking on Wednesday, content to let their numbers do the talking in the lopsided vote. As the day dragged on, a handful hit back against Democratic complaints.
“You call my voters racist, you call my party racist and yet we’re expected to follow the rules,” said State Rep. Katrina Pierson, a former Trump spokesperson. “There are Black and Hispanic and Asian Republicans in this chamber who were elected just like you.”
House Republicans’ frustration at the Democrats’ flight and ability to delay the vote was palpable. The GOP used a parliamentary maneuver to take a second and final vote on the map so it wouldn’t have to reconvene for one more vote after Senate approval.
House Speaker Dustin Burrows announced as debate started that doors to the chamber were locked and any member leaving was required to have a permission slip. The doors were only unlocked after final passage more than eight hours later. One Democrat who refused the 24-hour police monitoring, State Rep. Nicole Collier, had been confined to the House floor since Monday night.
Some Democratic state lawmakers joined Collier Tuesday night for what Rep. Cassandra Garcia Hernandez dubbed “a sleepover for democracy.”
Republicans issued civil arrest warrants to bring the Democrats back after they left the state Aug. 3, and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott asked the state Supreme Court to oust several Democrats from office. The lawmakers also face a fine of $500 for every day they were absent.
The totally not gay Oklahoma schools superintendent wants California and New York teachers to learn MAGA history.
The state of Oklahoma is safe for Republicans. The state is deeply conservative and the tribal nations that occupy 3/5 of the state have no say in how the state operates.
So thus, the state is ranked at the bottom of education.
You can be a Sooner but a stupid son of a bitch too.
Any teachers moving to Oklahoma are being required to take an America First exam before being certified to educate in the state.
Teachers from New York and California who apply to teach in Oklahoma will now have to answer questions meant to screen out “woke indoctrinators” with left-wing views — the latest attempt by Oklahoma officials to push the state’s education system rightward.
The test’s 50 questions will cover topics about U.S. government, religion and gender, according to examples shared by the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters (R). Teachers unions have criticized the move as a political stunt that will discourage applicants as Oklahoma faces a teacher shortage.
Walters was allegedly caught watching porn while listening to citizens.
The Washington Post reports that Walters announced plans to administer the test at a state education board meeting in July in which he said California and New York — the nation’s two largest blue states — have teaching standards considered “antithetical” to Oklahoma’s. Prager University, a nonprofit that produces educational materials emphasizing patriotic and conservative views, developed the exam.
“We’re not bringing in woke indoctrinators into the classroom,” Walters told The Washington Post on Monday, adding, “It’s a very America-first approach.”
Walters has courted controversy for previous efforts to shape Oklahoma’s schools, including distributing Bibles in classrooms and backing a proposal to teach high-schoolers that there were “discrepancies” in the 2020 election. He supported the unsuccessful effort to create the nation’s first public religious charter school in Oklahoma that culminated in a deadlocked Supreme Court ruling in May.
Walters told the education board that its members will not have a chance to review the test for teacher candidates before it is implemented. Chris Van Denhende, a board member, asked Walters in July to ensure the policy “passes legal muster.”
Imagine your child being taught bullshit from a far right propaganda outlet.
“It sounds like we’re on the edge,” Van Denhende said.
The requirement went into effect over the summer, Walters said, but the test is being finalized. Applicants from New York and California receive a notice that they will not be accepted until they complete the exam, once it is ready. Walters said he hoped the exam would be released “soon.”
The Oklahoma State Department of Education shared five sample questions from the multiple-choice test Monday, covering topics such as the Constitution and the makeup of Congress. Oklahoma already requires new teachers to take a U.S. citizenship test, which covers civics topics, to complete their certification. Walters said the test for California and New York teachers would also focus on “the biological differences between the two genders.”
Applicants will have to answer all 50 questions correctly to qualify. Walters said the test is “common sense” and “straightforward.” While the requirement is aimed at teaching applicants from California and New York, Walters said he would consider expanding the test to applicants from other blue states.
Cari Elledge, president of the Oklahoma Education Association, which represents the state’s school employees, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. She told USA Today that the move is a “political stunt to grab attention,” adding that inserting politics into the state’s teacher screenings could harm morale and turn away good educators.
The union told its members in a July letter that Walters “has no legal authority to vet certified teachers based on political ideology” because state law requires Oklahoma to recognize out-of-state teaching credentials, USA Today reported.
Walters said he is prepared for the teacher test to face legal challenges.
The move deepens Prager’s influence in state education. The nonprofit, which produces videos promoting conservative views of history, race, sex and gender, has secured partnerships with at least five states to allow their content to be optional teaching material in public schools.
The Republicans are so willing to place all the blame on Democrats whenever the responsibilities get too bothersome.
Nah, this falls on President Donald J. Trump.
He picks the candidates. He selects all the acting officials.
Tom Alexandrovich is back in Israel after he was arrested in Las Vegas for attempting to solicit and entice sexual encounters with a minor. The U.S. Justice Department is under fire for allowing this suspect flee.
Usually if a person is charged with a crime, they often are placed in custody, ordered to surrender passports and restricted from travel. In cases of sexual assualt and child abuse, it pretty much is custody until judge issues a bail.
Knowing he is from another country, that certainly was a flight risk.
Sigal Chattah, an Israeli born U.S. Acting Attorney for Nevada is under fire. She allowed Alexandrovich to flee. Now she is downplaying it as it was some liberal district attorney being involved in releasing the suspect.
“Last week, Tom Artiom Alexandrovich was arrested in a Nevada Internet Crimes Against Children joint operation; and he was booked into the Henderson Detention Center. This important multi-agency operation targeted child sex predators who preyed upon the most vulnerable members of our communities. As a result of the operation, the Clark County District Attorney’s Office is handling the prosecution.”
Basically Chattah was brought a federal case. She downplayed it. She knows that the Clark County District Attorney will have a difficult time trying to get the suspect.
The motherfucker fled the U.S. and its unlikely he will return to face charges.
Trump announced the appointment of Sigal Chattah as the interim United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto referred to Chattah as an "election denier who has advocated for political violence," while Senator Jacky Rosen stated that she would do "everything in [her] power to block her confirmation."
This moron allowed a pedophile flee the U.S.
She took office as interim Attorney on April 1, 2025. She continued to be listed as a Republican National Committee committeewoman and was introduced virtually at a Nevada Republican Party meeting on April 5, with her participation prompting concerns by the The Nevada Independent about a possible violation of U.S. Department of Justice rules prohibiting political activity by its employees.
Before scrubbing her social media, Fattah was supportive of Israel’s genocide on the Palestinians.
Alexandrovich is a top cyber security official under Israeli regime leader Benjamin Netanyahu. The prime minister denies knowing him despite personally picking this person.
The incident has sparked significant controversy, raising questions about how Alexandrovich was able to leave the U.S. despite the charges and whether there was any governmental interference in the judicial process. The Israeli Cyber Directorate initially downplayed the arrest but later quietly suspended Alexandrovich. Critics have accused Israeli authorities of helping him evade U.S. justice.
