Monthly Archives: April 2017

Wells Fargo Claws Back $75M In Bonuses From Former Top Executives Over Roles In Fake Accounts Scandal

USA Today reports: Wells Fargo said Monday that it would claw back tens of millions in additional compensation from top former executives after an investigation concluded that the leaders had not acted swiftly to contain alleged “improper and unethical behavior.” Independent board members, paired with outside investigators hired by the company to review its fake accounts scandal, blasted Wells Fargo …

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Russia-Owned Blogging Platform LiveJournal Changes Terms Of Service To Ban Pro-LGBT Discussions

Gizmodo reports: LiveJournal, a blog community that’s hosted a lot of science fiction authors and fans (including George RR Martin), has officially banned “political solicitation”— which can mean anything that criticizes the Russian government, as well as pro-LGBTQ discussions. There are also concerns users can be subject to Russian spying. The service grew in popularity as a social network in …

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RUSSIA: LGBT Fugitives Tell Of Two Secret Chechen Prisons As More Details Of Crackdown Emerge

Crime Russia reports: The LGBT people who fled from repressions in Chechnya said there are two secret prisons for illegal detentions of offenders, as well as drug addicts and LGBT people who the Chechen government see as an issue, according to the Svoboda ratio station. The raid began in December of 2016, not February of 2017 as earlier reported, according …

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CBS Poll: 57% Back Trump’s Strike On Syria

CBS News reports: Fifty-seven percent of Americans approve of the airstrike against Syrian military targets – calling immoral the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons that led to the strike – but most are leery of any military involvement beyond airstrikes, a CBS News poll shows. President Trump’s overall approval rating edged up, though most respondents voice unease about his …

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ALABAMA: Anti-LGBT GOP Gov Likely To Resign After Ethics Panel Finds He Committed Four Felonies

AL.com reports: It Is becoming clear that Robert Bentley will not last the week as governor. Sources in Montgomery say he’s been involved in negotiations to step down from the governorship and plead to lesser charges, allowing Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey to step up as governor. Sources believe he will resign the governorship by Wednesday. Bentley has been under fire …

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John Oliver Blasts Trump And Media On Syria [VIDEO]

Raw Story recaps: On Sunday’s edition of “Last Week Tonight,” host John Oliver wrecked the Trump administration’s attack on Syria this week, but reserved particular scorn for the media figures who suddenly reversed course and became uncritical supporters of the administration. Brian Williams’ decision to quote a Leonard Cohen song was particularly awful, Oliver said. “This is not a song, …

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Jeremy Scahill Blasts Fareed Zakaria: If He Could Have Sex With Trump’s Missile Strike, He Would [VIDEO]

Via Mediaite: On CNN’s Reliable Sources this morning, The Intercept’s Jeremy Scahill went off on the “atrocious” media coverage of the Syria missile strikes, even calling out CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in particular. Last week Zakaria said that after that strike, Trump “became President of the United States.” This morning, an hour before Scahill was on CNN, Zakaria said that he …

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Lindsey Graham: Bashar Assad Is Telling Trump “F You” By Using The Airbase That Was Just Bombed [VIDEO]

Politico reports: Syrian President Bashar Assad is telling President Donald Trump “F you” by still flying military aircraft from the base the United States tomahawk missiles struck on Thursday, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday morning. Following reports of a chemical attack in Syria, the U.S. military bombed a regime airbase in Homs on Thursday. Since the bombing, Syrian …

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McMaster Defends Deploying Carrier Group To North Korea: Trump Wants “Full Range Of Options” [VIDEO]

The Hill reports: National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster on Sunday said defended the decision for a Carrier strike group to head toward the Korean Peninsula. “It’s prudent to do it, isn’t it?” McMaster said on “Fox News Sunday.” “North Korea has been engaged in a pattern of provocative behavior. This is a rogue regime that is now a nuclear capable …

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NORTH KOREA: Official Declares Trump’s “Reckless” Strike On Syria Justifies Their Nuclear Weapons

NBC News reports: North Korea has vowed to bolster its defenses to protect itself against airstrikes like the ones President Donald Trump ordered against an air base in Syria. The North called the airstrikes “absolutely unpardonable” and said they prove its nuclear weapons are justified to protect the country against Washington’s “evermore reckless moves for a war.” The comments were …

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Nikki Haley Calls For Regime Change In Syria, Russia Blasts Her “Direct Sabotage” Of Peace Efforts [VIDEO]

CNN reports: The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has told CNN that removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power is a priority, cementing an extraordinary U-turn in the Trump administration’s stance on the embattled leader. Two days after the US launched military strikes on a Syrian airbase in response to a chemical weapons attack widely blamed on …

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Alec Baldwin Pulls Double Duty On SNL [VIDEO]

Deadline raves: Is it too much to suspect he’s been dreaming of this for a long, long while? Alec Baldwin skewered Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly on NBC’s Saturday Night Live last night, and he did it with Donald Trump’s help. Playing both roles in a split-screen O’Reilly Factor interview parody, Baldwin had smarm, arrogance and pomposity oozing from both …

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US Navy Strike Group To Move Near North Korea

Reuters reports: A U.S. Navy strike group will be moving toward the western Pacific Ocean near the Korean peninsula, a U.S. official told Reuters on Saturday, as concerns grow about North Korea’s advancing weapons program. Earlier this month North Korea tested a liquid-fueled Scud missile which only traveled a fraction of its range. The strike group, called Carl Vinson, includes …

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Trump Defends Failed Strike On Syria

The Hill reports: President Trump took to Twitter on Saturday to defend a U.S. missile strike on a Syrian military air base amid reports that the Syrian government was continuing to use the air base to launch attacks. “Initial indications are that this strike has severely damaged or destroyed Syrian aircraft and support infrastructure and equipment at Shayrat Airfield, reducing …

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George W. Bush Urges Trump To Spare The Budget For His Wildly Successful African HIV/AIDS Program

Last month the Trump administration proposed slashing the annual budget of the National Institutes for Health by $1.3 billion, $300M of which is earmarked for PEPFAR, former President George W. Bush’s universally praised program to battle HIV/AIDS in Africa. Today Bush writes an eloquent op-ed for the Washington Post which urges the Trump team to spare PEPFAR from the chopping …

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REPORT: Fox Is Using Trump’s “Grab “Em By The Pussy” Tape During Company Sexual Harassment Seminars

From the Hollywood Reporter: For the past few months, 21st Century Fox has been using the infamous Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape during company seminars to give Fox staffers an example of bad behavior in the workplace — a fact that became especially awkward this week as President Trump defended one of Fox’s biggest stars, Bill O’Reilly, who is facing …

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FLORIDA: Trump Brokers Peace Session Between Steve Bannon And Jared Kushner As Social Media Picks Sides

Politico reports: Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner, two warring senior White House aides, had a bury-the-hatchet meeting ordered by President Donald Trump, after arriving at Mar-a-Lago this week. The sit-down, which was confirmed by two White House officials, was an attempt to smooth over tensions between the two men, which have dominated headlines for days. Whether the meeting was successful …

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Conway Denies White House Shakeup Reports: Trump Doesn’t Surround Himself With Yes Men [VIDEO]

Via Mediaite: White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway dismissed the reports of an administration shakeup, saying that President Trump likes having a diversity of opinion and not just a bunch of “yes-men” surrounding him. There are reports this week that Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner have been battling each other, and there’s one report today saying Bannon and Reince Priebus may …

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Colbert: So Here’s Putin As A Gay Clown [VIDEO]

Earlier this week Russia’s Ministry of Justice announced that it has banned an image of Vladimir Putin in heavy makeup, although they did not specify which of the countless such memes is the banned one. Some media outlets have characterized the move as banning the depiction of Putin as a “gay clown” – setting up last night’s bit from Stephen …

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State Department Calls On Russia To Denounce And Stop Murders and Torture Of Gay Men By Chechen Police After Reports Of Detentions In “Secret Prison”

Yesterday the State Department called on Russia to investigate reports that Chechen police are rounding up and murdering gay men. Tonight the State Department has issued a second statement: We are increasingly concerned about the situation in the Republic of Chechnya, where there have been numerous credible reports indicating the detention of at least 100 men on the basis of …

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