News

MAINE: First State To Ban Styrofoam Food Containers

Vox reports: Maine just became the first state to ban Styrofoam food containers. The bill, which was signed into law today and goes into effect in January 2021, prohibits convenience stores, restaurants, grocery stores, farm stands, and coffee shops from using containers made of polystyrene, which is more commonly referred to as Styrofoam. “Polystyrene cannot be recycled like a lot …

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Pornhub “Extremely Interested” In Acquiring Tumblr

Buzzfeed News reports: Pornhub Vice President Corey Price said in an email to BuzzFeed News that the porn-streaming giant is extremely interested in buying Tumblr, the once uniquely horny hub for young women and queer people that banned adult content last December to the disappointment of many of its users. Price said that restoring Tumblr’s NSFW edge would be central …

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Colorado Bans Animal Abusers From Owning Pets

Denver’s CBS News reports: A new Colorado law will ban animal abusers from owning a pet for upwards of five years. Gov. Jared Polis signed HB19-1092 into law Thursday afternoon. “It will increase restrictions of people convicted of felony pet animal cruelty, and facilitate mental health and treatments to address the underlying factors that drive tragic animal cruelty,” Polis said. …

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Man Found Guilty Of Threatening To Behead Bernie

Newsweek reports: A man has been found guilty of threatening to record himself beheading Vermont senator and 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in the style of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS). Robert Francis Pratersch, 57, of Kissimmee, Florida, has been convicted of threatening a federal official and interstate transmission of a threat to injure after leaving at least three …

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Julian Assange To Battle Extradition To United States

The Associated Press reports: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has confirmed that he will fight extradition to the United States, where he is accused of conspiring to hack a government computer. At a court hearing Thursday, Assange said he would not surrender to extradition for doing what he called “journalism that has won many awards.” Assange appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court …

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Covington Student Files $275M Suit Against NBC

Yahoo News reports: An attorney representing Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann said Wednesday that he filed a $275 million defamation lawsuit against NBC Universal on Sandmann’s behalf. The complaint accuses NBC Universal of attacking Sandmann in its coverage by “relying heavily on biased and unreliable sources without conducting any reasonable investigation of the circumstances surrounding the January 18 …

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Salesforce CEO Donates $30M To SF Homeless Study

Forbes reports: Marc Benioff, billionaire founder of enterprise software behemoth Salesforce, and his wife Lynne are donating $30 million to the University of California, San Francisco to fund a new research initiative that will identify the root causes of, and find evidence-based solutions towards ending, homelessness. The new program, called the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, will be part of …

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Assange Sentenced To 50 Weeks For Jumping Bail

The Washington Post reports: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was sentenced on Wednesday to 50 weeks in a British prison for jumping bail. His sentencing comes a day before an extradition hearing in London related to separate charges in the United States for conspiring to hack a government password. Assange, 47, who appeared in court at London’s Southwark Crown Court wearing …

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Maduro Regime Yanks CNN Off The Air Amid Uprising

CNN reports: CNN has been taken off the air in Venezuela by the government. DirecTV, Net Uno, Intercable, and Telefónica all received orders from Venezuela’s government regulator Conatel to block CNN. CNN en Español was blocked in Venezuela in 2017. CNN obtained a video that appears to show the exact moment it was taken off the air by the Venezuela …

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Israel To Name Jerusalem Train Station For Trump

The Hill reports: A top Israeli official says that the country will officially name a train station in Jerusalem after President Trump next week during the country’s annual Independence Day celebrations. Trump has maintained a close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and broke with previous U.S. administrations to recognize Jerusalem as the country’s official capital in late 2017. …

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2019 Tony Awards Nominations Announced [VIDEO]

Playbill reports: The nominations for the 2019 Tony Awards were announced April 30. Entering awards season with the most nominations is Hadestown, which earned a total of 14 nominations. Trailing closely behind was Ain’t Too Proud—The Life of the Temptations with 12. Joining the two titles in the coveted Best Musical category were Beetlejuice, The Prom, and Tootsie. Meanwhile, in …

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VENEZUELA: Military Coup Attempt Underway [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido [photo] has taken to the streets with detained activist Leopoldo Lopez and a small contingent of heavily armed soldiers in a military uprising. “This is the moment of all Venezuelans, those in uniform and those who aren’t,” said Lopez in his first public appearance since being detained in 2014 for leading …

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Wayne LaPierre Unanimously Reelected NRA CEO

Reuters reports: Wayne LaPierre was re-elected chief executive and executive vice president of the National Rifle Association on Monday, surviving a power struggle in which he was challenged by former NRA President Oliver North, who stepped down over the weekend. The NRA board voted unanimously in favor of LaPierre, who has been with the NRA for 40 years and has …

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Oscar-Nominated Director John Singleton Dies At 51

NBC News reports: “Boyz n the Hood” director John Singleton died Monday due to complications from a stroke he suffered nearly two weeks ago. He was 51. His family announced his death shortly after they confirmed that he had been taken off life support. “John passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family and friends,” his family said in a statement. …

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SPAIN: Socialist Party Holds Power, Far-Right Advances

The New York Times reports: Spain’s Socialist Party strengthened its hold on the government on Sunday in the country’s third national election since 2015, with nearly complete results showing growing political polarization and party fragmentation. The elections came after an abrupt change of government in June, when Pedro Sánchez and his Socialist Party used a corruption scandal to oust Prime …

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Hillary Reads Part Of Mueller Report Aloud [VIDEO]

Rolling Stone reports: Hillary Clinton and her husband, Bill Clinton, were featured in a video with Comedy Central’s Jordan Klepper during which Hillary read from the Robert Mueller report. Among other things, the former presidential candidate quoted a portion of the report, reading aloud: “The president slumped back in his chair and said, ‘Oh my god, this is terrible, this …

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NY AG Opens Probe Into NRA’s Tax-Exempt Status

The New York Times reports: Oliver L. North announced on Saturday that he would not serve a second term as the National Rifle Association’s president, deciding to step down as the organization grappled with a bitter dispute over its future and its worst leadership crisis in decades. He made the announcement as the N.R.A. faced a challenge from the New …

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CALIFORNIA: Driver Who Mowed Down 8 Pedestrians Believed His Victims To Be Muslim, Police Say [VIDEO]

NBC News reports: The driver who police say intentionally drove a car into pedestrians in California this week targeted his victims because he believed some of them were Muslim, police said Friday. The Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety said in a statement that the suspect, Isaiah Joel Peoples, 34, “intentionally targeted the victims based on their race and his belief …

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Eric Holder Calls On US Supreme Court To Stop Trump From “Weaponizing” Census With Citizenship Question

Former Obama AG Eric Holder writes in a new op-ed: Following oral arguments earlier this week, I’m deeply concerned that the Supreme Court appears willing to allow the Trump administration to weaponize the 2020 Census to determine where political and economic power in the United States should reside. Allowing the administration to demand citizenship information from every household as part …

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Kansas State Supreme Court Upholds Right To Abortion

NPR reports: The Kansas Constitution protects a woman’s right to an abortion, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Friday. The landmark ruling now stands as the law of the land in Kansas with no path for an appeal. Because it turns on the state’s constitution, abortion would remain legal in Kansas even if the Roe v. Wade case that established a …

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