Monthly Archives: February 2019

CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Playbill reports: Ben Platt released the music video for the second track on his debut solo album, Sing To Me Instead, February 13. The new video, directed by Nick Lieberman, stars Platt alongside Charlie Carver (The Boys in the Band). He created the title role in Dear Evan Hansen from early readings through the out-of-town tryout at Arena Stage in …

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Federal Judge Rules Paul Manafort Lied To Mueller

Vox reports: Evidence suggests that Paul Manafort deliberately lied to special counsel Robert Mueller’s team after he had agreed to cooperate, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign chair, has already been convicted of financial crimes in Virginia and has pleaded guilty to other charges in Washington. He was not charged with new crimes related to these …

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Christian Group: On Valentine’s Day Be Sure To Boycott “Leftist” Anti-Jesus Candy Makers Hershey’s And Mars

From the Christian boycott group 2nd Vote: Valentine’s Day is this week and for many that means choosing candy to give to your significant other. You have many options out there when it comes to candy, but 2nd Vote wants to make sure you are informed on where your consumer dollars will be going after you purchase the candy. If …

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Disgraced Former Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke Teams Up With Corey Lewandowski At DC-Based Lobbying Firm

Politico reports: Ryan Zinke, who resigned as interior secretary last year amid scandal, is teaming up with Corey Lewandowski, President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, to work as senior advisers at Washington lobbying firm Turnberry Solutions. Zinke is the first former member of Trump’s Cabinet to join a lobbying firm — a new milestone for a president who took office …

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Pastor Robert Jeffress: Christians Who Don’t Support Trump Are Like Germans Who Didn’t Fight The Nazis

The Dallas Observer reports: Robert Jeffress made perhaps his strongest statements yet in defense of President Donald Trump. Wednesday morning, Jeffress made one of his frequent appearances on conservative radio personality Todd Starnes’ show to talk about the biggest threat facing America today — the vanishingly small number of white evangelicals who refuse to support the president. Christians who don’t …

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Trump Tells Law Enforcement Group: My Border Wall Will Be Harder To Climb Than Mount Everest [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump says the wall he envisions in some places along the southern border would be harder to scale than Mount Everest. Even by Trump standards of exaggeration, that’s a huge leap. The estimated height for some proposed barriers runs as high as 30 feet. Mount Everest stands nearly 30,000 feet high. Trump made the …

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Investigation Commissioned By Catholic High School Finds Catholic High School Students Did Nothing Wrong

Axios reports: An investigation commissioned by the Diocese of Covington and Covington Catholic High School found no evidence of “racist or offensive statements” by Covington Catholic students during their encounter with Native American activists at the Lincoln Memorial in January. Investigators were not able to interview either Native American elder Nathan Phillips or Nicholas Sandmann, the student at the center …

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Graham: Trump “Inclined” To Declare Wall Emergency

The Hill reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Wednesday that President Trump is “very inclined” to declare a national emergency to obtain the necessary funds to build a border wall. “It’s definitely on the table, I’ll let him tell you whether or not he’s going to do it, but he’s very inclined to go that route,” Graham, a staunch ally …

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Trump Appointee Brock Long Out As FEMA Chief

The Associated Press reports: Brock Long, administrator at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has reportedly resigned. In a statement announcing his resignation, Long said in part, “this has been the opportunity of the lifetime, it is time for me to go home…” Long said Peter Gaynor will serve as acting FEMA administrator in the meantime. From September 2018 report …

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Schumer Invites USMC Pilot To Challenge McConnell

Politico reports: Chuck Schumer is actively recruiting a high-profile fighter pilot to take on Mitch McConnell in 2020 — a calculated act of aggression against a leading Republican foe. Schumer met with Amy McGrath, a Marine veteran-turned 2018 congressional candidate, at Democratic Party headquarters last month to pitch her on running against McConnell. McGrath listened and didn’t rule it out. …

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Life Sentence For Killer White Supremacist [VIDEO]

The New York Post reports: A virulent Maryland racist who murdered a black man with a sword in Manhattan nearly two years ago was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison — as the district attorney revealed for the first time the hateful contents of his manifesto. James Jackson, 30, previously pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree murder, terrorism, hate-crime …

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NASA Declares Mars Rover Dead After 15 Years

The Independent reports: NASA’s Opportunity rover is officially dead, the space agency has said, after it disappeared in a dust storm on Mars. Clearly emotional NASA staff, standing in front of a life-sized replica of the rover, said they had not heard back from the rover and that the mission would come to an end. “I am standing here with …

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Wife Of Top WH Staffer Goes On Anti-Vax Rant: Bring Back Our Childhood Diseases, Come Breathe On Me

Raw Story reports: Darla Shine, the wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Bill Shine, went off on an unhinged Twitter rant against vaccinating children on Wednesday. Shine was apparently set off on her Twitter rant by watching a CNN report on a major measles outbreak that has hit the state of Washington, where vaccination rates for …

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Trump Confidante In Dubai: Whatever Happened To Khashoggi, Atrocities In America Are Equal Or Worse

The Week reports: Tom Barrack, a billionaire financier who GOP operative Roger Stone once called President Trump’s “best friend”, defended Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman on Tuesday while speaking in Dubai on Tuesday. When CNN’s Becky Anderson asked Barrack about the effect the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has had on Saudi Arabia’s global reputation, Barrack first …

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Sarah Huckabee Sanders: The Idea That Trump Would Encourage Violence At His Rallies Is “Absolutely Absurd”

Mediaite reports: In an interview on Wednesday with Fox & Friends, Sanders was asked to elaborate on the White House statement saying Trump condemns the attack on a journalist that was carried out by one of his supporters during his rally this week in El Paso. BBC cameraman Ron Skeans was shoved to the ground by a Trump supporter while …

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Trump Installs Room-Sized Golf Simulator Game At WH

The Washington Post reports: President Trump has installed a room-sized “golf simulator” game at the White House, which allows him to play virtual rounds at courses all over the world by hitting a ball into a large video screen, according to two people told about the system. Trump’s system cost about $50,000, and was put in during the last few …

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Levi Strauss Files Plan To Take Company Public

CNBC reports: Levi Strauss filed the paperwork for an initial public offering Wednesday. The iconic denim company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker “LEVI.” According to its SEC filing, the San Francisco-based company plans to raise $100 million through the IPO, a placeholder amount used to calculate fees, but CNBC’s Leslie Picker previously reported …

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Parkland Activist David Hogg: I Wish Michelle Obama Would Run For President And Just End This Madness

The Hill reports: Activist David Hogg on Wednesday urged former first lady Michelle Obama to run for president in 2020. “I wish @MichelleObama would run for president and end this madness already,” Hogg, who survived last year’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Fla., said on Twitter. Hogg helped organize the March for Our Lives rally …

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MoviePass Parent Company Delisted By Stock Exchange

Deadline Hollywood reports: Shares in MoviePass parent Helios & Matheson began trading over the counter today after the beleaguered company was delisted by the Nasdaq. The ouster from the major stock market comes after several warnings relayed in SEC filings in recent months, given that companies cannot have their shares trade below $1 for extended periods. Helios stock has been …

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Dem Rep. Ilhan Omar Hits Back At Trump: You Have Trafficked In Hate Against People For Your Whole Life

Roll Call reports: Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., knocked the president in a tweet Wednesday, highlighting his record of racial and religious discrimination and bucking his calls for her to resign. “You have trafficked in hate your whole life — against Jews, Muslims, Indigenous, immigrants, black people and more,” Omar tweeted. “I learned from people impacted by my words. When will …

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