Tag Archives: US History

John Oliver Takes On Confederate Monuments [VIDEO]

Newsweek reports: John Oliver gave an elaborate—and sometimes stinging—explanation as to why statues of Confederate leaders should not remain standing Sunday night. The British comedian dedicated the large majority of his HBO comedy show Last Week Tonight to a comprehensive history lesson about the divisive monuments that critics say celebrate America’s dark past. “If the Confederacy was not about slavery, …

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Mike Pence: I Believe In More Monuments [VIDEO]

The Hill reports: Vice President Mike Pence said on Tuesday that the United States should be building more monuments around the country, not tearing them down. Pence was asked on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday morning whether he supported local municipalities around the country in their efforts to remove Confederate statues in the wake of the violence in Charlottesville, Va., and …

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House Republicans Retaliate After Democrat Refuses To Name Building For Racist Homophobe Jesse Helms

Democratic US House Rep. G.K. Butterfield wants to rename a Durham post office after his late mentor, black civil rights activist John Hervey Wheeler. But according to Butterfield, two US House Republicans from his state are holding up what would normally be a routine issue because he refused to sign their bill to rename another federal building after notorious racist …

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CANADA: Jimmy Carter Hospitalized For Dehydration After Collapsing While Building For Habitat For Humanity

The Washington Post reports: Former president Jimmy Carter was taken to a hospital Thursday for dehydration while in Winnipeg, according to a news report. The 92-year-old was in Canada helping build a Habitat for Humanity home when he “collapsed,” a volunteer told CBC News, triggering a rush of paramedics and firefighters to assist him. An ambulance took Carter to a …

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Trump Elects To Recite Rules For Electoral College In US History Documentary Because Of Course [VIDEO]

For a Fourth Of July documentary that aired last night on HBO, filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi (daughter of Nancy) invited Trump and former presidents to select a portion of the US Constitution to read for the camera. And so of course, Trump chose the section about the Electoral College. Here’s the bit he recited: The executive Power shall be vested in …

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NEW YORK CITY: Tribute March And Rally For Late Rainbow Flag Creator Gilbert Baker Set For June 14th

Via press release: Friends and family of the late Gilbert Baker will hold an activist march and rally against LGBT oppression in memory of the world-renowned artist who created The Rainbow Flag, the international symbol of LGBT pride and liberation. Baker, a lifelong LGBT and social justice activist, died suddenly March 31 in his Manhattan home. He was 65. The …

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ORLANDO: Pulse Nightclub Owner Unveils Plan To Create “Iconic” National Memorial And Museum [VIDEO]

The Orlando Sentinel reports: The Orlando shooting at Pulse Nightclub on June 12 will be memorialized with an “iconic, meaningful, national” memorial and eventually a museum, where Orlando’s millions of visitors will learn about the club, the tragedy and the victims. Leaders of the not-for-profit onePULSE Foundation officially launched the effort to building the memorial Thursday morning. “Today, I’m able …

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Trump Wonders: “Why Was There The Civil War?”

In a radio interview set to air later today, Trump wonders aloud why the US Civil War took place and suggests that Andrew Jackson could have stopped it if only he’d been in office at the time. And not, you know, already dead. Seriously. The Hill reports: “I mean had Andrew Jackson been a little bit later you wouldn’t have …

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Trump Bottoms Out In New Approval Poll [VIDEO]

CNN reports: As the 100-day mark of Donald Trump’s presidency approaches, a new CNN/ORC poll finds the President reaches this milestone holding on to the lowest approval rating of any newly-elected president at this stage, amid sharp partisan divides and a failure to capitalize on post-election strengths. Overall, 44% say they approve of Trump’s handling of the presidency, 54% disapprove. …

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ORLANDO: Pulse Owner To Unveil Memorial Plans

The Orlando Sentinel reports: As the one-year anniversary of the Pulse terror attack nears, the nightclub’s owner, Barbara Poma, next week will announce details about plans for a permanent memorial at the scene of the nation’s largest mass shooting. “Pulse has always been a part of me, but after this tragedy which took 49 lives, it became a part of …

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LIVE VIDEO: First Post-White House Speech By Obama (In Case You Forgot What Presidents Sound Like)

Newsweek reports: After three months of relaxation, former President Barack Obama will step back into public life Monday with a speech in his adopted home of Chicago. His first public remarks since the end of his two terms in the White House will come as part of an event with young leaders at the school where he taught constitutional law …

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NEW ORLEANS: Police Snipers Guard Armored City Workers As They Remove Four Confederate Monuments

NOLA.com reports: Efforts to remove four Confederate monuments commenced early Monday morning (April 24), as crews and police gathered around the Battle of Liberty Place monument downtown around 2 a.m. to begin dismantling the first of four statues eyed for removal by the city. Just before 1:30 a.m., and after a small group of protesters had departed, a wave of …

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Nixon’s Watergate Lawyer John Dean: Every Morning I’m Just Happy That Trump Hasn’t Blown Up The World

The Independent reports: The former Counsel to President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal said Americans view Donald Trump as “insane”, “angry” and he thinks that Mr Trump’s Presidency is an “unfolding disaster”. “As I see it, about maybe half the population right now isn’t sure whether he is insane or if he’s just a totally angry man, they don’t …

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TENNESSEE: State Senate Approves Resolution To Exhume And Relocate Body Of President James Polk

Chattanooga’s CBS affiliate reports: The Tennessee Senate passed a resolution Monday that would allow the body of former President James K. Polk to be exhumed and moved to a fourth resting place. Polk and his wife, Sarah, are currently buried on the grounds of the state Capitol. The resolution would allow the bodies to be exhumed and moved about 50 …

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Last Call For The Phone Booth [VIDEO]

Via CBS News: Yes, there’s nothing like reaching out and touching someone from a phone booth. They used to be everywhere, but they are now rare coin-operated curiosities. Mo Rocca looks into the history of the once-ubiquitous phone booth, and of the wi-fi kiosks that are now replacing them in New York City.

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Colin Farrell To Play Oliver North In Amazon Series

Variety reports: Colin Farrell is ready to return to the small screen. Farrell and his “Lobster” director Yorgos Lanthimos are teaming up again on an Amazon show about Oliver North and his involvement in the Iran-Contra affair. Farrell will star as the former U.S. Marine in the untitled limited series, which will primarily focus on the Iran-Contra scandal, and Lanthimos …

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NIGHTMARE FODDER: Declassified Films From Dozens Of Cold War-Era Nuclear Tests Revealed [VIDEO]

For your nightmares. Extreme Tech reports: As the Cold War ramped up, the US detonated hundreds of nuclear weapons in the South Pacific and American Southwest as it built ever more powerful bombs. Every single test was filmed, often from many different angles. The government contracted AT&T to film the tests and analyze the images. However, the accuracy of measurements …

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Roe V Wade Plaintiff Norma McCorvey Dies At Age 69

The Washington Post reports: Norma McCorvey, who was 22, unwed, mired in addiction and poverty, and desperate for a way out of an unwanted pregnancy when she became Jane Roe, the pseudonymous plaintiff of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade that established a constitutional right to an abortion, died Feb. 18 at an assisted-living facility in …

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Obama Returns To Personal Twitter Handle

The Hill reports: Barack Obama on Friday afternoon tweeted once again from his personal Twitter, marking the official social media transition from president. He followed it with another tweet about the Obama Foundation, which he plans to launch in Chicago and run during his post-presidential life. Despite switching back to his personal twitter, Obama will still have a far reach …

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President Obama Tweets His Farewell

The Hill reports: President Obama on Friday tweeted out his final goodbyes to the American public in the waning hours before Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the U.S. As he departed from the White House, Obama stopped to leave a note on the president’s desk for Trump. The gesture is a time-honored tradition that …

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