Month: June 2019

In a sparsely attended meeting addressing aid for 9/11 first responders, Jon Stewart blasted Congress for their “callous indifference.”

The former host of The Daily Show appeared in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday to discuss reauthorizing the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Stewart and multiple sick first responders gave emotional testimonies on why the fund should be extended, yet most of the committee seats were empty, leading Stewart to express frustration.

“I can’t help but think what an incredible metaphor this room is for the entire process that getting health care and benefits for 9/11 first responders …

Last year, Stacey Abrams ran a historic race for governor of Georgia, winning more votes than any other Democrat who has run for statewide office in the state’s history. She lost to her Republican opponent in a highly disputed outcome, with some alleging that widespread voter suppression benefitted her opponent.

Now, Abrams is campaigning to fight voter suppression — but she says it’s not about her. It’s about protecting all Americans’ right to vote.

“The minute it becomes about me or a single election, we missed the point. This is about whether voters’ voices can be heard; it’s …

Last year, Stacey Abrams ran a historic race for governor of Georgia, winning more votes than any other Democrat who has run for statewide office in the state’s history. She lost to her Republican opponent in a highly disputed outcome, with some alleging that widespread voter suppression benefitted her opponent.

Now, Abrams is campaigning to fight voter suppression — but she says it’s not about her. It’s about protecting all Americans’ right to vote.

“The minute it becomes about me or a single election, we missed the point. This is about whether voters’ voices can be heard; it’s …

“Reckoning” is an old English word with many different meanings. It’s the action or process of calculating; it’s a person’s view or opinion; and it’s a bill come due, with one of the synonyms for that definition being the arrival of retribution. It means, more precisely, “the avenging or punishing of past mistakes or misdeeds.”

Reckoning, in all these forms, has had a modern revival this year. No word better captures the state of mind for those in Big Tech, and more specifically Silicon Valley.

Let me break it down even more simply: Karma’s a bitch.

And that is the …

It’s been a rough couple of years for the Tonys telecast. Traditionally, the award ceremony is powered by live performances from the year’s Best Musical nominees, but in the 2017 and 2018 seasons, the most exciting race was between the plays. The musicals were either exciting but under-rewarded (2017’s Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812), or there was a single beloved show in a crop of franchise-movie-to-franchise-musical adaptations (we do not speak of 2018).

That’s why at first, things looked bright for 2019’s 73rd annual Tony Awards.

After all, the musical race heated up again this year. …

Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, Martha Bárcena Coqui, worked to clarify elements of the recent US-Mexico immigration agreement that staved off tariffs on Mexican goods Sunday.

As part to the deal, Mexico has agreed to station 6,000 members of the National Guard around the country, most at the Mexico-Guatemala border. The tariffs would have placed a 5 percent tax on all Mexican goods starting Monday; that tax would have risen at regular intervals to 25 percent.

Trump said the threat of tariffs was necessary to push Mexico to increase its efforts to reduce the flow of South American immigrants …

YouTube has been criticized often in recent weeks for hosting content created by radical actors, and has also been censured for how it has handled this criticism.

The video sharing giant’s policies on harassment and hate speech and its enforcement of these policies faced public scrutiny last week after Vox journalist and YouTube host Carlos Maza expressed his frustration with ongoing personal attacks he has faced from popular fellow YouTuber Steven Crowder.

Presidential hopeful Sen. Cory Booker has united policies he proposed during his time in Congress into a new affordable housing plan, which he unveiled while on the campaign trail late last week.

Booker has made affordable housing central to his campaign, and often tells the story of his parents’ struggle to buy a home in stump speeches. He told that story once again in an op-ed published in the Reno Gazette Journal that promotes the plan.

“Fifty years ago this month, a couple and their young family were looking to move into a neighborhood in New Jersey with great …

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A new jobs report signals a slowing economy; UN human rights experts allege a “staggering number” of unlawful deaths in the Philippines.

A sharp drop in job creation could signal bad news for the economy

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

• Job creation dropped drastically in May, with initial estimates suggesting a number much lower than what experts had initially predicted. [NYT / Nelson D.

Monday, June 10, will be the best night of the year to gaze at Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system. That’s because the gas giant will be directly opposite the sun. Basically, opposition means Jupiter, the Earth, and the Sun will be aligned.

It’s special because when celestial objects are directly opposite the sun, they appear brighter in the sky. And because Jupiter will be near its closest distance to the Earth this year, it will appear slightly bigger. Jupiter reaches opposition once every 13 months — so you won’t want to miss this opportunity to see it …