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The latest edition of News24's weekly digital weekend magazine stuffed full of interviews, reviews, excerpts, and in-depth stories. Enjoy the read. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/8A2tpLg via sinceretalk

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Friday slammed John Roberts after the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice complained about criticism over the court’s string of decisions that have overturned decades of precedent and roiled progressives since conservatives took a 6-3 majority. AOC called out Roberts after Fox News tweeted an image featuring a quote from Roberts describing criticism of the court’s ruling as “disturbing.” “It has become a disturbing feature of some recent opinions to criticize the decisions with which they disagree,” Roberts said. Fox News tweeted that Roberts “calls out Democrats demonizing the Supreme Court opinions they don't like.” AOC wasn’t having it. She referenced recent reporting from ProPublica that raised ethical questions over Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito accepting gifts and vacations from wealthy donors. “What’s actually disturbing is the feature of the Roberts Court to accept lavish gifts from billionaires, hide that fact, & ...

Former Congressman David Jolly (R-FL) tore into his former Republican colleagues for their close ties to extreme activists trying to censor books in schools and block any mention of race relations or sexual orientation. All of this comes as the extremist group Moms for Liberty, which has ties to the Proud Boys and the QAnon movement, gathers in Philadelphia — and as former President Donald Trump , and several other GOP officials including many of his own challengers for the 2024 nomination, attend to speak and support their cause. "Republicans are struggling with suburban women," said anchor Nicolle Wallace. "This doesn't seem like something that is going to help." Jolly agreed, and contrasted with how aggressively the Republican agenda on education has evolved in the last two decades. "Once you get into what the intent of Republicans really is on education, but to say you want to empower parents sounds pretty important to most families," said J...

United States Rep. George Santos (R-NY) made his his first appearance Friday in a federal New York court, The Washington Post reports, weeks after the embattled lawmaker was indicted on 13 criminal counts that included wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements. Per the Post, after "prosecutors said they turned over more than 80,000 documents" to Santos for his legal team to review, the federal judge "agreed to give parties until Sept. 7 before discussing motion deadlines and a trial date," which according to CNN, is "one week before Congress is back in session." Furthermore, the Post notes the judge urged both Santos' and the defense legal team "to quickly work through the discovery process so that a speedy trial could happen." READ MORE: Why the George Santos saga is 'a wake-up call' for American politics: columnist Meanwhile, CNN reports some of the congressman's frustrated constituents gathered around t...

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was an enthusiastic participant in the majority ruling from Chief Justice John Roberts invalidating race-based affirmative action programs this week. He has written various attacks on the practice in other opinions over the years, writing in 2013, “The worst forms of racial discrimination in this Nation have always been accompanied by straight-faced representations that discrimination helped minorities.” He was saying something different in 1983, noted The Washington Post . "Clarence Thomas told staffers at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that 'God only knows where I would be today' if not for the legal principles of equal employment opportunity measures such as affirmative action that are 'critical to minorities and women in this society,'" wrote Timothy Bella. "'These laws and their proper application are all that stand between the first 17 years of my life and the second 17 years,' Thomas, t...

LPG supply has been secured for the next three months, and proposals for longer-term supply will be evaluated from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/HMYskx9 via sinceretalk

Transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney shared in a now viral video Thursday explaining the fear and "loneliness" she has felt for months, after receiving backlash from conservatives in response to her partnership with Bud Light. Despite the fact the nationwide boycott right-wing lawmakers and activists attempted to uphold fell flat, Mulvaney still faced harsh criticism, and threats that left her afraid to leave her home. In April, Mulavney shared a sponsored post to Instagram, in partnership with Bud Light, writing , "Happy March Madness!! Just found out this had to do with sports and not just saying it's a crazy month! In celebration of this sports thing @budlight is giving you the chance to win $15,000! Share a video with #EasyCarryContest for a chance to win!! Good luck! #budlightpartner " READ MORE: Ted Cruz accuses Bud Light of 'child abuse' Since then, according to the influencer, the brand has not reached out to her. Ari Dren...

President Joe Biden on Thursday afternoon defended calling the U.S. Supreme Court “not normal,” warned expanding it would “politicize” it, and suggested conservative justices are beginning to get the message of just how strongly their legitimacy is being questioned by the American people after numerous allegations of corruption and lack of transparency. “Do you worry that without court reform, this conservative majority is too young and too conservative? That they might do too much harm?” he was asked by MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace Thursday afternoon on “Deadline: White House” in a rare in-studio interview. “Well, I think they may do too much harm,” the President agreed. “But I think if we start the process of trying to expand the court, we’re going to politicize it maybe forever in a way that is not healthy, that you can’t get back. I think – look – I think maybe it’s just the optimist in me, I think that some on the Court are beginning to realize their legitimacy is being questioned...

A man armed with weapons who is wanted on an active outstanding warrant related to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was stopped after he was found running toward the Washington, D.C. home of former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. The man was arrested, CBS News reports. READ MORE: Special Counsel’s Miami Grand Jury Issues More Subpoenas: Report “Secret Service spotted the man within blocks of the Obama’s home, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the matter. The man fled, and Secret Service chased him. He was running toward the Obama home but was apprehended before he reached it,” CBS adds. READ MORE: Special Counsel’s Miami Grand Jury Issues More Subpoenas: Report The man, whose name has not been released, was known to both the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI, and allegedly “had previously made disturbing social media threats against a public figure.” No one was reported injured. The unnamed suspect’s motives are also unknown. Acco...

The problem is not that the Deputy President lives a lavish life, but we take issue with the allegation that he lives a life of luxury that is bankrolled by verifiably corrupt actors who have bled the state and the people of resources for their personal benefit, writes Tebogo Moalusi. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/gdbpA92 via sinceretalk

The majority Democratic Michigan state legislature passed two pieces of legislation that would ban conversion therapy for minors Wednesday — and also make the state the 22nd to do so, CNN reports. Per CNN, in what would be a win for LGBTQ+ rights advocates, the first bill would ban "mental health professionals from engaging in conversion therapy with minors," and result in "disciplinary action" in the form of "a suspended or revoked license" if violated. The second bill, according to the report, "aims to add the definition of conversion therapy to the state's mental health code," which is "any practice or treatment by a mental health professional that seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including, but not limited to, efforts to change behavior or gender expression or to reduce or eliminate sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward an individual of the same gender." READ MORE: 'C...

The ongoing mystery behind former President Donald Trump's stash of highly classified military secrets at Mar-a-Lago has been why he insisted on exposing confidential information. He has repeatedly claimed the documents are "his" and he has a right to possess them — but has never explained exactly what he wanted with them. The shocking tape obtained by CNN that shows him boasting to patrons of his Bedminster golf club about possessing an Iranian battle plan offers the answer, argued Susan Glasser for The New Yorker : he wanted to discredit Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley, after months of behind-the-scenes drama that left the former president enraged at Milley's refusal to enable his worst impulses. "The damning evidence against Trump would not exist if not for his rift with Mark Milley, a remarkable feud between the Commander-in-Chief and the nation’s top general that had been a secret backdrop to the public drama that played out after the ...

White House officials revealed on Wednesday that President Joe Biden uses a CPAP because he has sleep apnea. Biden, 80, "had indentations across both sides of his face from having worn the device, known as a continuous positive airway pressure machine," The New York Times reported . White House spokesman Andrew Bates explained that "since 2008, the president has disclosed his history with sleep apnea in thorough medical reports" and that Biden "used a CPAP machine last night, which is common for people with that history." READ MORE: Kevin McCarthy dispels right-wing conspiracy that President Biden has dementia Correspondent Michael Shear noted that "CPAP machines are among the most widely used treatments for sleep apnea. The machines deliver a continuous stream of air into masks worn during sleep, helping to keep breathing passages open and ensuring that people receive the oxygen they need." Shear pointed out that " sleep apnea is ...

Media personality Caitlyn Jenner , the pro-Trump former California Republican gubernatorial candidate and Olympic gold medal winner, is praising GOP 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley ‘s apparent multi-pronged attack on transgender Americans, the U.S. Armed Forces, and the Biden administration’s foreign policy – while continuing to adhere to the GOP’s agenda of injecting “communists” into her messaging. “The Chinese Communist Party is building missiles and we’re arguing over gender pronouns. China is laughing at us,” Haley, the former Trump Ambassador to the United Nations said on Wednesday. Despite Haley’s false suggestion that somehow the Chinese military is stronger than the American military, and despite her clear attack on transgender people, Jenner praised Haley, using just a single word with a lot of exclamation points. “Amen!!!!!!” tweeted Jenner. READ MORE: Trump, DeSantis, Haley to Speak at Anti-Government Extremists’ ‘Joyful Warriors’ Summit Many, especially ...

There are things municipal councils can do to build high-functioning municipalities, but it means getting the basics right, and it requires an immense commitment to serve the community's interest, writes Kris Dobie. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/zurHQ8C via sinceretalk

June 4, 2018 is not considered a landmark date in the annals of American legal history, but perhaps it should be. On that day, Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States, took to Twitter and declared, “I have the absolute right to PARDON myself…” Trump’s tweet was part desperation and part defiance. It was dispatched in the midst of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election. At the time, Trump feared Mueller’s probe could lead to his prosecution for conspiracy and obstruction of justice once he left office and was no longer shielded by the Justice Department’s policy against indicting a sitting president. A self-pardon would serve as his get-out-of-jail card. It would also be entirely without precedent in American history. Trump survived the Mueller probe unscathed and uncharged. But now that he is running for reelection following an indictment for absconding to Mar-a-Lago with a trove of top-secret documents ...

Donald Trump on Tuesday falsely claimed he’s the first person to be prosecuted under the Espionage Act in a social media post. “This case is about THE PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT, affirmed by the CLINTON SOCKS CASE! Has nothing to do with the made up tale of the Espionage Act of 1917, which has never even been used!” the former president wrote on his Truth Social website . Trump isn’t even the only person charged under the Espionage Act in recent months. Airman Jack Teixeira was charged under the act just over two months ago. The Espionage Act, first passed in 1917 at the urging of former President Woodrow Wilson with the intention of shutting down dissent, has been used to prosecute spies and leakers, The New York Times reports . Other high-profile defendants charged under the Espionage include Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in the 1950s, who were charged on allegations they provided nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union, and former CIA Aldrich Ames, who was charged for unmasking infor...

The doomed OceanGate submersible offers us many of the same lessons that the 1912 Titanic sinking did. A hundred and eleven years ago, a ship considered to be “unsinkable” fell to the bottom of the ocean after hitting an iceberg. More than a thousand people died as the Titanic sank into the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean, among them the engineer who had warned against cutting corners and safety standards. This article was produced by Economy for All , a project of the Independent Media Institute. The parallels between the Titanic and the Titan —the tiny headline-garnering submersible that was lost while trying to view the sunken ship’s remains—would be laughably striking were it not for the fact that lives were lost. Whereas the White Star Line company was focused on building luxury liners for the very wealthy, OceanGate , the company that owned the doomed submersible, runs a marine tourism business for people willing to pay $250,000 to dive more than 12,000 feet into t...

Now that former President Donald Trump has been indicted by United States Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith for refusing to return classified documents to the National Archives that Trump stashed at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida after leaving the White House, attention is turning to what went on at Trump's golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. On Tuesday, New York Times correspondents Alan Feuer, Maggie Haberman, and Jonathan Swan reported that the 542-acre compound "has turned out also to have been a focus of investigators, a flashpoint in the conflict between prosecutors and Mr. Trump's lawyers, and the scene of a central episode in Mr. Trump's indictment: a meeting in which he was recorded showing off what he described as a 'highly confidential' plan to attack Iran." The tape "was the latest piece of evidence placing Bedminster on an almost equal footing with Mar-a-Lago," the Times explained. "Previously u...

GOP governor Ron DeSantis , running for president but struggling to get out from under Donald Trump’s poll numbers, is spending a few days in New Hampshire where he once again tried to convince Republicans in the Granite State they should want to be just like Florida. His “ Make America Florida ” campaign is not translating well to New Hampshire. “At his first town-hall event in New Hampshire, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida talked on Tuesday about illegal immigration in Texas, crime in Chicago, disorder on the streets of San Francisco and the wonders of nearly every aspect of Florida — a state he mentioned about 80 times,” The New York Times reports. “Roughly an hour into the event, Mr. DeSantis finally got around to saying ‘New Hampshire.'” At a town hall, candidates get asked questions, and generally are expected to answer them. And while “DeSantis’s comments seemed to especially resonate when he connected his actions at home to issues of importance to New Hampshire resident...

The rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence has boosted markets this year, but after the initial euphoria, investors are waking up to the possible risks, including the need to be highly selective in stock-picking. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/CMVnamO via sinceretalk

Judge Aileen Cannon made a ruling that some legal and political analysts are concerned about. The Donald Trump-appointed judge denied special counsel Jack Smith's motion to file the 84 witnesses he might call under seal. The ongoing concern of the special counsel is that Trump tends to use his loyalists to threaten and attack those who might speak in court. Trump has been told multiple times he's not allowed to talk about the case with any of the witnesses. That doesn't mean his children, allies, staff or supporters can't attack or target witnesses. "In fact, it appears she rejected their effort to file it with the court at all," tweeted NBC News' Lisa Rubin. "Defense counsel has the list already. The only question now is whether the rest of us can or will and on what timeline. After all, she questions whether it need be filed with the court, period." The media has argued that the list should be public. Former federal prosecutor Elizabet...

Steve Benen, a producer for MSNBC’s "The Rachel Maddow Show,” on Monday pointed out the “biggest flaw” in former President Donald Trump’s “scripted defense” in the Department of Justice’s classified documents case against him . Benen pointed to comments Trump made Saturday at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual conference, during which he claimed “Whatever documents a president decides to take with him, he has the absolute right to take them, he has the absolute right to keep them, or he can give them back to NARA [the National Archives and Records Administration] if he wants.” “That’s the law and it couldn’t be more clear,” Trump claimed, according to a transcript of his remarks. READ MORE: GOP wants to paint Trump’s impeachments as meaningless even as they try to 'eradicate both votes from history' “There is no such law,” Benen wrote, later noting it’s “relevant” that Trump read the defense from “his trusted teleprompter.” “It suggests this was a scrip...

The mass shooter who pleaded guilty to slaughtering five people at Club Q , a Colorado LGBTQ nightclub, and wounding 19 others with an AR-15 style assault rifle last year has been sentenced by a judge to life in prison, including over 2200 years behind bars. “Anderson Lee Aldrich, 23, was sentenced Monday to five consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the 2022 massacre at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado,” CNN reports. “Judge Michael McHenry also sentenced Aldrich to an additional 2,208 years in prison for the attempted murder charges. Aldrich also received a four-year sentence for bias-motivated charges, which are akin to hate-crime charges in other states.” RELATED: Watch: Club Q Owner Testifies Before Congress About ‘Hundreds’ of Messages of Hate He Received After Anti-LGBTQ Attack Colorado does not have the death penalty. Unarmed patrons in the club took Aldrich down. Cheryl Norton, whose daughter Ashtin Gamblin survived after being shot nine ...

Five people have died after a vehicle plunged off a bridge in Germiston, Gauteng, and burst into flames. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/FboQGky via sinceretalk

After News24's exposé on the president-in-waiting, South Africans are fully justified in asking who is the real Paul Mashatile and who are the people behind him pushing him in this game of thrones, write News24's editors. from News24 Top Stories https://ift.tt/KpiaCbv via sinceretalk

The former Homeland Security aide to former Vice President Mike Pence encouraged Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to be more assertive in attacking Trump . Speaking to CNN's Jim Acosta with Molly Jong-Fast, Olivia Troye mentioned the unique way in which former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) is refusing to take anything from Trump and delivering rhetorical blows over and over. The man Trump calls " Meatball Ron " should follow suit. Acosta brought up the recent poll numbers for the GOP candidates. Despite Trump's "legal hot water," he's still making gains. "I think that the Chris Christie approach is the best approach. You have to come out and punch Trump in the face and talk to the voters directly and say, this is what's going on here. I think what has helped Trump is the fact that so many Republicans in leadership and elected officials have repeated some of these talking points . It's about the weaponization of the Department of Justice,'...

New York Times Magazine reporter Robert Draper spoke to CNN's Jim Acosta on Sunday, revealing the Republican Party's desperate attempt to rewrite what happened on Jan. 6, 2021. It's been two years, but as another possible indictment for Donald Trump looms , Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) held a 30-minute event masquerading as a hearing, in a small, dark, windowless room somewhere on Capitol Hill. "It was like being in an upside-down world ," said Draper of the mock-hearing. "And also, Jim, their narratives shapeshift, you know, even within a matter of seconds. Either the Jan. 6th — what took place there was basically peaceful, or it was violent but an Antifa kind of violence , or it was set up by the FBI , thus a feds problem. Basically, their point of view is that they are politically persecuted. There is a two-tier system of justice, but it's not the well-off whites versus people of color. It's the ruling class versus Trump supporters." The narr...