Cory Booker says he'll give donations from Harvey Weinstein to charity

Sen. Cory Booker's office said that the $7,800 he received in campaign contributions from movie producer Harvey Weinstein will be donated to a nonprofit group fighting sexual violence after The New York Times published allegations Weinstein harassed multiple women.

Booker's donation will go to the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault, his office said. The coalition represents rape crisis centers in each of the state's 21 counties, and advocates for legislation centered on rape survivors.

Weinstein gave Booker three contributions of $2,600 each in October 2013, just days before he was elected to fill the unexpired term of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg. As of June 30, Booker's campaign account had more than $2 million accumulated for his next election, in 2020.

The $7,800 Booker received was part of a $10,000 contribution he made to Booker Senate Victory, a joint committee between the Senate campaign and the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. The NJDSC got the other $2,200, and will be giving that away as well, said spokesman Matt Farrauto.

Other democrats such as NY Gov. Cuomo and Sens. Charles Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Sen. Patrick Leahy,are also getting rid of contributions from Weinstein.

[SOURCE: USATODAY]

National Hockey League player J.T. Brown raises fist during national anthem

Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown raised his right fist during the playing of the national anthem before the team's first road game of the season.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown says he isn't going to back down anytime soon, standing behind his decision to fund the relocation of a Confederate statue in Tampa and stay vocal when it comes to issues concerning minorities.

It is the first known demonstration of any kind during the anthem in an NHL regular-season game. The NHL has no rules governing what players must do during the national anthem.

Brown, who was scratched for Tampa Bay's season-opening win against Florida, remained standing throughout the anthem Saturday night. Brown, one of approximately 30 black players in the NHL, used the same protest before a preseason game against the Panthers last month.

"I wanted to do something to show my support," Brown told the Tampa Bay Times after the Lightning's 5-4 loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday. "There are some issues that we have to talk about. So, in my mind, just trying to bring a little more awareness, and any type of conversation that we can get started would be great. I know there's going to be negative backlash. But, in my heart, I know I did what was right."

The Lightning issued a statement later Saturday, saying, "The Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate the moment before every game when we can unite as a community, paying homage to a flag that is representative of our nation and those who have sacrificed. At the same time, we respect our players and individual choices they may make on social and political issues."

[SOURCE: ESPN]

Congresswoman Barbara Lee says Trump turns deaf ear on black community’s concerns

Nearly five months to the day before his inauguration, then-Republican nominee Donald Trump tried to pitch his campaign to black voters with a single question: “What do you have to lose?”

Three months after his inauguration, the Congressional Black Caucus eagerly responded with a 130-page policy document entitled “We have a Lot to Lose,” outlining legislation they say would help African Americans and similarly marginalized communities.

That request fell on deaf ears, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, said Saturday at an annual “State of Black America” panel at Laney College. She encouraged people at the Making Connections event to “be at the table with the black agenda and demand those resources,” with or without help from the administration.

“Remember President Trump said ‘What do we have to lose?’ to the black community? Well, we answered him and sent him an entire agenda as it relates to the African American community,” Lee said. Trump “invited us to come to the White House and Cedric Richmond, our chair, said no. He was fully disgusted with our president and his agenda on all of the issues that we’re talking about today.”

“The Congressional Black Caucus is not only the heart and soul of the resistance movement in Congress but also leading on so many issues that we care about here in the Bay Area,” said Lee, a caucus member.

The panel highlighted a number of concerns for the group of a few hundred people, predominantly African Americans, in the audience, including economic disparity between black and white communities, homelessness, housing struggles and criminal justice reform.

Speakers at the Oakland event included Lee, San Francisco Supervisor Malia Cohen, Oakland Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney, Mark Ridley-Thomas of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and National Urban League Vice President Don Cravins Jr.

[SFGATE]

Civil Rights icon John Lewis revives gun control push after Las Vegas shooting

Civil rights figurehead Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, re-upped the pressure on his Republican colleagues Wednesday to pass gun control legislation in the aftermath of Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas.

Lewis and several of his House Democratic colleagues held a press conference on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to honor the victims of the shooting and protest Congress’ inaction on gun control in recent years. He was joined by House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and former Congressman Gabby Giffords, who narrowly escaped death after she was shot in the head at a constituent meet-and-greet in 2011.

“This Congress has failed the American people. As in Newtown and Aurora and Charleston and Orlando, now in Las Vegas, how many more must die? A hundred? A thousand? 10,000? A million? What is your blood price? How many more must die?” Lewis asked, according to Politico. “But there’s no number, is there? There’s no amount of blood or pain or death or suffering that would move this Congress to act. We hold moments of silence and vigil. We offer our thoughts and prayers, but it’s all a show, a placeholder until people forget.”

The group called for passage of a bill that would strengthen firearm background checks. Lawmakers also want Congress to establish a bipartisan Select Committee on Gun Violence to study the issue and recommend other potential legislation.

Their effort did not work. House Speaker Paul Ryan declined to bring up for a vote anything that would tighten gun laws and raised the prospect of punishing the Democratic lawmakers for breaking the chamber’s rules.

Minds are not likely to change this time either. Lewis reportedly approached Ryan earlier this week to see if he would come to Wednesday’s press conference, Politico reported. Ryan declined.

[SOURCE]

US Virgin Islands is grappling for attention after being hit by two hurricanes

Depending on what media outlets Americans engage, they might think that Puerto Rico is the only US territory hit by hurricanes recently, but that's not true.

The US Virgin Islands were hit twice - by Hurricanes Irma and Maria - and for the most part have been overlooked in the national disaster relief conversation, said US House of Representatives Delegate Stacey Plaskett.

The Category 5 storms left the community without power and Internet service, preventing many stores and pharmacies from serving customers who mainly use cards to purchase essential items.

"We hear headlines about what's happening in Puerto Rico," she told MSNBC's Joy Reid last week. "I can't tell you the low morale that the people of the Virgin Islands have right now about how the federal government and the rest of the Americans feel about them because we hear nothing - nothing about the people of the US Virgin Islands."

"And unfortunately, some of us are beginning to think that maybe it's because the US Virgin Islands is a primarily black territory that we're not hearing anything in the news," Plaskett added. "There's no discussion about us."

Read more: US Virgin Islands is grappling for attention after being hit by two hurricanes