Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Elijah Cummings: It appears Trump committed a crime in office

After the Michael Cohen hearings with the House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) told reporters that based on Michael Cohen's testimony "it appears" President Donald Trump committed a crime while in office. Watch that video below:

Jumaane Williams Wins Special Election for Public Advocate in New York City

Jumaane D. Williams, a Democratic councilman from Brooklyn, was elected as New York City public advocate Tuesday night, notching a victory over 16 other candidates in a free-for-all race that could give him a platform to seek higher office.

“We cannot wait, we cannot stand still, because the challenges in our city are too great,” Mr. Williams said. “But the opportunity to create change is even greater.”

He pledged to listen to his fellow New Yorkers and then take action on behalf of the city’s most disadvantaged residents, naming people living in public housing and victims of gun violence. He vowed to help “ upend a system of injustice that criminalizes black and brown communities, and to give those who have been caught in the system a second chance. Most of them, a first chance.”

The public advocate serves as an ombudsman to the city and is first in line to succeed a mayor departing before the end of his term. It is also seen as a potential launching pad to higher office; Mr. de Blasio went from being public advocate to becoming mayor.

[SOURCE: NY TIMES]

Chicago will have its first female African-American mayor

Two African-American women will face each other in a runoff for Chicago mayor after defeating a member of a family that has dominated the city’s politics for most of the past six decades and 11 other candidates in Tuesday’s election.

Political outsider Lori Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle were the top two vote-getters, but neither received more than the 50% needed to avoid an April 2 runoff. The winner will succeed Mayor Rahm Emanuel and become the first African-American woman to lead the nation’s third-largest city. Emanuel did not seek re-election.

“What do you think of us now?” Lightfoot said Tuesday night to a crowd of her supporters. “This is what change looks like.”

Lightfoot, the first openly gay woman to run for Chicago mayor, has been critical of efforts to reform the Chicago Police Department in the wake of the 2014 fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald by a white police officer.

Preckwinkle, who previously served 19 years on the City Council and was a Chicago Public Schools teacher, also made a campaign issue out of the Laquan McDonald shooting.

[ SOURCE: MARKET WATCH]

Monday, February 25, 2019

Regina King, Mahershala Ali win best supporting actor/actress Oscars at the 2019 Academy Awards

Regina King is now an Oscar winner and Mahershala Ali is a now a two time Academy Award winner. Both won awards in the Best Supporting Actor/Actress categories.

Regina King won her first Oscar to go along with three Emmy Awards. The actress was awarded the best supporting actress statue on Sunday for her role in Barry Jenkins' "If Beale Street Could Talk," in which she plays Sharon Rivers, a matriarch whose spirit is as strong as her love for her family. Watch her acceptance speech below:

Mahershala Ali took home his second supporting actor Oscar in three years on Sunday night, for his role as the black pianist Don Shirley in “Green Book,”. Ali won two years ago, his supporting performance in “Moonlight' and with this win Ali joins Denzel Washington as the only other black actor to win multiple Oscars. Watch his acceptance speech below"

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Michael Steele Slams Trump For Not Condemning Arrested Coast Guard Lt

In an MSNBC interview Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele slammed President Donald Trump for not condemning Coast Guard Lieutenant Christopher Hasson, the Maryland man charged earlier this week with planning a mass terror attack against prominent Democrats and media personalities. Watch that interview below, Steele's comments start at the 5:53 mark.