Current Events
Page: 57
HipHopWired Featured Video
Donald Trump finds himself under more scrutiny after a report suggested that the former president allegedly contacted Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu to halt ceasefire talks with Hamas. The reason is that the Trump campaign believes a successful ceasefire deal would boost Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz’s campaign hopes.
In a clip from PBS NewsHour shared by Parsons School of Design professor David Carroll, veteran broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff shared that she saw reporting that pointed to Donald Trump contacting Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on bringing a ceasefire with Hamas to fruition.
“The reporting is that former President Trump is on the phone with the prime minister of Israel urging him not to cut a deal right now because it’s believed that would help the Harris campaign,” Woodruff is heard saying in the video below.
Among several negative marks that President Joe Biden’s administration has suffered in the eyes of voters is what is seen as a blind support of Israel in its battle with Hamas with many believing the administration is funding a genocide. Under President Biden’s orders, Secretary of State Antony Blinken just completed his ninth visit to the Gaza region where the Israel-Hamas conflict continues to unfold and was once again unable to garner a truce.
If the reports that Trump reached out to Israeli leadership regarding the ceasefire deal, it would be considered by some to be a violation of the Logan Act.
The Logan Act, established in 1799, is a law that states, “Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.”
During the Trump-Pence administration’s time in the White House, Trump accused former Secretary of State John Kerry of violating the Logan Act for reportedly having talks with Iran, and in 2015, Democrats and others charged Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas with violating the Logan Act after he enacted a coalition of Congress members to oppose President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. Further, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack accused Donald Trump of violating the act when the convicted felon and former reality television star encouraged Russian hackers to go after Hillary Clinton’s email account during the 2015 presidential campaign.
Carroll added in his string of replies on X where Woodruff may have gotten the information regarding contact between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu by sharing a report from Reuters that says Axios was the first to mention the talks between the pair earlier this month and confirmed via sources. However, Netanyahu’s office says that the discussion with Trump regarding the ceasefire never happened as reported by Axios.
—
Photo: Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: The Washington Post / Getty / Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan got caught in 4K, making a complete a** out himself.
TMZ Sports exclusively shared a video of the WWE Hall-of-Famer talking about allegedly performing wrestling moves on Vice President Kamala Harris while promoting his beer at a bar in Medina, Ohio, on Monday.
The iconic wrestler, who also was caught on tape saying the N-word with the hard ER, also used the moment to take a page out of the MAGA GOP playbook by questioning VP Harris’ racial identity.
Hogan might have realized he had crossed a line blaming his violent rhetoric on the booze he was drinking.
Per TMZ Sports:
The Hulkster was at the Thirsty Cowboy in Medina, Ohio promoting his new beer Monday night when he grabbed the mic and started firing up the crowd … and things quickly flew off the rails.
Hulk asked the place … “Want me to body-slam Kamala Harris? Want me to drop the leg on Kamala?”
Hulk took some more shots at Kamala in Ohio, including mocking her Indian heritage, and making a racist gesture referring to indigenous Americans. So … racist and ignorant, if you’re keeping score.
At that point, Hulk seemed to realize he may have taken things too far … and said it was just the beers talking.
https://twitter.com/tltown2019/status/1825977905375228332
Hulk Hogan Is Team MAGA All The Way
Hogan threw his bandana into the political space when he appeared during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. He happily ripped off his shirt, revealing he was down with the MAGA movement.
His jabs in the video should be no surprise because we know how Team MAGA gets down.
Folks on X, formerly Twitter, have been hitting the Hulkster with Stone Cold Stunner, calling him a racist and expressing disappointment in the once-beloved professional wrestler.
Welp.
He is never beating the racist allegations.
In the gallery below, you can see more reactions to Hulk Hogan making an a** out of himself.
1. We been on the energy
2. Wrestling gods if you’re listening
3. You think?
5. Lol, facts
7. You know that is not happening
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty
Roll call votes at political conventions are often seen as routine, even dull, but on Tuesday (Aug. 20), the Democratic Party turned tradition on its head, delivering an electrifying dance party during their convention.
DJ Cassidy, dressed sharply in a royal blue satin double-breasted suit, set the stage by spinning a carefully curated playlist that captured the essence of each state and territory as they pledged their delegates to Vice President Kamala Harris. What unfolded was a musical journey across America, featuring everything from Detroit native Eminem’s iconic “Lose Yourself” for Michigan, to Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” for Massachusetts, and Tupac Shakur’s “California Love” for California.
Georgia’s delegation took the celebration to the next level, with Atlanta’s own Lil Jon making a live appearance at Chicago’s United Center, energizing the crowd to the beats of his hit “Turn Down for What,” a collaboration with DJ Snake.
The Democrats’ approach was clear: they aimed to infuse their convention with joy and optimism, a vibrant counterbalance to the serious messages about the importance of defeating Republican nominee Donald Trump in the upcoming election.
This year’s roll call echoed the innovative video roll call of the 2020 convention, held during the pandemic, which famously featured Rhode Island’s calamari presentation. That moment set a high bar, compelling the Democrats to up the ante in 2024. (Ironically, the chef behind that tray of calamari was later revealed to be a Trump supporter.)
Emerging political leaders like Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear were front and center during this year’s roll call. The star-studded event also featured movie director Spike Lee representing New York and actor Sean Astin, known for his role in the football film “Rudy,” joining the Indiana delegation.
While the musical choices brought a festive atmosphere, they also carried a degree of risk. The 1996 Democratic convention in Chicago is still remembered for the awkward spectacle of delegates attempting the Macarena to Los del Río’s “Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix).” That moment continues to circulate as a lighthearted political memory decades later.
Florida made a pointed statement by choosing Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” as their roll call anthem, subtly jabbing at Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. Petty, a Gainesville native, had his song co-opted by DeSantis for his unsuccessful presidential primary campaign, making Florida’s choice all the more symbolic. “Florida is worth fighting for,” declared state Democratic chairwoman Nikki Fried, emphasizing the importance of national Democrats investing in a state that has shifted sharply to the right.
Other musical highlights included Alabama’s inevitable choice of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” Alaska’s nod to Wasilla’s own Portugal. The Man with “Feel It Still,” and Minnesota’s tribute to Prince with “1999.” Indiana, with Astin at the helm, played Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough,” Nevada went with Las Vegas-born The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside,” Kansas opted for the rock classic “Carry On My Wayward Son” by Kansas, and New Jersey paid homage to Bruce Springsteen with “Born in the USA.”
Despite the celebratory tone, the roll call wasn’t without its poignant moments. Texas delegate Kate Cox shared a personal and emotional story, recounting how she was forced to seek an abortion out of state after being denied the procedure by the Texas Supreme Court. Amid this backdrop, Cox joyfully announced that she is expecting again, with her baby due in January.
Under the Democratic Party’s rules, Vice President Kamala Harris was the only candidate to receive enough nominations to be formally entered into contention. Votes cast for other candidates or as uncommitted were recorded as “present” during the earlier virtual roll call. Tuesday’s lively and symbolic roll call was a reflection of the results of that earlier vote.
The Democrats’ roll call vote, transformed into a joyous celebration, showcased their commitment to energizing their base while delivering a powerful message of unity and purpose.
The full list:
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: Dia Dipasupil / Getty
During the first night of the Democratic National Convention, Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA) kicked off her speech by noting that she and Vice President Kamala Harris “share a lot in common,” specifically, the fact that they “both graduated from historically Black colleges.”
Butler’s show of HBCU love to Harris was a pretty uncontroversial thing if you ask Black people since we tend to be pretty well-accustomed to the pride HBCU alumni take in their alma mater. To us, the nod to HBCUs by Butler, who attended Jackson State University, was simply a good look for the culture on the national political stage. But to white and fragile America’s favorite Karbon Kopy Karen, Megyn Kelly, what Butler said was a clear affront to white people.
“Laphonza Butler spkg – (she filled Feinstein’s seat) – celebrating that she and Harris both graduated from historically black colleges. Imagine the white person up there: I’m proud to tell you I went to a mostly white university!” Kelly tweeted.
Now, no one should have needed to point out to Kelly that HBCUs only ever existed because white people didn’t want Black people learning in the same classrooms as them, just as no one should have to point out that “White History Month” isn’t a thing because, in America, white history is celebrated by default the other 11 months of the year. Of course, like the rest of white conservative America, Kelly ignores America’s racist history, which is why she once defended blackface and claimed it’s not racist. Kelly also ignores her own hypocrisy, which is why she thinks a shout-out to HBCUs is racist, but she didn’t think it was racist when she insisted that Jesus and Santa Claus are white and should only be depicted as white.
Instead of utilizing a smidgeon of common sense, Kelly set herself up to get dragged by the fine folks on X, most of whom offered her the history lesson she shouldn’t have needed.
Check out the reactions below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: Tom Williams / Getty / Kamala Harris
The Democratic National Convention is officially underway, and Vice President Kamala Harris couldn’t wait until the final night to hit the stage.
The Democratic nominee for president of the United States made a surprise appearance on Tuesday night at the United Center in Chicago, on night one of the Democratic National Convention.
VP Harris hit the stage in what many consider the ultimate troll move, rocking a tan Chloé pants suit while her official campaign anthem, Beyoncé’s “Freedom,” blared throughout the arena.
Saving her full remarks for when she takes the stage on Thursday, the final day of the four-night convention, the presidential hopeful briefly addresses the surprised roaring crowd, which includes her husband, the second gentleman, Doug Emhoff.
Per The Daily Beast:
“Tonight I see the beauty of our great nation,” Harris continued. “People from every corner of our country and every walk of life are here, united by our shared vision for the future of our country.
“And this November we will come together and declare with one voice, as one people: We are moving forward… guided by our love of country, knowing we all have so much more in common than what separates us.
“Let us fight for the ideals we hold dear—and let us always remember when we fight…”
The crowd erupted, chanting back “We win!”
VP Harris’ Surprise Appearance Was One Of The Night’s Many Highlights
Harris’ surprise appearance, along with speeches from fellow Democrats like U.S. Reps. Jasmine Crockett and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, current First Lady Jill Biden, and others, set the stage for current POTUS Joe Biden, who closed out the night with a powerful speech.
During his speech, Biden touted his administration’s many accomplishments, thanked the voters, praised his VP, and officially passed the torch to her on the stage.
Night one of the DNC was a stark contrast to the RNC and showed how much better a convention is when you have permission to use artists’ songs and a way better lineup of speakers.
Users on X, formerly Twitter, couldn’t get enough of VP Harris and her tan drip.
You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
2. Love to see it
3. She sure did
4. Love to see it
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Tom Williams / Getty
President Joe Biden received a massive response for his keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, moving him to emotion beforehand.
On Monday night (Aug. 19), President Joe Biden took the stage at the Democratic National Convention after being introduced by his daughter, Ashley. He wiped tears from his eyes as the crowd at the United Center in Chicago roared with a chant of “We love Joe!!” Attendees held up signs that read, “We (heart) Joe” as the Delaware delegation donned aviator sunglasses similar to what the commander-in-chief wears during the standing ovation, which reportedly lasted four minutes.
“It’s been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your president,” Mr. Biden said in a moving speech that would encapsulate his five-decade career in politics. “I love the job, but I love my country more. All this talk about how I’m angry at all those people (who) said I should step down — that’s not true. I love my country more, and we need to preserve our democracy in 2024,” he stated, referring to the many calls requesting that he step down as the presidential nominee after his June debate against Republican nominee Donald Trump. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you,” he said, which made the crowd cheer wildly.
President Biden touched on the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 after white supremacists he referred to as “Old ghosts, and new garments,” overran the town, which compelled him to run. He also made it clear that he was passing on the torch to the presumptive nominee Vice President Kamala Harris – as the crowd began to chant “Thank you, Joe,” he responded, “Thank you Kamala, too!!”
He continued to praise her work, stating: “Crime will keep coming down when we put a prosecutor in the Oval Office instead of a convicted felon.” Biden would also touch on his work with fighting for voting and reproductive rights. “MAGA Republicans found out the power of women in 2022,” Biden said. “And Donald Trump is going to find out the power of women in 2024.”
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Ryan Bakerink / Getty
St. Louis rapper Sexyy Red has never been one to leave much to the imagination. The 26-year-old is best known for her hit single, “Pound Town (featuring Tay Keith)” which featured lyrics describing some of her most intimate body parts.
Sexyy is bringing that same energy to her new lipgloss line with titles that are Not Safe For Work.
In an Instagram post announcing the launch, Sexxy Red posed in her usual sensual manner including one pic bent over with the box held up to her buttocks. She also posted a close-up of the glosses’ erotic names … which are “Coochie Juice,” “Bootyhole Brown,” “Nut,” “P***yhole Pink,” “Yellow Discharge,” “Gonorrhea,” “Blue Ballz,” and “Sex on the Beach” — which, according to TMZ, is fruit scented.
The comments on the post were plentiful with one user writing, simply, “Is she serious?”
Another comment referenced another social media trend noting that the names are “not very demure.”
The lipgloss will be the first product in Sexyy’s new business venture called Northside Princess.
On X (formerly Twitter) the reception to the product names wer also less than favorable.
The response wasn’t all bad. Some social media users pointed out that Sexxy has always sold lipgloss, by the same name, but that now she has a bigger platform.
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: The Washington Post / Getty / Jasmine Crockett
The Democratic National Convention kicked off its first night in Chicago, and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett came with all the smoke for the orange menace, Donald Trump.
Last night, the DNC surpassed the entire Republican National Convention in just one night with its impressive lineup of speakers, which included former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton, Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, current First Lady Jill Biden, and, of course, President Joe Biden.
Also electrifying the stage was Texas congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, who is quickly rising as one of the bright stars in the Democratic Party. She showed why by delivering a rousing speech that showed the stark contrast between Donald Trump and Vice President Harris.
While those in attendance don’t need any more convincing to vote for VP Harris, for those “on the fence,” Crockett expertly broke down why he will forever be unfit for the highest office in the land.
“One candidate worked at McDonald’s while in college at an HBCU. The other was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and helped his daddy in the family business: Housing discrimination,” Crockett said. “She became a career prosecutor, while he became a career criminal, with 34 felonies, two impeachments, and one porn star to prove it.”
“Kamala Harris has a résumé. Donald Trump has a rap sheet,” Crockett continued. “She presides over the Senate while he keeps national secrets next to his thinking chair — y’all know what I said the other time — in Mar-A-Lago.”
Rep. Crockett Shared A Touching Story About An Interaction She Had With VP Harris
In a touching moment, Rep. Crockett spoke about a moment she shared with VP Harris when she was a freshman that had her questioning whether or not she belonged.
“When I first got to Congress, I wasn’t sure I made the right decision,” Crockett said. “That chaos caucus couldn’t elect a speaker, and the Oversight Committee was unhinged.”
“She saw right through me. She saw the distress. I immediately began crying,” Crockett revealed while fighting back tears. “And the most powerful woman in the world wiped my tears and listened. She then said, among other things, ‘You are exactly where God wants you.’”
Crockett added: “The next month, I went viral for the first of many times to come.”
One of those many moments was her epic takedown of Marjorie Taylor Greene with her “bleach blonde, bad built, butch body,” response to Greene’s shenanigans.
She brought that same energy to the DNC, but this time, she applied it to Trump.
“The question before us is, will a vindictive, vile villain violate voters’ vision for a better American or not?” Crockett said as the crowd laughed. “I hear alliteration is back in style.”
Crockett’s speech was a hit with DNC viewers on X, formerly Twitter. You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
1. Plies tells no lies
2. Get in line sir
4. It damn sure was
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Michael M. Santiago / Getty
Geoge Santos, the CONman CONservative who CONNED his way into CONgress before he was expelled last year amid indictments on a then-growing number of federal fraud charges, is now expected to plead guilty to fraud charges in order to avoid a trial he doesn’t believe he can win due to how well-known he is. (I mean, it probably doesn’t help that he’s well-known for lying about his education, work history, charities he started and his race and ethnicity in order to take up space in the U.S. House.)
From the New York Times:
Mr. Santos arrived at federal court in Central Islip, N.Y., ahead of a 3 p.m. hearing where he is expected to enter a guilty plea and give a statement acknowledging the crimes he has agreed to plead to, according to two lawyers and two other people with knowledge of the case.
Pleading guilty would allow Mr. Santos to avoid a trial on nearly two dozen charges — including wire fraud, money laundering and stealing public funds — for which he was facing as many as 22 years in prison.
Santos was charged with a total of 23 federal counts of fraud-related activity, including charges he initially pleaded not guilty to such as allegations that he stole money from donors and lied to the government to cover it up. Santos’ trial was set to begin in a few weeks, but, on Friday, prosecutors asked presiding Judge Joanna Seybert to schedule a new pretrial meeting for Monday.
More from the Times:
Prosecutors painted Mr. Santos’s campaign as so desperate for cash that it turned to lying, cheating and stealing to finance its operations. But they also assert a pattern of self-dealing, which saw Mr. Santos repeatedly using his campaign account as a personal piggy bank.
Prosecutors said Mr. Santos used stolen credit card information from one donor to take $11,000 for his personal use. He convinced other donors to give money to what he said was a super PAC supporting his campaign. Instead, he used some of the money to buy designer clothing and pay his personal credit card bills.
On top of all that, Santos’ former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, previously admitted that she helped the Bernie Madoff of politics falsify a $500,000 loan to his campaign that never existed so he could qualify for financial and operational support from the Republican Party. Marks pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to defraud the United States in October and is now facing between three and four years in prison.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Tierney L. Cross / Getty
Donald Trump falsely claimed that Taylor Swift endorsed his presidential campaign online, sharing AI-generated images in the process.
On Sunday (Aug. 18), Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shared a post on his Truth Social network that he cited as an endorsement from Taylor Swift. The post contained four screenshots of young women wearing “Swifties for Trump” t-shirts in different styles, which was taken from a post on X, formerly Twitter. Another image showed Swift dressed up like the character of Uncle Sam with the text, “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump” emblazoned on it. “I accept!!” Trump wrote in the caption of his post. The pop superstar has not publicly endorsed any support for Trump, and it’s since been discovered that all of the images save for one were generated by artificial intelligence.
According to a report from WIRED magazine, the lone image is of a Trump supporter by the name of Jenna Piwowarczyk, who created the “Swifties For Trump” t-shirt, which she wore to his campaign rally in Racine, Wisconsin, in June. Piwowarczyk is selling other copies of the shirt on Etsy. The other images were traced back to Amuse, a conservative news account on X, formerly Twitter. The group cited the cancellation of Swift’s concert dates in Vienna, Austria, due to a thwarted terror attack attempt in their post. The post is labeled as satire.
Swift, who is currently performing at London’s Wembley Stadium during her Eras Tour run, hasn’t commented on the false postings. Stephen Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, said in an email that “Swifties for Trump is a massive movement that grows bigger every single day.” Swift publicly endorsed President Joe Biden in 2020, and blasted Trump after his “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” comment after George Floyd’s murder, condemning his “nerve to feign moral superiority” after “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency.”
This isn’t the first time that Trump has willingly shared AI-generated imagery online in his campaign against Harris. He also shared one image featuring Vice President Harris dressed in red, presumably speaking to a crowd of Maoists at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, but with the old Soviet Union flag bearing the hammer and sickle hanging up.