politics
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Former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez was the target of an ethics complaint in 2006 by Republican Party opponents which opened the door to significant charges of corruption that ended the senator’s political career. This week, Bob Menendez was sentenced to 11 years behind bars floated an idea of seeking a potential pardon from President Donald Trump despite being a member of the Democratic Party.
As seen on CNN, Bob Menendez was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein in a Manhattan federal court on Wednesday (Jan. 29).
At root, Menendez was convicted in 2024 on bribery and corruption charges, which included taking over six figures in gold bars, cash, and a Mercedes-Benz convertible from Egyptian government officials and three businessmen in exchange for political favors.
Menendez was once a darling of the Democratic Party and was chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the height of his political career. However, the conviction on 16 felony counts has given the former senator the unwelcomed distinction of being the first United States senator to be charged and convicted of acting as an agent to aid a foreign government.
In court, Menendez made an emotional statement toward Judge Stein.
“You have before you a chastened man,” Menendez said. “Other than family, I have lost everything I ever cared about. For someone who spent his entire life in public service, every day I’m awake is a punishment.”
Menendez’s tune changed outside the courtroom when he spoke to a gathering of media.
“Only in the Southern District of New York would prosecutors allow a witness to walk away from over 10 criminal charges, including defrauding the United States government so that they can get him to lie on the stand. Welcome to the Southern District of New York, the wild west of political prosecutions,” Menendez said.
He added, “This process is political and it’s corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system.”
As noted at the top of the story, Menendez’s history of questionable political operations dates back to the late 1990s, and he was later indicted in 2015 on bribery, fraud, and false statement charges in connection to boosting the business interests of a Florida doctor with ties to the Dominican Republic in what would’ve benefited the doctor’s practice.
President Trump has not responded to Bob Menendez’s statement outside the court.
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D.L. Hughley has fired back at Snoop Dogg with some choice words following the rap legend’s response to the backlash he’s received following his performance at the Crypto Ball at Donald Trump’s inauguration earlier this month. The comedian was brutally honest while condemning Snoop on Tuesday’s (Jan. 28) episode of The D.L. Hughley Show, during […]
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President Donald Trump took to the campaign trail and touted his ability to make sweeping economic changes, including lowering the prices of eggs. President Donald Trump’s claims of lowering egg prices have yet to bear fruit and now, his press secretary is shifting the blame to President Joe Biden instead of examining pathways to help consumers.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt hosted the first press conference at the White House for the Trump administration, using stern talking points that echo much of the bravado of the president and his team. Leavitt, choosing to sidestep facts that egg prices continued to rise after Trump took office, instead took a shot at the Biden administration citing their handling of the issue.
“The Biden administration and the Department of Agriculture directed the mass killing of more than 100 million chickens, which has led to a lack of chicken supply in this country. Therefore, lack of egg supply, which is leading to the shortage,” Leavitt said while choosing to not point to more accurate accounts that bird flu impacted prices on eggs and poultry products in 2022.
Among the many campaign promises from Trump, his pledge to lower prices on day one of his administration was unceremoniously unmet. As seen in an Associated Press report, the spread of bird flu has promoted the slaughter of millions of chickens per month to contain the spread and more than doubling prices since 2023. The average price per carton last month was $4.15, which is still lower than the record of $4.82 set two years prior.
Video of the press briefing courtesy of Forbes Breaking News.
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Madonna is calling out the Donald Trump administration following a number of anti-trans executive orders, including barring transgender people from serving and enlisting in the military, as well as banning federal funding for youth gender-affirming care. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “It’s so sad to watch our […]
After Selena Gomez posted an emotional response to the Donald Trump administration’s recent immigration raids, a user identifying as politician Sam Parker called for her to be deported in a post on X — but the singer-actress isn’t fazed.
On Instagram Stories, Gomez dismissed the Utah Republican — who Ballotopedia says ran unsuccessfully for United States Senate in 2018 — by writing, according to People, “Oh, Mr. Parker, Mr. Parker.”
“Thanks for the laugh and the threat,” the Rare Beauty founder added in the post, which has since disappeared from her Story.
Billboard has reached out to Gomez’s rep for comment.
The Only Murders in the Building star’s words come in response to Parker taking to X to call on the U.S. government to “Deport Selena Gomez” after she posted a video on her Story Monday (Jan. 27) of herself crying over the arrests of nearly 1,000 people deemed to be national security threats by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the weekend. “All my people are getting attacked, the children,” Gomez said in the clip through sobs. “I’m so sorry, I wish I could do something, but I can’t. I don’t know what to do. I’ll try everything, I promise.”
The Texas-born star later deleted the video from her Story and wrote, “Apparently it’s not ok to show empathy for people,” according to People.
Gomez has long been a strong advocate for the immigrant community. In 2019, she produced the Netflix docuseries Living Undocumented, which told the stories of eight families who faced potential deportation under the first Trump administration. She’s also spoken about how immigration has shaped her own family’s history, detailing how her aunt and grandparents crossed the Mexican border to start their lives in the U.S. before she was born in a 2019 essay for Time.
“Over the past four decades, members of my family have worked hard to gain United States citizenship,” she wrote at the time. “Undocumented immigration is an issue I think about every day, and I never forget how blessed I am to have been born in this country thanks to my family and the grace of circumstance.”
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams is sick and has a limited public schedule, but details on what is ailing him have not been publicized.
Late Sunday evening (January 26), a spokesperson for New York City Mayor Adams informed the press that he was sick and was set to undergo a series of appointments with doctors and routine medical tests. “While Mayor Adams will continue to communicate constantly with staff and ensure city business continues undeterred, during this time, the mayor will have a limited public schedule,” Deputy Mayor for Communications Fabien Levy said in the statement, adding that he “has a right to privacy when it comes to personal matters, but we will continue to communicate in the unlikely event he is unable to fully discharge his duties on any particular day.”
Levy didn’t offer any details on what Adams is ailing from but said that he is “doing well” and that he is continuing to conduct phone calls related to the city’s business. His public schedule on Monday (January 27) only showed a meeting with senior administration officials at the beginning of the day, and his office has canceled his usual Tuesday off-topic Q&A session with the media. Adams has also waived his scheduled appearance in court on Wednesday (January 29) on federal corruption charges. The hearing concerned classified evidence in the case.
The 64-year-old has often touted his energy and health, attributing it to becoming a pescatarian in 2016 after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. “No one is going to outwork me,” he said to a press gaggle earlier in January. “I am so committed authentically to New Yorkers.” Under city rules, if Adams is indisposed further, First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer would step in as “acting mayor.” If needed, Public Advocate Juumane Williams would take over as mayor with limited authority.
The news comes as Adams has been under intense scrutiny for attending the inauguration of President Donald Trump at the last minute, and sitting down with conservative reporters such as Tucker Carlson. The moves are seen as a way to curry favor with Trump to gain a federal pardon. Adams is set to undergo trial in April, a short time before the Democratic primary elections for mayor are set to begin.
Snoop Dogg has been feeling the backlash after his performance at the Crypto Ball at Donald Trump’s inauguration earlier this month, and he appeared to clap back at the haters during a recent Instagram Live.
Snoop seemingly addressed the comments on Sunday (Jan. 26) while sitting in a car and sparking up. “It’s Sunday I got gospel in my heart,” he said in a video posted to his Instagram. “For all the hate I’m going to answer with love, I love too much.”
He continued to fire: “Get your life right, stop worrying about mine. I’m cool. I’m together. Still a Black man. Still 100 percent Black. All out ’til you ball out or ’til you fall out.”
Snoop wasn’t the only rapper in attendance, as Rick Ross and Soulja Boy also pulled up to the Crypto Ball in Washington, D.C., while Nelly performed at the Liberty Ball on Jan. 20.
He’s seen plenty of vitriol in his comments section on social media, as many have called him a “sellout.”
Over the weekend, Snoop addressed how he deals with the negativity while joining the R&B Money Podcast.
“You ‘gon deal with hate when you get to the top, no matter who you are. How do you deal with that hate? Do you answer it with hate, or do you answer with love and success?” he said. “Me, personally, I answer it with success and love. That’s my answer to any hate and negativity that comes my way, ‘cause it’s the strongest force that can beat it.”
Actor Marlon Wayans also came to the Death Row legend’s defense during a recent interview with 101.1’s The Wiz. “I know Snoop, and I know Snoop has always been a real one … I’m not gonna allow for public skewering,” Wayans said.
Snoop Dogg was previously very critical of Donald Trump, and he appeared to change his tune following Trump’s pardoning of Death Row co-founder Michael ‘Harry O’ Harris, who was behind bars on attempted murder and cocaine trafficking charges, before the twice-impeached president left the White House at the end of his first term.
“That’s great work for the president and his team on the way out,” Snoop Dogg reportedly said in 2021. “They did some great work while they was in there and they did some great work on their way out. Let them know that I love what they did.”
More recently, Snoop stated he had “nothing but love and respect for Donald Trump” during an interview with the U.K.’s Sunday Times.
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President Donald Trump and Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro clashed over the handling of deportees from America to the South American nation via military planes, with Petro initially denying entry. After President Donald Trump threatened to impose stiff tariffs on Colombia, President Gustavo Petro agreed to the terms that allow immigrants to return who entered the United States illegally.
CNN was one of several outlets covering the brief yet intense exchange between the two leaders that began on Sunday (Jan. 27) when military planes from the United States carrying illegal immigrants attempted to land in Colombia. The outlet said it examined documents that showed the country approved the flights yet President Petro says that wasn’t the case with officials stateside saying that Colombia retracted the authorization. There have been reports on social media that the migrants were placed in shackles.
Petro initially denied access to the planes from landing stating that American officials handling the migrants as criminals and demanding a more humanitarian approach. In response, Trump threatened tariffs on imports against Colombia, which has been a longtime trade partner with America. Trump also said he would levy a travel ban on citizens of the country, revoking visas, and halting visa processing for both immigrant and non-immigrant visas.
The visa restrictions were particularly alarming as they typically only arise for countries or individuals that have committed human rights abuses. Petro fired back with tariff threats of his own and had choice words for Secretary of State Marco Rubio via social media.
By Sunday evening both sides stated that they reached an agreement, with some framing the actions of Colombia’s agreement with the United States and backing down from Trump. However, it appears that Petro was able to negotiate terms that were more in line with other deportation exchanges done under the Biden administration which ever escalated into a trade dispute.
“We will continue to receive Colombians and Colombian women who return as deportees, guaranteeing them decent conditions as citizens subject to rights,” Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said in a statement. Murillo then shared that deportation flights are clear to go and that they will send the Colombian presidential plane to help with the efforts of bringing citizens back.
The White House issued a statement in connection to the brief standoff.
“Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again. President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nation’s sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States,” read the statement.
On X, formerly Twitter, some are discussing the exchange between President Gustavo Petro and President Donald Trump while expressing disappointment that the country didn’t stand up further for itself. We’ve got those reactions below.
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Jewel is defending her polarizing choice to perform at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Inauguration Day ball while apologizing to those whose feelings she may have hurt in the process. In an Instagram video posted Friday (Jan. 24), the singer/songwriter explained that her appearance at the politician’s “Make America Healthy Again” event four days prior had […]
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1. So Trump lied basically
2. It sure will haunt him.
3. Suckers
4. Listen to Black women
5. It was never about the economy
6. We tried to warn folks
8. It’s going to be a spooky 4 years