politics
Page: 4
Source: Samuel Corum / Getty
On Wednesday (May 15), Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was testifying before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Capitol Hill when he was interrupted by several activists who chanted, “RFK kills people with AIDS.” Kennedy jumped up from his seat, reacting to the commotion as Cohen yelled, “Congress pays for bombs to kill children in Gaza,” and “They need to let food into Gaza, they need to let food [in] to starving kids!” before he was detained by Capitol Police officers.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Cohen shared a video of the protest as seen on CSPAN before he was grabbed by police officers. The video then showed him being walked out of the hearing in handcuffs. “I told Congress they’re killing poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs, and they’re paying for it by kicking poor kids off Medicaid in the US,” he wrote. “This was the authorities’ response.” Cohen has been charged with incommoding, or inconveniencing others, according to the Capitol Police. The charge carries a penalty of 90 days in prison and a $500 fine if convicted. Cohen would be released later, but six other activists who were arrested are still in custody.The vocal protest set the tone for Kennedy’s hearing, which showed him being fuzzy concerning several cuts made by Health and Human Services to people’s healthcare plans. New Jersey Senator Andy Kim grilled Kennedy about the elimination of the World Trade Center health plan for those affected after the 9/11 attacks, which have been restored. “But why were they cut in the first place?” he asked.Thre 74-year-old has been a staunch progressive activist for years, having signed his name to a letter by A Statement From Jewish Americans Opposing AIPAC, which calls for an end to the infuluence of lobbyists working on behalf of the Israeli government. Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the other founder, have been highly vocal about their political beliefs which include criticism of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. The company is mostly owned by Unilever since 2000, and the pair have been at odds with Unilever, suing them last year over allegations that it fired a chief brand executive who attempted to show support for Palestinian refugees.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Donald Trump is not too happy with Bruce Springsteen, whom the president called “highly overrated” and “dumb as a rock” in a heated post on Truth Social after the musician slammed his administration during a concert in Manchester, England.
On Friday morning (May 16) — two days after Springsteen voiced his disdain for the United States government’s “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous” leadership at the kickoff show of his 2025 European tour — Trump began by writing, “I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States.”
“Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country,” Trump continued. “Sleepy Joe didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing, but Springsteen is ‘dumb as a rock,’ and couldn’t see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)?”
“This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare,’” Trump added. “Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”
Billboard has reached out to Springsteen’s reps for comment.
The twice-impeached president’s comments come after The Boss greeted his Manchester crowd Wednesday (May 14) by saying, “The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock and roll, in dangerous times.”
“In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, and has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration,” he continued before launching into 2001’s “Land of Hopes and Dreams.” “Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against the authoritarianism, and let freedom ring.”
Springsteen — who also posted the speech on his Instagram — has long been open about his stance on American politics, endorsing Trump’s opponent Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. Four years prior, he called the POTUS — who in May 2024 was convicted of all 34 felony counts in his hush money trial — a “threat to our democracy” in an interview with The Atlantic.
The “Born in the U.S.A.” singer is just one of many major music stars who has made their stance against Trump clear — and Springsteen also isn’t the only one of them whom the former reality star has put on blast recently. Also on Friday, Trump insulted Taylor Swift, writing that the 14-time Grammy winner is “no longer ‘HOT?’”
Bruce Springsteen is proud to have been born in the U.S.A., but he’s not particularly happy with its leadership right now.
At the first show of his Land of Hopes and Dreams Tour in Manchester, England, the rock star slammed President Donald Trump’s administration from the Co-Op Live stage Wednesday (May 14). “The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock and roll, in dangerous times,” he told his cheering crowd moments after he walked on.
“In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, and has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration,” he continued, as captured in a clip filmed by a concertgoer and posted to X. “Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against the authoritarianism, and let freedom ring.”
Springsteen went on to sing the trek’s namesake song, 2001’s “Land of Hopes and Dreams,” which includes the lyrics: “Dreams will not be thwarted/ Faith will be rewarded/ Hear the steel wheels singing/ Bells of freedom ringing.”
Trending on Billboard
The Boss has long been vocal about his opposition to the sitting president. In the 2024 election, Springsteen endorsed Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris, and four years prior, he opened up about his fears surrounding the twice-impeached POTUS’ first bid for a second White House term back in the 2020 race.
“I believe that our current president is a threat to our democracy,” he told The Atlantic of Trump at the time. “He simply makes any kind of reform that much harder. I don’t know if our democracy could stand another four years of his custodianship. These are all existential threats to our democracy and our American way of life.”
At Wednesday’s show, Springsteen echoed these sentiments during a mid-show speech. “In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death,” he told fans before singing “My City of Ruins.”
“And in my country, they are taking sadistic pleasure in the pain that they inflict on loyal American workers, they are rolling back historic civil rights legislation that led to a more just and moral society,” he continued. “They are abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom.”
The performance marks the first of several tour dates Springsteen and the E Street Band have scheduled this summer. After two more dates in Manchester, he’ll perform at venues in France, Spain, Germany and Italy through the beginning of July.
Lord Buffalo has canceled its European tour after border patrol “forcibly removed” band member Yamal Said, a Mexican citizen, from a flight — despite the drummer being a green-card holder and “lawful permanent resident” of the United States — according to a statement on the Texas band’s Instagram.
With just one day left before their trek had been scheduled to kick off Thursday (May 15) in the Netherlands, the group members wrote in their joint statement that, moments before they’d been supposed to take off for Europe on Monday (May 12), their bandmate was escorted off the plane at at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. “He has not been released, and we have been unable to contact him,” they wrote, noting that they are “heartbroken” to have to cancel the tour as a result.
“We are currently working with an immigration lawyer to find out more information and to attempt to secure his release,” the band continued in the post. “We are devastated to cancel this tour, but we are focusing all of our energy and resources on Yamal’s safety and freedom. We are hopeful that this is a temporary setback and that it could be safe for us to reschedule this tour in the future.”
Trending on Billboard
In an update to the caption posted later Thursday afternoon, Lord Buffalo thanked fans for their “outpouring of support” and shared that Yamal had “secured the legal representation he needs.” “We are waiting to hear what comes next,” the band added. “We want to reiterate that we truly don’t know what’s going on. We have more questions than answers, but we will keep you posted as much as we can. At this time the family asks for privacy as they navigate the situation.”
Billboard has reached out to the band’s reps and the DFW International Airport for comment.
According to Lord Buffalo’s website, the Americana rockers were slated to play eight total dates across Europe. Following their kickoff performance in Heerlen, they’d planned on spending the month of May traveling through cities in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
In the group’s absence, tourmates Orsak:Oslo will still play at all of their scheduled dates. “We urge everyone to go see this amazing band and support them over the next couple weeks,” Lord Buffalo added in its statement.
The announcement comes at a tense time in American immigration politics, with Donald Trump pledging to carry out mass deportations as part of his presidency when he entered office in January. As reported by Billboard, the administration’s policies have had a particular effect on the Latin music industry, with many artists sharing that they’ve seen a distinct drop in attendance levels due to concertgoers fearing deportation.
The twice-impeached POTUS’ crackdowns on travel and immigration have also impacted the trans community. In January, Trump signed an executive order requiring that travel documents such as passports and visas display a person’s sex assigned at birth, after which U.S. Citizenship and Immigrant Services (USCIS) announced in April that it would only recognize biological sex on immigration forms going forward. As a result, trans musicians — such as Bells Larsen, who was forced to cancel his American shows due to the change — have similarly struggled to tour in the U.S.
See Lord Buffalo’s statement below.
Source: Shannon Finney / Getty
Last week, the Trump administration abruptly fired Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden. According to the Associated Press, Hayden was notified via email late on Thursday (May 8).
“Carla,” the email began, according to the source. “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service.”
When asked about Hayden’s sudden termination, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused her of “putting inappropriate books in the library for children.”
During a press briefing, Leavitt said, “She was doing concerning things in the pursuit of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).”
However, social media users were quick to point out that the Library of Congress is a research library, which is not open to patrons younger than 16 and which catalogs all books published in the United States.
According to Raw Story, author Jack Pitney wrote on X: “Inappropriate books for children? Ms. Leavitt does not know that you have to be at least 16 to use the Library of Congress. And you can’t wander the shelves or check books out.”
In announcing the firing, the Associated Press noted that Hayden was named on a list of federal workers who were suspected of “undermining” Trump’s agenda. The list, created by the American Accountability Foundation, was bankrolled by the Heritage Foundation, which authored Project 2025.
“The current #LibrarianOfCongress Carla Hayden is woke, anti-Trump, and promotes trans-ing kids,” the American Accountability Foundation wrote on its X account earlier Thursday, just hours before the firing was made public, per the AP. “It’s time to get her OUT and hire a new guy for the job!”
The Librarian of Congress position is considered apolitical and lasts 10 years. Hayden served throughout the entire first Trump term.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said of Hayden, “Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden is so superb, so remarkable, so respected in the library community around the country. As a former library commissioner myself, I appreciate Carla Hayden and her excellence. Trump firing her is arbitrary, capricious and shameful!”
Other politicians also spoke up on her behalf. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies noted, “Dr. Carla Hayden led the Library of Congress with class, dignity and strength. Her termination is a complete and total disgrace.”
HipHopWired Featured Video
President Donald Trump, already deeply aligned with South African native Elon Musk, made a curious move to invite white refugees to the United States. The move by President Donald Trump was criticized on X, with some noting the contradiction of the policy as it relates to other nationalities.
As reported by the BBC, the first of 49 white South Africans was en route to the United States over the weekend, with President Donald Trump addressing the matter on Monday (May 12). These Afrikaners, who are the minority in the African nation, claim that they’re being targeted and harmed by the Black majority and have made appeals to President Trump to obtain refugee status.
Related Stories
South Africa’s Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola provided a statement to the press on Monday, saying that “there is no persecution of white Afrikaner South Africans” and pointed to police report data to decry the allegations. Further, the African nation was that the allegations of attacks against White South Africans would not meet the requirements under domestic and international refugee law.
During a press conference alongside Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump was asked by a reporter why he is allowing the white refugees a clear path but not doing so for other races of people.
“Because they’re being killed. And we don’t want to see people be killed,” Trump answered. “I have South Africa leadership coming to see me, I understand, sometime next week, and I guess we’re supposed to have a G20 meeting.
Trump continued, “I don’t know how we can go unless that situation’s taken care of. It’s a genocide taking place that you people don’t want to write about. Farmers are being killed. They happen to be white.”
The news of white South Africans being invited to the United States to seek refuge has caught fire on X, and we’ve got reactions below.
—
Photo: Andrew Harnik / Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
The Trump Administration fired U.S. Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter on Saturday (May 10), sparking concerns in the music business that the White House will take the side of technology companies in debates about AI and copyright.
The move came just two days after the dismissal of Perlmutter’s boss, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, and a day after the Copyright Office posted a report on the legal issues in training AI algorithms on copyrighted works. Although the White House has not given any reason for the move, it comes as the media business once again finds itself in conflict with Silicon Valley – this time as technology companies have far more influence in Washington.
The Register of Copyrights reports to the Librarian of Congress, and speculation on the reason for Hayden’s May 8 firing varied. Hayden, appointed by President Obama, was the first African-American and woman to hold the position, leading some to view her dismissal as politically motivated. At a May 9 press conference, the White House suggested that “there were quite concerning things that she had done at the Library of Congress,” involving DEI and “putting inappropriate books in the library for children” — although the institution isn’t a lending library, let alone one that’s set up for young readers.
Trending on Billboard
Perlmutter’s subsequent dismissal suggests that the Trump administration may be more concerned with copyright policy – and that Hayden’s firing was at least partly a step toward changing the leadership of the Copyright Office. The Copyright Office has the power to issue guidance on the state of copyright law and report to lawmakers on related legislation, and judges often use its interpretations in court decisions. Currently, the office is preparing a multi-part report, “Copyright and Artificial Intelligence,” the third part of which, about whether scanning works to train AI algorithms would qualify as infringement, was expected to come out this spring. Given the number of court cases involving this issue, as well as the potential damages faced by technology companies in them, the stakes are high.
Late on Friday (May 9), the Copyright Office posted online a “pre-publication version” of the report, which is not its usual practice. Although the issues are complicated, it interprets the law in a way that suggests such copying – especially for commercial purposes, involving generative AI products – would not qualify as fair use. The Copyright Office has no lawmaking power, but courts could be influenced by its analysis of case law.
The next day, according to several sources, Perlmutter received an email telling her she was terminated.
There has been some speculation that Perlmutter’s dismissal was the result of the decision to post the report. However, several sources who had no direct knowledge of the situation, pointed out that Perlmutter might have known her dismissal was imminent, or at least possible, and had the report posted before that occurred. (Right now, no one knows, and neither the White House nor Perlmutter has commented.) And while the report is generally seen to favor rightsholders, it is an expert interpretation of existing law, not a set of policy recommendations.
Certainly, the issue of whether scanning works to train AI qualifies as fair use or copyright infringement has become a hot one. And since the early days of the second Trump administration, music and media lobbyists have worried about the influence of the technology business. In March, the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz responded to a request for public comments on the White House AI Action Plan by saying that “neither the Copyright Office nor any other government agency should release guidance related to this issue—or other issues critical to American competitiveness in AI—until the conclusion of the National AI Action Plan process.”
In late April, the right-wing American Accountability Foundation accused both Hayden and Perlmutter of being “deep-state liberals” and suggested that the Trump Administration “return an America First agenda to the nation’s intellectual property regulation.” Although both are Democrats, Perlmutter served in the first Trump Administration as the head of copyright policy in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which is part of the Department of Commerce. Copyright has generally been one of the few non-partisan issues in Washington, since it usually unites Democrats who support the arts with Republicans who favor strong protections for property rights.
Perlmutter’s firing is likely to intensify the copyright debate, potentially creating a rift between Silicon Valley venture capitalists aligned with the Trump administration and Democrats, as well as some Republicans, who support copyright protections and believe in the independence of government agencies. Immediately after Perlmutter’s dismissal, Rep. Joe Morelle (NY-25) released a statement calling Trump’s termination of Perlmutter “a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis.”
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: Anna Moneymaker / Getty / Donald Trump
Look up, and you will see the corruption in the air in the form of a $400 million luxury jumbo jet occupied by the orange menace, Donald Trump.
CNN reports that the Trump administration will accept a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family that will be retrofitted to be used as Air Force One during Felon 47’s disastrous second term.
ABC News first reported the gift, which came on the heels of Trump’s first big foreign trip, which included a stop in Doha, Qatar.
How is this possible? According to the news website, the administration, best known for its grifting, will get some help from the Qatari Ministry of Defense because it will be gifted to the Pentagon.
Per CNN:
Given the massive value of a Boeing 747-8, the move is unprecedented and raises substantial ethical and legal questions. A Qatari official said the plane is technically being gifted from the Qatari Ministry of Defense to the Pentagon, describing it more as a government-to-government transaction instead of a personal one. The Defense Department will then retrofit the plane for the president’s use with security features and modifications.
Oh, and get this: The plane will be “donated” to Trump’s presidential library so he can continue to use it after he leaves office—that’s if he leaves, we should say.
A law enforcement source close to the matter told CNN that the Secret Service is viewing the plane’s gifting as a “security nightmare.”
“The (US Air Force) would have to tear it apart looking for surveillance equipment and inspect the integrity of the plane,” the source told CNN.
Trump also has the right people in certain positions who will not blink an eye at the gift and will help ensure it goes through without issues.
Per ABC News:
Sources told ABC News that Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump’s top White House lawyer David Warrington concluded it would be “legally permissible” for the donation of the aircraft to be conditioned on transferring its ownership to Trump’s presidential library before the end of his term, according to sources familiar with their determination.
The sources said Bondi provided a legal memorandum addressed to the White House counsel’s office last week after Warrington asked her for advice on the legality of the Pentagon accepting such a donation.
Bondi’s legal analysis also says it does not run afoul of the Constitution’s prohibition on foreign gifts because the plane is not being given to an individual, but rather to the United States Air Force and, eventually, to the presidential library foundation, the sources said.
Democrats & One of Trump’s Biggest Fans Slam The $400 Million Gift
As expected, Democrats and ethics experts are sounding the alarm at the apparent violation of the emoluments clause.
“Nothing says ‘America First’ like Air Force One, brought to you by Qatar,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. “It’s not just bribery, it’s premium foreign influence with extra legroom.”
Kathleen Clark, a government ethics expert at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, pointed out the obvious, saying the Trump administration is “structuring a transaction to try to avoid the obvious application of the law,” because Congress did not consent to the gift because it’s a clear violation of the clause.
“It is ridiculous. It’s a gift to Trump. The federal government is a pass-through,” said Clark.
Even some of Trump’s biggest fans like Laura Loomer are not feeling the their orange lord and savior taking a gift from the Qatari royal family.
Welp.
You can see more reactions to the $400 million gift in the gallery below.
The Trump administration has fired the nation’s top copyright official, Shira Perlmutter, days after abruptly terminating the head of the Library of Congress, which oversees the U.S. Copyright Office.
The office said in a statement Sunday (May 11) that Perlmutter received an email from the White House a day earlier with the notification that “your position as the Register of Copyrights and Director at the U.S. Copyright Office is terminated effective immediately.”
On Thursday (May 8), President Donald Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, the first woman and the first African American to be librarian of Congress, as part of the administration’s ongoing purge of government officials perceived to oppose the president and his agenda.
Trending on Billboard
Hayden named Perlmutter to lead the Copyright Office in October 2020.
Perlmutter’s office recently released a report examining whether artificial intelligence companies can use copyrighted materials to “train” their AI systems. The report, the third part of a lengthy AI study, follows a review that began in 2023 with opinions from thousands of people including AI developers, actors and country singers.
In January, the office clarified its approach as one based on the “centrality of human creativity” in authoring a work that warrants copyright protections. The office receives about half a million copyright applications per year covering millions of creative works.
“Where that creativity is expressed through the use of AI systems, it continues to enjoy protection,” Perlmutter said in January. “Extending protection to material whose expressive elements are determined by a machine … would undermine rather than further the constitutional goals of copyright.”
The White House didn’t return a message seeking comment Sunday.
Democrats were quick to blast Perlmutter’s firing.
“Donald Trump’s termination of Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, is a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis,” said Rep. Joe Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee.
Perlmutter, who holds a law degree, was previously a policy director at the Patent and Trademark Office and worked on copyright and other areas of intellectual property. She also previously also worked at the Copyright Office in the late 1990s. She did not return messages left Sunday.
President Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on Thursday (May 8) as the White House continues to purge the federal government of those it sees as opposed to the president and his agenda.
Hayden was notified of her dismissal in a curt email from the Presidential Personnel Office.
“Carla,” the email began. “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service.”
Hayden had been appointed to the post by President Obama in 2016 and had been confirmed by the Senate. She was the first woman and the first African American to serve in that post. Her 10-year term was set to expire next year.
Trending on Billboard
Hayden’s firing angered congressional Democrats. “Enough is enough,” said Senate Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York, who called Hayden “a “trailblazer, a scholar, and a public servant of the highest order.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) also blasted the firing. “Donald Trump’s unjust decision to fire Dr. Hayden in an email sent by a random political hack is a disgrace and the latest in his ongoing effort to ban books, whitewash American history and turn back the clock,” Jeffries said.
Robert Newlen, the principal deputy librarian, said he would serve as acting librarian of Congress “until further instruction. I promise to keep everyone informed,” he wrote to colleagues.
In February, Trump fired Deborah F. Rutter as president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, following his announcement that he was elected as Kennedy Center chair. Rutter had served in that position since 2014.
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, home to more than 10 million collection items. The library says its holdings constitute “the creative record of the United States.” It acquires, preserves and provides access to the world’s largest collection of films, television programs, radio broadcasts and sound recordings. It also has collections of rare books, prints and photographs, as well valuable artifacts, such as a flute owned by President James Madison, which Lizzo played in a widely-publicized (and, in some quarters, controversial) 2022 performance arranged by Hayden. The library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.
The Librarian of Congress oversees two high-profile awards — the National Recording Registry and the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The National Recording Registry, which dates to 2001, vies with the Recording Academy’s Grammy Hall of Fame as the most prestigious institutional award for classic recordings. Established in 2007, the Gershwin Prize honors living musical artists for exceptional contributions in the field of popular song.
The Library calls the Gershwin Prize “the nation’s highest award for influence, impact and achievement in popular music.” The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Recording Academy might argue with that, but it has definitely become one of the most prestigious awards — and relatively quickly.
The most recent class of National Registry inductees was announced on April 9. The Library has not yet announced the 2025 recipient of the Gershwin Prize. Elton John and Bernie Taupin were announced as the 2024 recipients on Jan. 30, 2024.
Gershwin Prize honorees during Hayden’s tenure were Smokey Robinson (2016), Tony Bennett (2017), Gloria & Emilio Estefan (2019), Garth Brooks (2020), Lionel Richie (2022), Joni Mitchell (2023) and John & Taupin. Criteria for selection include artistic merit; influence in promoting music as a vehicle of cultural understanding; impact and achievement in entertaining and informing audiences; and inspiring new generations of musicians.
According to the Library of Congress site: “The [Gershwin Prize] honoree is selected by the Librarian of Congress in consultation with a board of scholars, producers, performers, songwriters and music specialists.”
The Librarian of Congress also takes the lead role in selecting the 25 titles each year that are inducted into the National Recording Registry. According to the site: “Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian of Congress, with advice from the National Recording Preservation Board, selects 25 titles each year that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and are at least 10 years old.”
In announcing what turn out to be the final batch of National Recording Registry inductions under her tenure, Hayden said: “These are the sounds of America — our wide-ranging history and culture. The National Recording Registry is our evolving nation’s playlist.”