Acer’s next project is a different type of monitor than you might expect from the company. It’s an air quality monitor, actually. No, wait; where are you going? “The Acer Air Monitor features a sleek and simple design, the device allows real-time mon…
Twitter has been livestreaming everything from Presidential debates to boxing matches and NFL games to see what sticks. And just like it did with the inauguration, Twitter will once again pair with PBS to broadcast President Trump’s address to a join…
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. ― A few days after President Donald Trump drew rebukes for calling the media the “enemy of the American people,” his top strategist Steve Bannon showed no sign that the White House was willing to reconsider its feud with the press.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference alongside White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus on Thursday, Bannon warned the situation between the administration and the fourth estate will only get worse.
“If you think they’re going to give you your country back without a fight, you’re sadly mistaken,” Bannon said. “Every day there is going to be a fight.”
Bannon denounced the “corporatist, globalist media” for being “adamantly opposed to an economic nationalist agenda” the president is pushing. He repeated a reference to the media as the “opposition party,” and bashed it for being “always wrong” about the workings of the administration.
Priebus agreed with the sentiment, adding that he hoped the relationship between the press and the White House would improve.
“It’s going to get worse,” Bannon said.
Bannon and Priebus laughed off reports of a power struggle between themselves, complimenting each other in their respective roles in the White House.
“I run a little hot on occasions,” Bannon said, tipping his hat to Priebus for what he said was “steady” leadership.
Bannon said a major goal of Trump’s presidency, along with renegotiating trade deals and securing the border, was the total “deconstruction of the administrative state.” He vowed that Trump would repeal hundreds of regulations imposed by Barack Obama’s administration.
“The mainstream media better understand something: All of those promises are going to be implemented,” Bannon said.
He closed out the panel by calling on the hundreds of conservative activists gathered at the conference to “hold us accountable to what we promised.”
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An ad released Thursday calls on Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.) to support an independent investigation into President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia.
The digital ad, paid for by Democratic political opposition group American Bridge, accuses the senators of “turning a blind eye” to reports that members of the Trump administration have been in contact with Russian officials. The revelation led to Michael Flynn resigning earlier this month from his post as national security adviser.
The ad appears to be the first paid attack of the 2018 campaign cycle to feature Trump’s ties to Russia. It indicates that Democrats consider this issue to be a potent campaign topic, and these two senators to be key in building Republican support for an independent investigation.
In 2016, Heller and Flake were both high-profile members of the so-called “never Trump” movement of Republicans who opposed the businessman’s nomination.
Now, as they position themselves for re-election campaigns, they could prove especially sensitive to public pressure. The ad is set to run in Nevada and Arizona in the coming weeks.
“As Trump refuses to speak out about Russia’s aggression, the questions keep piling up,” Jessica Mackler, the president of American Bridge, said in a statement to The Huffington Post. “With the stakes this high, Dean Heller and Jeff Flake need to support an independent investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia, and get the American people the answers they deserve.”
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Jameis Winston, quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, recently stopped by a St. Petersburg, FL elementary school to give a speech to a classroom of third, fourth and fifth graders. While the meet and greet was undoubtedly meant to be light and heartwarming, Winston’s 40-minute speech included some oddly gendered sentiments.
“All my boys stand up, all my ladies you can sit down,” the 23-year-old football player told the room of students and parents this past Wednesday, Tampa Bay Times reports.
He proceeded to tell the young girls to be “silent” and “polite,” while telling the boys to be “strong,” and reminding them they can do anything they set their minds to:
But all my boys, stand up. We strong, right? We strong! We strong, right? All my boys, tell me one time: I can do anything I put my mind to. A lot of boys aren’t supposed to be soft-spoken. You know what I’m saying? One day y’all are going to have a very deep voice like this (in deep voice). One day, you’ll have a very, very deep voice.
…But the ladies ― they’re supposed to be silent, polite, gentle. My men, my men supposed to be strong. I want y’all to tell me what the third rule of life is: I can do anything I put my mind to. Scream it!
According to Tampa Bay Times, many of the parents were visibly upset by Winston’s comments.
“We’ve been working so hard with our students giving them hopes and dreams and helping them raise their expectations,’” Bonnie Volland, a speech language pathologist at the elementary school, told Tampa Bay Times. “In the beginning, it was so good because he was talking about, ‘You can do it!’ and really giving our students a positive message.”
After Winston’s speech was publicized, some pointed out that his comments felt especially problematic given that he was accused of sexual assault just five years ago.
In 2012, at Florida State University where he played football before entering the NFL in 2015, Winston was accused of raping a fellow student, Erica Kinsman. In a 2015 civil complaint, Kinsman sued Winston for “sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress arising out of forcible rape.”
According to Kinsman’s lawsuit, she met the football player on December 6, 2012 at a bar. Later that night, she went back to Winston’s apartment with two of his teammates where she said he raped her while both of teammates watched, one of whom allegedly filmed the incident.
While Winston was never formally charged for the alleged rape, in January 2016 FSU paid Kinsman $950,000 as a settlement for a lawsuit she filed against the university that claimed they mishandled her case.
Many people on Twitter reacted negatively to the NFL player’s comments, some taking issue with the fact that Winston was even allowed to speak at an elementary school given his past.
Although Winston did not apologize for his gendered comments, he told Tampa Bay Times that he used a “poor word choice.”
“I was making an effort to interact with a young male in the audience who didn’t seem to be paying attention, and I didn’t want to single him out so I asked all the boys to stand up,” Winston said. “During my talk, I used a poor word choice that may have overshadowed that positive message for some.”
The Huffington Post reached out to the NFL but did not hear back by the time of publication.
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While it may feel like the United States is in a troubling and chaotic political moment, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg doesn’t think it’s inescapable.
In an interview broadcast on BBC Newsnight on Thursday, Ginsburg shied away from addressing Donald Trump’s presidency but struck a hopeful tone about some of the issues his administration has divisive stances on, including immigration, women’s rights and the press.
“I am optimistic in the long run,” she said. “There was a great man who once said that the true symbol of the United States is not the bald eagle. It is the pendulum. And when the pendulum swings too far in one direction it will go back.”
While things look bleak, she believes the record levels of activism at events like last month’s Women’s March, which may have been the largest protest in U.S. history, bode well for the future.
[W]e are not experiencing the best times, but there is reason to hope that that we will see a better day.”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“[T]here’s hope in seeing how the public is reacting to it,” she said. “The Women’s March ― I’ve never seen such a demonstration, both the numbers and the rapport of the people in that crowd. There was no violence; it was orderly. So yes, we are not experiencing the best times, but there is reason to hope that that we will see a better day.”
Ginsburg noted that the U.S. has emerged from dark chapters in its history, like the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
“That was a dreadful mistake,” she said. “It took a long time for the United States to realize how dreadful it was. But ultimately the president acknowledged that there was no reason to intern people of Japanese ancestry and Congress passed a bill providing compensation for the people who were interned or their survivors.”
And the media is instrumental in holding the government accountable, she said.
“Think of what the press has done in the United States,” she said. “[The Watergate scandal] might never have come out if we didn’t have the free press that we do.”
The 83-year-old is optimistic about her own future on the Supreme Court, too.
“At my age you have to take it year by year. I know I’m OK. What will be next year?” she said.
“I’m hopeful however, because my most senior colleague ― the one who most recently retired, Justice John Paul Stevens ― stepped down at age 90. So I have a way to go.”
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Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) brushed off concerns over a voter photo identification requirement in his state last year, telling a civil rights advisory panel that he didn’t see it as a burden to reach for one’s wallet or purse to get identification.
In 2011, Kansas introduced one of the strictest voter laws in the United States, the Safe And Fair Elections Act, requiring voters to show both photo identification at the polls and proof that they are citizens when they register. Last year, the proof of citizenship requirement was blocked in federal court.
In testimony found in a forthcoming report, Kobach told the Kansas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights that he didn’t think either requirement posed a substantial obstacle to voters.
“The photo ID part, I don’t think it’s a burden to reach into one’s wallet or one’s purse and pull out a photo ID. Someone could argue that you’re exerting calories when you’re doing that, and there is some process. I don’t think that’s a burden,” Kobach told the panel in January 2016.
Going on to speak about the citizenship requirement, he said: “Is this step a burden? I guess it depends on how you define burden. Someone might say that it is to find your birth certificate or your passport and take a picture of it with your phones and email it in or send it in or carry it in. I don’t think it’s significant.”
A draft of a report written by the panel features testimony from organizers and academics highlighting how the extensive requirements pose a barrier to voting. Based on its findings, the Kansas Advisory Committee suggested that the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights formally recommend a review of the SAFE Act’s voting requirements and its compliance with federal law to the Department of Justice. As states around the country push voter ID laws, the Kansas committee’s report demonstrates how strict voting requirements can have a disproportionate impact on certain groups.
For example, the SAFE Act requires Kansas to provide free identification to any voter for voting purposes ― something that many other states pushing voter ID laws also promise. But Michael Byington, a disability rights advocate, told the committee that he had worked with several clients whom officials had tried to charge for a voting ID. While the law required Kansas to provide free birth certificates to people born in the state for identification purposes, residents born outside Kansas have to pay to obtain identification documents. Any kind of charge to be able to vote is effectively a poll tax, Richard Levy, a constitutional law professor at the University of Kansas, told the committee.
One Democratic lawmaker has already introduced legislation to repeal the SAFE Act based on the report, according to the Kansas City Star.
Kobach’s office did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier this month, he told the Kansas City Star the report “looks like it’s been written by a third-grader.”
In Kansas, voters who registered but could not provide proof of citizenship documentation were placed on a “suspense list” and purged from the voter rolls if they did not provide adequate documentation within 90 days. The committee was presented with evidence showing that the “University of Kansas had the highest percentage of suspense voters of any census tract in the state.” Jamie Shew, the Douglas County Clerk, testified that in 2014 the largest group of suspense voters were aged 18 to 24, an age group, according to Shew, that was quick to drop attempts to register and say, “Forget it. I’ve got stuff going on.”
The committee also considered evidence showing a correlation between areas with high African American populations and suspense voters. Women who changed their names when they married, or are single working parents, often have trouble finding the required documents for proof of citizenship or do not have the time to do so, the committee learned.
The 12-member committee voted on Wednesday to publish the report. It is still pending a final legal review.
Most of the testimony in the report came from a public meeting the committee held in January 2016. While Kobach testified in person, the committee wrote that “despite an active search and many outreach attempts,” it was unable to find any group to testify in support of the SAFE Act.
The committee also urged Congress and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to further investigate voter suppression, voter fraud and the potential for setting up a national voter system.
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Sounds like former Disney Channel star Dove Cameron is branching out of her acting career and getting ready to release her debut album.
In an exclusive interview with Galore, she dishes on her upcoming music endeavors and channels her inner Marilyn Monroe. Perhaps this photoshoot is why she chopped off her long locks? Either way, we’re all ears for some Dove Cameron music to drop.
“I’ve been promising my fans an album for some time now. I’m making a lot of moves in that direction,” she shares. When asked what kind of style or sound her fans can expect, she remained pretty tight-lipped so as not to give too much away.
“It is definitely going to be what a lot of fans would expect for me, but then I think for a lot [of fans], not what they would expect from me,” she said.
It all sounds very mysterious, but from what we can tell Cameron definitely has a few tricks up her sleeve. “I have a lot of influences and I don’t want to give anything away about the things I’m currently working on,” she added.
Well, while we don’t know too much about Cameron’s music projects, we do know she plays one hell of a Marilyn Monroe and totally slayed this photo shoot.
Marilyn would be proud.
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A routine shopping trip turned into something more for one mom after a cashier went “above and beyond his duty” for her son.
On Feb 18, Lauren Walker visited a Marks and Spencer food hall in Scotland with her 10-month-old son and her mother. During their shopping trip, Walker’s son, Alistair, grew restless. When the family reached the checkout, Alistair recognized the cashier as the man who said, “hello” to him when they first arrived and yelled, “Hiya hiya!” That’s when the cashier went above and beyond and comforted Walker’s restless son by letting him help behind the checkout.
Walker was so moved by the cashier’s kindness that she posted about her experience on the official Marks and Spencer Facebook page and shared a video of Alistair helping the cashier. In her post, she wrote about how much her son enjoyed spending time with him.
“He smiled and squealed the full way through it because he was having so much fun!” she wrote in her post. “This man made my shopping experience so much easier and the fact he took time with my son as well was great.”
Walker told The Huffington Post she and her son have never experienced something like this while out shopping. Once Walker finished up paying, Alistair didn’t want to leave his new friend.
“This is why I recorded it while my mum was packing the shopping because it was so kind of him and you could see he was great with kids,” she said. “My son wasn’t happy when it was time to leave because he was enjoying himself too much!”
Walker hasn’t seen the cashier since, but did receive a reply via a Facebook comment from Marks and Spencer.
“It looks like your little one was having a great time and it’s really good to see how our colleague was so helpful and interactive with our customers,” the company wrote. “I’ll make sure this is shared on our internal employee page and that our Store Manager gets to hear about it too! We can then give him the recognition he deserves.”
When asked if she had anything else she’d like to say to the kind cashier, Walker said she wanted to say, “thank you.”
“He went above and beyond his duty of care just because he thought all he was doing was his job!”
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Karl-Anthony Towns is ahead of schedule by even the highest of expectations.
Yes, he led the University of Kentucky to a 38-1 record and the Final Four, became the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NBA draft and earned Rookie of the Year honors last season. But at 21, he could have flamed equally quickly.
Instead, Towns has emerged as one of the league’s premier big men.
The Minnesota Timberwolves center is both humble and quick to deflect praise. He gives much of the credit to his coaches. And he thanks former T-Wolves teammate and now Los Angeles Clippers consultant Kevin Garnett, whom he keeps in close contact with.
“KG talks a lot about accountability,” Towns told HuffPost about the man he calls “such a legend.”
“When he does something, right away you pay attention,” Towns added. “If you make a mistake, he’s all about holding you accountable.”
Towns, to be sure, has done his part.
He’s averaged 24 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists, according to ESPN.com. No other player in the league boasts such numbers this season. He also ranks 13th in overall efficiency: His 24.55 rating slots him ahead of Stephen Curry, Blake Griffin, DeMar DeRozan, Hassan Whiteside, Marc Gasol and John Wall.
Few players in just their second season have made such drastic improvements to their skill set as Towns has.
One skill that doesn’t necessarily reflect in the box score is Towns’ superior footwork around the basket. His dexterity and his ability to let a defender encroach on his hip and air space have driven up his free-throw opportunities from year one to year two. At the All-Star break, Towns’ 302 free-throw attempts had already surpassed the 275 he managed over his entire rookie season.
Of course, getting to the line and actually converting at the line are two very different things, particularly for centers. Just ask Shaquille O’Neal about that.
Towns converts 83 percent from the stripe ― an outrageously high rate, better even than that of most guards and such well-known shooters as Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. He’s also surpassing fellow emerging big men like Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid.
Towns’ silky shooting is what makes him such a dynamic offensive player. He converts a respectable 34 percent from the 3-point distance and is even more effective from 16 to 18 feet, where he asserts himself in three distinct ways: the pick-and-roll, the pick-and-pop and as a slip man.
“I’m very comfortable in the pick-and-roll,” he said. “I like to do it. I’ve grown as a player, I’m glad to say that.”
Towns’ rapid development stems in part from T-Wolves head coach Tom Thibodeau, who embraces the versatility of his young star.
“His skill set is so unique for a 7-footer,” Thibodeau told ESPN.com in November. “He can shoot the 3 with ease from all over the floor ― from the corners, from above the break, from the top of the key. He can put it on the floor. He can change direction. He can Euro-step. He can play back to the basket. He can play a face-up combo game. You can pick-and-roll with him where he’s the screener. You can pick-and-roll with him where he’s the ball handler. He has guard-like skills. He has great vision. He has playmaking ability.”
Towns appreciates that his coach lets him be himself, but also that Thibodeau insists the young T-Wolves follow the program.
“He’s given us a lot,” Towns said of his coach, who took the Minnesota job last August. “Taking accountability … we are more responsible and even tighter knit as a group.”
Before he was drafted, the New Jersey native told HuffPost that he was “not just a basketball player” ― he likes playing golf and baseball, too. More recently, he has been bitten by the acting bug, something he hasn’t done since an assortment of church plays as a kid.
In a recent ad for Jack Link’s beef jerky, he worked out with Sasquatch. “I kind of pinched myself,” Towns said. “I love acting and being able to show my personality.”
This is all what makes Towns such an intriguing young star. He desperately wants to be great, but only within the framework of the team. He wants more opportunities like the Jack Link’s spot, but only when that doesn’t get in the way of his athletic development. He prizes everything about basketball, but he enjoys being well rounded as well.
“I just find ways to take time,” Towns said. “Enjoying little things like being home, talking to family and seeing family grow up.”
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Email me at jordan.schultz@huffingtonpost.com, ask me questions about anything sports-related on Twitter at @Schultz_Report, and follow me on Instagram at @Schultz_Report.
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