Hasta La Gadget!

“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert is a longtime evangelist of new books. During his tenure at “The Colbert Report,” he hosted authors like National Book Award winner Phil Klay, and literary darlings Toni Morrison, John Green and Michael Chabon.

Now, Colbert is coming out with his own book ― his sixth, including a co-written title in 2004, and the 2012 children’s book I Am a Pole (And So Can You!).

Colbert’s latest ― Midnight Confessions ― is based on the “Late Show” segment of the same name, where the host finds time for “one of his favorite Catholic rituals” by sitting in a makeshift confessional and substituting the audience for a priest. The book will include his confessions as well as audience submissions, and will be released by Simon and Schuster on Sept. 5, Hollywood Reporter writes.

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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley called for an investigation into disturbing allegations of abuse and murder of gay men in the Russian republic of Chechnya Monday. 

The claims emerged April 1 when a Russian opposition newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, reported that at least 100 men had been detained “in connection with their nontraditional sexual orientation,” with three of those men possibly killed. A second 

A second Novaya Gazeta article published April 4 doubled down on those reports, with a source telling the publication that the Muslim-majority region’s anti-LGBTQ efforts include concentration camps.

Despite repeated denials by Chechen authorities, the claims ignited an international media firestorm, which prompted Haley to speak out Monday. “We continue to be disturbed by reports of kidnapping, torture, and murder of people in Chechnya based on their sexual orientation and those persecuted by association,” she wrote in a statement. “If true, this violation of human rights cannot be ignored ― Chechen authorities must immediately investigate these allegations, hold anyone involved accountable, and take steps to prevent future abuses.”

She went on to note, “We are against all forms of discrimination, including against people based on sexual orientation. When left unchecked, discrimination and human rights abuses can lead to destabilization and conflict.” 

A number of LGBTQ rights advocates were quick to praise the ambassador’s effort. Among them was GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, who applauded Haley for “taking the right step” days after the queer rights group had urged her to condemn the “humanitarian crisis.”

“This is a powerful sign that the U.S. Mission to the United Nations will continue to prioritize LGBTQ acceptance,” Ellis wrote in an email statement sent to The Huffington Post, “and fight discrimination and human rights abuses around the world.”

Ellis reiterated her support on Twitter Monday. 

Human Rights First offered similar words.

“A comprehensive international response to the situation in Chechnya is crucial to asserting the international community’s values and advancing human rights,” Elisa Massimino, the group’s president and CEO, had written in a letter addressed to Haley Monday. “I strongly support your initiative to use the U.S. presidency of the U.N. Security Council to advance international thinking on the clear links between upholding universal values and the maintenance of international peace and security, and hope that you will use this effort to call attention to an ongoing outrage that has no place in the modern world.”

Though details of the Chechen allegations remain frustratingly vague, celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, Matt Bomer and Billy Eichner have condemned the reports on Twitter. Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden said he was “disgusted and appalled” by the reports in an April 14 statement. 

“When faced with such crimes of hate and inhumanity, it is the responsibility of every person of conscience to speak out—to oppose this campaign of violence before it continues further,” Biden wrote in the statement. “Unfortunately, the human rights abuses perpetrated by Chechen authorities and the culture of impunity that surrounds them means that these hate crimes are unlikely to ever be properly investigated or that the perpetrators will see justice. But that does not mean that we should fail to defend basic human rights, fundamental freedoms, and universal values.”

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Few stories about Ivanka Trump’s brand have been quite as controversial as the “free commercial” presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway gave the first daughter’s company on national television on February 9. 

Conway’s endorsement, which she offered in response to Nordstrom dropping the label from stores, renewed conflict of interest concerns over Trump family holdings and earned Conway a discipline recommendation from the Office of Government Ethics for using her White House position to sell products.

A graph included in a new Associated Press report about Ivanka Trump’s conflicts of interest regarding China shows that concern was warranted ― by thousands and thousands of percentage points.

The AP compared U.S. sales of Ivanka Trump merchandise at the online marketplace Lyst in February 2017 with the same month the previous year. Lyst had already reported an uptick of 346 percent in sales of Trump’s brand between January and February 2017 alone, bumping Trump from its 550th most popular brand to its 11th most popular brand in one month.

But one day in particular saw a staggering 10,700 percent increase over the previous year: February 9, the day of Conway’s infamous appearance on Fox News.

“Go buy Ivanka’s stuff! I hate shopping, and I will go get some myself today,” Conway said after calling Ivanka “a champion for women empowerment.”

There was a clear trend in larger support and new support from red states.
a Lyst spokeswoman

While the brand’s sales increased in general year-over-year, “there was a clear trend in larger support and new support from red states,” said a spokeswoman for Lyst. The brand saw an 802 percent increase in February in Kentucky and a 1,173 percent increase in Texas. There was also a 598 percent increase in Florida, which is not technically a red state but did go for Donald Trump in the 2016 election. 

There was only a slight increase in sales in blue states, and Washington, D.C. even saw a 10 percent decrease in gross merchandise volume, according to Lyst. Ivanka Trump saw February sales on Lyst from 15 states where there were previously no sales at all, including Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi and North Carolina. 

The November section of the graph shows that sales of Trump’s brand also went up on the day of the election, but “only” by 600 percent. That feels like child’s play compared to the huge spike that followed Conway’s remarks ― remarks over which the White House declined to discipline Conway despite the OGE’s recommendation.

Although Lyst is one of many retailers at which U.S. consumers can purchase Ivanka Trump products, the data above includes millions of registered users. And the trend seems to hold overall: Market research data and the Ivanka Trump company itself confirmed sales surged in February. 

“In some of the categories it was the [brand’s] best performance ever,” company president Abigail Klem said last month. 

Clearly, Conway got the result she was hoping for. And with Trump becoming an official White House employee but still profiting from her business, the concerns about conflicts of interest related to her brand are only getting worse. 

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