Author: Frank

MINNEAPOLIS — The city council has voted unanimously and approved a measure leading to abolish the police department in their city. This comes after nationwide protests and civil unrest, particularly calls to defund police and law enforcement in general. The city council vote was 12-0 in favor of leading towards abolishing the police department. This will not automatically eliminate or disband the police, but it is a step in that direction. What happens next is legislative process that will require support from the city residents in an upcoming election being held this November. “The vote to abolish the police force…

Business owners in Seattle have filed a class-action lawsuit against the city in regards to the “Occupied” protest zone.  The area is known as “CHOP” and previously known as “CHAZ” – but it’s causing problems for business owners and some of them have resorted to legal action against the city of Seattle. The class-action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court summarized the complaints of dozens of businesses, residents, and property owners. Some have experienced threats after taking photos of protesters in the designated areas and others who were cleaning graffiti off their properties. On June 14, Car Tender auto shop’s…

Dixie Chicks have announced that they will officially change their name amid the current cultural environment regarding protests for racial justice. The band, which consists of Natalie Maines, Emily Strayer, and Martie Maguire from now on, will be called “The Chicks.” This Thursday, they changed their website URL and Instagram handle. Their Wikipedia page has also been updated.  According to the Rolling Stone, the newly named band only offered a statement on their website, stating, “We want to meet this moment.” In their press release, they thanked ‘The Chicks’ of New Zealand, saying, “A sincere and heartfelt thank you goes out…

American entrepreneur and billionaire Mike Cuban goes against Sean Hannity in his live appearance on the media personality’s show. Cuban is leaning towards former Vice President Joe Biden against current U.S. President Donald Trump. He believes that Biden is ready to be a president while Trump, as he claimed, only “wants to run a campaign.”  The article by Forbes breaks down the heated debate that ended with Hannity telling Cuban he’s “nuts.” Now, Cuban’s words are not to be taken lightly. He is known for his sharp, business mind. Being the owner of NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, with an estimated net worth…

A classic movie that was once removed from HBO Max makes its return, but comes with a little bit extra. ‘Gone With The Wind’ was previously pulled from the catalog amid the protests and calls for racial justice, but now HBO Max is bringing it back. ‘Gone With The Wind’ was pulled when civil rights activists criticized the film, but that didn’t last long. Now the move will be available on the streaming service once again and it also has extra content that will help contextualize the movie. The contextual content is two conversations that were recorded to help give…

It was the late 1970’s and then Senator Joe Biden had voted in support of allowing racially segregated private schools to retain their tax exempt status. This vote came with quite the push-back from activists and civil rights groups. It also put Joe Biden in somewhat of a showdown or at odds with the Carter administration. The year was 1979 and Biden was just one of the 54 senators who made the vote. They opted to keep what’s called the “‘Dornan rider’ —a provision that barred the IRS from revoking the tax-exempt status of segregated private schools, sometimes called “white…

Michael Flynn lands a victory as an appeals court has ordered a judge to dismiss his case. It was the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia who ordered that a federal judge will, or must, dismiss the case against Michael Flynn, who is the former national security advisor for President Donald Trump. This ruling means that Flynn will not face any jail time and his court battles are likely over. The vote took place with three judges, giving Flynn a 2-1 ruling in his favor. That allowed U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan to permit the…

The current cultural and civil unrest pushed out an investment advisory company from Seattle to move its headquarters to Phoenix’s Camelback Corridor. Smead Capital Management’s President and CEO Cole Smead told KTAR News 92.3 FM  that despite Seattle having lower taxes, the quality of life is said to be better in Phoenix.  He told the news outlet, “The unrest that has taken place in the city of Seattle, there really is not a downtown business community today.” Smead also cited that candidate recruitment is harder and that the cost of living there is higher with a low quality compared to that of…

France’s history is safe for now as President Emmanuel Macron stated his country will not allow any sort of “false rewriting of history” and that colonial-era statues will remain where they are. Macron also made a strong statement to be tough against bigotry and racism, but stressed that protesters or rioters would not be permitted to harm statues in any way. Macron stated, in a video posted by TIME: “We will be inflexible when it comes to tackling racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination, and new strong decisions will be made to reinforce the egality of chances… But this noble fight is…

A recent report by the New York Times suggested that former President George W. Bush would not support or vote for President Donald Trump in the upcoming election. A spokesperson for George W. Bush has posted a message on Twitter saying that the story on NYT is “completely made up” and explains that the former president is retired from duty, but has not indicated how he plans to vote in the 2020 election. The spokesperson is Evan Smith and he said, “In an email to @texastribune’s @ragajus, George W. Bush spox @kyfredchicken denies @nytimes report: “This is completely made up.…

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has spoken out and defends the efforts of protesters calling for the demand to defund the police amid the George Floyd protests. The calls for defunding police stem from the far-left as they suggest it is a way to go against police brutality and even racial injustice. However, it appears defunding police would simply be a monetary hit and would likely not change anything. Either way, Ocasio-Cortez is still making her case and support known to the protesters. She did this during a debate. But the voice of AOC does not go unmatched. She is likely…

Virginia’s Democratic governor Ralph Northam will announce the removal of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. It will be taken down from Monument Ave, a statue that has been up since about 1890. The date of removal is unknown. Northam made his details known during a press conference this week. He said, “it’s time to acknowledge the reality of institutional racism, even if you can’t see it. Public policies have kept this reality in place for a long time. That’s why we’ve been working so hard to reform criminal justice laws, expand health care access, make it easier to vote, and…

PHILADELPHIA — This will be the 8th night in a row that Philadelphia residents face a mandatory curfew amid protests regarding justice George Floyd. Tonight’s curfew in Philadelphia will be from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. Residents are only permitted to leave their home if they need medical attention, help from police, or work at an essential business. Philadelphia law enforcement and the National Guard will be on duty to assist the Philadelphia police. The main protest for today is scheduled for sometime at the Philadelphia Art Museum. CBS Local reports there are already hundreds on the scene, but they…

MINNEAPOLIS — a 9-year-old girl is being called a hero after she setup a fundraiser and has already generated $20k to help the city rebuild after the protests and other chaos nearly destroyed everything. Her name is Kamryn Johnson and she setup a bracelet stand to help raise money for people affected, but she didn’t expect it to go this well. “And then I told my mom my idea and she said that we should give the money to the people in Minneapolis, and I said that that would be a great idea,” she said, via CBS Local. Kamryn and…

On Monday, about 60 CVS stores have closed. The looting and riots caused their forced closure as it endangered not only the business establishment but also their employees. As of now, there are CVS stores closing across 21 states. In the report by USA Today, the chain drug store made this decision to address their safety. The riots and looting came second after the protests for the death of George Floyd that sparked the #BlackLivesMatter movement to take action. CVS’s spokesperson Amy Thibault, senior manager of corporate communications for CVS Health, told the news outlet that they still do not have…

Amazon enters the race with self-driving cars and may directly compete with automotive makers as they improve their stock price. Just last month, Amazon’s stocks rose, reaching a record high. They continue to strengthen their presence through the development of vehicles under their company itself. Forbes reported that the company plans to improve its stock price and strengthen market penetration by emerging in the transportation field. This will put them in direct competition with carmakers and package delivery firms. In the developing story, they stated that in order to achieve, Amazon must create its own logistics ecosystem. They plan to do…

Small meatpacking facilities are stepping up to bridge the gap as major food supply chains were shut down amid the current situation. Specifically, forced closures were placed on Tyson and Smithfield Foods.  Now the smaller facilities are working overtime to make up for the losses and Congress has a plan to pitch in and help out. According to the Keloland, Congress decided to help as these small meat lockers have extended their business hours, all of which come at an added cost. The situation forced farmers and ranchers to turn to local meatpacking facilities to have their livestock processed. Eric Jennings,…

SpaceX will make history with its newest rocket ship that will launch on Saturday afternoon. SpaceX’s rocket ship will carry two NASA astronauts into the orbit. The launch that was supposed to take place on Wednesday was called off 17 minutes before the liftoff. According to 6abc, this was due to the thunderclouds that had dangerous risks of the rocket being hit by lightning. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine announced the rescheduled liftoff on Twitter, stating, “No launch for today – safety for our crew members @Astro_Doug and @AstroBehnken is our top priority.” Despite the rescheduling of its liftoff, there is no…

2020 throws another curve ball! This time, the often very loud cicadas will make their appearance out of isolation. We haven’t seen this specific brood, in these specific states, in apparently 17-years, so may as well be soon since it’s 2020, the year that throws just about everything at us! And you’ll know the bug when you hear it! It makes that very loud sounds and kids often find the shell of them on trees or other plants. As reported by ABC News, cicadas will spring up southwest Virginia, North Carolina, and West Virginia. Entomologists at Virginia Tech estimated that about…

As if 2020 wasn’t strange enough, the United States faces another challenge as the CDC issues warnings about aggressive cannibal rats. In a report by The Independent, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention lately issued a warning to the public. This is in regards to the current status of rats all over the country. The CDC observed that rats are behaving differently as their food sources have decreased due to the lock-down. The CDC then detailed that these rodents have turned to cannibalism and infanticide. Another problem is that the rats are becoming aggressive. Rats in areas such as…

MICHIGAN — A businessman who does not support Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s “stay at home” executive order has rented a billboard and displayed the message saying “All business is essential.” The man behind the sign is business owner Erik Kiilunen who claims at least one of his businesses had essentially closed in part because of the current stay-at-home order put in place by Gov. Whitmer. Kiilunen is the CEO of Neuvokas Corporation and made this statement for KARK, saying, “We got hit with the first rounds of the orders and I watched the book of business just absolutely vaporize. I had…

The economy took a major hit in April as 43 states record levels of unemployment. These states hit their new highest amount of people finding themselves unemployed since state series tracking in 1976 when unemployment tracking began in all states, being tracked by the government. Federal data was released for the month of April and all 50 states recorded higher unemployment rates. These numbers are based on federal reports and it suggests that tourist areas hit the hardest took the top three positions on the list of biggest hit states. Nevada, home of many casinos, was stricken with the highest…

President Donald Trump toured the Ford plant in Ypsilanti Township, MI, mostly without a mask. However, at some point the president donned a dark blue protective face mask and it was photographed. As of now, this may be the first known photograph of President Donald Trump wearing the protective covering. Trump was warned by officials to wear the protective covering, but he refused during part of the trip, stating that “I did not want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it,” per AP.  Trump does not wish to wear a mask in front of the camera during his…

Philadelphia, PA — A former judge has pleaded guilty and been convicted for taking bribes, casting fraudulent ballots, and also certifying false election results for three years during primary elections. This took place during 2014, 2015, and 2016 primary elections. His name is Domenick J. Demuro, a 73-year-old, from Philadelphia. His guilty plea came during a sealed proceeding back on March 16 in front of U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond. This involving “conspiring to deprive persons of civil rights, and using interstate facilities in aid of bribery” according to the Department of Justice. Demuro’s guilty plea included confessions to…

The California labor board rejected SpaceX’s grant application amid a dispute with Tesla and Elon Musk. California’s program that funds employee training considered the grant application to train 900 existing employees and 300 new ones. The Employment Training panel’s staff recommended that the board approve the grant in its May 15 meeting. As reported by SpaceNews, the panel members, which consisted of industry representatives and organized labor, questioned the suitability of providing state funding to Elon Musk’s company. They’ve cited Musk’s threats in moving Tesla, his electric automobile country, out of state to Nevada or Texas. This threat on May 9…

The $1K Project continues to help families due to these trying times. Its purpose is to help people in financial trouble by giving families $1,000 per month for three months. This project is volunteer-led. As reported by GeekWire, Seattle, and New York capitalists started the project. What sets this aside is that both the families and donors are anonymous. Also, donors can give smaller gifts as a form of contribution. The project was founded by Seattle’s Minda Brusse and Alex Iskold. Brusse is the founder of First Row, a venture capital firm. In GeekWire’s report, she said, “I want to…

JCPenney filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The retail company plans to close 30% of its locations. According to the company’s presentation with the Securities and Exchange Commission, they will close about 240 stores. Should these closings come through, the 846 stores will go down to 604 locations, causing a drop of net store sales from $9.2 billion to $7.5 billion. According to Business Insider, the company planned to close stores in weaker malls. By doing this, they’d be increasing the share of locations in more substantial malls from 58 to 62%. Reuters cited a JCPenney spokeswoman stating that the company…

Small business owners in this state might be facing up to one year in jail and a fines if they defy state orders set in place by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who amended Illinois Department of Public Health rules as an emergency order that went into effect. Pritzker’s adjustment makes it so business owners who open, in defiance of state order to remain closed, can now be charged with a Class A misdemeanor. The business owners will face a maximum of one year in jail and a maximum fine of $2,500. Mindy Ruckman of Illinois Policy stated that since this…

Tesla’s Fremont factory received approval to resume its operations this week. The tension between Tesla and Alameda County has finally deescalated, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicles. At the start of May, Tesla sued Alameda County after they barred the company’s headquarters in Palo Alto to continue their operations after closing down due to the pandemic. According to the letter from Laurie Shelby, Tesla’s Vice President for Environmental, Health, and Safety, the factory presented a health and safety plan. Alameda County’s interim health officer later approved this plan, but not before having its authorities touring the facility last week. The…

California Governor Gavin Newsom faces quite the pushback as the newly revised budget will “initiate the closure” of Veterans Home of California-Barstow (VHCB). The newly revised budget, which is an attempt to alleviate some costs that were taken on during the ongoing pandemic, will also put a “one-year delay for realignment at VHC-Chula Vista and Yountville.” The new budget, currently at $203 billion, is about 5% less than what they spent last year. This has become a counterpoint that some people have used to push back against the closure of a veterans home that houses around 200 residents. Closing the…

Famed rapper Snoop Dogg sat in his car listening to “Let it Go” from the Frozen soundtrack. He sat in silence for a moment as it the chorus kicked in. He posted the video to his Instagram page and it has received over 233,000 likes so far. His video is here, with a little message from him. https://www.instagram.com/p/CABP91pHgck/ Snoop’s video of himself listening to Frozen’s “Let it Go” was shared over 233,000 times at the time of this article. The video caught the right eye of the right people and somehow the singer, Idina Menzel found it, and she responded.…

Comic actor Fred Willard has passed away. He was a big hit in the TV series “Modern Family. Willard had famous roles in movies like “A Mighty Wind” and “Best in Show” and he was a big part of the mockumentary niche. Willard was 86-years-old as he passed away. The announcement was made by his daughter, Hope Willard, in a message she posted online. She wrote, “It is with a heavy heart that I share the news my father passed away very peacefully last night at the fantastic age of 86 years old. He kept moving, working and making us…

Democrat Chuck Schumer makes a push for voting by mail in his latest interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes. Schumer stated his support for mail provisions and said that it will be a very big part of the next legislation. Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, also mentioned the previous CARES Act relief bill that apparently included funding for mail provisions, but Hayes mentioned there is nothing that requires any individual states to prepare for it. Ian Hanchett reported on Chris Hayes’ big question to Schumer. Hayes asked, “[T]he last CARES Act…the big one, it had money for mail-in voting, but there’s no…

Americans who have long doubted the Common Core in English and Math may have been right all along as the country sees historic drops in Math and Reading scores since Common Core started in 2009 at the beginning of former President Barack Obama’s tenure in the White House. The decline in American reading and math scores also sparks another debate on deciding if the Federal Government should remove itself from their role in education, and therefore return the responsibility back to local control. The latest study by Pioneer Institute tracked the slow progress and declining scores among Americans, looking back…

Things just get more interesting for salon owner Shelley Luther. So far, she’s been arrested and jailed for opening her salon in defiance of Texas state executive orders. Then, she’s fined $7,000. Then she’s set free after Texas attorney general demands the judge who locked her up, set her free. Her good luck kept going as she learns about the Go Fund Me set up in her honor which has topped $500,000. And to top that all off, Senator Ted Cruz stopped by Salon à la Mode for a haircut, giving her some of the best free publicity one could…

General Michael Flynn will receive good news when he finds out the Justice Department has decided to drop the criminal case against him. Flynn is President Donald Trump’s first national security advisor and he was facing prosecution. Flynn became a major figure for Trump supporters who used the FBI’s investigation into Russian allegations against the president, and criticized it heavily. Special counsel Robert Mueller is likely to be disappointed in this, as it’s one of his biggest cases. Flynn was accused of lying to the FBI about talks had with a Russian ambassador back in 2017.  But Michael Flynn apparently…

Shelley Luther probably did not expect this. She is the owner of Salon A La Mode and she opened her business despite Texas state orders to keep her non-essential business closed until further notice. She wanted to make a point and opened anyway, for about seven days. She was then taken to court and offered the chance to apologize and remain closed until Friday, or face jail and a $7,000 fine. She refused to apologize and took the jail and fine. But now that $7,000 seems like a drop in the bucket after a Go Fund Me has raised over…

President Donald Trump signed an executive order that allows slaughterhouses to operate during the quarantine. At this point, the fight between companies wanting to operate to provide food goes against unions and activists fighting for worker’s rights has escalated. An article by Bloomberg reported that the president signed the executive order as the closures of meat processing plants threaten the continuous functioning of national meat and poultry supply chain. Hence, this undermines the critical infrastructure currently in place during the national emergency. The executive order invokes the Defense Production Act that orders plants to stay open to supply food without disruptions. With…

The United States’ bee population is in total jeopardy after the arrival of “murder hornets,” known as the Asian giant hornet, in Blaine, Washington. In a report by the New York Times, beekeeper Ted McFall witnessed the devastating aftermath of a murder hornet’s attack. He went to check up on a group of hives only to see bee carcasses on the ground. The colony was filled with thousands of bees that had their heads torn from their bodies. In the interview, he said, “I couldn’t wrap my head around what could have done that.” Asian giant hornets grow up to 2-inch…

A doctor who worked on three pandemics in early 1900’s looks very similar to today’s Dr. Fauci. His name is Dr. Thomas Dyer Tuttle and here’s his story. He first worked on the Russian Flu that killed tens of thousands of people in Europe before arriving in New York, where it took more than 2500 deaths. He was in med school at that time. In 1909, his name was on the headlines for going against quarantines on Smallpox. Instead, at that time, he prescribed mandatory smallpox vaccinations. Tuttle and the state’s Board of Health promoted smallpox vaccinations with him taking…

Nashville is undergoing a crisis. The city was about to recover from the aftereffects of the tornado. However, the Coronavirus epidemic shut down the local economy. Past mayors rejected property tax increase even when the spending soared. The aftermath of all of this is the city’s reserves have depleted. Now, Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s budget proposal could see 32% property tax hike. On Tuesday, Cooper pushed for a 31.7% tax hike and deep cuts. The city’s financial future is in jeopardy, and the mayor addressed this as a “crisis budget.” Due to the unexpected crisis that obliterated the critical revenue…

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk is against the shelter-in-place orders as it affected Tesla’s first-quarter profit and many other businesses all over America. The continuously forced factory shutdowns are affecting the economy severely, in particular, the electric-car maker’s business after it was deemed unessential. In an article by Business Insider, Musk talked on his stance on Wednesday’s conference call. While at the conference, he said, “Frankly, I would call it forcible imprisoning of people in their homes against all of their constitutional rights, in my opinion. It’s breaking people’s freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong and not why they…

Rose McGowan calls out Democrats and media “cult” practices for how they’ve dealt with Tara Reade’s case. The #MeToo activist and feminist said that the actions of the elite press towards Democrat lawmakers. McGowan called out the ignored and rebuked cases of the victims of the party representatives. Tara Reade’s story when she was still a Senate staffer resonated with McGowan, and the man in question is none other than former Vice President and now presidential hopeful Joe Biden. In a report by Breitbart, McGowan posted a tweet on Wednesday. Her caption was, “I’m really sad, and I’m really tired. I…

Unsealed documents might have the FBI facing consequences as the information appears to find them having the goal of getting General Michael Flynn fired or prosecuted. This was apparently the main goal of the top FBI officials who wanted General Flynn interviewed. This was revealed on a handwritten note in the documents unsealed. The agents, whose identity we do not know, wanted the former national security adviser to “admit breaking the Logan Act.” This is something that restricts the communications between foreign governments and the private citizens. They wanted to see if Flynn would lie and catch him in it,…

“Food supply chain is breaking.” Tyson Foods Chairman John H. Tyson responds to the ongoing suspension of their meat processing plants. He emphasizes how the suspension of multiple meat processing facilities will affect the nation’s food supply. In the open letter that they published as an ad on Sunday’s New York Times, Washington Post and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Chairman Tyson gave an outline on how their facilities have responded to the Coronavirus health crisis. The chairman of the board said that meat shortages are not the only issue. The ongoing response will result in food waste. America’s farmers won’t have anywhere…

Between 2007 to 2017, three video footage showing unidentified objects flying at almost impossible speeds in the Earth’s atmosphere was leaked. These footages come with audios recording Navy Pilots’ reaction to these objects. On Monday, the Pentagon finally declassifies these videos. In the CNBC report, the Department of Defense released the three videos that were taken by U.S. Navy pilots that reveal the flying objects that remain unidentified to this day. The declassification of these videos takes place on Monday. The first video dated back to 2004, with the other two being recorded back in 2015. The Pentagon declassified these videos to…

Diamond & Silk are officially axed from Fox News. Lynette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson are two well-known conservative media personalities. In the past, they’ve made guest appearances on Fox News and have even participated in rallies. They support President Donald Trump and have even gone to the White House on multiple occasions. However, Fox News decided that their controversial views on coronavirus were not acceptable and cut ties with them. The Daily Beast reported that Diamond & Silk were removed due to their repetitive actions in promoting conspiracy theories revolving around the Coronavirus pandemic. One conspiracy that got highlighted was their…

A comedian having some fun has reenacted President Donald Trump’s now infamous “disinfectant” press briefing and her video has millions of views. She does the video by acting like she’s the president, saying what he said in the briefing, and adding a few humorous gestures to it. Whether someone is a fan of President Donald Trump, or someone dislikes him, the video is still fairly humorous and it brings a good tone and vibe to an otherwise controversial moment that was hyped up by the media in an attempt to get everyone talking. The comedian’s name is Sarah Cooper and…

US Air National Guard Colby Boltz was not able to come home due to the pandemic that delayed his homecoming by 60 days. The 26-year-old National Guardsman stationed in Asia was expected to go home for his 22-year-old wife Paige’s childbirth. However, the New York Post reports that Boltz did not give up easily. Instead, he chose to watch the birth of his child through FaceTime. The couple received the news that Boltz won’t be able to come home two weeks before their child arrived. Paige, who is a nurse, was scared. The thought of not having anyone with her in the…

Vudu is one of the most in-demand video service on Walmart.com. The digital service has reached more than 100 million living room devices in the United States. Vudu is compatible with Windows 20 and Mac computers, along with iOS and Android mobile devices. Not only that, but Vudu is used on smart TVs and other streaming devices. The mobile app version has been installed more than 14.5 times, so it is not a surprise that companies would want to buy it. The movie ticketing company Fandango is going to purchase the video streaming device for an undisclosed sum, as reported…