Suggesting her Muslim colleague is a terrorist is apparently regular material in Lauren Boebert ’s pathetic, unfunny standup act. The Colorado lawmaker was filmed in September telling a near-identical story to the one she told over Thanksgiving weekend about riding in a Capitol Hill elevator with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and being glad the Somali-American immigrant isn’t carrying a backpack. The September video was uncovered Tuesday by CNN’s KFile. The newly surfaced video shows Boebert describing Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) — both of whom are among the first Muslim women to serve in Congress — as “black-hearted” and “evil.” Just as she did in a video filmed in November, Boebert said she only felt safe being on the elevator in Omar’s presence because the congresswoman was not wearing a backpack, implying Omar was a threat to set off an explosive device. The more recent video sparked outrage among Democrats, renewing calls for the Republican Party hold its members …
BET Awards 2016: 20 Best and Worst Moments
The 16th annual BET Awards took over the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles last night, featuring a mix of pop, rap and R&B A-listers. Though the chaotic state of America and the shadow of Prince’s passing gave the broadcast a somewhat somber air, there were still electric performances from Beyoncé, Usher, Maxwell, Desiigner and more. Here are 20 of the best and worst things from the network’s big night. Best: Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar Make a Splash It’s impossible to have a conversation about pop in 2016 without Beyoncé coming up, and the BET Awards honored this fact by having her and her phalanx of dancers get into formation while excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech opened the show. B and her dancers launched into a version of “Freedom” that was choreographed on a pool, creating an eye-popping visual that matched the Lemonade track’s agitated intensity. When Kendrick Lamar showed up with a tweaked version of his on-record verse, the …
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It’s Time to Revisit Trump’s History With Women
We’re in the midst of a unique moment in modern history. Women are speaking up about the mistreatment they’ve suffered at the hands of powerful men – and people are actually listening. Whether the end result will be a backlash or a radical reconfiguration of power dynamics in the workforce is yet to be seen, but there’s no denying that something new is happening regarding sexual harassment, assault and abuse. Remarkably, however, the highest-profile person in the nation, whose treatment of women is notably checkered, has largely escaped this current round of scrutiny. That has to change now. President Trump has to be put under this newly glaring spotlight. This new round of attention on sexual harassment and abuse started with women – and some men – speaking up about powerful people in the entertainment industry. But, as many people appear to be learning, this problem is not relegated to Hollywood: Stories have also flooded out from the media, restaurant and other industries, …
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A Backpack Full of Axes and a Wooden Table Leg: Jan. 6 Rioter Was Armed to the Teeth
One of the newest Jan. 6 defendants appears to have been packing quite an arsenal of handheld weapons. Timothy Desjardins , a barber shop owner from Providence, R.I., stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 with a crowd of fellow Trump supporters, the FBI said. He now faces numerous charges, including assaulting police officers and entering restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon. Law enforcement officials say Desjardins can be seen in videos of the insurrection assaulting officers with a broken wooden table leg. The morning after the attack, an officer found a backpack Desjardins appeared to be wearing at the Capitol that contained three axes. According to the FBI statement of facts unsealed Tuesday and reported by HuffPost’s Ryan Reilly , Desjardins appears in YouTube videos of the insurrection wielding “what appears to be a broken wooden table leg” that he used to “assault … multiple law enforcement officers” in a tunnel leading to a Capitol entrance as police were attempting …
Trump Loyalist Mark Meadows Now Cooperating with Committee Investigating Jan. 6, Chair Says
Looks like the Justice Department indicting Steve Bannon for not cooperating with the Jan. 6 committee may have scared some sense into Mark Meadows . The former Trump chief of staff is now “engaging” with the committee and providing documents, the panel’s chair said. “Mr. Meadows has been engaging with the Select Committee through his attorney,” Chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said in a statement on Tuesday. “He has produced records to the committee and will soon appear for an initial deposition.” The committee sent Meadows a subpoena in September, but he said through his lawyer that he would not be cooperating because Trump planned to invoke executive privilege. But the committee didn’t buy that argument, which Bannon also tried to make, especially because Biden declined to assert executive privilege or immunity over the documents and testimony the committee requested. As a consequence, Bannon was indicted by the Justice Department and charged with two counts of …