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Pro-Trump YouTube Stars Go On CNN To Say Marco Rubio Once Lived a "Gay Lifestyle" 

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Would you look at this: Somebody said something outlandish on CNN. Today’s heroes are the so-called “Stump For Trump” duo: Lynette “Diamond” Hardaway and Rochelle “Silk” Richardson, who rose from their YouTube channel to opening for Trump at his fundraisers and today went on CNN to offer the notion that Marco Rubio lived a “gay lifestyle.”

The claim, put forth by Hardaway, came more or less from out of nowhere, which makes it even more entertaining. Here is the exchange between Hardaway and CNN’s Carol Costello:

Costello: I want to show that video again of Ted Cruz and Sen. Marc Rubio shaking hands behind Donald Trump’s back during a commercial break. So Lynette, when you see that what goes through your mind?

Hardaway: Well you know, I think Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, they’re both snakes. When I look at Marco Rubio, Marco Rubio told us to Google “Donald Trump.” But I did him one better: I Googled him. And when I Googled him, you know, he owes America and the gay community an apology because it sounds like he may have had a gay lifestyle in his past. So he owes people an apology.

Costello: What? No, Lynette.

Hardaway: Yep. All you have to do is Google him. Google him and you will see that.

Costello: Lynette...

Hardaway: Well, that’s what’s on Google. So you have to be cautious when you tell people to Google people, stuff will come up. We don’t know if it’s true so we would say “allegedly,” because we Googled him and stuff came up.

Hey, she knows the law.

In any event, what this conversation actually refers to is Rubio telling viewers of last night’s debate to research Trump’s history of hiring undocumented employees by Googling “Trump Polish workers.” He didn’t tell people just to Google Trump’s name, and if you just Google Rubio’s name—as Hardaway insinuates she did—you will have to dig pretty deep before you find anything about Marco Rubio having a gay history.

The “Stump For Trump” duo don’t really have a point. But then again, it’s just CNN. Nobody really ever has ever a point.


Contact the author at jordan@gawker.com.


Donald Trump Still Has a Horrible Excuse For Not Releasing His Tax Returns

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Despite being the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, Donald Trump’s campaign is predicated on being non-traditional and non-presidential. So it’s perhaps no surprise that today he forcefully resisted a call to reveal any of his tax returns, which is a routine part of the election process.

During a rally today in which Chris Christie announced his endorsement of the new face of the GOP, Trump fielded a question from a reporter regarding his tax returns. You can see the exchange above, in which Trump says he won’t release any tax returns until the conclusion of the audit of his most recent returns. When asked why he won’t just release returns from previous years, Trump declines to explain and instead nudges his base to question why he is so frequently audited by the federal government.

Which, uh, actually is a good question! In any event, you can find every other serious candidate’s tax returns quite easily: Here are Hillary Clinton’s and Bernie Sanders’ and Marco Rubio’s and Ted Cruz’s. At last night’s debate, Rubio and Cruz banded together to hit Trump on the issue of his taxes, with Rubio stating that the public should be able to see how much Trump makes versus how much money he inherited.

Maybe Trump will release his returns, maybe he won’t. Maybe it will matter, maybe it won’t.


500 Days of Kristin, Day 398: The Book Is Kristin

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500 Days of Kristin, Day 398: The Book Is Kristin

If all goes according to (God’s) plan, Kristin Cavallari will release her debut book Balancing in Heels to the public on March 15. What can readers expect, besides pictures? Kristin recently told Bella New York magazine (NOT Bella LA magazine) the following:

The book is me. I’m real and raw about a lot of things I’ve never talked about, like my relationship. It’s kind of scary, but I hope it ends up being great, because it’s just me. There’s no sugar coating this.

Hope it ends up being great.


This has been 500 Days of Kristin.

[Photo via Getty]

Dow Chemicals Would Rather Pay Out $835 Million Than Face the Supreme Court Without Scalia

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Dow Chemicals Would Rather Pay Out $835 Million Than Face the Supreme Court Without Scalia

Dow Chemicals this week settled a billion-dollar lawsuit after determining, essentially, that it had no chance in front of a Supreme Court without Antonin Scalia.

Dow was challenging a 2013 order that required it to pay $1.06 billion as part of an antitrust suit concerning the sale of urethanes. (The company was accused of price fixing with four other companies but refused to admit liability; the other companies settled for a collective $135 million.)

But Dow, which was set to argue before the Supreme Court once the Court had decided a similar case, dropped its appeal today and settled with the plaintiffs in the case for $835 million. What inspired this change of heart? According to Bloomberg, it was the death of Scalia.

Scalia, of course, was not exactly a fan of class actions. Which is great news for the plaintiffs and terrible news for Dow, which was hoping the Court should reduce the award as part of a referendum on class action suits.

But alas, big plaintiff won this round.

“Growing political uncertainties due to recent events with the Supreme Court and increased likelihood for unfavorable outcomes for business involved in class-action suits have changed Dow’s risk assessment of the situation,” the company said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg.


In One Month We Will Begin Intentionally Starving Poor People

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In One Month We Will Begin Intentionally Starving Poor People

At the end of March, 22 states will begin imposing work requirements on people who want food stamps. Hundreds of thousands of people will likely lose their food aid.

http://gawker.com/study-the-war-...

The Wall Street Journal reports that starting on April 1, all of those states plan to reinstate a rule that had been set aside after the financial crisis led to mass unemployment: that adults with no dependents or disabilities are limited to “three months of food stamps in any three-year period—unless they work at least 80 hours a month, or meet education and training or volunteer benchmarks.”

Food stamps, by the way, are a government program that works extremely well.

If people are unable to find a job, it is cruel to force them to starve, and it is foolish to make a poor, unemployed, hungry person sit through classes that will not directly lead to a job, or spend their time volunteering, for no income, simply so they can have food to eat, but no money or free time to obtain it. The likely outcome of reinstating these rules: “The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that 500,000 to one million people will lose access to food stamps this year, citing the experience in states where work requirements already returned.”

This is the human cost of all of those years of right-wing rhetoric about fairy tale “welfare queens” ripping off the system. That rhetoric was used only for momentary political gain. But it engendered a deep belief in certain parts of the public that even food is too gracious of a gift for our poorest citizens. So now, hundreds of thousands of people will go hungry, so that some other, smaller number of better-off people can believe that they are not being ripped off by people they do not know and will never see.

Congratulations.

[Photo: AP]


How Long Should a Story Be?

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How Long Should a Story Be?

Some articles should be short. Some articles should be long. No articles, as Vox and its SB Nation demonstrated, should be longform. Greg Howard’s postmortem of SB Nation’s “Who Is Daniel Holtzclaw?” debacle offers lots of insights into how a story can go wrong, but the most concise may be his reporting that a freelancer for SB Nation’s now-closed Longform section “said that per the terms of his contract, the story had to be at least 4,000 words long.”

“At least 4,000 words long” is a bad number in an even worse formulation. Editors have traditionally sized up stories when making assignments—based on how interesting a piece seems likely to be, how much money they want to spend on it, and, in the olden days, how much physical space they had to fit the words into, around the ads—but an open-ended length is unhelpful to everyone. It’s like a cartoon cutout holding a ruler at the roller-coaster gate: Over this much, you’re a big-boy writer.

And 4,000 words, specifically, is a crummy benchmark for that. Somewhere in the mid 3,000s is a good, natural length, for writers and readers alike. A lot of pieces want to be that long. Three sections of 1,100 words; four sections of 800 words. Certainly by 3,800 there’s going to be a natural stopping point.

Out past 4,000 you’re slogging. Off in the distance is 5,000, a terrible milestone. On average, as a reader, you’re better off reading a 10,000-word piece than a 5,000-word one. Even in this age of fetishized sprawling longform, a 10,000-word piece is likelier to have been diligently edited than a 5,000-word one. Five thousand words is the piece you didn’t like or care about enough to cut down to 3,800.

Beyond 5,000 words, even if you’re a literary genius, you’d better have a really good art director.

People who think of themselves as writers get angry when someone suggests that long writing is not, in and of itself, a worthy goal. Some of the very best pieces of writing are very long. But so are many very bad ones. If you really want to prove you’re a writer, write 600 words. Nothing is harder to do than a strong 600 words.


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

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Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

Camping hammocks, wake-up lights, and a smarter meat thermometer kick off Friday’s best deals. Bookmark Kinja Deals and follow us on Twitter to never miss a deal. Commerce Content is independent of Editorial and Advertising, and if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here to learn more, and don’t forget to sign up for our email newsletter.

http://deals.kinja.com/todays-best-ap...


Top Deals


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

It’s already hammock season in some parts of the country, and the rest of you will get there soon enough. This Fox Outfitters double camping hammock comes with everything you need to relax in your yard, at the park, or on a camping trip, and Amazon’s marked it down to $48 as part of a Gold Box deal today.

This model normally sells for $60, and has a stellar 4.8 star rating on over 400 reviews. So lock in your order before they sell out, then sit back, relax, and await delivery. [Fox Outfitters Double Camping Hammock, $48]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PT110NG/...

Update: These colors are actually marked down to $40.

  • Khaki/Khaki
  • Sky Blue/Khaki
  • Blue/Yellow


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

Our readers have bought tens of thousands of Philips Wake-Up Lights, and for good reason! One model that’s flown under the radar though has been the HF3505, which is most similar to the $70 entry level model, but with the option to wake up to natural bird chirping sounds, or even the FM radio station of your choice.

http://bestsellers.kinja.com/bestsellers-ph...

http://gizmodo.com/a-light-up-ala...

This model normally sells for about $97, but Amazon’s marked it down to $80 today, one of the best prices they’ve ever listed. Believe me, it’s worth every penny. [Philips Wake-Up Light With Radio, $80]

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Wake-U...


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

While we generally recommend buying fresh beans, if you just want coffee without the fuss, Amazon’s taking and extra 25% off a nice variety of Lavazza whole bean coffee today. The coupon is in addition to any listed discounts, so you won’t see the final price until checkout. [Extra 25% off Lavazza Coffee Beans]

http://gear.kinja.com/buying-guide-g...

Don’t own a grinder? You can’t go wrong with the Baratza Encore.

http://www.amazon.com/Baratza-Encore...


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

It might not be as unobtrusive as your favorite USB car charger, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a 4.8A charger for $3 before. [Spigen 4.8A Dual Port Car Charger, $3 with code EWJWA4EV]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...

http://co-op.kinja.com/your-favorite-...


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

Admittedly, a 5-bay NAS is the definition of a niche product, but if you’re in the market, this Synology to $613 right now on Amazon, if you’re willing to wait out a backorder. That’s the lowest price ever listed, and well below its usual $770 price tag. [Synology Disk Station 5-Bay Network Attached Storage, $613]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

Need some drives to go with it? We recommend WD Reds.

http://www.amazon.com/Red-3TB-Hard-D...


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

Holy moly, this $80 stick of gum is actually a full-fledged Chrome OS computer that plugs directly into your TV’s HDMI port. Needless to say, it’s not the most powerful computer out there, but it’ll get the job done for video playback and basic computing tasks. Today’s discount isn’t exactly huge, but it’s one of the first deals Amazon’s ever offered, and an all-time low price. [ASUS CHROMEBIT CS10 RockChip 3288-C 2 GB LPDDR3L 16 GB eMMC Google Chrome OS Micro PC, $80]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0181JTPCU/...

http://gizmodo.com/googles-chrome...

Don’t forget that you’ll need a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse (or a combination like this thing) to control it.

http://www.amazon.com/QQ-Tech-Blueto...


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

While they might not conform to the classic look of our favorite chef’s knives, this Cuisinart Advantage knife set is anything but dull (get it?). You can own the whole collection today for just $15, an all-time low price

http://gizmodo.com/five-best-chef...

Don’t let the colors fool you, these knives are stainless steel, and extremely sharp. The set has a 4.7 star Amazon review average on over 1,900 reviews, and while the colors might not seem like your thing, they do help you keep track and avoid cross-contaminating food while you use them. [Cuisinart Advantage 12-Piece Knife Set, $15]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FLQ4EE6/...


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

ExOfficio’s Give-N-Go boxer briefs were a finalist in our recent best men’s underwear Co-Op, and $15 is one of the lowest prices we’ve seen on them. That’s still pricey for a single pair of underwear, but reviewers say it’s worth it. Note: I’m seeing the price on black, charcoal, white, and tango (red) colors, so if you don’t see your size in stock, keep clicking around. [ExOfficio Men’s Give-N-Go Boxer Brief, $15]

http://www.amazon.com/ExOfficio-Give...

http://co-op.kinja.com/four-best-mens...

Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

Unless you’re a professional chef, whenever it comes time to prod your meat with a thermometer to check its doneness, you probably have to pull out your phone and Google the proper temperature. This $7 thermometer though cuts out the middle man, and programs in rare, medium rare, medium, and well done temperatures for five different types of meat. That would be a great price for a thermometer without any added features, so there’s no downside here. [Tribesigns WDJ7009 Smart Digital Meat Thermometer, $7 with code OT6WGNN9]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XMSMF9G/...


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

Whether you enjoy camping, worry about power outages, or just like the idea of being off the grid, this $39 Aukey solar charger can juice up two phones at the same time. [Aukey 20W Dual USB Port Solar Charger for Smartphones, $39 with code RNW8NKKB]

http://www.amazon.com/Aukey-Dual-Sol...


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

For a limited time on Groupon, new members (i.e. just make a new account) can get a year of Xbox Live today for just $35 with promo code GROUPON10. That’s one of the best prices we’ve ever seen. [12-Month Xbox Live Gold Membership, $35 with code GROUPON10. New members only.]

https://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-12-mo...


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

I remember when $120 might get you a 128GB SSD, if you were lucky. Now, that’s good for half a terabyte. So go buy this thing and get off my lawn. [SanDisk Ultra II 480GB SATA III 2.5-Inch 7mm Height SSD, $119]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M8ABFX6/...


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

Amazon’s in-house magnetic earbuds are actually pretty great, not to mention one of the most popular items we’ve ever posted. They most frequently sell for around $19, but today only, you can get a pair for $13. [Amazon Premium Earbuds, $13]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HX0SRXW/...

http://gizmodo.com/the-amazon-fir...

This is actually part of a larger Gold Box deal on Kindle accessories, so be sure to check out the rest of the options. Some of the cases are good, but you can find better deals on USB cords and chargers. [Kindle Chargers, Cases, and Accessories are all On Sale Today]


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

We all know that buying your own modem can save you money in the long run, and to that end, we’ve posted a lot of deals on Motorola SURFboards over the last few years. Today though, this incredibly fast NETGEAR alternative is marked down to just $80, and might be worth a look.

http://gizmodo.com/5948616/how-to...

On paper, this actually supports nearly double the maximum download speed of the ultra-popular SB6141: 680mbps vs. 343. Odds are, your cable internet isn’t that fast right now, but you’re buying this to save money in the long run, so you want it to be as futureproof as possible. Just check with your ISP to make sure it’s compatible before you purchase; most maintain lists on their websites. [NETGEAR DOCSIS 3.0 High Speed Cable Modem, $80]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

Motion-sensing night lights are great for stumbling to the bathroom at night, sure, but they also work wonders in dark closets and cabinets. Today on Amazon, you can grab three of them for just $17. [OxyLED N08 Motion Sensing Night Light, 3 pack, $17 with code ETLKGUZ6]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014P7G4PS/


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

Best Buy is currently taking $300 off both the high-end and low-end 12" MacBook today, and if you have access to a .edu email address, you can save an additional $50 as well. That’s the best deal we’ve seen on the world’s most drool-worthy laptop. [$300 off Apple MacBook. Extra $50 discount for students.]

http://gizmodo.com/new-macbook-re...


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

If you still haven’t upgraded to 4K, this is one of the best deals we’ve seen to date. $900 gets you a Samsung 55" 4K smart TV, which is nearly $200 less than Amazon’s current price, and Dell will toss in a $400 promo gift card to sweeten the pot.

That gift card is only valid for 90 days, but you can use it on anything Dell sells, including video game consoles, computers, speaker systems, and a lot more. [Samsung 55" 4K Smart TV + $400 Dell Gift Card, $900]

Note: Sometimes, Dell pulls these deals without warning, so make sure you see the gift card in your cart before checking out.


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

We’re starting to see a few more PS4 deals than we used to, and if you’ve had your eye on Street Fighter V, this one is particularly enticing. You’ll actually be paying $10 more than you would for the bundle by itself, but between the headset and the extra game, you’re coming out way ahead. [PS4 Star Wars Battlefront Bundle + Street Fighter V + Sony Silver Wired Headset, $360]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3018791751...


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

You won’t need to break into a Jamba Juice to get a cheap smoothie, you just need this coupon. [$2 Off a Jamba Juice Smoothie, Juice Bowl or Oatmeal]


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

TriggerPoint’s “GRID” is one of the most popular foam rollers on the market, and Amazon’s offering the black 13" model for $30 today. You’ll even get some instructional videos to help you get started. [TriggerPoint GRID Foam Roller With Instructional Videos, $30]

http://www.amazon.com/TriggerPoint-R...


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

Before you head out on your next outdoor adventure, you might want to pick up some of this sub-$20 survival gear. I’m especially interested in the Gonex paracord grenade, which includes an eye knife, cotton tinder, flint, fishing tools, and more.

Gonex 550 Paracord Grenade Keychain Survival Bundle ($9) | Amazon | Use code CMDL75NY

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BBGOXZY

Outdoor Survival Paracord Bracelet with Fire Starter Scraper Whistle Kits ($7) | Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016ZA1WYQ/

Etekcity 1500L Water Personal Filter Purifier Chemical Free ($16) | Amazon | Use code I5PAYL2H

http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Perso...


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

Amazon’s in-house exercise bar is fairly priced at its usual $20, but for a limited time, they’re knocking it down to $16, the first discount they’ve ever offered. [AmazonBasics Pull-Up and Exercise Bar, $16]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R3N0782


Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

One of the only downsides of cast iron pans is that they can be a nightmare to clean, but this 4.6 star-rated chainmail scrubber can scrape away caked-on food without hurting your seasoning, or resorting to soap. [Hudson Cast Iron Cleaner XL 7x7 Premium Stainless Steel Chainmail Scrubber, $14]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...

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Today's Best Deals: Wake-Up Light, Chromebit, Camping Hammock, and More

Unlike those disposable chemical hand warmers, this Zippo lasts for up to 6 hours at a time, and can be reused by filling it with a splash of lighter fluid. Plus, it just looks really cool hot. [Zippo 6-Hour Chrome Hand Warmer, $10]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013HLGULG/...


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Who Cut CNN's Feed at the Donald Trump Rally Today?


Melissa Harris-Perry Blasts MSNBC Executives In Scathing Staff Memo

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Melissa Harris-Perry Blasts MSNBC Executives In Scathing Staff Memo
Photo credit: Associated Press

MSNBC host and Wake Forest professor Melissa Harris-Perry came out against her employer in a scathing staff-wide memo after the network repeatedly replaced her weeked morning show, Melissa-Harris Perry, with presidential campaign coverage—effectively leaving her without an outlet at the channel. In the memo, which was first reported by John Koblin of The New York Times and later published by a former staffer on Medium, Harris-Perry declared her refusal to host campaign coverage this weekend as a way of protesting MSNBC’s decision to leave her show hanging in limbo:

As you know by now, my name appears on the weekend schedule for MSNBC programming from South Carolina this Saturday and Sunday. I appreciate that many of you responded to this development with relief and enthusiasm. To know that you have missed working with me even a fraction of how much I’ve missed working with all of you is deeply moving. However, as of this morning, I do not have any intention of hosting this weekend.

After speculating that MSNBC scheduled her for Saturday’s programming in order to stave off media inquiries about her missing show, Harris-Perry calls out Andy Lack, the chairman of NBC News, and Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC, for using her as a P.R. prop:

The purpose of this decision seems to be to provide cover for MSNBC, not to provide voice for [Melissa Harris-Perry]. I will not be used as a tool for their purposes. I am not a token, mammy, or little brown bobble head. I am not owned by [Andy] Lack, [Phil] Griffin, or MSNBC. I love our show. I want it back. I have wept more tears than I can count and I find this deeply painful, but I don’t want back on air at any cost. I am only willing to return when that return happens under certain terms.

Later on, she adds, “The utter insulting absurdity of the past few weeks exceeds anything I can countenance,” and describes being shut out by MSNBC’s management: “I have hosted a weekly program on this network for four years and contributed to election coverage on this network for nearly eight years, but no one on the third floor has even returned an email, called me, or initiated or responded to any communication of any kind from me for nearly a month.”

Harris-Perry’s email was apparently prompted by CNN media reporter Dylan Byers’ recent attempts to figure out what was going on with Harris-Perry’s show. In response to the memo, an NBC spokesperson told Byers, “In this exciting and unpredictable presidential primary season, many of our daytime programs have been temporarily upended by breaking political coverage, including M.H.P. This reaction is really surprising, confusing and disappointing.” The network provided an identical statement to Gawker.

Besides the absence of her show (and the memo quoted above), the evidence of Harris-Perry’s strained relationship with MSNBC has been apparent in at least one other way. According to the service BioIsChanged.com, Harris-Perry removed “Host of @MHPShow”—her MSNBC show’s official Twitter handle—from her Twitter biography sometime in the past week.

If you know any more about Harris-Perry’s plans for MSNBC, or vice versa, please get in touch. In the meantime, you can read the host’s full memo here.

Donald Trump Is Really Racking Up the Racists

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Donald Trump Is Really Racking Up the Racists

Donald Trump’s army of racists grew by (at least) one on Friday, when noted bigot and Governor of Maine Paul LePage endorsed the presidential candidate.

LePage announced his endorsement on, of all places, “The Howie Carr Show,” becoming the second Republican governor to do so. The first, as we all know, is a loud, desperate man from New Jersey. LePage said:

“Now I get to defend all the good stuff he says...I think he could be one of the greatest presidents ever if he sits down and puts together a good team.”

Just last week, according to The New York Times, LePage was urging Republicans to oppose Trump:

At a meeting of Republican governors the next morning, Paul R. LePage of Maine called for action. Seated at a long boardroom table at the Willard Hotel, he erupted in frustration over the state of the 2016 race, saying Mr. Trump’s nomination would deeply wound the Republican Party. Mr. LePage urged the governors to draft an open letter “to the people,” disavowing Mr. Trump and his divisive brand of politics.

LePage has a long and storied past, full of slip-ups that suggest he is an obstinate bigot. In 2013, he reportedly said the President Barack Obama “hates white people,” and that the that the NAACP can “kiss [his] butt.”

On another occasion, the governor blamed his state’s raging heroin problem not on poor drug policies, but on men with names like “D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty,” who sell heroin in the state and “impregnate a young white girl before they leave.”

Other noted racists who have expressed support for Trump include white supremacist and former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke, leader of the white nationalist American Freedom Party William Johnson, and others. With all these racists on his side, Making America White Again has never been easier.

[Image via AP]


What a World

Masochist Will Stare at Ted Cruz's Face for Two Hours in the Name of Art

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Masochist Will Stare at Ted Cruz's Face for Two Hours in the Name of Art

Art is pain, pain is art, the face of Ted Cruz is painful art.

Tom Miller, a Gainesville, Florida-based performance artist, is taking on presidential candidate Ted Cruz head-on. In an exhibition that is as annoyingly self-promotional as it is actually funny, Miller will stare at Cruz’s smile for two hours next Friday without looking away.

“This is the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done,” Miller told The Huffington Post. “It’s like being caught on ‘It’s A Small World’ for two hours straight.”

The event is reportedly called a “Ted Gawk,” and it is not a good idea.


Melissa Harris-Perry Is Probably Not Coming Back to MSNBC

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Melissa Harris-Perry Is Probably Not Coming Back to MSNBC

After a very public spat with MSNBC over airtime, the television host Melissa Harris-Perry is probably not going to return to the network, or to her eponymous show.

Harris-Perry’s boycott was sparked by several instances in which MSNBC bumped her weekend morning show, Melissa-Harris Perry, replacing it with horserace election coverage. Harris-Perry walked off the show, which normally focuses on issues of social justice and racism.

Now, CNN reports that Harris-Perry is unlikely to return to the network:

Her MSNBC contract expires in October. Two sources agreed it is “highly unlikely” she will ever be back on the show.

Harris-Perry sent a scathing memo to the staff of her show earlier this week, saying “I do not have any intention of hosting this weekend.” She added that she was “only willing to return when that return happens under certain terms.”

I will not be used as a tool for their purposes. I am not a token, mammy, or little brown bobble head.

But if CNN’s sources are correct, that return may never come—at least, not to MSNBC.

[Image via Getty]


Jan Brewer, Famous for Making Up Stories About Beheadings, Endorses Trump

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Jan Brewer, Famous for Making Up Stories About Beheadings, Endorses Trump

Former Governor of Arizona and villain to immigrants everywhere and beheading rumor-monger Jan Brewer made a public statement on Saturday endorsing presidential candidate Donald Trump just hours after another openly xenophobic governor did the same.

Brewer’s camp issued a statement lamenting the state of America’s “open, bleeding border” in an email sent to Trump supporters.

For reference, Brewer is that same politician who once gave a train wreck of a speech during a debate in 2010.

[Image via Getty]


The Party's Over


Mean Marco Rubio Finally Arrives: Donald Trump 'Should Sue Whoever Did That to His Face'

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“You guys wanna have a little fun today?” said Marco Rubio, preparing his crowd for what would, undoubtedly, be a gut-busting round of political tom-foolery.

At a campaign event in Kennesaw, Georgia, on Saturday, the Republican presidential candidate bashed frontrunner Donald Trump, responding to comments made after last week’s Republican debate:

“Last night he was actually pretty calm after I punched him around a little bit. He’s learning how to spell, I guess. But he’s flying around on Hair Force One and tweeting.”

Hair Force One! Wow, that’s a new one. He went on:

“So here’s the one tweet he put out, he put out a picture of me having makeup put on me at the debate, which is amazing me to me, that the guy with the worst spray tan in America is attacking me for putting on makeup. Donald Trump likes to sue people; he should sue whoever did that to his face.”

True, Trump’s skin color is confounding at best. Rubio, however, should be careful about cracking any hair jokes—that could come back around to bite him.


Donald Trump Will Never Stop Retweeting White Supremacists

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Donald Trump Will Never Stop Retweeting White Supremacists

The combination of pudgy shrimp fingers, a new phone, and a reckless need for all-consuming attention means that Donald Trump’s Twitter is likely to veer off the rails at times. But amplifying the words of white supremacists to 6 million people is certainly a whole new category of mess.

On Saturday, the GOP presidential frontrunner retweeted an account supposedly belonging to someone named Neil Turner, a user who, like some other Trump’s supporters, is probably a white supremacist.

Turner, as it turns out, fills his feed with racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic memes, and regularly retweets the account of David Duke, former Grand Wizard of the Klu Klux Klan. His bio reads: “#PoliticalCorrectness is killing this country. It has to be stopped.#WhiteGenocide is real. Wake up!#Trump2016 #AltRight” and includes an iron cross, a former Nazi symbol often used to show support for white supremacy.

A conservative user first noticed the tweet, which has still not been deleted.

This isn’t the first, second, or third time Trump has retweeted a white supremacist’s account. It’s happened at least four times now, one of them from an account with the handle @WhiteGenocideTM.

None of the offending tweets have been removed, and they probably won’t be. In fact, this is almost definitely going to happen again.

[Image via Getty]

The First Successful Uterus Implant in the U.S. Just Happened in Cleveland

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The First Successful Uterus Implant in the U.S. Just Happened in Cleveland

There have been several successful uteri transplants in Sweden since 2014, and at least 4 babies born via the transplanted organs from live donors, but this is the first time we’ve done it state side. USA! USA! USA!

Of course, medical miracles don’t amaze everyone. The Cleveland Clinic completed their 9 hour surgery on an unnamed 26-year-old on Wednesday, and are waiting to see how she recovers before attempting to implant embryos created via IVF. But people have already been criticizing the necessity of the procedure. NPR reminds us of an interview with Dr. Michael Green of Massachusetts General Hospital from 2012:

‘Nobody needs a uterus to live, OK?’ Green says. ‘Nobody needs a hand or a face to live, in fairness. It’s a quality-of-life issue. This is in that same category. So we’ve opened the door. We’ve stepped through it. And this is one of the next logical things that people might do.’

He wonders whether health care dollars should be spent on uterine transplants when a woman who lacks a uterus can turn to a surrogate mother to provide her with a child — if she can afford it, that is.

They also note how expensive surrogacy is, how it can embroil parents in unexpected legal battles, and that in some places it’s actually illegal. Of course, a uterus implant doesn’t sound like it comes cheap, but potentially insurance companies could be obligated to pay for it in future. According to The New York Times, The Cleveland Hospital’s ethics panel has given permission to attempt the procedure only 10 times, as an experiment. So, only 9 more to go to figure out the morality of the situation.

In order to use her new uterus, which came from a deceased donor, the 26-year-old will need to take anti-rejection medication throughout her pregnancy. The uterus itself is a temporary thing. You have a couple babies if you can, then the uterus is removed or allowed to disintegrate in order to limit potentially harmful exposure to the medication. It’s a difficult ordeal with no promise of reward, and obviously deeply important to women seeking the procedure.

Incredible image via Shutterstock.


500 Days of Kristin, Day 399: The Beach 

J.J. Abrams: Star Wars Will Include Gay Characters, Get Over It

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J.J. Abrams: Star Wars Will Include Gay Characters, Get Over It

Star Wars will be an inclusive franchise and its future will include gay characters, according to J.J. Abrams, speaking earlier this week at the Oscar Wilde awards at Bad Robot Productions.

The Daily Beast noted that as The Force Awakens has been the first film in the franchise to utilize black and female leads, Abrams’ plans for inclusivity also extend to homosexual characters as well. “When I talk about inclusivity it’s not excluding gay characters. It’s about inclusivity. So of course.”

This is a big step for the franchise, and it’s something that’s long overdue for the franchise. The inclusion of gay characters is an addition to the worldview that simply recognizes how a part of the world identifies itself. It’s a recognition that will no doubt be the start of a micro-Twitter-tempest with the charge that Star Wars has given in to politically correct culture, while missing the point that despite the millions of alien species, worlds and languages, additional sexual orientations might exist in a Galaxy Far Far Away somewhere.

Homosexual characters have already been featured in the Star Wars universe; through Paul Kemp’s novel Lords of the Sith in the form of Moff Delian Mors, and in Chuck Wendig’s novel Aftermath through Sinjir Rath Velus and Esmelle Wexley. Wendig noted that it’s a growing trend in science fiction and comics:

You’re starting to see it more, obviously, in the larger narrative properties. Comics are just starting to figure out that that [LGBT men and women] exist in the world, and you can include and incorporate them in stories and speak to those people, and speak to audiences who may not have been spoken to before.

Indeed, you can draw earlier parallels from Star Wars’s Expanded Universe, where authors described plenty of human and alien couples, without comment.

How these couples and relationships will be portrayed in upcoming films remains to be seen, but while we don’t think that Finn and Poe will be a couple, hopefully we’ll be surprised.

[Daily Beast]


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