The past two days for Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib have well reflected their time in office so far. That is to say, they’ve faced intense and often discriminatory opposition from domestic and international politicians, but more than that, they’ve proven their ability to lead even when it’s unpopular. Making headlines today is the ongoing controversy over the Congresswomen’s trip to Israel planned by the Palestinian organization Miftah. The two have been seen as divisive on the topic of Israel because of their support...

Whether you create content for the platform or simply enjoy the videos of animals skateboarding, it shouldn’t come as a shock that YouTube is the world’s largest video streaming site, averaging at 2 billion monthly viewers. With that level of traffic, the power and influence YouTube has over the creatives, who use its services, is undeniable. The algorithmic workings of YouTube’s software are a well-kept secret, but we do know the site can and will promote the content it deems favorable and suppress the material...

Over the weekend, two mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas killed 31 people and left dozens injured. Mass shootings in the US are disturbingly common, and when the subsequent wave of ‘thoughts and prayers’ rises again without any substantial action, disillusionment deepens. We watch as the same steps taken to address the scope and scale of this violence fail to yield any transformative gun laws. And every morbidly familiar headline echoes in that legislative vacancy. We aren’t learning anything new from this: we’ve...

Last night in Detroit, ten candidates took the stage for the second Democratic primary debate. Like the first debate, CNN distributed the candidates over two days, so you’ll have to tune in tonight to hear from the remaining presidential hopefuls. Here’s the break down: Night 1, Tuesday, July 30: Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Marianne Williamson, Steve Bullock, John Delaney, Tim Ryan, Beto O’Rourke, John Hickenlooper Night 2, Wednesday, July 31: Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Julián Castro, Andrew Yang, Cory Booker, Michael Bennet, Bill de Blasio,...

Strap in for the tale of Jeanne de Clisson, the gentile noble lady-turned-warrior pirate and traitor. Game of Thrones’ Cersei has nothing on this vengeful woman.  We’ll be travelling to 14th century France to meet a lady who took the term ‘woman scorned‘ and ran way past the line with it, going from a rich noble-born to making a name for herself as both France’s number one enemy and a fearless swashbuckling pirate! Ready? Let’s get to it, then. Born in Brittany, France, in 1300 to wealthy, titled parents, Maurice IV of Belleville-Montaigu and Létice de...

  Last Tuesday, Attorney General William P. Barr ordered that the Department of Justice drop its investigation into the death of Eric Garner. Daniel Pantaleo, the white NYPD officer who threw Garner to the pavement in a chokehold, will face no federal charges. Since Garner’s death in July of 2014, Pantaleo has remained on the New York police force on desk duty. For five years, he has been collecting paychecks and pension benefits.  To justify the decision, prosecutors claimed there was “insufficient evidence to prove beyond a...

The excellently named Sophia Dorothea was born in 1666, the only child of the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who ruled the Celle portion of the Duchy of Brunswick. Sophia’s mother was the Duke’s long-standing mistress, Éléonore Marie d’Esmier d’Olbreuse, who he quickly married after Sophia’s birth. It was a scandalous start to a life that would see Royal coverups, affairs, and murder, with Sophia cementing her place in history as England’s lost Queen. By the time Sophia reached marrying age she was something of a certified beauty, skilled...

  Over the weekend, Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism leaked almost 900 pages of messages that reveal Governor Ricardo Rosselló exchanging misogynistic comments and slurs with members of his inner circle. The thousands of texts, sent through the encrypted messaging system Telegram, include homophobic taunts, slights toward political rivals, and jokes about the dead from Hurricane Maria. The private chat group included Rosselló and 11 top aides, including Rosselló’s secretary of state, a former fiscal officer, a former communications aide, the current Interior Secretary, and the...

On Sunday, Trump directed a racist Twitter attack at four Democratic Congresswomen: representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Ayanna S. Pressley of Massachusetts. In a series of three tweets, Trump implicitly refers to the clash between Nancy Pelosi and the four freshmen Congresswomen. Explicitly, he wields white supremacist rhetoric: So interesting to see “Progressive” Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in...

  New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was served a lawsuit on Tuesday after blocking former New York state assemblyman Dov Hikind on Twitter. Suing on the grounds of First Amendment violations, Hikind is seeking restitution for his “viewpoint-based restriction” from AOC’s account, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit lists author Elizabeth Wheeler, journalist Harry Cherry, reporter Ryan Saavedra, and the student group “Students for Trump” as further examples of Twitter users critical of AOC who have been similarly blocked by the elected official. Republican congressional hopeful Joseph...