Popeyes chicken sandwich is officially sold out -- for now

(CNN)Well, if you didn't jump on the Popeyes chicken sandwich craze and wait in hour-long lines to sink your teeth into the fried chicken fillet on a brioche bun then you're too late. Popeyes is officially sold out -- for now.

The company released a statement on Tuesday that "extraordinary demand" for the sandwich led the company to be sold out in just two weeks since its nationwide debut on August 12.

Popeyes projected inventory would last till the end of September but the craze, fueled by social media, caused demand to exceed supply.

"As a result, Popeyes restaurants across the country are expected to sell out of the Chicken Sandwich by the end of this week," said the company in a statement. Many stores already have been without the product.

The war for who has the best chicken sandwich was ignited on Twitter earlier this month with Popeyes, Chick-fil-A and Wendy's all vying to be top dog. The demand for the Popeyes sandwich was so high that hour long lines were reported at some locations and even someone tried to sell the sandwich on eBay for $7,000.



https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/27/business/popeyes-chicken-sandwich-sold-out-trnd/index.html?utm_source=twCNN&utm_content=2019-08-28T03%3A25%3A18&utm_term=image&utm_medium=social

CO-SEN: Six women seeking Colorado Senate seat ask DSCC to reconsider endorsement of Hickenlooper

Six women seeking the Democratic nomination for a Senate seat from Colorado are calling on the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to reconsider its endorsement of former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, who joined the crowded primary field last week after dropping out of the presidential race.

In a letter timed Monday to coincide with Women’s Equality Day, the women suggested that gender was a factor in the DSCC’s decision to back Hickenlooper and accused the national organization of trying to stage “a coronation.”

“All of us, like many women in Colorado and across the country, have seen well-qualified women passed over for male candidates in the workplace time and again,” they wrote. “Those of us who have run for office before have been told to ‘wait our turn’ and ‘don’t rock the boat’ more times than we care to mention. Now, the DSCC, by its endorsement, is implying that we should defer to a male candidate because you seem to believe he is ‘more electable.’ Colorado has never had a woman United States Senator and one has to wonder if circumstances such as this have contributed to that unfortunate outcome.”

The letter is signed by candidates Diana Bray, Lorena Garcia, Alice Madden, Stephany Rose Spaulding, Michelle Ferrigno and Warren Angela Williams.

In a statement, DSCC spokeswoman Lauren Passalacqua called Hickenlooper “far and away the strongest candidate” to defeat Sen. Cory Cardner (R-Colo.) next year, adding: “We’re proud to support him in his run for Senate.”

A recent poll conducted by Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group for an unnamed national organization showed Hickenlooper with a massive lead in a potential Democratic Senate primary, favored by 61 percent of likely voters. The nearest rival came in at 10 percent.




https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/six-women-seeking-colorado-senate-seat-ask-dscc-to-reconsider-endorsement-of-hickenlooper/2019/08/27/89feff52-c8e4-11e9-a1fe-ca46e8d573c0_story.html

Analysis: 2020's real Texas House prize fights are in the general election -- not the GOP primaries

For all of the Republican talk about which GOP legislators are true enough to the conservative flag to deserve reelection next year, the real 2020 elections battle will come after the party primaries are over — in a general election where voters decide which party controls the Texas House.

This summer’s news about whether House leaders have a list of Republican members they wouldn’t mind replacing could, if it persists, give voters some reason to look to the Democrats.

Texas Democrats want to knock off enough Republicans in the Texas House next year to win a majority in the 2021 Legislature, which will be drawing political districts for the next 10 years. The House has 83 Republicans and 67 Democrats, so it would take nine flips to put the Democrats in control.

Last year’s election results exposed opportunities and vulnerabilities for both parties.

Look at how statewide candidates fared in each of the House’s 150 districts in the 2018 elections. Republicans won all of the statewide races by an average of 7.3 percentage points. But their district-by-district results show where the Republican brand is strong and weak. In 31 of those 150 districts, those statewide races were competitive, meaning the vote spread was under 10 percentage points: statewide Republicans won, on average, in 15 of them; Democrats in 16. In five of those districts, the statewide Republicans prevailed by 5 percentage points or less; in 8 of them, Democrats prevailed by 5 percentage points or less.

Four House members — Gina Calanni, D-Katy, and Republicans Dwayne Bohac of Houston, Angie Chen Button of Richardson and Morgan Meyer of Dallas — won in districts where their own party’s candidates, on average, were losing the races at the top of the ballot. Another Republican — Sarah Davis of West University Place — is even further out on the plank; she represents a district that statewide Democrats carried by an average of 9.8 percentage points.

The broadest list of prospective flips — those 31 seats where top-of-ballot results in 2018 were closer than 10 percentage points — include 18 held by Republicans and 13 held by Democrats.



https://www.texastribune.org/2019/08/26/2020s-real-texas-house-prize-fights-are-general-election/

Tweet of the Day

Election 2019: Virginia GOP Goes All-Out for Fear, Anger, Bigotry

With absolutely nothing positive to offer Virginians, and rightfully panicked that they’re on the verge of losing control of their last redoubts of political power in this state, Virginia Republicans are going for their time-(dis)honored, “go-to” strategy when there’s absolutely nothing else to say: ratchet up the fear, hysteria, anger and bigotry. See below for some current examples, including:

Far-right Del. Nick Freitas (R-HD30) ranting and raving about how, if Virginia House Democrats win on November 5, they’re going to “bring Antifa into leadership.” Freitas also is out there claiming that Democrats are going to do all kinds of horrible things, basically destroying the Virginia economy, taking everyone’s guns away from them, setting up abortion shops on every street corner or whatever, blah blah blah. Of course, it’s all 100% false and ridiculous, but that’s not going to stop Freitas from spewing away.

2016 Virginia Trump co-chair and right-wing radio host John Fredericks claiming that if Democrats take over the House and Senate, it means “a nuclear winter and political Armageddon.” Can they be any more blatant about their strategy, to crank up the fear and hysteria levels among their “base” to “11?”

Sen. Bryce Reeves (R-SD17) arguing hysterically that there will be “leftist radicals at the gates” if Democrats win on November 5. Sensing a pattern here?

Sen. Richard Stuart (R-SD28) attacking his Democratic opponent, Qasim Rashid, on what Stuart calls “Islamic terrorism”; on supposedly being a “radical socialist voice”; on supporting “open borders” and…of course, on supporting a proposal of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (she’s an all-purpose villain for Republicans right now).

Anyway, that appears to be the Virginia Republican game plan over the next 70 days. It’s complete crap, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be effective in energizing the Trumpster “base” to turn out and vote on November 5. Which means that Democrats are going to need strong messaging of our own, as well as a great ground game and other measures to make sure OUR base turns out in big numbers. Remember, this election is a huge opportunity for Democrats to finally take control of the state legislature and to pass strong, progressive legislation. Let’s not let Republican fear mongering and demagoguery win the day!



https://bluevirginia.us/2019/08/with-absolutely-nothing-positive-to-offer-panicked-theyre-going-to-lose-control-virginia-gop-goes-all-out-for-fear-anger-bigotry

KS-02: Former Kansas governor calls for primary challenge to Rep. Steve Watkins

Former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer is publicly encouraging Republican state Treasurer Jake LaTurner to abandon his campaign for Senate and instead primary Rep. Steve Watkins.

LaTurner, 31, is one of a handful of Republican candidates seeking to replace retiring GOP Sen. Pat Roberts. That list includes former Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who defeated Colyer in last year's gubernatorial primary only to lose the general election to Democrat Laura Kelly.

“The citizens of the 2nd Congressional District are solid, conservative folks who deserve to be represented by a Republican that shares their values,” Colyer said in a statement. “I’m calling on Jake LaTurner to end his campaign for the United States Senate and instead seek the Republican nomination for the United States House in the Second Congressional to ensure we keep the seat in Republican hands.”

Colyer’s statement didn’t mention Watkins by name but criticized the freshman for "poor fundraising and a lack of coalition building."



https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/27/former-kansas-governor-steve-watkins-1685564

Marvel reportedly working on Latina-led superhero series.

Marvel Studios is breaking the ice by developing new characters for both their Disney+ series and movie slate. In a few years, we are going to get to know Shang-Chi, Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, and The Eternals. And now, a new report from Geeks Worldwide just surfaced which details that a Miss America series is in development for Disney+.

The Latin American heroine, who is also known as America Chavez, is both a member of the Young Avengers and the Ultimates in the comics. Her powers include inter-reality transportation where she can open portals into alternate realities. This could be interesting as we already have several shows that tackle alternate realities namely What If?, Loki, WandaVision, and a certain Phase 4 movie in the form of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. All is certainly connected.

A team-up could also be in the cards in the future since she is a member of The Ultimates. Other team members are already in the MCU such as Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Monica Rambeau’s Spectrum which is set to debut on WandaVision. Basically, it’s a team the MCU has been setting up for some time now and high time we see them come together.



https://mcuexchange.com/rumor-miss-america-disney-plus/

Falwell Jr.'s skeleton comes running out of the closet.

LYNCHBURG, Va. (Reuters) - Evangelical leader and prominent Donald Trump backer Jerry Falwell Jr personally approved real estate transactions by his nonprofit Christian university that helped his personal fitness trainer obtain valuable university property, according to real estate records, internal university emails and interviews.

Around 2011, Falwell, president of Liberty University in Virginia, and his wife, Rebecca, began personal fitness training sessions with Benjamin Crosswhite, then a 23-year-old recent Liberty graduate. Now, after a series of university real estate transactions signed by Falwell, Crosswhite owns a sprawling 18-acre racquet sports and fitness facility on former Liberty property. Last year, a local bank approved a line of credit allowing Crosswhite's business to borrow as much as $2 million against the property.

Falwell, one of the most influential right-wing Christian leaders in the United States, has been buffeted by disclosures about his private dealings over the last year and a half.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1VH283

Obama introduces new initiative in fight against gerrymandering

Former President Obama on Monday announced a new initiative in a campaign to combat partisan gerrymandering.

"Training is at the heart of organizing. It’s why I’ve always made it a priority – from my 2008 campaign until now," Obama said in a tweet announcing Redistricting U, part of the All on the Line campaign.

Redistricting U will send trainers throughout the country to offer free, in-person instruction and help to volunteers involved in the redistricting process in states.

According to the campaign's website, the initiative is being pushed to empower individuals to "be leaders in the movement for fair maps."

“The movement for fair maps will determine the course of progress on every issue we care about for the next decade," Obama said. "And we can’t wait to begin organizing when the redistricting process starts in 2021. We need to build this movement from the ground up – right now.”

The All on The Line campaign, which was launched earlier this year, began after Organizing for Action, a group founded by former Obama aides, teamed up with the National Redistricting Action Fund (NRAF), an organization started by former Obama Attorney General Eric Holder.




https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/458905-obama-introduces-new-initiative-in-fight-against-gerrymandering

Trump approval hits new low among Virginians in Roanoke College poll

RICHMOND — Virginians’ dislike of President Trump is growing, according to a new statewide poll that suggests the head winds Republicans could face in crucial legislative elections this fall.

A Roanoke College poll released Monday found that more than half of potential Virginia voters — 53 percent — said they disapproved of Trump’s performance, while 27 percent said they approved. That is a new low for Trump in the Roanoke poll, down from a peak approval rating of 38 percent of Virginia adults overall when the college polled in February.

The president has been a drag on Republicans in statewide elections since 2016. This year is especially significant because all 140 seats in the General Assembly are on the Nov. 5 ballot. Democrats hope to take control of the legislature, with Republicans defending razor-thin majorities of 20 to 19 in the Senate and 51 to 48 in the House of Delegates, with one vacancy in each chamber.

The poll suggests that Democrats are not under a similar cloud from their own tainted party leadership. Gov. Ralph Northam, who faced a scandal in February over a racist photo from his 1984 medical school yearbook, is not nearly as toxic as Trump: Northam scored 37 percent approval versus 29 percent disapproval among possible voters in the Roanoke College poll.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/trump-approval-hits-new-low-among-virginians-in-roanoke-college-poll/2019/08/26/ce9f339a-c815-11e9-a1fe-ca46e8d573c0_story.html?wpisrc=nl_buzz&wpmm=1