Source: Politico

Rep. Ilhan Omar is drawing criticism again for comments about Israel — this time suggesting that pro-Israel activists and lawmakers hold “allegiance to a foreign country.”

In a lengthy and blistering rebuke late Friday, Rep. Eliot Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Omar’s remarks amounted to a “vile anti-Semitic slur” and called on the Minnesota Democrat to apologize“

I welcome debate in Congress based on the merits of policy, but it’s unacceptable and deeply offensive to call into question the loyalty of fellow American citizens because of their political views, including support for the U.S.-Israel relationship,” said Engel (D-N.Y.), who is Jewish. “Her comments were outrageous and deeply hurtful, and I ask that she retract them, apologize, and commit to making her case on policy issues without resorting to attacks that have no place in the Foreign Affairs Committee or the House of Representatives."

A spokesman for Omar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.politico.com/amp/story/2019/03/01/ilhan-omar-anti-semitic-slur-1199495

Source: KPIX-TV

BERKELEY (CBS SF) — A man being sought for the assault of a conservative activist on the University of California, Berkeley campus last month has been arrested.

A statement from UC Berkeley Public Affairs said a warrant was issued for suspect Zachary Greenberg and UC police arrested him Friday, booking him into jail at 1 p. m.

Greenberg was identified as one of two men who confronted a conservative activist who had set up a table in Sproul Plaza. Hayden Williams, volunteer with conservative group Talking Points USA was displaying signs that read, “Hate Crimes Hoaxes Hurt Real Victims” – a reference to the Jussie Smollett case – and another saying “This is MAGA Country.”

Greenberg was seen on video landing two punches on Williams – one a glancing blow and another much harder directly on his face.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/03/01/conservative-activist-attack-uc-berkeley-arrest/amp/

---

Protip: This is not the best way to win an argument.

Source: Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — The producers of the TV show “Empire” said Friday that Jussie Smollett’s character will be removed from the final two episodes of this season “to avoid further disruption on set” after Smollett was accused of faking a racist, anti-gay attack on himself in Chicago.

“While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out. We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of ‘Jamal’ from the final two episodes of the season,” ″Empire” executive producers Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer said in a written statement.

“Empire” is filmed in Chicago.

Prosecutors charged Smollett late Wednesday with felony disorderly conduct — the charge that is used for filing a false police report. He turned himself in to police Thursday and was jailed until an afternoon court appearance.


Read more: https://apnews.com/1ab079e3da7b4fc59545685931593f76?utm_medium=AP&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter

---

I guess this means that he isn't getting that raise.

Florida Democrats are denouncing Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders for refusing to call Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro a dictator — a politically explosive issue in the nation’s biggest swing state.

Sanders also would not say whether he considered Venezuela’s assembly leader, Juan Guaidó, as the nation’s interim president, which is the position of the United States and a majority of Latin American countries European countries.

Both of Sanders’ positions play into the hands of President Trump and the GOP, say Democrats. The president just held a rally in Miami on Monday to denounce Maduro and socialism, an appeal to the state’s growing block of Venezuelan voters who've flocked to the state as Maduro brutally cracked down on dissent while the economy cratered.

More: https://www.politico.com/amp/story/2019/02/21/bernie-sanders-venezuela-maduro-1179636?__twitter_impression=true

Source: CNN

(CNN)New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker declined on Sunday to comment directly on reports that police believe actor Jussie Smollett paid two men to carry out a hoax assault on himself last month.

Smollett told authorities he was attacked in late January by two men who were "yelling out racial and homophobic slurs." Two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation told CNN on Saturday that Chicago Police believe Smollett paid two men to orchestrate the assault on him.

Booker, who is running for president, was one of several Democrats to weigh in on the initial reports of the attack on Smollett, tweeting that it was "an attempted modern-day lynching."

Asked as he campaigned in New Hampshire about the recent reports that the attack was a hoax, Booker said, "I'm going to withhold until all the information actually comes out from on the record sources."

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/17/politics/cory-booker-smollett/index.html

Source: CNN

(CNN) Two suspects have been arrested in connection to an attack reported by "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, Chicago Police Department said Friday.

The men arrested were the same men that police previously said were being viewed as "potential suspects," according to Tom Ahern, Chicago police communications deputy director.

They have not been charged

Earlier Friday, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said two Nigerian brothers were being treated as "potential suspects" and that detectives had "probable cause that they may have been involved in an alleged crime."


Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/02/15/entertainment/jussie-smollett-suspects/index.html

Conservative provocateur Ann Coulter fired shots at Trump on Friday for saying he’ll sign a bill that would avert another government shutdown and instead declaring a national emergency to build his Mexico border wall. Replying to a tweet that claimed “the goal of a national emergency is to end illegal immigration and cartel smuggling,” Coulter wrote that “no, the goal of a national emergency is for Trump to scam the stupidest people in his base for 2 more years.”

Source: Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he's ending the state's effort to build a high-speed rail line between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Newsom said Tuesday in his State of the State address it "would cost too much and take too long" to build the line long championed by his predecessor, Jerry Brown. Latest estimates pin the cost at $77 billion and completion in 2033.

Newsom says he wants to continue construction of the high-speed link from Merced to Bakersfield in California's Central Valley. He says building the line could bring economic transformation to the agricultural region.

And he says abandoning that portion of the project would require the state to return $3.5 billion in federal dollars.

Read more: https://abc30.com/amp/politics/california-state-of-the-state-gov-newsom-curtails-plan-for-high-speed-rail/5134386/?__twitter_impression=true

Source: The Hill

Freshman Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.) said Sunday that his colleague Rep. Ilhan Omar's tweet suggesting that a pro-Israel lobbying group was buying off lawmakers was "deeply hurtful to Jews," including himself.

"When someone uses hateful and offensive tropes against people of any faith, I will not be silent," Rose wrote on Twitter. "Congresswoman Omar's statements are deeply hurtful to Jews, including myself. Implying that Americans support Israel because of money alone is offensive enough. But go a step further, and retweet someone declaring their pain at her sentiment is truly unacceptable."

"At a time when anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise, our leaders should not be invoking hurtful stereotypes and caricatures of Jewish people to dismiss those who support Israel. In the Democratic Party - and in the United States of America - we celebrate the diversity of our people, and the Gods we pray to, as a strength. The Congresswoman's statements do not live up to that cherished ideal."

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/429358-dem-lawmaker-omars-statements-deeply-hurtful-to-jews

Source: NorthJersey.com

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has no choice but to resign after his yearbook page shows a man dressed in blackface and another person wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said on Friday night.

Appearing on "All in with Chris Hayes" on MSNBC, Murphy joined other politicians in calling for Northam to leave office.

"We’re the party of Barack Obama, we’re the party of inclusion," Murphy said.



Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.northjersey.com/amp/2749694002

---

Murphy is the next Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.