Politics

How does the man who wrote “Rockin’ in the Free World” feel about the putative leader of the free world? There hasn’t been much doubt about that, as Neil Young has made headlines several times for his resistance to having his songs played at Donald Trump rallies, as they mysteriously often are. Last week, he

The U.K. government has taken swift action as the country recorded the highest number of fresh coronavirus cases since June on Thursday, with a spike of 846 new cases. Face coverings will now be compulsory in museums, galleries, cinemas and places of worship from Aug. 8, it was confirmed Friday. The new safeguards will be

Herman Cain, the Godfather’s Pizza chief who launched an improbable run for the White House, has died of coronavirus. He was 74. Cain briefly vaulted to the top of the pack of Republic presidential contenders in 2011 on the strength of his catchy 9–9–9 tax plan, which advocated replacing taxes with a 9% personal income tax, 9%

Facebook’s $1 billion deal to buy Instagram in April 2012 became a focal point of the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust hearing Wednesday with major tech company CEOs. The committee disclosed emails from Mark Zuckerberg revealing that the Facebook CEO was concerned that the photo-sharing app would become a significant competitor. Referring to email communications provided

What do Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Lionel Richie, Courtney Love, Panic! at the Disco, Pearl Jam, Sia, Aerosmith, Lorde and Linkin Park have in common? Among probably many other things, one definite is a desire for politicians to keep their grubby hands off their music. (Unless, perhaps, they ask nicely.) Those and dozens of

Twitter restricted the ability of Donald Trump Jr. to tweet for a 12-hour period, after the president’s son posted a video spreading misinformation about the effects of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. The social network has required Trump Jr. to delete the tweet with the video, which violated Twitter’s rules about sharing harmful info related to

Malaysian authorities have largely reversed a ruling made last week that would have required every conceivable form of film-making to apply for licenses and shooting permits. “Social media users such as those of TikTok, YouTube are free to use the platforms to produce and upload videos as usual without the need to apply for a

The National Association of Theatre Owners, the exhibition industry’s main lobbying group, has announced moviegoers have sent more than 200,000 letters to Congress in support of legislative relief measures for cinemas. NATO used the social media tag #SaveYourCinema to enlist movie patrons to urge Congress to enact the Restart Act to give movie theaters access

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has announced he is holding off on imposing a stay-at-home order on the city, citing a decline in positivity rates in local COVID-19 testing results Garcetti, in a news conference late Wednesday afternoon at Los Angeles City Hall, said the seven-day average of positive tests had declined to 10% from

Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood led a protest in London on Tuesday in support of incarcerated WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The 79-year-old Westwood, dressed in a canary yellow outfit, chanted slogans of protest such as “Free Julian Assange!” while being suspended in a giant birdcage outside London’s Old Bailey criminal court. Westwood, a longtime supporter of

Disney World visitors can no longer eat and drink while walking around the theme park because too many people weren’t wearing face masks. The park’s website updated its face mask policy, as noted by several Disney World fan blogs over the weekend. It still allows guests to remove their face masks while eating or drinking,

Roger Stone, a former Trump campaign consultant whose prison sentence was commuted by the president, used a racial slur during an interview on “The Mo’Kelly Show.” While speaking with host Mo’Kelly, whose real name is Morris W. O’Kelly, Stone seemed to get frustrated by a question about his relationship with Trump and commuted sentence and

After news broke that John Lewis had died on Friday, celebrities and politicians alike took to social media to remember the civil rights pioneer and Georgia representative. Lewis died at age 80 of pancreatic cancer after announcing his diagnosis in December. He helped lead the non-violent civil rights protest movement of the 1960s alongside Martin

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been transported to the hospital and treated for a possible infection. “Justice Ginsburg was admitted to The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, early this morning for treatment of a possible infection,” spokeswoman Kathleen Arberg told CNN on Tuesday. “She was initially evaluated at Sibley Memorial Hospital in

A coalition of activists, leaders and artists launched Momento Latino on Monday to address issues facing the Latino community in the U.S., particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Democratic National Committee former finance chairman Henry R. Muñoz III was joined by Eva Longoria Baston and Rep. Joaquin Castro to announce the new organization

Facebook is considering a prohibition on political ads on its platforms, according to multiple media reports. If the social media giant made such a move, it would be a significant about-face to the company’s long-held laissez-faire approach to political ads and political speech more broadly, coming just months ahead of the 2020 U.S. elections. Facebook

The U.S. Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are investigating whether popular app TikTok failed to comply with a 2019 agreement to protect children’s privacy. In May, advocacy groups including the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood asked the FTC to examine whether TikTok failed to delete videos and personal data from users aged 13

Facebook kicked Roger Stone, the Donald Trump associate who faces prison time after being convicted of seven felonies, off Facebook and Instagram. The company said it had found evidence that Stone was behind a network of fake accounts in the U.S. designed make themselves appear “more popular than they were.” The company said it “identified

Uzo Aduba knows about transformation. She was practically unrecognizable as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren, her breakout role on “Orange Is the New Black” that earned her two Emmys. Now the 39-year-old actor might be headed back to the awards circuit with “Mrs. America” for portraying the late Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to be

Hong Kong’s new National Security Law gives the city’s police enhanced powers and greater reach into cyberspace. The Special Administrative Region’s government put into effect Article 43 of the new law on Monday night when it gazetted a range of new measures. Its objective is “preventing, suppressing and imposing punishment for any acts and activities

Massively popular video sharing app TikTok may pull out of Hong Kong within a matter of days. “In light of recent events, we’ve decided to stop operations of the TikTok app in Hong Kong,” a company spokesman told the Reuters news agency. The source said the move was made because it was not clear if

Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and Google said Monday they have “paused” their processing of requests for user data from Hong Kong law enforcement agencies, days after Beijing’s controversial new national security law came into force in the territory. WhatsApp is “pausing” reviews “pending further assessment of the impact of the National Security Law, including formal human-rights

Kanye West’s Yeezy, STX Entertainment, New Regency and Laemmle Theatres are among the companies that received loans from the Paycheck Protection Program, according to data released by the Small Business Administration on Monday. STX received $2-5 million on April 9, shortly before it announced it would merge with India’s Eros International. The company indicated that

The U.K. government has unveiled a £1.57 billion ($1.96 billion) support package for the country’s beleaguered arts sector. U.K. Chancellor Rishi Sunak tweeted news of the package on Sunday evening: “We’re introducing a world-leading £1.57 billion rescue package to help cultural, arts and heritage institutions weather the impact of coronavirus.” The lifeline follows months of

There’s never a bad time for finding wisdom that heals our wounds and helps us chart a path through the rough patches of life, but so far, 2020 seems an uncommonly rich opportunity for us to plumb wellsprings of personal growth, a time when necessity is quite the mother for all kinds of inventions and

Big Tech’s four biggest executives may soon be in the congressional hot seat, with the CEOs of Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Google set to appear before a House Judiciary Committee hearing as part of its antitrust investigation. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, and Google’s Sundar Pichai (who also is chief exec

As the coronavirus infection rate rises across Los Angeles County, the city of West Hollywood has instituted a fine for people who are on city streets without a face mask or covering. The city said Wednesday it would issue an “administrative citation” to those who are not conforming. The citation will be $250 for first-time

Jeffrey Epstein’s long-time confidante and ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell has been arrested in connection with an investigation into the disgraced financier. According to NBC News, which was first to report the news, the British national was arrested on Thursday morning. She was taken into custody and is expected to appear in federal court later Thursday. Citing

Another one of Donald Trump’s tweets has run afoul of copyright laws. On Wednesday, Twitter pulled down a photo Trump posted of himself included in a June 30 tweet, after the New York Times Co. filed a DMCA takedown request reporting the president’s post as infringing its copyright. “Media not displayed: This image has been

Amid surging COVID-19 transmission rates, California Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered the closure of dine-in restaurant service and movie theaters in Los Angeles County and 18 other counties for three weeks. Newsom announced the closures Wednesday, two days ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, at his daily news conference in Sacramento. He also said