I can safely declare that I’m not going to end up on any list of media dirtbags. Like most men I know, I have managed to have a professional career and personal relationships free of assault, harassment or even run-of-the-mill jerkiness.
I feel confident in saying that because all the recent news coverage of indefensible — and in many cases criminal — male behavior has caused many men like myself to do some personal, sober mental accounting. A lot of guys I’ve talked to have been auditing their past actions, which is great, although it’s largely for others to judge our behavior as we may have blind spots in the rear-view mirror.
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I tie my self-awareness on this front directly to being raised by my strong and supportive single mother.
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If we raised young boys to be sensitive, empathic and self-disciplined, we’d have fewer stories of men behaving badly
Disparaging reactions to Prince Harry’s relationship with actress Meghan Markle have highlighted the racism and class snobbery that persist in British society.
The American will become the first person who identifies as biracial to join the upper echelons of the U.K.’s royal family when she marries Harry in May.
But some black women said coverage of the Los Angeles native’s roots by some media outlets is indicative of the underlying racism that they experience daily.
“I feel like racism in the U.K. is pretty insidious,” said Paula Akpan, a co-founder of Black Girl Festival which celebrates black British women. She added racism tended to be “not as openly acknowledged” as in the U.S.
. Meghan Markle has described herself as a “strong, confident mixed-race woman.” George Pimentel / Getty Images Portrait file
President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Sergei Kislyak, the former Russian ambassador to the U.S. One of the alleged falsehoods that led to Flynn’s indictment appears to implicate Trump’s own son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner.
Court filings and multiple reports hint at an elaborate, multinational effort led by Flynn and Kushner to undermine then-President Barack Obama at the behest of then-President-elect Trump.
In December 2016, the United Nations Security Council was nearing a vote on a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The Obama administration, then in its last full month in office, had decided not to veto the resolution, a landmark shift in U.S. policy toward Israel.
Jimmy Kimmel has set his sights on U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore.
The late-night host fired off a tweet on Thursday afternoon in response to a Breitbart article that Moore shared moments earlier with his nearly 68,000 Twitter followers. The Republican candidate called out Kimmel in his tweet saying, “@jimmykimmel If you want to mock our Christian values, come down here to Alabama and do it man to man. #ALSen.”
Without missing a beat, Kimmel tweeted back, “Sounds great Roy – let me know when you get some Christian values and I’ll be there!”
Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty on Friday in federal court to a charge of making false statements to the FBI about his communications with Russia.
Flynn had contacted the Russians at the urging of two top transition officials, according to a court document. Two people familiar with the matter say one of the officials referenced in the document is Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser.
In pleading guilty, Flynn became the first senior White House official to agree to cooperate with the special counsel’s investigation into Moscow’s meddling into the 2016 presidential election.
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Flynn pleads guilty to lying to FBI, enters plea deal with Mueller team
Music mogul Russell Simmons said in a statement Thursday that he was stepping down from the entertainment and clothing companies he founded after another sexual harassment allegation against him.
Writer Jenny Lumet said in a Hollywood Reporter column published Thursday that Simmons sexually violated her in 1991. In her detailed account, Lumet said Simmons offered her a ride home from a New York City restaurant, but took her to his apartment instead.
“Alone in the elevator, you pressed me into the corner with your body, your hands and your mouth,” she wrote.
Lumet said Simmons then had sex with her without her consent.
Two additional women have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), including an Army veteran who says she was groped while deployed overseas and a former elected official who told a news outlet that he tried to kiss her.
The women’s accounts bring the number of accusers against the senator to six as of Thursday.
Army veteran Stephanie Kemplin, 41, of Maineville, Ohio, told CNN that in 2003 she was posing with the then-comedian for a photo in Kuwait, where he was visiting troops with the USO, when he cupped her breast.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Thursday that he will support the Senate tax reform bill.
“After careful thought and consideration, I have decided to support the Senate tax reform bill,” he said in a statement. “I believe this legislation, though far from perfect, would enhance American competitiveness, boost the economy, and provide long overdue tax relief for middle class families.”
The controversial bill would mostly cut taxes for corporations and wealthy Americans. A vote on its final passage could happen as early as Thursday.
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Alex Wong via Getty Images
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) speaking at an event in Arlington, Virginia, earlier this month.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that veteran Democratic Rep. John Conyers (Mich.) should resign in response to multiple sexual misconduct allegations from former female staffers.
“Congressman Conyers should resign,” she said during a news conference on Capitol Hill.
Calling the allegations “serious, disappointing and very credible,” Pelosi told reporters that “the brave women who came forward are owed justice.”
It was a reversal from earlier this week, when Pelosi defended Conyers, calling him “an icon” on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” She refused to say then whether he should resign or whether she believed the women who have come forward with the allegations. She later issued a revised statement affirming that she believed one of the accusers, Melanie Sloan, an attorney who worked for Conyers on the House Judiciary Committee.
The White House has developed a plan to force out Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, whose relationship with President Trump has been strained, and replace him with Mike Pompeo, the C.I.A. director, perhaps within the next several weeks, senior administration officials said on Thursday.
Mr. Pompeo would probably be succeeded at the C.I.A. by Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas and key ally of the president on national security matters, according to the White House plan. Mr. Cotton has signaled that he would accept the job if offered, said the officials, who insisted on anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations before decisions are announced.
Mr. Trump has not signed off on the plan developed by John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, officials said, but the president is said to have soured on Mr. Tillerson and is ready to make a change at the State Department. Mr. Trump spoke harshly about Mr. Tillerson in front of White House aides as recently as Thursday but did not seem ready yet to replace him, according to one person close to the president.
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If we raised young boys to be sensitive, empathic and self-disciplined, we’d have fewer stories of men behaving badly
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Alex Wong via Getty Images
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James' World 2 