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Justice Department: Russian Network RT Must Register as Foreign Agent

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Photo courtesy the Kremlin.

The Department of Justice announced that the owners of the Russian state-owned network RT must register as a foreign agent, suggesting all their content would be labelled as Russian propaganda.

To date, media organizations have largely been exempt from registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which focuses primarily on political consultants, lobbyists and public relations professionals working for foreign states.

Registration would not halt RT from broadcasting in the U.S., but would require regularly-submitted government paperwork listing sources of revenue from foreign governments and contacts within the United States.  The Act also would require any reporting to be labeled as financed by the Russian government.

Failing to file the paperwork would be a felony.

New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen said of the Justice probe, “We can’t allow foreign agents, particularly those working on behalf of our adversaries, to skirt our laws.  Every new revelantion about Russia’s use of propaganda to influence the 2016 election further highlights the need of the federal government to bolster its enforcement of FARA.”

The U.S. intelligence community issued a report in January calling RT a “state-run propaganda machine.”  It said the network “has positioned itself as a domestic U.S. channel and has deliberately sought to obscure any legal ties to the Russian Government.”

The Foreign Agents Registration Act was enacted prior to World War II in an initial effort to combat Nazi propaganda intended to sway American public sentiment.

Hope Hicks Named White House Communications Director

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James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. Photo courtesy White House.

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that longtime aide Hope Hicks will become the official White House communications director.

Currently the White House director of strategic communications, Hicks has been serving as interim communications director after the firing of Anthony Scaramucci in August.

Hicks has worked for Trump even before his campaign for president, starting as public relations and model for Ivanka Trump’s fashion label.  As Trump started his campaign for president, Hicks joined as campaign press secretary.

There has been significant turnover in the White House press team, with the first communications director, Mike Dubke, leaving last May, followed by Scaramucci serving 10 days in that role. Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer also resigned in July.

Miss North Dakota Cara Mund Crowned Miss America 2018

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Photo courtesy Cara Mund via Twitter.

Celebrations and congratulations flowed Sunday night in Atlantic City as Miss North Dakota, Cara Mund was crowned 2018’s Miss America.  Last night was the first time in pageant history that Miss North Dakota has ever won the coveted tiara.

A Brown University graduate heading to law school following her reign, Mund said she hopes to one day become the first woman elected governor of North Dakota.  She showed political savvy and determination when asked about President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accords earlier this year.

Referencing the decision to withdraw from the climate accords, the newly-crowned Miss America said: “It’s a bad decision.  There is evidence that climate change is existing, and we need to be at that table.”

She told reporters at Boardwalk Hall following the ceremony that it was her desire to provide a factual and honest answer to the question posed, instead of glossing over her answer.

“My onstage question answer was just my personal opinion,” she told The Associated Press in an interview. “I think everyone has a right to think what they want. But it’s important to have a spot at the negotiating table. This isn’t necessarily: ‘Does climate change exist or not?’ but rather the fact that we’re going to keep our Earth clean for future generations, and I just think it’s really important that we have a seat there. To pull out, I think, is just really unfortunate.”

Behind Mund, the other top five 2018 Miss American contestants were first runner-up Miss Missouri Jennifer Davis, second runner-up Miss New Jersey Kaitlyn Schoeffel, third runner-up Miss District of Columbia Briana Kinsey, and fourth runner-up Miss Texas Margana Wood.

The panel of judges for the 2018 pageant included country singer Thomas Rhett, actress and author Molly Sims, Grammy-nominated singer Jordin Sparks, People Magazine’s editor in chief Jess Cagle, CEO of AfterBuzz TV Maria Menounos, Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri and Olympic gold medalist, Tara Lipinski.

The Miss America Organization, alongside The Miss America Foundation and its 52 licensed organizations, is the nation’s largest provider of scholarship assistance to young women, awarding millions annually for young female scholars across the country and around the world.  The Foundation provides academic and community-based scholarships for undergraduate and graduate studies, as well as endowed scholarships for young women entering medical school, working in special areas for military service awareness and the performing arts.

‘The Weather Channel’ Viewership Surges During Hurricanes

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Photo courtesy Pixabay

Cable television viewers flocked to The Weather Channel last week, driven primarily by concerns over recent hurricanes bombarding huge portions of the United States.

The channel had averaged approximately 150,000 viewers in prime time throughout July.  Last week, according to Nielsen ratings, roughly 1.3 million people tuned in during peak hours – nearly a ten-time spike in viewers.

The Weather Channel has featured 24-hour coverage of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma during the past few weeks.  Nearly 70 reporters and producers have deployed to Texas, Louisiana and Florida to cover both of the deadly and devastating storms blasting the region.

“People are tired,” said Nora Zimmett, senior vice president of programming for the Weather Channel.  “But there is an adrenaline that comes with an event like this.”

Every Former Living U.S. President Launch Joint Campaign for Hurricane Relief Effort

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Photo by Eric Draper, courtesy the White House.

All five living former presidents – Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama – have joined together to launch a campaign urging support for those impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

As stated on the website for the appeal, “Every storm is unique, but a look at Hurricane Harvey’s unprecedented intensity helps explain why the One America Appeal came to life.”

A special account was established to collect donations through the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation, with the goal “to ensure that 100 cents out of every dollar goes to assist hurricane victims.”  The funds collected will go to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, focusing on the greater Houston region, along with the Rebuild Texas Fund.

With the onset of Hurricane Irma to reach the Florida coast this weekend, the appeal likely will expand to these victims as well.

You can learn more about the One America Appeal by clicking here.

‘The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’ Adds New Correspondent Dulce’ Sloan

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Photo courtesy Comedy Central.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah just added new correspondent Dulce’ Sloan to the roster, with her scheduled to debut this week with an in-studio desk piece.

According to a release issued by Comedy Central,

“Sloan is truly a unique emerging voice in the world of comedy.  She offers a fresh and honest perspective, bringing her signature point-of-view and confidence to commentary on a wide range of topics.”

Sloan was recognized by Rolling Stone as one of the ten comedians you need to know, as well as “New Face” at Montreal’s 2015 comedy festival Just for Laughs, and also as a correspondent at E! News Daily.  She has appeared on Conan, Steve Harvey, @midnight, and truTV’s Comedy Knockout.  Most recently, Sloan was cast in the Fox comedy pilot Type-A alongside Eva Longoria, Andy Richter and Ken Marino.

‘The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’ airs on Comedy Central Monday through Thursday at 11:00 P.M. EST and is available to stream the following day at thedailyshow.com.

Juleanna Glover: How Trump Can Win in the Middle East

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Christopher Reiter, Juleanna Glover and Sally Quinn. Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

Notable corporate public affairs consultant and former VP Cheney adviser Juleanna Glover writes in Politico Magazine that even as the Trump administration focuses attention on several international threats, “it is poised to blow a rare opportunity in the Middle East.”

“With some smart statecraft over the next month, the United States could at once isolate an adversary, solidify a long-standing alliance and begin to usher a new, friendly democracy into a historically fractious region. Instead, Washington is stubbornly sticking to a years-old policy, even though it has already been made obsolete by events on the ground,” Glover warns.

The regional government of Kurdistan (KRG) will hold a referendum on independence from Iraq September 25th.  While the Kurds are noted as strong U.S. allies — including supporting American efforts in Iraq even back in 1990 — the United States government has been unenthusiastic regarding this current bid for independence.

The reasoning by to the State Department, Glover points out, is “a worn-out phrase: ‘support [for] a unified, stable, democratic, and a federal Iraq.’”  Put another way, the U.S. position is that the Kurdish referendum is an internal Iraqi situation, not one needing to be addressed by the Trump administration.

Glover concludes that now is the time for the United States to support an emerging and unshakably U.S.-allied nation in the Middle East.  “The question is whether it will act to support the KRG—or watch as the Revolutionary Guards subsume the Kurds along with the rest of Iraq.”

You can read Glover’s entire column at Politico Magazine here:  http://politi.co/2wULv9H

Mass Layoffs at Glenn Beck’s “The Blaze”

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Photo courtesy Wikimedia.

Glenn Beck, founder of the conservative multi-platform news and entertainment network The Blaze, announced Thursday his company would conduct mass layoffs.

“Today, we said goodbye to just over 20 percent of the combined workforce of Mercury Radio Arts and TheBlaze,” Beck said in a press release.

The one-time Fox News and HLN host suggested his network “needed to become more nimble and drastically adjust our approach to keep pace with the massive changes unfolding before us.”

The Blaze TV is struggling for ratings especially due to not being carried on major cable companies such as Comcast, Time Warner and Cablevision.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Most-Watched Show in Cable News in August

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Rachel Maddow speaking at SWSX. Photo courtesy Wikimedia.

Rachel Maddow had the most-watched show in cable news for the month, with 2.783 million total viewers in August, according to data released by Nielsen Media Research.  This marks the second consecutive month the MSNBC host landed at the top spot.

Closely behind was Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, with 2.679 million total viewers.  Rounding out the top five news shows were Fox News’ Tucker Carlson (2.483 million), MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell (2.352 million) and Fox News’ The Five (2.351 million).

Maddow also was first among adults 25-54, a critical demographic for advertisers.

Fox News Channel edged out competitors including MSNBC and CNN for top overall cable network for the month, averaging 2.2 million viewers in prime time.  Fox has been the top-rated cable network based on total day ratings for 14 consecutive months and most watched cable news channel in both total day and prime viewers.

Top UN Human Rights Official: Freedom of Press Under Attack by Trump

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Photo courtesy John Gillespie.

The top human rights official at the United Nations stated that freedom of the press is under attack by U.S. President Donald Trump.

”It’s really quite amazing when you think that freedom of the press, not only sort of a cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution but very much something that the United States defended over the years is now itself under attack from the President,” said Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

He continued, “it’s sort of a stunning turnaround.  And ultimately the sequence is a dangerous one.”

President Trump has consistently attacked the mainstream media, even before his inauguration as a candidate.  His standard response to news stories that aren’t positive of him or the administration consists of him ripping the media as “fake news” and accusing journalists of being unpatriotic.

At a political rally in Phoenix last week, Trump claimed that journalists are “truly dishonest people” following criticisms of his response to a white supremacist rally in Virginia where he blamed “both sides” for the violence.  One woman was killed when a man attending the rally drove his car through a crowd of counter-protestors.