Jared Kushner Under FBI Scrutiny

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and one of his closest advisers, is under FBI scrutiny regarding the Russia probe. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Kushner has done anything wrong, rather that investigators believe he has information related to the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. According to people with knowledge of the investigation who spoke to the Chicago Tribune, Kushner “is being investigated because of the extent and nature of his interactions with the Russians.” The FBI has yet to comment.

Last week, sources told the Washington Post that one of Trump’s senior advisers was under scrutiny; many hypothesized that it was Kushner. There has also been speculation that the investigators are looking into possible financial crimes on Kushner’s part, including a possible failure to disclose certain loans and assets.

The FBI turns its attention to Jared Kushner, @ariabendix reports https://t.co/WuGpKn8Mqk pic.twitter.com/NbMiYWEFNG

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) May 26, 2017

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: May 26, 2017 appeared first on Law Street.

Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

The Search for Steve Stephens Continues

Police officers in Cleveland are looking for a suspect who fatally shot an elderly man yesterday and shared the murder on Facebook. The suspect, Steve Stephens, claimed that he was going to kill more people and police have warned the public against approaching him, as he is armed and dangerous. He is believed to have left the state and the warning has been expanded to the whole Midwest.

Cleveland police chief says they know Steve Stephens is out there: “We talked to him via cell phone.” pic.twitter.com/Hwxn4oL9jK

— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 17, 2017

The disturbing Facebook video has been taken down, but reportedly it showed Stephens driving in his car, complaining about a woman, and then saying he found somebody to kill as he approached an elderly black man. That man was later identified as Robert Godwin Sr. He was 74 years old. Stephens made Godwin say the woman’s name and then told him, “She’s the reason, uh, this is about to happen to you,” before shooting him. Authorities found no links between Stephens and Godwin.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: April 17, 2017 appeared first on Law Street.

Everyone’s favorite ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s released a statement expressing its support for the Black Lives Matter movement last week. Now a group of police officers are calling for a boycott of the ice cream.

Last Thursday, Ben & Jerry’s wrote in a statement:

Systemic and institutionalized racism are the defining civil rights and social justice issues of our time. We’ve come to understand that to be silent about the violence and threats to the lives and well-being of Black people is to be complicit in that violence and those threats.

Most social media users greeted the news with joy.

Why Ben and Jerrys woke af

⚡️ “Ben and Jerry’s release statement in support of Black Lives Matter”https://t.co/N75HRmAv4B

— Chocolate Metaphor (@_MikePearson) October 7, 2016

But the police organization Blue Lives Matter, which was created after the killings of two NYPD officers in Brooklyn in December of 2014, released a statement on Monday urging “all Americans” to boycott the ice cream brand. It said:

Ben & Jerry’s just recently announced their support for Black Lives Matter along with a misinformation campaign accusing law enforcement of widespread systemic and institutionalized racism. Many companies have offered misguided statements of support for Black Lives Matter in the past, with the false belief that they are expressing support for civil rights.

The event gave birth to the hashtag #BenAndJerrysNewFlavor and a bunch of suggestions for new flavors in honor of the company’s statement.

He Was Unarmed Dough #BenAndJerrysNewFlavor

— NUFF$AID (@nuffsaidNY) October 7, 2016

Fudge The Police #BenAndJerrysNewFlavor

— W.E.B. Dem Boyz (@Kevunn) October 7, 2016

#BenAndJerrysNewFlavor New Cone, Who Dis?

— Taco Bout It (@Anthoneezuss) October 7, 2016

Blue Lives Matter claims in the statement that Ben & Jerry’s endorsement of Black Lives Matter is anti-police and dangerous, because it inspires people to kill police officers by spreading false and misleading information about the police being racist. It said that BLM is not a civil rights group, but a political one, fighting for its own goals such as a disruption of the Western nuclear family structure and tax-paid damages for harms inflicted on black people. They wrote:

By not only attacking law enforcement, but openly supporting Black Lives Matter, Ben & Jerry’s is sure to anger most Americans who do not agree with the political causes that they are supporting.

Ben & Jerry’s is used to speaking up when it comes to supporting causes it cares about. The founders, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, have previously supported the World Wildlife Fund and Occupy Wall Street. They also supported Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign and even honored him by creating a special ice cream flavor for him; chocolate mint with the name ”Bernie’s Yearning.”

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Police Group Demands Boycott of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream appeared first on Law Street.

Welcome to the RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through the top five controversial and crazy stories in the world of law and policy each day. So who is ranting and who is raving today? Check it out below:

J-Law v. D-Trump

Actress Jennifer Lawrence has some harsh words for Donald Trump. She told “The Graham Norton Show” that she recently found out that they were both at the same concert. She told the hosts she wanted to track Trump down and yell at him, saying: “I had my full security, like, I was like, ‘Find Donald Trump.’ ‘Cause I was just, I was adamant on finding him and then making a video of me going, ‘Hey Trump, f— you!'”

via GIPHY

Nevada Primary Problems Continue

The Bernie Sanders campaign and its supporters continue to fight with the Democratic party in Nevada over the results of the primary. Sanders supporters claim that the primary is unfair, but other Democrats say that death threats some of his supporters have sent to party officials went way too far. Here’s a good explainer from Vox on exactly why so many people are really pissed.

A Tasty Way to Protest Voter ID Laws

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield–also known as Ben & Jerry–are getting involved in politics again. The company is releasing a new flavor, called Empower Mint, to protest voter ID laws in North Carolina. Greenfield said:

The reason Ben & Jerry’s chose North Carolina is there’s a lot of activity in terms of voter rights and overcoming voter suppression efforts there. There’s also a real history of civil right struggle in North Carolina. For us, it’s about the groups doing work there.

Introducing Empower Mint. Creamy mint & fudgy brownies & churned for a cause: Democracy. https://t.co/tHL8tdRaodpic.twitter.com/RKs2yTQOwd

— Ben & Jerry’s (@benandjerrys) May 17, 2016

Remember to Close Your Tabs

Mike Webb, who is running for Congress in Virginia, shared a screenshot of his computer on his Facebook page. However, he had forgotten to close out of a couple tabs that were clearly searches for porn.

Mike Webb, He’s looking at adult women, that’s a refreshing change. pic.twitter.com/SKKN3qiJfC

— Thomas Delmore (@IronFist1982) May 17, 2016

His excuse for why he had tabs of porn open? He claims he was “testing them for viruses.” Sure, Mike Webb, and we were all born yesterday. 

Seriously Guys, Leave Wild Animals Alone

Yellowstone baby bison euthanized after bonehead tourists thought they were saving it: https://t.co/l5vWgqDJc7 pic.twitter.com/Egsz6wg78R

— Slate (@Slate) May 18, 2016

People are smad (sad and mad) after a story about a couple visiting Yellowstone who saw a baby bison by itself. They thought it would be cold–despite the fact that bison are animals that live outdoors–so they put it in their SUV. Rangers tried to reunite the animal with its herd, but it was rejected. Unfortunately, the calf had to be euthanized because it couldn’t be cared for by the rangers, and couldn’t be sent somewhere else for care due to a quarantine in effect to prevent the spread of tuberculosis.

Rant Crush

RantCrush collects the top trending topics in the law and policy world each day just for you.

The post RantCrush Top 5: May 18, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.

The cofounders of Ben & Jerry’s, aptly named Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, were arrested at the U.S. Capitol building on Monday. Cohen and Greenfield were participating in continued protests advocating for campaign finance reform, voting reform, action on climate change, remedies to systemic inequalities, fair pay, immigration reform, pushing the Senate to consider President Obama’s nomination to the Supreme Court and a whole host of other progressive issues.

The movement that Cohen and Greenfield were participating in is called “Democracy Awakening” and is closely affiliated with the similar “Democracy Spring” movement. Protests at the Capitol have been waging on for the last few weeks, and more than 1,000 protestors have already been arrested; Cohen and Greenfield were just the latest to join the list.

A post on Ben & Jerry’s website explained the cofounders’ motivations for joining the protests.

It all comes down to a simple idea that we believe in whole-heartedly: if you care about something, you have to be willing to risk it all—your reputation, your values, your business—for the greater good.

The post continues:

Protesting injustice has been on the agenda all weekend. We’ve been in Washington, D.C. with Democracy Awakening, a remarkable event that brought together hundreds of groups and thousands of people in an effort to fix our broken democracy. There are two trends that everyone from Greenpeace to the NAACP has realized are making it impossible for much good work to get done. The first is the flood of unregulated cash flowing into campaigns and elections. And the second is the wave of attacks in many states on citizens’ right to vote.

Cohen and Greenville are certainly no strangers to getting involved in the political arena. Cohen in particular has been a very outspoken advocate for fellow Vermonter Bernie Sanders. In an interview outside a Donald Trump rally that Cohen was protesting, he explained that he had come up with the perfect Bernie-themed ice cream flavor–“Bernie’s Yearning.” According to Cohen’s explanation:

When you open up the pint, there’s this big disc of chocolate covering the entire top, and below it is just plain mint ice cream.The disc of chocolate represents the 90 percent of the wealth that has gone to the top 10 percent over the last 10 years.

The way you eat it, you take your spoon, you whack that big chocolate disc into a bunch of little pieces, you mix it around, and there you have it: Bernie’s Yearning.

According to the statement on Ben & Jerry’s website regarding their arrests, they won’t be slowing down any soon when it comes to their activism.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Ben & Jerry’s Cofounders Arrested Protesting at Capitol appeared first on Law Street.

The flavor-making geniuses behind the Vermont-based ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s are no strangers to coming up with some of the most creatively themed flavors on the market. Equipped with a unique knack for mixing ice cream with people and puns, Ben & Jerry’s has given life to some pretty incredible concoctions such as Stephen Colbert’s “Ameri-cone Dream” and President Obama’s “Yes Pecan.”

So when tasked with re-imagining the current cast of presidential candidates as political ice cream flavors, like Spoon University recently did, it’s only right to look to the company for guidance. But as it turns out, one of the co-founders already has an idea for a flavor when it comes to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Bernie Sanders Ben & Jerry’s Flavor: Ice Cream Social-ism http://t.co/nC3fCXeN2q pic.twitter.com/HEqTVyplbn

— Personal Finance (@prsnlfinance) October 14, 2015

At a Donald Trump campaign rally last week, outspoken Sanders supporter and Ben & Jerry’s co-founder and flavor creator Ben Cohen revealed to MSNBC his flavor idea for his fellow Vermonster.

The ice cream would be called “Bernie’s Yearning,” and is a take on the classic mint chocolate chip ice cream. Cohen explained:

When you open up the pint, there’s this big disc of chocolate covering the entire top, and below it is just plain mint ice cream.The disc of chocolate represents the 90 percent of the wealth that has gone to the top 10 percent over the last 10 years.

The way you eat it, you take your spoon, you whack that big chocolate disc into a bunch of little pieces, you mix it around, and there you have it: Bernie’s Yearning.

Unfortunately the metaphorical flavor may never find its way onto consumers’ shelves since the company lost its creative freedom after being bought out by consumer goods giant Unilever in 2001.

But I, for one, am still holding out hope that one day I can live out my new chocolate wealth whacking food fantasy.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Thought up the Perfect Flavor for Bernie Sanders appeared first on Law Street.