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:

Will the Government Have to Shut Down?

Saturday will mark President Donald Trump’s 100th day in office, and reviews of his performance so far have not been that great. So naturally, Trump responded to media reports with an angry tweet, calling the first 100 days a “ridiculous standard.”

No matter how much I accomplish during the ridiculous standard of the first 100 days, & it has been a lot (including S.C.), media will kill!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2017

But to add to his headache, the 100-day milestone will coincide with the deadline to pass a funding bill. Right now it looks like the government could be headed for a shutdown, as the White House and Congress can’t seem to forge an agreement–Trump wants the bill to include funding for the debated border wall, while Democrats want to make sure contested Obamacare subsidy payments are funded. Senators come back from a two-week recess this evening; the House is back tomorrow. This means they only have three days to reach a compromise.

House Speaker Paul Ryan tells GOP members House will focus on avoiding a government shutdown, not health care vote https://t.co/8LqFqttDdP pic.twitter.com/YLHN2cg0ye

— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 24, 2017

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 24, 2017 appeared first on Law Street.

Bill O’Reilly’s departure from Fox News is being touted as a victory against the vitriolic reporting of the network. After multiple sexual harassment lawsuits against the cable anchorman became public, sponsors began pulling ads from the show to the point that Fox leadership decided to cut their losses and dismiss O’Reilly. But will that move actually change anything about Fox News?

“The O’Reilly Factor” was an incredibly popular program and producers scrambled to fill the profitable 8 p.m. weekday time slot that draws almost 4 million viewers each night. Tucker Carlson has been chosen from the Fox News bench to fill O’Reilly’s shoes. While he might not have the same popularity or fame as O’Reilly, Carlson’s dismissive views of women hardly make him a departure from the O’Reilly Factor era. For those who don’t regularly tune in to Fox News, Carlson is best known for his program “Crossfire”–which Jon Stewart famously tore to pieces in 2004. This year, Carlson replaced Megyn Kelly after her decision to leave Fox–so it would appear that Carlson is making a habit of replacing more popular hosts.

O’Reilly may be leaving Fox in disgrace, but the moral judgment passed on him does not translate into financial ruin. O’Reilly is receiving a $25 million payout upon his exit, a far greater sum than any of the women who sued him received, which is equal to one year of his salary. He will no doubt be invited to speak on cable news shows and on the lecture circuit, and already has a book deal to further augment his income.

Other media outlets might have taken O’Reilly’s departure as an opportunity to demonstrate a commitment to reform. Fox News could have hired outside of its existing anchor network, a true break from tradition. Even once the executives decided to hire in-house, they could have gone with a candidate with more experience with O’Reilly’s viewers–like host Laura Ingraham, who filled in for O’Reilly on multiple occasions. Ingraham tows the party line at Fox so hiring her would guarantee viewer retention while simultaneously serving as a gesture of respect towards female anchors at the network.

After Megyn Kelly’s departure, which O’Reilly reportedly contributed to, Fox had a chance to step back and address the pervasive sexism that female staff have faced at the network–a chance executives did not take. Representative Maxine Waters, who was personally attacked by O’Reilly, went so far as to call Fox News a “sexual harassment enterprise.” By appointing Carlson, the Fox team has only reaffirmed the culture O’Reilly and Roger Ailes built together at Fox. The window dressing might change, but the 8 p.m. weekday slot–and Fox News as a whole–will be the same, whether or not O’Reilly is at the helm.

Jillian Sequeira

Jillian Sequeira was a member of the College of William and Mary Class of 2016, with a double major in Government and Italian. When she’s not blogging, she’s photographing graffiti around the world and worshiping at the altar of Elon Musk and all things Tesla. Contact Jillian at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com

The post Why Bill O’Reilly’s Departure Won’t Change Fox appeared first on Law Street.

Man Detained After Stalking Malia Obama

A longtime stalker of President Barack Obama’s oldest daughter Malia has been arrested in New York after he showed up at her internship. Jair Nilton Cardoso, of Brooklyn, had already tried to get into the White House several times in the past. He recently showed up in the Tribeca building where Malia interns for moviemaker Harvey Weinstein, holding a sign outside an office window begging her to marry him. Secret Service agents asked him to leave her alone, but he didn’t get the message. Two days later he followed Malia when she exited a building in the West Village. After the agents interviewed him they concluded he clearly has mental issues and reported him to the police. No charges have been filed.

She’s only 18…not that it would make it better if she were older, but she’s a kid. Jesus. https://t.co/HPkhbHlakQ

— Yashar (@yashar) April 19, 2017

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 20, 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:

Aaron Hernandez Found Dead in his Cell

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was found dead in his cell in a Massachusetts prison early this morning. Hernandez, 27, reportedly hanged himself. He had been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, but had just recently been acquitted of the 2012 fatal shootings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtad.

Prison officials said that they had no reason to believe that Hernandez was suicidal. If they had, they would have transferred him to the mental health unit, instead of allowing him to remain in his single-occupancy cell. A spokesperson for the Patriots said that the team, which is visiting the White House today to celebrate its Super Bowl win, will not be commenting.

Sports world reacts to former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez’s “tragic” death. https://t.co/1f6BFuDF1e pic.twitter.com/dYZz3jFxRK

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) April 19, 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: April 19, 2017 appeared first on Law Street.

You might have thought that Bill O’Reilly’s exchange with Maxine Waters was the most racist thing to come out of Fox News yesterday. But, details from a new lawsuit filed by two of the network’s black female employees may have overshadowed O’Reilly’s horrific moment.

According to a report from the New York Times, the two employees–Tichaona Brown and Tabrese Wright, both of whom worked at the network’s payroll department–filed a lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court, citing that they were subjected to “top-down racial harassment,” from Judith Slater, the Fox comptroller who had worked for the network for almost two decades. Slater was fired after an internal investigation, according to a story first reported by The Wrap. The timeline of Slater’s firing is unclear, but a statement from the network obtained by the Times claims that Slater was fired at the end of February.

Brown and Wright’s lawsuit targets Slater, Fox News, and 21st Century Fox, which owns Fox News. The lawsuit claims that Slater repeatedly made racist and disparaging comments about black people that played into egregious stereotypes, and that the network did not do much to address Slater’s behavior, which made for a hostile work environment. Here are some of the lawsuit’s details as reported by the New York Times:

The women . . .  accused Ms. Slater of making numerous racially charged comments, including suggestions that black men were “women beaters” and that black people wanted to physically harm white people.

They also said that Ms. Slater claimed that black employees mispronounced words, such as ‘mother,’ ‘father,’ ‘month’ and ‘ask,’ and that she urged Ms. Brown to say those words aloud in a meeting. Ms. Wright said Ms. Slater once asked if her three children were all ‘fathered by the same man.’

[…]

The suit also includes allegations that Ms. Slater made disparaging comments about Ms. Wright’s hair and credit score. She and Ms. Brown said Ms. Slater had mocked the Black Lives Matter movement and referred to their majority-black department as the ‘urban’ or ‘Southern’ payroll department.

According to the New York Daily News, the suit also alleges further details of Slater’s racist behavior, including, but not limited to responding to Brown’s goodbyes at the end of the day by raising her hands up in the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” movement, referring to her commuter train to New Jersey as the “Bombay Express, expressing her belief that Chinese men have small penises, and asking Brown and Wright to teach her how to beat box.

In a statement reported by the Times, the company said that “there is no place of inappropriate verbal remarks like this at Fox News,” but were disappointed that Wright and Brown filed the lawsuit because the company believes it already took swift and appropriate action to remedy the situation.

Austin Elias-De Jesus

Austin is an editorial intern at Law Street Media. He is a junior at The George Washington University majoring in Political Communication. You can usually find him reading somewhere. If you can’t find him reading, he’s probably taking a walk. Contact Austin at Staff@Lawstreetmedia.com.

The post Fox News Hit With a New Lawsuit Alleging Racial Harassment appeared first on Law Street.

Following the sexual harassment scandal that resulted in Roger Ailes’ resignation from Fox News, the network reportedly secretly made a deal with TV personality Juliet Huddy about very similar accusations against its top host Bill O’Reilly. A letter obtained by the New York Times shows that Huddy had complained to Fox News that O’Reilly had persistently pursued a sexual relationship with her in 2011, which she rejected. At the time he had a lot of power over her career and when she kept rejecting him, he tried to sabotage it.

According to the letter, which was sent from Huddy’s lawyers to Fox News, O’Reilly repeatedly called her, invited her to his home, took her out for dinners, tried to kiss her, and once opened the door only wearing underwear. Fox News solved the situation by paying Huddy a six-figure sum in exchange for her silence. But the company also denied that the allegations were true.

Scoop here. Fox News settled sexual harassment allegations against Bill O’Reilly @nytmike https://t.co/Ih9szETS1n pic.twitter.com/orNudBbPbc

— Michael Tackett (@tackettdc) January 10, 2017

Huddy also accused long-time Fox executive Jack Abernethy of similar behavior, and said that he too had punished her professionally when she turned down his advances. But Fox News sided with O’Reilly and Abernethy. “The letter contains substantial falsehoods, which both men have vehemently denied,” said spokeswoman Irena Briganti on Monday. New York Magazine’s Gabriel Sherman tweeted that the network has settled sexual harassment complaints with at least four more women in the past few months.

According to two Fox sources, Fox News has secretly settled sexual harassment complaints with at least 4 women since Ailes left

— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) January 10, 2017

Fox News apparently first learned about Huddy’s allegations in August, when her lawyers sent the letter. They agreed to the settlement on September 5, right around the time when they were dealing with Gretchen Carlson’s allegations against Roger Ailes. O’Reilly defended Ailes and called him the “best boss I’ve ever had.” He also claimed that Ailes was the victim, and was being targeted by the women because he was famous. He said: “In this country, every famous, powerful or wealthy person is a target. You’re a target, I’m a target. Anytime, somebody could come out and sue us, attack us, go to the press or anything like that.”

However, Ailes resigned, and Bill O’Reilly stayed on air and has since published two more books. To complicate things further, Roger Ailes is Huddy’s godfather and a good friend of her father, who also used to work at Fox. Her brother is also with the network.

This wasn’t the first time O’Reilly was the subject of sexual harassment accusations. In 2004, producer Andrea Mackris sued him for basically the same kind of behavior that Huddy claimed. He was also involved in a domestic dispute in 2015, when his teenage daughter testified in court that she had seen him choke her mother while he “dragged her down some stairs.”

Bill O’Reilly in November about Megyn Kelly: “You don’t like what’s happening in the workplace, go to human resources or leave.” https://t.co/EnKNJZNlP6

— (((Gabe Rosenberg))) (@GabrielJR) January 10, 2017

Huddy used to have segments on O’Reilly’s show. The letter from her lawyers describes how when she rejected O’Reilly, he started nitpicking her work, berating her, stopped preparing her before going on air, and cancelled a segment that she used to have on his show. Afraid of further retaliation, she didn’t complain. In September, she left the network. A source who Lawnewz talked to does not believe her claims and said that they were just concocted to get money from the network. Huddy has never publicly spoken about her allegations. But considering her close family ties to Ailes and that the settlement came at a time when Fox News was being hit hard in the media, that is likely explained by a confidentiality agreement, or simple loyalty.

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 Fox News Secretly Settled Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Bill O’Reilly 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:

No, All Chinese People Don’t Know Karate

On Monday night, the “O’Reilly Factor” showed reporter Jesse Watters on a mission to find out what people on the streets of Chinatown are thinking about the 2016 election. Instead he ended up making fun of Chinese people by using blatantly racist stereotypes. He asked people if they know karate (the Japanese martial art), or if he should bow while saying hello to them, if in China they call Chinese food just “food,” and he made fun of old people who didn’t speak English.

The segment was immediately criticized by a whole bunch of journalists and pundits as blatantly racist. Did Fox apologize? Of course not…instead, the network tweeted that it was “hilarious.”

Hilarious #WattersWorld: @JesseBWatters Goes Down to Chinatown to Find Out What They Think of @realDonaldTrump: https://t.co/HBQCGdHO01

— Fox Nation (@foxnation) October 4, 2016

Rant Crush

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

The post RantCrush Top 5: October 6, 2016 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:

Trump: Russia Should Find Hillary’s Emails

As the fallout from the DNC email leak continues and more evidence points toward Russian involvement, Donald Trump just had to involve himself in the controversy. In a press conference earlier today, Trump called on Russia to find the emails deleted from Hillary Clinton’s email server before it was turned over to the FBI. But reaching out to Russia right now might not be the best thing for Trump, as some circumstantial evidence points to ties between him and prominent Russians. Some critics went as far as to suggest a new logo for the Trump campaign:

pic.twitter.com/bvpPN83mHc

— Rick Tyler (@rickwtyler) July 27, 2016

Rant Crush

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

The post RantCrush Top 5: July 27, 2016 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:

Bernie is Having a Hard Time Reconnecting on the Hill

Senator Bernie Sanders went to a meeting with House Democrats on the Hill, and it apparently didn’t go so well. According to reports, Sanders was booed by several lawmakers after he said “the goal isn’t to win elections, the goal is to transform America.” Lawmakers in the meeting are claiming the exchange was more pleasant than that, and just featured some “expressions of disagreement.” But given that the rift between Sanders and Clinton threatens to split the party come November, should we really be surprised that not everyone is “feeling the Bern?”

via GIPHY

Rant Crush

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

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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:

Bill O’Reilly says Black Lives Matter is ‘Killing America’

Oh, O’Reilly! Trending today is the ever-controversial topic of the Black Lives Matter movement. Talking head and critic Bill O’Reilly had some stirring things to say about the group, stating that they do not accurately portray violent crime among African-Americans and that, “in fact,” it was young black males that committed the most crime in America. He also claims that these crime numbers are on the rise as a result of BLM’s rhetoric. See this rant from The Young Turks in response: 

And check out Law Street Media’s Crime in America coverage for a real look at the statistics.

Communism will never die: Chinese rap promotes Karl Marx for Millennials

So how do you get today’s rowdy youth “down” with Communism? Write a rap song about Karl Marx, obviously. China State Media just dropped a new mix praising the 19th century philosopher. As a citizen of the free world, it seems so freaking surreal and that’s not just because it’s in Chinese. While the use of Western culture and rap music to promote China’s Communist Party is questionable, I must say it’s a kind of catchy tune!

Chinese ad for laundry detergent has ZERO chill

Ok, listen. We can’t all be perfect but, I don’t think this Chinese company understand how skin pigment works! This advert is making waves on social media after a woman in the video is seen using laundry detergent to make a better and ‘cleaner’ boyfriend. I’m SCREAMING!

This racist laundry detergent ad from China will leave you speechless.https://t.co/Y4W5W5Wwoq

— AJ+ (@ajplus) May 27, 2016

Is Sanders grasping at straws?

After splitting delegates pretty evenly with Clinton at the Kentucky primary, Sanders’ camp requested a full recount of the votes. The results confirmed that Clinton was still the winner and Sanders has since accepted the truth.

Hold on. The Sanders-requested Kentucky primary recount is over *one* delegate? https://t.co/eNkM3gnq3Y

— Jen Connic (@jenconnic) May 26, 2016

London Olympics drug retests may disqualify 23 from Rio

The IOC has yet to reveal the identities of the 23 athletes who failed their retrospective drug tests. What we do know is that they hail from six different countries and compete in five different sports. The retests were made using the latest tech, and such in depth testing was not available when they competed. These 23 athletes will be, according to the IOC, banned from the Rio Games. This comes only weeks after 31 athletes were discovered doping in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

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

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The media world is still reeling from Brian Williams’ lies–or severe misremembering, at best–about his helicopter being shot down by Iraqi forces 12 years ago. But round two with Bill O’Reilly has turned out a bit differently. It’s become clear that the Fox News host wasn’t in the thick of the war zone while covering the 1982 Falklands conflict as he’s boasted several times. In fact, he was over a thousand miles away from the heart of the action, sources told Mother Jones.

And O’Reilly, whose criticism of Williams lacked his usual bluster, hasn’t taken this sitting down.

After Mother Jones published its skepticism of O’Reilly’s representation as a “combat-hardened reporter,” O’Reilly immediately hit back, calling the reporters lying “left-wing” “guttersnipes.” When New York Times reporters questioned him soon after, he outright threatened them.

“I am coming after you with everything I have,” O’Reilly told The New York Times over the phone. “You can take it as a threat.”

For years, O’Reilly has backed up his reporting to viewers, readers, and other journalists with claims of reporting for CBS in active war zones in Argentina’s Falkland Islands, the Middle East, and Northern Ireland. He particularly emphasized surviving combat situations and rescuing his photographer during the U.K.’s war with Argentina.

“I was in a situation one time, in a war zone in Argentina, in the Falklands, where my photographer got run down and then hit his head and was bleeding from the ear on the concrete,” O’Reilly said in 2013. “And the army was chasing us. I had to make a decision. And I dragged him off, you know, but at the same time, I’m looking around and trying to do my job, but I figure I had to get this guy out of there because that was more important.”

But reporters and producers from CBS News told Mother Jones that no American correspondent reached the Falklands. Instead, they said, O’Reilly was in Buenos Aires, over a thousand miles from combat. The riots in Buenos Aires were hardly the deadly affair O’Reilly depicted.

“It wasn’t a combat situation by any sense of the word that I know,” retired CBS correspondent told CNN. O’Reilly, he said, “is trying to build it up into a more frightening and deadly situation than it was.”

So far seven former colleagues from CBS have spoken out against O’Reilly’s exaggerated version of events and claims that “many people were killed” in the riots. Newspaper archives from Argentina at the time don’t report any fatalities in Buenos Aires either, according to the Washington Post’s Erik Wemple.

What’s more, former colleagues doubt his photographer was even injured. “Nobody remembers this happening. If somebody got hurt, we all would have known,” a CBS news cameraman who was in Buenos Aires then told CNN.

After investigations into Brian Williams’ work began, NBC suspended its celebrity anchor without pay for six months. But even as allegations of further fabrication arise–O’Reilly may have lied about hearing the suicide of someone involved in President Kennedy’s assassintion–Fox News has stood by its host and his version of events.

The kicker in all this? O’Reilly’s ratings have only risen, giving him his biggest audience since the Ferguson verdict came out.

Aysha Khan

Aysha Khan studies multi-platform journalism and Middle Eastern affairs at the University of Maryland. Contact Aysha at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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