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The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Trump 'serious' about Washington Commanders threat, White House says
Washington retired the name Redskins in July 2020 amid nationwide protests over race, initially becoming the Washington Football Team for two seasons, and then rebranding as the Washington Commanders in 2022. Longtime owner Daniel Snyder in 2023 sold the team to a new ownership group led by billionaire investor Josh Harris, who has elected to keep Commanders as the name and has called the debate settled. Leavitt did not address how Trump has the power to restrict the team's planned relocation back to the site of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in D.C., which served as Washington's home stadium from 1961 to 1996, before the team's move to Landover, Maryland. Trump's ability to unilaterally scrap the team's deal for a new stadium to return to the RFK site appears doubtful after Congress passed a law in December that transferred ownership of the RFK stadium site from the National Park Service to the District of Columbia. The $3.7 billion stadium deal, which includes $1.1 billion in local taxpayer funds, is in the hands of the D.C. Council, which is nearing a vote on the project. However, Trump has shown a willingness in other political battles to threaten federal funding from states, cities, colleges and universities to get his way. Another route could be to lobby Republicans in Congress to rescind the land transfer bill they passed last year. More: Trump threatens Washington Commanders' stadium plans if franchise doesn't change name White House doubles down on Trump's threat Leavitt pointed to Trump's reputation as a dealmaker. "As part of the 'art of the deal,' part of his negotiating skills, as you know, sports is one of the many passions of this president and he wants to see this team's name changed," she said. When asked to explain Trump's authority to block the Commanders' stadium deal, a White House official directed USA TODAY to Leavitt's remarks. More: DC locals on Trump's attempt to force Commanders' name change: Stay in your 'own lane' The Commanders, which enjoyed its most successful season in decades after making it to the NFC Championship Game last year, have not commented since Trump brought up the team's name in a Truth Social post on Sunday. In the same post, Trump called on another professional sports team that was previously named for native Americans - the Cleveland Guardians, formerly the Indians - to go back to its old name. "The Washington 'Whatever's' should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this," Trump wrote. "Times are different now than they were three or four years ago. We are a Country of passion and common sense. OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!" Trump had previously voiced support for the team's former name, but it marked the first time he has used his position to call for a name change. He followed it up with a subsequent post suggesting he might hold up the team's stadium plans if it doesn't ditch Commanders and go back to its former name. "I may put a restriction on them that if they don't change the name back to the original 'Washington Redskins,' and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, 'Washington Commanders,'" Trump wrote. "I won't make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington. The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be more exciting for everyone." DC mayor focuses on council, not Trump Under the Constitution, Congress has authority over the District of Columbia. The District of Columbia Home Rule Act, signed by President Richard Nixon in 1973, gave the city local governance including an elected mayor and city council. However, Congress can still review all legislation passed by the D.C. Council and retains authority over the district's budget. No sign off from Trump is required for approval of the Commanders' stadium deal. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, who helped orchestrate the stadium deal, deflected when a reporter asked her Monday whether she believes Trump has the power to block the Commanders' stadium deal. "I think the thing that we should focus on in D.C. is doing our part," Bowser said, adding that the council still needs to approve the stadium deal. "We need to complete our part." Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has often talked about taking over the governance of D.C., a city he has long derided for crime and homelessness. Nevertheless, Trump hosted Bowser and the Commanders' Harris at the White House in May to announce Washington's National Mall would host the 2027 NFL Draft. "I think you've seen the president gets involved in a lot of things that most presidents have not," Leavitt said when asked why changing the Commanders' name is a priority for Trump. "He's a nontraditional president. He likes to see results on behalf of the American people." She added that Trump is getting behind something most Americans want. "If you actually poll this issue with sports fans across the country and even in this city, people actually do support the president's position on this and the name change," Leavitt said. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Things to know about the release of federal documents related to MLK's assassination
Federal records related to the investigation into the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. were released on Monday, following the disclosure in March of tens of thousands of documents about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In January, President Donald Trump ordered the release of thousands of classified governmental documents about Kennedy's assassination, while also moving to declassify federal records related to the deaths of New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and King more than five decades ago. Trump ordered Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Attorney General Pam Bondi to coordinate with other government officials to review records related to the assassinations of RFK and King, and present a plan to the president for their 'complete release.' Some 10,000 pages of records about the RFK assassination were released April 18. Justice Department attorneys later asked a federal judge to end a sealing order for the records nearly two years ahead of its expiration date. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which King led, is opposed to unsealing any of the records for privacy reasons. The organization's lawyers said King's relatives also wanted to keep the files under seal. Scholars, history buffs and journalists have been preparing to study the documents to find new information about the civil rights leader's assassination on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. The King family's statement released after Trump's order in January said they hoped to get an opportunity to review the files as a family prior to its public release. King's family, including his two living children, Martin III and Bernice, was given advance notice of the release and had their own teams reviewing the records ahead of the public disclosure. In a statement released Monday, King's children called their father's case a 'captivating public curiosity for decades.' But they also emphasized the personal nature of the matter and urged that 'these files must be viewed within their full historical context.' 'We ask those who engage with the release of these files to do so with empathy, restraint, and respect for our family's continuing grief,' the statement said. Here is what we know about the assassination and what scholars had to say ahead of the release of the documents. In Memphis, shots ring out King was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, heading to dinner with a few friends, when he was shot and killed. King had been in Memphis to support a sanitation workers strike protesting poor working conditions and low pay. The night before the assassination, King delivered the famous 'Mountaintop' speech on a stormy night at the Mason Temple in Memphis. An earlier march on Beale Street had turned violent, and King had returned to Memphis to lead another march as an expression of nonviolent protest. King also had been planning the Poor People's Campaign to speak out against economic injustice. The FBI 's investigation After a long manhunt, James Earl Ray was captured in London, and he pleaded guilty to assassinating King. He later renounced that plea and maintained his innocence until his death in 1998. FBI documents released over the years show how the bureau wiretapped King's telephone lines, bugged his hotel rooms and used informants to get information against him. 'He was relentlessly targeted by an invasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing disinformation and surveillance campaign,' the King family statement said. King family's response to the investigation Members of King's family, and others, have questioned whether Ray acted alone, or if he was even involved. King's widow, Coretta Scott King, asked for the probe to be reopened, and in 1998, then-Attorney General Janet Reno directed the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department to do so. The Justice Department said it 'found nothing to disturb the 1969 judicial determination that James Earl Ray murdered Dr. King.' Dexter King, one of King's children, met with Ray in prison in 1997, saying afterwards that he believed Ray's claims of innocence. Dexter King died in 2024. With the support of King's family, a civil trial in state court was held in Memphis in 1999 against Loyd Jowers, a man alleged to have known about a conspiracy to assassinate King. Dozens of witnesses testified, and a Memphis jury found Jowers and unnamed others, including government agencies, participated in a conspiracy to assassinate King. What will the public see in the newly released documents? It's not clear what the records will actually show. King scholars, for example, would like to see what information the FBI was discussing and circulating as part of their investigation, said Ryan Jones, director of history, interpretation and curatorial services at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. 'That's critical given the fact the American public, at that time, was unaware that the FBI that is involved in the investigation, was leading a smear campaign to discredit the same man while he was alive,' Jones said. 'They were the same bureau who was receiving notices of assassination attempts against King and ignored them.' Academics who have studied King also would like to see information about the FBI's surveillance of King, including the extent they went to get details about his personal life, track him, and try to discredit him as anti-American, said Lerone A. Martin, director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. However, Martin said he does not expect that the documents will have a 'smoking gun that will finally say, 'See, this is 100% evidence that the FBI was involved in this assassination.'' 'We have to view these documents with an eye of suspicion because of the extent the FBI was willing to go to, to try to discredit him,' Martin said. Why now? Trump's order about the records release said it is in the 'national interest' to release the records. 'Their families and the American people deserve transparency and truth,' the order said. However, the timing has led to skepticism from some observers. Jones questioned why the American public had not been able to see these documents much earlier. 'Why were they sealed on the basis of national security, if the assassin was in prison outside of Nashville?' he said. Jones said there are scholars who think the records release is a 'PR stunt' by a presidential administration that is 'rewriting, omitting the advances of some people that are tied to people of color, or diversity.' The Pentagon has faced questions from lawmakers and citizens over the removal of military heroes and historic mentions from Defense Department websites and social media pages after it purged online content that promoted women or minorities. In response, the department restored some of those posts. Martin said Trump's motivation could be part of an effort to shed doubt on government institutions. 'It could be an opportunity for the Trump administration to say, 'See, the FBI is evil, I've been trying to tell you this. This is why I've put (FBI director) Kash Patel in office because he's cleaning out the Deep State,'' Martin said. Another factor could be the two attempts on Trump's life as he was campaigning for a second presidential term, and a desire to 'expose the broader history of U.S. assassinations,' said Brian Kwoba, an associate history professor at the University of Memphis. 'That said, it is still a little bit confusing because it's not clear why any U.S. president, including Trump, would want to open up files that could be damaging to the United States and its image both in the U.S. and abroad,' he said.
USA Today
a day ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Trump threatens the Commanders
This is the USA TODAY Sports NFL newsletter, 4th and Monday. If this newsletter isn't already getting conveniently delivered to your inbox, click here to subscribe. USA TODAY Sports is now on Bluesky! Give us a follow for more of our NFL content. Apparently, everything in the United States of America is operating at amazing and unprecedented levels of pure excellence, because the president has turned his attention to a topic that isn't quite vitally important for the enrichment and well-being of the nation's people: Sports team nicknames. In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Donald Trump called on the NFL's Washington Commanders and MLB's Cleveland Guardians to revert to their previous team nicknames. (As an aside, I want to know what the president might have been watching that got him going on this tangent.) Trump doubled-down on the Commanders, saying that if the team didn't go back to its previous nickname that shall remain nameless in this space, that he would work to restrict the team from building a new stadium on the old RFK Stadium site. Many Washington Commanders fans have longed for the team to return to the old RFK site, where the team played during its glory days under coach Joe Gibbs and before the dark times under former owner Daniel Snyder. In April, the team announced plans to build a new stadium at the RFK site, but the team and Washington D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser need approval from the D.C. Council. Trump is potentially threatening to throw another monkey wrench into the team's plans to return to D.C. after nearly three decades playing in Landover, Maryland. The Washington NFL team moniker that shall remain nameless in this space had been a point of contention long before Snyder's reign. In 2013, Snyder told USA TODAY that "we will never change the name of the team." Never is a long time, and words can be meaningless, as the saying goes. Seven years later, the moniker that shall remain nameless in this space was out and rebranded the Washington Football Team. Two years later, the team officially became the Washington Commanders. That was all a good thing. Not only did the team put an offensive moniker that shall remain nameless in this space in its past, but Snyder's sad and disturbing reign as owner finally came to a merciful end. In 2023, an ownership group led by Josh Harris bought the team and it is no coincidence that the team has experienced a rebirth, reaching its first NFC championship game in 33 years last season. The team has its sights on the Super Bowl this season. As far as the branding of Washington's NFL team and Cleveland's baseball team, this is all a ridiculous waste of time. This has been settled. Moving on … HOT READS 🎯 The best NFL reads from USA TODAY and our Sports Network: 🏈 NFLPA upheaval continued on Sunday, when president JC Tretter followed executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. out the door at the organization. 🏈 Tyler Dragon wrote about how the Cincinnati Bengals are conducting one of the NFL's greatest experiments, with what could be a historically great offense and a defense that has been compromised to some degree. 🏈 Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz ranked the 2024 playoff teams that are most likely to return to the postseason, and then the 18 teams that missed the 2024 postseason and their chances to crash the NFL playoff party. 🏈 Jayden Daniels stunned the NFL last season by taking the Washington Commanders to the NFC championship game. Is the Super Bowl next? 🏈 Lamar Jackson is desperately seeking his first Super Bowl appearance after years of being one of the NFL's best players. In 2025, the quarterback and the Baltimore Ravens must rebound from yet another disappointing playoff loss. 🏈 The Pittsburgh Steelers' T.J. Watt will be the highest-paid non-quarterback after receiving a three-year, $123 million extension. Nate Davis has the winners (Micah Parsons) and losers (Aaron Rodgers?) from Watt's lucrative contract. 🏈 Nick Brinkerhoff lists four throwback and/or alternate uniforms he'd like to see make a return. KICKOFF COUNTDOWN: 4️⃣5️⃣days ⏳ There are 45 more days until the 2025 NFL season opens with the Kickoff Game between the Dallas Cowboys and defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 4. The 45th edition of the Super Bowl featured then-Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers defeating his current team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, at Jerry World in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Rodgers was Super Bowl 45 MVP as the Packers prevailed, 31-25. It remains the only Super Bowl appearance for Rodgers, who enters his 21st NFL season in 2025. NFL CLASSICS 🏈: FROM THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM 🎞️ This is where we reprise some NFL lore and recall classic, memorable moments from yesteryear. Aaron Rodgers has faced the Steelers four times (as a starting quarterback) during his career (winning three times). The most memorable matchup, of course, was the aforementioned Packers win over the Steelers in Super Bowl 45. In the season prior to their Super Bowl showdown, the Steelers defeated the Packers in a game that featured a high-octane offensive display as two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks dueled at Heinz Field. In a 37-36 Steelers win, the two teams combined for 973 yards of offense, with Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger throwing for 503 yards and three touchdowns and Rodgers going for 383 yards and three touchdowns. YOUR TAKES ✍️ We wanna hear from you. What do you want to see from 4th & Monday? Let us know in this survey! 🗳️ If you enjoy reading 4th and Monday 📰, encourage your football fan friends to subscribe 📱. Follow the writer of this newsletter on social media @jimreineking and drop a line if you want to talk some football 🏈.
Newsweek
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Kevin Harvick Points Out Main Problem in NASCAR Pit Crew Clash at Sonoma
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Former NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick has pointed out the main problem that triggered the pit crew dispute during the Cup Series race at Sonoma last weekend. A fight broke out between a pit crew member of RFK Racing and crew members of Joe Gibbs Racing after Ty Gibbs grazed a tire held by RFK tire changer Telvin McClurkin. This happened when Gibbs was passing through the RFK pit stall, which was next to the JGR stall. Following the incident, McClurkin confronted JGR crew members before they got physical. NASCAR officials eventually intervened and later concluded that Gibbs was not at fault, despite RFK providing video evidence. Watch: Unexpected Pit Crew Fight Breaks Out During NASCAR Cup Race at Sonoma Now, Harvick pointed out the core issue in the clash, explaining that the tire changer should have made way for the approaching car and described his act of confrontation as a "bad reaction." Speaking on his Happy Hour podcast, Harvick said: Former NASCAR Cup Series driver, Kevin Harvick speaks at the Busch Light activation on the midway prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2025 in Daytona Beach,... Former NASCAR Cup Series driver, Kevin Harvick speaks at the Busch Light activation on the midway prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2025 in Daytona Beach, Florida. More"Ty didn't do anything wrong here. NASCAR said it as well. My advice to the guy carrying the tires is move the tires. If you don't want to get hit by the car, move the tires. That's your responsibility, not the driver's. They give you that luxury of not having to jump off the wall anymore, but when I was the driver and I felt like your tire carrier was swinging around too wide and it was affecting the way I get into the box, I would brush them. There's no doubt in my mind. "This one is simple. The tire carrier just needs to get out of the freaking way. He's standing in the pit stall with the two tires and so, he can be frustrated all he wants — I don't know why he wants to go over and blame it on the team guys. Just a bad reaction from the tire carrier and in my opinion, 100 percent his problem to deal with. Get out of the way of the car." Gibbs' entry into the pit stall slowed Keselowski, and Harvick said he has no problem with that. He explained: "In all honesty, the 6 and the 54 were racing. Anything I can do to mess up your pit stop, if I can cut it as close as possible to keep you from running around the car, I'm cutting it as close as possible. "If you're right there and you don't want to pull your tire back or take one step back to try to keep your timing right on your pit stop, I want you to make sure that the next time we come in, that you're one step back and your pit stop's not going to be as fast as mine because it's going to be way easier to pass you on pit road or you not pass me on pit road. Pit crew guys might not like to hear that, but I don't have a problem with anything that happened."
Boston Globe
07-07-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
RFK Jr.'s battle against food dyes hits a roadblock: M&M's
Advertisement When Kennedy announced in April that he had an 'understanding' with food makers to remove petroleum-based dyes by the end of 2026, citing research showing they were linked to behavioral problems in children, critics scoffed at his voluntary approach. Yet his peer-pressure campaign appears to have produced some results. Last month, Nestle and ConAgra joined Kraft Heinz, General Mills and PepsiCo in signing on to the secretary's plan. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Candy manufacturers, which lean on artificial colorings for the bright treats they market to children, are still holding out. 'I think RFK and his team are learning the limits of their power to persuade,' said Scott Faber, an attorney with the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization. As much as 19% of processed foods include synthetic dyes, and confectionary companies had the most products containing them, according to a study published in late June in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Advertisement Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before a House panel on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 24, 2025. TIERNEY L. CROSS/NYT In an appearance on Capitol Hill in May, Kennedy pronounced the food industry 'very, very receptive.' His spokesperson, Andrew Nixon, said both the secretary and the Food and Drug Administration were urging 'other food manufacturers, including the candy industry, to follow suit in putting public health first over industry profit.' Mars, the privately held company that makes M&M's and Skittles, recently removed titanium dioxide, a whitening agent, from Skittles. In a statement, the company said its products are 'safe to enjoy and meet the high standards and applicable regulations set by food safety authorities around the world.' A spokesperson for the National Confectioners Association, a trade group, signaled that candy makers would not reformulate without federal regulations that force them to. 'We follow and will continue to follow regulatory guidance from the authorities in this space,' the spokesperson, Christopher Gindlesperger, said in a statement. He added that companies needed time to find alternatives to synthetic colors, and that there were not enough natural colors to meet demand, which could drive up prices. If Kennedy cannot force companies to reformulate their products, states might do the job for him. Beginning in 2027, Texas will require warning labels on foods or beverages containing certain additives, including dyes used in M&M's. In 2028, West Virginia will start banning foods containing most artificial food dyes and two preservatives because of potential health risks. Mars has some support in Congress, however. When Kennedy testified before a House Appropriations subcommittee in May, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., whose district includes a large M&M's factory, noted that the dyes had been approved by the FDA and had been 'deemed safe for many years.' Advertisement He told Kennedy that substitute dyes could cost 'five to 10 times more,' and added, 'Will you work with me on that?' Kennedy said he would. Fleischmann's office did not respond to a request for comment. There are other exceptions to Kennedy's powers to persuade. WK Kellogg, the maker of Kennedy's other big target, Froot Loops, has been similarly resistant. While Kellogg has committed to reformulating its cereals that are sold in schools, the bulk of its cereals are sold on grocery store shelves. The company said it had conversations with Kennedy and his staff to 'collectively find solutions that meet consumers' shifting needs and wants' for those products. One reason for the candy industry's resistance is that it has been down this road before. Mars already tried, and abandoned, a plan to remove synthetic food dyes. In 2016, it announced its 'ambition to remove all artificial colors from its human food portfolio globally,' saying the move 'was based on our belief, at the time, that a critical mass of our consumer base was seeking more natural ingredients and would welcome this change.' Mars later said in a statement that a team inside the family-owned company discovered that while consumers wanted artificial colors removed from foods they ate as part of meals, there was a split in their attitudes about candy. European consumers wanted the dyes removed, but American consumers preferred the artificially colored treats. Mars snacks sold in the United States, therefore, remained unchanged. Marion Nestle, a nutritionist and professor emerita at New York University, said research shows that consumers think bright colors add flavor. The cereal makers Kellogg and General Mills promised in 2015 to get rid of dyes, but backed away from their pledges with the exception of some chocolate-flavored cereals, whose colors, she said, are not as noticeable as those in brightly colored ones. Advertisement 'It's a perception issue that's that been very, very well studied,' Nestle said. 'You can give people, especially kids, two different kinds of things that are exactly the same, except the colors are different, and the brightly colored ones will be perceived as tasting better.' Kirk Vashaw, the fourth-generation head of Spangler Candy, which makes Dum-Dums lollipops and candy canes, said the company has made some products with natural flavors and colors since the 1980s. 'They have never sold well because the taste isn't the same,' Vashaw said. Vashaw said the company, based in Bryan, Ohio, has a team examining natural options for its products. But switching to natural dyes creates many challenges, he said. In addition to being more expensive than synthetic colors, natural colors tend to be less vibrant, and fade if exposed to heat or light. While some natural ingredients, like beets, can get the product close to the artificial hues, he added, they still taste like beets. 'Masking that taste is really, really difficult,' Vashaw said. 'If people are celebrating and eating treats, they don't want to be tasting beets.' Kennedy is hardly the first person to take on artificial dyes. In 2008, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group in Washington, petitioned the FDA to ban all artificial dyes. In 2011, an FDA advisory committee examined the association between dyes and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, concluding there was no connection. Advertisement Ten years later, in 2021, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment published a review of medical literature that came to the opposite conclusion. It found that synthetic dyes 'can cause or exacerbate neurobehavioral problems in some children.' In 2022, the Center for Science in the Public Interest asked the FDA to ban Red Dye No. 3, which had been declared an animal carcinogen in 1990. California passed a law in 2023 doing so. In January, days before President Donald Trump took office for the second time, the FDA revoked the dye's authorization, saying it must be removed from foods by January 2027. Shortly after Kennedy was sworn in, he met with food manufacturers -- but not candy makers -- and told them he wanted them to eliminate the dyes. When the secretary made his announcement in April, Dr. Marty Makary, the FDA commissioner, said compliance would be voluntary, at least at first. 'I believe in love,' Makary said, 'and let's start in a friendly way and see if we can do this without any statutory or regulatory changes.' The FDA announced at the time that it was initiating a process to revoke the approval of two synthetic dyes, Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B, 'within the coming months,' and would work with industry to remove six remaining dyes from the food supply by the end of next year. The agency also moved quickly to approve three natural dyes. With this approach, Kennedy can avoid actual changes in federal regulation, a process that would have taken years and likely would have wound up in court. There, the FDA is playing with a weak hand, because it has long allowed synthetic colors to be used in food and beverages. Advertisement Both Thomas Galligan, the principal scientist for food additives at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and Faber, of the Environmental Working Group, praised Kennedy for raising the issue. But Faber said that in the end, states, not the health secretary, would force the change. 'Inevitably, candy companies are either going to comply with West Virginia's law or they're going to lose the market,' Faber said. 'And West Virginia won't be the last state to act.' This article originally appeared in
