In a statement released Thursday, film director Barry Avrich apologized after an acceptance speech he made at the Canadian Screen Awards was criticized by several film organizations.Barry Avrich speaks onstage during the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival gala. On Thursday, the director apologized for a speech made earlier this week in which he said the…Continue Reading

Alabama lawmakers approved sweeping legislation Thursday to outlaw gender-affirming medications for transgender kids and advanced a separate measure prohibiting early classroom instruction on sexual and gender identity — a bill critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay,” a reference to a similar law recently passed in Florida.People rally in support of transgender rights rally outside the…Continue Reading

Observers in the national security sector — accustomed to hearing cabinet ministers talk in circumspect terms about Canada’s war-fighting abilities — say they were surprised by the unambiguous language about Russia’s war on Ukraine in Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s budget speech.Canadian Forces personnel load lethal and non-lethal aid for Ukraine on a transport aircraft bound…Continue Reading

The Senate on Thursday confirmed Judge Ketajnji Brown Jackson as the newest Supreme Court Justice.  The evenly-split chamber voted 53 to 47, with three Republicans voting alongside their Democrat colleagues.  Jackson is now the first black female to  be appointed to the Supreme Court, Just the News reports.  Kamala Harris presided over the vote and…Continue Reading

The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday voted to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council amid the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.  The final vote was 93 in favor, 24 against and 58 abstentions, Just the News reports.  The resolution said the body may “suspend the rights of membership in the Human Rights Council…Continue Reading

Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the 116th justice—and first Black woman—to serve on the Supreme Court.* The Senate confirmed the 51-year-old federal judge to the high court on Thursday in a historic 53–47 vote. Three Republican senators—Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, Maine’s Susan Collins, and Utah’s Mitt Romney—joined a unanimous Democratic caucus to vote for her confirmation.Democratic…Continue Reading

Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term as president is drawing to a close. Most observers believe that Macron will be the first French president to win reelection since Jacques Chirac in 2002. That election is remembered, however, not for Chirac’s victory but for the shocking surprise that made it inevitable: Jean-Marie Le Pen, the far-right xenophobic demagogue…Continue Reading

Last fall, the House Oversight Committee convened to grill oil and gas CEOs about their funding of climate disinformation. Democrats asked the CEOs whether they would commit to lowering fossil fuel production for the sake of the planet. This week, less than 48 hours after the release of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report…Continue Reading