Harris Supports Decriminalizing Sex Work

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) told The Root that she supports the decriminalization of sex work nationwide.

Said Harris: “I do not believe that anyone that hurts another human being or profits off of their exploitation should be…free of criminal prosecution. But when you’re talking about consenting adults? Yes, I think you have to really consider that we can’t criminalize consensual behavior as long as no one is being harmed.”



https://politicalwire.com/2019/02/26/harris-supports-decriminalizing-sex-work/

Univision's Jorge Ramos Temporarily Detained In Venezuela During Nicols Maduro Interview

Journalist Jorge Ramos and five members of his Univision crew were detained in Venezuela while there to interview embattled President Nicolás Maduro.

Univision said Monday that Ramos and his team were being “arbitrarily” held at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas but that Maduro didn’t “like their questions” during a scheduled interview. The network said its equipment was also confiscated.

Univision President Daniel Coronell said the team was released later Monday after speaking with Maduro’s communications minister but said he had not yet spoken with Ramos.

Maduro’s legitimacy as president has been called into question since he was re-elected last May amid claims of vote-rigging. The United States backed an alternate leader, 35-year-old Juan Guaidó, last month, and Maduro responded by severing diplomatic ties.

Ramos called in to Univision shortly after he returned to his hotel Monday evening. He said Maduro detained the crew for more than two hours after Ramos asked him about “the lack of democracy, about the torture of political prisoners, about the humanitarian crisis.” Ramos also said Maduro didn’t like it when he referred to him as a dictator.



https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jorge-ramos-nicolas-maduro-venezuela_n_5c7498b7e4b03a10c230d172

Gov. Jay Inslee to announce 2020 presidential intentions 'shortly'

Washington State Governor Jay Inslee said he is close to confirming whether he will launch a 2020 presidential campaign, saying that “the country is ready for an optimistic president. I just may be able to suit that purpose.”

While appearing on MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports Monday morning, Inslee came the closest to acknowledging he is running for president. Rumors and hints of such a campaign have lingered over the past few months. The governor has avoided giving a firm yes or no. Monday’s statement also wasn’t firm, but it was certainly more of an indication than in previous exchanges.

Host Andrea Mitchell pointed out that Inslee has been making the rounds lately, traveling to Nevada and New Hampshire. So it was put to the governor: why won’t he just officially announce that he is running for president?

“I think you will see some announcement shortly about our intentions,” Inslee said. “And I do believe this moment is ripe. The American people understand that the fires that burned down Paradise, California, the floods, it’s time for action. We can build an economy around clean energy. I’m an optimist by nature, America is an optimist nation. We got to start that effort now.”



http://mynorthwest.com/1285941/inslee-president-2020-msnbc/

Rotten Tomatoes Removes 'Captain Marvel' Anticipation Score in Response to Anti-feminist Trolls

After a weeks-long campaign to bomb a certain Rotten Tomatoes score for Captain Marvel ahead of the film's release, the review-aggregating website has seemingly disabled the feature on the website. Before the "Want To See" metric was removed, Captain Marvel reportedly had a 29% rating.

Though we previously reported it as the Audience Rating, the metric was, in fact, a score that monitored the percentage of fans who had an interest in seeing the movie — virtually an anticipation ranking of sorts. An Audience Rating isn't available until after the movie has hit theaters.

Captain Marvel even found support from across the aisle this weekend when Shazam! star Zachary Levi came to the film's defense.

“I just found this out last night, and for anyone out there who thinks you’re doing me a favor, you’re doing Shazam! a favor, or you’re doing Warner Bros.— you’re not,” he said. “This is not helping anyone or anything.”

As with films in the past, groups have launched coordinated attacks in an attempt to lower the score. The move has been a long time coming, with Rotten Tomatoes taking steps in recent weeks to combat hateful audience comments on the movie's page.

A similar effort took place with Black Panther, despite the Ryan Coogler-helmed film finding incredible success at the box office. Earning a staggering $700 million domestically, Black Panther made a total of $1.3 billion worldwide on its way to seven Oscar nominations, three of which they won.


https://comicbook.com/marvel/2019/02/26/captain-marvel-rotten-tomatoes-anticipation-ranking-removed/

At least Feinstein showed. Dozens of climate protesters storm McConnell's office over Green New Deal

More than 100 youth climate protesters entered Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) office Monday to advocate for the “Green New Deal" and challenge McConnell's plan to fast-track a vote on the resolution in the Senate.

The youth climate advocates, members of the national climate group The Sunrise Movement, were seen overflowing from McConnell’s office into the stairwell in the Russell Senate Office Building Monday morning.

Protesters inside his office held up a sign that read, “Mitch, Look Us In The Eyes.”

“I am here because people in my community don’t have jobs, are starving and turning to opiods [sic] and dying. Mitch McConnell refuses to do anything about,” said 15-year-old Kentucky high school student Lily Gardner, according to a press release from Sunrise Movement.

Within hours of the protests taking place, several members of the group could be seen being escorted out of the office in handcuffs by Capitol Police.




https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/431430-dozens-of-climate-protesters-storm-mcconnells-office-over-green

Ex-Campaign Staffer Says Trump Tried to Kiss Her

“A staffer on Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign says he kissed her without her consent at a small gathering of supporters before a Florida rally, an interaction that she alleges in a new lawsuit still causes her anguish,” the Washington Post reports.

“In interviews with The Washington Post, and in the lawsuit, Alva Johnson said Trump grabbed her hand and leaned in to kiss her on the lips as he exited an RV outside the rally in Tampa on Aug. 24, 2016. Johnson said she turned her head and the unwanted kiss landed on the side of her mouth, which she called ‘super-creepy and inappropriate.'”

Said Johnson: “I immediately felt violated because I wasn’t expecting it or wanting it. I can still see his lips coming straight for my face.”

Ronan Farrow notes the lawsuit is the latest challenge to Trump’s insistence on having staffers sign non-disclosure agreements.



https://politicalwire.com/2019/02/25/ex-campaign-staffer-says-trump-tried-to-kiss-her/

Kamala drops by Iowa campaign training seminar

Bonus Tweet of the Day

Biden calls on all 2020 Democrats to refrain from using hacked information

Spider Man: Into the Spider wins Oscar Best Animated Film