World

As women seek open congressional seats in Maryland, reproductive rights are front and center

Published

1 month ago

October 17, 2024

As women seek open congressional seats in Maryland, reproductive rights are front and center

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — In an election where the future of reproductive rights is on the ballot in Maryland and elsewhere across the country, the state’s all-male congressional delegation stands to gain an influx of women.

It could happen in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, where Democrat April McClain Delaney is running against conservative Republican Neil Parrott, a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates. They’re competing to represent a wide swath of rural Maryland and more affluent liberal suburbs of Washington, D.C.

In a year when voters also could elect the nation’s first female president, women are vying for two other open seats in Maryland’s nine-member congressional delegation. The delegation has been all-male since former Sen. Barbara Mikulski retired in 2016, but the state has a long history of female officeholders from both parties.

McClain Delaney, a mother of four daughters whose husband previously represented the district, says she wants to protect the reproductive rights of her children and other young people in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to end the constitutional right to an abortion and leave those decisions to the states. She previously worked in the Biden administration’s Department of Commerce and has focused much of her career on protecting children’s online safety.

“I can’t believe that my mother, my daughters’ grandmother, had more reproductive freedoms than they currently do,” she said in a recent interview. She said she once experienced an ectopic pregnancy that could have been fatal if restrictive abortion laws had limited her access to life-saving medical care.

Parrott, meanwhile, has deflected questions about reproductive rights on the campaign trail. He made his anti-abortion stance clear during 12 years in the Maryland State House. But now, he says, it’s “really a non-issue” because he doesn’t believe either political party can get enough congressional votes to regulate abortion nationally — a position similar to that of former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee.

That approach also echoes recent efforts by other conservatives and leaders of the anti-abortion movement now struggling to appeal to voters in blue-leaning Maryland. The state’s voters will also consider a constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.

Parrott, 54, has worked to move the conversation to friendlier terrain, emphasizing his commitment to lowering inflation, creating a stronger economy for middle-class families and stopping illegal immigration. He says his opponent — who lives several miles outside the district in an affluent suburb of Washington — is out of touch with the struggles of everyday Americans, including people in the 6th Congressional District.

U.S. House members are only required to live in the state they represent.

McClain Delaney has used personal funds to bolster her campaign and received endorsements from big-name Democrats, including former House speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin.

She’s also outspent Parrott by a wide margin, according to AdImpact, which tracks campaign spending. Just since the May 14 primaries, Democrats have spent more than $600,000 on advertising in the 6th District race, compared to slightly more than $30,000 spent by Republicans.

What to know about the 2024 Election

Those figures are not expected to change much between now and Nov. 5, with McClain-Delaney having a nearly 20-1 advantage in ad spending reserved the rest of the way. Neither candidate has received much support from the national parties or outside groups, a possible indicator that both sides view the seat as safely Democratic.

Parrot is a longtime resident of Hagerstown, a small city in western Maryland surrounded by farmland. A traffic engineer by trade, he said he can relate to people dealing with high grocery bills and unaffordable housing.

“I have a history here,” he said. “I’ve served in the community here.”

But McClain Delaney, 60, argues she’s more ideologically in line with most 6th District voters. She calls herself a “common sense, common ground” candidate. The daughter of an Idaho potato farmer, she says she can get Washington politicians to address the needs of working families.

McClain Delaney has attacked Parrott’s record in the Maryland House of Delegates, particularly on issues impacting women.

Parrott, in turn, has accused McClain Delaney of lying and taking things out of context. In an interview last week, Parrott said he supports the right to abortion in cases of rape, incest and when the mother’s life is at risk.

Tensions between the candidates erupted into a heated exchange during the last few minutes of a recent public forum.

“Shame on her,” Parrott said, pointing a finger at McClain Delaney, who denied putting out false information as members of the audience chanted and jeered.

The House seat was vacated by David Trone, who ran for Senate and lost to Angela Alsobrooks in the Democratic primary earlier this year.

The 6th District hasn’t always favored Democrats. It was represented by Republican Roscoe Bartlett for 20 years before McClain Delaney’s husband, John Delaney, won the seat in 2012 following a redistricting that helped Democrats.

Maryland’s congressional delegation currently consists of eight Democrats and one Republican. Three women are vying for open seats this election cycle.

In Maryland’s deep blue 3rd Congressional District, state Sen. Sarah Elfreth won a crowded Democratic primary. Her main rival was former U.S. Capitol police officer Harry Dunn, who defended the U.S. Capitol against Jan. 6 rioters. In 2018, Elfreth became the youngest woman elected to the state Senate. She’s pledged to prioritize reproductive health and affordable child care.

Reproductive freedom is also at the forefront of the U.S. Senate race between former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan and Alsobrooks, a Democrat who argues women have too much at stake to risk losing Democrats’ thin Senate majority. She said having more women at the table is a big deal.

“I believe it makes our policies more complete,” she said in a recent interview. “And so this is a moment that gives us the opportunity to make sure that we are adding women — mothers and daughters and sisters — to the Senate to ensure that the variety of lived experiences are represented in that body.”

Click to comment

World

‘A Complete Unknown’ First Reactions Praise ‘Shockingly Moving’ Bob Dylan Biopic: Timothée Chalamet’s Performance Is a ‘True Tour De Force’

Published

4 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

‘A Complete Unknown’ First Reactions Praise ‘Shockingly Moving’ Bob Dylan Biopic: Timothée Chalamet’s Performance Is a ‘True Tour De Force’

The first reactions to Timothée Chalamet‘s “A Complete Unknown” have started rolling in on social media ahead of the Bob Dylan biopic’s Christmas release date, with members of the press praising Chalamet, Monica Barbaro and more for their performances in the film.

“Timothée Chalamet slides into Bob Dylan with an effortless yet focused determination. Fearless in some hypnotic moments,” Variety‘s senior awards editor Clayton Davis wrote on X. “For me, it’s Monica Barbaro and Elle Fanning that anchor the story of an illusive, mysterious man that remains in that sphere. James Mangold helms with confidence, with gorgeous sets and costumes. Much respect to one of the best to do it.”

Film critic Scott Menzel said Chalamet “delivers the performance of the year,” adding: “A true tour-de-force where Chalamet is never seen. Chalamet’s performance is not just about the voice and look but rather all of the little nuances and mannerisms that he perfectly brings to his life in his portrayal of Bob Dylan. Great supporting performances too from Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez and Edward Norton as Pete Seeger.”

While the reactions to “A Complete Unknown” have been mostly positive so far, the biopic received some negative responses, including Los Angeles film critic Ryan Swen, who used some Dylan lyrics to describe his reaction: “It’s vile and deceitful — it’s cruel and it’s mean. Ugliest thing that you have ever seen.”

The Playlist’s Gregory Ellwood, meanwhile, called the film “superb” and “shockingly moving,” adding: “Chalamet is fantastic. Monica Barbaro is incredible. We need a Joan Baez spin off movie.”

From Searchlight Pictures and director James Mangold (“Walk the Line”), “A Complete Unknown” follows a young Dylan as he arrives in New York in the early 1960s. The film tracks the music legend as he becomes a fixture in the Greenwich Village folk scene and befriends people like Joan Baez (played by Barbaro) and Pete Seeger (Edward Norton). The film ends after Dylan straps on an electric guitar at Newport Folk Festival in 1965, playing “Like a Rolling Stone” and revolutionizing the genre.

Speaking to Variety back in July, when the first trailer for the film was released, a dozen Dylan experts expressed cautious optimism toward “A Complete Unknown,” praising Chalamet’s performance of “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.”

“A Complete Unknown” is written by Mangold and Jay Cocks, and based on Elijah Wald’s 2015 book “Dylan Goes Electric!” The rest of the cast includes Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash, P. J. Byrne as Harold Leventhal, Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie, Dan Fogler as Albert Grossman and Will Harrison as Bob Neuwirth, among others. The film is produced by Fred Berger, Alex Heineman, Peter Jaysen, Bob Bookman, Alan Gasmer, Jeff Rosen, Chalamet and Mangold.

Check out more first reactions below.

“Wow, #ACompleteUnknown. Timothée Chalamet’s performance in this is superior. James Mangold and his entire team pull off a technical feat from sound, editing, costume, cinematography to production design, down to the subtleties of makeup and hair. Loved it.” — Jazz Tangcay (@jazzt)

“#ACompleteUnknown is absolutely incredible. Clocks in at nearly 2.5 hrs but flies by. The musical performances are perfectly placed, the story is captivating. Timothée Chalamet, Monica Barbaro, Elle Fanning, and Edward Norton all deliver unforgettable performances. I’m in awe.” — Tessa Smith (@MamasGeeky)

“A COMPLETE UNKNOWN looks and sounds great, a standard biopic that truly comes alive when its iconic characters make passionate music together. Timothée Chalamet is well-cast but Monica Barbaro and Edward Norton steal the show as Joan Baez and Pete Seeger.” — Abe Friedtanzer (@movieswithabe)

“A Complete Unknown manages to maintain tell us everything about Bob Dylan while telling us almost nothing about Bob Dylan. Some would say that was the target. The movie is ultimately about the power of the individual and talent and how what we all want can turn on a dime, repeatedly. Chalamet brings enormous power to this portrait of a man who just keeps leaving but then also keeps delivering surprises. Edward Norton’s turn is perfectly true to Seeger. Monica Barbero delivers a Baez of many facets, from fire to ice. And Elle Fanning is destined to be underrated in a complex turn as “the first NY girlfriend.” I really need to see it again to fully negotiate all that is there and all that is not there by design.” — David Poland (@DavidPoland)

“A COMPLETE UNKNOWN is a solid biopic, showing Bob Dylan as a deeply talented individual with a lack of social intelligence. Timothee Chalamet is excellent & Monica Barbaro is captivating as Joan Baez. Oscar nominatons for Best Picture, Cinematography, Sound, Costumes are possible” — Tim Gerber (@ZurrieSkate)

World

Russia launched intercontinental ballistic missile toward Ukraine, air force says

Published

5 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Russia launched intercontinental ballistic missile toward Ukraine, air force says

Russian troops launched various missiles, reportedly including an intercontinental ballistic missile from the Astrakhan region, in an early morning attack on Ukraine on Thursday.

Ukraine’s Air Force said on its Telegram account that it destroyed six Kh-101 cruise missiles using anti-aircraft combat.

The Russian attack hit critical infrastructure in the central-eastern city of Dnipro, according to the air force.

US EMBASSY IN KYIV CLOSED WEDNESDAY AS ‘POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANT AIR ATTACK’ LOOMS

A Ukrainian chaplain from the city of Dnipro Leonid conducts an evacuation from a frontline village, as local residents are urged to leave due to shelling on November 19, 2024 in the direction of Kurakhovo, Ukraine. ((Photo by Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images))

This comes after Ukraine fired American-supplied long-range missiles into Russia on Tuesday, marking the first time for Kyiv to do so in the 1,000 days of war – a move that was authorized by President Biden on Sunday.

UKRAINE FIRES FIRST BARRAGE OF US-MADE LONG-RANGE MISSILES INTO RUSSIA, KREMLIN SAYS

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Moscow-appointed head of Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, Yevgeny Balitsky during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

There are currently no reports on injuries or fatalities.

If the attack did involve an ICBM, it would mark a major escalation in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the first time such a weapon has been used.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

World

Are users deserting Elon Musk’s X en masse and where are they heading?

Published

6 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Are users deserting Elon Musk’s X en masse and where are they heading?

The limited data on X user numbers makes measuring the full extent of the reported exodus from the platform almost impossible.

Hundreds of thousands of dissatisfied users have reportedly fled Elon Musk’s X, previously known as Twitter, following Donald Trump’s re-election, with an estimated 115,000 accounts deactivated in the US alone on the day after the ballot.

Celebrities and prominent brands ditching the platform cite mounting concerns over the unchecked spread of misinformation, conspiracy theories and hate speech, as well as what they consider to be Musk’s role in facilitating Trump’s return to power.

“X is a toxic media platform and (…) its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse,” news media The Guardian said in a statement announcing it would no longer be posting on the platform.

But, determining the exact number of users leaving X is challenging, as the platform does not regularly release global user data.

The Euroverify team takes a look at what we know about the number of users deserting X and the platforms to which they are migrating.

How many people are on X and how many are leaving?

Estimates of X’s monthly global user base vary widely. The most generous estimates — used by research agencies and prominent business media — place the number of users at 611 million in April of this year, with a 6% drop to 588 million by September.

While many experts contest these figures, there has been a trend of declining user numbers on the platform since the 2022 Musk takeover, driven by departures in Western democracies.

X is legally obliged to disclose its user numbers in the EU under the requirements of the bloc’s digital rulebook, the Digital Services Act (DSA).

Its reports show that the average number of EU monthly users fell from 111.4 million in the six months leading up to January 2024 to 106 million in the six months leading up to July.

Although it doesn’t reflect user numbers in other regions of the world, it is the only official data provided by X that shows a trend of decline in users.

An analysis by Financial Times analysts also suggests X user numbers have fallen by almost a third in the UK and almost a fifth in the US in the year leading up to September 2024.

A closer look at the data shows that user numbers have fallen in 25 of 27 EU member states over the past year, with only Germany and Finland seeing an uptick in numbers.

The drop in user numbers has coincided with a decline in financial prospects, with some estimating the company has lost 75% of its value since it was bought by Musk.

Where are they migrating?

Bluesky, a platform developed by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, is a popular destination for emigrating X users.

Its CEO Jay Graber revealed earlier this week that users had hit 20 million after averaging 1 million new users per day over a five-day period. Its user numbers have more than tripled since late August.

Mastodon, developed by a German non-profit, is also welcoming users from X. Its app downloads are up 47% on iOS and 17% on Android this month according to its creator Eugen Rochko.

But Meta’s Threads, rolled out last year, remains the direct competitor with most active users, estimated at around 275 million.

Could Bluesky be the next big thing?

Given its proximity to the original Twitter interface and its emphasis on content moderation, Bluesky is being widely tipped as the biggest threat to X.

“It certainly seems like an inflection point. Bluesky’s growth over the past couple of years has tended to be directly correlated with Elon Musk’s actions,” David Karpf, associate professor at the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, told Euronews.

He believes Musk’s use of the platform to propel Donald Trump’s campaign has played a significant role in convincing more users to leave the platform.

“It’s all been a trickle (of users leaving) up until the past month or two,” he explained. “But it seems like what happened during the election (means that) an awful lot of people who were using X decided, this is not for me.”

Bluesky operates independently to ensure big corporations do not influence its decisions, and users are able to select and fine-tune the algorithm that decides the content they are exposed to through custom feeds.

It has introduced new “anti-toxicity features”, such as the ability to detach your own post from a “quote post” made by another user. Replies to posts can also be hidden.

It also has strong blocking features, often described as a “nuclear block”, designed to stamp out harassment and abuse.

But there are concerns that if politics becomes the motive for the exodus from X to Bluesky, the platforms could splinter into two echo chambers, split along political and ideological lines.

For American writer and media critic Parer Molloy, concerns about Bluesky becoming an ideological ‘bubble’ are unfounded: “It’s not about avoiding disagreement — it’s about fostering an environment where disagreements can actually happen productively,” she wrote this week.

“On platforms like X, the problem isn’t just opposing views — it’s the sheer volume of hate, harassment, and dehumanising rhetoric that gets amplified by algorithms.”