Delaware Creates Puerto Rico Day:
“Yo soy boricua, pa que tu lo sepas,” echoed through Legislative Hall as Puerto Ricans from across Delaware gathered to witness Gov. Matt Meyer sign House Bill 290, officially recognizing June 11 as Puerto Rico Day in the state.
“I am Puerto Rican, just so you know.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Puerto Ricans make up nearly 3% of Delaware’s population, totaling roughly 31,000 residents.
The driving force behind the legislation is state Rep. Josué Ortega of the 3rd District in Wilmington, the first and only Puerto Rican serving in the Delaware House of Representatives. Ortega said the bill represents not only a victory for Puerto Ricans, but also recognition for the broader Latino community and its contributions to the state.
“Puerto Rico Day is a remembrance of, you know, there are other nationalities here in the state of Delaware, where we also contribute to every local government,” Ortega said. “Now I think it’s important for them to know that we are here and we contribute and we will continue to help contribute to make Delaware a better place.”
For many attendees, the day was about more than celebration. It was also an opportunity to honor the history, struggles and resilience of Puerto Ricans who migrated to the mainland United States.
DSU Dorms To Be Converted To Kent County Homeless Shelter:
Delaware officials have reached an agreement to convert hundreds of Delaware State University dorms into a new homeless shelter modeled after the New Castle County Hope Center.
Gov. Matt Meyer and the Delaware State Housing authority announced last Thursday that the state would officially purchase the dorms, one month after Spotlight Delaware reported about ongoing negotiations over the property.
The Kent County Hope Center will be funded by federal grant money Delaware received last year to expand rural healthcare access. Pending a final contract, the state housing authority will purchase the dorms for more than $11 million, according to a June 11 press release announcing the venture.
“We must provide Delaware’s most vulnerable with safe, stable shelter with dignity, providing real hope for a brighter tomorrow,” Meyer said in the release. “The Kent County Hope Center will provide comprehensive services to address the root causes of those in our community who are most in need.”
The framework announced on Sunday by President Trump and Iranian officials includes a cease-fire of 60 days to pave the way for negotiations toward a final peace agreement. Mr. Trump said the deal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the world’s energy supplies, which would likely ease soaring U.S. gas prices that have become a political problem for the president and bring respite to Iran’s economy. Iranian officials have not commented on the specifics of the agreement.
The preliminary deal, the text of which has not been released, could still come apart, and the negotiations to come are likely to be complex. They are expected to include Iran’s demands that the Trump administration ease American economic sanctions, and U.S. demands for further limits on Tehran’s nuclear program — two issues on which neither side has shown much willingness to compromise.
It was also unclear what the deal would mean for Lebanon, where the Israeli military has been attacking the Iran-backed militant group, Hezbollah. Iran and Pakistan, a mediator in the negotiations, said the agreement called for an immediate end to military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon. But on Monday, Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said in a statement that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposed any Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. Israel was not directly involved in the U.S.-Iran talks.
The preliminary deal to end the war between the United States and Iran seeks to quickly reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but companies said on Monday that they need more details before resuming full navigation.
“There are a lot of questions that need to be clarified,” said S.V. Anchan, the chairman of Safesea Group, a shipping company based in Piscataway, N.J., that has two ships in the gulf, both of which had been attacked since the war’s start. One of the ships was so badly damaged that it was not operating and the other was waiting to leave the gulf.
Mr. Anchan said he wanted a clear commitment from Iran that ships could pass through the strait safely. “We want to hear from the Iranians that they will not attack us,” he said.
Another shipping executive, Andreas Enger, chief executive of the Norwegian shipping company Höegh Autoliners, said that news of the agreement was not enough to allow for the immediate resumption of ships through the strait.
“But let’s hope that it is the start of the process that will get us there,” he said.
That’s what this is–the start of a process. Again. Nothing about Iran’s WMD. Say, wasn’t that the alleged reason Trump started the war?
Dog Bites (‘Michelle Obama Is A’) Man. From Trump’s UFC White House Birthday Celebration. Where else?:
On Sunday night, UFC star Josh Hokit secured a high-profile victory over Derrick Lewis at the UFC Freedom 250 event held on the White House’s South Lawn to celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. However, following the victory, he went viral for all the wrong reasons.
During his post-match interview in the ring, Hokit took the opportunity to share a baseless conspiracy theory about former First Lady Michelle Obama.
After his win over Lewis at the high-profile event on the White House lawn, Hokit addressed the crowd in attendance, where he pedaled a right-wing conspiracy theory that Michelle Obama is secretly a transgender woman.
“Michelle Obama is a man,” Hokit yelled into the microphone. “Am I right, America?”
Hokit then walked out of the ring to the cheers from the crowd.
Hokit, like Trump, knows the demographic he was addressing. Here’s something I didn’t know:
Obviously, there is no basis to this claim, but the conspiracy theory has persisted for more than a decade and has been peddled by the usual suspects like Alex Jones and Jason Whitlock, despite consistent fact-checks.
Snopes has provided a very thorough history of the consistently debunked conspiracy theory, as well as an explanation as to why it persists. The theory dates back to at least 2008, but it picked up steam in 2014 when the late comedian Joan Rivers was filmed on the streets of New York City claiming that Michelle was transgender and Barack Obama was gay.
What do you want to talk about?
