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As Congress reconvenes this week, the nation watches in anticipation of what America future holds while bracing for an intense battle of political wills, all while former President Donald Trump’s legal entanglements loom over the legislative process.

The critical issue is the passage of a short-term spending bill to stave off a looming government shutdown scheduled for October 1. The high-stakes standoff sets the stage for an unpredictable showdown between conservative hardliners and those who seek a more pragmatic path.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, caught in the crossfire of a political maelstrom, finds himself in a most precarious position. According to CNN, during a private conference call last week, McCarthy urged his colleagues to support a short-term spending deal to avert an impending shutdown. He proposed postponing the larger funding fight until later in the fall, a strategy that some view as prudent to ensure the government continues to function.

The House and Senate face substantial differences in their funding proposals, with McCarthy’s prior deal with the White House crumbling under the pressure of demands from the conservative wing of his party. As a result, the two chambers are hundreds of billions of dollars apart, increasing the urgency to find a compromise.

To further complicate matters, Congress must tackle other pressing end-of-the-month deadlines, including extending federal aviation programs and potentially initiating an absurd, nasty, and vindictive impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden in the House.

The White House and senators from both sides of the aisle advocate tying the short-term funding bill to critical provisions such as $24 billion in aid to Ukraine and an additional $16 billion for communities devastated by natural disasters. However, a vocal faction of House conservatives opposes swiftly passing additional aid to Ukraine.

The procedural hurdle of securing a rule vote in the House adds another layer of complexity. Some hard-right conservatives have declared their willingness to block the rule vote for the spending bill if their demands are not met.

All of this leaves McCarthy at a crossroads. He must decide whether to align with conservative hardliners, risk a head-on collision with the White House, or forge a compromise with Democrats, passing the spending bill by a two-thirds majority. The latter option could force McCarthy to make concessions to Democrats, jeopardizing his standing among his party’s far-right members and the possibility of his being removed as Speaker. The vociferous if not powerful MAGA wing has continued their defense of Trump, the four-times indicted, twice impeached, former president whom a civil jury also concluded sexually assaulted a writer. They are seeking to use as leverage anything they believe could potentially halt Trump’s prosecutions.

However, GOP Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho, who chairs one of the appropriations subcommittees, acknowledged the need for Democratic support in short-term and longer-term funding bills. He warned that McCarthy may find himself in a precarious situation as compromise becomes the order of the day in Washington.

“The challenge for McCarthy, and I’ll be real honest with you, is that if he works with the Democrats, obviously, the Democrats are not going to do it for free. They want something. So, it’s going to be a compromise – one of those really bad words in Washington for some reason,” Simpson told CNN. “Then you’re going to find a resolution introduced on the floor to vacate the chair.”

While the short-term funding crisis dominates the current congressional agenda, the House will also consider its homeland spending bill, offering conservatives a fresh opportunity to influence their party’s border policy.

Meanwhile, Democrats are already positioning themselves to pin any potential government shutdown squarely on the House GOP. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer emphasized their focus on funding the government and preventing what he called “House Republican extremists” from causing a shutdown when the Senate returns next week.

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* This article was originally published here

Sean “Diddy” Combs has gifted his Bad Boy family with life-changing anniversary gifts. According to Billboard, the music mogul has decided to return the publishing rights of his label’s artists and songwriters to their rightful owners.

The move resulted in Bad Boy Entertainment’s host of creatives quickly signing agreements to regain control of their intellectual property. Ma$e, Faith Evans, The LOX, 112, and the Estate of the Notorious B.I.G. are among those who have already inked deals to reclaim their rights, as per Billboard. Combs started the process in May 2021 to sell the catalog, but the details of the arrangements are still unknown.

For years, the administration of publishing on behalf of Bad Boy was entrusted to EMI, a subsidiary of Sony Music Publishing/Sony Corporation of America. Notably, EMI still handles Combs’ publishing. Providing artists with publishing rights could mean tens of millions of dollars for their bottom line, as sales of publishing have steadily increased over the years. For example, Dr. Dre recently sold his catalog for more than $300 million, and Justin Bieber netted north of $200 million.

This generous move by Combs coincides with the 30th anniversary celebration of Bad Boy Entertainment this year. The decision follows a longstanding public feud between Combs and Ma$e, one of Bad Boy’s hitmakers. The rift arose when Combs criticized the Recording Academy during his 2020 Industry Icon Award acceptance speech for undervaluing Black artists in R&B and rap. Ma$e confronted his former label boss in an Instagram post. He revealed that he offered $2 million to buy back his publishing, but Combs said no. Ma$e further alleged, “Your past business practices knowingly have continued to starve your artist purposely and have been extremely unfair to the very same artist that helped u obtain that Icon Award on the iconic Bad Boy label.” The post shed light on longstanding grievances, including Combs retaining Ma$e’s publishing rights from 24 years ago in exchange for a mere $20,000.

In a later interview with The Breakfast Club in 2022, Combs stated that Ma$e owed him $3 million for an album advance that was never received.

Bad Boy Entertainment, founded by Combs in 1993, has enjoyed a storied history in the music industry. The label quickly became successful, with many albums and singles that went gold, platinum, or multiplatinum. The artists included Craig Mack, the Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Ma$e, Total, 112, The LOX, and Diddy himself. Over the years, the label’s illustrious roster has also featured talents like Carl Thomas, Shyne, Dream, Danity Kane, and French Montana. Additionally, it housed an in-house writer/producer collective known as The Hitmen, which included notable figures like the late Chucky Thompson, Stevie J, Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie, and Mario Winans. Recent releases under the Bad Boy banner include Machine Gun Kelly’s 2022 album “Mainstream Sellout” and Janelle Monae’s latest offering, “The Age of Pleasure.”

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* This article was originally published here

Longtime Spectrum News NY1 anchor Ruschell Boone has died. Her passing was announced Monday by the 24-hour local cable news channel. Boone died Sunday from complications related to pancreatic cancer. She was 48.

An Emmy award-winning journalist, Boone started at NY1 in 2002. She reported on several U.S. events, from the 2016 Manhattan bombings to the triumph of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, Boone stumbled into broadcasting during her senior year at Baruch College at the campus’ radio station, when another guest missed their spot. She did internships at CNBC, CNN before going to NY1.

RELATED – Ruschell Boone: Making her mark on journalism

“I feel very blessed, because for my entire career, and I guess my whole life, there are always people who were kind enough to see something in me and allow me to become,” Boone told the AmNews in a 2019 interview, “Where I’m from… girls like me aren’t really expected to do well, but my mother and grandmother always thought I would do well in life. My mom and grandmother sacrificed a lot to send me to a really good school in Jamaica that they absolutely could not afford.”

Boone is survived by her husband Todd Boone, a production technician at NY1, and two children.

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* This article was originally published here