Latest news with #MichaelFeldman
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
With their brand in the 'toilet,' Democrats commence shadow 2028 primary for president
When Kamala Harris was asked point blank if the reason she passed on running for California governor was because she is seeking a different office, the former Democratic vice president said she doesn't "want to go back in the system" just yet. "I want to travel the country, I want to listen to people, I want to talk with people and I don't want it to be transactional, where I'm asking for their vote," Harris said during a July 31 on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert", her first interview since stiff arming the 2026 election to lead her native Golden State. But the 60-year-old can't help and leave bread crumbs out for supporters, such as when she hinted in her announcement that she will be "sharing more details in the months ahead" about her future. More: Kamala Harris' decision kickstarts the 2028 Democratic presidential primary: 5 takeaways "That's leaving more than the door ajar, that's pushing the door wide open," Michael Feldman, a former senior adviser to Vice President Al Gore, told USA TODAY. "I understand the optionality that creates for her: she shut a door, she's opening another. And by the way, nobody wants to foreclose their options and their opportunity." 'A contested primary' ahead If Harris does enter the fray for a third try at the presidency it will certainly stir the 2028 pot. She brings the highest name ID of any suspected contender and an even broader donor network with established relationships to boot. But campaign experts and strategists warn that no one should expect a red carpet to the nomination this time around. "There will be a contested primary," Feldman said. "There will be a large field of people who feel like it's their time and it's their moment." More: Town halls, f-bombs and Elon Musk: How Democrats are waging a new messaging war As the Democratic reboot continues, White House hopefuls such as Harris are tiptoeing into an earlier than usual shadow campaign that political observers say they believe will be among the party's most consequential presidential primaries in decades. "More is riding on this pre-primary race than in most years because the party's brand is in the toilet," said Matthew Dallek, a historian and professor of political management at George Washington University. But Democrats must be cautious about trotting too far to the left based on the outcome of a single or handful of recent elections, some strategists warn. Vice President JD Vance, thought by many to be next in line to inherit the MAGA mantle for populist-minded conservatives, is one of the more effective national communicators for Republicans with sharpened skills as Trump's attack dog. He and other potential GOP figures are ready to dig Democrats a deeper hole. More: JD Vance is now the MAGA heir-apparent. Does that make him the front-runner for 2028? While voting won't commence in the next White House race for 17 more months, that's not stopping a number of sitting governors, senators and other aspiring future Democratic presidents to be making pilgrimages to early voting states. They're also penning memoirs, doing marathon podcast interviews, squirreling away campaign cash and outlining their stances on topics that will be relevant to the progressive base, moderates and eventually independent voters down the line. More: Kamala Harris explores 'drama of running for president' in new book on 2024 bid All of the preliminary jockeying from such a diverse and crowded unofficial field suggests a resilience among rank-and-file Democrats despite abysmal approval ratings that haven't been this low among voters since 1990. "The only way to begin to improve it is through whoever the next presidential nominee will be," Dallek said "The stakes, in that sense, are higher. It's not just the presidency. It's not just the nomination. There's a sense among Democrats that they need to do this, and there's a big debate." Raising brands and saving campaign cash Several 2028 hopefuls have already begun to make strategic moves to keep their name in the mix with the party faithful. About a dozen have visited or have plans to make stops in the early primary states, such as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, 60, who in April caught attention for delivering a searing speech in New Hampshire aimed at 'do-nothing' Democrats. Sen. Ruben Gallego, 45, of Arizona, whose name has lately shot up on the rumored list of White House candidates, is set to attend two events in the Granite State later this month too, further fueling speculation that he's a possible contender. "I'll be on the ground in New Hampshire... taking on the GOP's billionaire agenda and standing up for working families," Gallego, who was elected to the Senate last fall, said in a July 29 post on X. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, 57, trekked through rural South Carolina in July. He was followed by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, 47, who talked up flipping red states with union leaders and later Rep. Ro Khanna, 48, D-Calif., who made a four-day tour featuring town halls and visits to Black churches. Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, 43, may claim he "isn't running for anything" but his May trip to Iowa for a veterans-focused forum focused heavily on existential questions facing Democrats and the country. Buttigieg shot to fame running for president in 2020 as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and he has been raising his national brand through a podcast tour. Other potential contenders are also taking the podcast route, including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, 46, who recently lamented how Democrats "gave up on" entire swaths of the country during a July 29 sit-down chat on former DNC chair Jaime Harrison's "At Our Table." "I'm very much am a person of action, and I think as a party we've got to stop being the party of 'no and slow' and start being the party of 'yes and now,'" said Moore, whose name is tossed around despite saying he isn't running for president. More: Harris campaign's embrace of social media influencers is years in the making Nina Smith, a Democratic strategist who worked on Buttigieg's 2020 presidential campaign, said these early moves serve the candidates by creating and maintaining local connections. They also lend to rebuilding the party's brand organically through the excitement of a nominee. "There's some juice, there's some fire, from the perspective of people who want to step up and lead and be the standard bearer for our party," Smith said. "We're kind of spoiled for choices in that regard. That's a good thing." Such an elongated presidential campaign can exhaust resources as much as voters, which may explain why notable 2028 contenders are storing up massive cash reserves. Khanna, whose California district is located in the heart of Silicon Valley, had roughly $14.2 million in his campaign coffers at the end of June, according to the latest Federal Election Commission report. Other congressional Democrats on the 2028 list who can legally transfer their funds to a presidential campaign include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., 35, who had a record-breaking first quarter haul this year and had about $9.8 million in the bank. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., 51, a media maven with possible White House aspirations, holds approximately $10.2 million in his accounts. Big debates on Trump, affordability and Gaza lie ahead One feature of the pre-primary jockeying that is coming into focus is the major differences within the Democratic ranks, such as how best to oppose the Trump administration's bulldozing agenda. An example of that larger debate was on display on Capitol Hill this past week when Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, a rumored 2028 contender, blasted his fellow party members for supporting a bundle of proposals backed by the GOP administration that would increase resources and funding to police departments and officers. More: 'It's with a full heart that I share this news': Cory Booker drops out of 2020 race "This, to me, is the problem with Democrats in America right now is we're willing to be complicit to Donald Trump to let this pass through when we have all the leverage right now," said Booker, 56, who ran a short-lived 2020 presidential campaign and has garnered renewed interest since delivering a record-breaking Senate speech. Booker's comment outraged Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., 65, another prospective and former 2020 White House contender, who needled him for missing a committee hearing on the bipartisan package. There are other issues for Democrats to sort out as well, such as navigating the rising populism from the left over cost of living concerns that helped propel Zohran Mamdani's primary win in the New York City mayor's race. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, 65, a centrist-aligned Democrat who is being urged to run by more moderate voices, has cautioned against Democrats embracing the 33-year-old New Yorker who is hoping Big Apple voters will pick him this November to lead the nation's largest city. "Recognizing that the American dream is unaffordable and inaccessible and that working hard no longer guarantees getting ahead isn't a socialist observation; it's clear to people of all political stripes," Emanuel said in a June 26 op-ed to the Wall Street Journal. More: Rahm Emanuel warns Democrats in 2020 not to play to 'socialist' type "Affordable healthcare, lifetime retirement security and affordable community college are as American as apple pie, but they won't be realized by consulting the Democratic Socialists of America's playbook," added Emanuel, who most recently served as Biden's U.S. ambassador to Japan and previously was an Illinois congressman and White House chief of staff to then-President Barack Obama. Feldman, the former Gore advisor, said there's a lot of energy among the progressive wing of the party that can't be dismissed, but he questions if someone such as Mamdani could be competitive in a national general election. 'My argument would be, no, he couldn't be,' Feldman said. 'So, you know, there'll be an argument between the various factions in the Democratic Party about what policies we want to present to the American people, and can you harness the energy in the electorate.' More: Election 2024 recap: 'We accept the results,' Harris concedes Other Democratic thinkers agree these sort of sparring matches are inevitable but that they should be looked at more optimistically in the 2028 context given the presidential field is expected to include uber-progressives, centrists and even moderately conservative. "It's gonna be messy and personal, and it's going to feel bad sometimes in the process, but I think it's going to help us shape as a party, what we believe," Amanda Litman, a former Obama 2012 and Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign staffer who co-founded Run for Something, a progressive group that supports candidates for public office, told USA TODAY. Progressives versus everyone else? Every potential 2028 contender will have to talk about a voter's lived experiences and connect with them on the issues that matter most, according to various Democrats who spoke with USA TODAY. But they will also have to evolve with the progressive base on issues the mainstream party has been fearful to embrace. Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who lost his reelection bid last year, is touting new polling by Data for Progress released in late July that shows of New York City primary voters strongly sympathize with Palestinians. The survey found support for Palestinian rights fueled much of Mamdani's support, including 78% of respondents who said Israel is committing genocide in the region and another 79% who said they support restricting weapons to the U.S. ally. Bowman, who was opposed heavily by pro-Israel groups, pointed out that Khanna stood up early as one of the first members of Congress to call for a cease-fire during the Biden era, saying his former colleague should get "a lot of credit for that." As the 2028 field takes shape, Bowman argued that the party cannot be seen as titling the scales against more left-leaning contenders. He also warned the possible presidential contenders that they should not ignore the shifting tides that populist-minded progressives are causing, especially amid widespread reports of starvation in Gaza. "I expect a robust primary debate," Bowman told USA TODAY. "And I hope that ideas rule the day over special interests and politics where we can see the rise of an authentic, historic leadership." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: After 2024 wipeout, Democrats' shadow 2028 primary has begun
Boston Globe
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Thornton Willis, who brought emotion to geometric painting, dies at 89
What he was painting — or, in a sense, defending — was a unique brand of geometric abstraction imbued with the energy, personality, and intense material focus of the midcentury New York School. Beginning with horizontal stripes and proceeding through zigzags, wedges, lattices, triangles, and crenelated shapes, often rendered on very large canvases, Mr. Willis spent a lifetime patiently excavating the problems and possibilities of the painted surface — in terms of color, texture, process and space. Advertisement His first well-known series, which he called 'Slat' paintings, was made on the floor with 4-inch paint rollers. For a few years in the 1970s, he gained widespread recognition and success with his wedges: upright, mesa-like shapes reminiscent of box-cutter blades. Then he dropped them in favor of overlapping lines and patterns of triangles that evoked isometric drawing. However the details evolved, his interest in creating balance and tension out of nothingness, in converting his own passing emotions into colors and brushstrokes, never wavered. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'In a sense, I've been painting the same painting since I started,' he suggested in the 2009 documentary short 'Portrait of an American Artist,' directed by Michael Feldman. 'It's like each painting is still sort of part of the painting before. It just seems somewhat impractical to work on the same actual canvas for an entire lifetime, and so you sort of move on — but each painting is kind of a segue into the next.' Advertisement Thornton Willis died June 15 in Manhattan. He was 89. His wife, painter Vered Lieb, said he died in a hospital from complications of COVID and pneumonia. An undated image of Mr. Willis. VIA THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA SARAH MOODY GALLERY OF ART/NYT Though Mr. Willis was deeply affected by the action and grit of painters such as Franz Kline and Willem de Kooning, he also took in such ostensibly contrary influences as Piet Mondrian and later hard-edge painters, resolving them all in canvases that balanced rich, organic brushwork against precisely organized, rigorously abstract composition. Often improvisatory but generally also with a touch of engineering about them, his paintings demanded sustained attention. From a certain distance, the arrangements of color and shape would seem to be the point, whether large or small, simple or complex. On closer view, those same thoughtful patterns dissolve into mere scaffolds for innumerable small decisions about the application of paint. In his 2014 painting 'Three Totems,' three vertical yellow bars nearly 6 feet tall float on a purple ground; four bars seem to overlap in an endless rectangle in 'Rashomon' (1986); and in 'A Painting for You,' made in 1988, irregular pieces dazzle in half a dozen colors. His own influence was both broad and substantial. Artists who visited his studio included painters Brice Marden and Sean Scully and sculptor Richard Serra. In a phone interview, painter James Little, a close friend, called him 'a major American painter' who 'punched above his weight and stayed there.' Painter Neil Jenney, in remarks at a memorial service, declared, 'With the passing of Thornton Willis, we say goodbye to the greatest abstract expressionist of them all.' Advertisement Mr. Willis's "Mass Driver," acrylic on canvas, 1987. THORNTON WILLIS, VIA THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA SARAH MOODY GALLERY OF ART/NYT Thornton Wilson Willis was born in Pensacola, Fla., on May 25, 1936, the elder of two sons of Edna Mae (Hall) Willis and Willard Willis, a Church of Christ minister. His family moved frequently around Florida and Alabama as his father took up posts in different congregations. His mother had a nervous breakdown and was eventually committed to a state institution. By high school he and his brother were back in Pensacola, living with their paternal grandparents. After serving in the Marine Corps for three years, Mr. Willis went to school on the GI Bill, eventually earning a bachelor's degree in painting from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1962. Though he had drawn well as a child and been keenly interested in the Sunday comics, his first exposure to the larger art world came in a college art appreciation class, which introduced him to Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso. While he was briefly enrolled as an architecture student at Auburn University, a show of work by students of Hans Hofmann came to campus and changed his life: Mr. Willis visited every day for a month. In 1964, he enrolled in the MFA program at the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa to study with painter Melville Price, who became a close friend and mentor. In a 2009 essay, Mr. Willis recalled marching 'hand in hand up Dexter Avenue' in Montgomery with Price and his wife during one of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1965 marches. In 1967, after teaching in Mississippi for a year, Mr. Willis moved to New York for a job at Wagner College on Staten Island. Advertisement 'Everybody went around saying, 'Painting's dead,'' he said in a 2022 interview, describing the atmosphere at this time. 'I said, 'OK, painting's dead.' And I got to New York, and it wasn't dead at all.' Soon he had found a loft in Chelsea, and then one on Spring Street in SoHo; had his first solo show, at Henri Gallery in Washington, D.C.; and quit teaching. In SoHo, he was immersed in a vibrant community: artists Alan Saret and Gordon Matta-Clark were his neighbors, and the graffiti-marked brick walls visible in the neighborhood's many vacant lots inspired him. In 1972, short on money, he accepted a job at Louisiana State University in New Orleans and left New York. When he returned, two years later, painter Stewart Hitch introduced him to Lieb, who was looking to sell a loft on Canal Street before leaving town herself. Instead, the two soon found a new place to share, with room for a studio, on Mercer Street. Mr. Willis remained there with Lieb for the rest of his life. In addition to Lieb, he leaves their daughter, Rachel Willis, and his son, David Willis, from his marriage to Peggy Whisenhant. His marriages to Whisenhant and Jane Miles ended in divorce. Beginning in 1979, Mr. Willis had a run of success. A well-received show at the cooperative gallery 55 Mercer led to interest from the Oscarsson Hood Gallery, which showed him through the 1980s. He won a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1979 and a painting fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1980. Around 1982, Lieb said, something changed. 'He decided he couldn't do another wedge,' she recalled. 'I said, 'No, Thornton, we've been so broke, and we're finally getting some money!'' Advertisement But Mr. Willis didn't have it in him to make art that was anything but authentic self-expression. When critic James Panero asked in 'Portrait of an American Artist' what one could learn about Mr. Willis by looking at his paintings, he replied, 'That I'm an honest, straightforward person -- that I'm struggling to deal with what I feel is real, for me, in a confusing world.' This article originally appeared in
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Savannah Guthrie Opens Up About Her Painful Divorce After 16 Years of Silence
Savannah Guthrie broke her silence on her divorce from Mark Orchard 16 years later while appearing on the Reclaiming With Monica Lewinsky podcast. Guthrie and Orchard got married in 2005, and less than four years later, Guthrie filed for divorce. Guthrie is now married to Michael Feldman, who she wed in 2014. They share two personal experiences are simply too painful to talk about. For Savannah Guthrie, it's her divorce from her first husband Mark Orchard. But, after 16 years, she finally broke her silence on the matter while appearing on the Reclaiming With Monica Lewinsky podcast. Guthrie sat down with Lewinsky for a candid chat that explored grief, faith, career pivots, and the Today host's new book Mostly What God Does Is Love You. In a particularly vulnerable moment, while explaining how she sets boundaries about what she will and will not write about, Guthrie opened up about her painful split from Orchard. "I just had this whole reverie. I don't want to talk about that. For example, I don't want to talk about getting divorced," she explained. "It was horrible and sad and it broke my heart and it took me years to recover. And I'm not blaming anyone, but I don't really want to get into it, you know?" Orchard is a British journalist, who formerly worked as a White House correspondent and at Al Jazeera English. They tied the knot in 2005, and less than four years later, Guthrie filed for divorce. After their split, Guthrie began dating Michael Feldman, a former Democratic political aide. The two got engaged in 2013 and married in March 2014. They welcomed a daughter, Vale, the same year and a son, Charles, in 2016. During the interview, Guthrie also touched on her current marriage and the idea of having kids. "When we were dating, and by the way we dated for five and a half years," she started. "We both had commitment issues for our own reasons. You know, I met him very soon after getting separated and divorced, so I was like, here's what's never going to happen. You know, I don't know. I can't have a boyfriend. I don't want to. So it took a long, long time." Guthrie and Feldman celebrated 11 years of marriage in March. During the celebratory month, they were spotted attending "The Tell Book Tour With Amy Griffin" event in New York City, where they coordinated in dark date-night looks. Read the original article on InStyle
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Communicator Awards Celebrate Media Executives and Supports Saban Community Clinic
Communicator Awards Celebrate Media Executives and Supports Saban Community Clinic originally appeared on L.A. Mag. The second annual Communicator Awards presented awards to media executives with the goal of supporting the Saban Community Clinic last night at Amazon awards are chaired by Carrie Davis, founder of communications consultancy CD Consulting and a member of the Friends Board of the Saban Community Clinic. The awards aim to build awareness in Los Angeles' communications industry for the Saban Community Clinic. Proceeds from the event will benefit the clinic's medical, dental, and behavioral health care services for low-income and uninsured men, women and children, according to the organization. Founded in 1967, the LA Free Clinic provides medical, dental, and behavioral health care through more than 150,000 patient visits annually. 86% of the clinic's patients live below the federal poverty line and Saban 'provides care to anyone who needs it.'The Communications Leadership Award, presented by Dean of USC Annenberg School for Journalism & Communication Willow Bay, honored Michael Feldman, FGS Global North America Co-Chairman. The Leadership in Technology Communications Award, presented by CEO of Snap Inc. Evan Spiegel, honored Julie Henderson, CCO of Snap Inc. The Communications Champion Award, presented by Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment Dana Walden, honored Shannon Ryan, President of Marketing, Disney Entertainment Television. This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
Associated Press
05-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Amfeltec Celebrates 20th Anniversary
STOUFFVILLE, Ontario, Feb. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amfeltec Corporation proudly marks 20 years of innovation and excellence. Since its founding in 2005, Amfeltec has been at the forefront of technological innovation, providing cutting-edge solutions for electronics design, production testing, and embedded systems development. Over the past two decades, the company has earned a reputation for excellence in high-speed signal processing, PCI Express expansion, telecommunications, embedded systems and testing equipment. 'It's an honour to have been a trusted and established Canadian company for so many years,' said Michael Feldman, President and CTO of Amfeltec. 'For 20 years, we've had the privilege of serving technical experts from engineers to hobbyists, witnessing the incredible growth of our industry. Throughout our journey, we have introduced numerous patented technologies, ensuring our users benefit from unique, reliable, efficient, and scalable solutions. Our clientele spans various industries, including telecommunications, aerospace, industrial automation, medical technology, and military applications.' Amfeltec's modern product lines – including the Squid Carrier Board(TM), Piranha USB Telecom Adapter(TM), Arowana PCIe SSD Board(TM), AngelShark Carrier Board(TM) and PocketShark (TM) for System Monitoring and Crash Recovery – are widely used out-of-the-box products across various fields where advanced, compact and robust solutions are needed. 'The 'Amfeltec advantage' extends beyond providing unique and feisty product lines,' said Feldman. 'We also provide an exceptional engineering service by offering customization of existing products and delivering tailored solutions to meet specific customer requirements. Clients can use our off-the-shelf products for proof-of-concept and request modifications for specific needs, allowing seamless integration, thus minimizing development time and costs. By close collaboration with customers, Amfeltec ensures that solutions precisely meet their requirements – whether through minor adjustments of an existing product or through fully customized devices designed from the ground up.' Looking forward, Amfeltec remains dedicated to technological innovation, expanding its product portfolio, and reinforcing its industry leadership. As the company celebrates 20 years of success, it embraces the future with enthusiasm, striving to drive continued growth and advancement in the years to come. About Amfeltec Corporation: Amfeltec is a Canadian electronics engineering company, incorporated in 2005. It is a leading provider of complex and innovative solutions for the world's diverse electronics markets. All Amfeltec products are designed and manufactured in Canada, and most are covered by one or more United States patents.
