Latest news with #UniteforAmerica
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
America's veterans hold rally in DC protesting DOGE cuts to VA
On today's anniversary of D-Day, thousands of veterans and supporters are gathering for the Unite for Veterans, Unite for America rally, demanding protections on the essential services being cut by the Trump administration. NBC News' Melanie Zanona reports more from the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Founder of the Chamberlain Network and Veteran Chris Purdy joins Chris Jansing to share more on what is at risk due to DOGE cuts.
Axios
5 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Effort to transform Colorado politics by 2030 takes shape
The question sounds innocuous: "When you think about having more courageous and representative politics in Colorado, what does that mean to you?" Yes, but: It's the precursor to much more. The organizers who asked the question just finished a statewide listening tour called Courageous Colorado, the start to an overhaul of the state's elections and campaigns to make them less partisan. The goal is to implement policy changes at the local or state level by 2030. The big picture: The effort is the outgrowth of Proposition 131, a failed 2024 campaign to institute all-candidate primaries and ranked choice voting. Unite for America, a national democracy reform group that pushed Prop. 131, paid in part for the tour, Axios Denver has learned. The League of Women Voters, CiviCO and Veterans for All Voters, all civic engagement groups, are co-hosts. Between the lines: A similar statewide listening tour ahead of the 2016 election led to a ballot initiative to roll back the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, known as TABOR. What they are saying: "We have to also transform the way campaigns are run," Landon Mascareñaz, the lead organizer of the tour told us, lamenting their "divisive nature." State of play: Courageous Colorado organized 20 town halls across the state through late May to spur the conversation and generate a 2030 agenda. At each stop, attendees — ranging from a handful to more than a dozen — discussed and ranked their support for 23 pre-generated ideas to boost "courage and representation." The list included overhauls of campaign finance, civic education, a citizens' assembly, minor party ballot access, term limits and new methods of voting. The top ideas from the tour, Mascareñaz says, were campaign finance reform, better civic education, open political primaries, ranked choice voting and term limits for local leaders. Inside the room: The stop in Boulder drew 10 people. Mascareñaz started the hourlong conversation by outlining how representation is short-cut in Colorado because of noncompetitive seats in the state Legislature and Congress — a parallel talking point from the Prop. 131 campaign. Attendees expressed cynicism about the ability to change the status quo, but Mascareñaz urged them to stay engaged. "We didn't get into this challenge overnight. We're not going to solve it in one listening session," he said. What's next: This week, organizers are hosting a retreat in Leadville for advocacy groups to evaluate the data from the listening tour and consider a path forward.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump calls for 'major investigation' into Kamala Harris' celebrity endorsements
President Donald Trump has called for a "major investigation" into several celebrity endorsements former Vice President Kamala Harris received during the 2024 presidential campaign, suggesting without evidence that some of the celebrities were illegally paid for their endorsements. Some of the celebrities have publicly denied denying being paid any fee at all, and experts say there's no FEC law barring campaign payments for endorsements. Among the celebrities the president suggests were illegally paid for their endorsements are Oprah Winfrey, Bruce Springsteen and Beyonce, each of whom appeared at Harris campaign events last year. MORE: Trump blasts former FBI Director James Comey over controversial Instagram post "Candidates aren't allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment," Trump wrote in a pair of social media posts Monday. The Harris campaign paid production companies founded by Winfrey, Springsteen and Beyonce for services provided during and after the 2024 election -- but Winfrey and Beyonce's mother, who runs her production company, both said the payments were for production costs associated with the events they participated in. Campaign law experts told ABC News that the Federal Election Commission has no regulations against federal campaigns paying celebrities or influencers for endorsements, nor would they be considered illegal contributions as Trump suggested -- as long as those payments are properly disclosed. The Federal Trade Commission oversees disclosure obligations for paid endorsement, the experts said. Campaign finance disclosures show the Harris campaign paid Winfrey's company, Harpo Productions, a total of $1 million for "event production" on Oct. 15, 2024, roughly a month after Winfrey interviewed Harris at a "Unite for America" campaign event in Detroit in September. "I did not take any personal fee. However, the people who worked on that production needed to be paid and were. End of story," Winfrey said in a social media video in response to Trump's accusation. The Harris campaign paid Beyonce's company, Parkwood Production Media LLC, $165,000 on Nov. 19, 2024, weeks after Beyonce took the stage at a Harris campaign rally in Houston and publicly endorsed Harris, according to campaign records. Beyonce's mother Tina Knowles, in a social media video, said the accusation that her daughter was paid for her endorsement is a "lie," adding that Beyonce also paid for the flights for herself and her team to and from the event. The Harris campaign paid Springsteen's production company, Thrill Hill Productions, Inc., roughly $75,000 for "travel and event production" on Nov. 19, 2024, roughly a month after he performed at a Harris campaign rally in Georgia, records show. Springsteen has not publicly addressed the campaign's payment to his company. Last year as unfounded claims about the Harris campaign's payments for celebrity endorsements spread, senior campaign adviser Adrienne Elrod told Deadline, "We do not pay. We have never paid any artist and performer. We have never paid a fee to that person." Noting that FEC rules require campaigns to pay fair market value for the ancillary costs of holding events, Elrod told Deadline the campaign has paid "for any ancillary costs for that performance' and that "there are laws that have to be followed that we have followed religiously on this campaign." Among the celebrities who have appeared and performed at Trump's campaign events over the years, ABC News has found no records of the Trump campaign or Trump's other entities paying them or their companies. Country singer Lee Greenwood, whose song "God Bless the USA" is frequently featured at Trump rallies and who has performed at Trump campaign events himself, stated on social media in November that he had not been compensated in "any form" by the Trump campaign or the Trump Organization for his campaign appearances, saying he's "happy to have stood by" Trump. Trump calls for 'major investigation' into Kamala Harris' celebrity endorsements originally appeared on
19-05-2025
- Politics
Trump calls for 'major investigation' into Kamala Harris' celebrity endorsements
President Donald Trump has called for a "major investigation" into several celebrity endorsements former Vice President Kamala Harris received during the 2024 presidential campaign, suggesting without evidence that some of the celebrities were illegally paid for their endorsements. Some of the celebrities have publicly denied denying being paid any fee at all, and experts say there's no FEC law barring campaign payments for endorsements. Among the celebrities the president suggests were illegally paid for their endorsements are Oprah Winfrey, Bruce Springsteen and Beyonce, each of whom appeared at Harris campaign events last year. "Candidates aren't allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment," Trump wrote in a pair of social media posts Monday. The Harris campaign paid production companies founded by Winfrey, Springsteen and Beyonce for services provided during and after the 2024 election -- but Winfrey and Beyonce's mother, who runs her production company, both said the payments were for production costs associated with the events they participated in. Campaign law experts told ABC News that the Federal Election Commission has no regulations against federal campaigns paying celebrities or influencers for endorsements, nor would they be considered illegal contributions as Trump suggested -- as long as those payments are properly disclosed. The Federal Trade Commission oversees disclosure obligations for paid endorsement, the experts said. Campaign finance disclosures show the Harris campaign paid Winfrey's company, Harpo Productions, a total of $1 million for "event production" on Oct. 15, 2024, roughly a month after Winfrey interviewed Harris at a "Unite for America" campaign event in Detroit in September. "I did not take any personal fee. However, the people who worked on that production needed to be paid and were. End of story," Winfrey said in a social media video in response to Trump's accusation. The Harris campaign paid Beyonce's company, Parkwood Production Media LLC, $165,000 on Nov. 19, 2024, weeks after Beyonce took the stage at a Harris campaign rally in Houston and publicly endorsed Harris, according to campaign records. Beyonce's mother Tina Knowles, in a social media video, said the accusation that her daughter was paid for her endorsement is a "lie," adding that Beyonce also paid for the flights for herself and her team to and from the event. The Harris campaign paid Springsteen's production company, Thrill Hill Productions, Inc., roughly $75,000 for "travel and event production" on Nov. 19, 2024, roughly a month after he performed at a Harris campaign rally in Georgia, records show. Springsteen has not publicly addressed the campaign's payment to his company. Last year as unfounded claims about the Harris campaign's payments for celebrity endorsements spread, senior campaign adviser Adrienne Elrod told Deadline, "We do not pay. We have never paid any artist and performer. We have never paid a fee to that person." Noting that FEC rules require campaigns to pay fair market value for the ancillary costs of holding events, Elrod told Deadline the campaign has paid "for any ancillary costs for that performance' and that "there are laws that have to be followed that we have followed religiously on this campaign." Among the celebrities who have appeared and performed at Trump's campaign events over the years, ABC News has found no records of the Trump campaign or Trump's other entities paying them or their companies. Country singer Lee Greenwood, whose song "God Bless the USA" is frequently featured at Trump rallies and who has performed at Trump campaign events himself, stated on social media in November that he had not been compensated in "any form" by the Trump campaign or the Trump Organization for his campaign appearances, saying he's "happy to have stood by" Trump.
