Trump again attacks Debra Messing
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump is again attacking Debra Messing, calling the liberal activist and “Will & Grace” star a racist and saying she should be fired from the NBC sitcom.
Messing apologized earlier this week after tweeting in support of an Alabama church sign which reads “a black vote for Trump is mental illness.” Trump tweeted Thursday that Messing was being held to a different standard than what was used for Roseanne Barr, whose show “Roseanne” was canceled in 2018 by ABC after she made racist comments about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett.
“Will Fake News NBC allow a McCarthy style Racist to continue?” the president wrote about Messing, who has previously asked that names of attendees at an upcoming Beverly Hills event for Trump be made public.
Complaits filed against priest
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee priest who banned Harry Potter books from a Catholic school’s library was accused by parents of causing their children psychological and spiritual harm.
The Tennessean obtained a 2017 letter from 14 St. Edward Catholic School parents, urging the Nashville diocese to remove the Rev. Dan Reehil.
The letter, with 50 bullet points, said Reehil is a toxic narcissist who hates Pope Francis and views himself as “a soldier of God.” It said “Our school, however, consists of children, not soldiers.”
Diocesan spokesman Rick Musacchio said Reehil’s views, like that of the retired, more liberal pastor he replaced, both have homes in the church.
Reehil didn’t respond to the newspaper’s interview requests. In an email, he said he removed J.K. Rowling’s books because they contain “actual spells and curses.”
Mexican artist Toledo dies at 79
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Expressionist painter Francisco Toledo, who was well-known and respected in Mexico both for his art and his activism, has died, the country’s president announced late Thursday.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wrote in his Twitter account that “art is mourning.” He called the 79-year-old Toledo “an authentic defender of nature, customs and traditions of our people.”
The artist’s family later confirmed his death on his Facebook page. They said a traditional offering to the dead was being up at one of the arts centers founded by Toledo in his native Oaxaca state.
The cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
Toledo’s enigmatic paintings and sculptures were marked by the animals, colors and traditions of Oaxaca. Insects, cats, and other animals were presented in almost mythological contexts in Toledo’s work, whose colors also evoked the brilliant palette of Oaxaca.
His activism was also centered in Oaxaca, particularly for saving its historic buildings and green spaces and defending against cultural encroachment.
Wild-haired and bearded, Toledo led movements to save old convents and other colonial-era buildings from developers and helped turn them into centers for the arts and gardens. He also led a fight in the early 2000s against the opening of a fast-food chain in downtown Oaxaca city, the state capital.
