Claude Monet (1840-1926) was the primary inspiration for the new art movement of impressionism. Along with his contemporaries, he captured the light of nature on canvas in a unique, spontaneous and vivacious style. He painted a wide range of subjects ranging from urban scenes to his own beloved formal garden. Monet strove to capture the essence of what he saw in nature, without being constrained by formal ideas of style and substance.
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Apr. 08, 2021 12:00AM EST
Biden to unveil executive actions on gun violence prevention
President Biden is expected to present a series of executive actions on guns Thursday, including directing his Justice Department to tighten regulations on purchases of so-called “ghost guns."
Why it matters: The president has faced increased pressure from Democrats and gun violence prevention groups to act on the issue following a series of recent high-profile gun tragedies across the U.S.
Details: Biden is using the bully pulpit to issue a number of actions at the executive level while urging Congress to do its part to enact more permanent legislation, which could prove difficult given the split Senate.
- In what a senior administration official called an “initial” set of actions, the Department of Justice will introduce rules meant to minimize the proliferation of “ghost guns,” which are untraceable firearms assembled from kits.
- The DOJ will issue a proposed rule within 60 days that would subject any pistol outfitted with a stabilizing brace to the requirement of the National Firearms Act. Such a brace, used by the shooter in March at a grocery store in Boulder, Colo., could make a pistol essentially function as a rifle.
- The DOJ will publish “red flag” legislations for states to model on the local level and will also file a report on firearms trafficking for the first time since 2000.
- Biden will also announce on Thursday that the administration is investing in evidence-based community violence intervention. The president has proposed a $5 billion investment in such intervention as part of his initial infrastructure proposal.
- Biden will also nominate a gun control advocate to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
What they’re saying: Gun violence prevention advocacy groups are praising the executive actions while indicating there is still room for more action, such as providing more directives to agencies besides the DOJ, like HHS, that also work on the issue.
- Groups are also calling for a broad, unified national strategy from the White House as well as the appointment of a director specifically focused on gun violence issues.
- “We've been asking for a long time for them to prioritize this issue, and it's clear that they're going to start doing that,” Max Markham, policy director for March for Our Lives, told Axios.
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Aug. 01, 2020 03:58PM EST
Trump has TikTok deal “on his desk”
President Trump "has a deal on his desk," whereby Microsoft would lead an acquisition of 100% of the U.S. operations of TikTok, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.
Why it matters: Trump Friday night said he plans to ban TikTok, as India has done, over concerns that the app could be sharing U.S. user data with the Chinese government.
What we know: U.S. presidents don't typically have approval or veto power over merger agreements. But this situation is different because of the involvement of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), which has been reviewing ByteDance's 2017 acquisition of U.S. app Musical.ly and eventually merged with TikTok.
What we don't know: It is unclear whether the Microsoft offer involves participation in ByteDance from U.S.-based venture capital investors, some of which reportedly have had interest in helping carve 0ut TikTok.
- It also remains uncertain exactly what Trump's "ban" threat entails, or under what legal argument he'd block a Microsoft acquisition.
My thought bubble: Microsoft was not among the Big Tech companies called to testify earlier this week in front of a House committee focused on antitrust, thus perhaps giving it more acquisition flexibility than a more natural TikTok owner like Facebook or Google.
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Aug. 14, 2020 12:40AM EST
Trump says he intends to give RNC speech on White House lawn
President Trump told the New York Post on Thursday that he plans to deliver his Republican National Convention speech from the White House lawn, despite bipartisan criticism of the optics and legality of the location.
Why it matters: Previous presidents avoided blurring staged campaign-style events — like party conventions — with official business of governing on the White House premises, per Politico.
Context: The coronavirus pandemic forced the RNC to pick a new venue for the president to deliver his speech after convention events in Jacksonville, Florida, were canceled.
- Trump also floated delivering the speech at the Gettysburg battlefield in Pennsylvania.
What he's saying: “I’ll probably be giving my speech at the White House because it is a great place. It’s a place that makes me feel good, it makes the country feel good,” Trump told the Post, adding it would also be easiest for law enforcement and the Secret Service.
- “We’d do it possibly outside on one of the lawns, we have various lawns, so we could have it outside in terms of the China virus."
Of note: “We could have quite a group of people. It’s very big, a very big lawn. We could have a big group of people," Trump responded when asked if he’d formally accept the Republican nomination for president with a crowd present.
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Aug. 27, 2020 11:03AM EST
The day sports stopped
The most historic day in sports activism history began in an empty gym.
What happened: The Milwaukee Bucks chose not to take the floor for Game 5 against the Magic, which led to all three NBA games being postponed — and most of the sports world following suit.
The backdrop: The Bucks' landmark decision came three days after Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot seven times in the back by police in Kenosha, Wis., 45 minutes south of Milwaukee.
- The Bucks said in a team statement (video): "Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball."
Why it matters: Many NBA players decided to participate in the "bubble" because it offered a platform to bring awareness to social justice issues. That was enough, in their minds, to offset any concerns about sports being a distraction.
- But after the Blake shooting video surfaced, players began to question whether the anthem kneeling, "Black Lives Matter" T-shirts and pre-approved jersey causes were making a difference.
- Now, they've gone off script. And in doing so, they've taken the conversation about sports' role in society to a place it's never quite been before.
The big picture: The NBA's postponement started a chain reaction.
- 🏀 WNBA: The six teams scheduled to compete yesterday chose not play. "We stand in solidarity with our brothers in the NBA," the players' union said.
- ⚾️️ MLB: The Milwaukee Brewers were the first team to pull the plug on their game. Later, the Seattle Mariners and L.A. Dodgers did the same. While the NBA and WNBA are no strangers to political activism, this type of stance is new in baseball.
- ⚽️️ MLS: Though the night's first game between Orlando and Nashville was played as scheduled, the remaining five games were postponed as the players collectively decided not to take the field.
- 🎾 Tennis: After Naomi Osaka withdrew from the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open (scheduled for today), tournament organizers suspended all Thursday matches.
- 🏒 NHL: In a departure from other leagues, the NHL went ahead with both playoff games — one in Toronto and one in Edmonton.
Photo: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
- In Palmetto, Fla., after the WNBA postponed games, the Washington Mystics wore T-shirts with seven bullets on the back, to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
What's next: NBA players and coaches held a meeting Wednesday night inside a ballroom at the Coronado Spring Hotel. Teams were polled about how to proceed, and the Lakers and Clippers both voted to end the season, ESPN reports.
- But it remains unclear what exactly the NBA can offer, and how far players are willing to go. While walking away sends a strong message, leaving the bubble would also reduce the power of the players' collective voices.
- For now, all we know is that the six games scheduled for today will likely be postponed, and that the NBA's board of governors and the players will each meet at 11 a.m. ET to discuss next steps.
The bottom line: The NBA built a bubble to keep out the coronavirus, and so far, it's worked. But even the most stringent safety protocols and testing procedures couldn't shield it from America.
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