by tyler | Dec 4, 2023 | CNN, us
Here is a look at the life of General (ret.) Jim Jones, former National Security Adviser to President Barack Obama.
Birth date: December 19, 1943
Birth place: Kansas City, Missouri
Birth name: James Logan Jones Jr.
Father: James L. Jones Sr.
Mother: Charlotte Ann (Ground) Jones
Marriage: Diane (Johnson) Jones
Children: Four children
Education: Georgetown University, B.S., 1966; National War College, 1985
Military service: US Marines, 1967-2007, four-star General
Speaks fluent French.
Is the first Marine sworn in as Supreme Allied Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
January 1967 – Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Marine Corps.
1967-1968 – Serves as a platoon and company commander in Vietnam.
1979-1984 – Marine Corps Liaison Officer to the US Senate.
1985-1987 – Commander, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California.
1987-1989 – Senior aide to the commandant of the Marine Corps.
February 1989 – Becomes the military secretary to the commandant.
1990-1992 – Commanding officer, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
June 30, 1999 – Is promoted to general and assumes the post the following day.
1999-2003 – Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.
January 16, 2003-2006 – NATO’s Commander of the US European Command and Supreme Allied Commander, Europe.
February 1, 2007 – Retires from the Marines.
2007 – Chairman of the Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq, appointed by Congress.
2007-2008 – US State Department Special Envoy for Middle East Security.
2007-2008 – President and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy.
2007-2009 – Chairman of the Atlantic Council.
January 20, 2009-October 2010 – National Security Adviser under President Obama.
October 8, 2010 – Obama announces that Jones will leave his post by the end of October and will be replaced by his most senior deputy, Thomas E. Donilon.
2011-present – President of Jones Group International consulting firm.
January 4, 2011 – Rejoins the Board of Trustees of the Center for Strategic & International Studies.
March 20, 2012 – Appointed co-chairman of the Call of Duty Endowment, a non-profit that helps veterans with job placement and training.
by tyler | Dec 4, 2023 | CNN, us
Here is a look at the life of Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democratic senator from New York and a former Democratic presidential candidate for 2020.
Birth date: December 9, 1966
Birth place: Albany, New York
Birth name: Kirsten Elizabeth Rutnik
Father: Douglas Paul Rutnik, attorney and lobbyist
Mother: Polly (Noonan) Rutnik, attorney
Marriage: Jonathan Gillibrand
Children: Theodore and Henry
Education: Dartmouth College, A.B., 1988 (Asian studies); University of California, Los Angeles, J.D., 1991
Religion: Catholic
Her first name is pronounced “Keer-sten.”
Speaks Mandarin Chinese. She studied in Taiwan and China during her undergraduate studies at Dartmouth.
Has been a primary force behind legislation that would remove sexual assault allegations from the chain of command in the military, allowing a prosecutor, not the commander, to handle them.
Introduced a universal paid family leave bill every year between 2014-2019.
Was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition while in Congress.
Prior to her appointment to the Senate, she held conservative positions on gun control and immigration. She since has apologized and expressed remorse over her past record.
1991-2000 – Associate attorney at the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell. During her tenure with the law firm, she represented tobacco company Philip Morris.
2000 – Special counsel to Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo.
2001-2005 – Works for the law firm of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP.
January 3, 2007-January 26, 2009 – Represents New York’s 20th Congressional District, a traditionally Republican area surrounding Albany. Gillibrand garnered 53% of the vote against four-term incumbent John Sweeney (R).
January 23, 2009 – Appointed by Governor David Paterson to fill Hillary Clinton’s US Senate seat in New York when Clinton is named Secretary of State. She resigns her House seat and is sworn as a US Senator three days later.
2010 – Wins the special primary election for her appointed NY Senate seat with 76% of the vote, defeating Gail Goode.
2012 – Is re-elected to the Senate with 72% of the vote.
September 9, 2014 – Her memoir, “Off the Sidelines,” is published.
November 15, 2017 – Announces a bill to reform how allegations of sexual misconduct by staff members in congressional offices are handled. The Congressional Harassment Reform Act of 2017 would make it easier for victims to speak out about their experiences and would require yearly sexual harassment trainings for all personnel.
December 6, 2017 – Is the first of 32 Democratic senators to call for the resignation of Al Franken after sexual harassment allegations against him are made public.
2018 – Is re-elected to the Senate with 67% of the vote.
January 16, 2019 – Announces she is forming an exploratory committee for the 2020 presidential race.
March 11, 2019 – Gillibrand defends her handling of an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment made against a senior staffer in July 2018. The accuser told Gillibrand, her chief of staff Jess Fassler and general counsel Keith Castaldo that she was offering her resignation “because of how poorly the investigation and post-investigation was handled,” according to a letter obtained by CNN and first reported by Politico.
March 17, 2019 – Officially declares her Democratic candidacy for president via YouTube.
August 28, 2019 – Gillibrand announces she is ending her presidential campaign with a video posted on social media.
March 3, 2022 – Biden signs the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 into law after Gillibrand and other bipartisan lawmakers worked for more than four years to pass the largest workplace reform in decades. The law frees victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault to seek justice in court when they had previously been bound to a closed, often-secretive legal arbitration proceeding.
by tyler | Dec 4, 2023 | CNN, us
Here is a look at the life of award-winning actor Dick Van Dyke.
Birth date: December 13, 1925
Birth place: West Plains, Missouri
Birth name: Richard Wayne Van Dyke
Father: Loren “Cookie” Van Dyke, a traveling salesman, Sunshine Biscuit Company
Mother: Hazel (McCord) Van Dyke
Marriages: Arlene (Silver) Van Dyke (2012-present); Marjorie (Willett) Van Dyke (1948-1984, divorced)
Children: with Marjorie (Willett) Van Dyke: Christian, Barry, Stacy, Carrie
Military Service: US Army Air Corps, during World War II
Married his childhood sweetheart, Marjorie, with a ceremony on a live radio show, “Bride and Groom.”
Was the older brother of late comedian Jerry Van Dyke.
Performs with an a cappella group, “The Vantastix.”
Army radio announcer during World War II.
Nominated for nine Emmy Awards and won four.
Nominated for one Grammy Award and won one.
Nominated for one Tony Award and won one.
1940s – Opens and closes an advertising agency.
1947-1953 – Tours the country with Philip Erickson, as the Merry Mutes and later Eric and Van. Their act is comedy-pantomime.
1953-1955 – Daytime television emcee in Atlanta for the shows “The Merry Mutes” and “The Music Shop.”
1955 – “The Dick Van Dyke Show” airs locally in New Orleans.
June 1955 – Accepts a seven-year CBS contract as an emcee.
1958 – Is released from CBS’ seven-year contract.
November 2, 1959 – Broadway debut in a musical revue, “The Boys Against the Girls.”
April 14, 1960 – Stars in the Broadway musical “Bye Bye Birdie” as Albert Peterson. He reprises the role in the 1963 movie.
1961 – Wins a Tony Award for Best Actor, Supporting or Featured (Musical) for “Bye Bye Birdie.”
October 3, 1961-June 1, 1966 – “The Dick Van Dyke Show” airs. He stars as Rob Petrie, a TV comedy writer balancing his career and family life in the suburbs. Mary Tyler Moore plays his wife, Laura.
1964 – Emmy winner for Continued Performance by an Actor in a Series for “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”
1964 – Grammy winner, shared with Julie Andrews, for Best Recording for Children for “Mary Poppins.”
1965 – Emmy winner for Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment for “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”
1966 – Emmy winner for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”
September 18, 1971-March 11, 1974 – “The New Dick Van Dyke Show” airs.
September 2, 1976 and October 7, 1976 – The only airings of “Van Dyke and Company,” a TV variety special.
1977 – Emmy winner, as executive producer of the Outstanding Comedy-variety or Music Series for “Van Dyke and Company.”
October 26, 1988 – “The Van Dyke Show” premieres and runs for 10 episodes.
October 29, 1993-May 11, 2001 – “Diagnosis: Murder” airs.
1995 – Inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
2006 – Begins a series of made-for-TV movies, “Murder 101,” based on the character Dr. Jonathan Maxwell.
May 3, 2011 – Memoir, “My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business,” is published.
February 29, 2012 – At the age of 86, he marries makeup artist Arlene Silver, 40.
2013 – The Screen Actors Guild presents Van Dyke with the 2012 Life Achievement Award.
October 13, 2015 – Memoir, “Keep Moving: And Other Tips About Aging,” is published.
December 12, 2015 – Van Dyke celebrates his 90th birthday by singing “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” with a costumed flash mob at the Grove shopping center in Los Angeles.
December 19, 2018 – Makes a dancing cameo in “Mary Poppins Returns.”
May 21, 2021 – Receives the Kennedy Center Honors.
November 19, 2023 – Van Dyke attends the opening of the Malibu Arts Commission’s “Dick Van Dyke – Moments in Time” photography exhibition.
by tyler | Dec 1, 2023 | CNN, us
Here is a look at the life of Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female justice on the United States Supreme Court.
Birth date: March 26, 1930
Birth place: El Paso, Texas
Birth name: Sandra Day
Father: Harry A. Day, rancher
Mother: Ada Mae (Wilkey) Day, rancher
Marriage: John Jay O’Connor III (1952-2009, his death)
Children: Scott, Brian and Jay
Education: Stanford University, B.A. in Economics, 1950, graduated magna cum laude; Stanford Law School, LL.B, 1952
In law school, she was on the Stanford Law Review and third in her class.
Completed law school in two years.
A proponent of judicial restraint. At her confirmation hearings, she said, “Judges are not only not authorized to engage in executive or legislative functions, they are also ill-equipped to do so.”
In retirement, O’Connor has campaigned around the United States to abolish elections for judges, believing that a merit system leads to a more qualified and untainted judiciary.
1952-1953 – County deputy attorney in San Mateo, California.
1955-1957- Works as a civilian lawyer for the Quartermaster Corps in Germany, while her husband serves with the Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps.
1959 – Opens a law firm in Maryvale, Arizona.
1965-1969 – Assistant attorney general of Arizona.
1969 – Appointed to fill a vacant seat in the Arizona Senate.
1970 – Elected to the Arizona Senate.
1972 – Reelected to the Arizona Senate and elected majority leader. She is the first woman to hold this office in any state.
1975-1979 – Superior Court judge of Maricopa County.
1979-1981 – Judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals.
August 19, 1981 – Formally nominated to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan, to fill the seat of retiring Justice Potter Stewart.
September 21, 1981 – Confirmed by the US Senate.
September 25, 1981 – Sworn in as the first female Supreme Court justice of the United States.
1982 – Writes an opinion invalidating a women-only enrollment policy at a Mississippi State nursing school because it “tends to perpetuate the stereotyped view of nursing as an exclusively women’s job.” Mississippi University for Women, et al., v. Hogan
October 21, 1988 – Has surgery for breast cancer after being diagnosed earlier in the year.
1996 – Writes the majority opinion in a 5-4 decision to restrict affirmative action policies and voting districts that are created to boost the political power of minorities. Shaw v. Reno
1999 – Writes the majority ruling opinion in a 5-4 decision that public school districts that receive federal funds can be held liable when they are “deliberately indifferent” to the sexual harassment of one student by another. Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education
2000 – Votes with the majority in a 5-4 decision that strikes down state laws banning the medical procedure that critics call “partial-birth” abortion. Stenberg v. Carhart
December 2000 – Votes in the majority to end the recount in Florida which leads to George W. Bush becoming president of the United States. O’Connor and Anthony M. Kennedy are the only justices who do not attach their names to either a concurring or dissenting opinion in the case. Bush v. Gore
January 31, 2006 – Retires from the Supreme Court.
2008 – Develops the website, OurCourts which later becomes iCivics, a free program for students to learn about civics.
July 30, 2009 – Is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
February 25, 2014 – Her book “Out Of Order,” which is based on the history of the Supreme Court, is published.
October 23, 2018 – Writes a letter revealing that she has been diagnosed with the “beginning stages of dementia, probably Alzheimer’s disease.”
March 19, 2019 – The biography, “First: Sandra Day O’Connor,” is published.
July 19, 2019 – O’Connor’s former home is listed by the National Park Service in the National Register of Historic Places. The adobe house built by O’Connor and her husband in 1958 in Paradise Valley, Arizona, was relocated to Tempe, Arizona, in 2009. It is the home of the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute.
April 13, 2022 – President Joe Biden signs a bipartisan bill into law to erect statues of O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the grounds of the US Capitol. The legislation stipulates that the statues should be placed within two years of its enactment.
by tyler | Nov 30, 2023 | CNN, us
In the weeks since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, hate crimes and antisemitism have spiked across the world. During Hanukkah, the festival of lights, Jewish families light a candelabra known as a menorah every night for eight nights. As the first night of Hanukkah approaches, we want to hear from Jewish communities and families in the United States and across the world.
Do you feel safe placing such a visible and public-facing symbol of Jewish identity in your window this year amid a rise in antisemitic incidents? Or will you feel a renewed sense of pride when you light your menorah this year?
Please call and leave us a voicemail at 680-225-5266 and let us know your thoughts. Each voicemail can be three minutes in length. All or part of your call may be used by CNN on television or digital as part of our coverage. Please include your name, contact information and where you’re calling from. Thank you for weighing in with your important perspective.
by tyler | Nov 29, 2023 | CNN, us
A Vermont high school girls’ basketball team that withdrew from a tournament last month after refusing to play against a team that had a transgender player is no longer able to participate in future Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) activities and tournaments, the group said in a news release Monday.
VPA, the state’s governing body for school sports, sent a letter to the Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) on Monday saying the school’s forfeiture, and stated rationale for forfeiting, did “not meet the expectations” of the organization’s policies after MVCS forfeited the February 21 game.
“Thus, Mid Vermont Christian school is ineligible to participate in VPA activities going forward,” the letter said.
In a Tuesday statement, MVCS said it plans to appeal the decision.
“Mid Vermont Christian school is disappointed with the decision of the VPA Executive Council to ban us from participation in all VPA activities. We intend to appeal the decision,” the head of school at MVCS, Vicky Fogg, said in an email. “Canceling our membership is not a solution and does nothing to deal with the very real issue of safety and fairness facing women’s sports in our beloved state. We urge the VPA to reconsider its policies, and balance the rights of every athlete in the state.”
A 2017 report in the journal Sports Medicine that reviewed several related studies found “no direct or consistent research” on trans people having an athletic advantage over their cisgender peers, and critics say the recent surge in anti-trans rhetoric and legislation adds to the discrimination that trans people – particularly trans youth – face.
VPA said its executive council held a meeting Monday to discuss the forfeited game and came to “an immediate determination of ineligibility for Mid Vermont Christian in VPA sanctioned activities and tournaments going forward.” The news release cites the letter VPA sent to MVCS.
MVCS was set to play against Long Trail School last month, but MVCS forfeited the game due to a transgender player on Long Trail’s roster, the head of school at MVCS, Fogg previously told CNN.
“We withdrew from the tournament because we believe playing against an opponent with a biological male jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players,” Fogg previously said in a statement. “Allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women’s sports in general.”
CNN has repeatedly reached out to Long Trail for comment.
In its Monday release, VPA said it “reiterates its ongoing support of transgender student-athletes as not only a part of building an inclusive community for each student to grow and thrive, but also as a clear expectation by Vermont state law(s) in the Agency of Education Best Practices, and in VPA Policy regarding transgender student athletes.”
