janea4old

Canadians, starting April 30, if you watch online, the CTV website will no longer stream B&B and BTG, but you can stream them on Crave. Info on Errol's board thread here or his article on the main website here.

Canadians, starting April 30, if you watch online, the CTV website will no longer stream BTG and B&B, but you can stream them on Crave. Info on Errol's board thread here or his article on the main website here.

Well Kate and Roman could reminisce about Cassie and Lucas not knowing they were half-siblings, getting into bed together, and just about to have sex, when they were interrupted by their other siblings who told them the truth before anything further happened.

If Liam were Roman's son, then he couldn't date Roman's granddaughter Arianna. Have Liam and Ari kissed yet? If not (or if only that), then it could be halted before anything further happens.

One thing about my Liam/Ivy theory that (maybe) doesn't fit: Abe was on the police force when all that went down with the Selejko gang family years ago. Julie gave Abe the literacy tutoring file about Liam, and Abe read about his background in that file. But maybe, since he's an adult, the file simply said that he had a troubled background but didn't give details about any specific criminal history of relatives (if they had one) ? Maybe the Selejko surname didn't jog any memory for Abe. Abe might have remembered the name of the gang "the Vipers", and maybe the gang member nicknames "Snake" and "Speed". I guess he probably wouldn't have remembered their legal surname from 40 years ago.

The Supreme Court decision was 6-3. The three dissenters were Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/04/in-major-voting-rights-act-case-supreme-court-strikes-down-redistricting-map-challenged-as-racia/ In a somber tone, Kagan read a summary of her 48-page dissent from the bench – a signal of her strong disagreement with the majority’s ruling. “The Voting Rights Act,” she wrote “is—or, now more accurately, was—‘one of the most consequential, efficacious, and amply justified exercises of federal legislative power in our Nation’s history.’ It was born of the literal blood of Union soldiers and civil rights marchers. It ushered in awe-inspiring change, bringing this Nation closer to fulfilling the ideals of democracy and racial equality.” And only Congress, Kagan argued, can “say it is no longer needed—not the Members of this Court.” But the requirements that the court imposes on Wednesday, Kagan contended, “will effectively insulate any practice, including any districting scheme, said by a State to have any race-neutral justification. That justification can sound in traditional districting criteria, or else can sound in politics and partisanship. As to the latter, the State need do nothing more than announce a partisan gerrymander,” she said. “Assuming the State has left behind no smoking-gun evidence of a race-based motive (an almost fanciful prospect), Section 2 will play no role.” Kagan rejected Alito’s contention that the majority had merely made “updates” to the Gingles framework, arguing instead that the majority’s changes “eviscerate the law, so that it will not remedy even” classic cases of vote dilution. “Without a basis in Section 2’s text or the Constitution,” Kagan argued, “the majority formulates new proof requirements for plaintiffs alleging vote dilution.” The new requirements that the majority imposes, Kagan said, “leverage two features of modern political life: that racial identity and party preference are often linked and that politicians have free rein to adopt partisan gerrymanders.” Kagan also emphasized that when Congress amended Section 2 of the VRA in 1982, it did so specifically to override the Supreme Court’s decision holding that Section 2 prohibited only intentional discrimination. “It made sure instead,” Kagan wrote, as this court recently explained, “that Section 2 would ‘turn[] on the presence of discriminatory effects.’” “Today’s decision,” Kagan argued, “returns Section 2 to what it was” before the 1982 amendment. “Now, as then, vote-dilution plaintiffs will have to show more than vote dilution: They will have to show, as well, race-based motive. Now, as then, that requirement will make success in their suits nearly impossible.” In another sign of her disagreement with the majority’s decision, Kagan omitted the traditional “respectfully” from her conclusion, writing only, “I dissent.”

re: the Secret Service agent who received a shot in his bullet-proof vest at the White House Correspondents Dinner. The speculation that it was friendly fire-- that appears to be true. The arrested suspect maybe fired one shot, if any, and it didn't hit anyone. Afterwards, (supposedly) the suspect's shotgun was examined and it was mostly full, with one spent cartridge. The suspect had typed or written a letter in his hotel room earlier that evening, in which he claimed that he was using buckshot instead of bullets, to minimize casualties -- his letter said that, but don't know if that's true or not. At this point, all we know is that he ran through the checkpoint carrying a shotgun. What's really important is that this metal detector (magnometer?) checkpoint was on a different floor from the ballroom. You had to pass through this checkpoint to even reach the staircase. He was not near the ballroom when caught, not even on the same floor. He was stopped near the top of the stairs. The attendees who heard gunfire -- they heard the sound from the gunfire at the top of the stairs. There was no gunfire on the level of the ballroom. Even the New York Times and the Washington Post are saying now that there's no evidence that the Secret Service agent was shot by the suspect. archive (non-paywall) copy of NY Times article https://archive.is/FjSYw archive (non-paywall) copy of Washington Post detailed article. https://archive.ph/fJ5vm This WaPo article does an-indepth analysis of security footage of the incident and describes everything as clearly as possible.

Some of us speculated that they might make Liam Selejko the son of Ivy Selejko and Mike Horton, which would have made Liam and Jeremy brothers. Selejko is such an unusual surname, that has to be intentional. It seemed obvious, yet there was no reveal and Jeremy is gone. If it were true, then Liam's son would be another Horton, too. Ivy's brother(s) and father were criminals, in some sort of gang. When Liam's background was told to Abe, it was said that Liam came from some unfortunate circumstances (and didn't know how to read). Maybe he's the son of Ivy's brother Snake or Speed? Bo enlisted the original Theo Carver (Abe's brother and Theo's uncle) to help him defeat the gang the Selejko family was in. The elder Theo could be considered by the Selejko family to be responsible for their downfall, so it would explain Liam bullying the younger Theo in high school. But none of that has arisen in any dialogue in the past six months. How old is Liam? Well they are saying he bullied Theo in school. He's clearly close in age to Theo (just unclear how old Theo is now) . I suppose Liam could be older. I think the Theo/Liam age span is clearer than whatever Gabi said on April 15 about her having known Theo since school.

Link to the Cwikly/Ford interviews from one year ago when their writing began airing. Note that they say they'll bring in Hortons. https://boards.soapoperanetwork.com/topic/68710-days-cwiklyford-the-new-writing-team-interviews-with-spoilers/#findComment-2016493 Okay so what Hortons did they bring in, and which ones did they keep? They brought in Hope, Will, and Ciara (and Ciara's children) for several episodes around the time of John Black's passing. They brought in several Hortons for the anniversary week in November -- some aired for only a couple of days. Jennifer has been popping in from time to time all year. Jeremy aired for 6 months. Lani & Eli, and their children Jules and Carver -- popped in at Christmas and recently returned, not sure how long they'll be here this round? It seems that the only Horton they brought in to keep was Will's daughter Arianna, and then same character recast. What permanent Hortons are on canvas now, in addition to Arianna? Julie, Shawn-D, JJ, Thomas, and Charlotte all live in Salem. Jennifer is a periodic visitor. I'm unclear whether Eli and his twins are staying? (sorry I'm behind on following everything).

I suppose I could have posted this on the journalism thread; but posting here on the politics thread instead -- because it is about what happened in politics today. Today, independent journalist Aaron Rupar (atrupar) watched and clipped all of these things and posted them for everyone. In one single day, he did clips of these events and/or public interviews about these events: Supreme Court dismantling the Voting Rights Act; Hegseth testifying in Congress about his (mis)handling of the military; Tr*mp doing a thing with the astronauts at the White House that he made about himself and not them, and during which the press asked him questions about many topics; Another statement from officials about the suspect from the Correspondents Dinner; people talking about the bunker-ballroom that Tr*mp wants to build; more of Tr*mp's unhinged social media posts; various officials who were guests on news shows on Fox, MSNow, CNN, etc,; Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota; dispute about the leadership of the Federal Reserve; a new indictment of James Comey; and some other stuff. All this happened (or was discussed publicly) within one day. Well lots more happened worldwide, but that's what he posted clips from. There was an interview with atrupar a while back - he watches multiple channels simultaneously all day, clipping whatever seems relevant and then posting the clips in real time. I don't normally promote anyone -- but this seems more worth subscribing to -- better than some other things. I do like that he posts his clips on bsky and twitter for everyone to read for free, and takes voluntary donations. I don't have a bsky account but can read all his public posts without logging into anything. I also like that he gives his honest opinion (left of center) and doesn't do the "both-sides" bull. ("Public Notice" is the name of his website that has articles and opinion columns from various contributors.)

Karla Mosley on what happened with the Supreme Court dismantling part of the Voting Rights Act https://www.instagram.com/p/DXuzuKYj2ye/ April 29, 2026 karlamose (Karla Mosley) Supreme Court sucks. Nothing new. Racism is real. Just another Wednesday. We stay steady and consistent in our actions. Show up. And also, invest in community. Because, like, all power to people and stuff. Ya dig? P.S. End of the video said “most of all just stay engaged” ❤️ P.P.S. Where is the Caribbean Ocean? 😂😂

Thanks, Errol!

FYI when BTG returns to new episodes Wed. April 30 -- Canadians who choose to stream it will need to stream via Crave. CTV will no longer put tv episodes on its website. This also applies to B&B. See @Errol's thread for more info (Link) or Errol's article (Link)

I appreciate Aaron Rupar (atrupar) for posting clips on bsky and twitter of all the hearings, press conferences, speeches, etc etc etc. I'm choosing to avoid, when possible, embedding things that have Tr*ump's face. Just my personal choice. I just don't want to see that face. So I'll just post the text of atrupar's posts and a link. Aaron Rupar ‪@atrupar.com‬ https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mknppxuqju2d Q: In light of the SCOTUS ruling on the Voting Rights Act, do you want Republican states to look at redrawing congressional districts before the midterms? TRUMP: When did it come out? I've been with contractors because we're trying to get the ballroom built ahead of schedule. Tell me what happened

(it's actually 17 years between the images, but 10 years between the studies) archive of a Washington Post article on this from April 2025

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-supreme-court-blocks-louisiana-voting-map-with-second-black-majority-district-2026-04-29/ WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act - making it harder for minorities to challenge electoral maps as racially discriminatory under the landmark civil rights law - in a victory for Louisiana Republicans and President Donald Trump's administration. The court, in a 6-3 ruling powered by its conservative members, blocked an electoral map that had given Louisiana a second Black-majority U.S. congressional district. With November congressional elections looming, the decision could prompt Republican-led states to seek to redraw electoral maps in an effort to put at ‌risk seats considered safely Democratic. Justice Elena Kagan, in a dissent joined by the two other liberal justices, said the ruling rendered the Voting Rights Act "all but a dead letter," and predicted "grave" consequences. "Under the court's new view of Section 2, a state can, without legal consequence, systematically dilute minority citizens' voting power," Kagan wrote. "Of course, the majority does not announce today's holding that way. Its opinion is understated, even antiseptic. The majority claims only to be 'updating' our Section 2 law, as though through a few technical tweaks." "But in fact, those 'updates' eviscerate the law, so that it will not remedy even the classic example of vote dilution given above," Kagan added.

same

25 billion dollars in two months. Personally I imagine (without proof) that it's likely higher than that. How many people could that feed? How many people could have received medical care?

US war in Iran has cost $25 billion so far, says Pentagon comptroller https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-war-iran-has-cost-25-billion-so-far-says-pentagon-official-2026-04-29/ April 29 (Reuters) - The United States' war in Iran has cost $25 billion so far, a senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday, providing the first official estimate of the military's ‌price tag for the conflict. Jules Hurst, who is performing the duties of the comptroller, told lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee that most of that money was for munitions. Hurst did not detail what that cost estimate included and whether it took into account the projected costs of rebuilding and repairing ⁠base infrastructure in the Middle East damaged in the conflict. But it is unclear how the Pentagon arrived at the $25 billion amount given that a source had told Reuters last month that President Donald Trump's administration estimated that the first six days of the war had cost the United States at least $11.3 billion.

https://deadline.com/2026/04/paramount-fcc-request-wbd-merger-middle-east-1236873732/ Paramount has noted it will be 49.5%-owned by non-U.S. investors after completing a planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. The stat came to light in a request Monday by Paramount for approval of the foreign ownership stake by the FCC. The company said the arrangement, including a 38.5% holding shared by three Middle East investment funds, will give the combined company “greater access to capital.” The infusion of financial resources will enable Paramount to “compete more effectively in the provision of television broadcast services and in the broader video programming marketplace,” the filing said. Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund will have the largest share of the three Middle Eastern funds, a greater equity piece than Qatar or Abu Dhabi. Together, the three Persian Gulf states are putting $24 billion into the new company.

https://deadline.com/2026/04/warner-bros-shareholders-back-sale-to-paramount-key-vote-1236868751/

^ thumbnail for episode #9766 (Season 39, Episode 157 on youtubetv menu) ^ thumbnail for episode #9767 (Season 39, Episode 158 on youtubetv menu) ^ thumbnail for episode #9768 (Season 39, Episode 159 on youtubetv menu)

Michael Roark had great chemistry with Amelia Heinle (Victoria Newman) on Y&R. He literally made her come alive. Haven't heard anything about Roark returning. Yeah I do hope he does an interview!

@DramatistDreamer re: reading . . . in 2025 episodes of BTG, there was mention in a few episodes of books the characters were reading about Black history, and there were real-life books by Black authors being discussed. I appreciated that, and some of the books I didn't know, and have added to my reading list. That was much better, than the ridiculous storyline thread of Eva and Thomas reading science-fiction novels written by "Carl Ivati". They even showed physical books (props) with that name on the cover. (storyline created by Ron Carlivati when he was on the writing team). Just ugh. Glad he's gone!