Capitol

Twenty-two years ago, restaurateur Frank Bonanno opened Mizuna near the corner of 7th and Grant in Cap Hill. Since then, he’s added three more restaurants next to it. All the while, he talked to his landlord about the possibility of buying the real estate. “We’ve made offers every couple of years, probably every time we renewed a lease,” Bonanno said. “He certainly asked more than half a dozen times, but it was always the same answer: that ownership has no plans of selling,” said Hal Naiman, president of the Sherman…

Douglas Kerbs wasn’t looking for a home when he stumbled upon a turn-of-the-century mansion in Cap Hill. But he didn’t want to see the 9,104-square-foot home at 727 N. Washington St., which was built in 1911, turned into a law firm office, apartments or condos. So he purchased the home himself in 2008, paying $1.3 million, according to property records. “I wasn’t shopping around for a home, but when I walked in it spoke to me immediately,” Kerbs said. “It was in such disrepair, so I wanted to save it for its history. I…

By Elvia Limón and Jason SanchezHello, it’s Tuesday, Sept. 27, and here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:TOP STORIES Will Jan. 6 drive voters’ decisions?Locally and in the national political landscape, the U.S. Capitol siege on Jan. 6 has been a minor subplot. There have been efforts to elevate it in the public’s consciousness as a do-or-die moment for democracy. Still, there is little sign that the riot, along with the continued denialism about former President Trump’s 2020 loss and the precariousness of future…

LIV CEO and commissioner Greg Norman watches play on the third hole during the final round of the LIV Golf Invitational Series Chicago at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois.Brian Spurlock | Icon Sportswire | Getty ImagesLIV Golf CEO Greg Norman will be visiting Capitol Hill this week to meet with members of Congress, as the Saudi-backed league tangles with the PGA Tour.The PGA Tour has been lobbying against LIV since 2021. LIV players have filed an antitrust suit against the PGA Tour. Meanwhile, the Justice…

Parler, a social media app popular with US conservatives, is returning to Google's app store more than 1-1/2 years after the Alphabet Inc-owned company removed it following the US Capitol riots in January 2021. The app was launched in 2018 and styled itself as a free-speech space for those seeking an alternative to platforms such as Twitter. It quickly gained traction from supporters of former US President Donald Trump. However, major tech platforms cut ties with Parler for failing to police violent content that led to…

Google has finally allowed conservative social media app Parler to be back on its Play Store, after it removed the app in January 2021 for violating its policies following the US Capitol riots.In April, Apple approved Parler's return to the App Store, following improvements the company made to better detect and moderate hate speech."Major news: We're back on the Google Play Store. Happy downloading, Android users," Parler app tweeted on Saturday.Parler Chief Technology Officer Sam Lipoff said that while away from Google…

Parler is returning to Google Play Store over a year after being removed by Google following the US Capitol Riots of January 2021. This social media app has gained popularity with US conservatives. It was launched in 2018 as an alternative to other social media platforms like Twitter. It gained traction from supporters of former US President Donal Trump. However, the Parler app was removed from several major tech platforms for its failure in monitoring violent content that is believed to have led to the attack on the US…

A major record label has dropped an AI rapper and offered its “deepest apologies to the Black community”, after the virtual creation was criticised for perpetuating racist stereotypes by using the N-word in a song and being portrayed being beaten by a police officer.FN Meka, an AI rapper given the appearance of a Black male cyborg, was created in 2019 by Anthony Martini and Brandon Le, the cofounders of Factory New, which billed itself as a “first of its kind, next-generation music company, specialising in virtual…

Capitol Music Group on Tuesday said it had “severed ties” with the A.I. rapper FN Meka after facing pushback from activist groups and observers that the virtual rapper was a stereotypical caricature of Black artists. “CMG has severed ties with the FN Meka project, effective immediately,” a Capitol Music Group spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter. “We offer our deepest apologies to the Black community for our insensitivity in signing this project without asking enough questions about equity and the…

Capitol Records has dropped AI rapper FN Meka, less than two weeks after it signed the computer-generated rap artist to its roster. FN Meka, which has over 10 million followers on TikTok, had come under heavy fire for appropriating Black culture and mocking police brutality, with some critics calling it “digital blackface.”“CMG has severed ties with the FN Meka project, effective immediately,” a representative for Capitol Music Group said in a statement. “We offer our deepest apologies to the Black community for our…