By Makini Brice WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Democratic Senator Bob Menendez on Monday denied wrongdoing and vowed to stay in Congress

Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales was dragged deeper into scandal as prosecutors opened a probe, and his mother

Country music singer Jason Aldeon is facing an intense wave of backlash after his song, “Try That In A Small Town”, went viral online, prompting many people to accuse him of dog-whistle racism. The song sets footage of Black Lives Matter protests alongside lyrics like: “Try that in a small town / See how far ya make it down the road / Around here, we take care of our own.” The song continues: “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, ya think you’re tough.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The BLM protests were a direct reaction to the murder of African-American man George Floyd by a white police officer. The clips in the music video, which also include an attempted convenience store robbery and other apparent crimes, alternate with shots of Aldean and his band performing in the public square of Columbia, Tennessee. To make things worse, the video is shot in front of the Maury County Courthouse, which at times appears to be on fire with images of burning US flags projected onto it. It’s the same building where a mob hanged 18-year-old African-American Henry Choate from the balcony in 1927. Columbia is also the site of an infamous 1946 race riot that nearly resulted in the lynching of future Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall. Another lyric goes: “Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well that s--- might fly in the city / Good luck.” Country Music Television (CMT) confirmed Tuesday that it had pulled the video from rotation. Social media has been ablaze with the controversy for much of the last week. Democrat state representative for Tenessee, Justin Jones, called the song "heinous", and a "shameful vision of gun extremism and vigilantism". One user said that if Lil Durk, a black American rapper, made a response to Aldean's video called "Try That On The South Side of Chicago", it would likely be denounced as violent. Others shared videos explaining exactly why people are interpreting the song as dog-whistle racism. Aldean has stood by the song, saying: “There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it – and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage – and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music – this one goes too far.” Needless to say, the people defending him are all the ones you might expect. Top Republicans have jumped to Aldean’s aid, including former president Donald Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis. “Jason Aldean is a fantastic guy who just came out with a great new song. Support Jason all the way. MAGA!!!” Trump posted on his Truth Social account. The conservative influencer Ben Shapiro posted a video to his YouTube channel titled “Jason Aldean REFUSES To Get Cancelled”, in which he discusses the controversy and takes Aldean’s side. Most recently, Aldean has been filmed at a concert over the weekend defending the song further. He said: “What I am is a proud American.” “I love our country. I want to see it restored to what it once was before all this bulls*** started happening to us.” “I love my country, I love my family, and I will do anything to protect that. I can tell you that.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The excitement of Deion Sanders taking over at Colorado is making the Buffaloes an unlikely favorite of bettors for this college football season

As an awful August gives way to an uncertain September, investors hope this month will confirm that the

People searched for victims after an earthquake killed and injured thousands in Afghanistan’s Herat province, supporters of Israel embraced near the Israeli Consulate in New York during a demonstration in the wake of a deadly attack by Hamas, and people prayed for rain during a drought near the Incachaca dam on the outskirts of La Paz, Bolivia. In sports, the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, wrapped up.

They use the court as their canvas, seeing passing lanes and paths to victory that others in their sports simply cannot

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 20, 2023--

By Jamie McGeever A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever. An interest rate

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS Online travel agency Booking Holdings will on Friday try to convince European Union

Keep shouting at Joe Biden. Just know he won't hear you.

Global smartphone shipments are headed for their worst year for over a decade as prolonged economic uncertainties in