Political news

• Brexit debate: MPs vote down Labour move to give parliament veto over Brexit deal – as it happened

  07-02-2017 23:32
  
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including the second day of the article 50 bill’s committee stage debateGuide to what’s happening in today’s article 50 debate
  Government ‘concession’ on timing of Brexit voteWhy government’s amendment does not give Labour what it wantsArticle 50 debate - Early evening summary 10.30pm GMTSo, that’s a wrap. Here’s how things stand after two more Brexit amendments were voted d
  
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• Homeland Security chief regrets rapid rollout of Trump travel ban

  07-02-2017 23:14
  By Julia Edwards Ainsley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Homeland Security chief John Kelly told a congressional panel on Tuesday he should have delayed U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries and on all refugees so he could brief Congress on the executive order. The temporary ban ignited international protests as the United States revoked 60,000 visas and detained some travelers who landed in the United States unaware the order had been signed while they w
  
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• The Latest: Court says ruling unlikely Tuesday on travel ban

  07-02-2017 23:02
  
  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Latest on the travel ban imposed by President Donald Trump (all times local):
  
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• Oil extends losses after API reports huge U.S. crude build

  07-02-2017 22:57
  By Jessica Resnick-Ault NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices that tumbled more than 1 percent Tuesday fell further after settlement, pressured by growing crude stockpiles in the United States as evidence of a burgeoning revival in U.S. shale production could complicate efforts by OPEC and other producers to reduce a supply glut. Brent dropped to $54.70 and U.S. crude to $51.75 by 4:39 p.m. Eastern (2139 GMT) in post-settlement trading after weekly data from trade association the American Petroleum In
  
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• Wall St rises on earnings despite oil price pressure, dollar climbs

  07-02-2017 22:56
  By Hilary Russ NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street ended higher on Tuesday boosted by corporate earnings, while the dollar climbed to a more than one-week high on technical buying and political uncertainty in Europe. The weakness in oil dragged down U.S. energy shares but this was countered by gains in big tech names that helped lift the Nasdaq to a record closing high.
  
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• DeVos ekes out confirmation win as Pence casts historic vote

  07-02-2017 22:54
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Charter school advocate Betsy DeVos won confirmation as U.S. Education secretary Tuesday by the slimmest of margins, pushed to approval only by the historic tie-breaking vote of Vice President Mike Pence.
  
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• The Latest: White House adds to legislative affairs team

  07-02-2017 22:53
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):
  
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• For a new president, an election that won't fade

  07-02-2017 22:47
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — For President Donald Trump, the 2016 election is never far from his mind.
  
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• Citizens United lawyer targets Texas campaign finance laws

  07-02-2017 22:44
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A case involving political "dark money" and the founder of an organization tied to President Donald Trump's accusations of voter fraud could lead to a crush of anonymous cash infiltrating elections in the country's second-largest state, a Democratic lawyer warned the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday.
  
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• Iran scorns Trump, rebuffs U.S. warning on missiles

  07-02-2017 22:42
  By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin DUBAI (Reuters) - Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday dismissed the U.S. decision to put Iran "on notice" over its missile tests and called President Donald Trump the "real face" of American corruption. In his first speech since Trump's inauguration, Iran's supreme leader called Iranians to take part in demonstrations on Friday, the anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, to show they were not frightened of American "threats." "We are thankful to (Trump) for making
  
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• As Trump fears fraud, GOP votes to kill election commission

  07-02-2017 22:35
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee voted on Tuesday to eliminate an independent election commission charged with helping states improve their voting systems as President Donald Trump erroneously claims widespread voter fraud cost him the popular vote.
  
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• First lady says high profile could mean millions for brand

  07-02-2017 22:32
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Melania Trump has said little about what she intends to do with her prominent position. But in new court documents, her lawyers say that the "multi-year term" during which she "is one of the most photographed women in the world" could mean millions of dollars for her personal brand.
  
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• Syrian government, rebels swap more than 100 prisoners in Hama

  07-02-2017 22:31
  The Syrian government and rebel groups swapped dozens of women prisoners and hostages, some of them with their children, in Hama province on Tuesday evening, a monitor and a rebel official said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said government representatives and rebels exchanged 112 people, including 24 children, in the rebel-held Qalaat al-Madiq town in rural Hama. About half the women were released from government prisons and then taken to opposition-held
  
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• Two Republican senators seek to slash legal U.S. immigration

  07-02-2017 22:29
  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Republican senators proposed steps to slash the number of legal immigrants admitted into the United States by half on Tuesday, but the legislation, developed with the Trump administration, faces an uphill climb to get through Congress. Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue said their bill would cut the number of immigrants granted U.S. residency each year to 500,000 from 1 million, through measures including cutting far back on which relatives can b
  
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• Boxers Wilder, Povetkin face-off in court after cancelled fight

  07-02-2017 22:20
  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Heavyweight boxing champion Deontay Wilder and Russian boxer Alexander Povetkin battled in court on Tuesday, at a trial over a title bout that was called off after the Russian tested positive for a banned substance. The boxers sat on opposing sides of a Manhattan federal courtroom as jurors heard their attorneys give opening statements in a trial focused on whether Povetkin ingested meldonium after a World Anti-Doping Agency ban of the drug went into effect i
  
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• Airbus strategy chief Lahoud to leave European group

  07-02-2017 22:11
  Airbus strategy chief Marwan Lahoud, one of the founders of Europe's largest aerospace group and its M&A czar for the past decade, is leaving the company at the end of February, Airbus said on Tuesday. Lahoud, 50, was one of a handful of strategists involved in a sequence of mergers that led to the creation in 2000 of what was then called EADS, an aerospace group with diverse interests that included the existing Airbus planemaking business. EADS was later renamed Airbus Group, which in turn
  
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• Suspect in Louvre attack wanted to harm paintings, avenge Syrian people - source

  07-02-2017 22:07
  A man arrested by police for attacking soldiers with a machete outside the Louvre museum in Paris last week said he wanted to damage paintings and "avenge" the Syrian people, a judicial source said on Tuesday. Abdullah Reda al-Hamahmy confirmed his name, his age of 29 and his Egyptian nationality to investigators after initially refusing to speak, the source said. The suspect also spoke of wanting to "avenge the Syrian people", the source said, referring to the civil war in that country in which
  
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• President backs protest-hit Romanian government to stay

  07-02-2017 22:03
  By Radu-Sorin Marinas and Luiza Ilie BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's president on Tuesday tore into the Social Democrat-led government over a corruption decree that has sparked the biggest protests since the 1989 fall of communism but backed it to stay in power, in a potential reprieve for Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu. The government on Sunday rescinded the decree, which critics said would have turned back the clock on the fight against corruption in the European Union member state. After 250,
  
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• Schumer says he has 'serious concerns' about Gorsuch

  07-02-2017 21:57
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday he has "serious, serious concerns" about President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee after their meeting, complaining that the federal judge "avoided answers like the plague."
  
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• Lords Speaker says Donald Trump could still address parliament

  07-02-2017 21:47
  
  Lord Fowler would keep ‘open mind’ if request was made as Commons Speaker faces backlash over anti-Trump remarksDonald Trump could still be issued with an invitation to address parliament during a state visit to the UK after officials revealed that a room in the House of Lords remains an option.A spokesperson told the Guardian that the US president could be asked to speak in a second “prestigious venue” in parliament despite John Bercow’s extraordinary warning on Mo
  
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• Turkey dismisses more than 4,000 public servants in new decree - official gazette

  07-02-2017 21:36
  ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey dismissed 4,464 public servants, more than half from the Education Ministry, in a decree published on Tuesday, extending a purge of state officials following a failed coup in July. Turkey has sacked or suspended more than 125,000 officials since the coup attempt, and formally arrested some 40,000 people from the military, police and other sectors. (Reporting by Ercan Gurses and Ece Toksabay; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; editing by John Stonestreet)
  
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• Non-U.S. funds top list of best performing hedge funds -Preqin data

  07-02-2017 21:34
  By Svea Herbst-Bayliss BOSTON (Reuters) - The United States has been home to the world's biggest hedge funds, but the industry's most consistent strong performers generally hail from other nations, according to data released on Tuesday. Mauritius-based Arcstone Capital's Passage to India Opportunity Fund, Great Britain-based Stratton Street Capital's Japan Synthetic Warrant Fund and India-based Fair Value Capital Management's India Insight Value Fund rank as the three top performing hedge funds
  
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• Why the US trade gap could obstruct Trump's economic vision

  07-02-2017 21:32
  
  The U.S. trade deficit hit a four-year peak in 2016 and is posing a tough challenge to President Donald Trump's drive to shrink the deficit, accelerate the economy and create many more jobs. Trump's combative ...
  
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• It's in no one's interest for Trump to succeed – including Tory MPs | Rafael Behr

  07-02-2017 21:18
  
  Donald Trump’s Tory apologists fail to see that the historic US-UK connection is built on values the president traducesAesop’s fable of the boy who cried wolf teaches that it is not a good idea to fabricate dangers when there are none. But it doesn’t contain any practical advice for what to do when danger really arrives. Related: Fact-checking isn’t enough. To fight the far right, the media must spread the truth | Martin BelamContinue reading...
  
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• Steve Bell on Theresa May and the Brexit debate – cartoon

  07-02-2017 21:13
  
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• UK minister ignored official warning over Saudi weapons exports, court hears

  07-02-2017 21:10
  
  Sajid Javid refused to suspend exports despite advice that weapons could be used to illegally kill civilians in Yemen Sajid Javid refused to halt weapons exports to Saudi Arabia last year despite being warned by a senior civil servant that the sales should be suspended over human rights concerns.The then business secretary was told a year ago about concerns that weapons could be used to kill civilians in Yemen, according to ministerial correspondence that emerged on the first day of a judicial r
  
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• The Latest: Mexico says it didn't record call with Trump

  07-02-2017 21:06
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):
  
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• Major global warming study again questioned, again defended

  07-02-2017 21:05
  Another round of bickering is boiling over about temperature readings used in a 2015 study to show how the planet is warming. The issue is about how readings gathered decades ago were adjusted to try to ...
  
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• No renegotiation on Brexit deal if parliament rejects it - minister

  07-02-2017 20:58
  By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will not seek further talks with the European Union if parliament rejects the exit deal it reaches, the government said on Tuesday, as ministers defeated attempts to give lawmakers more say on the terms of the final agreement. The statement, which echoes Prime Minister Theresa May's stance that "no deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain" came as parliament debated a law that would give her the power to begin exit negotiations with the E
  
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• Article 50 bill: May sees off attempt to give MPs veto over Brexit deal

  07-02-2017 20:57
  
  Commons votes 326 to 293 to approve government plan that will give MPs vote on final Brexit deal on ‘take it or leave it’ basisTheresa May has faced down a Conservative rebellion over Brexit in the House of Commons, rejecting calls for MPs to be given the power to send her back to the negotiating table if they do not like her proposed divorce deal from the EU. Related: Brexit debate: MPs vote down Labour move to give parliament veto over Brexit deal by majority of 33 - Politics liveC
  
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• Scottish parliament backs symbolic motion rejecting article 50

  07-02-2017 20:52
  
  Scottish Labour, Lib Dems and Greens vote overwhelmingly in favour of Brexit motion put forward by SNPThe Scottish parliament has voted for a symbolic motion rejecting the UK government’s expected decision to trigger article 50 and begin the process of leaving the EU. Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Green party overwhelmingly backed the motion put forward by the ruling Scottish National party.Continue reading...
  
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• The Guardian view on the housing white paper: it won’t fix a broken market | Editorial

  07-02-2017 20:50
  
  Mrs May’s team has missed an opportunity to repudiate a Thatcherite inheritance. Instead their policies offer to continue the obsession with house prices – a fixation that has long destabilised the economyEngland needs solutions to fix its broken housing market. But this government is not providing them. Theresa May’s government has produced a white paper that reads like a stinging indictment of the way we have gone about providing homes in recent decades. Such is the crisis th
  
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• Melania Trump says White House could mean millions for brand

  07-02-2017 20:45
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Melania Trump has said little about what she intends to do with her prominent position. But in new court documents, her lawyers say that the "multi-year term" during which she "is one of the most photographed women in the world" could mean millions of dollars for her personal brand.
  
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• Government concedes that Brexit 'concession' is anything but

  07-02-2017 20:43
  
  Promise of vote on deal under which UK will withdraw from EU turns out to be less of a concession than a meaningless diversionAs the committee stage of the article 50 bill rumbled on into its second day, Brexit minister David Jones had an announcement to make. After careful consideration of the possibility that there might be rather too many Tory rebels for comfort, the government was prepared to allow parliament a vote on Britain’s withdrawal from and future relationship with the EU befor
  
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• As Trump fears fraud, GOP eliminates election commission

  07-02-2017 20:40
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee voted on Tuesday to eliminate an independent election commission charged with helping states improve their voting systems as President Donald Trump erroneously claims widespread voter fraud cost him the popular vote.
  
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• China 'mending its ways'o on unethical organ transplants, official says

  07-02-2017 20:36
  By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Beijing's top official on transplants said on Tuesday Beijing was "mending its ways" from a murky past when organs were taken from detained or executed prisoners. Dr Huang Jeifu also told a Vatican conference bringing together nearly 80 doctors, law enforcement officials and representatives of health and non-government organisations that his participation, which medical ethics groups have criticised, was not an attempt to whitewash the past. "China is
  
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• House GOP targets Obama-era rule on public lands

  07-02-2017 20:31
  WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are targeting Obama-era rules that require federal land managers to consider climate change and other long-term effects of proposed development on public lands.
  
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• U.N. chief says Israel settlement bill goes against international law

  07-02-2017 20:29
  The Israeli parliament's move to legalize thousands of settler homes in the occupied West Bank goes against international law and will have legal consequences for Israel, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was quoted as saying on Tuesday. Palestinians have condemned the legislation approved by Israeli lawmakers on Monday as a blow to their hopes of statehood, but its passage may only be largely symbolic as it contravenes Israeli Supreme Court rulings on property rights. "The Secre
  
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• Airbus strategy chief Marwan Lahoud is leaving aerospace group - source

  07-02-2017 20:24
  Airbus strategy chief Marwan Lahoud is leaving the aerospace company after deciding not to renew his mandate as the company completes an internal reorganisation, a person familiar with his decision said on Tuesday. Lahoud was one of the founders of what was known as EADS in 2000 and was seen as one of the architects of corporate governance reforms which reduced the role of French and German governments in 2013. Lahoud indicated at the end of 2016 that he wanted to change direction after a long p
  
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• Gorsuch paid $3.28 million by former firm, under 2005 deal

  07-02-2017 20:22
  
  Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch gave up a $1 million a year paycheck when he left his private law practice a decade ago for less financially rewarding work as a government lawyer and then a judge. But ...
  
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• Italy's 'bitter' bank rescue tsar bemoans strategy vacuum

  07-02-2017 20:21
  By Valentina Za MILAN (Reuters) - The head of Italy's bank-bailout fund said on Tuesday the country lacked a clear strategy for shifting 356 billion euros (£304 billion) in problem loans. In an extraordinary outburst from a man picked by Rome to help tackle the problem, Alessandro Penati, whose boutique asset management firm was chosen to raise private funds for struggling banks, said he felt "bitter and disillusioned". "There is simply a reaction to a problem and this has been the main di
  
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• Overseas territories set out Brexit priorities

  07-02-2017 20:17
  Representatives of 10 territories try to ensure they are not overlooked in talks
  
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• Pence breaks tie as Senate confirms DeVos for Education post

  07-02-2017 20:16
  
  The Senate on Tuesday confirmed school choice advocate Betsy DeVos as Education secretary by the narrowest of margins, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking a 50-50 tie in a historic vote. Two Republicans ...
  
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• Government Defeats Attempt To Give MPs A Vote On Draft Brexit Deal

  07-02-2017 20:16
  
  Theresa May this evening defeated an attempt to give MPs the right to vote on any Brexit deal before it is signed with the European Union.
  Labour backbencher Chris Leslie tried to change the Article 50 Bill currently going through Parliament to give MPs the power to veto any package agreed between the UK and EU before it was rubber-stamped.
  His amendment was praised by a number of Tory backbenchers, but despite its cross-party support it was defeated by the Government - 326 to 293.
  Seven Tories
  
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• Seagulls Targeted By Armed Vigilantes, MPs Hear Amid 'Gull Wars' Warning

  07-02-2017 20:15
  
  Seagulls are causing so much chaos in UK coastal communities that fed-up residents are arming themselves with guns to kill the animals themselves, an MP has claimed.
  The rise of seagull vigilantism emerged during a debate in Parliament where MPs lined up to spell out how the birds were causing misery for their constituents - not just tourists having their ice-cream stolen but pensioners being hospitalised and even a family dog being killed by what were dubbed “flying rats”.
  The most
  
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• Brexit diaries: article 50's rebel MPs don't have public backing

  07-02-2017 20:02
  
  Victory for Theresa May’s Brexit bill in the House of Commons approved by majority on both sides of the EU referendum divide“The people voted to go. The MPs should have abstained or stepped down if they don’t want to be part of it.”That was the view of Patricia from Belfast towards the MPs who opposed triggering article 50. She voted to remain in the EU at the referendum but would now opt to leave if the contest was re-run.Continue reading...
  
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• Paul Nuttall's 'Nukip' vision: 'Beer-swilling is an image of the past'

  07-02-2017 20:01
  
  Ukip leader is confident of winning Stoke byelection and aims to increase party’s appeal to women and working classesThe Ukip leader, Paul Nuttall, is launching a comprehensive rebranding exercise in an attempt to make the party more attractive to women and to working class voters in the north as he fights to win the traditionally Labour constituency of Stoke-on-Trent Central.Despite recent controversy over the electoral registration of his new house in Stoke and allegations of misspending
  
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• Brexit Debate Sees MP Claire Perry Compare Hard Brexiters To 'Jihadis'

  07-02-2017 20:00
  
  An MP has accused some Brexiters of sounding like “Jihadis”, as she lamented the “tone” of the debate around leaving the EU. 
  Claire Perry, the Tory MP for Devizes in Wiltshire and former minister, said that the debate had bordered on “the hysterical” and compared Hard Brexiters to religious fanatics.
  During the debate on the bill to trigger Article 50 on Tuesday, she said: “I have to say, the tone of this debate, we’ve heard a little bit but
  
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• Taking a stand in the name of democracy | Brief letters

  07-02-2017 19:49
  
  John Bercow | LP cartridges | Rugby populations | Problems with a North Channel rail tunnel | WeetabixCongratulations to John Bercow, the Speaker, for his brave and principled refusal to provide the historic platform of Westminster Hall to a man who preaches racism and sexism, and who dismisses a fundamental principle of the US constitution, the rule of law (Trump unfit to address MPs, says Bercow, 7 February). In these troubled times, the courage to uphold democracy and individual liberty is of
  
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• Netflix and Chill With a Michael Bolton Valentine's Day Special

  07-02-2017 19:49
  In 2011, The Lonely Island debuted “Jack Sparrow” on Saturday Night Live, an ingenious digital short in which the comedy-music trio asked the soft-rock icon Michael Bolton to provide a hook for their newest track. After a brief, generic introductory verse in which all four hit up a club, Bolton launched into the chorus: a completely disconnected ode to Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The character of Michael Bolton was born, an endearing lunk (and ma
  
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