U.S.
Mother of Child in “Success Kid” Meme Sends Cease and Desist to Rep. Steve King for Unapproved Use
Published
12 months agoon

- The mother of “Success Kid” sent a cease and desist letter to Rep. Steve King for using the copyrighted meme of her son on a fundraising ad without permission.
- King has come under fire on numerous occasions for having white nationalist, racist, and other offensive views.
- Laney Griner, Success Kid’s mother, does not want the photo of her son to be associated with anything negative.
- Griner is demanding that the meme be removed from all platforms it was used on, that a public statement be made acknowledging its misuse, and that refunds be issued for all profits the photo brought in.
King Hit With Cease and Desist
The mother of the child pictured in the viral “Success Kid” meme hit Rep. Steve King (R-IA) with a cease and desist after he used the copyrighted photo in a fundraising ad without permission.
According to The Washington Post and BuzzFeed News, the letter was sent to King on Monday. He used the photo in an ad linked on his Facebook page, where he frequently posts right-leaning memes making fun of Democrats. The meme featured a photo that has been dubbed as “Success Kid,” where 11-month-old Sam Griner is making a tiny fist pump with a hand full of sand. Text over the picture read “FUND OUR MEMES!!!”
White nationalist Rep. Steve King (R-IA) is asking for money "to make sure the memes keep flowing and the Lefties stay triggered." pic.twitter.com/TW7HdTXkd0
— Eric Hananoki (@ehananoki) January 23, 2020
“QUESTION: Do you enjoy our memes??” The post reads. “If so, please click the link below and throw us a few dollars to make sure the memes keep flowing and the Lefties stay triggered. Thank you!”
The link went out to a WinRed fundraising page, which also included the photo. While in public office, King has repeatedly been criticized for making racist and white nationalist comments, as well as offensive comments about immigration and rape. Prominent fellow Republicans, like Liz Cheney, have condemned him for some of his remarks.
Mother Reacts to King’s Use of Photo
Laney Griner, Success Kid’s mom, first acknowledged the ad on Thursday after a Media Matters reporter shared it on Twitter.
“Just so it’s clear – I have/would never give permission for use of my son’s photo to promote any agenda of this vile man or that disgusting party,” Griner wrote.
Just so it’s clear – I have/would never give permission for use of my son’s photo to promote any agenda of this vile man or that disgusting party. https://t.co/AVdl9dxXCs
— Laney Griner (@laneymg) January 23, 2020
On Monday, Griner shared a longer thread explaining why she was upset with the use of this photo, which she took in 2007 and copyrighted in 2012. She said that King’s use of it implied “that he has some kind of ownership in it.”
2/5 Representative King and his campaign staff appropriated “Success Kid” without my permission. “Success Kid’s” is about positivity and celebrates achievement. Neither I, my son, nor “Success Kid” have any affiliation with Representative King,
— Laney Griner (@laneymg) January 27, 2020
She said that Success Kid is about positivity and has no association with King. “I do not endorse Representative King and, like most people, I strongly disagree with his views,” she added.
Consistent with the demands of the letter, Griner stated that she wanted the meme removed from King’s webpages, a statement acknowledging that the photo was misused, and a refund of the money that the photo brought in. If King does not comply, Griner will sue.
4/5 was taken without our permission and endorsement, and refund the money his campaign received from misusing ‘Success Kid”.
— Laney Griner (@laneymg) January 27, 2020
Griner has previously made money from the use of her photo. Success Kid has been featured in a variety of ads, including a Coca-Cola Super Bowl commercial.
President Barack Obama also used the photo in 2013 after obtaining permission from Griner.
CB…Oh, baby! http://t.co/mXHzro9Zty #ImmigrationReform, pic.twitter.com/Ip13Ox88W1
— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) June 19, 2013
Griner spoke with the Post about King’s use of her image. She explained that she did not want the photo of her son, who is now 13, to be associated with anything negative, and King “is about as negative as you can get.”
“It’s just the antithesis of what the meme’s reputation is,” she told them.
She also explained that she is liberal and politics were a major factor in her reaction, but she would not rule out letting other Republicans use the photo.
King has removed the photo from his Facebook and it no longer appears on his WinRed page. According to the Post, he has not yet responded to Griner’s letter.
See what others are saying: (The Washington Post) (BuzzFeed News) (The Hollywood Reporter)
U.S.
SAT Drops Subject Tests and Optional Essay Section
Published
2 days agoon
January 19, 2021By
Cory Ray
- The College Board will discontinue SAT subject tests effective immediately and will scrap the optional essay section in June.
- The organization cited the coronavirus pandemic as part of the reason for accelerating these changes.
- Regarding subject tests, the College Board said the other half of the decision rested on the fact that Advanced Placement tests are now more accessible to low-income students and students of color, making subject tests unnecessary.
- It also said it plans to launch a digital version of the SAT in the near future, despite failing to implement such a plan last year after a previous announcement.
College Board Ends Subject Tests and Optional Essay
College Board announced Tuesday that it will scrap the SAT’s optional essay section, as well as subject tests.
Officials at the organization cited the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the reason for these changes, saying is has “accelerated a process already underway at the College Board to simplify our work and reduce demands on students.”
The decision was also made in part because Advanced Placement tests, which College Board also administers, are now available to more low-income students and students of color. Thus, College Board has said this makes SAT subject tests unnecessary.
While subject tests will be phased out for international students, they have been discontinued effective immediately in the U.S.
Regarding the optional essay, College Board said high school students are now able to express their writing skills in a variety of ways, a factor which has made the essay section less necessary.
With several exceptions, it will be discontinued in June.
The Board Will Implement an Online SAT Test
In its announcement, College Board also said it plans to launch a revised version of the SAT that’s aimed at making it “more flexible” and “streamlined” for students to take the test online.
In April 2020, College Board announced it would be launching a digital SAT test in the fall if schools didn’t reopen. The College Board then backtracked on its plans for a digital test in June, before many schools even decided they would remain closed.
According to College Board, technological challenges led to the decision to postpone that plan.
For now, no other details about the current plan have been released, though more are expected to be revealed in April.
See what others are saying: (The Washington Post) (NPR) (The New York Times)
U.S.
Biden To Block Trump’s Order Lifting COVID-19 Travel Ban
Published
2 days agoon
January 19, 2021
- President Trump issued an executive order Monday lifting a ban on travelers from the Schengen area of Europe, the U.K., Ireland, and Brazil.
- Trump said the policy will no longer be needed starting Jan. 26, when the CDC will start requiring all passengers from abroad to present proof of a negative coronavirus test before boarding a flight.
- The move was cheered by the travel industry; however, incoming White House press secretary Jennifer Psaki warned that Biden’s administration does not intend to lift the travel restrictions.
Trump Order End To COVID-19 Travel Ban
President Donald Trump issued an executive order Monday ending his administration’s ban on travelers from the Schengen area of Europe, the U.K., Ireland, and Brazil.
That ban was put in place last spring in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus in the U.S. In his announcement, however, Trump said the policy will no longer be needed starting Jan. 26, when new rules from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention go into effect.
Starting that day, the CDC will require all passengers from abroad to present proof of a negative coronavirus test before boarding a flight.
The recommendation to lift the ban reportedly came from Alex Azar, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. According to Trump’s proclamation, “the Secretary reports high confidence that these jurisdictions will cooperate with the United States in the implementation of CDC’s January 12, 2021, order and that tests administered there will yield accurate results.”
It’s worth noting that the ban will stay in place for travelers from Iran and China. Still, Trump’s announcement was generally cheered by members of the travel industry who have been pushing to lift the ban and require preflight testing instead.
Biden To Block Trump’s Order
Soon after the news broke, the incoming White House press secretary for President-elect Joe Biden, Jennifer Psaki, warned that Biden would block Trump’s order.
“With the pandemic worsening, and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel,” she wrote on Twitter.
“On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on 1/26. In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” she added.
On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on 1/26. In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) January 19, 2021
With that, it seems unlikely that Trump’s order will actually take effect.
It’s also worth noting that this is one of many executive orders Trump has issued just before inauguration day.

Some of these orders could soon be overturned once Biden takes office Wednesday. Biden is also expected to roll out his own wave of executive orders in his first 10 days as president.
See what others are saying: (The Wall Street Journal) (The New York Times) (CNN)
U.S.
New COVID-19 Variant Could Become Dominant in the U.S. by March, CDC Warns
Published
6 days agoon
January 15, 2021
- The CDC warned Friday that a new highly transmissible COVID-19 variant could become the predominant variant in the United States by March.
- The strain was first reported in the United Kingdom in December and is now in at least 10 states.
- The CDC used a modeled trajectory to discover how quickly the variant could spread in the U.S. and said that this could threaten the country’s already overwhelmed healthcare system.
CDC Issues Warning
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Friday that the new COVID-19 variant could become the predominant variant in the United States by March.
While it is not known to be more deadly, it does spread at a higher rate, which is troubling considering the condition the U.S. is already in. Cases and deaths are already on the rise in nearly every state and globally, 2 million lives have been lost to the coronavirus.
The variant was first reported in the United Kingdom in mid-December. It is now in 30 countries, including the U.S., where cases have been located in at least ten states. Right now, only 76 cases of this variant have been confirmed in the U.S., but experts believe that number is likely much higher and said it will increase significantly in the coming weeks. It is already a dominant strain in parts of the U.K.
Modeled trajectory shows that growth in the U.S. could be so fast that it dominates U.S. cases just three months into the new year. This could pose a huge threat to our already strained healthcare system.
Mitigating Spread of Variant
“I want to stress that we are deeply concerned that this strain is more transmissible and can accelerate outbreaks in the U.S. in the coming weeks,” said Dr. Jay Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases at the CDC told the New York Times. “We’re sounding the alarm and urging people to realize the pandemic is not over and in no way is it time to throw in the towel.”
The CDC advises that health officials use this time to limit spread and increase vaccination as much as possible in order to mitigate the impact this variant will have. Experts believe that current vaccines will protect against this strain.
“Effective public health measures, including vaccination, physical distancing, use of masks, hand hygiene, and isolation and quarantine, will be essential,” the CDC said in their report.
“Strategic testing of persons without symptoms but at higher risk of infection, such as those exposed to SARS-CoV-2 or who have frequent unavoidable contact with the public, provides another opportunity to limit ongoing spread.”
See what others are saying: (Wall Street Journal) (New York Times) (NBC News)

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