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What Does 'I Understand The Assignment' Mean And Why Is It Being Used By Kamala Harris Supporters? The Catchphrase And Meme Explained

Project Coconut is hitting all gears for the presidential campaign of Vice President and potential Democratic candidate Kamala Harris . The newest trend established by her supporters features a series of posts with the catchphrase I Understand The Assignment' with the hopes of getting the endorsement from the Gen X and Boomers .

Although the phrase shares the same chorus as the 2021 music The Assignment (seen below) by Tay Money, which inspired a viral TikTok trend that amplified the use of the mantra online, they are not related. In this case, is all about understanding Kamala supporters' assignment of getting her elected in the 2024 Presidential Election.

Here's everything you need to know about the 'I Understand The Assignment" catchphrase and other memes related to the Kamala Harris 2024 campaign .

What Does 'I Understand The Assignment' Mean?

The phrase "I understand the assignment" is often used by someone indicating their intentions to go above and beyond to do a good job. That's the general strategy behind the organic campaign in support of Vice President Kamala Harris being spread on social that made the catchphrase resurface in late July 2024. Her endorsers are expressing that they're ready to help her win the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election following President Joe Biden dropping out of the race .

For example, on July 22nd, 2024, X [7] user @libradunn tweeted, "We understand the assignment!" in response to friends in the media asking, "What's next for Democrats?"

The trend is also part of a budding mantra among Harris voters and supporters in which they showcase their "differences" as a strength while indicating their respective duties to elect her. For instance, on July 22nd. 2024, X user @libbage55 tweeted "I’m a 69 year old white woman, and I understand the assignment." (seen below)

On the same day, X user @CGTheGeek posted a GIF showing their reaction to seeing all the "I understand the assignment" tweets. (seen below)

White folks on Twitter posting "… I understand the assignment!" #KamalaHarris2024 pic.twitter.com/WwSul0NvKA — ThereWillBeTypos 🤷🏾‍♀️ (@CGTheGeek) July 23, 2024

Where Is The 'Understood The Assignment' Catchphrase From?

"Understood the assignment" is a phrase well-known online and offline for decades but in August 2021 singer Tay Money helped the phrase to achieve mainstream usage by posting her song's hook, having multiple commenters asking when the full song will eventually drop (shown below). The audio from her video has been made into over 530,000 videos in three years.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6997231444502367493

For the full history of I Understand The Assignment , be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.

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Definition of assign verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

• assign something (to somebody) The teacher assigned a different task to each of the children.
• The two large classrooms have been assigned to us.
• assign somebody something We have been assigned the two large classrooms.
• The teacher assigned each of the children a different task.

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• assign (verb)
• They assigned me the job of cleaning the equipment. = They assigned the job of cleaning the equipment to me. = They assigned me to clean the equipment.
• The teacher assigned us 50 math problems for homework!
• Students will be assigned five books to read and must choose two additional books (to read).
• She was assigned to the embassy in India.
• The new teacher was assigned to the science laboratory.
• assigned to a platoon/squadron
• Parts in the play were assigned [= given ] to each student.
• They assigned me a secretary. = They assigned a secretary to me. [=they provided me with a secretary]
• A section of the field was assigned [= set aside ] for parking.
• The plane landed at its assigned gate.
• our assigned positions/seats
• He believes that they have assigned blame/responsibility to the wrong people.
• The computer program will assign a number to each image.
• She assigned her share of the estate to her brother.

— assignable

• an assignable interest in the estate

— assignor

• the property of the assignor

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Meaning of assign in English

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assign verb [T] ( CHOOSE )

• Every available officer will be assigned to the investigation .
• The textbooks were assigned by the course director .
• Part of the group was assigned to clear land mines .
• Each trainee is assigned a mentor who will help them learn more about the job .
• We were assigned an interpreter for the duration of our stay .
• accommodate
• accommodate someone with something
• administration
• arm someone with something
• hand something around
• hand something back
• hand something down
• hand something in
• put something on
• re-equipment
• reassignment

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

assign verb [T] ( SEND )

• She was assigned to the Paris office .
• All the team was assigned to Poland.
• advertisement
• employment agency
• recruitment drive
• reinstatement
• relocation expenses

assign verb [T] ( COMPUTING )

• 3-D printing
• adaptive learning
• additive manufacturing
• hexadecimal
• hill climbing
• techno-solutionism
• word processing

assign verb [T] ( GIVE LEGALLY )

Phrasal verb, assign | intermediate english, assign | business english, examples of assign, translations of assign.

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Word of the Day

put something off

to decide or arrange to delay an event or activity until a later time or date

Like a bull in a china shop: talking about people who are clumsy

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• assign (CHOOSE)
• assign (SEND)
• assign (COMPUTING)
• assign (GIVE LEGALLY)
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Assignments

• by teachmint@wp

What is assignment in education? Assignment meaning is the tasks given to students by their teachers and tutors to complete in a defined time. They can also be referred to as the work given to someone as a part of learning. Assignments can be in the form of written, practical, art or fieldwork, or even online. Their purpose is to ensure that students understand the subject matter thoroughly.

Generally, students are assigned a task as a part of their homework. The allocation of assignments is not only restricted to a class or subject but this method can be applied at any stage of life. They are a great way to judge the ability and understanding of an individual towards a subject matter.

The culture of providing homework starts from kindergarten in various forms. Small children are asked to read and write what they learn in the class. Students in the higher class are given work as a part of their revision exercise and help them prepare for exams. Individuals doing honors write journals as a part of an assignment that determines their knowledge in that subject.

The structure of assignments depends upon the nature of the task and subject. They must be well-researched, including case studies or examples within a proper framework. These studies are useful for students to achieve the desired examination results. It also helps them to concentrate better on education. Knowing what is assignment in education helps teachers assess students better.

Importance of Assignments

Giving assignments to the students is a crucial part of student assessment. The importance of giving assignments to the students is discussed in detail below:

• Learning practical skills Assignments enable students to develop new skills. In order to complete the assignments, students learn new skills which help them in their academic careers. 
• Enhances time management skills Whenever assignments are allocated to the students, a time limit is set by teachers within which the assignment has to be submitted. What is assignment in education enable students to complete their tasks and learn timely submission of work. 
• Learning researching skills Students tend to do a lot of research about the questions given in the assignment. Assignment meaning is to help them develop their research skills and come in handy in their future careers. 
• Enhance the Writing Caliber Many students have a problem of not being able to put their thoughts into words. Writing assignments can help them develop writing skills and be expressive in real life as well. 

Since assignments are deadline-based, they help students take responsibility and manage time. The work assigned to students may be individual or group activities, or both, to develop teamwork in them. 

The above-mentioned information gives us a context of assignment meaning and its importance to the students. Assignments provide a basis for the student assessment and should be given timely.  

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Synonyms of assignment

• as in lesson
• as in appointment
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Thesaurus Definition of assignment

Synonyms & Similar Words

• responsibility
• undertaking
• requirement
• designation
• appointment
• authorization
• installment
• installation
• destination
• emplacement
• investiture
• singling (out)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dethronement

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun assignment contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of assignment are chore , duty , job , stint , and task . While all these words mean "a piece of work to be done," assignment implies a definite limited task assigned by one in authority.

When is it sensible to use chore instead of assignment ?

While the synonyms chore and assignment are close in meaning, chore implies a minor routine activity necessary for maintaining a household or farm.

When is duty a more appropriate choice than assignment ?

Although the words duty and assignment have much in common, duty implies an obligation to perform or responsibility for performance.

When might job be a better fit than assignment ?

The synonyms job and assignment are sometimes interchangeable, but job applies to a piece of work voluntarily performed; it may sometimes suggest difficulty or importance.

When could stint be used to replace assignment ?

In some situations, the words stint and assignment are roughly equivalent. However, stint implies a carefully allotted or measured quantity of assigned work or service.

When can task be used instead of assignment ?

The meanings of task and assignment largely overlap; however, task implies work imposed by a person in authority or an employer or by circumstance.

Examples of assignment in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'assignment.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Thesaurus Entries Near assignment

assignments

Cite this Entry

“Assignment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assignment. Accessed 4 Sep. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on assignment

Nglish: Translation of assignment for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of assignment for Arabic Speakers

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IESBA Q&A Update: Clarifying PIE Definition for Global Compliance

The Staff of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) today released an update to its Questions and Answers (Q&As) publication , originally published in March 2023, on the IESBA revisions to the definitions of listed entity and public interest entity (PIE) in the IESBA Code of Ethics .

This update includes a new Q&A (16) to address the scenario where a jurisdiction has no PIE definition or excluded one or more of the mandatory categories in the IESBA PIE definition. In addition, Q&A 20 has been updated following the finalization of Track 1 of IAASB’s PIE project and the IAASB’s agreement to update ISA 700 (Revised) so that the auditor’s report can be used as a mechanism for firms to comply with the transparency requirement set out in the IESBA PIE revisions.

The IESBA and the IAASB coordinated closely throughout the development of the IESBA’s revised PIE definition and Track 1 of the IAASB’s PIE project. This high level of coordination has been ongoing as the IAASB works towards finalizing Track 2 of its PIE project . Such coordination is critical to ensure the interoperability of both Boards’ standards.

The Q&A publication is designed to highlight, illustrate or explain aspects of the PIE revisions in the Code and is intended to complement the Basis for Conclusions for the final pronouncement. It aims to assist national standards setters, professional accountancy organizations, and firms in adopting and/or implementing the PIE revisions.

The PIE revisions are effective for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after December 15, 2024. Read the revisions here .

Note: References to paragraph numbers in the updated Q&A publication were updated to reflect the 2024 version of the IESBA Code.

About IESBA The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) is an independent global standard-setting board. The IESBA’s mission is to serve the public interest by setting high-quality, international ethics (including independence) standards as a cornerstone to ethical behavior in business and organizations, and to public trust in financial and non-financial information that is fundamental to the proper functioning and sustainability of organizations, financial markets and economies worldwide.

Along with the  International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board , the IESBA is part of the  International Foundation for Ethics and Audit . The  Public Interest Oversight Board  (PIOB) oversees IESBA and IAASB activities and the public interest responsiveness of the standards. 

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JD Vance's beard and what it means to be a man

Beards have long been thought to confer masculinity on its wearer, especially as a reaction to times of crisis, by nicholas liu.

The rise of JD Vance as the GOP vice presidential pick marks the return of the beard to the presidential ticket after 76 years in exile, potentially signposting its resurgent acceptability outside the spaces of old men, counterculture, rural communities and public figures scrabbling their way out of deep, soul-rupturing crises. Al Gore , who lost the 2000 presidential election, Paul Ryan , who faded as a 2016 presidential prospect before he could even join the race, and Ted Cruz , who joined the race only to suffer ignominy, all re-emerged some time after their trials with a dark shadow newly cast over their lower face. 

To go unshaven in the midst of personal hardship is so ubiquitous in popular media, and perhaps real life, that TV Tropes has a page dedicated to the “Beard of Sorrow.” Sometimes, the association is rooted in the idea that a man brooding over his troubles cannot find the motivation to tend to his hair. But other times in the modern day and in history, men in crisis are recorded to have grown their beards as a conscious act to express their melancholy, project strength or just find some way to reinvent themselves. Unlike Gore, Ryan and Cruz, who made the decision merely in defiance of popular convention, two 16th century popes who sprouted facial hair defied their own predecessors’ canon law banning the use of beards among clergy.

For Pope Julius II, his newfound beard was an appropriate sign of mourning to the loss of Bologna and other Papal territories to the Republic of Venice, his sworn enemy. In 1508, he formed a coalition of European powers, the League of Cambrai, setting them upon the Venetians and then taking the field himself. The confrontation that ensued marked an escalation of the so-called Italian Wars that ravaged the peninsula for nearly 70 years, and in 1527, another pope, Clement VII, found himself on the wrong side of a new conflict against the Holy Roman Emperor. 

History can indeed be divided into phases based on the appearance and disappearance of beards.

The Emperor’s unpaid German and Spanish troops marched on Rome, subjecting the city and its population to weeks of murder, rape, pillage and destruction, not even leaving nuns and churches untouched. The smooth-faced pontiff, mourning Rome's destruction and now at the mercy of the Emperor who destroyed it, ceased shaving as a sign of contrition and penance for sins that surely were the cause of God's punishment. In 1531, he reversed the ban on priests growing beards in hopes that they would follow suit.

While Clement may have grown a beard of penitence, other churchmen responded to this crisis by growing beards as a representation of their manly strength and what they hoped would be a recovery of Church authority. Italian humanist Piero Valeriano praised both approaches in  " Pro Sacerdotum Barbis " ("In Support of Beards for the Clergy"), but emphasized in particular the urgent need for men of God to replace timid and uninspiring beardlessness with more assertive qualities. It behooves men to wear long beards, Valeriano wrote, for "chiefly by that token (as I have often said) the vigorous strength of manhood is discerned from the tenderness of women." 

That same call may be shaping the resurgence of beards in the United States after a long phase in which they were seen as unkempt and unprofessional. “What we’ve seen, certainly within the last probably 15 years or so, has been a return to more of that kind of rougher, more masculine kind of appearance,” master barber Matty Conrad told The Washington Post in its article about Vance breaking the hairy ceiling. 

The inner beard makes way for self-expression

In some geographical and cultural contexts, history can indeed be divided into phases based on the appearance and disappearance of beards. The answer for what shaped its uneven journey can perhaps be explained by Judith Butler, who wrote the founding texts for modern gender and queer theory. According to Butler , normative society imposes behaviors and expressions that define what is a man or woman to the point where our perception of even corporeal sexual differences is shaped by gendered conventions. As such, facial hair is part of a performance that not only confers its wearer with manly qualities, but also defines him as a man.

Some biological theories from ancient to early modern times seem to join gendered performance in following the lead of such views, with scholars until at least the 17th century positing that beards grew on the faces of men due to heat and moisture generated by the production of semen in the genitals. Thus, Aristotle suggested , the fullest beards were the preserve of men with “strong sexual passions,” though they would also go bald more quickly if they had too much sex. 

If the human face and the hair that sprouts from it represents an index of manliness, cultural values did not always welcome the degree of manliness exuded by beards. Even Abbott Burchard, who gave beards a rave review in his 1160 treatise " Apologia de Barbis " ("Explanation of Beards"), conformed to the medieval expectation that priests and monks remain clean-shaven, for the beard that gave worldly magnificence to secular princes was not suitable for men of God who sought to expunge all that was mundane from their feelings and desires. Instead, it sufficed that they possess an "inner beard," the strength and insight that grows within a man and is represented, but not necessarily embodied, by the beard that grows on his surface.

By 1540, nearly every Western European man over the age of 20 was represented in art with facial hair.

There were times when most secular princes also submitted to the razor, sometimes at the behest of their clergy. Moral discipline, humble virtue and indeed, a trust resting solely on the “inner beard” need not have applied only to priests and monks, but also to kings like Louis IX of France , whose piety, temperance, justice and zeal against heathens and heretics earned him the distinction of sainthood. Two-and-a-half centuries later, Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France, the magnificent, capricious and ruthless Renaissance princes of the early 16th century, bore no such compunction. The two kings swore to grow out their beards in advance of meeting each other at the Field of the Cloth of Gold , an aptly named 1520 diplomatic summit that provided an opportunity for both of them to outdo one another in courtly splendor and martial prowess. Despite the protestations of their disgusted wives, they eventually met amidst the sea of pavilions (and one fake wooden palace), their faces in full bloom.

Even after the meeting, Henry and Francis kept their beards, as portraits of the two kings can attest. By 1540, nearly every Western European man over the age of 20 was represented in art with facial hair. Portrait galleries with art from the time period are among the most lopsided in its favor. In ”The Renaissance Beard: Masculinity in Early Modern England,” historian Will Fisher counts that 55 of 60 portraits of men in London’s Tate Gallery exhibition “Dynasties: Painting in Tudor and Jacobean England, 1530-1630” display facial hair in one form or another.

Scholars have suggested several mutually compatible theories to explain why manliness began to once again outweigh self-discipline and reserve as a value of expression, and why that manifested itself in the form of facial growth after more than a century of self-imposed drought. One popular view pins its reemergence to an emphasis on Renaissance humanism that favored the expression of human potential over man’s need to control their propensity to worldly sin and the beards that tempted them, but more academic theories point to external factors. In “The New World and the Changing Face of Europe,” Elliott Horowitz advances the idea that European men sought to distance themselves from the heathen other, which in medieval times was associated with typically bearded Jews and Turks. With the encounter of the New World, however, imagery of the other reformed around the indigenous people there, who did not grow beards and were probably repulsed by the appearance of unshaven Europeans rather than impressed by their masculinity, as some of the latter assumed.

Other historians characterize the growth of beards in some contexts as a response to insecurities over manhood and power, with Valeriano supporting this argument with his exhortation for priests to refrain from shaving in order to embody the post-1527 reassertion of Church authority. In the secular realm, Douglas Blow posits in “On the Importance of Being an Individual in Renaissance Italy” that a similar desire took hold over urbane Italians reduced to impotence in the face of repeated invasions and occupations by foreign powers like France and Spain from 1494 onwards. The next best thing to effectively wielding the instruments of war, then, was for men to hide their apparent weakness by bearing that which symbolized masculine prowess in war and other domains. Facial hair was a “natural Ensign of Manhood,” said 17th century English natural philosopher John Bulwer (as cited by Fisher), referring to what the Oxford English Dictionary defines as “a military or naval standard.”

Courtly men were evidently conscious of taking their beard-grooming too far, lest they resemble fussy women rather than men playing at battle. Baldassare Castiglione, the prototypical (bearded) Italian gentleman of his age, wrote in " Il Cortigiano " (“The Book of the Courtier”), through the character Federico Fregoso, that a courtier ought “to be neat and dainty in his attire, and observe a certain modern elegance, yet not in a feminine or vain fashion . . . nor would I have him more careful of one thing than another, like many we see, who take such pains with their hair that they forget the rest.” Castiglione’s relatively subtle admonition was not shared by the anonymous author of the 1620 English pamphlet "The Womanish Man,” who sneers in mockingly martial language that “were it not for that little fantastical sharp-pointed dagger that hangs” on the chins of men who spend too much time curating their facial hair, or the “cross-hilt which guards their upper lip, hardly would there be any difference between fair Mistress and the foolish Servant.”

Bearded women and gendered expectations

Conversely, a woman with facial hair was seen by some people not as masculine or unfeminine, but as an abomination, who, according to Bulwer, “must be greeted with stones from a distance.” The passage not only suggests violence to enforce normative ideas of gender, but also taps into the imagery of “stones” being thrown at her as a suitable punishment for the imagined transgression of bearing the kind of stones (read: testicles) reserved for men. Other less hostile sources viewed them more as a curious, even wondrous phenomenon. The most striking example of this may be Spanish painter Jusepe de Ribera’s 1631 portrait of a lusciously bearded Magdalena Ventura , whom he called “A Great Wonder of Nature.” Ventura, standing confidently at the center of the painting and staring directly at the viewer, possesses a beard surpassing that of her husband, who appears meekly behind her. But her femininity also leaves a strong imprint on the exposed breast feeding the child in her arms and the dress she wears, as if to confirm that she is, indeed, above all else still a woman and mother regardless of her beard.

A woman with facial hair was seen by some people not as masculine or unfeminine, but as an abomination.

The view that beards on women were a rare exception sometimes reinforced the stature of those women, who in the case of Saint Wilgefortis was said to receive her hair as a miraculous gift from God, escaping a forced marriage to a heathen only to then be crucified by her father in imitation of Christ. When praising women for embodying the qualities of men, beards were interchangeable with other male body parts as descriptive devices, even if such women did not actually possess them. One story about the 6th century Ostrogothic queen Amalasuintha, whom the Roman historian Procopius extolled as such a wise and courageous ruler that she was essentially a “female man,” foreshadows her violent death: “In the marketplace there was an image of her father Theoderic, and when the stones about his genitals fell to the ground, Amalasuintha passed from the world.” Indeed, Procopius wrote that Amalasuintha would not meekly give way to a coup as “a woman would,” and paid with her life.

And yet, in one form or another, bearded women continued to exist in Western society’s eyes as a freakish aberration to be gawked at in 19th century carnivals and exhibitions. Such attitudes were very different from conceptions of appearance in Qajar Iran during that same century, which held that women and young men with a light mist of hair above their lips, natural or evoked by mascara, represented the apex of beauty. According to Afsaneh Najmabadi in “Women with Mustaches and Men without Beards,” the introduction of heteronormative standards from globally dominant Europe ensured that a woman’s mustache, which made them look like Europe's idea of a man, was by 1920 "in danger of becoming a sign of pastness, of out-of-dateness and was beginning to mark the figure against which Iranian modern woman was defining herself, the so-called traditional old-fashioned woman."

In a modern environment where social codes are forcing physical attributes into strict, gendered categories, the sex of those assigned female at birth, such as Olympian boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, is now being called into question if they do not correspond to a traditionally feminine appearance or personality. A woman who appears feminine and a man who appears masculine is still comforting to many, if not most people, and the reemergence of beards on men could further underscore that difference. Even the famously beard-phobic Donald Trump ended up picking the only bearded running mate prospect, praising Vance as an Abraham Lincoln lookalike , though the 16th president, unlike Vance, spurned the mustache and only grew a beard on his chin.

The two men both share an embrace of facial hair that occurred later in their careers, with Lincoln growing his beard out after being elected president, allegedly persuaded by a young supporter, while Vance grew his beard around the time he ran for U.S. Senate in 2022, years after he published “Hillbilly Elegy.” Lincoln followed existing widespread trends; Vance, on the other hand, bears facial hair when it is still rare among the political class, who in the last century have largely conformed to views that associate beardlessness with crisp professionalism . But crisp professionals are not necessarily the kind of politicians that many Americans on the left and right are looking for in the throes of material hardship, profound alienation and rage against those who have profited from their loss. The rugged everyman, on the other hand, knows their suffering because he's closer to their station in life.

While Vance has portrayed himself as a working man’s candidate, his selective criticism of corporate power is at best a secondary act in a more encompassing tirade against 21st-century modernity, whose primary sin has been to dismantle nuclear families supported by a child-rearing woman and make men miserable in the process. In that sense, Vance’s beard meets the moment of his party – one that, like some of its 16th century forebears, seeks to project toughness, aggression and grievance in an age where Republicans perceive masculinity as an endangered value. It doesn't matter that Vance is friends with largely beardless Silicon Valley billionaires or provided legal representation to big pharmaceutical companies that fueled much of the opioid crisis that Republicans blame on immigrants – his performance has persuaded his supporters that he is the rugged everyman, and the beard is one of his most important props.

about this topic

• Down with beard culture: An argument for old-fashioned shaving
• The glory of the beard: It's the one bandwagon politicians can't jump on
• The secret conservative message of the "Duck Dynasty" beards

Nicholas (Nick) Liu is a News Fellow at Salon. He grew up in Hong Kong, earned a B.A. in History at the University of Chicago, and began writing for local publications like the Santa Barbara Independent and Straus News Manhattan.

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Why you can’t get ESPN, ABC, Disney on DirecTV

Fans of sports programming on ESPN and Hulu or who binge watch ABC's television series no longer have access to those and other Disney-owned channels through DirecTV, leaving millions of viewers in the dark.

Here's where the Disney vs. DirecTV issue stands, and what it means for viewers and sports fans moving forward.

Why can't I watch ABC, ESPN on DirecTV?

According to published reports , Disney pulled ABC, ESPN, Hulu and other channels from DirecTV at around 7:20 p.m. on Sunday, September 1.

That left viewers without DirecTV coverage of the US Open Tennis Championship and the primetime LSU - USC college football game .

Other channels lost include ESPN Deportes, ESPNU, ESPN News, ACC Network, SEC Network, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, FX, FX Movie Channel, FXX, Freeform, and the National Geographic channels.

Aside from the US Open, ESPN has some major football broadcasts on its schedule.

Next week's full slate of games includes Texas vs. Michigan on Sept. 7 and ESPN Monday Night Football kicks off Sept. 9, with the New York Jets vs. San Francisco 49ers.

What happened between Disney and DirecTV?

The two companies have been negotiating a new contract to keep Disney's content on DirecTV's satellite and streaming services, including  U-Verse TV , as a five-year contract ended on September 1.

Unable to reach a deal, Disney's content went dark on DirecTV, leaving more than 11 million pay-TV subscribers unable to watch ESPN and ESPN2 just as the college and pro football seasons get underway.

Sunday night's  USC vs. LSU matchup was blacked out on Disney-owned local stations including ABC7 New York and ABC6 Philadelphia.

Also looming for those DirecTV subscribers who get Disney-owned ABC channels: the Sept. 10 presidential debate.

I have DirecTV; what are my options?

While Disney and DirecTV work through their contract disagreement, DirecTV suggests its subscribers access ESPN content through the dedicated ESPN mobile app. You will be prompted to use your DirecTV login credentials to watch live and current ESPN programming.

As of right now, you have limited access to ABC shows on DirecTV's website.

Likewise, DirecTV subscribers should be able to use their login credential to access the Hulu app, but there have been some connectivity issues, according to DirecTV's community forums .

DirecTV subscribers can also apply for a credit for the loss of access to Disney channels during the dispute.

Damon C. Williams is a Philadelphia-based journalist reporting on trending topics across the Mid-Atlantic Region.

The UK has suspended some arms exports to Israel. What does it mean?

By Nelli Saarinen

Topic: World Politics

Britain has announced it will immediately suspend 30 of its 350 arms export licences with Israel because of a "clear risk" that such equipment might be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law.

Foreign minister David Lammy said on Monday the decision only involved those items that could be used in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, rather than a blanket ban or an arms embargo.

"We recognise, of course, Israel's need to defend itself against security threats, but we are deeply worried by the methods that Israel's employed, and by reports of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure particularly," Mr Lammy told parliament.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the decision "shameful".

"This shameful decision will not change Israel's determination to defeat Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organisation that savagely murdered 1,200 people on October 7, including 14 British citizens," his office said in a post on X .

Mr Netanyahu said the "misguided decision would only embolden Hamas", adding that five British citizens were still being held as hostages in Gaza.

"With or without British arms, Israel will win this war and secure our common future," he said.

Israel's offensive in Gaza has levelled much of the enclave of 2.3 million people, and the Gaza health ministry says more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed. Displaced people are living in dire conditions with a hunger crisis.

The current war began when Hamas led a terror attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year, in which about 1,200 mostly civilians were killed and 251 abducted, according to Israeli figures.

Australia lists Hamas as a terrorist organisation.

Here's what we know about the UK's decision and whether there are implications for Australia and other countries.

What items are included in the suspension?

The British government does not give arms directly to Israel but rather issues licences for companies to sell weapons.

Licences are granted with input from lawyers on whether they comply with international law.

Among the items included under the suspensions are components for military aircraft including fighter jets, helicopters and drones , along with items used for ground targeting , the Associated Press reports.

But, parts for F-35 fighters will be exempted , except where going directly to Israel, as the government said it was not possible to suspend these without jeopardising the jets' entire global programme.

Sam Perlo-Freeman, research coordinator for Campaign Against Arms Trade, welcomed the UK government's announcement but said the exemption for F-35 parts was "utterly outrageous and unjustifiable".

It is unclear what other items can continue to be exported. According to Reuters, many of the licences approved after the start of the conflict were for items listed for "commercial use" or non-lethal items such as body armour, military helmets or all-wheel drive vehicles with ballistic protection.

Why has the UK suspended some of its arms export licences with Israel?

Soon after the Labour Party won the UK election in July , Mr Lammy said he would review arms sales to Israel to ensure these complied with international law.

"The assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that for certain UK arms exports to Israel, there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law," Mr Lammy said.

A paper released by the UK government on the decision said that the level of aid in Gaza remained "insufficient" and that "Israel could reasonably do more to facilitate humanitarian access and distribution".

"For example, Israel should establish a speedier and more effective system for deconflicting humanitarian aid from military operations," the paper reads.

It also noted that there had been "credible claims of the mistreatment of detainees" .

"The concerns regarding Israel's compliance and commitment in the areas of humanitarian relief and treatment of detainees give cause for concern about its attitude and approach to the conduct of hostilities."

However, the paper acknowledged that it was not possible to reach a "determinative judgement" about Israel's conduct of hostilities, partly due to the "opaque and contested information environment in Gaza" and challenges with accessing all the necessary information from Israel.

British foreign minister David Lammy (left) and his French counterpart, Stéphane Séjourné (right) are welcomed to Jerusalem by Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz (middle). ( AP Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg )

Mr Lammy said the decision was "a forward-looking evaluation, not a determination of innocence or guilt" on Israel's part.

In July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Israel's occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal under international law.

In its ruling, the ICJ said that UN member states had an obligation to "take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory."

While the ICJ's opinions are purely advisory and non-binding, they serve as a source of guidance for states on international law.

"The Jewish nation cannot be an occupier in its own land," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement following the ICJ ruling.

Israeli leaders have dismissed allegations of war crimes.

There is growing domestic political pressure on the UK government to take a firmer line with Israel over the nearly 11-month-long conflict in Gaza. Despite a landslide election win, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's party suffered significant setbacks in areas with large Muslim populations.

The government's decision to approve export licences to sell weapons in Israel has been an emotive issue since the start of Israel's Gaza offensive.

The British government's announcement came after Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq and the UK-based Global Legal Action Network filed a legal challenge aimed at forcing the UK to stop granting any licences for arms exports to Israel. The case has yet to go to a full court hearing.

What are the implications for Australia?

While British companies sell a relatively small amount of weapons and components to Israel, the UK is one of Israel's closest allies, so the decision could carry symbolic significance.

The military affairs correspondent for Israel's Channel 13 TV said the move could become more serious if other allies followed suit .

There has been much debate about Australia's involvement in arms trade with Israel.

The Greens have accused the federal government of "supporting genocide" through a "two-way arms trade" with Israel, while Labor ministers and defence officials have insisted no weapons or military parts have been exported to Israel.

Another line of argument from the Greens has been Australia's involvement in the global supply chain for the F-35 jet fighter, which involves a dozen nations including Israel.

According to the Royal Australian Air Force, more than 70 Australian companies have shared in global F-35 production and sustainment contracts, but defence argues the individual components can't be considered weapons.

Following the ICJ ruling in July, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government had been "firm and consistent" on Israeli settler activity being illegal under international law and a "significant obstacle to peace".

"We are carefully considering the detail of the ICJ opinion to fully understand the conclusions reached," she wrote.

What happens next?

At this stage, it is unclear whether the UK export licences will be permanently revoked.

The 30 suspended licences represent less than 10 per cent of all UK arms export licences to Israel.

Some British politicians and Jewish groups have accused the government of abandoning Israel, while others said the decision did not go far enough and advocated for a total ban on arms transfers.

Although Britain is a smaller exporter of arms to Israel than the US and Germany, the decision was seen by some analysts as a sign of Israel's increasing diplomatic isolation, according to Reuters.

British exports amount to less than 1 per cent of the total arms Israel receives.

Mr Lammy said the suspension would not have a material impact on Israel's security, and Britain continued to support its right to self-defence.

Biden, Harris overstep on student loans, Title IX. Be glad courts are pumping the brakes.

By unilaterally creating sweeping – and costly – policies without going through congress, joe biden and kamala harris are stepping all over the separation of powers..

Not to rub it in, but President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are real losers. 

In court, anyway. 

The Biden-Harris administration has lost big in recent weeks on some of its signature “accomplishments.”

On both the sweeping Title IX rewrite that makes major changes in regard to gender identity and with Biden’s latest student loan cancellation plan, the courts keep putting the brakes on these executive overreaches.

What’s most telling is the reaction from the administration. Rather than acknowledge they have overstepped, Biden and Harris just continue to plow forward.  

To them, the outcome justifies their actions, even if they are blatantly unconstitutional. 

That belies Democrats’ portrayal of themselves as the defenders of democracy . By unilaterally creating such sweeping – and costly – policies without going through Congress, Biden and Harris are clearly stepping all over the separation of powers. 

Another blow to student loan freebies 

Let’s take a look at the latest examples. 

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court refused an emergency request from the Biden administration to lift a nationwide injunction on its broad income-driven student loan repayment (SAVE) plan that took effect last year. No justice dissented for the record, not even those among the court's progressive wing.

This was Biden’s alternative to loan cancellation, introduced shortly after the high court shot down his unconstitutional plan to wipe out student debt without Congress' approval.

Biden bungles student loans: Biden and Harris keep making promises they know are a scam

As we get closer to the presidential election, Biden and Harris have doubled down on their cancellation promises, blatantly trying to use hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars as a campaign ploy to get votes. 

The court battle, which began this summer with two federal judges appointed by former President Barack Obama ruling against Biden, puts a wrench in their efforts by halting any additional loan forgiveness (or easing) while the matter works its way through the lower courts. 

This is all very confusing for borrowers, who’ve been on quite the rollercoaster the past few years thanks to Biden and Harris. 

It’s also costly and unfair to those of us who didn’t go to college or who worked hard to pay our debts. 

Swapping sex for gender identity is a step too far  

Separately, the Supreme Court last month also refused to lift a preliminary injunction that’s preventing 26 states from having to implement Biden and Harris’ rewrite of Title IX, which was finalized in April and set to take effect Aug. 1. 

That is a huge blow to the administration, as it wanted colleges and schools to implement the new rule in the 2024-25 year. Now, it will have to wait for the different lawsuits to work their way through the lower courts. 

What does Harris stand for? Kamala Harris says her 'values' haven't changed. We still have no clue what they are.

Expanding transgender rights has been central to Biden’s presidency, and his new Title IX rule that changed the definition of “sex” to include “ gender identity ” sought to force schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice.

It also broadened its definition of harassment, which runs into free speech concerns. 

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This week, the Independent Women’s Law Center, along with several other women’s groups, filed an amicus brief in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to prevent the Title IX rewrite from taking effect in Ohio, Tennessee and other states.

The brief states that the Biden-Harris administration’s “demand that schools provide locker-room access in accordance with gender identity ignores … biological realities and, in the process, violates Title IX’s unmistakable and longstanding requirement to account for the ‘unique facet(s)’ of the sexes.”

It’s one thing for Biden and Harris to advocate for gender identity and student loan forgiveness. It’s another matter altogether, however, that they have refused to go through Congress and tried to do major policy changes on their own.

That should concern us all.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter: @ Ingrid_Jacques

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