Italian Americans

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Grazie, Obama: Campaign Alum Wins in Italy

Dual national Elly Schlein is the surprise new leader of Italy's Democratic Party

(Newser) - Elly Schlein, a 37-year-old US-Italian national and longtime left-wing political operative who worked on two presidential campaigns for former President Obama, defied polls to become the first woman to head Italy’s opposition Democratic Party. Schlein’s surprise victory Sunday over the popular governor of Emilia-Romagna, a traditional left-wing stronghold,...

Combining Holidays Pleases Few
Combining
Holidays
Pleases Few
May 6, 2021 7:00 PM CDT

Combining Holidays Pleases Few

New York officials rip school system's decision

(Newser) - In a possibly futile effort to please both Italian Americans who celebrate Christopher Columbus and racial justice advocates who accuse him of genocide, the New York City public school system has designated Oct. 11 as Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous People’s Day. The double-naming of the school holiday happened Tuesday after...

Cuomo on Trump: 'I Would Have Decked Him'

Says if he wasn't governor, he would have hit Trump over insults to his family

(Newser) - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this week that scientists were "unmuzzled" with President Trump's election loss, per Business Insider . Apparently so, too, was the governor himself. Appearing on the Howard Stern Show Monday, Cuomo opened up about an anti-Italian insult Trump directed at his brother, CNN anchor...

Sorry, Columbus: Seattle Honors Native Americans

City council redesignates 2nd Monday of October

(Newser) - Columbus Day is no longer "Columbus Day" in Seattle. The city council yesterday redesignated the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples' Day. Reuters reports that the measure notes that Native Americans inhabited North America long before Columbus showed up in the New World; further, it points out that...

Alyssa Milano Gets Jersey Shore Makeover

Actress's Funny or Die video pokes fun at MTV reality show

(Newser) - Alyssa Milano has made it clear that as an Italian-American, she finds MTV's Jersey Shore reality series offensive. But that doesn't mean she can't joke about it. The actress filmed a short for Funny or Die showing her evolution from pretty girl to guidette—which "actually looks a lot...

Your Jersey Shore Glossary
 Your Jersey Shore Glossary 
WHAT'S A JUICEHEAD?
Dec 9, 2009 10:25 AM CST

Your Jersey Shore Glossary

The MTV reality show is awe-inspiring, as long as you understand vocab

(Newser) - “You are not prepared for Jersey Shore,” promises Leslie Gornstein of MTV’s controversial reality show—but perhaps her glossary will help. The show follows eight guidos and guidettes who descend upon the New Jersey town of Seaside Heights for the summer with a single goal: "to...

MTV's Jersey Shore Irks Italian-Americans

Stereotypes in 'Jersey Shore' are damaging, says UNICO

(Newser) - The young Italian-American stars of MTV’s upcoming reality show Jersey Shore are celebrated in a promo as the “hottest, tannest, craziest Guidos” this side of Parsippany. Ick, says Italian-American group UNICO. They may well “keep their hair high, their muscles juiced and their fists pumping all summer...

Miller Pulls Mafia Ads Amid Italian Complaints

Commercials show Sopranos actor offering 'protection'

(Newser) - Complaints from Chicago’s Italian-American community have prompted MillerCoors to pull a Miller Lite ad campaign in which Sopranos actor Frank Vincent plays a stereotypical Mafia type, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. In the two spots, he asks a store clerk and bartender if they need “protection.” They say...

Arrivederci to AP Italian? Not So Fast, Educators Say

Groups mount effort to save funding-starved language test

(Newser) - Italian-American groups, outraged the Advanced Placement course in Italian language and culture could soon be shelved, have mobilized to save it. The College Board, which administers the AP program, plans to cut the $84 test and three others because of meager enrollment and funding. “We cannot have the Italian...

Alito Whacks Sopranos' Themes
Alito Whacks Sopranos' Themes
Feb 14, 2008 11:19 AM CST

Alito Whacks Sopranos' Themes

Italian-Americans' real story overshadowed, complains justice

(Newser) - US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito isn't going to fuhgeddabout all the negative stereotypes concerning Italian-Americans spread by shows like The Sopranos. "You have a trifecta—gangsters, Italian-Americans, New Jersey—wedded in the popular American imagination" and overshadowing the true stories, the New Jersey native complained yesterday to an...

10 Stories