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The pubication said the negative impact of COVID-19 led to the cancellation of major events such as the popular Essence Music Festival.
Essence magazine, an iconic American publication dedicated to covering all things Black Girl Magic since 1970, has furloughed staff “due to revenue losses” amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
In a press release on Tuesday, Essence noted that the negative impact of COVID-19 led to the cancellation of major events such as the popular Essence Music Festival.
“Six months into an unprecedented and continuing global pandemic, COVID-19 has had a broader and longer-lasting impact than anyone expected – and Essence Communications, Inc. (“ECI”) has not been immune to it,” the magazine said in an announcement on Tuesday.
“Nonetheless, our commitment to successfully guiding this iconic brand through these immediate challenges and forward is unwavering. Our team and the community we serve are too important. The culture we reflect and create is too important,” the publication continued. “The platforms we’ve built for the celebration, inspiration and empowerment of Black women and communities are too important. This is why we are making the business decisions we are making today.”
Read More: Essence Magazine sexual harassment claims ‘not substantiated’
The publication intends to “pay everyone impacted throughout this week and will cover their medical benefits premiums throughout the furlough,” which is expected to last no longer than six months.
“We will remain in touch with all of those impacted to provide relevant and pertinent updates regarding this matter as we have them,” the magazine said. “We do not anticipate that any furloughs will exceed six (6) months. We are confident that the actions we are taking now will help ensure that ESSENCE is here to thrive for another 50+ years as an independent Black-owned media business.”
The bombshell furlough announcement comes three months after Essence Magazine was hit with internal backlash from its predominantly Black female staff.
Read More: Essence Magazine’s staffers anonymously call out toxic workplace culture
Accusations of pay inequity, sexual harassment, corporate bullying, intimidation, colorism, and classism are a few of the things the employees outlined in blog published on Medium in June. TheGRIO previously reported, the disgruntled employees called on the advertisers to pull their ads until all of the magazine’s executives are fired, including Essence Ventures owner Richelieu Dennis.
In response to the allegations, Essence issued a statement that read, in part: “It is extremely important to us that we foster a safe, transparent and respectful workspace for everyone and that we expect that from everyone – not just those who work for us, but also those who work with us.”
Meanwhile, Dennis issued a lengthy statement via Instagram this week, in which he addresed the shake-up at the publication due to the COVID crisis. He makes clear that “Essence isn’t going anywhere, whether it’s pages, stages or screens.”
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The Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica is a region where many of the world’s carbon-rich deep waters can rise back up to the surface. Scientists have thought that the vast swaths of sea ice around Antarctica can act as a lid for upwelling carbon, preventing the gas from breaking through the ocean’s surface and returning to the atmosphere.
However, researchers at MIT have now identified a counteracting effect that suggests Antarctic sea ice may not be as powerful a control on the global carbon cycle as scientists had suspected.
In a study published in the August issue of the journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles, the team has found that indeed, sea ice in the Southern Ocean can act as a physical barrier for upwelling carbon. But it can also act as a shade, blocking sunlight from reaching the surface ocean. Sunlight is essential for phytosynthesis, the process by which phytoplankton and other ocean microbes take up carbon from the atmosphere to grow.
The researchers found that when sea ice blocks sunlight, biological activity — and the amount of carbon that microbes can sequester from the atmosphere — decreases significantly. And surprisingly, this shading effect is almost equal and opposite to that of sea ice’s capping effect. Taken together, both effects essentially cancel each other out.
“In terms of future climate change, the expected loss of sea ice around Antarctica may therefore not increase the carbon concentration in the atmosphere,” says lead author Mukund Gupta, who carried out the research as a graduate student in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS).
He emphasizes that sea ice does have other effects on the global climate, foremost through its albedo, or ability to reflect solar radiation.
“When the Earth warms up, it loses sea ice and absorbs more of this solar radiation, so in that sense, the loss of sea ice can accelerate climate change,” Gupta says. “What we can say here is, sea ice changes may not have such a strong effect on carbon outgassing around Antarctica through this capping and shading effect.”
Gupta’s coauthors are EAPS Professor Michael “Mick” Follows, and EAPS research scientist Jonathan Lauderdale.
The role of ice
Each winter, wide swaths of the Southern Ocean freeze over, forming vast sheets of sea ice that extend out from Antarctica for millions of square miles. The role of Antarctic sea ice in regulating the climate and the carbon cycle has been much debated, though the prevailing theory has been that sea ice can act as a lid to keep carbon in the ocean from escaping to the atmosphere.
“This theory is mostly thought of in the context of ice ages, when the Earth was much colder and the atmospheric carbon was lower,” Gupta says. “One of the theories explaining this low carbon concentration argues that because it was colder, a thick sea ice cover extended further into the ocean, blocking carbon exchanges with the atmosphere and effectively trapping it in the deep ocean.”
Gupta and his colleagues wondered whether an effect other than capping may also be in play. In general, the researchers have sought to understand how various features and processes in the ocean interact with ocean biology such as phytoplankton. They assumed that there might be less biological activity as a result of sea ice blocking microbes’ vital sunlight — but how strong would this shading effect be?
Equal and opposite
To answer that question, the researchers used the MITgcm, a global circulation model that simulates the many physical, chemical, and biological processes involved in the circulation of the atmosphere and ocean. With MITgcm, they simulated a vertical slice of the ocean spanning 3,000 kilometers wide and about 4,000 meters deep, and with conditions similar to today’s Southern Ocean. They then ran the model multiple times, each time with a different concentration of sea ice.
“At 100 percent concentration, there are no leaks in the ice, and it’s really compacted together, versus very low concentrations representing loose and sparse ice floes moving around,” Gupta explains.
They set each simulation to one of three scenarios: one where only the capping effect is active, and sea ice is only influencing the carbon cycle by preventing carbon from leaking back out to the atmosphere; another where only the shading effect is active, and sea ice is only blocking sunlight from penetrating the ocean; and the last in which both capping and shading effects are in play.
For every simulation, the researchers observed how the conditions they set affected the overall carbon flux, or amount of carbon that escaped from the ocean to the atmosphere.
They found that capping and shading had opposite effects on the carbon cycle, reducing the amount of carbon to the atmosphere in the former case and increasing it in the latter, by equal amounts. In the scenarios where both effects were considered, one canceled the other out almost entirely, across a wide range of sea ice concentrations, leading to no significant change in the carbon flux. Only when sea ice was at its highest concentration did capping have the edge, with a decrease in carbon escaping to the atmosphere.
The results suggest that Antarctic sea ice may effectively trap carbon in the ocean, but only when that ice cover is very expansive and thick. Otherwise, it seems that sea ice’s shading effect on the underlying organisms may counteract its capping effect.
“If one just considered the physics and the pure capping, or carbon barrier idea, that would be an incomplete way of thinking about it,” Gupta says. “This shows that we need to understand more of the biology under sea ice and how it underlies this effect.”
This research was supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Stepping up its ongoing efforts to inform and empower the public on the issue of climate change, MIT today announced a dramatic overhaul of the MIT Climate Portal, climate.mit.edu, which provides timely, science-based information about the causes and consequences of climate change — and what can be done to address it.
“From vast wildfires to an unusually active hurricane season, we are already getting a glimpse of what our climate-changed future looks like,” says Maria T. Zuber, MIT’s vice president for research. “With this website, we aim to communicate in rigorous but accessible ways what the science tells us: Yes, human-caused climate change is an urgent, serious problem; and yes, we can do something about it. Addressing climate change is an institutional priority, and this kind of public engagement is one way we hope to accelerate solutions.”
Survey research shows that increasing numbers of people, both in the United States and around the world, are concerned about climate change. But in the U.S., research also shows that members of the public rarely hear about or discuss the issue. Researchers at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication have suggested that there might exist a climate change “spiral of silence,” in which “even people who care about the issue shy away from discussing it because they so infrequently hear other people talking about it.”
MIT’s efforts at public engagement on climate change are intended to help break this “spiral” — encouraging people to discuss climate change while also providing them with resources to discuss it in a way informed by the latest science and research. These engagement efforts are part of a commitment the Institute made in its 2015 Plan for Action on Climate Change “to offer the public a trusted source of climate change information, to engage leaders and citizens in the effort for solutions, and to use MIT’s expertise in online education to dramatically expand our reach.”
“We often talk about reaching people whom we call the ‘climate curious’ –— people who want to learn more about what climate change means for them and their communities and, of course, what they can do about it,” says John Fernández, the director of the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative and a professor in the Department of Architecture. “Our goal is for this website to become a dependable resource for people across the U.S. and all over the world, so that they can have effective conversations about the urgency of the climate problem and our ability, even now, to reduce the grave risks it presents.”
Managed by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, the MIT Climate Portal features a range of content, including a comprehensive climate change primer and climate-related news from all corners of the Institute. New features launched today include brief “explainers,” written by faculty and scientists at MIT, that provide high-level overviews of important topics like wildfires, carbon pricing, renewable energy, and ocean acidification. Also new to the website is an “Ask MIT Climate” feature, where members of the public can get answers to their own questions about climate change. (If you have a question about climate change that you would like the MIT Climate Portal to answer, email climate@mit.edu.)
The site also offers a clearinghouse of everything climate-related happening at MIT, from events to course offerings, to keep interested students, alumni, parents, faculty, and staff members up to date. Just as importantly, it creates a digital meeting place for members of the MIT community to share their latest work on climate change. Faculty, students, and staff across the Institute for years have made significant contributions to improving public understanding of and engagement with climate change, with tools like the climate simulators created by the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative; the Climate CoLab platform; and a number of public events, contests, and educational materials. The site will make these resources accessible in one place.
In addition to the MIT Climate Portal, MIT had previously launched two other digital resources for the public: an online, Webby Award-winning interactive primer on climate change, and a podcast series, TILclimate (short for “Today I Learned: Climate”). Both of these resources are accessible through the portal.
By enlisting MIT students in editorial aspects of the new website, the project is also proving to be a valuable hands-on educational tool. For example, for the “Ask MIT Climate” feature, students take questions about climate change submitted by users and then, under the guidance of MIT faculty members, research the answers and write responses.
“We see this as a powerful learning opportunity, a way for MIT students to strengthen their content knowledge about climate change, energy, and sustainability, but also to improve their ability to effectively communicate complex science and engineering topics to diverse audiences, a critical skill that will serve them well after they leave MIT,” says Fernández.
The new website is not static: New content will be developed and added over time, and all departments, labs, and centers at MIT that work on climate change are invited to contribute to it. Members of the MIT community who want to learn more about getting involved, or who have ideas for subjects to cover, are encouraged to contact the Climate Portal team.
The image shows the dynamic duo draped in a blanket while cradling their babies.
Fans of Vanessa Bryant and Ciara have dubbed the duo ‘friend goals’ after they shared an image on Monday of them together on a private plane while breastfeeding their babies.
Both women are draped with a blanket as Bryant cradles her 15-month-old daughter Capri while Ciara is holding her 2-month-old son Win Harrison Wilson. The multi-platinum artist captioned the moment, “Got Milk?:)” along with the hashtag #MomLife.
On Tuesday, Bryant took to Instagram to post an adorable photo of her cuddling with Ciara and Russell Wilson’s baby boy.
“Sweet Baby, Win,” Bryant captioned the image. In the comment section, Ciara called Kobe Bryant’s widow “Auntie V,” while Wilson described the pic as “the sweetest.”
Read More: New WW ambassador Ciara says she gained over 65 pounds during pregnancy
Ciara and her NFL star hubby welcomed their son on July 23. The couple are also parents to 3-year-old daughter Sienna, and the Grammy winning songstress shares 6-year-old son Future with her famous ex of the same name.
Shortly after giving birth, Ciara explained the special meaning behind Win’s unique moniker to ET’s Nischelle Turner.
“There was a lot of love and thought put into it. Russ, we would talk about names, and Russ kind of always had this name Win in the rotation, years ago, before we knew we were having a girl,” she said. “He had all the good names and Win won. So Win is the name and he’s so cute. He’s so precious.”
Last week, WW International, formerly known as Weight Watchers, announced that Ciara has signed on to be the company’s newest global ambassador, theGRIO reported.
“After recently having my third child my life is more hectic than ever, and I know that I have to care for myself first, so that I can take care of everyone else,” Ciara said in a company press release. “I’m committed to setting a positive example for my children and to me, that means still eating the foods I love while making healthier choices. I’m just getting started, but I’m determined and I feel great!”
In an Instagram Story, CiCi encouraged her followers to share their own fitness journeys, as she herself continues to shed the pounds she packed on while pregnant with her third child.
Read More: Ciara uplifts Vanessa Bryant during play date: ‘The toughest mama I know’
“I’m a woman of ambition on a mission and I want to make it happen, I want you guys to join me on this exciting journey,” she explained. “It’s going to be challenging, I know it’s not going to be easy, but I’m ready for it!”
In the WW press release, the “Level Up” singer also shared how she wants to “help people take their health into their own hands” during the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.
“I’ve always appreciated being in shape — I’m ready to get back at it and lose the baby weight,” she said. “But I’m also very aware that my life is more eventful with three kids, so a restrictive lifestyle doesn’t work for me anymore.”
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‘I don’t know what you want to call it but I see it as gross disrespect.’
Two years after Botham Jean was fatally shot inside his apartment by former Dallas police officer Amber Guyer, the city celebrated “Be like Bo” day on what would have been his 29th birthday on Tuesday.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson proclaimed Sept. 29, 2020 a day of celebrating Jean’s life and work. Jean’s family traveled back to Dallas to observe his birthday, but claim they were not invited to participate in the city hall event announcing “Be like Bo” day, NBC reports.
“I don’t know what you want to call it but I see it as gross disrespect,” Botham’s mother Allison Jean said. “I hate to see people use my son’s name, just for the publicity, just for the optics — that disrespects his family.”
Mayor Johnson’s office said they notified the family about the event through their pastor, who attended the celebration.
Read More: Texas law enforcement group gives Botham Jean’s brother award for hugging Amber Guyger
“Like my mom said, I call it disrespect, Mayor Johnson has disrespected Botham’s family from day one,” said Jean’s sister, Alisa Charles-Findley.
“My son was never one involved in any confusion, my son was focused, he was clear with what he wanted in life, he respected people and in his death I expect people to give the same to him while he lived,” Allison Jean added.
Earlier this year, the NFL put out a gripping and heartfelt PSA humanizing Botham Jean. The video was part of the #EveryonesChild campaign under the Responsibility Program, a joint initiative between the NFL and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, theGRIO reported.
The video is narrated by Jean’s mom and sister, and also includes Jean’s father, Bertram Jean.
In the PSA, Allison Jean says “To know Botham was to love him. The world has lost a great man. He was destined for greatness.”
“Botham was everything to us. I just can’t do without him being here,” Botham’s father adds. “I looked forward to the day Botham would have gotten married, having kids. Life is not sweet anymore.”
Returning to Dallas, the Jean family intends to continue their fight for police reform.
“There have been so many other persons killed since Botham, that his name may be forgotten. Because last year we should remember, Jemel Robinson, we should remember EJ Bradford, we should remember Atatiana Jefferson, it comes on this year, it starts off with Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rashard Brooks, Jacob Blake, so it’s just growing and growing and growing,” said Allison Jean.
“I think the city of Dallas needs to go back to the words that I used immediately following the trial, that they need to clean up. Because we could see that there is a lot of trouble going on within the police department,” she added.
Guyger was convicted last year for the murder of Botham Jean and sentenced to ten years in prison. In August, she filed an appeal to overturn the conviction.
In recent months, activists and supporters have called for the renaming of Lamar Street to “Botham Jean Boulevard,” which his family believes “is quite appropriate” as it is the “street on which he lived and died,” said Allison Jean.
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‘I just hope there’s a way the commission can control the ability of us to answer the question without interruption.’
Following the disastrous presidential debate on Tuesday, the group that sponsors the event intends to roll out a few changes aimed “to maintain order” during the next faceoff between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
The presidential debate commission wants to prevent a repeat of the chaos that erupted between the candidates in Cleveland on Tuesday night. As noted by CNBC, Trump and Biden frequently ignored moderator Chris Wallace’s rules, talked over each other, and traded jabs by name-calling. At one point, the former vice president told the ex-reality TV star, “Will you shut up, man?”
The most memorable moment from the debate came when Trump refused to denounce white supremacy, and he called on the often violent alt-right group Proud Boys to “stand down, and stand by,” which members took as the green light to live out their fantasy to fight antifa in Trump’s defense.
As reported by NBC, Proud Boys organizer Joe Biggs posted after the debate that he was “standing by,” and that Trump “basically said to go f— them up.”
Read More: Biden breaks single-hour record for donations after contentious debate
“President Trump told the proud boys to stand by because someone needs to deal with ANTIFA… well sir! we’re ready!!” Biggs wrote.
Wallace, a longtime Fox News anchor, attempted to host an orderly 90-minute debate and at times he struggled to maintain control. At one point he told Trump, “the country would be better served if we allowed both people to speak with fewer interruptions. I’m appealing to you, sir, to do that.”
Trump lashed out at Wallace many times during the debate and shortly thereafter on Twitter.
In the end, Biden described the political theatrics as “a national embarrassment.”
The commission said in a statement Wednesday that it will soon implement changes to its format, as the initial debate “made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues.”
The commission added that it “will be carefully considering the changes that it will adopt and will announce those measures shortly.”
The group is considering giving the moderator the ability to cut off a candidate’s microphone while his opponent is talking, ABC 7 reports.
Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the Trump campaign, said the commission was “only doing this because their guy got pummeled last night. President Trump was the dominant force and now Joe Biden is trying to work the refs.”
Read More: World reacts with surprise, worry to 1st Biden-Trump debate
Trump also addressed the planned changes in a tweet, writing “Try getting a new Anchor and a smarter Democrat candidate!”
At a campaign event in Ohio, Biden told reporters he’s in full support of changes to the debate format.
“I just hope there’s a way in which the debate commission can control the ability of us to answer the question without interruption,” Biden said. “I’m not going to speculate on what happens in the second or third debate.”
In a post-debate chat with The Times, Wallace said, “As a practical matter, even if the president’s microphone had been shut [on Tuesday] he still could have continued to interrupt, and it might well have been picked up on Biden’s microphone, and it still would have disrupted the proceedings in the hall,” he said.
The next presidential debate between Trump and Biden is scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami. A third debate is scheduled for Oct. 22 at Belmont University in Nashville.
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Beauvais did not hold back while revealing some personal information about her former co-star
Garcelle Beauvais kept it very real about a former co-star on The Real’s latest episode. The newly minted co-host divulged an intimate detail about her former costar Jamie Foxx.
Foxx and Beauvais were costars on The Jamie Foxx Show which ran for five seasons from 1996 – 2001 on the WB. The two played each other’s on-and-off-again love interests and it appears some of that chemistry made it off-screen.
Read More: Garcelle Beauvais to join ‘The Real’
On a recent episode of the show with co-hosts Loni Love, Adrienne Bailon, and Jeannie Mai, Love asked Beauvais about a hot topic recently discussed on her podcast, Going to Bed with Garcelle.
Love recalls when Foxx was a guest and admitted that he and Beauvais should have been together in real life. Beauvais told the other co-hosts on The Real: “We have a great friendship, I love him, but you know sometimes – if we got together we probably wouldn’t be the friends we are right now.”
But that’s not where it ends. Love wanted more details after Beauvais said Foxx was “hung like a horse.”
Read More: Garcelle Beauvais reveals a woman once thought she was biracial sons’ nanny
Beauvais said while they were doing the show that there were ample opportunities for Foxx’s man parts to make an appearance.
“We did 100 episodes right. Every now and then, he’d have to rip off a pair of pants, or do some comedic act or whatever, however you want to say it. And it came out honey, it rolled out,” she said. “I love him so much. Never say never, who knows?”
A stunned Mai and Bailon were visibly amused by the revelation.
Beauvais is also the newest cast member of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and the first Black woman to play a main character on the show.
Watch the full segment of The Real below:
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Donations poured into the Joe Biden campaign after he and President Trump sparred in their first debate and he raised $3.8 million
If you saw any portion of last night’s presidential debate you were likely shocked not just how contentious it was but how much is at stake in November if President Donald Trump remains in office. The president was at times bellicose, rude, and downright belligerent and even Fox News host Chris Wallace who moderated seemed stunned by his inability to stick to his appointed times to speak.
Read More: Proud Boys take Trump’s ‘stand back and stand by’ callout as marching orders
The millions who tuned in who may have been undecided voters or already Joe Biden supporters but they responded not just with disbelieving social media posts but also money. According to CNBC, Biden’s single-hour donation record was broken as monies poured into his campaign coffers. His campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield, announced that $3.8M was raised between 10 and 11 p.m. on a post-debate call with the media.
The Democratic National Committee also reported record donations between 11 p.m. and midnight, though a specific figure was not specified, according to Now This is News.
“Joe Biden spoke directly to the American people tonight and they are responding,” Bedingfield told reporters.
While the debate motivated voters to spend, the death of progressive Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg on Sept. 18 also propelled would-be Biden supporters into donating more than $300M in small-dollar donations.
Trump has yet to release post-debate numbers, but Now This is News says that the campaign has mismanaged so many millions of dollars that Trump has considered putting up some of his own money.
Despite his debate performance and Biden’s strong showing in campaign fundraising, sources say that Trump is undeterred in his confidence about reelection. A “prominent Republican” told Vanity Fair that Trump believed he won the debate, though even some in his camp thought he’s in trouble.
Read More: Robert Johnson on possible support of Trump: ‘I will take the devil I know’
“The thing about the debate is people got to see why no one that has any integrity can work for Trump, the unnamed Republican says. “This is what Trump is like in the Oval Office every day. It’s why [John] Kelly left. It’s why [Jim] Mattis quit. Trump doesn’t let anyone else speak. He really doesn’t care what you have to say. He demeans people. He talks over them. And everyone around him thinks it’s getting worse.”
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Ohio State Rep. Bernadine Kennedy Kent said Trump’s values aligned with her
A Democratic lawmaker has made her stance in support of President Donald Trump very clear.
State Rep. Bernadine Kennedy Kent, who is Black, said she has been a lifelong Democrat but is now on board with Trump. The lawmaker and her husband met with the president on Air Force One in Cleveland ahead of last night’s debate.
She released a statement on Tuesday that read, “We all recognize that gainful employment and economic development is the best deterrent against violence and social unrest, so I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to ensuring the success of the Black community in every way,” according to Cincinnati.com.
Read More: Crowd chants ‘fill that seat’ at Ohio rally as Trump reaffirms court plans
Kennedy Kent was kicked out of the Ohio House Democrats in 2018 according to Dispatch.com. She sent a public records request in regards to then-Police Chief Kim Jacobs to Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther using Ohio Legislative Black Caucus letterhead. The problem is that Cleveland Democrat and president of the Black Caucus, Rep. Stephanie Howse, said it was unauthorized.
“There is no apology,” said Howse. “She’s just digging down, and you cannot operate that way, especially when you’re elected and entrusted with people’s information. You cannot use it for your own personal agenda.”
Kennedy Kent said the Democratic party, “does not have the people’s best interest in mind,” in her latest comments.
She has not been to the Statehouse since May 2019 and today, she stands with Trump.
Read More: White Ohio police chief explains BLM support: ‘We have to listen to people’
She said her “values” align with the president and accused Democratic nominee Joe Biden of spewing “divisive rhetoric, promotion of mass incarceration, and disrespectful, insensitive ideologies.”
In the prepared statement she added, “We all recognize that gainful employment and economic development is the best deterrent against violence and social unrest, so I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to ensuring the success of the Black community in every way.”
Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper declared that the endorsement didn’t reflect the strong support Biden enjoyed in the state among the party.
“She basically hasn’t been involved with the party or her Statehouse job for a long time,” Pepper said. “This is the first I’ve heard of her in a while. Obviously, she checked out of her public position a long time ago.”
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Sen. Kamala Harris faces off with Vice President Mike Pence, a key Trump ally, one week from today.
Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris weighed in on the first presidential debate of the 2020 election season, saying that President Donald Trump “denigrated” the office of the presidency in his performance.
“I think that the American people deserve to have an ability to compare and contrast the candidates, and I think tonight provided a very clear contrast,” Harris said on CBS after the debate.
“On the one hand, you had Joe Biden, who looked into the camera, who spoke to the American people continuously, who understood who was important on that stage, which is American families,” Harris told Norah O’Donnell. “And then you had Donald Trump, who really I think really denigrated the office of the president of the United States much as he has done over the course of the last four years.”
While Trump was boisterous, belligerent and often interrupted and talked over both the moderator and his challenger, former Vice President Biden has earned criticism for responding with insults. At one point, Biden pointedly opined that Trump was “the worst president that America has ever had.”
Read More: Trump refuses to condemn white supremacy, tells Proud Boys to ‘stand by’
Moderator Chris Wallace tried to regain control of the debate time and time again, to no avail. At one point, Trump complained that he was the only one being chastised for talking over questions and talking over Biden’s answers. Wallace fired back, “Frankly, you have been doing more interrupting.”
The presidential debate was the first of three scheduled before the election on Nov. 3. The second debate is scheduled for Oct. 15 and a final one on Oct. 22.
Harris will have an opportunity to face-off with Vice President Mike Pence next Wednesday, Oct. 7.
Read More: Trump turns first debate into utter chaos, repeatedly interrupts Biden
Last night’s debate has garnered almost universal condemnation. CNN analyst Dana Bash described the chaotic performance as a “sh*tshow.” Jake Tapper called it “embarrassing.” Even Fox News described the event as “rough and rowdy.”
A number of media outlets and personalities are calling for the rest of the presidential debates to be canceled.
Read More: Trump says his rallies didn’t spread virus, many recall Herman Cain’s death
“This is a disgrace, a low point in American debate history. There is no reason, not one, that Joe Biden should participate in another debate,” Joe Scarborough contended on Twitter.
The Atlantic staff writer David Graham wrote “Tuesday brought the first presidential debate of the 2020 election, and if there is any sense left in this nation, it will be the last too.”
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A social media account for the Proud Boys made the Trump phrase “Stand back. Stand by” part of its new logo.
The first presidential debate of the 2020 election has been described as “chaotic,” a generous characterization. President Donald Trump was loud and belligerent, while former vice president Joe Biden responded by mocking the president, calling him a “clown.”
One of the most stunning moments of the night was when Trump refused to condemn white supremacy and white supremacists.
Moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump if he was willing to condemn white supremacists and say that they need to stand down amid ongoing protests against police violence in the country. Wallace specifically pointed to Kenosha and Portland, where people have been killed during protests.
“Sure, I’m willing to (tell them to stand down), but I would say almost everything I see is from the left-wing, not from the right-wing. I’m willing to do anything. I want to see peace,” Trump said.
Read More: Trump turns first debate into utter chaos, repeatedly interrupts Biden
“Say it. Do it. Say it,” Biden retorted.
Trump then asked Wallace for a specific group to condemn. Biden twice said, “Proud Boys.”
“Proud Boys — stand back and stand by,” Trump said. “But I’ll tell you what. I’ll tell you what. Somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem.”
The Proud Boys is a far-right group the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as a hate group. On their website, they describe themselves as “Western chauvinists who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world.”
Read More: Trump says his rallies didn’t spread virus, many recall Herman Cain’s death
The group was founded in 2016 in New York by Gavin McInnes, the co-founder of Vice Media, and has since spread across the U.S., as well as to countries like Australia and Japan. It has been banned on Facebook and Instagram, and Twitter has suspended several Proud Boys-related accounts.
However, after last night’s debate, one known social media account for the group made the phrase “Stand back. Stand by” part of its new logo.
Joe Biden tweeted screenshots of members of the organization celebrating after the president’s remarks, saying, “This. This is Donald Trump’s America.”
Other Twitter responses were just as expressive.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified earlier this year that federal authorities had “elevated to the top-level priority racially motivated violent extremism, so it’s on the same footing in terms of our national threat banding as ISIS and homegrown violent extremism.”
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During Tuesday night’s debate, the president downplayed the potential dangers of his infamous rallies where attendees did not wear masks or socially distance
During a fiery debate on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden sparred over a range of political issues as millions of American voters watched from their homes.
One of the most contentious topics was the COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected more than 7 million Americans and killed more than 200,000. The debate moderator, Fox News’ Chris Wallace, asked Trump about the potential exposure of some of his campaign rallies during the pandemic where attendees were not wearing masks or socially distancing.
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Trump insisted that there were no “negative effects” that stemmed from his rallies and took a jab at Biden, arguing that the former U.S. vice president was essentially envious of his crowd turnouts. “We’ve had no negative effect. We’ve had no negative effect. And we’ve had 35 — 45,000 people at these rallies,” he said.
Despite Trump’s attempt to downplay the potential dangers of his rallies, Twitter was quick to point out that former Republican presidential candidate and Trump campaign staffer Herman Cain died of COVID-19 complications just weeks after attending a Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“Donald Trump is a LIAR!!! He just said that his rallies during a pandemic have had no negative affect on people? Ask Herman Cain how that worked out for him! And that rally was INDOORS! He is the Spreader-in-Chief!,” tweeted veteran White House correspondent and author April Ryan.
MSNBC anchor Melvin Craig similarly tweeted, “So far we’ve had no problem whatsoever.”- @realDonaldTrump on his rallies. A reminder. Herman Cain died from Covid after attending a rally.”
The tweets pointing out Cain’s death and its possible connection to Trump’s rally in Tulsa continued to pour in. “Trump: “we’ve had no problems whatsoever” with people getting covid at our rallies Herman Cain: Herman Cain’s zombie twitter: “Wait, I…” tweeted actress and director Aisha Tyler.
Another Twitter user wrote, “Did Donald Trump really say they’ve had no problems with COVID related to his rallies? Did I dream up Herman Cain’s death? These black republicans be out here c00ning for Massah and they don’t give a sh*t about your ass.”
While it is largely believed Cain, who was not wearing a mask, contracted the virus at Trump’s rally, both a Cain representative and the White House have tried to downplay the connection.
“I realize people will speculate about the Tulsa rally, but Herman did a lot of traveling the past week,” said Dan Calabrese, the editor of Cain’s website. “I don’t think there’s any way to trace this to one specific contact that caused the infection. We’ll never know.”
What’s more, local health officials in Tulsa said in July that Trump’s rally and protests that took place there around the same time “more than likely” contributed to a surge of COVID-19 cases in the city.
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The child used the popular app to call for help after his mother suffered a medical emergecny.
A 5-year-old Pennsylvania boy is being hailed a hero after he used Amazon’s Alexa to call for help while his mother suffered an epileptic seizure.
The child’s grandmother, Natalie Neal, says she programed the Alexa app with her phone number so that her grandson, Tyrion Spann, can call her anytime, PEOPLE reports.
″I just thought for, you know, him to tell me, ‘Hey grandmom, I love you. Hey Gigi, I love you,’″ Neal explained to ABC affiliate WPVI.
″A week and a half later, he’s calling because he can’t wake his mom up, so it was a very smart thing to do without knowing I was being smart,” she added.
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Tyrion’s mother Jasmine Neal suffered a severe epileptic seizure on Sept. 20, and once she lost consciousness, the child called his grandmother.
″I thought he was laughing or joking and it turns out he was crying,″ Neal recalled. ″I’m telling him to calm down and he told me he couldn’t wake his mom up. So, of course, being her mom, my heart kind of fell to the ground a little bit.″
Neal’s daughter has lived with epilepsy all her life.
″As a parent with a child who has epilepsy, who lives on her own, that’s a call I didn’t want to get because it could mean anything,″ she shared with the outlet. ″It could literally mean anything.″
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After receiving the concerning call from her grandson about her daughter, Neal called 911.
″I’m old school, so we were trained to call 911,” Neal explained to the outlet. “And I think in current times, our children have to learn how to use Alexa, the technology, to their advantage.”
Jasmine was taken to a local hospital and was stabilized.
When she woke up and learned how her son used Alexa during a family crisis, she said, “My baby saved me.”
Neal says her daughter is doing well following her medical emergency.
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The hip-hop icon will collaborate on the musical event as part of the NFL deal he inked in August 2019.
Jay-Z has tapped veteran live-event producer Jesse Collins to EP The Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show next year.
The Emmy-nominated producer will make history as the show’s first-ever Black executive producer.
Collins will join forces with award-winning director Hamish Hamilton for the halftime show of the biggest sporting game of the year, set to take place Feb. 7 in Tampa, Florida, per The Hollywood Reporter.
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“Jesse Collins is innovative, creative and one of the only executive producers that speak fluent ‘artist vision.’ He‘s a true artist,” said Jay-Z in a statement. “Jesse’s insight and understanding create both extraordinary shows and true cultural moments. After working with Jesse for so many years, I look forward to all there is to come.”
theGRIO previously reported… through his Roc Nation entertainment company, the hip-hop icon will co-produce the Super Bowl Halftime show as part of the NFL deal he inked in August 2019.
“As part of the agreement, Roc Nation will advise on the selection of artists for major NFL performances like the Super Bowl. A major component of the partnership will be to nurture and strengthen community through football and music, including through the NFL’s Inspire Change initiative,” according to the press release.
Said Jay Z of his NFL partnership, “With its global reach, the National Football League has the platform and opportunity to inspire change across the country,” he explained. “Roc Nation has shown that entertainment and enacting change are not mutually exclusive ideas — instead, we unify them. This partnership is an opportunity to strengthen the fabric of communities across America.”
Collins, founder and CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment, called it “an honor to be a part of such an iconic show at such an important time in our history.”
Brian Rolapp, chief media and business officer at the NFL, added: “We look forward to our fans experiencing a memorable performance as part of the culmination of our 101st season.”
Read More: Jay-Z publishes national newspaper ads showcasing Black businesses
Jay Z previously caught heat for booking Jennifer Lopez and Shakira to headline the 2020 Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
Rap Legend Luther Campbell, also known as Uncle Luke, shared his thoughts in a Miami New Times op-ed post. He accused Jay Z and the NFL of “disrespecting” Miami’s music industry by failing to hire Miami-based acts on their home turf.
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