We dug through this weekend's sales to find the best deals on everything from a stylish hatchet to *Spider-Man* on PS4.
from Wired https://ift.tt/2MYBqzw
via
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Friday, August 9, 2019
WATCH: Aldis Hodge on how he tackled his starring role in ‘Brian Banks’
Brian Banks opens nationwide today and in it. Aldis Hodge transforms into the man who was incarcerated at 16 for a rape he never committed.
The film that tells the true story of the football player who was destined for greatness before being wrongfully convicted of raping one of his classmates also stars Greg Kinnear, Sherri Shepherd, and Melanie Liburd.
Check out the official synopsis:
The inspirational true story of Brian Banks (Aldis Hodge), an All-American high school football star committed to USC who finds his life upended when he is wrongly convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. Despite lack of evidence, Banks is railroaded through a broken justice system and sentenced to a decade of prison and probation. Years later, with the support of Justin Brooks (Greg Kinnear) and the California Innocence Project, Banksfights to reclaim his life and fulfill his dreams of playing in the NFL.
theGrio sat down with the cast of the inspiring film directed by Tom Shadyac to find out how they tackled the true story of heartbreak, faith, and perseverance.
According to Aldis Hodge, who trained tirelessly to look more like the real-life Brian Banks, revealed that he worked to capture Banks’ undeniable light.
“I think the most pressure I had was really trying to get Brian’s light and his spirit as accurate as possible when it came to people seeing who this man was. I’m like ‘This is your life…your legacy. I want people to understand the truth of who you are the way that I see you.’ You know he’s all light and positivity and he’s truly survived and thrived from where he once started and prison. So I think that that was the biggest obstacle to really overcome was making sure that people saw who he was as a man and as a human being and not as he was attached to a situation,” explains Hodge.
Former high school football star Brian Banks exonerated on rape charges
“I’ve asked Brian how does he feel about the woman who accused him and he said ‘I wish no ill will towards her. You know I want her to just go on you know live a good life. I’ve dealt with my anger. It’s in the past and it is back there in prison.’ So he’s moved on. The real villain is the judicial system the people that were in position to actually do their jobs did not do their jobs.”
Check out the full interview with Aldis Hodge and Greg Kinnear above.
The post WATCH: Aldis Hodge on how he tackled his starring role in ‘Brian Banks’ appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2YYrJUa
via
Advancing Black Pathways: A Multi-Prong Approach To Building Black Wealth
Global financial powerhouse JPMorgan Chase came to the nation’s capital earlier this year to demonstrate its new, catalytic role in bolstering African American business and economic development–efforts in building black wealth.
Managing a daylong, whirlwind schedule, dynamic CEO of Consumer Banking Thasunda Duckett, with a cadre of company officials in tow, held a roundtable at the RISE Demonstration Center in Southeast Washington to discuss community business initiatives as well as announce Chase’s $3.65 million commitment—along with $2 million from Capital Impact Partners and $1 million from A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation—to expand capital access through its Entrepreneurs of Color Fund. (Already, the institution has developed EOC funds in Detroit, Chicago, San Francisco, and the South Bronx.) Next stop: A career development session with students at Howard University, featuring Carolina Panthers quarterback and entrepreneur-philanthropist Cam Newton and NBA superstar LeBron James’ business partner Maverick Carter, among other notables. The last event is an evening mixer at the impressive Newseum highlighted by an engaging discourse among former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Mellody Hobson, co-CEO of Ariel Investments (No. 1 on the BE ASSET MANAGERS List with $11.6 billion in assets under management) and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on wealth building in black communities.
Together, these activities introduced Advancing Black Pathways, the audacious initiative from the nation’s largest bank to drive prosperity for African Americans while addressing persistent racial and economic barriers to wealth creation in partnership with a range of influential companies, organizations, and leaders. In fact, the Advisory Council includes Powell, Hobson, Carter, former Secretary of State and Stanford Business School Professor Condoleezza Rice, National Urban League CEO Marc Morial, and Sundial Brands Founder and Essence Communications Owner Richelieu Dennis. In addition to designing financial management programs and career development opportunities, business expansion represents a core component of ABP. Asserts Dimon, who has mandated initiatives such as Advancing Black Leaders to promote African American talent within the firm and AdvancingCities to use public–private partnerships to rebuild urban hubs like Detroit: “One of our responsibilities as a firm is to expand opportunities for everyone. We’ve seen great success with our targeted efforts to create opportunities for women and veterans. I’m confident that Advancing Black Pathways will be equally successful and a model for other organizations.”
Dimon’s certainty is in large part due to ABP executive sponsor Duckett who has a laser-beam focus on its game-changing impact. (Sekou Kaalund serves as managing director and Head of ABP.) The following are edited excerpts of Duckett’s recent interview with BE about the program’s significance:
What has been the evolution of ABP? Heading into 2020, what does success look like in terms of goals and objectives?
You said at the very beginning, “the evolution of the program,” and that’s exactly what it is in terms of always trying to do more and challenge ourselves on how can we make more of an impact, and for this conversation, specifically within the black community. As I think about Advancing Black Pathways, it’s really the same way I think about everything that we do at Chase, and clearly, as I think about how I lead the Consumer Bank. It really starts with being intentional about what we’re looking to accomplish. As you should see when you look at our business performance, it’s with that intentionality that we are making improvements with our customer experience, delivering the results for our shareholders, or all the work we’re doing in communities.
What do you view as the major obstacles that need to be addressed?
Opportunity is not distributed equally, but we all know that talent is. Being black and really focusing on this initiative, it really rings true. I would highlight two challenges. We know that the economic wealth gap facing black Americans is stark. We also know [about] the business gap, in terms of people of color owning businesses at the same rate as whites. That outcome would mean or result in 9 million more jobs and $300 billion in worker income. So Advancing Black Pathways is really focusing on expanding economic opportunity for black Americans.
Usually, when you look at a program like this, it focuses on minorities, and depending on how that’s defined, that term can be expansive or narrow. Chase, however, seems intentional in its multipronged focus on African Americans as opposed to other ethnic groups and races.
Absolutely. And I think that’s important. Having this intentionality means that as we think about metrics and outcomes, we are not putting it all together to say collectively we made progress but looking specifically at how we’re making progress within the black community.
That is why advancing is at the top of the name. The reason why we said pathways is because we know that to make this impact, it’s not enough to have one path. So as a community, as a business, all of these different pathways and solutions have to be connected in order to advance the progress of African Americans. It’s not a straight line. Think about the work we’ve done at the firm already, like Advancing Black Leaders, the Fellowship Initiative, Entrepreneurs of Color Fund…the work that we’re doing with low- to moderate-income communities, the financial health efforts that we’re leading and are super passionate about. That’s an example of recognizing it’s not one thing that’s going to advance the economic impact for black communities. It’s all of these pathways and the intersection of them that gets you to the outcome.
What are some innovative initiatives in which black business may benefit?
We [announced] hiring 1,000 black scholars over the next several years, whether that’s through our summer internships [or] our apprenticeships. By giving them access to an earlier start, that will lead to greater opportunity for success when they enter the workforce. But I would also say it’s not just the number of interns, it’s what we’re going to do around that strategy that I think is going to be meaningful. One example is to have our interns [spend] two to three weeks supporting a black business. So it is about understanding a problem that a black business is trying to solve and taking some of the best young minds that come to JPMorgan Chase to work with that black business on a particular effort so that we’re lending our human capital, giving these interns exposure, and then ultimately, collectively demonstrating the intersection between small business and JPMorgan Chase. I’m super excited about that.
from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/2MPUDU1
via
Prosecutor admits it was a “mistake” to charge Black student with a crime in a game of dodgeball
The Wayne County, Michigan prosecutor’s office charged a 10-year-old Black boy with a crime in a playground game of dodgeball. But prosecutor Kym Worthy last week made her office drop the charges, and she’s now admitting outright that it was a mistake in the first place.
— L.A. Nike store manager says Black dad stole ball for his son — but he’s got receipts—
“The charge in this case was a mistake in judgment by this office, even though it was rectified by permanently dismissing the case on July 31, 2019, prior to the first scheduled court proceeding,” Worthy wrote in a letter to Maurice Davis, the family attorney of Bryce Lindley, Yahoo reports.
Worthy continued, “To be clear, my office will not be refiling this petition, nor was it ever the intent of our office to do so. I have taken this extremely seriously, and concrete steps have already been made. I am currently reviewing the policies and procedures of our Juvenile Division and re-enforcing internal measures to prevent a similar matter from occurring in the future.”
Bryce was charged last month with aggravated assault over a school dodgeball game, for hitting another boy whose mother said he was medically fragile.
Cameishi Lindley, the mother of Bryce, says she was upset when the Wayne County Juvenile Court called her and said that he would be charged with aggravated assault for reportedly hitting another boy in the face with a ball at their school in Canton, Mich.
The incident happened on April 29th at Ruth Eriksson Elementary, and the boy struck in the face with the ball was injured. According to the injured boy’s mom, her son, whom she declined to name, has a medical condition that makes these type of head injuries particularly harmful.
—Charges dropped against Black boy charged with assault for hitting classmate during dodgeball—
Lindley hired Maurice Davis to help fight the charges.
“You cannot criminally charge a child for participating in a dodgeball game at a school,” Davis said in a statement. “If the school intends to hold this child criminally liable for a dodgeball game, then the prosecutors need to bring charges against all of the teachers and school employees that initiated the game, allowed the children to participate in the game, and supervised them during the game.”
The post Prosecutor admits it was a “mistake” to charge Black student with a crime in a game of dodgeball appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2MRxHEe
via
Cash Money rapper Blueface admits that he’s slept with 1,000 women in the last six months
Rapper Blueface is new on the hip-hop scene, and he’s making waves for more reasons than his lyrical rap skills.
Clutch your pearls because, by his own admission, the “Thotiana” rapper confessed that he has been busting it down with 1,000 ladies in the last six months.
—Tyrese Gibson adds shade to his beef with Dwayne Johnson over ‘Hobbs & Shaw’ opening ticket sales—
While Vice says it’s mathematically impossible, the rapper begs to differ and spilled the wild confession to Big Boy on Real 92.3 about his prolific sex life with thousands of hot girls across the globe.
“It’s like sometimes it might be a threesome, it might be a foursome. I done had a fivesome,” he said. “Me and four girls…it was pretty hard.”
Whose child is this?
The 22-year-old who recently covered of XXL‘s Freshmen Class issue said that he is in a polyamorous relationship with the mother of his child, and another girlfriend, even though he shares his hind parts with a boatload of others.
—Chance the Rapper: ‘My wife saved my life by going celibate’-—
His said his girlfriend and baby mom agreed on being a trio after they found out about each other.
“We can’t do it without each other. Can’t do the one without the one,” he said.
And if a woman wants to be one of his sister-wives, Blueface said she’s got to take that up with his baby momma who holds the cards to decide who make the cut into the inner circle.
Just wow.
When the news hit the internet, the internet went into a frenzy trying to figure out why.
DAMN! Blueface told @BigBoy he slept with about 1,000 women in the past 6 months!
I’m over there laughing in the back when he said “I’m a f*cker” 😂 pic.twitter.com/PJVTx4884S
— Ani Caribbean (@AniCaribbean) August 8, 2019
I seen a clip of a Blueface he was sayin he slept wit 1,000 women within 6 months….
my next question would’ve been
“Was all of them clean?” bcuz thatz 6 women a day— KhalBone 🎭 🇺🇲🏁 (@BoneNyou918) August 8, 2019
Blue face said he slept with 1,000 women in the last 6 months, so that’s about 5/6 girls a day. He’s a walking STD. Protect yourself ladies.
— AsiahW.🌹 (@fashionkillerA) August 8, 2019
Blueface really has had sex with over 1,000 women in the last 6 months. pic.twitter.com/2yii6wdBdC
— baelyssa (@JalyssaS) August 8, 2019
The post Cash Money rapper Blueface admits that he’s slept with 1,000 women in the last six months appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2YCYv1M
via
Exhibit planned in honor of Michael Brown on the five year anniversary of his death
Gone but not forgotten, today marks the fifth anniversary of Michael Brown’s death, and he is being honored with a public exhibit of things that were close to heart in an effort to humanize the slain teen.
—Teen who says he accidentally killed teen girl in Russian roulette game, remains in jail—
Brown’s graduation gown, an Arnold Palmer drink can, a bag of Skittles and a Cardinals’ scarf is just some of the items his family wants the world to see at the “As I See You: A Tribute to Mike Brown Jr.” exhibit at the Urban League Ferguson Community Empowerment Center.
The public display opens today in Ferguson to the public through Sunday. It is a recreation of Brown’s bedroom on August 9, 2014, the day he was fatally shot by Officer Darren Wilson.
Just like in previous years, a makeshift memorial with flowers, balloons and a teddy bear will be on display near the Canfield Green Apartments, the place where the 18-year-old Brown died, The St. Louis Dispatch reports.
At 11 a.m. an hour-long memorial will commence, followed by a viewing of the exhibit. From 1 to 6 p.m., there will be a community event with food, vendors, and entertainment at Sam’s Meat Market.
Michael Brown Sr. said the events were organized by The Michael Brown Chosen for Change Foundation, to humanize his son as a “real person” who had dreams.
—Black woman confronts racist shouting ‘white power’ after he runs into her car—
After the Ferguson shooting erupted in 2014, protestors called for Wilson to be arrested and charged. D.A. Bob McCulloch, who won his seventh term as prosecutor just days after Brown’s death, refused to indict Wilson.
But it’s a new day, and McCulloch was voted out, and Wesley Bell was elected as St. Louis County’s first African-American prosecutor.
The “As I See You: A Tribute to Mike Brown Jr.” exhibit, will open Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Urban League Ferguson Community Empowerment Center, 9420 West Florissant Avenue.
The post Exhibit planned in honor of Michael Brown on the five year anniversary of his death appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/33o2X3c
via
Don Lemon blasts Trump for making visits to mass shooting victims all about himself
CNN’s Don Lemon tore into President Donald Trump for taking a self-centered approach when visiting the victims of the Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, shootings.
Trump visited the victims at Dayton’s Miami Valley Hospital, and his White House social media director Dan Scavino Jr. took to Twitter to brag about Trump being treated like a “rock star” as if he was at a concert and not visiting people in crisis.
“..The President was treated like a Rock Star inside the hospital, which was all caught on video. They all loved seeing their great President!”
..The President was treated like a Rock Star inside the hospital, which was all caught on video. They all loved seeing their great President!
— Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸 (@Scavino45) August 7, 2019
On Wednesday, the “CNN Tonight” host blasted Scavino for his insensitive tweet, The Huffington Post reports.
“A rock star?” asked Lemon. “How can you boast about that in this context? It would be hard to be more tone-deaf than that, more insensitive, right? Wrong.”
Then Lemon showed footage of Trump speaking at the El Paso Emergency Operations Center and using the moment to criticize Ohio Democrats.
“It’s not about you. It’s not about you. For once. At least today,” said Lemon.
“But we know it’s all about this president. Especially when he’s aggrieved, his feelings hurt by things he saw on TV. So when the president had a chance to speak publicly on this sad day in El Paso, a city in mourning, after a racist mass murder, he used his time to brag about himself and trash some Democrats.”
.@donlemon: “It should surprise none of us at this point that the feelings of the consoler-in-chief seemed most concerned with, while visiting victims, were his own.” #DonsTake https://t.co/KLFCtWbKrM pic.twitter.com/GIM7gZp1cP
— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) August 8, 2019
It just wasn’t the time.
—Teen who says he accidentally killed teen girl in Russian roulette game, remains in jail—
Lemon has taken Trump to task before.
Earlier this month, Lemon did not back down despite criticism from President Donald Trump, twice labeling presidential remarks as racist while he was moderating the Democratic debate.
And in June, Lemon doubled down against President Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric and likened his brand of hate to Hitler’s.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The post Don Lemon blasts Trump for making visits to mass shooting victims all about himself appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2OOPAWO
via
Thursday, August 8, 2019
New Reality Show Mines Family Albums for Black History
Marcus Garvey once said that “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” If you’re scratching your head wondering who Marcus Garvey is, then you’re in need of a black history lesson, and you might start by watching the PBS debut of Family Pictures USA on PBS Aug. 12 and 13.
The brainchild of filmmaker and artist Thomas Allen Harris, Family Pictures USA is the latest outgrowth of an award-winning body of work from this director who has always been driven by a desire to bring the largely hidden and neglected history of black people in America into the light.
An entirely new type of reality show, this new television series reconstructs the histories of resilient communities such as Detroit and Durham, North Carolina, through the memories of longtime residents and the treasured family photographs they share.
Black History Narratives
The result is a compelling and educational show that highlights not only individual family stories, but the weaving together of those stories over the course of generations into the history of a larger community, a city, its economy, its culture, and its hopes. The show stands apart for its simple elegance and narratives that, unlike most reality shows, don’t feel contrived.
When the descendants of Frank Wall, a second-generation Duke University janitor who bequeathed $100 to the school for use in the advancement of black men, share their photos and memories alongside the descendants of George Washington Duke, the white tobacco industrialist for whom Duke University is named, the history of those families, the city of Durham, and its most famous institutions, takes on a whole new meaning.
(Family Pictures USA/Flickr)
Centered on pictures of people who are long dead, the storytelling of their descendants is very much alive, honest, and intimate and Family Pictures USA’s approach to mining these stories also stands apart for its inclusiveness. Says Harris, simply, “You can’t tell American history without including African American history.”
While Harris, who teaches film and African American History at Yale, is always motivated in part by a desire to educate, he admits to being surprised by how much he learns in doing the show. “The stories of black business people who pulled themselves up by their bootstraps that you never heard about or had an image for were pretty amazing. The series helped me understand how towns were formed and how they developed and how people of means and employers shaped culture and people’s lives.”
Breaking Down Stereotypes in Country’s Current Political Tone
Harris, who stepped out from behind the camera to host the series, says it has been the most financially ambitious project he’s directed to date. Leveraging the success of his 2014 award-winning documentary, Through the Lens, Darkly, he and his partners raised $2.3 million largely through grants from the Ford Foundation and others. PBS, which is eager to compete more dynamically with other networks, invested about $250,000. A small network of high net worth African American businesspeople also contributed. In order to complete the series, Harris is still looking to close a $125,000 gap.
Harris, a Harvard graduate who began his career in public television, first produced award-winning shows in his native New York for WNET. He says that even 30 years later, raising money for new film projects remains a challenge.
Thomas Allen Harris (Family Pictures USA)
“Artists are used to networking with other artists, but I don’t know if we’re used to networking with people who think radically differently than we do, who may be business or finance people,” he says. No matter what your background is, to successfully finance a project, Harris adds, “You have to be able to tolerate rejection without any kind of resentment. Persistence and finding those sweet spots of commonality are key.”
Family Pictures USA certainly offers those sweet spots. Especially given the tone of the country as the 2020 election nears; Harris says he hopes the show will help break down the stereotypes and other barriers that divide us, and that through the show’s all-inclusive spectrum of photos, we will come to see ourselves in each other more and lean more into our commonalities.
As he says in a promo, “Once you see our history through family pictures, you’ll never see this country the same way again.”
More articles by Caroline Clarke:
- UNPACKING THE WENDY WILLIAMS EXPERIENCE
- BAD ASS BLACK WOMEN: TIME TO CLAIM YOUR PLACE IN HISTORY
- This Woman May Have Been the First Black Woman Manager in the Fortune 500
from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/2KAyC9e
via
Wendy Williams talks divorce, her estranged husband’s side family and says her ex is NOT running her businesses
The cat’s officially out of the bag.
Wendy Williams has finally confirmed that her estranged husband has a whole new family after it was reported that he cheated with his mistress Sharina Hudson and fathered a baby on the side.
Williams, 55, appeared on SiriusXM’s “Sway in the Morning,” about her impending divorce from Kevin Hunter and wished him and new his new family well.
“I want a divorce like yesterday, I want a divorce two months ago, three months ago. Whenever I found out, four months ago,” she said.
She explained that she wants her divorce and her relationship with Hunter to be cordial, Page Six reports.
“I want a divorce, and I want to be friends with Kevin. I mean, and not because we have a son but because that was real love. I still love him just not in that way.
“You either in or you are out with me,” she continued. “I still have love for him and I wish him the best in his new life with his new family.”
Now that’s growth.
While it has been reported that Williams may have recently softened her stance on her cheating ex-husband and hired him back to run her businesses, on Wednesday, Williams denied that claim while on Fox 5 in New York.
“The only business – I repeat – the only business me and Mr. Hunter are involved with is getting a divorce finalized,” Williams said.
The two had been joined at the hip for more than 20 years as a married couple and together built an empire and had several business ventures together like the Hunter Foundation.
—She’s Free! Cyntoia Brown has been released from prison after serving 15 years—
But when Williams reportedly found out her man had fathered a baby outside the marriage, she ousted him with the quickness, filed for divorce and dissolved her joint businesses.
It appears poppa has rolled his way back into Wendy’s good graces and they have released a joint press statement saying that they will not dissolve their production company, publishing house or charitable foundation.
Stay strong Wendy!
The post Wendy Williams talks divorce, her estranged husband’s side family and says her ex is NOT running her businesses appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2KxM5yE
via
The MIT Press releases a comprehensive report on open-source publishing software
The MIT Press has announced the release of a comprehensive report on the current state of all available open-source software for publishing. “Mind the Gap,” funded by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, “shed[s] light on the development and deployment of open source publishing technologies in order to aid institutions' and individuals' decision-making and project planning,” according to its introduction. It will be an unparalleled resource for the scholarly publishing community and complements the recently released Mapping the Scholarly Communication Landscape census.
The report authors, led by John Maxwell, associate professor and director of the Publishing Program at Simon Fraser University, catalog 52 open source online publishing platforms. These are defined as production and hosting systems for scholarly books and journals that meet the survey criteria, described in the report as those “available, documented open-source software relevant to scholarly publishing” and as well as others in active development. This research provides the foundation for a thorough analysis of the open publishing ecosystem and the availability, affordances, and current limitations of these platforms and tools.
The number of OS online publishing platforms has proliferated in the last decade, but the report finds that they are often too small, too siloed, and too niche to have much impact beyond their host organization or institution. This leaves them vulnerable to shifts in organizational priorities and external funding sources that prioritize new projects over the maintenance and improvement of existing projects. This fractured ecosystem is difficult to navigate and the report concludes that if open publishing is to become a durable alternative to complex and costly proprietary services, it must grapple with the dual challenges of siloed development and organization of the community-owned ecosystem itself.
“What are the forces — and organizations — that serve the larger community, that mediate between individual projects, between projects and use cases, and between projects and resources?” asks the report. “Neither a chaotic plurality of disparate projects nor an efficiency-driven, enforced standard is itself desirable, but mediating between these two will require broad agreement about high-level goals, governance, and funding priorities — and perhaps some agency for integration/mediation.”
“John Maxwell and his team have done a tremendous job collecting and analyzing data that confirm that open publishing is at a pivotal crossroads,” says Amy Brand, director of the MIT Press. “It is imperative that the scholarly publishing community come together to find new ways to fund and incentivize collaboration and adoption if we want these projects to succeed. I look forward to the discussions that will emerge from these findings.”
“We found that even though platform leaders and developers recognize that collaboration, standardization, and even common code layers can provide considerable benefit to project ambitions, functionality, and sustainability, the funding and infrastructure supporting open publishing projects discourages these activities,” explains Maxwell. “If the goal is to build a viable alternative to proprietary publishing models, then open publishing needs new infrastructure that incentivizes sustainability, cooperation, collaboration, and integration.”
Readers are invited to read, comment, and annotate “Mind the Gap” on the PubPub platform: mindthegap.pubpub.org
from MIT News https://ift.tt/2TfGf8Y
via
Cyntoia Brown is married and has a memoir on the way!
Recently released sex trafficking victim, Cyntoia Brown got married while in jail and has a book deal brewing.
—She’s Free! Cyntoia Brown has been released from prison after serving 15 years—
Brown’s book publisher, Atria Books, announced that Brown “looks forward to starting her life as a recently married woman,” and will discuss her life in a new memoir set to drop October 15.
On Aug 7, after 15 years, Brown was been released from a Tennessee prison after being granted clemency in January from former Republican Governor Bill Haslam.
More about her plight will be outlined in her upcoming book, “Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System,” which contains her thoughts and writing from the years she was imprisoned, The Tennessean reports.
“For the first time ever, Cyntoia shares the details of her transformation, including a profound encounter with God, an unlikely romance, and an unprecedented outpouring of support from social media advocates and A-list celebrities which ultimately lead to clemency and her release from prison,” a press release said.
The memoir is a “coming-of-age memoir set against the shocking backdrop of a life behind bars”. While in prison, Brown earned two degrees and started the GLITTER Project, (Grassroots Learning Initiative on Teen Trafficking, Exploitation and Rape).
Yona Deshommes, associate director of publicity for Atria, which is a division of publishing giant Simon & Schuster, revealed that Brown now goes by “Cyntoia Brown-Long.”
The 288-page hardcover book is set to cost $26.
Brown was officially released early Wednesday morning, according to a press release sent at 3:30 a.m. local time, according to ABC News
—Wesley Snipes snags a role on the upcoming ‘Coming 2 America’ sequel—
“Early this morning offender Cyntoia Denise Brown was released from the Tennessee Prison for Women,” the Nashville District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “Per the commutation, Brown has now been released to parole supervision.”
Brown, who has requested to “leave the prison and seek some time for privacy and transition,” says she will make no public appearances for now. She will spend the first few days adhering to the conditions of her release.
The post Cyntoia Brown is married and has a memoir on the way! appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2YzhBWH
via
Wesley Snipes snags a role on the upcoming ‘Coming 2 America’ sequel
Blade may not have welcomed him back, but Zamunda is welcoming Wesley Snipes with open arms.
Snipes reportedly has been cast in the upcoming “Coming 2 America” sequel starring comedic icon Eddie Murphy, who plays Prince Akeem. The movie is slated to hit theaters August 7, 2020, reports The NY Daily News.
—Mahershala Ali to star in ‘Blade’ series reboot—
The former Blade actor who recently was not re-cast in the upcoming Marvel reboot will play General Izzi, the ruler of a neighboring nation to Zamunda, the place where Prince Akeem reigns, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Also on board for the next installment of the cult classic movie is “Saturday Night Live’s” Leslie Jones and the legendary James Earl Jones. TMZ also caught up with comedian Michael Blackson who revealed that he got a dream call to play in the movie too.
And of course, Arsenio Hall reprises his role of Semi, Prince Akeem bosom buddy.
It sounds like movie magic is happening and we’re here for it!
The script was written by industry vet and Black-ish creator Kenya Barris along with original Coming to America writers, David Sheffield, and Barry Blaustein. Craig Brewer has also been tapped to direct.
The idea of a sequel for Coming to America was first floated by Murphy himself in 2017 when he posted a picture of Vanessa Bell Calloway along with the caption, “Coming to America sequel?”
The original film was centered around Prince Akeem, who traveled from his wealthy African country to a modest neighborhood in Queens in order to escape an arranged marriage and find a wife who will love him in spite of his wealth and nobility. Arsenio Hall brilliantly co-starred as the prince’s loyal handler, while James Earl Jones, Shari Headley, and John Amos were also featured in the hit.
—Back to Zamunda: ‘Coming To America’ sequel gets a release date!—
Reportedly, the plot for the second installment will follow Akeem as he learns about a long-lost son in America, so he returns to meet the unlikely heir to the throne of Zamunda. Given the recent international, blockbuster success of Black Panther, there’s no doubt that Paramount is feeling confident about revisiting their beloved cult classic and appealing not just to long-time fans but also to a younger audience that may not have even been alive when the first movie hit theaters.
The original movie also made over $128 million domestically and another $160 million globally, according to IMDb so it might just break the bank the second time around too.
The post Wesley Snipes snags a role on the upcoming ‘Coming 2 America’ sequel appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2KlnFcK
via
Cuba Gooding Jr.’s attorney starts #NotMe movement after judge denies motion to dismiss his sex abuse case
Cuba Gooding Jr.’s lawyer has launched a #NotMe movement after a Manhattan judge decided she wouldn’t dismiss his upcoming sex abuse case.
The actor’s attorney is walking a fine line by throwing his alternative take of the #MeToo movement into the mix after a woman accused him of getting too handsy and groping her in New York nightclub in June.
—Cuba Gooding Jr. accused of putting his hands where they didn’t belong, report says—
On Wednesday, Judge Phyllis Chu refused to drop the misdemeanor forcible touching and sex abuse charges against Gooding Jr for allegedly squeezing a woman’s breasts inside the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar. Gooding Jr’s team filed a motion asking for the charge to be dismissed, Page Six reports.
Heller wrote in her decision Gooding hasn’t proved why the case shouldn’t move forward.
“The court finds the defendant has failed to meet his burden of setting forth compelling reasons to warrant dismissal.”
The judge did however contend that the accuser has “certain mental characteristics” that make it more likely for her to fudge the truth.
And it hasn’t helped that the accuser wrote on Facebook previously her “brain was one big fat mess…Some people are scared of others and want nothing more to be invisible. I am not that type of person. I am starving to be seen.”
Gooding Jr’s attorney Mark Heller announced that he has activated the “Not Me Movement” in response.
“After fifty years of defending innocent, falsely accused and unfairly prosecuted defendants, I am igniting the ‘Not Me Movement’ (#NotMe),’ ” Gooding Jr’s attorney Mark Heller announced.
—Atlanta hotel guest dies after contracting disease that has affected up to 73 other guests—
Heller has been scolded by Manhattan prosecutors for victim shaming. Gooding Jr has maintained his innocence.
At issue is video of the Oscar winner which appears to show Gooding Jr. motion his hard toward a woman’s chest and then pull back before kissing her hand.
“I am totally confident that when a jury of Cuba Gooding, Jr.’s peers assess all of the exculpatory evidence in this case, that he will be totally exonerated,” Heller said. “His case will be a hallmark example for the #NotMe Movement.”
The post Cuba Gooding Jr.’s attorney starts #NotMe movement after judge denies motion to dismiss his sex abuse case appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2YSKj01
via
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Does cable news shape your views?
It’s a classic question in contemporary politics: Does partisan news media coverage shape people’s ideologies? Or do people decide to consume political media that is already aligned with their beliefs?
A new study led by MIT political scientists tackles this issue head-on and arrives at a nuanced conclusion: While partisan media does indeed have “a strong persuasive impact” on political attitudes, as the researchers write in a newly published paper, news media exposure has a bigger impact on people without strongly held preferences for partisan media than it does for people who seek out partisan media outlets.
In short, certain kinds of political media affect a cross-section of viewers in varying manners, and to varying degrees — so while the influence of partisan news is real, it also has its limits.
“Different populations are going to respond to partisan media in different ways,” says Adam Berinsky, the Mitsui Professor of Political Science and director of the Political Experiments Research Lab (PERL) at MIT, and a co-author of the study.
“Political persuasion is hard,” Berinsky adds. “If it were easy, the world would already look a lot different.”
The paper, “Persuading the Enemy: Estimating the Persuasive Effects of Partisan Media with the Preference-Incorporating Choice and Assignment Design,” is now available in advance online form from the American Political Science Review.
In addition to Berinsky, the authors are Justin de Benedictis-Kessner PhD ’17, an assistant professor of political science at Boston University; Mathew A. Baum, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School; and Teppei Yamamoto, an associate professor in MIT’s Department of Political Science.
Breaking down the problem
A substantial political science literature has debated the question of media influence; some scholars have contended that partisan media significantly shapes public opinion, but others have argued that “selective exposure,” in which people watch what they already agree with, is predominant.
“It’s a really tricky problem,” Berinsky says. “How do you disentangle these things?”
The new research aims to do that, in part, by disaggregating the viewing public. The study consists of a series of experiments and surveys analyzing the responses of smaller subgroups, which were divided according to media consumption preferences, ideology, and more.
That allows the researchers to tease apart the cause-and-effect issues surrounding media consumption by looking more specifically at the impact of media on people with different ideologies and different levels of willingness to view media. The researchers call this approach the Preference-Incorporating Choice and Assignment design, or PICA.
For instance, one experiment within the study gave participants the option of reading web posts from either the conservative Fox News channel; MSNBC, which has several shows leaning in a significantly more liberal-left direction; or the Food Network. Other participants were assigned to watch one of the three.
By examing viewer responses to the content, the scholars found that people who elected to read materials from partisan news channels were less influenced by the content. By contrast, participants who gravitated to the Food Network but were assigned to watch cable news, were more influenced by the content.
How big is the effect? Quantitatively, the researchers found, a single exposure to partisan media can change the views of relatively nonpolitical citizens by an amount equal to one-third of the average ideological gap that exists between partisans on the right and left sides of the political spectrum.
Thus, the influence of cable news depends on who it is reaching. “People do respond differently based on their preferences,” Berinsky says.
And while the impact of partisan cable news on people who elect to watch it is smaller, it does exist, the researchers found. For instance, in another of the study’s experiments, the researchers tested cable news’ effects on viewers’ beliefs about marijuana legislation. Even among regular cable-news viewers, partisan content influenced people’s views.
Overall, Yamamoto states, the PICA method is novel because it “allows us to make inferences about what is never [otherwise] directly observable,” that is, the impact of partisan media on people who would normally choose not to consume it.
“Most people just don’t want news”
To put the findings in the context of daily news viewership in the U.S., consider the recent congressional hearings in which special counsel Robert Mueller testified about his presidential investigation. Fox News led the cable ratings with an average of 3 million viewers during most of the day, while MSNBC had an average of 2.4 million viewers. Overall, 13 million people watched. But the Super Bowl, for example, regularly pulls in around 100 million viewers.
“Most people just don’t want to be exposed to political news,” Berinsky notes. “These are not bad people or bad citizens. In theory, a democracy is working well when you can ignore politics.”
One implication of the larger lack of interest in politics, consequently, is that any audience gains that partisan media outlets experience can produce relatively greater influence — since that growth would apply to formerly irregular consumers of news, who may be more easily influenced. Again, though, such audience gains are likely to be limited, due to the reluctance of most Americans to consume partisan media.
“We only learned those people are persuadable because we made them watch the news,” Berinsky says.
Other scholars in the field say the paper is a valuable addition to the literature on media influence. Kevin Arceneaux, the Thomas J. Freaney, Jr. Professor of Political Science and director of the Behavioral Foundations Lab at Temple University, says the study “represents an important methodological leap forward in the study of media effects.”
Arceneaux says the researchers “convincingly demonstrate that partisan news media have the largest effects among individuals who tend to avoid consuming news,” and suggests some possible implications pertaining to the larger media landscape.
For people who do follow politics, he suggests, having many news options available may “blunt the persuasive and polarizing effects of partisan news media”; at the same time, social media could be “an important source of polarization” by introducing some people to news. Arceneaux also notes that further research on the effects of “counterattitudinal” partisan news — content that argues against the beliefs of consumers — would shed more light on the dynamics of media influence.
The study was supported by a National Science Foundation grant and the Political Experiments Research Lab at MIT; Berinsky’s contribution was partly supported by a Joan Shorenstein Fellowship.
from MIT News https://ift.tt/2YO9mVV
via
Fox News host Tucker Carlson thinks white supremacy is fake news
FOX News host Tucker Carlson has set social media ablaze after he stated on his Fox News show on Tuesday night that white supremacy is “a hoax.”
Watchers of Tucker Carlson Tonight heard the host dispel the idea that white supremacy exists and essentially labeled it as a fake problem. The topic arose in response to how President Donald Trump has addressed the mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas where 31 people were killed.
READ MORE: Tucker Carlson comes for Joy Reid during his show, says her whole career built off ‘race baiting’
“If you were to assemble a list — a hierarchy of concerns, of problems this country faces — where would white supremacy be on the list? Right up there with Russia, probably. It’s actually not a real problem in America,” Carlson said
The Wrap details while Carlson is issuing the idea that white supremacy is a hoax, a four-page, anti-immigration screen was issued by the El Paso Walmart shooter, 21-year old, Patrick Wood Crusius, who is white and deliberately wanted to kill Latinx people.
The FBI, who clearly does not think white supremacy is a fake concept, is treating the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and a possible hate crime.
Even so, Carlson would go on to dispel the concept that white supremacy is impacting America by stating that all of the groups and their members could “fit inside a college football stadium.”
READ MORE: Rep. Ilhan Omar claps back at ‘racist fool’ Tucker Carlson, calls for boycott of his show
“I mean seriously. This is a country… where the average person is getting poorer,” Carlson said. “The suicide rate is spiking. White supremacy — that’s the problem? This is a hoax. Just like the Russia hoax; it is a conspiracy theory used to divide the country and keep a hold on power. That is exactly what’s going on.”
Across social media, Americans are critical of his response using the hashtags #FireTuckerCarlson and #BoycottTuckerCarlson to let their thoughts be known.
Tucker Carlson just called white supremacy a hoax — just days after a white supremacist killed 22 people in El Paso.
Here’s some of his top advertisers:@StarKistCharlie@Nestle@WeatherTech
RT to ask if they support this rhetoric. #BoycottTuckerCarlsonpic.twitter.com/zGpxHQ3MKs
— Bend the Arc: Jewish Action (@jewishaction) August 7, 2019
Why does this still have a job! #BoycottTuckerCarlson #BoyottFoxNews#BoycottHateakaTrump pic.twitter.com/kjuwQ9ieXO
— Anita Hicks (@AnitaHTweets) August 7, 2019
Criticisms of Carlson’s claims were also swift with CNN’s Don Lemon who stated, “Was that not the dumbest thing you’ve ever heard?” Jon Cooper, chairman of the Democratic Coalition, labeled Carlson as a “White supremacist Fox News host” on Twitter.
READ MORE: Donald Trump blames faulty White House air conditioner on former President Barack Obama
President Donald Trump has not directly mention Carlson’s comments on Twitter or otherwise, however, in his morning run of tweets he did celebrate a New York Times article that used a headline which questions whether or not Trump’s rhetoric is steeped in racism. He proudly tagged Carlson, likely as a guarantee to be mentioned on tonight’s show.
Carlson has yet to address the backlash.
The post Fox News host Tucker Carlson thinks white supremacy is fake news appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2OKRGqv
via
Reginae Carter quits YFN Lucci after he attends Love & Hip-Hop” star Alexis Skyy’s ‘Cucumber Party’
Reginae Carter has had enough of keeping her man YFN Lucci on a short leash.
That daughter of rapper Lil Wayne, said she’s young and she’s learned that it’s time to move on after she caught Lucci front and center attending a risqué party that involved “Love & Hip-Hop” star, Alexis Skyy very graphically using a cucumber on a young woman’s lady parts as a crowd gathered and watched.
—Lil Wayne and Birdman’s daughters debut as authors—
Skyy hosted the pool party in Atlanta with her boyfriend Trouble.
Videos of the cucumber-themed party circulated on the internet quickly and a fight even reportedly broke out after things got wild at the pool party, Yahoo reports.
Rapper, Boosie BadAzz posted NSFW clips and proclaimed his six million followers, “”FRONT ROW SEATS TO THE BEST FIGHT EVER @trouble U the truth best party ever I WAS A JUDGE AT THIS THUG LIFE EVENT.”
The explicit videos hit a nerve in the worst way for many people, including Carter who took to social media to air her disgust and come to terms that her on-again, off-again relationship with the rapper has met its end.
The 20-year-old said she went to the party to “spy” on Lucci and when she was what was occurring, she bounced.
“When I heard about the cucumber activities, I left. Tbh, I’ve made myself look like a fool for this man and I apologize for allowing you guys to see it .”
—She’s Free! Cyntoia Brown is released from prison after serving 15 years—
She admitted, “I’m young and still learning. Unfortunately, every move I make is publicized. I can’t control it . Imma try to be more private for now on . It’s hard because I’ve always been so open and honest . But I gotta learn how to deal with my problems alone and in private.”
Carter slammed the thirst trap party saying: “if you have a daughter, that shit is not cool. If you got kids your kids going to school and trust me they are talking about it.”
“I grew up in this life, everything came back to me … it’s not cute,” sahe said about her life as a rapper’s daughter.
Carter said the #CucumberChallenge was “childish, dirty and pathetic.”
The post Reginae Carter quits YFN Lucci after he attends Love & Hip-Hop” star Alexis Skyy’s ‘Cucumber Party’ appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2yKWRMo
via
Mother of two killed in Dayton, Ohio massacre called her kids father after getting shot in the head
In the final moments of her life, Lois Oglesby, one of the people killed in the Dayton, Ohio mass shooting, mustered up the strength to dial her cell phone to call up her boyfriend and do her final act as a super mom and put her kids first.
“Babe, I just got shot in my head. I need to get to my kids,” Dee Lee, the father of her children recounted in an emotional Facebook post-Sunday.
As the horrifying details of the Dayton, Ohio massacre unfolded, it was reported that six of the nine victims shot on Sunday was Black, and 27-year-old Oglesby was among them.
Police killed the suspect, 24-year-old Connor Betts in a hail of gunfire after aiming at innocent bystanders on East Fifth Street in Dayton’s Oregon District around 1 a.m. Sunday.
“She was letting me know she loved me and to take care of these kids,” Lee wrote, adding, “I got you babe!!!!! I can’t stop crying!!!!”
“The pain has been gut-wrenching for Lee who shared in another post, that as soon as he opens his eyes, “tears instantly fall.”
“My girls momma gone man!! … Don’t know what to do!!” he wrote on Facebook.
Oglesby was a mom of two, having recently been on maternity leave after delivering her infant. She was also a nursing student.
—Woman throws pot of hot grease at face of man after alleged break-in—
“She was a wonderful mother,” her friend, Derasha Merrett, told the Dayton Daily News. “I have cried so much, I can’t cry anymore.”
The Miami Valley Community Action Partnership said it’s collecting donations to help the family with funeral costs. Oglesby’s mom worked at the organization for almost 23 years.
They also want to help assist with “long-term care of the children.”
The shooting marks the 250th mass killing in the US in 2019. Last weekend also saw another mass shooting in El Paso, Texas.
The post Mother of two killed in Dayton, Ohio massacre called her kids father after getting shot in the head appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2ZCpYgM
via
North Carolina gun store owner replaces billboard targeting ‘The Squad’ congresswomen
The owner of the Cherokee Guns store in North Carolina has replaced billboards that targeted “The Squad” congresswomen due to complaints but he will not apologize.
On the billboard, the four Democratic congresswomen Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar were illustrated as the “4 Horsemen” of the apocalypse opposed to lawmakers. The billboard was described as “inciting violence” by members of the House and the owner of the store, Doc Wacholz, has revealed he has received threats.
“I don’t care if it was four white women or four white guys that had their view — they’d be on the billboard,” Wacholz told WTVC-TV.
The replacement of the billboard was confirmed by Allison Outdoor Advertising says they requested the change after the back-to-back tragedies in Texas and Ohio. Wacholz says he did not remove them in response to the mass shootings; instead it was for his safety. He would also add that he will not “apologize to anyone.”
According to Newsweek, in addition to referring to the congresswomen as the four horsemen, the billboard also called them “idiots.” The replacement ad now states, “First Amendment. Enough said.”
“We had more support than hate and continue to receive lots of positive feedback on the board nationwide,” Wacholz said.
—Rep. Ilhan Omar uses Africa visit to troll Trump on Twitter—
Tlaib spoke out against the billboard for promoting violence but also blasting President Donald Trump for his role in fostering the environment of America.
“#Racist rhetoric from the occupant of the @WhiteHouse has made hate our new normal. We are still vulnerable,” Tlaib tweeted.
In support of Wacholz, another local gun store owner reached out to a local television station to state the necessity of providing arms to citizens. After the events of last week, the owner said: “People are scared, they want to know how to protect themselves.”
The post North Carolina gun store owner replaces billboard targeting ‘The Squad’ congresswomen appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2GVGEbM
via
Woman throws pot of hot grease at face of man after alleged break-in
An Alabama woman was in the fight of her life when an armed man broke into her home. But she fought back and wielded a pot of hot grease and scalded the criminal’s face.
—She’s Free! Cyntoia Brown is released from prison after serving 15 years—
The person on the receiving end of having hot oil thrown in his face was Larondrick Macklin. He suffered severe burns and was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment, according to the Decatur Police Department.
Police responded to a call for a domestic dispute at the 2800-block of Wimberly Drive, Decatur. According to USA Today, Macklin was the “primary aggressor in the altercation,” according to a police statement.
According to Newsweek, Macklin, 31, is the woman’s ex-boyfriend and had a gun.
Police contend that Macklin “entered the victim’s house with a firearm, and the victim defended herself with a pot containing hot grease.”
Police did not confirm how the woman knew Macklin.
“Since the situation was of a domestic nature, we are not at liberty to discuss the relationship between the victim and the suspect at this time,” a police spokeswoman told the outlet.
But she was compelled to defend herself with what was available to her.
Macklin was jailed and charged with first-degree domestic violence and first-degree burglary. He is being held on $300,000 bond.
Police said, “The defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty,” which is kind of an oxymoron given the evidence.
—Meek Mill retrial decision delayed until end of month—
According to Darley Law LLC, a criminal justice firm: “First-degree domestic violence is a Class A felony, which carries a sentence of life in prison. First-degree domestic violence occurs when the defendant commits either aggravated stalking or first-degree assault.”
We hope this suspect learns from this and get butter, we mean, better.
The post Woman throws pot of hot grease at face of man after alleged break-in appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2GS7aCM
via
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Astrophysical shock phenomena reproduced in the laboratory
Vast interstellar events where clouds of charged matter hurtle into each other and spew out high-energy particles have now been reproduced in the lab with high fidelity. The work, by MIT researchers and an international team of colleagues, should help resolve longstanding disputes over exactly what takes place in these gigantic shocks.
Many of the largest-scale events, such as the expanding bubble of matter hurtling outward from a supernova, involve a phenomenon called collisionless shock. In these interactions, the clouds of gas or plasma are so rarefied that most of the particles involved actually miss each other, but they nevertheless interact electromagnetically or in other ways to produces visible shock waves and filaments. These high-energy events have so far been difficult to reproduce under laboratory conditions that mirror those in an astrophysical setting, leading to disagreements among physicists as to the mechanisms at work in these astrophysical phenomena.
Now, the researchers have succeeded in reproducing critical conditions of these collisionless shocks in the laboratory, allowing for detailed study of the processes taking place within these giant cosmic smashups. The new findings are described in the journal Physical Review Letters, in a paper by MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center Senior Research Scientist Chikang Li, five others at MIT, and 14 others around the world.
Virtually all visible matter in the universe is in the form of plasma, a kind of soup of subatomic particles where negatively charged electrons swim freely along with positively charged ions instead of being connected to each other in the form of atoms. The sun, the stars, and most clouds of interstellar material are made of plasma.
Most of these interstellar clouds are extremely tenuous, with such low density that true collisions between their constituent particles are rare even when one cloud slams into another at extreme velocities that can be much faster than 1,000 kilometers per second. Nevertheless, the result can be a spectacularly bright shock wave, sometimes showing a great deal of structural detail including long trailing filaments.
Astronomers have found that many changes take place at these shock boundaries, where physical parameters “jump,” Li says. But deciphering the mechanisms taking place in collisionless shocks has been difficult, since the combination of extremely high velocities and low densities has been hard to match on Earth.
While collisionless shocks had been predicted earlier, the first one that was directly identified, in the 1960s, was the bow shock formed by the solar wind, a tenuous stream of particles emanating from the sun, when it hits Earth’s magnetic field. Soon, many such shocks were recognized by astronomers in interstellar space. But in the decades since, “there has been a lot of simulations and theoretical modeling, but a lack of experiments” to understand how the processes work, Li says.
Li and his colleagues found a way to mimic the phenomena in the laboratory by generating a jet of low-density plasma using a set of six powerful laser beams, at the OMEGA laser facility at the University of Rochester, and aiming it at a thin-walled polyimide plastic bag filled with low-density hydrogen gas. The results reproduced many of the detailed instabilities observed in deep space, thus confirming that the conditions match closely enough to allow for detailed, close-up study of these elusive phenomena. A quantity called the mean free path of the plasma particles was measured as being much greater than the widths of the shock waves, Li says, thus meeting the formal definition of a collisionless shock.
At the boundary of the lab-generated collisionless shock, the density of the plasma spiked dramatically. The team was able to measure the detailed effects on both the upstream and downstream sides of the shock front, allowing them to begin to differentiate the mechanisms involved in the transfer of energy between the two clouds, something that physicists have spent years trying to figure out. The results are consistent with one set of predictions based on something called the Fermi mechanism, Li says, but further experiments will be needed to definitively rule out some other mechanisms that have been proposed.
“For the first time we were able to directly measure the structure” of important parts of the collisionless shock, Li says. “People have been pursuing this for several decades.”
The research also showed exactly how much energy is transferred to particles that pass through the shock boundary, which accelerates them to speeds that are a significant fraction of the speed of light, producing what are known as cosmic rays. A better understanding of this mechanism “was the goal of this experiment, and that’s what we measured” Li says, noting that they captured a full spectrum of the energies of the electrons accelerated by the shock.
"This report is the latest installment in a transformative series of experiments, annually reported since 2015, to emulate an actual astrophysical shock wave for comparison with space observations," says Mark Koepke, a professor of physics at West Virginia University and chair of the Omega Laser Facility User Group, who was not involved in the study. "Computer simulations, space observations, and these experiments reinforce the physics interpretations that are advancing our understanding of the particle acceleration mechanisms in play in high-energy-density cosmic events such as gamma-ray-burst-induced outflows of relativistic plasma."
The international team included researchers at the University of Bordeaux in France, the Czech Academy of Sciences, the National Research Nuclear University in Russia, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the University of Rome, the University of Rochester, the University of Paris, Osaka University in Japan, and the University of California at San Diego. It was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and the French National Research Agency.
from MIT News https://ift.tt/2TdyBMi
via
WATCH | Black Travel Diary: Inside Antigua’s Hottest Late-Night Music Competition
This week the island of Antigua celebrates Carnival, also known as The Caribbean’s Greatest Summer Festival. The streets will be filled with the sweet sounds of soca, calypso music, and dancehall too. As part of our Black travel series “Grio Goes to: Antigua,” theGrio’s Deputy Editor Natasha S. Alford gets an inside look at the history and unique music scene on the island.
In this episode, local soca artist Menace XL narrates the history Sound Clash, a massive DJ battle with a live audience, which takes place at the Historical Fort James Plantation Venue in Antigua.
“Sound Clash is culture. Dancehall is culture,” explains Menace XL. “I don’t care how you go around it and twist it around or if you want to try to fight it. It’s just culture. Since the days of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, coming right up, it’s always been embedded in the Carribean people and the world in general. Sound Clash is always about competition and once you add competition to anything, you get a rivalry and it brings entertainment.”
Menace also opens up about Caribbean music’s cultural connection to Africa.
“You already know how to feel when the drums come on,” Menace tells theGrio. “You already get a type of vibes. Soca is basically a wonderful job at adding some keys and some sense into different elements. But the drum pattern is actually what drives it.”
“The bass you feel it in your belly, feel it in your heart,” says the soca artist. “It drives you. So that’s why it’s always music that gives you this wonderful feeling, this happy feeling.”
“From time you hear it from the ancestors, we usually use the drums to relay messages or to celebrate something. You feel it in soca music.”
Watch the full episode above and subscribe to theGrio’s YouTube channel to get more Black Travel Diary episodes.
The post WATCH | Black Travel Diary: Inside Antigua’s Hottest Late-Night Music Competition appeared first on theGrio.
from theGrio https://ift.tt/2ZC9rZX
via
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)