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Tuesday, December 17, 2019

How to build a language

Wouldn’t it be great if there were an exclamation designed specifically to use when your cellphone battery runs out of juice? Or a word that perfectly captures the idea of doing something for no reason?

This semester, MIT students have been making up such words — but not for English or any other known language. They are constructing entirely new languages, or “conlangs,” in a class that uses linguistics, the science of language, to supply the necessary building blocks.

One student, who took 24.917 (ConLangs: How to Construct a Language) this fall, created a language for underwater creatures who speak in shades of color. Another invented a language that combines speech with whistling. Senior Jessica Lang’s new language is for spaceships that speak. “It’s not a super logical premise,” she says, “but it's a lot of fun facing the constraints. And, I like a lot of the words in ‘spaceship-speak’ because they are just really weird.”

Beyond imaginative premises, the challenge students take on in 24.917 is to create something that behaves in ways that are fundamentally different from the languages they already know. To achieve that, it’s useful to “understand something about how human languages actually work,” says Professor Norvin Richards, a linguistics scholar who teaches 24.917.

Understanding how languages work is what the linguistics field is all about, and 24.917 provides a thorough introduction to the subject — including fundamental topics such as phonetics (making sounds), morphology (forming words), and syntax (developing phrases). The class, which debuted in 2018, has quickly become one of the most popular offered by MIT’s top-ranked linguistics program.

In the above audio short, hear more from students and MIT professor of linguistics Norvin Richards about their work and the purpose of course 24.917. View a full transcript here.

Language and the mind

“One of the things you discover when you begin to learn about language is that there are all sorts of things that we do effortlessly, without thinking about it, but that are quite complicated,” Richards says. For example, English has quite a strict rule for ordering adjectives — it's always “a big red car,” never “a red big car.” New English learners routinely have to memorize this far-from-universal rule, while native speakers may not even be aware of it.

“One of the goals of 24.917 is to show students some of what we know about how languages work thanks to all the work that’s been done in linguistics, which is the study of what exactly it is you know when you know a language,” Richards says.

When asked to elaborate, Richards explains, “There are certain kinds of linguistic tasks that people seem to invariably accomplish in the same ways, no matter what language they speak.” Linguists endeavor to explain why that is. “A working hypothesis is that part of being a human being is having the kind of mind that allows you to construct and use language in certain ways but not others,” Richards says. “We're trying to discover what those properties of the human mind are; what kinds of creatures are human beings?”

Surprises

24.917, which introduces students to some of the major quests of linguistics, is drawing many MIT undergraduate to explore the field more completely. Surprises abound.

Joseph Noszek, a senior majoring in civil and environmental engineering, says he has found it fascinating to learn phonetics — including the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), a system for pronouncing unfamiliar words. “We started out talking about how you get sounds though points of articulation and how you can group consonants based on where your tongue is, what your lips are doing, and how much air you’re letting out,” Noszek says. With this information, plus some familiarity with the IPA, he has found it possible to produce sounds he wasn’t familiar with before. “I find it mind-blowing that there is a technique for this,” he says.

Rebecca Sloan, a senior majoring in chemistry, echoed this sentiment, noting that students in 24.917 also watched speech videos recorded using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which enabled them to see how people used their speech organs to form sounds. “The most surprising thing for me in the class was being able to watch the MRIs of people saying words and realize that you can use that information to figure things out about different sounds,” she says.


From Swahili to Klingon

The class also provides a tour of world languages, as Richards demonstrates linguistic points using examples from Tagalog, Passamaquoddy, Thai, Korean, Swahili, Egyptian Arabic, O’odham, Dinka, and Welsh.

Along the way, he even gives students some insight into the workings of two languages, Lardil and Wampanoag, in which Richards is a leading expert. For decades, Richards has worked with the Wampanoag people of Eastern Massachusetts as they have been successfully reviving their native language which, before the project began, had last been spoken in the 1800s. He has also spent years working to fight the obliteration of Lardil, an Aboriginal language once widely spoken on Mornington Island, Australia, but now nearly extinct.

As Richards outlines various linguistic behaviors — such as the forming of plurals or systems of agreement — he often includes examples from these languages. But not surprisingly for a class on constructed languages, Richards also includes examples from languages that were purposely designed — notably Klingon, which was created for the “Star Trek” entertainment universe, and Quenya and Sindarin, two languages created by J.R.R. Tolkien for his “Lord of the Rings” novels. (Richards will easily rattle off a few words of Klingon to make a linguistic point, but claims he speaks the language only “very badly.”)

“Klingon is useful in talking about morphology, which is the study of how we make words up out of pieces of words,” says Richards, noting that while English doesn’t have much morphology, Klingon does. It’s what is known as an “agglutinative” language, which means that it commonly forms new words by adding prefixes and even long strings of suffixes to root words. “It’s like a chemical reaction going on. You add these things, and words change from one thing to another.”

Tools for new languages

As students learn how various languages form tenses, plurals, and kinship terms, as well as how they borrow and shape words taken from other languages, they are gaining the tools to create entirely new languages. Richards says, “You present students with a little menu of the kinds of sounds you can make, and the students are picking and choosing and sometimes picking something that no language does.”

Other new languages to emerge from the class include a language designed to sound like beatboxing; a language that combines speech with sign language, packing meaning into both sounds and gestures; and a language designed for alien beings who make sounds by tapping on their exoskeletons.

“Our students get some idea of the kinds of things we work on in the linguistics field,” says Richards, "and then they come up with all kinds of wonderful stuff.”

Story prepared by MIT SHASS Communications
Editorial team: Kathryn O'Neill and Emily Hiestand



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NYC comptroller pressures Comcast to settle racial discrimination case with Byron Allen

Back down or damage your reputation.  That’s the message New York City Comptroller, Scott Stringer, issued to Comcast on Tuesday, urging the cable giant to sit with media mogul, Byron Allen, in the midst of his racial discrimination lawsuit against the company.

“Through its pursuit of this case in the Supreme Court, Comcast will have a direct and possibly deleterious impact on… one of our nation’s oldest federal civil rights laws, and thereby limit access to U.S. courts for victims of discrimination,” Stringer wrote.

Stringer manages more than $200 billion dollars in pension money for New York City, which is a major shareholder in Comcast, and says the city’s pension has a “longstanding history” of “challenging discrimination at our portfolio companies.”

Mr. Allen, CEO of Entertainment Studios, has sued Comcast under the Civil Rights Act of 1866, Section 1981, alleging the company refused to do business with him because of his race, as it did deals with other less successful networks.

“I remain open and willing to meet with Brian Roberts to resolve this matter immediately – before millions of Americans suffer the loss of our oldest and one of our most important civil rights,” Allen said in a statement.

“I am very proud of New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer… for standing up and defending the civil rights of over 100 million minorities in America against Brian Roberts and Comcast.”

READ MORE: Former Comcast exec defends Byron Allen lawsuit, exposes company’s dealings with Black networks

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 13: Byron Allen, Founder/Chairman/CEO, Entertainment Studios, appears at the Supreme Court of the United States for racial discrimination suit against Comcast on November 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images for Entertainment Studios)

Comcast denies that race ever played a factor in their decision-making, and says it was simply a programing quality issue.  Yet their aggressive legal strategy of taking the case to the Supreme Court, and asking for the civil rights law to be interpreted differently, could make it more difficult for African-Americans and other ethnic groups to sue for discrimination.

“Mr. Allen can drop his $20 billion lawsuit at any time and this case will go away,” a Comcast spokesperson told The New York Post on Tuesday in response to Stringer’s statement.

READ MORE: Diddy blasts Comcast over Byron Allen lawsuit: ‘Comcast is choosing to be on the wrong side of history.’

“There is significant potential for enduring damage to Comcast’s brand and reputation, as well as its relationships with shareholders, customers, suppliers, and federal, state and local governments, if the company’s name becomes synonymous with a court decision that impedes civil rights,” wrote Stringer.

The latest hearing in the case was argued in November at the Supreme Court, and a decision is expected in June.

Read the full letter from the NYC Comptroller below:


THE CITY OF NEW YORK
OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER
SCOTT M. STRINGER

Brian L. Roberts
Chairman and CEO
Comcast Corporation
One Comcast Center
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Dear Mr. Roberts:

I write to encourage you and the Comcast board of directors to reconsider the company’s Supreme Court challenge in Comcast Corporation v. National Association of African American-Owned Media and Entertainment Studios Networks, Inc. Through its pursuit of this case in the Supreme Court, Comcast will have a direct and possibly deleterious impact on the legal standard articulated by the Supreme Court under 42 U.S.C. Section 1981, one of our nation’s oldest federal civil rights laws, and thereby limit access to U.S. courts for victims of discrimination. Moreover, there is significant potential for enduring damage to Comcast’s brand and reputation, as well as its relationships with shareholders, customers, suppliers, and federal, state and local governments, if the company’s name becomes synonymous with a court decision that impedes civil rights.

As Comptroller of the City of New York, I am the investment advisor to, and custodian and trustee of, the New York City Retirement Systems (“NYCRS”), which have more than $200 billion in assets under management and are substantial long-term Comcast shareowners, with over 9 million Class A shares valued at about $423 million dollars as of August 31, 2019. NYCRS has a longstanding history of paving the way for investors seeking to protect long-term shareowner value by challenging discrimination at our portfolio companies. In 1992, the Systems took on workplace discrimination when they filed a shareowner proposal to ban sexual orientation discrimination at Cracker Barrel, which had said it would no longer hire LGBT employees.

At issue in the Comcast case currently before the Supreme Court is whether a plaintiff pursuing a claim of race discrimination under 42 U.S.C. Section 1981 must plead or prove that race was the “but-for” reason for a decision rather than “a motivating factor.” In the aftermath of the Civil War, Congress established broad protections for former slaves. Originally enacted as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. Section 1981 is one of our nation’s most important civil rights laws and guarantees that all persons have an equal right to “make and enforce contracts.” Comcast has taken the position that “but-for” causation is necessary in such cases.

The Comcast case has been characterized by Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, as the “most important civil rights case that will be heard by the Supreme Court this term.” The NAACP, has called on Comcast to “cease its attack on Section 1981” and described the case as having the potential to roll back the clock on civil rights. While Comcast has denied that it is seeking to roll back the civil rights laws, and has asserted that it is merely defending against a meritless claim and asking for the Court to apply Section 1981 in this case “the same way it has been interpreted for decades across the country,” that is not how the Comcast position or case has been perceived by a panoply of civil rights groups.

The nation’s leading civil rights organizations have expressed deep concern about the standard that may be set in this case. More than 20 organizations joined the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law’s amicus brief, while 10 organizations joined the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.’s amicus brief. Members of the U.S. Senate (including Cory BookerRichard BlumenthalKamala Harris and Ron Wyden) and members of the House of Representatives (including Karen BassJoyce BeattyYvette ClarkeBarbara LeeDonald Payne, Jr.Ayanna Pressley, Robert “Bobby” Scott, and Bonnie Watson Coleman), many of whom are members of the Congressional Black Caucus, also felt compelled to submit an amicus brief.

As long-term investors we are concerned that even if—in fact, especially if—Comcast wins the day in the Supreme Court, it loses. We are particularly concerned about the potential for enduring damage to Comcast’s reputation and its very name if it becomes associated with a Supreme Court decision that sets back the civil rights landscape in our country.

We request that Comcast resolve this dispute promptly in the long-term best interest of the corporation and its shareholders so that the Supreme Court need not reach a decision in this case and put at risk the civil rights jurisprudence of our nation.

Sincerely,

Scott M. Stringer
New York City Comptroller

cc: Board of Directors

**Editor’s Note: theGrio is owned by Entertainment Studios.**

The post NYC comptroller pressures Comcast to settle racial discrimination case with Byron Allen appeared first on theGrio.



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Hackers Could Use Smart Displays to Spy on Meetings

By exploiting flaws in popular video conferencing hardware from DTEN, attackers can monitor audio, capture slides—and take full control of devices.

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WhatsApp Fixes Yet Another Group Chat Security Gap

The flaw would have given attackers an avenue for crashing the app—every time a user opened an infected group thread.

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'Sadio Mane is my big brother in EPL': Ismaila Sarr

Senegal winger Ismaila Sarr says his countryman Sadio Mané welcomed him into the Premier League.

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Where the 5G Data Storm Will Hit First

While we're all waiting for our phones to see speeds of 10 gigs per second, next-gen wireless tech will transform transportation, medicine, manufacturing, and VR.

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How We Learned to Love the Pedagogical Vapor of STEM

Science and mathematics somehow got yoked to the vocational field of engineering and, worst of all, to "technology," which can mean almost anything—and nothing.

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The Largest Scientific Structure Ever Powers Up in Africa

When the Square Kilometre Array is complete, the telescope will scan the universe to probe some of science's deepest mysteries.

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Conquer the Winter With an All-Wheel-Drive E-Bike

Christini's Fat E-5 features a 1,000-watt motor, 50 miles of range, 4.8-inch-wide tires, and a hidden mechanism that will enlist the front wheel to get you through the snow.

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We Should Seriously Consider Segregating the Web

The early internet had a thriving ecosystem of sites that were made by and for the black community. Let's bring that back.

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Nature Deserves Legal Rights—and the Power to Fight Back

If we want to forestall the worst of climate change, we need innovation not just in tech but in law, the rule sets that guide our behavior.

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Skis That Will Handle Anything the Mountain Delivers

Fortified with lab-developed materials, new sticks from Head and Renoun can help you navigate the slopes better, no matter what kind of skier you are.

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Baby, It's Cold Outside. Stay Warm With Our Hibernation Picks

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Six-Word Sci-Fi: Imagine a Rosy Future for Facial Recognition

Each month we publish a six-word story—and it could be written by you. 

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You're All Wrong About the Worst Day of the Week

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Cool Sleds to Suit Any Size Rider and Powder-Carving Style

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3 Base Layers That Trap Warmth and Don't Chafe

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The Best Gear for Not Trudging Through the Snow

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Sounds of Sasaab: Bringing traditional music to a global audience

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Ghana's Emmanuel Ageymang Badu cleared to play again in Italy

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Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion: Wilfried Zaha rescues Palace point

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Monday, December 16, 2019

A closer look at the diabetes disaster

In Belize, where diabetes is rampant, patients need insulin every day to maintain proper blood sugar levels. But if people lack electricity or a refrigerator, they cannot store insulin at home. Medical advice pamphlets encourage such patients to keep their insulin in the refrigerators at small corner grocery stores instead. And so, in some cases, there the insulin sits — right next to soft drinks which, in good measure, have helped cause the growing diabetes epidemic in the first place.

“That one image, of soda bottles and the insulin side by side, has stuck with me,” says Amy Moran-Thomas, an MIT professor and cultural anthropologist who has spent over 10 years researching and writing about the global diabetes epidemic. “It’s emblematic of the larger problem, a robust infrastructure even in rural areas to deliver foods that are contributing to diabetes, and the huge gaps in global infrastructure for treating the same conditions.”

The International Diabetes Foundation estimates that 425 million people currently have diabetes, and that number is expected to increase to more than 600 million within a generation. (By the foundation’s count, annual diabetes deaths now outnumber those from HIV/AIDS and breast cancer, combined.) U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called chronic illnesses such as diabetes a “public health emergency in slow motion.”

Now Moran-Thomas has chronicled that emergency in a new book, “Traveling with Sugar: Chronicles of a Global Epidemic,” published this month by the University of California Press. In it, Moran-Thomas examines the havoc diabetes has caused in Belize, a Central American country with resource limitations — annual per capita income is under $5,000 — and one that is heavily reliant on cheap, high-glucose foods made with white rice, white flour, and white sugar.

“Before I started getting to know people, I had this idea that infectious diseases were the primary health crisis in a lot of Central America,” says Moran-Thomas, who as a graduate student initially considered studying the problems of parasitic infections. Instead, she discovered, “Everyone was talking about diabetes.”

Looking at the scope of the problem as well as its causes, Moran-Thomas says she came to regard the situation in Belize as a case study in how lives are rearranged by the spread of diabetes globally: “I felt this was part of something bigger that was happening in the world.”

Vanishing from the photo album

Diabetes is a disease with many possible consequences. Patients often feel excessively thirsty or hungry, although those are just early symptoms; complications and effects over time can lead to heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, and amputation of limbs, among other things. Diabetes is so strongly associated with managing blood sugar levels that the word “sugar” has become a virtual synonym for the illness in many places; in Belize “traveling with sugar” is a common expression for living with diabetes.

Moran-Thomas conducted her ethnographic research in collaboration with people in Belize, getting to know many families and community caregivers.  She also conducted years of archival research about the social context, reconstructing the history of colonialism and commerce that has left Belize largely impoverished and dependent on outside sources for food and income.

Grappling with matters that resonate across the Caribbean, Latin America, and beyond, “Traveling with Sugar” closely examines how sugar-heavy diets became so common. This includes issues such as the legacy of plantation landscapes on contemporary agriculture, and the ways diabetes risks are compounded by toxic pollution, climate change, stressful social environments, and interruptions of therapy.

The human consequences are stark. Among the stories Moran-Thomas chronicles in the book, one involves an older man lovingly paging through a family photo album showing how his late wife, a teacher, had endured multiple amputations — first a foot, then both legs below the knees — which became woven into the family’s larger story of caring for each other. In the family photo album, Moran-Thomas writes, “we watched her disappear a piece at a time from the pictures, until she was absent altogether.” 

As people’s bodies have changed, Moran-Thomas observes, the local landscape has too. The first place where she conducted an interview in Belize is now under water, due to coastal erosion and sea-level rise. Such cases will become more common in Belize and around the world, Moran-Thomas thinks, if the global economy promoting the growth of “carbohydrates and hydrocarbons” continues unaltered.

“There is so much profit being made from the products that contribute to the condition, and there is also money to be made for treating its harmful effects,” she notes. “So it’s difficult to think about interrupting this engine, when money’s being made on both sides, of causing and treating a problem.”

Belize’s status as a resort area also leads to some incongruous scenes in the book. Oxygen-rich hyperbaric chambers can help prevent diabetic amputations, and do exist in Belize — but primarily for tourists, such as divers with the bends. Many Belizean citizens have barely heard of such devices, let alone used them for diabetes care.

“There is a segregation of infrastructures,” Moran-Thomas says. “The hyperbaric chambers exemplify that — Caribbean residents dying from amputations without being able to access the chambers in their own countries.”

Grassroots initiatives and equitable design

The research behind “Traveling with Sugar” has already been the basis of interdisciplinary work at MIT, where Moran-Thomas has collaborated with Jose Gomez-Marquez and other members of the Little Devices Lab to create a new MIT course, 21A.311 (Social Lives of Medical Objects). One focal point of the class involves bringing together readings with lab exercises to examine what the sociologist Ruha Benjamin has called “discriminatory design” — the outcome of which is that objects and devices can be impossible for many people to use effectively.

“Discrimination doesn’t have to be intentional in order to produce a pattern of exclusion that really impacts people,” Moran-Thomas says.

For instance, she adds, “Glucose meters can’t really be repaired by the people who need them most to thrive. This makes life so much harder for people who need those meters to safely manage drugs like insulin. I think that’s an additional entry point for thinking about the delivery of health care — the assumptions built into objects has a huge impact on delivery working. At places like MIT, co-created design ideas can be put into practice. [The students] did some amazing final projects for that class, trying to reimagine what equitable objects could look like.”

Beyond medical technologies, and alongside large-scale national or international action, Moran-Thomas suggests, the ongoing work many communities are doing to reverse the diabetes epidemic from the ground up deserves more recognition and resources.

“The grassroots level is where I saw the most committed work for real change,” says Moran-Thomas, citing projects like a diabetic foot care group working to prevent amputations and a local farming cooperative building a healthy-cereal program.

“I don’t know how to reorganize a global trade system — though more policies trying to address those things are absolutely crucial,” she adds. “But there are so many tiny, vital steps that people are already working on at the level of their own neighborhoods and communities. I focused on those stories in the book to show how a future approach to diabetes response can build from that grassroots scale.”



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Screen could offer better safety tests for new chemicals

It’s estimated that there are approximately 80,000 industrial chemicals currently in use, in products such as clothing, cleaning solutions, carpets, and furniture. For the vast majority of these chemicals, scientists have little or no information about their potential to cause cancer.

The detection of DNA damage in cells can predict whether cancer will develop, but tests for this kind of damage have limited sensitivity. A team of MIT biological engineers has now come up with a new screening method that they believe could make such testing much faster, easier, and more accurate.

The National Toxicology Program, a government research agency that identifies potentially hazardous substances, is now working on adopting the MIT test to evaluate new compounds.

“My hope is that they use it to identify potential carcinogens and we get them out of our environment, and prevent them from being produced in massive quantities,” says Bevin Engelward, a professor of biological engineering at MIT and the senior author of the study. “It can take decades between the time you’re exposed to a carcinogen and the time you get cancer, so we really need predictive tests. We need to prevent cancer in the first place.”

Engelward’s lab is now working on further validating the test, which makes use of human liver-like cells that metabolize chemicals very similarly to real human liver cells and produce a distinctive signal when DNA damage occurs.

Le Ngo, a former MIT graduate student and postdoc, is the lead author of the paper, which appears today in the journal Nucleic Acids Research. Other MIT authors of the paper include postdoc Norah Owiti, graduate student Yang Su, former graduate student Jing Ge, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology graduate student Aoli Xiong, professor of electrical engineering and computer science Jongyoon Han, and professor emerita of biological engineering Leona Samson.

Carol Swartz, John Winters, and Leslie Recio of Integrated Laboratory Systems are also authors of the paper.

Detecting DNA damage

Currently, tests for the cancer-causing potential of chemicals involve exposing mice to the chemical and then waiting to see whether they develop cancer, which takes about two years.

Engelward has spent much of her career developing ways to detect DNA damage in cells, which can eventually lead to cancer. One of these devices, the CometChip, reveals DNA damage by placing the DNA in an array of microwells on a slab of polymer gel and then exposing it to an electric field. DNA strands that have been broken travel farther, producing a comet-shaped tail.

While the CometChip is good at detecting breaks in DNA, as well as DNA damage that is readily converted into breaks, it can’t pick up another type of damage known as a bulky lesion. These lesions form when chemicals stick to a strand of DNA and distort the double helix structure, interfering with gene expression and cell division. Chemicals that cause this kind of damage include aflatoxin, which is produced by fungi and can contaminate peanuts and other crops, and benzo[a]pyrene, which can form when food is cooked at high temperatures.

Engelward and her students decided to try to adapt the CometChip so that it could pick up this type of DNA damage. To do that, they took advantage of cells’ DNA repair pathways to generate strand breaks. Typically, when a cell discovers a bulky lesion, it will try to repair it by cutting out the lesion and then replacing it with a new piece of DNA.

“If there’s something glommed onto the DNA, you have to rip out that stretch of DNA and then replace it with fresh DNA. In that ripping process, you’re creating a strand break,” Engelward says.

To capture those broken strands, the researchers treated cells with two compounds that prevent them from synthesizing new DNA. This halts the repair process and generates unrepaired single-stranded DNA that the Comet test can detect.

The researchers also wanted to make sure that their test, which is called HepaCometChip, would detect chemicals that only become hazardous after being modified in the liver through a process called bioactivation.

“A lot of chemicals actually are inert until they get metabolized by the liver,” Ngo says. “In the liver you have a lot of metabolizing enzymes, which modify the chemicals so that they become more easily excreted by the body. But this process sometimes produces intermediates that can turn out to be more toxic than the original chemical.”

To detect those chemicals, the researchers had to perform their test in liver cells. Human liver cells are notoriously difficult to grow outside the body, but the MIT team was able to incorporate a type of liver-like cell called HepaRG, developed by a company in France, into the new test. These cells produce many of the same metabolic enzymes found in normal human liver cells, and like human liver cells, they can generate potentially harmful intermediates that create bulky lesions.

Enhanced sensitivity

To test their new system, the researchers first exposed the liver-like cells to UV light, which is known to produce bulky lesions. After verifying that they could detect such lesions, they tested the system with nine chemicals, seven of which are known to lead to single-stranded DNA breaks or bulky lesions, and found that the test could accurately detect all of them.

“Our new method enhances the sensitivity, because it should be able to detect any damage a normal Comet test would detect, and also adds on the layer of the bulky lesions,” Ngo says.

The whole process takes between two days and a week, offering a significantly faster turnaround than studies in mice.

The researchers are now working on further validating the test by comparing its performance with historical data from mouse carcinogenicity studies, with funding from the National Institutes of Health.

They are also working with Integrated Laboratory Systems, a company that performs toxicology testing, to potentially commercialize the technology. Engelward says the HepaCometChip could be useful not only for manufacturers of new chemical products, but also for drug companies, which are required to test new drugs for cancer-causing potential. The new test could offer a much easier and faster way to perform those screens.

“Once it’s validated, we hope it will become a recommended test by the FDA,” she says.

The research was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, including the NIEHS Superfund Basic Research Program, and the MIT Center for Environmental Health Sciences.



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Washington Must Bet Big on AI or Lose Its Global Clout

New report says $25 billion—and a more welcoming attitude toward foreign talent—is needed to keep US in the technology race with China.

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Letter from Africa: How talk of witches stirs emotions in Nigeria

A section of the Nigerian criminal code forbids witchcraft, and it is punishable by a jail term.

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Zimbabwe vice-president's estranged wife charged with his attempted murder

Zimbabwe's Gen Constantino Chiwenga alleges Marry Mubaiwa interfered with his medical treatment.

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Historic Black church in West End of Charlotte may soon become condos

A historic Black church in Charlotte may soon become condos.

Built in 1927 and designed by one of Charlotte’s preeminent architects, the historic Wesley Heights Methodist is now slated to become condominiums if a certificate of appropriateness filed with the Charlotte Historic District Commission is approved, according to WBTV.

READ MORE: On Good Friday, several key ways the Black church could win back millennials

David Wales, listed as the applicant/owner of the slated Villa Emmanuel condominium project, filed the application detailing how the building would be renovated. However, some of the commission staff have already expressed concerns that the project would take away from the “original, character-defining stained-glass windows,” reported WBTV.

When the church was first built, a white congregation worshiped at Wesley Heights Methodist. Since then, it has become predominantly Black, media outlets reported.

“What is really sad is that there was a backup contract to save the church, including the interior, and use it as the home for a host of agencies to help people,” Dan Morrill, a Charlotte historic preservationist, said in a Facebook post.

J’Tanya Adams, the founder and program director of the non-profit, Historic West End Partners, told The Charlotte Observer that she initially wanted her charity to buy the property and that she would have preserved the church’s features and mainly used space in the building, as well as the parsonage, for performing and culinary arts. Morrill backed this project.

Adams told the newspaper that she was also being supported by Hugh McColl, the former Bank of America CEO, who met with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission in October to attempt to raise support for Adams’ project. Since the commission “buys and sells endangered historic landmarks through its $9 million revolving fund and places preservation covenants in the deeds when the properties are sold,” McColl was attempting to get the commission to buy the church and sell it to Historic West End Partners.

READ MORE: Contributions to burned Black churches increase after Notre Dame cathedral receives massive financial support

However, Adams reportedly was not able to explain how her non-profit would be able to come up with the funds to pay for the church.

Louis Asbury Sr., one of Charlotte’s premier architects, designed the church. “He also designed Myers Park Methodist,” Morrill said in a Facebook post. “Can you imagine putting condos there?”

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Forrest Tuff: Multimedia Entrepreneur Is Committed To Servant Leadership

BE Modern Man: Forrest Tuff

Multimedia entrepreneur, filmmaker, public speaker, servant leader; 51; CEO, One Vision Productions

Twitter: @forresttuff; Instagram: @forresttuff

I have focused on being impactful as a business owner, filmmaker, public speaker, and servant leader.

In 2004, I founded One Vision Productions, an award-winning multimedia production agency specializing in corporate and government video production, aerial drone services, branding and marketing, photography, and graphic design. It is a recipient of the Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Customer Service and has been named one of Atlanta’s “Best & Brightest Companies to Work For” (2015–2018).

As a multimedia entrepreneur and filmmaker, I’ve taken on the moniker of a “Filmpreneur” (filmmaker/entrepreneur). I have more than 100 movie credits to include indie films, a major motion picture with 20th Century Fox, and a documentary titled, Released: When Does the Sentence End? made with the U.S. Department of Justice. The documentary focuses on solutions for criminal justice reform and received 10 film festival and television awards, including a Humanitarian Award. Due to its impact, Released was distributed to every U.S. Attorney’s Office in the nation.

As an empowerment speaker, I share my life experiences to motivate others. I speak at corporate events, churches, community events, schools, and workshops on topics such as entrepreneurship, leadership, and public speaking, to name a few. In 2019, I was named Toastmaster of the Year and voted among the “Top 100” Transformational Leaders by the John Maxwell Team.

A servant leader, I am an ambassador for the American Heart Association, FBI Citizens Academy, and United Way VIP Alumnus. I received a Leadership Certificate from BoardSource and started a Pay It Forward initiative, which is annually donated to a nonprofit organization. I have been honored with the U.S. Attorney’s Office Community Outreach Award, Martin Luther King Drum Major for Service Award, and President’s Call to Service Award for completing 4,000+ hours of community service.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN LIFE?

I’m not a quitter. Over the course of my life, I have faced many challenges and setbacks. However, I did not let my failures define me.

HOW HAVE YOU TURNED STRUGGLE INTO SUCCESS?

When I started One Vision Productions and became a multimedia entrepreneur, I didn’t have formal training, a mentor, or a professional network. This was my “lace up your bootstraps” moment. As a minority business owner, I aspired to be a reputable company that could compete with high-end production companies. My lack of resources and information presented challenges in acquiring my desired clientele.

However, I didn’t allow the word “No” to deter me from my goal of success as a multimedia entrepreneur. I sought out leadership development, skilled professionals, and adapted a more strategic approach. Today our clientele ranges from small businesses to Fortune 100 corporations.

WHO WAS YOUR GREATEST MALE ROLE MODEL AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM HIM?

My father Ulysses Tuff is my greatest role model. He has dedicated his life to God, his family, and the service of others. I learned to invest in my children, treat people with respect and sow the seeds that I wanted to harvest. Through his actions, I saw how to be a man of faith and good character, hard-working, and respectful to women.

WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?

Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can accomplish today. Tomorrow is not promised.

HOW ARE YOU PAYING IT FORWARD TO SUPPORT OTHER BLACK MALES?

I support other black males with my finances, volunteer work, internships, and pro bono business coaching.

I created a Pay It Forward initiative in 2014, which annually donates $500 to $1,000 to a local minority educational, faith-based, or nonprofit organization.

My organization offers internship opportunities for young men to receive on the job training for various professional events.
Lastly, I am a certified business mentor with SCORE, which is a resource partner with the Small Business Administration. SCORE has a plethora of resources for entrepreneurs, and as one of the few black male mentors in my chapter, I assist a large number of minority business owners.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE MANHOOD?

Manhood is the ability to embrace change. One of the challenges men face is abandoning the reckless, care-free life of youth. There comes a time when we must work toward securing our legacy by investing in our families (spouse, children, etc.), business, and community.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT BEING A BLACK MAN?

I like our creativity, adaptability, sense of style, confidence, and humor.


BE Modern Man is an online and social media campaign designed to celebrate black men making valuable contributions in every profession, industry, community, and area of endeavor. Each year, we solicit nominations in order to select men of color for inclusion in the 100 Black Enterprise Modern Men of Distinction. Our goal is to recognize men who epitomize the BEMM credo “Extraordinary is our normal” in their day-to-day lives, presenting authentic examples of the typical black man rarely seen in mainstream media. The BE Modern Men of Distinction are celebrated annually at Black Men XCEL (www.blackenterprise.com/blackmenxcel/). Click this link to submit a nomination for BE Modern Man: https://www.blackenterprise.com/nominate/. Follow BE Modern Man on Twitter: @bemodernman and Instagram: @be_modernman.

 



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OPINION: The Democratic Party seems to want Black votes, but discouraged by the making of another Black president

Democratic Senator and Presidential candidate Cory Booker recently announced that he will not make an appearance on stage during this week’s Democratic nomination debate at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles on Dec. 19. Booker didn’t raise the required funds needed to qualify. Sen. Kamala Harris was forced to step down from her campaign a few weeks ago because she couldn’t financially sustain her efforts while former Governor Deval Patrick literally seems like a pinch hitter who just showed up to play ball.

As the two Black Democratic candidates for the presidency seem to be stuck on pause and one is now completely out of the race, what exactly is the Democratic Party doing to help move things along for our people?

The Democratic Party cannot claim to represent the interests of Black voters if there are no Black candidates. Not a single vote has been cast, and yet the self-professed party of diversity and inclusion has emerged with the very real prospect of an all-white, top-tier roster headed into the primary season. This is going to be an embarrassment to Democrats who have got to change their ways lest they are accused, yet again, of taking the base for granted.

The premature departure of Harris from the Democratic presidential primary field raises some issues. When she entered the race, she was touted as a former San Francisco prosecutor, the former California state attorney general, and one shrewd politician. She was attracting that Hillary Clinton money.

READ MORE: Trump picks Atlanta to unveil his new Black voter drive initiative

As a senator, Harris has established her by serving up mediocre white men such as Jefferson Beauregard Sessions—who lives up to his name—during his nomination hearing for U.S. attorney general.

Let’s be honest, Harris made her share of mistakes. For example, she could not decide if she wanted to be a moderate or a progressive, while also promoting a hawkish Clintonesque foreign policy and embracing Israeli apartheid and the likes of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who once referred to African migrants and refugees as “illegal infiltrators” who threatened the existence of his country. Further, Senator Harris took a hit for her record as a “tough on crime” prosecutor and allegations that her policies hurt Black people.

Being Black Is Not Enough

While no one has a right to the nomination, white candidates apparently have more of a right than others, highlighting the need for Democrats to change their selection process. Now, Black candidates must own their record, including accomplishments and victories, blemishes and discrepancies, and not expect Black allegiance just because. In the post-Obama era, being Black is not enough to gain support, and it is misplaced to assume that a particular candidate is best for Black America simply because of skin solidarity.

However, while presidential hopefuls such as Harris are barred from making mistakes and evolving, white politicians like Mayor Pete Buttigieg are allowed to fail up.

Although the honeymoon might soon be over for the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, white male competitors are also the beneficiaries of biased media coverage that have put Booker, Patrick, Julian Castro, and Andrew Yang at a disadvantage, hard-pressed to make it out the gate.

Praised for his Harvard pedigree and the bragging rights of being a Rhodes scholar who is fluent in several foreign languages, Mayor Pete is not the only person in the race with those attributes. After all, Booker was a Rhodes Scholar, Castro attended Harvard Law School and Sen. Elizabeth Warren was a law professor at Harvard, for all it’s worth.

READ MORE:Cory Booker responds to Mike Bloomberg’s “well-spoken” comments, assures there is “no beef” between friends

Meanwhile, while former Vice President Joe Biden leads among African-American voters, according to most polls, we have to ask whether skewed media coverage from white-dominated newsrooms and the Beltway chatter class are at fault for creating a self-fulfilling prophecy favoring a moderate Great White Hope.

In the Democratic Party and the so-called mainstream media, the narrative that in order to win in 2020 or any election, Democrats must appeal to white working-class voters who lack a college education. If the Dems hope to position themselves as the party of white people against the white nationalist Republicans, they will always lose. They cannot focus on courting Trump voters rather than solidifying and prioritizing their own base of Black and Brown voters and courting nonvoters. It’s simply a fool’s errand.

And the role of money in politics doesn’t help. However compelling their messages may be, those running for office cannot succeed without money, and lots of it, in a prohibitively long election season Ours is a political system that allows the unlimited corrupting influence of dollars as the equivalent of free speech.

READ MORE: The Latest: Buttigieg says he raised $19.1M in 3rd quarter

Oligarchs in both parties put their thumbs on the scales and control the policy discussion by purchasing the laws and the candidates. Consider the vanity project of late entrant former mayor of New York City, Mike Bloomberg, who has been accused of attempting to steal the election and substituting door-to-door campaigning by writing checks.

Bloomberg, like Buttigieg, cannot hope to win the Democratic nomination without Black votes, which will be difficult due to a problematic policing record during their respective tenures as mayor. In Bloomberg’s case, the targeting of Black and Latino men using stop and frisk. Yet, Bloomberg is discussed as a viable candidate because he possesses the right color scheme: white and green.

A Firm Foundation

Meanwhile, Black people, the base of the party, seem to be getting the short end of the stick, as politicians ignore our concerns which go beyond visiting a Black church and clapping offbeat to the choir, right before Election Day.

The needs and concerns of Black voters are serious and require more than window dressing, lip service and platitudes from the Democratic Party or anyone else. In a nation of systemic institutional racism and rising inequality, the racial wealth gap is widening, Black America experienced a historic loss of Black wealth from the Great Recession and the racially discriminatory practices of the predatory mortgage lenders. And for all the good he accomplished, remember that Obama bailed out Wall Street, not Black homeowners.

READ MORE: Kanye West praises Republican Party for freeing slaves at Utah Sunday Service

Well into the 21st century, we are still hunted like game, similar to the animals Trump Jr. kills as trophies in Africa and Asia. We are treated like lab rats and test animals given poisoned water and air and directly exposed to the impact of climate change. Our children are punished for their hair, and Black girls are suspended at double the rate of their white counterparts because of racial stereotypes. Meanwhile, Black people built this country. While it is encouraging that many Democratic presidential candidates to support reparations when actualized, how will they react to the price tag?

The Democratic Party must change its way of doing primaries. A party that wants Black votes but discourages the making of Black presidents, makes for bad optics and even worse, bad politics.


Follow David A. Love on Twitter at @davidalove.

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'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' Scene Debuts on 'Fortnite'

The clip appeared in-game on Saturday. Watch it here. 

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This Year's Flu Season Is Off to a Weird (and Early) Start

According to the CDC's latest influenza update, both the timing and the strain are highly unusual. 

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Welcome

Ryan Koopmans and Alice Wexell spent three days photographing the small town known for its proximity to the infamous Air Force test facility.

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Starbucks is once again being slammed for being rude to police officers

Starbucks once again is being accused of mistreating police.

Starbucks is apologizing to two sheriff’s deputies in Riverside County, California for totally ignoring the officers as they waited to be served. The incident marks the third time in six months that law enforcement has said that the Seattle-based chain snubbed them, according to The USA Today.

READ MORE: Starbucks apologizes after Arizona cops were asked to leave shop for making customer feel ‘unsafe’

Sheriff Chad Bianco drew attention to the latest incident Friday when he tweeted that “Two of our deputies were refused service at Starbucks. The anti-police culture repeatedly displayed by Starbucks employees must end.’’

Bianco also posted a video on Facebook saying the two deputies were laughed at and “were completely ignored because they were in uniform. Quite honestly, that’s just not acceptable. It can’t be acceptable.’’

Reggie Borges, Starbucks spokesman, said the “disrespect” is unacceptable.

“We’re deeply sorry and we have reached out to the sheriff to apologize, and we’re hoping we can connect with the deputies directly and apologize as well,” Borges told USA Today. “We’re taking full responsibility for any intentional or unintentional disrespect shown to law enforcement, on whom we depend on every single day.”

“No one, whether you’re in uniform or not, should have to experience what these two deputies went through in our store, and we’ll take the steps necessary to address it,’’ Borges added.

The company is temporarily not scheduling the employees in question to work until a full investigation is complete, Borges told USA Today.

This latest incident is the third time Starbucks has disrespected police. Last month, an ex-worker from a Starbucks in Kiefer, Oklahoma, allegedly gave an officer a cup with the word “PIG” written on it, according to USA Today. The police chief took to social media after the incident, prompting the store to apologize and the worker who wrote the message was fired. Additionally, Starbucks said it planned to host a “Coffee with a Cop” event.

Over the summer, a Starbucks barista in Tempe, Arizona, told six police officers to move to a different spot after a customer said seeing them made him nervous. In that incident, the local police union said in a social media post, “Unfortunately, such treatment has become all too common in 2019,” according to USA Today.

READ MORE: Starbucks regional manager files lawsuit claiming racial discrimination

Starbucks’s Rossann Williams, executive vice president and president of U.S. retail, apologized for that incident: “They should have been welcomed and treated with dignity and the utmost respect by our partners (employees). Instead, they were made to feel unwelcome and disrespected, which is completely unacceptable.”

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Miss Nigeria may have lost the Miss World crown, but she went viral for being a good friend

She didn’t win Miss World, but Miss Nigeria is making news today for showing the world how to be a friend.

When Miss Jamaica’s Toni-Ann Singh was announced as the winner of the Miss World competition on Saturday, Miss Nigeria’s Nyekachi Douglas couldn’t contain her excitement. She cheered and danced for her friend and gathered Singh and Miss Brazil’s Elia Coelho in one big hug, according to Today.

READ MORE: OPINION: Covering the Miss Universe Pageant taught me that the world is finally seeing the magnificent power of Black beauty

Viewers took to social media to applaud the exchange.

“In 2020 when your friend starts a new business, podcast, therapy, anything that enhances their life. Be her Miss Nigeria,” wrote Marianne Sunshine (@MissMSunshine).

Another person wrote that what she had just witnessed is the only vibes she’s accepting from here on out. “Miss Nigeria’s reaction to Miss Jamaica winning #MissWorld2019 is the only energy I’m accepting around me!”

“Yep, cheer for your girls, revel in their success like it was your own. Life is so much better when you find joy in other’s happiness,” weighed in @FromShaw.

Douglas didn’t stop there. In an Instagram Live video after the Miss World competition, Douglas called Singh “amazing” and said it was Singh who supported and encouraged all of the contestants.

READ MORE: Jamaica brings dreadlocks to the Miss World Pageant for the first time

“She would be the one who would be like, ‘Listen, you’ve got this,’” Douglas said, according to Today.

Singh, 23, also took to social media to thank her supporters and to encourage little girls worldwide to go after their dreams.

“To that little girl in St. Thomas, Jamaica and all the girls around the world — please believe in yourself,” Singh wrote on Twitter. “Please know that you are worthy and capable of achieving your dreams. This crown is not mine but yours. You have a PURPOSE.”

Miss World capped an historic pageant season. For the first time in history, all five beauty pageants were won by Black women: Miss Universe 2019 is South Africa’s Zozibini Tunzi, Miss America Nia Franklin, Miss USA Cheslie Kryst and Miss Teen USA 2019 Kaliegh Garris. And now Miss World is Singh.

READ MORE: Black Queen Magic: Miss Universe & Miss USA are now roommates

The women support a slew of platforms that draw attention to women’s rights, prison reform, and music education. They all said they hope their platforms help to center the conversation on challenging conventional beauty standards.

Singh, who said she plans to go to medical school, graduated from Florida State University and earned degrees in psychology and women’s studies.

The post Miss Nigeria may have lost the Miss World crown, but she went viral for being a good friend appeared first on theGrio.



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ISIS Is Now Harder to Track Online—but That's Good News

Booted from Telegram, the terrorist group no longer has a main home on the web. ISIS might be harder to find, but it's also harder for members to unify and recruit.

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Download this app to find the closet Black Santa Claus

Black parents hoping to snap a photograph of their child on Santa’s lap can now download an app that shows them the nearest location to find a Black Santa Claus.

Jihan Woods created the app after she struggled to find a Santa that resembled the skin color of her twin boys. So Woods launched a Kickstarter campaign called “Find Black Santa: A Mobile Black Santa Directory.” The Dallas psychiatrist raised $5,000 in 30 days and now the app, available in the App Store and on Google Play, lists Santas in 35 states and Washington, D.C., according to CBS News.

READ MORE: School bus driver who was Santa Claus for 70 kids gets his own Christmas gift

“I really wanted my children to see a Santa Claus that looks like them. It’s important to me that they experience diversity in all aspects of their lives, Santa included,” Woods wrote on the website that promotes the free app and the rationale behind it.

To back up the importance of her initiative, Woods cited studies that show how positive racial identity leads to better school performance and less negative behavior.

Historically, parents who live in the suburbs have had to drive to urban areas to see Black Santa. Terri Lipsey Scott has seen it firsthand. Scott said parents drive upwards of an hour so their kids can take a photograph with a Black Santa at the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, where Scott serves as executive director.

“The turnout is incredible — there are so few options as it relates to the availability of having an African-American Santa,” Scott told CBS. “That self-esteem element even in the holiday season is so important.”

READ MORE: Santa Claus will be gay black man in a new children’s book

The app is the latest to hit the market that attempts to expose children, especially kids of color, to Black Santa. Last year, the Ravenel Agency developed a Black Santa app so that children could video chat with a Black Santa Claus.

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These Twin Black Entrepreneurs Launch Four-City Tour To Teach Business Success and Wealth

The Carter Brothers, Dr. Sterling Carter and Stephen Levi Carter, M.B.A., co-founders of Sterling Staffing Solutions, have announced the launch of a four-city tour that teaches business lessons to aspiring entrepreneurs on how to scale their business and achieve millionaire status. There will also be a focus on attaining generational wealth.

“My brother and I hope to not only build the next generation of young millionaires through this series but also to model the necessity of mentorship and giving back, both of which are essential to building wealth in under-served communities,” states Dr. Sterling Carter in a press release.

Stephen Levi Carter adds, “Our goal is to share the secrets to our success, the triumphs, as well as the trials, on our way to the top. In doing so, we offer the next generation a head-start into lucrative, sustainable business ventures.”

The Young Millionaire Series begins in Houston, on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, and will be followed by events in Chicago (Saturday, May 9), Washington, D.C. (Saturday, Aug. 29), and Atlanta (Saturday, Oct. 24).

The four-city tour will address issues in the urban community that cause economic inequality and the wealth gap. The Carter Brothers will work with corporations and entrepreneurs to alleviate factors such as under-employment, mass-incarceration, food desserts, inadequate healthcare, lack of education, and poverty.

There will also be a focus on the media’s misrepresentation of the urban community that inhibits the ability for minorities to break through the economic glass ceiling.

Sterling Staffing Solutions won the Black Enterprise Family Business of the Year award at the 2018 FWD conference for entrepreneurs—just one of the Carter brothers’ many accolades. According to BlackBusiness.com, “The Carters have a rapidly growing list of awards and recognitions including being named to the annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies; Houston Business Journal’s Fast 100 Finalist; the Entrepreneur 360 Award; the American Business Award, and the Greater Houston Black Chamber Pinnacle Upstart Award, to name a few.”

For dates and ticket information about the Young Millionaire Series, visit www.YoungMillionairesSeries.com.



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11 Best Cheap Laptops We Actually Like Using ($300 - $800)

We reviewed and tested a bunch of affordable Windows and Chromebook laptops and 2-in-1 tablets. You don't have to spend a fortune to get a good notebook.

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Will AI Take Your Job—or Make It Better?

Governments need to plan now for the day automation makes many workplace skills obsolete. 

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Facial Recognition Laws Are (Literally) All Over the Map

From Portland to Plano, local governments are placing different limits on the use of biometric data. That's a good thing.

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Today’s Cartoon: Retro Phones

Everything old is new again. 

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How the killing of a young immigrant angered America

One of the most controversial US police shootings of the 1990s.

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The War Vet, the Dating Site, and the Phone Call From Hell

Jared Johns found out too late that swapping messages with the pretty girl from a dating site would mean serious trouble. If only he had known who she really was.

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Andre Ayew wants 'something great' and ignores move speculation

Andre Ayew hopes Swansea City "do something great" and "is not thinking" about speculation of a move in the January transfer window.

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In Pictures: Zambia's new generation

Photographer Kerstin Hacker's images of Zambia.

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Sunday, December 15, 2019

New health insurance insights

A new analysis of a randomized health insurance program in Oregon sheds light on the value the program has for enrollees and providers alike.

The study, by MIT economist Amy Finkelstein and two co-authors, suggests that adults with low incomes value Medicaid at only about 20 cents to 50 cents per dollar of medical spending paid on their behalf.

“The value of Medicaid for most low-income adults is much lower than the medical expenditures paid by the insurance,” says Finkelstein, the John and Jennie S. MacDonald Professor at MIT and a leading health care economist.

That finding reinforces the results of another, separate study that Finkelstein and multiple co-authors conducted in Massachusetts. In that case, across 70 percent of people in the Massachusetts state health insurance program for low-income adults, their valuation of the program was equal to less than 50 percent of their expected insurance costs. 

While it might seem puzzling that recipients value health insurance at less than the covered medical expenditures, the study also offers an explanation for this: Low-income individuals who do not have insurance still only pay a fraction of their medical costs. In the Oregon data, this figure was roughly 20 percent of medical costs; prior studies have found similar results nationwide. The remainder of the spending on the low-income uninsured comes from a variety of sources, including charity care from nonprofit hospitals, publicly funded health clinics that offer free care, state funding to hospitals for uncompensated care, and unpaid medical debt.

“The nominally uninsured have a fair amount of implicit insurance,” Finkelstein says. “Once you put it in that light, it becomes a lot less surprising that Medicaid spending is valued by them at a lot less than dollar for dollar.”

One further implication of the findings is that a significant portion of public spending on health insurance for low-income individuals effectively acts as a subsidy for health care providers and state programs that cover the costs of uninsured patients.

The new paper, “The Value of Medicaid: Interpreting Results from the Oregon Health Experiment,” appears in the December issue of the Journal of Political Economy. Its co-authors are Finkelstein; Nathan Hendren PhD ’12, a professor of economics at Harvard University; and Erzo F.P. Luttmer, a professor of economics at Dartmouth College.

The previous paper, “Subsidizing Health Insurance for Low-Income Adults: Evidence from Massachusetts,” was published last spring in the American Economic Review. Its co-authors are Finkelstein; Hendren; and Mark Shepard, an assistant professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

A random walk in Oregon

The latest paper examines a distinctive Medicaid policy that Oregon implemented in 2008. With funding to cover only about 10,000 of eligible adults, Oregon conducted a lottery to decide who would be eligible to apply for Medicaid.

That random assigment of slots using a lottery allowed the researchers to develop a study comparing two otherwise similar groups of Oregon residents: those who had obtained Medicaid coverage via lottery and those who entered the lottery but did not gain coverage. In effect, Oregon had developed a randomized controlled trial, which the scholars used for their research.

Medicaid eligibility regulations and administrative practices can vary by state. In Oregon, adults and children generally qualify for Medicaid when they live in a household with income no greater than 133 percent of the poverty level defined by the U.S. federal government; in 2016, in the 48 contiguous states, that was $11,800 for a single person and $24,300 for a family of four.

Previous studies of the Oregon experiment that Finkelstein has led have shown that, among other things, emergency room use increases among Medicaid recipients, contrary to expectations of many experts.

Being covered by Medicaid also increases patient visits to doctors, prescription drug use, and hospital admissions, while reducing out-of-pocket medical expenses and lowering unpaid medical debt for recipients. Medicaid coverage also appears to lower the incidence of depression, although it does not seem to change the available measures of physical health.

The current study uses data from the prior Oregon studies, as well as state Medicaid records, and survey data from individuals who applied for Oregon’s lottery. The survey data show how much people used health care, including prescription drugs, outpatient visits, emergency-room visits, and hospital visits.

In line with previous studies, the current paper shows that having Medicaid increases total spending on health care — about $3,600 reimbursed to providers annually on behalf of each Medicaid enrollee, compared to $2,721 annually for each low-income uninsured individual. Of that $2,721, the low-income uninsured paid about $569 in annual out-of-pocket costs — the source of the paper’s estimate that uninsured individuals pay about 20 percent of charged costs.

Using this data, the researchers also estimated an annual net cost of Medicaid in Oregon of $1,448 per recipient. This is the average annual increase in health care spending by Medicaid recipients, plus their average annual decrease in out-of-pocket spending. Thus moving a low-income uninsured individual in Oregon onto Medicaid results in a $1,448 increase in insured health care spending on behalf of that person.

Because the Oregon Medicaid program’s reimbursements to health care providers are an average of $3,600 annually per recipient, the researchers estimate that about 40 percent of Medicaid spending underwrites costs incurred by enrollees. The other 60 percent is, as they write in the paper, “best conceived of as … a monetary transfer to external parties who would otherwise subsidize the medical care for the low-income uninsured.”

Simultaneously, the researchers refined their “willingness to pay” metric by using multiple methods to estimate how much having health insurance affects consumer spending generally. These methods yielded three estimates ranging from $793 to $1,675 in annual health care spending for low-income individuals. This is the source of the paper’s conclusion that people value Medicaid at 20 percent to 50 percent of charged costs.

Two approaches, similar results

Significantly, the two studies use different methodological approaches to study different programs in different states, and arrive at similar conclusions. In Massachusetts, the scholars used data from the state’s health insurance program — a forerunner of the federal Affordable Care Act — to see how the share of eligible individuals who signed up for insurance changed as their subsidy level changed.

“Despite a different design and different setting, even though it’s Massachusetts and not Oregon, and different method, we got pretty much the same result,” Finkelstein observes.

Overall, Finkelstein says, it will be valuable to keep learning about the care obtained by uninsured people, as well as the ultimate destination of Medicaid funding, including the 60 percent that is routed to other parties that subsidize care for the low-income uninsured. Understanding who ultimately gets those transfers, she notes, could help illuminate how redistributive Medicaid actually is, as a program intended to benefit lower-income Americans.

Moreover, Finkelstein says, more research will be needed to study how best to provide health care for lower-income Americans.

“Right now we have an implicit, informal insurance system that likely reduces demand for formal insurance but provides a sort of patchwork of care that may not be very good,” Finkelstein says.

Funding for the two studies was provided by the National Institute of Aging, the National Science Foundation, and the Harvard University Lab for Economic Applications and Policy.



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Imported for my body: The African women trafficked to India for sex

BBC Africa Eye uncovered an illegal network that lures women to India from Africa for sex work.

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Tiffany Haddish's Black Mitzvah and her journey of Jewish discovery

The Eritrean-American comedian hopes the discovery of her Jewish identity can inspire others.

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OK hand gesture associated with white power at Army-Navy game caused social media uproar

Social media messages went crazy during Saturday’s annual Army-Navy football game as cadets were spotted using upside-down “OK” hand gestures associated with the movements of white nationalists.

Reporting from ESPN broadcasting the game has made the rounds online showing West Point cadets and midshipmen from the Naval Academy flashing the upside-down “OK” symbol while journalist Rece Davis delivered a pregame report.

Newsweek details the gesture has had worldwide notoriety for being a sign that shows one is in agreement with someone else but has been commandeered by the modern white nationalist movement. The gesture is now considered an extremist gesture and noted as such by the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights group, just recently in September.

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The ADL mentions in regards to the symbol that “particular care must be taken not to jump to conclusions about the intent behind someone who has used the gesture.” The 2017 article from the ADL reads that the “okay” hand gesture represents the letters “wp” or “white power” in a hoax by members of the bulletin website 4chan, which would eventually become a successful troll to liberals.

Those opposing the idea that this incident is linked to white supremacy state that the gestures were part of “the circle game,” which would allow for the person doing the gesture to punch someone who saw it.

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West Point is investigating the cadets and midshipmen in response to the broadcast’s backlash.

“West Point is looking into the matter,” a spokesperson said in a statement to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “At this time we do not know the intent of the cadets.”

Lieutenant Colonel Chris Ophardt, a spokesperson for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point said to The Wall Street Journal “I don’t know what their intention is.”

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Commander Alana Garas, a spokesperson for the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland stated: “We are aware and will be looking into it.”

Last year, The Associated Press detailed leaders of the U.S. Coast Guard received a reprimand for a similar hand symbol used. The military has also had accusations of racism within its leadership. Vice detailed this past November when three active-duty military soldiers were cited for making racist posts on an online neo-Nazi message board.

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South Carolina man who inspired the film ‘Radio,’ dies at 73

James “Radio” Kennedy, who inspired the Hollywood blockbuster Radio starring Cuba Gooding Jr., has died at the age of 73.

Kennedy was a staple at South Carolina high school football games over a decade. His death as confirmed by T.L. Hanna High School Athletic Director John Cann, on the school website. A cause of death as not disclosed in the announcement.

“It would be easy to talk about all the school did for Radio, but the miraculous thing about this story is what Radio did for the school,” Cann wrote. “It is perhaps a lesson of which all of us need to be reminded. Because he was embraced by caring people, he was stimulated to learn. Because he was loved, he found his place in the world.”

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The San Diego Tribune notes Kennedy was known for his affection toward T.L. Hanna High School and his presence around their games dating as far back as to the 1960s.

“He was just a fine, fine man,” former T.L. Hanna football coach Harold Jones told The Independent Mail. “We all loved him. We will miss him incredibly.”

Kennedy was an unofficial 11th-grader at the school, looking to never leave like the graduating classes, becoming a staple of the school.

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The 2003 film, Radio, detailed Kennedy’s interaction with Coach Jones, played by Ed Harris. The decades of Kennedy’s tenure were compacted into a single football season but would be seen to be accurate of the relationship between the two and how the city embraces a man with developmental disabilities.

“The other 80% of the people who never met him didn’t see, but they’d have loved that about him, too,” said Josh Allen, the great-nephew of Kennedy.

Kennedy’s love for the game of football would allow him to visit practices of the Carolina PanthersClemson University’s football team – but he always had a deep love for T. L. Hanna High.

Radio received his nickname because he always was in possession of a transistor radio. He was described by area residents as a kind man who did not talk much unless it was about sports.

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“Radio was the heart and soul of T.L. Hanna for over 50 years, and the impact he made in our community can’t be overstated,” said Kyle Newton, a spokesman for Anderson School District 5 in a statement.  “He will be missed, but his legacy will live on in the countless lives he touched.”

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