Sunday, July 12, 2020
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Sex Education | Eric And His Dad | Netflix
Life can get complicated... but Eric goes through it with grace and STYLE. Black lives matter. Learn about the Black experience in America with this collection of films, series and documentaries. Watch now: https://ift.tt/3e2MVkx Watch Sex Education, Only on Netflix: https://ift.tt/39LZ9fx SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/29qBUt7 About Netflix: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 183 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. Sex Education | Eric And His Dad | Netflix https://youtube.com/Netflix Otis finally loosens up -- often and epically -- but the pressure’s on to perform as chlamydia hits the school and mates struggle with new issues.
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Life can get complicated... but Eric goes through it with grace and STYLE. Black lives matter. Learn about the Black experience in America with this collection of films, series and documentaries. Watch now: https://ift.tt/3e2MVkx Watch Sex Education, Only on Netflix: https://ift.tt/39LZ9fx SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/29qBUt7 About Netflix: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 183 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. Sex Education | Eric And His Dad | Netflix https://youtube.com/Netflix Otis finally loosens up -- often and epically -- but the pressure’s on to perform as chlamydia hits the school and mates struggle with new issues.
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Pandemic, racism compound worries about Black suicide rate
New research shows an alarming rise in Black young people trying to take their own lives
CHICAGO (AP) — Jasmin Pierre was 18 when she tried to end her life, overdosing on whatever pills she could find. Diagnosed with depression and anxiety, she survived two more attempts at suicide, which felt like the only way to stop her pain.
Years of therapy brought progress, but the 31-year-old Black woman’s journey is now complicated by a combination of stressors hitting simultaneously: isolation during the pandemic, a shortage of mental health care providers and racial trauma inflicted by repeated police killings of Black people.
“Black people who already go through mental health issues, we’re even more triggered,” said Pierre, who lives in New Orleans. “I don’t think my mental health issues have ever, ever been this bad before.”
Health experts have warned of a looming mental health crisis linked to the coronavirus outbreak, and the federal government rolled out a broad anti-suicide campaign. But doctors and researchers say the issues reverberate deeper among Black people, who’ve seen rising youth suicide attempts and suffered disproportionately during the pandemic.
Mental health advocates are calling for more specialized federal attention on Black suicides, including research funding. Counselors focusing on Black trauma are offering free help. And Black churches are finding new ways to address suicide as social distancing has eroded how people connect.
“There has been a lot of complex grief and loss related to death, related to loss of jobs and loss of income,” said Sean Joe, an expert on Black suicides at Washington University in St. Louis. “There’s a lot of hurt and pain in America going on right now, and you only are getting a sense of depth in the months ahead.”
READ MORE: New York Yankees player, Aroldis Chapman, has COVID-19
Suicides overall have increased. Roughly 48,000 people in the U.S. died by suicide in 2018, with the rate increasing 35% since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death among all ages. For ages 10 to 19, it’s second after accidents.
The rates of suicides and suicide attempts for Black adults have trailed white and Native American adults. But newer research shows an alarming rise in Black young people trying to take their own lives.
Suicide attempts rose 73% between 1991 and 2017 among Black high school students while suicidal thoughts and plans for suicide fell for all teens, according to a study published in November in the journal Pediatrics. The findings, including troubling suicide trends among Black children, prompted the Congressional Black Caucus to issue a report in December deeming the situation a crisis.
Experts say the reasons are a complex mix requiring more study.
Suicide risk factors include a diagnosis like depression or trauma or having a parent who died by suicide. Many factors are amplified for Black families, who often face higher poverty rates, disproportionate exposure to violence and less access to medical care.
The pandemic has heightened the disparities.
Black people are dying from COVID-19 at higher rates, leaving them to grieve more in isolation with restrictions on funerals and gatherings. Added to the mix is a national reckoning with racism after George Floyd’s killing.
“Dealing with racism and stereotypes and all the inequity that we have to face, it’s bandaged up,” said Arielle Sheftall, an author of the Pediatrics study. “It feels like the bandage is ripped off and everybody is looking at it and staring at it, and we are bleeding profusely.”
Part of the problem is the study of suicide remains largely white, with little race research. There’s also been a misconception of suicide as only a “white problem.”
READ MORE: AG Barr calls unfair policing of Black people a ‘widespread phenomenon’
Michigan psychologist Alton Kirk was among the first to study Black suicides in the 1970s, outlined in his 2009 book, “Black Suicide: The Tragic Reality of America’s Deadliest Secret.”
“When I first started, a lot of Black people were in denial about suicide,” he said. “We had suffered enough. We survived slavery and segregation and all this other stuff. They almost saw it as being a weakness.”
While many attitudes have changed, obstacles to health care persist.
For one, there aren’t enough mental health professionals. Also, treatment has traditionally been based on white experiences, potentially leaving some clinicians unprepared.
Each time there’s a publicized episode of police brutality against Black people, calls to the Trevor Project’s suicide-prevention lines spike immediately. The organization focuses on LGBTQ youth, including addressing racial disparities.
“You’re already starting at a different point because you spent your life fighting back racism,” said Tia Dole, the organization’s chief clinical operations officer. “People are walking around with a half-filled tank of emotional resources because of their identity.”
For suicide attempt survivors, navigating the pandemic means more uncertainty.
Kiauna Patterson, who graduated from Pennsylvania’s Edinboro University this year, tried to end her life in 2018 as she felt pressure from school and working three jobs to help support family.
Since losing university health care, she meditates daily and focuses on her goal of becoming a doula.
“You don’t really know what’s going on or what’s going to happen,” she said. “You’re taking each day, just one at a time, to try and grasp some type of control or calmness.”
Pierre, who uses her experiences to counsel others, doesn’t want people struggling alone. She created The Safe Place, a free Black-oriented mental health app that’s seen more signups during the pandemic.
Others are also trying to fill care gaps.
Donna Barnes, who runs the National Organization For People of Color Against Suicide, plans a free online support group. After losing her son to suicide in 1990, she noticed a lack of resources for Black families and started the organization.
“It took me four years before I could smile again,” Barnes said. “It wasn’t easy. My friends and family didn’t know what to do with me.”
Trinity United Church of Christ, an influential Black church once attended by former President Barack Obama, has met increased need in Chicago with Zoom chats and calls.
The Rev. Otis Moss III used a recent podcast to discuss his sister’s suicide, which occurred before his wedding in the 1990s.
He called it an effective medium as people remain isolated with services canceled. Moss said it took years to talk openly about his sister’s schizophrenia and to stop blaming himself.
“It is an appropriate time to let people know there are many people who are walking the same road they are walking,” he said. “I found how to punch holes in the darkness and witness light shine through.”
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The post Pandemic, racism compound worries about Black suicide rate appeared first on TheGrio.
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Introducing the First Black Woman-Owned Skateboard Company
Founded by artist Latosha Stone in 2013, the skateboarding lifestyle brand Proper Gnar is experiencing a precipitous rise in popularity and product orders following its recent feature on performing artist BeyoncĂ© Knowles’ Black Parade Directory of Black Owned Businesses. Posted on Juneteenth 2020, the list of small businesses features entrepreneurs who use their Black excellence as a form of protest and activism.
Additionally, Stone’s skateboards were recently featured on HBO’s TV show about skater girls called “Betty.” The underground brand’s new line of colorful, creative, and original skateboards average $55-$60 each and can be ordered on the company’s website along with the artist’s own unique artwork prints, accessories, and apparel. The products are created with teen girls and young women in mind who love to skate or who are into alternative and subversive fashion.
“Skateboarding has traditionally been a man’s sport, which is why I am so passionate about my role as a black woman who challenges past assumptions and shows that skateboarding is for all of us. I take pride in creating authentic and beautiful art that stands out from other skate brands,” says founder Latosha Stone. “I live and breathe skating and art, and I think that is reflected in the work I produce.”
The artist contributes to bringing more women to the sport through her sponsorship of women skateboarders that are all too often overlooked by larger companies. “I believe that representation is the key to having more young girls interested in skating,” Stone says. “Genuinely loving skateboarding means you have to advocate and support it when you can.”
To learn more about Proper Gnar or to view her line of skateboards, hats, hoodies, patches, t-shirts, art prints, and more, please visit ProperGnar.com
About the Company:
Proper Gnar is the only Black woman-owned skateboarding company in the market today. Founder and artist Latosha Stone channels her genuine love for skateboarding into creating custom skateboards, clothing, and art prints that are unlike any other brans.
For media inquiries, please contact info@propergnar.com or (937) 417-4094.
This article was written by BlackNews.com.
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Tori Miller Becomes First Female G League General Manager After Being Promoted by College Park Skyhawks
In a major first, The Atlanta Hawks and its NBA G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, have announced that they have promoted Tori Miller to the title of general manager of the Skyhawks. With the move, she becomes the first woman to hold the title of general manager in the history of the NBA G League.
Miller, who has been the assistant general manager of the Skyhawks for almost a year, started working in that position on July 30, 2019. She began her tenure with the organization as manager of Basketball Operations three seasons ago while with the Erie BayHawks.
The University of Miami graduate is a native of Decatur, Georgia, and has spent time as a Basketball Operations intern for the Phoenix Suns prior to her time in the G League.
Last year, she explained to NBA.com what kept her going in her rising career. “It’s pretty simple. My motivation is that I believe in making the impossible possible. I think that mindset creates opportunities. That’s what I always revert back to and keep fighting. I know I want to be a game-changer,” she said. “You have to believe in making the impossible possible.”
She also knows that her success will build a bridge for others to follow behind her. “It means the world. I didn’t realize the magnitude. I receive about 10 or so messages every two weeks from girls looking to break in. They let me know that they see me and it means the world to know that I’m making an impact on their lives,” she pointed out. “That’s something that motivates me because it’ll be easier for the next girl that sends out her rĂ©sumĂ© for that basketball operations internship. It won’t be thrown out because she’s a girl. I can be someone who can break the mold and create a path for others looking to break in.”
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Black Male Nail Technician Defies Odds, Enters Billion Dollar Nail Industry
Only 2% of nail salon workers are Black and almost all of them are women, but 29-year old Darnell Atkins, a nail technician from the Washington, DC area wants to change that. Known as Nen10doe on social media, Darnell is defying gender norms to get his piece of the multi-billion dollar industry.
He says that he got his start after returning home from serving in the Navy and facing the difficulty of finding a job. “I resorted back to a couple of hustles,” Atkins told WUSA-9. “But in the midst of me resorting back, I always found myself in front of a Black-owned nail salon. All the hustlers would gravitate towards this area because that is where all the pretty girls were.”
When he learned how profitable manicures and pedicures could be (up to $70 per customer), he soon found himself in training. Before long, he had become a certified nail technician. According to his web site, he provides “a nail experience that promotes natural nail growth while bringing your creativity and personality to life.”
Because so many people have never heard of or seen an African American man working as a nail technician before, people are so impressed with Darnell and have been supporting his business. In fact, many women love the idea that he is defying gender norms. Some even say he’s the best nail technician they know of.
Meanwhile, Darnell is enjoying the newfound fame and says his goal is “to inspire other Black men to pursue things they are interested in without feeling ashamed.”
Follow Darnell on Instagram @Nen10doe or book an appointment with him on his web site.
This article was written by BlackBusiness.com.
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Public Relations Expert Gwendolyn Quinn Thrives As a Global Communicator
The public relations game can swallow you if you don’t have the passion to make things exceptional, particularly for your clientele. But when your first major client is Aretha Franklin, it’s safe to say that you’re on the path to success.
Gwendolyn Quinn has been in the entertainment industry for over 25 years and continues to lead with passion. She had previously launched the platform Global Communicator, which featured various behind-the-scenes communications professionals who would otherwise not be acknowledged. Now with the changes in the world taking place, Quinn felt it was time to relaunch the brand to showcase those who are continuously working for the good of their companies and clients.
Quinn spoke to BLACK ENTERPRISE about the purpose of her work.
What has changed for you and your approach to continue to carry the passion to do the work you do?
I’ve been in the entertainment industry for more than 25 years. In 2001, I started GQ Media and Public Relations, now renamed Gwendolyn Quinn Public Relations.
The majority of my clientele was made up of recording artists. The recording industry started its shift to more advanced digital technology, which eventually led to a decline in record sales.
In 2002, my first marquee client was Aretha Franklin, who I worked with at Arista Records. I was fortunate that I had already started building relationships beyond the music and entertainment industries.
As a result of the diverse list of clients and projects that I obtained, my media contacts expanded outside of entertainment, which presented opportunities for our clients.
I hope to continue to take on projects that I am passionate about and expand my client’s media presence. I still get excited when I see my clients secure earned and unexpected media.
You’ve just relaunched Global Communicator magazine. What led you to relaunch the brand and what should we anticipate with the current edition?
In 2004, I launched Global Communicator. The publication was a brand extension of the African American Public Relations Collection (AAPRC), a former community of Black PR professionals across various professions.
I relaunched the premiere issue on June 17. The e-publication features publicists, journalists, marketing and advertising executives, and content creators. We will continue to highlight professionals in the areas of social justice, race relations, criminal justice reform, healthcare, and the upcoming elections.
There is a powerful group of Black PR professionals in a wide range of fields including politics, corporate, education, entertainment, sports, performing arts, fine/visual arts, book and magazine publishing, fashion and beauty, community relations/public affairs, healthcare, government, non-profit, faith-based, and special events.
When I looked back on what I helped to create more than 15 years ago, I realized that not much has changed regarding the state of Black PR professionals. Though many PR representatives’ careers have grown, we are still not considered for key jobs and projects across a wide range of professions.
My purpose for relaunching Global Communicator is to document our stories. Many of us have known each other for decades, and then there are others who only have a peripheral viewpoint of each other. I want people to read about the top communications experts, and learn from them, and be inspired. Legacy matters.
With the current state of the world, how has the surrounding atmosphere affected the way you do business?
I have been working from my home office since I closed my doors in New York nearly 10 years ago, so not much has changed in the way I conduct day-to-day business. I love my work-at-home set up because I can set my schedule accordingly. And though there are changes in how business and events are conducted due to the pandemic, the news cycle never stops.
The resurgence of racial relations and the #BlackLivesMatter movement has brought civil rights and social justice issues front and center. It’s good to witness how many corporations want to seek change and are making an effort toward equity, diversity, and inclusion, but only time will reveal the outcome.
What suggestions and advice would you give to anyone who wants to become a successful entrepreneur?
I often said I should write a book for entrepreneurs on “What Not to Do When Starting a Business.” Starting a business is one of the best things that has happened to me, I never saw myself as an entrepreneur. After I formed my company in 2001, the first seven years, I said countless times, “I can’t do this. I need to find a job.”
Though starting my company was daunting at times, I did like the freedom of having control of my time. I had the freedom to explore and pursue creative ideas with my clients that I probably would have never been able to pursue if I was still in a structured corporate environment. As an independent firm, we secured several book deals, marketing opportunities and corporate partnership deals, and concert tours for our clients.
I do, however, recommend that potential entrepreneurs read books on how to start a business, and read Black Enterprise and other business publications; and attend business conferences and seek out mentors.
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Pandas Groupby and Sum
A common step in data analysis is to group the data by a variable and compute some summary statistics each subgroup of data. For example, one might be interested in mean, median values, or total sum per group. In this post, we will see an example of how to use groupby() function in Pandas to group a dataframe into multiple smaller dataframes and compute total/sum on another variable.
Let us load the libraries we need.
import pandas as pd import numpy as np
We will use gapminder dataset to learn groupby() and sum() functions to summarise data at a group level.
p2data = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cmdlinetips/data/master/gapminder-FiveYearData.csv" gapminder=pd.read_csv(p2data) gapminder.head()
Let us first subset the data for the sake of simplicity. Here we filter data for year values 2007 using Pandas filter() function.
df= gapminder.query("year==2007")
df.head()
With the data corresponding to the year 2007, let us compute total population in each continent. In order to do that, we first need to use groupby() to group the data corresponding to each continent.
df.groupby(["continent"]) <pandas.core.groupby.generic.DataFrameGroupBy object at 0x1a19c9c850>
From the grouped object, let us select our variable of interest. Since we are interested in computing total population, we select “pop”
df.groupby(["continent"])['pop'] <pandas.core.groupby.generic.SeriesGroupBy object at 0x1a19cc1590>
And chain it with sum() function in Pandas that computes the total population for each continent.
df.groupby(["continent"])['pop'].sum()
Here we have results as Pandas Series with total population for each continent computed by groupby() and sum().
continent Africa 9.295397e+08 Americas 8.988712e+08 Asia 3.811954e+09 Europe 5.860985e+08 Oceania 2.454995e+07 Name: pop, dtype: float64
This post is part of the series on Pandas 101, a tutorial covering tips and tricks on using Pandas for data munging and analysis.
The post Pandas Groupby and Sum appeared first on Python and R Tips.
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Saturday, July 11, 2020
Protests Erupt in Detroit Following Fatal Police Shooting of 20-Year-Old Hakim Littleton
Police officers arrested eight people during a protest in Detroit Friday night over the police shooting of a 20-year-old black man.
Chaos broke out in the neighborhood of San Juan near McNichols Road on the city’s northwest side as dozens of people began yelling at police and throwing bricks and bottles at them following the fatal shooting of Hakim Littleton, reports The New York Post. Two officers were injured.
Police Chief James Craig said the shooting was justified, noting that police dashcam video apparently shows that Littleton pulled a gun out of his pocket, aimed at an officer, and opened fire, the Detroit Free Press reported. In response, three officers returned fire. Littleton was pronounced dead shortly after. The dash cam footage was released earlier on Friday.
Craig said messages on social media incited the protest by misleading the public into believing Littleton was unarmed. “We needed to get the facts out,” he said. “It’s always tragic when a police officer has to use force.” Craig added, “This knee-jerk reaction to not knowing facts is a problem … It’s to incite others.”
Police say Littleton’s family has accepted the account given by police. “They weren’t happy,” Craig said, “but they believed what we said, and I greatly appreciate that.”
He went on to explain why Littleton opened fire on the officers. “When Mr. Littleton was walking in the opposite direction, he heard that his friend was being detained, then he walked toward the officers,” Craig told reporters. “Some comments were made. He was angry about his friend being arrested, and that’s when he pulled out his weapon.”
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan agreed that the shooting was justified based on the video. “Public confidence requires citizens to be able to judge for themselves the actions of our officers. The video is clear that the officer was suddenly and unexpectedly fired upon. I commend Chief Craig for moving so quickly to release the video publicly,” Duggan said.
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A wizard of ultrasharp imaging
Though Frances Ross and her sister Caroline Ross both ended up on the faculty of MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, they got there by quite different pathways. While Caroline followed a more traditional academic route and has spent most of her career at MIT, Frances Ross spent most of her professional life working in the industrial sector, as a microscopy specialist at IBM. It wasn’t until 2018 that she arrived at MIT to oversee the new state-of-the-art electron microscope systems being installed in the new MIT.nano facility.
Frances, who bears a strong family resemblance to her sister, says “it’s confused a few people, if they don’t know there are two of us.”
The sisters grew up in London in a strongly science- and materials-oriented family. Her father, who worked first as a scientist and then as a lawyer, is currently working on his third PhD degree, in classics. Her mother, a gemologist, specializes in precisely matching diamonds, and oversees certification testing for the profession.
After earning her doctorate at Cambridge University in materials science, specializing in electron microscopy, Frances Ross went on to do a postdoc at Bell Labs in New Jersey, and then to the National Center for Electron Microscopy at the University of California at Berkeley. From there she continued her work in electron microscopy at IBM in Yorktown Heights, New York, where she spent 20 years working on development and application of electron microscope technology to studying crystal growth.
When MIT built its new cutting-edge nanotechnology fabrication and analysis facility, MIT.nano, it was clear that state-of-the-art microscope technology would need to be a key feature of the new center. That’s when Ross was hired as a professor, along with Professor Jim LeBeau and Research Scientist Rami Dana, who had an academic and industrial research background, to oversee the creation, development, and application of those microscopes for the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE) and the wider MIT community.
“Currently, our students have to go to other places to do high-performance microscopy, so they might go to Harvard, or one of the national labs,” says Ross, who is the Ellen Swallow Richards Professor in Materials Science and Engineering. “Very many advances in the instrumentation have come together over the last few years, so that if your equipment is a little older, it’s actually a big disadvantage in electron microcopy. This is an area where MIT had not invested for a little while, and therefore, once they made that decision, the jump is going to be very significant. We’re going to have a state-of-the-art imaging capability.”
There will be two major electron microscope systems for materials science, which are gradually taking shape inside the vibration-isolated basement level of MIT.nano, alongside two others already installed that are specialized for biomedical imaging.
One of these will be an advanced version of a standard electron microscope, she says, that will have a unique combination of features. “There is nothing that exists with the capabilities that we are aiming for here.”
The most important of these, she says, is the quality of the vacuum inside the microscope: “In most of our experiments, we want to start with a surface that’s atomically clean.” For example, “we could start with atomically clean silicon, and then add some germanium. How do the germanium atoms add onto the silicon surface? That’s a very important question for microelectronics. But if the sample is in an environment that’s not well-controlled, then the results you get will depend on how dirty the vacuum is. Contamination may affect the process, and you can’t be sure that what you’re seeing is what happens in real life.” Ross is working with the manufacturers to reach exceptional levels of cleanliness in the vacuum of the electron microscope system being developed now.
But ultra-high-quality vacuum is just one of its attributes. “We combine the good vacuum with capabilities to heat the sample, and flow gases, and record images at high speed,” Ross says. “Perhaps most importantly for a lot of our experiments, we use lower-energy electrons to do the imaging, because for many interesting materials like 2D materials, such as graphene, boron nitride, and related structures, the high-energy electrons that are normally used will damage the sample.”
Putting that all together, she says, “is a unique instrument that will give us real insights into surface reactions, crystal growth processes, materials transformations, catalysis, all kinds of reactions involving nanostructure formation and chemistry on the surfaces of 2D materials.”
Other instruments and capabilities are also being added to MIT’s microscopy portfolio. A new scanning transmission electron microscope is already installed in MIT.nano and is providing high-resolution structural and chemical analysis of samples for several projects at MIT. Another new capability is a special sample holder that allows researchers to make movies of unfolding processes in water or other liquids in the microscope. This allows detailed monitoring, at up to 100 frames per second, of a variety of phenomena, such as solution-phase growth, unfolding chemical reactions, or electrochemical processes such as battery charging and discharging. Making movies of processes taking place in water, she says, “is something of a new field for electron microscopy.”
Ross already has set up an ultra-high vacuum electron microscope in DMSE but without the resolution and low-voltage operation of the new instrument. And finally, an ultra-high vacuum scanning tunneling microscope has just started to produce images and will measure current flow through nanoscale materials.
In their free time, Ross and her husband Brian enjoy sailing, mostly off the coast of Maine, with their two children, Kathryn and Eric. As a hobby she collects samples of beach sand. “I have a thousand different kinds of sand from various places, and a lot of them from Massachusetts,” she says. “Everywhere I go, that’s my souvenir.”
But with her intense focus on developing this new world-class microscopy facility, there’s little time for anything else these days. Her aim is to ensure that it’s the best facility possible.
“I’m hoping that MIT becomes a center for electron microscopy,” she says. “You know, with all the interesting materials science and physics that goes on here, it matches up very well with this unique instrumentation, this high-quality combination of imaging and analysis. These unique characterization capabilities really complement the rest of the science that happens here.”
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New York Yankees player, Aroldis Chapman, has COVID-19
Despite some players testing positive for COVID-19, the MLB is expected to resume
Afro-Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman has COVID-19, and it is unclear if he will ever play again.
One of the New York Yankees’ prominent pitchers, and one of the fastest pitchers in Major League Baseball history, Chapman, 32, is out of the game according to the organization’s manager, Aaron Boone.
READ MORE: Ian Desmond calls out MLB for racism as he opts out of 2020 season
In a Zoom call on Saturday, Boone announced Chapman’s COVID-19 test results were positive, showing “mild symptoms” of the disease, The New York Daily News reported.
Boone, however, has decline to answer specific questions about Chapman’s health.
The Daily News reports that Chapman passed the league’s intake screening for the coronavirus on July 1, which could imply that his contracted the dieases as early as last Thursday, the Yankees last test.
Chapman, carrying the disease, was at the team’s training campsite, unwittingly exposing fellow players.
Boone seems to be unfazed.
“Right now we feel like we’re doing a good job of managing,” Boone said. “I feel like we’re following all protocols. We have not had any other positive tests.”
READ MORE: A long-overdue ‘Tip of the Cap’ to baseball’s Black pioneers
Aaron Hicks, a center fielder for the Yankees, joined Boone’s Zoom call and reacted to the news.
“It’s tough especially when it comes to a teammate of yours they just test positive,” said Hicks, who like Chapman, joined the Yankees in 2016. “But you know, it just proves how safe we gotta be within our little bubble.”
Chapman is the third Yankees player to contract COVID-19 – DJ LeMahieu, the team’s second baseman who has been called best player during last season, and fellow Latino pitcher Luis Cessa tested positive.
The MLB is expected to have its 2020 season with a shorter schedule, The Associated Press reported. The opening game starts with the match between Yankees and last year’s World Series champion, Washington Nationals.
As theGrio previously reported, infielder and outfielder for the Colorado Rockies Ian Desmond has chosen to opt-out of the 2020 season and called out the MLB for their lack of diversity.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s new podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
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Reparations bill gains traction amid national protests
The death of George Floyd has helped to reignite the discussion about reparations.
The case for reparations for descendants of slaves has long been debated, but the H.R. 40 bill may finally make reparations a reality.
H.R. 40, if passed, would study what the federal government owes the descendants of slaves, and explore ways to repay that debt.
The Black Lives Matter movement and calls for racial equality have pushed the bill, which was introduced in January of 2019, into the limelight once more.
The death of George Floyd has helped to reignite the discussion. As you may remember, Floyd was killed in May when a group of officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, held him down, while another kneeled on his neck for nearly 9 minutes.
Not too long afterwards, the California Assembly passed a bill to establish a task force to determine reparation proposals for African Americans. This California bill was similar to the federal bill H.R. 40, and this renewed conversation ignited calls for the federal mandate to be passed.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D) Texas sponsored bill H.R. 40, also known as the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act.
READ MORE: Rectifying HR 40: The prelude to Black reparations in the 21st century
Last week, the Congressional Black Caucus met to discuss the bill and what it can mean moving forward.
“There is no better time for H.R. 40 to be part of the national dialogue, and part of the national legislative response,” Rep. Jackson Lee said.
The “40” is a reference to the 40 acres of land promised, but never fully delivered, to former slaves by Union Army general, William Sherman, in 1865. Sherman’s promise was not fulfilled by President Andrew Johnson or by President Abraham Lincoln’s successor.
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Social media thinks Wayfair is part of a child trafficking operation
The conspiracy is being compared to Pizzagate, a theory that linked Hilary Clinton’s 2016 campaign to a pizzeria accused of human trafficking.
Wayfair, the American online furniture retailer, is being accused of child trafficking and money laundering.
A post on a subreddit called r/conspiracy showed products like cabinets and pillows with the names of missing children, being sold for thousands of dollars – seemingly much more than they are worth.
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One Reddit user theorized that the missing children’s names matched the product names of several Wayfair storage cabinets, and that people were paying for the children through the website, the Courier Daily reported.
Samiyah Mumun, Samara Duplessis, Yaritza Castro, Cameron James Dziedzic, Mary Durett, and Kylah Coleman are the names of missing children, and the first names are used by the site.
The cabinets named “Neriah,” “Yaritza,” “Samiyah,” and “Alyvia,” were being prices at about $13,000 each, Gizmondo reported.
The conspiracy is being compared to #Pizzagate, a debunked right-wing conspiracy that linked Hilary Clinton’s 2016 campaign to a pizzeria that was accused of human trafficking. children in the basement.
The rumors on missing children being trafficked at Wayfair’s warehouses are already being debunked as many names flowing around the controversy are children that have already been found.
Mumin was missing last month, but she was found in her hometown, the Courier Daily reported.
Duplessis, a 13-year-old girl from Michigan, is another missing person who was safely recovered.
Dziedzic was found by the police, in April 2, 2020 in Calvert County.
Durett, 16, went missing in the Hermann Park on December 14, 2017, but she was found one week later.
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In an email to Newsweek, a Wayfair spokeswoman has denied the accusations, saying, “There is, of course, no truth to these claims.”
“The products in question are industrial grade cabinets that are accurately priced. Recognizing that the photos and descriptions provided by the supplier did not adequately explain the high price point,” the spokeswoman said. “We have temporarily removed the products from the site to rename them and to provide a more in-depth description and photos that accurately depict the product to clarify the price point.”
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Black woman harassed for sitting on a church’s lawn
The church claims that the incident was not handled in a way that is representative of the church or the school.
Alex Marshall-Brown, an actress and stunt performer, says she was harassed after sitting on the lawn of St. Paul’s First Lutheran Church.
A pair of security guards on bikes advised her that someone called to complain about her presence on the property and that if she didn’t leave, it was likely that the police would get involved.
Marshall-Brown stood her ground and didn’t bother leaving.
“I said that was an unusual choice considering I was a person sitting on grass,” Marshall-Brown said. That’s when she noticed a woman looking at her from a school window affiliated with the church.
Shortly after that, a woman came out of the school and checked the locks of the church. If that wasn’t enough, two men came out with no trespassing signs.
The incident was captured by Marshall-Brown through a Facebook live video. In the five-minute video, a man with a drill can be seen telling Marshall-Brown she’s on private property and that they’ve had “problems” with people in the past.
She presses him, asking if she poses a threat to them as they continue to put up the sign. “We have to treat everybody the same — all lives matter,” he says at one point.
“I said nothing about any lives, sir,” she responds.
READ MORE: Walmart to stop sales of ‘All Lives Matter’ merchandise
After the incident, St. Paul’s First Lutheran Church put out a statement on Facebook saying in part, “Marshall-Brown, who was sitting under a tree on church property, was asked to leave, as she was sitting on private property. After initial interaction with church personnel, Marshall-Brown started recording when the two men posted no trespassing signs near where she was sitting. It is the position of St. Paul’s First Lutheran Church and School that Marshall-Brown posed no risk or threat to the property and that this incident was not handled in a way representative of the church or the school.”
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The Very Best Friendship Tips In Dead To Me | Netflix
Making new friends as an adult is tough. Losing your husband in a freak accident? Also tough. Unfortunately for Jen Harding (Christina Applegate), she’s dealing with both at the same time. Luckily, she might just have found a new partner in crime in Judy Hale (Linda Cardellini), a hippie with a few skeletons stashed in the back of her VW Van. Can a story straight out of a true crime podcast be the beginning of a true friendship? This is the part where we say, well… you’ll have to watch to find out. Watch their friendship blossom (or wilt) in the second season of Dead to Me, the Netflix dark comedy series that earned Applegate a primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Missed the first season? No problem. It’s all available, you guessed it, here on Netflix. Check out the first two seasons of the black comedy created by Liz Feldman and executively produced by Feldman, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Jessica Elbaum. Watch Dead to Me, Only on Netflix: https://ift.tt/2ChnPQS SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/29qBUt7 About Netflix: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 183 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. Dead To Me: The Best Friendship Tips | Netflix https://youtube.com/Netflix Jen and Judy are not OK. Not even a little. With their lives spinning out of control, they're clinging to each other — and their secrets.
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Making new friends as an adult is tough. Losing your husband in a freak accident? Also tough. Unfortunately for Jen Harding (Christina Applegate), she’s dealing with both at the same time. Luckily, she might just have found a new partner in crime in Judy Hale (Linda Cardellini), a hippie with a few skeletons stashed in the back of her VW Van. Can a story straight out of a true crime podcast be the beginning of a true friendship? This is the part where we say, well… you’ll have to watch to find out. Watch their friendship blossom (or wilt) in the second season of Dead to Me, the Netflix dark comedy series that earned Applegate a primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Missed the first season? No problem. It’s all available, you guessed it, here on Netflix. Check out the first two seasons of the black comedy created by Liz Feldman and executively produced by Feldman, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Jessica Elbaum. Watch Dead to Me, Only on Netflix: https://ift.tt/2ChnPQS SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/29qBUt7 About Netflix: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 183 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. Dead To Me: The Best Friendship Tips | Netflix https://youtube.com/Netflix Jen and Judy are not OK. Not even a little. With their lives spinning out of control, they're clinging to each other — and their secrets.
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‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ top writer resigns after sexist, racist online comments uncovered
Blake Neff for years frequented a racist online forum to air his thoughts under a pseudonym
Fox News‘ “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” the top-rated cable news show, just lost its top writer.
Blake Neff has resigned from his post after it was discovered that he had been posting sexist and racially offensive commentary on online forums under an alias.
CNN Business reports that Neff under a pseudonym for years participated in online forums where he would create and respond to racist threads.
Many of the threads live on AutoAdmit, a messaging board also known as XOXOhth that has little moderation. The posts in question are attributed to the username CharlesXII, Neff’s pseudonym.
Autoadmit, which is frequented by lawyers and law school students, has been the subject of lawsuits due to threatening language.
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One recent thread was titled, “Would u let a JET BLACK congo n****er do lasik eye surgery on u for 50% off?”
Neff replied: “I wouldn’t get LASIK from an Asian for free, so no.”
In a 2015 post, he referred to a woman he knew via Facebook as an “Azn megashrew,” mocking the woman’s dating life as recently as last month, the CNN report said. The thread led to over 1,000 comments of vulgarity and sexist remarks toward the woman.
On June 5, one user commented on a thread saying: “Didn’t Michael Brown rob a store and attack a police officer? And wasn’t [George Floyd] a piece of sh** with a long criminal record? Jfc libs.” Another user responded with “It doesn’t matter to these people,” to which Neff replied, “It does. The violent criminals are even MORE heroic.”
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Neff began writing for Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show in February 2017. Prior to that, he had worked for Carlson’s conservative news outlet The Daily Caller. During his tenure, “Tucker Carlson Tonight” became the highest-rated cable news show in TV history.
His resignation was confirmed by a Fox News spokesperson.
Carlson has yet to comment on the situation.
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Protesters accuse Louisville mayor of gentrification during housing project ribbon-cutting ceremony
Mayor Greg Fischer remains under tense scrutiny by the community after the killing of Breonna Taylor
Louisville, Ky. Mayor Greg Fischer can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to his leadership.
Fischer, who continues to be criticized for the handling of the investigation into the shooting death of 26-year-old EMT worker Breonna Taylor in her bed by police, on Friday faced another challenge as dozens of protesters confronted him at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a housing project in the western part of the city, WLKY-TV reports.
“Fire! Fire! Gentrifier!” the protesters shouted at the event commemorating the completion of the affordable housing complex.
It didn’t take long for a few of them to confront the mayor about their dismay over the project, but he did not engage them.
Housing Partnership Inc., a nonprofit real estate development organization behind the $2.9 million development, says the Montgomery Apartments are for families whose incomes are below 80% of the area median income. The apartment complex offers 9 two-bedroom apartments and 15 three-bedroom apartments. The protests were caught on the organization’s live stream of the event.
One protester, however, exclaimed that the apartments are not affordable for the Portland neighborhood’s residents, the CBS-affiliate noted.
In the videos, Fischer can be seen walking away as protesters continue chanting. Protesters eventually left the area and marched through the streets.
After leaving the event, the mayor’s office released a statement about the housing complex.
“Affordable housing is a critical component of our economic development strategy and our racial equity work – and it is the opposite of gentrification,” the statement read adding that Fischer has “consistently advocated” for peaceful protests against systemic racism and is “committed to restoring public trust” in the face of a racial reckoning.
“We appreciate the great work done by non-profit partners like HPI and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. They’re helping close the gap between supply and demand in housing for our neediest neighbors, an important step on the important journey toward racial and economic equity in Louisville,” it said.
Some people believe there is a direct link between the development of the Russell neighborhood and the shooting death of Taylor.
Fischer called the linkage between “Vision Russell” and Taylor’s death outrageous and nefarious.
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Every Werewolf In The Order | Netflix
Kick back and relax with Jack and the crew as we recount every werewolf from The Order! Watch The Order, Only on Netflix: https://ift.tt/2Wd2Zt0 SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/29qBUt7 About Netflix: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 183 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. Every Werewolf In The Order | Netflix https://youtube.com/Netflix At Belgrave University, the bad blood between werewolves and magicians reaches a breaking point — until a greater evil threatens to destroy them all.
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Kick back and relax with Jack and the crew as we recount every werewolf from The Order! Watch The Order, Only on Netflix: https://ift.tt/2Wd2Zt0 SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/29qBUt7 About Netflix: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 183 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. Every Werewolf In The Order | Netflix https://youtube.com/Netflix At Belgrave University, the bad blood between werewolves and magicians reaches a breaking point — until a greater evil threatens to destroy them all.
View on YouTube
Trump insists he ‘aced’ recent cognitive tests; White House won’t confirm news
President Donald Trump, without evidence, attempts to draw a contrast between his fall challenger Joe Biden
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he recently took a battery of cognitive tests and passed them with flying colors.
The White House, however, has not confirmed when the exams were conducted or whether such tests even took place, according to reporting from The New York Times.
The president appeared on Sean Hannity‘s primetime Fox News show Thursday evening to describe the mental acuity tests he took “very recently” while at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Trump said that he “aced” the reviews.
This is an apparent method to distinguish himself from Joe Biden, his presumptive opponent in the 2020 election this November.
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“I actually took one when I — very recently, when I — when I was — the radical left were saying, is he all there? Is he all there? And I proved I was all there, because I got — I aced it. I aced the test,” Trump told Hannity, before suggesting Biden follow suit.
“And he should take the same exact test, a very standard test. I took it at Walter Reed Medical Center in front of doctors,” the president continued. “And they were very surprised. They said, ‘that’s an unbelievable thing. Rarely does anybody do what you just did.’ But he should take that same test.”
The President, 74, is using his campaign platform to enunciate that Biden, 77, isn’t mentally fit to be commander in chief of the United States.
READ MORE: GOP senators pull out of RNC; strategist says Republicans are ‘fed up’ with Trump
White House physician Dr. Sean Conley gave the President his most recent examination and stated that “the data indicates the president remains healthy.”
Former White House physician Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, who gave the president an annual exam in 2018, indicated that he had taken the Montreal Cognitive Assessment at the time to check for “mild cognitive dysfunction.”
Dr. Jackson stated that Trump scored a 30 out of 30 and that there is “no reason whatsoever to think the president has any issues whatsoever with his thought processes.”
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