Ex-Pence aide voting for Biden due to Trump’s ‘disregard for human life’

Olive Troye says she’s endorsing Joe Biden because ‘we are at a time of constitutional crisis.’

A former top aide to Vice President Mike Pence is speaking out about President Donald Trump‘s response to the COVID-19 contagion, alleging “he doesn’t care about anyone but himself.” 

Olive Troye is a lifelong Republican who served as a homeland security adviser to Pence and his lead staffer on the White House’s coronavirus task force. She plans on voting for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden after witnessing first hand Trump’s handling of the pandemic that has killed over 200,000 Americans. 

Troye recalls one task force meeting when Trump suggested COVID-19 was “a good thing” because “I don’t like shaking hands with people. I don’t have to shake hands with these disgusting people.”

The “disgusting people” he referred to are the “same people that he claims to care about,” she said in an interview, The Washington Post reports.

Read More: Trump White House blocked effort to mail every US household face masks

“These are the people still going to his rallies today who have complete faith in who he is. If the president had taken this virus seriously, or if he had actually made an effort to tell how serious it was, he would have slowed the virus spread, he would have saved lives,” Troye added.

Troye left the White House in late July. 

“Towards the middle of February, we knew it wasn’t a matter of if Covid would become a big pandemic here, it was a matter of when,” she said. 

She is endorsing Biden because “I truly believe we are at a time of constitutional crisis. At this point it’s country over party.”

Meanwhile, the White House refute Troye’s claims and note that she didn’t raise objections while working for this administration.

President Trump told reporters on Thursday that he did not know Troye and believes she was coerced into making her remarks.

“Every time somebody leaves government — 99% of the time I’m not going to know these people. And they leave on a basis of almost like it’s a personal thing with me,” Trump said. 

“Ms. Troye is a former detailee and a career Department of Homeland Security staff member, who is disgruntled that her detail was cut short because she was no longer capable of keeping up with her day-to-day duties,” retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Pence’s national security adviser, said in a statement.

“Ms. Troye directly reported to me, and never once during her detail did she ever express any concern regarding the Administration’s response to the Coronavirus to anyone in her chain of command. By not expressing her concerns, she demonstrated an incredible lack of moral courage,” Kellogg added.

Pence also condemend his former aide.

“I haven’t read her comments in any detail, but it reads to me like one more disgruntled employee who’s left the White House and now has decided to play politics during an election year,” Pence said. “I think my staff has indicated that she made no comments like that when she was serving on our team here at the White House coronavirus task force.” 

Troye, who took a job at the National Insurance Crime Bureau when she left the Trump administration, endorsed Biden in the video released Thursday, CNN reports. Despite being a staunch conservative, she did not vote for Trump in 2016 because she disliked his divisive rhetoric.

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Engineers produce a fisheye lens that’s completely flat

To capture panoramic views in a single shot, photographers typically use fisheye lenses — ultra-wide-angle lenses made from multiple pieces of curved glass, which distort incoming light to produce wide, bubble-like images. Their spherical, multipiece design makes fisheye lenses inherently bulky and often costly to produce.

Now engineers at MIT and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell have designed a wide-angle lens that is completely flat. It is the first flat fisheye lens to produce crisp, 180-degree panoramic images. The design is a type of “metalens,” a wafer-thin material patterned with microscopic features that work together to manipulate light in a specific way.

In this case, the new fisheye lens consists of a single flat, millimeter-thin piece of glass covered on one side with tiny structures that precisely scatter incoming light to produce panoramic images, just as a conventional curved, multielement fisheye lens assembly would. The lens works in the infrared part of the spectrum, but the researchers say it could be modified to capture images using visible light as well.

The new design could potentially be adapted for a range of applications, with thin, ultra-wide-angle lenses built directly into smartphones and laptops, rather than physically attached as bulky add-ons. The low-profile lenses might also be integrated into medical imaging devices such as endoscopes, as well as in virtual reality glasses, wearable electronics, and other computer vision devices.

“This design comes as somewhat of a surprise, because some have thought it would be impossible to make a metalens with an ultra-wide-field view,” says Juejun Hu, associate professor in MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering. “The fact that this can actually realize fisheye images is completely outside expectation.

This isn’t just light-bending — it’s mind-bending.”

Hu and his colleagues have published their results today in the journal Nano Letters. Hu’s MIT coauthors are Mikhail Shalaginov, Fan Yang, Peter Su, Dominika Lyzwa, Anuradha Agarwal, and Tian Gu, along with Sensong An and Hualiang Zhang of UMass Lowell.

Design on the back side

Metalenses, while still largely at an experimental stage, have the potential to significantly reshape the field of optics. Previously, scientists have designed metalenses that produce high-resolution and relatively wide-angle images of up to 60 degrees. To expand the field of view further would traditionally require additional optical components to correct for aberrations, or blurriness — a workaround that would add bulk to a metalens design.

Hu and his colleagues instead came up with a simple design that does not require additional components and keeps a minimum element count. Their new metalens is a single transparent piece made from calcium fluoride with a thin film of lead telluride deposited on one side. The team then used lithographic techniques to carve a pattern of optical structures into the film.

Each structure, or “meta-atom,” as the team refers to them, is shaped into one of several nanoscale geometries, such as a rectangular or a bone-shaped configuration, that refracts light in a specific way. For instance, light may take longer to scatter, or propagate off one shape versus another — a phenomenon known as phase delay.

In conventional fisheye lenses, the curvature of the glass naturally creates a distribution of phase delays that ultimately produces a panoramic image. The team determined the corresponding pattern of meta-atoms and carved this pattern into the back side of the flat glass.

‘We’ve designed the back side structures in such a way that each part can produce a perfect focus,” Hu says.

On the front side, the team placed an optical aperture, or opening for light.

“When light comes in through this aperture, it will refract at the first surface of the glass, and then will get angularly dispersed,” Shalaginov explains. “The light will then hit different parts of the backside, from different and yet continuous angles. As long as you design the back side properly, you can be sure to achieve high-quality imaging across the entire panoramic view.”

Across the panorama

In one demonstration, the new lens is tuned to operate in the mid-infrared region of the spectrum. The team used the imaging setup equipped with the metalens to snap pictures of a striped target. They then compared the quality of pictures taken at various angles across the scene, and found the new lens produced images of the stripes that were crisp and clear, even at the edges of the camera’s view, spanning nearly 180 degrees.

“It shows we can achieve perfect imaging performance across almost the whole 180-degree view, using our methods,” Gu says.

In another study, the team designed the metalens to operate at a near-infrared wavelength using amorphous silicon nanoposts as the meta-atoms. They plugged the metalens into a simulation used to test imaging instruments. Next, they fed the simulation a scene of Paris, composed of black and white images stitched together to make a panoramic view. They then ran the simulation to see what kind of image the new lens would produce.

“The key question was, does the lens cover the entire field of view? And we see that it captures everything across the panorama,” Gu says. “You can see buildings and people, and the resolution is very good, regardless of whether you’re looking at the center or the edges.”

The team says the new lens can be adapted to other wavelengths of light. To make a similar flat fisheye lens for visible light, for instance, Hu says the optical features may have to be made smaller than they are now, to better refract that particular range of wavelengths. The lens material would also have to change. But the general architecture that the team has designed would remain the same.

The researchers are exploring applications for their new lens, not just as compact fisheye cameras, but also as panoramic projectors, as well as depth sensors built directly into smartphones, laptops, and wearable devices.

“Currently, all 3D sensors have a limited field of view, which is why when you put your face away from your smartphone, it won’t recognize you,” Gu says. “What we have here is a new 3D sensor that enables panoramic depth profiling, which could be useful for consumer electronic devices.”

This research was funded in part by DARPA under the EXTREME Program.

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Teaching mechanical engineering in a pandemic

Educators across the globe spent much of the summer preparing for an academic year unlike any in history. Well before MIT announced its plans for fall semester in early July, faculty and teaching staff across the Institute had spent weeks revamping their fall classes for a number of scenarios. With the majority of classes being taught remotely and extensive safety protocols in place for classes with in-person components, teaching staff had to get creative.

“Our teaching team is stubborn and we were not going to give up,” says Nevan Hanumara SM ’06, PhD ’12, research scientist and instructor in class 2.75 (Medical Device Design). “We decided that we had to find a way to deliver a good educational experience no matter where the students are — they could be at home with their families, sharing a dining table with housemates, or in the dorms.” 

Like Hanumara and the 2.75 teaching team, faculty and staff across MIT have had to completely revise their classes to either be fully remote or ensure that any in-person component is done in a way that keeps students and the wider community safe. The hands-on and project-based nature of many mechanical engineering classes posed a unique challenge for faculty and staff in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE).

Maximizing lab time

Students in class 2.008 (Design and Manufacturing II), have the option of attending some in-person components of the course or taking it fully remote. To keep everyone safe, the 2.008 teaching team plans to maximize lab time.

All class-based portions of the course, including lectures, will be remote, as has been the case for the past several years in 2.008. During the lab-based portions, teams of roughly five students will be tasked with designing and building 50 yo-yos using injection molding with the assistance of staff in MIT’s Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity (LMP).

Joseph Wight, manufacturing lab manager, in collaboration with the 2.008 staff and other instructors in MechE, has developed a system to ensure students are fully familiar with lab equipment before they step into LMP by broadcasting instructions remotely before in-person lab time.

“I have cameras pointing at the spindles, the machines, and the screens that control the machines we use in the course,” says Wight. “The objective is to get students as comfortable as possible before they enter into the shop so that when they show up, they know what machine they're going to use and how to use it.”

Students who are on campus and participating in the in-person components are asked to relay details of their lab experiences with their remote team members.

Outside the lab, Wight and the rest of the teaching team are having the students utilize more computer aided design and simulation software to engage the remote students and add more engagement to the entire design and manufacturing process.

“We’re going to do our best to give students what they need to finish this course and have a great experience, but the caveat is that it’s going to be different,” adds Wight. “In a way, we are preparing students for how to work remotely, which is going to be a part of whatever career they choose moving forward.”

Mimicking the hybrid model of some remote and in-person employees in industry is something the teaching team of 2.75 (Medical Device Design) is also exploring this semester.

Sending “mechanical gizmo” kits

Like Wight and the 2.008 staff, the teaching team of 2.75 designed a course that could either be taken fully remotely or with some in-person components.

“We realized we have an opportunity for a unique blended learning experience with some team members remote and some in-person, just as it would be in industry nowadays,” says Hanumara.

Wherever students are this semester, they were sent a kit of materials — or “mechanical gizmos” — assembled by Alexander Slocum '82 SM '83 PhD '85, the Walter M. May and A. Hazel May Professor, and his wife Debra Slocum SM '89, as well as a kit of basic electronics, designed by veteran instructor Gim Hom '71 SM '72 EE '73 SM '73. Using materials from the kits, students will assemble small wooden precision fixtures and their own heart rate monitors. In most instances, students won’t know what they can use the kit of materials to build until lecture has started, live streaming from Slocum’s home workshop.

As in a typical semester, students in 2.75 will also pick from a list of projects to design and build a medical device prototype. This year, students can choose from projects led by Giovanni Traverso, the Karl Van Tassel (1925) Career Development Professor; Ellen Roche, the W.M. Keck Foundation Career Development Professor; and others proposed by clinician-collaborators that the team has assembled.  

For Hanumara, this semester offers an opportunity to garner insights into how to make education more accessible for communities that are geographically isolated or for individuals with inflexible schedules.

“Fall 2020 is going to be different, but it is an incredible experiment in new modalities of teaching,” he adds. “What we learn from this semester at MIT will carry forward.”

Prioritizing self-directed projects

Technical instructor Steve Banzaert and the team of faculty and instructors in class 2.678 (Electronics for Mechanical Systems), took lessons from the course’s spring 2020 unit to shape plans for fall semester. The class is being taught fully remote.

“Our big takeaway from the spring was that in order for students to get as much out of the subject as we wanted, we had to transform the class to focus on more self-directed project work,” says Banzaert.

As a result, students will be asked to complete open-ended projects on longer time frames than usual. Using a kit of materials sent to them over the summer, students will build devices and circuit boards that help them learn about physical phenomena associated with electronics.

To support students as they embark on their self-directed projects, the teaching staff has set up a “call center” to answer students’ questions at any time of the day throughout the week.

“Over the years, we have tried to build a welcoming and friendly community in this class. That’s the thing I’m hoping to translate the most into this online space,” adds Banzaert.

Building community in synchronous small group meetings

Community is at the center of another mechanical engineering class this semester — 2.001 (Mechanics and Materials I).

For many sophomores, 2.001 serves as their introduction to mechanical engineering at MIT. New bonds and friendships form during lectures, labs, and recitations.

“This class is where the MechE community forms. Students start getting to know each other and working together,” explains Simona Socrate, senior lecturer. “With students isolated in their own homes, bringing this sense of community is one of our biggest challenges.”

To help foster this community while the course is being taught fully remotely, Socrate and her fellow instructors are offering a number of synchronous small group meetings. Using whiteboard applications, teaching staff will interact with small groups of students to teach them core concepts.

These synchronous meetings are supported by a kit of fun, everyday materials and engineering components that were selected to illustrate key course concepts and shipped to students this summer. The kit also includes custom parts, manufactured by Professor Ely Sachs, to allow the students to conduct the course’s hands-on “Discovery Labs” in their own homes. While the instructor teaches a structural mechanics concept on Zoom, students can open their kit and refer to the object in question. Materials include small pool noodles, exercise bands, Twizzlers, locking pliers, finger traps, and Silly Putty.

“We try to make the synchronous time a combination of learning and personal interactions. The kits of materials help us all interact together online and make class time more engaging,” says Socrate.

Instructors like Socrate may not be able to predict how the Covid-19 pandemic will alter the rest of the academic year, but they will continue to innovate and develop new methods of teaching to provide students with the best possible educational experience in any circumstance.

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Eric Trump to comply with New York AG’s subpoena only after Election Day

The president’s son is accused of refusing to cooperate with an investigation calling for his testimony.

Lawyers for Eric Trump say he will comply with the New York Attorney General’s subpoena related to the probe of the Trump Organization, but only after the 2020 presidential election.

According to a court filing on Thursday (Sept. 17), lawyers for Trump cited an “extreme travel schedule” and said they were requesting the delay, in part, to “avoid the use of his deposition attendance for political purposes,” The Hill reports.

The legal team also noted that it is “well known” that most or all law enforcement and regulatory agencies avoid “certain actions” within the 60-days leading up to a major election.

In July, Trump canceled a scheduled session with New York Attorney General Letitia James at the last minute.

James last month accused him of refusing to comply with the subpoena for his testimony, something Trump’s attorneys deny. 

Read More: Eric Trump accuses Dems of using stay-home orders to stop Trump campaign, says virus will ‘magically’ disappear after election

In response to the Thursday filing James said, “No one is above the law, period.”.

James, in a statement to CNBC, said that “while we cannot comment on the particular steps we’re taking on specific litigation, we won’t allow any entity or individual to dictate how our investigation will proceed or allow anyone to evade a lawful subpoena.”

In March of 2019, the AG’s office opened a civil investigation into Donald Trump and the Trump Organization trying to determine whether they misrepresented the value of assets on annual financial statements that were used to obtain favorable terms for loans and tax benefits.

Last year, James reached a settlement with the president under which he admitted to the misuse of funds from a personal foundation to support his campaign and pay business debt.

Meanwhile, Trump says he’d ‘negotiate’ a third term as president in 2024, theGRIO previously reported.

At a campaign event in Nevada on Saturday night, Trump proclaimed that he would “win Nevada,” a state that he lost in 2016 against Hillary Clinton. He declared that he would win four more years in the White House.

“And then after that,” he said, “we’ll negotiate, right? Because we’re probably—based on the way we were treated—we are probably entitled to another four after that.”

The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1951 after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to the presidency four times. The amendment limited presidents to two terms in office. There are no provisions or reasons that a president would be able to negotiate.

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‘Big Brother’ star Memphis Garrett heard saying the N-word on live feed

CBS claims producers listened to the scene using ‘enhanced audio’ and he never uttered the vile word.

Big Brother fans are petitioning for CBS to remove a cast member after he allegedly used the N-word while discussing a Black roommate.  

The outrage stems from an off-air, but live-streamed conversation Wednesday night between Memphis Garrett and Cody Calafiore.  

Viewers took to social media to call out the network after they heard Garrett say, “Dude, David’s a [N-word],” while talking about their only Black male housemate, David Alexander. 

CBS responded to the online outrage by defending Garrett and denying he uttered the vile word after producers “listened to the scene using enhanced audio,” the network tells TMZ .

“Additionally, the Network’s program practices team isolated and played back the scene several different ways using professional, studio-grade audio equipment. After close examination, it has been determined a racial epithet was not said or uttered,” CBS said.

Read More: How “Big Brother” was finally forced to confront a cringeworthy racial history

In the statement, CBS also notes, “Hate speech will not be tolerated, and those who violate the policy will be removed from the Big Brother House.”

different angle of memphis saying the n word #bb22
credit: @nohampam

memphis to cody: “dude, david is a ni——“

pic.twitter.com/rMxNFBl8uW

— JADA JEAN ACAB (@jadajeanmister) September 17, 2020

Meanwhile, Big Brother fans want Memphis Garrett off the show.

A petition on change.org has been laucnhed calling for his removal.

The petition reads: 

There is an URGENT situation of RACIAL HARM and ASSAULT currently developing in the Big Brother House RIGHT NOW. A player (Memphis Garrett of Garrett Hospitality Group in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida) is targeting another player (David Alexander) with VERBAL and PHYSICAL assault.

IS IT OKAY TO ALLOW ASSAULT TO CONTINUE FOR THE SAKE OF TELEVISION??? I refuse to be sitting here when this continues to blow up and David is harmed even further.

 UNDOUBTEDLY, @CBSBIGBROTHER production, and specifically ALLISON GRODNER (@agrodner22 on twitter), the Executive Producer, and Rich Meehan MUST be held accountable and take SWIFT ACTION to remove Memphis from the house now.

Memphis almost calling David the n word….
Memphis- Dude, David is a ni.. then stops himself. #BB22 pic.twitter.com/lG3NlHBWed

— Unfiltered Feedsters (@UnfilteredFeeds) September 17, 2020

The change.org petition goes on the make clear: “If left unchecked, we could be witnessing real life harm from a privileged white a**hole upon a black man who is ALONE in the house, after almost all the other people of color have been evicted / threatened. THIS IS NOT OKAY!!!”

So far, CBS has not addressed curbing Garrett from the show.

Big Brother is a television reality game show where 16 houseguests compete for a cash prize of $500,000 after a series of weekly evictions.

The season currently airing is the “All-Star” version with houseguests returning from previous competitions. 

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Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Criticizes Trump For Early Shutdown of Census Count

The COVID-19, or novel coronavirus pandemic, has made collecting data for the 2020 Census difficult, especially under the guidance of the Trump administration. On Wednesday, during an online conference, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms called out the administration’s plan to slow down in-person data collection for the Census Bureau, calling it a political move in light of the upcoming November presidential elections.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the state of Georgia tied with Mississippi for the worst response for the 2020 Census. If the data is not correctly gathered, the U.S House Oversight and Reform Committee, revealed that the state of Georgia could lose nearly $75 million in annual funding that goes toward healthcare, job training, and education throughout the country if 1% of responses are undercounted.

“We are getting help from every conceivable corner,” said Marilyn Stephens, an assistant regional Census Bureau manager to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Every mayor in the state of Georgia, every congressional representative, both senators, the governor’s office―everybody is all hands on deck.”

Only 85% of households throughout the state have been counted according to the latest figures from the U.S Census Bureau. The only U.S. state to perform worse was Alabama, with 82.3% of households counted. The city of Atlanta, where the mayor resides, has a 57.7% self-response rate.

“Given that we are in the midst of a pandemic, given the natural disasters that we are facing, it really is inexplicable that we wouldn’t take as much time as we need to get these numbers,” Lance Bottoms told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an online discussion.

“This is a political play because it does speak to representation in Congress. And the higher the numbers are―especially in urban communities―the more representation that we have in Congress. And that is certainly not something the Trump administration I’m sure is supportive of.”

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WNBA’s Maya Moore Marries the Man She Helped Free From Prison, Jonathan Irons

Earlier this year, WNBA small forward Maya Moore had opted to sit out a second season to fight for the release of Jonathan Irons, whom she believes was wrongfully convicted of burglary and assault. Now, according to Good Morning America, she is legally married to Irons.

The newlyweds made their announcement to the world when they appeared on Good Morning America Wednesday to share exclusive details of their love story that came out of friendship after she helped free him from prison following a wrongful conviction that had him imprisoned 23 years ago.

“We wanted to announce today that we are super excited to continue the work that we are doing together, but doing it as a married couple,” Moore said. “We got married a couple of months ago and we’re excited to just continue this new chapter of life together.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Grateful to announce this new chapter of life! What a miracle

A post shared by Maya Moore (@mooremaya) on Sep 16, 2020 at 6:42am PDT

Irons, now 39, was only 16 years old when he was accused of breaking into a home in St. Louis and allegedly shooting the homeowner during a burglary. The victim testified in court that Irons was the person responsible, but there were no witnesses, fingerprints, footprints, DNA, or blood evidence to connect Irons to the crime. Along with there being no tangible evidence, the officer who interrogated Irons did so alone and did not record the conversation.

Moore’s decision to sit out a second season while still being under contract with the Lynx comes at a time when the WNBA announced that they are increasing the average salary of their players to nearly $130,000 and a maximum salary above $500,000. Despite walking away from a six-figure salary, Moore had no regrets.

“Basketball has not been foremost in my mind. I’ve been able to rest, and connect with people around me, actually be in their presence after all of these years on the road,” she said back in January of this year. “And I’ve been able to be there for Jonathan.”

Earlier this year in March, in a Jefferson City, Missouri, courtroom, Irons learned his conviction was overturned by a state judge with the WNBA star behind him. The inmate, with Moore’s help, was appealing a 50-year sentence for a crime he says he never committed. Judge Daniel Green issued a ruling that vacated the guilty verdict, and ordered Irons to be released from a maximum-security prison after 23 years.

GMA anchor Robin Roberts had announced during the interview that her production company, Rock’n Robin productions, has teamed up with ESPN Films to produce a documentary about Moore and Irons’ story.

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Parents knowingly send child to school after he tests positive for COVID-19

The student and his parents knew he tested positive, but he went to school anyway.

A parent in Massachusetts willfully put other kids at risk of catching the coronavirus just by sending her son to school.

According to CNN the mayor and superintendent at Attleboro Public Schools say a mother whose identity they have chosen to conceal let her son go to school knowing he’d tested positive for COVID-19.

Read More: White House staffer tests positive for COVID-19: report

“The parents knew he should have not done that, he knew he should have not done that, we are six months into the pandemic,” says mayor Paul Heroux. 

Now 28 students who came in contact with the student are required to stay home and quarantine for 14 days.

Seniors at a Brooklyn High School wait in line to return books and get their schedules for the year on September 14, 2020 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. While New York’s infection rate is currently below one percent, the U.S. as a whole stands at more than 6.7 million confirmed cases and nearly 200,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19, making it the world leader in both. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The teenager who tested positive came to school on Monday but failed to tell the school their test results until the next day. The student’s mother said she thought it was OK for the student to attend classes because the test results came in on Friday, September 11, so they figured the weekend would be enough days to quarantine.

But Heroux did not agree with the family’s strategy.

“The parents used very poor judgment, it’s very frustrating,” Heroux said. “The school department did everything they were supposed to do.”

Read More: 2 HBCU presidents join COVID-19 vaccine trial, want students to follow

When the high school superintendent, David Sawyer learned of the positive test results, he sent a letter to families Tuesday night informing them of the situation. He believes the district is doing all they can to stop the spread of the virus but says it’s almost impossible to stop it completely.

A student at the school, Iza King told WCVB News, “I think that is very frightening because he put everybody’s health in danger and put everybody at risk.”

Heroux asks that parents keep their children home if they have tested positive or are waiting results.

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Trump White House blocked effort to mail every US household face masks

USPS wanted to send every American a set of face masks but the White House said no

According to NBC News, the White House struck down a measure to send hundreds of millions of cloth masks to American households. The face coverings would have gone out via the United States Postal Service in April.

Read More: US judge blocks Postal Service changes that slowed mail

Instead of that happening, a senior Trump administration official reportedly said selected businesses, nonprofit organizations, and state and federal agencies received 600M masks. The mask distribution program was called Project America Strong.

The Washington Post first reported that the Trump administration initially planned to send masks to the households of U.S. residents across the country. 

A digital sign displays a message about wearing masks at the Tropicana Las Vegas after the Las Vegas Strip resort reopened for the first time since mid-March because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on September 17, 2020 (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

This reportedly came after an internal email from The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was sent in response to an inquiry from a nongovernmental entity asking why the Trump administration did not move forward with the plan.

NBC reported that In the email, a senior HHS official says that the White House made the decision not to move forward because cloth face masks were widely available from a number of vendors and easily accessible to the American public. 

The White House has not commented on the issue. 

The Washington Post found that the masks would have been distributed to homes in areas with a high number of cases in April. At the time, cases were surging in parishes in Louisiana and areas of Washington state, Michigan, and New York state among other hot spots across the US.

In early May, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services paid a group of textile manufacturers $640M to make masks under Project America Strong. The largest contract went to Hanes who reportedly created 450M masks between the months of May and July. 

Read More: Michelle Obama: ‘We could’ve never gotten away with’ what Trump does

HHS did set up a website where Americans could request a box of 500 masks each. But In July, an HHS spokesperson said the agency had run out of masks.

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The Nintendo 3DS' Surprisingly Social Legacy

Nintendo just discontinued the iconic portable game console, but the real 3DS was the friends we made along the way.

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Science Journals Are Purging Racist, Sexist Work. Finally

Getting rid of harmful papers is a vital step toward reestablishing readers' trust. Next, publishers should target articles that are flawed in other ways.

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Barbara Gonzalez: The CEO changing perceptions in Tanzanian football

The CEO of Tanzanian champions Simba Barbara Gonzalez is changing how young women are seen in football administration.

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Baker Botts and Official Black Wall Street to Provide $10 Million in Legal Services to Support Black Entrepreneurship

Embarking on the path of entrepreneurship, one of the most expensive costs that business owners can incur is legal expenses. In efforts to help Black entrepreneurs amid the COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, pandemic, the Official Black Wall Street organization, a platform and directory for Black-owned businesses across various sectors within the United States, is teaming up with Baker Botts, an international technology and energy firm, to provide financial support for legal service for Black-owned businesses.

Baker Botts announced the news this week with the firm promising to commit $10 million in free legal services over the course of three years for members within the organization. “Over the past several months, we have had the opportunity to conduct a series of listening and learning sessions across our offices and with our colleagues,” said Baker Botts Managing Partner John Martin in a press statement.

“We must acknowledge the pervasive racial inequality in our society, take ownership of it, and take action to contribute something enduring to solve the problem. This strategic collaboration is one small step in that direction. Providing equitable access to legal services is a necessary part of ensuring that Black-owned businesses thrive.”

“We are excited to work with Baker Botts and their extensive network of talented attorneys,” said Founder and CEO of Official Black Wall Street, Mandy Bowman in a press statement. “Black entrepreneurs often lack the exposure and resources needed to grow a business. Familiarizing Black-owned businesses with these services will benefit them and empower the Black community through economics and ownership.”

 

 

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We’re proud to announce today that we entered a strategic collaboration with @officialblackwallstreet, an organization with a membership of more than 5,500 Black-owned businesses globally, to provide legal support to the organization’s member businesses. The firm has committed to providing $10 million of free legal services over the course of three years, contributing to the growth and development of the organization and its member businesses. “We must acknowledge the pervasive racial inequality in our society, take ownership of it, and take action to contribute something enduring to solve the problem,” said Managing Partner John Martin. “This strategic collaboration is one small step in that direction. Providing equitable access to legal services is a necessary part of ensuring that Black-owned businesses thrive.”

A post shared by Baker Botts (@bakerbotts) on Sep 16, 2020 at 6:40am PDT

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Hong Kong Is a Troubling Case Study in the Death of Democracy

A free press suppressed. A vote postponed. Dissent criminalized. China’s insidious reengineering of the region marches on, but not without a fight.

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The Best iPad (2020): Which Apple Tablet Should You Buy?

Choosing an iPad is more complicated than it needs to be, but we’re here to help with our complete guide to all of Apple’s tablets.

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Billionaire Richard Branson wants to raise $460 million for a new blank check company

Virgin founder Richard Branson is hoping to raise $460 million to create a new special purpose acquisition company.

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To code-switch or not to code-switch?

Many black people feel that they have to code-switch when entering white majority spaces.

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How to Install Postman on Linux Desktop

Postman is the most popular collaboration platform for API (Application Programming Interface) development, which is used by 10 million developers and 500,000 companies all over the world. The Postman API platform offers features that

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Trump administration gives $2B to Tommy Fisher in border wall contracts

‘I’m just proud to be part of securing the southern border, as an American.’

North Dakota contractor Tommy Fisher and his company, Fisher Industries, has received $2 billion in border wall contracts from the Trump administration. 

Over the past nine months, Fisher has become Trump’s go-to builder at the border, The Washington Post reports. Prior to this, however, his company was unsuccessful in repeated attempts to land a border wall contract. According to the report, for two years, Fisher Industries was often passed over by the Army Corps of Engineers in favor of more qualified firms with experience “in building border walls.”

Fisher’s luck changed when the group We Build the Wall, led by former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon, contacted him in April 2019 about a project in New Mexico. Fisher accepted and led a group that constructed three miles of now-crumbling border fence along the Rio Grande. Despite sharp criticism over the shoddy work, his partnership with the group, as well as his ties to GOPers close to the president, allowed Fisher to rack up government contracts. In December 2019, he secured a $400 million contract. In May he bagged a $1.3 billion award, and in August he received a $289 million contract. 

Read More: Steve Bannon, Trump’s former White House adviser, arrested in fraud scam

Bannon, meanwhile, was arrested last month on charges that he and three others ripped off donors through We Build The Wall, theGRIO previously reported. 

Federal prosecutors alleged that Bannon and three others “orchestrated a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors” in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $25 million to build a wall along the southern border of the United States.

According to the indictment, Bannon promised that 100% of the donated money would be used for the project, but the defendants collectively used hundreds of thousands of dollars in a manner inconsistent with the organization’s public representations.

The indictment said they faked invoices and sham “vendor” arrangements, among other ways, to hide what was really happening.

Fisher is not named in the indictment, and he denies being the unnamed “associate 2” who is said to be cooperating with investigators. 

“Absolutely not,” Fisher said in a wide-ranging interview with The Washington Post. “We’ve never been talked to by the government, the FBI or the Justice Department.”

He also claims to not have had any dealings with We Build The Wall since January.

“Everything got cut off, and they didn’t pay any more,” Fisher said of Bannon’s group. “At that point, we pretty much cut ties.”

Fisher said he will continue building the steel barrier at the border unless he’s told to stop, as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has pledged to halt construction of the wall. 

“I’m just proud to be part of securing the southern border, as an American,” Fisher said.

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Judges scrutinize suit’s claims in Harvard racial bias case

The three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appeared skeptical of the argument that Harvard imposes a ‘racial penalty’ on Asian Americans

BOSTON (AP) — A panel of appeals court judges on Wednesday repeatedly challenged the legal claims of a group that accuses Harvard University of intentional discrimination against Asian American students who apply to the Ivy League school.

The three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston appeared skeptical of arguments made by Students for Fair Admissions, which says Harvard imposes a “racial penalty” on Asian Americans. When a lawyer for the group accused the school of racial stereotyping against Asian American applicants, a judge interrupted and questioned the basis of the claim.

“Where is the evidence of racial profiling here?” Judge Juan Torruella asked.

Read More: College football team walks out of practice to protest racial injustice

The panel is expected to make a decision on the case in coming weeks. Either way, legal experts believe the case will probably end up before the Supreme Court.

Students for Fair Admissions is asking the appeals court to overturn a trial-level judge’s 2019 decision finding that Harvard does not intentionally discriminate against Asian Americans. U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs issued the decision in October after a three-week trial.

In this July 16, 2019, file photo, people stop to record images of Widener Library on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

In her ruling, Burroughs said Harvard’s admissions process is “not perfect” but concluded that there was “no evidence of any racial animus whatsoever.” She ruled that other factors beyond bias could explain why Harvard accepts Asian American students at lower rates than students of other races.

The group’s lawsuit alleges that Harvard admissions officers use a subjective “personal rating” assigned to each student to discriminate against Asian Americans. Using six years of admissions data, the group found that Asian American applicants averaged the highest scores in an academic rating but received the lowest personal ratings, and that they were admitted at lower rates.

Harvard denies any bias and defends its use of race in the application process. The school says race is one of many factors considered and that at most it provides a “tip” in favor of underrepresented students. It says the university has a “compelling interest” in attracting a diverse student body to its campus.

Presenting the case to judges, a lawyer for the group said Harvard’s practices go beyond the limited consideration of race that has been upheld by the Supreme Court. Attorney William Consovoy said the school’s efforts to keep a similar racial makeup among students from year to year amounts to illegal racial balancing.

“The statistical evidence in this case showed that the personal rating discriminates against Asian Americans in a statistically significant way,” Consovoy said.

But Judge Sandra L. Lynch challenged that allegation, saying that, presented with competing statistical models from both sides, the trial court judge sided with Harvard’s.

Harvard University campus. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Newsmakers)

“The district court actually found that Harvard’s statistical model was the more reliable one,” Lynch said. “So, again, I’m just trying to get your argument.” Consovoy argued that both models were deemed credible.

A representative for the U.S. Justice Department spoke in support of Students for Fair Admissions on Wednesday, arguing that race “pervades every aspect” of Harvard’s admissions process. Eric S. Dreiband, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, said the school’s admissions process “unduly burdens” Asian American applicants compared to white applicants.

The Trump administration has opposed the use of race at Harvard and other colleges across the U.S. Last month, the Justice Department found that Yale University discriminates against Asian American and white applicants. The finding, which resulted from a two-year inquiry, was rejected by Yale as “meritless” and “hasty.”

As evidence, the group points to a U.S. Education Department investigation into Harvard’s admissions practices in the 1990s. In that case, the agency also explored whether Harvard discriminates against Asian Americans. The school was ultimately cleared.

Read More: Harvard, MIT sue to block ICE rule on international students

Speaking on behalf of the university Wednesday, attorney Seth Waxman said the school’s personal rating, which was also examined during the federal inquiry, has “assumed a Frankenstein-like significance.” But he argued that the 1990s investigation only helps Harvard’s case.

“It reached the exact same conclusion, based on its review of all the evidence, that Judge Burroughs did,” he said.

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Maine wedding now linked to deaths of 7 people who didn’t attend

The August wedding reception at the Big Moose Inn in Millinocket is linked to more than 175 confirmed cases of the virus

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — At least seven people have died in connection to a coronavirus outbreak that continues to sicken people in Maine following a wedding reception held over the summer that violated state virus guidelines, public health authorities said.

The August wedding reception at the Big Moose Inn in Millinocket is linked to more than 175 confirmed cases of the virus, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

Read More: Trump indoor rally site fined $3K for virus violations

Maine authorities have identified overlaps between the wedding reception and outbreaks elsewhere in the state. An employee of the York County Jail attended the wedding, Maine CDC officials have said. Maine health officials have also said an outbreak at a Madison rehabilitation center, which is the site of six of the seven deaths, is connected to the wedding because an employee of the facility lives in the same household as a person who attended.

The virus cases stemming from the wedding have spanned hundreds of miles in a state that had largely controlled the spread of the coronavirus through the summer. Maine has reported less than 5,000 cases of the virus in total since March.

Medical professionals conduct a nasal swab test at the COVID-19 Bondi Beach drive-through testing center on July 07, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

But the growing number of cases related to the wedding, which exceeded the state’s guidelines of 50 people or less at indoor gatherings, could undo some of that progress if it continues to swell. Authorities have said more than 65 people attended the wedding.

The six people from the Madison rehabilitation facility who died were all residents of that facility and none of them attended the wedding reception, said Dr. Nirav Shah, director of Maine CDC.

“Maine CDC is concerned about where we are, and I’m asking everyone else to share in that concern. COVID-19, right now, is not on the other side of the fence. It is in our yards,” Shah said. “The gains that Maine has made against COVID-19 are ones that could, and unfortunately can, be washed away.”

The wedding was also officiated by pastor Todd Bell of Calvary Baptist Church in Sanford. The Maine CDC is currently investigating to determine if an outbreak at the church is connected to the wedding outbreak. That outbreak has sickened 10 people, Shah said.

Calvary Baptist Church issued a statement on Tuesday that said “a number of Calvary Baptist Church members attended” the wedding reception. The statement said the church is taking precautions to limit the spread of the virus, and it will defend its right to continue holding services.

A woman administers a swab test to a young girl at a Covid Test site in South London on September 15, 2020 in Greater London, England. The site saw a steady stream of drive in traffic, but only a small handful of walk-ins over the course of the first hour of opening. The Department Of Health has appealed to Britain’s biomedical sector for 400 further laboratory technicians as the nation’s return to school increases demand for Covid-19 tests. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

“The Calvary Baptist Church has a legal right to meet. The authority of a local Christian church, a Jewish synagogue, or a Muslim mosque to gather for their respective religious services is a time-honored part of our nation’s history since its inception,” the statement said. “These religious activities are also fully protected under the First Amendment to our United States Constitution.”

Bell has been critical of government attempts to control coronavirus, and videos show he has held services without the use of social distancing. He hired a lawyer known nationally for defending the religious rights of churches. Neither Bell nor the attorney working with the church, David Gibbs of Florida, personally responded to a request Tuesday for comment.

Read More: 60% of business closures due to coronavirus now permanent: Yelp

Maine CDC spokesperson Robert Long said the agency’s investigations suggest “multiple potential points of transmission related to the August 7 wedding and reception.” The agency is working to limit the spread of the virus and support people affected by it, he said.

Shah said the state’s percent positivity rate has ticked up to 0.63% for the previous seven days. At one point, the rate was less than half a percentage point. The rate remains well below the national average of about 5%, Shah said.

___

Associated Press writer David Sharp contributed to this report.

___

This story has been corrected to show that an employee of the Madison facility lives in a household with someone who attended the wedding. The employee did not attend.

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Biggie’s iconic crown sells at auction for nearly $600K

The plastic crown once worn by rapper Notorious B.I.G. sold for over almost $600K at an auction.

Sotheby’s held an inaugural hip-hop auction where memorabilia from several legendary rappers was auctioned off to the highest bidders with Biggie merchandise raking in the most money.

Read More: New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries quotes Biggie Smalls in speech during Trump’s impeachment trial

TheGrio reports the international auction house had items from both Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur up for grabs. Letters penned by the “California Love” rapper to a high school sweetheart were available as well as the plastic crown of his East Coast rival. The shiny gold crown with fake gemstones was autographed and worn during the now-iconic King of New York photoshoot three days before his murder in Los Angeles.

After the auction, Sotheby’s announced on social media that the proceeds had reached $2M. A portion of the money goes to the Queens Public Library Foundation for their hip hop programs and Building Beats, a non-profit organization that teaches tech, entrepreneurial, and leadership skills to youth through music programs. The crown sold for $594,750 total, according to the official listing.

“Achieving an overall total of $2 million, the auction was a celebration of the history and cultural impact Hip Hop has had on art and culture from the late 1970s through the “Golden Age” of the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, and up to the present,” the auction house posted on Instagram.

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All hail the King of New York! Tonight during our inaugural Hip Hop auction, one of the most iconic symbols of Hip Hop’s heyday: the crown 👑 worn and signed by Notorious B.I.G. from @barronclaiborne’s iconic 1997 ‘King of New York’ photoshoot for Rap Pages Magazine sold for $600,000. The photograph is one of the most recognizable images in Hip Hop culture and it has endured as the defining portrait of the artist more than 20 years since it was taken. Achieving an overall total of $2 million, the auction was a celebration of the history and cultural impact Hip Hop has had on art and culture from the late 1970s through the “Golden Age” of the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, and up to the present. A majority of items included in the sale were consigned directly from Hip Hop’s most pivotal and well-known artists and figures, several of who will be sharing their proceeds with a variety of charities. A portion of Sotheby’s own proceeds from the sale will benefit the Hip Hop programs at the @qplnyc, as well as @buildingbeats, a non-profit community organization that teaches tech, entrepreneurial and leadership skills to underserved youth through DJ and music programs. #hiphop #hiphopmusic #notoriousbig #biggiesmalls #barronclaiborne #HipHopxSothebys #QPLHipHop

A post shared by Sotheby's (@sothebys) on Sep 15, 2020 at 6:44pm PDT

Read More: Faith Evans is not happy with a new Lifetime documentary on her marriage to Biggie

Hopeful purchasers were able to privately view stock before the event through appointments, according to theGrio. Over 100 pieces, including unique artifacts, contemporary art, curated experiences, photography, fashion, jewelry, publications, and other rare items relating to hip-hop culture were part of the sale.

The aforementioned love letters written by Tupac sold for $75,600. Another letter autographed by the late rapper went for the highest bid of $17,640. Other lots included in the auction were Prince Paul‘s original Gravediggaz ‘The Undertaker‘ jacket and Too Poetic’s Grym Reaper jersey which sold together for $6,048.

Salt-n-Pepa’s Push It jackets went for $23,940, a complete run of The Source magazine for $32,760, and a pair of Drake‘s unreleased Air Jordan IV Retro prototype size 11 shoes for $32,760. Overall, Biggie’s headpiece brought in the largest amount.

“Since its birth in the Bronx in the 1970s, hip hop has become a global cultural force, whose massive influence continues to shape all realms of culture: music, fashion, design, art, film, social attitudes, language, and more,” Cassandra Hatton, vice president & senior specialist in Sotheby’s books and manuscripts dept. said, according to theGrio.

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White House staffer tests positive for COVID-19: report

A White House staffer tested positive for coronavirus

Coronavirus is still showing up at the White House. According to CNBC Trump confirmed a member of his staff has tested positive for the virus. A journalist reportedly heard “a couple of positives today,” while at the White House and rumors quickly swirled there were more than one.

Read More: Trump indoor rally site fined $3K for virus violations

But there is one confirmed case and Trump says he has had no contact with the individual who has tested positive. At a recent briefing, journalists asked press secretary Kayleigh McEnany who on the staff has been infected but she would not reveal the person’s name.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany holds a news conference at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House September 16, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The White House hosted a large gathering with world leaders yesterday but reports say the infected employee did not affect the gathering that took place on the South Lawn.

“I don’t share people’s personal medical information,” McEnany said to reporters.“We’re not going to confirm the identities,” McEnany said. “But it did not affect the event and press was not around,” the infected person.

But when Trump spoke in the White House briefing room he offered a bit more information.

“I heard about it this morning at a very small level,” Trump said, in reference to the sick staffer. Then he added, “Last night I heard about it for the first time, and it’s a small number of cases.”

But this isn’t the first time someone in the White House or close to Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus. Back in May, Trump’s driver was among the cases.

Read More: Led by Michael Tubbs, US mayors vow to launch guaranteed income programs

But despite some reports that multiple staffers have tested positive, the President said, “It was one person,” he repeated, then adding, “not a person that I was associated with.”

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WIRED25 Day 1: Be Empathetic to Each Other

Guests like Gabriela Cámara, Ghetto Gastro, Nia DaCosta, and Brie Larson discussed how to understand where others are coming from, whether through food or films.

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