Just in time for Halloween, Justin Simien, the writer and director best know for the TV series and movie “Dear White People,” released a new project that has turned the pressures Black women face to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards into a satirical horror film. Titled “Bad Hair,” the film follows the story of Anna played by Elle Lorraine who she succumbs to the hair discrimination Black women commonly face at work and ends up getting a weave from hell — literally.
The film takes place in 1989 as Anna pursues her dream of becoming a VJ at a Black music video TV network. However, she realizes that her natural coils are standing in the way of her aspirations after her manager, a light-skinned, straight-haired woman played by Vanessa Williams, encourages her to adopt a more white-friendly appearance. As a result, she reluctantly gets a weave, which turns out to be possessed by a demonic force. The evil weave becomes more than just the film’s antagonist: it’s a metaphoric symbol of the generations of oppression Black women have faced in lieu of white beauty norms.
“This young woman is incredible at her job. She has all the tools,” said Lorraine ahead of the film’s release on Hulu on October 23 to, BLACK ENTERPRISE. “But somehow she is not able to be seen because she’s not meeting this standard according to other people’s ideas of beauty.”
The Insecure star also admitted that she, too, still feels pressured by the same social stigmas. “There are times I question how I should look at an audition if they’re able to see past what my hair looks like and see what I’m giving and the work that I put in.”
Actress and LGBTQIA+ activist Laverne Cox said the film emphasizes the compromise Black women have had to make to their identities in order to get ahead. “Bad Hair is about the horror of white supremacy intersecting with the horror of capitalism.”
Waithe added, “This is Justin’s love letter really — a scary, funny love letter — to Black women and what they go through, particularly in the workplace.”
Watch Lena Waithe, Elle Lorraine, Laverne Cox, Blair Underwood, and Jay Pharoah open up about “Bad Hair” in the video below.
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Thousands of participants joined BLACK ENTERPRISE for the 4th annual Black Men XCEL Summit, which featured a variety of sessions, workshops, coaching, and virtual activities designed to train, equip, develop, and inspire Black men across a broad array of endeavors.
Sponsored by FedEx Express, Black Men XCEL (BMX) was created to provide Black men with the tools and resources needed to advance in their respective careers and industries as well as acquire generational wealth and maintain mental wellbeing. Participants were also granted access to some of today’s most successful business leaders like Walker Co. & Brands founder and CEO Tristan Walker, athletes like former NFL player Tiki Barber, and executives like PayPal Head of Global Financial Compliance Investigations Art Taylor. Furthermore, the summit, which was also facilitated in partnership with presenting sponsors AT&T and JPMorgan Chase, provided attendees with the opportunity to conduct live chats with speakers, experts, and mentors.
“The motto for this year’s BMX is celebrating the best of who we are,” said BLACK ENTERPRISE President and CEO Earl “Butch” Graves Jr. in his opening remarks. “It is a celebration of Black men’s collective achievement, resolve, and resilience during one of the most challenging periods of our history. We meet under the cloud of COVID-19 and a crippled economy. We are nearing the end of a divisive, racially-charged election, and Black men are under assault at all levels.”
Walker Co. & Brands founder and CEO Tristan Walker kicked off the summit with a powerful session about how he built and positioned Walker Co. & Brands for its merger with Procter & Gamble. Walker, who went from a Twitter intern to serving on the corporate boards of Footlocker and Shake Shack, also opened up about how his company has grown amid COVID.
“The reason why I think we’ve been able to thrive as Walker and Company is because we had established that relationship from the very beginning. We were digitally native from the very beginning. So by the time COVID hit, we were prepared for this outcome,” said Walker.
Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick opened up about his road to redemption following his 21-month prison sentence in 2007 for his involvement in a dogfighting ring during a panel about empowering the next generation of Black men.
“When I came home from prison, I felt the pressure. I felt like I was living in a bubble,” admitted the FOX Sports analyst and activist about the notorious incident which overshadowed the rest his football career.
However, rather than succumbing to the pressure he felt, Vick says he used the tools he developed behind bars to help him persevere.
“I set goals while I was in prison. I accomplished almost everything that I wanted to accomplish and then some. That right there was the ultimate confirmation that I could do anything that I wanted to do in my life.”
Vick added that now he uses the adversity he’s overcome as a teachable moment for younger Black men and women.
“I preach a hard message when talking to the youth in terms of responsibility, character, your beliefs, values, and morals,” said the NFL legend. “I try to explain to young men and women the hurt and the anguish that I’ve experienced to grow stronger and to get to where I am today. I want my message to be, at all cost, you’re not going to go through life perfect, there are going to be some ups and downs, but it’s all in how you persevere.”
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder stressed the importance of exercising the right to vote and overcoming voter suppression during his appearance. He also urged young people, in particular, to make their voices heard at the polls.
“For young people who are disillusioned or who don’t trust the system, take it from one who is a little older and has experienced a lot, your future is on the ballot. And the world that you want to live in is on the ballot,” Holder told BLACK ENTERPRISE SVP and Chief Content Officer Derek T. Dingle. “If you want to shape that world, you have to participate in that process by voting on November 3. But then you have to continue to be involved in a civic way and do the things that people before have done. Fight for not only your generation but for generations that will come after you.”
In a panel sponsored by JP Morgan Chase, Barber, the former NFL running back who spent 10 seasons with the New York Giants and the co-founder of Thuzio, shared one of the biggest financial mistakes he made during his career.
“The worst mistake I made personally was I bought a very expensive apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It was over $6 million. I had been around for a very long time, but the timing was wrong in the market. And I didn’t look at the market. I didn’t look at the economic trends,” he admitted. “And we know what happened in 2008, the world corrected itself.”
Not only did he lose money on his property, but he then went through a divorce two years later. “Everything started compounding,” he added. “Timing absolutely matters when you’re making large purchases like that.”
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Bogdan Vechirko could spend up to six years in prison if convicted
The man who drove his gas tanker into a crowd of peaceful protesters on a closed-down Minneapolis interstate in May has been charged with two felonies.
Bogdan Vechirko, 35, is facing a felony charge of threats of violence and a gross misdemeanor charge of criminal vehicular operation, according to a press release from Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman’s office, Star Tribune reports.
Vechirko, who was released from jail in June, reportedly admitted to investigators that he was “kind of in a hurry” when he nearly plowed through Black Lives Matter demonstrators on May 31. Thousands had gathered on the Interstate 35W bridge to protest the death of George Floyd, who had died days earlier while being detained by Minneapolis police.
Vechirko claims he didn’t intend to drive into the protest, but investigators noted in the criminal complaint that “in addition to the large crowd, there were multiple vehicles stopped on I-35W northbound as the road approached the bridge and that a number of vehicles were driving the wrong direction up an entrance ramp.”
The Minnesota Department of Transportation released video showing the activity on the bridge leading up to the incident. The footage shows Vechirko picking up speed as he approached the protestors, hitting 70 mph. Officials stated in the complaint that Vechirko had adequate time to stop.
“Investigators reviewed traffic cameras and a number of cellphone videos, all of which showed protesters screaming and running in a panic from the truck,” the attorney’s office said.
“At least one individual, A.W., suffered injuries as a result of her attempts to get out of the way of the truck,” the complaint stated. “A.W. reported that she fell and suffered scrapes and abrasions to her leg.”
Officials noted that “the thorough investigation showed that Vechirko wanted to scare people out of his path.” No major injuries were reported.
Vechirko could spend five years in prison if convicted on the felony charge and up to one year on the gross misdemeanor charge.
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Ivan Harrison Hunter has been charged in an incident where someone shot into Minneapolis police headquarters
A Texas man allegedly affiliated with the right-wing group, the Boogaloo Bois has been charged with rioting in connection to the Minneapolis protests for George Floyd.
Authorities say, Ivan Harrison Hunter, 26, is the person who shot 13 rounds into the Minneapolis Police Department’s 3rd Precinct on May 28 with an “AK-47 style semiautomatic rifle,” according to MPR News. He is being charged with one count of participating in a riot and made an appearance in front of a judge on Thursday.
The criminal complaint says it was Hunter who was caught on video high-fiving another man while yelling, “Justice for Floyd!” and that a distinctive skull face mask from the riot was seen on his Facebook page. Hunter also made comments about committing violence in Minneapolis on the page.
He is apparently affiliated with Steven Carrillo, a member of the Boogaloo Bois, a far-right anti-government extremist group. Carrillo was charged with the May 29 killing of a federal Protective Service officer in Oakland, California.
An undercover informant was able to confirm Hunter’s affiliation with Carrillo. He says Hunter admitted to helping set the fire that burned down the precinct and shooting at the building.
A view of the charred exterior of the Third Precinct Police Station on June 9, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On Sunday nine members of the Minneapolis City Council announced their intentions to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department after the fallout from the killing of George Floyd. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
On June 3, officers stopped Hunter in Texas while he was riding in the front seat of a pickup truck around 2 a.m. He had attended a protest for Floyd near Austin and officers say when they pulled the vehicle over they allegedly discovered an AK-47 style assault rifle attached to a vest he was wearing. They also found three semi-automatic rifles, loaded pistols, six loaded magazines, and marijuana.
From documentaries to horror, this list has a little something for everyone
Fall is in full swing but COVID-19 is still running rampant. So this may be the perfect weekend to stay inside and catch up on a few films you may have missed or check out some brand new offerings.
Whether you’re looking for something spooky to get you ready for Halloween or need a good laugh, a good cry, or a bit of both, this list has you covered:
The Way I See It
This fantastic film debuted to record ratings on MSNBC this week and earned the praise of Barack Obama in the process. Based on the New York Times #1 bestseller comes The Way I See It, an unprecedented look behind the scenes look at two of the most iconic presidents in American history, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan, as seen through the eyes of renowned photographer Pete Souza.
As the official White House photographer, Souza was an eyewitness to the unique and tremendous responsibilities of being the most powerful person on earth. The movie reveals how Souza transforms from a respected photojournalist to a searing commentator on the issues we face as a country and a people. The film was helmed by Dawn Porter, the visionary behind John Lewis: Good Trouble and it’s not to be missed.
This ridiculously raunchy sequel will be just what it sounds like, but it’s certainly worth a watch if you’re ready for a politically-tinged, raunchy ride. Sacha Baron Cohen is back up to his old tricks as Borat, and this time, his daughter is along for the fun. Be prepared to see some real-life racists doing what they do and even more questionable behavior from Trump stumper, Rudy Giuliani. To no one’s surprise, though, the only Black woman in the film is also the only person who has any sense, and this crass, funny flick may be the escape you’re looking for. Check it out on Amazon Prime Video.
On The Rocks
If you’re looking for a laugh, this little gem of a film written and directed by Sofia Coppola could be right up your alley. On The Rocks stars Rashida Jones, Bill Murray, and Marlon Wayans and is just what you need as a welcome respite from a tough week.
A young New York mother (Jones) thinks she’s happily hitched, but when her husband (Wayans) starts logging late hours at the office with a new co-worker, she begins to fear the worst. She turns to the one man she knows can help – her charming, impulsive father (Murray), who insists they investigate together. As the two begin prowling New York at night, careening from uptown parties to downtown hotspots, they discover that at the heart of their journey lies their own relationship. Check it out on AppleTV+.
Bad Hair
If you’re looking for a fright, this horror satire set in 1989 features an all-star cast of Black talent showing off their hair-raising skills in ways we’ve never seen.Stars like Elle Lorraine, Vanessa Williams, Lena Waithe, Laverne Cox, Jay Pharoah, Kelly Rowland, Blair Underwood, Ashley Blaine Featherson, and Usher Raymond are among the famous faces who have roles in this campy thrill ride now playing on Hulu. The film, from Justin Simien, follows an ambitious woman who gets a weave in order to succeed in the image-obsessed world of music television. Her flourishing career comes at a great cost when she realizes that her new hair may have a mind of its own.
Even though we’re still in October, some people just can’t wait for the holidays to hit. The Hallmark Channel is already kicking off its long list of Christmas-themed films this weekend. Jingle Bell Bride premieres today and in it, Ronnie Rowe Jr. stars as Matt, a single man who helps an overworked, stressed-out wedding planner believe in the magic of Christmas in a rural town that refuses to conform to modern communication.
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The scholar and pundit says he usually votes for the Green Party.
Marc Lamont Hill says he will vote as a Democrat for the first time in this year’s presidential election.
The author and professor revealed in an online conversation that he’d been voting with the Green Party for decades. When a young woman asked would he be voting in this year’s election, he revealed his prior political affiliation.
“I am absolutely going to vote, I have never not voted,” said Hill in a one minute and thirty-second clip posted to his Instagram page. He goes on to say, “I have voted for the Green Party for the last 20 years.”
The woman challenges Hill and accuses him of throwing away his vote. He refutes with, “I think it depends on how you understand voting,” says Hill. “I think voting is absolutely harm reduction, it’s a tactic to buying time.”
Hill continued, “Sometimes the goal of voting is to build long term vision and sometimes it is to stop an immediate harm, there have been many elections when the distinction was relatively minimal and I think the distinction has been relatively minimal and I thought it was important to build up grassroots support for the Green Party.”
Marc Lamont Hill attends the “Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement” screening on May 24, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET Networks)
The Green Party is an independent political party with a connection to the socialist movement and the Green movement per GP.org. They have four pillars: Ecological Wisdom, Non-Violence, Grassroots Democracy, and Social Justice.
Hill says this political moment is “on fire.”
“I would say for the vulnerable American it is always on fire but Trump isn’t watching the fire he is pouring gasoline on it. And Joe Biden and Donald Trump are both problematic candidates but I don’t think they are the same.
He goes on to explain why is finally voting blue after all these years.
“Four more years of Donald Trump is not only dangerous for the vulnerable here in America but he is dangerous for any type of movement. As much as I dislike Joe Biden he can be moved, he can be persuaded. So for the first time in 24 years, I’m going to vote for the Democrat.”
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If the US brought back the Great Depression’s massive worker program, it could put millions of Americans back to work—and help stave off disasters like wildfires.
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They say the best investment on Earth is earth, but real estate is a risky business. While it’s undoubtedly a lucrative form of investment, your success isn’t guaranteed unless you play your cards right and study the field with utmost scrutiny.
It pays to have tools that can help you with the process and reap profits, and luckily, there’s one platform that can help you on that front: Mashvisor.
A one-stop site to find traditional or Airbnb properties worth investing in, Mashvisor uses automation to assist you in identifying potential investments within mere minutes. Instead of having you pore over spreadsheets and spend months on tedious research, it leverages technology, real estate data, and analytics to shorten the process to identify the best investment opportunity for you.
Here’s how it works:
Just key in any city of interest, and you’ll immediately receive an overview of the investment opportunities within that area. You’ll get the lowdown on the kind of returns a property will be able to provide, as well as the things you’ll need to do to outperform the rental market. Plus, thanks to the interactive filters available, you’ll also get other pertinent data, including sales history, tax history, market performance, occupancy rates, and many more.
The scope of this tutorial is to explain how we can edit and make changes to Network Configurations on RHEL/CentOS 8/7 from the command line only, and, more specifically how we can set up
From golfing and hotel spas to luxury car rentals, CNBC's Global Traveler tapped several travel experts with decades of collective planning experience for advice on where to go and what to do in the Aloha State.
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A Virtual Private Network is a technology solution used to provide privacy and security for inter-network connections. The most well-known case consists of people connecting to a remote server with traffic going through a
Robert R. Lynn has been charged with felony counts of forgery and interference with an election
A Pennsylvania man has been arrested after allegedly forging the signature of his dead mother on an application for an absentee ballot.
Robert R. Lynn, 67, of Luzerne County has been charged with felony counts of forgery and interference with an election, The Huffington Post reports.
Lynn, a Republican and Trump supporter, is accused of requesting an absentee ballot for his mother Marie P. Hannigan, who died in 2015. The application noted Hannigan’s reason for the request as “visiting great-grandkids Oct. 24-Nov. 10,” the complaint states, according to the report
The application was also flagged because the signature reportedly did not match the one on file for Hannigan in the database of voter information. Election officials notified county detectives of the suspicious application.
When questioned by investigators, Lynn initially tried to blame a relative before later confessing to his misdeeds.
This is the first case of alleged voter fraud in the county in three decades.
“There’s always going to be people out there who are trying to take advantage of the system or cheat the system, but most importantly, there’s people on the other side making sure that doesn’t happen,” Luzerne County Manager David Pedri said.
“I hope that this case really proves as an example to any individual who’s thinking that they can do anything with regards to this election. People are watching these things,” Pedri added.
Sending out 80 MILLION BALLOTS to people who aren’t even asking for a Ballot is unfair and a total fraud in the making. Look at what’s going on right now!
Lynn has been released on $10,000 unsecured bail. If found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly criticized mail-in voting, claiming it’s a “scam” and a “fraud.”
“They’re sending out tens of millions of ballots to everybody, people that didn’t expect them. People are getting inundated with ballots, they’ll be showered with ballots,” Trump said during a press conference last month.
“Everybody in this room knows it’s a scam,” the president continued, referring to the White House reporters. “They are never going to be able to count them.”
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Shutter is a free and open-source, feature-rich screenshot tool for Linux based operating systems such as Ubuntu. It is available for all major GNU/Linux distributions and can be installed using the default package manager.
Electricity plays many roles in our lives, from lighting our homes to powering the technology and appliances we rely on every day. Electricity can also have a major impact at the molecular scale, by powering chemical reactions that generate useful products.
Working at that molecular level, MIT chemistry professor Yogesh Surendranath harnesses electricity to rearrange chemical bonds. The electrochemical reactions he is developing hold potential for process such as splitting water into hydrogen fuel, creating more efficient fuel cells, and converting waste products like carbon dioxide into useful fuels.
“All of our research is about decarbonizing the energy ecosystem,” says Surendranath, who recently earned tenure in MIT’s Department of Chemistry and serves as the associate director of the Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Center, one of the Low-Carbon Energy Centers run by the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI).
Although his work has many applications in improving energy efficiency, most of the research projects in Surendranath’s group have grown out of the lab’s fundamental interest in exploring, at a molecular level, the chemical reactions that occur between the surface of an electrode and a liquid.
“Our goal is to uncover the key rate-limiting processes and the key steps in the reaction mechanism that give rise to one product over another, so that we can, in a rational way, control a material's properties so that it can most selectively and efficiently carry out the overall reaction,” he says.
Energy conversion
Born in Bangalore, India, Surendranath moved to Kent, Ohio, with his parents when he was 3 years old. Bangalore and Kent happen to have the world’s leading centers for studying liquid crystal materials, the field that Surendranath’s father, an organic chemist, specialized in.
“My dad would often take me to the laboratory, and although my parents encouraged me to pursue medicine, I think my interest in science and chemistry probably was sparked at an early age, by those experiences,” Surendranath recalls.
Although he was interested in all of the sciences, he narrowed his focus after taking his first college chemistry class at the University of Virginia, with a professor named Dean Harman. He decided on a double major in chemistry and physics and ended up doing research in Harman’s inorganic chemistry lab.
After graduating from UVA, Surendranath came to MIT for graduate school, where his thesis advisor was then-MIT professor Daniel Nocera. With Nocera, he explored using electricity to split water as a way of renewably generating hydrogen. Surendranath’s PhD research focused on developing methods to catalyze the half of the reaction that extracts oxygen gas from water.
He got even more involved in catalyst development while doing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California at Berkeley. There, he became interested in nanomaterials and the reactions that occur at the interfaces between solid catalysts and liquids.
“That interface is where a lot of the key processes that are involved in energy conversion occur in electrochemical technologies like batteries, electrolyzers, and fuel cells,” he says.
In 2013, Surendranath returned to MIT to join the faculty, at a time when many other junior faculty members were being hired.
“One of the most attractive features of the department is its balanced composition of early career and senior faculty. This has created a nurturing and vibrant atmosphere that is highly collaborative,” he says. “But more than anything else, it was the phenomenal students at MIT that drew me back. Their intensity and enthusiasm is what drives the science.”
Fuel decarbonization
Among the many electrochemical reactions that Surendranath’s lab is trying to optimize is the conversion of carbon dioxide to simple chemical fuels such as carbon monoxide, ethylene, or other hydrocarbons. Another project focuses on converting methane that is burned off from oil wells into liquid fuels such as methanol.
“For both of those areas, the idea is to convert carbon dioxide and low-carbon feedstocks into commodity chemicals and fuels. These technologies are essential for decarbonizing the chemistry and fuels sector,” Surendranath says.
Other projects include improving the efficiency of catalysts used for water electrolysis and fuel cells, and for producing hydrogen peroxide (a versatile disinfectant). Many of those projects have grown out of his students’ eagerness to chase after difficult problems and follow up on unexpected findings, Surendranath says.
“The true joy of my time here, in addition to the science, has been about seeing students that I've mentored grow and mature to become independent scientists and thought leaders, and then to go off and launch their own independent careers, whether it be in industry or in academia,” he says. “That role as a mentor to the next generation of scientists in my field has been extraordinarily rewarding.”
Although they take their work seriously, Surendranath and his students like to keep the mood light in their lab. He often brings mangoes, coconuts, and other exotic fruits in to share, and enjoys flying stunt kites — a type of kite that has multiple lines, allowing them to perform acrobatic maneuvers such as figure eights. He can also occasionally be seen making balloon animals or blowing extremely large soap bubbles.
“My group has really cultivated an extraordinarily positive, collaborative, uplifting environment where we go after really hard problems, and we have a lot of fun along the way,” Surendranath says. “I feel blessed to work with people who have invested so much in the research effort and have built a culture that is such a pleasure to work in every day.”
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Whether because of that button or the terrible reviews — especially for Trump — the two interrupted each other far less frequently
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden scrapped over how to tame the raging coronavirus in Thursday’s final 2020 debate, largely shelving the rancor that overshadowed their previous face-off in favor of a more substantive exchange that highlighted their vastly different approaches to solving the major domestic and foreign policy challenges facing the nation.
With less than two weeks until the election, Trump sought to portray himself as the same outsider he first pitched to voters four years ago, repeatedly saying he wasn’t a politician. Biden, meanwhile, argued that Trump was an incompetent leader of a country facing multiple crises and tried to connect what he saw as the president’s failures to the everyday lives of Americans
The night in Nashville began with a battle over the president’s handling of the pandemic, which has killed more than 225,000 Americans and cost millions of jobs. Trump declared that the virus will go away while Biden warned that the nation was heading toward “a dark winter.” Polling suggests it is the campaign’s defining issue for voters, and Biden declared, “Anyone responsible for that many deaths should not remain president of the United States of America.”
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden answers a question as President Donald Trump listens during the second and final presidential debate at Belmont University on October 22, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. This is the last debate between the two candidates before the election on November 3. (Photo by Morry Gash-Pool/Getty Images)
Trump defended his management of the nation’s most deadly health crisis in a century, dismissing Biden’s warning that the nation had a dire stretch ahead due to spikes in infections. And he promised that a vaccine would be ready in weeks.
“It will go away,” said Trump, staying with his optimistic assessment of the pandemic. “We’re rounding the turn. We’re rounding the corner. It’s going away.”
“We can’t keep this country closed. This is a massive country with a massive economy,” Trump said. “There’s depression, alcohol, drugs at a level nobody’s ever seen before. The cure cannot be worse than the problem itself.”
Biden vowed that his administration would defer to the scientists and said that Trump’s divisive approach hindered the nation’s response.
“I don’t look at this in the way he does–blue states and red states,” Biden said. “They’re all the United States. And look at all the states that are having a spike in he coronavirus–they’re the red states.”
With Trump trailing and needing to change the campaign’s trajectory, the debate could prove pivotal though more than 47 million votes already have been cast and there are fewer undecided voters than at this point in previous election years. Their first debate was defined by angry interruptions but Thursday night featured a milder tone until near the end when Trump resumed his tactic of loudly butting in.
The two broke sharply on foreign policy, immigration and racial justice.
Biden called out Trump’s previous refusals to condemn white supremacists and his attacks on the Black Lives Matter movement, declaring that the president “pours fuel on every single racist fire.”
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participates in the final presidential debate against U.S. President Donald Trump at Belmont University on October 22, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. This is the last debate between the two candidates before the election on November 3. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“You know who I am. You know who he is. You know his character. You know my character,” Biden said. The rivals’ reputations for “honor and for telling to truth” are clear, he said. “I am anxious to have this race.”
Trump countered by pointing out his efforts on criminal justice reform, blasting Biden’s support of a 1990s Crime Bill that many feel disproportionately incarcerated Black men. Staring into the crowd, he declared himself “the least racist person in this room.”
Turning to foreign policy, Biden accused Trump of dealing with a “thug” while holding summits with the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un. And closer to home, the former vice president laced into the Trump administration’s policy of separating children from their parents trying to illegally cross the southern border.
Biden said that America has learned from a New York Times report that Trump only paid $750 a year in federal taxes while holding “a secret bank account” in China. The former vice president then noted he’s released all of his tax returns going back 22 years and challenged the president to release his returns, saying, “What are you hiding?”
Trump said he closed his former account in China and claimed his accountants told him he “prepaid tens of millions of dollars” in taxes. However, as he has for the past four years, after promising to release his taxes, he declined to say when he might do so.
U.S. President Donald Trump participates in the final presidential debate against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden at Belmont University on October 22, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. This is the last debate between the two candidates before the election on November 3. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
In a visual reminder of the pandemic that has rewritten the norms of American society and fundamentally changed the campaign, sheets of plexiglass had been installed onstage Wednesday between the two men. But in the hours before the debate, they were removed.
The debate, moderated by NBC’s Kristen Welker, was a final chance for each man to make his case to a television audience of tens of millions of voters. And questions swirled beforehand as to how Trump, whose hectoring performance at the first debate was viewed by aides as a mistake that turned off viewers, would perform amid a stretch of the campaign in which he has taken angry aim at the news media and unleashed deeply personal attacks on Biden and his adult son.
When he feels cornered, Trump has often lashed out, going as negative as possible. In one stunning moment during the 2016 campaign, in an effort to deflect from the release of the Access Hollywood tape in which he is heard boasting about groping women, Trump held a press conference just before a debate with Hillary Clinton during which he appeared with women who had accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault. He then invited them to watch as audience members.
In a similar move, Trump’s campaign held another surprise pre-debate news conference, this time featuring Tony Bobulinski, a man who said he was Hunter Biden’s former business partner and made unproven allegations that the vice president’s son consulted with his father on China-related business dealings.
Biden declared the discussion about family entanglements “malarkey” and accused Trump of not wanting to talk about the substantive issues.
Turning to the camera and the millions watching at home, he said, “It’s not about his family and my family. It’s about your family, and your family is hurting badly.”
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The NFL star previously said the 2020 season should be put on hold amid the pandemic
NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. claims he’s immune to COVID-19 because there is a “mutual respect” between himself and the coronavirus.
“Not in an arrogant way,” the Cleveland Browns wide receiver said to reporters this week when asked about the contagion, per CBS Sports. “I don’t think COVID can get to me. I don’t think it’s going to enter this body,” said Beckham.
“I don’t want no parts of it, it don’t want no parts of me,” he added. “It’s a mutual respect.”
Beckham Jr. caught major heat on social media over his controversial comments, which come two months after he made clear that the NFL should not hold the 2020 season amid the pandemic. He shared his thoughts about the matter with the Wall Street Journal.
“We’re not ready for football season. So why are we trying to push forward? It’s obviously for their money. And that bothers me because there’s always been this—and I hate saying it like that—but the owners’ [attitude is], ‘Oh we own you guys,’ and just kind of that unfairness going on that they don’t see us as human,” he said. “I just feel like the season shouldn’t happen and I’m prepared for it to not happen and I wouldn’t mind not having it.”
He also noted the difference between playing football versus basketball in the age of COVID.
“I can understand basketball was already in the playoffs. Five-on-five basketball in an arena is going to be more intense than regular-season games. Hooping is different than playing an eleven-on-eleven contact sport where there’s 80 people in a locker room,” Beckham said.
Meanwhile, due to coronavirus concerns, NFL players from over 20 teams reportedly opted out of the 2020 season.
The league recently announced eight players and eleven staffers have tested positive for the virus.
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Curtis D. Anderson was fired in December 2018 after admitting to his fraudulent activities
A former executive of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity has been charged in federal court with embezzling $3 million from the organization — which he allegedly used to fuel his gambling habit.
theGRIO previously reported, Curtis D. Anderson was fired in December 2018 after admitting to his fraudulent activities. Anderson served as a finance director at the fraternity’s international headquarters in Philadelphia for 20 years before the initial allegations surfaced.
Investigations from agencies including the FBI found that Anderson had been embezzling money for over a year. He cashed checks for almost $400,000 from the fraternity’s Santander bank account and at least $978,000 from the fraternity’s Wells Fargo account.
In 2018, Santander reported 87 checks were cashed from the fraternity’s accounts between March through October, totaling $189,539. The checks, made payable to Anderson and third parties, were cashed at various Pennsylvania branches.
Suspicions arose when Santander Bank contacted John Burrell, the fraternity’s executive director about “suspicious activity.”
Once Burrell received the notice, he and Thomas Battles, the fraternity’s national president visited the bank to address the issues. While there, Anderson walked through the bank’s door, unaware the two would be there. According to investigators, both Burrell and Battles questioned Anderson about the checks that were written out to him and he allegedly cashed.
Anderson admitted to his illegal activities, revealing that he had a gambling and drinking problem. He reportedly spent most of the funds at Harrah’s Casino.
“Embezzlement is theft, that’s the bottom line,” said U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain in a statement. “Anderson held a senior position of trust with his employer, and allegedly used that access to steal the identities of his colleagues and millions of dollars. My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect innocent organizations from being victimized by this type of fraud.”
Anderson was charged Wednesday on multiple counts including wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
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The Department of Homeland Security warned about the voter-intimidation operation earlier this month
Two U.S. intelligence officials claim the Trump administration has known for weeks that Russia and Iran obtained U.S. voter information in effort to influence the election.
National security adviser Robert O’Brien announced Thursday that both countries collected the data by hacking local governments. The Department of Homeland Security warned about the hacks in an Oct. 8 report, according to NBC News. The following day, Trump casually dropped the F-bomb while holding a virtual “mega, MAGA rally” with Rush Limbaugh, theGRIO previously reported.
“If you f*ck around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are gonna do things to you that have never been done before,” Trump uttered on the airwaves.
The colorful comment was made in regard to the tense relations with Iran, following the Trump administration imposing sanctions on the country’s banking sector.
FBI Director Christopher Wray and National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe announced at a news conference Wednesday that Iranian intelligence used the hacked information to send threatening emails to Democratic voters, falsely purporting to be from the far-right group Proud Boys. The emails warned “we will come after you” if the recipients didn’t vote for Trump, per The Associated Press.
“We will know which candidate you voted for. I would take this seriously if I were you,” the email added, according to Newsweek. The home address of the recipient was also posted at the bottom of the message.
“These actions are desperate attempts by desperate adversaries,” Ractliffe said about the voter-intimidation operation.
The Proud Boys deny sending the emails, calling them a “false flag operation” against the group.
Ratcliffe and Wray said the U.S. will impose costs on any foreign countries interfering in the 2020 U.S. election. Despite the Iranian and Russian actions, they said Americans can be confident that their vote will be counted.
Rep. Adam Schiff of California has requested a “fuller briefing” about Ratcliffe’s assertion that the hackers aim to benefit the Trump re-election campaign.
“The Iranians using the Proud Boys as a false flag operation, that could cut both ways, either intimidating Democratic voters or enraging Democratic voters,” Schiff told Andrea Mitchell of NBC News on Thursday. “So I would like to see the intelligence behind the conclusion that the director expressed.”
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A truck driver who drove into a crowd of hundreds of people protesting the death of George Floyd on a Minneapolis highway was charged with two criminal counts.
Prosecutors in Hennepin County charged Bogdan Vechirko, of Otsego, with one count each of making threats of violence, a felony, and criminal vehicular operation, a gross misdemeanor. According to the Star Tribune, prosecutors believe Vechirko attempted to scare protesters out of his path and that he had more than enough time to stop before he reached the crowd.
Vechirko told authorities that he was returning from a fuel delivery in Minneapolis and it was not his intent to hurt anyone. Police blocked entrances on the highway to keep protesters safe, but Vechirko was able to get onto the 35W Interstate bridge in Minneapolis that runs over the Mississippi River, due to an unblocked entrance, which still has not been explained.
A similar incident occurred in Seattle in June when Nikolas Alexander Fernandez drove into a crowd of protesters and fired several rounds from a gun as he tried to flee the scene. Fernandez was charged with one count of assault in the first degree, a class A felony.
In 2017, James Alex Fields Jr. intentionally drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one person and injuring 19 at a Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Fields pled guilty to 29 of 30 felonies and was sentenced to life in prison.
Vechirko’s lawyer, Mark Solheim, told the Tribune he “relied on his professional instinct and training to avoid a hard brake that could have jackknifed the truck and could have seriously injured or killed thousands of people, and instead slowed his vehicle while maneuvering through the parted crowd.”
No one was killed or seriously injured in the incident but one woman reported having abrasions due to her efforts to get out of the truck’s path. None of the protesters who attacked and injured Vechirko were charged. Vechirko’s wife said he suffered cuts to his face and his cellphone and wallet were stolen from the truck.
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via Gabe's Musing's
Brown County High School is under fire for referring to a Black student in its yearbook photo as, ‘Black Guy,’ per WRTV. The school released a statement calling the situation, “a truly reprehensible error,” said superintendent Dr. Laura Hammack and high school principal Matthew Stark on Monday.
“We acknowledge that yearbook is the only class at this school where all assignments and homework are published for all to see, we strive for perfection and hope any errors are minor and inconsequential. This is not an inconsequential error.”
The school claims they are investigating the situation and working with the student’s family to rectify the situation.
“Our district has been working to advance equity and inclusion for all protected classes; however, an occasion like this evidences the need for expanded response,” the statement reads. “We are committed to ensuring that Brown County Schools provide a welcoming, safe, inclusive, and equitable school community. We remain relentless in our pursuit of the same,” per the statement.
Photos of the botched yearbook have been posted online where “Black Guy” can be read amongst a plethora of names of what looks like the boys basketball team.
Hammack took to Facebook Live to address the situation further on the Brown County Schools – superintendent page.
This news comes on the heels of a Maryland teacher finding a noose hanging from the ceiling in her classroom. According to the New York Daily News, a student-created the noose during a science class for a pulley system from rope assignment.
