The angular shape of the construction contrasts with the straight sides of Egypt's "true" pyramids.
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Intro Video
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals: What to look out for
The Audacity of Entrepreneurship: 7 Ways To Boss Up In The Face of Adversity
It sounds super cool and trendy to be “a boss” but one thing is for certain, entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. Instead, being an entrepreneur takes daring, risk-taking, confidence, and yes, sometimes audacity.
Dee Williams is the CEO of Individual Audacity, a company that teaches driven, audacious individuals and leaders how to decide on a course of action in their career, business, or life and how to execute on those decisions. She’s the new co-founder of the tech startup MyStartup Assist.
Williams is also founder and CEO of Identifize Consulting, a recruitment and staffing consulting firm launched in 2011 after she left corporate America working as a recruiter and staffing professional in the IT space.
According to Williams, it takes a lot of inner work of choosing where you want to direct your energy, thoughts, and emotions to overcome adversity. It’s systematic by focusing on the end goal and not the present circumstance or what’s happening now. Despite the adversity, know where you’re going and where you’re going to focus. This is what she calls Individual Audacity—a conscious choice and unapologetic resolve of “this is who I am; these are my goals, and I live by that freely.”
Williams shares seven reasons why entrepreneurs must have audacity:
1. Unpredictable Challenges:
It’s inevitable in business, there will be good days, bad days, ups and downs and in order to maneuver through, you must be audacious. Sometimes, you’ll feel like you’re on top of the world and winning, and other times, it’ll seem like you’re the biggest loser. However, be bold in your decision-making in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
2. Idea Ownership
The idea that you’re bringing to the table is unique to you. So, if you don’t own, embrace, or uphold it, then who will. It was given to you, so you possess the tenacity and willpower to execute. You must be audacious to bring your ideas into the world. Most people die with world-changing ideas still in their mind.
3. Marketplace Competition:
Competition is fierce and employers today are fighting over talent. They’re fighting over people who can bring their business initiatives, goals and objectives to light. Don’t just start something that already exists with the same business model and put your personality on it. No! Take that business model, do your research, get your market fired up and create something that your market absolutely wants and enjoys. Showcase your ingenuity by introducing something of high value to the marketplace.
4. Doors of Opportunity:
Being audacious is about seizing the opportunity to meet new people; about hearing and seeing what’s happening around you so that you can identify the opportunities made available to you. But you can’t do that if you’re stuck in a box or expecting things to be one specific way. You must be audacious enough to recognize connections and how they are a part of your plan. You could be seated at a dinner table and a conversation leads to a new partnership or business deal. Recognize when opportunities show up because they’re all around you. However, if you don’t have that audacious spirit within, you will never be able to recognize the opportunities and the people that can help you realize them.
5. Profitability and Growth:
Generating revenue is not always as easy as we think it should be. So, you start the business, price and package your product or service. You market and get out there, and it’s not selling. Now what? This can really shake a person’s confidence after so much time has been invested. You must be audacious enough to create different ways to present your business and generate income. For example, understanding your market better and know what your market needs.
6. Authenticity and Transparency:
In a world where everyone is supposed to think, look, and act the same, what really draws people to a business or brand is pure authenticity. Being true to who you are regardless of your dialect, height, weight, background, race or religion. Being audacious with your message is also key. People aren’t looking for perfection these days; they are looking for identification and connection. When you can bring all that you are, even your flaws to the surface, people resonate with that.
7. Believe What’s Possible:
There is a fundamental difference between “knowing” and “believing.” Many believe they can start a business and they do. But they don’t know that the business can be successful especially after hitting some major bumps in the road. They have enough audacity to start a business but not enough to sustain an entrepreneur’s mindset. You must believe it can be done and know that it’s going to happen. You can’t just have one half of the equation. Check your self-talk. Examine what you are feeding into your mind on a consistent basis that’s shaping your belief system.
Black Enterprise Contributors Network
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Oprah Winfrey opens private road at her home to help evacuations during Maui brush fire
Oprah Winfrey is being praised across social media for opening the private road on her property to help with the Maui fire evacuations in Hawaii.
A large brush fire on the island erupted Thursday, prompting evacuations and diverting flights on the island, officials said, USA Today reports.
Residents in the town of Maalaea and in parts of Kihei received an evacuation notice on the cell phones after a fire started along Kuihelani Highway, forcing thousands to leave their homes. Shelters in Wailuku and Kihei have been made available for the displaced, Maui County officials said.
—Oprah considering a reboot of ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’—
“We are asking everyone to conserve energy, conserve water, and do what you can to be prepared,” Maui Mayor Mike Victorino said. “If you need to evacuate, please be aware of what’s going on around you.”
Meanwhile, folks have been showing their appreciation to Winfrey online after the media mogul opened the gate to the private road on her property in Maui so residents of Maalaea and parts of Kihei could flee the area quicker and more safely, CNN reports.
Several locals tweeted Winfrey asking her to share the code to the gate to allow residents to evacuate the area.
“@Oprah there’s a huge brush fire on Maui right now! People are trying to evacuate Kihei-my husband and son included!” one person tweeted. “If you would kindly share the code to your gate/road, folks can evacuate through Kula.”
Another said, “@Oprah Maui is on fire consider opening the ranch road so we can get upcountry.”
—Oprah Winfrey gets emotional at Hollywood empowerment event—
Winfrey was quick to respond, noting that “Access to the road was given to county officials immediately. This was many hours ago. Hoping for the safety of all.”
Hi there Jack, Access to the road was given to county officials immediately. This was many hours ago. Hoping for the safety of all. 🙏🏾 https://t.co/BxsPNUkkJC
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) July 12, 2019
“Of course it is,” one person replied to Winfrey after she made clear that the road on her property is open, “because you’re awesome and always prepared to do for others,” the fan added.
Another said: “Of course Oprah comes thru with the clutch.”
Hawaii’s Governor David Ige also tweeted his appreciation to Winfrey, “A big mahalo to @Oprah for giving @mauicounty access to your private road for use to assist in the #Mauifire,” he wrote.
A big mahalo to @Oprah for giving @mauicounty access to your private road for use to assist in the #Mauifire https://t.co/DPC6qkAGrq
— Governor David Ige (@GovHawaii) July 12, 2019
The post Oprah Winfrey opens private road at her home to help evacuations during Maui brush fire appeared first on theGrio.
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R. Kelly reportedly paid thousands for the return of sex tapes missing from his collection
Following R. Kelly’s arrest on federal charges of sex trafficking comes word that he paid thousands of dollars to recover videotapes of himself having sex with teenage girls.
Kelly was arrested in Chicago Thursday night and is expected to remain in custody until Tuesday.
—BREAKING: R. Kelly charged with 11 brand NEW counts of sexual abuse—
As previously reported by TheGrio, the embattled singer is facing two separate federal grand jury indictments in Illinois and New York. The U.S. attorney spokesman Joseph Fitzpatrick has told the Associated Press that the 13-count indictment includes charges of child pornography, enticement of a minor and obstruction of justice.
Kelly is accused of recruiting young women for sex and allegedly convinced folks on his team to conceal his sexual encounters with teens. He reportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars buying back several missing explicit videotapes of his alleged victims.
Prosecutors say Kelly videotaped himself having sex with at least four girls under the age of 18 beginning in 1998. Years later, when the R&B hitmaker discovered some of the tapes were missing from his “collection,” he began paying “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to several people to recover them, the indictment says.
Kelly then directed those same people to take polygraph tests to confirm that they had returned all copies of the tapes.
—Ice Cube explains why Lamar Odom was booted from BIG3: ‘we want players who actually play’—
The Illinois indictment has charged Kelly with “one count of conspiracy to receive child pornography, two counts of receiving child pornography, four counts of producing child pornography, five counts of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice,” reports CNN.
The New York indictment accuses him of sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, forced labor and trafficking women and girls from 1999 to the present.
NBC4 New York reported that R. Kelly was picked up by Homeland Security NYPD Investigation agents and NYPD Public Safety Task Force, and is expected to be taken to New York. However, during his brief appearance in a Chicago federal court on Friday, the judge delayed a decision on whether Kelly should be taken to New York to face charges until he is arraigned in Chicago, according to the CNN report.
“R. Kelly’s Enterprise was not only engaged in music; as alleged, for two decades the enterprise at the direction of R. Kelly preyed upon young women and teenagers whose dreams of meeting a superstar, soon turned into a nightmare of rape, child pornography, and forced labor. The musician turned predator allegedly used his stardom to coax some victims into nefarious sex acts while certain members of his enterprise calculatingly facilitated the aberrant conduct,” Homeland Security Special Agent-in-Charge Angel Melendez said in a statement.
R. Kelly has been accused of multiple crimes against women over the past 20 years. He has vehemently denied all present and past allegations of sexual misconduct which has been leveled against him.
The post R. Kelly reportedly paid thousands for the return of sex tapes missing from his collection appeared first on theGrio.
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Jaden Smith on why he’s ‘becoming a full-time inventor’
Jaden Smith created a water filtration system for the people of Flint, Michigan, and launched the “I Love You” food truck on his birthday this month to feed vegan meals to the homeless in Los Angeles. Now the rapper and young entrepreneur says he’s ready to become a full-time inventor.
“I want the world to know that I am switching professions and that I am becoming a full-time inventor,” Smith tells Complex. “I’m going to spend all of my time inventing new technologies because I think I’m better at that than making music.”
—Jaden Smith celebrates his birthday by launching free vegan food truck for the homeless-—
Smith recently released a new album ERYS, along with its first single “Again,” and has been prepping to hit the road with Tyler the Creator for the IGOR tour. But the son of Hollywood royalty says “I’m not a musician. I’m an inventor. Elon Musk is my idol and I’m not gonna stop until I’m like Elon Musk.”
As previously reported by TheGrio, Smith’s celebrated his 21st birthday (on July 8) by launching his I Love You mobile restaurant; a food truck servicing L.A.’s Skid Row district. Back in March Smith’s foundation made headlines for helping bring clean water to Flint, Michigan by deploying a mobile water filtration system known as “The Water Box” that reduces lead and other potential contaminants.
In his interview with Complex, Smith further explains why he dropped his last name on music streaming services.
“You want to know why? Because Willow’s name is “just Willow.” And everything is a character. I feel like I had to separate the things that I do as different characters,” he explains.
“Jaden Smith is the guy that does the vegan food truck in L.A., and gets that out to the homeless people, and does the Water Box in Flint, and starts Just Water, and sits down with Al Gore. Jaden is just a musical artist.”
—Drugs and alcohol not involved in Kendrick Norton accident that cost him his arm—
Smith says he and his sister “are like a band,” comparing their dynamic to that of hip-hop duo OutKast and their famed Speakerboxxx/The Love Below album.
“Me and Willow are like OutKast except we only ever release individual albums.” You remember how OutKast did that one album where it was like two albums? That’s me and Willow. It’s like we’re not really a band, but we kind of are. It’s Jaden and Willow, we have to have the uniform names.”
The post Jaden Smith on why he’s ‘becoming a full-time inventor’ appeared first on theGrio.
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Drugs and alcohol not involved in Kendrick Norton accident that cost him his arm
Police say Miami Dolphins lineman Kendrick Norton made an improper lane change that led to the horrific 4th of July car crash which caused him to have his left arm amputated.
The accident occurred early Thursday morning on a Miami-area highway when Norton made an improper lane change that resulted in his Ford F250 pickup truck sideswiping a Maserati before colliding with a concrete barrier and landing upside-down, Yahoo Sports reports.
—-Miami Dolphins player Kendrick Norton loses arm in crash—-
The police report that Norton was exiting the highway on the Northbound ramp when he decided at the last minute to switch to the Southbound exit ramp. That’s when he crashed into the Maserati — sending Norton’s vehicle careening into a barrier then flipping over.
Norton and his female passenger, 34-year-old Shakir Williams, suffered major injuries and both were transported to a nearby hospital, TMZ reports. Police said neither were wearing seatbelts.
Norton’s left arm reportedly had to be amputated by paramedics on the scene in order to remove him from the wreckage. There were reportedly no drugs or alcohol found in his system, but Norton has been issued a citation for the improper lane change.
—Congressman, celebs push for A$AP Rocky’s release from jail—
“I am as comfortable as I can be with the situation. I am doing fine and the best I can,” Norton shared with CBS4 in Miami on Thursday. “I am staying strong because of all of the support from all of the fans, all of the teams, my family and everyone. That is what is pushing me, my faith and the support from my family, my grandparents, my sports agent. Everyone is going above and beyond with nothing in return. Just to see people who have been supporting me is just great.”
Sadly, he now recognizes that his football career is over.
“I realize that I will not be able to play for anyone,” Norton told CBS4. “We are working past that you know. That reality is sinking in. I am alive and I am grateful.”
The post Drugs and alcohol not involved in Kendrick Norton accident that cost him his arm appeared first on theGrio.
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Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta resigning amid Jeffrey Epstein scandal
WASHINGTON (AP) — Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta said Friday he is resigning following renewed scrutiny of his handling of a 2008 secret plea deal with wealthy financier Jeffrey Esptein, who is accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls.
President Donald Trump, with Acosta at his side, made the announcement as he left the White House for a trip to Wisconsin and Ohio. The president said Acosta had been a “great” labor secretary.
“I hate to see this happen,” Trump said. He said he did not ask Acosta to leave the Cabinet.
Acosta said his resignation would be effective in seven days. Acosta said he didn’t think it was right for his handling of Epstein’s case to distract from his work as secretary of labor.
“My point here today is we have an amazing economy and the focus needs to be on the economy job creation,” Acosta said.
Acosta was the U.S. attorney in Miami when he oversaw a 2008 non-prosecution agreement Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein avoided federal charges, plead guilty to state charges and served 13 months in jail. Similar charges recently filed against Epstein by federal prosecutors in New York had put Acosta’s role in the 2008 deal under renewed scrutiny.
Top Democratic lawmakers and presidential candidates had demanded that Acosta resign over his handling of the agreement, which a federal judge has said violated federal law because Acosta did not notify Epstein’s victims of the arrangement. The Justice Department has been investigating.
Trump had initially defended Acosta but said he’d look “very closely” his handling of the 2008 agreement.
The deal came under scrutiny earlier this year following reporting by the Miami Herald.
Epstein, 66, reached the deal to secretly end a federal sex abuse investigation involving at least 40 teenage girls that could have landed him behind bars for life. He instead pleaded guilty to state charges, spent 13 months in jail, paid settlements to victims and is a registered sex offender.
Acosta had attempted to clear his name, and held a news conference — encouraged by Trump — to defend his actions. In a 50-plus-minute lawyerly rebuttal, Acosta argued his office had secured the best deal it could at the time and was working in the victims’ best interests.
“We did what we did because we wanted to see Epstein go to jail,” he said, refusing to apologize for his actions. “We believe that we proceeded appropriately.”
Pressed on whether he had any regrets, Acosta repeatedly suggested that circumstances had changed since then.
“We now have 12 years of knowledge and hindsight and we live in a very different world,” he said. “Today’s world treats victims very, very differently,” he said.
After federal attorneys in New York announced the new charges against Epstein this week, Acosta tweeted that he was “pleased” by their decision.
“The crimes committed by Epstein are horrific,” Acosta tweeted. “With the evidence available more than a decade ago, federal prosecutors insisted that Epstein go to jail, register as a sex offender and put the world on notice that he was a sexual predator.”
“Now that new evidence and additional testimony is available, the NY prosecution offers an important opportunity to more fully bring him to justice,” he said.
Acosta, the nation’s 27th labor secretary, took on the role officially in early 2017, leading a sprawling agency that enforces more than 180 federal laws covering about 10 million employers and 125 million workers. He was confirmed in the Senate 60-38.
But Acosta had frustrated some conservatives who had been pushing for his ouster long before the Epstein uproar. Among their frustrations were Acosta’s decisions to proceed with several employment discrimination lawsuits and to allow certain Obama holdovers to remain on the job.
Acosta is a former federal prosecutor and civil rights chief. Before joining the administration he was dean of the Florida International University law school.
The post Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta resigning amid Jeffrey Epstein scandal appeared first on theGrio.
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Visiting lecturer to spearhead project exploring the geopolitics of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is expected to have tremendous societal impact across the globe in the near future. Now Luis Videgaray PhD ’98, former foreign minister and finance minister of Mexico, is coming to MIT to spearhead an effort that aims to help shape global AI policies, focusing on how such rising technologies will affect people living in all corners of the world.
Starting this month, Videgaray, an expert in geopolitics and AI policy, will serve as director of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Policy for the World Project (MIT AIPW), a collaboration between the MIT Sloan School of Management and the new MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing. Videgaray will also serve as a senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan and as a distinguished fellow at the MIT Internet Policy Research Initiative.
The MIT AIPW will bring together researchers from across the Institute to explore and analyze best AI policies for countries around the world based on various geopolitical considerations. The end result of the year-long effort, Videgaray says, will be a report with actionable policy recommendations for national and local governments, businesses, international organizations, and universities — including MIT.
“The core idea is to analyze, raise awareness, and come up with useful policy recommendations for how the geopolitical context affects both the development and use of AI,” says Videgaray, who earned his PhD at MIT in economics. “It’s called AI Policy for the World, because it’s not only about understanding the geopolitics, but also includes thinking about people in poor nations, where AI is not really being developed but will be adopted and have significant impact in all aspects of life.”
“When we launched the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, we expressed the desire for the college to examine the societal implications of advanced computational capabilities,” says MIT Provost Martin Schmidt. “One element of that is developing frameworks which help governments and policymakers contemplate these issues. I am delighted to see us jump-start this effort with the leadership of our distinguished alumnus, Dr. Videgaray.”
Democracy, diversity, and de-escalation
As Mexico’s finance minister from 2012 to 2016, Videgaray led Mexico’s energy liberalization process, a telecommunications reform to foster competition in the sector, a tax reform that reduced the country’s dependence on oil revenues, and the drafting of the country’s laws on financial technology. In 2012, he was campaign manager for President Peña Nieto and head of the presidential transition team.
As foreign minister from 2017 to 2018, Videgaray led Mexico’s relationship with the Trump White House, including the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He is one of the founders of the Lima Group, created to promote regional diplomatic efforts toward restoring democracy in Venezuela. He also directed Mexico’s leading role in the UN toward an inclusive debate on artificial intelligence and other new technologies. In that time, Videgaray says AI went from being a “science-fiction” concept in the first year to a major global political issue the following year.
In the past few years, academic institutions, governments, and other organizations have launched initiatives that address those issues, and more than 20 countries have strategies in place that guide AI development. But they miss a very important point, Videgaray says: AI’s interaction with geopolitics.
MIT AIWP will have three guiding principles to help shape policy around geopolitics: democratic values, diversity and inclusion, and de-escalation.
One of the most challenging and important issues MIT AIWP faces is if AI “can be a threat to democracy,” Videgaray says. In that way, the project will explore policies that help advance AI technologies, while upholding the values of liberal democracy.
“We see some countries starting to adopt AI technologies not for the improvement for the quality of life, but for social control,” he says. “This technology can be extremely powerful, but we are already seeing how it can also be used to … influence people and have an effect on democracy. In countries where institutions are not as strong, there can be an erosion of democracy.”
A policy challenge in that regard is how to deal with private data restrictions in different countries. If some countries don’t put any meaningful restrictions on data usage, it could potentially give them a competitive edge. “If people start thinking about geopolitical competition as more important than privacy, biases, or algorithmic transparency, and the concern is to win at all costs, then the societal impact of AI around the world could be quite worrisome,” Videgaray says.
In the same vein, MIT AIPW will focus on de-escalation of potential conflict, by promoting an analytical, practical, and realistic collaborative approach to developing and using AI technologies. While media has dubbed the rise of AI worldwide as a type of “arms race,” Videgaray says that type of thinking is potentially hazardous to society. “That reflects a sentiment that we’re moving again into an adversarial world, and technology will be a huge part of it,” he says. “That will have negative effects of how technology is developed and used.”
For inclusion and diversity, the project will make AI’s ethical impact “a truly global discussion,” Videgaray says. That means promoting awareness and participation from countries around the world, including those that may be less developed and more vulnerable. Another challenge is deciding not only what policies should be implemented, but also where those policies might be best implemented. That could mean at the state level or national level in the United States, in different European countries, or with the UN.
“We want to approach this in a truly inclusive way, which is not just about countries leading development of technology,” Videgaray says. “Every country will benefit and be negatively affected by AI, but many countries are not part of the discussion.”
Building connections
While MIT AIPW won’t be drafting international agreements, Videgaray says another aim of the project is to explore different options and elements of potential international agreements. He also hopes to reach out to decision makers in governments and businesses around the world to gather feedback on the project’s research.
Part of Videgaray’s role includes building connections across MIT departments, labs, and centers to pull in researchers to focus on the issue. “For this to be successful, we need to integrate the thinking of people from different backgrounds and expertise,” he says.
At MIT Sloan, Videgaray will teach classes alongside Simon Johnson, the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship Professor and a professor of global economics and management. His lectures will focus primarily on the issues explored by the MIT AIPW project.
Next spring, MIT AIPW plans to host a conference at MIT to convene researchers from the Institute and around the world to discuss the project’s initial findings and other topics in AI.
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