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Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Cause of John Witherspoon’s untimely death revealed
John Witherspoon was so full of life. But a death certificate revealed that he suffered heart problems, that ultimately contributed to his death at the vivacious age of 77.
READ MORE: John Witherspoon leaves one last laugh in hilarious YouTube video
According to TMZ, the comedian suffered a fatal heart attack, likely because of coronary artery disease, which he was fighting.
Witherspoon also was inflicted with hypertension, but the report doesn’t identify it as contributing to his death.
Before his untimely death on Oct. 29, Witherspoon posted a 15-minute video to his YouTube channel on Oct. 28 cooking what he called “Poor Man’ Gumbo.” He wore little more than an apron and a chef’s toque blanche, and discussed how important it was to create a good roux.
Early on in the video, Witherspoon explained the reason why he hadn’t posted to his YouTube page in a year was that he had been working.
“Now I know I haven’t been here for a while, but I’ve been busy doing other things,” Witherspoon said in the clip. “We about to do the Boondocks, and we gonna do another Friday, but I’ve been around working on the road because I’ve been very, very busy and got a big schedule this year.”
He was in fact set to reprise his role as Mr. Jones in the cult classic Friday franchise. He was also due to return to The Boondocks, according to Deadline.
The next day, paramedics were called to his home after he suffered cardiac arrest. According to his death certificate, by 5:30 p.m. that day “Pops,” as he was affectionately known, was reported dead.
Witherspoon died on Tuesday, Oct. 29 in his Sherman Oaks, California home.
Witherspoon’s family has long called the actor and comedian “one of the hardest working men in show business.”
READ MORE: John Witherspoon was more than just an entertainer, he was our Pops
In announcing his death, his wife and sons tweeted: “It is with deep sadness we have to tweet this, but our husband & father John Witherspoon has passed away. He was a Legend in the entertainment industry, and a father figure to all who watched him over the years. We love you “POPS” always & forever.”
It is with deep sadness we have to tweet this, but our husband & father John Witherspoon has passed away. He was a Legend in the entertainment industry, and a father figure to all who watched him over the years. We love you “POPS” always & forever.
– The Witherspoon Family pic.twitter.com/ov9P34kaMn
— John Witherspoon (@John_POPS_Spoon) October 30, 2019
The post Cause of John Witherspoon’s untimely death revealed appeared first on theGrio.
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Stephen A. Smith Reportedly Secures $8 Million Salary in ESPN Deal
According to The New York Post, sports commentator, Stephen A. Smith. has re-upped his contract to the tune of almost $8 million per year.
Smith and ESPN have agreed on a five-year deal worth nearly $8 million per year, which sets him up to become ESPN’s highest-paid on-air personality. This contract will surpass ESPN’s Get Up! host Mike Greenberg, who earns $6.5 million a year.
Smith, along with Max Kellerman and Molly Qerim, is a featured commentator on ESPN’s First Take weekdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET, discussing and debating the sports topics of the day. He joined First Take permanently back in 2012. Smith appears on ESPN every day as a commentator on First Take and makes frequent appearances on SportsCenter where he is already hosting the show on Wednesdays, leading into NBA games.
The network is also reportedly trying to fit him in their ESPN+ subscription service while alleviating his duties on his ESPN Radio show next year.
The Omega Psi Phi member attended the Fashion Institute of Technology for one year, then he received a basketball scholarship to attend Winston-Salem State University, a historically black university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Smith began his career as a journalist in print media. He worked at Winston-Salem Journal, the Greensboro News and Record, New York Daily News, and The Philadelphia Inquirer before embarking to the radio and cable airwaves.
According to the ESPN site, “in September 2014, Smith began hosting the daily The Stephen A. Smith Show on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio. In January 2017, The Stephen A. Smith Show moved to ESPN’s SiriusXM channel and simulcast on ESPN’s owned and operated stations in New York (98.7FM) and Los Angeles (710AM), airing 1-3 p.m. In January 2018, the program expanded to the national ESPN Radio network and is available across ESPN Radio stations throughout the country. In August 2018, The Stephen A. Smith Show joined the ESPNEWS weekday ESPN Radio simulcast lineup. Smith also hosts several SportsCenter specials on ESPN throughout the year (since 2018).”
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Apple Mac Pro (2019): Specs, Features, Release Date
NFL invites teams to check Colin Kaepernick out in private workout session
Colin Kaepernick got a sweet surprise when he learned that the NFL has opened up an opportunity for him to be evaluated by teams at a private workout over the weekend. During this session, teams will be able to assess his readiness to play professionally once again.
READ MORE: Colin Kaepernick posts video of private workout session with Odell Beckham Jr.
On Tuesday, NFL clubs received two separate memos from the league stating that the free-agent quarterback would be available on this coming Saturday for a workout session in Atlanta. The teams were invited to check him out, and video record Kaepernick to judge whether he’s NFL-fit to hit the field, NFL.com reports.
Kaepernick’s been working out for the past three years to stay in shipshape.
In 2016, as a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, he started a kneeling campaign to protest racial injustice throughout the country. During the singing of the National Anthem, he would peacefully take a knee on the field while the song was being sung. When his contract was being renegotiated, he opted out of that particular contract in 2017.
Unable to join another team, for what he believed was a concerted blacklisting because of his actions by league owners, he sued the NFL. After months of back and forth, he later settled an NFL collusion claim and now to his surprise, it seems they are ready to give him another go.
READ MORE: Colin Kaepernick settles collusion case with NFL
“I’m just getting word from my representatives that the NFL league office reached out to them about a workout in Atlanta on Saturday. I’ve been in shape and ready for this for 3 years, can’t wait to see the head coaches and GMs on Saturday,” Kaepernick tweeted.
I’m just getting word from my representatives that the NFL league office reached out to them about a workout in Atlanta on Saturday. I’ve been in shape and ready for this for 3 years, can’t wait to see the head coaches and GMs on Saturday.
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) November 13, 2019
According to ESPN, one of the memos sent by the league, it states: “Earlier this year, we discussed some possible steps with his representatives and they recently emphasized his level of preparation and that he is ready to work out for clubs and be interviewed by them. We have therefore arranged this opportunity for him to work out, and for all clubs to have the opportunity to evaluate his current readiness and level of interest in resuming his NFL career.”
On Saturday, only half of the NFL team coaches and managers will be available to assess Kaepernick. Kaepernick’s reps wanted him to attend a Tuesday session when all general managers would be there. But the NFL reportedly said “no” to that request without offering any reason.
Most of the teams will reportedly be traveling on Saturday to games, according to the outlet.
Of the 32 teams that will be available to come and view Kaepernick, they didn’t know about the viewing opportunity until the memo was released, ESPN reports. Kaepernick’s representatives then inquired if there were any particular teams that asked for the workout, but the NFL league office said, “We can’t tell you that.”
READ MORE: Jay-Z defends NFL deal with Roc Nation, talks Kaepernick
Now Kaepernick’s representatives are wondering if the workout session is a mere PR stunt by the league, sources told ESPN.
They also are asking for a list of NFL personnel, executives and coaches, who would be surveying Kaepernick’s workout to assess if it’s a legit opportunity.
The athlete turned activist was seen back in July working out with Odell Beckham Jr. at UCLA’s practice field.
He ready.
The post NFL invites teams to check Colin Kaepernick out in private workout session appeared first on theGrio.
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Jamie Foxx is the First Black Lead in a Pixar Movie
For the first time, Pixar is releasing a film with a black lead actor, according to CNN. The name of the movie is Soul and it stars Jamie Foxx alongside Tina Fey, Phylicia Rashad, Daveed Diggs, and Questlove. Soul, which is co-directed by two-time Academy Award winner Pete Doctor and Kemp Powers, is about a middle school band teacher named Joe Gardner, voiced by Foxx, whose real passion is playing jazz. After Gardner falls into a manhole, he ends up in a mystical place and he’s just a soul.
According to The Walt Disney Co. site, Soul introduces Joe Gardner, a middle-school band teacher whose true passion is playing jazz. “I think Joe is having that crisis that all artists have,” says Powers. “He’s increasingly feeling like his lifelong dream of being a jazz musician is not going to pan out and he’s asking himself ‘Why am I here? What am I meant to be doing?’ Joe personifies those questions.”
The film is set in New York City—inviting filmmakers to capture everything they love about the city of dreams. “I was born and raised in New York,” says Powers. “This is the first time Pixar has gone to my hometown and I’ve been so impressed by the amount of energy that goes into making sure that everything is right. When the character’s in Queens, it looks like he’s in Queens. When he’s in Manhattan, it looks like he’s in Manhattan. It’s pretty incredible.”
Disney and Pixar’s “Soul” is slated to open in theaters on June 19, 2020. The film is produced by Academy Award nominee Dana Murray. Globally renowned musician Jon Batiste is bringing original jazz music for the film, and Oscar winners Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are creating an original score to match.
The studio released the trailer for Soul last week. Watch it below.
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Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Historian of the hinterlands
History can help us face hard truths. The places Kate Brown studies are particularly full of them.
Brown, a historian in MIT’s Program in Science, Technology, and Society, has made a career out of studying what she calls “modernist wastelands” — areas suffering after years of warfare, social conflict, and even radioactive fallout from atomic accidents.
Brown has spent years conducting research in the former Soviet Union, often returning to a large region stretching across the Poland-Ukraine border, which has been beset by two world wars, ethnic cleansing, purges, famine, and changes in power. It’s the setting for her acclaimed first book, “A Biography of No Place” (2004), a chronicle of the region’s conflicts and their consequences.
The same region includes the site of the Chernobyl nuclear-reactor explosion, subject of Brown’s fourth and most recent book, “Manual for Survival: A Chernobyl Guide to the Future” (2019), which uncovers extensive new evidence about the effects of the disaster on the area and its people.
“Progress [often] occurs in big capitals, but if you go to the hinterlands, you see what’s left in the wake of progress, and it’s usually a lot of destruction,” says Brown, speaking of areas that have suffered due to technological or economic changes.
That does not apply only to the former Soviet Union and its former satellite states, to be sure. Brown, who considers herself an transnational historian, is also the author of 2013’s “Plutopia,” reconstructing life in and around the plutonium-producing plants in Richland, Washington, and Ozersk, Russia, which have both left a legacy of nuclear contamination.
With a record of innovative and award-winning research over more than two decades in academia, Brown joined MIT with tenure, as a professor of science, technology, and society, in early 2019.
When “no place” is like home
The lesson that life can be tough in less-glamorous locales is one Brown says she learned early on. Brown grew up in Elgin, Illinois, once headquarters of the famous Elgin National Watch Company — although that changed.
“The year I was born, 1965, the Elgin watch factory was shuttered, and they blew up the watch tower,” Brown says. “It was a company town, and that was the main business. I grew up watching the supporting businesses close, and then regular clothing stores and grocery stores went bankrupt.”
And while the changes in Elgin were very different (and less severe) than those in the places she has studied professionally, Brown believes her hometown milieu has shaped her work.
“It was nothing near what I describe in wartime Ukraine, or Chernobyl, or one of plutonium plants, but I finally realized I was so interested in modernist wastelands because of my own background,” Brown says.
Indeed, Brown notes, her mother moved four times in her life because of the “deindustrialized landscape,” from places like Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, and Detroit. And her parents, she says, “moved to Elgin thinking it was healthy, small-town America. So how many times do they have to jump? … What if you care about your family and community? What if you’re loyal?”
As it happens, part of the direct impetus for Brown’s career came from her mother. One day in the 1980s, Brown recalls, she was talking to her parents and criticizing the superficial culture surrounding U.S.-Soviet relations. To which Brown’s mother responded, “Do something about it. Study Russian, change the world.”
As an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin, Brown soon “took everything Russian, Russian lit and translation, grammar, history, politics, and I just got hooked. Then I thought I should go study there.” In 1987, she spent a year abroad in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). After graduating, Brown worked for a study-abroad program in the Soviet Union for three more years, helping students troubleshoot “pretty major problems, with housing and food and medical care,” as well as some cases where students had run afoul of Soviet authorities.
Returning to the U.S., Brown entered the graduate program in history at the University of Washington while working as a journalist. She kept returning to the Ukraine borderlands region, collecting archival and observational material, and writing it up, for her dissertation “in the narrative mode of a first-person travelogue.”
That did not fit the model of a typical PhD thesis. But Richard White, a prominent American historian with an openness toward innovative work, who was then at the University of Washington, advocated to keep the form of Brown’s work largely intact. She received her PhD, and more: Her thesis formed the basis of “A Biography of No Place,” which won the George Louis Beer Prize for International European History from the American Historical Association (AHA). Brown joined the faculty at the University of Maryland at Baltimore County before joining MIT.
A treasure island for research
In all of Brown’s books, a significant portion of the work, a bit atypically for academia, has continued to incorporate first-person material about her travels, experiences, and research, something she also regards as crucial.
“Because these places are rarely visited, they’re hard to imagine for the readers,” Brown says. “That puts me in the narrative, though not for all of it.”
Brown’s approach to history is also highly archival: She has unearthed key documents in all manner of local, regional, and national repositories. When she entered the profession, in the 1990s, many Soviet archives were just opening up, providing some rich opportunities for original research.
“It’s amazing,” Brown says. “Over and over again I’ve been one of the first persons to walk into an archive and see what’s there. And that is just sort of a treasure island quality of historical research. Being a Soviet historian in the early 1990s, there was nothing else like it.”
The archives continue to be profitable for Brown, yielding some of her key new insights in “Manual for Survival.” In assessing Chernobyl, Brown shows, local and regional studies of the disaster’s effects were often extensive and candid, but the official record became sanitized as it moved up the Soviet bureaucratic hierarchy.
Brown’s combination of approaches to writing history has certainly produced extensive professional success. “Plutopia” was awarded the AHA’s Albert J. Beveridge and John H. Dunning prizes as the best book in American history and the Organization of American Historians’ Ellis H. Hawley Award, among others. Brown has also received Guggenheim Foundation and Carnegie Foundation fellowships.
Brown is currently working on a new research project, examining overlooked forms of human knowledge about plants and the natural environment. She notes that there are many types of “indigenous knowledge and practices we have missed or rejected,” which could foster a more sustainable relationship between human society and the environment.
It is a different type of topic than Brown’s previous work, although, like her other projects, this one recognizes that we have spent too long mishandling the environment, rather than prioritizing its care — another hard truth to consider.
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John Legend named ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ and Chrissy Teigen reacts
John Legend has been named Sexiest Man Alive by PEOPLE.
The EGOT winner graces the cover of the annual issue that has featured the likes of Idris Elba and Dwayne Johnson in previous years.
Of course, Legend’s wife Chrissy Teigen has thoughts and she shared them on social media shortly after the news broke on Tuesday night.
“My secret is out. I have fulfilled my dream of having boned @people’s sexiest man alive!! an honor!!!!!,” she posted along with a photo of the coveted cover.
my secret is out. I have fulfilled my dream of having boned @people's sexiest man alive!! an honor!!!!! pic.twitter.com/xu7ygnhOZk
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) November 13, 2019
View this post on Instagram😍 you’ve come a long way, baby
A post shared by chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) on
“I cannot WAIT for people to get mad about John being the sexiest man alive. it’s my new Starbucks holiday cup,” she added.
I cannot WAIT for people to get mad about John being the sexiest man alive. it's my new Starbucks holiday cup
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) November 13, 2019
The outspoken star didn’t stop there. She updated her Twitter bio to read “currently sleeping with people’s sexiest man alive,” and poked fun at her man by sharing a post he made with a throwback photo from 1995 next to a photo of last year’s winner, Idris Elba.
yeah but let's see an @idriselba pic from 1995 (prob still very hot) https://t.co/7DtT72InGk
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) November 13, 2019
“I was excited, but I was a little scared at the same time because it’s a lot of pressure…Everyone’s going to be picking me apart to see if I’m sexy enough to hold this title. I’m [also] following Idris Elba, which is not fair and is not nice to me!” he told PEOPLE.
John Legend’s update of ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ slammed as ‘absurd’
He also revealed what makes him the most proud.
“I’m so proud that I have a wife and two kids I’m so in love with and so connected to. I’m also so proud of my career,” he said. “I love writing songs and performing on stage. I get a lot of joy from it and give a lot of joy to other people. I’m pretty at ease with myself now!”
POLL: Do you think John Legend deserves the title?
The post John Legend named ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ and Chrissy Teigen reacts appeared first on theGrio.
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WATCH: Jemele Hill drops EPIC wedding video showing off her big day
Jemele Hill married Ian Wallace in a beachside ceremony in California and she just dropped an EPIC video showing off her big day.
The journalist who hosts the Jemele Hill Is Unbothered podcast shared the video in Instagram on Tuesday night and by the looks of the footage, she and her guests had the time of their lives.
Jemele Hill still speaking her mind, this time on podcast
“It would be impossible to describe what my wedding day felt like, but here’s a taste. Special thank you to @mytouch_weddings — who also shot our dope-ass engagement video — for again dropping the mic. #FromMSUtoIDo,” she captioned the video.
Set to Soul II Soul‘s classic tune “Back To Life,” we see the bride and groom prepare for their big day at the Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, California before tying the knot in front of family and friends then getting down on the dance floor with friends like Gabrielle Union.
The couple treated guests to refreshments before the ceremony began, wavering from the standard run of show at a wedding. “The pre-wedding reception served just wine, champagne and beer,” Hill told Essence. “We don’t want them to be too lit for the wedding.”
They also paid homage to their Detroit roots by hiring Detroit-based and Black-owned vendors. “Ian was very focused on having a celebration with great music and vibes. I wanted the food and the ambiance to be great,” she said.
Jemele Hill and fiancé embody Jay-Z and Beyoncé in their engagement video
Musiq Soulchild performed at the reception and the bride wore a custom-made Vera Wang gown fit for a queen. The high-low gown made a perfect transition from day to night and Hill managed to change her look by taking down the updo she had at the ceremony and showing off flowing locks for the reception.
The post WATCH: Jemele Hill drops EPIC wedding video showing off her big day appeared first on theGrio.
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‘Games People Play’ renewed for second season at BET
After month of keeping fans in suspense, BET has announced that Games People Play will be back for a second season.
The steamy series that stars Sarunas Jackson, Lauren London, Parker McKenna Posey, and Jackie Long delivered major drama in its first season. Bet says we won’t know who is starring in the second season of the show until a later date.
“BET is home for lovers of black content that engages and entertains, and Games People Plays’s first season over-delivered with a plotline that grips from episode one through the finale,” Scott Mills, President of BET Networks, said in a statement. “Tracey Edmonds, Angela Burt-Murray and Vanessa Middleton have been great partners on Games People Play and we’re proud to continue our relationship, bringing our viewers the compelling programming they expect from our brand.”
Tracey Edmonds executive produced the series alongside Angela Burt-Murray, who penned the book Games Divas Play.
“We are thrilled to return and be able to give our fans more of the sexy, twisted, and unique storytelling that they enjoy and expect from every episode of Games People Play,” Edmonds said in a statement. “Our characters will continue to surprise and ignite in season two. I am grateful to Scott Mills for his continued support of our show and its vision.”
Sarunas Jackson and Parker McKenna Posey on shooting those steamy sex scenes on ‘Games People Play’
Last season, we caught up with the veteran producer ahead of the series premiere and learned how excited she was about the project.
WATCH: Tracey Edmonds on snagging the right stars for sexy new series ‘Games People Play’
“I always start off with a wish list and I can tell you that so many of the people that were on our wish list, we got,” says Edmonds. “Casting Marcus King, who is a a NBA ball player and trying to keep that authentic was going to be our most challenging character to cast. Having Sarunas, who is 6’8″ and used to play basketball in real life playing Marcus King was really lucky.”
The post ‘Games People Play’ renewed for second season at BET appeared first on theGrio.
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Libya: Migrant mother's dying wish to get children to Europe
Trump’s #MAGAChallenge on Triller causes employees to protest then quit
The social video app Triller made waves online recently when a #MAGAChallenge rap contest went viral thanks to the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
Trump on Friday, said he would fly the winner of the contest out to the White House (likely via our tax dollars.) That endorsement of the contest caused an uptick in downloads with some users posting rap videos and spitting pro-Trump lyrics while wearing their red MAGA hats.
Triller staffers were less than thrilled and demanded that management take down the videos or else, according to one individual.
In fact, some Triller employees orchestrated a coup d’état in protest and started removing rap music from the app platform. Unfortunately, once the music was restored, two employees were so upset by the gesture, they both threatened to resign and ultimately did, The Wrap reports.
“Triller’s demo is roughly 13-18 year olds (Gen Y and Z), and predominantly from underserved, underrepresented communities. Given that demographic, one might imagine that both the users of the platform and those who work on the platform might feel uneasy about showcasing a politician who has an unfavorable view within those communities,” said a source according to The Wrap.
READ MORE: Trump launches campaign to win Black support, promising to make 2020 a ‘year of change’
In response, Triller CEO Mike Liu told the outlet, “Triller doesn’t endorse any political parties. Triller is agnostic to politics, religion and does not censor content. We welcome everybody to make Triller videos and enjoy the platform. See you on Triller!”
The Trump-infused challenged ended up helping Triller in the end, which is in competition with other popular social media apps like Tik Tok. The Beijing-based app, which specializes in short-form videos, is reportedly the tenth most-downloaded iPhone app in the photo/video category with about 70 million downloads mostly from teens.
READ MORE: Trump picks Atlanta to unveil his new Black voter drive initiative
After the backlash, Triller scrubbed the #MAGAChallenge hashtag and no results of the contest can currently be found on its platform. We’re guessing they’ve disappeared kind of like records of the President’s taxes from the last two years.
Go figure. Here are a few of the rap battle contestants who made their way onto Twitter.
HERE IT IS! The Donald Trump Supporter RALLY SONG BY HENRY DAVIS!!@JJCarafano pic.twitter.com/RJ6xRnHtdJ
— Henry Davis (@Henryhahadavis) May 5, 2017
@realDonaldTrump what do you think of this remix?? #MAGA #KAGA2020 #USA #MadeInAmerica #BLS2019 pic.twitter.com/39afnqvHys
— Aaron Alexander🎗 (@atAaronIsOnline) October 4, 2019
I hope i made it in time brother#MAGACHALLENGE from the streets of L.A. sanctuary city!!!@SuriusVsVodka pic.twitter.com/G63mJcPsqh
— JLFree (@jl_free1) November 9, 2019
The post Trump’s #MAGAChallenge on Triller causes employees to protest then quit appeared first on theGrio.
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