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Sunday, March 8, 2020

Al-Shabab's Bashir Mohamed Qorgab 'killed in air strike in Somalia'

The US military was hunting for the jihadist, but it has not yet commented on reports of his death.

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What is Virtual Reality (VR)? The Complete WIRED Guide

Everything you ever wanted to know about VR headsets, Oculus, Vive, and simulator sickness.

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Reset Your Computer Once a Year for a Happier Life

It's easier than ever to restore your Mac, PC, or Chromebook to factory conditions—and you'll be surprised at how much zip it'll add.

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African Champions League: Al Ahly and Raja Casablanca through to semi-finals

Al Ahly and Raja Casablanca overcome Mamelodi Sundowns and TP Mazembe respectively on Saturday to reach the African Champions League semi-finals.

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African Champions League: Zamalek knock out holders Esperance to reach semi-finals

Holders Esperance of Tunisia are out of the African Champions League despite a 1-0 quarter-final second leg win over Zamalek of Egypt on Friday.

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Saturday, March 7, 2020

“Doing machine learning the right way”

The work of MIT computer scientist Aleksander Madry is fueled by one core mission: “doing machine learning the right way.”

Madry’s research centers largely on making machine learning — a type of artificial intelligence — more accurate, efficient, and robust against errors. In his classroom and beyond, he also worries about questions of ethical computing, as we approach an age where artificial intelligence will have great impact on many sectors of society.

“I want society to truly embrace machine learning,” says Madry, a recently tenured professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “To do that, we need to figure out how to train models that people can use safely, reliably, and in a way that they understand.”

Interestingly, his work with machine learning dates back only a couple of years, to shortly after he joined MIT in 2015. In that time, his research group has published several critical papers demonstrating that certain models can be easily tricked to produce inaccurate results — and showing how to make them more robust.

In the end, he aims to make each model’s decisions more interpretable by humans, so researchers can peer inside to see where things went awry. At the same time, he wants to enable nonexperts to deploy the improved models in the real world for, say, helping diagnose disease or control driverless cars.

“It’s not just about trying to crack open the machine-learning black box. I want to open it up, see how it works, and pack it back up, so people can use it without needing to understand what’s going on inside,” he says.

For the love of algorithms

Madry was born in Wroclaw, Poland, where he attended the University of Wroclaw as an undergraduate in the mid-2000s. While he harbored interest in computer science and physics, “I actually never thought I’d become a scientist,” he says.

An avid video gamer, Madry initially enrolled in the computer science program with intentions of programming his own games. But in joining friends in a few classes in theoretical computer science and, in particular, theory of algorithms, he fell in love with the material. Algorithm theory aims to find efficient optimization procedures for solving computational problems, which requires tackling difficult mathematical questions. “I realized I enjoy thinking deeply about something and trying to figure it out,” says Madry, who wound up double-majoring in physics and computer science.

When it came to delving deeper into algorithms in graduate school, he went to his first choice: MIT. Here, he worked under both Michel X. Goemans, who was a major figure in applied math and algorithm optimization, and Jonathan A. Kelner, who had just arrived to MIT as a junior faculty working in that field. For his PhD dissertation, Madry developed algorithms that solved a number of longstanding problems in graph algorithms, earning the 2011 George M. Sprowls Doctoral Dissertation Award for the best MIT doctoral thesis in computer science.

After his PhD, Madry spent a year as a postdoc at Microsoft Research New England, before teaching for three years at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne — which Madry calls “the Swiss version of MIT.” But his alma mater kept calling him back: “MIT has the thrilling energy I was missing. It’s in my DNA.”

Getting adversarial

Shortly after joining MIT, Madry found himself swept up in a novel science: machine learning. In particular, he focused on understanding the re-emerging paradigm of deep learning. That’s an artificial-intelligence application that uses multiple computing layers to extract high-level features from raw input — such as using pixel-level data to classify images. MIT’s campus was, at the time, buzzing with new innovations in the domain.

But that begged the question: Was machine learning all hype or solid science? “It seemed to work, but no one actually understood how and why,” Madry says.

Answering that question set his group on a long journey, running experiment after experiment on deep-learning models to understand the underlying principles. A major milestone in this journey was an influential paper they published in 2018, developing a methodology for making machine-learning models more resistant to “adversarial examples.” Adversarial examples are slight perturbations to input data that are imperceptible to humans — such as changing the color of one pixel in an image — but cause a model to make inaccurate predictions. They illuminate a major shortcoming of existing machine-learning tools.

Continuing this line of work, Madry’s group showed that the existence of these mysterious adversarial examples may contribute to how machine-learning models make decisions. In particular, models designed to differentiate images of, say, cats and dogs, make decisions based on features that do not align with how humans make classifications. Simply changing these features can make the model consistently misclassify cats as dogs, without changing anything in the image that’s really meaningful to humans.

Results indicated some models — which may be used to, say, identify abnormalities in medical images or help autonomous cars identify objects in the road — aren’t exactly up to snuff. “People often think these models are superhuman, but they didn’t actually solve the classification problem we intend them to solve,” Madry says. “And their complete vulnerability to adversarial examples was a manifestation of that fact. That was an eye-opening finding.”

That’s why Madry seeks to make machine-learning models more interpretable to humans. New models he’s developed show how much certain pixels in images the system is trained on can influence the system’s predictions. Researchers can then tweak the models to focus on pixels clusters more closely correlated with identifiable features — such as detecting an animal’s snout, ears, and tail. In the end, that will help make the models more humanlike — or “superhumanlike” — in their decisions. To further this work, Madry and his colleagues recently founded the MIT Center for Deployable Machine Learning, a collaborative research effort working toward building machine-learning tools ready for real-world deployment. 

“We want machine learning not just as a toy, but as something you can use in, say, an autonomous car, or health care. Right now, we don’t understand enough to have sufficient confidence in it for those critical applications,” Madry says.

Shaping education and policy

Madry views artificial intelligence and decision making (“AI+D” is one of the three new academic units in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) as “the interface of computing that’s going to have the biggest impact on society.”

In that regard, he makes sure to expose his students to the human aspect of computing. In part, that means considering consequences of what they’re building. Often, he says, students will be overly ambitious in creating new technologies, but they haven’t thought through potential ramifications on individuals and society. “Building something cool isn’t a good enough reason to build something,” Madry says. “It’s about thinking about not if we can build something, but if we should build something.”

Madry has also been engaging in conversations about laws and policies to help regulate machine learning. A point of these discussions, he says, is to better understand the costs and benefits of unleashing machine-learning technologies on society.

“Sometimes we overestimate the power of machine learning, thinking it will be our salvation. Sometimes we underestimate the cost it may have on society,” Madry says. “To do machine learning right, there’s still a lot still left to figure out.”



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Misty Copeland Addresses Ballerinas in Blackface at the Women of Power Summit

Misty Copeland

Misty Copeland didn’t hesitate to address the discrimination that dancers of color face in the world of ballet during a fireside chat at the BLACK ENTERPRISE Women of Power Summit on Friday. The legendary ballerina opened up about the backlash she received late last year after she called out an elite Russian ballet company for having dancers perform in blackface. “I don’t think I can ever go back to Russia,” said Copeland at the conference.

The controversy began back in December when Copeland shared an image on Instagram of two teenage ballerinas wearing black-body suits. The image was from a rehearsal at the renowned Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and pictured the ballerinas in full dress for “La Bayadère,” a tragic love story set in India in the 19th-century.

 

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🤷🏽‍♀️ And this is the reality of the ballet world…. Refer to my last post @rafaelcasal #Repost @masha___mandarinka ・・・ ᒪᗩ ᗷᗩYᗩᗪEᖇE🙈- Люблю и ненавижу одновременно • • • Это было здорово,ребятки • • • На видео вы можете наблюдать явление безграничного счастья по случаю окончания всей данной экзекуции.(комментатор – @_k_lopatina_ ,тело,лежащее рядом – @_anamalia_ ) (К слову,могу заметить,что мой смех всегда меняется,и от случая к случаю я использую разные октавы.) • • • Thanks for the best time: @_k_lopatina_ @_anamalia_ @zzalesik @_adashio_ @tasiwonn @chchchekmarevamasha ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

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“This is the reality of the ballet world,” Copeland wrote as the caption, sparking an international debate. The 37-year-old dancer later took to Twitter to continue the discussion about the Bolshi dancers and the lack of diversity in ballet at large.

“It is painful to think about the fact that many prominent ballet companies refuse to hire dancers of color and instead opt to use blackface,” Copeland tweeted. “I get that this is a VERY sensitive subject in the ballet world. But until we can call people out and make people uncomfortable, change can’t happen.”

“I’m tired of giving the oppressors the benefit of the doubt,” Copeland wrote on Instagram in a subsequent post. “They need to be exposed, called out, educated and more. I have lived in the ballet world for 25 years. I have silenced myself around ‘them,’ and made them feel comfortable and suffered in silence. At 37 I feel ready and free to stop.”

In response, the Bolshoi dismissed Copeland’s criticism, arguing that blackface is a form of art that has been included in their performances for years.

“The ballet La Bayadère has been performed thousands of times in this production in Russia and abroad, and the Bolshoi Theatre will not get involved in such a discussion,” Urin RIA Novosti, according to the BBC. Meanwhile, many people defended the Bolshi ballet and some even accused Copeland of targeting the young ballerinas in the photo.

ballet racism

Misty Copeland and Caroline Clarke at the Black Enterprise Women Of Power Summit (Photo credit: Tyler Twins)

“I’ve gotten so much backlash, which is just crazy. It turned into me bullying some little girls because I exposed what they’re doing,” Copeland said at the summit. In addition to receiving pushback from Bolshoi’s artistic director and the lead ballerina, she said the theater argued that Russia doesn’t have a history of slavery and therefore American racial implications don’t apply to it. “They refused to stop doing it,” she said.

Nonetheless, Copeland, who made history in 2015 when she became the first black female principal dancer in the American Ballet Theatre, said having ongoing conversations about racism in ballet is necessary. “Those types of battles are so necessary but it’s really painful and hard,” she said. “As much as you say there’s racism still in ballet and the lack of diversity, people will still say, ‘I don’t see it.’ So, I’m like here it is.”

Watch Misty Copeland’s fireside chat at the 2020 Women of Power Summit in the video below, starting at the 1:10:47 mark. Her comments about the Bolshi Theater start around the 1:22:00 mark.



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Expelled from the US and now in limbo in Sierra Leone

Saren Idaho and Prince Latoya were sent to Sierra Leone, where they say they have no roots.

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Trump’s Coronavirus Press Event Was Even Worse Than It Looked

His remarks at the CDC on Friday were misguided, misleading, and show how misinformation could hamper Covid-19 containment efforts.

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OWN debuts ‘Love Goals,’ a juicy new unscripted celebrity relationship series

Oprah Winfrey Network’s (OWN) newest TV series brings love, reality TV and celebrity drama, together for a juicy storyline.

The show is based in Los Angeles, CA and features five celebrity couples, including rapper Coolio, NFL player, Dwayne Bowe, and Salt-N-Pepa’s Spinderella, as they all fight to save their relationships under one roof during an intensive two-week therapy program. The couples receive the help of celebrity therapist and media personality, Spirit, who has been seen on ”The Daily Helpline”, “The Bill Cunningham Show,” and “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show.”

READ MORE: OWN’s “Black Love” series is the honest conversation we all need about relationships

Through intimate one-on-ones and drama-filled group therapy sessions, Spirit breaks down her clients’ fears, trauma, and pain in order to form healthier relationships.

LAS VEGAS, NV – NOVEMBER 07: (L-R) DJ Spinderella, recording artists Althea Heart and Benzino speak onstage during the 2014 Soul Train Music Awards at the Orleans Arena on November 7, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Earl Gibson/BET/Getty Images for BET)

”Love Goals” captures a broad range of challenges ranging from past trauma, communication issues, infidelity, fame, power, and even womanizing. The series tackles the issues that affect modern-day relationships, truly showing how couples work through struggles.

READ MORE: Relationship expert Tracy McMillan helps newlyweds and feuding family in new OWN series, Family or Fiance’

The show also features Benzino and Althea Heart, who are well known to fans for their featured roles and clashing relationship in “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta,” and actress and former “Basketball Wives” star Sundy Carter and boyfriend Breyon Williams. Dee Dee “Spinderella” Roper is joined by her partner comedian Quenton “Q” Coleman; and Coolio is joined by his fiancé, Mimi Ivey

”Love Goals” premieres Saturday, March 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Check out the trailer below.

 

The post OWN debuts ‘Love Goals,’ a juicy new unscripted celebrity relationship series appeared first on TheGrio.



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RuPaul’s Netflix series ‘AJ and The Queen’ canceled after one season

Netflix series AJ and The Queen will be canceled after only one season. The series was created and starred by RuPaul Charles.

RuPaul would take to Twitter to confirm the show’s cancellation.

“End of the road for ‘AJ and The Queen,’” RuPaul wrote. “Netflix has decided to not extend our trip across America. Thank you for all the love & support. We’re so very proud of the work.”

Read MoreFIRST LOOK: RuPaul is Ruby Red in Netflix’s ‘AJ and the Queen’

AJ and the Queen was a collaborative effort between RuPaul and the former Sex and the City showrunner Michael Patrick King, Deadline reports.

The duo wrote the show, which tells the story of Ruby Red, a famous drag queen who is running into a string of bad luck while traveling across America performing. She is joined by her partner AJ (Izzy g), who was a 9-year-old stowaway in her 1990s RV. Throughout the journey, Ruby sends messages of encouragement and impacts the lives of those who she encounters.

Josh Segarra, Michael-Leon Wooley, Katerina Tannenbaum and Tia Carrere rounded out the show’s cast.

Read MoreNetflix comedy series ‘The Upshaws’ stars Kim Fields, Mike Epps and Wanda Sykes

The cancellation of AJ and The Queen is not the only bad news for shows created by RuPaul. Now in it’s 12th season, RuPaul’s Drag Race has disqualified Sherry Pie, real name Joey Gugliemelli, due to sexual misconduct allegations. Sherry Pie was considered one of the frontrunners of the contestants, Vox reports.

In the past week, at least five men stated Gugliemelli used a fake identity to promote furthering their acting careers and would eventually coerce the men into sexually suggestive fetish videos. The men did not receive any job offers.

Gugliemelli would apologize for the incidents and state that he is receiving treatment for his behavior.

“In light of recent developments and Sherry Pie’s statement, Sherry Pie has been disqualified from RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the official Twitter for the show posted.

The post RuPaul’s Netflix series ‘AJ and The Queen’ canceled after one season appeared first on TheGrio.



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Atlanta hairdresser encourages 4-year-old Black girl after she says ‘I’m so ugly’

An Instagram video of a natural hair four-year-old named Ariyonna has received encouraging words after she was seen looking at herself in the mirror while getting her hair done. Ariyonna began to cry after calling herself ugly.

During the video, Ariyonna can be seen getting her locks taken care of by a hairdresser, identified as Lil Wave Daddy, also an Atlanta rapper, before looking into the camera and stating “I’m so ugly!”

The hairdresser would go on to comfort Ariyonna and encourage her and let her know that she is pretty.

Read More: New Orleans sends encouragement to Sandy survivors

“Don’t say that! You are so pretty!,” the hairdresser said. “When you look at yourself you suppose to say, ‘I am so pretty’— you got the prettiest little dimples, you are so cute.”

After encouraging words from the hairdresser, Ariyonna began to cry. The moment has become a rallying moment across the Internet to support and uplift Ariyonna and all Black girls.

Lil Wave Daddy, identified as Shabria in comments, detailed the moment on Instagram.

“While doing her hair she had all the energy in the world than out of nowhere she looks at herself and gets soooo discouraged,” she wrote. “It broke my heart into pieces because she has the GREATEST energy and the most beautiful smile and heart!:

“I just think when kids go to school they learn and pick up so many different things that they don’t know the definition but they know the feeling,” she added.

Read More: School bans 5 year-old’s haircut that mom says hides traction alopecia

Throughout the Instagram comments, users would spoke words of encouragement to Ariyonna.

“This baby is beautiful! Those big brown eyes and that cute little face. Someone has told her that. Thank you for reminding her that black is beautiful.,” one user wrote.

“This beautiful baby’s words broke my heart! You couldn’t of handled this situation any better the love, affirmation, and inspiring words couldn’t of been said any better!,” wrote another.

In a follow-up post, Shabria posted the little girl with a quote to recite: “I’m Black & Beautiful.”

“Devil you won’t steal this baby joy! Thank you to everyone who sent kind words to Ariyonna,” Shabria wrote. You can see the follow-up “The Queen Has Risen” post below.

The post Atlanta hairdresser encourages 4-year-old Black girl after she says ‘I’m so ugly’ appeared first on TheGrio.



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The TurboGrafx-16 Mini's Launch Is Delayed Due to Covid-19

Konami postponed the release of its retro console “until further notice" due to disruptions at manufacturing and shipping facilities in China.

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NBA officials warn teams that coronavirus may keep fans home

While NBA fans are anticipating NBA finals in June, the coronavirus may affect how fans are able to see the games. This week, officials at the NBA are taking preventive measures to ensure the safety of its players and fans “should it be necessary.”

The league has contacted teams through a memorandum, letting them know about the possibility of playing games in the future without fans in attendance, The Athletic reports.

The memo from the NBA office states other than players and referees the only others that would be allowed in the arena would be “essential staff.”

Read MoreNBA honors Kobe Bryant by renaming All-Star MVP trophy after him

The contingency plan would restrict access to the game not only for fans, but also for press members, and some staff members. The NBA is also doing “temperature checks” for those considered to be essential for a game to take place, The New York Times reports.

Previously, the NBA sent out a memo with prevention tactics to combat coronavirus. Included was suggesting fist-bumps over high-fives and handshakes, 20 seconds of hand washing, using hand sanitizer and suggesting not take items from fans for autographs.

Read MoreFirst African to be diagnosed with Coronavirus also becomes the first to recover

Following his 113-103 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in a potential NBA Finals preview, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is not a fan of playing in front of an empty stadium.

“Nah, that’s impossible,” James said, according to ESPN. “I ain’t playing. If I ain’t got the fans in the crowd, that’s what I play for. I play for my teammates, I play for the fans. That’s what it’s all about. If I show up to an arena, and there ain’t no fans there? I ain’t playing. So, they could do what they want to do.”

Similar sentiments were echoed by Boston Celtics Guard Kemba Walker who declared playing in an empty gym as “terrible.”

“That would be boring. They might as well cancel the whole game before that. That would suck. But at the end of the day, it is getting serious. I don’t know. It would be very weird though for sure,” Walker said.

Read MoreEx-NBA star Ben Gordon gets candid about suicide

In the interim, teams have been asked to state who the essential staff members are in case the needs come for “communicating quickly and effectively with team and arena staff who are/aren’t essential for this purpose.”

The post NBA officials warn teams that coronavirus may keep fans home appeared first on TheGrio.



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Carlton Morton is receiving therapy after ‘Love is Blind’ experience

For the last couple of weeks, Netflix’s hit dating show Love is Blind has dominated social media, but one of the stars, Carlton Morton is now seeking therapy after his experience.

The Atlanta native’s decision to receive therapy comes after a 911 call from his home.

Speaking at a local coffee shop, Morton told TMZ “I’m dealing with this the best that I can.”

Read More: 5 reasons we can’t stop watching ‘Love Is Blind’ + find out who’s still together (SPOILERS)

While on Love is Blind, Carlton dated Diamond Jack, but did not tell her he was bisexual until after they got engaged. The bisexuality reveal was emotionally taxing for both but would eventually spiral into a viral argument and one of the most discussed reality show moments online.

On Instagram, Morton blasted urban media and stated he will no longer do any press or bookings due to a feeling of disrespect.

“Black lives matter until its an LGBT Black life,” Morton wrote. “Also, so-called ‘celebrity friends’ on social media have every opportunity to defend my CHARACTER yet they don’t.”

In a Twitter post, he wrote: “TODAY IS ONE OF THOSE DAYS WHERE I DON’T WANT TO BE HERE…”

After the post, TMZ states someone inside Carlton’s home called 911 for a non-life threatening injury, resulting in a hospital trip. Morton says that the trip to the hospital was from a wellness check by a friend.

“I’m waking up to death threats in my DMs, social media comments, just feeling again like I have to rally behind myself,” Morton says.

During the week, Love is Blind fans would be reminded of another reality show Morton was on. Previously he could be seen in a tense encounter during season 5 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Yahoo! reports.

During the 2012 episode, he was the assistant of cast member Cynthia Bailey helping her put on an event. During the episode, he engaged in an argument with Kenya Moore, which resulted in him being removed from the scene by her security.

Read More: She’s baaaccckkkk….Kenya Moore returning to ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’ next season

Morton also spoke to PEOPLE, where he detailed he prepped his friends for the backlash that could come from his appearance on Love is Blind.

“I told the people that mattered to me that I was concerned with their opinions,” he said. “I was like, ‘This show is coming out and it’s probably going to be a tough time for me because I spoke my entire truth.’ And they didn’t really push the issue. They just said, ‘Okay, whatever it is, we have your back.’”

This weekend the reunion show for Love is Blind hit Netflix. The episode brought Morton and Jack back to the screen together for the first time and showed they have reconciled from their blow-up argument.

The post Carlton Morton is receiving therapy after ‘Love is Blind’ experience appeared first on TheGrio.



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Documentary title for Rihanna’s forthcoming documentary is revealed but no release date

Fans will soon be able to learn more about the life of Rihanna in a forthcoming documentary titled Rihanna: Volume 1.

Previously, the documentary’s details only included a $25 million payment from Amazon to receive the rights to the film and it would be directed by Peter Berg. The title of the doc was revealed as Deadline detailed additional films to come from Berg.

Rihanna and Berg first worked together for the 2012 action movie Battleship, forming the relationship that motivated the creation of this documentary. Volume 1 in the title may indicate the documentary being a part of a longer series.

Read More: Rihanna talks about debut acting role in 'Battleship' and new TV show (VIDEO)

Rihanna: Volume 1 is detailed as “an unfiltered look into Rihanna’s life, providing a glimpse into the evolution of one of the world’s most well-known pop artists,” W Magazine reports.

A statement from Berg’s production company, Film 45 also revealed the film will have “unparalleled access into the singer’s life and over 1,200 hours of footage” and allow viewers to receive “a journey through private insights into Rihanna’s personality and humor, philosophies on work, family and love that are both moving and inspirational.”

Any Rihanna announcement or update for the past year always comes with one question from fans: “Where is the album?”

Read More: Shaggy passed on appearing on Rihanna’s new album after being asked to audition

In December, as news began to emerge regarding the release, Rihanna fans were curious about the status of the body of work. Nicknamed by her ‘little monsters’ as ‘R9’, the album is reaching multiple levels of mystery.

Friday, after the surprise and long-awaited release of Lil Uzi Vert’s Eternal Atake album, Rihanna’s fans once again showed their desire for her music.

Lil Uzi Vert dropped his album. Rihanna what’s your excuse???,” one user wrote.

While fans wait on a formal release, they will be able to hear the fashion-mogul-in-the-making singer soon as a featured artist on Canadian hip hop artist, PARTYNEXTDOOR’s new album, PARTYMOBILE releasing March 27.

Rihanna: Volume 1 release date has not been set.

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An Unfixable Flaw Threatens 5 Years of Intel Chips

Plus: A J. Crew breach, CIA hacking, and more of the week's top security news.

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Space Photos of the Week: Perfectly Safe Celestial Coronas

Leave Earth and its corona-related problems behind.

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The Coronavirus Could Put an End to Handshakes

The rate of change in everyday rituals is accelerating, in part because we’re living in an era of heightened disease awareness.

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Why is the death penalty still a thing in 2020?

We’re 20 years into the 21st century, and we still have to deal with the continued existence of the McRib, new Taylor Swift music and the need to toss our beverages before entering airport TSA checkpoints. All of that, however, is more acceptable than the fact that the death penalty is still a thing in America.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that we still legally abide state-sanctioned murder, especially when you live in a state that has abolished it, as I do. Leave it to the good state of Alabama to jolt us right back to our Evil Empire-reality as it did Thursday night when it executed Nathaniel Woods, Jr., shortly after the United States Supreme Court issued a temporary stay that it rescinded just hours later.

I preface the rest of this story by admitting that, by virtue (or consequence) of being a born and bred Detroiter, my personal moral bona fides tend to skew eye-for-an-eye. For example, I’d love to see the families of Dylann Roof’s victims spend 10 uninterrupted minutes with him in a locked, windowless room.

READ MORE: Nathaniel Woods executed hours after Supreme Court granted temporary stay

Rusty old fences of barb wire over blue sky. (Photo: Getty Images)

But the state has no damn business taking lives for a litany of reasons. By all accounts, it would appear that Woods has joined the sadly non-exclusive ranks of departed folks who should not have been put to death by the state or anyone else.

The issues with state-sanctioned death are manifold, but two are most relevant in Woods’ case. First, no one should be put to death if there’s even a tincture of evidence suggesting their innocence, and there was more than a tincture with Woods.

The 44-year-old was convicted of killing three Birmingham, Ala. police officers during a 2004 drug deal bust gone wrong. Woods’ co-defendant, Kerry Spencer, allegedly opened fire and killed three officers, wounding a fourth.

Spencer is also on death row awaiting appeal, and nothing anywhere suggests that Woods pulled the trigger or had any influence over Spencer to do so; Spencer himself even admitted that Woods was “100 percent innocent” of the shootings.

For all intents and purposes, Woods is dead because he was a 20-something drug dealer in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The other issue, of course, is the historical and systemic imbalance of the death penalty and its implementation on Black and Brown people. Entire books and other scholarly works have been dedicated to the racial bias inherent in the death penalty and the social justice system at large, but if you need quick and dirty empirics, look no further than the research from Washington D.C.-based nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.

Just a few stats: Black people make up 34 percent of the more than 1,500 U.S. executions since 1976, despite comprising about 12 percent of the country’s total population. In California, you’re more than three times as likely to be sentenced to death for killing whites over Blacks.

READ MORE: Atlanta area woman to represent self in death penalty case focused on stepdaughter’s gruesome death

In Washington state, a jury is three times more likely to recommend a death sentence for a Black defendant than a white one in a similar case. Thirty states still employ the death penalty; perhaps it should come as no surprise that the vast majority of them are below the Mason-Dixon line.

Other pertinent stats: 88 percent of academic criminologists reject the idea that the existence of the death penalty deters people from committing murder. It costs states millions more per year to enforce the death penalty than to punish the same prisoner with a life sentence. Finally, if you think lethal injection is a light and fluffy alternative to the cruel and barbaric electric chair, rethink that shit as well.

(Photo: Getty Images)

I wish I could feel more optimistic about the abolition of the death penalty in a country where someone can plow through an elementary school full of kids with a semi-automatic rifle and Congress not bat an eye. I mean, pop culture tends to move the needle at times, so maybe point the next capital punishment apologist you encounter in the direction of 2019 legal drama Just Mercy.

The film is based on real-life social justice lawyer Bryan Stevenson’s (Michael B. Jordan) successful efforts to get Walter McMillan (Jamie Foxx) off of death row (in Alabama) for a crime that he absolutely did not commit. Foxx was definitely snubbed for the Academy Award, and even white folks love Michael Bae, so maybe it’ll help…?

The degree of punishment that Woods deserved for being present around controlled substances is debatable. What’s less debatable is that he was put on death row because he’s a Black man who was in physical proximity to a “friend” who killed three white officers in Alabama of all places.

What’s not debatable at all…? That Woods should not be dead at the hands of the state. Say his name.


Dustin J. Seibert is a native Detroiter living in Chicago. Miraculously, people have paid him to be aggressively light-skinned via a computer keyboard for nearly two decades. He loves his own mama slightly more than he loves music and exercises every day only so his French fry intake doesn’t catch up to him. Find him at his own site, wafflecolored.com.

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