naacp

NAACP Issues Advisory Warning Black Americans And People Of Color Not To Travel To Florida

/in , /by

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson recently spoke with CNN to defend the organization’s decision to issue an official travel advisory to Florida for Black Americans and people of color. 

“The governor has perfected the art of pulling stunts to gain campaign contributions. Unfortunately, this will impact people’s lives,” Johnson said, referring to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

Embed from Getty Images

“We should not use race or othering as a tool to weaponize against people and unfortunately for a large percentage of Floridians, that’s what he has done. Therefore, we are advising African Americans and others that if you travel to Florida, beware that your life is not valued.”

This past Saturday, the NAACP released a statement saying that Governor DeSantis has been on a quest to “silence” Black Americans, and has made it clear that they’re not welcome in the state. “[The state] devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.”

“Due to this sustained, blatant, relentless and systemic attack on democracy and civil rights, the NAACP hereby issues a travel advisory to African Americans, and other people of color regarding the hostility towards African Americans in Florida,” the group stated. 

Within the past year alone, DeSantis has signed a multitude of legislative measures that many have argued is discriminatory, and anti-Black. He signed the “Stop WOKE Act,” meant to restrict how schools and workplace address race, has been a major advocate against critical race theory; an academic framework that looks at US history with the understanding of racism and its roots in the nation. 

Embed from Getty Images

DeSantis also banned an Advanced Placement African American studies pilot program from being implemented in schools, and just recently prohibited colleges and universities from using public funding on programs involving diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Johnson stated that DeSantis is “minimizing the quality of education and issuing policies that are harmful to far too many individuals.”

“We are witnessing firsthand how he’s governing, and he’s governing to a small vocal minority of the community, not the majority interest of Florida. Nor is he governing towards a future of Florida, which will not not look like the small minority that he’s speaking to at this moment.”

The governor was recently questioned regarding this specific travel advisory before it was implemented. 

“This is part of the reason why our country, it goes through all these —  we get involved in these stupid fights. This is a stunt to try to do that, a pure stunt, and fine, if you want to waste your time on a stunt, that’s fine. But I’m not wasting my time on your stunts,” the governor said.

drummer

Foo Fighters Name Veteran Musician Josh Freese As New Drummer 

/in , /by

The Foo Fighters have named veteran musician Josh Freese as their new drummer following the death of their former percussionist Taylor Hawkins. 

Freese is an established musician who’s been in the industry for over 30 years now. He’s toured with Weezer, Sting, Paramore, Nine Inch Nails, Guns N’ Roses, and more, as well as being a member of Devo since 1996 and the Vandals since 1989. 

Embed from Getty Images

The news was announced during a livestream titled “Foo Fighters: Preparing Music for Concerts,” which was advertised to deliver a “few surprises.” 

Recorded from their studio, the livestream opened with the band teasing that they would reveal the identity of their new drummer, but first, they called in a few other famous faces to make cameos.

Chad Smith, the drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, barged in making a comical entrance only to complain that someone was blocking his car. Tommy Lee from Motley Crew made a surprise food delivery, while Danny Carey of Tool showed up with a pair of poodles. 

In the middle of the show, a voice interrupted in the distance; “Excuse me! Could we just, like, play a song?” with the camera cutting to Freese, who had been waiting off-camera behind a drum kit. 

Overall, the livestream featured an eight-song set which included new songs from Foo Fighters’ upcoming 11th album, “But Here We Are.”

Embed from Getty Images

The announcement comes after the bands January announcement where they stated that they would remain together after the unexpected death of Taylor Hawkins, who died at the age of 50 last year when the band was in Colombia touring. 

In a statement at the time, the band said: “Without Taylor, we never would have become the band that we were, and without Taylor, we know that we’re going to be a different band going forward.”

The band also announced that the band’s first show with Freese as their drummer will take place in New Hampshire on May 24th, which will also mark the opening leg of a global tour that will go into the later half of this year. 

Besides the two memorial concerts the bands held for Hawkins last September, which included a lineup of musicians such as Paul McCartney, Queen, and Mark Ronson, this tour will be the first time the band has toured/performed live together since Hawkin’s death. 

Freese also performed with the band at the two tribute concerts, when he also took to Instagram to make a statement about the honor of playing in Hawkin’s spot. 

“I was asked what drums I’d like to use, without hesitation I said, ‘Taylor’s drums need to be up there and I want to play on his exact set-up.”

fountain

Climate Change Activists Dump Charcoal In Rome’s Trevi Fountain

/in , /by

Climate change activists in Rome, Italy turned the blue water of the Trevi Fountain black with diluted charcoal this past Sunday. 

The group consisted of 10 individuals from the climate activist group Ultima Generazione, which translates to ‘Last Generation.’ The group carried multiple banners, one of which stated “Let’s not pay for fossil campaigns considering what is happening in Emilia Romagna,” specifically referring to northern Italy, where there are multiple floods which some experts have linked to climate change. 

“Our country is dying.”

Embed from Getty Images

Rome police stated that all of the activists were arrested and are facing vandalism charges. 

The counselor for personnel, urban security, local police, and local authorities in the Lazio region, Luisa Regimenti, condemned the recent act in a written statement. 

“This was the umpteenth demonstrative act of eco-vandals that hit a symbol of Rome universally known in the world.”

“[Dying the fountain] was a serious gesture, a worrying escalation that must be stopped with a safety plan for the monuments and the works of art most at risk in Rome and Lazio,” she continued. 

Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri tweeted: “Enough of these absurd attacks on our artistic heritage. Today the #FontanadiTrevi was smeared. Expensive and complex to restore, hoping there is no permanent damage. I invite activists to compete on a confrontational terrain without putting the monuments at risk.”

Embed from Getty Images

Mayor Gualtieri also explained to the local media that in order to correct the dying of the fountain, authorities would have to empty the dyed water and dispose of it: “This will involve a significant intervention. It will cost time, effort, and water.” 

This incident marks the third time this year that a famous Italian fountain was used for activists protesting for action to be taken towards flooding cities. 

In May, charcoal was dumped into the Fountain of Four Rivers in Piazza Navona, and in April, the Barcaccia fountain at the base of the Spanish Steps endured the same fate. The Last Generation has claimed responsibility for all three incidents. 

“Charcoal in the water of the Trevi Fountain, 1 out of 4 houses in Italy is vulnerable to floods. How much longer do we have to wait for those in government to take concrete action?”

Flooding in the northern Italian area has killed at least 14 people and displaced more than 36,000 residents. 

“The climate crisis is affecting territories with increasingly intense extreme events, with risks to people’s lives, and impacts on the environment and the economy. And Italy once again proves unprepared,” said Italian environmentalist association Legambiente in a press release.

saturn

New Study Reveals Saturn’s Rings Are Much Younger Than The Planet Itself 

/in , /by

A new study from the University of Colorado at Boulder has found that Saturn’s rings are likely around 400 million years old, which is much younger than the planet of Saturn itself, which is thought to be around 4.5 billion years old. 

The research was published this month in the journal Science Advances, where it states that Saturn’s rings are likely no more than 400 million years old, making the rings significantly younger than Saturn itself, which is around 4.5 billion years old. 

Embed from Getty Images

The study itself was led by physicist Sascha Kempf from the University of Colorado at Boulder. “In a way, we’ve gotten closure on a question that started with James Clerk Maxwell,” said Kempf.

Kempf broke down that the conclusion of their research came after analyzing dust, and tiny grains of rock material which are constantly moving through the entirety of our Earth’s solar system. When there’s influxes of this tiny grain rock material’s presence, it can leave behind a thin layer of dust on the planets, including on the ice that makes up Saturn’s rings. 

“Think about the rings like the carpet in your house. If you have a clean carpet laid out, you just have to wait. Dust will settle on your carpet. The same is true for the rings.”

Kempf and his team of researchers used an instrument known as the Cosmic Dust Analyzer on NASA’s Cassini spacecraft from the years of 2004 to 2017, analyzing the specks of dust around Saturn. Throughout that time, the team collected around 163 grains that originated from beyond the planet’s immediate proximity. 

With this information, they were able to initially hypothesize that Saturn’s rings have only been gathering dust for a few hundred million years; much younger than the age of the planets in our solar system. 

Embed from Getty Images

“We know approximately how old the rings are, but it doesn’t solve any of our other problems. We still don’t know how these rings formed in the first place.”

Scientists do know that Saturn has seven rings that are made up of chunks of ice that are mostly the size of the average boulder here on Earth. For most of the 20th century, it was assumed that the rings formed at the same time that Saturn did. However, as time went on researchers became skeptical about their origin, as the rings are much cleaner when compared to the actual planet of Saturn. 

“It’s almost impossible to end up with something so clean,” Kempf said.

The other interesting aspect of Saturn’s rings and their development is that they also might be vanishing. NASA scientists have reported in the past that the ice chunks that make up the rings are slowly melting and raining down on the planet itself. They’ve reported that the rings could even fully disappear within the next 100 million years. 

While we still know little about how these rings initially formed, and why they formed so much later than the planet itself, this new research gives an intriguing new insight into the history of Saturn, and our solar system overall.

vogue

British Vogue Releases First Braille Edition In Publication’s 107-Year History 

/in , /by

British Vogue has released a braille edition of its magazine for the first time in the publication’s 107-year history. 

The issue, which is released this month, is also being made available in audio format as a means of increasing accessibility to people who are blind or partially sighted. 

Embed from Getty Images

The publication’s editor-in-chief, Edward Enninful, wrote on Instagram: “The Vogue team and I are delighted by the response to the May issue, but what the process of making it taught us is that what’s most important are tangible and lasting changes.

“Vogue and the fashion and publishing industries have a great deal to do still, but it makes me very happy to see the arrival of these first braille issues today.”

The title of the issue is “Reframing Fashion,” and as a whole it will focus on disability justice, accessibility, and pride. 

Tilting the Lens is an accessibility and inclusion consultancy company that worked with British Vogue on the issue. The company is well known for working as an advisor for brands like Netflix and Starbucks on how to make their businesses more disability-friendly. The edition features 19 disabled individuals from fashion, sport, activism, and the arts. 

There will be five covers available for the special issue, each of which will highlight an influential disabled activist or prominent public figure, such as actor Selma Blair and consultant editor Sinéad Burke. 

Embed from Getty Images

Enninful recently spoke to the media about his own experiences with having an invisible disability. 

“I’ve had five retinal detachments, I’m partially blind and my hearing is less than 50% – I’m wearing hearing aids now. It’s never stopped me, but there are so many people with invisible disabilities who never talk about it, because it might hinder them. I’ve never had that fear,” he explained. 

“When I’m reading, it’s still difficult: when I’m doing interviews, I have to ask people to talk at a certain level. But these are things that are me; these are things that I’ve embraced. We always talk about diversity and inclusivity, but that also has to extend to our disabled brothers and sisters.”

Individuals will have the opportunity to receive an audio file and the ability to print a braille file of the issue from their own home for free, as well as register to be sent a physical braille copy of the issue. 

Enningful was initially made editor-in-chief in 2017, and from the beginning has promoted his message and goals of increasing inclusivity and diverse representation in fashion. He’s turned down advertising from major fashion brands during his time with British Vogue due to their vision’s not aligning with his desire to increase inclusivity. 

Enninful was also awarded an OBE for his services and work to implement more diversity in the fashion industry.

covid

New Study Reveals Details Of Lingering Covid-19 Symptoms After Infection 

/in , /by

A recent study published in Nature Communications has given a larger understanding over lingering Covid-19 symptoms experienced by people who contracted the virus. The study utilized electronic health records from the National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER Initiative. 

The study was led by Dr. Rainu Kaushal, the chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine and physician-in-chief of population health sciences at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. The study gave a deeper insight into the reasoning behind lingering Covid-19 symptoms after one experiences an acute infection. 

Embed from Getty Images

The study also analyzed the likelihood of these symptoms and how they differ throughout various populations and demographics throughout the United States. 

“Long COVID is a new disease that is very complicated and quite difficult to characterize. It affects multiple organs and presents a severe burden to society, making it urgent that we define this disease and determine how well that definition applies among different populations. This paper provides the basis for furthering research on long COVID,” said Dr. Chengxi Zang, an instructor in population health sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine and lead author on the paper. 

The team utilized multiple research outlets to make their conclusions, including health records from two clinical research networks within the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network. One set of data included information from 11 million New York-based patients, and another network that was utilized included 16.8 million patients from Florida, Alabama, and Georgia. 

The research conclusions the team came to showed there was a large list of diagnoses that occurred more frequently in individuals who had Covid-19 compared to those who didn’t. In New York City specifically, the researchers found that residents who had Covid experienced more types of symptoms and were at a higher risk of long Covid. 

Embed from Getty Images

Between New York City and Florida, populations had specific conditions including dementia, hair loss, sores in the stomach, fatigue, and blood clots in the lung. 

“Our approach, which uses machine learning with electronic health records, provides a data-driven way to define long COVID and determine how generalizable our definition of the disease is,” Dr. Zang said. 

“Some of the differences between the results from the two populations might be explained by the fact that New York City had a more diverse patient population, endured one of the first waves of the pandemic and faced the lack of personal protective equipment such as masks, compared with Florida,” Dr. Zang said.

“In this new research, we examined a broad list of potential long COVID conditions one by one. These findings can help us better recognize the broad involvement of multiple organ systems in long COVID, and design appropriate plans for patient management and treatment development,” said Dr. Fei Wang, co-senior author of the study.

form

Task Force To Study And Develop Reparation Proposals For African Americans Votes On Reparations For Black Californians 

/in , /by

This Saturday, the Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans held its 15th public meeting in Oakland, California. The panel was created to consider reparations for Black residents in California, and throughout the nation. 

According to Kamilah Moore, who’s on the chair of the panel, the group voted over the weekend to approve recommendations for the payments of reparations to Black Californians for injustices and discrimination that stems back to slavery. 

Embed from Getty Images

The specific recommendations will be discussed and presented at the task force’s next meeting before it goes on to be presented to the Legislature by July 1st. The recommendations could cost the state billions of dollars in its outlined restitutions. 

The task force specifically outlined the reparations they are attempting to gain, as reported by CNN, which includes: 

  • “Estimated value of payment for health care disparities: $13,619 for each year of residency, based on 71-year life expectancy.
  • Estimated payment for housing discrimination: $148,099 or $3,366 for each year between 1933 and 1977 spent as a resident of the state.
  • Estimated payment for mass incarceration and over policing: $115,260 or $2,352 for each year of residency in California during the 49-year period between 1971 and 2020.”

The task force has also previously called for a state office to process the reparation claims as a means of “identifying and mitigating the ways that current and previous policies have damaged and destabilized Black families.”

Embed from Getty Images

Additionally, the task force has overall goals of restoring historical sites, supporting educational funding/resource building, as well as offering free legal aid and other services to those who need it but may not be able to afford it. 

Other goals include updating the language used in the state’s Constitution, removing any racial bias and discriminatory practices in standardized testing, compensating individuals who were deprived of profits through their work, investing in free healthcare programs, and delivering apologies for acts of political disenfranchisement. 

According to the US Census Bureau, California has a Black population of 2.5 million people. It’s currently unclear how the Legislature would put some, or all, of these recommendations in place, however, the future meetings of the task force will likely outline those steps. 

The task force’s next meeting is set to be held on June 29th in Sacramento so the group can finalize any changes to the recommendations before presenting it to the Legislature.

truck

US Truck Drivers Call For Federal Action To Improve Working Conditions 

/in , /by

US truck drivers are currently pushing for federal action to be taken to improve the conditions in which they’re working. Drivers are asking for higher ups to address their deteriorating working conditions, decreasing pay, and rampant fraud. 

Caleb Fernandez is a part of the movement, and has been a long-distance truck driver since 2017. He stated to the media that he will often spend hours loading and/or unloading his truck’s cargo without getting paid for the full time. 

“I think that I’ve got my schedule down and then just one customer can completely mess it up. Even if there’s an appointment, they just don’t show much that they care about wasting my time.”

Embed from Getty Images

“My whole week gets wrecked because of one customer that just didn’t care about the time. It’s a chaotic life,” he said. 

May 1st of this year, 75 members of the Truckers Movement for Justice held a protest outside of the US Department of Transportation offices in Washington DC, demanding action be taken on things like wage theft, lack of overtime pay, and unpaid wait times for delivering cargo or taking on loads. 

The group met with senior officials from the Department in 2021 as a part of President Joe Biden’s trucking action plan, and set initiatives that were meant to increase the supply of truck drivers. The group has claimed that they have yet to see any improvement on the three core demands made during the meeting. 

“We’ve lost our patience. This has been going for years and has only gotten worse with the lack of federal action. We don’t need taskforces and studies,” said Fernandez, who is also the deputy secretary for Truckers Movement for Justice.

When we look at the stats and consider the impact of inflation on salary, truck drivers in the US in 1980 made about $110,000 annually, and today they make, on average, about $48,000. There are currently more than 2 million Americans working as truck drivers today. 

Ray Randall also spoke on the hours he’s worked unpaid, and other working conditions that he was not compensated for in his 20 years working as a truck driver. 

Embed from Getty Images

“Drivers should be paid detention time. We believe all drivers should be paid for all hours worked, because once you come on duty, you’re working. If you come to a shipper and have to wait, I’m working. Also, after 40 hours, companies pay employees overtime but drivers don’t get any overtime and we can put in 70-plus hours a week. We can be on duty 12 hours a day and we’re not getting paid for those 12 hours,” he explained. 

William McKelvie, a truck driver for over 25 years, explained that “in addition to unpaid detention time, broker fraud and a lack of overtime pay, layover rates for overnight hauls have decreased in years, down from $500-$1,000 to $250 or less.”

“Drivers have a right to review freight bills, which provide the transaction information regarding loads to ensure all parties that no one is being ripped off. Many brokers will blackball or push drivers out for requesting to see freight bills, to avoid any pushback or criticism of how the costs are dispersed from shippers to brokers and what portion is paid out to drivers,” said McKelvie. 

“This is something that corporations and others have used their strong arms and intimidation tactics to overrule and overpower the working men and women in the industry,” he said.

“The more of our time that they waste, the more it hurts us financially, economically, and the ability to go and get our proper rest and relax for the next load,” McKelvie said.

“From back in the day we went from working 50 hours a week to 60 hours a week, to now we are at 70 hours a week, and with the extended work, that doesn’t give us any time for any real-life quality,” he said.

fire

More Than 29,000 People Evacuate Alberta Region Of Canada Due To Wildfires 

/in , /by

Officials are stating the Alberta region of Canada is enduring an “unprecedented situation” as more than 29,000 individuals were forced to flee their homes due to the spreading of more than 100 wildfires. 

Within the past 24 hours, 16 new fires have started in Alberta, according to Wildfire Information Unit Lead Christie Tucker. 

Embed from Getty Images

Firefighters around the province are currently battling 108 active wildfires, according to Tucker, 31 of those wildfires were burning “out of control.”

This wildfire activity is quite uncommon for this early summer season, and firefighters aren’t used to seeing such a large mass of land burned. Bone-dry environmental conditions and abnormally hot weather, combined with high winds are said to be the biggest contributor to the “really extreme wildfire activity.” 

This year, so far, wildfires in Alberta have burned a total of 375,000 hectares of land, about 926,000 acres; a majority of which has occurred within the last few days.

Tucker also stated that additional firefighters and resources are currently heading to Alberta from across the country to assist the battle against the wildfires. Scattered showers on Sunday helped calm some of the blazes and tame some of the fires that were in difficult to reach places. 

Firefighters are now hoping that the cooler temperature and higher humidity brought on by the rain will help them as they fight the fires.

Embed from Getty Images

“Up north, it’s still very dry. We’re still seeing winds and we are expecting a continuation of those kinds of conditions that can lead to extreme wildfire behavior,” Tucker said at a news conference. 

“Communities in Alberta have seen some extremely hot temperatures in the past week, with the capital city of Edmonton hitting 31 degrees Celsius, about 88 degrees Fahrenheit, on Wednesday and Thursday – more than 10 degrees above average,” according to the Canada Centre for Climate Services.

“The region has also seen a lack of precipitation which may have contributed to the extreme fire conditions in Alberta, drying out land and making fires more difficult to contain,” CNN Meteorologist Robert Shackelford said.

“So far, about 5,000 people have sought refuge at evacuation centers, “Alberta Emergency Management chief Colin Blair said.

Multiple hospitals have been fully evacuated and many roads in north and central Alberta, where a hefty amount of the fires are currently, have been closed.

“We have so many fires, so spread out and it’s because we’ve seen unprecedented conditions this spring. … It’s been an unusual year,” Tucker said.

rocknroll

Kate Bush ‘Shocked And Honored’ To Be Among New Inductees For Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 

/in , /by

Kate Bush is “completely shocked and honored” to be included in this years inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside other icons such as George Michael, Rage Against the Machine, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, and Missy Elliot; who’s the first female rapper to be inducted. 

Bush recently spoke to Rolling Stone about the honor: 

“It’s something I just never thought would happen. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me. It means a great deal that you would think of me. It’s such a huge honor. Now, as part of the initiation ceremony, I get to find out about the secret handshake … there is one, right?”

Embed from Getty Images

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame began in 1983, with a physical museum opening in Cleveland in 1995. There are currently 365 acts in the Hall. Artists become eligible to join 25 years after the release of their first records, and must be voted in by a panel of more than 1,000 industry figures. 

This year, the inductees have been regarded as acts that were taken from a larger pool of acts that were previously shortlisted; this year marks Bush’s third time being nominated. 

Rage Against the Machine had been finalists five times before this year, and thanked the Hall of Fame for the recognition. 

“[We thank the Hall of Fame] for recognizing the music and the mission in a surprising trajectory for a band who is as well known for our albums as we are for our fierce opposition to the US war machine, white supremacy, and exploitation.”

Embed from Getty Images

Willie Nelson, who recently turned 90, is being inducted on his first nomination, as are Michael, Elliot, and Crow. Michael was automatically inducted as a finalist to earn the most votes from a public poll. 

Beyond the inductees, Chaka Khan, Al Kooper, and Bernie Taupin are receiving the musical excellence award. DJ Kool Herc and Link Wray will receive the musical influence awards, and Don Cornelius, who passed away in 2012, will be honored with the Ahmet Ertegun award.

Joel Peresman, the Hall of Fame’s president and chief executive, told Rolling Stone that he hopes Bush will perform at the induction ceremony, which would mark her first live performance since her 2014 residency in London; which at the time was her first live performance in 35 years. 

Bush’s induction into the Hall of Fame is not surprising to fans, old and new, as her song ‘Running Up That Hill’ was used throughout the popular Netflix series, Stranger Things, propelling the single to re-enter the charts. It became Number 1 in the UK and Number 3 on the US charts.