News-Talk WTOP Tops October Washington DC Radio Ratings

Ratings by DCRTV

The Washington market radio ratings for October. Full-day, age 6+:
1) WTOP
2) WAMU
3) WMMJ
4) WHUR and WASH
6) WMAL
7) WGTS
8) WRQX
9) WBIG
10) WIHT
11) WJFK-FM and WETA-FM
13) WKYS
14) WPGC
15) WMZQ
16) WWDC
17) WPRS
18) WIAD
19) WLZL
20) WFRE
21) WTEM
22) WDCN and WDCH
24) WBQH
25) WFMD
26) WJFK STREAM and WIAD HD2

Congressman Elijah Cummings (MD.) Encourages Marylanders to Sign Up for Health Insurance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 31, 2018

Contact:
Andy Eichar (Cummings) 202-225-4741
Tim Zink (Cardin) 202-224-4524
Daniel Jacobs (Sarbanes) 202-225-4016

Cummings Encourages Marylanders to Sign Up for Health Insurance

Baltimore, MD (October 31, 2018) – Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (MD-07) was joined by Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Congressman John Sarbanes (MD-03), at a press conference to encourage Marylanders to sign up for health insurance during the upcoming Open Enrollment period. From November 1, 2018, to December 15, 2018, Marylanders can purchase health insurance through Maryland Health Connection, the state’s insurance marketplace. Other participants included Dr. Shelly Choo of the Baltimore City Health Department, Mr. Andrew Ratner of Maryland Health Connection, and Ms. Traci Kodeck of HealthCare Access Maryland.

“Today, I’m here begging you, do not let anything stand in your way and prevent you from enrolling in a health plan through Maryland Health Connection,” said Cummings. “Everyone deserves access to healthcare that will improve their lives. Healthcare is a right, not a privilege.”

"Despite the attempts of the Trump administration and congressional Republicans to sabotage our nation’s health care system, Maryland has fought to safeguard the consumer protections of the Affordable Care Act, including making sure those with pre-existing conditions have access to coverage. Because of our efforts, insurance rates on the individual marketplace will decrease by an average of 14 percent from last year," said U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, a member of the Senate Finance Health Care Subcommittee. "I encourage all Marylanders to visit the Maryland Health Connection to shop for plans and choose the one that is best for yourselves and your families."

“Everyone deserves fair access to high-quality and affordable health care,” said Congressman Sarbanes. “And the Maryland Health Connection has made tremendous strides in getting more people covered. Beginning tomorrow, Marylanders can once again start shopping for health plans through Maryland Health Connection and choose a plan that’s best for their individual or family needs. This year, many rates are lower than they were last year. So, start shopping and get covered by visiting www.marylandhealthconnection.gov or by calling 1-855-642-8572.”

“Every resident should sign up for the coverage they need to protect their health. Health insurance and access to healthcare can prevent small problems from becoming life-threatening issues,” said Mary Beth Haller, interim Health Commissioner of the Baltimore City Health Department. “No one plans on becoming sick or injured. Health insurance provides financial protection, and the cost of not being insured is higher than the investment in getting affordable coverage.”

"Many plans cost less for 2019 and we offer plenty of expert advice at locations all over Maryland to help people enroll. As our TV and radio ads say, if you've thought this was too hard or expensive for you before, 'Think Again,'" said Michele Eberle, executive director for the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, which operates MarylandHealthConnection.gov.

“Health insurance is more affordable this year, and Marylanders should start looking at the best option for them and their families,” said Traci Kodeck, president and CEO of HealthCare Access Maryland, the organization providing support to residents of Baltimore City and five other counties during Open Enrollment. “Our team at HealthCare Access Maryland is trained and ready to help all Marylanders learn about what insurance plans are available and sign up for coverage before December 15th. Get health insurance now and you will feel more secure about your health.”

According to Maryland Health Connection, because of the Affordable Care Act:
• the uninsured population of Maryland is at an all-time low of 6.1%,
• the percentage of African American residents with health insurance has increased from 89% in 2012 to 94% in 2016,
• the percentage of Hispanic residents with health insurance has increased from 67% in 2012 to 79% in 2016, and,
Marylanders can visit www.marylandhealthconnection.gov or call 1-855-642-8572 to find out more information and sign up.

Green Bay Packers trade safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to Washington Redskins

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (from Alabama) is now a Washington Redskin

Story by ESPN

The Green Bay Packers have traded free safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to the Washington Redskins for a 2019 fourth-round draft pick, sources confirmed to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The NFL Network first reported the trade.

Clinton-Dix, 25, has been a starter since his rookie season in 2014, but he becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season.

He was a first-round draft pick and made the Pro Bowl in 2016.

The Redskins are in first place in the NFC East with a 5-2 record.

The Packers also traded running back Ty Montgomery to the Ravens on Tuesday.

47,220 gun incidents in the U.S. in 2018 through October 27th — and here they all are on one map

Story by MarketWatch

So far this year, guns have killed 11,984 people

As rich, advanced and accomplished as the country might be, the U.S. has somehow not been up to the task of coping with the plague of gun violence.

But as the nation comes to grips with yet another mass murder carried out by an angry man with a deadly weapon, it is perhaps time to review how often Americans turn to guns to express discontent, hate and prejudice against their compatriots.

In 2018 alone, including the most recent carnage at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, there have been 47,220 gun-related incidents resulting in 11,984 deaths in the United States, according to data compiled by Gun Violence Archive, an independent data-collection and research group.

That breaks down to 157 incidents and 40 deaths a day and does not include 22,000 suicides. Of the total fatalities, 548 were children, while 2,321 were teenagers.

GVA defines gun incidents as all types of shootings, including officer involved, accidental, children shooting themselves, murders, armed robberies, mass shootings, home Invasions and drivebys.

“Only by being totally inclusionary in our definitions is our data accurate, allowing the researcher to decide which parts of the complete dataset they need for their work. Our goal is to provide a complete picture of impact,” said the group in a statement on its website.

There are, of course, arguments from staunch gun-rights supporters that an armed citizenry is a safer citizenry. Nothing stops a bad guy with a gun like a good guy with a gun, is a popular National Rifle Association talking point. And President Donald Trump pondered aloud on Saturday whether guns inside the synagogue might have led to a less tragic outcome.

But among the 2018 shooting incidents, only 1,478 cases, or 3.1% of the total, involved the defensive use of weapons.

In Pittsburgh, at least 11 people were killed at the Tree of Life synagogue by a suspect shouting, “All Jews must die,” according to KDKA.

Former United States President Jimmy Carter wades into Georgia governor's race

Story by Associated Press
Written by Bill Barrow

ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Jimmy Carter is wading into the contentious Georgia governor's race with a personal appeal to Republican candidate Brian Kemp: Resign as secretary of state to avoid damaging public confidence in the outcome of his hotly contested matchup with Democrat Stacey Abrams.

The 94-year-old Carter's request, made in an Oct. 22 letter obtained by The Associated Press , is the latest turn in a campaign whose closing month is being defined by charges of attempted voter suppression and countercharges of attempted voter fraud.

Kemp has thus far dismissed Democratic demands that he step aside as Georgia's chief elections officer. But Carter attempted to approach the matter less as a partisan who has endorsed Abrams and more as the former president who's spent the decades since he left the Oval Office monitoring elections around the world.

"One of the key requirements for a fair and trusted process is that there be a nonbiased supervision of the electoral process," Carter wrote, adding that stepping aside "would be a sign that you recognize the importance of this key democratic principle and want to ensure the confidence of our citizens in the outcome."

It was not immediately clear whether Kemp has read the letter or responded. A spokeswoman in Kemp's office, where the letter was addressed, referred questions to Kemp's campaign, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Addressing calls for his resignation during a recent debate with Abrams, Kemp noted that bipartisan panels of local officials run much of the elections process. He also noted that one of his Democratic predecessors ran for governor without resigning, although Cathy Cox failed to win the Democratic nomination in 2006.

Disclosure of Carter's letter comes with Kemp under scrutiny from multiple fronts, chief among them 53,000 voter registrations being held up by Kemp's office. Under the state's strict election laws, mail-in registrations must match exactly a voter's records on file with the Social Security Administration or Georgia's driver's license agency.

Kemp insists he's fairly applying Georgia law and that those would-be voters can cast ballots if they present acceptable identification — like any other Georgia voter — that clears up any questions. But Abrams and voting rights advocates have assailed the move — and sued — as part of a pattern Democrats say is intended to make it harder for minorities and other Democratic constituencies to vote.

Republicans have returned fire, with Kemp alleging that Abrams and her backers want to give ballots to immigrants who are in the country illegally. That attack also is featured in a Republican ad being broadcast statewide.

Carter sidestepped that back-and-forth in his letter, mentioning only "the undeniable racial discrimination of the past" and a federal court's recent criticism of the touchscreen voting machines used in some Georgia counties.

U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg in September cited "a mounting tide of evidence of the inadequacy and security risks" involved in Georgia's system. She agreed with voting integrity advocates who sued last year and argued that the touchscreen voting machines Georgia has used since 2002 are vulnerable to hacking and provide no way to confirm that votes have been recorded correctly because there's no paper trail.

But she sided with Kemp in denying the advocates' request to force the statewide use of paper ballots for the 2018 midterms. Kemp, who has been secretary of state since 2010, has recently joined calls to move to paper ballots but said it would have caused too much upheaval to make the change this year.

Twitter Reacts To Al Roker, All-Black Lineup Replacing Megyn Kelly

Source: NBC / Getty

Story by NewsOne

BC was looking to turn the page on Monday morning from last week’s public relations nightmare that was Megyn Kelly’s impassioned and ignorant defense of white people wearing Blackface. And from all accounts, it would appear as though the embattled network and its TODAY morning show were utterly successful, thanks in part to the channel’s talent of color.

That was who NBC looked to save the day after Megyn Kelly‘s misguided racial rant on Tuesday, when she said wearing Blackface was “ok” when she was a kid.

As a result, Craig Melvin, Hoda Kotb and the venerable Al Roker presided over the 9 a.m. hour when Kelly’s show had previously aired. Kelly was effectively separated from the network on Friday while NBC likely tried to figure out some type of a severance plan.

The irony of replacing Kelly with Roker wasn’t lost on social media users, who keenly noted that the meteorologist just last year had been replaced by Kelly. Bringing the former Fox News anchor on board all but forced NBC to sever ties with beloved hostess Tamron Hall, which also invited all the scorn on the network.

Even with the familiar faces of Melvin and Kotb, it was Roker whose return to the vaunted hour was fully embraced, especially by social media users. Tweet after tweet welcomed Roker back, and then some.

Read the tweets: https://newsone.com/playlist/megyn-kelly-al-roker-nbc-blackface/item/3834220

Secret Service intercepts ‘potential explosive devices’ sent to Presidents' Obama and Clinton

New York Police stand outside the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018 in New York. A police bomb squad was sent to CNN's offices at the center, and the newsroom was evacuated because of a suspicious package. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen)

Story by The Washington Post
Written by Devlin Barrett, Mark Berman and Cleve R. Wootson Jr.

The Secret Service said Wednesday that it had intercepted packages containing “potential explosive devices” addressed to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton in New York and former president Barack Obama in Washington, while authorities also rushed to investigate a suspicious package sent to CNN’s headquarters.

The packages were discovered not long after an explosive device was found in a mailbox at the Bedford, N.Y., home of George Soros, the liberal philanthropist who is a frequent target of criticism from far-right groups. The devices sent to Clinton and Obama were found during screening and did not make it to them, officials said.

“The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such,” the Secret Service said in a statement Wednesday. “The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them.”

The Secret Service said the package addressed to the Chappaqua, N.Y., home of Clinton and former president Bill Clinton was recovered late Tuesday. The package sent to Obama’s Washington home was intercepted early Wednesday, authorities said.

Both packages were intercepted by Secret Service personnel working at off-site facilities near their homes in New York and in Washington, according to a person familiar with their work. All mail and packages addressed to former presidents and their immediate family are pre-sorted and screened by Secret Service personnel.

An Obama representative referred questions to the Secret Service. Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said the package was “not in proximity to their residence" and also deferred other questions to the agency.

Chelsea Clinton posted on Twitter: “Every day, I am grateful to the women and men of the United States Secret Service. Thank you.”

The devices sent to Clinton and Obama are suspected to be the work of the same person who sent a similar device to Soros earlier this week, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. Soros, an 88-year-old holocaust survivor, has funneled much of his fortune into liberal projects around the world, making him a frequent target of rhetoric on the right.

Based on the timing and the material, law enforcement officials suspect the same person is behind all three devices, and officials are scrambling to determine if any other such devices were sent to anyone.

The devices sent to Clinton, Obama and Soros were all pipe bombs placed inside plain manila brown envelopes with the addresses typed on stickers, according to a law enforcement official. The return address address on the packages is a known public official, but authorities do not believe that person is involved, the law enforcement official said.

The official said the three devices appeared to be capable of exploding and causing injuries. These mail bombs prompted security and law enforcement officials across the country to take a hard look at incoming pieces of mail to look for other, undiscovered bombs. Authorities urge anyone who receives a suspicious package to contact law enforcement, the official said.

The devices were sent out just months after a 23-year-old in the Austin, Tex., suburbs set off a string of package explosives in that region, killing two people and wounding several others. That bomber delivered some in person and sent others through the FedEx system, which enabled authorities to track him down.

CNN’s headquarters at the Time Warner Center in New York was also evacuated Wednesday morning due to a suspicious package found there. The network broadcast footage of its staffers outside on the Manhattan streets below, where anchor Jim Sciutto could be seen on a cellphone reporting that he was told a suspicious package was mailed to the CNN building.

Jeff Zucker, president of CNN, wrote in a letter to employees that the center was “evacuated out of an abundance of caution” after the package was found in the mailroom. He also told employees that CNN had checked on its other bureaus but found no other devices.

The New York Police Department said its officers were “investigating a suspicious package in Columbus Circle,” which is where the Time Warner Center is located. The NYPD was investigating the suspicious package at the network and working with federal partners on the investigations into what was sent to Obama, Clinton, Soros and CNN, according to a police official.

As part of that, the NYPD was increasing patrols at areas linked to those three people and inspecting packages sent to locations tied to them. The police were also increasing patrols at high-profile areas, including media locations, in New York City.

Vice President Pence posted a similar condemnation, calling the devices “despicable” and saying that anyone “responsible will be brought to justice.” President Trump chimed in after, writing: “I agree wholeheartedly!”
_______________________________________________

Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
I agree wholeheartedly!

Vice President Mike Pence
✔
@VP
We condemn the attempted attacks against fmr Pres Obama, the Clintons, @CNN & others. These cowardly actions are despicable & have no place in this Country. Grateful for swift response of @SecretService, @FBI & local law enforcement. Those responsible will be brought to justice.

12:04 PM - Oct 24, 2018
16.3K
11.7K people are talking about this
_______________________________________________

Suspicious letters and packages have been sent to numerous public figures, including President Trump’s children. Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, tweeted: “As someone whose family has directly been the victim of these mail threats I condemn whoever did this regardless of party or ideology. This crap has to stop and I hope they end up in jail for a long time.”

A letter was sent to Trump Jr.'s home earlier this year that resulted in his wife going to the hospital. A man later pleaded guilty to sending threatening letters with white powder to Trump’s sons and other public figures.

Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker in Washington and Renae Merle in New York contributed to this story, which will be updated.

Explosives mailed to Obama, Clintons, CNN

Story by The Hill
Written by Jordan Fabian and Avery Anapol, Amie Parnes contributed.

The Secret Service said Wednesday it found two "potential explosive devices" in mail sent to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in New York and the home of former President Obama in Washington, D.C.

The devices were "immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures" and "were appropriately handled as such," the Secret Service said in a statement. Obama and Clinton "did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them," according to the agency.

Separately, the Time Warner building in New York City was evacuated after reports of a suspicious package to CNN.

"We are working with authorities to determine the severity of the situation," CNN president Jeff Zucker said in a memo to staff after his network's anchors had to leave their studio to broadcast from the streets outside their building after an alarm went off on air.

"We are also checking all bureaus around the world, out of a complete abundance of caution," Zucker said.

The threatening packages come weeks before the midterm elections and at a time of historic political polarization in the United States, with each major political party blaming the other for riling up supporters to the point of rage.

The packages sent to the Clintons, Obamas and CNN appeared to have similarities, according to authorities, who seemed to be investigating whether they were sent by the same person.

The Secret Service said one package intercepted late Tuesday was addressed to Hillary Clinton, who was President Trump's Democratic opponent in the 2016 presidential election. The package addressed to Obama was found early Wednesday morning.

The statement said the agency "has initiated a full scope criminal investigation that will leverage all available federal, state, and local resources to determine the source of the packages and identify those responsible."

The FBI said it activated its Joint Terrorism Task Force to assist with the investigation, but declined to comment further.

The White House condemned the attempted bombings and pledged that federal law enforcement "will take all appropriate actions to protect anyone threatened by these cowards."

“We condemn the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and other public figures. These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

Multiple media reports said a homemade bomb was sent to the home of Bill and Hillary Clinton in Chappaqua, N.Y., and is similar to an explosive device found earlier this week at the home of billionaire philanthropist George Soros.

Soros, who lives in nearby Bedford, N.Y., has long been a target of right-wing figures for his funding of liberal activist groups.

Law enforcement agencies have not named a suspect in the attempted bombings, nor have they spoken about a potential motive.

Soros has long been at the center of conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic attacks. Recently, some on the right have accused him, without evidence, of funding a caravan of Central American migrants traveling through Mexico toward the U.S. border.

Trump has seized on the caravan in tweets and fiery campaign stump speeches in the lead-up to the November midterm elections.

"Every time you see a Caravan, or people illegally coming, or attempting to come, into our Country illegally, think of and blame the Democrats for not giving us the votes to change our pathetic Immigration Laws! Remember the Midterms! So unfair to those who come in legally," he tweeted on Monday.

Obama's office declined to comment.

Hillary Clinton is in Florida on Wednesday attending a political event, according to a spokesperson.

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton expressed her gratitude to the Secret Service in a tweet Wednesday morning:

Chelsea Clinton
✔
@ChelseaClinton
Every day, I am grateful to the women and men of the United States Secret Service. Thank you.

11:10 AM - Oct 24, 2018

—Updated at 11:19 a.m.

Tidal X Brooklyn - A Benefit Concert for Criminal Justice Reform - Tonight from Barclays Center, watch live at 8pm eastern/5pm pacific

Booker Announces New Bill Aimed at Combating Wealth Inequality - “American Opportunity Account Act” would create and seed savings accounts for every American child

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today announced new legislation aimed at giving every American child a fair shot at economic mobility.

The American Opportunity Account Act aims to mitigate the growing wealth gap between American families by creating a seed savings account for every American child when they are born. The funds would sit in an interest-bearing account that would receive additional deposits each year depending on family income. At age 18, account holders could access the funds in the account for allowable uses like buying a home or paying for educational expenses. The legislation is fully paid for by making common sense reforms to federal estate and inheritance taxes, including by restoring 2009 estate tax law.

“Everyone in America should have a real shot to succeed, but federal policy over decades and an upside down tax code that heaps benefits on the very rich and big corporations have grown the gap between those who have much and those who have little,” Booker said. “Today, nearly one in three American families have zero to negative wealth, and it’s hard to get ahead if you begin life behind the starting line.”

“This bill would create a savings account for every single American child born, that can be used for buying a home or paying for higher education by making common sense changes to estate and inheritance taxes, like restoring 2009 estate tax rates. This proposal is about helping families break through barriers that keep so many Americans from wealth-creating opportunities like higher education and home ownership. Combined with other tax policy changes, like an expansion of the earned income tax credit, this bill will help level the playing field in our country to ensure that every child has a chance to live their version of the American dream.”

Because household wealth shapes opportunity, extreme wealth inequality in America undermines equal opportunity. Wealth is primarily passed down from one generation to the next, and our history and laws deepen rather than shrink wealth inequality. Generations of subsidizing the richest households have entrenched an extraordinary wealth gap, especially by race.

The gap in wealth between the richest Americans and the middle class has grown dramatically in the past 50 years. In 1963, families near the top had six times the wealth of families in the middle; by 2016, they had 12 times the wealth. There is also a pernicious racial wealth gap in America. In 2016, the median black family had about $17,000 in wealth compared to the typical white family who had about $170,000.

Booker will formally file the bill when the Senate reconvenes in November.

Specifics of the American Opportunity Account Act:

At birth, every American child would be given an “American Opportunity Account” seeded with $1,000. Each year, children would receive up to an additional $2,000 deposit into their American Opportunity Account, depending on family income. These funds would sit in a federally insured account managed by the Treasury Department, achieving roughly 3 percent interest.

Account holders may not access the money until they reach age 18 and will only be able to use the funds for allowable uses like homeownership and higher education — the kind of human and financial capital investments that changes life trajectories.

Read more: https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=861

Ethiopia takes land back from Investors who promised jobs and failed

Story by The Nerve

Ethiopia has revoked a total of 412.6 hectares of land held by investors, including Ethiopian-born Saudi billionaire Mohammed Hussein al-Amoudi for failure to create jobs and develop the city, as promised when the lands were awarded to them, head of Addis Ababa Land Bank Tesfaye Tilahun told the Voice of America.

The investors had promised to create jobs for the youth and develop Addis Ababa by building industries, hotels, a media center and other complexes in the busy city which has over 4 million residents.

“All they did was make a fence around thousands square feet of land and left it for years. That is all they did. Instead of building the city, they gave the city a bad image, making it a place of waste collections,” said Tilahun, while explaining why 95 individuals and businesses lost their licenses.

Of the 412.6 hectares of land, 55 were associated with Mohammed International Development Research and Organization Companies (MIDROC), a private company that belongs to Ethiopian-born Saudi billionaire Mohammed Hussein al-Amoudi. In 2005, MIDROC leased about 33,000 square feet of land in the heart of the capital, agreeing to build a city center there but only evicted locals and built a huge fence round the land.

Prior to the lease revocation, MIDROC has had a coarse relationship with Addis Ababa residents who have accused the company of polluting the environment and refusing job opportunities to locals, leading to a protest in the Oromia region of the capital because of the fear of losing their farmlands to MIDROC.

This week alone, 19 Ethiopian government agencies and 18 companies related to African diplomats or governments also had their licenses revoked.

First Black Woman in the U.S. State of Vermont's Legislature Kiah Morris resigns after Racial Harassment and Threats against her and family

Video interview with Kiah Morris (Associated Press)

Story by "Women in the World"

Kiah Morris, the first black woman to ever serve in Vermont’s state legislature, is speaking out about her decision to resign in late September after facing repeated harassment — including acts of intimidation at her home that forced her and her husband, who was recovering from heart surgery, to flee to a different town. Morris, who was first elected in 2014 and won re-election in 2016, announced that she wouldn’t seek reelection this year — despite running unopposed — after facing vandalism, death threats that were seen by her young son, and a break-in to her home while her family was present. Despite her declaring her intent to leave office, intimidation from angry youths who would pound on her house’s windows and doors at night continued until she and her husband, who was recovering from heart surgery, were forced to flee her home in Bennington and move to another town.

“There’s obviously online harassment that can happen, and that’s a part of our social media world right now, but then when things started happening in everyday life, that’s when it becomes really worrisome and terrifying,” she told The Associated Press. “That’s the worst part about this. I realized, in seeing what’s happened over the last few years … seeing that our system is not set up in a way to protect someone like me, I cannot be the legislator that I want to be. I cannot speak my truths in a way that need to have been said. I cannot do these things and be secure, be assured of safety for me and my family.”

The lack of action from police to protect her and her family, she added, was shameful.

“There is a component of harm that takes place, whether you say that it’s protected speech or not. And that, I feel, has not been fully vetted and appreciated yet,” she said, explaining that activists, average citizens, and even children in schools were also left without recourse against similar harassment and intimidation.

“Are our law enforcement actually equipped, capable, and knowledgeable enough to really deal with these kinds of complex cases that on their face may seem like a simple act of vandalism, but have so much more happening underneath? They don’t have those capabilities,” she continued. “When it comes to our state’s attorney and they see all this evidence and they say, ‘I can’t move forward with charges because the statute’s not strong enough,’ that’s a systemic failure that has to be addressed or otherwise everyone is left vulnerable.”

Vermont, the first state to abolish slavery and recognize same-sex civil unions, is famous for its progressive heritage but remains incredibly non-diverse, with a population that is 94.4 percent white. In recent years, The Associated Press reports, indications have shown that white supremacy has been on the rise — or at least increasingly visible — as neo-nazi fliers have begun appearing on the state’s college campuses.

“This is deep racism coming out, and there are Vermonters hunting down other Vermonters here. This is awful for our state,” said Vermont House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, a white Democrat, in response to Morris’ resignation. “Rather than shake our heads and say, ‘Oh, what a shame,’ we all need to buckle down and figure out what steps we can take, what steps each of us can take, however large or small, to erode some of the system that allow racism to continue.”
______________
Read more:

USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/28/kiah-morris-vermont-representative-resigns-after-racial-harassment/1458392002/

Essence:
https://www.essence.com/news/rep-kiah-morris-vermont-racist-threats/.

Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/09/28/vermonts-only-black-female-representative-resigns-after-racial-harassment-threats/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.cd646c2e23c1

New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/us/politics/kiah-morris-vermont.html

Huffington Post: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/vermonts-only-black-woman-lawmaker-pulls-out-of-race-in-wake-of-online-threats_us_5b848992e4b0162f471bb0ee

NPR: https://www.npr.org/2018/09/28/652524179/vermonts-only-black-female-lawmaker-resigns-amid-racial-harassment

BBC:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45661176

“Good as Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women” Exhibition Opens at Smithsonian

Media only: Eddie Burke 202-633-4660 or 202-330-2504; burkee@si.edu
Media website: http://newsdesk.si.edu

“Good as Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women” Exhibition Opens at Smithsonian
First In-depth Presentation Exploring the History, Techniques
and Fashion of Gold Jewelry in Senegal

“Good as Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women” will be on exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art Oct. 24 through Sept. 29, 2019, in a redesigned first-floor exhibition gallery. “Good as Gold” is the first major exhibition of Senegalese gold jewelry to date that focuses on the history of Senegal’s gold, from past to present, and the beauty and complexity of the way Senegalese women use ornament and fashion to present themselves.

“Good as Gold” also celebrates the 2012 gift from art historian Marian Ashby Johnson of over 250 works of West African jewelry to the National Museum of African Art. Johnson pursued research for several decades in Senegal, engaging a broad number of jewelers, or teugues, in interviews and extended observation. The Johnson collection is supplemented with nearly 2,000 field and archival photographs providing a singular opportunity to understand the range and complexity of gold in the West African nation. The exhibition is complemented with a selection of loans of photographs and related jewelry items from private lenders and public institutions in the U.S. and overseas.

“While most of the objects in the exhibition were made by men, the designs, styles and names of such works are by women,” said Amanda Maples, guest curator of the exhibition and lead author of Good as Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women. “‘Good as Gold’ reveals the ways in which Senegalese women have historically used jewelry as a means of fashioning a cosmopolitan identity of power and prestige.”

“Good as Gold” is the first in a season of exhibitions and programs at the National Museum of African Art celebrating African women’s artistic prowess. It will be joined in the spring by “I Am: Contemporary African Women Artists,” a major presentation of contemporary works in the museum’s collection by women artists.

A key theme of the exhibition is the Senegalese concept of sañse (Wolof for “dressing up” or looking and feeling good). “Good as Gold” explores how a woman in a city like Dakar might use a piece of gold jewelry to build a carefully tailored, elegant fashion ensemble. The exhibition also looks at the interconnectedness of local and global expressions and understanding of fashion.
The National Museum of African Art commissioned Oumou Sy—Senegal’s “Queen of Couture” and its most celebrated fashion designer—to create a new haute couture ensemble inspired by the strength and savoir-faire of Senegalese women for the museum’s collection, which will be unveiled in the exhibition. Sy’s work has been sold in boutiques in New York, Paris, Geneva and Dakar, and featured in significant West African films and music videos. Among her many international accolades, Sy is a recipient of the Prince Claus Award.

The exhibition is overseen by Kevin D. Dumouchelle, curator at the National Museum of African Art.

“We are thrilled to be able to share ‘Good as Gold’ with our visitors at the National Museum of African Art,” Dumouchelle said. “The exhibition and catalog offer a one-of-a-kind visual introduction to both the techniques mastered by Senegalese jewelry artists and to the design savvy and sartorial flare their female clients displayed in commissioning and wearing spectacular jewelry. Connecting Dr. Johnson’s generosity with the work of our curatorial, archival and conservation researchers, the ‘Good as Gold’ project demonstrates and celebrates the National Museum of African Art’s commitment to leadership in the collection, care, scholarship and display of excellence in the full range of Africa’s visual arts.”

Catalog

A catalog featuring Johnson’s collection of Senegalese gold jewelry will be released to coincide with the opening of the exhibition. It will include new photography of key works in the collection and exhibition; trace the history of gold in Senegal, documenting the techniques, materials and practices of goldsmiths; and will reveal the inspirational and economic roles of women in commissioning, trading and fashioning Senegalese jewelry. Johnson has contributed an essay to the catalog on the history of gold in West Africa, Senegalese goldsmiths and their collaboration with women in the region.

Johnson earned her doctorate in art history and history from Stanford University. Building on extensive fieldwork and interviews starting in the mid-1960s, as well as museum and archival research in London, Chicago, Paris and Senegal, Johnson assembled a unique collection of jewelry and archival material that highlights the delicate and refined work of Wolof and Tukulor goldsmiths and the spectacular jewelry designs commissioned by Senegalese women. Johnson, who taught art history and history at Brigham Young University, lives in Provo, Utah.
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About the Curators

Maples recently joined the North Carolina Museum of Art as its first curator of African Art in August 2018. From 2016 to 2018, she was a curatorial fellow in African and Indigenous American Arts at Stanford University’s Cantor Arts Center. At Stanford, she conceived a reinstallation of the African permanent collections: “In Dialogue: African Arts” (2016) and curated two exhibitions: “The Dancing Sowei: Performing Beauty in Sierra Leone” and “Alphabété: The World Through the Eyes of Frédéric Bruly Bouabré.” She has also served in curatorial and scholarly capacities at the Yale University Art Gallery, the National Museum of African Art, the High Desert Museum and the University of California Berkeley’s Hearst Museum of Anthropology. She has written essays, books and articles on historical and contemporary African arts, museum policies and collecting practices. Maples holds a doctorate from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Dumouchelle has served as curator at the National Museum of African Art since October 2016. He was in-house curator for “World on the Horizon: Swahili Arts Across the Indian Ocean” (2018) and the lead curator for “Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa’s Arts” (2017), the museum’s most recent, award-winning presentation of its permanent collection. From 2007 to 2016, he was the Brooklyn Museum’s curator in charge of its African and Pacific Islands collections. Dumouchelle has a doctorate from Columbia University.

About the National Museum of African Art

The National Museum of African Art is the only museum in the world dedicated solely to the collection, conservation, study and exhibition of Africa’s arts across time and media. The museum’s collection of over 12,000 artworks represents the diversity of the African continent and includes a variety of media—from sculpture and painting, to photography, pottery, jewelry, textile, video and sound art. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25). Admission is free. The museum is located at 950 Independence Ave. S.W., near the Smithsonian Metrorail station on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines. For more information, call (202) 633-4600 or visit the National Museum of African Art’s website. For general Smithsonian information, the public can call (202) 633-1000. The public can follow the museum on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook and join in the discussion about the exhibition on social media using #GoodasGold.

Note to Editors: Selected images from “Good as Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women” may be downloaded by visiting the museum’s media website and clicking “press room.” Username: press. Password: africa. For media requests, contact Eddie Burke at (202) 633-4660 or burkee@si.edu.

Get Out To VOTE!

Top Ten Billionaires make a Billion in the stock market in one day

Story by Bloomberg

It’s a perfect 10.

On Tuesday, for the first time since the March 2012 launch of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, every one of the world’s 10 richest people added at least $1 billion to their fortunes as U.S. stock markets ripped higher, brushing off last week’s malaise.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq surged the most since March, and all 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed as strong corporate earnings eased tensions from trade disputes and geopolitical

Amazon.com Inc.’s Jeff Bezos, the world’s wealthiest person, was again the top beneficiary, adding $4.7 billion to his net worth, which now stands at $150.3 billion. Facebook Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg, ranked sixth, and No. 3 Warren Buffett saw their fortunes increase $2 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively.

The top 10 added a total of $16.8 billion while all 500 people tracked by the index are $61 billion richer.

Why Emmis Pulled The Plug On NextRadio And TagStation.

Story by Inside Radio

During a meeting last week in its home market of Indianapolis, Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan delivered an ultimatum of sorts to broadcasters from various companies who had assembled to discuss the future of Next Radio and TagStation. “We finally said, ‘Guys, we can’t do this anymore,’” Smulyan recounted to investors Thursday. After bankrolling efforts to put FM on smartphones, and racking up millions of dollars in operating losses during the past five years, Emmis will radically reduce operations at its two subsidiaries.

“We have tried. We have worked with a number of broadcasters. We’ve had so many people who supported our efforts,” Smulyan continued, explaining how efforts to build a consortium of broadcasters to continue funding the two businesses had failed. “We tried but we couldn’t get the industry to come together. Everybody unanimously said, ‘We have to have this.’ But when it came time for pitching in and helping fund it, we couldn’t get enough support.”

Back in 2013, when NextRadio was a relatively new concept, the industry did come together to invest in making FM radio broadcasts accessible on smartphones. Emmis acted as a conduit for the industry agreeing to pay Sprint up to $45 million over a three-year period to install the app on its mobile devices.

While it wasn’t able to collect all the money it expected from fellow broadcasters, foreshadowing what was to come, as a catalyst, it seemed to be money well spent on behalf of the radio industry. By July 2015, AT&T agreed to include FM chip activation on its Android specs to wireless device manufacturers, followed by T-Mobile in September 2016. In all cases, the wireless carriers would receive a share of some revenue generated by the NextRadio app. From there NextRadio went directly to device makers, cutting deals with BLU Products, Alcatel, LG and Samsung for their Android devices.

But Apple remained a persistent and significant holdout. It even rebuffed efforts by Federal Communications Commission chair Ajit Pai to get FM on iPhones as an important tool during disasters. By not opening its walled garden to FM radio, Apple effectively shut out nearly half of the smartphone-using population in the U.S.

Low Adoption Rates

NextRadio was also stymied by low adoption rates – as of April 2017 the app that wakes up dormant FM chips embedded in smartphones had been downloaded just 13 million times, while active listeners to FM-enabled phones amounted to only one million per month. That’s when NextRadio added streaming capabilities while remaining committed to unlocking the FM chip in all phones. More recently it focused more intently on using the technology to develop attribution capabilities to show advertisers the impact of their ad campaigns.

Emmis had given the radio industry a “call option” to buy NextRadio and TagStation, which provides interactive visual elements like album art and advertiser calls-to-action synched with FM broadcasts. But the August 2017 date to exercise the call option came and went without any takers. A second option would have opened up in August 2019. But with losses mounting, Emmis has decided it can’t wait that long.

Looking back, Smulyan said industry support “was really remarkable” for the years-long initiative. “The challenge was it was 10 miles wide and about a tenth of an inch deep,” he said during Emmis’ financial results call Thursday. Where the support came up short was in radio companies providing access to data and financial funding. “We really needed to use this remarkable network of all the stations that were involved to come together to provide aggregated data,” Smulyan said, in reference to the Dial Report which collects first-party radio station ad data and smartphone user data, including listener location, brick and mortar store traffic, exposure, engagement and audience behavior to provide attribution data for ad campaigns. “Some people understood it, a lot of people didn't,” Smulyan said. In addition to a deeper level of involvement on the data piece of the puzzle, Emmis, under pressure from its board, concluded it could no longer tolerate financial losses incurred from being the primary funding source for NextRadio and TagStation. “At the end of the day there just weren’t enough of those companies to say we’ll help support it,” Smulyan said. And when the Emmis board asked Smulyan why “one small company” was funding a sizable R&D project for the U.S. radio industry, “It was a question I just couldn’t answer,” he told investors.

NextRadio and TagStation cost Emmis $7.7 million in operating losses during the twelve months ended August 31. Smulyan thanked employees of the two companies for their “brilliant work,” and said he didn’t know what the future holds for them.

Future Of FM Chip

While the future of NextRadio looks bleak, FM radio functionality is likely to continue to be a part of the communications chip in smartphones, which also enables services such as Bluetooth and WiFi. With Smartphone manufacturers building phones for a global market and FM radio capability being a popular service around the world, manufacturers aren’t likely to discontinue FM radio capability from their devices.

The National Association of Broadcasters, which has invested in and lobbied for FM on smartphones, will continue to make software enabling FM radio functionality in mobile devices available to app developers for free. Since August 2016, the trade group’s PILOT technology and innovation division has funded development of an FM API for accessing and controlling the FM chip in many Android smartphones and made the API available to app developers through its PILOT FM Radio SDK portal.

Not Just ‘Loco’ Fed: Why Equities Are Suddenly Selling Off Now

Story by Bloomberg
Written by Justina Lee

U.S. President Donald Trump can blame more than just the Fed for the recent market sell-off.

It was the perfect storm that gave U.S. stocks their worst day in eight months, sending European shares to the lowest since December 2016 and driving more than 1,000 Chinese companies to fall by the daily limit. Here are the factors driving this week’s rout:

Fed Goes ‘Loco’

To put it more elegantly, the U.S. 10-year government bond yield surged to the highest since 2011 on Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell heaped praise on the American economy, stoking expectations that monetary tightening will continue. While higher rates haven’t interrupted U.S. stocks’ broad uptrend so far, they may have crossed a threshold where they’re starting to weigh on pricey stocks and make equities less attractive. One thing to watch is U.S. inflation figures due Thursday, which will be key for gauging the country’s monetary path.

Sorry, Mr. President: There’s Also Trade

More companies are speaking up about the trade conflict’s impact on their business. Trinseo SA on Wednesday became the second chemicals maker this week to warn of disappointing results, partly due to trade uncertainty. Industrial supplier Fastenal Co. said new U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are hurting customers.

“U.S. equity markets have been resilient to rising trade tensions compared to their global counterparts, leaving them susceptible to pullbacks as the costs become more apparent,” Mark Haefele, global chief investment officer at UBS Wealth Management, said in a note.

Also somewhat related: Luxury-goods are in a meltdown after LVMH confirmed that China was cracking down on undeclared imports of such products.

Rolling Down the Cycle

The International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for global growth this week, blaming rising trade tensions and stress in emerging markets. And while this year’s 19 percent gain in WTI crude gives some economies a boost, the International Energy Agency has warned that high prices due to falling supply from Iran and Venezuela are leading to a “risky situation” for the global economy. While the macro picture is still solid, especially in the U.S., the concern now is we’re moving into later stages of the business cycle.

“The potential for a synchronized slowdown in the global economy is now gaining ground fast,” Amundi analysts led by head of macroeconomic research Didier Borowski wrote in a note. “The protectionist rhetoric is a shock of uncertainty that has begun to spread to real economic activity.”

What Was Down Is Up

The sell-off has seen investors rotating into previously overlooked styles or sectors and discarding old favorites, hitting index heavyweights. Quantitative investors are moving into value stocks and out of momentum and growth since cheap shares tend to do better when yields are rising. There’s also been a rotation away from cyclicals and into defensives: Europe’s best performers on Thursday are good old telecoms and real estate.

Or consider everyone’s beloved U.S. tech darlings. They’ve been battered during this sell-off, tossed aside amid the shift from growth stocks and a delayed reaction to trade uncertainty.

All these moves are only compounded by redemptions in passive funds and quantitative trend-followers. With bonds and stocks falling in tandem, risk-parity funds may also be contributing.

Italy Sticks to Its Guns

In Europe, the equity slide came a little less abruptly, as worries over Italy’s debt sustainability have been weighing on markets for a while now. The country’s populist leaders are sticking to their costly election promises, even as sovereign yield spreads continue to widen, saying rating agencies are from a “virtual world.” Italy’s benchmark is set to enter a bear market on Thursday, having plunged 20 percent from its peak in May. For the rest of Europe, the fear is that Italy is due for a showdown with the European Union over its budget.

Onetime rap mogul Marion 'Suge' Knight sentenced to 28 years for manslaughter

Former rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight with attorney Albert DeBlanc, appears in court to formally receive his 28-year prison sentence for a manslaughter conviction in the fatal 2015 hit-and-run killing of a man he ran down with his pickup truck in Los Angeles, California, U.S., October 4, 2018. David McNew/EPA/Pool via REUTERS

Story by Reuters
Written by Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES, California USA - Former rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight was sentenced in a Los Angeles courtroom on Thursday to 28 years in prison for manslaughter in the death of a man he ran over with his pickup truck outside a hamburger stand in 2015.

The sentence appeared to forestall any chance of a future recording business comeback for Knight, 53, known as much for repeated run-ins with the law as for his career as a hip-hop executive promoting the likes of Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Tupac Shakur during the 1990s.

The co-founder of the influential label Death Row Records pleaded no contest on Sept. 20 to one count of voluntary manslaughter for the hit-and-run killing of 55-year-old Terry Carter.

He admitted then to using a “deadly and dangerous weapon” on Jan. 29, 2015, when he ran down two men with his pickup truck outside Tam's Burgers, following a heated argument on the set of a TV commercial for the film “Straight Outta Compton.”

Carter later died of his injuries. The second man, Cle “Bone” Sloan, was left with a badly mangled left foot and head injuries.

Knight, who was out on bail in a robbery case at the time, fled the scene but was later arrested.

Had Knight been convicted of murder and attempted murder as originally charged, he would have faced a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

As part of his agreement with prosecutors to plead no contest - the legal equivalent of guilty - to the lesser offences of manslaughter, all other charges in the case were dropped. Two separate criminal cases in which he was charged with robbery and making criminal threats were also dismissed. Both rap murders remain unsolved.

Knight previously served more than half of a nine-year term for violating the probation he received in 1995 for an assault on two aspiring rappers at a Hollywood recording studio.

The probation violation stemmed from a scuffle involving Knight at a Las Vegas hotel in September 1996, hours before Shakur was shot to death while riding in a car with Knight on the Las Vegas Strip. Knight was slightly wounded in the attack.

Knight was later named by police as a suspect in the shooting death of rival rap artist Christopher Wallace, known as Notorious B.I.G., but was never charged.

In 2002, the year after his release from prison, a federal racketeering probe of Knight and his record label was closed with the company pleading guilty to misdemeanour tax charges. The onetime college football star and "gangsta" rap pioneer eventually lost control of his label in bankruptcy proceedings.