by Jeroslyn JoVonn

January 24, 2024

Harvard Releases Details Of Former President Claudine Gay’s Plagiarism Investigation

Harvard is revealing how the university investigated plagiarism claims brought against the school’s former president Claudine Gay.

Gay resigned earlier this month after facing pressure from a Congressional committee about responses to antisemitism on their campuses and allegations accusing her of plagiarism. A memo released on Friday reveals the numerous corrections that were made to Gay’s work after a New York Post reporter accused the former president of plagiarism in October, AP News reports.

The school reached out to the authors Gay was accused of plagiarizing and none objected to the claims. Harvard then appointed an independent body that reviewed two of Gay’s articles published in 2012 and 2017 and determined they “are both sophisticated and original,” and found “virtually no evidence of intentional claiming of findings” that were not her own.

However, it was found that nine of 25 plagiarism claims found by the Post reporter were “of principal concern” and featured “paraphrased or reproduced the language of others without quotation marks and without sufficient and clear crediting of sources.” Gay was also accused of including “fragments of duplicative language and paraphrasing” in her past works which could be seen as her taking credit for another academic’s work despite there being no proof of that being her aim.

A paper Gay wrote in graduate school was also found to include “identical language to that previously published by others.” The findings led to Gay making corrections to articles published in 2001 and 2012.

The subcommittee presented its findings to the Harvard Corporation on December 9, concluding that Gay’s “conduct was not reckless nor intentional and, therefore, did not constitute research misconduct.” However, less than one month later, Gay submitted her resignation as the school’s first Black president.

She held the position for just six months and two days, making her the shortest-tenured president in the school’s history, the school revealed. Amid her resignation, Gay revealed the emailed death threats she faced and numerous callings of the N-word ahead of her resignation.

“My character and intelligence have been impugned. My commitment to fighting antisemitism has been questioned. My inbox has been flooded with invective, including death threats. I’ve been called the N-word more times than I care to count,” Gay wrote in the 870-word New York Times op-ed titled “What Just Happened at Harvard Is Bigger Than Me”.

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

January 24, 2024

Africa’s Richest Man Opens Multi-Billion Oil Refinery In Nigeria

Nigeria is now home to one of the world's largest oil refineries, built by Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote.

Africa’s wealthiest man, confirmed by Forbes to be Aliko Dangote, has opened one of the world’s biggest oil refineries in Nigeria. The $19 billion project began production in mid-January.

According to Business Insider, Dangote opened the facility to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on other countries for its oil imports. The billionaire made his fortune through his eponymously named cement company, emerging as the continent’s largest cement producer. Through his success, the Nigerian entrepreneur has since become chairman and founder of the Dangote Group, officially launching the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to aid his native country.

The establishment is located off the coast in Lekki, yet it was not an overnight project, having faced years of delays before beginning production this year. Dangote sought to remedy an ongoing and costly problem for Nigeria, as most of its imports were in fuel, lacking the refining infrastructure to pull petroleum from its own soil.

The entrepreneur grew his wealth from an already substantive beginning, being the great-grandson of Alhassan Dantata, who once held the title of Africa’s richest man from trading and distribution.

However, this latest endeavor is worth as much as the businessman’s net worth. His wealth is estimated to be $18.5 billion, and he is ranked No. 98 amongst all the world’s richest people on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

His refinery hopes to ramp up production in its inaugural years, aiming to produce over 650,000 barrels of crude oil daily. However, that efficiency level is not expected until 2027, according to a projection by Rafiq Raji, a senior associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Africa Program, in conversation with the news outlet.

In the meantime, the refinery is continuing its mission to meet Nigeria’s diverse oil needs and eliminate its reliance on other countries in the near future.

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

January 24, 2024

Mary J. Blige Finally Set to Launch A Boot Line, ‘I’m Working It Out’

Mary J. Blige has been listening to her fans and has a long-awaited boot line coming that will give us all the power to two-step like the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul.

The decorated songstress appeared on “The Big Tigger Morning Show” on Monday, January 22 where she teased her inception into the footwear industry with her first official line of signature boots.

“Ladies have been waiting for the Mary J. Blige boot line. Where is the boot line,” Big Tigger asked.

“It’s coming,” Mary confirmed. “Yeah, it’s coming.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Big Tigger Morning Show (@bigtiggermorningshow)

When Tigger asked if he would be able to buy a pair this upcoming Christmas, Mary revealed the boot line hasn’t gone into production yet and wouldn’t be available so soon.

“Christmas?! We ain’t even go into production yet,” she said. “It’s coming maybe in two years or something.”

When Tigger declared how Mary fans have been pressing him to ask the “Family Affair” singer about the boot line, she assured they might come sooner than two years.

“Okay, one year. I’m working it out,” she said.

Fans expressed their excitement in the comments section to let the singer know she doesn’t need to worry about attracting customers since they’re already eagerly awaiting the shoe line’s release.

“Yass wide calf me please,” one user wrote.

“YESSSS! Take my moneyyyyy!!!” added someone else.

One quick Google search of “Mary J. Blige boots” will show you how long the soul singer has been celebrated for her high-fashion collection of boots. Her 2023 Grammy performance left fans demanding for a signature boot line from Queen of R&B.

“Mary J Blige gotta stop playing with us and come out with a boot collection already!!!” one fan tweeted at the time.

“A boot collection would he MJB’s FENTY. she gotta come on cuz she leaving money on the table and I’m ready to give her my shoe moneyyyy!!!

https://twitter.com/Luvvie/status/1622433134808649730

It’s clear that Mary has been listening and is putting the plan in motion to make her boot line a reality.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

January 24, 2024

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Becomes Board Member of TKO Group, Owner Of WWE

"I’m very humbled to have a seat at the table that has decades of history and family legacy for me. A table that my family helped to build."

Dwayne Johnson, aka ‘The Rock,’ wrestler-turned-movie-superstar, has joined the board of directors of the company that owns the wrestling organization WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), where he originally started his professional wrestling career.

TKO Group Holdings, Inc., a sports and entertainment company, announced Johnson’s appointment to its board of directors.

TKO appoints Dwayne Johnson to Board of Directors@TheRock @WWE @ufc pic.twitter.com/bhTgADAEb7

— TKO (@TKOGrp) January 23, 2024

The news also comes with the announcement that his moniker, “The Rock,” is now an owned trademark for Johnson. WWE inked a services and merchandising agreement with the “Fast Five” star. The company will help with his promotional, licensing, and other services regarding intellectual property.

In a written statement, Johnson said, “My grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, and my dad, Rocky ‘Soulman’ Johnson, would’ve never thought this day would come. Which is why I’m very humbled to have a seat at the table that has decades of history and family legacy for me. A table that my family helped to build. Being on the TKO Board of Directors and taking full ownership of my name, ‘The Rock’, is not only unprecedented but incredibly inspiring as my crazy life is coming full circle.”

“I’m very motivated to help continue to globally expand our TKO, WWE, and UFC businesses as the worldwide leaders in sports and entertainment — while proudly representing so many phenomenal athletes and performers who show up every day putting in the hard work with their own two hands to make their dreams come true and deliver for our audiences. I’ve been there, I’m still there and this is for them.”

Johnson is a third-generation professional wrestler following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He made history as the only person to have had a parent and grandparent come before him who participated in the WWE. Now, his daughter, Simone Johnson, who uses the wrestling name Ava Raine, has become the first fourth-generation wrestler.

Jamaal Bowman, reparations, Black Americans

by Stacy Jackson

January 24, 2024

NY Representative Jamaal Bowman Backs Bill For $333K Reparations To All Black Americans

The legislation aims to distribute $14 trillion dollars amongst the approximately 42 million Black Americans.

New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman is backing a federal bill that would provide every Black American with a one-time payment of $333,000 as restitution for slavery.

Bowman is one of nine co-sponsors of House Resolution 414, which declares the U.S. government has a “moral and legal obligation” to make amends to the descendants of enslaved people, Daily Mail reported. The legislation aims to distribute $14 trillion amongst the approximately 42 million Black Americans.

This number comes from estimates of how much academics think the U.S. monetarily benefited from the free forced labor provided by slaves between 1619 and 1865, the news outlet explained. Bowman suggested the reparations could be paid out over time in creative ways, such as through monthly checks distributed over several years.

Bowman argued that the government’s pandemic response proves it can afford such a program. According to Daily Mail, he told the Journal News, “When COVID was destroying us, we invested in the American people in a way that kept the economy afloat. The government can invest the same way in reparations without raising taxes on anyone.”

The congressman also proposed the funds could be “spent into existence” the same way the government did when it spent $7 trillion in 2020. This number accounted for a little over a quarter of the economy. Bowman said that the money doesn’t have “to be paid out in one shot.”

He emphasized that “there were 246 years of free labor that produced trillions or hundreds of trillions of dollars for the U.S. economy.” He added, “The economy wouldn’t exist in the way it does today if slavery hadn’t built it,” said Bowman, Daily Mail noted.

While the bill currently lacks support to advance in the Senate, it comes on the heels of some localized successes on reparations. In 2021, Evanston, Illinois, became the first U.S. city to pay reparations, allotting $25,000 in housing grants to eligible Black residents. The city used tax revenue from cannabis sales and the sales of homes costing over $1 million, Daily Mail reported.

Other cities, like San Francisco, have also explored reparations programs. According to the outlet, in December 2023, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill to create a commission studying potential reparations policies.

National reparations might be one way the nation can help close racial disparities in housing, education, incarceration, and more.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

January 24, 2024

San Antonio Spurs Place Protocols To Keep Rookie Victor Wembanyama Healthy For NBA Season

One of rules states that no one from the Spurs staff is allowed to contact Wemby by phone after 9:30 p.m.

We often hear about habits or protocols set for athletes during their careers, whether in college or when they become professionals. There is one in place for San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama as he prepares for a long career in the NBA.

According to The Athletic, no one from the Spurs staff is allowed to contact Victor Wembanyama on his phone after 9:30 p.m. This is according to what the team’s Director of Basketball Communications, Jordan Howenstine, told the media outlet. “That’s when he reads for an hour,” Howenstine said. “Then he goes to sleep.”

This is part of the plan to ensure the 20-year-old rookie has a long and successful career in the NBA. Another thing that the team does to try to save Wembanyama from the rigors of the 82-game season is to limit his playing in back-to-back games. Although fans and the league frown upon load management for top players, the plan was incorporated so that the rookie would not participate in games that are played on consecutive days. In these instances, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and the medical staff have given the rookie the choice to play either the first or the second game. Wemby, as he is affectionately called, chose to do the latter.

Wemby does not play more than 30 minutes a game, another plan put in place by the Spurs. Before the limitation of 30 minutes, he was not allowed to get close to that time, but right after extending that time, he rolled his right ankle last month on Dec. 13. No major injury occurred, so he was still able to play. But, he stepped on a ball boy’s foot during warmups on Dec. 23 and missed the matchup and the next three games.

Yet, he’s back on the basketball court but has not played for more than 27 minutes in the last 12 games he participated in. But, now that half the season has been played, Wemby averages 19.8 points per game, 10.1 rebounds, and a league-leading 3.1 blocked shots.

Roth IRA, retirement, child, kid, account, retire

by Charlene Rhinehart

January 24, 2024

How To Open A Retirement Savings Account For Your Kids And Help Them Accumulate $1M Before They Reach 50

Are your children earning any income? Then they can get a head start on a retirement savings account for kids. Here's how.

Originally Published Jul. 10, 2019

Do your kids have a summer job, or are they helping you in the family business? They can get a head start on a retirement savings account if they are making money.

For a minor to qualify for an individual retirement account, your child must earn income from traditional or self-employment opportunities such as babysitting, mowing the lawn, or tutoring. Also, the contribution limit for custodial Roth IRAs is $6,500, or the total amount of money your child made during the year, whichever is less, or their current earnings in a given period, whichever amount is lower.

Ready to prepare your child for future wealth-building opportunities? Here’s how to open a retirement account for your child:

Open a Custodial IRA

Kids of any age can contribute to a retirement account like a Roth IRA if a parent or adult opens the account as a custodian. A custodial Individual Retirement Account permits the parent to control the investments in the IRA until the child reaches a certain age (usually 18 or 21), but the assets belong to the child.

You can open a custodial IRA through a brokerage firm or bank. Work with a financial coach or CPA to learn how to research and navigate your options.

“Find out who has the lowest fees and the best reputation,” says Jeff Wilson II, author of The Lies Our Parents Were Sold and Told Us and principal CPA at The W2 Group accounting firm. Also, determine if you will manage your retirement account or have someone else manage it. If you plan to manage it, find a company that actively manages portfolios and has a good brand. Working with a trusted CPA can help you make these important decisions that will provide a foundation for your child’s future wealth-building activities.”

Contribute Money to Your Account

After successfully opening a custodial IRA for your child, it’s time to fund your account. In previous years, the maximum amount that can be contributed to children’s retirement funds has ranged between $6,000 and $6,500 annually or the total amount of money your child made during the year, whichever is less.

For example, if your child earned $3,000 as a babysitter last summer and that’s the only job they worked last year, then that $3,000 is the most that can be contributed to the account.

But let’s say you hire your child to work in your small business throughout the year, and the child earns $12,000 for the year. Not only can the child max out their retirement account with a $6,000 contribution, but they also get the benefits of not having to pay taxes on the money they earn.

You don’t have to contribute a lump sum at once. You can make weekly or monthly contributions to your account. Use whatever time frame works best for you. If your child can contribute $500 a month toward their retirement account, in 12 months, they will achieve the goal of maxing out their Roth IRA account with $6,000.

Choose Your Investments

The parent or adult has control over the type of investments that are pursued in the retirement portfolio. You can take the safe route by parking the money in a money market account. Alternatively, you can take advantage of capital appreciation and dividend income by investing the retirement funds in assets such as individual stocks and exchange-traded funds.

If your child started contributing the maximum amount to a Roth IRA account at 10 years old and received a 7% annual rate of return from investing in the markets, your child will have well over $1 million set aside for retirement before age 50! And all it took was starting early and contributing just $6,000 a year of earned income.

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

January 24, 2024

Local Lands, A Black-Owned Farm, Widens Reach For Georgia Residents To Combat Food Deserts

Black-owned family farm, Local Lands, is widening its access with the help of a nonprofit grant.

Local Lands, a Black-owned farm in Georgia, is widening its reach to provide healthy food options to more communities in the state. A grant from a local nonprofit is helping it achieve its mission.

The nonprofit organization, The Common Market Southeast, has secured funding for Local Lands as part of its distribution program benefitting Black, Indigenous, and women farmers. This grant program will allow Local Lands and other diverse farms to produce food on a larger scale and enable underserved communities to access sustainable, nutritional goods.

On the grant, Local Lands spoke to 11Alive about what the additional monetary support means to its production, which is now expanding to produce for local consumers and larger establishments such as schools, hospitals, and governmental entities.

The grant has allowed the farm to increase its production of pasture-raised eggs at five times the previous rate. “The grant has helped us decrease the cost of our eggs,” explained a member of Local Land, Raphaela Ysrael. “Small family farms like ourselves, we don’t necessarily have the capacity, you know, certain generational wealth, that we’re able to decrease the cost of our eggs to the general public.”

This financial assistance will increase options and production capacity for diverse farmers to thrive within the food industry while directly impacting the communities they initially intended to serve. This initiative grants these farms the resources and security to grow more crops and allows for more lucrative purchase commitments, as evidenced by Local Lands securing over $80,000 in purchase commitments.

“Historically underserved farmers have long been excluded from wholesale opportunities,” explained The Common Market Southeast Executive Director Bill Green.

“This program builds on the work begun during the USDA’s pandemic-era contracts to engage historically underserved producers, promoting sustainability and equity in local food systems while delivering fresh, ecologically responsible produce to communities.”

Although widening sales opportunities, these farmers are also remedying concerns surrounding food deserts, often found in underserved communities, by prioritizing and providing accessible and affordable groceries to these areas. According to Asa Ysrael, head farmer at Local Lands, this “target focus” will be crucial to addressing Georgia’s food concerns.

“With that kind of target focus, we’re trying to help out the southern side of metro Atlanta, especially because access to organic, local fresh food is at a very minimum, like we said, that we’re in one of the food deserts.”

According to Oxford Languages, a food desert is defined as “an urban area in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food. Many poor people live in food deserts—where they have plenty of food but none of it healthy.”

These farmers remain committed to their growth and sustainable business practices by standing firm in their values and mission to their communities. According to Local Lands’ EliYahu Ben Asa, fostering these relationships with the people this food is ultimately grown for is a responsibility they hold in the highest regard,

“As farmers, not just farmers, but Black farmers, we’re pillars of the community, and people really look up to us and the way that we function.”

by Lydia Blanco

January 24, 2024

Make Sure Your Business Aligns With Your Purpose

Jovian Zayne, founder of the OnPurpose Movement and International Day of Purpose, wants to help entrepreneurs create a purpose-driven business.

Originally published July 27, 2019

It’s one thing to launch a business; it’s another to launch a business with a purpose. Jovian Zayne, founder of the OnPurpose Movement, created a purpose-driven business.

The certified leadership and professional development coach, consultant, and public speaker says that purpose is the foundation of her work and the core of who she is.

Zayne says she has worked with Google, Goldman Sachs, The New York Times, Columbia University, Harvard University, The Clinton Foundation, The Aspen Institute, Janelle Monáe’s Wondaland Records, and Teach for America.

“When I think about purpose through my work, I think about it through service and impact,” says Zayne. “When people are thinking about using their sense of purpose to grow a business, you need to build your business on purpose, not by accident. Be very thoughtful around why are you doing this.”

She adds that being honest about why you want to start a business is key.

“I don’t think there’s a problem with starting a business because you want it to be profitable. And to that point, asking yourself ‘Am I doing this in a way that honors the values I hold most dear?’ will help you.”

When it comes to making a profit from a purpose-driven business, Zayne says, “Self-care is knowing your worth and being comfortable asking for it. No matter what products or services you provide, you thrive when you know what value you add.”

“I believe in the work that I do; I believe in the service I provide, and I believe that my gifts will make room for me. I also believe in creating a sustainable business that can create a legacy and generational wealth for people who look like me. That is something I’m committed to doing in this world, because one of my values is equity.”

She concludes, “People should be putting their value where their output is. You can’t say that you’re doing critical work and let people pay you chump change, it’s just not gonna work. You won’t be able to continue to do the work that’s important and have a scalable business.”

A Framework for Creating Purpose

A big part of her work with corporations and individuals begins with being clear about not only the goals of the client but how she can best serve them. She starts her work with her “Core Five Framework.” As a part of that framework, Zayne encourages entrepreneurs to ask themselves the following questions:

Who do I want to serve right now?
What skills, gifts, resources, and experiences do I have right now that I feel most compelled and uniquely positioned and called to use to positively serve this group?
What habits need to shift in order for this impact to be real?
Who needs to impact me?
Who do I want to be as I serve?

Zayne’s framework serves as a guide, but she also says that when doing the work it is important that you ask, “What value are you bringing with you?”

In addition, Zayne says that impactful work requires a team effort: “I deeply believe that you can’t be your best self by yourself.”

Doing Business On Purpose Requires a Lifestyle Shift

“There were certain things that I needed to shift in order to set my life up to be an entrepreneur. And it was everything from creating a different kind of health routine to creating structures that supported me being effective and keep my energy up,” says Zayne. She offers these tips on creating a business with purpose:

Automate services and tasks that might be time-consuming and easy to forget to complete.
Find a community of people who will hold you accountable.
Create a routine that supports your health and wellness as you do the work so that you don’t burn out.
Be more ferocious and committed to carefully curating what you allow in your spirit: from who you follow on your social media to what you watch on TV, the books you read, etcetera.

by Rafael Pena

January 24, 2024

New York City Launches $2B Medical Debt Relief Initiative

New York City aims to alleviate the burden of medical debt for up to 500,000 residents, totaling over $2 billion, as part of a comprehensive initiative.

Fortune reports that New York City intends to alleviate the burden of medical debt for up to 500,000 residents, totaling over $2 billion, as part of a comprehensive initiative announced by Mayor Eric Adams on Jan 22.

Partnering with the nonprofit organization RIP Medical Debt, the city plans to address a significant contributor to personal bankruptcy by purchasing medical debt in bulk from hospitals and debt collectors at a fraction of its value. RIP Medical Debt specializes in targeting the debt of individuals facing financial hardships or with low incomes, and subsequently forgives those amounts.

Under this unprecedented program, New York City commits to spending $18 million over the next three years to provide relief to those who are struggling with the financial fallout of medical bills. Mayor Adams emphasizing the devastating impact of medical debt on middle- and working-class New Yorkers, citing the challenging choices these families often face between paying medical bills and meeting basic life essentials.

Citing medical debt as the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States, Adams described the relief initiative as the most extensive municipal effort of its kind in the country. He said that the $18 million investment over three years is a worthwhile commitment for the well-being of its residents.

Adams expressed the gravity of the situation, saying, “If you are able to … save $2 billion in debt, that $2 billion trickles down to those households, who are not going to fall into our safety net. They’re not going to fall into our homeless system.”

RIP Medical Debt’s President and CEO Allison Sesso confirmed that the relief program would not involve a traditional application process. Instead, recipients will be notified that their debt has been acquired by a third party and subsequently eradicated.

While the initiative is unprecedented in scale, RIP Medical Debt has collaborated with other municipalities to address the pervasive issue of medical debt. New York City’s commitment to this program reflects a comprehensive approach to supporting vulnerable communities and preventing the long-term economic impact of medical debt.

As the city takes this significant step toward financial relief, it signals a potential model for other municipalities across the nation grappling with the pervasive challenges posed by medical debt.