Biden, TikTok, 90 day extension,
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

April 24, 2024

Biden Signs Bill To Force TikTok To Part Ways From Chinese Parent Company Or Face National Ban

TikTok responds to Biden's "unconstitutional" new law that forces them to sell or face a national ban.

TikTok is calling out President Joe Biden’s “unconstitutional” new law that forces the social media app to part ways from its Chinese parent company ByteDance.

On Wednesday, April 24, Biden signed a few controversial measures into law, including sending billions in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, as well as urging Chinese TikTok parent company ByteDance to sell the social media platform or face a national ban in the United States, CNBC reports.

“The path to my desk was a difficult path. It should have been easier and it should’ve gotten there sooner,” Biden said. “But in the end we did what America always does, we rose to the moment.”

The law gives ByteDance nine months, or a year, to sell TikTok if Biden invokes a 90-day extension, or face the national ban. The popular social media app released a statement in response to the law accusing it of being unconstitutional.

“This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court. We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail,” the company wrote.

“The fact is, we have invested billions of dollars to keep U.S. data safe and our platform free from outside influence and manipulation. This ban would devastate seven million businesses and silence 170 million Americans. As we continue to challenge this unconstitutional ban, we will continue investing and innovating to ensure TikTok remains a space where Americans of all walks of life can safely come to share their experiences, find joy, and be inspired.”

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew followed up with a video message vowing to fight the “disappointing moment.”

“Make no mistake. This is a ban. A ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice,” Chew said. “Politicians may say otherwise but don’t get confused. Many who sponsored the bill, admit a Tiktok ban is their ultimate goal.”

Pointing out the irony of the new law, Chew called out the hypocrisy of the US government working to ban an app that represents the “same American values that make the United States a beacon of freedom.”

In addition to the possible TikTok ban, the new law gives $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel, and $8 billion for security in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific. The Biden administration also notes plans to use TikTok to reach voters amid his 2024 re-election campaign.

RELATED CONTENT: US Judge Blocks Montana From Banning TikTok Use In State

From left, Kyle Ramar as Freeman's Lion, Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy, Wayne Brady as the Wiz, Phillip Johnson Richardson as Tinman, Avery Wilson as Scarecrow, The Wiz, Broadway, Marquis Theatre, New York.
by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

April 24, 2024

‘The Wiz’ Broadway Revival Lands In Top 5 Highest Grossing Shows

The revival of the 1975 musical is making some considerable strides in its debut week.

The revival of The Wiz on Broadway just opened, yet it is already proving to be a success. The show landed in the top five highest-grossing shows.

Playbill reported that The Wiz earned $1.48 million in ticket sales, earning its place in the Millions Club. As the show debuted on April 17, its rise to the top five is a considerable achievement. The show was also the fourth-most-seen performance in its debut, bringing over 12,000 people to The Marquis Theatre.

Furthermore, the show’s ability to amass such profits is partly due to its venue holding 1,600 seats. Its large capacity offsets its $117 average ticket cost, only ranked at No. 14 for most expensive. The seating capacity could lead to The Wiz dominating these rankings as its run continues.

The publication also noted that with Tony nominations looming, this box office data is putting The Wiz in a prime position to be part of this year’s awards. Nominations will be announced on April 30 as the show fights for a place in categories like Best Revival of a Musical.

The 2024 rendition of the musical also holds some new updates that are a nod to Black history. The Schele Williams-directed production incorporates multiple elements of Black culture in this modern retelling. From quilts of the Underground Railroad to the Black movement influencing the dance sequences, this take of The Wiz aims to celebrate Black artistry, history, and storytelling.

“It was really important for us to show how much we care about our heritage,” Williams told the New York Times. “We have a responsibility to consider how the art we make can influence the way we’re seen in the world.”

The Wiz currently runs on a strictly limited engagement on Broadway. The show also stars Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy, Wayne Brady as The Wiz, and Deborah Cox as Glinda.

Miami, Food, Wine, and Fete’ Luxury Soca
by Stacy Jackson

April 24, 2024

‘Food, Wine, And Fete’ Luxury Soca Experience Returns To Miami

This year's Soca fete experience will feature renowned chefs, mixologists, DJs, and Soca artists to celebrate Caribbean culture.

“Food, Wine, and Fete,” Miami’s ultimate all-inclusive Soca celebration, will return Saturday, May 18, at the Historic Virginia Key Beach Park’s Grand Pavilion.

The yearly extravaganza, which debuted in 2019, is Caribbean culture at its finest. According to a press release, the event will showcase the region’s most talented chefs, mixologists, tastemakers, culinary creatives, and some of the area’s most popular wine brands, Caribbean spirits, Soca artists, and South Florida’s lively Caribbean community.

Co-founder Vanessa James expressed her deep-rooted “passion for the Caribbean” and her desire to “spark a new generation of cultural events and experiences that elevate Caribbean creatives from all genres.” She views Food, Wine, and Fete as “a love letter to the culture.”

Food, Wine, and Fete aims to transport attendees’ senses to the islands. It offers brands an opportunity to connect with an affluent, well-traveled, and diverse community while showcasing their offerings. Guests can anticipate an interactive array of experiences, live demos, and savory pop-ups that highlight the richness of the Caribbean diaspora.

This year’s lineup boasts renowned chefs like James Beard award-winning Chef Irie, award-winning pastry chef Myriam “Chef Mimi” Charles, Barbados-born Chef Paul Griffith, “Luda Can’t Cook” series Chef Alain Lemaire, and FoodieNationTT’s Shaunn Alexander. As stated on the event’s official Instagram page, a variety of vegan options will be available. Attendees can also get their tastebuds ready for some premium scotch, vodka, beer, and tequila.

The event promises a jam-packed lineup of popular DJs and Soca artists, including Teddyson John of St. Lucia and King Bubba of Barbados, who will also throw down in the kitchen.

The Soca fete is a luxury experience for guests 21 years and older. Event coordinators encourage attendees to “wear your fabulous Caribbean chic outfits and come ready to have a time.”

Food, Wine, and Fete tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite for $135. According to the official website of Greater Miami & Miami Beach, attendees can enter for a chance to win a “dream getaway” to a Caribbean destination.

Megan Thee Stallion, Lawsuit
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

April 24, 2024

Megan Thee Stallion Fires Back At Former Employee’s ‘Salacious’ Lawsuit Accusing Her Of Harassment

Megan Thee Stallion, through her attorney, denied the "salacious" allegations from a former cameraman who says he saw her engage in sex with another woman.

Megan Thee Stallion is firing back at a former employee’s “salacious” lawsuit accusing her of harassment and creating a hostile work environment.

The Grammy award-winning rapper had her lawyer Alex Spiro respond to the lawsuit, filed Tuesday, April 23, that accused her of mistreating a former staffer after he allegedly forced him to watch her engage in sexual activity with another woman while trapped inside a car.

“This is an employment claim for money—with no sexual harassment claim filed and with salacious accusations to attempt to embarrass her,” Spiro told Page Six. “We will deal with this in court.”

Videographer Emilio Garcia filed his legal complaint Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court accusing the “Savage” rapper of fostering a toxic workplace among other claims. Garcia claims the hostility started after the alleged incident in the vehicle when Megan ordered him to “don’t ever discuss what you saw.”

The “HISS” rapper allegedly berated, fat-shamed, and mistreated Garcia following the vehicle incident. The “harassment was so severe or pervasive” that it created a “hostile, abusive work environment” that made Garcia’s “working conditions intolerable,” the suit said.

He worked as Megan’s personal cameraman from 2018 to June 2023, when he claims he was fired after months of abuse. The vehicle incident took place during a trip to Ibiza, Spain, in June 2022 when he was inside an SUV with the rapper and three other women. He claims Megan and one of the women had sex next to him in the moving car.

“I felt uncomfortable. I was kind of frozen, and I was shocked. At kind of just be the overall audacity to do this right, right beside me,” he told NBC News.

During the trip, Garcia says Megan fat-shamed him, called him a “fat bi*ch” and told him to “spit your food out” because “you don’t need to be eating.”

“To hear someone who advocates about loving your body tell me these things,” Garcia said. “I felt degraded.”

Garcia says shortly after returning from the trip, his pay structure was changed from a monthly stipend to a pay-per-task format where he had to submit invoices despite his continued long hours. He also alleges to have received fewer bookings with Megan following the Ibiza trip.

The suit says Garcia considered quitting due to the rapper’s “possessiveness combined with a lack of appropriate pay for the amount of time asked of him.” It wasn’t until he was booked for a job in June 2023 that Roc Nation contacted him and told him “his services would no longer be required.”

Garcia says the experience left him with a loss of wages, employment benefits, physical sickness and injuries, and emotional distress. He is suing for six figures, compensation for unpaid wages with interest, employee benefits, statutory and wage penalties under California labor laws, and punitive damages for costs he incurred, including attorneys’ fees.

“What I learned throughout the years is that, especially coming from an from an office environment, is you know, there’s no HR department in the entertainment business,” Garcia said.

“So if you don’t know that you’re being done wrong, you don’t really know how to advocate for yourself until you start asking maybe you start asking your peers who have representation, they have agents, they have management, they have attorneys. So I just really just want to encourage people to advocate for themselves.”

RELATED CONTENT: Lizzo Talks ‘Quitting’ Music After Constant Internet Hate

President Joe Biden, Morehouse College, Atlanta
by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

April 24, 2024

President Biden Announced As Morehouse College Commencement Speaker Amid Campus Protests

Upon the news of Biden's appointment as speaker, students and faculty began voicing their concerns due to his support of Israel.

President Joe Biden will take part in this year’s graduation festivities at Morehouse College. Biden will deliver the commencement address at the Atlanta HBCU’s ceremony on May 19.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the news on April 22, and the White House confirmed the announcement. However, not everyone in the campus community was elated to hear the news as rumors emerged the week before. Addressing the matter, the college’s provost, Kendrick Brown, wrote to faculty about their concerns regarding Biden’s appointment as speaker.

“This week, I received an inquiry from concerned faculty about rumors they were hearing about President Biden’s selection as the 2024 Commencement speaker,” wrote Brown, who also serves as the senior vice president for academic affairs.

A letter obtained by ABC News circulated across the Morehouse community as well. It urged officials to revoke the invitation, stating that their famed alum, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., would not support the choice.

“In inviting President Biden to campus, the college affirms a cruel standard that complicity in genocide merits no sanction from the institution that produced one of the towering advocates for nonviolence of the twentieth century,” the letter states. “If the college cannot affirm this noble tradition of justice by rescinding its invitation to President Biden, then the college should reconsider its attachment to Dr. King.”

The Morehouse official intends to host a virtual forum that would allow faculty “with different prospectives” to explain their thoughts. As for students, they expect to voice their concerns with President David Thomas.

The news comes as a growing number of campuses deal with protests against the conflict in Israel and the West Bank. Columbia University students spearheaded the recent wave, leading the school’s administration to call the NYPD on protestors. Other students across the nation began to hold their own demonstrations in solidarity.

Protestors are condemning Biden’s continued support for Israel as the war in Gaza wages on. Many are also calling for their schools to specifically divest from Israeli-owned companies.

This year’s graduations also take place during an election year, and courting the Black vote is especially important to Biden for his reelection. NBC News reports that his placement at the all-men’s HBCU seeks to not only connect with young voters, but revitalize a Black electorate that has grown jaded with his administration.

Thus far, the college still plans to host Biden at its 140th commencement. However, his appearance may not come to fruition as tensions across campuses grow.

Justin Pippen, University Of Michigan, Scottie Pippen
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

April 24, 2024

Scottie Pippen’s Youngest Son, Justin, Commits To the University Of Michigan

'I like the feel of the campus and school. I wanted to be at a big school. They can help me reach my end goal of making the NBA.'

Justin Pippen, the youngest son of NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, has announced that he will play basketball for the University of Michigan this upcoming semester.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by JP (@justinpippen)

According to The Athletic, Justin appeared with his father, Scottie, who was the Robin to Michael Jordan’s Batman when the two players won six championships with the Chicago Bulls, in a video alerting the world that he would be going to Michigan. There was speculation about which school he would choose as he was reportedly considering the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, University of Florida, and Texas A&M.

Justin is the youngest son of Scottie, who also has another son, his namesake, Scotty Pippen Jr. (Although Scottie spells his name with the ending, “i.e.,” he was named Scotty), who is currently a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. Justin is a guard who played alongside Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James’ sons, Bronny and Bryce, at Sierra Canyon High School, where he is now a senior. He averaged 16.5 points and 4.9 assists in his last year of high school.

He explained why he chose Michigan over the other schools.

“The coaches were great to me. They showed me a lot of hospitality. They gave me really good pitches. They see me coming in as a player who can impact the floor right away.”

ESPN reported that Justin, a 6-foot-3 combo guard, will likely be ranked in the final ESPN 100 rankings for the 2024 class. He expressed his desire to follow his father and brother to the NBA.

“I like the feel of the campus and school,” Pippen told the media outlet. “I wanted to be at a big school. They can help me reach my end goal of making the NBA.”

He became the first commitment for new head coach Dusty Mays, who was hired to replace recently terminated former NBA player and Michigan alumni Juwan Howard, who led the team from 2019-2024. The Michigan Wolverines had a dismal record of 8-24 this past season.

Black-Owned Beauty Brand, Mented Cosmetics
by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

April 24, 2024

Black-Owned Beauty Brand Mented Cosmetics Acquired After Distribution Issues

The acquisition hopes to ease Mented's product distribution issues upon its summer relaunch.

Mented Cosmetics is getting a relaunch. The Black-owned beauty brand has been acquired by West Lane Capital Partners, following product distribution issues.

Business partners KJ Miller and Amanda E. Johnson founded the company in 2017. According to Beauty Independent, which also announced the acquisition, the duo set to create a company for diverse skin tones. They garnered popularity from their first launch, a range of nude lipsticks envisioned for people of color.

The brand thrived with its mid-range pricing and availability at Ulta, Target, and national drugstore chains. It has since expanded to other products like eyeshadow and foundation. This new deal with West Lane, met for an undisclosed amount, aims to re-launch Mented and inspire buyers.

“They have extensive knowledge of the beauty industry. Beyond that, I respect and admire the team,” explained Miller. “We have seen a number of brands in the consumer space either not make it or be left, from what I hear, with deals that they didn’t feel great about, and I’m lucky to say I feel really great about our partner.”

The acquisition comes after product distribution issues forced Mented to stop taking orders in January 2024. Despite raising $9 million in venture capital funding, the owners struggled to keep up with customer demand. Now, with the expertise and financial backing from West Lane, Mented can pick up where they left off.

“Mented is a brand with a strong reputation in what is a really competitive market in the color cosmetics space,” explained the investment company’s VP, Michael Wentz.

“Coupled with the success it has had on social media and the trajectory of the business, we saw a lot of opportunities to broaden it with the infrastructure we have at Blooming Brands to take it to the next level.”

Wentz added, “From our perspective, an immediate need is regaining the trust of the customer base so they know the product will be there, and they will have access to it going forward. It’s on us to get product to customers and have it be available as soon as possible, and we are working hard to do that. It just takes time and communication.”

With Mented now officially under West Lane’s Blooming Brands division, its loyal customers can anticipate a summer start for the renewed company.

Harvard, New President
by Sharelle Burt

April 24, 2024

Vivian Hunt To Serve As Next President Of Board Of Overseers To Search For New Harvard University President 

This should be interesting....

Harvard University has selected ​​Vivian Y. Hunt to serve as the next president of the Board of Overseers, the school’s second-highest governing body. 

Her appointment comes after the board and the school’s highest governing body, Harvard Corporation, met in early April 2024 on campus for their regularly scheduled meeting. The alum of the class of 1989 will lead the Overseers for the 2024-2025 academic year and serve on the university’s presidential search committee following the resignation of the school’s first Black president, Claudine Gay. 

Hunt’s impressive resume includes titles of senior partner at McKinsey & Co., overseeing operations in the United Kingdom and Ireland as well as being named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2018 for her contributions to women in business.

In the past, three members of the committee joined the presidential search with all 12 members of the Corporation. The last five searches consisted of the Overseer’s president being one of them.

While Hunt’s appointment brings the Ivy League institution closer to announcing the committee appointed to select a permanent successor, the University has not indicated any rush to announce the search committee.

The former McKinsey consultant will lead the search after Gay’s shortest tenure in the university’s history. In a letter dated Jan. 2 to the Harvard faculty, staff, and community, Gay officially stepped down amid rounds of plagiarism accusations and mentioned that her decision to resign circulated around the racially motivated attacks on her character and academic morality. 

In recent months, the board has faced scrutiny over its election process after a number of outside candidates failed to meet the eligibility threshold. However, Hunt said she understands the “challenges and opportunities facing the University” and that she and board vice chair Tyler Jacks can handle them.

“Tyler Jacks and I hope to work closely with Interim President Garber and all of our stakeholders to support excellence, inclusion, and world-class leadership in all that we do,” she said. 

Currently serving as the CEO of Optum Health, Hunt has been a driving force behind several DEI initiatives. In 2015, she penned a paper used by companies and institutions, including the Pentagon, according to Free Bacon, that justified their diversity programs. After arguing that a “meritocratic” policy of “treating people evenly isn’t good enough” due to allowing “the bias that is in our systems … to perpetuate,” a recent study from Econ Journal Watch found that diversity has no effect on company returns.

Brawl, Fight, Mike Tyson, Shannon Briggs
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

April 24, 2024

Mike Tyson And Shannon Briggs Get Into Playful Brawl In Brooklyn

Both former heavyweight champions seen on video bare-chested on a street in the Brownsville section of Kings County.

There was a gathering in the streets of Brooklyn, New York, where two former heavyweight boxers met up and playfully took jabs at each other while a group of people egged them on.

Two former heavyweight champions, Mike Tyson and Shannon Briggs, were seen on video, bare-chested and ready to fight in a video clip that went viral among several social media platforms. The impromptu, playful “brawl” took place in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. As the two meet on the sidewalk amid a crowd of people, Briggs is seen approaching “Iron Mike” and seemingly going to hug him, but then Tyson steps back and takes off his shirt. Upon seeing that, Briggs does the same. They size each other up, and as both men are outside with their shirts off, the crowd goes crazy watching the two. The crowd is egging them on, and they pretend to fight. They end up hugging each other as the crowd seems pleased with the display of the older boxers.

Brooklyn rapper Smoothe Da Hustler, who, along with his brother, Trigger Tha Gambler, released the single “Brooklyn Language” in 1995, was also on the scene acting as a referee between the two Brooklyn heavyweights.

After the two “tussled,” the crowd, many of whom were shooting video from their mobile phones, gathered around the two men while trying to take photos and pose with Tyson. An Instagram post by Briggs states that this happened at Atlanta Towers.

The 57-year-old Tyson is scheduled to fight Jake Paul, 30 years his junior, on July 20 in a match that will stream live on Netflix. The boxing match will take place at the Dallas Cowboys’ home stadium, AT&T Stadium, in Arlington, Texas, which has a capacity of 80,000. But, according to USA Today, the fight still has yet to be approved.

“The promoter has requested to have an event that day, but we have not received any proposed (fight) cards and thus have no details about what they are planning,” Tela Mange, communications director for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) told USA TODAY Sports by email. “All bouts are subject to review and approval by TDLR.”

Kidney Transplant, patient, Hospital, doctor
by Daniel Johnson

April 24, 2024

Kidney Transplant System Continues To Deal With Racial Bias, Despite Changes

Although Pavlakis said that the belief that Black people's kidneys functioned differently than other ethnic groups’ kidneys was widespread, several advocates described the inclusion of racial bias into the transplant process as inappropriate.

As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, the eGFR test was revamped after criticism that it was impacting the ability of potential Black kidney transplant recipients to receive proper positioning on the kidney transplant list. Now that the test’s analysis of kidney function has removed racially biased corrections, it has resulted in over 14,000 kidney transplant candidates being moved up the list. 

As ABC News reported, the bias against Black people present in the test was based on an assumption that Black people’s kidneys functioned differently than other groups, something that Martha Pavlakis, the former chair of the kidney committee of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, says was problematic. 

“That really was problematic, but it was very widely accepted,” Pavlakis said. “It was what we were taught. It was what we turned around and taught other people.”

One of the more than 14,000 Black kidney transplant candidates, Jazmin Evans, described her feelings in a 2023 Tik-Tok video. Evans was shocked when she was moved up, but she is also aware that this is not a position she should have been in, to begin with.

“My original wait time started April of 2019,” Evans said in the video. “With the new calculation for Black Americans, my ‘start date’ would have started [in] 2015. At this point, I am eight years on the transplant list. For my blood type, the average waiting time is about four to five years. I could’ve [had] a kidney already.”

Evans told ABC News that her story is an illustration of how far the United States has to go to achieve equality. “Everyone says, you know, we live in this post-racial society here in America, but that’s really not the truth.”

Although Pavlakis said that the belief that Black people’s kidneys functioned differently than other ethnic groups’ kidneys was widespread, several advocates described the inclusion of racial bias into the transplant process as inappropriate.

One of those advocates, Dr. Samira Farouk, a transplant nephrologist and a volunteer at the National Kidney Foundation, told ABC News, “One risk factor that is related to race is the racism,” Farouk said.

“So, thinking about decreased access to care and decreased access to medications, decreased access to optimal diabetes, and high blood pressure control. It really goes back to this initial assumption that race is a biological variable [which isn’t accurate].”

Racial bias permeates the entire kidney transplant system, from the calculation for the kidney profile index to the kidney transplant waitlist, but a vote scheduled for June by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network hopes to address the kidney profile index’s inequities. In the meantime, of the 14,280 Black candidates who were moved up on the waitlist between January 2023 and March 2024, 3,000 have received transplants. 

Michelle Josephson, a former president of the American Society of Nephrology, told ABC News that she hopes the transplant system will be more efficient moving forward by removing racial inequities.

“There’s a lot of issues in medicine and many other parts of our culture that speak to our very challenging history. And I think this is one of them,” Josephson said. “The good news is that we have pulled race out, and we’ve tried to rectify some of the inequities that occurred because of it.”

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