Macy Gray proposes new design for American Flag: "It’s time for a reset, a transformation"
"I Try" singer Macy Gray wants to change America's mind about the U.S. Flag and proposed a new design that she says "represents... all of us."
In a Saturday Marketwatch op-ed, the Grammy winner expressed that the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol corrupted the American Flag.
"The Confederate battle flag, which was crafted as a symbol of opposition to the abolishment of slavery, is just recently tired," Gray, 53, wrote. "However, on the 6th, when the stormers rained on the nation’s most precious hut, waving Old Glory — the memo was received: the American flag is its replacement."
"The American flag has been hijacked as code for a specific belief," the Phobias star continued and tasked the Biden administration to support a new flag that is not "tattered, dated, divisive, and incorrect."
"It no longer represents democracy and freedom. It no longer represents ALL of us," expressed Gray and suggested a great place to start would be raising the number of stars on the flag from 50 to 52, in order to represent Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.
Noting the territories have "been lobbying for statehood for decades," Gray argued, "Both have been denied, since statehood would allow each territory’s elected officials seats in the house."
Gray also called to remove the flag's white stripes, which are said to represent "purity and innocence."
"America is great. It is beautiful. Pure, it ain’t. It is broken and in pieces," she wrote and suggested that the color of the stars should reflect all skin tones to show unity.
Gray then submitted the design of her proposed flag, which looks similar to the original, but contains off-white stripes and multi-colored stars.
"It’s time for a reset, a transformation," she closed, calling for a flag that "represents all states and all of us."
Source-ABC
Omarion announces new date for the Millennium Tour 2021
After numerous delays due to the pandemic, Omarion and Bow Wow's joint Millennium Tour is set to return this fall.
"#MillenniumTour2021. Finally, we back," Omarion wrote on Instagram, sharing video clips from the postponed 2020 tour and a list of upcoming tour dates.
Omarion and Bow Wow headlined last year's Millennium Tour before it was postponed due to the pandemic. B2K headlined the tour in 2019 with all four members, including Omarion, J Boog, Lil Fizz and Rap B.
This year's Millennium Tour will stop at major venues in cities including Los Angeles, Baltimore, Detroit, New Orleans, Nashville, Las Vegas, Memphis and more, between Oct. 1 and Nov. 26.
You can also still enjoy performances from special guests Ashanti, Lloyd, Pretty Ricky, Sammie, Soulja Boy and Ying Yang Twins. Tickets go on sale on June 26th at 10 a.m. ET at GSquaredEvents.com.
Ahead of the Millennium tour, Bow Wow and Soulja Boy will face off during a long-awaited Verzuz battle on Saturday, June 26th.
CMO urges continued COVID-19 vigilance to avoid summer surge
Jamaica's Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, has called for continued adherence to COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures during the summer period to avoid another virus surge.
Speaking during yesterday's virtual COVID Conversations press briefing, Dr Bisasor-McKenzie said: “We are going into a danger period. If we take the experience from last year … during the summer period, there were various activities and events that would have led to increased exposure and an increased transmission rate, so this is not the time to let go of your precautions,” she said.
The CMO noted that as of Wednesday, June 16, the major COVID-19 indicators have shown a decline, including communities that had consistent positive cases over the last two weeks.
“We now have 243 communities of the 783 communities that have new positive cases over the last two weeks [which is] 31 per cent of communities,” she said, noting that the decline puts Jamaica's geographical spread into the medium-level range.
But only less than 25 per cent community spread is considered ideal for the health ministry.
Meanwhile, the island's positivity rate of 10 per cent is still too high for the ministry to consider any more relaxation of social distancing measures at this time, Dr Bisasor-McKenzie said.
“Where we need to get to is below five per cent for us to feel comfortable, especially approaching the summer period,” she indicated.
Source-JIS
Severe national blood shortage may force doctors to augment patient care, officials say
As the COVID-19 pandemic comes to a close, more Americans are seeking medical care -- only to find roadblocks to long-awaited elective surgeries or unexpected traumatic injuries: a critical national shortage of blood.
In June, the blood supply dropped to "red" level, indicating dangerously low supply at blood centers nation-wide, according to the AABB Interorganizational Task Force on Domestic Disasters and Acts of Terrorism.
Donated blood products have always been in high demand in the United States. But now, doctors say, the crisis has reached a new, critical turning point, forcing some to triage medical care, reserving blood products only for the sickest patients.
According to the Red Cross, the supplier of 40 percent of the nation's blood supply, nearly 7,000 units of platelets and 36,000 units of red blood cells are needed daily. On average, an American needs blood products every two seconds.
The COVID-19 pandemic and recent rise in violent crime has put additional pressure on an already strained blood supply. In comparison to 2019, the demand for blood has climbed by 10 percent in hospitals with trauma centers and by more than five times in other facilities that provide transfusions, according to the Red Cross.
Now that pandemic restrictions are easing, more patients are returning to the hospital and rescheduling surgeries and medical procedures that were postponed during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the prevalence of gunshot wounds, while slightly lower since the height of the pandemic, remains increased compared to pre-COVID numbers.
Due to shortages, doctors are being forced to reevaluate whether patients deserve blood products. Many hospitals may be forced to re-triage patients to ensure an adequate supply of blood products for patients in need.
If the shortage continues, elective surgeries may be canceled. Cancer patients requiring chemotherapy, and the blood transfusions that chemotherapy necessitates, may need to reschedule their lifesaving treatments.
Source-ABC
Minister of Physical Planning and Infrastructure Development, Hon. Akierra Missick, recently travelled to the Island of Salt Cay
The Minister responsible for Physical Planning and Infrastructure Development, Hon. Akierra Missick, recently travelled to the historically beautiful Island of Salt Cay, she was accompanied by her Permanent Secretary, Mr. Ian Astwood, Director of Public Works, Mr. Garvin Thomas and Principal Architect, Mr. Mark McAulay.
On arrival the Minister and PPID team was met by the District Commissioner, Mrs. Alameda Wilson. Together the team observed the Dock, Seawall, the Salt Shed and bathroom facilities, as well as the main bridge and assessed the works that were required to be completed to these entities, to restore them to their prime.
The Team also assessed required upgrade works to the R.O. Plant, inclusive of fencing the area around it, as well as refurbishing the water tank in the North District.
During the visit the team evaluated several other facilities, such as the Basketball Court, which will be resurfaced, as well as other required maintenance works needed to be carried out, to restore this recreational park to its optimal state. Also assessed were the Hurricane shelters and they established the need for generator houses to be constructed in two locations, the Methodist Church Hall and the Club House.
The Minister will continue the Island visits within the coming weeks, culminating with a comprehensive compilation of all requirements throughout the Islands, to ensure that the $15 Million in funding is adequately dispersed, so as to meet the various community needs. The Minister reiterates her Ministry’s commitment to offer any required assistance through the Department of Public Works and by extension, the Ministry and assure you that the Team at PPID welcomes you and maintains an open door policy, readily available to hear any concerns and rectify any issues which may arise.
Hon. Missick expressed; “The visit to Salt Cay was very rewarding and dare I say a lot of fun. We had an opportunity to put our thoughts together on how we will roll out our Community Development Program. We have also decided that we will seek a partnership with the National Trust on the rehabilitation of the Governments House which was built in 1795 and can be the prize winning historic and tourism site. Thank you to all those in Salt Cay who welcomed us and expressed their desires for their Island Home including those of Salt Cay decent who are very keen to see their home Island receive its due care and attention.”
CXC and US university sign agreement recognising CAPE qualifications
The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) said it has welcomed another partner into the fold with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Western Illinois University (WIU) that will see the American university recognising qualifications from the regional exam body.
It said that under the agreement, which was signed at a virtual ceremony on Thursday, Caribbean students seeking to take advantage of degree programmes at WIU will benefit from the matching of coursework requirements at WIU against the CXC syllabus, which will allow for more seamless matriculation.
The CXC Associate Degree and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) qualifications will also be recognised by WIU.
As such, students can use their CAPE qualifications to fulfil partial credit requirements towards their bachelor's degree, allowing them to complete their degree in less than four years.
“This has significant cost-saving implications for students at the undergraduate level and means that the prospect of further studies for these students will be more easily within their reach,” CXC said in a statement announcing the signing of the MoU.
Registrar and CEO of CXC, Dr Wayne Wesley, noted that the signing was “in line with CXC's transformational agenda and its commitment to the people of the Caribbean, and opens another pathway for students to receive quality tertiary-level education.”
In his remarks at the signing ceremony, Dr Martin Abraham, Provost and Academic Vice President of WIU, said he and his team were delighted to partner with CXC in recognition of the CAPE subjects and the CAPE Associate Degree.
Source-CMC
President Biden signs bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday
President Joe Biden signed a bill Thursday afternoon making Juneteenth a federal holiday, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, just in time for Saturday's June 19 anniversary.
A jubilant Vice President Kamala Harris, the nation's first Black vice president, who co-sponsored the legislation when she served in the Senate, spoke about the significance of the moment, noting slaves helped build the White House.
“Throughout history, Juneteenth has been known by many names: Jubilee Day. Freedom Day. Liberation Day. Emancipation Day. And today, a national holiday,” Harris said, to cheers and applause in the White House East Room filled with about 80 lawmakers and other guests.
Biden then spoke, calling Juneteenth a day of "profound weight and profound power….in which we remember the moral stain that the terrible toll that slavery took on the country and continues to take, what I have long called America's original sin.”
The federal government said most employees will be off this Friday to mark the occasion.
Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19 to mark the day in 1865 when Black slaves in Galveston, Texas, were among the last to be told they had been freed -- a full two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation and two months after the Civil War officially ended.
Though advocates have worked for decades to make Juneteenth a national holiday, even succeeding at the state level everywhere but South Dakota, it took Congress only two days to pass the legislation once one Republican senator, Sen. Ron Johnson, who blocked the move last year, dropped his opposition.
The bill then passed the Senate by unanimous consent on Tuesday before passing the House Wednesday night in a 415-14 vote, with all opposition coming from GOP members.
Juneteenth is the first new holiday created by Congress in nearly 40 years, when lawmakers in 1983 designated Martin Luther King Jr. Day as the third Monday in January to memorialize the assassinated civil rights leader.
Source-ABC
Supreme Court upholds Obamacare for a third time
The Supreme Court on Thursday, in a long-anticipated decision, upheld the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, in a case challenging whether the individual mandate can be severed from the rest of the law, or whether the entire law must be struck down.
The mandate initially required that people must buy health insurance or pay a penalty. That provision was upheld in 2012 by a 5-to-4 vote, with Chief Justice John Roberts casting the decisive fifth vote, on the grounds that the provision was covered by the taxing power of Congress. A further challenge in 2017, brought after Congress eliminated the penalty from the ACA individual mandate, was similarly rebuffed by the Court.
In Thursday's decision, the conservative majority court ruled 7-2 to uphold the ACA as it currently stands, with Justice Stephen Breyer writing for the majority, striking down a lower court ruling and saying the plaintiffs -- including Texas and other GOP-led states -- did not have standing to bring the suit.
"We conclude that the plaintiffs in this suit failed to show a concrete, particularized injury fairly traceable to the defendants’ conduct in enforcing the specific statutory provision they attack as unconstitutional. They have failed to show that they have standing to attack as unconstitutional the Act’s minimum essential coverage provision. Therefore, we reverse the Fifth Circuit’s judgment in respect to standing, vacate the judgment, and remand the case with instructions to dismiss," Breyer wrote.
Trump appointees Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the majority decision. Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, the latter also a Trump appointee, dissented, with Alito penning the dissent.
The fate of Obamacare will likely have far-reaching political consequences for President Joe Biden and potentially for an estimated 21 million Americans currently covered by the landmark healthcare law, including many with preexisting conditions.
Source-ABC
Nipsey Hussle to receive posthumous star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Nipsey Hussle is getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The two-time Grammy-winning artist is among 38 honorees who make up the Walk's Class of 2022.
Other honorees in the category of Recording include DJ Khaled, Ashanti, Black Eyed Peas, funk legend George Clinton, and Motown legend Martha Reeves of Martha & the Vandellas.
Other celebrities receiving stars include Francis Ford Coppola, Macaulay Culkin, Ewan McGregor, Jason Momoa, Tracee Ellis Ross, Norman Reedus, Jean Smart, Ricky Gervais, and the late Carrie Fisher.
The dates of the individual ceremonies have yet to be announced.
Source-ABC
Facebook tests ads in virtual reality headsets
Facebook has begun displaying ads in its Oculus virtual reality headsets, despite the founder of the platform saying it would never do so.
In what the social network described as an experiment, ads will begin to appear in a game called Balston with other developers rolling out similar ads.
It said it would listen to feedback before launching virtual reality ads more widely.
It also revealed it is testing new ad formats "that are unique to VR".
In 2017, shortly after Facebook bought Oculus, creator Palmer Luckey told the Next Web: "We are not going to track you, flash ads at you, or do anything invasive."
But in a blog on Oculus's website, the firm said: "We're exploring new ways for developers to generate revenue - this is a key part of ensuring we're creating a self-sustaining platform that can support a variety of business models that unlock new types of content and audiences."
Users will be able to hide specific ads or those from a certain advertiser and Facebook promised that its privacy policy would remain the same.
"Facebook will get new information, like whether you interacted with an ad, and if so, how... for example, if you clicked on the ad for more information or if you hid the ad."
Source-BBC