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Bills Aside, Your 2020 Budget Can Be F-U-N

There are countless budgeting techniques out there, but one is particularly effective and easy to remember. It’s called the 50/30/20 budget. This plan accounts for typical general expenses like your mortgage, rent, car payment and utility bills, as well as individualized discretionary spending such as travel, streaming services and more.

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Reporting for jury duty. Standing in line at the DMV. Going to the dentist. Making a budget.

What do all of these have in common? They’re activities you’d probably like to skip.

And while budgeting certainly isn’t exciting, breaking down your spending can give you the ability to do things you enjoy.

Here’s how to leave room for more than just bills in 2020. (These simple tips spell F-U-N.)

FIND YOUR 50/30/20 BALANCE

There are countless budgeting techniques out there, but one is particularly effective and easy to remember.

It’s called the 50/30/20 budget. This plan accounts for typical general expenses like your mortgage, rent, car payment and utility bills, as well as individualized discretionary spending such as travel, streaming services and more.

Here’s the gist: Start with your take-home pay. Commit no more than 50% of that figure to needs and fixed expenses, like your mortgage. Use 20% for savings and debt repayment. The remaining 30% can be spent on wants and variable expenses. A 50/30/20 budget calculatorwill do the monthly math for you.

Katie Brewer (1)(2), certified financial planner (3)at Your Richest Life (4), likes the flexibility of this method.

“It’s a lot less restrictive than $200 in this category, $300 in this and $127.50 in this one,” Brewer says.

It’s also freeing to know that this method allows you to spend money on things that are important to you, your family and your lifestyle.

“I really like for people to go through and tell me the top two things they really like to spend money on,” Brewer says. “Sometimes with a couple, those might be slightly different. We try to always have those be a priority in their spending plan.”

Your current spending percentages probably aren’t at exactly 50%, 30% and 20%. You’ll want to slowly modify until you get close to these levels.

UNDERSTAND YOUR MONEY FLOW

Once you have an idea of your recommended spending, start tracking.

“Have your bills account and your spending account,” Brewer says. “There’s no cheating that. Whatever is in there is in there.”

Divide your money appropriately between them when it first hits your bank account, she suggests.

Robert Lopez (5)(6), CFP (7)and founder of financial planning company FP Guidance (8), advocates a similar strategy. While some people may prefer to keep everything in one place, he says separate accounts can be helpful — especially if you name them. You can even create different accounts for different financial goals you have at the same time.

For example, if you call one account your “honeymoon fund,” you may be less inclined to pull money from it than if it were just an undesignated savings account.

But don’t stop there. Implement more methods to ensure you’re not spending your mortgage money on subscription boxes.

Lopez recommends getting a different-looking (9)card for each one of your accounts, if your bank offers that option. So, for instance, your grocery shopping card might be red, but your entertainment card would be blue. Depending on which card you use, you’ll be pulling money from the appropriate category.

Then, you can check your bank’s app to see where you stand.

NEVER STOP TRYING

Remember that having a wants category in your budget isn’t an excuse to spend money on vacations or shopping sprees just because. Rather, Lopez says, it’s like a cheat day — a way to keep yourself motivated to follow the rest of your budgeting habits.

“If your whole budget is just things that you need and then paying down debt or investing … you’re never going to have any fun, and you’re not going to stick to it,” he says. “You’re going to break that budget.”

Your budget will be a work in progress, and that’s OK. Your spending in some months may be higher than during others. You’ll probably spend more on gifts in December than in March, for example.

Brewer recommends starting to pay for your variable expenses with a debit card so you can be proactive (rather than reactive) about your spending. Once you get the hang of it, you can switch back to using a credit card. Lopez says cash can be helpful, too. If you bring only $50 to a concert, for instance, that’s all you’ll be able to spend on merchandise and refreshments.

Find the method that works for you. As he puts it, a budget is something to grow with.

“If someone can build a perfect budget in January, they are in the wrong profession.”

_____

This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Courtney Jespersen is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: courtney@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @courtneynerd.

RELATED LINKS:

NerdWallet: 50/30/20 Budget Calculator http://bit.ly/nerdwallet-budget-calculator

Website: https://yourrichestlifeplanning.com/

Bio: https://fpguidance.com/about/our-team

XY Planning Network: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/advisors/robert-lopez-cfp/

Verified CFP status: https://www.cfp.net/utility/verify-an-individual-s-cfp-certification-and-background

Website: https://fpguidance.com/

Example: https://www.wellsfargo.com/debit-card/design/

Kerry Washington, Octavia Spencer, Tiffany Haddish Among Golden Globe Presenters

Ellen DeGeneres will be honored with the Carol Burnett Award, a counterpart to the DeMille Award that focuses on life achievement in television. The talk-show and game-show host is a multiple Emmy winner and Globe nominee.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charlize Theron, Octavia Spencer and Daniel Craig are among the first presenters announced for Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association also announced Thursday that other presenters will include Sofia Vergara, Kerry Washington, Tiffany Haddish, Glenn Close and Will Ferrell. Kate McKinnon and Ted Danson will also present.

Ricky Gervais will host the 77th annual Golden Globes Awards that will air on NBC. It will be the fifth time Gervais emcees the ceremony after hosting the show from 2010 to 2012 and 2016.

Gervais’ hosting stints have been marked by relentless skewering of his fellow actors, and the HFPA.

Tom Hanks will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award, an accolade for film. He is a four-time Golden Globe winner for his acting work on “Big,” “Philadelphia” and “Forrest Gump” along with his directing efforts in HBO’s 2001 miniseries “Band of Brothers.”

Ellen DeGeneres will be honored with the Carol Burnett Award, a counterpart to the DeMille Award that focuses on life achievement in television. The talk-show and game-show host is a multiple Emmy winner and Globe nominee.

Bobbi Kristina Brown’s Ex-Partner Nick Gordon Dies At 30

“Despite all of the incredible challenges Nick faced over the last few years I can honestly say that he worked hard to hold his head up and stay sober and that he genuinely wanted a happy healthy life with his family more than anything else,” Habachy said in a statement.

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ATLANTA (AP) — Nick Gordon, who was found liable in the death of his ex-partner Bobbi Kristina Brown, has died. He was 30.

Gordon’s attorney Joe S. Habachy confirmed his client’s death in a statement Wednesday to The Associated Press. The Atlanta attorney did not give a cause of death or say where it occurred.

Gordon’s death comes nearly five years after Brown, the daughter of singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, was found face-down and unresponsive in a bathtub in January 2015. The 22-year-old died after six months in a coma.

Investigators with the medical examiner’s office were not able to determine exactly how Bobbi Kristina Brown died. An autopsy showed that she had morphine, cocaine, alcohol and prescription drugs in her body, but the medical examiner couldn’t determine if she killed herself, if someone else killed her or if her death was accidental.

Her family blamed Gordon, accusing him in the lawsuit of giving her a “toxic cocktail” before putting her face-down in the water.

Gordon was never charged in the case, but he was found responsible in a wrongful death lawsuit. An Atlanta judge ordered him to pay $36 million to Brown’s estate.

Houston brought Gordon into her household as an orphan at the age of 12, raising him and her daughter after divorcing Bobby Brown in 2007.

Gordon wore a large tattoo of Houston’s face on his arm and called the singer “mom,” but the music superstar never fully adopted him or included him in her will. Houston died in 2012 after she drowned in a bathtub. Coroner’s officials ruled Houston’s death accidental and said heart disease and cocaine were contributing factors.

After Houston’s death, Gordon and Bobbi Kristina went public with their romance.

“Despite all of the incredible challenges Nick faced over the last few years I can honestly say that he worked hard to hold his head up and stay sober and that he genuinely wanted a happy healthy life with his family more than anything else,” Habachy said in a statement.

Former NBA Commissioner David Stern Dies At 77

“Without David Stern, the NBA would not be what it is today,” Hall of Famer Michael Jordan said. “He guided the league through turbulent times and grew the league into an international phenomenon, creating opportunities that few could have imagined before.”

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NEW YORK (AP) — David Stern had basketball as a passion and law as a profession, one he figured he could return to if a job at the NBA didn’t work out.

He never did.

Instead he went to Europe, Asia and plenty of other places around the world, bringing with him a league that was previously an afterthought in the U.S. and turning it into a global powerhouse.

Stern, who spent 30 years as the NBA’s longest-serving commissioner and one of the best in sports history, died Wednesday. He was 77.

“Without David Stern, the NBA would not be what it is today,” Hall of Famer Michael Jordan said. “He guided the league through turbulent times and grew the league into an international phenomenon, creating opportunities that few could have imagined before.”

Stern suffered a brain hemorrhage on Dec. 12 and underwent emergency surgery. The league said he died with his wife, Dianne, and their family at his bedside.

“The entire basketball community is heartbroken,” the National Basketball Players Association said. “David Stern earned and deserved inclusion in our land of giants.”

Stern had been involved with the NBA for nearly two decades before he became its fourth commissioner on Feb. 1, 1984. By the time he left his position in 2014 — he wouldn’t say or let league staffers say “retire,” because he never stopped working — a league that fought for a foothold before him had grown to a more than $5 billion a year industry and made NBA basketball perhaps the world’s most popular sport after soccer.

“Because of David, the NBA is a truly global brand — making him not only one of the greatest sports commissioners of all time, but also one of the most influential business leaders of his generation,” said Adam Silver, who followed Stern as commissioner. “Every member of the NBA family is the beneficiary of David’s vision, generosity and inspiration.”

Lakers forward LeBron James echoed Silver.

“We lost a great visionary,” James said. “Him and Dr. James Naismith are the two most important people for the game of basketball. Dr. Naismith because he invented the game and David for his vision, his vision to make this game global.”

Thriving on good debate in the boardroom and good games in the arena, Stern would say one of his greatest achievements was guiding a league of mostly black players that was plagued by drug problems in the 1970s to popularity with mainstream America.

He had a hand in nearly every initiative to do that, from the drug testing program, to the implementation of the salary cap, to the creation of a dress code.

But for Stern, it was always about “the game,” and his morning often included reading about the previous night’s results in the newspaper — even after technological advances he embraced made reading NBA.com easier than ever.

“The game is what brought us here. It’s always about the game and everything else we do is about making the stage or the presentation of the game even stronger, and the game itself is in the best shape that it’s ever been in,” he said on the eve of the 2009-10 season, calling it “a new golden age for the NBA.”

One that was largely created by Stern during a three-decade run that turned countless ballplayers into celebrities who were known around the globe by one name: Magic, Michael, Kobe, LeBron, just to name a few.

Stern oversaw the birth of seven new franchises and the creation of the WNBA and NBA Development League, now the G League, providing countless opportunities to pursue careers playing basketball in the United States that previously weren’t available.

Not bad for a guy who once thought his job might be a temporary one.

Stern had been the league’s outside counsel from 1966 to ’78 and spent two years as the NBA’s general counsel, figuring he could always go back to his legal career if he found things weren’t working out after a couple of years.

Instead, after serving as the NBA’s executive vice president of business and legal affairs from 1980-84, he replaced Larry O’Brien as commissioner.

Overlooked and ignored only a few years earlier, when it couldn’t even get its championship round on live network TV, the NBA saw its popularity quickly surge thanks to the rebirth of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry behind Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, followed by the entrance of Jordan just a few months after Stern became commissioner.

“There are no words that can really describe the far-reaching impact of Commissioner Stern’s brilliance, vision, fairness and hard work over so many years,” Bird said. “When you think of all that he accomplished worldwide on behalf of thousands of players, so many fans, all of the jobs he created for team and arena employees and all of the people that benefitted from the many layers of growth in the sport and industry that David spearheaded and then passed on to others, there is no doubt Commissioner Stern lifted the NBA to new heights and he will be greatly missed by all of us.”

Under Stern, the NBA would play nearly 150 international games and be televised in more than 200 countries and territories, and in more than 40 languages, and the NBA Finals and All-Star weekend would grow into international spectacles. The 2010 All-Star game drew more than 108,000 fans to Dallas Cowboys Stadium, a record to watch a basketball game.

“It was David Stern being a marketing genius who turned the league around. That’s why our brand is so strong,” said Johnson, who announced he was retiring because of HIV in 1991 but returned the following year at the All-Star Game with Stern’s backing.

“It was David Stern who took this league worldwide.”

He was fiercely protective of his players and referees when he felt they were unfairly criticized, such as when members of the Indiana Pacers brawled with Detroit fans in 2004, or when an FBI investigation in 2007 found that Tim Donaghy had bet on games he officiated, throwing the entire referee operations department into turmoil. With his voice rising and spit flying, Stern would publicly rebuke media outlets, even individual writers, if he felt they had taken cheap shots.

But he was also a relentless negotiator against those same employees in collective bargaining, and his loyalty to his owners and commitment to getting them favorable deals led to his greatest failures, lockouts in 1998 and 2011 that were the only times the NBA lost games to work stoppages. Though he had already passed off the heavy lifting to Silver by the latter one, it was Stern who faced the greatest criticism, as well as the damage to a legacy that had otherwise rarely been tarnished.

“As tough an adversary as he was across the table, he never failed to recognize the value of our players, and had the vision and courage to make them the focus of our league’s marketing efforts — building the NBA into the empire it is today,” the NBPA said.

David Joel Stern was born Sept. 22, 1942, in New York, where he grew up a Knicks fan and worked in his fathers’ deli. A graduate of Rutgers University and Columbia Law School, he was dedicated to public service, launching the NBA Cares program in 2005 that donated more than $100 million to charity in five years.

He would begin looking internationally soon after becoming commissioner and the globalization of the game got an enormous boost in 1992, when Jordan, Johnson and Bird played on the U.S. Olympic Dream Team that would bring the sport a new burst of popularity while storming to the gold medal in Barcelona.

Stern capitalized on that by sending NBA teams to play preseason games against other NBA or international clubs, and opened offices in other countries. The league staged regular-season games in Japan in 1991 and devoted significant resources to China, and Stern’s work there would pay off in 2008 when basketball was perhaps the most popular sport in the Beijing Olympics.

Growth slowed near the end of his tenure. The worldwide economic downturn in the late 2000s all but wrecked his longtime hopes of expanding overseas and led to the second lockout, with owners wanting massive changes to the salary structure after losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year on their basketball teams, on top of losses in their personal businesses.

He helped get them, and the league was thriving again by the time he left office. Stern said he felt the time was right, confident that he had groomed a worthy successor in Silver.

Silver, who worked for Stern for 22 years, is praised for his achievements since becoming commissioner. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman also worked under Stern at the NBA, former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue called him a great friend and ally on important issues, and many other executives in and out of sports have said they learned from the way Stern did business.

“Best leader in sports history,” Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis said.

Stern stayed busy after leaving the league office, taking trips overseas on the NBA’s behalf, doing public speaking and consulting various companies. He was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.

Stern and his wife had two sons, Andrew and Eric.

___

Dr. King Day Stuff The Bus Book Drive

Join us for our Dr. King Day Stuff the Bus Book Drive Monday, January 20th from 9am to 1pm at Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi.

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“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Place a book in the hands of a child and provide them with knowledge that will last a life-time. Join 96.3 WHUR and United Way of the National Capital Area for our Dr. King Day Stuff the Bus Book Drive Monday, January 20th. Drop off books from 9am to 1pm at Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi. For a list of books needed, check out the Stuff the Bus Book Drive Booklist or make a donation and we’ll do the shopping for you. Book prices range between $6.00 – $15.00 per book. For as little as $30 , you can supply 5 students with a new book.

Our goal is to collect 5,000 NEW books to ensure low-income middle school students have access to the grade appropriate books they need to advance their reading skills and improve academic outcomes. You can either drop off a new book at the Dr. King Stuff the Bus Book Drive on January 20th or make a donation online thru January 31st and we will purchase the books for you.  In addition to the book drive, the Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers will host a day of activities to spark discussion and activism among youth in honor of Dr. King.

Two Women Killed In Separate Incidents In Prince George’s County

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Prince George’s County, MD. (Thursday, January 2, 2020) – Prince George’s County Police are looking for suspects and motives in two separate killings just hours apart.  The first murder happened shortly after 11:30pm Wednesday in the 74-hundred block of Varnum Street in Landover Hills, Maryland.  Police were called to the area where they found a woman dead inside her home.  Reports say the kitchen window to the home was riddled with bullets.  A car was also removed from the scene.  The women’s identity has not yet been released.

Meantime, hours later at 5:30am Thursday, police were called to the 87-hundred block of Ritchie Drive in Capitol Heights for a welfare check.  Officers discovered the body of an adult female inside a car. Investigators say the woman had trauma to her upper body.  She was pronounced dead at the scene.  Her identity has not been released

Police  have not released any motives or lookout for suspects in the separate killings.  Anyone with information on the two murders is asked to call Prince George’s County Police.

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Steve Harvey Morning Show

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Steve Harvey Morning Show

THE BADDEST MORNING SHOW IN THE LAND!

The Steve Harvey Morning Show combines heart, humor and music along with celebrities from the worlds of sports and entertainment. Harvey is joined on the show by Shirley Strawberry, Carla Ferrell, Nephew Tommy and Junior.

A renaissance man, Harvey is best known as a certified “King of Comedy.”

He has graced the silver screen in the films “The Original Kings of Comedy,” “You Got Served” and “Johnson Family Vacation.” He has starred in his own T.V. series, “The Steve Harvey Show,” and was the host of “It’s Showtime at the Apollo.” Steve and crew bring a fresh real twist to radio. Not afraid to expose his own frailties as he reads listeners e-mail or give straight advice in the “Strawberry Letter,” Steve Harvey has found a perfect way to bring a smile to his listeners either with his “Real Talk,” one of a kind interviews or great music.

Best of:

Full show:

Strawberry Letter:

Run that prank:

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Making Your New Year’s Resolutions Work For You In 2020

You and your new year resolutions. How do you make them work?

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We’re on the verge of 2020.  A new year and a new decade.  Do you have new year’s resolutions?  We’re talking about the changes you’re planning for your life and how you’re going to get there next year?

Resources:

Willie Jolley Info

Dr. Willie Jolley, Author, Motivational Speaker

 

U.S. Embassy In Iran Attacked

Protesters attack US Embassy in Baghdad after airstrikes

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Angered by deadly airstrikes targeting an Iran-backed militia, dozens of Iraqi Shiite militiamen and their supporters broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad. The protesters smashed a main door and set fire to a reception area in one of the worst attacks on the embassy in recent memory. American guards fired tear gas, and palls of smoke rose over the embassy grounds. An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw flames rising from inside the compound and U.S. soldiers on the roof of the main embassy building with their guns pointed at protesters.

‘Skins Have A New Coach

“After several meetings with Coach Rivera, it was clear he is the right person to bring winning football back to Washington D.C.,” said Dan Snyder, Washington Redskins Owner. “He is widely respected around the league as a man of great integrity and has proven to be one of the finest coaches in the country.”

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(Washington, DC) — Former Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera is taking over the Washington Skins. Multiple sources say Rivera and the Redskins have reached an agreement on a deal for him to take over coaching in the nation’s capital. Rivera lost his job in Carolina at the start of December, but told reporters at the time he would coach again. The Redskins have struggled for years. They fired Jay Gruden in October after an 0-and-5 start. NFL insider Ian Rapoport says Rivera is getting a five-year deal.

DMV’s TOP 20 Of The DECADE Countdown!

96.3 WHUR celebrates 2010-2019 with our exclusive release of the DMV’s TOP 20 of the DECADE! From the years that introduced us to Instagram, Hamilton, Black Panther and Meghan Markle, here are the biggest R&B songs that served as the soundtrack!

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96.3 WHUR celebrates 2010-2019 with our exclusive release of the DMV’s TOP 20 of the DECADE!  From the years that introduced us to Instagram, Hamilton, Black Panther and Meghan Markle, here are the biggest R&B songs that served as the soundtrack!

20. TALK-KHALID (2019)
19. I SMILE-KIRK FRANKLIN (2011)
18. THERE GOES MY BABY-USHER (2010)
17. WILD THOUGHTS-DJ KHALED/RIHANNA (2017)
16. SO IN LOVE-JILL SCOTT/ANTHONY HAMILTON (2011)
15. YOU AND I-AVANT/KEKE WYATT (2012)
14. SUIT & TIE-JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE/JAY-Z (2013)
13. PERMISSION-RO JAMES (2016)
12. FIRE WE MAKE-ALICIA KEYS/MAXWELL (2012)
11. U + ME-MARY J. BLIGE (2017)
10. REDBONE-CHILDISH GAMBINO (2016)
9. CHAMPAIGN LIFE (2010)
8. SMILE-LIL DUVAL/SNOOP (2008)
7. LOVE ON TOP-BEYONCE (2011)
6. BEST OF ME-ANTHONY HAMILTON (2013)
5. BLURRED LINES-ROBIN THICKE (2013)
4. IN MY FEELINGS-DRAKE (2018)
3. THAT’S WHAT I LIKE-BRUNO MARS (2017)
2. TRIP-ELLA MAI (2018)
1. ADORN-MIGUEL (2012)

Are You A Procrastinator?

How to finally stop procrastinating and get your life together.

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Never do today what you might do tomorrow, or the next day, or when you get around to it.  That may not sound quite right to you unless you’re a procrastinator.  Sometimes that “wait-until-the-last-minute” attitude can get you in trouble.  But so many of us are used to this bad habit… even if we want to change it.  How do you get off the procrastination train?

Resources:

Stop Procrastinating! Book/Author Info

Eric M. Twiggs, Author, “The Discipline of NOW: 12 Practical Principles to Overcome Procrastination”

The Next 48 Hours Are the Most Dangerous Time On US Roadways

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WASHINGTON, D. C. (Monday, January 30, 2019) –– As we prepare to say good-bye to 2019, AAA Mid-Atlantic is out with some sobering facts about New Year’s Eve.  The automotive organization says the next 48 hours can be the most dangerous time on American roadways.  The reason is quite simple.  Motorists are drinking and driving.

Experts say while New Year’s Day is one of the most celebrated holidays, Americans drink the most amount of alcohol on the day before the New Year.  That’s because many people are toasting in the New Year with some type of alcoholic beverage.  But that festive mood can turn to catastrophe quickly when people combine alcohol with driving.  “With alcohol flowing galore during New Year’s Eve fêtes, it’s important to plan ahead to avoid having yourself or one of your guests become a tragic holiday statistic due to driving while impaired,” said Leah Scully, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Traffic Safety Specialist.

Although drunk-driving-related deaths have fallen over the past three decades, they still claim more than 10,000 lives per year. Approximately 10,511 people perished in drunk driving crashes across the United States during 2018, notes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). “With people celebrating the New Year, and then getting behind the wheel after a night of drinking, January 1 is a particularly dangerous time on the road,” cautions AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Don’t let friends drive if they are impaired. If you spot or see someone driving impaired, call the police.”

Sobering Drunk Driving Facts

In fact, on average, more than 10,000 people die each year from drunk-driving crashes.

During the Christmas and New Year’s periods in 2018, there were 285 drunk driving-related fatalities nationally.  “Every year more than 160 lives are lost and thousands more are injured in Maryland in crashes involving impaired drivers,” according to the Maryland Department of Transportation.  During 2018, drunk driving was a factor in a quarter (24 percent) of all traffic deaths in the state of Maryland.

Drinking-related fatalities comprised 9% of all highway deaths in Virginia during 2018. All told, 820 highway deaths occurred in Virginia in 2018, notes FARS. Of that tally, 240 persons perished in crashes caused by impaired drivers.

Impaired driving was the primary factor in 29 percent of all traffic deaths in Washington, D.C. proper during 2018, FARS reports. In 2018, 31 persons lost their lives in roadway crashes in the District. Nine persons lost their lives in the city in crashes involving alcohol-impaired or drug-impaired drivers.

AAA Mid-Atlantic is offering important safety advice to New Year’s Eve partygoers:

Always plan ahead to designate a non-drinking driver before any party or celebration begins.
Never get behind the wheel of a car when you’ve been drinking alcohol – even after just one drink.
Never ride as a passenger in a car driven by someone who has been drinking alcohol – even after just one drink.
Do not hesitate to take the keys from friends or family members who may be impaired.
Lock numbers for SoberRide or local taxi services in your phone before heading out for the evening.
Be a responsible host in reminding guests to stay safe and always offer alcohol-free beverages.
If you encounter an impaired driver on the road, keep a safe distance and ask a passenger to call 911 (or pull over to a safe location to make the call yourself).
Remember: prescription, over-the-counter medications and illegal drugs also can impair your ability to drive safely.
The newest WRAP SoberRide code will be posted on New Year’s Eve. Simply visit www.SoberRide.com at 9:00 pm on December 31. Also visit www.PreventDUI.AAA.com for impaired driving facts, transportation alternatives and expert advice. Take the Pledge to drive drug and alcohol-free.

 

Skins Fire Bruce Allen

The team could also add a new coach soon: Ron Rivera is visiting the Redskins on Monday.

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Skins Team President Bruce Allen has been fired after a tumultuous and loss-filled decade with the NFL team once coached by his father. The Redskins never won a playoff game during Allen’s time as owner Daniel Snyder’s right-hand man. They made the playoffs only twice and only once won as many as 10 games in a season. This season’s team went 3-13. Allen’s tenure had plenty of defeats on the field and public relations fiascoes off it. The team could also add a new coach soon: Ron Rivera is visiting the Redskins on Monday.

Lizzo Named The Associated Press’ Entertainer Of The Year

Voted by entertainment staffers of the news cooperative, Lizzo dominated the pop, R&B and rap charts in 2019 with songs like “Truth Hurts” and “Good As Hell.”

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NEW YORK (AP) — Breakthrough singer-rapper Lizzo has been named Entertainer of the Year by The Associated Press.

Voted by entertainment staffers of the news cooperative, Lizzo dominated the pop, R&B and rap charts in 2019 with songs like “Truth Hurts” and “Good As Hell.” Though she released her first album in 2013, Lizzo dropped her major-label debut, “Cuz I Love You,” this year and the success has made her the leading nominee at the 2020 Grammy Awards, where she is up for eight honors.

Outside of music, Lizzo has won over fans for promoting body positivity and denouncing fat shaming. Her live performances have been revered, and the 31-year-old classically trained flutist grinded as an independent and touring artist for years. She performed with Prince on his 2014 “Plectrumelectrum” album, released two years before his death.

Lizzo also had a role in the film “Hustlers,” opposite Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu and Cardi B, and she voiced a character in the animated picture “UglyDolls.”

Lizzo was also named Entertainer of the Year by Time magazine.

Serena Williams Named AP’s Female Athlete Of The Decade

“Whether it was health issues; coming back; having a child; almost dying from that — she has endured it all and she is still in championship form,” Allaster said. “Her records speak for themselves.”

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Serena Williams dominated the decade, on the court and in conversation.

There were, to begin with, the dozen Grand Slam single titles — no other woman had more than three over the past 10 seasons — and the 3 1/2 years in a row at No. 1 in the WTA rankings.

And then there was the celebrity status that transcended tennis, making everything she did and said newsworthy, whether it was the triumphs and trophies and fashion statements or the disputes with tournament officials, the magazine covers or the Super Bowl ad with a message about women’s power, the birth of her daughter or the health scare that followed.

Still winning matches and reaching Grand Slam finals into her late 30s, still mattering as much as ever, Williams was selected by The Associated Press as the Female Athlete of the Decade on Saturday after a vote by AP member sports editors and AP beat writers.

The AP Male Athlete of the Decade will be announced Sunday.

“When the history books are written, it could be that the great Serena Williams is the greatest athlete of all time. … I like to call it the ‘Serena Superpowers’ — that champion’s mindset. Irrespective of the adversity and the odds that are facing her, she always believes in herself,” said Stacey Allaster, CEO of the WTA from 2009-15 and now chief executive for professional tennis at the U.S. Tennis Association, which runs the U.S. Open.

“Whether it was health issues; coming back; having a child; almost dying from that — she has endured it all and she is still in championship form,” Allaster said. “Her records speak for themselves.”

Gymnast Simone Biles, the 2019 AP Female Athlete of the Year, finished second to Williams in voting for the decade honor, followed by swimmer Katie Ledecky. Two ski racers were next, with Lindsey Vonn finishing fourth and Mikaela Shiffrin fifth.

Three of Williams’ five AP Female Athlete of the Year awards came during the last decade, in 2013, 2015 and 2018. She also won in 2002 and 2009.

“She’s been my idol growing up,” Biles said.

“She’s remained humble. She’s stayed true to herself and her character and I think that’s really neat about an athlete,” Biles said. “Once you start winning, some get cocky, but she’s stayed true to herself, win or lose.”

It’s the defeats that seem to drive Williams, helping propel her to heights rarely reached by any athlete in any sport.

“Whenever I lose, I get more determined, and it gives me something more to work toward,” Williams said in a 2013 interview with the AP. “I don’t get complacent, and I realize I need to work harder and I need to do better and I want to do better — or I wouldn’t be playing the game.”

With a best-in-the-game serve, powerful groundstrokes and relentless court coverage, she has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, more than anyone else in her sport’s professional era, which began in 1968.

More than half came from 2010-19: four at Wimbledon, three apiece at the U.S. Open and Australian Open, two at the French Open. That includes a run of four in a row from the U.S. Open in 2014 through Wimbledon in 2015, her second self-styled “Serena Slam.”

Williams also was the runner-up another seven times at major tournaments over the past decade, including four of the seven she’s entered since returning to the tour after having a baby in 2017.

In all, she made the final at 19 of the 33 majors she entered during the decade, a nearly 58% rate.

The decade began inauspiciously in 2010, when Williams cut her feet on broken glass at a restaurant and was hospitalized with blood clots in her lungs.

Among her many accomplishments, though:

— reaching at least one Slam final every year, a streak that dates to 2007;

— winning gold medals in singles and doubles (with her sister, Venus) at the 2012 Olympics;

— becoming the oldest woman to win a Grand Slam singles trophy in the professional era;

— becoming the oldest No. 1 in WTA history and equaling Steffi Graf’s record for most consecutive weeks atop the rankings;

— leading the tour with 37 singles titles, 11 more than anyone else in the decade.

The day she won Wimbledon in 2016, Williams discussed the way she constantly measures herself.

“I definitely feel like when I lose, I don’t feel as good about myself,” she said.

“But then I have to, like, remind myself that: ‘You are Serena Williams!’ You know? Like, ‘Are you kidding me?’” Williams continued with a laugh. “And it’s those moments that I have to just, like, come off and be like, ‘Serena, do you know what you’ve done? Who you are? What you continue to do, not only in tennis (but also) off the court? Like, you’re awesome.’”

___

LeBron James Named AP’s Male Athlete Of Decade

“There’s a lot of moments from this decade that would be up there, winning the two Miami championships, winning a championship in Cleveland, the chase-down block,” James said. “But the best moment? Definitely marrying Savannah. That would be No. 1.”

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He left Cleveland for Miami, finally became a champion, went back to his beloved northeast Ohio, delivered on another title promise, then left for the Los Angeles Lakers and the next challenge. He played in eight straight finals. No NBA player won more games or more MVP awards over the last 10 years than he did. He started a school. He married his high school sweetheart.

“That’s all?” LeBron James asked, feigning disbelief.

No, that’s not all. Those were just some highlights of the last 10 years. There were many more, as the man called “King” spent the last decade reigning over all others — with no signs of slowing down.

James is The Associated Press male athlete of the decade, adding his name to a list that includes Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky and Arnold Palmer. He was a runaway winner in a vote of AP member sports editors and AP beat writers, easily outpacing runner-up Tom Brady of the New England Patriots.

“You add another 10 years of learning and adversity, pitfalls, good, great, bad, and any smart person who wants to grow will learn from all those experiences,” James, who turns 35 Monday, told the AP. “A decade ago, I just turned 25. I’m about to be 35 and I’m just in a better (place) in my life and have a better understanding of what I want to get out of life.”

Usain Bolt of Jamaica was third for dominating the sprints at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, soccer superstar Lionel Messi was fourth and Michael Phelps — the U.S. swimmer who retired as history’s most decorated Olympian with 28 medals, 23 gold — was fifth.

James was revealed as the winner Sunday, one day after Serena Williams was announced as the AP’s female athlete of the decade. In his 17th season, he’s on pace to lead the league in assists for the first time while remaining among the NBA’s scoring leaders.

“When LeBron James is involved,” Denver coach Michael Malone said, “I’m never surprised.”

Including playoffs, no one in the NBA scored more points than James in the last 10 years. He started the decade 124th on the league’s all-time scoring list. He’s now about to pass Kobe Bryant for No. 3. No. 2 Karl Malone and No. 1 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are within reach.

Is Abdul-Jabbar in his sights? Is catching him the new decade’s goal?

“I would be lying if I said I don’t see it,” James said. “Obviously I’m not trying to say, ‘OK, well if I play this amount of time, if I average this’ … I’m not doing that because I’ve never done that with my career. I’ve always just kind of let it happen. Whatever happens, happens. But I see it. I do see it.”

His work ethic, even now, makes even those closest to him marvel.

Here’s a typical day this past summer for James, who remains obsessed with working even though fame and fortune found him long ago: He’d wake up at 3 a.m. and be at the Warner Bros. lot by 3:45 — where a weight room and court, built just for him, were waiting. He’d be lifting by 4 a.m., getting shots up by 5:30 and be ready to start another day of shooting the remake of “Space Jam” that he has been planning for years by 7 a.m.

“That’s who he is,” said Mike Mancias, one of the longest-tenured and most trusted members of James’ inner circle, tasked for more than 15 years with keeping James fit. “He does whatever it takes when it comes to fulfilling his commitments to everything — especially his game and his craft.”

The 2010s for James started with “The Decision,” the widely criticized televised announcement of his choice to leave Cleveland for Miami. (Lost in the hubbub: The show raised more than $2.5 million for charity.) He was with the Heat for four years, went to the NBA Finals all four times with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, finally won the title in 2012 — “it’s about damn time,” he said at the trophy celebration — and led the way in a Game 7 win over San Antonio to go back-to-back the following year.

“He grew immensely here as a leader,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He impacted winning as much as with his leadership as he did with his talent. I think that was the most important thing he learned with us. And he’s been able to take that to different franchises and continue using that as a template.”

Cleveland was devastated when he left. It forgave him. James returned home in 2014, took Cleveland to four consecutive finals, then led the Cavaliers to the 2016 title and came up with one of the biggest plays of his life by pulling off a chase-down block of Golden State’s Andre Iguodala in the final seconds of Game 7 of that series.

And in 2018, he was off to LA.

Going Hollywood made so much sense — he’s making movies, has a production company, has a program called “The Shop” as part of his ‘Uninterrupted’ platform featuring an array of guests from Drake to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who signed a bill on the show that will allow college athletes to get paid for the use of their likeness and sign endorsement deals.

“There’s a lot of moments from this decade that would be up there, winning the two Miami championships, winning a championship in Cleveland, the chase-down block,” James said. “But the best moment? Definitely marrying Savannah. That would be No. 1.”

James and longtime partner Savannah Brinson got married six years ago. They already had two sons — both are very good basketball players already — and added a daughter in 2014.

James also spent most of the last decade as a lightning rod for critics.

He used his voice often on social matters, speaking out after the killing of unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin and campaigning for Hillary Clinton. He supported Colin Kaepernick’s methods of protesting police brutality and racial injustice. Most recently, he was criticized by many — including top U.S. lawmakers — for his remarks after Houston general manager Daryl Morey sparked a massive rift between the NBA and China by sending out a tweet supporting pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

“I don’t live in regret,” James said. “There’s no moment in this last decade that I wish I could have back. If a situation was bad or you feel like you could have done better, then I learned from it.”

He doesn’t know how much longer he’ll play. He laments missing time with his children. His “I Promise” school that opened in 2018 in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, has been an immediate success story, and he wants to see that enterprise continue growing.

Some love him. Some don’t. He doesn’t mind.

“When you believe in your calling or you believe in yourself, then it doesn’t matter what other people say or how other people feel,” James said. “And if you allow that to stop you or deter you from your mission, then you don’t get anywhere.”

And in the 2010s, nothing deterred James.

Congressman John Lewis Says Cancer Is His Latest Battle

“I may miss a few votes during this period, but with God’s grace I will be back on the front lines soon,” he said in asking for prayers.

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ATLANTA (AP) — As a civil rights activist at 25, John Lewis was beaten so badly his skull was fractured and the TV images from an Alabama bridge in the 1960s forced a nation’s awakening to racial discrimination. As a congressman today at 79, Lewis is facing a foe like none before: advanced pancreatic cancer.

The veteran Democrat congressman from Georgia has fought many struggles in his lifetime. Yet, he said, “I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now,” announcing Sunday in Washington that the cancer was detected earlier this month and confirmed in a diagnosis.

Lewis has had many battles, and this he views as one more dawning. He was arrested at least 40 times in the civil rights era, several more times as a congressman since being elected in 1986 and only recently he has been rallying to help reunite immigrant families separated by the Trump administration.

The youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists, a group once led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis made clear that he has no plans to step aside from power while he undergoes treatment.

He said being elected to Congress “has been the honor of a lifetime” and that he will continue working for his constituents from Capitol Hill.

“I have been in some kind of fight — for freedom, equality, basic human rights — for nearly my entire life,” he said.

Added Lewis: “I have a fighting chance.”

He declined to say where he would receive cancer treatment or what that would entail. But he said he may not always be around the halls of Congress in the coming weeks.

“I may miss a few votes during this period, but with God’s grace I will be back on the front lines soon,” he said in asking for prayers.

Lewis also said he was “clear-eyed about the prognosis” even as doctors have told him that recent medical advances have made this type of cancer treatable in many cases. He added that “treatment options are no longer as debilitating as they once were.”

The American Cancer Society estimates 3% of patients with stage 4 pancreatic cancer are alive five years after being diagnosed.

Sometimes called the “conscience of the Congress,” Lewis led hundreds of protesters in the 1965 Bloody Sunday march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. He was at the head of the march when he was knocked to the ground and beaten by police. The nationally televised images forced the country’s attention on the racial inequalities being fought by King and so many others.

Lewis turned to politics in 1981, when he was elected to the Atlanta City Council.

In 2011 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama, who had marched with Lewis hand in hand in Selma on the 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday attack.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was among those who sent her best wishes to Lewis after the announcement of his illness.

“We are all praying for you following this diagnosis. John, know that generations of Americans have you in their thoughts & prayers as you face this fight.” She said in a statement. “We are all praying that you are comfortable. We know that you will be well.”

___

Associated Press writer Calvin Woodward in Washington contributed to this report.

 

THE JOURNEY: “Dr. Eleanor Traylor – Village Values and City Ways”

Howard University professor emeritus, scholar and literary critic Dr. Eleanor Traylor talks about growing up in a supportive community and the role of HBCU’s in preparing leaders grounded in the humanities.

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ABOUT

On this episode of The Journey, President Wayne A. I. Frederick talks with Howard University professor emeritus, scholar and literary critic Dr. Eleanor Traylor about growing up in a supportive community and the role of HBCU’s in preparing leaders grounded in the humanities.

Air Date: November 16, 2014

The Newseum Closes

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WHUR was among the many media organizations whose history was highlighted in Newseum exhibits. The Newseum opened in 1997 in Rosslyn, Virginia and moved to Washington, DC in 2008. The museum that explored history as told through the eyes of journalists will close December 31, 2019 due to low visitation and financial difficulties.

The complex history of media in American was woven through its exhibits. The history of paper publications, radio, television and digital news were all addressed, as well as the media’s effect on America and the world. The careers of icons such as Edward R. Murrow, Helen Thomas, and Ethel Payne were highlighted. Artifacts such as the antennae mast from the North Tower of the World Trade Center and sections of the Berlin Wall were on display. You could record your own newscast and search for information on stories and journalists through interactive components. You could view the moving tribute to journalists around the world who lost their lives doing their job.

The Newseum currently sits on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, between the White House and the Capitol. Writing on its exterior prominently reminds all who see it that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws which regulate religion, free speech, the freedom of the press, the right to peaceable assembly, or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances.

The building was sold for $372.5 million to Johns Hopkins University, which intends to consolidate its Washington-based graduate studies programs under one roof.

Court Upholds Creation Of National Monument In Atlantic

“Like one of America’s very first national monuments, the Grand Canyon, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts is a natural treasure. It provides habitat for a wide range of species, from endangered whales to Atlantic puffins to centuries-old deep-sea corals,” said Kate Desormeau, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday upheld former President Barack Obama’s designation of a federally protected conservation area in the Atlantic Ocean, a move that commercial fishermen oppose.

Fishing groups sued over the creation of Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a 5,000-square-mile (8,000-square-kilometer) area that contains fragile deep sea corals and vulnerable species of marine life. The monument was established in 2016.

A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit last year, and the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the decision Friday.

The appeals panel brushed aside arguments that federal law governing monuments applies only to land, not oceans; that the area of the ocean is not “controlled” by the federal government; that it is not compatible with National Marine Sanctuaries Act; and that it is not the “smallest area compatible” with management goals.

The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Conservation Law Foundation applauded the legal decision.

“Like one of America’s very first national monuments, the Grand Canyon, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts is a natural treasure. It provides habitat for a wide range of species, from endangered whales to Atlantic puffins to centuries-old deep-sea corals,” said Kate Desormeau, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The area is the only marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean and is one of five marine monuments nationwide.

Attorney Jonathan Wood, who represents the fishing groups, said previously that the matter deserves to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court but that he would need to consult with his clients before making a final decision.

The appeals court “gets the law wrong and ignores critical arguments” and conflicts with a decision from another appeals court, “creating an important split which the Supreme Court may need to resolve,” Wood wrote in an email.

Newseum Hailed Free Press, But Got Beaten By Free Museums

“We’re proud of how we did our storytelling,” said Sonya Gavankar, the outgoing director of public relations. “We changed the model of how museums did their work.”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — In 2008, the Newseum — a private museum dedicated to exploring modern history as told through the eyes of journalists — opened on prime Washington real estate.

Sitting almost equidistant between the White House and the Capitol on Pennsylvania Avenue, the glass-walled building became instantly recognizable for its multi-story exterior rendition of the First Amendment.

Eleven years later that experiment is coming to an end. After years of financial difficulties, the Newseum will close its doors Tuesday.

“We’re proud of how we did our storytelling,” said Sonya Gavankar, the outgoing director of public relations. “We changed the model of how museums did their work.”

The building was sold for $372.5 million to Johns Hopkins University, which intends to consolidate its scattered Washington-based graduate studies programs under one roof.

Gavankar attributed the failure to a “mosaic of factors” but one of them was certainly unfortunate timing. The opening coincided with the 2008 economic recession, which hit newspapers particularly hard and caused mass layoffs and closures across the industry.

She also acknowledged that the Newseum’s status as a for-pay private institution was a harder sell in a city full of free museums. A Newseum ticket costs $25 for adults, and the building is right across the street from the National Gallery of Art and within blocks of multiple Smithsonian museums.

“Competing with free institutions in Washington was difficult,” Gavankar said.

Another problem, organizers said, is that the Newseum struggled to attract local residents, instead depending on a steady diet of tourists and local school groups. Actual Washington-area residents, who do frequent the Smithsonian and elsewhere, mostly came on school trips and rarely returned as adults.

Claire Myers fits that profile. The D.C. resident recalls coming to the Newseum in high school in a senior-year class trip. She only returned in late December for a final visit because she heard it was closing at the end of the year.

“I do think part of the reason was because it’s a paid museum,” she said. “Why go out of my way to do this when I could just go to any other free museum?”

The $25 price tag, Myers said, creates a pressure to set aside the whole day and take in every exhibit, whereas at one of the free Smithsonian museums, she knows she can come back another time to catch whatever she missed. But Myers said she was deeply impressed by the exhibits, particularly the Newseum’s signature gallery of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs.

“I do wish it wasn’t going away,” she said.

The museum’s focus evolved over the years, showcasing not just journalism and historic events, but all manner of free speech and civil rights issues and some whimsical quirks along the edges. Exhibits during the Newseum’s final days included an exploration of the cultural and political influence of Jon Stewart and “The Daily Show,” a look at the history of the struggle for LGBTQ rights and a display depicting the history of presidential dogs.

Gavankar said the Freedom Forum, which originally maintained the Newseum in northern Virginia for years, would continue its mission in different forms. The educational foundation maintains a pair of exhibits on the Berlin Wall in both Reagan and Dulles airports. Next year, those displays will be replaced by exhibits on the women’s suffrage movement. The current Rise Up! exhibit on LGBTQ rights will move to a new long-term home in the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle.

Lee Mendelson Dies; Brought “Charlie Brown Christmas” To TV

Mendelson, who won a dozen Emmys in his long career, died at his home in Hillsborough, California, of congestive heart failure at age 86 after a long struggle with lung cancer, son Jason Mendelson told The Associated Press.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lee Mendelson, the producer who changed the face of the holidays when he brought “A Charlie Brown Christmas” to television in 1965 and wrote the lyrics to its signature song, “Christmas Time Is Here,” died on Christmas day, his son said.

Mendelson, who won a dozen Emmys in his long career, died at his home in Hillsborough, California, of congestive heart failure at age 86 after a long struggle with lung cancer, son Jason Mendelson told The Associated Press.

Lee Mendelson headed a team that included “Peanuts” author Charles Schulz, director Bill Melendez, and pianist and composer Vince Guaraldi, whose music for the show, including the opening “Christmas Time Is Here,” has become as much a Christmas staple as the show itself.

Mendelson told The Cincinnati Enquirer in 2000 that he was short on time in finding a lyricist for the song, so he sketched out the six verses himself in “about 15 minutes on the backside of an envelope.”

He found a choir from a church in his native Northern California to sing the song that sets the show’s unforgettable tone, beginning with Mendelson’s words:

“Christmas time is here, happiness and cheer, fun for all that children call, their favorite time of year.”

The show won an Emmy and a Peabody Award and has aired on TV annually ever since. The team that made it would go on to create more than 50 network specials, four feature films and many other “Peanuts” projects.

Mendelson also took other comic strips from newspapers to animated TV, including “Garfield,” for which he produced a dozen television specials.

His death was first reported by The Daily Post of Palo Alto.

Born in San Francisco in 1933, Mendelson’s family moved to nearby San Mateo when he was a boy, and later to nearby Hillsborough, where he went to high school.

He graduated from Stanford in 1954, served in the Air Force and worked for his father’s fruit-and-vegetable company before going into TV for the Bay Area’s KPIX-TV.

In 1963 he started his own production company and made a documentary on San Francisco Giants legend Willie Mays, “A Man Named Mays,” that became a hit television special on NBC.

Mendelson liked to say that he decided to turn from the world’s greatest baseball player to the world’s worst: Charlie Brown.

He and Schulz originally worked on a “Peanuts” documentary that proved a hard sell for TV, but midway through 1965 a sponsor asked them if they could create the first comic strip’s first animated special in time for Christmas.

Schulz wrote the now-familiar story of a depressed Charlie Brown seeking the meaning of Christmas, a school Christmas play with intractable actors including his dog Snoopy, a limp and unappreciated Christmas tree, and a recitation of the nativity story from his best friend Linus.

Mendelson hired Guaraldi to provide the music after hearing the jazz artist’s song “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” while driving across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Mendelson said the team showed the special to executives at CBS a week before it was slated to air, and they hated it, with its hyper-simplicity, dour tone, biblical themes, lack of laugh track and actual children’s voices instead of adults mimicking them, as was common.

“I really believed, if it hadn’t been scheduled for the following week, there’s no way they were gonna broadcast that show,” Mendelson said on a 2004 documentary for the DVD of the special.

Instead, it went on to become perhaps the biggest holiday classic in television.

“It became part of everybody’s Christmas holidays,” Mendelson told The Los Angeles Times in 2015. “It was just passed on from generation to generation. … We got this huge initial audience and never lost them.”

Mendelson is survived by his wife, Ploenta, his children Lynda, Glenn, Jason and Sean, his stepson Ken and eight grandchildren.

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton.

You May Have To Give More Personal Data To Get Personal Loan

Would you feel comfortable disclosing your bank account information on a personal loan application? What about your work history? Your college major?

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Would you feel comfortable disclosing your bank account information on a personal loan application? What about your work history? Your college major?

That’s what it could take to borrow money from some loan companies that consider alternative data — which can be anything that isn’t in your credit report — when deciding whether to approve your loan application.

Companies that use the data say it helps them better evaluate applicants by giving them insight beyond a credit report, which usually shows things like your name, address, Social Security number, and current and past credit accounts.

But some consumer advocates say that while certain types of alternative data can be promising for consumers, others have the potential to reinforce existing racial and economic disparities and limit access to money for low- and middle-income people.

DOES IT HELP OR HURT?

With the consumer’s approval, using bank account information like credits and debits — which can show responsible financial behavior — on a loan application can be positive for those historically underserved by the credit system, says Chi Chi Wu, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center, a consumer advocacy group.

But incorporating educational and occupational data in a loan application “replicates existing inequality and it reinforces it,” she says.

Wu referenced racial disparities in occupational and educational attainment in testimony she gave to the U.S. House Financial Services Committee about the use of alternative data in credit scoring and underwriting.

A 2018 Bureau of Labor Statistics report shows that 41% of employed white people and 54% of Asian people work in professional or management fields, while 31% of employed blacks and 22% of Latinos work in those fields.

But Dave Girouard, CEO and co-founder of online lending platform Upstart, which asks for financial information, education and work history on loan applications, says the company works closely with regulators to avoid unfair bias in its application decisions.

When tested against a model that uses traditional credit and application information, the combination of alternative data and machine learning that Upstart uses to assess borrowers approved applicants with 620 to 660 credit scores — bad-to-fair scores on the FICO scale — about twice as often, according to a post on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s website summarizing the test.

Girouard says that while many of the variables Upstart considers in an application decision have a clear connection to an applicant’s financials, others are considered because the algorithms the company uses have deemed them relevant to someone’s ability to repay.

“Our model wouldn’t care about a variable unless it had demonstrated that it’s predictive,” he says.

DON’T DISCOUNT YOUR CREDIT SCORE

Lenders and consumer advocates agree the credit scoring system is imperfect. The Federal Trade Commission reported in 2013 that 1 in 5 Americans had a mistake in at least one of their three credit reports. You can check for errors on your credit reports for free.

Wu says a credit score can also represent an economic advantage or disadvantage that’s outside of a person’s control.

“In terms of lending without replicating existing disparities, it’s hard because even the credit score itself has racial disparities,” she says.

But many lenders have a minimum credit score requirement for an unsecured loan, because it’s still considered a strong indicator of your financial responsibility.

Online lender Earnest requires borrowers have at least a 680 credit score to get a personal loan. But Chief Product Officer David Green says the company also asks applicants to link bank account information to give a more current view of how that person spends and saves.

“(Your credit score) is still a big deal because … it’s a very robust dataset and it’s an important part of your financial story,” Green says. “I looked at thousands and thousands of credit reports in my first couple years at Earnest, and a lot of times you can tell (the credit score) just is telling the wrong story.”

LENDERS NEED CONSENT

An increase in the intrusive nature of the data lenders consider in application decisions should be met with more transparency to the consumer about what’s being used, says Brent Adams, senior vice president of policy and communication for the Chicago-based financial research and advocacy nonprofit Woodstock Institute.

“There’s another piece of this which (is) — it’s inevitable,” Adams says. “There’s no real point in digging one’s heels in and opposing the use of alternative data because it’s inevitable.”

This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Annie Millerbernd is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: amillerbernd@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @annieanyway.

News In Review 2019

A look back at the year that was, 2019.

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The Reporters’ Roundtable examines some of the top stories and issues of 2019.

Guests:

Micha Green, DC Editor, The Afro-American Newspapers

Keith Alexander, Reporter, The Washington Post

How To Properly Dispose Of Christmas Tree And Decorations

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(Washington, D.C.) – Now that Christmas is over, the next move is to begin to take down all those Christmas decorations and that oh so lovely tree.  If you are like many residents in the DMV, you may have a live tree and you are not quite sure how to properly dispose of it.  Area officials have been putting out daily reminders to help you be environmentally friendly.  We have compiled a list for you.

D.C.  Mayor Bowser is reminding residents to call 311 to schedule an appointment to have their Christmas trees and holiday greenery collected by the Department of Public Works (DPW). Trees and greenery will be collected by DPW-serviced households between December 27, 2019 and January 31, 2020. Residents must call 311 between December 27 and January 10 to make their appointment.  Only residents in single family homes and apartment buildings with three or fewer units are eligible for this service. Trees and greenery collected between December 27 and January 31 will be composted, thus helping to support the District’s waste reduction efforts.  When setting these items out for collection, residents should remove all ornaments and lights and not put the trees and greenery in a bag.  DPW crews will collect items from the front of residents’ houses.  Residents can drop off holiday trees at the following locations:
– Benning Road Transfer Station (3200 Benning Road NE)
– Fort Totten Transfer Station (4900 John F. McCormack Drive NE)
– Bryant Street Sweep Shop (201 Bryant Street NW)
– South Capitol Street Graffiti Shop (2700 South Capitol Street SE)

In Prince George’s County, here’s how to properly dispose of those Christmas trees

In Prince George’s County, yard trim and Christmas tree collection for recycling will be available Dec. 30-Jan. 27. County residents with yard trim collection can place their undecorated and unbagged trees at the curb by 6 a.m. on their regular yard trim collection day.

County residents can also drop their trees off at these collection centers to be recycled:

  • Brown Station Road Public Container Pad & Recycling Center, 3301 Brown Station Road, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772; Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, closed.
  • Missouri Ave. Solid Waste Acceptance & Recycling Center, 12701 Missouri Ave., Brandywine, MD 20613; Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 6:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; Tuesday & Thursday, 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, closed.

In Montgomery County, here’s what residents need to do with those trees

Residents who live in single-family homes that receive County-provided recycling collection services can recycle cut Christmas trees at the curb year-round. Before recycling, remove all decorations, lights, tinsel and garland. Place trees at the curb by 7 a.m. on regular recycling collection days.  Residents of multi-family properties, as well as businesses, should check with their property manager for details on how to recycle cut trees.  Details on all types of Christmas tree recycling are available at https://tinyurl.com/y8ud9l79.

For more details on Montgomery County’s recycling program, visit its website at MontgomeryCountyMD.gov/recycling.

Former Maryland State Senator Ulysses Currie Has Died

Currie was considered the “Dean of the Maryland State Senate”.

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(Annapolis, MD) — Former Maryland state senator Ulysses Currie is dead at age 84. Senate President Mike Miller announced that Currie passed away early today. The Prince George’s County Democrat was a sharecropper’s son who became an educator and worked his way up to leadership in the Maryland Senate. He was indicted on federal corruption charges in 2010 for allegedly using his political position to help the Shoppers Food Warehouse grocery chain, but was acquitted of bribery, extortion and conspiracy charges the next year.

Your Money Management After Christmas Spending

After you’ve done all of the extra spending during the holidays, how do you manage you money to stay out of debt?

Posted by Harold Fisher
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It’s the day after Christmas and already… it’s probably sinking in that you may have overdone it just a bit in the spending department.  You’ve not received the first, post-Black Friday shopping credit card bill but you know it’s going to be a doozy!  We can’t take you back to the days and weeks of department store and online holiday shopping… but we can help you get through the next couple of months.

Resources:

IRS Tax Withholding Calculator

Michelle Singletary Info

 

Michelle Singletary, Washington Post Columnist “The Color of Money”

Two Shot During Robbery At Denny’s In Northern Virginia

Deadly Armed Robbery At Manassas Denny’s

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(Manassas, VA) — One person is dead and another injured following an armed robbery at a Denny’s restaurant in Manassas. Two armed men entered the restaurant around 2 a.m. and began demanding property from customers and employees. At some point there was an altercation and two patrons were shot. One victim died in the hospital and the second victim’s condition is unknown at this time. Police are still searching for the two suspects.

No Passes For African-American History Museum

Starting December 31st, the museum will return to its regular hours and visitors again will need a pass to see the exhibits on weekends.

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(Washington, DC) — The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture is allowing visitors to check out the exhibits without reserving a pass starting today. Visitors will be able to visit the museum without a pass starting today and going through Monday, and hours will be extended until 7:30 p.m. Groups of ten or more will still be required to have timed passes. This is the first full weekend the museum has waived its reserved-pass system. Starting December 31st, the museum will return to its regular hours and visitors again will need a pass to see the exhibits on weekends.

Worst and Best Christmas Gifts

Comedians share their take on this season of giving.

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It is the holiday season.  Time for Christmas cheer, eggnog and mistletoe.  It’s also the season of gift-giving and we’re having a little fun as we talk about what we would like to see and not like to see under the Christmas tree tomorrow.

Resources:

April Jones TV

Nikki Moore

Kasaun Wilson

Nikki Moore, Comedian

April Jones, TV Producer

Kasaun Wilson, Comedian

2020 Run/Walk, Expungement Clinic, and $12k In Grant Funding from DC Library.

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Winter Takeover

Get ready for a big party with a purpose. Join the brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi and the ladies of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority for a Winter Takeover Throwback Edition January 11th at the Gaylord National Resort. www.wintertakeover.com

Kappa Run/Walk

The brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity are getting ready to celebrate 109 years of Achievement January 5th, 2020 and will be hosting a Run/Walk Saturday, January 4th @ 8am across the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge.  www.eventbrite.com 

DC Oral Grant Funding

Are you interested in creating new oral history projects. The DC Oral History Collaborative has announced 2020 funding opportunities. The deadline is January 10th. www.dcoralhistories.org

Skate Raiser

Get moving with an afternoon of fun. Join Diversify Ice Foundation January 11th for its Skate Raiser at the Silver Spring Outdoor Ice Rink. www.diversifyice.org

Expungement Clinic

Clear your way to a better future. Come out to a free Expungement Clinic January 18th at Kettering Baptist Church in Upper Marlboro. www.eventbrite.com

Ques Fundraiser

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity is hosting a fundraiser to support its scholarship programs for high school students. It’s the Juke Joint Jam January 17th at the V Social Eatery and Brewhouse in Ashburn. www.jukejoint2020.eventbrite.com.

Free Ride Home

The holidays can be one of the deadliest times on the roadways. WHUR and the Washington Regional Alcohol Program remind you not to drink and drive. Designate a sober driver or get a free Lyft Ride home. www.wrap.org

National Black MBA

Help your youth develop public speaking and financial skills that will shape their futures. The National Black MBA Association invites youth to sign up for its Leaders of Tomorrow Program. www.dcmbaa.org

Community Announcements

Does your non-profit have an event coming up that you want the community to know about. Email Renee Nash at rnash@whur.com at least three weeks prior to your event.

 

 

Police Chase Ends In Deadly Crash

Chase started in Prince George’s County and ended in the District.

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(Washington, DC) — Prince George’s County police say a chase ended in a deadly crash in DC late Monday night. Officers responded to a robbery at a gas station in the 91-hundred block of Livingston Road just before midnight, and began to pursue the suspect’s vehicle. The chase ended when the suspect crashed at Martin Luther King Avenue and I-295. Police say the suspect died after being taken to a nearby hospital. Police have not identified the suspect at this time. No other injuries were reported.

Boeing CEO Out Of A Job

Boeing CEO resigns after two deadly 737 Max crashes

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Boeing’s CEO is stepping down with no end in sight for a crisis that has enveloped the manufacturer and its marquee aircraft, the 737 Max.  The Chicago company said Monday that Dennis Muilenburg will depart immediately. The board’s current chairman David Calhoun will become president and CEO on Jan. 13. Boeing’s Max has been grounded worldwide after  two crashes _ one in October 2018 off the cost of Indonesia and another in March 2019 in Ethiopia _ which killed a combined total of 346 people. The company said the change in leadership is needed to restore confidence in Boeing.

Former Maryland Delegate Cheryl Glenn Indicted

Former Baltimore Delegate Cheryl Glenn accused of bribery and wire fraud.

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(Baltimore, MD) — Former Maryland state Delegate Cheryl Glenn is being indicted on federal bribery and wire fraud charges. U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur announced the indictment today, claiming Glenn accepted more than 33-thousand dollars in bribes in exchange for voting for a bill that increased the number of state medical cannabis licenses, as well as to help create a new liquor license in her East Baltimore district. The Baltimore Democrat abruptly stepped down from the House of Delegates last week without providing a reason. Glenn was elected to the House in 2006. She’s the second state delegate to resign amid federal charges this year.

To Battle Opioid Crisis, Some Track Overdoses In Real Time

The idea is to “get that information out there as efficiently and as quickly as we can,” said Daniel Maughan, a senior vice president at St. Luke’s.

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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Drug overdose patients rushed to some emergency rooms in New York’s Hudson Valley are asked a series of questions: Do you have stable housing? Do you have food? Times and location of overdoses are noted, too.

The information is entered into a new overdose-tracking system that provides near real-time glimpses into the ravages of the opioid-fueled drug crisis. The Hudson Valley Interlink Analytic System is among a number of surveillance systems being adopted around the country by police, government agencies and community groups. While the number of drug overdose deaths appears to have fallen nationally in 2018 for the first time in nearly three decades, the overdose death rate remains about seven times higher than a generation ago.

If there’s a spike in overdoses, the system will sent text alerts to health administrators and community workers. And system users can see what drugs are being abused for faster and focused responses to the ever-evolving problem.

“We can’t get ahead of a situation that’s already passed. This kind of information has to be given almost instantaneously or else the narcotics that we’re trying to track have already been sold, and they’re already on to the next batch,” said Sgt. Julio Fernandez of the New York National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force, which helped usher in the system.

The Hudson Valley system was adopted earlier this year by two hospitals north of New York City serving areas hard-hit by drug abuse: St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh and Ellenville Regional Hospital. Administrators say nearby Catskill Regional Medical Center is ready to enter information and that Orange Regional Medical Center in Middletown will begin data entry next month. Administrators are talking to other hospitals in the region about signing up.

When a patient comes in, a nurse or another worker enters data about the overdose and the drug. Patients retain their legally required anonymity, but system users can still glean general information about the age, gender and housing status of people in trouble.

The idea is to “get that information out there as efficiently and as quickly as we can,” said Daniel Maughan, a senior vice president at St. Luke’s.

The data has helped track the rise of fentanyl being laced into cocaine, Fernandez said. Dawn Wilkin, director of prevention services at Catholic Charities of Orange, Sullivan, & Ulster, said the system has guided workers on where to conduct needle cleanup within days, instead of waiting a week or more.

Wilkin said there have been no text alerts to warn of a spike in overdoses sent out yet, likely due in part to a drop in overdoses locally.

Participation by patients is voluntary. If someone is unresponsive or unwilling to answer questions, workers enter the data that’s available. Kathy Sheehan, director of emergency and trauma services at St. Luke’s, said many patients cooperate, though there are just as many others who are not willing to speak.

“They’re private,” she said, “they’re maybe afraid of the repercussions.”

Around the country, workers on the front lines of the opioid crisis are looking to speedier data access as part of their prevention strategy.

In northeastern Minnesota, a pilot system involving six hospitals uses information from case reports submitted by emergency room staff to quickly provide health officials with warnings about overdose clusters or unusual symptoms. The Minnesota Drug Overdose and Substance Use Surveillance Activity system also analyzes blood or urine samples from a subset of patients to be able to detect patient exposure to fentanyl or other substances.

In Michigan, the System for Opioid Overdose Surveillance processes data from medical examiners and from EMS encounters in which overdose-reversing naloxone was administered. The system maintained by the University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center sends out reports to county health departments and other users.

The most ubiquitous surveillance system is the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, or ODMAP. The system allows first responders and others to enter data on suspected overdoses, including locations, times, naloxone dosages, victim ages and suspected drugs. The system designed by the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program in the Washington/Baltimore area sends out spike alerts to police and other agencies. Launched as a pilot in January 2017, it is now in 48 states.

Officials in Oneida County using ODMAP in upstate New York last month were able to marshal forces after receiving a spike alert notification for 21 overdose reports and four fatalities suspected to be associated with heroin within 15 days.

The Hudson Valley system gathers much of the same data as ODMAP, though Wilkin said it also collects information on patients’ housing and transportation status to give system users additional insights into the social conditions of people fighting addictions.

The Hudson Valley groups had been logging local overdose data on to a shared Google Document before health-care IT consultant Marisa Barbieri volunteered to create the current system. She designed a dashboard to give users an at-a-glance look overdose trends. She hopes to add a feature to warn where deadly batches of drugs are headed next, similar to how meteorologists track of deadly storms.

“We need to be able to predict when a cluster is forming,” she said. “I don’t want to see on the news that 12 people died. I want a system to be watching.”

Gas Prices Drop 4 Cents Per Gallon To $2.61

The lowest average is $2.14 in Houston.

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CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline has dipped 4 cents per gallon to $2.61 over the past two weeks.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that pump prices are unlikely to continue to decrease as retailers around the country face higher costs.

The price at the pump is 18 cents higher than it was a year ago.

The highest average price in the nation for regular-grade gas is $3.62 per gallon in San Diego.

The lowest average is $2.14 in Houston.

The average price of diesel is $3.05, down a penny.

Common, Chance The Rapper Headlining Chicago’s All-Star Game

The All-Star Game is expected to be broadcast to more than 200 countries, in roughly 50 languages. All-Star voting begins on Christmas Day.

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CHICAGO (AP) — All-Star weekend will be a homecoming for Common and Chance The Rapper.

The NBA said Thursday night that the Grammy winners will be headline performers at the All-Star Game in Chicago on Feb. 16.

Chance The Rapper and Common were both born in Chicago.

Common will deliver remarks about what basketball means to the city before he introduces the All-Star rosters before the game. Chance The Rapper and some guests will perform at halftime, doing a medley of some of his biggest hits.

Chance The Rapper’s younger brother and fellow rapper Taylor Bennett will perform at halftime of the Rising Stars game on Friday, Feb. 14. Chance and Bennett will also serve as All-Star ambassadors, partnering with the league and the Chicago Bulls for fan engagement and other programs.

Chicago is playing host to the All-Star Game for the third time, having also done so in 1973 and 1988.

Chance The Rapper is a three-time Grammy winner. Common also is a three-time Grammy winner, in addition to having won an Emmy, an Oscar and a Golden Globe award.

The All-Star Game is expected to be broadcast to more than 200 countries, in roughly 50 languages. All-Star voting begins on Christmas Day.

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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Police Surveillance Planes To Fly Above Baltimore In 2020

“During the short test in 2016, in the equivalent of two weeks of flying, we watched five murders and 18 shootings and provided that information to investigators. We look forward to supporting the people of Baltimore in their efforts to reduce major crime and we look forward to doing so in a very open and transparent way” that protects people’s rights, McNutt said by phone.

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BALTIMORE (AP) — The city of Baltimore will be monitored by surveillance airplanes for up to six months next year under a pilot program announced Friday that is aimed at helping law enforcement investigate violent crime and that will effectively restart a tactic secretively used three years ago.

The flights, which civil liberties groups oppose, will start in May and gather footage during the hours when the city experiences high rates of crime. The announcement marks a reversal for Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison, who previously expressed skepticism over the use of the planes and described the idea as an “untested” crime-fighting strategy.

“We will be the first American city to use this technology in an attempt to solve and deter violent crime,” Harrison said at a news conference. He said he believes they could prove to be “yet another tool” to fight the violence plaguing the city.

The three planes will fly simultaneously, covering about 90 percent of the city, said Baltimore police spokesman Matt Jablow. The resolution of the footage won’t be sharp enough for officers to identify faces, but should help them track movement and action.

The testing will align with the city’s historically most violent months and will be focused on homicides, shootings and robberies, including carjackings. Harrison said police will not have access to live feeds, and instead, officers will receive “evidence packages” of specific crimes that have already being reported.

Footage from the pilot program will not be use in cases of police misconduct.

Baltimore is experiencing one of its most violent years on record, with more than 330 homicides so far. That’s up from 309 total in 2018. The city has also seen more than 1,310 armed and unarmed commercial robberies and carjackings. It wrapped up last year with 1,361 of those cases.

Harrison acknowledged the controversial history of the planes and promised a series of yet-to-be-scheduled public meetings to inform the community “on how the program will and will not be used going forward.”

In 2016, under a different police commissioner, the department hoped to quietly gather crime scene information using the aerial surveillance tactic. Top city officials were unaware that Ohio-based Persistent Surveillance Systems was trying out its technology over Baltimore until Bloomberg Businessweek revealed it.

Over months, the company captured roughly 300 hours of images. Analysts then zoomed in on crime scenes, moving backward and forward in time among the images to sees suspects arriving and getting away. The footage was captured using a bank of cameras mounted inside a small Cessna airplane flown at roughly 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) above the city.

Ross McNutt, president and owner of the company as listed on its website, told The Associated Press the technology provided through the Community Support Program — “helps solve otherwise unsolvable crimes,” particularly homicides. He said it has a well-developed privacy program with external oversight.

“During the short test in 2016, in the equivalent of two weeks of flying, we watched five murders and 18 shootings and provided that information to investigators. We look forward to supporting the people of Baltimore in their efforts to reduce major crime and we look forward to doing so in a very open and transparent way” that protects people’s rights, McNutt said by phone.

City Solicitor Andre Davis on Friday said Baltimore’s law department is “entirely comfortable” with the planned test, whose cost Harrison said will be covered by philanthropic funds, not tax dollars. He said he has been in contact with the foundation of Texas billionaires Laura and John Arnold, who funded the 2016 tryout through a donation to the Baltimore Community Foundation, a nonprofit civic organization.

John Arnold, the founder and co-chair of Arnold Ventures, said in a statement that the philanthropy supports the city of Baltimore as “it confronts its public safety crisis and pursues innovative strategies to ensure the well-being of its citizens.”

“By funding a limited-duration pilot and a fully independent evaluation, we hope to learn whether this technology can be a useful part of Baltimore’s crime reduction strategy,” the statement added.

Harrison said Mayor Bernard “Jack” Young, who is hoping to convince voters to chose him from a growing field of mayor candidates, did not pressure him into agreeing to test the technology. But his decision instantaneously drew condemnation from within and outside city hall.

“When you don’t have a (crime-fighting) plan, you reach for boxing rings. You hope for cold weather. You say you’ll put a surveillance plane up in the sky that does not work,” City Council President Brandon Scott, who wants to unseat Young, said in a statement. “We need solutions that work, and Commissioner Harrison has told the City Council multiple times this year, as recently as October, that there is no evidence the surveillance plane is an effective crime-fighting tool.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland and the Coalition for Justice, Safety and Jobs in a joint statement said Harrison’s decision to reverse course is a “fateful step” that will affect the privacy rights of people of color in Baltimore. The organizations added that a decision that carries long-term impacts should be made by an elected body, not by the police commissioner.

“The surveillance plane means putting every resident of Baltimore under permanent surveillance, creating a video record of everywhere that everyone goes every time they walk outside,” they said. “If the police did that in real life, in person on our streets, we would never accept it.”

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Follow Regina Garcia Cano on Twitter at https://twitter.com/reginagarciakNO

Georgia Family Discovers Owl In Christmas Tree

“We think he was just in there hugging the trunk,” she said. “It’s a very dense tree and it was very fresh. That’s why we picked it.”

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ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia family got a real hoot from its Christmas tree: More than a week after they bought it, they discovered a live owl nestled among its branches.

Katie McBride Newman said Friday that she and her daughter spotted the bird on Dec. 12. They had bought the 10-foot (3-meter) tall tree from a Home Depot, brought it back to their Atlanta area home and decorated it with lights and, coincidentally, owl ornaments.

“It was surreal, but we weren’t really freaked out about it,” McBride Newman said. “We’re really outdoorsy people. We love the wilderness.”

The family opened windows and doors near the tree hoping the owl would fly away, but it didn’t.

“The owl seemed to be pretty comfortable, and I thought, ‘Hey buddy, it’s not going to go well if you just stay here. There’s no food, I’m sorry,’” said McBride Newman’s husband, Billy Newman.

So the family called a nonprofit nature center for help. The Chattahoochee Nature Center caught the bird and helped the family release it.

McBride Newman said she believed the bird had been in the tree since they bought it, but was hidden.

“We think he was just in there hugging the trunk,” she said. “It’s a very dense tree and it was very fresh. That’s why we picked it.”

Review: Jordan And Foxx Shine In Urgent Drama ‘Just Mercy’

“Just Mercy,” a Warner Bros. Picture release, is rated PG-13 for thematic content, including some racial epithets. Running time: 137 minutes. Three stars out of four.

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There’s usually one film that tops lists whenever powerful legal thrillers are debated — “To Kill a Mockingbird,” set in the 1930s. Now comes a film showing how little has changed since then, based on a murder in the same Alabama town where Harper Lee wrote her masterpiece.

“ Just Mercy ” is the real story of civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson and his fight to keep an innocent black man from being executed. It is urgent, searing and powerful, led by a first-rate cast. Though it portrays events more than 25 years ago, it is very much a film of 2019.

Michael B. Jordan portrays Stevenson, who founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal organization that has successfully challenged the death row convictions of more than 130 inmates. Earlier this year, he was the subject of HBO’s film “True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality.”

Stevenson has been a dogged fighter for justice, someone Archbishop Desmond Tutu once called “America’s Mandela.” When Starbucks was faced with a racially charged uproar over the arrest of two black men at one of its stores in Philadelphia, it turned to Stevenson for advice.

The film follows one of his first cases, that of Walter McMillian, a black pulpwood worker sentenced to death for the 1986 fatal shooting of an 18-year-old white woman. Stevenson was able to prove that a key witness had lied and prosecutors withheld important evidence.

McMillian is played by Jamie Foxx and it is his best work in years, raw, soulful and honest. Tim Blake Nelson, as the key witness, also turns in a stunning performance, as does Rob Morgan playing a death row inmate. Brie Larson as Stevenson’s assistant is unflashy and strong. Jordan is the calm, quiet anchor of the film, his kind eyes radiating pathos.

In a pivotal scene, Foxx’s character asks Stevenson why a Harvard-trained attorney has come down to the South and risked violence to do this legal work. “I know what it’s like to be the shadows,” Stevenson responds. “That’s why I’m doing this.”

Destin Daniel Cretton directed the film from a screenplay he co-wrote with Andrew Lanham, based on Stevenson’s bestselling 2014 memoir. Stevenson is also an executive producer, and that ensures he’s illuminated in the best light.

So if there’s one weakness in the film, it’s that it sometimes veers into hagiography. The naturalism of the cinematography and acting sometimes clashes with dialogue that seems overly polished.

“I just want to help people,” Jordan says at one point. “I just have to figure out how.” In another scene, Foxx declares to his attorney: “I got my truth back. You gave that to me.”

The film at times follows other great courtroom dramas that build to a emotional conclusion such as “My Cousin Vinny” and “A Few Good Men” but “Just Mercy” has larger and deeper social issues constantly swirling, including criminal justice reform, the death penalty and racial profiling. If ever there was an example of how film can slide from entertainment to advocacy, this is it.

With the exception of Larson and a young corrections officer, no white characters come across as anything but venal and Alabama is portrayed as a place where African Americans are “guilty the moment you’re born.” While it ends on a happy note, you cry for all those generations of people railroaded into a cell. “Just Mercy” is not always an easy film to watch, but it is necessary.

“Just Mercy,” a Warner Bros. Picture release, is rated PG-13 for thematic content, including some racial epithets. Running time: 137 minutes. Three stars out of four.

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MPAA Definition of PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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Online: https://www.justmercyfilm.com

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Mark Kennedy is at twitter.com/KennedyTwits

THE JOURNEY: “Gloria Washington, Ph.D. – Teach Me How to Code”

Dr. Wayne Frederick chats with an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science Department at Howard University, Dr. Gloria Washington.

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ABOUT

When she was growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, her interest in how computer technology worked and impacted the lives of humans was not “popular” among other young women.  Today, she has obtained a Master’s and Doctorate Degree in Computer Science and is a trailblazer in STEM-based research.  This dedicated and driven mentor strives each day to increase the number of Black women who have the resources and support to pursue the Ph.D. track.  On this episode of “The Journey,” Dr. Wayne Frederick chats with an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science Department at Howard University, Dr. Gloria Washington.

Air Date: December 22, 2019

 

2019 Un-Sung She-Roes and He-Roes Awards Gala

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Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook, Visionary Founder of ProVoice, Inc. held the 2019 Awards Gala Banquet in Washington, DC.  The third annual celebration honored Unsung She-Roes and Heroes who are generous, gracious, and philanthropic with Servant leader spirits and hearts.

The Honorees were: Janice Ferebee, MSW/Helping Communities Win; Rev. Takana L. Jefferson, Lt. CHC, USN/Faith;  Hon. Joseline Pena Meinyk/Leader Extraordinaire; Patricia Sewell and Hon. Arthenia S. Roper/Mother Daughter Champions; Rev. Cynthia Terry/Sister Leader; Rev. Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith/World Changer; Dr. Hattie “Aunt Hattie” Washington/Above and Beyond; Jacquie Gales Webb/Media; Rev. Dr. Joan Wharton/Heart and Soul; Rev. Thomas L. Bowen/Leader Activist Lifechanger; Rev. Dr. George E. Holmes/Life Changer; Mr. Emmanuel Irono/Community Businessman and World Leader; and Rev. Dr. Robert Schneck/Heart and Soul.

Ambassador Suzan Denise Johnson Cook was a U.S. presidential advisor, pastor, and author who served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large-for-International- Religious Freedom for President Obama.  She has served as a policy advisor to President Bill Clinton.

Cook pastored a number of churches, produced television, and authored nearly a dozen books. She was the first female senior pastor in the 200-year history of the American Baptist Churches USA.  Her Pro Voice Galas have been held in Tristate New York, NYC , NJ, Philly and Connecticut, and now three in  the DMV and West Virginia.

http://ambassadorsujay.live/

Councilman Davis Makes Announcement

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Congratulations to Prince George’s County Council Member Derrick Leon Davis on being named Chairman-Elect of the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments. The Council of Governments connects leaders across borders to help shape strong communities and a better region.  Every month, more than a thousand officials and experts come to the Council of Governments to make connections, share information, and develop solutions to the region’s major challenges.

Councilmen Davis represents District 6 of Prince George’s County, Maryland which includes the constituent areas of City of District Heights, Forestville, Kettering, Largo, Mitchellville and the unincorporated areas of Bowie, Capitol Heights and Upper Marlboro.  Derrick Leon Davis was born on Andrews Air Force Base and is a lifelong resident of Prince George’s County.  He is a graduate of Central High School and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Davis is a passionate music enthusiast who once played saxophone with the legendary Go-Go Band, Experience Unlimited (EU.)  He proudly supports the Foundation for the Advancement of Music and Education.

His “Tis the Season” celebration, that was attended by several Prince George’s County officials including Chief Hank Stawinski, featured the FAME Jazz Band and Jazzy Blu and was hosted by WHUR’s Jacquie Gales Webb.

Award-Winning Costume Designer To Style Murphy For ‘SNL’ Return

“That’s really cool. We’ve been working together since 2000 in “Dr. Doolittle 2” and I’m still his favorite costume designer. I am just filled with joy for him and this comeback with ‘SNL.’

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Comedic legend Eddie Murphy makes his highly-anticipated return to “Saturday Night Live” tonight after 35 years. Murphy garnered national attention when he joined the cast on “SNL” from 1980-84.

“You don’t want to wait 30 years to come back and the show ain’t s—,” Murphy told the “TODAY” show. “It be like people clapping, going, ‘I thought he was going to be so much funnier than this.'”

And he’s bringing the BEST costume designer in the industry to style him for this EPIC return. Award-winning costume designer, Ruth E. Carter, will be styling Murphy’s wardrobe for his opening monologue tonight.

“That’s really cool. We’ve been working together since 2000 in “Dr. Doolittle 2” and I’m still his favorite costume designer. I am just filled with joy for him and this comeback with ‘SNL.’

Carter and Murphy are already in the Oscar buzz. She just won Best Costume Director at the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards  for “Dolemite Is My Name.”

Many of you have seen Carter’s incredible work in the following projects, just to name a few:

“Black Panther”

“Chi-Raq”

“Selma”

“The Butler”

“Sparkle”

“Dr. Doolittle 2”

“Love & Basketball”

“Amistad”

“Crooklyn”

“What’s Love Got To Do With It”

“The Five Heartbeats”

“Do The Right Thing”

“School Daze”

You can catch Murphy’s return tonight at 11:30pm ET on NBC.

 

 

 

Holiday Glam Without Overdoing It

Tips and advice to make sure you’re looking your very best during holiday parties.

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‘Tis the season to look fabulous.  There are still plenty of parties to attend before the end of the decade!  But if you’re trying to figure out what to wear and how to wear to it… you’ve come to the right place.  How much is too much when it comes to holiday glam?  We have experts in-house to give you fashion advice.

Resources:

The Miguel Wilson Collection

Lauren Evette, DC Fashion Blogger

Miguel Wilson, Fashion Designer, CEO The Miguel Wilson Collection

 

 

 

Murder Indictment In Atatiana Jefferson’s Death

Ex-Fort Worth Cop Indicted For Murder In Woman’s Death

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(Fort Worth, TX) — An ex-North Texas cop is under indictment for murder for the shooting death of a woman inside her own home. A Tarrant County grand jury charged Aaron Dean today for the October killing of Atatiana Jefferson. He was at Jefferson’s home after a neighbor called Fort Worth police’s non-emergency number asking for a welfare check over an open door. Dean was standing in the backyard when he shot and killed Jefferson through a window. He later resigned before Police Chief Ed Kraus could fire him.

Police Investigate A Toddler Found Wandering The Streets This Am In Alexandria

The little girl is now with child protective serves and police are trying to locate her parents.

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The search is on for answers this morning in Alexandria, Virginia. A good Samaritan found a 5-year-old little girl wandering the streets at 4 this morning. The child was found near the Taco Bell on South Van Dorn Street.

The little girl is now with child protective serves and police are trying to locate her parents. Anyone with information in the case should call the police.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @taylorthomas963

A Very “MAYSA” Chistmas, Step Afrika’s Holiday Show and A Christmas Carol

This weekend is filled with the spirit of the holiday’s

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WEEKEND HAPS

 

  • On Sunday you can catch DC’s own, Be’la Dona for their Holiday Brunch at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club. Doors open at 12:30 and the show time is 2pm.

 

  • Maysa performs at the Birchmere, It’s “A Very MAYSA Christmas”.  Show time is 7:30pm.

 

  • Marcus Johnson is at Blues Alley this weekend for his “Holiday Jam”. Two shows 8pm and 10pm.

 

  • Step Afrika’s Magical Musical Holiday Show is at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, running through December 22nd.

 

  • The holiday classic “A Christmas Carol” is playing at Ford’s Theatre, running through January 1st.

 

 

 

Tune in to Taking it to the Streets, weekday mornings at 6:15, 7:08 and 8:40 on the Steve Harvey Morning Show on 96.3 WHUR.

Follow me on facebook and twitter at @bobbygailes for updates and to stay connect

 

Listen to this mornings segment here:

America… After Impeachment

Where does America go after the impeachment of President Trump?

Posted by Harold Fisher
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gaveled in the first of two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.  It was the beginning of the end of the battle in the House. It was also the start of the power tug-of-war between democrat Pelosi and republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.   Meanwhile President Trump continues his attacks on the democrats in the wake of the historic moment.  Where does America go after impeachment?

Guests:

  Janelle King, Republican Strategist

Okey K. Enyia, Political Analyst

Ravi Perry, Chair, Department of Political Science, Howard University