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Montgomery Co. Exec. Is Trying To Lure Amazon To Move A Fulfillment Center To Their Area

A number of Montgomery County lawmakers reportedly support the move and job opportunities. There’s no word on what lawmakers plan to do next.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has admitted that he has reached out to Amazon to see if he could convince them to relocated a fulfillment center to his area. Elrich is going after the center that was supposed to be built in Westphalia in Prince George’s County. Public protest to the plan resulted in the tech giant deciding that they would not move to Prince George’s County after all.

Elrich says he is working to understand their needs and see if they can meet them. There has been no word from Amazon either confirming or declining that they are even considering the offer.

A number of Montgomery County lawmakers reportedly support the move and job opportunities. There’s no word on what lawmakers plan to do next.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @taylorthomas963

A Party With a Purpose

The 10th Annual Empowerment in Pink Gala hosted by The Prince George’s County Chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction

The Prince George’s County Chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc. is gearing up for a big Labor Day Weekend with a celebration of 10 years of service.  The ladies are hosting an Anniversary Gala and Community Brunch. My guest is  Lady Jacqueline Wilcher – Chapter Organizer

 Prince George’s County Chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc. is hosting its 10thAnnual Empowerment Pink Anniversary Gala Friday, August 30that the Camelot by Martins and a Community Brunch Sunday, September 1stat College Park Marriott Hotel and Conference Center. For more information go here:

 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, instagram and twitter at @bobbygailes for updates and to stay connected.

Listen to this mornings segment here:

1619: From Africans To African-Americans

An examination of the origins of slavery and the impact of the 400th anniversary of 1619.

2019 marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first Africans on the shores of the Virginia Colony in 1619.  It signaled the beginning of slavery in America.  To commemorate this historic event, thousands have traveled to what is now Hampton, Virginia and Ghana in West Africa.  They are paying homage to what’s being called “The Year of Return”.  We examine the origins of the slavery in America and the impact in modern times.

Guest:

Dr. Greg Carr, Chair, Afro-American Studies, Howard University

Dr. Elizabeth Clark-Lewis, Professor of History, Howard University

Funeral For DC Rowhouse Fire Victim

Boy Killed In Fire Laid To Rest

(Washington, DC) — The nine-year-old boy who was killed in a rowhouse fire earlier this month is being laid to rest today. The funeral for Yafet Solomon will be held this morning in Northwest DC. Solomon died two days after the fire broke out in the basement of the two-story home in the 700-block of Kennedy Street on August 18th. A man was also killed in the blaze. A criminal investigation into the cause of the fire is underway after it was discovered the house was illegally rented and had safety violations.

Oklahoma News Anchor Apologizes For Racist Comment To Black Co-anchor

Viewers flooded the station with calls of outrage about the racist commend and several comments about Housden were posted on Facebook.

You have to see it to believe it. An Oklahoma TV news anchor has given a tearful apology after making a racist comment to her co-anchor live on air.

It happened last week on KOCO an ABC affiliate in Oklahoma City. During a story on the Oklahoma City Zoo about a gorilla, anchor Alex Housden, who is white ended the segment by telling her black co-anchor, Jason Hackett that he looked like the animal.

Hackett says that he would like to make this a teaching moment for her and everyone else. The station President, Brent Hensley was not willing to talk but he released a statement saying the station had nothing more to say about the “unfortunate incident”.

Viewers flooded the station with calls of outrage about the racist commend and several comments about Housden were posted on Facebook.

A day after the racist comment the two took part in an on-air dialogue about racism and cultural education. Housden began with by saying “I’m here this morning because I want to apologize, not only to my co-anchor Jason but to our entire community,” “I said something yesterday that was inconsiderate, that was inappropriate, and I hurt people. And I want you to understand how much I hurt you out there,” “and how much I hurt you.” She teared up as she apologized to her co-anchor who sat on a couch next to her.

Hackett thanked her and he told viewers that she was one of his best friends and that he appreciated her. He added what she said cut deep for him and a lot of people in the community. He said he wants this to be a teachable moment and that “The lesson here is that words matter.”

Regarding the question of whether any actions that the station may choose to take against Housden, The President and General Manager of KOCO said the public apology by Housden and the acceptance by Hackett is sufficient for them.

Click here to see the on-air apology.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klF3XVD-JzI#action=share

Follow me on Twitter @taylorthomas963

Double Homicide in Oxon Hill, Killer Still At Large

There’s no word on the victims name or a motif in this case. Investigators are asking for witness to come forward with anything that they may have seen.

Prince George’s County Police are working to solve a double homicide this morning.

Two men were found upper body trauma inside of a Mercedez Benz on 210 and Bald Eagle Ridge Road in Oxon Hill. They were discovered around 9:45 p.m.

There’s no word on the victims name or a motif in this case. Investigators are asking for witness to come forward with anything that they may have seen.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @taylorthomas963

Time to Have a Crab Feast

Ivy Vine Charities is hosting it’s annual crab feast

Get your appetites ready.  We are about to have a crabby good time this morning on Taking It to the Streets.  It’s the 2019 Ivy Vine Charities Crab Feast.  My two guests are  Faye Vaughn-Cook – Crab Feast Committee Chair and Denise Hector – Crab Feast Committee Member

 Ivy Vine Charities, Inc. Crab Feast is Friday, September 6thfrom 7pm to 9pm at the Mid-County Community Recreation Center in Silver Spring.  For tickets go here: 

 

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, instagram and twitter at @bobbygailes for updates and to stay connected.

Listen to this mornings segment here:

 

What’s Behind The Popeye’s Chicken Craze?

What does the Popeye’s chicken craze say about African-Americans, stereotypes and the influence of social media?

It is the biggest viral marketing event we’ve seen in years.  Popeye’s chicken sandwich has nearly broken the Internet.  All across the country, lines for the sandwich have been hours long.  Social media posts, jokes, commentary, even arguments about it have been seen on line.  Those arguments aren’t only on line.  We’ve seen temper tantrums and fights when the sandwiches are sold out.  What’s going on here?  What does this say about us?

Guests:

Chef Huda, Celebrity Chef

Richard Fowler, FOX NEWS Contributor

Comedian Leslie Jones Quits Saturday Night Live

Leslie Jones Leaving SNL

(New York, NY) — Comedian Leslie Jones is leaving Saturday Night Live. Page Six reports Jones has quit SNL after five seasons. The 51-year-old Jones recently landed a role in Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America sequel and she also has an upcoming Netflix special. She’ll be taping the stand-up comedy special in Washington D.C. on September 10th.

Montgomery County Police Chief Candidate Bows Out

African-American woman candidate for Montgomery County police chief withdraws from consideration.

The only candidate remaining for police chief in Montgomery County has removed herself from consideration.  According to a press release issued from County Executive Marc Elrich, Tonya Chapman sent a letter saying she is withdrawing her name from the process.  In the press release, the County Executive Elrich said, “Over the course of the past few months, I have received significant input from the community, and I am confident I will be able to select a new police chief soon.”

Epstein’s Alleged Victims In Court Today

Alleged Victims Of Jeffrey Epstein Get Rare Chance To Testify

(New York, NY) — The attorney for alleged victims of financier Jeffrey Epstein is calling today a unique opportunity for them to be heard. Lawyer Gloria Allred said she was happily surprised when the court offered the five women she represents a chance to testify. She said the alleged victims were able to speak truth to power. She also said that the court agreed to leave the case open so that if other victims who could not attend today’s hearing want to make a statement they will be able to do so. Allred said she expects to be filing lawsuits in the coming weeks.

Eddie Murphy To Host ‘SNL’ For The First Time In 35 Years

Murphy was a cast member from 1980 to 1984, starring in such landmark sketches as “Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood” and as Gumby, Buckwheat and Stevie Wonder.

NEW YORK (AP) — Eddie Murphy will be returning to a place that helped launch his career — “Saturday Night Live.”

The comedian will be the host of the sketch comedy show on Dec. 21, marking the former cast member’s first hosting appearance since 1984.

Murphy was a cast member from 1980 to 1984, starring in such landmark sketches as “Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood” and as Gumby, Buckwheat and Stevie Wonder.

He went on to star in numerous films, including “The Nutty Professor,” Bowfinger,” ″Beverly Hills Cop” and “Coming to America.”

“Saturday Night Live,” celebrating its 45th season, returns Sept. 28 with host Woody Harrelson and Billie Eilish as the musical guest.

Others planned to grace the show this season include Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Taylor Swift, David Harbour, Camila Cabello and Kristen Stewart.

Fashion’s Isabel Toledo, Creator For Michelle Obama, Dies

Though she presented her first collection in 1985, Toledo’s work grabbed attention after Obama wore some of her looks at the inauguration, including the lemon grass shift dress in wool and lace. Obama had been a fan of Toledo before donning the famous outfit.

NEW YORK (AP) — Isabel Toledo, the Cuban American fashion designer with an avant-garde flair who created former first lady Michelle Obama’s standout lemon grass-colored sheath dress and matching overcoat for her husband’s 2009 inauguration, has died. She was 59.

Toledo died of breast cancer, her studio said in an email Monday. Further details were not immediately available.

Though she presented her first collection in 1985, Toledo’s work grabbed attention after Obama wore some of her looks at the inauguration, including the lemon grass shift dress in wool and lace. Obama had been a fan of Toledo before donning the famous outfit.

Demi Moore, Debi Mazar and Debra Messing are among celebrities who have worn Toledo’s creations, both on screen and on red carpets.

Toledo arrived in West New York, New Jersey, from Cuba as a teenager, later attending but not graduating from fashion college in New York. She met her collaborator and husband, the illustrator and painter Ruben Toledo, in high school.

She was an independent designer who later eschewed runways for museum exhibitions, starting in the late 1990s. She served briefly as creative director for Anne Klein, from 2006 to 2007, put out her own scent and once designed shoes in a collaboration with Payless, among other accessories projects.

The Toledos won a Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award in 2005. A more recent endeavor was the Labor of Love exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts, a collection of new sculptures, paintings and drawings focused on the connections between fashion and art.

The color of Obama’s Toledo-created inauguration look took on a life of its own in the fashion world.

Descriptions of the color changed all day during the inauguration, leaving those who had to write about it wondering how to describe it. Was it yellow? Apple green? Toledo called it “lemon grass,” a grass grown in tropical regions that has lemon-scented foliage. The plant, a favorite in Thai cooking, can be green at the top, fading toward the root into shades of pale green and yellow.

“I called it ‘lemon grass’ because it’s not yellow, it’s not green,” Toledo told The Associated Press at the time.

She said she preferred “non-color” colors. The fact that colors on textiles can take on changing tones is an important element when making clothes, Toledo added.

“The idea that the coat and dress are gold to some, pale yellow to others … gives that moment you happen to catch sight of it that much more depth,” she said. “It gives the wearer and the viewer much more of an individualized experience.”

The inauguration outfit was a big moment for Toledo, who took care at the time to praise the historic nature of the event itself.

“There is nothing that comes close to this moment,” Toledo told the AP. “It’s not just my moment and hers, but it’s the world’s. It’s not only what she’s wearing. It’s what the moment represents.”

Viola Davis Set To Play Michelle Obama In Proposed Series

Former President Barack Obama and his wife launched their own production company in 2018, and have announced deals with Netflix and Spotify.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Viola Davis is set to portray Michelle Obama in a Showtime series under development about America’s first ladies.

Davis also is an executive producer on the project, which Showtime said Monday will “peel back the curtain” on the lives of presidential spouses.

The first season will focus on Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford and Obama.

Showtime said it’s committed to three scripts for the proposed series. There is no air date since the series has yet to be ordered.

Former President Barack Obama and his wife launched their own production company in 2018, and have announced deals with Netflix and Spotify.

Missy Elliott Honored At MTV VMAs

“I’ve worked diligently for over two decades and I never thought I would be standing up here receiving this award,” Elliott said.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The incomparable career of Missy Elliott, the rapper-singer-songwriter-producer-dancer whose music videos have moved the needle over the last two decades, was honored at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, where Taylor Swift also took center stage with her gay pride anthem, “You Need to Calm Down.”

Elliott earned the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, and brought her colorful and eccentric music videos to life, from “Work It” to “Lose Control,” on Monday at the Prudential Center in Newark.

She even sported the inflated trash bag she wore with confidence and charisma in the video for “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” in 1997.

“I’ve worked diligently for over two decades and I never thought I would be standing up here receiving this award,” Elliott said.

The 48-year-old game-changer dedicated her award to the dance community and said her music video inspirations included Janet Jackson, Madonna, Peter Gabriel and Busta Rhymes.

She also honored the late R&B icon Aaliyah, with whom she was close and collaborated. The 18th anniversary of Aaliyah’s death was Sunday.

“Aaliyah, I love you. We miss you,” Elliott said in her acceptance speech.

Other performers Monday included former Fifth Harmony member Normani, who won best R&B video and brought skilled dance moves to “Motivation”; Spanish singer Rosalia, who also danced with precision and won best Latin and best choreography awards; and rapper-singer Lizzo, who turned into a gospel singer as she wowed the audience with the upbeat anthem “Good As Hell,” her 2016 song that reached new heights this year. She also sang “Truth Hurts,” which was released in 2017 but became a worldwide hit this year.

The VMAs, which took place in New Jersey for the first time, closed with a superb performance by artists from the Garden State — including Queen Latifah, Redman, Wyclef Jean, Naughty by Nature and Fetty Wap. Rapper-actor Ice-T, who has loudly represented the West Coast, introduced the performance and reminded the audience that he was born in Newark.

Outside the arena, before the show began, a handful of people were arrested for protesting Newark’s water crisis. Elevated levels of lead have been found in the water, leading city officials to distribute water and water filters to residents.

Inside, Swift kicked off the VMAs, going from eye-popping pop star to guitar-strumming singer-songwriter. She gave a colorful performance of “You Need to Calm Down” — which won video of the year — and later grabbed her guitar to sing the ballad “Lover,” the title track from her album released Friday.

“I just want to say that this is a fan-voted award, so I first want to say thank you to the fans, because in this video several points were made, so you voting for this video means that you want a world where we’ll all treated equally,” she said.

Swift and a number of cast members from the video appeared onstage to accept the honor. The video for “You Need to Calm Down,” a song in which Swift calls out homophobes and her own haters, featured a number of famous faces, including Ellen DeGeneres, Laverne Cox, RuPaul and the cast of “Queer Eye.” Before the video’s release, Swift announced that she supported the Equality Act.

“You Need to Calm Down” also won the video for good honor. Todrick Hall, the multi-faceted entertainer who has appeared in some of Swift’s videos, including “You Need to Calm Down,” accepted the honor.

“If you’re a young child that’s out there watching this show who is different, who feels misunderstood, we’ve never needed you more than now to share your art, share your stories, share your truth with the world no matter what you identify as, who you identify as, who you love. This is such a beautiful place,” said Hall, who co-executive-produced the video.

Swift won three honors, tying with Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish for most wins of the night. Grande, named artist of the year, and Eilish, who won best new artist, didn’t attend the VMAs. BTS also didn’t attend the show, hosted by comedian and actor Sebastian Maniscalco, but they won two honors: best group and best K-pop.

Other winners included Cardi B, who took home best hip-hop for “Money”; Jonas Brothers’ “Sucker” won best pop; “Senorita,” which Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello performed during the show, won best collaboration and best cinematography; and the Chainsmokers and Bebe Rexha’s “Call You Mine” won best dance.

Megan the Stallion, who performed during the pre-show, won best power anthem with her new hit, “Hot Girl Summer,” featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Nicki Minaj.

Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road,” the longest-running No. 1 song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, won song of the year and best direction.

“This is my first award ever,” the 20-year-old newcomer said.

Candidate Who Said City In Michigan Should Remain White Quits Race

The city council candidate who claimed her city should “stay white” has dropped out of the race. Jean Cramer had also called marriage between blacks and whites “immoral.”

The council candidate in a city just outside of Detroit has dropped out of the race following the uproar of comments that many found racist.  Folks in Marysville, Michigan are hoping the comments about keeping the city white by now-former city council candidate Jean Cramer lead to healthy discussions on race relations. That was the overarching response from people last night at Marysville’s city council meeting, just hours after Cramer announced she was ending her campaign.  Her remarks became national news last week and over the weekend when she declined to walk them back and called marriages between black and white people “immoral.” Cramer had also said she wanted to keep “foreign born” people out of Marysville.

Arrest In Beating Death Of Homeless Man

Police have arrested a Northwest, DC man in the beating death of a homeless man. The suspect identified as Edward M. Banks.

The beating death of a homeless man at a shelter in Southeast Washington is now a homicide. A suspect is in custody and charged with second-degree murder. He’s identified as 47-year-old Edward M. Banks of Northwest. The incident occurred about 12:45 a.m. on Aug. 18 in the 801 East Shelter run by Catholic Charities, located in the 2700 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE. Police say Banks had he’d been visiting the shelter. The name of the 45-year-old victim has not been released.

Obama Addresses Redistricting

Former President Obama starts a new initiative to address the issue of redistricting. Obama say redistricting affects every issue in America.

Former President Barack Obama is launching a new campaign to fight partisan redistricting. The All On The Line campaign  is a free training initiative that aims to equip people with the tools to fight for fair election maps. On the project’s web-page, Redistricting U, Obama said that district maps determine the course of nearly every issue. He said that organizing will start alongside the next congressional redistricting process in 2021.

Honoring DC’s Cultural Heroes

Humanities DC is hosting the Patsey Fletcher Cultural Heritage Award.

Celebrating the unique African American culture and history of DC.  That’s the goal of an upcoming awards ceremony set to take play next week in the District.  It’s called the Patsy Fletcher Cultural Heritage Award and it’s hosted by HumanitiesDC. My guest is Toni Ford – Humanities DC Board Member

HumanitiesDC is hosting the Patsy Fletcher Cultural Heritage Award September 4thfrom 6pm to 8pm at the Arts Club of Washington.  For purchase tickets go to: culturalheritageawards.eventbrite.com or for information go here:

 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, instagram and twitter at @bobbygailes for updates and to stay connected.

Listen to this mornings segment here:

 

 

Medical Monday: Ladies Share Their Battle of the Bulge

How women deal with fat-shaming and extreme weight loss

Last week we talked about President Trump fat-shaming a man at a rally in New Hampshire.  We spoke to two men who have felt the impact of that and how they fought the battle of extreme weight loss.   In part 2 of this conversation we talk to two women who are also winning the battle against obesity with extreme weight lost.

Resources:

Nappy Beauty Love

Everything Ro

Caroline Jhingory

Dr. Rovenia Brock, Author, Nutritionist, Health & Wellness Coach (not pictured)

Caroline Jhingory, Author, Weight Loss Expert
Joyce Rhine, Yoga Instructor, Owner, Nappy Beauty Love

 

 

Columbia Explosion Update

Cause Of Gas Explosion Under Investigation

(Columbia, MD) — An investigation is underway to determine what caused the gas explosion that destroyed parts of a business complex in Columbia. The explosion happened in the 88-hundred block of Stanford Boulevard Sunday morning. Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said it was so powerful it could be heard in communities many miles away. No one was injured in the explosion as none of the businesses were open and the area was evacuated before the explosion. BGE crews completed safety inspections of area gas mains and surrounding buildings and have yet to find any issues with gas equipment. Fire officials say the building is at risk of collapsing.

Keenum Gets The Starting Nod

The Skins name Case Keenum the starting quarterback this season. Keenum beat out rooking Dwayne Haskins.

The Burgundy & Gold have decided that Case Keenum, not first-round pick Dwayne Haskins, will be their starting quarterback Week 1 in Philadelphia. Keenum had an eye-opening and efficient season as the Vikings’ starter in 2017 but followed it up with a mediocre campaign last year with the Broncos. Skins  veteran quarterback Colt McCoy is still battling a lingering leg injury from last season.

Back To School For Area Students

Students in the District headed by to school today. They were joined by students in several Virginia jurisdictions. Students in Montgomery and Prince George’s County return next week.

It’s the first day of school in the DC area. Students at DC Public Schools are starting the 2019-2020 school year today, along with students in Fairfax and Prince William Counties and  Manassas in Virginia.   In Maryland, a little summer left for Prince George’s and Montgomery County students who do not start school until next week.

Honoring African American History

Virginia to promote the study of African American experience in its schools. Meantime, bells tolled over the weekend in remembrance of the first African slaves to arrive in what is now the United States.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is starting an initiative to help improve students’ experience of African American history. He announced the creation of the new Commission on African American History Education on Saturday, as leaders gathered in Hampton to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of enslaved Africans in colonial America. Northam says it will allow students to draw connections between historic racial inequities and their influence on communities today. The commission will recommend standards and professional development for teachers.  Meanwhile, on Sunday bells rang out as churches across the country marked the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first African slaves in the British North American colonies. At 3 p.m. bells tolled for four minutes. One minute for each century of slavery.

Safe Bet: Vegas Set To Bid To Host Numerous NCAA Events

“We’re looking for scaled opportunities. Sports that attract lots of fans and some places we can reconfigure the way the events are held to attract more fans,” he said.

NEW YORK (AP) — Las Vegas is going to take a chance on hosting major college sporting events.

The city is set to bid on nearly a half dozen different NCAA championship events, including women’s basketball.

The NCAA will start accepting bids Monday on nearly two dozen sports championships over all three divisions. This is the first year that Las Vegas is eligible to bid after the governing body for college sports indefinitely suspended a ban last year that prevented events from being hosted in states that accept wagers on single games.

George Kliavkoff, who is MGM’s President of Entertainment and Sports, told The Associated Press last week that his group — in conjunction with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority — plan on bidding to host women’s basketball as well as at least five other sports. Those could include the Frozen Four, wrestling and women’s volleyball championships.

“We’re looking for scaled opportunities. Sports that attract lots of fans and some places we can reconfigure the way the events are held to attract more fans,” he said.

Kliavkoff thinks Las Vegas is positioned well for women’s basketball and its potential new regional format. The NCAA women’s basketball committee suggested earlier this month changing the format for the regionals starting in 2023 by having two cities host eight teams each in the Sweet 16 instead of having four sites.

“Nevada is such a great place and Las Vegas is such an excellent place to hold a championship or regional,” Kliavkoff said. “We’re uniquely positioned since we have T-Mobile Arena, MGM Garden Arena and Mandalay Bays. We have three event centers. We have knowledge how to do this. There are dozens of hotels in town that have price points for every fan. We’re a city that’s easy to get to with direct non-stop flights from almost everywhere in the country.”

Moving to a two-site format, the committee noted, would elevate and enhance the student-athlete experience, enhance broadcast coverage, create opportunity for growth of the sport and championship, build the brand of women’s basketball and expand programming targeting strategic plan initiatives that were announced in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Strategic Plan.

“We’ll see how it falls out as bids come in,” NCAA vice president for women’s basketball Lynn Holzman said. “It’s new ground we’re treading. Moving from four to two sites for regionals.”

While Holzman wouldn’t say whether Las Vegas has a leg-up on other cities, she is very familiar with basketball tournaments being played there. She was commissioner of the West Coast Conference, which has played its tournament in Las Vegas for the last decade.

Las Vegas would have no problems hosting eight teams and their fans in the new format. It would make sense for the NCAA to look at having one site on the West Coast and one on the East Coast for the new format to help with television windows for their partner ESPN. MGM also operates the arena in Springfield, Massachusetts, so the company could bid for an East Coast site, as well.

Mohegan Sun, which has hosted many college basketball events, as well as a WNBA team, has said it is considering bidding for the regional, too.

With regionals available from 2023-26 and the Final Four in 2025 and 2026, Kliavkoff said that he expects Las Vegas to put in a series of bids for them and other NCAA events.

“For the sports we’re interested in, we’ll try and get as many yeses as possible,” he said. “We’ll bid for multiple years. It probably will depend on the different sports we bid for. We think there are benefits to being a known place you come back every year.”

The NCAA said it would help Las Vegas and other cities learn the details of putting in bids. The college governing body is hosting a NCAA Championship Hosting Symposium on Sept. 18. Women’s basketball future sites will be announced in October 2020.

While the men’s basketball Final Four isn’t in this bid cycle, regionals are available from 2023-26. The men’s basketball committee visited Las Vegas earlier this year and toured the new Oakland Raiders football stadium that will be ready next year, as well as T-Mobile Arena. Las Vegas would be interested in hosting those regionals as well. Potentially they could host the men’s and women’s regionals in the same year.

“Basketball is slowly realizing that Las Vegas is the second home for basketball in the United States,” Kliavkoff said. “We have the summer league, the G-league. We are in discussion on bringing more here. We have the Aces. We have more and more college tournaments. This is the home for lots of AAU tournaments, high school tournaments and 3-on-3 basketball. We think of this as one of the best basketball homes in the country and continue to build on that. We’ll put in bids for the years that are available. By definition, the men’s and women’s basketball will be overlapping a few years and we will be bidding on them.”

With over 100,000 hotel rooms on the strip and the three venues, hosting both the men’s and women’s regionals wouldn’t be a problem.

The College Football Playoff has two more championship game sites still to be chosen during the 12-year contract with ESPN that runs through the 2025 season. CFP operates outside the NCAA and is essentially run by the FBS conference commissioners. It is not obligated to follow NCAA rules.

The new Las Vegas stadium could be a contender to host. The stadium will host a bowl game matching the Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference, starting with the 2020 season. The Pac-12 championship game is also moving to Las Vegas. The conference announced earlier this year it will play its title game in Las Vegas in 2021 and ’22.

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Associated Press College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo in New York contributed to this report.

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Follow Doug Feinberg on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg

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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Disney Teases ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Frozen 2,’ More At Convention

Even the word “fan” is too impersonal for this kind of loyalty. As Walt Disney Studios co-chairman Alan Horn told the audience Saturday: “You’re not just fans, you’re family.”

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — At the Walt Disney Company’s biannual D23 convention, a faint image of the “Star Wars” character Emperor Palpatine in the background of a new poster can cause as much of a stir as actual appearances from movie stars such as Angelina Jolie and Dwayne Johnson. But that’s no surprise for the most powerful studio in the world, whose characters are stars as big, if not bigger, than the A-listers playing them — at least for the people attending the company’s fan convention.

Right across the street from Disneyland, nearly 7,000 people packed a giant convention hall in Anaheim on Saturday hoping to get a look at or at least more information about Disney properties coming to theaters in the next few years, including “Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker,” ″Frozen 2,” ″Black Panther 2,” ″Black Widow,” ″Cruella,” ″Soul” and more, with a parade of stars such as Jolie, Johnson, Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Jamie Foxx, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Daisy Ridley all gracing the stage to help drum up excitement for all that’s to come. Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad and Jonathan Groff even serenaded the audience with a performance of a new song from “Frozen 2” as fake fall leaves fell down on the audience like confetti to close out the presentation.

Disney kicked things off with “Star Wars,” revealing a new poster, which every audience member got a copy of, and glimpses of some new footage from “Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker.” The film, which hits theaters Dec. 20, ends the Skywalker saga that began over 40 years ago.

Anthony Daniels, who has played the droid C-3PO since the beginning seemed to get a bit choked up on stage.

“It’s kind of hard for me to understand that the story is ending, but what an ending,” Daniels said. “You’ll love it.”

He was joined on stage by fellow original trilogy veteran Billy Dee Williams, and the stars of the new trilogy — Ridley, Oscar Isaac and John Boyega — as well as writer-director J.J. Abrams.

Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy promised that the film “is an incredibly good time.”

But “Star Wars” itself is hardly ending for Disney.

“With the close of this chapter, the future is wide open,” Horn said. The studio on Friday debuted a new trailer for the Disney Plus series “The Mandalorian” to great enthusiasm.

Not all reveals are created equal at D23, however. For “Black Panther 2,” writer-director Ryan Coogler was only able to disclose a release date: May 6, 2022. For “Jungle Cruise,” both Johnson and Emily Blunt bantered on stage about their theme park ride adaptation, showing a fair amount of teaser footage for the film coming to theaters next summer that they say is tonally similar to fun adventure epics such as “Indiana Jones” and “Romancing the Stone.” And Emma Stone, via video message, teased that the “101 Dalmatians” spinoff “Cruella” has a “punk rock” vibe and is set in London in the 1970s.

The audience got extended looks at the live-action “Mulan,” ″Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” the animated films “Raya and the Last Dragon” and “Frozen 2,” which co-director Chris Buck said works together with “Frozen” to form “one complete film.”

Various casting decisions were also announced in films across the brands. Evan Rachel Wood will be voicing the mother in “Frozen 2,” and Sterling K. Brown is playing a character named Lieutenant Matthias. Kit Harington is officially on board to join the Marvel film “The Eternals,” which will reunite him with his “Game of Thrones” co-star Richard Madden, as is “Crazy Rich Asians” star Gemma Chan. And Foxx, Tina Fey, Questlove, Phylicia Rashad and Daveed Diggs are leading the voice cast for Pixar’s jazz-themed film “Soul.”

“Soul” director Pete Docter, taking the stage for the first time as Pixar’s chief creative officer, said that in his nearly 30 years at Pixar they’ve come up with some “weird ideas.”

“Rats who cook, robots who collect trash, old men who fly houses,” Docter said. “Soul” continues that tradition, he said, asking the ultimate question: “Why am I here?”

“Who would make a film about that? Metaphysics?” Docter said with a chuckle. The film imagines that all humans graduate a “you seminar” pre-birth where they get their quirks, interests and passion. But with jazz musician Joe Gardner (Foxx), “there has to have been a mistake” that he grew up to be a middle school band teacher.

Jon Batiste is contributing original songs for the film and Oscar-winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are doing the score.

Expected in theaters in June 2020, “Soul” is one of two original Pixar films coming next year. The other is “Onward” about elf brothers voiced by Pratt and Holland. The audience screamed wildly for Holland when he took the stage. The cheers and shouts were not for his “Onward” role, but for another character whose Disney association is in jeopardy: Spider-Man.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the cross-studio partnership between Disney and Sony, which allowed Holland’s Spider-Man to appear in Marvel films such as “Avengers: Endgame” and Marvel Studios to have a hand in producing stand-alone Spider-Man films like this summer’s “Far From Home,” was ending.

The timing of the Spider-Man turmoil was not lost on Holland, who went straight for the fans with a closing message from the stage quoting a line that Tony Stark says in “Endgame.”

“Listen, it’s been a crazy week but I want you to know, I am grateful from the bottom of my heart and I love you 3000,” Holland said.

D23 runs through Sunday.

Beyonce, Sinatra Among Those On Obama Summer Song Playlist

Other choices are “MOOD 4 EVA,” the “Lion King” song with Beyonce and Jay-Z among other artists; and such oldies as Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away.”

NEW YORK (AP) — The Obama summer playlist has everyone from Drake and Beyonce to Steely Dan and Frank Sinatra. The former president calls it “some new, some old, some fast, some slow.”

Barack Obama tweeted 44 songs Saturday that he and his wife, Michelle, have been listening to. They include Drake’s “Too Good,” Steely Dan’s “Reelin’ in the Years” and the Sinatra standard “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.”

Other choices are “MOOD 4 EVA,” the “Lion King” song with Beyonce and Jay-Z among other artists; and such oldies as Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away.”

Last week, Barack Obama offered book recommendations, among them Colson Whitehead’s “The Nickel Boys,” Hilary Mantel’s “Wolf Hall” and the “collected works” of Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, who died Aug. 12.

Kanye West Hosts Service Honoring Ohio Mass Shooting Victims

A large crowd gathered at the musician’s service in a park in Dayton. The event featured choir singers and was also attended by comedian Dave Chappelle.

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Kanye West hosted a Sunday Service in Ohio in support of those affected by the recent mass shooting.

A large crowd gathered at the musician’s service in a park in Dayton. The event featured choir singers and was also attended by comedian Dave Chappelle.

Chappelle, who resides in nearby Yellow Springs, was scheduled to host a special block party and benefit concert later Sunday in Dayton for those affected by the shooting. That event was expected to feature national and local entertainers.

Organizers of Sunday night’s “Gem City Shine” event say it would be an effort to “reclaim” the entertainment district where 24-year-old Connor Betts’ 32-second rampage killed nine people and left dozens injured on Aug. 4.

Dave Chappelle Hosts Concert To Honor Ohio Shooting Victims

“Don’t forget what this place is about! Mankind learned how to fly in this city,” Chappelle told the crowd. “Don’t forget what this place is about. When the rest of the country was all slavery, everybody was free in Ohio.”

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Thousands turned out to a benefit hosted by comedian Dave Chappelle that honored victims of a mass shooting in Ohio.

The star-studded “Gem City Shine” took place Sunday in Dayton’s Oregon District, the historic neighborhood that was marred by a 32-second rampage that killed nine people and left dozens injured Aug. 4.

Stevie Wonder headlined the event, which also featured Chance the Rapper and Talib Kweli, among other musicians, news outlets reported.

The event was designed to raise both spirits as well as money for the victims and survivors of the shooting.

“Don’t forget what this place is about! Mankind learned how to fly in this city,” Chappelle told the crowd. “Don’t forget what this place is about. When the rest of the country was all slavery, everybody was free in Ohio.”

Chappelle, who lives in nearby Yellow Springs, was treated to a rendition of “Happy Birthday” by attendees, instigated by comedian Jon Stewart.

Earlier Sunday, Kanye West hosted a Sunday Service in a Dayton park. The service for victims featured choir singers and was also attended by Chappelle.

Sunday evening’s benefit contributed to helping the community heal, business owners said.

“It’s reclaiming Dayton. We don’t want anybody to be scared,” Abby Beach told the Dayton Daily News. “We want everyone to know it’s an exciting and fun-loving community.”

Mayor Nan Whaley says no taxpayer money was used for the benefit. The mayor and the chamber of commerce raised funds for security and Chappelle donated the stage and secured talent, she said.

“And the least we can do, Dave, is we have declared it Dave Chappelle day in Dayton, Ohio,” Whaley said on stage Sunday night.

A Great Fellowship Program with The US Department of State’s Foreign Service

The deadline is fast approaching to apply to this exciting opportunity to serve your country

The deadline is fast approaching for an exciting fellowship program that can land you a career in the US Department of State Foreign Service.  It’s the Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program and it’s a chance for you to earn while you learn.  My guest is Patricia Scroggs – Director of Diplomatic Fellowships at Howard University

Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program is accepting applications.  The deadline is September 24th.  The Fellowship can lead to a career in the US Department of State Foreign Service.  More information here: 

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, instagram and twitter at @bobbygailes for updates and to stay connected.

Listen to this mornings segment here:

 

 

 

THE JOURNEY: “Two Future Higher Education Leadership Ph.Ds: Focused on the Task at Hand”

Dr. Wayne Frederick chats with Brandy Jackson, M.S. and Ernest Evans, M.S., first-year students in the Higher Education and Leadership Policy Studies doctoral program at Howard University.

ABOUT

These students have focused their research on fundraising as well as black male success and retention within the field of higher education.  Because there is a substantial representation gap between higher education administrators and the makeup of the country, they believe in the importance of representation and are reaching back in order to pull forward.  On this episode of “The Journey,” Dr. Wayne Frederick chats with Brandy Jackson, M.S. and Ernest Evans, M.S., first-year students in the Higher Education and Leadership Policy Studies doctoral program at Howard University.

Giving The Boss Negative Feedback

How do you give your supervisor constructive criticism or even negative feedback?

So you want to give your boss negative feedback, maybe a some constructive criticism.  How are you going to do that?  Do you just drop it on him or her?  Perhaps you need little strategy.  Maybe you need a lot.  We’re talking about getting something off your chest with the boss without getting booted out of the office… or even hurting your career.

Resources:

Alignment Strategies

Black On The Job

Guests:

Dr. Vanessa Weaver, Career Consultant, CEO Alignment Strategies

Kimberly Rice, Co-Founder, Black on the Job

***BREAKING NEWS*** Amazon Pulls Out Of Westphalia Project

Amazon cancels fulfillment center plans for Prince George’s County

There will be no Amazon fulfillment center at the Westphalia Town Center in Prince Georges County.  County Executive Angela Alsobrooks announced in a press release this afternoon that the online retailer has decided not to build the state-of-the-art warehouse there.

“Earlier today I was informed by the company that planned to build a fulfillment center at the Westphalia Towne Center that they would no longer be pursuing that site. It is our intention to work with the company to identify more suitable locations in the county where they may be able to bring their products.

 To those who purchased homes at Westphalia and were promised certain things, I want you to know that my administration will work with the developer to help bring the retail, dining and other amenities you were promised.

 Prince George’s County is open for business and we will continue working to attract quality businesses to the county that add value to our economy and provide amenities to our citizens.”

Residents of the Westphalia community have expressed concern about the impact of the warehouse on property values as well as quality of life.

“Whites Only” Comment Shocks Michigan Council Race

City Council Candidate In Michigan Wants To Keep Community White

(Marysville, MI) — A woman running for a city council seat in a St. Clair County community is under fire over a controversial comment made at a public forum. “The Times Herald” in Port Huron reports Marysville city council candidate Jean Cramer responded to a question about diversity by saying she wants to keep the community, quote, “as white as possible.” She went on to say she’s not “against blacks” but doesn’t believe in interracial marriage. Mayor Dan Damman called Cramer’s remarks “vile” and “jaw-dropping.”

Review: Raphael Saadiq’s History Imbues Stirring ‘Jimmy Lee’

“Jimmy Lee” is a stirring album combining Raphael Saadiq’s trademark vintage soul sounds with moving gospel, disquieting soundscapes and closing triad of tunes that pulls no punches in addressing social ills and personal doubts.

Raphael Saadiq, “Jimmy Lee” (Columbia Records)

“Jimmy Lee” is a stirring album combining Raphael Saadiq’s trademark vintage soul sounds with moving gospel, disquieting soundscapes and closing triad of tunes that pulls no punches in addressing social ills and personal doubts.

Saadiq’s family losses to addictions and other tragedies — “an unfortunate string of mishaps would eventually take the lives of three brothers and a sister” — were mentioned already on the lead track of his 2002 solo debut, “Instant Vintage,” but “Jimmy Lee,” named after one of his late siblings, deepens and expands the references and connections in songs and stories about decisions, fates and outcomes.

Opener “Sinners Prayer” details hardships and anxiety with barely a sliver of hope while “So Ready” puts a funky bass line on top of a thick click track amid queries like “Can someone heal my soul?” Despair is everywhere and even a brief mid-album oasis — “I’m Feeling Love” — seems to come with a poisoned well.

Both the unrelenting “My Walk” and the hypnotic “Glory to the Veins” are heartrending, made even more so by mentions of Jimmy Lee and another of Saadiq’s deceased brothers.

The striking “Rikers Island” and a follow-up monologue by actor Daniel J. Watts pull no punches in expressing the injustices of the prison system and society at large — “Wake up, America, and hurry.” Along with “Rearview,” featuring Kendrick Lamar and reflections like “How can I change the world but can’t change myself,” they form a powerful statement sounding like an update of Marvin Gaye’s “What Going On.”

Raphael Saadiq’s albums, collaborations and productions are typically top tier but his ability to connect the personal with the universal turns “Jimmy Lee” into a career milestone and places it notches above the rest of the field.

Suspected Blue Bell Ice Cream Licker Arrested

Texas Man Accused Of Criminal Mischief In Blue Bell Licking

(Port Arthur, TX) — A Texas man is accused of criminal mischief on claims he filmed himself licking a Blue Bell ice cream container and putting it back. D’Adrien Anderson was arrested last night in Port Arthur then bonded out. Jefferson County prosecutors say the 24-year-old licked the ice cream container earlier this week at a Walmart, then put it back in the freezer. Walmart says Anderson ended up buying the same container, but they still had to toss out their entire stock of Blue Bell. Anderson could get a year in jail and a four-thousand-dollar fine.

Dave Chappelle Set To Host Benefit Concert For Ohio Shooting

The organizers say the event will be an effort to “reclaim” the entertainment district after 24-year-old Connor Betts’ 32-second rampage in front of Ned Peppers that killed nine people and left 27 injured on Aug. 4.

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Comedian Dave Chappelle plans to host a special block party and benefit concert in southwest Ohio for those affected by the recent mass shooting.

Chappelle will be among national and local entertainers planned for the main stage at the “Gem City Shine” event in Dayton on Sunday.

WDTN-TV reports the City of Dayton along with the Downtown Dayton Partnership and the Chamber of Commerce will help organize the tribute.

The organizers say the event will be an effort to “reclaim” the entertainment district after 24-year-old Connor Betts’ 32-second rampage in front of Ned Peppers that killed nine people and left 27 injured on Aug. 4.

The resident of nearby Yellow Springs urges attendees to “live in the moment” by enjoying the experience live rather than recording it on their cellphones.

Fans Choose Sides In The ‘Chicken Sandwich War’ Of Our Time

“We Didn’t Invent The Chicken, Just The Chicken Sandwich!” Chick-fil-A bragged on Twitter. “Bun + Chicken + Pickles = all the (heart emoji) for the original.”

NEW YORK (AP) — A nation already polarized finds itself divided once again, but this time politics isn’t at the heart of it: The blame lies squarely on a fried piece of poultry.

People are choosing sides and beefing over chicken, thanks to Popeyes’ release of its crispy chicken sandwich and the social media debate that has followed. With just one addition to a fast-food menu, the hierarchy of chicken sandwiches in America was rattled, and the supremacy of Chick-fil-A and others was threatened.

It’s been a trending topic on social media, fans have weighed in with YouTube commentaries and memes, and some have reported long lines just to get a taste of the new sandwich

“Our grandchildren will ask us where we were when the great Chicken War of 2019 began,” Twitter user @MilesRodrigo1 declared.

While Popeyes has been selling chicken for a long time, the chain was a contender in the bone-in, skin-on, fried-chicken space, not the fried, boneless, skinless cutlet on a bun.

Popeyes announced the new sandwich on Twitter last week with hyperbole that would soon define the social media commotion to come: “Chicken. Brioche. Pickles. New. Sandwich. Popeyes. Nationwide. So. Good. Forgot. How. Speak. In. Complete. Sandwiches. I mean, sentences.”

And from that moment, it was ON. People began ardently advocating for their favorite sandwich, whether it be the new-kid-on-the-block Popeyes one, or the OG Wendy’s or Chick-fil-A versions.

And the social media managers for the companies reveled in the green light to talk smack to each other.

“We Didn’t Invent The Chicken, Just The Chicken Sandwich!” Chick-fil-A bragged on Twitter. “Bun + Chicken + Pickles = all the (heart emoji) for the original.”

To which Wendy’s responded: “Ya’ll out here talking about which of these fools has the second best chicken sandwich.”

Popeye’s quick retort: “Sounds like someone just ate one of our biscuits. Cause ya’ll looking thirsty.” (Which frankly seemed as if they were bragging about dry over-salted biscuits? Wendy’s thought so, too, tweeting, “lol, guess that means the food’s dry as the jokes.”)

As the week wore on, people debated on social media, in chat rooms, in person.

And even though the topic was the chicken, there were political overtones, with some throwing their backing to Popeyes because they disagreed with Chick-fil-A’s opposition to LGBTQ rights and its chief executive’s derogatory comments about same-sex marriage. (Though the chain has insisted that it has “no political or social agenda.”)

Even the weighty New Yorker chimed in: Food writer Helen Rosner called Popeyes’ new edition “simply beautiful” in a commentary titled “The Popeyes Chicken Sandwich is Here To Save America.”

But why has the meager poultry sandwich riveted a nation so? Why do people have such intense feelings about a fried chicken cutlet on a bun?

Nancy Hopkins, former food director of Better Homes & Gardens magazine, and a veteran food editor for over 20 years, has this to say: “America loves anything crunchy, salty, crackly, and good. And Americans love chicken . just about any way.”

“But this sandwich is simple and straight to the point,” she said. “We love fried chicken, but we don’t make it at home and we love it as a splurge. The sandwich seems less guilty. The thought of it fitting nicely on a bun seems better for us. It is just simpler all the way around. Pressure fried chicken, a pickle, and a bun.”

In February Bon Appetit ran a story about why fried chicken sandwiches were so popular, and traced the answer to a creation in the 1960s by Chick-fil-A’s founder, Atlanta restaurateur S. Truett Cathy. In the ensuing years everyone from fast-food chains to renowned chefs started offering their version of the fried-chicken sandwich, with many garnering praise and a devoted following.

In 2011 David Chang opened cult-favorite Fuku in New York, a restaurant centered on the beauty of fried-chicken sandwiches. Shake Shack rolled out their super popular take on the sandwich nationally in summer 2016 to high acclaim.

Popeyes has certainly come out a winner in this latest debate, at least in terms of publicity. Some franchises reported being sold out of the sandwich as ardent fans endured long lines snaking into the street just to get a taste.

Tyler Manchuck of New Canaan, Connecticut, was one of those who tried the sandwich after hearing about the hype. “I figured it would be rude not to go check it out; it’s my obligation as an avid chicken sandwich connoisseur,” he said.

He decided to get the spicy (it also comes in classic). Once he bit into it, he said he “had an almost out of body experience. The new bun, that sauce gives it the edge. In the realm of fast food, Popeyes’ chicken sandwich definitely has the advantage.”

Still, Chick-fil-A, Wendy’s and other restaurants have their devoted fans, and the Great Chicken Debate is far from being settled.

Perhaps that’s fitting in this day and age. As Twitter user @cHolidaydds said: “There’s nothing more American than being divided over something. This week it’s a chicken sandwich.”

Safe Passages For DC Students

The Mayor’s office has partnered with local organizations to keep students safe and they travel to and from school. District students head back to school Monday, September 3rd.

With “back to school” just three days away for the District’s public school students, staying safe on the way to and from school is a priority. As such, Mayor Bowser and her administration have launched what it calls “A Safe Spot” initiative, a partisanship among the city, faith based organizations, and local businesses to provide safe spaces for students along their travel routes to school.  Monday is the first day of classes for DC public school students.

Sarah Sanders Heads To Fox News As A Contributor

Sanders was press secretary for Trump from July 2017 through June 2019, quarreling with reporters who aggressively questioned her about any number of controversies involving the president.

NEW YORK (AP) — Former White House press secretary , long an ardent defender of President Donald Trump, is joining the broadcast organization long favored by the first viewer.

Fox News says Sanders has been hired to provide political commentary and analysis across all its properties, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network and the radio and podcast division.

Sanders was press secretary for Trump from July 2017 through June 2019, quarreling with reporters who aggressively questioned her about any number of controversies involving the president.

In a statement, Sanders says she is “beyond proud” to join Fox. She will make her debut on “Fox & Friends” Sept. 6.

‘Power’ Heads Toward Its Finale, But Its Influence Grows

“When people say, ‘Are you shocked about how popular this show is?’ — I was less shocked because he told us it would be this,” said Joseph Sikora of Jackson’s vision for the series. Sikora plays Tommy Egan, the lifelong best friend and business partner of Ghost, who find themselves at odds after Tommy shot Ghost’s girlfriend in the previous season.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — With his characteristic bravado, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson believed in “Power” so much that he predicted the series would become a massive hit to cast members even before the first episode aired five years ago.

Since then, Jackson has joyfully watched as his words have come to fruition. The original series has become a ratings juggernaut and Starz network says it is the most-watched show in the cable network’s history.

“Power” kicks off its sixth and final season Sunday night, but the gritty series isn’t going anywhere. Starz has at least two spinoffs in the works.

“I like anticipating success,” said Jackson, the show’s executive producer who also played the role of Kanan. “I don’t work on projects feeling like there’s a possibility for failure, because I don’t think you can work hard on a project feeling like it can just fail.”

“Power” stars Omari Hardwick as James “Ghost” St. Patrick who is trying to escape his life as a drug kingpin and go legit with a legal business, but his gangster-mentality wife and best friend still want him to run their drug operation. He struggles with the double life he’s created by dating a federal prosecutor.

Jackson was already a rap star who then tried to parlay his success into a film and television career. At first, he wasn’t taken seriously. He stumbled with some other projects, but he remained so confident in “Power” that it rubbed off on everyone else, and ultimately millions of viewers.

“When people say, ‘Are you shocked about how popular this show is?’ — I was less shocked because he told us it would be this,” said Joseph Sikora of Jackson’s vision for the series. Sikora plays Tommy Egan, the lifelong best friend and business partner of Ghost, who find themselves at odds after Tommy shot Ghost’s girlfriend in the previous season.

“Omari and I met him at the same time, he gave us a big hug and basically broke everything down,” Sikora recalled. “He didn’t say, ‘I think this is going to happen.’ He said, ‘This is going to happen and this will, too.’ Then everything happened. … He spoke it into existence.”

“Power” built a cult following for its take on the glamorous and gung-ho gangster lifestyle, twisted love triangles and violent drug deals gone wrong.

Hardwick said the story line in “Power” resonated with viewers the same way HBO’s “Game of Thrones” did.

“But they have books,” he said. “I’m proud that we were able to create the book. There was no book. We created it with the help of incredible writing and fellow cast mates.”

Hardwick said fans of the series’ characters have a love-hate relationship toward them. He acknowledged that his character has received mixed praise, but his other cast mates including Lela Loren — who plays his girlfriend Angela Valdes — have faced blatant threats over the years that sent her into therapy.

“How many times have Tommy and Ghost been mentioned in a song?” he asked. “It was culturally shifting. But there’s another side. For people to follow Lela in the bathroom, it was sometimes negative. We have an 18-year-old on the cast who started at 12, and he’s getting hate mail at that level. … But that’s how much people are invested in this show.”

Starz is banking on viewers to invest even more.

″‘Power’ has been an absolute monster. There’s nothing else bigger on television right now,” said Starz COO Jeffrey Hirsch, who noted the series helped build the network as a destination to watch original content. He gave credit to Jackson and the show’s creator Courtney Kemp, whom he says helped lead a team to keep “the audience in every episode with cliffhangers.”

“Power” will air its final season in two parts. The first 10-episode installment begins Sunday and the concluding five episodes will start airing in January.

The series will come to an end, but several spinoffs are planned to be part of a collection of new shows inspired by the world of “Power.” The first is titled “Power Book II: Ghost,” which will feature Grammy-winning singer and actress Mary J. Blige.

Jackson said “Power Book II” will pick up soon after “Power” ends. He said in the new version “we’ll see the aftermath of what happens in the season six finale.”

Jackson is also planning other “Power” prequels including “Raising Kanan,” based on his popular character Kanan who was killed in season five.

“It will show the influences from the ’90s, where Kanan was growing up and how the activities in the neighborhood groomed him into who he was in ‘Power,’” he said.

Along with “Power” spinoffs, Jackson wants to develop a project on Starz focused on the Black Mafia Family. The story would delve into the backstory of Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory, who started the drug trafficking and money laundering organization in Detroit before intersecting it with the hip-hop music scene.

The plethora of shows is a part of Jackson’s plan to take over Starz.

“As (Starz) becomes a household necessity like HBO, you’ll see faces that look like ours consistently on it,” he said. “It’ll become more of a diverse leading cast than what you would find on HBO. They want to house that content here. It’ll become the place that people who enjoy ‘Power’ and enjoy the programming on Starz.”

___

Associated Press writer Gary Gerard Hamilton contributed to this report from New York.

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Jonathan Landrum Jr. on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MrLandrum31

Police Search For Motive In Douglass Bridge Fatal Stabbing

A 62-year-old inspection supervisor of the new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge was stabbed to death Thursday. A man is in custody, with no motive for the stabbing released at this time.

Why was a bridge inspector stabbed to death while on the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge yesterday evening? That’s what DC police are trying to determine today.
Police say Lance Ammons, of no fixed address, was arrested and charged with the murder of  62-year-old Robert Bolich of Alexandria.  The stabbing happened on the walkway of the bridge during rush hour.  Police say the suspect was not a bridge worker.  Robert Bolich was a inspection supervisor for HNTB Corporation, a company working on the re-design of the Douglass Bridge.

Skins Win

Washington’s football beat the Falcons in Atlanta Thursday night for its first win of the preseason. Jordan Reed left the game with a concussion.

The Skins got their first victory of the preseason with a 19-7 win over the Atlanta Falcons. But the team may have lost tight end Jordan Reed for a while. Reed suffered a concussion in last nights game. Running back Derrius Guice saw action for the first time since missing is rookie season after tearing up his knee in last year’s preseason opener.  The Burgundy and Gold’s final preseason contest is next Thursday against the Ravens at FedEx Field.

Fatal Hit & Run In Fairfax

One person is dead after being struck in a hit and run accident in Fairfax. Police say the suspect who struck the victim left the scene.

A person is dead after an overnight hit and run in Fairfax.
The incident happened around 11 p.m. on Fair Lakes Circle near the Kohl’s shopping center. Police say the driver that struck the victim left the scene.  Authorities are searching for a suspect who they believe was driving a red Hyundai Sedan with possible front end damage.

Lyfe Jennings, Freddie Jackson and Boyz II Men Headline this Weekends Events in DC

There are some great shows to check out this weekend in the DMV.

Weekend Haps

 

  • Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club presents Lyfe Jennings Shows start at 8pm.

  • Freddie Jackson performs at the Birchmere tomorrow evening and then on Sunday  catch Chante Moore.  Both shows are at 7:30pm

 

  • Boyz II Men performs this Saturday night at the The Theater at MGM National Harbor. Show time is 8pm.

  • City Winery presents PJ Morgan Sunday night.Doors open at 6pm and the show kicks off at 8pm. 
    • DAR Constitution Hall presents An Night of Class with Dionne Warwick, Deniece Williams and Peabo Bryson. Saturday night at 8pm.

     

    • Living A Healthier Life Together Health Expo hosted by the First Baptist Church of Glenarden is Saturday, August 24thfrom 10am to 3pm at 600 Watkins Park Drive in Upper Marlboro. More info here:

     

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 connected.

 

Listen to this mornings segment here:

Reporters’ Roundtable

News analysis of the top stories of the week. Jay-Z, the NFL and the police protests, New York Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo fired… five years after the death of Eric Garner, DC considering early release of some inmates,  Nazi salutes and songs at a California high school and  the 400th anniversary of 1619.

We are at the Reporters’ Roundtable with analysis of the top stories of the past week.  The topics include Jay-Z, the NFL and the police protests, New York Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo fired… five years after the death of Eric Garner, DC considering early release of some inmates,  Nazi salutes and songs at a California high school and  the 400th anniversary of 1619.

Keith Alexander, The Washington Post
Micha Green, The Afro-American Newspapers

Dr. Cleo Manago, Social & Political Analyst

What’s Your Flavor? FREE Ice Cream

“Here’s the Scoop” customers standing in line at the ice cream and dessert shop were super excited to know they were getting hooked up with their favorite flavors.

https://youtu.be/SUbcGGeHmjQ

Washington, D.C. (Thursday, August 22, 2019) – I Scream. You Scream.  We All Scream for Ice Cream.  Nothing is better on a hot August day than ice cream.  WHUR and Wells Fargo made the summertime favorite even better today by treating more than 140 customers at “Here’s the Scoop” on Georgia Avenue in NW, to free ice cream cones.

It’s all part of the WHUR and Wells Fargo “Pay It Forward Thursdays,” a weekly initiative designed to spur kindness in the DMV.  WHUR and Wells Fargo team members have been popping up at businesses across the region for the past five weeks to pay the bills of unsuspecting customers.

“Here’s the Scoop” customers standing in line at the ice cream and dessert shop were super excited to know they were getting hooked up with their favorite flavors.

You just never know where we will pop up next.  In the meantime, make sure you’re doing something to make the DMV  just a bit more kinder.  #PayItForwardWHUR #WhereWeLiveDC #WHURFM

More random acts of kindness here…

Last Preseason Game For Washington

Washington To Visit Falcons Tonight

(Atlanta, GA) — The Redskins are in search of their first preseason win. Washington will have a chance when they visit the Falcons tonight. The Redskins are 0-and-2 on the preseason. It will be another opportunity to see rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins in action. Haskins is reportedly set to back up Case Keenum in Week One of the regular season.

Planned Parenthood Seeks Cash After Bailing From US Program

“We believe there will be a public health crisis created by this denial of care,” said Sarah Stoesz, the Minnesota-based president of Planned Parenthood North Central States. “It’s a very sad day for the country.”

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Planned Parenthood clinics in several states are charging new fees, tapping financial reserves, intensifying fundraising and warning of more unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases after its decision to quit a $260 million federal family planning program in an abortion dispute with the Trump administration.

The fallout is especially intense in Utah, where Planned Parenthood has been the only provider participating in the nearly 50-year-old Title X family planning program and will now lose about $2 million yearly in federal funds that helped 39,000 mostly low-income, uninsured people. It plans to maintain its services — which include contraception, STD testing and cancer screening — but is considering charging a small copay for patients who used to get care for free.

Planned Parenthood in Minnesota is in a similar situation, serving about 90% of the state’s Title X patients, and plans to start charging fees due to the loss of $2.6 million in annual funding.

The organization is concerned about the spread of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

“We believe there will be a public health crisis created by this denial of care,” said Sarah Stoesz, the Minnesota-based president of Planned Parenthood North Central States. “It’s a very sad day for the country.”

Planned Parenthood and several other providers withdrew from the program earlier this week rather than comply with a newly implemented rule prohibiting participating clinics from referring women for abortions.

Anti-abortion activists who form a key part of President Donald Trump’s base have been campaigning to “defund Planned Parenthood.” Among its varied services it is a major abortion provider, and the activists viewed the grants as an indirect subsidy.

About 4 million women are served nationwide by the Title X program, which makes up a much bigger portion of Planned Parenthood’s patients than abortion. But the organization said it could not abide by the abortion-referral rules because it says they would make it impossible for doctors to do their jobs.

Mindy Dotson, a single mother in Utah, started going to Planned Parenthood as doctors’ bills for treating recurring yeast infections mounted. The services became even more important when she gave up her employer-sponsored health insurance because she couldn’t afford the $500 monthly bill.

She is unsure what she’d do if the family planning services she gets stop.

“It would put me in a very dangerous position,” said Dotson, who works as an executive assistant for an accounting and consulting firm. “It covers so many things: STD testing, emergency contraception, birth control, lifesaving cancer screenings … you name it, they have treated me for it.”

Planned Parenthood said it’s dedicated to maintaining its current services in Utah, but CEO Karrie Galloway acknowledged it won’t be easy and could cause some “pain on all sides.”

She said the organization plans to lean heavily on donors to make up the funding gap while staff members assess how they’ll cope. Among the possibilities are instituting copays of $10-$15 per visit, shortening hours and trimming spending. She doesn’t plan to lay off staff, but said she may not be able to fill jobs when people leave or retire.

Minnesota is planning fees as well.

“We’ll continue to offer all services, and keep clinic doors open, but we’ll be charging patients on a sliding scale who we didn’t charge before,” Stoesz said. “Vulnerable people who previously were able to access birth control and STD testing for free will no longer be able to do so.”

Elsewhere, the impact of Planned Parenthood’s withdrawal will vary from state to state.

Governments in some states, including Hawaii, Illinois, New York and Vermont, say they will try to replace at least some of the lost federal funding. In the Deep South there will be little impact because Planned Parenthood did not provide Title X services in most of the region’s states.

The chief operating officer for Planned Parenthood of the Greater Northwest and Hawaiian Islands, Rebecca Gibron, said Southern Idaho could be hit hard by the changes, with other health care providers in the area saying they can’t fill the gap if the roughly 1,000 low-income women served by Planned Parenthood in Twin Falls are no longer able to receive care.

“This was not money that can simply be made up by raising dollars from donors,” Gibron said. “We have rent to pay, we have staff salaries … there are limits to what we are able to do in terms of providing free care without the Title X program.”

Gibron said Planned Parenthood is working with Washington state officials in hopes of securing “bridge funding” to keep operating more than 20 Title X clinics serving roughly 90,000 people.

“We’re going to do everything we can to provide care for patients in the same way, but we know that it’s not sustainable and we’re looking at all of our options,” she said.

Among other providers withdrawing from Title X is Maine Family Planning, which oversees a network that serves about 23,000 patients per year and will be losing $1.8 million in annual funding. Its CEO, George Hill, said the organization will rely on reserves and intensify fundraising efforts to bridge the gap while seeking more aid from the state.

In anticipation of the changes, Democrats in neighboring New Hampshire added about $3.2 million in the state budget they passed earlier this year to make up for the federal funding. But that’s on hold after Republican Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed the budget in June for other reasons.

Planned Parenthood will continue to participate in Medicaid, the federal health-coverage program for low-income Americans. That’s Planned Parenthood’s biggest source of government funding — about $400 million or more annually in recent years. The Republican-controlled legislatures in Texas, Iowa and Missouri have taken steps to block that flow of funds in their states.

Maryann Martindale, executive director of the Utah Academy of Family Physicians, said most Title X clients slightly too much money to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford employer-based or private health insurance.

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Crary reported from New York. Associated Press writers Brady McCombs in Salt Lake City; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire; and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.

‘America’s Got Talent’ Continues Summer Dominance For NBC

“America’s Got Talent” still has the capacity to create big moments online, too. A clip of contestant Kodi Lee singing a version of “A Song For You” has been viewed nearly 432 million times online, NBC said.

NEW YORK (AP) — “America’s Got Talent” wasn’t content with just the top spot in the Nielsen company’s rankings of the most popular television programs last week. This time it took the top two.

First place is familiar territory for NBC’s talent competition. It has been the most-watched summer series for six straight years and the No. 1 alternative summer series for all 14 years that it has been on the air.

The dominance continues even though the show is slipping in popularity, which is typical of most TV series these days. “AGT” averages 11.4 million viewers live and within a week of an episode’s premiere, down 18% from last year, Nielsen said.

Still, that’s almost 4 million viewers more than the second-ranked show of the summer, ABC’s “Bachelorette,” which had 7.5 million viewers within a week of its premiere this summer.

The summer’s ratings illustrate how scripted series are fading as a factor, after a couple of years where networks tried to attract viewers with a handful of new shows. Last summer the second-ranked show was the CBS drama “Code Black,” with 8.8 million viewers. The most-watched scripted series this summer has been reruns of CBS’ “NCIS,” at 5.6 million, Nielsen said.

NBC won the week in prime time, averaging 3.6 million viewers. CBS had 3.4 million, ABC had 2.9 million, Fox had 2.4 million, ION Television had 1.4 million, Univision had 980,000, Univision had 950,000 and the CW had 580,000.

Fox News Channel was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 2.36 million viewers in prime time. MSNBC had 1.54 million, HGTV had 1.2 million, USA had 1.13 million and Hallmark had 1.11 million.

ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” was second with 7.2 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5 million viewers.

For the week of Aug. 12-18, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: “America’s Got Talent” (Tuesday), NBC, 9.1 million; “America’s Got Talent” (Wednesday), NBC, 7.9 million; “60 Minutes,” CBS, 7.11 million; NFL Exhibition Football: Seattle at Minnesota, Fox, 5.3 million; “Celebrity Family Feud,” ABC, 5.06 million; “American Ninja Warrior,” NBC, 4.76 million; “Big Brother” (Sunday), CBS, 4.72 million; “The $100,000 Pyramid,” ABC, 4.42 million; “NCIS,” CBS, 4.4 million; “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” ABC, 4.37 million.

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ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is owned by CBS Corp. CW is a joint venture of Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp. Fox is owned by 21st Century Fox. NBC and Telemundo are owned by Comcast Corp. ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks.