Google and the White House are working together now, but they're still not describing the same website.
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Sunday, March 15, 2020
Hospitality Workers Impacted Greatly by Coronavirus Scare
While professional athletes, business owners, and executives are losing money due to the coronavirus outbreak, the most impacted individuals are service workers employed by the hospitality venues that are supported by professional sports, according to Forbes.
Cancellations, postponements, and/or the suspension of professional sports and entertainment events within the last several days have greatly affected the hospitality industry. Service workers who are hourly employees now find themselves temporarily out of work and struggling due to the pandemic.
Service workers don’t have the luxury of getting regular weekly pay, especially when it comes to sporting events and performances. Teams go in and out of town and there aren’t always concerts or shows happening on a daily basis. Employees don’t oftentimes work full weeks, unless, of course, it’s enhanced when sports teams reach the playoffs, which extends the opportunity to make a heftier salary. This includes the food and beverage vendors, the ushers, the custodial staff, and anyone else who is strictly a seasonal employee who only gets paid when events take place within the venue.
According to data compiled in May 2018 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average yearly income for most jobs within Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations nationally amounts to approximately $25,000. In comparison, the national average salary across all jobs is $51,960. Many food and beverage employees at sports venues would fit into the food occupation descriptions referenced at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The hotel and restaurant industries experience a major dent when one-off sporting events are canceled. Typically, because many of these events, from conference championship tournaments to NCAA championship tournaments in basketball, hockey, and wrestling, can draw crowds where up to 70%–95% of the attendees are visiting from other cities and states.
It also should be stated that local communities and businesses get a chance to make more money due to the increased traffic to sporting and entertainment events as well. So, not only do the professional and/or entertainment venues suffer when there are cancellations, all surrounding businesses take a hit as well.
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Democrats and Republicans debate over renaming post office after Maya Angelou
An effort to rename a post office after award-winning poet and Civil Rights activist Maya Angelou became a topic of intense debate on Capitol Hill.
House of Representatives tackles the names of post offices on more lax days, which typically are known to be unanimous decisions no matter who suggests the proposition.
NBC News reports the details of two new post offices, one in California with a unanimous 381-0 vote in an effort to change to “Medal of Honor” post office. But the second, a post office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina was opposed by 9 republican voters and one submitting as present, resulting in a pass of only 371 votes.
READ MORE: Rep. Ilhan Omar responds to Trump rally ‘send her back’ chant with Maya Angelou verse
“While Maya Angelou did many good things in her life, Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-5) did not believe it appropriate to name an American Post Office after a communist sympathizer and thereby honor a person who openly opposed America’s interest by supporting Fidel Castro and his regime of civil rights suppression, torture, and murder of freedom-loving Cubans,” Lauren Vandiver, a spokesperson for Brooks, said in a statement.
The nine opposing Republican voters were GOP Reps Mo Brooks of Alabama, Ken Buck of Colorado, Michael Burgess of Texas, Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin, Andy Harris of Maryland, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Alex Mooney of West Virginia, and Steven Palazzo of Mississippi. Rep. Don Young of Alaska was the present voter.
READ MORE: Fidel Castro was an ally to some black revolutionaries
The sentiment echoed among other Republican lawmakers.
“Congressman Harris voted against the Maya Angelou post office naming because she was a communist sympathizer,” Shelby Hodgkins, a spokesperson in the office of Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md. wrote in a statement.
In response Rep. Steve Israel, D-Ny. stated:
“Naming post offices is one of the most benign and bipartisan duties we perform in the House of Representatives, and there is rarely any opposition. That’s why I was shocked today as nine Republicans voted against naming a post office after Maya Angelou, indisputably one of our country’s greatest poets, authors, and civil rights activists. The fact that these nine Members would cast a no vote shows a blatant disrespect and only adds to the damaging actions they’ve taken this year to reverse progress from long and hard-fought civil rights battles.”
Maya Angelou was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. During the tributes former president Barack Obama described her as “one of the brightest lights of our time,” BBC reports. Angelou also read at the 1993 inauguration of former president Bill Clinton. Angelou was honored on a postage stamp after she passed in Winston-Salem in 2014.
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New York state assembly members test positive for coronavirus
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday evening two members of the New York State Assembly have tested positive for coronavirus.
The two members are Helene Weinstein and Charles Barron, who both are Brooklyn-based and not left their districts since early March.
“We have spoken with the Senate and are undertaking an intensive cleaning of the Capital and the Legislative Office Building. All legislators and staff that have come in contact with these members will be tested to ensure the safety of everyone,” Cuomo in a statement released on social media.
“We are working hand in glove to contain and mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 in New York, but we will continue to act aggressively to protect the public health,” Cuomo added.
READ MORE: NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo drops N-Word on live radio to point out anti-Italian slurs
Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte spoke with The New York Post revealing Weinstein is doing well, but Barron needed hospitalization.
“I sent Charles and his wife a note. We’re praying for him,” Bichotte said. “I was with Charles recently. He looks fine. He looked as healthy as ever.”
Additional assembly members told The Post they found out about the confirmed cases of coronavirus on Twitter.
Following the two member’s diagnoses, the governor has closed the state capitol beginning Sunday.
READ MORE: New York state legislator’s bill seeks to outlaw hymen exams
Cuomo also participated in a press call stating lawmakers in Albany could possibly get the virus.
“In terms of getting the budget done, this is a situation where we have to anticipate, and you have several hundred legislators at risk of infection — if the rate of infection is anything that we believe it to be, there will be legislators who will contract the virus,” Cuomo said.
Gov. Cuomo has declared a state of emergency for the state, while New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has also made the declaration for the city, The Hill reports.
John Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering has confirmed 525 cases of the virus in the state resulting in two deaths. WNBC-TV reports the deaths of a 64-year-old Rockland County man and an 82-year-old New York City woman.
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Simone Biles calls out USA Gymnastics after they wish her happy birthday
Simone Biles flipped a birthday wish from the USA Gymnastics Twitter account into a request for an independent investigation into Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse scandal.
Biles, the Olympic gold medalist, turned 23-years-old on Saturday but is not letting the scandal get buried in a birthday wish.
READ MORE: Simone Biles: Will she be the first female gymnast to perform risky vault in competition?
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the most decorated gymnast of all time, @simonebiles! We know you will only continue to amaze us and make history!” USAG tweeted.
“how about you amaze me and do the right thing… have an independent investigation,” Biles responded.
how about you amaze me and do the right thing… have an independent investigation https://t.co/58Gc9QUk76
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) March 14, 2020
Nassar is currently serving an effective life sentence for conviction of child pornography and sexual misconduct charges. CNN reports, Nassar, a former heralded sports physician for the USAG national team and Michigan State University, sexually abused over 150 women and girls across two decades.
READ MORE: Father of Larry Nassar’s victims leaps to attack him in court
USAG has offered a $215 million settlement for Nassar’s sexual abuse survivors. The offer was given in January, allowing the survivors to vote as a group to accept the settlement or to continue to pursue their lawsuits.
As a survivor, Biles has been critical of the offer and requested an independent investigation by the USAG and the US Olympic and Paralympic committees.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the USAG did not share the findings of an investigation of the doctor’s abuse with Biles, although she was one of the first athletes to raise a red flag about the doctor’s abuse. The report states USAG ignored the possibility Biles was sexually abused by Nassar.
“Can’t tell you how hard this is to read and process,” Biles wrote in a November tweet. “The pain is real and doesn’t just go away … especially when new facts are still coming out.”
“What’s it going to take, for a complete and independent investigation of both (the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee) and USAG?” she added.
A congressional investigation as detailed in 2019 stating multiple entities including the FBI and US Olympic Committee “failed” in stopping Nassar’s abuse.
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Brothers looking to profit off coronavirus now stuck with 17,000 bottles of hand sanitizer
With coronavirus spreading across the world, brothers Matt and Noah Colvin planned to resell antibacterial wipes and hand sanitizers in efforts to make a ton of money off the nation’s hysteria.
The Colvin brothers first started to stock up wipes and sanitizers by traveling through Tennessee and Kentucky when the first U.S. coronavirus case was reported on March 1.
Their trek led them to buy out the available stock of a Dollar Tree, Walmart, Staples, Home Depot and places described as “little hole-in-the-wall dollar stores in the backwoods,” The New York Times reported.
READ MORE: Louisiana father claims he was arrested outside of Walmart for cursing at son
Early sales of the bottles proved successful as the first 300 bottles sold between $8 and $70 apiece, considered to be multiples higher than the purchasing point.
With money rolling in, the brothers would hit a hitch as online retailers like Amazon and eBay would notice price gouging tactics and pulled the items. They now have a garage filled with over 17,000 bottles of hand sanitizer that they are unable to sell.
“It’s been a huge amount of whiplash,” Matt Colvin said “From being in a situation where what I’ve got coming and going could potentially put my family in a really good place financially to ‘What the heck am I going to do with all of this?’”
READ MORE: New York State prisoners to make hand sanitizers to combat coronavirus
Amazon restricted third-party vendors from selling health and sanitation products this past Wednesday to combat price gouging and deceptive marketing.
“You are receiving this message because you are currently selling, or have previously sold, products such as disposable face masks, hand sanitizers, disinfecting wipes/sprays, isopropyl alcohol or related products,” a message obtained by The Verge reads. “We have implemented more stringent requirements to sell these products in our store and as a result, your offers have been removed. We are not accepting applications to sell these products at this time.”
This past Thursday, eBay would also alert sellers listings for masks and sanitation products would also be restricted due to price gouging, The Los Angeles Times reports.
“eBay is taking significant measures to block or quickly remove items on our marketplace that make false health claims,” spokeswoman Ashley Settle said in a statement. “We are making every effort to ensure that anyone who sells on our platform follows local laws and eBay policies.”
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Erykah Badu wears stylish hazmat suit to accept award: ‘Social distancing couture’
Erykah Badu’s eccentric style became coronavirus chic as she attended the Austin Film Society’s Texas Film Awards in Austin Texas on Thursday in a designer hazmat suit.
The Grammy-winning singer wore what she called a “Bootleg Hazmat,” an element of her own “social distancing couture.” The suit was branded with Louis Vuitton logos, spray-painted in black and red.
The bootleg hazmat was accented with a mask, gloves, visor, feathers booties, and a beat face.
READ MORE: Erykah Badu’s $50 vagina-scented incense sells out in minutes
Badu was on hand to accept the Filmmakers/Soundtrack award celebrating “her many roles in film, writing, directing and editing in all her own videos for the past 22 years,” ETCanada reports.
With the coronavirus, COVID-19 officially named a pandemic by the World Health Organization, additional celebrities have been spotted in hazmat suits as they continue their work.
READ MORE: Trump declares national emergency in response to coronavirus pandemic
America’s Got Talent panelist Howie Mandel was spotted in a suit as he arrived for filming in California. Dressed in a white suit, Mandel also wore a gas mask and orange rubber gloves. According to TMZ, Mandel’s AGT’s co-worker Heidi Klum went home from filming on Tuesday due to an illness, however, it is not suspected to be coronavirus.
Iconic model Naomi Campbell also was spotted in a hazmat suit as she traveled from LA to NYC, wearing an N95 face mask and a pair of pink latex gloves. Page Six also notes a camel cape that she wears on top of the suit.
Campbell is no stranger to health precautions while traveling. In 2019, she shared a video that shows her using antibacterial wipes to sanitize everything within arms reach of her during a flight.
READ MORE: Supermodel Naomi Campbell takes spotlight at London Fashion Week
News of Campbell also wearing a suit made it to Mandel, who shared a picture of both stars while asking “Who wore it better?”
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Serena Williams announces six-week self isolation
Forgoing her enormously busy schedule as a 23-Grand Slam-winning tennis icon, fashion designer and serial entrepreneur, Serena Williams, shared her decision of only being with her husband Alexis Ohanian and 2-year-old daughter Olympia during the coronavirus outbreak.
“Spending the next 6 weeks in solitude. Being a wife. Being a mom. Cooking. Cleaning. Spring cleaning,” Williams said in an Instagram video. Face mask. Makeup tutorials. I’ll let you know how it goes…. stay safe everyone. This is serious.”
READ MORE: Serena Williams shares vulnerable message about the challenges of being a working mom
In January, Williams participated in the 2020 Australian Open and also the Fed Cup a month later. The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has the upcoming Miami Open and the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, South Carolina, CBS Sports reports. Two additional international tournaments have been canceled with a decision for the European clay-court tournaments coming in the next week. The men’s tennis tour is currently on a six-week suspension.
The virus currently is rapidly spreading across the world, leading to a shut down of major sports and businesses. Late Saturday evening, Detroit Pistons forward Christian Wood tested positive for the virus, ESPN reports.
READ MORE: Zion Williamson, other NBA players pledge to cover salaries of arena workers
Wood became the third player in the NBA to test positive for the virus since Wednesday. After originally deciding to play games without crowds, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus, prompting tests for his teammates and other players he may have come in contact with.
Wood and the Pistons were one of the teams that faced the Jazz, losing 111-105 last Saturday. Previously, Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell was named to have the coronavirus. The Raptors announced all of their tests came back negative.
Along with tennis and the NBA, the NHL and soccer leagues across the world have been canceled. The 2020 men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments have also been canceled.
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Ken Chenault Leaving Facebook Board; Appointed First Black Berkshire Hathaway Director
Former American Express CEO Kenneth I. Chenault announced Friday that he was “stepping down” from the board of Facebook Inc. On the same day, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed the nomination of the world-renowned corporate leader to its board, making him the first African American ever to serve as a director of the conglomerate. Chenault will replace departing Berkshire Hathaway board member Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft Corp. and billionaire philanthropist.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Chenault, a member of the Black Enterprise Registry of Corporate Directors who became the first African American to sit on the social media giant’s board, decided not to seek re-election to the body due to differences with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg related to “governance and political policies.”
The news came days after Facebook announced the appointment of The Estée Lauder Companies’ CFO Tracey Travis. She will join Peggy Alford, Senior Vice President of Core Markets for PayPal Holdings as the second African American female director to serve on its board. Alford became the first black woman appointed to the Facebook board last year. Chenault, who currently serves as Chairman and Managing Director of Silicon Valley-based VC firm General Catalyst, will continue his role as director until the company’s next annual meeting.
Chenault wrote in a post on Facebook’s Newsroom site: “Facebook plays an important role in the lives of people around the world. During the timeI served on the board, the company made progress in dealing with new challenges and continues its reach and to grow as a business…”
“I am stepping down from the board because I have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work more closely with my friend Warren Buffett, the Berkshire Hathaway board and management team. I believe good corporate governing entails limiting the number of board commitments for any director.”
According to Reuters, Chenault gained his nomination to the board of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate that Buffett built, due to his emergence as a •standout and unanimous choice” after it governance committee reviewed 23 candidates to replace Gates, the world’s second wealthiest man with a net worth of more than $100 billion according to Forbes. Buffett, considered one of the world’s most astute investors, is the fourth wealthiest with a net worth of more than $76 billion.
Chenault is well-known by Buffett. American Express had been one of Berkshire Hathaway’s largest shareholders during Chenault’s 17-year tenure as CEO of the travel and financial services leviathan, from 2001 to 2018.
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UK Viewers Deem KFC’s Latest Ad a “Pluck You” During Coronavirus Scare
With all the discussions centering around avoiding the coronavirus, people are up in arms over KFC’s latest ad featuring its long-standing slogan, “Finger Lickin’ Good,” according to Fox News.
With health officials advising the world’s citizens to wash their hands vigorously to stop the current pandemic, television viewers in the United Kingdom are not too happy with KFC’s recent ad showing that its chicken is finger-lickin’ good The commercial, called “Piano,” shows multiple people licking their fingers while eating in public places. Which, as of right now, is a definite no-no.
KFC has decided to suspend the advertisements using the brand’s classic slogan in the U.K. because the Advertising Standards Authority has reportedly received a multitude of complaints regarding the latest ad, which launched two weeks ago. The ASA has received 163 viewer complaints after the commercial debuted on television, a spokesperson confirmed to Fox News.
The company sent a statement to AdAge, explaining why it pulled the recent commercial: “It doesn’t feel like the right time to be airing this campaign, so we’ve decided to pause it for now—but we’re really proud of it and look forward to bringing it back at a later date.”
Several other companies have pulled their ads that many deem insensitive due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Hershey just pulled an ad that features various people hugging and shaking hands. Coors Light decided to discontinue its “Official Beer of Working Remotely” campaign that was supposed to run through the NCAA Tournament’s March Madness.
Hershey Co. chief marketing officer Jill Baskin told AdAge, “Sadly, we have decided to temporarily replace two of our ads that feature human interaction, that include hugging and handshakes, due to the current sensitivities surrounding the COVID-19 virus. At this time, our ads have been replaced with product-centric spots.”
Watch KFC’s “Piano” ad below.
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