004 - Freedom Ain't Free
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NEWS
COVID went “Haywire” in Atlanta over the weekend, when club promoters threw a pool party in one of the biggest clubs in the city. Imagine, drunk twerking in a temporary pool, in the middle of a club, in the middle of a global pandemic.
Atlanta’s mayor, Keshia Lance Bottoms, has tested positive for COVID, along with her husband and one of her children. She originally noted that she didn’t have any symptoms - but it turns out that she may have mistaken them for seasonal allergies.
Doctors in Houston say there’s a mutated strain of the virus wreaking havoc on the city right now, which is more infectious, but not more deadly than other strains.
Donald Trump attended an Independence Day celebration at Mt. Rushmore, but he was met with protests. Indigenous people believe the Black Hills (where the monument is located) are sacred.
Ghislaine Maxwell, a known associate of Donald Trump and the late Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested for her role in a high profile sex trafficking ring.
Kanye West says he’s no longer supporting Donald Trump, and that he’s running for President because Democrats feel like they own Black votes.
Kanye’s company, Yeezy, was one of many owned by the super-rich who received paycheck protection program loans from the federal government. This comes as many small local businesses are finding out that their applications for the funding have been rejected.
Amy Cooper, the white woman who called the police on a Black man for asking her to keep her dog on a leash, has been charged with making a false report. The man in the case, Christian Cooper, has said that he’s not excited about her being charged, and has not cooperated with officials on the case.
Harvard has announced its reopening plan - they’ve opted for an online-only school year, but have not made any changes to their nearly $50K tuition. President Trump has called this plan “ridiculous”.
ICE has announced that international, non-immigrant students who attend schools with online-only options for instruction will not have their visas renewed. Their options: find a school with in-person instruction, or go back to your home country.
Patrick Mahomes just signed a 10-year contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s the richest deal in sports history.
Colin Kaepernick still hasn’t been given a shot to earn a spot on an NFL squad, but he did sign a first-look production deal with Disney. He, through his production company, will produce content across all Disney platforms including ABC & ESPN.
NOW & NXT.
Over the weekend, at least 6 children died after becoming victims of gun violence.
Hearing these stories doesn’t get any easier, but neither does hearing people try to invalidate the fight against police violence by bringing up inter-community violence.
“Black on Black Crime” is Not real. There’s just crime.
I dive deeper into this on my podcast. Take a listen by clicking here.
That’s all for this week.
Until next time, keep your eyes open.