11/30/23

The Daily Buzz For Dec 1☕πŸ“°☕

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#MAGFAB: Lenny Kravitz Covers ESQUIRE Winter Issue!

As he prepares to drop his first album in five years, with a massive tour to follow, rock and style icon Lenny Kravitz talks candidly about family, faith, sex, love, and legacy. “Lenny Kravitz Wants To Clear a Few Things Up” by ESQUIRE Digital Director Madison Vain is on Esquire.com now and in the new Winter issue, available everywhere by December 5.

On struggling to be taken seriously by the rock-critic establishment: “There was this one article that, at that time, said, ‘If Lenny Kravitz were white, he would be the next savior of rock ’n’ roll.’ I got a lot of negativity thrown at me by all these older white men who weren’t going to let me have that position…It was discouraging at times. I’m good. Intact—happy, healthy, focused, with still so much to do.”
On his treatment by Black entertainment and culture outlets: “To this day, I have not been invited to a BET thing or a Source Awards thing. And it’s like, here is a Black artist who has reintroduced many Black art forms, who has broken down barriers—just like those that came before me broke down. That is positive. And they don’t have anything to say about it?… I’m not here for the accolades. I’m here for the experience.”

On the people he used to surround himself with early in his career: “I got burned. Completely. I put it all out there, and I put it all out there in a way for people to take advantage of it. I was an empty vessel…Saying no is very difficult for me. I was like that from childhood. My mom used to call me the Pied Piper. I’d bring everybody home. Just met them a few hours ago? I bring them home. I love people. I always have loved people.”

On the recent racist and misogynistic comments from Rolling Stone founder and former editor-in-chief Jann Wenner: “It’s very disappointing and sad. I’ve known Jann since 1987. I’ve been to his house. In his life. I was disappointed. I was very disappointed. The statement alone, even if you just heard about the man yesterday, was appalling and embarrassing. And just wrong.”

On how an unwanted sexual experience with an adult woman when he was a teenager affected his approach to intimacy: “It was an experience and a lesson. Everything doesn’t have to be so…I’m not saying that there aren’t things that deserve to be addressed—maybe somebody would say it should have been addressed and that it was, whatever, but that’s the time it was. I lived, and I learned. I wasn’t traumatized.”

On how the LGBTQ+ community has been a big influence on his life: “Not only in fashion and style, because that’s just something on top. They raised me. I was in the street—my choice—and it was the eighties in West Hollywood. It was that time; artists, musicians, hairstylists, and designers, those were the people I was hanging out with. I wanted to be around the creatives, and most of the people I met were from that community. [They] protected me. Educated me. Fed me.”


Remembering those impacted by HIV and AIDS on World AIDS Day

As we observe World AIDS Day, we can all advocate for a world where everyone has access to prevention, treatment and health care, writes guest columnist Sarah Wright. (Getty Images)
Today is World AIDS Day, and 2023 marks the 35th year that this day has been observed. World AIDS Day started as a way to increase awareness of HIV and AIDS and to remember those who lost their lives to the HIV and AIDS epidemic. This year, the theme is “Remember and Commit,” urging people to remember those impacted by HIV and AIDS and to commit to end stigma. In Idaho, 171 people have been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS since Jan 1, 2020. You can observe World AIDS Day 2023 by learning more about HIV and AIDS.

How HIV is treated and how it’s transmitted

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a virus that affects the immune system and impacts the body’s ability to fight infection. There isn’t a cure for HIV yet, but it is controllable with medication called ART (antiretroviral therapy). ART is offered as daily pills or a shot given every month or every other month. When a person living with HIV is on the right medication for a while, the amount of virus in their blood can become undetectable. An undetectable viral load means the person cannot spread the virus through sexual activity or by carrying or giving birth to a baby.

If a person living with HIV does not get treatment, the infection can progress to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). AIDS can be life-threatening due to the increased likelihood of getting other infections, like certain types of pneumonia or cancer. Because we now have very good medications to treat HIV, fewer people are dying of HIV or AIDS as an underlying cause. As treatments get even better and more people get diagnosed earlier into the illness, the number of deaths will continue to get smaller.

HIV can be spread through contact with bodily fluids like blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and from person to person through sexual contact; sharing needles; pregnancy, birth, or chestfeeding; or exposure to blood. It cannot be spread in water, saliva or tears. It also cannot be spread by sharing food, drinks or toilets with people living with HIV. You do not have to worry about getting HIV from holding hands with someone or just spending time with them. Spending time with someone who is living with HIV isn’t dangerous.

Many people who are living with HIV report having symptoms about two to four weeks after getting the virus. The symptoms they experienced are very similar to the symptoms of other illnesses. These symptoms include fever, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, rash, muscle aches, night sweats, mouth sores, chills and fatigue. Some people don’t remember having any symptoms at all. Because the symptoms of early HIV infection are so much like the symptoms of other illnesses and because not everyone gets symptoms, the only way for someone to know they have HIV is to get tested.

Testing and prevention

Getting tested for HIV is a responsible and empowering decision that can protect both your health and the health of others. Testing for HIV is usually quick and painless. Testing can be done at your health care provider’s office, urgent care facility, an STI clinic or even in your own home. HIV tests can be done as a blood draw, a finger stick, or even a swab on the inside of your cheek. It’s important to know that even though a cheek swab test can detect HIV, the virus can not be spread through saliva. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested for HIV at least once, and testing more often can give you a clearer picture of your overall health.

Regular HIV testing is one way to reduce the spread of HIV, as the sooner someone living with HIV starts treatment, the faster they can get to an undetectable viral load. There are medications that can prevent someone from getting HIV if they are exposed. These medications are called PrEP and PEP. PrEP is medication taken as a daily pill or regular injection before someone might be exposed to the HIV virus. PEP is a series of pills given within 72 hours of being exposed to the virus. 

Barrier methods (like condoms and oral dams) can be used during sexual activity to help prevent the spread of HIV and other STIs. Birth control methods like the pill or an IUD do not protect against HIV, so it’s important to also use a barrier method during sex. If using substances or taking medications that are done by injection, making sure to use a fresh needle every time (and not sharing needles) can also prevent HIV from spreading. This is also true for tattoos and piercings.

Stigma is an unfair belief held toward a group of people. People living with HIV can face a lot of stigma due to a lack of knowledge or understanding. Stigma can have a significant impact on those who experience it, leading to feelings of shame, discrimination and loneliness. Reducing the stigma around HIV is another important way to reduce the spread of HIV. Stigma can prevent people from getting tested and seeking treatment. Everyone can play a role in reducing stigma by educating themselves and others, speaking out against discrimination and supporting people living with HIV.

World AIDS Day serves as a reminder of the impact of HIV and AIDS on individuals and communities. Through education, advocacy, and action, we can work toward reducing the spread of the virus and ending the stigma and discrimination faced by those living with HIV. Every person can raise awareness, support those affected by the virus, and advocate for a world where everyone has access to prevention, treatment and care. We can all make a positive impact and create a brighter future.


Sandra Day O'Connor, first woman on the Supreme Court, dies

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the court, died Friday in Phoenix, Ariz., of complications related to advanced dementia, probably Alzheimer's, and a respiratory illness, the court announced. She was 93 years old.

O'Connor was appointed to the court by President Reagan in 1981 and retired in 2006, after serving more than 24 years on the court.
O'Connor served on the court for a quarter of a century and, after that, became an outspoken critic of what she saw as modern threats to judicial independence.

While on the court, O'Connor was called "the most powerful woman in America." Because of her position at the center of a court that was so closely divided on so many major questions, she often cast the deciding vote in cases involving abortion, affirmative action, national security, campaign finance reform, separation of church and state, and states' rights, as well as in the case that decided the 2000 election, Bush v. Gore — a decision she later hinted she regretted.

Her retirement allowed President George W. Bush to appoint a much more conservative justice, Samuel Alito, in her place, and that appointment took the court in a far more conservative direction.
O'Connor's retirement was the last step in a long balancing act between family and career. In 2005, O'Connor's husband was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and when the ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist told her that he was putting off his retirement, O'Connor decided that with her husband's health declining, she could not wait and risk the possibility that the court would have two vacancies at once.

As it turned out, that's what happened anyway. O'Connor announced her retirement, and the chief justice died weeks later. She stayed on for another six months while confirmation hearings proceeded, and in a cruel twist of fate, her husband's health took such a precipitous downward turn that he had to be placed in a home, and later died.

But on that June day in 2005 when O'Connor announced her retirement, she wept; she later made quite clear that she regretted the decision to step down. She went on to lead a multifaceted life, crisscrossing the United States and the rest of the world, crusading against threats to judicial independence and advocating for more civics instruction in public schools to teach students about the structure of the U.S. government.

A rising star
Born in Arizona, O'Connor spent her early life riding horses and roping steers on the Lazy B, a 250-square-mile cattle ranch owned by her parents on the Arizona-New Mexico border.

At age 10, she was sent away to school in El Paso, and at age 16 she enrolled at Stanford, eventually graduating from law school third in her class.
On the job market, she soon learned nobody wanted to hire a female lawyer. After every job door was closed in her face, a desperate O'Connor finally made an offer to the San Mateo County attorney, an offer that she hoped he couldn't refuse.
"I wrote him a very long letter explaining all the reasons why I thought that I would be helpful to him in the office and offering to work for nothing, if that was necessary," O'Connor said in 2003 interview with NPR.

In the beginning it was indeed necessary; she worked for free and she even shared office space with the county attorney's secretary. But she soon was put on salary, and when she and her husband, John, moved to Arizona, she continued practicing law, stopping only when a dearth of babysitters forced a five-year hiatus to raise her three sons.

Soon she was a figure to be reckoned with in Arizona's political life. Elected to the state Senate, she quickly rose in Republican ranks to become the majority leader, and then was appointed a state trial judge and a state appellate court judge. By then, it was 1981, and with the retirement of Justice Potter Stewart, President Ronald Reagan had a Supreme Court vacancy to fill.

First female justice
Stewart's imminent retirement was known to only a few inside the administration, and there was initially something of a battle over whether the president should fulfill his campaign promise to appoint a woman.

Kenneth Starr, then an assistant to Attorney General William French Smith, recalls that staff aides examined Reagan's campaign words carefully, noting that he had not made an iron-clad pledge. Some administration insiders urged the president to use this first appointment to name Robert Bork or some other conservative luminary to the high court. But that was not to be.

"Reagan was not a word parser, and he felt that he had made a moral commitment to appoint a qualified woman to the Supreme Court, that it was long overdue ... and that's what our marching orders were," Starr said in an interview with NPR.
But back then, the list of qualified women with any conservative credentials at all was a short one. Starr believes that O'Connor's name was first suggested by then-Justice Rehnquist, a fellow Arizonan and a classmate of O'Connor's at Stanford. When O'Connor was spirited to the White House for an interview with Reagan, the two Westerners had an immediate rapport, and O'Connor soon won the nod.

O'Connor later acknowledged that her appointment was an "affirmative act" — that she was not among the most qualified judges or scholars back then. But still, she won quick confirmation.

An enormous impact on the law
Once on the court, O'Connor's main concern, she later said, was whether she could do the job. If she stumbled badly, she said, it would make life much more difficult for women.

As it turned out, of course, O'Connor's appointment gave a huge boost to women in the law.
"The minute I was confirmed and on the court, states across the country started putting more women ... on their Supreme Courts," O'Connor said. "And it made a difference in the acceptance of young women as lawyers. It opened doors for them."

In the years that followed, O'Connor's impact on the law would be enormous. On the court, she became part of a conservative states' rights majority, voting, for example, to strike down key portions of the Brady gun control law.
On the subject of racial discrimination and affirmative action, O'Connor was the key vote. In the 1980s and '90s, she wrote landmark court decisions limiting the use of affirmative action for minority contractors and invalidating the use of race as the predominant factor in drawing majority Black congressional districts. But a decade later, in 2003, O'Connor wrote the court's opinion declaring that colleges and universities are justified in using race as a factor in college and graduate school admissions.
"Such diversity promotes learning and better prepares students for an increasingly heterogeneous workforce, for responsible citizenship, and for the legal profession," O'Connor said then.

In each of the race cases, O'Connor followed a well-trodden path for her: decide the case before you, make as few broad and sweeping rules as possible, and leave the door open for future change in a different set of circumstances.
In 2004, she walked a similar careful line as author of the key decision on the president's power to detain enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Repudiating the Bush administration's position, she declared that even in wartime, the president does not have a "blank check" allowing him to indefinitely detain American citizens without charge and without a chance to rebut the government's allegations of wrongdoing.

"We conclude that a citizen detainee seeking to challenge his classification as an enemy combatant must receive ... a fair opportunity to rebut the government's factual assertions before a neutral decision-maker," O'Connor said when she announced the court's decision in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld.

A middle ground
In no area, though, was O'Connor more careful — and successful — at carving out a middle ground than on questions involving abortion. When she joined the court, a woman's right to an abortion was spelled out in Roe v. Wade as a relatively absolute right to privacy. But less than two years after becoming a justice, O'Connor dissented from a major extension of Roe, saying that in her view, a state could regulate abortions unless those regulations imposed an "undue burden" on a woman's right to choose.

Six years later, she deprived the court's four conservatives of a fifth vote to overturn Roe, but in a separate concurring opinion allowed more state restrictions on abortion. In 1992, the issue was back before the court and O'Connor, joined this time by Justices David Souter and Anthony Kennedy, voted to sustain what they called the "core" holding of Roe, a woman's right to an abortion, but using O'Connor's undue burden test.

"Some of us as individuals find abortion offensive to our most basic principles of morality, but that can't control our decision. Our obligation is to define the liberty of all, not to mandate our own moral code," O'Connor said in June of 1992 when she announced the court's decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. "We reaffirm the constitutionally protected liberty of the woman to decide to have an abortion before the fetus attains viability and to obtain it without undue interference from the state."

Eight years later, O'Connor provided the fifth and deciding vote on abortion, this time invalidating a so-called partial birth abortion law because it provided no exception to preserve the health of the mother, and thus imposed an undue burden. Within a year of her departure from the court, however, a new, more conservative court majority reached the opposite conclusion and upheld a federal ban on so-called partial birth abortions. It was a pattern that was to repeat itself in other areas of the law after O'Connor left.

When she was appointed to the Supreme Court, O'Connor knew she would be a role model for women. She persevered even through a bout with breast cancer. For a year, she wore a wig, looked drained and wan, but never missed a court day.
She presided over a period in American law when women moved from being anomalies in the courtroom to the majority of the graduates in many major American law schools. And she left a profound mark on the history of the Supreme Court and the nation.

RIP!


#RHOA: Sanya Richards-Ross Supporting Black Small Business With Wells Fargo!
Sanya Richards-Ross from The Real Housewives of Atlanta has partnered with Wells Fargo Bank to help support Black businesses in her community this holiday season.
Wells Fargo partnered with the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship or RICE for a pop-up holiday market to feature a wide variety of products from local Black entrepreneurs, and Sanya was more than happy to help boost the message.

RICE is a local non-profit focused on supporting Black entrepreneurs and received a recent $1.5 million gift from Wells Fargo.
With Sanya’s support, the organization surprised five distinguished Black entrepreneurs with resources and grants tailored to their company’s needs to help them reach their business goals.

“Wells Fargo partnered with RICE from the beginning,” Sanya shared with The Blast. “They are working to support specifically minority business owners and had this incredible event to kick off and support their business owners right before one of the most important parts of their business cycle, right before the holidays.”

Sanya added that hearing from the supported business owners and what they have been able to do has been “so inspirational.
As an entrepreneur herself, Sanya understands how important it is to support business owners, especially during the holiday season. She shared that she understands the challenges small businesses face. This is especially true for minority-owned businesses.

“Small businesses are the backbones of our community,” Sanya shared. “And unfortunately, minorities a lot of times have less access to resources and support.”
This is why Sanya was excited to participate in something so special with RICE. “I met the founder of this organization at SXSW, and he told me about this dream of creating this resource,” she shared. “And seeing that now coming to fruition makes me believe in the power of dreams and how dreams can impact others. I’m happy to amplify that message.”


#MusicNews: October London Announces ‘The Rebirth of Marvin Tour’
J. Brown and The Shindellas will join as special guests.

Rising soul singer October London has announced his headlining The Rebirth of Marvin Tour. He will be joined by fellow rising acts J. Brown and The Shindellas.
The Rebirth of Marvin Tour kicks off Jan. 25, 2024, at The Shadowbox in Seattle, Washington.

From there, London will visit major cities across the U.S., including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Chicago.
The tour concludes March 3, 2024, in Dallas, Texas, at The Studio at the Factory.
Presale tickets will be available beginning Thursday, Nov. 30, at 10 a.m. local time. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, Dec. 1, at 10 a.m. local time.

London’s tour announcement follows his performance on the BET Amplified Stage at the 2023 Soul Train Awards.
He performed his breakout single “Back to Your Place,” which spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart.
The velvety track is lifted from London’s album, The Rebirth of Marvin, released in February via Death Row Records/gamma.

The Rebirth of Marvin features Death Row Records owner and legendary rapper Snoop Dogg and LaToiya Williams on “Mulholland Drive.”


#HipHopNews: Drake's 'For All the Dogs' Hits No. 1 Again After Release of 'Scary Hours' Deluxe Edition!
Drake's eighth studio album, For All The Dogs, has topped the Billboard 200 chart once again thanks to the release of Scary Hours According to Billboard, Drizzy jumped back to No. 1 after the release of Scary Hours 3 earned an additional 145,000 equivalent album units.

Scary Hours 3 was released on November 13 with six new tracks featuring Drake dipping into his rapping bag. The 6 God told fans he intended to take a break from music following the release of FATD in October, but changed his mind thanks to his latest creative output with his latest release.

"I'll say this to you I'm not… I feel no need to appease anybody. I feel so confident about the body of work that I just dropped that I know I can go and disappear for whatever… six months, a year… two years," Drake said in the cinematic teaser for Scary Hours 3, the third installment of his EP series. "Even though I'm not into the lengthy, super-lengthy disappearances for the sake of mystery. You know, ultimately it's coming to me in a way that I haven't experienced since maybe, like, If You're Reading This where it's just kind of like I feel like I'm on drugs."

The six-pack served as a deluxe edition to FATD, which was originally released in October and featured guest appearances from Teezo Touchdown, 21 Savage, J. Cole, Yeat, SZA, PartyNextDoor, and more.


Henry Kissinger, a polarizing force in US foreign policy, dies at 100

Henry Kissinger, a former US secretary of state and national security adviser who escaped Nazi Germany in his youth to become one of the most influential and controversial foreign policy figures in American history, has died. He was 100
Kissinger died Wednesday at his home in Connecticut, according to a statement from his consulting firm, Kissinger Associates. The firm did not provide a cause of death.

Kissinger was synonymous with US foreign policy in the 1970s. He received a Nobel Peace Prize for helping arrange the end of US military involvement in the Vietnam War and is credited with secret diplomacy that helped President Richard Nixon open communist China to the United States and the West, highlighted by Nixon’s visit to the country in 1972.

But he was also reviled by many over the bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War that led to the rise of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime and for his support of a coup against a democratic government in Chile.
In the Middle East, Kissinger performed what came to be known as “shuttle diplomacy” to separate Israeli and Arab forces after the fallout of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. His “dΓ©tente” approach to US-Soviet relations, which helped relax tensions and led to several arms control agreements, largely guided US posture until the Reagan era.

But many members of Congress objected to the secretiveness of the Nixon-Kissinger approach to foreign policy, and human rights activists assailed what they saw as Kissinger’s neglect of human rights in other countries. No issue complicated Kissinger’s legacy more than the Vietnam War. When Nixon took office in 1969 – after promising a “secret plan” to end the war – roughly 30,000 Americans had been killed in Vietnam.

Despite efforts to shift more combat responsibilities to the South Vietnam government, American involvement persisted throughout Nixon’s administration – critics accused Nixon and Kissinger of needlessly expanding the war – and US engagement ultimately ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975 and more than 58,000 American lives lost.
In a highly controversial decision, Kissinger shared the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize with his North Vietnamese counterpart Le Duc Tho for that year’s Paris peace accords; citing the absence of actual peace in Vietnam, Tho declined to accept, and two members of the Nobel committee resigned in protest over the award.

Domestic outrage in the US over the war centered on the bombings of Laos and Cambodia, where the brutal Khmer Rouge movement used the American bombings as a recruiting tool before coming into power and carrying out one of the worst genocides of the 20th century.
“For me, the tragedy of Vietnam was the divisions that occurred in the United States that made it, in the end, impossible to achieve an outcome that was compatible with the sacrifices that had been made,” Kissinger told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in 2005.

Though his era as a high-powered architect of US foreign policy waned with the decline of Nixon amid the Watergate scandal, Kissinger continued to be an independent mover and shaker whose musings on diplomacy always found an ear.
“In order to negotiate, one has to understand the perception of the other side of the world. And they have to understand our perception. And there has to be a decision on both sides that they’re going to try to reconcile these differences,” he told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in 2008.

Kissinger also commanded attention well beyond the realm of international diplomacy. He topped Gallup’s “Most Admired Man” survey three years in a row in the 1970s and his personal life, public appearances and nights in New York’s famed Studio 54 club once drew regular headlines.

“The nice thing about being a celebrity is that if you bore people, they think it’s their fault,” he once quipped.
Kissinger is survived by his wife, Nancy, two children from his first marriage, Elizabeth and David, and five grandchildren.

Former President George W. Bush remembered Kissinger for “his wisdom, his charm, and his humor.”

“I have long admired the man who fled the Nazis as a young boy from a Jewish family, then fought them in the United States Army. When he later became Secretary of State, his appointment as a former refugee said as much about his greatness as it did America’s greatness,” he said in a statement. “He worked in the Administrations of two Presidents and counseled many more. I am grateful for that service and advice, but I am most grateful for his friendship.”

Holocaust experience shaped worldview
Born on May 27, 1923, in Furth, Germany, Kissinger, who was Jewish, fled Nazi persecution and came to the United States in 1938.

“About half of the people I went to school with and about 13 members of my own family died in concentration camps,” Kissinger once recalled.
He became a naturalized citizen in 1943 before serving in World War II and later earned his doctorate at Harvard University, where he would go on to teach. Yet the lure of public service brought him into government work.

Kissinger began consulting with the State Department and Pentagon on national security matters before serving as national security adviser and then secretary of state to Nixon.

At Kissinger’s swearing-in ceremony as secretary of state in 1973, Nixon called it “very significant in these days when we must think of America as part of the whole world community that for the first time in history a naturalized citizen is the secretary of state of the United States.”

The pair remained close as the Nixon administration navigated a near-constant stream of controversy at home and abroad.
By the end of Nixon’s presidency, Kissinger was the last original inner-circle adviser to the beleaguered president still standing after Watergate. Nixon’s resignation note was addressed to Kissinger, and the two prayed together on Nixon’s final night in the White House.

“The last night in office, he invited me to come to the Lincoln sitting room where he and I used to plan foreign policy together,” Kissinger recalled in a 2012 interview with CBS News.

“And here was a man who had spent his whole life making himself president, and he had thrown it all away by his own actions. And as I was leaving, he said, ‘Why don’t we pray together?’ And so it was a moving, and in a way appropriate moment, to a profound tragedy in a person’s life.”

After Nixon’s resignation, Kissinger continued as secretary of state under President Gerald Ford, but his later years in government were marked by frustration. Conservatives within the Republican Party objected to his “dΓ©tente” approach with the Soviet Union, and South Vietnam was overrun by the communist North Vietnam in 1975, despite the earlier peace accords.

“You want to leave your country better off than you found it. And there’s nothing in private life you can do that’s as interesting and as fulfilling,” Kissinger once said of his approach to government work.

A legacy that still reverberates in US politics
After leaving the State Department in 1977, Kissinger became a prolific globe-trotting author and international consultant.

He briefly returned to the federal government in 2002 when President George W. Bush named Kissinger to lead a commission investigating the events leading up to the September 11 terrorist attacks. But Kissinger resigned just a month later amid questions about potential conflicts of interest.

His writings and advice on geopolitics have remained required reading in the foreign policy community in the United States and overseas – even as his detractors have remained just as critical.
In 2016, for example, Kissinger’s name proved to be a lightning rod during a tense Democratic presidential debate exchange between the party’s two leading candidates at the time, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

“I am proud to say that Henry Kissinger is not my friend. Count me in as somebody who will not be listening to Henry Kissinger,” Sanders said, a knock on Clinton, who had spoken of seeking Kissinger’s counsel when she was secretary of state.

The comments underscore Kissinger’s enduring divisiveness, even decades after leaving public office. But for a statesman who forged an unlikely path to diplomacy on his own terms, criticism always came with the territory.


Beyonce Under Fire For Screening 'Renaissance' Film In Israel Despite War!
While "Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce" has become one of the highly-anticipated concert movies this year, not everyone is apparently looking forward to it. Beyonce Knowles has been blasted for screening the movie in Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war.
"I'm genuinely so disappointed that Beyonce and her team gave the Palestinians the middle finger and decided to still move forward with releasing her film in Israel," one person reacted on X, formerly Twitter. A second urged, "Pull #RenaissanceFilm out of Israel @Beyonce. You see us. You hear us. You will be successful either way, so just do it because it's the right thing to do."

Another claimed, "Beyonce knows what is happening in Israel. If her daughter can see mean comments about herself, then I'm sure she's seen thousands of dead Palestinian children on all of our timelines. Beyonce doesn't care, she cares about money and power. She's apart of the ruling class."

Slamming the R&B diva for not taking a stand in the conflict, one other noted, "Let's not forget that Beyonce is still choosing to play her film in Israel and has been silent on the ongoing genocide in Palestine for the sake of fame and wealth."
"She's nobody's saviour. Just another capitalist who doesn't care about Palestine," somebody penned, while someone else remarked, "Something about 'You won't break my soul' playing in an Israeli theatre just don't sit right..."

Some Beyhives, meanwhile, have come to Bey's defense, with one person saying, "And if it don't premiere there is the war gonna stop? Y'all acting like a general is gonna be like oh beyonce not coming here now better call the troops back. Stop using a war to try and s**t on a celebrity it ain't the responsibility to speak on politics."

Also clapping back at the critics, a second fan reminded of Beyonce's stance against Israeli concerts back in 2015. "All this to say i'm not telling anyone whether or not to boycott, but to paint her in favor of genocide when she's one of the few celebrities that have taken a stance AGAINST israel before this year's events even occurred is just absurd," the said person wrote.

"Tough to swallow that a songstress gotta bear the brunt of global politics, slingin' solutions like she's the UN," a third fan remarked, while another argued, "A big factor is AMC is distributing the film, not Beyonce herself. AMC has contractual obligations with cinemas so Beyonce can't just say remove the movie from Tel Aviv and AMC says okay."


Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” Video Enters Billion Views Club On Youtube

The legend of Michael Jackson is ever-growing. The King of Pop’s “Beat It” music video has passed the one billion views mark on YouTube. According to Billboard, “Beat It” is the third video of MJ’s to enter the Billion Views Club, following “Billie Jean” and “They Don’t Care About Us.”

Earlier this year, Jackson’s estate filed their yearly documents for presiding over The King of Pop’s legacy, which included the costs incurred over the year. One of which was a $2,500 payment for the restoration of the landmark.

On the documents, the star’s work is listed as a charity.
According to Variety, in February, Michael Jackson‘s estate is finalizing a deal worth between $800-900 million dollars for the late artist’s music catalog. While there are not very many details on the deal, Sony and another possible financial partner are looking to buy 50% of the estate’s interest in Jackson’s publishing, music revenues, the “MJ: The Musical” Broadway show, and the upcoming “Michael” biopic “Michael, and maybe even more.

Sources close to MJ’s estate told TMZ they would never sell 100% of the catalog. They said that the only way that even a 50/50 deal would work was if they still retained 100% management and control of the record.

If this deal goes through, it will become the biggest music catalog purchase in history. It would surpass Bruce Springsteen, who sold his catalog for $500 million to Sony.



Antonio Brown Clarifies Controversial Keke Palmer Tweets After Alluding To Threesome
Antonio Brown has set things straight on his controversial comments about Keke Palmer. After being called out for allegedly disrespecting the actress with his raunchy tweets, the athlete has clarified that they were all just "rap lyrics."

"These all are rap lyrics, please do not spin my words," the former NFL star-turned-rapper wrote on his X, formerly Twitter, page on Wednesday, November 29. He added, "Spin your money. Ima Rappa."
The football wide receiver, however, doubled down on his lust for Keke. "I love @KekePalmer this is me creatively thinking of rap bars," he penned in a separate tweet, before shooting his shot, "by the way is she Keke Single$."

Previously, Antonio came under fire after name-dropping Keke, who has been embroiled in a legal battle with her ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson whom she accused of domestic violence, in his suggestive tweets.

In one tweet, he wrote, "I don't drink Arnold PALMERS I sip Keke Palmer Ya dig." In another post, he suggested, "We ran her like the Olympics," referring to the colloquial group sex of "running a train." He further insinuated that they had a threesome as claiming, "She got pregnant in a 3 some so whose baby is it............."
Social media users quickly lambasted Antonio for talking about Keke in such disrespectful manner, with one person reminding him, "Antonio you don't have a career please leave Keke alone. We are not bashing women here."

"Don't ever disrespect our girl KeKe hell wrong with you," a second person came to Keke's defense. A third fan scolded the athlete, "Leave KeKe out of your Craziness!!" A fourth social media user remarked, "Randomly coming at a black woman is crazy."
"Tonio you gotta take ya pill same time every day for it to work," another claimed, as another asked, to "check his brain...." Someone criticized the former Pittsburgh Steelers star over his "disgusting behavior," while another warned others, "Yall crazy If yall believe anything that comes out this fool mouth. In his mind he's in a relationship with Tom Brady's ex wife."


Elon Musk claims advertisers are trying to ‘blackmail’ him, says ‘Go f--- yourself’

Speaking at the 2023 DealBook Summit in New York on Wednesday, Elon Musk, the owner of social media site X (formerly Twitter), scoffed at advertisers leaving the platform because of antisemitic posts he amplified there.
“If somebody’s gonna try to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f---yourself. Go. F---. Yourself. Is that clear?” Musk singled out Disney

CEO Bob Iger in the audience, saying “Hi Bob!”mHe also implied that his fans would boycott those advertisers in kind. “The whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company and we will document it in great detail,” Musk threatened.

He also told interviewer Andrew Ross Sorkin, “I have no problem being hated. Hate away.”
Elon Musk to advertisers who are trying to ‘blackmail’ him: ‘Go f--- yourself’

In recent weeks, Musk has promoted and sometimes verbally endorsed what the White House called “antisemitic and racist hate” on X, formerly Twitter, the social media platform he owns and runs as CTO.
He called those tweets, “one of the most foolish if not the most foolish thing I’ve ever done on the platform.” “I’m sorry for that tweet or post,” he added.

Musk’s inflammatory posts on the social media platform, among other things, have led large advertisers, including Disney, Apple
and many others, to suspend campaigns there and drove some famous users to abandon the platform, including Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has denied that he is antisemitic, and said that on X, “Clear calls for extreme violence are against our terms of service and will result in suspension.”

He also traveled to Israel this week, where he met and spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. When Netanyahu said he wanted to “deradicalize” and “rebuild” Gaza, Musk offered to help. Musk told Sorkin on stage that his visit to Israel was planned before his tweets, and were not part of an “apology tour.”

Previously, Musk had said he wanted to bring SpaceX satellite communications service, Starlink, to the region and specifically to humanitarian organizations in Gaza.
Musk’s personal account on X currently displays a follower count of more than 164 million -- though tech blog Mashable reported in August that a majority of Musk’s listed followers appeared to be inauthentic or inactive accounts.


Angel Reese will return to LSU's lineup vs. Virginia Tech after 4-game absence
Angel Reese's mysterious four-game absence has come to an end. LSU women's basketball head coach Kim Mulkey announced during a media session that Reese will return to the lineup Thursday when the No. 7 Tigers take on Virginia Tech in a rematch of the 2023 Final Four. She didn't say whether Reese would start or come off the bench.

Reese hasn't played since Mulkey benched her midway through LSU's win over Kent State on Nov. 14. Mulkey said it was a "coach's decision" and would not elaborate. Reese then missed the Nov. 17 game against Southeastern Louisiana and the Nov. 20 game against Texas Southern, both LSU wins. The Tigers then flew to the Cayman Islands for the Cayman Islands Classic, but Reese didn't join them, missing wins against Niagara and Virginia.

Through all of this, Mulkey has repeatedly refused to discuss why Reese had been benched. All she would say after the Nov. 17 game was this:
"Angel was not in uniform. Angel is a part of this basketball team, and we hope she's back with the team soon. I'm not gonna answer any more than that."

Mulkey confirmed it was a disciplinary measure on Nov. 20 when she compared benching Reese to "disciplining your children." Mulkey also briefly mentioned "locker room issues" as the source for all this.

Alluding to "locker room issues" might be the truest thing Mulkey has said during this entire ordeal. Around the time Reese was benched, major behind-the-scenes drama began to spill out on social media. The mothers of several players (including Reese) began an Instagram posting war, and soon after several former LSU players entered the fray.
The Tigers, who are the defending national champions, will take on Virginia Tech at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday.


Offset to host second annual Toyz 4 The Nawf charity event: "I’m excited to bless others"!

Offset is partnering with the Ann Cephus Family Fund Corporation for the return of his annual Toys 4 The Nawf. Set to take place in Gwinnett, Georgia on Saturday (Dec. 2), the Christmas charity event aims to surpass the success of 2022’s inaugural gathering.
“We had a great turnout last year, and I’m hoping for an even better one this year. I’ve been so blessed this year; I’m excited to bless others. That’s the reason for the season,” Offset shared.

Last year, the rapper supported over 248 families and around 500 children, thanks to the contribution of 85 community volunteers and partnerships with organizations like the Lawrenceville Boys & Girls Club, Alpha Phi Alpha, and Delta Sigma Theta. Donors and sponsors contributed $35,000 in toys and logistics. Subsequently, Gwinnett County officials presented Offset with an honorary key.

On the music side, the artist released SET IT OFF on Oct. 13. The 21-song project boasted standout cuts like “JEALOUSY,” “UPSIDE DOWN,” “HOP OUT THE VAN,” and more. It also contained features from Cardi B, Travis Scott, Don Toliver, Future, Latto, and Mango Foo, to name a few.

Offset covered GQ’s latest “2023 Men of the Year” issue, where he briefly spoke on the LP and how Tyler, The Creator inspired him to embrace his Michael Jackson persona.
“I was telling [Tyler] my vision of being a standout artist, and a solo artist, and reinventing myself. I was glorifying him, telling him, ‘I respect how you stay in character [for each album],’” the Migos rapper explained. “He was like, ‘You should do it, too. N**gas ain’t going to f**k with it at first, but n**gas never f**k with the good s**t first. They always sleep on it, and then you show them throughout the process.’ I really took that s**t to head.”


Lil Nas X Enters His 'Christian Era,' Teases New Song & Comments On His Sexuality - Is He Trolling?
Lil Nas X is belatedly celebrating Christian Girl Autumn. The 24-year-old “Industry Baby” rapper took to social media on Wednesday (November 29) to tease a new song, and it’s a major thematic curveball from the hitmaker who gave Satan a lap dance in a music video just a few years ago.

Since then, he has seemingly repented, shimmied up the stripper pole and entered “his Christian era.”
While introducing the new era in his life and career, Lil Nas X also commented on his sexuality. However, fans are wondering if it might all be another troll from the artist who is as famous for his jokes as he is his music.

“Father stretch my hands / the lonely road seems to last the longest / help me with my plans / everything seems to go to nowhere,” Lil Nas X sings on the meaningful song. “Free me from worry and wanting pity / free me from all this envy in me / I don’t want these feelings.”

He continues, “I call on angels / I’m trying hard to face my pain, yeah / give me hope when I feel / give me hope when I feel less.”
In the video, he dances around a street wearing a shirt that reads “If God doesn’t exist then who’s laughing at us.”

Lil Nas X continued to post the track, addressing how his new era aligned with his sexuality.
“Making christian music does not mean i can’t suck d-ck no more,” he wrote to his fans. “The two are not mutually exclusive. i am allowed to get on my knees for multiple reasons.”

In another video, the musician reacted to a meme informing Christians that they had to “forgive” him for his past misdeeds after he dropped a gospel song.
Fans have been having a field day reacting to Lil Nas X‘s antics and new song. However, it looks like this might not actually be a sign of more Christian music to come.

On Tuesday, he took to X (formerly Twitter) to drop some hints that he might be trolling everyone (again).
“running out of money again, gonna start thinking of new controversies,” he wrote to his fans in one post. In another, he added, “not gonna lie i wanted to reinvent myself for this next era but sadly im still gay.”

This isn’t even the first time this year that Lil Nas X has trolled the world. He had fans so confused after announcing that he had a son.


SZA Reflects on Rihanna Taking Her Song 'Consideration,' Explains Why She Was 'Frustrated'

SZA opened up about her song “Consideration,” which wound up on Rihanna‘s last studio album ANTI back in 2016.
The 34-year-old “Kill Bill” hitmaker is featured on the number, which opened Rihanna‘s chart-topping album. It even made some history on the charts.
Despite it being a huge success, SZA explained that she was initially “frustrated” about giving up her song during a recent interview.

During an interview segment with Variety, SZA spilled on her reluctance to hand over the song to Rihanna.
“I cared so much, and I was so like… just frustrated,” she admitted.

Why? “I felt like, ‘I’ll never have anything this cool again.’ And that was so crazy and so wrong cuz it was like the centerpiece to my album at the time, and for her it was just like part of her album, and I was like, ‘Please no.’”
She continued, recalling, “I had just shot a video for it, and I was about to drop it like in a couple of days. It was already done. Whatever conversation label-wise was already done. It was just a matter of accepting and in hindsight it was so hard to let go and accept.”

That doesn’t mean that SZA is still upset about the song. “But now it’s like I’m so glad that that happened and that it didn’t cost me anything. If anything I just gained a bunch from it. And I thank god that I made cool music outside of that,” she explained.

“Again, I don’t know why I just really thought my creativity would just stop and like this was like the pinnacle of what I could make. And she has it, and I’ll just never be anything,” she added.
Of course, SZA has found so much more success since “Consideration” landed on ANTI. She’s even nominated for Album of the Year at the 2024 Grammys.


‘Bob Hearts Abishola’ to End With Season 5 at CBS
“Bob Hearts Abishola” will conclude with its upcoming fifth season at CBS. The fifth season of the multi-cam comedy is due to premiere on Feb. 12, with the series finale now set for May 13.

The ending of “Bob Hearts Abishola” marks the potential end of an era at CBS. With the show ending, coupled with the previously announced ending of “Young Sheldon,” Chuck Lorre does not currently have any shows slated to be on the CBS schedule going into next fall. Unless the network picks up a new show from Lorre and his team between now and then, it will be the first time Lorre has not had at least one show on CBS since 2003.

Lorre’s run at CBS has been nothing short of historic. In the past 20 years he has co-created and executive produced shows for the network including long-running hits like “The Big Bang Theory,” “Two and Half Men,” “Mom,” and “Young Sheldon.” He is currently prepping the series “Bookie” for Max.

“We are so proud to call ‘Bob Hearts Abishola’ a CBS comedy as it helped establish a new generation of programming at the Network,” said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment. “This series expertly showcased a family love story and workplace comedy about the immigrant experience with heartfelt humor and emotion while also authentically portraying Nigerian culture. It’s a testament to the incomparable Chuck Lorre, the amazing creative team led by Al Higgins, Gina Yashere and Matt Ross, and the talents of Billy Gardell, Folake Olowofoyeku and the entire cast for making this show and its characters come to life and resonate with viewers. We plan to celebrate it this spring and give fans the most amazing episodes to remember it by.”

The show is described as a love story about Bob (Billy Gardell), a middle-aged compression sock businessman from Detroit, who unexpectedly fell for his cardiac nurse, Abishola (Folake Olowofoyeku), a Nigerian immigrant, while recovering from a heart attack.
“’Bob Hearts Abishola’ is about an unlikely love story, but also the premise that immigrants make America great,” said executive producers Gina Yashere, Matt Ross, and Lorre. “We’ve loved bringing these stories to life and are excited for fans to see the final chapter of these two families, and the incredible work of this talented cast and crew.”

Lorre, Al Higgins, Yashere, and Ross serve as executive producers. “Bob Hearts Abishola” is produced by Chuck Lorre Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, where Lorre is under an overall deal.

The ending of the show is not altogether unexpected. It was previously reported that, going into the fifth season, only Gardell and Olowofoyeku would retain their series regular status. All the other series regulars were reduced to recurring roles in an effort to cut the show’s budget.


Jamie Foxx is ‘Struggling’ Months After Mysterious Medical Scare

*Insiders claim Jamie Foxx is still struggling seven months after his hospitalization from mysterious medical complications.
“Jamie pulling out of another project has friends worried that he hasn’t recuperated as well as everyone thinks,” an insider told the National Enquirer, RadarOnline. “He’s struggling, but Jamie has been very private about what happened and his recovery.

In August, Foxx shared an update on his health via photos of himself on Instagram. As CNN reported in an article that appeared on EUR, the Oscar-winning actor said he was starting to feel more like himself following a medical emergency.
“You’re lookin’ at a man who is thankful… finally startin’ to feel like myself…” he wrote. “It’s been an unexpected dark journey… but I can see the light… I’m thankful to everyone that reached out and sent well wishes and prayers… I have a lot of people to thank… u just don’t know how much it meant…

Foxx added: “I will be thanking all of you personally… and if you didn’t know… GOD IS GOOD… all day every day… #swipeleft #imbackandimbetter #nobaddays”.

Foxx was hospitalized in April, and after his release, he spent several weeks at a Chicago-based rehab facility that specializes in strokes and traumatic brain injuries, CNN reported.
“I did go through hell and back,” Foxx shared on social media in July.  “My road to recovery had some potholes as well, but I’m coming back.”

Despite his eagerness to return to work, insiders claim he still needs more time to heal. Foxx has not publicly disclosed details about his medical setback.

“In the end, Jamie wasn’t ready to add hosting a new game show to his schedule,” the Foxx insider told the Enquirer, Radar reports. “He’s being very careful regarding his health issues. He may not be at 100 percent, but the last thing he wants is to mess with the progress he has made.”

EUR reported that Foxx was spotted riding around Chicago this summer and returning a lost purse to an unknown woman. He also hit up a golf outing about 30 miles outside the city.
Foxx’s daughter, Corinne, 29, released a statement in Apil claiming her father suffered a “medical complication” while working on a movie in Georgia. She also noted that he was “on his way to recovery” thanks to “quick action and great care.”


AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
When fashion meets confusion

I liked the way the guys stares at her. Confused fashion set-up at Walmart


HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ALL!!!
EFREM

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