by Sharelle B. McNair

October 14, 2023

Haiti Declines Dominican Republic’s Border Negotiations Amid Canal Dispute, Escalating Tensions

Haiti has declined to join its neighbor the Dominican Republic in important commercial border crossing negotiations, The Associated Press reports.

Amid debates over the construction of a canal on Haitian soil, Dominican President Luis Abinader closed his country’s border for close to a month in protest, claiming the work violated a 1929 treaty and took water away from Dominican farmers. But due to a drought, Haiti says it has an urgent right to build the canal.

The DR government partially reopened its borders on Oct. 11, including the crossing at the northern city of Dajabon, which is a key area of commerce between the countries. However, it allowed only limited trade and banned Haitians from entering the Dominican Republic for work, school, medical reasons, or touring. Abinadar also banned visas from being issued.

Haiti’s northeast region delegate, Moïse Charles Pierre, called for its neighbor to apologize and give the border for operation rights. “Abinader needs to respect the Haitian people and apologize publicly,” Pierre said.

Haiti decided not to mimic DR’s tactics at its own border gate in the community of Ouanaminthe.

On the world stage at the Organization of American States meeting on Oct. 12 in Washington, D.C., the issue came up, and Roberto Álvarez, foreign affairs minister for the Dominican Republic, and Léon Charles, Haiti’s permanent representative to the OAS, exchanged some harsh words. Charles told Alvarez that Haiti was open for discussion but not on their terms, “under the threat of dictating a solution to the Haitian population.”

“The construction of the canal is not going to stop,” Charles said.

Pointing out the toxic history between the two, including Haiti occupying the Dominican Republic for 22 years in the 1800s, Álvarez called Charles’ response “reckless.”

“We are not intimidating anyone,” he said. “Our intention is to protect our border, our natural resources.”

The bout between the Caribbean nations only escalates tensions and adds to their history of strained relations. By closing Haiti’s only land border, things can get worse for the country’s already struggling economic, security and humanitarian issues, according to The Washington Post.

Human Rights Watch Crisis and Conflict Director Ida Sawyer said shutting down the border shows how the world continues to fail the people of Haiti.

“A border closure would essentially lock Haitians within their country amid extreme levels of violence, including large-scale killings, kidnappings and rapes,” Sawyer said, “and with much of the population struggling to feed their families or access clean water and health care.”

by Sharelle B. McNair

October 14, 2023

Laphonza Butler Breaks Silence On Potential 2024 Senate Run

Newly selected California senator Laphonza Butler somewhat answered the question the people want to know: is she entering the 2024 senate race?

In an exclusive interview with FOX 11, Butler admitted that she still doesn’t know.

“It is the big question,” Butler said, during a sit down chat on political show The Issue Is. “That is a real contemplation for me, thinking about what can I contribute to the country moving forward? What are my unique talents and skills? I know that I have them, and it’s a question about, you know, how do I process all of those things and do the job at the same time.”

California governor Gavin Newsom appointed Butler to Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s vacant seat shortly after Feinstein passed away in early October 2023. The term ends in January 2025. Before filling the seat, Butler worked as the leader of Emily’s List, a political organization that supports female Democratic candidates and issues, including pro-choice initiatives. It’s her work in that position, she says, that is a factor on her decision to run or not.

“For the last two years, I have spent every waking moment trying to convince women across the country, more women of color with varied backgrounds across the country, that this is the moment where their community needs them to raise their hand and run for office,” Butler said. “And, you know, here I have the opportunity to consider those same choices, and that is really weighing on me.”

If she decides to run, she will be added to the list of other prominent Democratic House members — Reps. Katie Porter, Adam Schiff, and Barbara Lee, according to Associated Press. Republican candidate and former MLB player Steve Garvey entered the race on Oct. 10.

Butler, the only Black woman serving in the U.S. Senate, was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris on Oct. 3 and says she has to consider how a campaign will affect those closest to her. Butler is the first openly LGBTQ+ person to represent California and has already sustained harassment, admitting to receiving hate mail and strangers showing up at her door.

“I’m thinking about my family, the divisive nature of the harassment that is happening both online and in real life, Butler said. “My mother is 70 years old; she didn’t sign up for this. My daughter is nine, she didn’t sign up for for this.”

While she said there is no timeline on her decision, Butler has until Dec. 8 to decide if she’ll enter the race.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

October 14, 2023

Cleveland Browns Player David Njoku Reveals Facial Burns Suffered From Fire Pit Incident

David Njoku, a tight end position for the Cleveland Browns, recently suffered severe facial burns from trying to light a fire pit in his home on Sept. 29, according to ESPN. Two weeks after the incident, the NFL player displayed his face, uncovered on his Instagram account, revealing the severity of the burn.

Today reported that Njoku showed his 300,000 Instagram followers how his face looks minus the mask he has been wearing since the accident took place. On one of the photos in the slide, he writes, “BE SORRY FOR A WEAK MAN, DONT BE SORRY FOR ME”

WARNING: Graphic Photograph

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A post shared by Chief David Njoku (@chiefnjoku)

The burns didn’t stop him from competing in the next scheduled game when the Browns played the Baltimore Ravens two days later. Before the game started, Njoku was pictured wearing a mask and was shirtless under what looked like a fur coat.

Although he had a respectable game, with a team-high six catches for 46 yards, his team lost the contest to the Ravens.

The tight end plans to donate to The American Burn Association after his harrowing ordeal.

In a written statement, Njoku stated, “I understand firsthand how suddenly life can change due to a burn injury, and I want to use my platform to help bring awareness to an all too common issue. The doctors at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center were instrumental in my recovery, and I am forever grateful for their expertise and care. By working with the ABA, I hope to provide resources and support to burn survivors and their families.”

The ABA also announced that Njoku’s merchandise line, “Withstand,” will donate a portion of the proceeds to the organization. Products can be bought on his MILLIONS.co profile.

by Sharelle B. McNair

October 14, 2023

Stephen A. Smith Appears To Take Shots at Jason Whitlock

Sports anchor Stephen A. Smith allegedly took some shots at fellow anchor Jason Whitlock, apparently calling him “a fat bastard,” Daily Mail reported.

On an episode of his YouTube show, The Stephen A. Smith Show, the First Take host never mentioned Whitlock by name, but fans speculated that’s who he was referring to.

“There’s one particular person who will remain nameless but I will not deny it – I think he is a fat, no-good b***ard who I despise to the core,” Smith said. Before things got rocky, Smith clarified that he doesn’t wish harm on him. “But it doesn’t mean that I wish him harm,” he continued. “It is not Marcellus Wiley that I am talking about. It ain’t hard to figure out who I am talking about.”

Whitlock took some recent jabs at Smith’s new co-host, Shannon Sharpe, on his show, Fearless With Jason Whitlock, telling him stop being “a woman” as when he was speaking out about his stunning exit from rival show, Undisputed, with Skip Bayless.

The outspoken sports commentator said that Bayless didn’t “respect him.”

“‘Respect, that’s a female emotion, a female energy. That’s why Aretha Franklin sang about it,” Whitlock replied. “As a man, regardless of color, you are supposed to be about winning the respect of God.”

His comments come after former NFL player and podcast host Marcellus Wiley spoke about Smith in September 2023, accusing him of being the reason Smith’s former co-host, Max Kellerman, was pushed out at First Take. According to The New York Post, Wiley also alleged the reason it happened was because Kellerman was “smarter” than Smith.

Smith had the chance to respond as a guest on The Breakfast Club when host, Charlamagne Tha God, asked him abut it.

“Here’s my only issue: for a black man to stand up there and say another black man is scared of somebody’s intellect, come on, bro. That’s just a line you’re crossing,” Smith said. “I have nothing to say other than that. That’s sad that he would go that route. I guess he’s going to get attention because everybody watches The Breakfast Club every chance we get and you’re going to see us talk about it.”

by Mary Spiller

October 14, 2023

Doctors Warn Of Long-Term Complications From Repeated COVID-19 Infections

According to doctors who spoke to NBC News, getting COVID-19 more than once can cause lingering and chronic symptoms. The Oct. 12 interview revealed that the dangers of reinfection are especially heightened for Black people.

An emergency room physician in Maryland and Virginia, Dr. Geoffrey Mount Varner, said that the virus poses a serious threat to the Black community, despite the wide range of symptoms one person can experience when they are infected with the virus a second time. Varner began, “Some of the data clearly showed that Covid impacted Blacks disproportionately, so it only makes sense that it’s going to be the same with multiple infections because there are so many people who had it,” and “because we have more comorbidities such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity — the main drivers in terms of having a negative impact as it relates to Covid — with multiple infections the data is showing that each infection is like a health insult that will manifest itself more in the hardest-hit community, which is Black people.”

“So, you have a sick person getting this virus more than once and the outcome is going to be different, more harmful, than white counterparts,” he added.

Some of the confounding issues in infection and severity rates are highest in the Black community. Issues such as health care disparities amplify the risk factors. A 2021 meta-analysis study on the impacts of Covid revealed that Black people were much more likely to need to be admitted into the Intensive Care Unit after being infected, and that is likely due to their lower likelihood of having health insurance, access to quality health care, or even clinical safety information.

Dr. Jayne Morgan, a cardiologist and the executive director of the Covid task force at Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta, explained that the exacerbated effects of Covid among people of color is “creating a cycle of hardships that could stunt family growth.”

Unfortunately, due to Covid’s intelligence, particularly the Omicron variant, the virus tends to have a combination of initially mild symptoms while being the most “infectious variant” to date. The initial lack of severity prompts people to continue on with business as usual, without knowing the devastating risk of reinfection.

Morgan explained, “It’s so incredibly successful, infecting people over and over again and making people say, ‘Oh, this is nothing.’ But it keeps swirling around. Reinfection doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be protected from the next evolution of the variants, which are hurting people now. So people have to take protective measures over reckless behavior, which, we are seeing now, is not without consequences.”

Atlanta attorney Willian Matos opened up to NBC about his experience with repeatedly catching COVID-19. Matos, who had Covid three times, described having migraines and body aches the first time. Before catching it again, Matos got the vaccination and booster shot, so thankfully he experienced milder symptoms with the second two rounds. However, he admitted that having Covid “was murderous” and that he was afraid of the long term impacts of having it more than once.

“The impact of long Covid lingers,” he told the outlet. “People said it would be like the flu. Well, you get the flu and you get over it, hopefully, and you move on. That’s not what doctors are telling us about what they are seeing with Covid. You get it multiple times and it’s doing something to the body that the flu hasn’t.”

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

October 14, 2023

Jury Finds 1 Police Officer Guilty In Elijah McClain’s Death

The trial of two Colorado police officers involved in Elijah McClain’s death ended with the jury finding only one of the officers guilty.

According to ABC News, the jury hearing the case in Adams County, CO, has determined that Randy Roedema is guilty of criminally negligent homicide and assault in the third degree in McClain’s death. Jason Rosenblatt was found not guilty on charges of reckless manslaughter, assault in the second degree, and criminally negligent homicide.

Interim Chief of Police of Aurora, CO, Art Acevedo, released a statement after the verdict was announced.

“I know many have been waiting a long time for the involved parties to have their day in court,” his statement read. “As a nation, we must be committed to the rule of law. As such, we hold the American judicial process in high regard. We respect the verdict handed down by the jury and thank the members of the jury for their thoughtful deliberation and service. Due to the additional pending trials, the Aurora Police Department is precluded from further comment at this time.”

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A post shared by Art Acevedo (@artacevedo)

The Associated Press reported that Roedema faces up to three years in prison on the more serious homicide charge.

On the evening of Aug. 24, 2019, police officers restrained McClain on the ground after stopping him as he walked home in Aurora from a convenience store. McClain was wearing a ski mask due to a blood disorder that made him cold. The three police officers were responding to a report of someone wearing a ski mask and waving his arms.

Bodycam footage from the police officers revealed that they ordered McClain to stop. McClain told them that he was an introvert and asked that the police officers respect his boundaries. The officers grabbed McClain and threw him to the ground. As a struggle ensued, the officers placed McClain in a chokehold. The paramedics were called to the scene and injected McClain with ketamine to sedate him.

Less than 10 minutes later, McClain was unresponsive and went into cardiac arrest, according to a report released in 2019 by local prosecutor Dave Young. Medics revived McClain, but he was declared brain dead and taken off life support a week later.

A third police officer, Nathan Woodyard is being tried separately because he was first on the scene and applied the hold, according to a court order. Meanwhile, the EMTs at the scene, Jeremy Cooper and Lt. Peter Cichuniec will be tried together at a later date.

by Stacy Jackson

October 14, 2023

‘Say Whatever You Want’: Rich Paul Responds To Adele Marriage Rumors

Rich Paul neither confirmed nor denied rumors about being married to singer Adele in an interview with Gayle King on Oct. 9.

The 41-year-old CEO of Klutch Sports Group spoke to King on CBS Mornings about Adele referring to him as her husband during a performance for her Las Vegas residency “Weekends With Adele” in September. He said on the morning show, “You can say whatever you want,” when King asked, “When I see her [Adele], should I say ‘Hi, Mrs. Paul?'”

According to People, last month a female fan was captured in a video on TikTok asking the singer to marry them. The English singer-songwriter responded, “You can’t marry me. I’m straight, my love, and my husband’s here tonight.” The comment started rumors that Paul and the singer were secretly married.

As far as the public knows, the two have been dating for more than two years. Paul said they’re in a “good space.”

“I think she would agree that we definitely helped each other,” the sports agent also said. Apparently, Paul likes to keep his personal business to himself.

As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, the agent recently debuted his memoir, “Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing the Odds.” BE noted that Paul talks about the difficulties he faced as a Black sports agent, his strained relationship with his mother who was a drug addict, and more in the book.

The sports agent said, according to People, that it was tough opening up about his childhood.

“I had built up this wall as a young kid,” he said, adding that remembering that part of his life “was one of the toughest things for me to relive and write about.”

The outlet also reported that Adele especially felt connected to Paul’s childhood trauma.

Paul said, “I think a lot of it probably hit home, so yeah, it was a difficult read [for her].” Adele previously opened up about growing up with an absent father, People noted.

Insights And Wisdom: Black Men XCEL Summit Highlights Success In DEI Leadership

by Mary Spiller

October 14, 2023

Insights And Wisdom: Black Men XCEL Summit Highlights Success In DEI Leadership

The Black Men Xcel Summit began on Oct. 11 at the JW Marriott Turnberry Resort & Spa in Aventura, FL. The event featured impressive speakers, workshops, and networking events. During the How to Build a Rewarding Career as a DEIB Leader section, a panel of longstanding corporate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) leaders sat down to share their insights. With Executive of Creative Artist Agency Search, Joe Aiken, and Global head of equity strategies and initiative with Amazon, Joe Briggs, as speakers, while the CEO of Believe Wellness Center, Nicholas Dillon, moderated; the men advised on how to be a successful DEI leader.

Briggs began by sharing his mentality on DEI going hand in hand with the concept of justice within a company, as a method of accountability. He explained that the best way to be successful in an equity position is to understand how “baking” the practices into the business not only acts as an initiative but can actually help to conserve customer bases. He listed some positive outcomes: “The expansion of the marketplace and [showing] customers that they belong in the customer base.”

After emphasizing the importance of DEI for big companies, Aiken discussed some tips on getting hired into a related position. Aiken identified essential skill sets such as “understanding the business practice, change management, and building out programs that integrate inclusion within the company.”

Aiken added to his initial segment by sharing some essential questions to ask recruiters and interviewees when seeking a job in the field.

Despite the overwhelming necessity of DEI positions, both men admitted that it was not an easy job. Briggs said that finding the right “opportunities for alignment” tended to be challenging in such massive companies; he explained that all levels of corporate needed to be on the same page in terms of their diversity practices, and that could be a challenging thing to manage.

Additionally, recruiting new members onto a DEI board tends to be difficult in itself.

Aiken declared, “The talent is out there; you just have to find it.”

He pointed out HBCUs, affinity groups, and even looking right where you are in your personal network as avenues to find connections.

The Black Men XCEL Summit describes itself as “the nation’s No. 1 conference focused on celebrating and refining Black men with the tools to advance their professional development at every leadership level.”

It defines its mission as empowering Black men to be able to be recognized for their already existing talent in the professional world.

Major US Banks Show Profit Boost, But Some Caution From Consumers

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

October 13, 2023

Major US Banks Show Profit Boost, But Some Caution From Consumers

*Originally Published By Reuters.com

NEW YORK, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Major U.S. banks said on Friday higher interest rates boosted profits even though the economy was slowing and consumers showed signs of more cautious behavior.

JPMorgan (JPM.N), Wells Fargo (WFC.N) and Citigroup’s (C.N) earnings indicated higher U.S. Federal Reserve interest rates had allowed them to charge more on loans while raising rates on deposits more slowly. Consumers were starting to deplete savings, the banks said, and Citibank and Wells Fargo noted that losses on credit cards and other debts were starting to rise.

The Fed’s aggressive monetary policy has made it more expensive for consumers and businesses to borrow and repay debt, while banks are slowing the flow of credit and beefing up cash levels after Silicon Valley Bank and two other lenders collapsed earlier this year.

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser said she was seeing a continued deceleration in spending, indicating “an increasingly cautious consumer.”

The third-largest U.S. lender said delinquency levels were still low compared to historical levels, but it set aside more money to cover souring loans

Wells Fargo said it was seeing charge-offs, or loans written off, increasing in its credit card portfolio. Average commercial and customer loans were down from the second quarter as higher rates and a slowing economy weakened loan growth, Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf said on an analyst call.

“While the economy has continued to be resilient, we are seeing the impact of the slowing economy with loan balances declining and charge-offs continuing to deteriorate modestly,” said Scharf in the bank’s press release.

Regional lender PNC Financial Services (PNC.N), meanwhile, reported higher consumer loan delinquencies.

Bank executives also reiterated worries that sweeping new capital rules proposed in July could crimp lending and cause them to exit some products.

However, the outlook was not as negative as some banks previously thought. JPMorgan Chase said its economists had revised their outlook for the economy early this quarter to modest growth for a few quarters into 2024, rather than showing a mild recession, which fed into its decision to release net reserves of $113 million.

Citi and Wells Fargo, meanwhile, reported lower provisions for bad loans than analysts expected.

JPMorgan said in its earnings call that spending growth had now reverted to pre-pandemic trends, with consumers starting use up their savings.

“Currently, U.S. consumers and businesses generally remain healthy, although consumers are spending down their excess cash buffers,” said JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon.

HIGHER EARNINGS, LOWER DEPOSITS

Banks generally reported higher net interest income (NII), or the difference between what they earn on loans and pay out on deposits, as they benefited from higher interest rates.

JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, the first, third and fourth biggest U.S. lenders, respectively, also increased their outlook for NII.

Eric Kuby, chief investment officer at North Star Investment Management Corp in Chicago, which owns JPMorgan shares, said “what you are seeing is the big banks with really diverse businesses had quite good earnings.”

Dimon said the results benefited from “over-earning” on NII although that would normalize over time. Bank executives said they did not consider the current NII levels to be sustainable.

By contrast, PNC’s NII declined. The bank said that higher yields on interest-earning assets were more than offset by increased funding costs.

JPMorgan Chase, Wells, Citi and PNC all reported a decline in average deposits.

The banks also cautioned about proposed bank capital hikes by regulators, which they said if could make a number of their products and services uneconomical.

Shares of JPMorgan and Wells Fargo rose between 1% and 3%. Citi’s stock closed slightly lower, reversing an earlier gain, and PNC fell. The KBW index of bank shares (.BKX), which includes regional lenders, slid 0.4%.

“Bank stocks have been priced for nothing but bad news for a while and have significantly underperformed,” said Rick Meckler, a partner at Cherry Lane Investments, a family investment office.

“Today is truly a relief rally where investors see the picture for the major money center banks is not as negative as they feared, particularly their outlook.”

Reporting by Saeed Azhar, Nupur Anand, Lewis Krauskopf, Tatiana Bautzer and Sinead Carew in New York; Niket Nishant, Manya Saini, Noor Zainab Hussain, Jaiveer Shekhawat and Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Ann Saphir in San Francisco; editing by Megan Davies, Lananh Nguyen, Michelle Price and Nick Zieminski

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Student Loan Debt, Biden, Joe, president

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

October 13, 2023

US Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Order Curbing Biden’s Social Media Contacts

*Originally Published By Reuters.com

Oct 13 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday maintained a block on restrictions imposed by lower courts on the ability of President Joe Biden’s administration to encourage social media companies to remove content deemed misinformation, including about elections and COVID-19.

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito temporarily put on hold a preliminary injunction constraining how the White House and certain other federal officials communicate with social media platforms pending the administration’s appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Republican attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana and a group of social media users had sued federal officials, accusing them of unlawfully helping suppress conservative-leaning speech on major social medial platforms, such as Meta’s (META.O) Facebook, Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) YouTube and X, formerly called Twitter.

Friday’s action keeps the matter on hold until Oct. 20. This gives the justices more time to consider the administration’s request to block an injunction issued by a lower court that had concluded that administration officials likely coerced the companies into censoring certain posts, in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment free speech protections.

Alito first placed a temporary hold on the injunction pending the justices’ review on Sept. 14. That pause lapsed as a lower appeals court reheard the matter. Alito is the justice designated by the court to act on certain matters arising from a group of states that include Louisiana, where the lawsuit was first filed.

The case represents one of numerous legal battles underway pitting free speech against content moderation on the internet, with many Democrats and liberals warning of platforms’ amplification of misinformation and disinformation about public health, vaccines and election fraud and conservatives and Republicans accusing platforms of censoring their views.

The Biden administration has argued that its officials did nothing illegal and had sought to mitigate the hazards of online misinformation, including about the pandemic, by alerting social media companies to content that violated their own policies.

Louisiana-based U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty issued a preliminary injunction in July. Doughty found that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that the administration helped suppress “disfavored conservative speech” by suppressing views on masking, lockdowns and vaccines intended as public health measures during the pandemic or that questioned the validity of the 2020 election in which Biden, a Democrat, defeated Donald Trump, a Republican.

The 5th Circuit has narrowed the injunction, but affirmed that it constrains White House, Office of the Surgeon General, FBI, CDC, and the U.S. Cybsecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham