Racist Covid funding, RIP Ronald ‘Khalis’ Bell
Job losses, Woodward bombshell, Black Effect Podcast Network
54 days until Election Day.
Less than half of the 22 million jobs lost during the pandemic have been recovered. Unemployment claims data out this morning was worse than expected.
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Tonight is the season opener for the NFL. Arrowhead Stadium will be at 25% capacity as the Kansas City Chiefs host the Houston Texans.
🚨 U.S. Covid Funding Flaw Shortchanges Hospitals in Black Communities
“The method used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help medical providers hammered by Covid is based on past revenue at those institutions. This shortchanges counties that have more Black residents, even though they have higher numbers of patients with Covid-19 — or with other conditions that put them at greater risk for it — as well as hospitals that are under the greatest financial strain, according to a report published in JAMA last month.”
“The flaw embedded in the allocation of those relief funds was similar to one in a popular hospital algorithm that researchers found was less likely to refer Black patients than White ones to programs that provide close medical monitoring for complex conditions, even if the Black patients were equally sick or sicker.”
(Bloomberg)
📚 Trump Admits Playing Down Coronavirus's Severity, According To New Woodward Book
"’This is deadly stuff,’ the president told Woodward in a Feb. 7 conversation, according to the book, which is called Rage. ‘You just breathe the air and that's how it's passed. And so that's a very tricky one. That's a very delicate one. It's also more deadly than even your strenuous flu.’
“‘About a month after the February conversation, Trump admitted to Woodward that he had been playing down the virus's severity.’
“‘I wanted to always play it down,’ Trump told Woodward on March 19. ‘I still like playing it down, because I don't want to create a panic.’”
(NPR)
🎧 Charlamagne and iHeartMedia Launch Black Effect Podcast Network
“Spearheaded by Charlamagne, the Black Effect Podcast Network is scheduled to premiere this fall with 18 podcasts on iHeartRadio and is projected to become the largest podcast publisher committed to Black audiences and voices in Black culture. The mission is clear: ‘to amplify, elevate, and empower emerging and established talent.’
“‘Our goal is to shift the narrative from Black creators signing transactional deals, to instead forming legacy partnerships that build generational wealth while allowing each creative to have an equitable stake in their future,’ Charlamagne said in a statement. ‘As a long-time partner of iHeart, it’s an honor to make history with them.’”
(Power 105.1)
🙏🏿 Kool & the Gang Co-Founder Ronald ‘Khalis’ Bell Dead at 68
“Ronald ‘Khalis’ Bell, the singer, songwriter and saxophonist whose group Kool & the Gang became one of the most celebrated and musically eclectic funk bands in the 1970s and beyond, died Wednesday at his U.S. Virgin Islands home at the age of 68, a rep confirmed to Rolling Stone. A cause of death was not disclosed.”
“Bell, who adapted the name Khalis Bayyan later in life, co-wrote many of the group’s perpetual life-event earworms – including ‘Ladies’ Night,’ ‘Jungle Boogie’ and ‘Celebration’ – that have become embedded into the national consciousness.”
(Rolling Stone)