Coronavirus
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Down for the Cause: Here Are Some Celebrities Who Have Donated to COVID-19 Relief Efforts
Many celebrities are trying to do their part to assist hospital employees who are risking their health and safety to help patients during this difficult time. Lizzo donated lunches to workers at three U.S. hospitals, and Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation donated $1 million to aid in COVID-19 response efforts, a deed matched by Jay-Z and…
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Legendary Jazz Pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr. Dead at 85
Ellis Marsalis Jr., legendary jazz musician, educator and patriarch of the Marsalis family, has died at the age of 85. After being admitted to the hospital over the weekend with symptoms of pneumonia, the New York Times reports that the cause of death was from complications associated with the coronavirus. On her Twitter account, New…
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The Coronavirus Killed My Friend. His Blood Is on Donald Trump's Hands
On Sunday the 29th, the New York Times published “Nothing Matters Anymore (Except What Actually Does)“—my essay about some of the existential crises the coronavirus has thrust on us, the violence of the whiplash of the past month, and the electric slide. I first sent Jen Parker, a staff editor at the Times, a draft…
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For the Love of God: Rev. Al Sharpton Urges Religious Leaders to Take Easter and Holy Week Services Offline
With churches and pastors coming under fire for defying shelter-in-place mandates for holding religious services—two pastors were arrested in the last week—civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton called on the heads of the country’s largest historically black religious institutions and other faith leaders to halt services. This is usually a busy time of year for…
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Wimbledon Tennis Tournament Canceled for 1st Time Since World War II Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
In today’s “the ‘rona ruins everything” news, the sports world continues to suffer as the coronavirus pandemic rages on and major athletic events are either postponed or outright canceled. This time it’s the Wimbledon tennis championship that will go the way of NASCAR and the second half of the NBA 2020 season, as organizers announced…
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Beth Got Bars: This Is Us' Susan Kelechi Watson Drops Instagram Rap Verse About COVID-19
Susan Kelechi Watson is trying to make the best of a bad situation, because as she says, “you ain’t gotta panic in a pandemic.” The This Is Us star decided that her second week indoors was the perfect time to spit “a hot 16,” and hopped on Robin Thicke and Lil Wayne’s “Shooter” beat to…
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A Death Sentence: As Jails Struggle to Stem Coronavirus Outbreaks, Delays Could Spell Disaster
On March 19, the chief physician of New York City’s jail system, Ross MacDonald, issued a warning on Twitter: “A storm is coming.” In a plea directed at city prosecutors and judges, MacDonald said he noticed how swiftly courts were closed in response to COVID-19. “This was fundamentally an act of social distancing, a sound…
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Lizzo Treats Workers in Several Hospitals to Lunch
During the confusing times we’re currently living in, we’re being advised to stay home. However, many companies around the country have been deemed “essential business,” forcing their workers to risk their health and safety by going to work in order to help others. Medical workers, especially those employed in hospitals, face the real possibility of…
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Can Coronavirus Cure White Supremacy?
Black people are crazy. Long before Donald Trump’s peer-reviewed research concluded that warm weather and Easter speeches could cure the deadly COVID-19, Dr. Samuel Adolphus Cartwright mesmerized America with his own pseudo-scientific discovery. On March 17, 1851, Cartwright delivered a paper before the most distinguished scientific minds of Louisiana (the same brilliant Southerners who believed…
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Jay-Z Follows Rihanna's Lead, Matches Her Additional Donation of $1 Million Toward Coronavirus Relief
You can now add Jay-Z to the list of celebrities pledging to drop some coins as more relief is needed amid the coronavirus pandemic. After an initial $5 million pledge, on Tuesday, Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) announced they would be donating an additional $1 million in grants. Jay-Z’s Shawn Carter Foundation is joining CLF’s…