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Daily Dose

Daily Dose: 11/15/17

Donald Trump stops just short of calling UCLA players ungrateful

Clinton Yates By @clintonyates

1:49 PMDidn’t get a win Tuesday on Around The Horn, but Thursday is a new day, so we’ll see how that goes.

When it comes to nations ruled by dictators, it’s difficult to understand the truth. So when a military leader jumps on state broadcast television and announces that “this is not a coup,” well, OK, whatever. Now, it appears it’s definitely a coup. Robert Mugabe, who’s been in power in Zimbabwe as long as I’ve been alive, is apparently under house arrest. If you don’t know, Mugabe took control of his nation back from minority white rule and basically cashed out from there.

Speaking of Africa, its treasures are plentiful. Beyond the people and agriculture, there are the animals. Many of them are tourist attractions, but even more so, many are targets for poaching. Whether it be overzealous hunters who just want to say they downed something bigger than themselves, or those who want to take tusk ivory to be sold, many animals are under constant attack. The northern white rhino is no different, and there are only three left on earth. Meet the men who protect them with their lives.

If you don’t know Jeff Sessions, you should. He’s the U.S. attorney general, and the same guy whom Coretta Scott King warned us about some 30 years ago regarding his feelings about race. In testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, he repeatedly contradicted himself about his involvement regarding Russia, which is one thing. What caught my eye was what he said regarding a report about “black extremists.” Watch this video and, perhaps as important, check out his wife’s reaction to what he’s saying.

Donald Trump is the president of the United States of America. His literal job is to advocate on behalf of his constituents, which includes all citizens of this nation. But since he’s very much into personal accolades, he wants to know if the three hoopsters from UCLA who were accused of shoplifting in China are going to thank him for his apparent efforts in helping them get home. Now might be a good time to resurface this story. Also, it should be known that Trump’s own chief of staff called the Bruins players “knuckleheads.”

Free Food

Coffee Break: I don’t know much about robots, but I do know that I’m not here for them taking over the human race. But when they are self-aware to the point that they can basically outsmart us and plot our demise without even thinking twice, I RUN AWAY SCREAMING. Seriously, watch this.

Snack Time: The movie Get Out will be going to the Golden Globes as a comedy, which is confusing and angering to many fans of the film. It’s more complicated than that, but that category does feel rather weird.

Dessert: As someone who routinely rocks my naps on television with pride, this story is fascinating.

Ibtihaj Muhammad Daily Dose
Ibtihaj Muhammad attends the 2017 Glamour Women of the Year Awards at Kings Theatre on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, in New York. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Daily Dose: 11/14/17

Ibtihaj Muhammad gets her own Barbie doll

Clinton Yates By @clintonyates

1:58 PMTuesday’s a TV day, so be sure to tune in to Around The Horn at 5 p.m. on ESPN. Otherwise, I’ll have some updates for you soon on what the radio schedule will be for the holiday season.

A year ago Tuesday we lost Gwen Ifill. It feels like so much longer, considering what this country has endured in the past year and how important journalism has been to the entire landscape. She was a legend, an incredible professional and a beacon in the business. Now, on the anniversary of her passing, Simmons College will name one of its schools after Ifill, who graduated from the Boston school in 1977. Frankly, a whole lot more institutions, not just academic ones, should follow their lead.

Meek Mill officially has the whole ‘hood behind him. After it was ruled that he’d be going to state prison for at least two years as a result of yet another parole violation, people from all walks of life came out to support him. Fans and Eagles players showed up at a rally for the Philadelphia native rapper Monday night. The owner of the 76ers wrote a letter to the judge on behalf of Meek. His label head, Rick Ross, was in the building as well, but most interestingly that rumor about the judge involved has gone even further, which is weird. Kap has his back as well.

Remember Rachel Dolezal? The lady who said that she’s transracial and went on that whole media tour to sell books about the matter? She claimed she “identified” as black and therefore should be respected as such? That nonsense? Yeah, well, now she’s got a follower. Some dude in Florida is claiming that he is, in fact, a Filipino man at heart, which he claims to be true because he really enjoys the food. In case this needs to be clarified, all of this is laughably absurd.

Ibtihaj Muhammad is an Olympic fencer. She also happens to be a Muslim woman, and the first woman to compete for the United States while wearing a hijab. I had the fortunate pleasure of meeting her once for a panel discussion, and she was one of the smartest, nicest people I’ve ever met. Now, the trailblazer has been named as part of Barbie’s new “Shero” line. In other words, she’s getting her own Barbie doll, which is amazing. So, if you’re looking for something for a child this holiday season, get after it.

Free Food

Coffee Break: Speaking of hijab, do not ever remove another person’s for any reason. It is, No. 1, a personal space violation, secondarily an assault and arguably a hate crime. They are religious headscarves, period. One teacher decided to join her students in removing one girl’s in class. Unbelievably infuriating.

Snack Time: If you don’t know who Anita Hemmings is, she’s the first black woman to graduate from Vassar College. She also passed as white to do so. Thanks to Zendaya, her story is coming to the big screen.

Dessert: When you make the World Cup, do this.

ck-lede Daily Dose
Colin Kaepernick is GQ’s Citizen of the Year Martin Schoeller / GQ's Instagram

Daily Dose: 11/13/17

Colin Kaepernick named GQ’s ‘Citizen of the Year’

Clinton Yates By @clintonyates

1:38 PMHappy Monday, kiddos — hope you had a healthy and productive weekend.

Colin Kaepernick has had an incredible year. His charity work has reached a lot of people and if he wasn’t a household name due to his NFL play, he certainly will be one now that GQ magazine has named him its Citizen Of The Year. He’s on its newest cover rocking what could be described as a militant look, which personally, I think comes with its issues. Kaep doing Kaep is completely fine, but one need not look like a Black Panther party member to be down for the cause. You can wear Gucci and still be a freedom fighter.

Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but bringing guns to church seems like a bad idea. Namely because if you’re there to praise the Lord, it just feels like gunning someone down is not really congruent to that whole cause. But, because people are willing to attack others in houses of worship, more and more are taking up arms publicly. So, to review: To prevent mass shootings, quite a few people of the cloth think that more guns in a scenario would lead to less gunfire. Maybe I’m terrible at math, but that just doesn’t add up.

President Donald Trump’s White House has a few characters in it. Some of them are members of his family, some aren’t. But one very famous member of his staff was a reality star as well with Trump, before they made it to Washington. Omarosa’s hiring was big news, and though she formally has a job title, no one really knows what she does. Sidebar: It’s not even her first job there. But when a reporter followed her around for a day at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., the trip brought more questions than answers.

Carlos Beltran has retired. It’s cool news because going out on top is a great feeling, in general. So, now that the Houston Astros won the World Series, after 20 years, he’s stepping away. To be clear, for my money, Beltran is headed directly to the Hall of Fame. Sure he played for a lot of teams, but to call him a journeyman is misguided. He’s not in the 500-homer club, but he did make nine All-Star teams and was absolutely one of the best players of his time. Looking forward to hearing him speak in Cooperstown, New York.

Free Food

Coffee Break: I’ve been a reader of Vanity Fair since I was in high school, and a religious one, at that. But for as much as it highlights the off-the-beaten-path worlds of the rich and famous, it is still a very rich and very white publication. Now, Radhika Jones will be taking the helm, which is a step in the right direction.

Snack Time: When I want to see appliances destroyed on camera, I don’t ask a ton of questions, because the footage is always good. The reason people are banging out their Keurig machines happens to be extremely stupid, however.

Dessert: If you didn’t watch Saturday Night Live this week, just check this out.

 

Daily Dose

Daily Dose: 11/10/17

Louis C.K. admits to sexual assault

Clinton Yates By @clintonyates

4:55 PMWelp, we finally made it to the weekend, which is always fun. Unless you work weekends, like most of us. In which case, get that paper, fam.

Louis C.K.’s day has finally come. What started years ago as a blind item, evolved to a well-known public rumor and finally rose to the level of a New York Times story was publicly admitted by the comedian. Say what you want about the statement itself — it was not good — but the fact that he’s actually talking out loud about it is remarkable. Some people seem to think that his comedy justifies his acts, which is obviously absurd. The reactions to his “apology” have varied, but here’s the news story.

Photo manipulation is nothing new when it comes to magazines. Across the industry, most things that you see in the printed form, or online for that matter, are manipulated to the point that if you saw the original, you’d be borderline shocked. It’s considered standard practice. But, for Lupita Nyong’o, one U.K. company went too far with its latest maneuver. They completely removed the actual curls of her hair, which is a pretty serious violation, even for a magazine. She called them on it.

When it comes to love, China knows what it’s doing. Their biggest shopping day of the year is one called Singles Day, the anti-Valentine’s Day holiday, which is Friday. First off: This idea is incredible. I’m not going to spend my hard-earned money on some other person I love, I’ma do me. I realize that Black Friday is a major boon to American retailers, but in China: This day is doing NUMBERS. I would love to see this specifically marketed in the United States as a self-love day.

Speaking of China, Stephon Marbury is a god there. He has a museum dedicated to him after years of playing basketball in the hoops-hungry nation. But Jimmer Fredette, that dude who never panned out in the NBA after a storied college career, decided to test Marbury on the court. And not like in a basketball sense. He actually stepped to Steph after a hard foul, and police had to get involved. How you have the gall to do that is beyond me, but luckily no one was hurt.

Free Food

Coffee Break: There are few things I love more than a cool pair of sneakers, but ones that have an emotional connection are particularly special. This version of the Kyrie Irving special edition with the word “MOM” on the tongue? Amazing.

Snack Time: If you’re in Los Angeles looking for something cool to do next week, check this out. That is, if you’re a music producer or an artist.

Dessert: New weekend music alert. Your boy Jidenna dropped a surprise EP. And he brought friends!

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