Negromancer News Bits and Bites from December 20th to 31st, 2020 - Update #41

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

Support Leroy on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   Actress Tina Louise remembers her fellow "Gilligan's Island" cast mate, Dawn Wells, who died of COVID-19 yesterday (Dec. 30th).  Louise is now the last surviving member of the beloved 1960s TV series, which continues to gain new fans.

COVID-19-STIMULUS - From YahooFortune:   Some people may have already started getting their $600 stimulus check Tuesday night, Dec. 29th.

COVID-19 - From WDSU:   Congress-elect Luke Letlow, Republican from Louisiana, has died of COVID-19.  The 41-year old had recently won Louisiana's 5th U.S. Congressional district seat, representing Central and Northeast Louisiana.  He was slated to be sworn into office in Sunday, January 3rd, 2021.

MOVIES - From WeGotThisCovered:   Director Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Burns are developing a "philosophical sequel" to their now-prescient 2011 film, "Contagion."

STREAMING - From CBC: How the streaming wars will change movies in 2021

BOX OFFICE - From Variety:  The winner of the 12/25 to 12/27/20 weekend box office is "Wonder Woman 1984" with an estimated take of 16.7 million dollars.

PIXAR - From VictoriaAdvocate:   Meet Texas A&M graduate Cheyenne Chapel, a CG artist behind Pixar's new animated film 'Soul' which premieres this Christmas on Disney+.

KAREN ALERT - From TheGrio:  A white woman assaults a black man and his son over her "stolen" iPhone.  It turns out that she had left it in an Uber a day or so earlier. 

From TheGrio:  A California "Karen" with a taser demands that her black neighbors "act white."

POLITICS - From MSN: Mike Pence Cannot Block the Certification of Joe Biden’s Victory When the Senate Formally Counts Electoral College Votes on Jan. 6th, 2021.

COVID-19 - From Deadline:  Actor Shemar Moore, star of CBS' "S.W.A.T.," has announced that he has COVID-19.

CELEBRITY - From THR:   NBA champion and legend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes about celebrities who basically destroy and hurt their careers via crazy social media commentary.

CULTURE - From TheRoot:  The city council of Murdock, a small town in Minnesota, has given a permit for a hate-group to open a "whites-only" church, and now, people are fighting back.

BREAKING NEWS - From CNN:   Nashville, Tennessee, police now believe this morning's explosion in the downtown area was "intentional."

CELERITY - From YahooReuters:   Billionaire investor, Ron Burkle, has bought the late Michael Jackson's "Neverland" ranch for 22 million dollars, 78 million less than what was the 100 million asking price in 2015.

COVID-19 - From YahooNews:  L.A. County hit another record with 148 COVID-19 deaths in a day.

BLM-COVID-19 - From YahooNews:  A black female doctor dies of COVID-19 after complaining of racist treatment in her battle against the virus.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Warner Bros. has set the the theatrical release dates for three films.  The "Mad Max" prequel, "Furiosa," gets June 23, 2023.  The animated hybrid "Road Runner" movie, "Coyote vs. Acme," gets July 21, 2023.  The movie version of "The Color Purple" musical gets December 20, 2023.

POLITICS - From CNN:  Former Democratic presidential candidate, Andrew Yang, has filed papers to run for mayor of New York City.

POLITICS - From YahooNews:  President Donald - unhappy, unleashed, and unpredictable.

POLITICS - From YahooFinance:   The new stimulus checks will go out to fewer people ... in addition to being smaller.

SPORTS - From YahooSports:  The Los Angeles Lakers get their 2020 NBA Championship rings.

CULTURE - From YahooNews:  MacKenzie Scott, former wife of Amazon's Jeff Bezos, upends philanthropy by giving away billions of dollars fast.

STREAMING - From CNN:  Inside the 5,000+-pages long Covid-19 stimulus bill is a new law that punishes streamers that pirate large amounts of copyrighted content.  Supposedly, the law specifically doesn't apply to people who use illegal streaming services or "individuals who access pirated streams or unwittingly stream unauthorized copies of copyrighted works," but is focused on "commercial, for-profit streaming piracy services" that make money from illegally streaming copyrighted material.

MOVIES - From THR:   Indie filmmaker turned hit-maker, David Gordon Green, is in talks to direct Blumhouse and Morgan Creek Productions sequel to the 1973 movie sensation, "The Exorcist."

AWARDS - From ChicagoSunTimes:   The Chicago Film Critics Film Association has named "Nomadland" its best film of 2020.  The late Chadwick Boseman was named best actor for his performance in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."

ANIMATION - From Deadline:   U2's Bono, Pharrell Williams, and Halsey will lend their voices to Universal/Illumination's "Sing 2."

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:   The winner of the 12/18 to 12/20/2020 weekend box office is "Monster Hunter" with an estimated take of 2.2 million dollars.

COVID-19 - From ScienceMagazine:  Mutant coronavirus in the United Kingdom sets off alarms but its importance remains unclear

LGBTQ - From TheMirror:   Comedian and actress, Eddie Izzard, reveals her prounouns - "she" and "her."

MOVIES - From Deadline: Universal Pictures has landed the rights to an adaptation of the graphic novel, "The Electric State," with Millie Bobby Brown attached to star and Joe and Anthony Russo ("Avengers: Endgame") on board to direct. The Russos will also produce through their AGBO banner.

BLM - From WashPost:   The Rev. William H. Lamar IV is the pastor of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington D.C. that was attacked on Sat., Dec. 12th, 2020 by members of the racist group, the "Proud Boys."  The "Boys" were in Washington for a pro-Trump rally/riot.  Rev. Lamar wrote an opinion piece for the "Washington Post" entitled "My church will replace our Black Lives Matter sign. Will America replace its racist myth?" One of the quotes is "...that White men can employ violence to take what they want and do what they want and call that criminality justice, freedom and liberty."

OBITS:

From Deadline:  American choreographer, actor, and dancer, Adolfo Quiñones, who was better known as "Shabba Doo," has died at the age of 65, Wednesday, December 30, 2020.  A dance pioneer, Shabba Doo was a member of "The Original Lockers," innovators in the dance style known as "locking."  However, Shabba Doo was best known for playing the role of "Orlando" also known as "Ozone," in the 1984 break-dancing films, "Breakin'" and "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo."

From Deadline:  The actress, Dawn Wells, has died at the age of 82, Wednesday, December 30, 2020 of complications of COVID-19.  Welles was best known for the role of "Mary Ann Summers" on the late CBS sitcom, "Gilligan's Island" (1964-67).  Over a six-decade career, Wells appeared in numerous television series, including "77 Sunset Strip," "Bonanza," and the soap opera, "The Bold and the Beautiful."

From Deadline:   Television writer and producer, William Link, has died at the age of 87, Sunday, December 27, 2020.  Link was best known for co-creating the TV series NBC's "Columbo" and CBS' "Murder, She Wrote."  Link and his long-time writing partner, Richard Levinson, won two Primetime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama."  Link was nominated for the Emmy nine other times.

From Deadline:   Veteran television and film animator, Tuck Tucker, has died at the age of 59, Tuesday, December 22, 2020.  Tucker was best known for his work on Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "Hey Arnold!"  However, he had numerous credits, including on "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy," to name a few.

From CNN:   Former Major League Baseball pitcher, Phil Niekro, has died at the age of 81, Saturday, December 26, 2020.  He was known for his "knuckleball" pitch, and his 318 career wins is the most by a knuckleball pitcher.  He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.  Phil and his late brother, Joe Niekro (also an MLB pitcher), had 539 career victories between the two of them - the most combined wins by brothers in baseball history.

From CNN:   Former pro basketball coach and player and NBA champion, K.C. Jones, has died at the age of 88, Friday, December 25, 2020.  Jones won 8 championships as a member of the Boston Celtics (1959-66).  He won two as a Celtics assistant coach (1972, 1981), and two more as the Celtics head coach (1984, 1986).  In 1955 and 1956, Jones won two NCAA championships with his future Celtics teammate, Bill Russell, as members of the University of San Francisco men's basketball team.  He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame - Class of 1989.

From Deadline:   Rapper, songwriter, and recording artist, John "Ecstasy" Fletcher, has died at the age of 56, Wednesday, December 23, 2020. Fletcher was best known as a member a co-founder of the pioneering rap group, "Whodini," which was among the most commercially successful of the early rap groups, having multiple albums certified gold or platinum.

From Variety:   Broadway actress and recording artist, Rebecca Luker, has died at the age of 59, Wednesday, December 23, 2020, following a battle with ALS.  She was a three-time Tony Award nominee ("Showboat," "The Music Man," and "Mary Poppins").  She performed numerous Broadway-related recordings, but also recorded four solo albums.

From NFL:   Former NFL linebacker, Kevin Greene, has died at the age of 58, Monday, December 21, 2020.  Greene started his career with the Los Angeles Rams, and he played three seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  He was a member of the Steelers team that lost Super Bowl XXX.  As a coach, Greene won a member of the 2010 Green Bay Packers that won Super Bowl XLV.  Green was inducted into the "Pro Football Hall of Fame" in 2016.

From Deadline:  Country singer-songwriter, K.T. Oslin, has died at the age of 78, Monday, December 21, 2020. A late bloomer, Oslin had a string of hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  Her 1987 album, "80s Ladies," topped the "Billboard" Country LP chart.  Oslin won three Grammy Awards including the 1989 award for "Best Country Song" for "Hold Me."

From Deadline:  American stage and television actress, Peg Murray, has died at the age of 96, November 29, 2020.  Murray won a Tony Award for her performance in the original Broadway production of "Cabaret" (1966).  Her TV credits include the daytime soap operas, "Another World" and "All My Children."

 

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from December 13th to 19th, 2020 - Update #25

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

Support Leroy on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

BLM - From WashPost:   The Rev. William H. Lamar IV is the pastor of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington D.C. that was attacked on Sat., Dec. 12th, 2020 by members of the racist group, the "Proud Boys."  The "Boys" were in Washington for a pro-Trump rally/riot.  Rev. Lamar wrote an opinion piece for the "Washington Post" entitled "My church will replace our Black Lives Matter sign. Will America replace its racist myth?" One of the quotes is "...that White men can employ violence to take what they want and do what they want and call that criminality justice, freedom and liberty."

COVID-19 - From CNN:  US sees record Covid-19 cases as CDC advisory group votes to recommend Moderna vaccine

CELEBRITY - From THR:   Inside Johnny Depp's self-made implosion.

CULTURE - From YahooEntertainment:   The last "Blockbuster" video rental store keeps chugging along and is the subject of a new documentary, "The Last Blockbuster."

AWARDS - From THR:  The New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) names "First Cow" its best film of 2020.

STREAMING - From YahooEW:   New set photos from "Coming 2 America," Netflix's sequel to the classic Eddie Murphy film, "Coming to America," include an image of Wesley Snipes.

MOVIES - From DirtyMovies:   There will be another entry in the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" film franchise in 2021.  "Dirty Movies" analyzes what went wrong with the last two entries.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  NBC is working on a reboot of its classic legal comedy, "Night Court" (1984-1992), with Warner Bros. Television.  John Larroquette, who won several Emmy Awards for the show, will return as "Dan Fielding," and Melissa Rauch ("The Big Bang Theory") will play the role of Judge Abby Stone, the daughter of the late Judge Harry Stone (played by the late Harry Anderson).

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  ABC is in early development on "Pine Valley," a prime time follow-up to its daytime soap opera, "All My Children," which ended its run on the network in 2011.

TELEVISION-BLM - From Variety: "Heroes" Was Supposed to Be Leonard Roberts’ Big Break. Instead, It Nearly Broke Him. An African-American actor speaks about his poor treatment on the set of the former NBC series.

TOM CRUISE - From Deadline:   Tom Cruise Goes Off On Crew After Covid Breach On ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ London Set – Hear The Audio.

From YahooMovies:  Apparently, five crew members have quit "Mission: Impossible 7" over Tom Cruise's tirade against them for allegedly breaking COVID-19 protocol.

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SPORTS-BLM - From MLB:   Major League Baseball has long celebrated the legacy of the Negro Leagues. But for the first time, MLB is officially recognizing that the quality of the segregation-era circuits was comparable to its own product from that time period.  Addressing what MLB described as a “long overdue recognition,” Commissioner Rob Manfred on Wednesday bestowed Major League status upon seven professional Negro Leagues that operated between 1920 and 1948. The decision means that the approximately 3,400 players of the Negro Leagues during this time period are officially considered Major Leaguers, with their stats and records becoming a part of Major League history.

COVID-19 - From GuardianUK: US Covid Deaths Pass 300,000 as First Americans Receive Coronavirus Vaccine

MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment:  As we acknowledge the 25th anniversary of Michael Mann's film, "Heat," which starred Oscar-winners, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, we revisit an interview in which Pacino talks about his friendly rivalry with De Niro.

STREAMING - From Deadline:   Lily James and Sebastian Stan (Marvel Studios "Winter Soldier") will play model/actress Pam Anderson and rock musician Tommy Lee in Hulu's biopic about the infamous celebrity couple.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Chris Pine is in talks to star in "Dungeons & Dragons" for eOne and Paramount Pictures.  Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley are set to direct from a script they wrote.

SPORTS - From YahooSports:   Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians are dropping "Indians" from their name.  Here are the possibilities for a new name, including a Negro League name.

BLM - From Deadline:  Tyler Perry has donated $100,000 to the legal defense fund for Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, the medical worker murdered in her apartment by members of the Louisville Metro Police Department.

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:   The winner of the 12/11 to 12/13/20 weekend box office is "The Croods: A New Age" with an estimated take of 3 million dollars.

COVID-19 - From YahooNewsAP:  Trucks with first batches of COVID-19 vaccine in US get ready to roll

CHRISTMAS - From YahooNews:  Rare planetary conjunction means a rare "Christmas Star" will light up the night for the first time since the year 1226.

OBITS:

From THR:   American dancer, actress, and choreographer, Ann Reinking, has died at the age of 71, Saturday, December 12, 2020.  She is best known for her association with the Broadway musical, "Chicago," both as an actress (1977 and 1996) and as a choreographer (1996).  In 1997, she won a "Tony Award for Best Choreography" for the 1996 revival of "Chicago."  Reinking was nominated for a Tony three other times.

From Variety:  The spy-turned-spy-novelist, John le Carre, has died at the age of 89, Saturday, December 12, 2020.  During the 1950s and 1960s, le Carre (born David John Moore Cornwell) worked the British "Security Service" (MI5) and "Secret Intelligence Service" (MI6).  By the time he left the service, le Carre has already published three novels, including the international bestseller, "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" (1963).  Ten of his novels have been adapted into film, including 2001's "The Constant Gardener," which became the 2005 Oscar-winning film.

From RollingStone:  Iconic country music singer, Charley Pride, has died at the age of 86, Saturday, December 12, 2020 of complications of COVID-19.  Pride was a pioneering African-American country musician and is one of only three Black members of the "Grand Old Opry," and he was inducted into the "Country Music Hall of Fame" in 2000.  In 1971, at the "Country Music Association Awards, Pride won the "Entertainer of the Year" award.  Pride was a three-time Grammy Award winner, and received the "Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2017.

From RollingStone:   10 essential Charley Pride songs, according to Rolling Stone.

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From Deadline:  The actress Marguerite Ray has died at the age of 89, November 18, 2020.  Ray was the first African-American regular on the CBS soap opera, "The Young and the Restless," playing the role of Mamie Johnson from 1980 to 1990.  Ray was also a regular on "Sanford" (1980-81), NBC's sequel series to "Sanford and Son."

 

 

 

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from December 6th to 12th, 2020 - Update #24

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

Support Leroy on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

OBIT-COVID-19 - From YahooEntertainment:   Country music's first Black icon, Charley Pride, has died of COVID-19.

MOVIES - From CNN:   It is official, actor Harrison Ford will return for a fifth film in the "Indiana Jones" series, which began in 1981 with the Oscar-winning "Raiders of the Lost Ark."  The film is due July 2022.

PIXAR - From Deadline: Pixar is working on an origin movie for "Buzz Lightyear," the space hero from "Toy Story."  "Captain America's" Chris Evans will voice the lead role.  The film is due in July 2022.

DISNEY+ - From Deadline:   Whoopi Goldberg is returning for a third "Sister Act" film.  Goldberg will reprise her role of Deloris Wilson for "Sister Act 3" and will produce the film along with Tyler Perry for Disney+.

DISNEY+ - From Variety:   Disney+ announces 10 new "Star Wars"-related series and 10 new series from Marvel Studios.

BLM - From WebMD:   In an article for "WebMD," college and pro basketball legend and champion, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talks about the health of African-Americans and the risks to that posted by the healthcare system.

STREAMING - From BleedingCool:   Amazon is developing a TV series based on the 1997 teen horror flick, "I Know What You Did Last Summer."  Craig Macneill will direct the series pilot.

STREAMING - From Deadline:   Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes will play brothers in "True Story," a Netflix limited series drama.  It written and executive produced by Eric Newman of "Narcos: Mexico."

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  HBO has been working on a reboot of its vampire melodrama, "True Blood."  Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (creator of "Riverdale") and Jami O'Brien (creator of AMC'S "NOS4A2") will write the pilot with O'Brien acting as the executive producer with Alan Ball, creator of the original series.

MOVIES - From IndieWire:  The best undistributed films of 2020

OSCARS - From Deadline:   Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher, and Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh have been announced as the producers for the 93rd Academy Awards, which will be held Sunday, April 25th, 2021.

WARNER MEDIA - From THR:  Oscar-nominated director, Christopher Nolan, rips into WarnerMedia's announced plan to release its 2021 film slate on its streaming service, HBO Max, which Nolan calls "the worst streaming service."

STAR TREK - From Deadline:  Actors who have starred in the "Star Trek" franchise, from the original series to the recent "Star Trek: Discovery," will hold a virtual fund raiser for U.S. Senate candidates from Georgia, Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock, on Sat. Dec. 12th, 2020.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Constantin Film has issued an apology for its film, "Monster Hunter," an adaptation of the popular video game.  The film contains dialogue that was considered offensive in China, where the film has been a hit.

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:  The winner of the 12/4 to 12/6/2020 weekend box office is DreamWorks Animation's "The Croods: A New Age" with an estimated take of 4.4 million dollars.

MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment:  Oscar-winning screenwriter Alan Ball wonders about the legacy of the Oscar-winning film he wrote, "American Beauty" (1999), because of the scandals related to the film's star, Kevin Spacey.  Spacey won a "Best Actor" Oscar for his performance, but the last few years have seen Spacey beset by accusations of predatory behavior and sexual assault.

TELEVISION - From ShadowandAct:  Oscar and Emmy-winning actress Regina King is producing "Slay," an African-American themed supernatural drama that is in development at The CW.

TELEVISION - From LATimes:  Inside the TV networks' battle for Christmas movie supremacy 

OBITS:

From TMZ:  Character actor and occasional professional wrestler, Tom "Tiny" Lister, Jr. was found dead in his apartment, Thursday, December 10, 2020.  Lister is best known for playing the character, "Deebo," in "Friday" (1995) and its sequel, "Next Friday" (2000).  He appeared in numerous other films, including "The Fifth Element" (1997) and "The Dark Knight" (2008), to name a few.

From Deadline:  The film and television actress, Natalie Desselle, has died at the age of 83, Monday, December 7, 2020 of colon cancer.  Her best known film roles were in "B.A.P.S." (1997) and "Madea's Big Happy Family" (2010).  Desselle made her television debut on a 1996 episode of ABC's former family sitcom, "Family Matters."  Desselle was a main cast member on UPN's TV series, "Eve" (2003-06).

From BET:  Halle Berry issues a statement about the passing of Natalie Desselle, who co-starred with her in "B.A.P.S."

 

From BET:  Halley Berry posts new emotional tribute to former co-star, Natalie Desselle, who died Monday morning, Dec. 7th. 

From YahooEntertainment:  Halle Berry and other celebs react to the death of Natalie Desselle.

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From Deadline:   Film and television character actor and stage actor, Warren Berlinger, has died at the age of 83, Wednesday, December 2, 2020.  He was known for playing next to bigger stars, including a role in the Elvis Presley film, "Spinout" (1966).  Later in his career, he made numerous guest appearances on such TV series as "Happy Days," "Murder, She Wrote," and "Friends," to name a few.  He began his stage career as a nine-year-old in the 1946 Broadway production of "Annie Get Your Gun," and he went on to perform on stage in "Blue Denim" and "Happy Time," to name a few.

From Deadline:   The actor television actor, David Landers, has died at the age of 73, Friday, December 4, 2020.  Landers is best known for playing the role of "Squiggy" on the former ABC sitcom, "Laverne & Shirley" (1976-83).  He was also a noted voice actor who performed in multiple animated film and TV series.

COVID-19:

From CDC:   The Centers for Disease Control has a "COVID Data Tracker."

From YahooNews:  Why does COVID-19 kill some people and hardly affects others?

From YahooNews:  Yahoo has a dedicated page of links updating news about COVID-19.

From Deadline:  The news site "Deadline" has a dedicated page for news about coronavirus and the film, TV, and entertainment industries.

From TheNewYorker:  The venerable magazine has a dedicate COVID-19 page free to all readers.

From YahooNews:  Re: the federal government's response to COVID-19: What if the most important election of our lifetime was the last one - 2016?

From YahooLife:  What is "happy hypoxia?"  And do you have this COVID-19 symptom?

From JuanCole:  Remember when President Donald went crazy and suggested that we ingest household cleaning supplies and UV light to fight COVID-19.  Here is the video and commentary from Juan Cole.

From TheIntercept:  The federal government has ramped up security and police-related spending in response to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, including issuing contracts for riot gear, disclosures show. The purchase orders include requests for disposable cuffs, gas masks, ballistic helmets, and riot gloves...

From TheAtlantic:  The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying. The pandemic has exposed the bitter terms of our racial contract, which deems certain lives of greater value than others.

From ProPublica:  Hospital's Secret COVID-19 Policy Separated Native American Mothers From Their Newborns

From TheGuardian:  More than 20 million Americans could have contracted COVID-19, experts say.

From RSN/WashPost:  The COVID-19 mutation that has taken over the world.

7/13 - From YahooSports:  Maybe a pandemic means that there will not be college football this fall.

7/13- From YahooNews:  The CDC adds four new symptoms (including nausea and purple or blue lesions on feet and toes) to the list of COVID-19 symptoms.

7/19 - From YahooFinance:  Harvard Public Health professor Dr. Howard Koh says the U.S. "needs to regroup" to find COVID-19.

7/22 - From YahooNews:  A public health employee predicted Florida's coronavirus catastrophe — then she was fired.

7/22 - From YahooLifestyle:  Florida mom loses son, 20, to coronavirus, and then days later, her daughter.

7/23 - From TheWrap:  The site has a list of movie and TV stars, entertainment and sports figures who have tested positive for COVID-19

From Bloomberg:  Will the COVID-19 pandemic turn Millennials into socialists?

7/27 - From CNN:   Chief of critical care at Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center, Dr. Joseph Costa, passes away due to Covid-19 complications... after treating the hospital's sickest COVID-19 patients.  He was 56 and leaves behind family, including a husband of 28 years.

7/31 - From Slate:  COVID-19 is airborne - for reals!

8/9 - From YahooAFP:  According to the real-time tally kept by John Hopkins University, the United States has hit 5 million cases of COVID-19.

8/16 - From Truthout: COVID Deaths Continue to Surge in Countries Led by Far Right Authoritarians

9/19 - From WashPost:  U.S. coronavirus death toll reaches 200,000

9/23 - From CNBC:  Mark Cuban, who owns the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and star of ABC's "Shark Tank," suggests that every household in American get a $1000 check every two weeks for the next two months.

11/7 - From YahooNews:  "It's a slaughter," doctors say of new coronavirus wave.

11/13 - YahooNews:  "We blew it": U.S. reaches 'explosive' COVID-19 spread as virus is nearly impossible to control, experts say.

11/29 From LATimes:  California sets record with most COVID-19 hospitalizations since pandemic began

12/6 - From YahooNBC:  President Donald has announced that his lawyer, former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giulani, has tested positive for COVID-19.

BLACK LIVES MATTER:

From RSN:   Judge's Blistering Opinion Says Courts Have Placed Police Beyond Accountability

From TheGuardian:  Yusef Salaam, one of the "Central Park Five," says in an interview, "Trump would have had me hanging from a tree in Central Park."

From NPR:  Prosecutors' plea deal required drug suspect to name Breonna Taylor a "co-defendant."

From ChicagoSunTimes:  Rev. Jesse Jackson: America has millions of people in poverty because Americans choose not to demand the policies that would lift them out of poverty.

From APNews:  No one will be held accountable for the killing of Louisville African-American resident, Breonna Taylor.

From Channel4:  Revealed: Trump campaign strategy to deter millions of Black Americans from voting in 2016

From GuardianUK:  California is going to consider paying reparations to the descendants of African slaves after adopting a landmark law to study and to develop proposals around the issue.

From TheRoot:   What to Do When Your Country Turns Into a Dumpster Fire

From Vox:  It's True: 1 in 1,000 Black Americans Have Died in the Covid-19 Pandemic

From CBS:  Breonna Taylor's boyfriend certain cops didn't identify themselves

From DonaldTrump:  Well, because it has been in the news a lot lately (via Ice Cube and Li'l Wayne), here is "The Platinum Plan."  It is impressive, but no Republican Congress would go along with even 10 percent of this plan which is basically a long list of promises to the Black Americans - individually and as a group.

From Truthout:   Yes, 55 Percent of White Women Voted for Trump. No, I’m Not Surprised.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from November 15th to 21st, 2020 - Update #25

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

Support Leroy on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS: 

TELEVISION - From THR:   A contestant on TBS' "Wipeout" died Wednesday, November 18th, after completing the competition reality show's course.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Disney's 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox) is producing a fifth movie in the "Predator" film franchise.  Dan Trachtenberg ("10 Cloverfield Lane") is currently scheduled to direct.

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Six actors have been cast in Netflix's live-action version on the beloved, cult anime, "Cowboy Bebop."

STREAMING - From BloodyDisgusting:  Horror movie icon, Robert Englund, the original "Freddy Krueger," will be a cast member on Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season Four.

DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney is considering pulling three of its live-action remakes of its classic animated feature films, "Peter Pan and Wendy" "Pinocchio," and "Cruella," from theatrical release for Disney+ premieres. 

CELEBRITY - From People:  Actor Michael B. Jordan has been named "People's Sexiest Man Alive 2020."

MOVIES - From Variety:   Warner Bros. will release "Wonder Woman 1984" on HBO Max and to theaters on Dec. 25th and to international theaters Dec. 16th.

CELEBRITY - From LATimes:   Emmy-winning actor Michael J. Fox is reportedly planning a retire again because of his decline health.  Fox has been battling Parkinson's disease since 1991.

MOVIES - From BloodyDisgusting:  The site offers a list of 10 recent great horror movies, plus one more.

TELEVISION - From BloodyDisgusting:   TV god-king Ryan Murphy has shared the poster for "American Horror Stories," the spinoff of his long-running "American Horror Story."  The new series will feature "one-hour contained episodes" and will be exclusive to "FX on Hulu."

MOVIES - From BloodyDisgusting:  "Scream" creator Kevin Williamson has revealed that the official title of "Scream 5" is ... "Scream."

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Spike Lee and eOne are prepping a film musical about the miracle drug, "Viagra."

CELEBRITY - From Deadline:   Quentin Tarantino has signed a two-book deal with "Harper," the HarperCollins imprint.  One of the books will be a novelization of Tarantino's Oscar-winning film, "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood."

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Universal and the Cinemark theater chain sign a "theatrical window"/"premium video on demand." Universal previously signed such a deal with AMC in July.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Steven Caple, Jr., who directed "Creed 2," will direct the next "Transformers" movie, which will be set in a re-invented universe.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  With its Barack Obama interview (Sun, Nov. 15th), "60 Minutes" ratings surge again.

CELEBRITY - From Deadline:  Beloved stand-up comedian and actor, Sinbad, is recovering from a stroke.  Sinbad is best remembered for starring in "The Cosby Show" spinoff, "A Different World" and for hosting "It's Showtime at the Apollo" from 1989 to 1991.

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:   The winner of 11/13 to 11/15/2020 weekend box office is "Freaky" with an estimated take of 3.7 million dollars.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Terry McMillan's bestselling 1990 novel, "Waiting to Exhale," was adapted into a popular 1995 film.  The author recently announced that a sequel television series is being developed.

MOVIES - From ShadowandAct:   Zazie Beetz joins Brad Pitt and Brian Tyree in the action-thriller. "Bullet Train."

MOVIES - From THR:   "Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey" is a Christmas that his getting acclaim and attention because of its Black cast.  This article talks about the great lengths hair and make-up designer Sharon Martin went to reimagine Black hairstyles for Victorian England.

STREAMING - From Deadline:   Will Smith has posted the first trailer for HBO Max's "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" reunion special.  "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion" arrives Nov. 19th on HBO Max.

OBITS:

From THR:  Noted television writer and producer, Charlie Hauck, has died at the age of 79, Saturday, November 14, 2020.  Hauck wrote for such popular television series as "Maude," "Frasier," and, "Home Improvement."  Oscar-nominated actor, Michael Keaton, credits Hauck with getting his career in Hollywood started.  He was twice nominated for a Primetime Emmy, once as a producer on "Frasier" and once for co-writing an episode of "The Associates," a series he co-created.

From YahooSports:  Former NFL player, Jake Scott, has died at the age of 75, Thursday, November 19, 2020.   Scott was a defensive safety for the Miami Dolphins (1970-75).  He was the MVP of Super Bowl VII, in which the Dolphins defeated the Washington Redskins and finished their 1972 undefeated season.  Scott was also on the Super Bow VIII-winning Dolphins team.

From ComicBook:  Noted Canadian voice actor and TV actor, Kirby Morrow, has died at the age of 47, Wednesday, November 18, 2020.  Morrow was best known for his voice performances in English dubs of Japanese anime, such as the role of "Goku" in "Dragon Ball Z."  He also acted in numerous TV series, such as "Stargate Atlantis," "The Flash," and most recently, ABC's "The Good Doctor."

COVID-19:

From CDC:   The Centers for Disease Control has a "COVID Data Tracker."

From YahooNews:  Why does COVID-19 kill some people and hardly affects others?

From YahooNews:  Yahoo has a dedicated page of links updating news about COVID-19.

From Deadline:  The news site "Deadline" has a dedicated page for news about coronavirus and the film, TV, and entertainment industries.

From TheNewYorker:  The venerable magazine has a dedicate COVID-19 page free to all readers.

From YahooNews:  Re: the federal government's response to COVID-19: What if the most important election of our lifetime was the last one - 2016?

From YahooLife:  What is "happy hypoxia?"  And do you have this COVID-19 symptom?

From JuanCole:  Remember when President Donald went crazy and suggested that we ingest household cleaning supplies and UV light to fight COVID-19.  Here is the video and commentary from Juan Cole.

From TheIntercept:  The federal government has ramped up security and police-related spending in response to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, including issuing contracts for riot gear, disclosures show. The purchase orders include requests for disposable cuffs, gas masks, ballistic helmets, and riot gloves...

From TheAtlantic:  The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying. The pandemic has exposed the bitter terms of our racial contract, which deems certain lives of greater value than others.

From ProPublica:  Hospital's Secret COVID-19 Policy Separated Native American Mothers From Their Newborns

From TheGuardian:  More than 20 million Americans could have contracted COVID-19, experts say.

From RSN/WashPost:  The COVID-19 mutation that has taken over the world.

7/13 - From YahooSports:  Maybe a pandemic means that there will not be college football this fall.

7/13- From YahooNews:  The CDC adds four new symptoms (including nausea and purple or blue lesions on feet and toes) to the list of COVID-19 symptoms.

7/19 - From YahooFinance:  Harvard Public Health professor Dr. Howard Koh says the U.S. "needs to regroup" to find COVID-19.

7/22 - From YahooNews:  A public health employee predicted Florida's coronavirus catastrophe — then she was fired.

7/22 - From YahooLifestyle:  Florida mom loses son, 20, to coronavirus, and then days later, her daughter.

7/23 - From TheWrap:  The site has a list of movie and TV stars, entertainment and sports figures who have tested positive for COVID-19

From Bloomberg:  Will the COVID-19 pandemic turn Millennials into socialists?

7/27 - From CNN:   Chief of critical care at Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center, Dr. Joseph Costa, passes away due to Covid-19 complications... after treating the hospital's sickest COVID-19 patients.  He was 56 and leaves behind family, including a husband of 28 years.

7/31 - From Slate:  COVID-19 is airborne - for reals!

8/9 - From YahooAFP:  According to the real-time tally kept by John Hopkins University, the United States has hit 5 million cases of COVID-19.

8/16 - From Truthout: COVID Deaths Continue to Surge in Countries Led by Far Right Authoritarians

9/19 - From WashPost:  U.S. coronavirus death toll reaches 200,000

9/23 - From CNBC:  Mark Cuban, who owns the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and star of ABC's "Shark Tank," suggests that every household in American get a $1000 check every two weeks for the next two months.

9/28 - From Deadline:  John Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker reports that over 1 million people have died of COVID-19 worldwide.

10/2 - From YahooNews:  President Donald and the First Lady have tested positive for COVID-19.

10/26 -  From YahooFinance:  Walmart CEO detects a new wave a panic buying as consumers stock up for another surge in coronavirus cases.

11/5 - From CNN:  The US set a grim new Covid-19 record Thursday -- following a week marked by high case numbers -- surpassing 120,000 infections in a single day. 

11/7 - From YahooNews:  "It's a slaughter," doctors say of new coronavirus wave.

11/13 - YahooNews:  "We blew it": U.S. reaches 'explosive' COVID-19 spread as virus is nearly impossible to control, experts say

BLACK LIVES MATTER:

From RSN:   Judge's Blistering Opinion Says Courts Have Placed Police Beyond Accountability

From TheGuardian:  Yusef Salaam, one of the "Central Park Five," says in an interview, "Trump would have had me hanging from a tree in Central Park."

From NPR:  Prosecutors' plea deal required drug suspect to name Breonna Taylor a "co-defendant."

From ChicagoSunTimes:  Rev. Jesse Jackson: America has millions of people in poverty because Americans choose not to demand the policies that would lift them out of poverty.

From APNews:  No one will be held accountable for the killing of Louisville African-American resident, Breonna Taylor.

From Channel4:  Revealed: Trump campaign strategy to deter millions of Black Americans from voting in 2016

From GuardianUK:  California is going to consider paying reparations to the descendants of African slaves after adopting a landmark law to study and to develop proposals around the issue.

From TheRoot:   What to Do When Your Country Turns Into a Dumpster Fire

From Vox:  It's True: 1 in 1,000 Black Americans Have Died in the Covid-19 Pandemic

From CBS:  Breonna Taylor's boyfriend certain cops didn't identify themselves

From DonaldTrump:  Well, because it has been in the news a lot lately (via Ice Cube and Li'l Wayne), here is "The Platinum Plan."  It is impressive, but no Republican Congress would go along with even 10 percent of this plan which is basically a long list of promises to the Black Americans - individually and as a group.

From Truthout:   Yes, 55 Percent of White Women Voted for Trump. No, I’m Not Surprised.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from November 8th to 14th, 2020 - Update #25

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

Support Leroy on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

CELEBRITY - From Deadline:  A suspect has been arrested in the Oct. 2nd sucker punch attack on beloved actor, Rick Moranis.

MOVIES - From THR:   Paramounts pictures has removed the Michael B. Jordan starrer, "Without Remorse," off its 2021 release schedule.  It may sell the film to Amazon Studios.  Director Dean DeBlois' film, "Micronauts," based on the Hasbro toys, has also been moved from 2021.

DISNEY - From THR:  Director John M. Chu("Crazy Rich Asians") is in negotiations to direct a live-action version of Disney's 2002 animated hit, "Lilo & Stitch."

KAMALA HARRIS - From BET:   Meet Kamala Harris' husband, stepchildren, parents, and more.

STREAMING - From THR:   The "Friends" reunion special, which will stream on HBO Max, is scheduled to be film in March 2021, according to one of the series' original stars, Matthew Perry.

AWARDS - From Variety:  The nominations for the 2020 / 30th annual "IFP Gotham Awards" have been announced.  The late Chadwick Boseman received a "Best Actor" nomination for his role in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."  The winners will be announced Monday, Jan. 11th, 2021.

CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment:   George W. Bush's daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, shares a sweet photos of the time she showed Barack Obama's daughters, Sasha and Malia, around the White House, and it has gone viral.

MOVIES - From THR:  Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, and MGM are uniting for an adaptation of Ta'Nehisi Coates' hit novel, "The Water Dancer."

MOVIES - From THR:  Universal Pictures and Dwayne Johnson are planning to reboot their 2002 film, "The Scorpion King," which when on to spawn a straight-to-DVD movie franchise.

MOVIES - From THR:   Johnny Depp may have been fired from "Fantastic Beasts," but he will get his full salary due to pay-or-play contract.

From THR:  Danish actor Mads Mikkelson is in early talks to replace Johnny Depp in the third installment of the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise.

CELEBRITY - From HuffPost:   Jason Momoa Says He And Lisa Bonet Were ‘Starving’ After He Died On "Game of Thrones."

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Jamie Foxx to star in and produce "The Burial" for Amazon Studios.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   The network has introduced an edict that 50% of its casts for its unscripted shows must be Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC) and it has committed that at least 25% of its annual unscripted development budget must go towards creators and producers that are BIPOC.

PRESIDENT - From NBCNews:  Democratic candidate Joe Biden defeats President Trump to win White House

From LATimes:  Kamala Harris makes history many times over as vice president-elect

From YahooNews: Read: President-elect Joe Biden's full victory speech

From YahooNews:  Read Kamala Harris' full speech after historic election win

From CNN:  The Moment When Networks Called The Presidential Race For Joe Biden

From Deadline:   Hollywood reacts to Joe Biden's victor over President Donald.

From YahooEntertainment:   Celebrities react to Joe Biden's victor over President Donald.

From YahooSports:  The NBA's Golden State Warriors celebrate Oakland native and Warriors' fan, Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris.

From CNN:   Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris' husband, Douglas Emhoff, will be the first male spouse of a vice-president.  He will also be the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice-president.

----------------------------------------------

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:   The winner of the 11/6 to 11/8/2020 weekend box office is "Let Him Go" with an estimated take of 4.1 million dollars.

TELEVISION - From YahooEntertainment:  Dave Chappelle addresses Trump, racism and the coronavirus in a powerful "SNL" monologue

MOVIES-SCANDAL - From CTVMontreal:   Dying for movies: Suicide highlights labour issues in Canada's visual effects sector.

OBITS:

From NFL:   American football player, Paul Hornung, has died at the age of 84, Friday, November 13, 2020.  Hornung was a legendary University of Notre Dame football player, where he was the 1956 Heisman Trophy winner.  In the NFL, he played for the Green Bay Packers from 1957 to 1966, where he won four NFL Championships, including being a member of the Packers team that won "The First AFL-NFL World Championship Game" (now known as "Super Bowl I).  Hornung was inducted into the "College Football Hall of Fame" in 1985 and the "Pro Football Hall of Fame" in 1896.

From Deadline:   Canadian-American television game show host, Alex Trebek, has died at the age of 80, Sunday, November 8, 2020 after his years-long battle with pancreatic cancer.  Trebek was best known for his tenure on the 1984 revival of the game show, "Jeopardy!"  Trebek hosted the show from 1984 to 2020 and won seven Daytime Emmy Awards for his work on the show out of the 31 times he was nominated during his career.  In 2011, Trebek received the Daytime Emmy "Lifetime Achievement Award."

COVID-19:

From CDC:   The Centers for Disease Control has a "COVID Data Tracker."

From YahooNews:  Why does COVID-19 kill some people and hardly affects others?

From YahooNews:  Yahoo has a dedicated page of links updating news about COVID-19.

From Deadline:  The news site "Deadline" has a dedicated page for news about coronavirus and the film, TV, and entertainment industries.

From TheNewYorker:  The venerable magazine has a dedicate COVID-19 page free to all readers.

From YahooNews:  Re: the federal government's response to COVID-19: What if the most important election of our lifetime was the last one - 2016?

From YahooLife:  What is "happy hypoxia?"  And do you have this COVID-19 symptom?

From JuanCole:  Remember when President Donald went crazy and suggested that we ingest household cleaning supplies and UV light to fight COVID-19.  Here is the video and commentary from Juan Cole.

From TheIntercept:  The federal government has ramped up security and police-related spending in response to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, including issuing contracts for riot gear, disclosures show. The purchase orders include requests for disposable cuffs, gas masks, ballistic helmets, and riot gloves...

From TheAtlantic:  The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying. The pandemic has exposed the bitter terms of our racial contract, which deems certain lives of greater value than others.

From ProPublica:  Hospital's Secret COVID-19 Policy Separated Native American Mothers From Their Newborns

From TheGuardian:  More than 20 million Americans could have contracted COVID-19, experts say.

From RSN/WashPost:  The COVID-19 mutation that has taken over the world.

7/13 - From YahooSports:  Maybe a pandemic means that there will not be college football this fall.

7/13- From YahooNews:  The CDC adds four new symptoms (including nausea and purple or blue lesions on feet and toes) to the list of COVID-19 symptoms.

7/19 - From YahooFinance:  Harvard Public Health professor Dr. Howard Koh says the U.S. "needs to regroup" to find COVID-19.

7/22 - From YahooNews:  A public health employee predicted Florida's coronavirus catastrophe — then she was fired.

7/22 - From YahooLifestyle:  Florida mom loses son, 20, to coronavirus, and then days later, her daughter.

7/23 - From TheWrap:  The site has a list of movie and TV stars, entertainment and sports figures who have tested positive for COVID-19

From Bloomberg:  Will the COVID-19 pandemic turn Millennials into socialists?

7/27 - From CNN:   Chief of critical care at Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center, Dr. Joseph Costa, passes away due to Covid-19 complications... after treating the hospital's sickest COVID-19 patients.  He was 56 and leaves behind family, including a husband of 28 years.

7/31 - From Slate:  COVID-19 is airborne - for reals!

8/9 - From YahooAFP:  According to the real-time tally kept by John Hopkins University, the United States has hit 5 million cases of COVID-19.

8/16 - From Truthout: COVID Deaths Continue to Surge in Countries Led by Far Right Authoritarians

9/19 - From WashPost:  U.S. coronavirus death toll reaches 200,000

9/23 - From CNBC:  Mark Cuban, who owns the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and star of ABC's "Shark Tank," suggests that every household in American get a $1000 check every two weeks for the next two months.

9/28 - From Deadline:  John Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker reports that over 1 million people have died of COVID-19 worldwide.

10/2 - From YahooNews:  President Donald and the First Lady have tested positive for COVID-19.

10/26 -  From YahooFinance:  Walmart CEO detects a new wave a panic buying as consumers stock up for another surge in coronavirus cases.

11/5 - From CNN:  The US set a grim new Covid-19 record Thursday -- following a week marked by high case numbers -- surpassing 120,000 infections in a single day. 

11/7 - From YahooNews:  "It's a slaughter," doctors say of new coronavirus wave.

11/13 - YahooNews:  "We blew it": U.S. reaches 'explosive' COVID-19 spread as virus is nearly impossible to control, experts say

BLACK LIVES MATTER:

From RSN:   Judge's Blistering Opinion Says Courts Have Placed Police Beyond Accountability

From TheGuardian:  Yusef Salaam, one of the "Central Park Five," says in an interview, "Trump would have had me hanging from a tree in Central Park."

From NPR:  Prosecutors' plea deal required drug suspect to name Breonna Taylor a "co-defendant."

From ChicagoSunTimes:  Rev. Jesse Jackson: America has millions of people in poverty because Americans choose not to demand the policies that would lift them out of poverty.

From APNews:  No one will be held accountable for the killing of Louisville African-American resident, Breonna Taylor.

From Channel4:  Revealed: Trump campaign strategy to deter millions of Black Americans from voting in 2016

From GuardianUK:  California is going to consider paying reparations to the descendants of African slaves after adopting a landmark law to study and to develop proposals around the issue.

From TheRoot:   What to Do When Your Country Turns Into a Dumpster Fire

From Vox:  It's True: 1 in 1,000 Black Americans Have Died in the Covid-19 Pandemic

From CBS:  Breonna Taylor's boyfriend certain cops didn't identify themselves

From DonaldTrump:  Well, because it has been in the news a lot lately (via Ice Cube and Li'l Wayne), here is "The Platinum Plan."  It is impressive, but no Republican Congress would go along with even 10 percent of this plan which is basically a long list of promises to the Black Americans - individually and as a group.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from November 1st to 7th, 2020 - Update #33

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

Support Leroy on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

POLITICS-HALLELUJAH - From CNN:  Joseph R. "Joe" Biden has been elected the 46th President of the United States.  Inauguration Day is Wednesday, January 20, 2021.

From CNN:  The Moment When Networks Called The Presidential Race For Joe Biden

MOVIES - From Deadline:  After 18 months and 40,000 COVID-19 tests, "Jurassic World: Dominion" has finished shooting.

From CNN:  Kamala Harris, who on Saturday became America's first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president-elect, represents a new face of political power after an election all about who wields power and how they use it.

MOVIES - From BleedingCool:  Vince Vaughn talks about a sequel to his 2004 hit, "Wedding Crashers."  [When your career is in decline, make a sequel to your biggest hit ... ]

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   Donald Glover speaks excitedly about Seasons 3 and 4 of his FX television series, "Atlanta."

CRIME - From TMZ:   Rapper King Von is dead after a violent confrontation outside an Atlanta nightclub that ended in gunfire

AWARDS - From Deadline:  The nation of Guatemala has made the horror film, "La Llorona," its selection to compete in the race for an Oscar nomination in the category, "Best International Feature Film" (which has previously been known as "Best Foreign Language Film").

MOVIES - From Variety:   Johnny Depp says Warner Bros. asked him to resign in his "Fantastic Beasts" role of Gellert Grindelwald, and he says that he has agreed.

HOME RELEASE - From Deadline:  Warner Bros. has announced a December 15, 2020 Blu-ray and DVD release date for his much talked about hit film, "Tenet."

SCANDAL - From Variety:   A murder suspect has been arrested in the Sunday, November 1st shooting death of actor Eddie Hassell in Grand Prairie, Texas.

POLITICS-MOVIES - From InformedComment:   Top Five Horror films on Halloween that remind us of Trump’s Presidency

DISNEY - From Deadline:  It is a day of layoffs from Disney units, ESPN and Searchlight. This is related to the COVID-19 fallout.

CELEBRITY - From YahooGMA:  Emmy-winning actor, Michael J. Fox, who is suffering from Parkinson's disease, reveals that he is losing his ability to act.

SPORTS - From NBA:  The best player from the last 20 NBA drafts, according to NBA.com.

POLITICS-CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment:   Duchess Meghan of Sussex has another first to add to her resume: She's the first member of the British royal family to vote for president in an American election.

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Warner Bros. and director Robert Zemeckis' remake, "The Witches," is getting backlash from disability community.

STREAMING - From ShadowandAct:   Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx will star in and executive produce "Dad Stop Embarrassing Me" for Netflix.  It is based on his relationship with his daughter, Corinne Foxx.

STREAMING - From Variety:   Oscar-winning actor, Jeremy Irons ("Reversal of Fortune"), will headline Netflix's adaptation of Robert Harris' 2017 bestselling novel, "Munich."

TELEVISION - From CinemaBlend:   Actress Hilarie Burton ("One Tree Hill") has been cast as "Lucille," the wive of Neegan in AMC's "The Walking Dead."

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   Actress/recording artist, Eve, is leaving the CBS afternoon talk show, "The Talk," after four seasons.

POLITICS - From BET:   U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) criticizes Black supporters of President Donald.

CELEBRITY - From THR:   Oscar-nominated actor, Johnny Depp, has lost his defamation lawsuit in the United Kingdom.  Depp has brought an action against News Group Newspapers over "The Sun's" 2018 article, "Wife Beater," about Depps contentious marriage to and divorce from actress Amber Heard.

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:  The winner of the 10/30 to 11/1/2020 weekend box office is "Come Play" with an estimated take of 3.15 million dollars.

COMICS - From GamesRadar:  George C. Romero is partnering with publishing company, Heavy Metal, to produce a comic book prequel to his late father, George A. Romero's seminal zombie film, "Night of the Living Dead" (1968).

MOVIES - From NewYorkTimes:  "The Purge" film franchise reveals the ugly truth about America. 

OBITS:

From BBC:  The English actor, Geoffrey Palmer, has died at the age of 93, Thursday, November 5, 2020.  Palmer was best known for his roles on British television sitcoms like "As Time Goes By" (1992-2005).  He also had memorable roles in films such "A Fish Called Wanda" (1988) and "The Madness of King George" (1994).

From Variety:   Actress Carol Arthur has died at the age of 85, Sunday, November 1, 2020.  Arthur was best known for her appearances in several Mel Brooks films, including "Blazing Saddles" (1974).  Arthur was married to the late actor Dom DeLuise from 1965 to his death in 2009.  The couple had three sons, actor Peter, Michael, and David DeLuise.

From Variety:  Actor Eddie Hassell has died at the age of 30, Sunday, November 1, 2020, apparently shot to death.  Hassell is best known for his roles in the 2010 Oscar-nominated film, "The Kids Are All Right" and on the NBC television series, "Surface."

From BBC:  The Scottish actor and film producer, Sean Connery, has died at the age of 90, Saturday, October 31, 2020.  Connery was best known for playing seminal secret agent and spy, James Bond, Agent 007, in seven films over a 21 year period, beginning with "Dr. No." in 1962 and ending with "Never Say Never Again" in 1983.  Connery also won a "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar for his role in the 1987 film, "The Untouchables."

From Deadline:  Tributes for the late Sean Connery flood in...

From YahooEntertainment:  President Donald pays tribute to Sean Connery... by lying about him.

--------------------------------

COVID-19:

From CDC:   The Centers for Disease Control has a "COVID Data Tracker."

From YahooNews:  Why does COVID-19 kill some people and hardly affects others?

From YahooNews:  Yahoo has a dedicated page of links updating news about COVID-19.

From Deadline:  The news site "Deadline" has a dedicated page for news about coronavirus and the film, TV, and entertainment industries.

From TheNewYorker:  The venerable magazine has a dedicate COVID-19 page free to all readers.

From YahooNews:  Re: the federal government's response to COVID-19: What if the most important election of our lifetime was the last one - 2016?

From YahooLife:  What is "happy hypoxia?"  And do you have this COVID-19 symptom?

From JuanCole:  Remember when President Donald went crazy and suggested that we ingest household cleaning supplies and UV light to fight COVID-19.  Here is the video and commentary from Juan Cole.

From TheIntercept:  The federal government has ramped up security and police-related spending in response to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, including issuing contracts for riot gear, disclosures show. The purchase orders include requests for disposable cuffs, gas masks, ballistic helmets, and riot gloves...

From TheAtlantic:  The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying. The pandemic has exposed the bitter terms of our racial contract, which deems certain lives of greater value than others.

From ProPublica:  Hospital's Secret COVID-19 Policy Separated Native American Mothers From Their Newborns

From TheGuardian:  More than 20 million Americans could have contracted COVID-19, experts say.

From RSN/WashPost:  The COVID-19 mutation that has taken over the world.

7/13 - From YahooSports:  Maybe a pandemic means that there will not be college football this fall.

7/13- From YahooNews:  The CDC adds four new symptoms (including nausea and purple or blue lesions on feet and toes) to the list of COVID-19 symptoms.

7/19 - From YahooFinance:  Harvard Public Health professor Dr. Howard Koh says the U.S. "needs to regroup" to find COVID-19.

7/22 - From YahooNews:  A public health employee predicted Florida's coronavirus catastrophe — then she was fired.

7/22 - From YahooLifestyle:  Florida mom loses son, 20, to coronavirus, and then days later, her daughter.

7/23 - From TheWrap:  The site has a list of movie and TV stars, entertainment and sports figures who have tested positive for COVID-19

From Bloomberg:  Will the COVID-19 pandemic turn Millennials into socialists?

7/27 - From CNN:   Chief of critical care at Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center, Dr. Joseph Costa, passes away due to Covid-19 complications... after treating the hospital's sickest COVID-19 patients.  He was 56 and leaves behind family, including a husband of 28 years.

7/31 - From Slate:  COVID-19 is airborne - for reals!

8/9 - From YahooAFP:  According to the real-time tally kept by John Hopkins University, the United States has hit 5 million cases of COVID-19.

8/16 - From Truthout: COVID Deaths Continue to Surge in Countries Led by Far Right Authoritarians

9/19 - From WashPost:  U.S. coronavirus death toll reaches 200,000

9/23 - From CNBC:  Mark Cuban, who owns the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and star of ABC's "Shark Tank," suggests that every household in American get a $1000 check every two weeks for the next two months.

9/28 - From Deadline:  John Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker reports that over 1 million people have died of COVID-19 worldwide.

10/2 - From YahooNews:  President Donald and the First Lady have tested positive for COVID-19.

10/26 -  From YahooFinance:  Walmart CEO detects a new wave a panic buying as consumers stock up for another surge in coronavirus cases.

11/5 - From CNN:  The US set a grim new Covid-19 record Thursday -- following a week marked by high case numbers -- surpassing 120,000 infections in a single day. 

11/7 - From YahooNews:  "It's a slaughter," doctors say of new coronavirus wave.

BLACK LIVES MATTER:

From RSN:   Judge's Blistering Opinion Says Courts Have Placed Police Beyond Accountability

From TheGuardian:  Yusef Salaam, one of the "Central Park Five," says in an interview, "Trump would have had me hanging from a tree in Central Park."

From NPR:  Prosecutors' plea deal required drug suspect to name Breonna Taylor a "co-defendant."

From ChicagoSunTimes:  Rev. Jesse Jackson: America has millions of people in poverty because Americans choose not to demand the policies that would lift them out of poverty.

From APNews:  No one will be held accountable for the killing of Louisville African-American resident, Breonna Taylor.

From Channel4:  Revealed: Trump campaign strategy to deter millions of Black Americans from voting in 2016

From GuardianUK:  California is going to consider paying reparations to the descendants of African slaves after adopting a landmark law to study and to develop proposals around the issue.

From TheRoot:   What to Do When Your Country Turns Into a Dumpster Fire

From Vox:  It's True: 1 in 1,000 Black Americans Have Died in the Covid-19 Pandemic

From CBS:  Breonna Taylor's boyfriend certain cops didn't identify themselves

From DonaldTrump:  Well, because it has been in the news a lot lately (via Ice Cube and Li'l Wayne), here is "The Platinum Plan."  It is impressive, but no Republican Congress would go along with even 10 percent of this plan which is basically a long list of promises to the Black Americans - individually and as a group.