Papa John Is a UK Fan Now?
Former Louisville sponsor and Ball State alum spotted behind the Cats bench in UK gear 
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Philippines: Vaccine scare blamed for deadly measles outbreak
Manila, Philippines – Health officials in the Philippines are racing to contain a deadly measles outbreak the government has blamed on a marked decline in immunisations amid a scandal surrounding a vaccine against dengue fever.
More than 70 people – mostly children – have died nationwide since January, with a high concentration of cases in the capital, Manila, and its surrounding provinces.
Across the country, over 4,300 people have contracted the highly contagious disease since January, a 122-percent jump compared to the previous year, according to the Department of Health.
Many of those affected are from poor families that depend on public health services for treatment and medicines, both of which the government is now hard-pressed to supply.
In downtown Manila, the government-run San Lazaro Hospital is crammed with measles patients, while doctors say they are stepping up preparations for more admissions.
In communities and villages, health workers have been urging hesitant parents to immunise their children against measles and other diseases such as polio, diphtheria, hepatitis and the flu.
Over the past year, fewer parents have used the government’s free basic immunisations fearing that vaccines could harm their children.
Health officials say vaccination rates among children have gone down from 85 percent to 60 percent, and even as low as 30 percent in certain communities.
As a result, experts say, many children have been left vulnerable to measles, with unvaccinated adults also facing the risk of contagion.
Vaccine ‘drama’
Francisco Duque III, the health secretary, has blamed the vaccine scare on the Public Attorney’s Office, particularly its chief lawyer, Persida Acosta, who has been leading an investigation of a public vaccination campaign against dengue fever in 2016 and 2017.
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Measles, a contagious disease, killed an estimated 110,000 people in 2017, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The vast majority were children under five. The disease starts out like a common cold, then it progresses into high fever along with worsening symptoms. It’s contagious through direct contact and through the air. Once it infects the respiratory tract, it then rapidly spreads throughout the whole body. Within days, rashes appear on the face and neck until fully covering the infected. WHO says that deaths occur because of complications with the disease, such as encephalitis (an infection that causes brain swelling), diarrhoea, dehydration, ear infections or severe respiratory infections. Research from WHO found that Southeast Asia suffers from more cases of measles than anywhere else in the world. In 2017, there were 107,292 suspected cases in Southeast Asia. The figure dropped to some 83,000 suspected cases the following year. |
Acosta has insisted the vaccine called Dengvaxia caused the deaths of dozens of children even though parallel investigations have not led to that conclusion.
The chief lawyer figured prominently in televised Dengvaxia investigations by the Senate and the House of Representatives, presenting relatives of alleged victims and claiming that autopsies conducted by her office found that the deaths were “possibly” linked to the vaccine.
Acosta’s public appearances were characterised by emotional outbursts, drawing criticism from other officials who described her behaviour as “hysterical”.
The controversy began in November 2017, when Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur announced that the vaccine may not be effective in some cases and could lead to severe dengue infections among people who have not previously had the disease.
At the time, more than 700,000 people, mostly schoolchildren, had already received at least one dose of Dengvaxia through a $67m government project to eliminate dengue fever, one of the most common and lethal diseases among Filipino children.
The Department of Justice has since filed negligence and corruption cases against former President Benigno Aquino, two of his cabinet secretaries and several other officials who implemented the Dengvaxia immunisation programme.
Acosta’s office filed separate charges, including against Duque, who took over as health secretary a month before Sanofi Pasteur’s announcement, and who halted the Dengvaxia project in December 2017.
Duque called the accusations “malicious and baseless”.
“The Dengvaxia scare, all this drama that they were doing, have really caused damage to the integrity and the effectiveness of the Department of Health,” Duque told reporters, referring to the Public Attorneyâs Office.
‘Politically-motivated witch-hunts’
Acosta denied responsibility for the vaccine scare, saying it was “unfair” to pin the blame on her and her office.
“Maybe they should ask themselves whether they failed to campaign for safe vaccines like the one for measles,” said Acosta, referring to Duque and other health officials.
Salvador Panelo, spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte, defended Acosta, saying she was “just doing her job” in rallying alleged Dengvaxia victims to press charges.
Panelo however also affirmed Duque’s view that the Dengvaxia affair caused the vaccine scare that led to the measles outbreak.
In response, Duterte has called on his health officials to increase efforts to immunise children, urging parents to avail of basic vaccines they could get free at public health centres.
Opposition figures allied with Aquino criticised Acosta and accused her of using the Dengvaxia cases to discredit the political opponents of Duterte, whose 2016 election campaign capitalised on the public’s disillusionment with Aquino’s administration.
“Our country’s immunisation programme is now in a quandary and our children’s health is under threat because of the vaccine scare triggered by Acosta’s grandstanding to be in Duterte’s good graces,” said Senator Leila De Lima, who has been jailed on drug charges following her probe into killings in Duterte’s war on drugs.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, who used to lead the health committee, has called on Acosta to resign.
“She stood at the gravesides of poor dead children to wage a vicious campaign of disinformation, pseudo-science and politically-motivated witch-hunts,” Hontiveros said.
“Her lies and hysterics contributed directly to the erosion of public trust in our vaccination programmes.”
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Schumer recruits famed fighter pilot to challenge McConnell in 2020
Amy McGrath was one of the highest-profile Democratic House candidates of the 2018 election cycle, albeit an unsuccessful one. | Jason Davis/Getty Images
The GOP leader is deep into preparations to take on Democrat Amy McGrath.
Chuck Schumer is actively recruiting a high-profile fighter pilot to take on Mitch McConnell in 2020 â a calculated act of aggression against a leading Republican foe.
Schumer met with Amy McGrath, a Marine veteran-turned 2018 congressional candidate, at Democratic Party headquarters last month to pitch her on running against McConnell. McGrath listened and didnât rule it out. The Democratic leader first contacted McGrath in December.
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McConnell, the longest-serving Senate GOP leader, is gearing up for a reelection fight and leaving little to chance. His political team has begun compiling opposition research on McGrath and delving into tracking footage of her. On Wednesday, senior Republican Party officials involved with a pro-McConnell super PAC will meet in Washington to begin mapping out a potential campaign against McGrath.
The Republican leader has also tapped a 2020 campaign manager: Kevin Golden, a veteran party operative who worked on McConnellâs 2014 reelection bid and oversaw Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburnâs successful 2018 Senate campaign.
Schumerâs offensive underscores the frayed relations between the two Senate leaders. In recent months, they have sparred bitterly on issues ranging from judicial nominees to the federal shutdown.
While itâs not unprecedented for one Senate leader to try to unseat a counterpart, the recruitment mission is an unmistakable act of hostility thatâs sure to ratchet up tensions.
Joining Schumer for the meeting with McGrath were Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairwoman Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), as well as top committee officials Scott Fairchild and Devan Barber. McGrath aides Mark Nickolas and Lori LaFave also attended.
Nickolas confirmed the meeting but said that no decision was imminent.
âThe military officer in her always approaches these things pretty methodically and thoughtfully,â he said.
Spokespersons for Schumer and the DSCC declined to comment on the meeting.
McConnellâs team has been preparing for months. Last year, the campaign tapped its first two officials, Shane Noem and Jonathan Shell.
McConnell aides have also examined McGrathâs unsuccessful 2018 bid, when GOP Rep. Andy Barr cast her as too liberal for the central Kentucky district. Aides to the Republican leader view the contest as a template for how to defeat her in 2020.
McConnell, long known for his bare-knuckled political tactics and encyclopedic knowledge of Kentucky politics, monitored the race closely and offered Barr advice.
As part of their research into McGrath, which dates back to 2017, McConnellâs team has been scrutinizing her past statements and positions and looking into years of video footage of her.
The GOP leader is also activating the big donor network heâs cultivated over his three-decade-plus Senate career. And plans being drawn up for the pro-McConnell group Kentuckians for Strong Leadership. On Wednesday, Steven Law, Carl Forti, and Scott Jennings, senior party strategists whoâve previously been involved with the super PAC, will hold an organizational meeting to discuss the path forward.
Aside from the super PAC, McConnell has accumulated over $4 million for his personal campaign bank account.
âThe brilliance of McConnellâs campaigns are that they are comprised of a complex orchestra of political instruments brought together for a symphony of absolute destruction,â said Josh Holmes, a McConnell political adviser. âHis opponents may hear a note or two before they decide to run but he saves the full composition to ensure itâs the last thing a candidate hears before they enter the political graveyard.â
McGrath was one of the highest-profile Democratic House candidates of the 2018 election cycle. Initially rejected by Washington Democrats in favor of the better-known mayor of Lexington, Jim Gray, McGrath catapulted to a primary victory on the strength of a viral biographical ad touting her career as a Marine and groundbreaking fighter pilot.
Ultimately, the 44-year-old first time candidate was unable to parlay a multi-million-dollar war chest and national profile into victory in a heavily Republican district. She was narrowly defeated by Burr.
Those close to McGrath say that sheâs remained undecided about the race since meeting with Schumer last month.
McGrath isnât the only potential candidate McConnell is preparing for. His team has also been been assembling opposition research on Matt Jones, a liberal sports radio show host whoâs long been entertaining a bid for the seat.
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âIt never endsâ: Trauma of Australiaâs âstolenâ children
Melbourne, Australia – As a toddler in a children’s jail in Melbourne, Brian Morley cried relentlessly.
Having been taken from his mother by the police in 1960, when he was only two, he became part of what is known as Australia‘s “Stolen Generations”.
Government records at the time stated that his mother, Mary, was an Aboriginal woman “of dull intellect” and was therefore considered an unfit parent, despite working full-time to take care of her three children.
Morley spent the first six months of his removal in Turana Reception Centre, a jail for children.
“As a consequence, I’ve always felt, at a fundamental level, being alone in the world. Even being amongst people, I still feel alone – and I think that will never go,” he says.
“That’s a direct consequence of being removed as a two-year-old.”
‘Throw them to the wind’
Morley was taken from his family as part of a series of policies designed to assimilate Aboriginal children into white Australia.
Between 1900 and 1970, an estimated 100,000 Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their homes and communities and placed with either white families or institutions, according to the landmark 1997 Bringing Them Home report, which heard the stories of people such as Morley.
On February 13, 2008, the then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issued a historic national apology to the stolen children.
Eleven years later, the anniversary of the apology gives cause for Morley to consider the circumstances of his removal and the ongoing effects it has had on him, including the ongoing pain of forced separation.
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| Brian Morley’s adoption record [Courtesy Brian Morley] |
Split up from his brother and sister and adopted into a non-Aboriginal family, he says his adoptive parents once told him that, had they known he had a brother, they would have adopted him, too.
But, as Morley notes, “that wasn’t the object of the exercise. It was divide and conquer, split them up and throw them to the wind.”
His new family never told him he was Aboriginal, although being a child with dark skin, he says, “I knew something wasn’t quite right.”
The truth of his identity was revealed when, as an adult, Morley received government documents. By then, however, he was suffering from depression and alcoholism.
Yet there was a positive side.Â
“To find out that I was part of the oldest surviving culture on the planet was something that made me proud,” Morley says.
Aboriginal people have lived in Australia for tens of thousands of years, and subsequently are considered to have one of the oldest cultural histories on Earth.
Today a gnarled 61-year-old with grey hair, bright eyes and an eloquent beard, Morley is a folk musician who regularly visits schools and community groups to tell his story and sing about his experiences in hopes of educating the broader population about the true history of the country.
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| Eva Jo Edwards as a child [Courtesy Eva Jo Edwards] |
‘When does it all change?’
Eva Jo Edwards – another survivor of the Stolen Generations – was removed as a 10-year-old and placed into a Lutheran children’s home in Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs.
“The idea was that I was to become white,” she says.
The childhood separation of Edwards from her family had long-lasting effects, as well. Her brother, who was also removed, committed suicide aged 25, and her mother became an alcoholic.
While Edwards would see her as a 15-year-old, she says sadly there was no connection. Soon after, her mother passed away.
Such experiences have affected Aboriginal survivors of Australia’s removal policies all across the country.
Last year, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found there were around 17,000 Aboriginal people still battling the effects of the mistreating policies.
The report found more than half live with a disability or have a chronic health condition; 70 percent rely on government welfare; and are more than three times as likely to have been jailed in the past five years compared to other Aboriginal people.
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| Edwards was removed aged 10 and placed into a Lutheran children’s home in Melbourne [Ali MC/Al Jazeera] |
And while the government may have provided an official apology 11 years ago, Aboriginal communities are still faced with a series of ongoing challenges, including high inequality and the continued high rates of children’s removal from their families under child protection laws.
“We still have our kids removed at a higher rate; we still have the incarceration; we still have them dying earlier than a non-Aboriginal person,” Edwards says. “The unemployment is still high, the bad health is still high – where does it all stop, when does it all change?”
While Edwards says she was lucky to be present at Rudd’s 2008 apology, she adds that financial compensation is necessary to help the next generation – people like her children and grandchildren.
In recent times, some Australian states have paid compensation to survivors of the Stolen Generations – most recently up to AUD$75 000 ($53,000) by the government of New South Wales
Yet Victoria, the home of Morley and Edwards, refuses to do so, despite ongoing advocacy efforts by Aboriginal community groups and survivors themselves.
Instead, the Victorian government says they support a national compensation scheme, which Rudd was not prepared to undertake at the time of the apology – and looks unlikely to come about.
In fact, many survivors of the “Stolen Generations” in Victoria feel they have been neglected.
“I don’t think it ever ends,” Edwards says, reflecting on the devastating impacts of her removal.
As for Morley, he says simply: “You could give me a million bucks, but it wouldn’t fix my head or my heart.”
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Why Kamala Harris is glad people are asking if sheâs black enough
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris poses for a selfie with Winston-Salem State University Chancellor Elwood Robinson during a Thurgood Marshall College Fund event Feb. 7 in Washington. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The candidate is looking to head off a problem that dogged Barack Obama.
Kamala Harris keeps getting asked if sheâs black enough.
And the California Democrat â whose presidential campaign is closely monitoring questions around her candidacy shared among African Americans and young people â has been more than happy to answer.
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Harris’ decision to sit for extended radio interviews with black hosts at the outset of her run is part of a broader strategy for the half-Jamaican, half-Indian former prosecutor. It’s designed to give her the chance to directly confront the uncomfortable and offensive internet memes about her personal life before they can metastasize among voters, three advisers to Harris said.
In recent days, Harris has parried skepticism over everything from claims to her black heritage to her decision to marry a white man â bluntly putting down markers on nuanced topics to help inoculate her from false critiques with answers that also illuminate how she views her own identity.
âNothing that she is saying is newly found or newly acquired,â said Danny J. Bakewell, Sr., executive publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel, the oldest and largest black-owned newspaper on the West Coast, who has known Harris for years. But Bakewell argued sheâs been smart â ânot to mention honestâ â to take the difficult questions early on rather than ignoring the memes.
âThat fuels fire. They can make something out of that,â he added of her critics. âWhen you hit them square in the eye, and say, âYep, this is what it isâ ⌠That cannot go wrong.â
A Harris strategist told POLITICO that the campaign has been watching the early impressions of her play out online â and looking for the best places where she could address and rebut them.
âWe know the memes that are out there,â the aide said. Using one of the senatorâs catch-phrases to explain the choice of venues, the adviser added: âSheâs meeting people where they are.â
Harris sat for a wide-ranging chat with âThe Breakfast Clubâ that aired Monday. The radio show’s hosts, DJ Envy and Charlamagne Tha God, are both black. She answered doubts about her African-American heritage because her father emigrated from Jamaica and her mother came from India â and because Harris spent time in Canada as a student.
Harris recounted how she was born in Oakland and raised in California, aside from the time she went to high school in Montreal. She compared the treatment to persistent questions asked of Barack Obama and his surrogates â including Harris herself â while he was a candidate in 2007 and 2008, and stretching into his presidency.
âLook, this is the same thing they did to Barack. This is not new to us and so I think that we know what they are trying to do,â Harris said. âThey are trying to do what has been happening over the last two years, which is powerful voices trying to sow hate and division among us, and so we need to recognize when weâre being played.â
The hosts asked how she responds to questions about the âlegitimacy of your blackness.â
âI think they don’t understand who black people are,â Harris responded. âBecause if you do, if you walked on Hamptonâs campus, or Howardâs campus, or Morehouse or Spelman or Fisk, you would have a much better appreciation for the diaspora, for the diversity, for the beauty in the diversity of who we are as black people,” she said, referring to historically black universities.
“Iâm not going to spend my time trying to educate people about who black people are,â Harris concluded, contending she was focused on her tax-credit bill. âWe know that we will lift 60 percent of black households with this initiative.â
Still, she later sought to put the race question to rest.
âI am black and I am proud of it,” she said bluntly. “I was born black and Iâll die black and I am proud of it. And I am not gonna make any excuses for it, for anybody, because they don’t understand.â
The source of the memes isn’t always clear, though Harris supporters have generally attributed much of the mysterious content that’s not derived or spread by Russian bots to Trump backers or supporters aligned with other Democrats.
Harris’ effort to get ahead of the memes is informed in part by Hillary Clinton’s general refusal to engage with the darker parts of the web, something that worked to Trump’s advantage. And it comes with the experience of having watched Obama early on in his first campaign mostly refuse to entertain deeper examinations of his race.
Harris seldom faced such scrutiny while climbing the ranks in California. But social media slings and arrows have been coming hard at her since she first surfaced on the national scene as a potential presidential candidate. Much of the earlier criticism focused on whether Harris â whose lack of a record on key issues at the time provided an opening â was sufficiently progressive. In more recent months, sheâs been heavily scrutinized for her decades in law enforcement in the context of Black Lives Matter.
So Harris has practically invited uncomfortable discussions â and prepared her answers ahead of time.
She’s met questions about her prosecutorial past by diving into systemic racism and problems with mass incarceration. She broadly contends itâs a myth that black people donât want law enforcement â âWe do,â she said in the Monday interview.
âWe donât want excessive force. We donât want racial profiling. But certainly, if somebody robs, burglarizes my house, Iâm going to call the police.â
Harris has used the stops to raise broader discussions of her agenda for African-Americans. When asked, the senator said she is in favor of some form of reparations. âWe have got to recognize, back to that earlier point, people arenât starting out on the same base in terms of their ability to succeed,â she said. âSo, we have got to recognize that and give people a lift up.â
Basil Smikle, a Democratic strategist who worked for Clinton and served as the executive director of the New York Democratic Party, said Harris is right to want to get ahead of various concerns because sheâll need the support of the African-American community, and in particular African-American men, who are disproportionately affected by harsh laws.
âIf sheâs associated with that level of harshness, it will hurt her at a time when criminal justice reform is on the top of the agenda for African Americans, broadly,â Smikle said.
And in an environment where African-American women have emerged as one of the strongest forces behind the Democratic Party, Harris is going to have to be able to glide in and out of the communities and make a case that will motivate them to vote for her.
âThe community is not monolithic, so I think evaluations of her blackness are not appropriate,â Smikle said. âBut at the same time, she has to articulate an agenda community to community across the country.â
That starts with shooting down falsehoods. On âThe Breakfast Clubâ program, Harris was asked about a meme saying she broke the state record for incarcerating black men.
âThatâs just not true,â she said.
Did Harris lock anyone up in her truancy program, she was asked?
âNo,â she said, contending the intention of her initiative was to put a spotlight on the issue of children missing school, even if it meant she would be viewed as âthe bad guy.â
âThereâs going to be all kinds of allegations being made, and I invite â not only invite â I encourage folks to look at the real record.â
Other attacks sheâs being asked about are deeply personal, including from those who question why she married a white man.
âLook,â she said, âI love my husband. And he happened to be the one I chose to marry because I love him ⌠And he loves me.â
At another point, the hosts asked the Howard University graduate and daughter of civil rights activists why people say sheâs pandering to black people.
Concluded Harris: âThey donât know me.â
Katie Galioto contributed to this report.
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Even After 21 Savageâs Release, the Unsettling Reality of His Arrest Remains
Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images
Since his mixtape debut in 2015, Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage has become one of the hottest names in hip-hop today, churning out hit after hit, and establishing himself on the Billboard hip-hop charts with tracks like âNo Heartâ in 2016, âBank Accountâ in 2017, and most recently, âA Lotâ featuring J. Cole, in 2018. His second studio album, I Am > I Was, released at the end of 2018, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Needless to say, heâs a formidable presence in the music industry.
On February 3, Savage was arrested in his Atlanta hometown by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE. Born ShĂŠyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph in the U.K. in 1992, Savage has lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years after immigrating here legally as a 7-year-old, his team later confirmed. Though his visa expired in 2006, the government has known about his immigration status since he filed for a U visa in 2017.
ICE Spokesman Bryan Cox provided the agencyâs side of the story: âU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested unlawfully present United Kingdom national Sha Yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph AKA ’21 Savage’ during a targeted operation with federal and local law enforcement partners early Sunday in metro Atlanta. Mr. Abraham-Joseph was taken into ICE custody as he is unlawfully present in the U.S. and also a convicted felon.â Despite ICEâs claims, Savageâs legal team insists he currently has no criminal convictions.
Indeed, throughout the years, Savage has given back to his community, establishing the âBank Account” initiative in 2018, a financial literacy campaign which educates teens in Atlanta about smart money management, and hosting his yearly âIssa Back to School Driveâ event to aid the Atlanta school systemâs childhood education, resources on anti-bullying and mental health, and school supplies.
Nevertheless, Savage, the father of three American-citizen children, was detained in one of the most brutal immigration detention centers in the United States, on âlockdownâ for 23 hours a day with no access to any form of media or communication, besides 10-minute phone calls. Prior to his Tuesday (February 12) release from detainment on bond, he was denied bail of any amount, and faced possible deportation.
Savageâs arrest drew an outpouring of outrage and support for Savage from the music community on social media over the course of the past week. But at the 61st annual Grammys held this past Sunday â where Savage was nominated for two awards for his feature on the multi-platinum record âRockstarâ by Post Malone, and was set to perform alongside Malone at the ceremony â he received little acknowledgement, leaving many viewers disappointed. Prior to the ceremony, Savageâs co-manager Justin Williams took to Twitter to also announce that the Grammys would not be giving Savageâs mother tickets to attend the ceremony on her sonâs behalf.
Though Malone was photographed wearing a shirt that read â21 Savageâ backstage, any tribute to Savage onstage during his performance of their collaboration was noticeably absent. In fact, Savageâs part in the song was completely cut from the performance. Fellow rappers Drake (who collaborated with Savage on his 2016 hit âSneakinâ) and Cardi B (who collaborated with Savage in 2018 on another hit, âBartier Cardiâ), were also silent about the issue during their moments in the spotlight. The only mention of Savageâs name came from a brief shoutout by Swedish composer Ludwig GĂśransson during his acceptance speech for Childish Gambinoâs âThis is America,â which Savage is credited on.
After the show, Savageâs management tweeted that they had reached out to several artists to stand in solidarity with him and perform his verse during the performance of âRockstar,â but those artists declined.
On Sunday â the same night as the awards ceremony â a heartbreaking video began to spread on Twitter. In it, a young woman with the display name Yulisa pleaded with the internet to help find her mother who was discreetly taken by ICE. Through sniffles, Yulisa explains that her mother had just been released from Harris County Jail in Houston, Texas, when she disappeared. Authorities told the girl theyâd seen her mother get on public transportation, but that night, her mother never came home. Instead, she received a brief phone call from her, saying she was with ICE. According to her tweets, ICE had taken her mother into custody under a completely different name and nationality, falsely labeling her as Mexican when she is in fact from El Salvador. The girl says she has sought help from the ICE immigration centers in her area, but they could not provide her with any information regarding the whereabouts of her mother.
Based on Yulisa’s account, ICE has the capacity to flat-out lie and fabricate information about individuals â a claim that is dangerous for all POC in America, regardless of immigrant status. Black immigrants, a rapidly growing population in the U.S., are even more vulnerable as ICE has increasingly worked with federal and local law enforcement under the Trump administration, and Black people are likely to face racial profiling and be targeted by law enforcement â Savageâs highly-publicized arrest, and his supposed criminal conviction that ICE cited as pretext for it, is a reminder of this.
The exclusion of Savage from the Grammys comes as a shock, as artists have used the awards show as a platform to speak up about political issues in recent years â whether to critique our current president, or to show support for survivors of sexual harassment and assault. 21 Savageâs arrest shouldâve been no different, as it underlines a stark and undeniable reality: Because of the Trump administration’s corrupt immigration enforcement, Black and brown immigrants are truly that easy to discredit and erase.
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Potential Landing Spots, Offers After Antonio Brown Requests a Trade
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Tuesday produced more signs that the Pittsburgh Steelers and superstar wide receiver Antonio Brown are headed toward a 2019 divorce.
The four-time first-team All-Pro thanked and essentially said goodbye to Steelers fans in a Twitter post before ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Brown has officially requested a trade.Â
The 30-year-old wideout does come with several off-field concerns. In January, he allegedly pushed the mother of his daughter, Wiltrice Jackson, who did not want to press charges. The NFL is still investigating.
Brown also reportedly caused tension in Pittsburgh’s locker room.
An official trade can’t take place until the new league year kicks off March 13, and no reports have emerged that an agreement in principle is yet in place. But here are the teams, potential deals and odds to watch as that process unfolds.Â
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Michael Zagaris/Getty Images
To truly and sensibly be in on Brown, you have to be in win-now mode (because he’ll turn 31 this July). You’ll need to have loose cashâbecause he’s due $36.4 million over the next three seasons and could insist on a new deal. And you ought to be in need of a No. 1 receiver (because duh).Â
The San Francisco 49ers can check off every one of those boxes with enthusiasm.Â
Per Spotrac, only six teams are slated to enter the 2019 offseason with more salary-cap space than the 49ers, who have the talent to make a breakout playoff run as soon as possible but are missing an elite weapon in the receiving corps for young franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.Â
The 49ers also have trade ammunition. They hold the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft as well as the fourth selection in Round 2. And while that first-rounder would be too pricey for a player on the wrong side of 30, they could either trade down before making a deal or package that high second-rounder with another Day 2 pick in 2020.Â
Of course, considering that Brown’s public approach to trade-lobbying has potentially cost the Steelers leverage, it’s possible that the seven-time Pro Bowler can be had for a lot less than that.
Regardless, Brown hasn’t seemed to be shy about his desire to play for the 49ers and apparently told Jerry Rice that his preference is to land in San Francisco, via 95.7 The Game. The Niners are the odds-on Las Vegas favorite to land Brown for a reason.Â
Odds:Â +200 (bet $100 to win $200)
Potential offer from San Francisco: No. 36 overall pick in 2019 and a second-round pick in 2020
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Jeff Chiu/Associated Press
It’s also possible Brown could land elsewhere in the Bay Area. The Oakland Raiders have even more money to spend than San Francisco, they’re just as desperate for a top-end receiver following last year’s Amari Cooper trade, and they have even more trade ammunition than the 49ers (or anyone else, for that matter).Â
The Raiders have three first-round draft picks, including their own No. 4 overall selection, and the third pick in Round 2. They can afford Brown, who would immediately become quarterback Derek Carr’s top option. And there’s little doubt that the outspoken, flashy Brown has a Raider-like persona.Â
He could also help the team gin up hype ahead of next year’s move to Las Vegas, where Brown would undoubtedly have a chance to become a sports staple.Â
There’s no telling what the unpredictable Jon Gruden and his new front-office partner, Mike Mayock, might do. Gruden has been selling more than he’s been buying, and there’s a chance Brown wouldn’t appeal to the old-school Mayock. But the Raiders still make a hell of a lot of sense on paper.Â
Odds:Â +600
Potential offer from Oakland: No. 24 overall pick in 2019
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Seth Wenig/Associated Press
The New York Jets might want to avoid making a potentially messy splash with a player who could disrupt a young locker room, but it’s also possible that new offensive-minded head coach Adam Gase will lobby hard for general manager Mike Maccagnan to get green franchise quarterback Sam Darnold a shiny new weapon.Â
They don’t come much shinier than Brown, and the Jets make a ton of sense. They have even more cap space than the 49ers and Raiders (and every other team in the league except the Indianapolis Colts, who already have T.Y. Hilton). They lack an elite receiver to team up with the emerging Robby Anderson. And they possess the No. 3 overall pick in April’s draft.Â
There might, however, be less pressure on the Jets to win now, since they’re sporting a second-year quarterback who has yet to turn 22 and they’re coming off three consecutive seasons with five or fewer wins.
Jets fans are certainly losing patience, but there’s usually a little more rope for teams in transition. Gase probably has more time in his back pocket than San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan or Gruden, and the Jets might not want to pay an aging veteran eight figures while they rebuild.Â
Still, safety Jamal Adams is one of the team’s brightest young stars, and he probably isn’t the only player in that building pushing for Brown to come to town. It’s possible that’ll rub off on the organization’s decision-makers, who might convince themselves that a new environment will cause Brown to excel on the field and remain under control off it.Â
Odds: +500
Potential offer from the Jets: Mid-first-round pick (following a trade down from No. 3) in 2019
4 of 7
Adrian Kraus/Associated Press
Every few years, the Buffalo Bills like to go full cannonball into the NFL pool, whether they’re trading for Drew Bledsoe (2002) or signing Terrell Owens (2009) or Mario Williams (2012).
The Pegulas are different ownership group, and the franchise has a different front-office/coaching regime. But bringing in Brown would help to boost interest in a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since the 1995 postseason.
Like the Jets, the Bills might not be on the verge of contending in a division that contains the perma-dominant New England Patriots. But like the Jets, the Bills have a blue-chip first-round pick (Josh Allen) who is entering his second season at quarterback. Like the Jets, the Bills are trying to expedite a rebuild for a restless fanbase. And like the Jets, the Bills can easily afford Brown.Â
Only the Colts, Jets and Browns, respectively, are projected to have more cap space than a Buffalo team that has no high-profile in-house free agents and could get more money by severing ties with veterans Charles Clay and/or LeSean McCoy.Â
It wouldn’t be surprising if Bills general manager Brandon Beane got the green light from Kim and Terry Pegula to pull the trigger on a blockbuster move involving Brown.Â
Odds: Unlisted
Potential offer from Buffalo:Â Mid-first-round pick (following a trade down from No. 9) in 2019
5 of 7
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
As mentioned, the Colts already have a No. 1-caliber receiver in T.Y. Hilton. But it turns out teams often use more than one receiver at the same time.
The Colts don’t have a lot of talent beyond Hilton at the position, especially with Dontrelle Inman and Ryan Grant scheduled to become unrestricted free agents, and they are projected to lead the league in salary-cap space with $107.6 million.Â
They can afford the luxury of a Hilton-Brown combo. And after years of meager support, an argument can be made that quarterback Andrew Luck deserves that.Â
General manager Chris Ballard can afford to pay Brown $12-plus million per year while bringing back key defensive players Pierre Desir and Margus Hunt and even adding an elite pass-rusher in free agency. And when it comes to trade ammo, the Colts possess the second pick of Round 2 (via the Jets) in addition to their own No. 26 overall selection in Round 1.Â
So the Colts have the capital to make a run at Brown, even if they might not be as desperate as the rest of the teams on this list.Â
Odds: +1300
Potential offer from Indianapolis:Â No. 26 overall pick in 2019
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Tony Dejak/Associated Press
The Cleveland offense could use a player like Brown, who would be an ideal fit at an X or Z spot opposite Antonio Callaway, with Jarvis Landry in the slot. Imagine what that unit could do with Baker Mayfield clicking under center and Nick Chubb and/or Kareem Hunt, whom the Browns signed Monday despite a likely suspension coming after he shoved and kicked a woman in an altercation in February 2018.Â
If general manager John Dorsey finds himself daydreaming about that scenario, he could decide that Brown is worth about $12 million to an emerging team that has $79.1 million in projected cap space and a No. 17 overall pick that might be more than enough in Pittsburgh’s view.Â
Of course, it’s possible nothing will persuade the Steelers to trade Brown within the AFC North or that Dorsey would have to outbid fellow suitors by a silly margin in order for Pittsburgh to make such a deal. We’re probably talking a first-round pick as well as a player who can make a difference for the Steelers immediately.Â
That’s the main reason the Browns remain a long shot, but the ingredients are there for something to happen in a far-fetched scenario. Likely the only way the Steelers consider this is if no other team offered up a first-round pick.
Odds: Unlisted
Potential offer from Cleveland: No. 17 overall pick in 2019, linebacker Jamie Collins
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Al Pereira/Getty Images
Bookmaker lists the following teams among the eight most likely candidates to land Brown this offseason:
Arizona Cardinals (+700)
The top pick of the second round could be intriguing to the Steelers, who would probably prefer to deal Brown outside of the AFC North. Still, the Cardinals don’t appear to be anywhere close to contending, and they’re projected to have less than $50 million in cap space. That doesn’t make them cap-poor, but investing in Brown right now would be a weird decision.Â
Miami Dolphins (+1000)
The Dolphins appear to be entering a rebuild. Sure, they need a top-flight receiver, but acquiring Brown would be putting the cart miles ahead of the horse. First, they need to deal with their quarterback situation, which won’t be easy because they’re one of just eight teams with less than $12 million in projected cap space.Â
Dallas Cowboys (+1100)
The Cowboys have more money to spend than they’ve been accustomed to at $45.7 million, but every team on this list, including Arizona, will have more cap space. Dallas already has a No. 1 receiver in Amari Cooper, and the Cowboys will soon have to take care of Demarcus Lawrence (pending free agent), Cooper (entering a contract year), Dak Prescott (ditto) and Ezekiel Elliott (one season away from his option year). Oh, and Dallas lacks a first-round pick as a result of the Cooper trade.
The following teams are listed by Bovada among the 10 most likely candidates to land Brown this offseason:
Green Bay Packers (+900)
Trading for Brown would be uncharacteristic. And any notion that Brown would be better in the locker room in Green Bay than he was in Pittsburgh would be wishful thinking. It’s not as though he wasn’t working with a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger, and there were still reportedly problems.
The Packers have a strong No. 1 receiver in Davante Adams and a middle-of-the-pack $34.2 million in cap space, but they do have three top-45 picks in April’s draft. It’s possible they’d do something shocking, but Packers fans shouldn’t hold their breath.Â
New Orleans Saints (+1200)
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports recently listed the Saints (and Packers) among a group of teams that could be interested in Brown, but New Orleans already has a superb No. 1 receiver in Michael Thomas. The Saints are also strapped for cap space (projected at $9.2 million) and don’t have a draft pick in the top 60. This makes no sense.
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US-led Middle East summit in Warsaw: All you need to know
Warsaw, Poland – A US-led summit on peace and security in the Middle East will take place in Warsaw on Wednesday and Thursday.
The meeting was first announced last month by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after his strongly worded anti-Iran speech in Cairo, and has been widely perceived as an effort to rally world powers behind Washington’s vision against Tehran.
But the conference comes at a sensitive moment as the EU is trying to prop up JCPOA, the 2015 nuclear deal which was signed to prevent Tehran from building nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief. The US withdrew from the deal after President Donald Trump’s May 2018 decision.
Here are five things to know about the Warsaw summit, which has a cumbersome official title: Ministerial to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East.
What is the summit about and who is expected to attend?
After a lukewarm reception by invited parties, the angle of the conference focused on broader subjects of security in the region.
Poland has been resisting the urge to turn the summit into a propagandistic anti-Iranian meeting, underscoring its commitment to JCPOA, but as Poland’s former ambassador to Afghanistan Piotr Lukasiewicz told Al Jazeera: “[Poland] has lost control over the general message of the conference to the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia.”
It is still unclear exactly who will attend, but Tehran officials are missing from the guest list; the meeting was planned by Brian Hook, Trump’s special envoy on Iran and head of the Iran action group.Â
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to speak to US Vice President Mike Pence, who will address the conference, and Pompeo will also attend.
Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, is expected to make a rare speaking appearance on Thursday.
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will be there, but has said he primarily wants to address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen – a war in which his country is involved.
Other European countries will send lower level delegates and some Arab countries are sending delegations led by ministers.
Who won’t be there?
Chief EU diplomat Federica Mogherini said she would not attend
Russia, Iran’s key ally, declined the invitation.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil announced on Monday that he would not attend the summit, as well as Palestinian officials who have dubbed the conference a US-Israeli “conspiracy aimed at eliminating the Palestinian cause.”Â
Why now?Â
The conference comes as the US starts its policy of disengagement in the region. Trump announced in December last year the withdrawal of US troops from Syria.
Warsaw represents the first attempt by the Trump administration to build a coalition.
The stakes are high, according to Lukasiewicz, because the outcome might help determine who will fill Washington’s role.
“The US has chosen Israel as its ally long time ago. Saudi Arabia seems to be another intercessor of American interests in the region,” he said. “The Palestinian issue seems to become a silent victim of the unofficial rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Israel against Iran”.
The meeting in Warsaw could be the first of many, said Patrycja Sasnal from the Polish Institute of Foreign Affairs.
“The US wants to create a forum where Israel and the Sunni Arab countries meet, given that they have not established diplomatic relations yet,” she said. “For the US, the summit is an alternative to JCPOA that is supposed to put more pressure on Iran and force it back to the negotiation table, this time regarding its regional policy and missile programme.”
It seems that this is what Iran fears too. Â
Critics in Tehran argue that European countries should have shown a stronger stance against US policy.Â
“Even though some EU countries will send lower level diplomats, their flag is going to be there. We expect the EU to be criticising US and holding a summit to analyse US foreign policy in the region, rather than participating in a conference geared to attack Iran,” said Foad Izadi, professor of international studies at Tehran University.
Where do Europe and Poland stand?
The rejection of the summit by some Europeans “reflects that although EU countries have problems with Iran’s regional behaviour, they don’t believe how the US is addressing this problem is constructive for security and stability in the region.” said Ellie Geranmayeh, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.Â
Poland’s decision to host the event highlights a wedge between EU countries, according to Ali Fathollah-Nejad, visiting fellow at Brookings Doha Center. “Not all member-states align with what the E3 (Germany, UK and France) are aiming for,” he said.
It is a multilateral forum and Europe can demand the inclusion of Iran in further rounds of talks. Any viable architecture of peace and stability in the region has to include Iran anyway.
Patrycja Sasnal from the Polish Institute of Foreign Affairs
Even if all EU countries shared the same position on the nuclear agreement, “the overall mood in Europe vis-a-vis Iran has become more critical, given Iranian assassination attempts that took place on EU soil as well as Iran’s ballistic missiles that could reach Eastern Europe.”
The timing of the Warsaw summit could suggest that the US is aware of the friction within Europe, with reference to Iran, and it is eager to deepen the gap.Â
The fact Warsaw is the host could be centred on security concerns; Poland is trying to establish permanent US military presence to counter Russia’s regional ambitions.
What’s expected to happen?
While the US seems determined to use Warsaw to expand its anti-Iran coalition beyond Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, experts doubt Washington will succeed.Â
“There won’t be a tangible outcome with a statement that isolate Iran” said Geranmayeh. “European countries are going to be very cautious on what statement they will sign or to join any conclusion that point fingers on Iran.”
According to Sasnal, a lot depends on who is going to participate in the event. The attendance of states without hostile relations with Iran would soften the general message of the conference.Â
European states could use this opportunity to exert pressure on Iran while keeping the JCPOA alive. “But for this, Europe has to present a unified front,” Sasnal said.
The summit could also be used to temper down Washington’s anti-Iran position.Â
“It is a multilateral forum and Europe can demand the inclusion of Iran in further rounds of talks,” said Sansal. “Any viable architecture of peace and stability in the region has to include Iran anyway.”
With additional reporting by Virginia Pietromarchi: @vpietromarchi
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Twitter dunks on Man Utd after PSG loss
Jimmy Butler @JimmyButler
No @neymarjr , No @ECavaniOfficial, No problem. PSG #ChampionsLeague
Jimmy Butler @JimmyButler
Man United scared of the ghost of Neymar #championsleague
LFC Fans Corner @LFCFansCorner
Mane on Instagram
https://t.co/EeTEXpEIpQ
Mario Balotelli @FinallyMario
MAN UTD OOOOOLĂ
https://t.co/JBw4rz3ywE
Paddy Power @paddypower
Man Utd finish the game with 9 men, after Paul Pogba was sent off, and Alexis Sanchez replaced Lingard.
Squawka Football @Squawka
David Moyes is the only Man Utd manager to have won a Champions League knockout match since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
Peter Schmeichel was right.
https://t.co/jftEG1shhz
Graham Ruthven @grahamruthven
Man Utd got dunked on there. https://t.co/oKlZAO4WcN
Troll Football @TrollFootball
Welcome to reality Man Utd fans https://t.co/8CrWbvJ1eD
beIN SPORTS @beINSPORTS
“Huge difference” between #MUFC and #PSG. Wenger left unimpressed with Solskjaer’s side.
#beINUCL #MUNPSG #beINWenger https://t.co/5dV7axMu0L
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Twitter dunks on Man Utd after PSG loss
Jimmy Butler @JimmyButler
No @neymarjr , No @ECavaniOfficial, No problem. PSG #ChampionsLeague
Jimmy Butler @JimmyButler
Man United scared of the ghost of Neymar #championsleague
LFC Fans Corner @LFCFansCorner
Mane on Instagram
Mario Balotelli @FinallyMario
MAN UTD OOOOOLĂ
Paddy Power @paddypower
Man Utd finish the game with 9 men, after Paul Pogba was sent off, and Alexis Sanchez replaced Lingard.
Squawka Football @Squawka
David Moyes is the only Man Utd manager to have won a Champions League knockout match since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
Peter Schmeichel was right.
Graham Ruthven @grahamruthven
Man Utd got dunked on there. https://t.co/oKlZAO4WcN
Troll Football @TrollFootball
Welcome to reality Man Utd fans https://t.co/8CrWbvJ1eD
beIN SPORTS @beINSPORTS
“Huge difference” between #MUFC and #PSG. Wenger left unimpressed with Solskjaer’s side.
#beINUCL #MUNPSG #beINWenger https://t.co/5dV7axMu0L
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