In 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson launched the celebration of Negro History Week, which evolved into Black History Month, now celebrated every February. Regina Hall paid tribute to the esteemed historian in an article forVariety.
“Woodson, known to many as the father of Black history, fervently believed that Black people should be proud of their heritage and that all Americans should recognize the largely disregarded achievements and contributions of Black people,” the Girls Trip star wrote.
“Woodson’s advocacy and devotion birthed Negro History Week. It was launched the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass,” the eight-time NAACP Image Award nominee continued.
“As we celebrate a people and a history tinged with tragedy and triumph, we should also pause to pay homage to the brilliance and perseverance of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, who a century ago recognized the need for this scholarly intervention,” concluded Hall.
In other news, Zendaya will make her Super Bowl commercial debut on February 13 promoting the website-building company Squarespace. The commercial preview, titled “Everything to Shell… Sell Anything,” opens with a close-up of a blue seashell, then spirals out to reveal the Emmy winner spinning in a matching blue halter dress adorned with pearls, shells and starfish.
Finally, Robin Givens will appear in the February 8 episode of ABC’s Queens, starring Brandy, Eve, Naturi Naughton and Nadine Velazquez. In an Instagram clip from the set, the Boomerang star addressed fans of the series, saying, “I am so excited to be guest starring on Queens, your favorite show.” She also commented, “Sooooo Much fun getting to play with these fabulous women!!!”
Givens will portray of ex-wife of Eric Jones, the manager of the girls hip-hop group Nasty B*****s.
“Kickoff” and “comeback” are a couple of football terms associated with Super Bowl Sunday, and for Lindsay Lohan, they will take on a fun new meaning during the big game.
Lindsay has been in the spotlight nearly her entire life, and to help put her past to bed and own the mistakes that made headlines along the way, she’s making fun of it for millions to see.
The actress teamed up with Planet Fitness for an ad that will air during Super Bowl LVI, narrated by William Shatner and with cameos from Dennis Rodman and Danny Trejo, that will embrace the missteps and help her move on, with some humor. A preview of the commercial debuted Friday on Good Morning America.
“I was really involved in the concept,” Lohan told GMA about the creative process. “You have to poke fun at things, bring light to the situation, especially because I’m in such a good place to talk about it. This is the final, the final, last time we will go backwards and bring up the past.”
Lohan noted, “Not filming for so long and not, you know, making movies for a long time, especially during the pandemic, that really made me appreciate it more and miss it so much more that I knew I was ready to come back.”
Now, with a new movie, her own podcast, and a wedding to plan, the actress says she’s feeling “really lucky and blessed,” and excited for the future.
Lohan announced her engagement on Instagram last November. She said of her idea wedding, “I want to keep it small and intimate and just, you know, family focused and just really beautiful.”
Lindsay added with a laugh, “I’m a very lucky girl and he’s a very lucky man.”
(ATLANTA) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched a new dashboard Friday that tracks COVID-19 in wastewater samples across the country.
The data comes from the federal agency’s National Wastewater Surveillance System, which connects more than 400 sites across 28 states and the District of Columbia.
More than 34,000 samples have been collected representing 53 million Americans, Dr. Ann Kirby, program lead for the CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System, said during a media briefing.
Over the last 15 days, the dashboard shows that 98% of treatment facilities have detected the virus in all of their samples.
However, 70% of all facilities say the amount of virus found in samples has decreased compared to two weeks ago — a sign that COVID-19 cases are on the decline.
Between 40% and 80% of COVID-19 patients shed genetic material from the virus, or viral RNA, in their feces.
When stool is flushed down the toilet, it flows through a drainage system into a treatment facility, where it becomes part of wastewater.
The same tests that are used to determine if someone is positive — what are known as PCR tests — can also detect the virus in wastewater samples.
During the media briefing, Kirby said wastewater surveillance provides public health officials with “a better understanding of COVID-19 trends in communities.”
Because people shed the virus when they are in the early stages of infection, increases in levels of viral RNA in wastewater are often seen before the number of cases rise.
This makes wastewater an early warning system of sorts and helps predict where COVID-19 outbreaks are going to occur.
“These can inform important public health decisions such as where to allocate mobile testing and vaccination sites,” Kirby said. “Public health agencies have also used wastewater data to forecast changes in hospital utilization, providing additional time to mobilize resources in preparation for increasing cases.”
Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor, said wastewater samples helped predict the omicron wave before it even hit.
“Well ahead of when we knew this omicron wave was creating this massive increase in cases, we saw the signal in the wastewater, and the sort of scale of amount of virus that was detected in wastewater was far greater than any other point in the pandemic,” said Brownstein, who is a member on the board of advisors of wastewater analytics company Biobot.
This is not the first time that wastewater surveillance has been used to track public health concerns.
Several countries overseas have used the tool to monitor polio outbreaks. In many European cities, public health officials have used wastewater surveillance to track opioid use.
Brownstein said wastewater has even been used to track the flu and can continue to be useful when COVID becomes a more seasonal, endemic disease.
“It can be absolutely used to look at early signals of any viral disease,” he said. “I think wastewater can be part of the public health fabric for just general surveillance. While COVID may become more sort of an endemic, seasonal virus, having a window into when we may see surges — especially with new variants — will be super critical.”
However, wastewater surveillance has some limitations. About one-fifth of U.S. households are not connected to a public sewer and use septic systems instead, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
This means wastewater testing would not be able to detect viral spread in 20% of American homes.
Additionally, Kirby said the testing cannot determine if a community is free from infection, so it’s best if it’s used in conjunction with other tools such as case-based surveillance.
But, if Americans do start to see rates of viral RNA in wastewater increase, they can implement the same measures they would use if cases were rising, just earlier.
“You want to take all the same actions: masking, distancing, getting vaccinated if you’re not, testing if you’re feeling sick,” Kirby said. “But with wastewater, you can start doing those a few days earlier and those extra days can really make a difference in the ultimate trajectory of that surge in your community.”
(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.) — To address the lack of diversity in law enforcement, Lincoln University, in Jefferson City, Missouri, has opened the first police academy at a historically Black college or university (HBCU).
Today, 71.5% of U.S. police officers are white and police departments are struggling to recruit new officers and retain veterans, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Retirements nationwide are up 45% in policing, resignations have risen 18% and recruitment is down 5%, according to the Police Executive Research Forum.
For law enforcement to better reflect America’s diversity, Lincoln University started the new policing program in January of 2021, graduating its first group of recruits six months later.
“Law enforcement agencies across the nation have been pulling their hair out trying to figure out a way to recruit more minorities. And this has never been tried,” Gary Hill, the co-founder and principal instructor of the program, told ABC News. “I would love to see where we can go from here.”
The majority of Lincoln’s first class are college students. The nine recruits spent 32 hours a week in firearm training and physical conditioning courses. The recruits consist of two Black women, four Black men and three white men.
Hill hopes the success of this academy could change the fate of policing and inspire other HBCUs to follow suit.
College sophomore Ti Aja Fairlee, 21, is the youngest in the class and told “Nightline” she never saw Black women represented among the ranks in law enforcement as a child.
Black women are among the most underrepresented groups in police, making up just 2.7% of the force nationally, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
“I am kind of proud of myself actually that I can be the face and the voice for girls like me,” Fairlee said. “Yes, you can do this. Don’t let the race thing stop you from anything. The race thing already pushed us back enough. We’ve just got to push forward and do what we want to do, like, don’t let nobody stop us.”
Fairlee, however, said there’s a lot of pressure in being one of a few.
“That’s where a lot of my doubts came from because I’m like, ‘Can I be a good police officer? I don’t know nobody to look up to,'” she said. “I’ve got to be my own role model, really.”
Tyrese Davis, 22, said the message was clear in Baltimore where he grew up: Don’t become a cop if you’re Black or a person of color.
He’s the first in his family to go to college and pays for tuition and the police academy by working the night shift at a local book factory.
Investing in recruits like Fairlee and Davis is central to Hill’s mission.
“What you all have to do is be the change that you want to see,” Hill said. “You have to be.”
Hill, a 26-year veteran in of law enforcement, also heads up Lincoln University’s police department, where he oversees 22 officers while still taking time to patrol the campus himself.
But close to the chief’s heart is the belief that higher education in police leadership makes for competent and diverse leaders. Hill holds a master’s in administration of criminal justice agencies and is currently working toward a doctorate in criminal justice with an emphasis on homeland security.
“I’m able to see things from different perspectives because of my education,” he said, “and so a lot of us chiefs and sheriffs, and other administrators, see the value in that.”
Hill said he’s inspired by African American Civil War soldiers who pooled their money to help create HBCUs in the 1800s.
“I look back and I say, ‘you know, if they could do it back in 1866, we can do it now,'” Hill said. “Lincoln University is probably one of the most diverse schools in the country. Our population is half Black and half white. And what better place to have an academy or to start one but here?”
Eight members of the inaugural class now work in law enforcement. Lincoln University’s program has also broadened its reach, opening a second training site in St. Louis, Missouri, with 25 recruits currently enrolled.
“I will measure success in three years to see how many of those recruits are still in law enforcement, and the things that they’ve experienced, and how they feel about law enforcement after those three years,” said Hill.
Watch the full story on “Nightline” TONIGHT at 12:35 a.m. ET on ABC.
(WASHINGTON) — After the White House braced for a disappointing January jobs report officials predicted would be skewed by the omicron variant, President Joe Biden took a triumphant tone at the White House Friday to tout the unexpected economic win.
“I want to speak to you this morning about an extraordinary resilience and grit of the American people and American capitalism. Our country is taking everything that COVID’s thrown at us. We’ve come back stronger,” Biden said. “I’m pleased to report this morning, many of you already know, that America’s job machine is going stronger than ever.”
The January jobs report released Friday shows a strong American economy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 467,000 jobs were added in January — much higher than economists’ expectations that 150,000 jobs would be added. The unemployment rate was little changed at 4%.
In a rare, positive revision, the report also showed that 709,000 more jobs were added in the previous two months than previously reported as data collection has been impacted in the pandemic.
“America is back to work,” Biden said, highlighting the numbers.
As the administration continues to battle rising inflation and growing doubt in Biden’s handling of the economy, White House officials had offered prebuttals ahead of Friday’s report, saying those who were out on unpaid sick leave the week data was gathered will count erroneously as unemployed.
“We just wanted to kind of prepare, you know, people to understand how the data is taken, what they’re looking at, and what it is an assessment of. And as a result, the month’s jobs report may show job losses in large part because workers were out sick from Omicron at the point when it was peaking during the period when — the week where the data was taken,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.
With the positive report, the Federal Reserve will likely stick to its plan of pulling back stimulus measures and raising rates — potentially even moving faster than previously planned.
Biden noted how Friday’s report caps off his first year as president, and over that period, the U.S. economy created 6.6 million jobs — a figure unmatched by recent presidents.
“If you can’t remember another year when so many people went to work in this country, there’s a reason. It never happened,” Biden said. “Take a look at the chart. You can look at the last, all the way back to President Reagan.”
He also took the chance to tout how the bipartisan infrastructure law passed last year is already taking effect and to push for congressional action on other items stalled on his domestic agenda including signature items in his Build Back Better agenda, like subsidized childcare and lowering prescription drug prices.
“Look, the bottom line is this: The United States is once again in a position to not only compete with the rest of the world — but out-compete the rest of the world once again,” Biden said. “Let’s keep building a better America.”
But even with the strong jobs growth, the latest report still showed significant pandemic impacts.
The number of people unable to work at some point in the previous month because their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic doubled in January to 6 million. Teleworking increased, to more than one in seven employed people. And among the unemployed, 1.8 million were prevented from looking for work because of the pandemic, up from 1.1 million in December.
It comes as Biden faces significant skepticism from the American public, with his job approval rating lagging across a range of major issues, including new lows for his handling of the economic recovery, an ABC/Ipsos poll from December found.
More than two-thirds of Americans (69%) disapprove of how Biden is handling inflation (only 28% approve) while more than half (57%) disapprove of his handling of the economic recovery. Partisan splits for inflation show expected negativity in Republican views (94% disapproving), but the survey also revealed weaknesses from Biden’s own party with only a slim majority of Democrats (54%) approving. Biden’s orbit is also hemorrhaging independent voters, with 71% disapproving of his handling of inflation.
“I know it hasn’t been easy. I know that January was a very hard month for many Americans,” Biden said Friday. “I know that after almost two years, the physical and emotional weight of the pandemic has been incredibly difficult to bear for so many people.”
But now, Biden added, “We’re seeing the difference our efforts have made.”
ABC News’ Zunaira Zaki and Gary Langer contributed to this report.
(HOUSTON) — An 11-year-old boy was shot on Thursday in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Harris County, Texas, while walking to get something from his mother’s car, according to police.
Deputies and EMS found the boy with at least one gunshot wound to the chest and aid being administered by his family. He was transported to the hospital in critical condition and was pronounced dead there, according to Harris County police.
Harris County deputies responded to an apartment complex just before 7 p.m. after receiving reports of a shooting. Multiple shots were fired, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office Homicide and Crime Scene Units are conducting an investigation, police said.
Early stages of the investigation indicated that gunshots were heard shortly after the boy walked to the parking lot to retrieve something from his mother’s car, according to police.
Witnesses said they saw a teenage black male fleeing the scene on foot. He ran through the complex and jumped over a wooden fence to exit the complex, police said.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
One of Jim Brickman‘s biggest hits was his 1997 single “Valentine,” featuring Martina McBride. Now, to mark the song’s 25th anniversary, he’s released a remix with another acclaimed female vocalist: Olivia Newton-John.
Jim recruited Olivia for the remake because they’ve been friends for a long time and have toured and written songs together. The two also sang “Valentine” together on Jim’s 2000 PBS TV special My Romance.
“I was honored to collaborate with Jim Brickman by recording ‘Valentine’ and releasing this special remix single for the song’s 25th anniversary,” says Olivia in a statement. “His music is so romantic and this song in particular is perfect for couples to celebrate the most romantic day of the year.”
Jim adds, “When I wrote the song with Jack Kugell, I had been thinking about the fact that there was no song that truly represented the romance of Valentine’s Day. It was truly a pivotal moment in my music career to have created a classic song that has been celebrated for 25 years.”
(NEW YORK) — The monster storm that dumped more than 1 foot of snow from Missouri to the Northeast is continuing its push east, bringing ice to the Northeast and freezing temperatures to Texas.
With 5,210 flights canceled Thursday nationwide, including over 1,400 in Dallas, the day marked the highest number of weather-related cancellations since March 14, 2017.
The latest
The heavy snow is stretching from western Pennsylvania to Maine Friday afternoon, bringing over 1 foot of snow to some areas.
Icy conditions are spreading across eastern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, New York’s Hudson Valley and parts of New England, including Boston.
The storm is dropping rain from Washington, D.C., to New York City.
The storm moves out of the Northeast Friday night. But temperatures will continue to plummet in the Northeast Friday night, so whatever rain or freezing rain falls will freeze on any untreated roads during the evening commute.
Those in the Northeast will wake up to freezing temperatures Saturday, with the wind chill forecast to plunge to 4 degrees in Boston, 6 degrees in New York City and 9 degrees in Washington, D.C.
Texas faces a freeze
The storm dumped 1.7 inches of snow in Dallas — more than the city usually sees in an entire year.
The storm even brought freezing rain down to Texas’ Gulf Coast. Police in Houston are urging drivers to stay off the roads due to ice, and Houston schools are closed Friday.
This storm comes one year after Texas’ power grid disaster, when back-to-back winter storms left more than 4 million people without heat and safe water. It took days for power to be restored, and more than 100 people died because of subsequent blackouts. Months later, Abbott signed a bill to reform the state’s power grid.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott assured residents Friday, “The power grid continues to perform well at peak demand during this winter storm. … The Texas electric grid is more reliable and more resilient than has ever been.”
But Texans are still feeling the freeze with the wind chill — what temperature it feels like — hitting about 8 degrees in Dallas, 7 degrees in Austin and 1 degree in Lubbock on Friday morning.
Saturday morning the wind chills will fall to the teens from Texas to Georgia.
Heading into Friday night, Abbott warned, “It is anticipated that the entire state will be in a freezing or below freezing temperature situation.”
Bravo executive, Real Housewives icon and Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen has become the latest celebrity to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Cohen’s famous friends John Mayer and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills stars Lisa Rinna and Garcelle Beauvais spoke at the ceremony, which took place on Friday.
Grammy winner Mayer’s speech was so touching that Cohen wanted a copy of it. The musician not only praised his “dear friend” as one of the “greatest entertainers of all time,” an “icon” and a “rule breaker,” but also saluted him for helping to open the door for mainstream out-and-proud stars.
“Because of Andy, everyone in America has at least one gay friend,” Mayer said, adding that Cohen is “softening hearts and opening minds all while giving the world these things to enjoy.”
Mayer also quipped, “He’s an A-Lister who parties like a B-Lister, with the free spirit of a C-Lister,” cracking up Cohen.
It was an extra celebration for Cohen, whose son Benjamin turned 3 on Friday.
In a nod to Watch What Happens‘ notoriously open bar and party atmosphere, Cohen joked that in honor of February 4 being named “Andy Cohen Day” — a Walk of Fame tradition for honored celebs — the City of Angels will feature “tequila in the water fountain,” and the weekend will begin at 1 p.m.
Cohen’s star, the 2,711th such commemoration in cement, is located at 6652 Hollywood Boulevard.
(NEW YORK) — Disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti was convicted Friday of stealing from the client that helped him flirt with fame.
He was found guilty of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft after he surreptitiously diverted $300,000 that rightfully belonged to Stormy Daniels, the pornographic performer who hired Avenatti to represent her in litigation against former President Trump.
Avenatti had pleaded not guilty and argued the evidence against him was insufficient but the jury sided with federal prosecutors who said Avenatti convinced Daniels her book publisher was late with payments owed to her for her memoir, “Full Disclosure,” when he already had the money in an account he controlled. He will be sentenced on May 24.
“The defendant was a lawyer who stole from his own client. She thought he was her advocate, but he betrayed her,” assistant U.S. attorney Robert Sobelman said. “He told lies to cover it all up, lies he told to try to get away with it.”
The jury deliberated over three days and twice, before rendering a verdict, indicated it was having trouble. A few hours after deliberations began, the jury sent a note saying, “We are unable to come to a consensus on Count One. What are our next steps?”
A subsequent note indicated a single juror “is refusing to look at evidence and is acting on a feeling.” In both instances the judge ordered the jury to keep trying.
Avenatti, who represented himself during the trial, argued he was entitled to a portion of Daniels’ book advance even though she paid him an agreed-upon retainer of $100.
“Ms. Daniels was about to embark on a fight against the president of the United States, the most powerful person on the planet. And the evidence shows that I agreed to take on that fight for Ms. Daniels. But I didn’t agree to do it for free,” Avenatti said.
At one point during trial Avenatti cross-examined his former client about her belief in the paranormal in an attempt to attack her credibility.
“She claims to have the ability to talk to the dead. She claims to have a doll who talks, plays the piano, and calls her mommy,” Avenatti said. “Does this sound like someone the government should be using as their star witness in a criminal case?”
The remark during closing statements drew a sustained objection and a response during the government’s rebuttal.
“I don’t know what you all believe, whether you think it’s kooky to believe in the paranormal, whether you believe it’s weird, whether you have beliefs in the paranormal. No idea. What matters here has nothing to do with that. It has nothing to do with that at all. She can believe whatever she wants and still be stolen from, from the defendant, and still deserves not to be,” assistant U.S. attorney Matthew Podolsky said.
Daniels became a household name after she received $130,000 in hush money from Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. She said the payment was meant to keep her quiet about an alleged affair she said she had with Trump, who has denied it.
Daniels’ attorney Clark Brewster released a statement following the jury’s verdict, saying, “Stormy is relieved this nightmare is over. The text communications between Stormy and Mr. Avenatti in real time was overwhelming proof of his deceit and embezzlement. The forgery of her name and his concealed directive to wire the money to him was irrefutable. Still, Mr. Avenatti possessed the uncanny ability to steadfastly deny the crimes and persuade others he was entitled to the embezzled funds. Stormy is pleased that the justice system worked.”
Avenatti’s conviction is his second in recent months. He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for extorting Nike and he faces a retrial in California on charges that he cheated clients other than Daniels.
