Jada Pinkett Smith has opened up about her complicated relationship with setting boundaries and how it’s negatively impacted her relationships.
On the newest episode of Facebook Watch’s Red Table Talk, the actress explained that she struggles with setting limits because she worries how it will make the other person feel.
“I have a difficult time setting boundaries with it all, whether it’s work, family, kids, friends,” Smith admitted. “With me, I get angry if you make me set a boundary. I get angry at you. Isn’t that crazy? So, now you’re putting me in a position that I gotta tell you to, ‘Give me 50 feet.'”
While not touching upon her marriage to husband Will Smith or her professional relationships, the Girls Trip star revealed that her issue with setting boundaries affected her on a personal level, saying, “I definitely realized that it is a huge weakness of mine and has definitely played into a lot of relationship issues.”
She declined to elaborate why and, instead, opened a conversation about why asserting yourself is necessary part of life — even it if is one of her least-favorite moments because she likes to make others “feel better.”
Pinkett Smith, 50, elaborated by explaining that, when she sets boundaries, “You really start to see who’s a real friend and who’s not.”
“People feel really entitled, you know?,” she continued. “People that are close to you. I’ve done the same, where you feel entitled to people, their things. I’ve had to check myself on both sides of that coin.”
Pinkett Smith also shared how she’s embraced the boundaries set by her daughter, Willow.
“She’ll call me disrupted, and be like, ‘I don’t need you to fix anything, Mom. I just want you to listen,'” Jada remarked, and praised her daughter’s straightforwardness.
It’ll be at least another month before Wendy Williams returns to her purple chair.
The Wendy Williams Showannounced Wednesday that their host’s expected return date had to be pushed back yet again. In the meantime, a new slate of guest hosts has been announced who will hold down the fort through November 19.
Starting November 8 it’ll be actor Michael Rapaport, who will host through November 12 and then pass the mic to comedian Bill Bellamy. Bellamy will entertain the audience on November 16 and 17 before Jerry Springer and Steve Wilkos take over on November 18 through the end of the week.
The show also announced an “all-new hot talk panel” will kick off on Monday, November 15.
Williams has been absent from her show since it was originally expected to return on September 20 for the start of the 13th season. Her return was delayed due to ongoing health issues, which included testing positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19.
The show returned to the air on October 18 with Leah Remini as its first guest host. It was also announced that Williams was “making progress but experiencing serious complications as a direct result of Graves’ Disease and her thyroid condition. It has been determined that more time is needed before she is able to return to her live hosting duties.”
Mayo Clinic defines Graves’ disease as a disorder of the immune system that is a common cause of hyperthyroidism, or an overproduction of thyroid hormones. Side effects attributed to the illness are anxiety, hand tremors, palpitations, fatigue and other disruptive symptoms.
Tiger King star Joe Exotic has revealed that he has “aggressive cancer.”
The unfortunate news was shared on Joe’s Instagram and featured a picture of the handwritten note he wrote to fans, dated October 27.
The note reads, “Everyone, It is with a sad face that I have to tell you the doctors called me in today to break the news that my prostate biopsy came back with an aggressive cancer, I am still waiting on the results from other test as well.”
Exotic goes on to say that he doesn’t want “pity,” though he says he’s sure his nemesis, Carole Baskin, will “have her own party over this.” What Joe does want is to be released from prison, where he is currently serving a 22-year sentence for violating wildlife laws, and also for the failed murder-for-hire plots against Baskin.
“What I need is the world to be my voice to be released, they have the proof I DID NOT DO THIS!” he wrote. “And there is no reason for the district attorney to drag this out, So I can go home and get treatment on my own or enjoy what life I have left with my loved ones! Say a prayer everyone & be my voice.”
(NOTE LANGUAGE) Dakota Johnson is commenting on the allegations against some of her former co-stars.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actress, who has worked alongside Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer and Shia LaBeouf — all of whom have had allegations of misconduct lodged against them — said she never had a problem with them.
“I never experienced that firsthand from any of those people,” Johnson said. “I had an incredible time working with them.”
Making note of cancel culture and how her former co-stars may not have the opportunity to return to their acting careers, Johnson added, “I feel sad for the loss of great artists. I feel sad for people needing help and perhaps not getting it in time. I feel sad for anyone who was harmed or hurt. It’s just really sad.”
“I do believe that people can change. I want to believe in the power of a human being to change and evolve and get help and help other people,” she continued. “I think there’s definitely a major overcorrection happening. But I do believe that there’s a way for the pendulum to find the middle.”
“The way that studios have been run up until now, and still now, is behind,” Johnson went on. “It is such an antiquated mindset of what movies should be made, who should be in them, how much people should get paid, what equality and diversity look like. Sometimes the old school needs to be moved out for the new school to come in.”
“But, yeah, cancel culture is such a f****** downer. I hate that term,” Johnson concluded.
(WASHINGTON) — Nearly 100 million U.S. workers will be required to get the COVID vaccine by Jan. 4, with some workers allowed to test weekly instead, under sweeping federal rules released Thursday by the Biden administration that identifies COVID-19 as an occupational hazard.
The regulations are aimed at health care workers and businesses with 100 or more employees, covering two-thirds of the nation’s workforce. Businesses that don’t comply could be fined $14,000 per infraction, and hospitals could lose access to Medicare and Medicaid dollars.
It’s part of President Joe Biden’s aggressive new plan to try quell a pandemic that’s overshadowed his presidency and hobbled the economy. At the same time, the Jan. 4 date is a nod to industry groups that insisted the administration wait until after the holidays to impose mandates in the midst of a worker shortage.
“This is good for the economy,” a senior administration official told reporters late Wednesday on the rationale for the plan.
Since taking office, the Biden administration had avoided imposing nationwide vaccine mandates, focusing instead on incentives for businesses and individuals. But with the arrival of the delta variant, a surge in pediatric cases and pockets of the country remaining hesitant to get a shot, Biden’s COVID strategy shifted in recent weeks.
“We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us,” Biden said of unvaccinated Americans on Sept. 9 when announcing his plan to draft the rule.
Biden’s plan also gives federal contractors an extra month to comply, sliding a previous Dec. 8 deadline set by the administration. Federal workers are still required to be vaccinated by Nov. 22.
Like health care workers, federal contractors and federal workers aren’t given the option to test instead of getting vaccinated. In other businesses, employees could be given the option to test weekly and would be required to wear a mask in the workplace.
When asked whether the worker shortage was a factor in the decision, administration officials said the primary focus was on making compliance easier for workers and aligning deadlines across the private sector.
Once divided on how to address the pandemic, Republican governors have united against the plan, insisting it represents dangerous federal overreach and would cripple business owners already dealing with worker shortages.
“Rest assured, we will fight them to the gates of hell to protect the liberty and livelihood of every South Carolinian,” tweeted the South Carolina GOP Gov. Henry McMaster last September following Biden’s announcement.
Supporters counter that many large businesses have already embraced vaccine mandates to both entice employees who want a safe workplace and end a pandemic that has hobbled the economy. They argue too that whenever employees have enacted mandates, the vast majority of workers comply.
(WASHINGTON) — The Biden administration is ordering federal agencies to fix hundreds of vulnerabilities in software and hardware that hackers have been known to exploit, according to a new government directive released Wednesday.
The first-of-its-kind directive, issued by the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, includes a list of vulnerabilities “that carry significant risk to the federal enterprise” with technical specifics that agency leaders are required to review and address within 60 days. Some areas will require a more immediate fix, according to CISA.
“Cybersecurity threats are among the greatest challenges facing our Nation,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement Wednesday. “Organizations of all sizes, including the federal government, must protect against malicious cyber actors who seek to infiltrate our systems, compromise our data, and endanger American lives.”
U.S. information systems have fallen victim to an increasing number of cyber attacks in recent years targeting schools, hospitals and critical infrastructure.
A 2020 cyber intrusion into the U.S. company SolarWinds, which sells software to the federal government, was not discovered until months after malicious code was injected into a routine software update. The discovery sent government officials scrambling to determine if their systems were compromised.
Last July, the U.S. and its allies condemned China for a cyber assault on Microsoft email servers and said hackers supported by the Chinese government had carried out ransomware or cyber-extortion attacks for millions of dollars. The Chinese-backed hackers were able to string together multiple, lower-level vulnerabilities to exploit Microsoft systems, according to CISA.
The new directive aims to address this hacker strategy by restructuring its classifications for vulnerabilities and establishing a working catalog of flaws that need to be addressed.
“This directive will significantly improve the federal government’s vulnerability management practices and degrade our adversary’s ability to exploit known vulnerability,” CISA Director Jen Easterly told lawmakers at a House Homeland Security hearing Wednesday.
The directives do not apply to the Department of Defense or U.S. intelligence agencies.
The order is one of the most expansive federal cybersecurity mandates in U.S. history and it’s the first requirement of governmentwide fixes that spans both online and internal systems, according to the Wall Street Journal.
At the House hearing Wednesday, Republican Rep. Clay Higgins expressed concern the government was not taking enough proactive, offensive steps to defend critical infrastructure.
“Why are we not lighting these criminals up with a counter strike cyber attack?” Higgins asked.
“It is important to bring transgressors to justice,” National Cyber Director Chris Inglis responded.
“Equally important is a campaign that covers all the ways that we can thwart their efforts,” Inglis said. “We need to begin with increased resilience and robustness in the technology, in the skills of our people, in the roles and responsibilities.”
(GLASGOW, Scotland) — Eshrat Waris called just attending the COP26 climate summit and meeting Prince William in Glasgow, Scotland, this week an “out of body experience.” Being handed 1 million pounds for her Earthshot Prize-winning invention took it to another level.
“The fact that we’re in the room means that — I hope to God — they unlock that money because there are solutions like the 15 Earthshot finalists have shown,” Waris told ABC News. “But that financing that has been promised since Paris, I hope to God in Glasgow gets delivered and unlocked for all of us because these solutions are going to be game-changers.”
The 34-year-old from Bangladesh was one of five winners of the prince’s inaugural Earthshot Prize, each of whom received 1 million pounds, or about $1.38 million, in financial support. All 15 finalists received some funding to scale their climate change solutions.
Waris won the award for a smartmeter that allows people to sell excess solar energy developed by SOLshare where she is the director of product and business development.
Sam Teicher, from winner Coral Vita, echoed Waris’ emotions, saying, “It’s the honor of my life that Prince William knows our company, knows our name.”
Acknowledging the global scale of COP26, Olugbenga Olubanjo, a winner from Nigeria, told ABC News, “I’m very sure it’s going to unlock opportunities for us. … It sets us on the global stage.”
The three winners who spoke to ABC News were optimistic and determined to bring climate change to an end.
“Failure is not an option when it comes to solving for climate change,” Teicher said.
He also pointed to the world’s response to the pandemic as an example of the power we harness to create change.
“You saw during the COVID lockdowns that governments can unlock incredible amounts of funding to restructure societies,” Teicher said. “So the argument that there’s not enough money to fund climate change action is now underscored by the fact that the cost of inaction is so much greater than paying the bill right now, while then also creating all these opportunities through new solutions.”
And while the group said it was humbled and honored to be working with Prince William, the winners said they were also amazed by Prince Charles.
“We had the opportunity to meet Prince Charles the other night, and I honestly was very surprised and pleasantly blown away by how much this man knows,” Waris said.
“He got so excited,” Waris added. “He was actually grabbing the CEOs and saying, ‘Hey, come over here. Like, these guys, like, you need to finance them right now.'”
The finalists and winners met for the first time in person and were featured at a leaders’ event on Tuesday where William gave a speech.
The youngest finalist, 15-year-old Vinisha Umashankar from Tamil Nadu, India, joined the prince on stage and addressed world leaders including President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I’m not just a girl from India, I’m a girl from Earth,” Umashankar said.
Umashankar reached the final rounds of the prize for her invention, which replaces India’s traditional charcoal-powered roaming ironing carts with ones powered by solar energy.
“We won’t wait for you to act,” Umashankar added in her speech, earning her a standing ovation. “We will lead even if you don’t. We will act even if you delay.”
(NEW YORK) — You did everything you could to stay safe. You socially distanced. You wore a mask. You avoided large gatherings and unsafe indoor environments. When the coronavirus vaccine became available, you got in line and got your shots. Now that eight months have passed, you’re getting ready to get a booster.
And now, you think, finally, it’s time to throw caution to the wind and return to the life you lived pre-pandemic.
I wish I could tell you that was the case. But for your safety and the safety of those around you — including kids who are about to start getting their vaccinations — it’s time to take a deep breath, tap the brakes, continue using your mask indoors, and not re-engage with large crowds just yet.
Here are five reasons why:
1. Your body needs time to build immunity to COVID-19.
The three authorized COVID-19 vaccines remain incredibly effective at preventing even mild infections. When first authorized, Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines proved 95% and 94% effective, and Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine proved 75% effective.
Nevertheless, studies have shown that all three vaccines lose some ability to protect against infections over time. For that reason, experts recommend that people in high-risk groups — such as older adults and people with weakened immune systems — get booster shots.
Like the initial vaccines, booster shots have been shown to be extremely effective at preventing serious illness. In fact, new research shows that people who received booster shots were at a 93% lower risk of being hospitalized and an 81% lower risk of death from COVID-19 compared to people who had only received their initial two shots.
The booster builds on the immunity protection you have developed through your primary vaccination series. But the added protection from a booster doesn’t happen overnight.
“The booster doesn’t work right away; it takes a week or so to have full effect,” says Dr. Megan Ranney, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Brown University. “I frequently see people who take risks before the vaccines have had a chance to protect them.”
Instead, said Ranney, people should continue to take common-sense precautions. “Wash your hands, maintain a little distance and, if you are in an area with high COVID prevalence, wear a mask when you are in crowded public indoor locations,” she said. The guidance about masking indoors doesn’t change, regardless of whether someone has had two doses or three doses of vaccine.
How will you know your immune system is building a response to COVID? You’ll likely feel some side effects. These could include pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, joint pain and fever.
You can predict what type of side effects you might develop based on which ones you experienced with your previous shots. If your arm hurt for a couple of days last spring, it will likely hurt for a couple of days after you get a booster.
Remember that these side effects are generally mild and temporary, and the vaccines can provide long-lasting protection against COVID-19. Whatever you may experience, it’s crucial to understand that side effects are generally a good sign. They mean your body is responding to the vaccine and building immunity to COVID-19 infection.
2. COVID-19 is still a risk.
Getting a booster shot doesn’t guarantee you won’t be infected with the coronavirus. But it can help your immune system build protection against severe disease or hospitalization — including from the delta variant.
So in order to protect yourself and those around you from infection, continue to follow public health guidance and regulations in your local area regarding masking and social distancing. Both of those, as well as washing your hands regularly with soap and warm water, will provide you with maximum protection against the coronavirus and other viruses circulating this fall and winter as more people are out and about.
3. It’s flu season.
We’ve spent so much time talking about COVID-19 that we may lose sight of the health effects posed by the very common influenza virus, which usually pops up in early autumn and can lead to serious illness.
During the 2019-2020 flu season, 38 million people became sick with flu, resulting in more than 400,000 hospitalizations and 22,000 deaths. Studies have shown that levels of flu last year were at their lowest since 1997, the first year for which data is available. That’s likely because people wore masks, used hand hygiene often, and socially distanced, in order to suppress the spread of COVID-19. Those actions also had the effect of suppressing the flu.
Unfortunately, last year’s mild flu season might lead to a more severe flu season this year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has warned. That’s because people weren’t exposed to flu last year, so they didn’t build up an immunity to the virus.
The good news is that flu vaccines are widely available. In fact, the CDC says it’s perfectly safe to get the COVID and flu vaccines during the same visit. So whether or not you get a booster shot, “we should always prepare for the flu season by planning to get vaccinated,” Dr. David Hirschwerk, an infectious disease specialist at Northwell Health in New York, told ABC News.
In the meantime, masks, hand-washing and all of the other measures that you used to protect against COVID-19 will generally also protect you against flu.
4. Other viruses are out there.
No, they’re nothing to panic about — but just as with flu, the CDC warns that there’s likely to be a resurgence of other non-COVID-19 respiratory viruses this year. These include adenovirus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which are frequent causes of the common cold during the winter months.
COVID-19 shutdowns and other precautions kept RSV from spreading during the winter of 2020-21. But when the shutdowns ended in the spring, RSV numbers started to rise. In fact, the CDC warns it has “observed an increase in RSV detections reported to the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS), a nationwide passive, laboratory-based surveillance network.”
With a resurgence of these viruses, you want to be careful that you don’t increase your risk of exposure to them while you’re reinforcing your COVID-19 protection. Though you won’t be more susceptible to these other viruses the week after you take the booster, it will make it difficult to determine whether any symptoms you exhibit are side effects from a booster shot or actual symptoms of illness. I would suggest waiting a week after your booster before participating in any medium- or large-sized gatherings, and using an elbow or fist bump rather than shaking hands.
Dr. Sachin Jain, a doctor of internal medicine who serves as president and CEO of SCAN Health Plan, also cautions people against spreading common cold viruses because they can have outsized effects on older adults. “Some older adults, especially those with chronic illness, can be more susceptible to viruses like RSV,” said Jain. “For that reason, it’s best to keep practicing behaviors that will protect the health of older adults in our communities.”
These viruses might pose an even greater threat to those with long-term COVID-19 symptoms, known as long COVID. “Those with long COVID may be at higher risk for other infections such as flu and RSV, based on their immune status and history of pre-existing conditions,” said Dr. Sritha Rajupet, primary care lead for the Post-COVID Clinic at Stony Brook Medicine in New York. “Preventive measures such as vaccination against flu, shingles and pneumonia, to name a few, are essential.”
5. Community transmission matters.
Even though you may have gotten your vaccinations, the COVID-19 virus is still prevalent in many communities. And the best way to protect yourself and others is through what ABC News contributor Dr. John Brownstein calls “layers of protection.”
“For many, boosters provide additional protection for those that have underlying concerns of severe disease or increased risk of exposure,” said Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Nevertheless, Brownstein said, “If community transmission continues to be high, it’s important to follow public health guidance regardless of your number of shots.”
So yes, if you’re an older adult or your body is immuno-compromised, it’s a good idea to get a booster shot. But that doesn’t mean it’s time to brush aside those public health measures that keep us, our loved ones, and our communities safe.
Dr. Jay Bhatt, an ABC News contributor, is an internal medicine physician and an instructor at the University of Illinois School of Public Health.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 750,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Just 68% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Nov 04, 8:45 am
Majority of US workers to fall under vaccine mandate on Jan. 4
Nearly 100 million U.S. workers will be required to get the COVID vaccine by Jan. 4, with some workers allowed to test weekly instead, under sweeping federal rules released Thursday by the Biden administration that identifies COVID-19 as an occupational hazard.
The regulations are aimed at health care workers and businesses with 100 or more employees, covering two-thirds of the nation’s workforce. Businesses that don’t comply could be fined $14,000 per infraction and hospitals could lose access to Medicare and Medicaid dollars.
Biden’s plan also gives federal contractors an extra month to comply, sliding a previous Dec. 8 deadline set by the administration. Federal workers are still required to be vaccinated by Nov. 22.
Nov 03, 3:11 pm
White House says central vaccine website will be live for kids on Friday
Vaccines.gov is not yet live with appointments for children, but White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients says the site will be up and running Friday.
“You need to get the vaccines to those sites,” he said at a Wednesday White House briefing. “Over the next 24 hours alone there will be millions more doses in the air and on trucks heading to cities and towns across the country. From Bar Harbor, Maine, to Anchorage, Alaska, to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Packing and shipping will continue over the weekend and into next week, with doses arriving at thousands of vaccination sites in every state, tribe and territory.”
CVS said it will offer the pediatric vaccine at “nearly 1,700” pharmacy locations across 46 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., beginning Nov. 7.
Parents can start scheduling CVS appointments online now.
Nov 03, 2:46 pm
Colorado now has its highest hospitalization rate since December
Health officials in Colorado are growing increasingly concerned as the state’s daily case rate has more than doubled in the last month.
Nearly 200 COVID-19 patients are being admitted to hospitals each day — the highest number of people seeking care since December 2020, according to federal data.
There are currently more than 1,300 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 across Colorado, the majority of whom — 80% — are unvaccinated, according to state data.
With the statewide hospital capacity falling under 10%, Gov. Jared Polis has signed a “particularly urgent” executive order that would permit the state’s health department to order hospitals to transfer or stop admitting patients after reaching or nearing capacity.
Federal data show just 61.7% of the state’s total population is fully vaccinated.
After DaBaby‘s career was nearly derailed for the seemingly homophonic comments he made during Miami’s Rolling Loud festival, the same festival is backing the rapper’s newly announced tour.
TMZ reports that executives believe that the “Suge” rapper has grown from the July controversy, which resulted in numerous festivals banning him — including Lollapalooza plus New York’s Governors Ball — as well as intense pushback from his fellow artists, such as Megan Thee Stallion and his “Levitating” partner Dua Lipa.
At last summer’s Rolling Loud festival, DaBaby said during his set in Miami, “If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two or three weeks, put your cellphone light in the air.”
DaBaby not only apologized several times for his remarks, he also accepted invitations from nearly a dozen HIV organizations to speak with Black leaders about the damage his comments may have caused. He also was open to being educated about how to do better and said he apologized to the organizations.
Rolling Loud believes that DaBaby has learned his lesson and, because of that, has signed on to present his recently announced 22-stop Live Show Killa Tour. The tour kicks off November 26 in Chicago and is slated to complete on February 6, 2022 in Los Angeles.
A Rolling Loud representative told the outlet they agreed to present the tour because they believe in second chances.
Tickets are available now on DaBaby’s website and the Rolling Loud representative emphasized everyone is welcome to attend.
