(VIRGINIA) — With just over a week to go until the last day of voting in Virginia and New Jersey, former President Barack Obama is joining each state’s Democratic nominee for governor on the campaign trail Saturday, hoping to motivate the party’s base to turn out in their state’s off-year general elections.
Always held the year after a presidential election, the statewide and legislative races in both states are seen as bellwethers for the nation’s political landscape going into the midterms. A strong showing by Democrats could assuage party fears about 2022, but if Republicans make gains, it will serve as a warning shot for Democrats as they try to connect with voters in the post-Trump era.
Obama isn’t the first top surrogate to hit the trail with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who is hoping to secure Virginia’s top executive post for a second time after leaving office in 2018. First lady Jill Biden stumped with both Democrats last week, and Georgia’s Stacey Abrams and Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned with McAuliffe Sunday and Thursday, respectively.
“Let’s be clear about who this man is. He has the life experience, the professional experience, the experience in this state. … he walks his talk, he is a fighter,” Harris said of McAuliffe. “When you elect somebody or governor, you want to make sure you really know who they are. Well, we know who Terry is.”
Acknowledging how close the race is between McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin, she added, “We got to make it clear that we’re not taking anything for granted. You know, four years ago, there was a lot of folks who said, ‘Oh, if I don’t vote, everything will be alright. It wasn’t alright.”
McAuliffe also has an event planned with President Joe Biden in deep blue Arlington on Tuesday. While Biden and McAuliffe have been friends for over 40 years, the president hasn’t stumped with him since late July. Earlier this month, McAuliffe acknowledged Biden’s approval rating has taken a hit since then.
“We are facing a lot of headwinds from Washington, as you know. The president is unpopular today unfortunately here in Virginia, so we have got to plow through,” he said at a virtual rally.
Those headwinds appear to be hampering McAuliffe more than Murphy, according to public polling.
A September poll from Monmouth University showed Murphy with a 13-point lead over his Republican opponent, former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, among New Jersey registered voters. Ciattarelli has taken aim at Murphy’s handling of the COVID19 pandemic, arguing the Democrat’s policies have been too restrictive and the state’s economy has suffered for it. But according to Monmouth’s poll, half of registered voters have more trust in Murphy to handle the pandemic.
On the economy and taxes, issues that have been front and center in Ciattarelli’s campaign, the Republican fares better against Murphy.
In Virginia, however, the gubernatorial race is neck and neck. A Monmouth poll out Wednesday showed McAuliffe and Youngkin, a former private equity executive, tied among registered voters, and for the first time in the university’s polling of this race, Youngkin leads in one probabilistic likely electorate model.
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — Dozens of Howard University students are sleeping outdoors in a tent encampment on campus grounds to protest what they describe as “poor” and “unlivable” conditions in the college dormitories.
Students told ABC News that portions of the university living quarters have mold and insect and rodent infestations, as well as leaky ceilings and flooding — all of which they say put their health at risk.
Lamiya Murray, an 18-year-old freshman currently living in one of the tents, believes the mold that she said she spotted in her dorm room was responsible for a respiratory infection she battled earlier this year.
“I’m not going to say that I expect a lot more, I expect the bare minimum. I expect decent housing,” Murray told ABC News. “I expect to be in a space where I will feel safe and secure, but the dorms became a health hazard. I was waking up every morning with a cough that I didn’t go to sleep with the night before, and struggling to breathe at night.”
Murray said her reports to campus maintenance have often gone unresolved.
@HowardU IM PISSED. OVER 24 hours and NO change. IVE BEEN BREATHING THIS IN. mold has been growing under my microwave, on my mattress. in my closet. on my suitcase. behind my mirror. in my FRIDGE. i am taking legal actions and i’ll be damned if anyone stops me. @fox5dcpic.twitter.com/euJlWdZQAx
Since Oct. 12, Murray and other student demonstrators have taken over the Blackburn University Center, a student hub and cafeteria located in the central yard of the campus. Organizers said they are not allowing administrators inside the Blackburn building.
One day after the protest began, on Oct. 13, the Howard University Division of Student Affairs issued a warning to protesters occupying the Blackburn University Center, citing the demonstrators for multiple violations of the university’s student code of conduct.
“You will proceed through a student conduct hearing and face consequences up to and including expulsion from the University. The judicial process will be conducted within the procedures of the Student Code of Conduct,” Cynthia Evers, vice president for student affairs, wrote in an email to students, obtained by ABC News.
“We take great pride in Howard students leading the nation in public and private fights for justice and equality in all corners of the nation and, in fact, the world,” the email continued. “However, there is a marked delineation between historic protests and what we witnessed yesterday [Oct. 12] . The University looks to fully preserve the integrity and authenticity of students’ constitutionally guaranteed rights of free speech and assembly while protecting against the weaponization of these rights as false representations of the Howard student experience at large.”
Outside the building, a banner draped across the sidewalk reads: “Enough is enough.” A number of students told ABC News they would rather sleep outside than in their dorm rooms.
Fellow student protesters took turns guarding the door of the center, where some demonstrators inside could be seen through the window resting in sleeping bags, studying or eating food donated by alumni and local civil rights groups who visited them in support of their cause.
“All of our Blackburn family is allowed in and out of the building,” Murray said, telling ABC News they are not allowing administrators or press into the building. “It’s the outsiders that we’re worried about. We’re trying to keep students safe and keep everybody in an atmosphere where they feel comfortable to express the things that are happening on campus.”
A private group message board shared among students and reviewed by ABC News posted photos they say show hazardous dorm environments.
The sit-in, organized by the Young Democratic Socialists of America and The Live Movement, has gone viral under the hashtag #BlackburnTakeover. The tweets have garnered attention from celebrities, including artists from rapper Gucci Mane’s 1017 record label, who pulled out of performing at Howard University’s homecoming this weekend. Students at other historically Black colleges and universities have also shared videos and pictures on social media of alleged low-quality living conditions at their schools.
“There are students whose belongings were lost, or have been destroyed by floods, by mold, by all types of insufficient living conditions and it’s hurtful. Even if you’re not the person who is experiencing that, just listening and taking it in, with us being a community, it’s very hurtful to hear,” said Deja Redding, a Howard University graduate student and director of The Live Movement, a campus-based organization focused on advocating for racial equity in education.
Alumni and local community members provided an outdoor pantry with food, water and…Read More
There have been 34 reports of concerns related to discoloration, or suspected fungal growth, across more than 5,050 beds. This represents 0.67% of the total on-campus beds, according to Howard University officials.
“The well-being of our students is always one of Howard University’s top concerns, and we always support students’ right to peacefully protest. The administration is actively addressing the concerns students have shared. While there have only been a small number of documented reports, we are actively seeking out any issues that may be in the dorms by going door to door to address each room,” Frank Tramble, vice president of communications and chief communications officer at Howard University, said in a statement to ABC News.
Tramble said cabinet members of the university administration have personally visited the campus housing facilities to survey dorms. He also said students impacted have been placed in temporary housing as the university works to address the issues.
“We also remind students to submit a maintenance request so we can address each situation and ensure our students’ living conditions are safe and habitable. We care about our students and are working to ensure that we are finding, addressing, and remediating any issues,” Tramble added.
The Howard University Division of Student Affairs also acknowledged the presence of mold in select residence halls in an email sent to the students, but assured them that the issue is not widespread.
“There have been rooms in select residence halls that were affected by mold growth. The University’s response held the third-party vendor fully accountable, and they are conducting mold remediation and HVAC duct cleaning in the impacted rooms, and throughout the building as part of third quarter preventive maintenance,” Evers said to students in the email statement.
“Long, hot, wet summers, record-high temperatures and humidity are environmental factors that create the climatic conditions that foster mold growth. We have listened to our students’ concerns, and we have been responsive,” Evers added.
However, some students believe the damage may be more widespread than officially reported.
Demonstrators are demanding a town hall with Howard University President Wayne Frederick. They are also pressuring the administration to reinstate students, faculty and alumni on the university board of trustees, who were previously removed from their positions after the university voted unanimously in June to restructure the board to improve the process of governance. Students are also asking for a plan of action to improve housing for incoming students, and provide academic and legal immunity for all the students participating in the protest.
“We are not satisfied. What we’re hearing is all talk. We’re waiting for those actions to be put in place so we can allow Howard to have their Blackburn cafeteria back, but until then, we will still be occupying that space until the demands are met,” Murray said.
Over the past two years, Howard University has received large donations, including a $40 million donation from billionaire philanthropist Mackenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife, the most significant single donor gift in Howard’s history.
HBCUs across the country received approximately $2.6 billion through the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, a $40 billion funding allocation set aside for higher education as part of the American Rescue Plan. Advocates say more federal resources are needed to fund and support HBCUs.
With the Founders Library in the background, a young man reads on Howard University…Read More
In 2020, HBCUs saw a surge in admissions. Howard University experienced a 15.9% increase in fall 2020 applications, according to a press release.
Interest in attending and supporting HBCUs surfaced following the racial reckoning sparked by the killing of George Floyd and resulting protests, according to an Inside Higher Ed report.
At the start of the 2021 school year, Howard students took to social media calling out the deteriorating and limited housing capacity. Howard University has refuted claims of a housing shortage on campus in statements to students and to ABC News.
“Students have reported on social media that there are Howard University students who are homeless. We have a 94 percent occupancy rate at present, which means we have hundreds of available beds to house students. We encourage any student experiencing housing issues to email hureslife@howard.edu for assistance. As we did last year, we will assist with securing housing, and we have continued to maintain and make available the food pantry on campus for students who are food insecure,” Tramble told ABC News.
Redding said student organizers feel confident their protests will pressure the university administration to reach a resolution to improve on-campus housing.
“It does not matter what happens, we will always find a way to persevere through this,” Redding said.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Border Patrol arrested migrants more times in the past year than in any other fiscal year in recorded history, according to Customs and Border Protection data released Friday.
Authorities encountered unauthorized migrants along the southwest border more than 1.73 million times in budget year 2021, according to the data. Of those, about 1.66 million arrests were made by Border Patrol.
The prior record was set in 2000 at about 1.64 million, according to Border Patrol data.
However, migration experts caution that the data has become complicated to track over several decades.
The estimated number of migrants who evaded Border Patrol custody in 2000 was pegged at more than 2.1 million by the Department of Homeland Security. That number declined by about 92% between 2000 and 2018 as Border Patrol funding increased. For 2021, reports analyzed by the Migration Policy Institute estimate the number of successful unlawful entries to be about 540,000.
In recent months, more than a quarter of encounters involved migrants who had previously tried to cross at least once before in the past year. That’s compared to a re-encounter rate of 14% between budget years 2014 and 2019.
Despite the surge of Haitian migrants seen in Del Rio, Texas, last month, overall enforcement actions declined for the second month in a row from 209,840 in August to about 192,000 in September. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has pointed to the declining numbers as evidence the administration’s migration strategy is working.
“Tragically, former President Trump slashed our international assistance to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, slashed the resources that we were contributing to address the root causes of irregular migration,” Mayorkas said in August as anticipated seasonal migration declines failed to bear out over summer. “Another reason is the end of the cruel policies of the past administration and the restoration of the rule of laws of this country that Congress has passed, including our asylum laws that provide humanitarian relief.”
Immigrant advocates, and some immigration officials, have pointed to the rapid expulsion protocols carried out under Title 42 of the U.S. health code by both the Trump and Biden administrations as the reason behind the elevated rate of repeat offenders attempting to cross illegally.
Biden administration officials have also blamed the Trump administration’s hardline measures at the border, saying it resulted in pent up demand for humanitarian relief. Critics of the administration consider the record-high number of overall encounters to be the product of Biden’s moves to roll back some of Trump’s aggressive policies.
Asked at a CNN town hall event if he planned to go to the border himself, President Joe Biden said, “I guess I should,” but did not provide certainty.
“I’ve been there before and I haven’t — I mean, I know it well,” Biden said. “I guess I should go down. But the whole point of it is, I haven’t had a whole hell of a lot of time to get down.”
Sublime‘s new remix album Sublime Meets Scientist & Mad Professor Inna L.B.C. is now available via digital outlets.
The collection, which features new mixes of eight Sublime songs by dub musicians Scientist and Mad Professor, was previously only available on vinyl as part this year’s Record Store Day.
“Dub music was the gateway between my love of reggae and psychedelic rock music,” says drummer Bud Gaugh. “I love the way the drum and bass is so mesmerizing and the studio effects can take you places far off and away while just sitting there in your room. But be careful while driving, you may end up in another state!”
Over the summer, Sublime celebrated the 25th anniversary of their multi-platinum self-titled album. This year also marked the 25th anniversary of the death of frontman Bradley Nowell, who passed away just two months before Sublime was released.
Here’s the Sublime Meets Scientist & Mad Professor Inna L.B.C. track list:
“Caress Me Down Español Dub” (Scientist Mix)
“Garden Grove Dub” (Scientist Mix)
“Santeria Dub” (Scientist Mix)
“Hong Kong Phooey Subliminal Dub” (Mad Professor Mix)
“April 29, 1992 (Miami) Dub” (Mad Professor Mix)
“Pawn Shop Dub” (Mad Professor Mix)
“Garden Grove Vocal Dub” (Scientist Mix)
“Hong Kong Phooey Dub” (Mad Professor Mix)”
Hollywood Undead is adding another genre to the mix thanks to a collaboration with Imanbek.
The rap-rock outfit has released a new song alongside the Kazakh electronic producer called “Runaway.” You can download it now via digital outlets.
“Working with Imanbek was a huge honor for the band,” says the Undead’s Johnny 3 Tears. “He’s a visionary in every respect with the talent to match.”
Adds Imanbek, “It’s been a great pleasure to work on this project with Hollywood Undead! The pandemic taught us to work and collaborate despite distances and inconvenience and I think each take only gets better.”
“Runaway” follows Hollywood Undead’s two-volume New Empire albums, which were released in 2020.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse recently debuted a new song called “Song of the Seasons” as an advance track from the band’s upcoming album Barn, and now a video for the tune has premiered at NeilYoungArchives.com and Young’s YouTube channel.
The clip features stop-motion footage of a beautiful mountain landscape and lake apparently recorded by a stationary video camera.
According to a message Young posted on his website, the video was shot by his wife, actress Daryl Hannah, and shows “the landscape and life where our record was made.”
As previously reported, Barn is a 10-track collection that will be released on December 10. It was recorded “this summer under a full moon, in a restored off-grid 19th century barn high up in the Rockies.” Barn will be available on CD, vinyl, cassette and digital formats, and as a deluxe box set.
The box set includes a CD and a vinyl LP, as well as a Blu-ray disc that features a film directed by Hannah offering a look at the making of Barn. The Blu-ray will also be released separately.
In his new message, Young explains, “All the songs in our Barn film are the originals. Crazy Horse is seen playing each (almost) song. All performances are of our original recordings used on the album. Since we play ‘live’ in the Barn, you are seeing exactly what happened that day as we made Barn the album.”
He adds, “Not a lot of records are recorded live anymore, so it should be interesting and fun for you. These are not contrived little snips. They document what happened.”
The reissue, which is available in multiple formats and configurations, features nine previously unreleased tracks from that period.
All versions of the Tattoo You reissue feature a newly remastered version of the original 11-track album, which includes such hits and gems as “Start Me Up,” “Waiting on a Friend,” “Hang Fire,” “Little T&A” and “Neighbours.”
The Super Deluxe edition is available as either a four-CD or five-LP vinyl set. It includes the nine unreleased tracks gathered on one CD or two-LP under the title Lost & Found, plus a two-disc live collection dubbed Still Life: Wembley Stadium 1982, featuring a 26-song performance by The Stones at the famed London venue.
Lost & Found features covers of the 1970 Chi-Lites tune “Troubles a’ Comin,” the 1963 Jimmy Reed song “Shame, Shame, Shame,” and Dobie Gray‘s soulful hit 1973 ballad “Drift Away,” as well as a reggae-flavored rendition of “Start Me Up.” The tracks have been enhanced with newly added vocals and guitars.
Still Life: Wembley Stadium 1982 was recorded in June of that year during the Tattoo You tour, and features performances of various Stones classics, select covers like Eddie Cochran‘s “Twenty Flight Rock” and The Big Bopper‘s “Chantilly Lace,” and several songs from Tattoo You.
The box sets also come with a 124-page book featuring hundreds of 200 rare photos, interviews and more.
In conjunction with the Tattoo You reissue’s arrival, a new video trailer for the collection has premiered at The Stones’ YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, The Stones continues their 2021 U.S. tour with a concert this Sunday in Minneapolis.
Here’s the track list of the reissue’s four-CD version:
CD 1: Tattoo You (2021 Remaster)
“Start Me Up”
“Hang Fire”
“Slave”
“Little T&A”
“Black Limousine”
“Neighbours”
“Worried About You”
“Tops”
“Heaven”
“No Use in Crying”
“Waiting on a Friend”
CD 2: Lost & Found: Rarities
“Living in the Heart of Love”
“Fiji Jim”
“Troubles a’ Comin”
“Shame Shame Shame”
“Drift Away”
“It’s a Lie”
“Come to the Ball”
“Fast Talking Slow Walking”
“Start Me Up” (Early Version)
CD 3: Still Life (Wembley Stadium Concert 1982)
“Under My Thumb”
“When the Whip Comes Down”
“Let’s Spend the Night Together”
“Shattered”
“Neighbours”
“Black Limousine”
“Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)”
“Twenty Flight Rock”
“Going to a Go Go”
“Chantilly Lace”
“Let Me Go”
“Time Is on My Side”
“Beast of Burden”
“Let It Bleed”
CD 4: Still Life (Wembley Stadium Concert 1982)
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
Band Introductions
“Little T&A”
“Tumbling Dice”
“She’s So Cold”
“Hang Fire”
“Miss You”
“Honky Tonk Women”
“Brown Sugar”
“Start Me Up”
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash”
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
Taylor Swift has created her first Instagram Reel — which is like a TikTok video, but on Instagram — and in it, she’s offering fans a sneak preview of her forthcoming album Red (Taylor’s Version).
The video is captioned, “21 days til November 12 and I *promise* it’s worth the wait” — referring to the day that Taylor will be releasing the rerecorded album, and the soundtrack to the clip is her new version of the album’s title track.
In the video, Taylor sports a red dress and the “Red” ring from the album cover, and shows off a whole bunch of red clothing and accessories, including shoes, jewelry, shirts and more. “It’s Red Season” reads a caption in the video.
Red (Taylor’s Version) will feature a whopping 30 tracks — remakes of the songs on the original album, plus her one-off charity single “Ronan’s Song” and a bunch of tunes “From the Vault,” which were written around the time of the original 2012 album but didn’t make it to the final version.
Lennie James has played Morgan Jones in The Walking Dead universe starting from the show’s pilot in 2010, and reappeared many times before transitioning to the spin-off show Fear The Walking Dead.
Nobody’s more surprised by that than Lennie, he tells ABC Audio. “I started out just doing one episode and I’m not sure people believe me when I tell them that it genuinely was just one episode.”
James explains he was surprised when producer Gale Ann Hurd wanted him to be a permanent part of the series, but as a busy character actor, he wasn’t always available.
In Fear The Walking Dead, his character is now pitted against Colman Domingo‘s Strand, who has morphed from reluctant hero to formidable, megalomaniacal opponent.
“If someone had told me at the beginning that this is where it was going to go, I would have said I don’t believe it,” James noted. “It’s kind of snuck up on me and taken me by surprise.”
The journey of James’ character has taken Morgan from a mourning husband bent on revenge to a Zenned-out-seeming samurai-like figure, to something quite different nowadays.
“At each point there has been a new challenge, each point there’s been something that has been worth taking on and worth seeing what it was like with this guy,” he explains. “And he’s he’s never really kind of stopped challenging me, stopped surprising me and stopped interesting me, which is why I’m still here. I suppose doing it.”
Fear The Walking Dead airs Sunday nights on AMC, and streams anytime on the AMC app.
(NEW YORK) — Walmart has recalled an aromatherapy spray after it identified a bacteria in the product that has now been linked to four illnesses and two deaths.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that it had identified the bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei in the aromatherapy spray.
The spray, “Better Homes & Gardens Lavender & Chamomile Essential Oil Infused Aromatherapy Room Spray with Gemstones,” was found Oct. 6 in the home of a Georgia resident who became ill with melioidosis in late July, according to the CDC.
The CDC said it will continue to test the bacteria in the bottle to potentially match the bacteria identified in the four patients. The symptoms of melioidosis are similar to that of a cold or flu, according to the CDC.
The contaminated spray was sold at about 55 Walmart stores and on Walmart’s websites between February and Oct. 21.
Walmart has pulled the remaining bottles of this spray and related products from the shelves and its websites.
“Our hearts go out to the families that have been impacted by this situation,” Inger Damon, director of the CDC’s Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, said in a statement. “We at CDC have been very concerned to see these serious related illness spread across time and geography. That is why our scientists have continued to work tirelessly to try to find the potential source for the melioidosis infections in these patients. We hope this work can help protect other people who may have used this spray.”
The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Walmart issued a recall for the lavender and chamomile room spray along with five other scents in the same product line.
The CDC will continue to investigate whether other related aromatherapy scents and brands may pose a risk.
