I was raised in a fundamentalist church that believed in the seventh-day Sabbath, tambourines and neverending, four-nights-a-week services that lasted well into Arsenio Hall’s opening monologue. Apparently, God’s eternal kingdom specifically forbade rap music, brazen women who had premarital sex (if you were a man it…
The Obama family wishes everyone a “holiday season that sparkles with magic and wonder and a new year filled with peace and hope.”
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The heartwarming message appears on the family’s Christmas card, which Michelle Obama shared online Christmas Eve. The card features a tree and a red flower on the inside, and is signed by the former First Lady, former President from Barack Obama, and daughters Sasha and Malia. The family’s two dogs, Bo and Sunny, are even included, as their paw prints appear on the card, The Huffington Post reports.
Michelle Obama posted the card on Instagram, and she captioned the post, “Wishing you a holiday season filled with friends, family, and joy.”
“Thanks to so many you for sharing your hopes and goals with me these past few weeks in the comments and on my Instagram Story,” she added.
“This type of positive and thoughtful engagement from my ‘Becoming Family’ is a reminder that there are millions of us out there constantly striving to become more mindful, compassionate, and caring people,” Obama wrote.
She concluded by encouraging Americans to “continue working to become even better — for ourselves and for each other. #IAmBecoming.”
The Christmas card comes days after President Obama was spotted spending the holidays golfing in Hawaii. Video has gone viral showing him greeting spectators and cuddling babies.
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In an adorable video that has racked up over 1 million views on Twitter, Obama is heard saying, “Who is this cutie pie?” to a family and their 3-month-old daughter, Riley Lewis. He then holds the baby and gives her a kiss.
President Obama gracefully walked up and asked to hold my niece Riley. He was golfing in Hawaii. My niece is the GOAT period. #Hawaii #obama #President #MichelleObama pic.twitter.com/u6gmhGqzx4
— Andrea Jones (@itsanicholle) December 19, 2019
President Obama’s is expected to drop his memoir next year ahead of the 2020 election.
Michelle Obama bagged her first Grammy nomination for the audiobook version of her bestselling memoir “Becoming,” receiving a nod for best spoken word album — an award her husband won twice in the past.
Now that both their daughters are off to college, the Obamas are staying busy working on film projects with Netflix through their Higher Ground production company.
The post Obama family Christmas card wishes everyone ‘sparkles with magic’ appeared first on theGrio.
Weeks after sharing he was battling pneumonia, ESPN college football reporter Edward Aschoff died Christmas Eve on his 34th birthday.
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The University of Florida graduate detailed his sickness is several posts on Instagram and Twitter. In one post, Aschoff noted that he had a virus for two weeks, which later turned into multifocal pneumonia, an infection of the air sacs in both lungs, heavy.com reports.
“Covering #TheGame was a lot of fun. Getting pneumonia … not so much. But, hey, I’m a hockey player,” he wrote in a Dec.2 post while covering the Ohio State vs Michigan game.
Aschoff’s final post on Instagram on December 4 featured a photo of his fiancée Katy Berteau, along with the message, “Having pneumonia is pretty terrible. Like the absolute worst. But it helps having this sweet angel taking care of you even when she’s risking getting this soul-crushing illness herself.”
The Oxford, Miss. native worked for ESPN since 2011 and previously covered Florida football for The Gainesville Sun. He and Berteau lived together in Los Angeles and were planning to marry after she proposed to him while celebrating her 30th birthday last December.
Several of their friends and his colleagues and co-workers are sharing their condolences on Twitter.
“We are very sorry to have to share the devastating news of the tragic passing of friend and ESPN colleague Edward Aschoff,” ESPN said in a statement. “He died earlier today, his 34th birthday. Our thoughts are with his loved ones, including his fiancée, Katy.”
The network didn’t announce his cause of death, but as noted by the New York Post, Florida sports reporter Steven Abolverdi indicated on Twitter that Aschoff passed “after a battle with pneumonia.”
“Devastated to hear my friend @AschoffESPN has passed away after a battle with pneumonia,” Abolverdi tweeted before ESPN announced his death. “Ed was a big reason I decided to pursue journalism. He took me under his wing at the Sun and I’m forever grateful. Incredible reporter and an even better person. You will be missed!”
Jared Stillman, host of Jared & the GM on ESPN Nashville sang Aschoff’s praises on Twitter:
Edward Aschoff was a good man and a good reporter. He was very generous with his time for other people and had a passion for college football wherever he went on. I always thought he was going to be a preeminent college football reporter for ESPN for years to come. Tragic news. https://t.co/wCzSZvPCTZ
— Jared Stillman (@JaredStillman) December 25, 2019
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello called Aschoff “one of the brightest young talents at ESPN.”
“For as good of a reporter Ed was, he was an even better person,” said ESPN executive editor Lauren Reynolds.
Aschoff mostly covered sports as an SEC reporter but he once opened up about racism and growing up biracial in the South during ESPN’s 30 for 30’s Ghosts of Ole Miss.
“Growing up a biracial person in Oxford, I’ve been around plenty of racial incidents, both good and bad,” he said. “There are always going to be people who say ignorant things. No one is perfect, but people need to realize that there are right-minded people in the state. It’s not the 1960s anymore.”
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In the same interview, he noted that his parents, who passed away years ago, “arrived in Oxford in the 80s as an interracial couple and stayed there until they passed away,” adding, “They never thought about leaving Oxford.”
Aschoff’s passion for his work and excitement about his upcoming marriage were mentioned several times in the tributes online.
“He was so happy about getting married. He was just a remarkable soul. I can’t find the words tonight,” Neil McCready tweeted.
Aschoff and Berteau were planning to marry in New Orleans in April.
The post ESPN reporter Edward Aschoff, 34, dies of pneumonia on birthday appeared first on theGrio.
Last week The Root reported that Nicole Poole Franklin, a 42-year-old Des Moines woman, told the Clive Police Department she ran over a 14-year-old girl because the girl “was a Mexican.” Now police have charged Franklin with attempted murder again—this time for hitting a 12-year-old black boy with her vehicle, an…
Robyn Rihanna Fenty is just a machine that doesn’t seem to stop! The Barbadian singer, songwriter, fashion designer, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman has the type of work ethic that anyone who claims to like working would be envious of her efforts. She appeared on the scene with her debut album Music of the Sun (2005) and followed up with her second offering, A Girl like Me (2006), but her career really took off with the release of her third release, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). The third album is where she abandoned her more Caribbean sound and trended into a more dance, pop, R & B album where her smashing single, “Umbrella” took on a life of its own. Good Girl Gone Bad received seven Grammy Award nominations and won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “Umbrella” in 2008. This started the successful runaway train that we know of today.
The Wealthiest Female Musician is what this singing beauty is according to Forbes. As the first black woman in charge of a major luxury fashion house, she has made most of her fortune outside of her music. “Most of that comes not from music but from her partnership with LVMH, the French luxury goods giant run by billionaire Bernard Arnault. Rihanna and LVMH co-own the makeup brand Fenty Beauty. It launched in September 2017 at Sephora, another LVMH brand, and online at FentyBeauty.com, quickly becoming a viral success. Fenty Beauty racked up a reported $100 million in sales in its first few weeks, propelled by Rihanna’s fame and 71 million Instagram followers.” And that’s only a part of the story!
Most of her wealth comes from strategic partnerships, campaigns, and endorsement deals. She’s had deals with the likes of Puma, CoverGirl, Gucci, Clinique and most recently reported Amazon, which has shelled out $25 million for the rights to a documentary that features her.
In 2012, the superstar founded her own charity organization, the Clara Lionel Foundation, which supports health and education efforts in impoverished communities around the world. This young woman may become a billionaire sooner than we think!
