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Iraq Protestors Break into U.S. Embassy

Jonathan Antonio
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Iraq Protestors Break into U.S. Embassy

Staff was evacuated from the United States Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. That said, others remain inside within the compound as thousands of protestors and militia fighters storm the gates in anger at the United States airstrikes in Iraq, the Associated Press reports.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper issued a statement saying, “We have taken appropriate force protection actions to ensure the safety of American citizens, military personnel and diplomats in country, and to ensure our right of self-defense. We are sending additional forces to support our personnel at the Embassy. “As in all countries, we rely on host nation forces to assist in the protection of our personnel in country, and we call on the Government of Iraq to fulfill its international responsibilities to do so,” Esper added. “The U.S. continues to support the Iraqi people and a free, sovereign and prosperous Iraq.”

A State Department spokesperson said in a statement “U.S. personnel are secure and there has been no breach.”

Reuters reports that outside the embassy protesters threw stones at the gate, while others changed No, no, America! … No, no, Trump!’. An AP reporter also reports flames rising from inside the compound with at least three U.S. soldiers on the roof of the central embassy building.

The embassy attack comes hours after several deadly airstrikes on Sunday that killed 25 Kataeb Hezbollah fighters on the Iran-backed militia in Iraq, according to the Associated Press. The United States military said the airstrikes were in response to last week’s killing of an American contractor on an Iraqi military base. The attacks illustrate a major change in Iraq-America relations, which could weaken the United States’ influence in the region and also weaken Washington’s pressure on Iran.

President Donald Trump tweeted: “Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!”

Trump later tweeted, “To those many millions of people in Iraq who want freedom and who don’t want to be dominated and controlled by Iran, this is your time!”

This is an ongoing story. We will keep you updated with new details.

Pentagon Warns Military Against Using At-Home DNA Tests

Jonathan Antonio
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0
Pentagon Warns Military Against Using At-Home DNA Tests

Pentagon warns military members against using at-home DNA tests.

According to the New York Times, the Pentagon warned military members from using at-home DNA tests in an internal memo.

The memo notes mail-in consumer DNA kits such as 23andme or Ancestry could pose a potential security risk.

“Exposing sensitive genetic information to outside parties poses personal and operational risks to Services members,” the memo reads. “These [direct-to-consumer] genetic tests are largely unregulated and could expose personal and genetic information, and potentially create unintended security consequences and increased risk to the joint force and mission.” The memo also claims that some consumer DNA kit businesses were targeting service members with discounts.

The internal memo was confirmed by a Pentagon spokesperson, according to the New York Times. It is important to note that unlike other jobs, the laws that protect civilians for genetic discrimination do not apply to military members, who must report medical issues. As a result, a service member finds out they are predisposed to a condition, which could affect their future career in the military.

The Pentagon explained to the New York Times military personnel are not banned from genetic testing but would prefer service members to rely on licensed professionals.

It is important to note that DNA you send in an at-home DNA kit can be used by law enforcement agencies to solve crimes. It was used to capture the infamous famous Golden State serial killer in 2018. In addition, DNA databases, like other companies, have the potential to be hacked by hackers.

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‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ Made $32 Million on Christmas Day

Reginald Edward
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‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ Made $32 Million on Christmas Day

Disney announced on Thursday the latest ‘Star Wars’ movie, ‘Rise of Skywalker’ took home $32 million in the United States on Christmas Day, the biggest Christmas Day for any movie since ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ released.

‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ made over $500 million at the box office. Fans watching the movie on Christmas Day put ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ over half-billion-dollars at the box office.

‘The Rise of Skywalker’ is the ninth film in the Star Wars franchise. The movie opened to mixed reviews and earned $176 million in North America during its first weekend. While it was a major opening, it was underwhelming about the previous two Star Wars films brought in.

‘Jumanji: The Next Level,” which opened December 13, took home $12.5 million Wednesday. Meanwhile, the ‘Little Women’ movie made about $6 million on its opening day.

The ‘Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker’ is the end of the battle between Rey and Kylo Men, and ends the family drama of the Skywalkers.

The ‘Star Wars’ franchise has gone a long way since they first held worldwide talent search and casting calls for actors to work on the Disney film. But, if you’re looking for a job, Lucasfilms is hiring.

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Millions of Americans are Driving High, CDC Reports

Jonathan Antonio
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0
Millions of Americans are Driving High, CDC Reports

Millions of people are operating a car under the influence of marijuana and driving high, according to a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Thursday, the CDC announced the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The health agency announced 12 million American adults said they had driven under the influence of weed in the year before the survey. Approximately 2.3 million say they had driven under the influence of illicit drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine.

Based on the study, nearly 5% of Americans driving under the influence of weed, and almost 1% are driving under the influence of other drugs. The percentage is far smaller than the number of drivers driving under the influence of alcohol. In 2018, 8% of drivers said they had a drink before driving.

Men were more likely to report using marijuana or illicit drugs than women. Most of the people were between the ages of 21 to 25 years old, and the second-highest group to report using weed were people between 16 and 20. The authors of the study say the younger demographic “is of special concern,” since newer drivers are still learning how to drive.

The demographic to drive under the influence of marijuana are non-Hispanic multiracial persons at 9.2%, according to the report.

Marijuana is legal in several states across the nation, but driving under the influence is illegal. Studies have shown cannabis can alter judgment and reaction time.
The CDC suggests law enforcement and public health officials develop ways to prevent drug-impaired driving. Currently, there are no national guidelines for marijuana-impaired drivers.

It is important to note, 2017 study found the legalization of recreational marijuana did not increase the number of fatal accidents but states that legalized weed are seeing more crashes.

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Donald Glover Joins Andrew Yang’s Presidential Campaign

Jonathan Antonio
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0
Donald Glover Joins Andrew Yang’s Presidential Campaign

Donald Glover, who has come long away from his time working on the FX series ‘Atlanta,’ is getting involved in politics. Glover, also known by his music name Childish Gambino, is joining Andrew Yang’s Presidential campaign as a campaign consultant. 

Yang, who is a lawyer and entrepreneur, who is known for giving back to the community, was selected by the Obama administration in 2015 as a “Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship.” He is now working on becoming a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.

The announcement was released last Thursday, following the launch of a one-time pop-up store in Los Angeles, which featured collaborative merchandise.

Yang’s campaign is running a new set of campaign slogans, including “Make America Think Harder (M.A.T.H),” “Humanity First” and “Not Left, Not Right, Forward,” which has potential for catching out with Americans during the primary.

Yang 2020
LOS ANGELES, CA – December 19, 2019: Andrew Yang & Donald Glover Open Pop-up Shop in LA (Editorial credit: Kevin McGovern / Shutterstock.com)

In a statement, Yang’s campaign released a brief description of the recent Los Angeles pop-up: “at the pop-up store in downtown Los Angeles, supporters were able to purchase limited and signed editions of Yang2020 merchandise designed by Glover’s team, including sweatshirts, hats, and posters.”

Yang is still considered a long-shot candidate. That said, he has gained popularity in early 2019 by making appearances on podcasts and his work in Democratic debates. Currently, “Yang Gang” is the official name for Yang supporters.

Two days ago, a recent poll put Andrew Yang ahead of Pete Buttigieg in terms of popularity. Multiple news outlets report Yang’s favorability has improved following the Los Angeles debate. The favorability score, which is the share of potential Democratic primary voters who view him positively minus unfavorable ratings, jumped by seven points.

Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ is Now Hiring Actors

Jonathan Antonio
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0
Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ is Now Hiring Actors

Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ is now casting background extras. According to Project Casting, casting directors are now casting background extras to work on scenes filming in Auckland, New Zealand.

The casting call is looking for a wide range of types, but according to the report, there is a major emphasis on hair.

Talento talent agency of Auckland, New Zealand shared a casting call for what the Amazon ‘Lord of the Rings’ series is now looking for:

The upcoming Amazon Original series based on THE LORD OF THE RINGS.

We are looking for a mix of people of all ages, genders/other from multi-racial backgrounds with interesting character faces and physicality’s.
These are for Background and Featured Performer roles:

EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE WE ARE LOOKING FOR…

Character Faces (Earthy, Weathered, Dark Skin Tonnes, Missing teeth, Wonderful Noses, etc etc)
Bearded Hairy Biker Men/Woman/Other
Lean Tall Androgynous Looks
Beautiful, Fair Fine boned Faces
TALL People – 6” ++
TALLER People 6”8 ++
Small People – 4”6 to 4”11
Musicians

Another open casting call by Auckland, New Zealand talent agency BGT shared the following casting call:

Casting for….

1. short people under 4 foot 12
2. Tall people over 6 foot 5
3. Character faces, wrinkles and lots of them please ?
4. Androgynous men and women
5. Hairy people of all ages and ethnicities
6. Tall, Long Lithe dancers
7. Circus performers who can juggle, stilt walk!
8. Stocky mean-looking bikers
9. Eurasian people of all ages.
10. Hispanic – Latino, Mexican, South American – HOLA
11. Redheads all ages, shapes and sizes.
12. HAIR HAIR HAIR – if you natural red hair, white hair, or lots and lots of freckles.

About ‘Lord of the Rings’:

Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ series was advertised with a five-season order and a chance of a spinoff. It is assumed to be the most extravagant series of all time requiring a billion dollars to produce.

Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ series is set in the Second Age, which is a past period before ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ films.

One of the accounts is Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ series will have 20 episodes in the first season, but that news has yet to be endorsed. That said, not too much knowledge about the show has been released.

Bill Cosby’s Spokesman Calls Eddie Murphy a “Hollywood Slave”

Jonathan Antonio
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0
Bill Cosby’s Spokesman Calls Eddie Murphy a “Hollywood Slave”

Over the weekend, Saturday Night Live host Eddie Murphy returned to the sketch series after 35 years. Murphy took to 30 Rockefeller Plaza with some of his iconic characters including Buckwheat and Gumby. That said, not everyone enjoyed Murphy’s return to Saturday Night Live. Case in point, Eddie Murphy’s monologue joe that asked, “Who is America’s dad now?”, did not settle well with Bill Cosby.

The joke directly referred to Cosby being in jail while Murphy was a “boring, stay-at-home house dad,” and Cosby spokesperson Andrew Wyatt responded back. In a statement posted on social media, Wyatt called the joke as “disparaging” and declared that Cosby had “broke[n] color barriers in the Entertainment Industry so that Blacks like Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappell, Kevin Hart, and et al., could have an opportunity to showcase their talents for many generations to come.”

The public statement continued by calling Murphy as a “Hollywood Slave” and suggested jokes like the previously mentioned are “bringing all of us down together.

You can read the full statement below:

“Mr. Cosby became the first Black to win an Emmy for his role in I Spy and Mr. Cosby broke color barriers in the Entertainment Industry, so that Blacks like Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappell, Kevin Hart and et al., could have an opportunity to showcase their talents for many generations to come. It is sad that Mr. Murphy would take this glorious moment of returning to SNL and make disparaging remarks against Mr. Cosby. One would think that Mr. Murphy was given his freedom to leave the plantation, so that he could make his own decisions; but he decided to sell himself back to being a Hollywood Slave. Stepin Fetchit plus cooning equals the destruction of Black Men in Hollywood. Remember, Mr. Murphy, that Bill Cosby became legendary because he used comedy to humanize all races, religions and genders; but your attacking Mr. Cosby helps you embark on just becoming click bait. Hopefully, you will be amenable to having a meeting of the minds conversation, in order to discuss how we can use our collective platforms to enhance Black people rather than bringing all of us down together.”

Bill Cosby is currently serving a 3-10 year prison sentence following his sexual assault conviction. During his only interview since entering prison, he declared he will never express remorse in the event he comes up for parole.

In other entertainment news, Eddie Murphy has recently finished filming his sequel to ‘Coming 2 America’ in Atlanta, Georgia.

Boeing Fires CEO Dennis Muilenburg

Reginald Edward
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0
Boeing Fires CEO Dennis Muilenburg

On Monday morning, Boeing announced the firing of the company’s CEO. To replace Muilenburg, Boeing named David Calhoun. Calhoun is currently the chairman of Boeing’s board of directors. Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith will serve as the company’s interim CEO until Calhoun takes on the role on January 13th.

“I strongly believe in the future of Boeing and the 737 MAX. I am honored to lead this great company and the 150,000 dedicated employees who are working hard to create the future of aviation,” Calhoun said in a statement.

In a statement, Boeing said the company “will operate with a renewed commitment to full transparency, including effective and proactive communication with the FAA, other global regulators and its customers.”

“The Board determined that a change in leadership was necessary to restore confidence in the company moving forward and that we will proceed with a renewed commitment to full transparency, including effective and proactive communications with the FAA, other global regulators, and our customers,” Smith said in a note to employees.

“Over the next few weeks as we transition to new leadership, I am committed to ensuring above all that we meet the needs of our stakeholders – especially our regulators, customers, and employees – with transparency and humility,” Smith added.

Muilenburg’s firing takes place only a few days after the Boeing Starliner’s failed mission to the International Space Sation. The spacecraft aborted the mission after an “automation” error causing the Starliner to not reach the correct orbit, according to NASA officials. NASA officials added the uncrewed spacecraft believed the time was “different than it actually was.”

But, Starliner is only one of a series of missteps for the company. Boeing revealed they were suspending the production of 737 Max jets, which have been grounded since March 2019 following two deadly crashes, which killed nearly 346 people. The company admitted their automatic flight control system played a part in the fatal 737 Max Jets crashes.

China: U.S. Space Force is a ‘Direct Threat’ to Space Peace

Jonathan Antonio
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0
China: U.S. Space Force is a ‘Direct Threat’ to Space Peace

China calls out the recently devised U.S. Space Force as a “direct threat to outer space peace and security.”

According to ABC News, Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters China is “Deeply concerned about it and resolutely opposed to it.”

“The relevant U.S. actions are a serious violation of the international consensus on the peaceful use of outer space, undermine global strategic balance and stability, and pose a direct threat to outer space peace and security,” Geng said at a regular briefing.

China Space Program

China’s space program first launched in 2003 and has progressed quickly in the last decade. Last February, the United States Pentagon claimed China and Russia had begun significant efforts to develop technology that could disrupt American satellites in a crisis or military conflict. In fact, in 2007, China launched a missile strike against one of its satellites, creating a large amount of space debris. Geng ignored the previously mentioned concerns saying they are “unfounded counter-charges,” which were provided with justification to the United States. Geng continues by saying the weaponization of space, and international treaties about space need to be negotiated.

“We hope that the international community, especially the major powers concerned, will adopt a cautious and responsible attitude to prevent outer space from becoming a new battlefield and work together to maintain lasting peace and tranquility in outer space,” he said.

What is Space Force?

The United States created Space Force as a way to effectively organize the defense of United States interest in space, including but not limited to satellites for navigation and communication. The Space Force was not created to launch troops in space.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters on Friday Space has “evolved into a war-fighting domain of its own.”

Much of the American economy relies on technology in space, including the Global Positioning System (GPS), which provides navigation services than civilians. China has launched a similar network of a satellite called the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, created from 42 separate satellite launches.

Netflix Lost 1 Million Subscribers to Disney+ (Report)

Reginald Edward
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0
Netflix Lost 1 Million Subscribers to Disney+ (Report)

Disney+ made an impact on the streaming industry, according to a recent Wall Street analyst report saying that the new streaming platform had approximately 24 million subscribers by the end of November 2019, which resulted in a net loss for Netflix.

The report came from Cowen & Co., estimating approximately 1 million of Netflix’s U.S. subscribers canceled their subscriptions in favor of Disney+, which has received high praise since launching on November 12th, according to reports.

Disney+ launched with Star Wars series ‘The Mandalorian’ and has aggressively promoted their proprietary series including Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and Disney films, which has helped boost Disney’s platform. Disney previously announced 10 million users signed for Disney+ the day after the service launched.

According to the report, approximately 19.4 million consumers subscribed to both Netflix and Disney+, indicating an 80% overlap between the two platforms.

Netflix has had a mixed year for the streaming platform. Netflix, which raised its prices earlier in the year, missed its U.S. subscriber forecast in the company’s third-quarter and reported a loss of 126,000 U.S. subscribers in Q2.

Disney started removing some of its popular productions off of Netflix leading up to the launch of Disney+. Disney-branded projects including ‘Daredevil’ and ‘January Jones’ were canceled shortly after Disney+ was announced.

While the Cowen report is good news for Disney+, a large number of their users are reportedly not paying for the service. Disney signed a deal with Verizon, which allowed for Verizon customers with the carrier’s unlimited data plan to receive a free year of Disney+, and Cowen estimated around a third of Disney+’s U.S. subscribers were taking advantage of that deal.

This news comes after Netflix’s Chief Creative Officer commented on Disney+’s launch.

Netflix’s Ted Sarandos gave his response to Disney+’s launch during a talk at the Paley Center’s International Council Summit in New York.

“We’ve been competing with Disney and all these other folks who are coming into this from the beginning,” he said. “For us, nothing really changes. We’ve always been customer-first and we don’t really get distracted by competition. We figured at some point everyone would get into this business.”

Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s Chief Content Officer add that he’s “frankly surprised it took Disney and other people this long to go down this path. It’s a hard change. These companies that have been built on making and selling content to other people, can they actually make more money or do better in business selling it directly to the consumer? … It’s a hard bet, and it’s a bet-the-farm one.”

In other entertainment news, Disney is now filming three TV shows in Georgia and now hiring.

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