Author: Tia Freels, DI

A study done by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on American cities and the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, concluded that Washington D.C., Portland, Seattle, and Atlanta are the top four gentrified cities. What We Know: Davin Reed, community economic development adviser at the Philadelphia Fed, along with University of Chicago researcher Quentin Brummet, analyzed central city neighborhoods in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas in the U.S. between 2000 and 2014. His studies not only showed what cities were being gentrified the fastest, but also documented the effects of gentrification on neighborhood residents.…

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Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota arrived at her hometown airport on Thursday to a crowd chanting “welcome home Ilhan!” What We Know: In the video, Omar is seen walking into a sea of supporters and television cameras waiting for her at baggage claim at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. She was returning from a town hall meeting on Medicare on Thursday night with Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington. “It’s good to be home,” Omar tweeted. https://twitter.com/ilhan/status/1151973434672500737?s=12 Omar addressed the crowd “We are going to continue to be a nightmare to this president,” she said in her speech to the crowd, “because…

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The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a class-action lawsuit against AT&T on Tuesday, alleging that it violated its customers’ privacy by selling location data to third parties. What We Know: EFF, a nonprofit digital activism group, and law firm Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht filed the lawsuit on behalf of three AT&T customers in California. Two other companies, LocationSmart and Zumigo, were also mentioned in the suit as data aggregators and alleging that they allowed “thousands” of third parties to track cellphone users’ location without authorization. AT&T has real-time location data on its wireless customers that can be used to help…

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A park in southeast Atlanta is set to become the nation’s largest food forest. What We Know: The Food Forest at Browns Mill occupies a seven-acre plot where husband and wife, Willie and Ruby Morgan, once kept a farm. The plot was sold to developers in 2006 with the intent to build townhouses, but the plan fell through due to the recession. In 2016, The Atlanta City Council unanimously approved an ordinance to use grant money from the U.S. Forest Service to purchase the land from The Conservation Fund for a food forest. Atlanta’s Department of Parks and Recreation will…

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The young girl featured in one of R. Kelly’s sex tapes, who was later revealed to be the niece of R&B Singer Sparkle, is cooperating with investigators in the child pornography case against Kelly. What We Know: In the 2008 trial against Kelly, the girl in the tape and her family refused to testify against the singer, which led to the jury acquitting the singer. Sparkle, born Stephanie Edwards, was the only member from the girl’s family to testify against Kelly. According to The New York Times, the girl’s attorney Christopher L. Brown, said she made the decision to work…

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The Trump administration is considering reducing refugee admissions by 90 percent. Trump adviser Stephen Miller believes it’s not enough and is urging the administration to cut the refugee admissions to zero. What We Know: Roughly 20 officials met last week at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to discuss the annual process of setting the admissions cap. According to reports, Homeland Security officials suggested cutting the current number of refugees admitted by 90 percent. The State Department proposed capping the number of refugees between 3,000 and 10,000 a year. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Official John Zadrozny and State Department Refugee…

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STX Films debuted the trailer for its upcoming female-led heist film, Hustlers on Wednesday, led by Jennifer Lopez. What We Know: The Lorene Scafaria directed drama also features Constance Wu as Destiny, Julia Stiles as Elizabeth , Keke Palmer as Mercedes , and Lili Reinhart as Annabelle. It also stars breakout artist Lizzo as Liz and Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B as Diamond. Lopez is set to play the ringleader of the group, Ramona. The film is based on a New York Magazine article “The Hustlers at Scores” written by Jessica Pressler, which follows a group of ex-strip club employees who…

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The Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis held its first public hearing on Wednesday, which featured five mayors of major U.S. cities who discussed how their communities are tackling climate change. What We Know: The committee was formed by 10 Democratic senators and is chaired by Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii. The goal of the committee is to get as much preliminary work done for research and investigation so that Democrats can start passing climate legislation if they defeat Trump in the 2020 election. According to a press release from the committee, each mayor discussed what their city…

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As President Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Greenville, North Carolina Wednesday evening, supporters chanted “send her back” when talking about Representative Ilhan Omar. What We Know: Trump targeted the members of “The Squad” once again at his rally who, he wrote, should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” After mentioning American congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia, the POTUS paused for a few seconds as the chant grew louder. The president accused Omar of “launching vicious, anti-Semitic screeds,” while detailing past statements Omar had made during…

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Good news! Chanel announced its Head of Diversity of Inclusion, the first position of its kind for the luxury brand. But wait, it’s not a person of color. What We Know: Fiona Pargeter, who worked as the Head of Diversity of inclusion for Swiss bank UBS, was hired to “evolve” the brands’ existing diversity and inclusion approach and  “continue to create momentum” for their effort, according to a Chanel spokesperson. The role was created as “a sign of Chanel’s commitment and its importance to the house,” according to Vogue. Chanel had a recent campaign that featured a diverse group of woman…

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