Marvel superheroes creator dead at 95

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By MIRIAM RUIZ

Known for creating many loved superhero characters, the famous and much respected Stan Lee has passed away.

It was reported 20 hours ago that Lee was struggling with health issues. According to an article published on Fox, Lee had pneumonia and problems with his vision as well.

Stan Lee has left behind a legacy that will never be forgotten. His impact on the entertainment industry and especially the comic book world will live on to remember him. Stan Lee was the top writer and later publisher for Marvel, he is known for saving the industry and making the company what it has become today.

Lee had a special way of making his characters mean something to people. On a story written by Tyler McCathy published by Fox, it was stated that the producer of “Men in Black,” Jeff Kline said, “The beauty of Stan Lee’s characters is that they were characters first and superheroes next.” This shows how his creations and ideas were unique, making him an icon in the entertainment industry.

Stan Lee died on Veteran’s day, his last social media post was this same day when he posted a picture of himself while serving in World War II.

Thoughts and prayers are with the family and fans of Stan Lee during this difficult time. Many fans around the world grieve his loss because of all he did for the childhood and entertainment of many. Lee’s legacy will live on and his memory will be honored.

Should we cover celebrity fire losses?

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By SARAH BRADDOCK

With the extensive amount of tragedy occurring worldwide, it’s hard not only to keep up, but also to decide which event to express concern for.

I’d like to hope individuals common lack of concern regarding natural disasters and their impact is due to attention placed in other instances warranting concern. However, the coverage of the current damage caused by fires in California tell otherwise.

Plastered across various news outlets whenever a natural disaster occurs is the fatalities, those missing, and homes damaged or lost. The coverage of the Woolsey fire is the same, however differs because of celebrities that have been directly impacted.

Nearly every news media outlet has allocated special articles or segments to discuss celebrities such as Miley Cyrus and Gerard Butler losing their homes, as if it is more tragic or newsworthy than those who aren’t celebrities.

This phenomenon is both good and bad.

I condone the idea of special treatment for celebrity when hundreds of others suffer as well, however I know that these types of articles draw more attention to the events and probably indirectly contribute to increased aid to other victims.

It’s a moral conundrum of whether news outlets should give celebrities individual coverage of their losses when they really are the ones who suffer the least from all those affected, or if the attention these pieces bring to the victims is all worth it in the end.

Recounts underway in two Florida races

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By DAVE DOWNEY

According to election officials, Broward and Palm Beach Counties are at the center of an election recount once again.

Rick Scott, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, leads the Democratic incumbent Senator, Bill Nelson by 0.2 percentage points, triggering a hand recount, per Florida law.

Scott’s campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee filed two lawsuits on Thursday, one against the Broward County supervisor of elections, Brenda Snipes, and the other against the supervisor of elections in Palm Beach County, Susan Bucher.

The lawsuits allege that those supervisors have not been transparent about the collection of the vote and the vote count, in violation of Florida law.

The race for Florida governor is not quite as close, but with the margin between Ron DeSantis and Andrew Gillum being 0.5 percentage points, that triggers a machine recount.

Most, if not all news outlets have projected DeSantis, the former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, victorious over Gillum, the current Tallahassee mayor.

Many outlets are already leaving Election Day in the dust, with little coverage on these races after Democrats seized control of the House, while Republicans kept the majority in the Senate, throwing a wrench in Donald Trump’s legislative agenda for the latter half of his first term.

FDA imposes new sanctions on e-cigs

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By ANDREW FRATTAROLI

After it was all over, the news that the FDA was going to impose sanctions on JUUL and other electronic cigarette producers, the government agency is looking to take things one step further. Its goal is to keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of teenagers because of the massive spike that we’ve seen in the past few years.

Now, instead of just going after JUUL and other popular devices, the agency “plans to ban sales of most flavored e-cigarettes in retail stores and gas stations around the country, in an effort to reduce the popularity of vaping among young people.”

The issue I have with this, which is what I had an issue with when they were going after JUUL, is that these are products that really do help people quit smoking. And since compared to smoking, they are 95 percent less harmful, they can save a lot of lives for adult smokers.

In my opinion, this is going to do more harm than good. It is going to hurt vape shop owners and instead of condemning the product they should be condemning the people who sell the products to minors without identification.

This was an article by Sheila Kaplan of The New York Times and she did a wonderful job of staying non-biased and giving the facts of the story, even though it’s an issue that can get people worked up.

12 killed in California shooting

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By NICOLE LEMBO

A gunman walked into Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, Calif. on Wednesday. He set off smoke bombs in order to create confusion before shooting a security guard at the entrance and opening fire into the crowd.

Authorities identified the gunman as Ian Long, 28, of Newbury Park, Calif. Long was found dead at the scene after killing 12 and wounding about 15 people.

Long was a Marine Corps veteran who had served in Afghanistan, and while investigators say there was no clear motive, he had apparently been struggling with mental health issues.

The shooting was the nation’s deadliest attack since Parkland, Fla. in February.

Among those who died was Sgt. Ron Helus, who was only one year from retirement. Another was Cody Coffman, 22, who planned to join the Army. Aliana Housley, 18, was a student at Pepperdine University.

In response to the shooting, President Trump tweeted, “I have been fully briefed on the terrible shooting in California. Law Enforcement and First Responders, together with the FBI, are on scene. 13 people, at this time, have been reported dead. Likewise, the shooter is dead, along with the first police officer to enter the bar. Great bravery shown by police. California Highway Patrol was on scene within 3 minutes, with first officer to enter shot numerous times. That Sheriff’s Sergeant died in the hospital. God bless all of the victims and families of the victims. Thank you to Law Enforcement.”

Major news outlets such as Fox, CBS, and CNN have been extremely objective when reporting on the shooting. They have all done a superb job at reporting the facts and honoring the victims and their families.

Greatest college basketball team ever?

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By TYRIQ MCCORD

College basketball has just started after a long off-season of excitement. Back about 15 years ago, if you were good enough, kids were able to go straight from high school to the NBA. But the NCAA established a rule where student athletes have to do at least one year of college or overseas ball to pursue their dreams.

With that being said, this is our first time ever seeing the highest recruit players all play for the same college team! And some people are saying after one game against the respectable Kentucky Wildcats, that this is the best college basketball team to grace a court.

The Duke Blue Devils played the Wildcats on Tuesday and completely dominated from start to finish with a 118-84 final score.

RJ Barrett, who was the No. 1 basketball recruit in 2018, finished with 33 points, 6 assists, and 4 boards.

Cam Reddish, who was the No. 2 basketball recruit, finished with 22 points.

Zion Williamson, who was the No. 5 basketball recruit in 2018, finished with 28 points and seven rebounds. Zion is already being compared to by a player we all are very familiar with.

“I saw some kid on Duke last night who is pretty impressive my goodness … probably can’t say anything more, or mention his name, but  the one who’s 285 pounds,” Steve Kerr for the Golden State Warriors explained. “I thought LeBron, I thought that was a one-shot deal, but apparently the next guy that’s coming,” Kerr continued. “And before I get fined, I’m going to change the subject.”

Zion stands at 6-foot-7, weighing at 285 pounds and is a freak-of-nature with his physical ability. Probably the most exciting player on Duke’s basketball team, yet he is, respectfully, not their best player. 

Duke is currently ranked No. 4 but will most likely jump to No. 1 after routing the No. 2 team on Tuesday. Could this team possibly be better than the legendary Fab 5 from Michigan? Or maybe even the 1981 North Carolina team? How about Rick Pitino’s 1995 Kentucky team? We just have to wait and witness this year.

12 killed at Southern California bar

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By NOA ISRAEL

Twelve people were killed Wednesday night at a popular college bar when a gunman entered the venue and began firing in Thousand Oaks, Calif., just north of Los Angeles.

Borderline Bar and Grill is a popular spot for residents of Thousand Oaks and neighboring cities. Due to its close proximity to multiple colleges and universities, it is largely attended by college students. The bar is known to most as a safe and comfortable getaway from the stress of school and other responsibilities.

However, despite being located in one of the safest cities in the country, the bar and its occupants came under fire late Wednesday night when gunman Ian David Long entered and began shooting at the large crowd. Wednesday nights are known as “College Nights” at Borderline and the bar was therefore packed with excited teens and young adults.

The shooter, Long, was a resident of Newbury Park, only a few minutes drive from Thousand Oaks. CNN reported that he “was a Marine veteran who often visited the site of the shooting.” Long died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds at the scene.

Names of the victims are slowly being released and friends and families learn the fates of their loved ones. The confirmed dead include a law enforcement officer from Ventura County, a freshman at Pepperdine University and a recent graduate of Cal Lutheran University.

The investigation is still underway to determine a possible motive.

News media: Forgive, forget and repeat

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By ADAM SPECTOR

Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned among the request of former host of “The Celebrity Apprentice”-turned president of the United States, Donald Trump.

Trump felt that Twitter was the most appropriate place to name the acting attorney general until a replacement is named and confirmed. The acting attorney general is Matthew Whitaker.

Sessions was an early supporter of Trump, as he publicly endorsed him during the presidential primaries. At the time, Sessions was a U.S. Senator from Alabama.

As we know, the Trump campaign has been under investigation since 2016 over suspicion of Russian collusion. When Sessions was asked about whether or not he was in contact with Russian officials he denied it, which later turned out to be false. Sessions recused himself from the investigation, which angered Trump.

Since then, Trump has complained about Sessions on what seems like an hourly basis.

“Sessions should have never recused himself and, if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News.

Even though this story is currently a big deal, I am all but certain that news sources will stop talking about it within one week.

No news source that I have ever seen has pointed out that Trump and his administration are not acting like innocent people.

Whenever Trump says or does anything controversial, every news source covers it then quits talking about it one week later.

In 2015, Trump essentially called Mexican people criminals, drug dealers, rapists and “assumed some were good people.” It made all headlines, then news organizations, especially CNN, began to cover his campaign on an hourly basis and would dissect every word he said. By doing this, they added a level substance to everything he said. In addition to this, CNN constantly speculated that there was “a method to his madness” and that everything he said and did was all a part of a brilliant scheme.

CNN and other cable news organizations never once brought up the idea that had zero government and or military experience and continued to dissect everything he would say and do, creating the illusion that Trump knew precisely what he was doing.

Despite the fact that Trump frequently lies, nobody seems to mind. Whenever anything good happens, such as the improving economy, Trump gets 100 percent credit. Whenever bad things happen, such as the increase in hate crimes and mailing of bombs to people critical of Trump, nobody ever seems to even partially blame him.

Jon Stewart, news media genius

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By NICOLAS IPARRAGUIRRE

This week, CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta had his press credentials suspended after a controversial incident during President Trump’s post-midterm election press conference.

The incident stemmed from Acosta repeatedly asking the president questions about the migrant caravan heading toward the southern border, with Trump eventually cutting Acosta off. When a female aide attempted to remove the microphone from Acosta’s hand, he attempted to hold on and what has followed has been a circus.

In response to the incident, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a doctored video of the incident, accusing Acosta of placing his hands on the female aide. Producing an edited video and denying access can objectively be seen as the Trump administration acting in totalitarian fashion, but the news media have turned a winning issue for credibility into a food fight with the president.

Just last week, comedians Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle sat down with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour to discuss various issues about comedy, Trump, and the press today. In discussing the media’s role in the age of Trump, Amanpour said, “But we the journalists, we I think believe that our job is to navigate the truth and do the fact-checking and all the rest of it.”

While this may be true, and most journalists do have this intention, Stewart’s response perfectly described why the news media have grown hostile in the face of Trump’s constant attacks.

“But I think the journalists have taken it personally,” Stewart said. “They’re personally offended and wounded by [Trump]. He baits them and they dive in — and what he’s done well I thought was to appeal to their own narcissism, to their own ego.”

Stewart’s understanding of the news media can be seen in Acosta’s actions during the post-midterm press conference. Acosta was asking a question about a hot-button issue (the migrant caravan) but was overtaken by his own ego and lashed out. While the administration’s response has been dishonest and possibly immoral, Acosta’s own antics have allowed what should be a one-sided issue to become more complex than it should be. Had he remained totally respectful, it would be impossible for anyone to condemn him.

High-heels on, wings ready to go

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By NOELLE BARREDA

The infamous Victoria Secret Fashion show is something millions of people tune in to see.

Every year, there is something new to anticipate. It is either a supermodel, segment of the show, VS designs, wings and the $1 million bra.

This year the Victoria Secret Fashion Show cast some pretty cool supermodels, like Kendall Jenner, Winnie Harlow and Toni Garrn.

The iconic supermodel-BFF group will reunite this time with wings and that is something many people want to see. Bella, Gigi and Kendall will rock this year’s runway together.

Someone else who people are dying to see in wings and who will make her huge debut on such an iconic runway is Winnie Harlow. The supermodel is pretty new to the scene and was a former contestant of America’s Next Top Model. In case you are wondering, no, she didn’t win.

According to Harper’s Bazaar the Victoria Secret Fashion is where every iconic supermodel has walked. Every model that walks down that runway has a name for themselves the very next day.

Harper’s Bazaar says this year’s fantasy bra valued at $1 million will be available to buy for the first time ever, but it won’t cost you your life. A replica of the bra made from Swarovski crystals will cost $250.

They are filming the show today Nov. 8 and are premiering it exclusively on ABC Sunday, Dec. 2 at 10 EST.

Media cover Fox News star at rally

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By SARAH BRADDOCK

President Trump held a rally in Missouri on Monday Nov. 5. Per usual, each news outlet had something to say regarding the event, but the points covered vary dramatically.

In The Hill’s article, “CNN’s Camerota questions ‘news organization’ status of Fox News after Hannity appears at Trump rally,” the sole focus of the piece was Sean Hannity’s presence and CNN’s reaction.

Following explicit statements that he wasn’t going to campaign with Trump, Fox News star Hannity did the exact opposite.

The piece includes quotes from CNN show host Alisyn Camerota and excerpts from Hannity’s supportive words toward Trump and his campaign during the rally.

In Fox News article, ‘Crowd at Trump rally sings ‘Amazing Grace’ after woman collapses,’ by Benjamin Brown there is not one mention of Hannity. Instead, the focus is on, what Brown paints as, Trump’s heroic gestures toward a woman who collapsed at the event.

The article covers Trumps five-minute delay to pray for the women, the crowd breaking out into singing “Amazing Grace,” and a brief history of the song itself.

Once again while both pieces contain factual information regarding the event, its the parts of the event they chose to cover that make all the difference.

Kardashians show off Halloween outfits

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By NOELLE BARREDA

The Kardashian sisters once again take over Halloween.

This year all the sisters had more than four Halloween outfits to show off on social media, including the Victoria Secret Angel look that all the sisters rocked.

Victoria Secret personally landed the Kardashian sister’s actual VS wings from the runway.

Kim Kardashian’s dream was made come true after she’s dreamed for year being able to be a VS Angel and for Kendall Jenner it was just practice for this upcoming fashion show.

Kendall Jenner has been part of the show for two years, this year being her third.

The five sisters made sure to give Victoria Secret credit on social media for letting them borrow the wings for that night.

According to E! News they had a paid partnership for them to let the Kardashian’s borrow the wings.

The Kardashians weren’t the only ones showing of their cute costumes, they made sure to dress the next generation to live up to their Halloween legacy.

According to E! News, It is clear to say to say that Kylie Jenner won this year’s Halloween competition outshining all the sisters with her creative Halloween costumes.

Uber, Lyft popular in Boston area

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By IBRAHIM GRAY

Boston taxi companies have seen their business continue to plummet over the past few years, largely due to the rise of ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft.

Bostonians have lauded the apps for helping them move around the city for less money and in a shorter amount of time.

Jim O’Donnell, a Boston University professor of city planning and urban development, wrote how he believes Uber and Lyft have thrived in cities due to the innovative way they connect the same services taxis provide to one’s phone.

“When you get in a taxi cab, you don’t know what it’s going to cost, when you’re trying to hail a taxi cab, you don’t know when it’s going to come. I think that that has been a real inconvenience for a lot of people,” he stated. “Ride apps allow one to get all the information about their trip length, price and availability at their fingertips.”

Along with the taxi industry, public transportation has also taken a hit from the advent of ride-sharing. While residents might benefit from catching Ubers, a report from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council found that the city has been suffering from this switch. According to the report, the average ride-hailing trip represents 35 cents of lost revenue for the MBTA.

Efforts to combat these issues have been put in place by the Massachusetts government. Gov. Charlie Baker signed a law in 2016 issuing a charge of five cents per ride to be given to a taxi innovation fund.

MAPC has estimated that 15 percent of ride-hailing trips are taken during rush hour by people who would have otherwise used public transit. This has implications of traffic congestion, air pollution and dangerous emissions.

State executes man with electric chair

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By NOA ISRAEL

The utilization of capitol punishment in the United States has been a long standing topic of controversy, with many states opting for life sentences as an alternative. Some states, such as Tennessee still support and practice the death penalty — on Thursday, the electric chair was used for the first time in five years on an inmate at a Tennessee prison.

Edmund Zagorski smiled right up until the “sponge and helmet were put over his head,” reporter Adam Tamburin stated. In 1984, 24-year-old Zagorksi was arrested just days after he lured two young men to a wooded hunting area and murdered them. He was charged with two counts of first degree murder.

At the time of the murders in Tennessee, the death sentence was the mandatory punishment for a capitol murder conviction. Zagorski eventually confessed to the murders on the presence that he would get to dictate certain aspects of his execution. He was sentenced to the death by electrocution in March of 1984 — 11 months after the murders.

Currently 31 states still uphold using capitol punishment, with six states — Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky — that still have the electric chair as an option. There have been oppositions towards the death penalty, with many stating it is unethical and inhumane, causing 19 states to abolish the use of capitol punishment.

Zagorki sat on death row for 34 years. In the months leading up to his death, his execution date was altered several times as was the method that would be used.  He was ultimately granted his wish of death by the electric chair. His last words were “let’s rock,” reported CNN.

Pageant greets first trans contestant

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By ANABELLA ZAMBRANO

Although Miss Universe has accepted trans participants since 2012, the 26-year-old Angela Ponce will be the first trans gender woman to participate in the global Miss Universe Pageant. After beating 20 other contestants in the Miss Universe Spain Gala and making it to the global pageant, Ponce aims to change the world.

Facing rejection throughout her career for being trans, Ponce wants to become a voice for trans kids and let them know they are beautiful and not alone in the world. Trans teenagers around the globe face high attempts of suicide and not enough help is being offered to this issue.

Transphobia is common all around the world and a topic that is quickly ignored, Ponce wants to use this pageant as a platform to bring awareness for transgender individuals of all ages all around the globe who face suffer suicidal thoughts and attempts as well as legal codes who discriminate against transgenders publicly either in public bathrooms and also employment discrimination.

According to NBC, an European transgender group TGEU published a study last year and discovered that “77.5 percent of 885 transgender people more than 16 years old polled in Georgia, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Sweden had considered taking their own lives and that 24.5 percent of respondents had made at least one attempt.”

News outlets have done a great job at communicating Ponce’s perspective on this milestone and not keeping quiet about this. Ponce’s interview with the Associated Press Madrid in Spain has gone viral allowing people around the world to know about this issue.

It is important that they have not ignored her message, where she does not aim for the title of the crown but more importantly fight for transgender rights.

Curbelo meets man who threatened him

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By MATTHEW POWELL

U.S. Congressman Carlos Curbelo of Florida’s 26th district recently met with a constituent of his who threatened to kill him on Twitter. Homestead teenager Alejandro Verges-Castro was arrested by the FBI after tweeting a threat to the congressman on Oct. 24.

Instead of staying away from the teen who threatened him, Curbelo appeared with the teenager today in an attempt to forgive the young man.

Our country is dealing with an immense amount of violent political  speech from both sides of the aisle that is sometimes orchestrated through biased news media coverage. Instead of putting fire to the flame, Curbelo instead accepted the teenagers apology and used him as  an example that words have actual meaning, even on twitter.

These threats came around the same time that an Aventura man was sending bombs in the mail to top democratic leaders.

The Miami Herald covered the incident extremely well, focusing on the idea that there can be political discussion in this country while also being civil, something that seems to be lost among today’s population, young or old.

Although this is one small example of political violence with words impacting a young mans life, it is great to see a congressman express remorse and compassion while also trying to steer the political discussion to civil discourse, not threats.

Media blanket-cover Pittsburgh shooting

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By ADAM SPECTOR

Last week, a shooter opened fire inside a synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27. Eleven persons were killed and six others were injured.

This has been described as the deadliest against the Jewish community in United States history.

Authorities say Robert Bowers, 46, was the man responsible for the shooting. No alternative suspects have been mentioned.

Just about every news source has covered this story. Most have been thorough and are making sure this matter is known across the country.

Although sources such as CBS, CNN, and ABC have done a good job of making this story a priority, they have given hate crimes in general somewhat of an overlook.

As mentioned last week according to WBAL-TV 11, “from vandalism to murder, a new report from Maryland State Police shows that Maryland is seeing more hate crimes.” In 2017, Maryland saw a 35 percent increase in hate crimes since 2016, despite this serious issue, very few sources seemed to cover it

In this day and age, a lot of things are unnecessarily made political, however, this situation has a fair reason to be made political.

Some people have connected this story and the increased level of hate crimes to Donald Trump’s anti-Mexican, anti-immigrant, and anti-Islam policies as well as his popularity among white supremacists.

Despite this somewhat logical connection, Vice President Mike Pence rejected the idea that President Donald Trump’s rhetoric contributed shooting in Pittsburgh.

“Look, everyone has their own style. And frankly, people on both side of the aisle use strong language about our political differences,” Pence said in an interview with NBC News “But I just don’t think you can connect it to threats or acts of violence… And I don’t think the American people connect it.”

Although sources such as CBS, CNN and ABC have not covered the rise of hate crimes in the USA as much as they should have, they did make this story a priority.

Synagogue suspect pleads not guilty

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By DAVE DOWNEY

Robert Bowers, the man accused of murdering 11 people in a hate-fueled massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh last Saturday entered a plea of not guilty in a federal courtroom Thursday.

“The possible penalties,” he was informed by Troy Rivetti, one of the prosecutors, “are first a sentence of death.” Bowers did not flinch. Other than death, possible outcomes are a variety of prison sentences from 10 years to life, connected to the 44 counts with which he is charged.

Those charges vary from hate crimes to using a firearm to commit murder in a crime of violence.

It is somewhat surprising how many other stories within the news are taking precedence over this, the deadliest anti-Semitic event in the U.S. since World War II.

Although the general election is under a week away, this is the major news story of the week, and most outlets are analyzing ads and Trump’s tweets over the impacts within and outside of the Steel City.

Bowers’ lawyer, Michael Novara, a federal public defender, requested a jury trial, which prosecutors estimated could take three to four weeks, or even longer if U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions certified it to indeed be a capital case.

Blackface costs woman her job

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By TYRIQ MCCORD

Halloween is that one time of year where you can dress up as almost anything you want, Key word being almost. You have people impersonating police officers, dressing up as policemen/women, and even Jesus Christ himself. But when is it that people can say “you have taken it too far”?

For about a week, many stories have gone out about men and women using “blackface” as part of their costume.

In Missouri, Shelbi Heenan, a Caucasian-American, was terminated from her job, St. Luke’s Hospital, where she was a registered nurse. Her post went viral on Facebook where she and another man dressed as the power couple Jay Z and Beyoncé. Her clothing was fine, but both her and the male companion colored their faces and hands for a black pigmentation.

Sharon Solomon, a friend of Shelbi, tweeted Tuesday “You know what’s REALLY insulting!? That one day out of the entire F-N year people can’t  stop trying to tag another as racist! IT’S A COSTUME! She is intentionally trying to look like Beyonce! Beyonce is black…. so to get the entire look, dark makeup!”

But she was not the only one to face consequences.

Philadelphia Police are currently investigating a employee who is currently on “desk duty” for the use of blackface. Officer Hung Nguyen also posted his costume on his Facebook account where his face was colored black with a white t-shirt and a Afro wig. Philadelphia Police Capt. Sekou Kinebrew thinks there is a nexus in the photo; it could have been a computer graphic instead of Officer Hung physically painting his face black. The case is still currently under investigation.

Is there a way for people to dress up as someone of the opposite descent without coloring their skin?

‘Megyn Kelly Today’ cancelled

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By NICOLE LEMBO

Megyn Kelly, host of NBC’s “Megyn Kelly Today,” has officially been fired from the network after making inappropriate comments on one of the show’s episodes. During an on-air panel discussion about controversial Halloween costumes, the topic of dressing in blackface was addressed. Kelly prefaced the segment by saying she was “fired up” about the topic, and that political correctness has “gone amuck.”

“What is racist?” Kelly said. “You do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface for Halloween, or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween. Back when I was a kid, that was okay just as long as you were dressing as a character.”

Many were outraged by Kelly’s insensitive remarks. In response to the controversy, the next day, Kelly began her show by apologizing to her viewers and colleagues. However, the damage had already been done.

“The fact is, while she apologized to the NBC staff, she owes a bigger apology to folks of color around the country,” her colleague Al Roker said during his segment of the “Today Show.”

A survey conducted by the Hollywood Reporter revealed that 45 percent of those questioned felt NBC’s decision to cancel the show was “too harsh of a consequence.”

In a USA Today article entitled, “‘Megyn Kelly Today’ could’ve taught us about blackface this Halloween,” the author feels that taking her off the air was not the right thing to do. Rather, this could have been used as an opportunity to educate people on the history of blackface so they can understand why it is so offensive.

A CNN article pointed out that the only way to resolve issues such as these is through dialogue and engagement with people who have different perspectives and life experiences, and the author feels that NBC could have done a better job at facilitating this.

At this point in time, the future is uncertain for Megyn Kelly. It was reported that she has been dropped by her current agent and is seeking representation elsewhere. Kelly recently obtained a lawyer, and matters are very tense between her and NBC executives as they negotiate the terms of her exit. While many speculated that she would return to FOX, Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO of New Fox said that the network does not plan on adding her back to their lineup anytime soon.