People are boycotting LA Fitness over racist incident, despite apology

LA Fitness is under fire after an employee asked two black men to leave one of its New Jersey clubs on Monday. The gym chain has since apologized and promised to improve racial sensitivity training among its staffers.

One of the men, Tshyrad Oates, posted videos of the incident on Facebook. Oates wrote on Facebook that he had signed in with a four-day guest pass from his friend, a club member. “After about a half hour, I was approached by this same employee telling me that I had to leave or pay, and I explained to her that I just signed in with her with the guest pass,” he said. “She stated that it was my friend who did not pay (unaware that her manager had already signed him in with his membership pass). My friend stated to her that he is an active and current member and that his gym tag was in his locker.”

Oates says his friend “felt racially profiled and embarrassed by the harassment of this LA Fitness employee in front of other members at the gym.” The two continued working out before they were interrupted again — this time by two police officers, who questioned why they were working out with no memberships.

“We explained to them about our guest pass and rescanned my friend’s member tag, and it resulted in current active status,” Oates said. He and his friend started working out yet again but were reportedly told by an LA Fitness manager just 10 minutes later that they needed to leave. Then, Oates says that five police officers showed up and echoed that demand. Oates said that they weren’t given a reason why and were told that “I was banned from the gym and my friend’s gym membership has been terminated, effective immediately.”

Barbara Bush, Republican matriarch and former first lady, dies at 92

(CNN)Barbara Bush, the matriarch of a Republican political dynasty and a first lady who elevated the cause of literacy, died Tuesday, according to a statement from her husband’s office. She was 92.

Only the second woman in American history to have had a husband and a son elected President (Abigail Adams was the first), Bush was seen as a plainspoken public figure who was instantly recognizable with her signature white hair and pearl necklaces and earrings. She became a major political figure as her husband, George H.W. Bush, rose to become vice president and president. After they left the White House, she was a potent spokeswoman for two of her sons — George W. and Jeb — as they campaigned for office.

The mother of six children — one of whom, a daughter, Robin, died as a child from leukemia — Barbara Bush raised her fast-growing family in the 1950s and ’60s amid the post-war boom of Texas and the whirl of politics that consumed her husband.

She was at his side during his nearly 30-year political career. He was a US representative for Texas, UN ambassador, Republican Party chairman, ambassador to China and CIA director. He then became Ronald Reagan’s vice president for two terms and won election to the White House in 1988. He left office in 1993 after losing a re-election bid to Bill Clinton.

Quick-witted with a sharp tongue, the feisty Barbara Bush was a fierce defender of her husband and an astute adviser.

As first lady, her principal persona as a devoted wife and mother contrasted in many ways with her peer and predecessor, Nancy Reagan, and her younger successor, Hillary Clinton, both of whom were seen as more intimately involved in their husbands’ presidencies.

Sean Spicer to help raise funds for Sen. Warren’s challenger

BOSTON — Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer is wading into the Massachusetts U.S. Senate race.

Spicer will be the featured speaker at a fundraiser for Republican state Rep. Geoff Diehl on April 12 at the Union Oyster House in Boston.
Diehl is among a handful of Republicans challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who’s up for re-election to another six-year term in November. The Whitman resident served as Donald Trump’s campaign co-chairman in Massachusetts during the 2016 presidential election.

Two other Republicans are vying for the chance to unseat Warren: Beth Lindstrom is a Groton resident and one-time aide to ex-Gov. Mitt Romney. John Kingston is a business executive from Winchester.

Warren began the year with more than $14 million in her campaign account, far ahead of her challengers.

Spicer left Trump’s White House after a few months.

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Linda Brown dies; she was at center of Brown v. Board of Education desegregation case

Linda Brown, who as a little girl was at the center of the Brown v. Board of Education US Supreme Court case that ended segregation in schools, has died, a funeral home spokesman said.

Brown died Sunday afternoon in Topeka, Kansas, Peaceful Rest Funeral Chapel spokesman Tyson Williams said.
Brown was 9 years old when her father, Oliver Brown, tried to enroll her at Sumner Elementary School, then an all-white school in Topeka, Kansas.

When the school blocked her enrollment her father sued the Topeka Board of Education. Four similar cases were combined with Brown’s complaint and presented to the Supreme Court as Oliver L. Brown et al v. Board of Education of Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas, et al.

The court’s landmark ruling in May 1954 — that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” — led to the desegregation of the US education system. Thurgood Marshall, the NAACP’s special counsel and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, argued the case before the Supreme Court.

Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer acknowledged Brown’s contribution to American history.

“Sixty-four years ago a young girl from Topeka brought a case that ended segregation in public schools in America. Linda Brown’s life reminds us that sometimes the most unlikely people can have an incredible impact and that by serving our community we can truly change the world.”

Brown was a student at Monroe Elementary School in 1953 and took a bus to school each day.

My father was like a lot of other black parents here in Topeka at that time. They were concerned not about the quality of education that their children were receiving, they were concerned about the amount — or distance, that the child had to go to receive an education,” Brown said in a 1985 interview for the documentary series “Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years.”

“He felt that it was wrong for black people to have to accept second-class citizenship, and that meant being segregated in their schools, when in fact, there were schools right in their neighborhoods that they could attend, and they had to go clear across town to attend an all-black school. And this is one of the reasons that he became involved in this suit, because he felt that it was wrong for his child to have to go so far a distance to receive a quality education.”

Monroe and Sumner elementary schools became National Historic Landmarks on May 4, 1987, according to the National Park Service. President George H.W. Bush signed the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site Act of 1992 on October 26, 1992, which established Monroe as a national park.

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Police investigate possible 6th explosion in Texas

Austin’s interim Chief of Police Brian Manley (L) and Assistant Chief Troy Gay speak in a neighborhood while investigating a bombing in Austin, Texas, on Monday. Photo by Stephen Spillman/EPA

March 20 (UPI) — Emergency officials responded Tuesday evening to an explosion at a Goodwill store in South Austin as the region remains on edge from a series of bombs this month.

Austin-Travis EMS said officials transported a man in his 30s to St. David’s South Austin Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
It’s unclear if the explosion is directly related to six other bombs — five of which detonated, one of which did not — police said are linked in and around the city since the beginning of March. If so, it would be the third bomb found Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Sunset Valley police department said the agency is investigating the possibility the six confirmed related bombs are linked to a private package delivery office in Sunset Valley, an enclave in the capital of Texas.

The police department said there were no known public safety threats to Sunset Valley residents or others in the area, but urged residents to report any suspicious packages, items, or occurrences

Earlier Tuesday, a package bomb headed for Austin exploded at a FedEx sorting facility near San Antonio. Police later found another package containing an explosive device at another FedEx facility near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
A FedEx employee sustained a concussion in the blast shortly after midnight at the Schertz, Texas, facility located about 15 miles northeast of San Antonio.

About 75 employees were working at the processing plant when the package exploded.

Police so far are investigating a total of six bombs or suspicious packages this month. In addition to the one that exploded in Schertz and the suspicious package found at the Austin FedEx facility Monday:

— On March 2, Anthony Stephan House, 39, died in the first bombing attack in East Austin. He was a father and a graduate of Texas State University.

— On March 12, Draylen Mason, 17, died and his mother, Shamika Wilson, was injured in the second of the bomb attacks also in East Austin. Draylen was recently accepted into the selective Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin.

— On March 12, Esperanza “Hope” Herrera, 75, sustained injuries when a package left outside her East Austin exploded at her home.
— On Sunday, an explosion injured two men when a package left on their doorstep exploded. Police believe the device was likely triggered by a tripwire. The two men, ages 22 and 23, were expected to survive.

Austin interim Police Chief Brian Manley said investigators believe the first four bombs are connected because of similar components and the Schertz bomb could be related. Manley tweeted a statement reminding residents to remain “vigilant.”

An FBI agent said the box that exploded Monday was being mailed from Austin and was headed to Austin. The package, which exploded as it was moving from an elevated conveyor belt to a lower section, was loaded with shrapnel consisting of nails and pieces of metal.
Joining the FBI and ATF are hundreds of law enforcement agents from across the state.

Sunday’s explosion occurred just hours after the FBI increased its reward for information to $100,000. Texas Crime Stoppers is offering an additional $15,000 for the bomber’s arrest and conviction.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday announced a warning to travelers about the bombings and also enhanced screening procedures for all commercial flights to the United States.

“If you’re in the area, you should remain vigilant and follow the advice of local law enforcement authorities,” according to the announcement. “If you need more information about how this may affect your particular flight, contact your airline or travel company.”

During remarks from the White House on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said the person responsible for the bombings is “very sick” and vowed to “get to the bottom of it.”
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Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook under fire from politicians over data controversy

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic want answers after Facebook’s latest controversy involving the 2016 election.

The growing scrutiny comes after news broke that Cambridge Analytica, a data firm with ties to President Donald Trump’s campaign, reportedly gained access to information about 50 million Facebook (FB) users.

The data was collected by a professor for academic purposes in accordance with Facebook rules, the company said. But then the information was transferred to third parties, including Cambridge Analytica. The transfer violated Facebook policies.

Facebook on Friday night said it has booted Cambridge Analytica from using its platform.

News of the data transfer sparked renewed questions about whether the social media company does enough to protect its users.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced Saturday that her office is opening an investigation into Facebook and Cambridge Analytica.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote on Twitter Saturday that “Zuckerberg needs to testify before Senate Judiciary.”

“It’s clear these platforms can’t police themselves,” she said. “They say ‘trust us.’

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a rally to support his bid in the upcoming presidential election at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia March 3, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

After a campaign without any serious political challengers to his hegemony, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been re-elected president of Russia for a fourth term.
He will serve for at least another 6 years.
Behind Putin, a Communist Party challenger took second place, a nationalist took third, and anti-Putin liberal and socialite Ksenia Sobchak took fourth.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – An exit poll showed Vladimir Putin won Russia’s presidential election held on Sunday with 73.9 percent of the vote.

The voting projection, by pollster VTsIOM, put Communist party challenger Pavel Grudinin in second place with 11.2 percent.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, head of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, was on 6.7 pct, and TV personality Ksenia Sobchak had 2.5 percent, the exit poll showed.

(Reporting by Denis Pinchuk, Andrew Osborn and Katya Golubkova, Writing by Maria Kiselyova, editing by Christian Lowe)

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Pope Francis with president of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse

The president of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, met with the Holy Father in the Apostolic Palace.

The two discussed the country’s main social problems, especially poverty. Haiti has yet to recover from natural disasters like a 2010 earthquake or Hurrican Matthew in 2016.

Social crisis is coupled with a political one. Jovenel Moïse was elected president in February 2017 following a year and a half of electoral chaos.

Haiti was one of the countries mentioned by Donald Trump in his controversial statements on immigrants who arrive in the U.S.

The president presented Pope Francis with this image. In addition to his three main documents, the pope also gave Moïse a medal with a message of hope – the desert will become a garden.

“This is my wish for your country.”

A reserved individual, 49-year-old Jovenel Moïse owned a fruit business before beginning his political career.

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Entire USA Gymnastics Board Will Resign

A day after the U.S. Olympic Committee gave them an ultimatum to resign within six days or have the entire governing body decertified, the 16 remaining USA Gymnastics board members agreed to step down in the wake of the organization enabling Larry Nassar to sexually abuse dozens of girls and women while he was a doctor for them and Michigan State University. A USA Gymnastics spokesperson told Reuters today that “USA Gymnastics will comply with the USOC requirements.”

After failing to send a single representative to Nassar’s sentencing earlier this month, the USOC has used the threat of decertification (which would remove USAG’s ability to pick national teams for the Olympics, and much more) to effectively clean house at the governing body. Michigan State president Lou Anna Simon and athletic director Mark Hollis also resigned this week over their complicity in Nassar’s abuse.

Zimbabwe’s new President Emmerson Mnangagwa vowed sweeping change at his swearing in on Friday, seeking to reassure foreign investors and pledging to fight poverty and corruption after Robert Mugabe’s shock resignation.

In his inaugural address, Mnangagwa set out a program of dramatic change that promised a stark reversal of many of Mugabe’s signature policies.

He pledged that his government would compensate white farmers whose land was seized by Mugabe, protect international investments in the country, and re-engage with foreign powers.

Elections scheduled for 2018 would go ahead as planned, he said.

“I humbly appeal to all of us that we let bygones be bygones,” he said at the ceremony in the 60,000-seat national stadium in Harare, which was packed to capacity.

“We must work together — you, me, all of us who make this nation.

“I stand here today, to say that our country is ready for a sturdy re-engagement program with all the nations of the world,” he said.

After reciting the oath of office, the 75-year-old leader was given a ceremonial chain and sash of office flanked by his wife Auxilia, receiving salutes and pledges of allegiance from the country’s military and security chiefs.

Mnangagwa also used his speech to pay tribute to Mugabe, describing him as one of the “founding fathers of our nation”. (AFP)