What Happened to Playboy Magazine?

 

Ben Kohn, CEO of Playboy Enterprises, penned an open letter revealing that its Spring 2020 issue will be the last. In the letter, Kohn explained that the current halt in production (due to the coronavirus pandemic) prompted the final decision.

Why Beyoncé holds the key to office culture

 

In May 2019, before COVID-19 began sweeping through the world, the World Health Organization declared burnout “an occupational phenomenon.” In fact, concern about work and well-being goes back centuries and was always linked to culture: It was Aristotle, after all, who worried about what it would take to create a sense of flourishing or eudaimonia.

Now that chief executives around the globe are trying to maintain or reinvent both corporate culture and future strategy in the wake of a pandemic that rewrote the rules of work, it’s popular culture that leaders should consider to win the hearts and minds of their workers — specifically pop music.

Are Americans out of poverty?

 

The child tax credit helped push a key measure of poverty to its lowest level on record, according to new Census Bureau data Tuesday that signaled just how critical government assistance was to propping Americans up in the second year of the coronavirus pandemic.

Median income remained essentially static in 2021, and the official poverty rate did as well. But the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which adjusts for government assistance like tax credits and stimulus checks, dropped 1.4 percentage points to 7.8%.

Natalie Cofield Steps Down

 

Natalie Cofield, of Women’s Business Ownership at the U.S. Small Business Administration, is reportedly stepping down from her post today to return to the private sector.

Bloomberg reported that Madeira Cofield was not only one of the highest-ranking Black women in President Joe Biden’s administration but also the first Black woman to lead the Office of Women’s Business Ownership.

China Discovers Next Global Pandemic

 

According to Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control, a new potentially fatal disease called the Langya Henipavirus has emerged in Shandong and the neighboring providence of Henan (in China), and it has the potential to become the next global pandemic. Thus far, 35 people have reportedly come down with the animal-derived Henipavirus virus. 

Understanding The Jennifer Lopez Documentary “Halftime” At Tribeca Festival

 

The Jennifer Lopez documentary “Halftime” is kicking off the 21st Tribeca Festival on Wednesday, launching the annual New York event with an intimate behind-the-scenes portrait of the singer-actor filmed during the tumultuous year she turned 50, co-headlined the Super Bowl and narrowly missed out on an Oscar nomination.

The star-studded, musical premiere at the United Palace in Washington Heights serves as an appropriate opener for the Tribeca Festival, which has jettisoned “Film” from its name to better reflect the wide array of concerts, talks, television premieres, podcasts and virtual reality exhibits that increasingly fill its busy live-event schedule alongside movies.

High School Students Workout For Free All Summer Long

 

Planet Fitness, one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness centers with more members than any other fitness brand, is inviting high schoolers ages 14 – 19* to work out for free at any of its more than 2,200 Planet Fitness locations throughout the United States and Canada from May 16 through August 31 as part of the High School Summer Pass initiative.

High School Summer Pass was formally known as Teen Summer Challenge, which was the first program of its kind launched in 2019 and saw more than 900,000 teens sign-up and complete more than 5.5 million workouts over a three-and-a-half-month period. Starting today, high schoolers can visit PlanetFitness.com/SummerPass to pre-register, and get a reminder to formally sign up when the program officially kicks off on Monday, May 16. Teens under 18 must register with a parent or guardian online or in-club.

Eminem wins big at 31st Detroit Music Awards

 

Jazz-soul singer Tosha Owens led the slate of winners Sunday night at the 31st Detroit Music Awards, taking three honors across multiple genres.

Owens took outstanding blues artist, rock-pop recording (“Love More, Hate Less” with Bob Mervak) and vocalist in the streaming ceremony, the show’s third year as an online-only event.

How Global Warming Is Affecting Airlines

 

Airlines have canceled more than 3,300 U.S. flights this weekend and delayed thousands more, citing weather in Florida and other issues.

FlightAware, a website that tracks flights, noted major disruptions at several Florida airports, including Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando, as well as Baltimore and other airports around the country. JetBlue, Southwest, Alaska Airlines, Frontier, Spirit and American Airlines were most affected, according to FlightAware. Local news reported storms in Florida on Saturday. Several airlines said Sunday that operations are returning to normal.

Connecting Black Studies with STEM Subjects

 

The University of California San Diego will be bringing in 13 new, tenure-track faculty members who will connect Black studies with STEM subjects. Diverse Education reports three hires have already been announced.

The first three hires by UCSD are neurobiologist Dr. Hiruy Meharena, computer scientist Dr. Imani N.S. Munyaka, and chemist Dr. Lisa Jones. UCSD’s DEI Chancellor, Dr. Becky Petit told Diverse Education this cluster of hires focuses on diversifying its Black faculty over the next two years. UCSD is also working on a cluster of Latinx talent.

What It Means To Homeowners If Lumber Keep Rising

 

After falling back sharply from a record high in May of last year, lumber prices began climbing again. They are now about 22% lower than that peak but still about three times their average pre-pandemic price. The National Association of Home Builders estimated the recent price jump added more than $18,600 to the price of a newly built home.

New York City Workers Fired Over Vaccine Mandate

 

The mandate, which was first announced by former Mayor Bill de Blasio ahead of an expected winter surge in COVID-19 cases, came to fruition last week amid a much less dire coronavirus situation in the city and the country at large. Nevertheless, nearly 3,000 workers were at risk of termination on Friday over the rule, but many submitted their proof of vaccination or chose to get the shot after being notified of their imminent termination.

HBCUs Funding Decreased

 

President Biden's $3.5 trillion spending bill was set to provide $45 billion to HBCUs and additional minority-serving institutions (MSIs). But due to Democratic infighting, the newest version of the bill only allocates $2 billion to HBCUs.

OZOMATLI Releases #NewMusic “Fellas” Ft #SpecialGuests J.J. Fad @ozomatli

 

Two-time Grammy award-winning band, OZOMATLI, are releasing new music today, “Fellas,” featuring special guests J.J. Fad (“Supersonic”) and Lisa Lisa of Cult Jam fame (“I Wonder If I Take You Home”, Can You Feel The Beat”, “Head to Toe”), iconic hip hop pioneers and R&B queen of the 80’s pop music scene. Freestyle fanatics can listen to the track, here.

Prayer Up For R. Kelly As Jury Deliberates

 

As the trial still continues for R. Kelly, members and writers of the Wrap-Up Magazine would like to send out its prayers to the singer has his life depend on a few votes. Here is a look at the key moments as jury deliberates.

The jury has retired in R. Kelly's sex trafficking trial in New York, after a month of testimony regarding the star's alleged sexual abuse of men, women and underage girls.

Jennifer Lopez Production Company Does Internal Promotions

 

Nuyorican Productions, the company led by Jennifer Lopez and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, has made a number of new hires and internal promotions, we’ve just learned.

Natalie Haack Flores joins as VP of Development having previously worked at Legendary while Kevin Sauer joins Nuyorican as Director of Development, having previously worked at STX.

#Stream #NewMusic by Guns N’ Roses ‘Absurd’

 

After unveiling it during a performance at Boston’s Fenway Park on Tuesday, Guns N’ Roses have released “Absurd,” their first official new song since their 2008 album “Chinese Democracy.”

Ryan Reynolds Talks Mariah Carey

 

Ryan Reynolds and Taika Watiti recently broke the Internet and the fourth wall with the promotional video “Deadpool and Korg React.” The parody featured both of the actors’ respective Marvel characters giving their two cents on the “Free Guy” trailer.

Coachella Music Festival Announces 2022 Return

After two years of rescheduling due to COVID, Coachella music festival announced it would return for Spring 2022.

One of the world's largest musical festivals, the event has been held every spring in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado desert since 1999. 

More Than $375,000 In Student Loan Debt Forgiven

The president of the historically Black university made the announcement during 2021 commencement exercises Saturday, noting the total amount of cleared debt will be more than $375,000.