<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/food" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Skittles</a> is urging fans to stop throwing candy at musicians, and the company has even taken out a full-page ad to spread the message.
The candy brand’s new campaign appears to be a direct response to an incident involving <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/harry-styles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Harry Styles</a>. Apparently, a concertgoer kept throwing Skittles at the “Watermelon Sugar” composer while he was onstage at a recent event. TikTok videos show Styles keeping his cool but shielding his eyes from the rainbow-colored candies flying toward him.
The official Skittles account addressed the matter first on Twitter, sharing on November 15, &#8220;Didn’t think I needed to say this: Please don’t throw Skittles.&#8221;
But that wasn’t all. A recent edition of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles-times" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles Times</a> featured a full-page ad intended to spread the message even further. 
“Protect the rainbow. Taste the rainbow. But please, don’t throw the rainbow,” the text said over a graphic of heart-shaped sunglasses with a green Skittle being thrown toward them. The bottom of the image included a public service announcement for fans. “PSA: Protect your eyes from Skittles (by eating them, not throwing them),&#8221; it said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
PSA: Protect your eyes from Skittles (by eating them, not throwing them) <a href="https://t.co/1qy1bOYeSt">pic.twitter.com/1qy1bOYeSt</a>
&mdash; SKITTLES (@Skittles) <a href="https://twitter.com/Skittles/status/1594048049042554887?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Styles’ bandmate Pauli the PSM held an Instagram Live session following the Skittles incident and told fans the musician was fine, but that they should stop throwing things at him. “But do me a favor, don’t throw no more Skittles on stage,” he said, per <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/harry-styles-eye-skittles-los-angeles-concert-watch-1235172074/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Billboard</a>. 
For some reason, Styles’ fans have a penchant for throwing food items at him while he’s performing. Over the summer, the “Night Changes” singer got pelted with a chicken nugget as he was singing.
&#8220;Who threw the chicken nugget?&#8221; he said, as the fans in the crowd chanted, &#8220;Eat it!&#8221;
Styles replied, &#8220;I don&#8217;t eat chicken, sorry. I don&#8217;t eat meat.&#8221;
The Skittles brand is owned by Mars, Incorporated, a multi-billion dollar, privately-owned confectionery company based in McLean, Virginia. Earlier this summer, the brand also faced backlash for refusing to remove an allegedly toxic ingredient from Skittles candies.
Per a lawsuit filed at the time, Mars had pledged to remove the colorant titanium dioxide (TiO2) from its ingredients list back in 2016 but had failed to do so. The food additive is banned in the European Union due to potentially harmful side effects. TiO2 is often found in paint, adhesives, plastics, and some roofing materials.
&nbsp;

2022 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival – Weekend 2 – Day 1

Skittles Takes Out Full Page Ad Urging Fans Not To Throw Candy After Harry Styles Incident

Food

Harry Styles

Los Angeles Times

Music

U.S.

Several leaked audio clips posted by an anonymous Reddit account have put three <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles">Los Angeles</a> City Council members and a top county labor official under fire over a conversation last October, where the individuals could be heard using offensive and racist language.
The conversation included Council President Nury Martinez with fellow Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera. The meeting was largely focused on redistricting the city, which happens once a decade.
During the conversation, Martinez remarked about Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón after his name was mentioned.
“F*** that guy,” Martinez said. “He’s with the blacks.”
Another part of the audio clip, which can be heard across social media platforms and in a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-10-09/city-council-leaked-audio-nury-martinez-kevin-de-leon-gil-cedillo">report</a> by The Los Angeles Times, exposes comments made by Martinez about Councilmember Mike Bonin, a white man, and his adopted black son.
While discussing Bonin, Martinez called his son “Parece changuito,” or “He’s like a monkey,” soon afterward. She later referred to Bonin as a “little bitch” and said he is raising his child like a “little white kid.”
The Los Angeles Times reports Councilmember de León compared Bonin’s handling of his child to Martinez carrying her Louis Vuitton handbag. He would later refer to Bonin as the council’s “fourth black member.”
“Mike Bonin won’t f***ing ever say peep about Latinos,” de León said. “He’ll never say a f***ing word about us.”
KTLA <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/l-a-city-councilmembers-apologize-for-offensive-remarks-heard-in-leaked-audio/">reports</a> Martinez released an apology statement.
“In a moment of intense frustration and anger, I let the situation get the best of me, and I hold myself accountable for these comments,” Martinez said. “For that, I am sorry.”
“The context of this conversation was concern over the redistricting process and concern about the potential negative impact it might have on communities of color,” she added. “My work speaks for itself. I’ve worked hard to lead this city through its most difficult time.”
De León released a statement following the report, according to KTLA.
“There were comments made in the context of this meeting that are wholly inappropriate; and I regret appearing to condone and even contribute to certain insensitive comments made about a colleague and his family in private,” de León said. “I’ve reached out to that colleague personally. On that day, I fell short of the expectations we set for our leaders — and I will hold myself to a higher standard.”
Cedillo told The Los Angeles Times that he does not “have a recollection of this conversation.”
A lawyer representing the L.A. County Federation of Labor sent a letter to The Los Angeles Times condemning the publication for highlighting the transcripts while accusing it of “condoning illegal conduct.”
Jeffrey Glasser, general counsel of The Los Angeles Times, defended the newspaper’s right to publish the material in a response letter to the lawyer.
“It is a fundamental principle in the United States that we do not prohibit or punish the receipt and publication of newsworthy information,” Glasser said.
Councilmember Bonin released a statement Sunday afternoon, saying he and his husband were “appalled, angry and absolutely disgusted” about the comments made about his son, according to KTLA.
“We love our son, a beautiful, joyful child, and our family is hurting today,” Bonin’s statement reads.”No child should ever be subjected to such racist, mean and dehumanizing comments, especially from a public official.”
“It hurts that one of our son’s earliest encounters with overt racism comes from some of the most powerful public officials in Los Angeles,” he added.
Bonin called on Martinez, de León, and Cedillo to resign from the City Council.

Los Angeles City Council has voted to end long-standing renter eviction protections due to COVID-19 hardship on Jan. 31, 2023.

‘F*** That Guy, He’s With The Blacks:’ Leaked Audio Throws L.A. City Officials Under Fire Over Racist Remarks

Leaked Audio Throws L.A. City Officials Under Fire Over Racist Remarks

Los Angeles

Los Angeles City Council

Racism

A Los Angeles Times columnist mocked politicians who have suggested a return to religious faith is a possible solution for gun violence.
LZ Granderson’s LA Times bio states that he “was named Journalist of the Year by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Assn. &#8230; His TED Talk on LGBTQ equality has more than 1.6 million views.”
Granderson began his <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-06-01/republicans-uvalde-shooting-religion">opinion column</a>, “A number of so-called religious conservatives like to explain away national tragedies — be they natural or man-made — through the lens of God’s wrath, or at least indirect punishment for ‘sins.’”
Noting some prominent Christian politicians, Granderson opined, “They clearly have a period in mind in which they believe God was happier with the direction of the country, but our history makes it impossible to pinpoint a date without looking racist. So they tend to talk in nostalgic Judeo-Christian generalities.”
He quoted Wisconsin GOP Senator Ron Johnson, who stated that the “solution is renewed faith.” Then Granderson contended “as if there’s an agreed-upon faith or showing of that faith that we all should agree to return to.”
“The adherents of this thinking say after any horror: We have to fight evil,” Granderson theorized, then shifted to an attack on America: “My question is how a nation that romanticizes, even monetizes, its own evil beginnings can even start to fight the kind of evil some of these politicos speak of.”
Granderson, who told <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/lz-granderson-living-straight-man-felt-drowning/story?id=48191037">ABC News</a> in 2017, “I don’t feel comfortable telling people what they should do with their lives,” accused Johnson and like-minded politicians of “pandering”:
<blockquote>The needle of our moral compass is susceptible to political spin. The kind of spin elected officials like Johnson deploy because it panders to our desire to see ourselves as good people. That’s much more pleasant for us than acknowledging we were never as holy as we like to tell ourselves.</blockquote>
Noting Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick argued after the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, “You just cannot change character without changing a heart, and you can’t do that without turning to God,” Granderson snapped, “I would ask Patrick: When exactly did a nation built on stolen land, kidnapping and enslavement turn away from God?”
He pointed out Fox News’ Rachel Campos-Duffy stated, “We took God out of schools and we wonder how this evil comes in.”
He concluded, “Many of us don’t wonder how this evil came in. We wonder why people like you won’t admit it’s been here since the beginning.”

A Night Of Pride With GLAAD And NFL

LA Times Columnist Mocks Politicians Calling For A Return To God

Guns

Religion

A Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Los Angeles Times has suggested that some people who refused to get vaccinated for COVID-19 and subsequently died of the disease got their “just desserts.”
In a column titled, “<a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-01-10/why-shouldnt-we-dance-on-the-graves-of-anti-vaxxers">Mocking anti-vaxxers’ COVID deaths is ghoulish, yes — but may be necessary</a>,” Michael Hiltzik, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1999, asked rhetorically, “How should we react to the deaths of the unvaccinated?”
He answered himself:
<blockquote>On the one hand, a hallmark of civilized thought is the sense that every life is precious. On the other, those who have deliberately flouted sober medical advice by refusing a vaccine known to reduce the risk of serious disease from the virus, including the risk to others, and end up in the hospital or the grave can be viewed as receiving their just deserts (sic).</blockquote>
Hiltzik noted, “It has become common online and in social media for vaccine refusers and anti-vaccine advocates to become the target of ridicule after they come down with COVID-19 and especially if they die from it,” then listed some venues that had done just that.
Hiltzik wrote that he differed from a colleague who lamented the vicious attacks on anti-vaxxers who had died, offering, “I have a slightly different take.” He agreed that the deaths of those who had “legitimate medical reasons” for remaining unvaccinated, had to overcome obstacles getting to a vaccination site, or had been “deceived by the misinformation and disinformation spread by the anti-vaccine crowd such as anchors on Fox News,” were “truly lamentable.”
“Some of those who object to the tone of the commentary are merely voicing a variation on the ‘civility’ argument that was commonly raised against critics of the intemperate and inhumane policies of the Trump administration,” Hiltzik contended, adding, “As I observed then, ‘pleas for civility’ are a fraud. Their goal is to blunt and enfeeble criticism and distract from their truthfulness. Typically, they’re the work of hypocrites.”
“So what, then, is the proper response to the deaths of anti-vaxxers or other determined foes of public health?” he continued. “First, we must acknowledge that the enemies needing to be stamped out are the misinformation, lies and stupidity being injected into the fight against COVID.  Second, we must view every one of these deaths as a teachable moment. They demonstrate in the most vivid way imaginable the folly of vaccine refusal and of flouting responsible public health measures. They underscore the dire consequences of turning public health into a partisan football.”
He concluded:
<blockquote>It may be not a little ghoulish to celebrate or exult in the deaths of vaccine opponents. And it may be proper to express sympathy and solicitude to those they leave behind. But mockery is not necessarily the wrong reaction to those who publicly mocked anti-COVID measures and encouraged others to follow suit, before they perished of the disease the dangers of which they belittled. Nor is it wrong to deny them our sympathy and solicitude, or to make sure it’s known when their deaths are marked that they had stood fast against measures that might have protected themselves and others from the fate they succumbed to. There may be no other way to make sure that the lessons of these teachable moments are heard.</blockquote>

Forensic Doctors Are Struggling to Handle Influx of Bodies In Thailand

Pulitzer-Winning Columnist: Some Unvaxxed Who Died Got Their ‘Just Desserts’

Unvaccinated

On Tuesday, an opinion columnist for The Los Angeles Times who seems to have hostility toward guns and a contempt for Trump voters offered a novel suggestion for people wishing to buy or rent a place to live: make real-estate listings delineate the “prevalence of gun-ownership in a 50-mile radius” around the listed home.
Virginia Heffernan tweeted, “Real-estate listings should include prevalence of gun-ownership in a 50-mile radius and number of annual mass shootings in the region. Time to change what a ‘bad neighborhood’ is.”
“[A]nd introduce a meaningful tax on guns and gun violence,” she continued. “No one should say ‘this is a great place to raise kids’ about neighborhoods where even one person has an assault rifle.”
“The metric would be simple,” she posited. “Example: Staten Island (pop 474k) has 4x the gun ownership per capita of the Bronx (pop 1.4m). If that reads as safer or more frer (sic) to some people, Staten Island is for them. If not, maybe time for the Bronx. Take race, class, politics out of the real-estate equation.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
…and introduce a meaningful tax on guns and gun violence. 
No one should say “this is a great place to raise kids” about neighborhoods where even one person has an assault rifle.
&mdash; Virginia Heffernan (@page88) <a href="https://twitter.com/page88/status/1402241605420163076?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
If that reads as safer or more frer to some people, Staten Island is for them. If not, maybe time for the Bronx. Take race, class, politics out of the real-estate equation.
&mdash; Virginia Heffernan (@page88) <a href="https://twitter.com/page88/status/1402248703780569095?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
When someone brought up the infamous interactive map of local gun owners published by the Journal-News of the Westchester and Rockland counties of New York in 2012, Heffernan replied, “Not doxing. Just available data on gun ownership per capita.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Not doxing. Just available data on gun ownership per capita.
&mdash; Virginia Heffernan (@page88) <a href="https://twitter.com/page88/status/1402298780591009795?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Heffernan, who has referred to former President Trump as “brain-addled,” wrote in July 2020:
<blockquote>The pandemic kicked off a rush on, of all things, guns. In locked-down states, gun stores were declared as essential as groceries. Widespread unemployment and then the George Floyd protests may have added to the rush to arms. In any case, according to the Wall Street Journal, unprecedented numbers of Americans purchased guns between March and June, and the FBI processed a record number of firearm background checks: 7.8 million. It’s not clear what guns might do against microbes or joblessness, but maybe it’s axiomatic in America: When afraid, buy guns.</blockquote>
In February, Heffernan <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-supporters-plow-neighbors-driveway-for-her-she-likens-them-to-nazis-terrorists-megyn-kelly-tells-neighbors-what-to-do">noted</a> that her Trump-loving neighbors had done her a favor and “plowed our driveway without being asked and did a great job,” but then likened them to Nazi supporters and Hezbollah terrorists, snapping, “My neighbors supported a man who showed near-murderous contempt for the majority of Americans. They kept him in business with their support,” before pontificating, “I also can’t give my neighbors absolution; it’s not mine to give.”
Former Fox News anchor and current podcast host Megyn Kelly fired back with some advice for the kindly neighbors: “This woman compares her Trump-supporting neighbors, who plowed her driveway, to Nazi sympathizers &amp; Hezbollah &amp; wrestles w/whether to show them any kindness since she ‘can’t give them absolution.’ Note to Virginia Heffernen’s neighbors: don’t plow again.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This woman compares her Trump-supporting neighbors, who plowed her driveway, to Nazi sympathizers &amp; Hezbollah &amp; wrestles w/whether to show them any kindness since she “can’t give them absolution.” Note to Virginia Heffernen’s neighbors: don’t plow again. <a href="https://t.co/ZZCnPfI46S">https://t.co/ZZCnPfI46S</a>
&mdash; Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/megynkelly/status/1358506645974835205?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Heffernan began her diatribe by explaining, “Oh, heck no. The Trumpites next door to our pandemic getaway, who seem as devoted to the ex-president as you can get without being Q fans, just plowed our driveway without being asked and did a great job. How am I going to resist demands for unity in the face of this act of aggressive niceness?”
She even acknowledged this was no ordinary snow-shoveling: “Of course, on some level, I realize I owe them thanks — and, man, it really looks like the guy back-dragged the driveway like a pro — but how much thanks?”
After quoting actor Eddie Murphy from an old “Saturday Night Live” saying, “Slowly I began to realize that when white people are alone, they give things to each other. For free,” Heffernan segued to likening the neighbors to the terrorist group Hezbollah: “Hezbollah, the Shiite Islamist political party in Lebanon, also gives things away for free.  … like other mafias, Hezbollah tends to its own — the Shiite sick, elderly and hungry. They offer protection and hospitality and win loyalty that way. And they also demand devotion to their brutal, us-versus-them anti-Sunni cause. Some of us are family, the favors say; the rest are infidels.”

Virginia Heffernan

L.A. Times Columnist Who Likened Trump Supporters To Terrorists Wants Real Estate Listings To Show Gun Ownership In Area

Gun Control

Real estate

Democrats have long touted California&#8217;s high-speed rail as an example of an alternative form of transportation, while reducing greenhouse gases and revitalizing the struggling Central Valley. As an added bonus, the state has repeatedly said the rail&#8217;s construction would bring decent construction jobs to the Golden State. But now it&#8217;s looking as though the state padded the rail&#8217;s jobs numbers.
According to a report from the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-05-06/california-bullet-train-is-not-jobs-creator-some-claim">Los Angeles Times</a>, banners in the San Joaquin Valley previously touted &#8220;5,000 workers and counting&#8221; near the rail&#8217;s construction site. The problem, however, is the state &#8220;has never had anywhere near 5,000 construction workers on the high-speed rail project at any one time,&#8221; the Times concluded.
While the state boasts 5,000 workers, it turns out the rail authority is counting the same employee multiple times.
&#8220;The boast of 5,000 jobs refers to the number of workers dispatched from union halls,&#8221; the newspaper stated. &#8220;Each time a worker is sent to a job site, whether for one day or hundreds of days, it counts as a job for the purpose of the banners.&#8221;
But this isn&#8217;t a new phenomenon. Rail authority Chief Executive Brian Kelly told the Times the count is &#8220;a valid measure of progress&#8221; because the agency has done it that way &#8220;for years.&#8221;
Even though the high-speed rail is supposed to have &#8220;good-paying jobs,&#8221; a majority of the money is going to consulting firms, not construction workers, the paper discovered.
<blockquote>An internal report, which was obtained by The Times, noted that the construction program has generated a total of 3.9 million hours of craft labor between 2015, when construction began, and the end of February. The average direct pay, health coverage, pension contributions and other benefits to union labor run about $66 per hour, based on interviews with union officials and on the master labor agreement for Southern California.
It means that hourly workers have received about $265 million of the $6.1 billion that has been spent on construction, representing just 4%. Of the total $8.1 billion spent on the project, the labor portion is even smaller, 3%. The $265 million is less than what the rail authority spends every three months.</blockquote>
On top of those inflated numbers, the agency currently sits at roughly 1,000 jobs, after recently laying off roughly 200 people earlier in the year. The promise, however, is that those numbers will be doubled to almost 2,000 jobs in the next few years, Kelly said.
This is only one of the major issues facing the infrastructure project. Not only does the state lack adequate land to build on, but it&#8217;s hemorrhaging money left and right. The largest major highway construction project in the state, the expansion of the 405 freeway in Southern California, cost $2.1 billion. The state spent roughly $1 million per day, with more than 1,000 workers on the site. The high-speed rail, in comparison, costs the state three-and-a-half times that amount per day and has roughly the same number of jobs.
The bullet train was doomed since the state started building it in 2012. Not only are there physical barriers for the state to overcome, but there are billions – potentially trillions – being poured into a project that could easily come to a halt, either through geographic challenges or financial constraints.
The views expressed in this piece are the author&#8217;s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

COVID-19 Pandemic – Boston

California’s High-Speed Rail Is A Boondoggle With Inflated Jobs Numbers, Regional Paper Says

California

Jobs

As coronavirus cases drop around the country, there is a new sense of optimism coming out of Los Angeles county. According to reporting by the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-20/covid-19-pandemic-herd-immunity-vaccinations-plummeting-cases">L.A. Times</a> on Saturday, &#8220;Many epidemiologists and other scientists, while still cautious, say they feel increasingly hopeful that the rest of 2021 will not replay the nightmare of last year.&#8221;
Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said, “I could be wrong, but I don’t think we’re going to see a big fourth surge. &#8230; I think we’ve seen the worst of it.”
Experts say that the coming of the spring season will also allow for people to be outside and make it less likely for the virus to spread.
12% of Americans have <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-20/covid-19-pandemic-herd-immunity-vaccinations-plummeting-cases">reportedly</a> received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, but Offit estimated that approximately 35% of the United States&#8217; population has been previously infected.
<div class="enhancement" data-align-center="">UC San Francisco epidemiologist Dr. George Rutherford said that one of the factors as to why cases are dropping so rapidly in California &#8220;is because of naturally acquired immunity, mostly in Southern California.&#8221; He <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-20/covid-19-pandemic-herd-immunity-vaccinations-plummeting-cases">reportedly</a> estimated that 50% of Los Angeles County residents have been infected with the virus at some point.</div>
<div>
“We’re really talking something starting to sound and look like herd immunity — although that true herd immunity is a ways off in the future,” Rutherford said.
</div>
Herd immunity is something that is achieved when a certain amount of people have immunity to a virus, making the virus unable to find new hosts and spread. This results in a community-wide level of protection.
According to the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-20/covid-19-pandemic-herd-immunity-vaccinations-plummeting-cases">L.A. Times,</a> scientists believe that the threshold for herd immunity could be 90% with this coronavirus. The U.S. has not met this yet, but experts say that each step toward it slows down the transmission of the virus.
The L.A. Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-20/covid-19-pandemic-herd-immunity-vaccinations-plummeting-cases">reports</a>:
<blockquote>The effects may be greatest in places that endured the worst COVID-19 surges, including Los Angeles. After a horrific autumn and winter wave that has killed more than 12,000 people, an estimated 33% to 55% of county residents have already been infected with the coronavirus, according to USC researchers.</blockquote>
New daily cases in L.A. County have been falling for five weeks, and previous infections have helped this occur, providing enough of an effect to blunt the spread of the virus, according to Dr. Roger Lewis, director of COVID-19 hospital demand modeling for the L.A. County Department of Health Services.
“If you had the exact same behavior and type of virus circulating that we have right now, but we were at the beginning of the pandemic and no one was immune yet &#8230; we’d be in the midst of an ongoing surge,” he said. “The fact that cases are going down right now, as opposed to going up, is because approximately a third of everybody in Los Angeles County is immune to COVID.”
The L.A. Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-20/covid-19-pandemic-herd-immunity-vaccinations-plummeting-cases">reporting</a> adds that new variants of the virus could undermine the positive projections, &#8220;either by proving more resistant to existing vaccines or by finding a way to spread more easily. Shifts in behavior could also render this good news moot, as it holds only if people stick to the precautions they have been taking thus far, experts say.&#8221;
L.A. County chief science officer Dr. Paul Simon made the point that 60% of Angelenos would remain susceptible even if more than a third have already been infected with the virus.
“I don’t want to provide a false sense of assurance here,” said Simon. &#8220;Unless they’ve had vaccination, they continue to be susceptible. I think we need to continue to be vigilant.”

BE57A9F5-83E7-4AF6-9315-472741CC1F7A_1_201_a

As L.A. Appears To Gain Some Herd Immunity, Experts Seem Optimistic

COVID

COVID-19 Vaccine

Los Angeles Times writer Virginia Heffernan is facing both criticism and questions in response to her column published late last week headlined, “What can you do about the Trumpites next door?”
In a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-02-05/trumpite-neighbor-unity-capitol-attack">column</a> published by The Times on Friday, Heffernan tells the story of how “staunch partisans of blue lives” plowed the driveway of her “pandemic getaway” after a recent snowstorm without being asked to do so.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Oh god the Trumpites next door, who are as rabid as you can get without being Q or believing Trump actually won, just PLOWED OUR DRIVEWAY WITHOUT BEING ASKED AND DID A GREAT JOB sos
&mdash; Virginia Heffernan (@page88) <a href="https://twitter.com/page88/status/1357325917538967555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Though Ms. Heffernan has posted images of her getaway online multiple times, The Times used a stock photo to accompany the story.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
What to do when the Trumpites next door sudden plow your driveway FOR FREE?!?
Here’s my torment: <a href="https://t.co/0cddBb8dfH">https://t.co/0cddBb8dfH</a>
&mdash; Virginia Heffernan (@page88) <a href="https://twitter.com/page88/status/1357689970354515969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2021</a></blockquote>
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In her column, Heffernan struggles to accept what she described as an “act of aggressive niceness” at face value because it came from people who backed Donald Trump. &#8220;Trying to decide what it means to take a gift from someone, how much debt it does or doesn&#8217;t land you in, how favorably inclined you have to be to the giver &amp; perhaps his worldview, is a legit inquiry,&#8221; Heffernan <a href="https://twitter.com/page88/status/1358903099239333895">tweeted</a> after publication.
Her comparison in the piece of her driveway-plowing neighbors to Nazi sympathizers who were unconcerned about atrocities affecting others during the Third Reich and modern-day terrorists who “offer protection and hospitality to win loyalty” has sparked widespread <a href="https://twitter.com/megynkelly/status/1358506645974835205">criticism</a> against Heffernan, particularly from conservatives.
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This woman compares her Trump-supporting neighbors, who plowed her driveway, to Nazi sympathizers &amp; Hezbollah &amp; wrestles w/whether to show them any kindness since she “can’t give them absolution.” Note to Virginia Heffernen’s neighbors: don’t plow again. <a href="https://t.co/ZZCnPfI46S">https://t.co/ZZCnPfI46S</a>
&mdash; Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/megynkelly/status/1358506645974835205?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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In a <a href="https://twitter.com/page88/status/1359536618961575937">series of tweets</a> posted on Wednesday, Heffernan brought attention to the ongoing blowback she has received. In one of the posts, Heffernan <a href="https://twitter.com/page88/status/1359546851997995011" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/page88/status/1359546851997995011&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613146286776000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF2ByWpVWeRKteeucXVHYm7AmJZYw">falsely suggested</a> Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro generated a &#8220;meme&#8221; that inflamed opinion against her. For the record, Shapiro never circulated a meme; instead, he <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1358793491908804608" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1358793491908804608&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613146286776000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG3CVIdao4cmJWMNnY0q8v-VrhUvQ">tweeted</a> about how Heffernan&#8217;s column is &#8220;emblematic&#8221; of the Left&#8217;s intolerance.
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Liberals, you can either side with woke Leftists with whom you share many political priorities, but abandon commitment to a culture of rights; or you can side with people with whom you disagree on many political priorities, making your job a bit tougher, but preserve rights.
&mdash; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1358793491908804608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2021</a></blockquote>
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While some have questioned the existence of her Trump-loving neighbors, a quick sift through Heffernan’s Twitter feed shows that she has been <a href="https://twitter.com/page88/status/1326921384212246528">referencing</a> the mysterious couple for months. She has created a social media narrative packed with alleged details about their personal lives that presumably would not have made it past the gatekeepers at the L.A. Times.
According to Heffernan’s Twitter posts, her main beef is with the wife of the good Samaritan she credits for plowing the snow. Heffernan describes the woman as a law enforcement officer.
“My neighbor is a white cop who flies Trump flags &amp; describes herself as ‘tired of Black Lives Matter,’” Heffernan tweeted in late December. “She has guns, ATVs &amp; CPS (Child Protective Services) issues with her teen daughter, whom she hit, but also has two cute toddlers &amp; a cute dog. When I run into her on the street, she is very ‘nice.’”
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My neighbor is a white cop who flies Trump flags &amp; describes herself as “tired of Black Lives Matter.” 
She has guns, ATVs &amp; CPS issues with her teen daughter, whom she hit, but also has two cute toddlers &amp; a cute dog. 
When I run into her on the street, she is very “nice.”
&mdash; Virginia Heffernan (@page88) <a href="https://twitter.com/page88/status/1343604067088687109?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The post was part of a longer thread Heffernan had written that began with, “Ideas for profiling a white-nationalist terrorist.”
“Words like ‘nice,’ ‘from a nice family’ &amp; ‘quiet’ add nothing, as they’re proxy words for white,” she wrote at the time.
Heffernan, 51, has previously <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/quarantine-anxiety-control-ends-bliss-begins">acknowledged</a> that both she and her partner have anxiety about law enforcement.
She <a href="https://twitter.com/page88/status/1358901326281900033">claims</a> her Trump-supporting neighbors are “known for their arsenal” and says she’s heard them shooting target practice.
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I’m surprised at the torque on this from you, WK. But I’ll assume good faith. The neighbors are cops who fly Trump flags &amp; banners &amp; openly disdain BLM. We know them. We hear their target practice; they’re known for their arsenal. We compare notes on mulch. We have mutual friends
&mdash; Virginia Heffernan (@page88) <a href="https://twitter.com/page88/status/1358901326281900033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Heffernan has also said her next-door neighbor’s persona reinforces negative stereotypes often associated with law enforcement while expressing concern for the officer’s husband.
“It’s the plowman’s wife who’s the cop,” Heffernan recently <a href="https://twitter.com/page88/status/1357333258351042560">tweeted</a>. “She seems standard issue cop racist w/CPS issues, as she puts it, b/c she hit one of *his* kids &amp; they lost custody. He’s said to be apolitical, but flew flags &amp; banners. I worry he’s in an abusive situation but clearly I shd stay in my lane.”
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It&#39;s the plowman&#39;s wife who&#39;s the cop. She seems standard issue cop racist w/CPS issues, as she puts it, b/c she hit one of *his* kids &amp; they lost custody. He&#39;s said to be apolitical, but flew flags &amp; banners. I worry he&#39;s in an abusive situation but clearly I shd stay in my lane
&mdash; Virginia Heffernan (@page88) <a href="https://twitter.com/page88/status/1357333258351042560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Heffernan <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/quarantine-anxiety-control-ends-bliss-begins">said</a> she left New York City with her family last May as coronavirus was rapidly spreading across the region. She has not revealed her family’s current location, <a href="https://twitter.com/page88/status/1358905221674651652">claiming</a> she “went far to give” the Trump-supporting “pandemic neighbors” she wrote about “anonymity.”
Still, Heffernan’s one-sided account has left many readers suspicious and curious to hear from the unknown Trump enthusiasts.
FOX News host Greg Gutfeld recently discussed Heffernan’s column on “The Five,” where he <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/gutfeld-author-pro-trump-neighbors-shoveled-snow">pondered</a> the veracity of her account:
<blockquote>Really, what writer takes that chance, to attack a next-door neighbor — knowing they’re vile Trump supporters? And knowing they could find out!
The L.A. Times should&#8217;ve sent someone to her pandemic getaway to see if the driveway was cleared — and to get the neighbor’s side of the story. So it’s not just some rant that exudes superiority over a fantasy enemy.  
The editors should give this snow plower a chance to respond, or admit they blew it — and let a tall tale get by them because they wanted it to be true.
So, in sum: a person who makes up this story is bad. But if the story is true, it kinda makes her worse. Either way, hand her the shovel and let her dig out of this — on her own.</blockquote>
Ms. Heffernan did not respond to an inquiry from The Daily Wire seeking more information.

L.A. Times Columnist Faces Blowback After Posting Claims About ‘Trumpites Next Door’

Ben Shapiro

Donald Trump

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) slammed the Los Angeles Times on Monday morning after the newspaper ran a hit piece attacking him for attending his son&#8217;s wedding in California during the pandemic, a wedding where McCarthy says plenty of precautions were taken.
&#8220;Early in the morning on Dec. 5, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy mockingly alluded on Facebook to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s widely criticized attendance at a party the month before at the exclusive French Laundry restaurant, a maskless gathering that drew accusations of hypocrisy and elitism,&#8221; the Los Angeles Times reported. &#8220;But hours after publishing his post, McCarthy attended his own maskless gathering — a wedding for his son, Connor, who got married that afternoon at a venue in San Luis Obispo County, The Times has learned. The event appeared to flout longstanding state COVID-19 rules that prohibit wedding receptions and require that masks be worn during wedding ceremonies.&#8221;
The Los Angeles Times&#8217; story comes after McCarthy posted a video of the wedding several days ago on his Instagram account.
&#8220;My son married the love of his life in December—and though the wedding was small, the love we have for them could not be bigger,&#8221; McCarthy wrote. &#8220;❤️ I’m a very proud dad!&#8221;
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McCarthy responded to the Los Angeles Times&#8217; hit piece with a lengthy statement slamming the newspaper for its coverage of the wedding and noting the numerous precautions that his family took to make the event as safe.
&#8220;Dec. 5th, 2020 was originally going to be a day our son married the love of his life before 300 or so family and friends. And, as anyone who has been through the trimming of the list knows, it was hard to get to that number,&#8221; McCarthy began. &#8220;Unfortunately, the pandemic caused the day to be shared only with parents, grandparents, and sisters. No uncles, no aunts, no cousins, and no friends. Making the decision to go forward with only this small group of family was a decision made by the bride and groom. They love their grandparents and wanted them above all others to be there to witness their ceremony. We are thankful for the venue and everyone who helped make this special day happen safely.&#8221;
&#8220;As a proud father and father-in-law, I wanted to share their special day with everyone who was not there. As soon as the wedding video was done, I did just that. I even thought it might be a nice respite to the typically toxic content that floods our social media,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;The LA Times decided sleuthing micro-weddings (commonly 20 or less invited guests and promoted by the LA Times themselves in November &#8211; what an irony) of private citizens was an opportunity to try to disparage a Republican. This gets pretty close to the bottom of the barrel for most &#8216;news&#8217; organizations. But then again, the LA Times thinks shoveling your neighbor’s driveway is a forbidden activity.&#8221;
McCarthy&#8217;s remark about &#8220;the LA Times thinks shoveling your neighbor’s driveway is a forbidden activity&#8221; is a reference to an op-ed that the newspaper published a few days ago that <a href="https://jonathanturley.org/2021/02/08/thank-you-for-shoveling-my-driveway-you-nazi-la-times-runs-bizarre-column-revealing-liberal-angst-and-anger/">essentially demonized</a> Trump supporters who had shoveled their neighbor&#8217;s driveway.
&#8220;As everyone knows, navigating our lives during this time is challenging. Events that were tedious to plan to begin with, have become even more so. But I’ve always fought for people &#8212; not the government &#8212; to make the decisions that are right for them and their loved ones. Taking personal measures to protect yourself and your family are far more effective than any government mandate,&#8221; McCarthy said. &#8220;The arbitrary lockdown orders have been devastating to families, small businesses, and communities. What’s worse is that Democrat politicians promulgating or advocating for lockdown policies have often ignored these very mandates they are imposing on everyone else.&#8221;
&#8220;For months, I have joined my constituents in calling to end the dangerous and arbitrary lockdown orders from Sacramento. It was fortunate their wedding was on December 5th, one day before the state’s most recent aggressive lockdown was set to begin with no rules coming forward,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;After returning to Bakersfield from Washington I worked in the district and then drove to San Luis Obispo. All expenses related to the wedding were paid for personally, and not by any campaign committees.&#8221;
&#8220;We took every precaution to ensure a safe celebration — starting with just 13 family members. We spent the majority of the time outside with the dinner following the ceremony in an almost completely open area. We wore masks indoors that day, except in those instances where some had to let makeup dry or when we were eating. We were respectful of the event staff and each other &#8211; on the day of the event and the lead-up as well,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Did our families get close to one another? Of course. Did we feel safe? Of course. Would I celebrate this beautiful day on December 5, 2020 again. You better believe it.&#8221;
&#8220;The wedding of our first child is something Judy and I have only been able to dream about for years, and I am blessed that my son found the love of his life and we celebrated the day safely together,&#8221; the statement concluded. &#8220;This isn’t the first time the LA Times has targeted my family and it likely won’t be the last. But I won’t let the LA Times intimidate me, my family, or any Californian who works hard and lives their life as they think is best. Unfortunately, the media we are supposed to trust continue to discredit themselves by obsessing over things like this. And, I might add, they usually obsess based on your party registration.&#8221;

Kevin McCarthy

Kevin McCarthy Shreds The Los Angeles Times Over Hit Piece Attacking Him For Attending Son’s Wedding With Family

As California officials warn about an impending wave of COVID-19 infections, a shuttered hospital in Los Angeles that briefly reopened in the spring to help treat an expected surge of cases now appears to be the site of a major Hollywood production.
The parking lot of the former St. Vincent Medical Center is currently filled with trailers typically used by movie studios and television production companies for on-location shoots. A truck from a company called Cinelease, which <a href="https://cinelease.com/">describes</a> itself as “a market leader in lighting and grip equipment rentals,” sits nearby. Tents cover outdoor dining areas and a line of cooks, who are busy preparing food.
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There’s filming happening at St. Vincent Hospital AKA the abandoned hospital that was reopened for 39 days as Los Angeles Surge Hospital. Dr. Anand Annamalai called LASH “a clinically led socialistic system.”
Pictures via @BlueShell_Party <a href="https://t.co/SEOPR72go4">pic.twitter.com/SEOPR72go4</a>
&mdash; Brittani Nichols (@BisHilarious) <a href="https://twitter.com/BisHilarious/status/1336067884640915456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2020</a></blockquote>
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What could be interpreted as a makeshift crew parking sign pointing to an indoor lot reads “TRIAGE,” a common word around hospitals but also the name of a pilot greenlit by ABC executives earlier this year.
After a shortage of intensive-care unit beds <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-04/state-covid-19-cases-and-hospitalizations-soar-as-shutdown-nears">triggered</a> a regional stay-at-home order throughout Southern California and beyond, public health authorities have been <a href="https://deadline.com/2020/12/california-coronavirus-covid-19-infections-skyrocket-experts-say-thanksgiving-surge-hit-christmas-spike-likely-on-top-of-that-1234651673/">warning</a> of a wave of new infections from Thanksgiving gatherings that is about to hit.
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a billionaire who owns The Los Angeles Times, purchased the former 366-bed hospital out of bankruptcy earlier this year for $135 million. After a federal judge approved the sale on April 10, The Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-10/st-vincent-medical-center-coronavirus-patrick-soon-shiong-bankruptcy-judge">reported</a> that its owner “plans to create a coronavirus research facility on the campus” <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-17/la-surge-hospital-opens-westlake-coronavirus-covid-19-st-vincent">that would</a> “attract doctors and experts on the virus” and “relieve pressure on other hospitals.”
The bankruptcy judge conveyed a sense of urgency for the parties to complete the transaction. Judge Ernest M. Robles <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-10/st-vincent-medical-center-coronavirus-patrick-soon-shiong-bankruptcy-judge">wrote</a>, “there is a risk that the purchaser will walk away if the sale does not close promptly, since the purpose of the sale – establishing a research center to address the COVID-19 pandemic – would be defeated absent a prompt closing.”
As the L.A. Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-17/la-surge-hospital-opens-westlake-coronavirus-covid-19-st-vincent">reported</a> at the time:
<blockquote>Before Soon-Shiong purchased the hospital, the state announced in March that it would lease the empty hospital. The state is paying $16 million for a six-month lease, an agreement that’s now been transferred to Soon-Shiong.
The state is also paying healthcare companies Kaiser Permanente and Dignity Health a monthly management fee of $500,000 each to oversee the hospital.
The state will also pay for equipment and hospital staff. The total cost will depend on the number and acuity of patients treated, said Rodger Butler, a spokesman with the California Health and Human Services Agency.</blockquote>
The temporary state-funded hospital opened on the St. Vincent complex on April 13, three days after the bankruptcy judge approved the property&#8217;s sale to Soon-Shiong.
State officials said the pop-up facility was needed to secure additional beds to treat COVID-19 patients. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom had <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/23/gov-newsom-california-will-need-an-additional-50000-hospital-beds-to-respond-to-coronavirus.html">said</a> California would need 50,000 more beds to respond to what was to come. Called the Los Angeles Surge Hospital (LASH), it only admitted coronavirus patients who met certain criteria.
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So <a href="https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GavinNewsom</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/MayorOfLA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MayorOfLA</a> is that Mercy medical ship coming back? What about that backup hospital in the L.A.? St Vincent Medical Center? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a>
&mdash; Mia Alanis (@MiaAlanisPR) <a href="https://twitter.com/MiaAlanisPR/status/1336713197101875203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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However, state officials closed LASH after just 39 days in operation and only treating 64 patients. Nine of them died.
Area hospitals were not overwhelmed, and the expected wave of sick people did not materialize. LASH <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-19/la-surge-hospital-coronavirus-covid-19-closing-end-of-june">never</a> had more than 25 patients at a time and only grew to 63 beds, far short of its <a href="https://www.dignityhealth.org/about-us/press-center/press-releases/state-of-california-county-of-los-angeles-partner-with-dignity-health-kaiser-permanente-to-open-los-angeles-surgehospital">projected</a> capacity of 266.
As The Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-07-06/la-surge-hospital-coronavirus-pandemic-st-vincent">reported</a>, “In time, the initial COVID-19 surge in Los Angeles County became more manageable,” and:
<blockquote>Operating costs for the surge hospital through May 31, according to the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, were $21.5 million which covered medical treatments and physician salaries, as well as food services and the lease on the property.</blockquote>
Dr. Jamie Taylor, who worked at St. Vincent and LASH, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-07-06/la-surge-hospital-coronavirus-pandemic-st-vincent">told</a> The Times in July that she did not expect another surge hospital to open on the property.
The lease with the state reportedly <a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/jll-to-lease-reposition-los-angeles-medical-campus/">expired</a> on September 30.
The L.A. City Council <a href="https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2020/20-1222_CAF_10-20-2020.pdf">voted</a> unanimously in October to initiate discussions with Dr. Soon-Shiong or his foundation about establishing a partnership to provide medical and mental health services to homeless people, older adults, and low-income residents in need of acute care.
Last month, it was <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2020/11/24/st-vincents-medical-center-seeking-tenants.html?ana=RSS&amp;s=article_search&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bizj_losangeles+%28Los+Angeles+Business+from+bizjournals%29&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=feedburner">announced</a> that Dr. Soon-Shiong hired a brokerage firm to lease and reposition the 674,000 square-foot, five-building medical complex.
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<a href="https://twitter.com/thelapod?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@thelapod</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/safrazie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@safrazie</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hayesdavenport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@hayesdavenport</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/awalkerinLA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@awalkerinLA</a> if you&#39;re wondering why the city isn&#39;t setting up St Vincent&#39;s Hospital for the covid increase, it&#39;s cus (once again) city is prioritizing filming.
Supposedly a pilot. Def shooting inside(saw crew exiting entrance) <a href="https://t.co/Hx5cKg8eGs">pic.twitter.com/Hx5cKg8eGs</a>
&mdash; Blue Shell Party (@BlueShell_Party) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueShell_Party/status/1336034887891992577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2020</a></blockquote>
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“The St. Vincent’s Medical Center campus is one of Los Angeles’ premier properties that will help boost the region’s economy and strengthen its position in the medical and life science industries,” <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2020/11/24/st-vincents-medical-center-seeking-tenants.html?ana=RSS&amp;s=article_search&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bizj_losangeles+%28Los+Angeles+Business+from+bizjournals%29&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=feedburner">said</a> JLL Executive Vice President Chris Isola. “The 7.5-acre campus presents a rare opportunity for a company to position itself as a market leader and attract highly skilled professionals in a competitive workforce environment.”

StVincent

A Los Angeles ‘Surge Hospital’ Now Appears To Be Site Of Full-Scale Hollywood Production

The self-proclaimed &#8220;trained Marxist&#8221; co-founder of Black Lives Matter (BLM) signed a deal with Warner Bros. Television Group last week, which intends to elevate black voices on television and promulgate the agenda of her organization.
Patrisse Cullors, who co-founded BLM in 2013 with community organizers Alicia Garza and Opal Tomet, inked the multiyear agreement in what is her first deal with a Hollywood studio, according to the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2020-10-15/black-lives-matter-patrisse-cullors-warner-bros-production-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Los Angeles Times</a>.
&#8220;Building on her political activism, the Los Angeles native plans to work with the studio to develop scripted dramas and comedies, docuseries and animated programming for children, young adults and families,&#8221; the Los Angeles Times reported.
“Black voices, especially Black voices who have been historically marginalized, are important and integral to today’s storytelling,” Cullors said in a Thursday statement. “Our perspective and amplification is necessary and vital to helping shape a new narrative for our families and communities.”
“As a longtime community organizer and social justice activist, I believe that my work behind the camera will be an extension of the work I’ve been doing for the last twenty years,” Cullors added. “I look forward to amplifying the talent and voices of other Black creatives through my work.”
Sports journalist Jason Whitlock blasted the TV deal, tweeting, &#8220;When are we going to wake up? This tells you everything you need to know.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
When are we going to wake up? This tells you everything you need to know. <a href="https://t.co/Endb48QDUI">https://t.co/Endb48QDUI</a>
&mdash; Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhitlockJason/status/1317859932117651457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Whitlock was responding to a tweet that said, “Somebody needs to hear this: Black liberation isn’t brought to you by AT&amp;T, sponsored by Wells Fargo, or managed by Roc Nation. And it certainly doesn’t come with a Warner Bros. Television deal, or a shoe from Nike. Y’all be safe out there.”
Cullors has acknowledged that the goals of her organization are explicitly political and rooted in Marxism.
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-black-lives-matter-founder-goal-is-to-remove-trump-reveals-marxist-ideology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Daily Wire reported</a>:
<blockquote>Black Lives Matter (BLM) founder Patrisse Cullors confirmed that one of the radical group’s “goals” is to remove President Donald Trump from the White House, stressing that voting him out in November is not good enough and that he should “resign” right now.
Moreover, in recently resurfaced video from 2015, Cullors made clear the organization’s ideological foundation, expressly stating that she and others in the movement are “trained Marxists.”
“Well, I’m hands down – Trump not only needs to not be in office in November but he should resign now,” Cullors <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/black-lives-matter-founder-marxist-trump?utm_content=bufferfc403&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=tw-theblaze">told</a> CNN “The Lead” host Jake Tapper, on Friday (see below). “Trump needs to be out of office. He is not fit for office. And so what we are going to push for is a move to get Trump out.”
“While we’re also going to continue to push and pressure vice president Joe Biden around his policies and relationship to policing and criminalization, that’s going to be important,” the BLM founder said. “But our goal is to get Trump out.”
In the resurfaced 2015 interview, Cullors was asked about a supposed “lack of ideological direction in Black Lives Matter.&#8221;
“We actually do have an ideological frame,” responded Cullors, “myself and Alicia, in particular, are trained organizers.”
“We are trained Marxists,” she added. “We are super versed on, sort of, ideological theories.”</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-black-lives-matter-founder-goal-is-to-remove-trump-reveals-marxist-ideology">WATCH: ‘Black Lives Matter’ Founder: ‘Goal’ Is To Remove Trump; Reveals ‘Marxist’ Ideology</a>

Patrisse Cullors

‘Trained Marxist’ BLM Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors Inks Warner Bros. TV Deal

Black Lives Matter

Marxism

<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/04/business/media/trump-coronavirus-coverage.html">According</a> to The New York Times’ Ben Smith, top reporters at three of the major newspapers in the nation, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times have been assigned to update President Donald Trump’s obituary.
Those reporters include Peter Baker at The New York Times, Marc Fisher at The Washington Post and Mark Z. Barabak at The Los Angeles Times, Smith claimed people from the various papers confirmed to him.
Smith noted of the “reporters arrayed at Walter Reed military hospital on Sunday” that “the White House press corps is working with admirable aggression and openness. We need to know who is in charge of the government, and to understand the outcome of President Trump’s long evasion of the coronavirus crisis as Americans begin to vote.”
Dr. Mark Fisher, a professor of neurology and political science at the University of California, Irvine, told Smith, “It will help if reporters are medically knowledgeable, and ask the right questions, e.g. blood pressure, heart rhythm, sleep disorders. The more specific and precise questions reporters ask, the better. A robust fund of knowledge by the reporter is a great advantage.”
The major newspapers preparing their obituaries for Trump’s possible death may likely be premature; on Saturday evening White House physician Sean Conley, D.O., <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-doctor-releases-new-statement-noting-changes-in-trump-health-status">released a statement</a> on President Trump’s health which indicated he had improved significantly since he had been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Conley&#8217;s statement on Trump&#8217;s health read, “President Trump continues to do well, having made substantial progress since diagnosis. This evening he completed his second dose of Remdesivir without complication. He remains fever-free and off supplemental oxygen with a saturation level between 96 and 98% all day.”
“He spent most of the afternoon conducting business, and has been up and moving about the medical suite without difficulty,” Conley continued. “While not yet out of the woods, the team remains cautiously optimistic. The plan for tomorrow is to continue observation in between doses of Remdesivir, closely monitoring his clinical status while fully supporting his conduct of presidential duties.”
On Sunday morning, Conley <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-greets-crowd-by-hospital-in-drive-by-after-hinting-at-upcoming-little-surprise-in-video">provided an update</a>, asserting that President Trump was walking around the presidential suite medical unit at Walter Reed by himself and adding that the president was “not complaining of shortness of breath or other significant respiratory symptoms.”
Dr. Brian Garibaldi said Trump was given Dexamethasone, a corticosteroid, along with another dose of Remdesivir.
Conley stated that Trump “wanted me to share how proud he is of the group, what an honor it is for him to be receiving his care here at Walter Reed, surrounded by such incredible talent, academic leaders, department chairs, internationally renowned researchers and clinicians. I’d like to reiterate how pleased we all are with the president’s recovery.”
On Sunday afternoon President Trump briefly left Walter Reed Medical Center as he rode in a Secret Service vehicle.

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