Prince has 20th top 10 album with ‘Welcome 2 America’

Even in death the Purple One is still hitting milestones.

Prince’s posthumous album “Welcome 2 America” landed at No. 4 on this week’s Billboard 200 chart, making this record the late singer’s 20th top 10 album. He’s the twelfth artist to reach the milestone. Prince recorded and shelved the album in 2010 but after his death in 2016, it was welcomed out of the archives. “Welcome 2 America” was released last month.

Welcome 2 America marks Prince’s first debut in the Billboard 200’s top 10 since 2014 and his highest entrance since 2009, when Lotus Flow3r/MPLSound/Elix3r debuted at its No. 2 peak.

MAJOR COMPANIES ARE RECRUITING MORE HBCU GRADS THAN EVER, ADMINISTRATORS SAY

Administrators and career service leaders at some of the nation's top historically Black colleges and universities, also known as HBCUs, say recruitment of their students and graduates by major corporations has dramatically increased since the police murder of George Floyd more than a year ago.

Public outrage spread globally after the widely viewed video of Floyd's death at the hands of former officers in Minneapolis circulated in May 2020. That motivated many Fortune 500 companies to do more to improve racial equity in the United States, including bolstering the ranks of Black Americans working in Corporate America.

Since then, HBCU leaders say they've been flooded with millions of dollars in donations from major companies as well as billionaire philanthropists like MacKenzie Scott, Michael Bloomberg and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The schools' leaders caution that it's too early to say with certainty how many more Black college graduates are actually getting hired by major companies, but so far they've seen a substantial rise in the number of internships and job interviews provided by major brands.

Read more: MAJOR COMPANIES ARE RECRUITING MORE HBCU GRADS THAN EVER, ADMINISTRATORS SAY

‘High On The Hog’ Renewed For Season 2 At Netflix

Netflix has renewed docuseries High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America for a second season.

This follows the four-part show’s launch in May.

Adapted from food historian Jessica B. Harris’ book, the series is part culinary show and part travelogue. It follows food writer Stephen Satterfield as he reveals an expansive, eclectic culinary history shaped by slavery, the Civil War, Juneteenth and the present day featuring Western African stews, soul food, barbecue and fine dining.

The series is directed and exec produced by Roger Ross Williams and exec produced by Fabienne Toback and Karis Jagger. It is a One Story Up Production, the company founded by Ross Williams and Geoff Martz.

[SOURCE: DEADLINE]

Sen. Cory Booker Statement on Senate Passage of Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill

U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement on Senate passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021:

“After months of bipartisan negotiations, I applaud the Senate for passing the most extensive infrastructure investment our country has seen in decades. This landmark legislation will help create millions of good-paying jobs throughout our country, strengthen our national security, and bolster our economy -- making us more economically competitive with other nations. 

“New Jersey and our country badly need federal investment to modernize our nation’s rail and transit systems, repair our crumbling roads and tunnels and deteriorating water systems, strengthen cyberinfrastructure, expand broadband access, and combat climate change. 

“The IIJA also includes key funding for Amtrak and transit that will support completion of the Gateway Program, funding for the construction and refurbishment of household decentralized wastewater systems that I’ve worked to advance for years, and a toll credit exchange pilot program, ferry operators provision, and wildlife crossing safety program based on my legislation.

“I am proud to have worked with my colleagues in passing this bipartisan legislation and look forward to following it up with a budget bill that will make significant and transformative investments to lower costs for American families, create additional American jobs, and move our country forward in addressing the climate crisis.”

Specifically, the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 will include the following:

 

• $66 billion for passenger and freight rail including $30 billion in dedicated funding for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor that will address the region’s backlog of repairs and improve service.

 

• $39.2 billion of new investments over baseline funding for a total of $89.9 billion to modernize transit.

 

• $111 billion in new investments in roads and bridges including a $40 billion dedicated program to rebuild our nation’s aging bridges, $16 billion for major projects, and a new program for reconnecting communities that have been historically divided by transportation infrastructure.  

 

• Authorizes $250 million over five years for a new decentralized wastewater systems grant program based on bipartisan legislation by Senators Booker and Capito for the construction and refurbishment of individual household decentralized wastewater systems for low-and moderate income individuals.

 

• A toll credit exchange pilot program, based on legislation by Senator Booker and Senator Shaheen. Senator Booker has long championed this program that will allow New Jersey to potentially sell their excess toll credits in order to increase investment in the state’s transportation infrastructure.

 

• $350 million over five years for a wildlife crossing safety program Senator Booker worked with Senator Barrasso to get over the finish line.

 

• $400 million over five years to create a new grant program that Senator Booker and Senator Whitehouse have championed to reduce emissions from seaports. 

 

• Provisions Senator Booker championed to ensure that certain privately-owned ferry boats and terminals that are deemed essential to a region’s transportation network are eligible for Surface Transportation Block Grant funding to secure that ferry operators in the state are able to provide critical transportation options for commuters. 

 

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is running for U.S. Senate

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is running for U.S. Senate.

Barnes, 34, joins a growing field of Democrats running for the seat currently held by Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson. Johnson hasn’t announced yet whether he will seek reelection in 2022.

The lieutenant governor was elected to his current office in 2018, alongside Gov. Tony Evers. He was the first Black lieutenant governor in Wisconsin and the second Black person elected to statewide office. Prior to serving as lieutenant governor, Barnes was a state Assembly lawmaker from 2013-2017. He made a failed bid for state Senate in 2016.

Barnes announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate in a tweet:

I’m Mandela Barnes and I’m running to be Wisconsin’s next Senator.

Hard-working families deserve every opportunity, but politicians like Senator Ron Johnson aren’t delivering. Instead of changing our dreams, we need to change the game. Join us.

Barnes said, if elected, he would make racial justice and inequality major focuses of his time in office.

Barnes also pledged to push for higher wages, environmental protections, voting protections, health care accessibility and high speed internet access.

[SOURCE: WPR]