Reality television star Kim Kardashian West, who successfully pushed President Donald Trump to grant a pardon for a drug offender earlier this year, returned to the White House on Wednesday for a meeting with senior aides as part of the administration’s efforts on criminal justice reform.

Kardashian, who may have felt right at home with the drama-infused atmosphere in the West Wing as it grapples with the fallout from Bob Woodward’s new book, participated in a listening session on clemency and prison reform with several staffers, including the president’s senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

“The discussion is mainly focused on ways to improve that process to ensure deserving cases receive a fair review,” according to Hogan Gidley, White House deputy press secretary.

Among the others in attendance were CNN commentator Van Jones, Shon Hopwood, a lawyer who served time in prison for bank robbery and Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society, who has been instrumental in steering Trump’s Supreme Court picks, including Brett Kavanaugh, whose confirmation hearings have begun on Capitol Hill.

But the headliner was Kardashian, who last visited the White House three months ago to press for a pardon for 63-year-old Alice Marie Johnson. At the time, the reality star, dressed in black, posed for an instantly iconic – and seemingly somber – photo with Trump in the Oval Office, though there were no plans for her to meet with the president on Wednesday.

One week after Kardashian’s visit, Trump granted Johnson clemency, freeing her from prison after a more than two-decade stint on drug charges.

“When I looked at Alice, I said we can’t just stop with one person. We have to change the laws,” Kardashian said in a statement released by #cut50, a group that looks to reduce incarceration time.

The pardon for Johnson was one of several instances where the president has used his constitutional power to pardon federal crimes. Trump in May pardoned conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza and suggested he was considering a commutation for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and a pardon for lifestyle guru Martha Stewart. He has not yet acted on either front.

“We are working to build support for prison reform, sentencing reform, and fair treatment of people coming home from prison,” said Van Jones. “When you have prominent people like Kim helping voiceless people behind bars – like Chris Young who she is advocating for today – that’s incredibly powerful.”

Kardashian gave an interview this week in which she said she would lobby for Young, who was charged in December 2010 for being involved in drug trafficking in Clarksville, Tennessee. He was later convicted and, due to mandatory minimum sentencing, was given life in prison without parole after being arrested for marijuana and cocaine possession.

 Kushner has added prison reform to his broad portfolio, though others in the administration – namely Attorney General Jeff Sessions – support the toughest possible sentences for drug and other convictions. The president’s son-in-law has had an interest in prison reform since his own father, Charles Kushner, was incarcerated for 14 months after being convicted of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering.

TMZ first reported Kardashian’s Wednesday visit to the White House.
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From: MeNeedIt

Kenyan artist Michael Soi is criticizing China’s relationship with Africa through his collection of paintings at Nairobi’s Circle Art Gallery that depict the interest that China is showing in Africa. The 74-piece collection underscores China’s heavy involvement in the continent by depicting Africa as a woman being lured by China.
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From: MeNeedIt

The technology sector provides many jobs for today’s innovators. But one scientist and teacher in Cameroon says there’s no reason why women should not be part of that technological growth. She’s making it her goal to prepare more young girls to enter the workforce. Arash Arabasadi reports.
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From: MeNeedIt

Mormon church founder Joseph Smith insisted on introducing polygamy in the early 1800s despite knowing the societal risks and getting pushback from other leaders and his first wife, recounts a new church history book unveiled Tuesday.

A nearly 600-page book that covers early church history from 1815-1846 doesn’t dwell on polygamy, but doesn’t skip over it either. That’s noteworthy and marks The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ latest attempt to be more transparent about sensitive issues of its past. 

Quentin L. Cook and Dale Renlund, high-ranking leaders with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said the parts about plural marriage provide the full story within the context of what was happening at that time in history.   

“There is discussion of how it began, how it was viewed by the individuals and its part of the history of the restored gospel,” said Renlund, a member of a top governing panel called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “It’s taken in that context without shying away from it. So, a person can get a clear view of what was going on and when and why.”

The book recounts founder Joseph Smith’s introduction of plural marriage after he received what he believed was a revelation from the Lord. The book details how his wife, Emma Smith, and many leaders recoiled and questioned the direction.

At one point, the faith’s polygamous practices led an excommunicated Mormon to publish an expose about the religion and give lectures titled, “The secret wife system at Nauvoo,” the new book says. Some Mormon leaders denied the allegation because polygamy was being practiced secretly and they were unaware.

Previous acknowledgments

The book’s recognition of polygamy — which the faith banned in 1890 and prohibits today — is the most recent example of the Utah-based faith acknowledging polygamous roots.

The faith published an online essay in 2014 that provided a detailed account of polygamous practices during the 1830s and 1840s in Kirtland, Ohio, and Nauvoo, Illinois. That essay acknowledged that while most of Smith’s wives were between 20 and 40 years old, he had one who was 14 years old.  

That young bride isn’t mentioned in the new book, but it does tell the story of his marriages to a pair of sisters who were older teens.

In 2015, the church included a small display about plural marriages when it opened its renovated history museum.

The book is a robust and honest version of early church history and while it doesn’t dwell on polygamy, it’s notable that it provides the history of plural marriages in a straightforward way, said Patrick Mason, a professor of religion at Claremont Graduate University in California who is the chair of Mormon Studies at the college.

Steven E. Snow, executive director of the church history department, said the book provides the whole story behind a difficult time and one that is not well understood.

“If people read this, they’ll understand we’ve been pretty forthright in our telling of the story,” Snow said.

Future books

The book is the first of four planned volumes that will retell the story of the faith. The first volume covers Joseph Smith’s “first vision” in which he said he received a visit from God and Jesus in 1820 in the woods of upstate New York that led to the foundation of the religion. It also tells the story of when Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were fatally shot by a mob in 1844.

The last multi-volume history of the faith was published in 1930 — when church membership was less than 1 million with most members in the American West. Today, the faith counts 16 million members with more than half outside the U.S. The book is available in 14 languages.

Snow said the book “draws on the power of narrative, but is not fiction,” with every scene and dialogue backed by historical research. 
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From: MeNeedIt

In 2010, Natalie Portman opened the Venice Film Festival as a tormented ballerina in “Black Swan,” a role that earned her an Oscar. She was back Tuesday with “Vox Lux,” as a brattish pop star with a troubled past.

That past plays out in the film’s early scenes, where Portman’s character, Celeste, played as a 14-year-old girl by Raffey Cassidy, has her life transformed by a school shooting that leaves her wounded and psychologically scarred.

A song Celeste plays at a televised memorial for the dead propels her to fame, condemning the sweet young girl to grow up into an infantilized pop princess, managed by Jude Law who veers between nurturing and sleazy.

Speaking ahead of its world premiere, Portman said “Vox Lux” was “a portrait and a reflection of our society and this sort of intersection of pop culture and violence and the spectacle that we equate between the two.”

Calling the regularity of school shootings in the United States “a sort of civil war,” she added: “The psychological impact of what that means for every kid going to school every day, every parent dropping their kids off every day … small acts of violence can create widespread psychological torment.”

Writer-director Brady Corbet, who won prizes in Venice in 2015 for his debut “The Childhood of a Leader,” said Portman’s character was “really not designed to be a monster at all.”

“She’s as much a victim of the era as she is a leader of the era … the film is very much about the fact that the 20th century was marked by the term ‘the banality of evil’ and the 21st century, I think, will be defined by the ‘pageantry of evil.’”

With songs composed by Australian singer-songwriter Sia, “Vox Lux” is one of 21 films vying for the Golden Lion, which will be awarded in Venice on Sept 8.
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From: MeNeedIt

Brazil’s National Museum in Rio de Janeiro, which suffered a massive fire late Sunday, boasted the largest archive of historical artifacts and documents in Latin America, some 20 million pieces from around the globe. Museum officials say it’s too soon to say what has been lost or spared.

Here is a look at some of the museum’s most notable pieces, according to its website:

‘Luzia’

Discovered during an excavation in 1975 outside of the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, the fossilized remains sat in storage for two decades. In the mid-1990s, tests by scientists determined it was the oldest fossil in the Americas. It was given the name “Luzia,” homage to “Lucy,” the famous 3.2-million-year-old remains found in Africa.

Ancient Egypt

Among the Egyptian relics is the mummy of Sha-Amun-In-Su, dating to 750 B.C. The mummy was in its original coffin, which was closed. It was given to Brazil’s emperor, Dom Pedro II, by Egyptian Viceroy Ismail Pasha during a visit to the Middle East. Egyptian authorities have expressed concern about the fate of the collection and the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities has told Brazilian authorities that it is ready to extend technical help for the restoration of artifacts.

Indigenous remains 

One of the museum’s most important expositions of indigenous peoples were three bodies mummified together, an adult and two children. It was originally found in the state of Minas Gerais. The collection also includes bows and arrows from different indigenous groups and explanations about studies conducted by the royal family on the Tupi and Guarani languages.

Meteorite

Called Bendego and weighing more than 5 tons, the meteorite is the largest ever found in Brazil. It was found in the state of Bahia in the 18th century. The meteorite, which sits in a main entrance, could be seen in the burned-out building.

Dinosaur 

One of the museum’s most popular displays was one of its biggest, a dinosaur called Maxakalisaurus tapai. Found in Minas Gerais in 1998, the excavation and reconstruction of the dinosaur took 10 years.
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From: MeNeedIt

While many people come to Hollywood looking for fame in front of the cameras, Iris Lee prefers to work behind the lens.

“I’m young, but I think I would really want to be a cinematographer in the future,” said Lee, who studied communications and film in college and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles several months ago. She is now getting hands-on experience at Disney through the Academy Gold program.

​Underrepresented communities

Lee was born in the United States, but her parents are from Taiwan, and convincing them of what she wants to do has taken some time.

“I think initially they had a stronger reaction than they did now,” Lee explained. “When they came here (U.S.) and had me, I don’t think they expected me to have a career in entertainment. I don’t think any first-generation children go into entertainment.”

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, through its Academy Gold internship program, is trying to create more opportunities for the children of immigrants and other young talent who are underrepresented in what the film industry calls “below-the-line” jobs in Hollywood. These are people who work with cameras, in lighting, production and post-production.

“The African American, the Latino, Asian American, women. We have a challenge in this industry of having women represented in some of our main labor categories,” said Edgar Aguirre, director of talent development and inclusion at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences.

In its second year, the 2018 program partnered with 26 film industry companies, including movie studios and content creators, to help undergraduate and graduate students succeed in the entertainment business. Interns had an opportunity to network and were paired with a mentor. In its inaugural year, 69 interns participated in the program. This year, the number of interns has grown to 107.

“Ultimately the work we’re doing here is building equity. These young men and women are going to come up this industry together. They’re going to build on each other’s work, they’re going to be hiring each other within the next couple of years,” Aguirre said.

​Underrepresented perspectives

Underrepresented communities will also tell stories from different perspectives, rarely seen on television or in the movies. Yemeni American Yousef Assabahi wants to present stories about the Middle East and specifically, Yemen.

“There are a lot of TV shows where Yemen comes up in the TV show, but it’s considered as the hub of these fanatics and radicals that they have no goal in life but to attack the West and that’s untrue,” said Assabahi, who just graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles film school.

Born in Yemen, he grew up traveling between the United States and his birthplace. He aspires to be a writer and director and tell stories about complex issues.

“I like to explore things as a writer and I want to understand why people behave the way they behave,” Assabahi said.

Academy Gold’s Aguirre said the goal of the program is to create a pipeline for underrepresented talent so there can be more diversity in Hollywood. About 50 percent of the interns from last year’s program were able to either find full-time jobs or other internships as a result of being in the program.
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From: MeNeedIt

The film industry organization that presents the Academy Awards is also developing young talent through a program called Academy Gold — an internship and mentoring program for students and young professionals from communities currently underrepresented in Hollywood. Some of the participants are either immigrants or children of immigrants who are trying to create an unorthodox career path for themselves. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee reports from Los Angeles.
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From: MeNeedIt

Scientists are using a new way to track animal species without having to capture them. Through a process called environmental DNA, scientists can now obtain the genetic trail animals leave behind, which could help to protect and save threatened species. VOA’s Deborah Block has more.
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From: MeNeedIt

Government authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo say 250 schools in North Kivu and Ituri provinces will open their doors to more than 82,500 children when the new school year begins Monday.

These areas are the epicenter of the latest Ebola epidemic in DRC. The Ebola virus is extremely contagious. It can spread quickly through direct contact with blood and other bodily fluids of infected people. 

UNICEF says it is scaling up operations in the region to promote prevention measures. It says school principals and teachers will receive training on Ebola prevention and protection and on how to educate children on good hygiene practices to avoid the spread of the virus.

Spokesman Christophe Boulierac said UNICEF and its partners had reached more than 2 million people with Ebola prevention messages since the start of the outbreak on August 1.

“An increasing number of communities are now aware about Ebola and … they know better how to prevent its transmission,” Boulierac said. “The active involvement of concerned communities is key to stopping the spread of the disease. So, we are working closely with them to promote handwashing and good hygiene practices.”

According to the latest World Health Organization estimates, there have been 116 cases of Ebola, including 77 deaths, in the DRC. UNICEF said children make up an unusually high proportion of people affected by the disease. It noted that 24 percent of confirmed cases were in people under age 24. 

Boulierac said more than 150 psychosocial workers had been trained to help comfort children infected with the disease in treatment centers. He said they also would support children who were discharged as free of Ebola but were at risk of stigmatization upon returning to their communities.
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From: MeNeedIt

Indonesia will bid to host the 2032 Olympics following the success of the Asian Games held in Jakarta and Palembang over the past two weeks, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said Saturday.

Jokowi made the announcement at a meeting in Bogor with the presidents of the International Olympic Committee and the Asian Olympic Committee.

“With the experience we have in organizing the 18th Asian Games, we are sure Indonesia can also host a bigger event,” Jokowi said in a statement after the meeting.

IOC President Thomas Bach welcomed the candidacy of Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation, saying that the Asian Games provided a “strong foundation” for the country’s 2032 bid.

“Because with this Asian Games, with this great success, Indonesia has shown that they have all the ingredients to hold the Olympics successfully,” Bach said.

About 12,000 athletes from 45 nations and territories as well as several thousand officials and journalists took part in the games that end Saturday. As host, Indonesia provided a spectacular opening ceremony and also exceeded its own expectations in winning 30 golds, placing fourth on the medal table.

Indonesia, projected to be among the world’s 10 biggest economies by 2030, used the games to shift perceptions, paving the way for a tilt at even bigger sports hosting baubles.

Tokyo is hosting the 2020 Olympics with Paris and Los Angeles already selected to host the following two Games in 2024 and 2028, respectively.

Massive problems with 2016 Olympics in Brazil, a developing country with endemic corruption, may count against Indonesia’s chances. It cost Brazil about $20 billion to host the Olympics, a bill that is likely to raise objections in Indonesia, where poverty remains widespread.
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From: MeNeedIt

California lawmakers have voted to make net neutrality state law, becoming the latest of several states to approve such measures.

The move by state legislators is a rejection of the Trump administration’s repeal of national net neutrality rules that did not allow internet service providers to discriminate in their handling of internet traffic.

Net neutrality was first put in place by the Obama administration in 2015. When it was repealed, it opened the door for internet service providers to block content, slow data transmission, and create “fast lanes” for consumers who pay premiums.

If California Governor Jerry Brown signs net neutrality into law, the state could possibly face a legal fight from the Federal Communications Commission, which has declared that states cannot pass their own net neutrality rules.

Analysts say other states are watching how California will handle the issue. If the home of Silicon Valley finalizes the new law, that could encourage other states to do the same or encourage national politicians to re-enact national protections.

Jonathan Spalter, president/CEO of the broadband industry group USTelecom, said in a statement that consumers want a “single, national approach to keeping our internet open,” instead of a “confusing patchwork of conflicting requirements.”
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From: MeNeedIt