CHICAGO — Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, said Sunday it will shut a US plant indefinitely due to a rash of coronavirus cases among employees and warned the country was moving “perilously close to the edge” in supplies for grocers.
Slaughterhouse shutdowns are disrupting the US food supply chain, crimping availability of meat at retail stores and leaving farmers without outlets for their livestock.
Smithfield extended the closure of its Sioux Falls, South Dakota, plant after initially saying it would idle temporarily for cleaning. The facility is one of the nation’s largest pork processing facilities, representing 4% to 5% of US pork production, according to the company.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said Saturday that 293 Smithfield employees had active cases of the new coronavirus, accounting for 55% of the state’s total. Noem and the mayor of Sioux Falls had recommended the company shut the plant, which has about 3,700 workers, for at least two weeks.
“It is impossible to keep our grocery stores stocked if our plants are not running,” Smithfield chief executive Ken Sullivan said in a statement Sunday. “These facility closures will also have severe, perhaps disastrous, repercussions for many in the supply chain, first and foremost our nation’s livestock farmers.”
Smithfield said it will resume operations in Sioux Falls after further direction from local, state and federal officials. The company will pay employees for the next two weeks, according to the statement.
The company has been running its plants to supply US consumers during the outbreak, Sullivan said.
“We have a stark choice as a nation: We are either going to produce food or not, even in the face of COVID-19,” he said.
Other major US meat and poultry processors, including Tyson Foods Inc., Cargill Inc. and JBS USA, have already idled plants in other states.
During a recent interview 50 Cent was asked about the status of Lloyd Banks. The G-Unit head honcho said he and Banks are not on speaking terms and he has no explanation as to why Blue Hefner won't communicate with him.
In this episode of People’s Party, Talib Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with British-born comedian and actor Gina Yashere. The interview spans from Gina's upbringing in London to being raised by Nigerian parents to her path emerging as a globally recognized comedian.
Gina, Kweli, and Jas discuss what it was like for her to grow up as a first generation Nigerian-Brit facing racism from every angle following her from her youth through later years as an elevator engineer. They speak on American's ignorance of world culture, the contrasts of US versus UK racism, Nigerian stereotypes, and the 'Nollywood' Nigerian film industry. Eddie Murphy's 'RAW' is also brought up for a debate on if we can still laugh at comedy considered taboo by today's standards.
As the conversation progresses they touch on UK and US black entertainer's accusations of stealing talent from on-another, UK racist media coverage of Meghan Markle, white people not understanding N-word rules, gauging her own racial wokeness in comedy, Trump silver-linings, The 'Mock Of The Week' show, and her path to coming out of the closet and owning her lesbian identity.
Finally Gina gets to talk about her hugely popular, ground-breaking sitcom 'Bob Hearts Abishola' on CBS. She speaks on originally being brought in by Chuck Lorre to be a consultant, but then becoming a co-star. Gina outlines her passion for a show, with a platform that would finally shine a light on her Nigerian heritage. In closing Gina talks about her long-time love of hip hop music. The whole interview is as as insightful as it is hilarious.
TIMESTAMPS:
2:11 -- Gina reflects on what it was like growing up Nigerian in an overwhelmingly white Great Britain. She speaks on her Nigerian heritage, and all the teasing she endured, mostly from other black Caribbean kids. She spent her youth attempting to hide her 'African-ness', with no success due to her mom's flaunting of their Nigerian traditions. She also tells about the immense amount of racism she encountered when she first entered the workplace as an engineer.
9:52 -- The trio discusses America's ignorance when it comes to world culture and the multiculturalism within other countries, less than half even owning a passport. They talk about the famous district of Notting Hill originally being a black Caribbean community until gentrification occurred. Gina also compares and contrasts the history of slavery in the US versus the UK.
16:10 -- Talib speaks on how legendary musician/human rights activist Fela Kuti inspired his love for Nigerian culture. He asks Gina to break down some of the Nigerian stereotypes, including all Nigerians being wealthy, as well as being connected to email scamming rings.
20:49 -- Gina illustrates the huge, but little known 'Nollywood' Nigerian film industry. She also talks about how she would be forced to prove her heritage to other Nigerians because she was never taught her native language. Gina also depicts a hilarious story of a response her mother gave to her teacher that recommended Gina pursue acting.
25:23 -- The trio discusses the evolution of comedy, and how what was funny years ago, would now be called out as racist, sexist and homophobic. 'The Benny Hill Show' and Eddie Murphy's 'RAW' stand up special are used as examples to debate the question of if we can still laugh when viewed from a historical lens.
34:05 -- Talib brings up black British comedian Lenny Henry's comment about England hemorrhaging black talent to America, and the flip-side of actor Samuel Jackson saying America is losing actors to England. He asks Gina for her take on the matter. She responds that black entertainers need to stop fighting over crumbs, and Jasmin also asks Gina how she would compare and contrast UK versus US television.
41:03 -- Gina speaks about how the British black community's early predictions of the hell that Meghan Markle was going to endure with the British press, with headlines like "Megan being "almost" straight outta Compton'. Talib mentions his twitter run-ins with Pierce Morgan, and all of his excuses as to why he could never be considered a racist.
48:30 -- The group discusses the N-word, and white people failure to comprehend why they shouldn't use it, as it's all about context with the oppressed flipping the script and taking the power out of a word that has been used by the oppressors to denigrate for hundreds of years. Gina also speaks on gauging racial sensitivities of her own comedy by observing how jokes fly among certain communities on the road.
56:17 -- Talib asks Gina about how the UK's black community generally felt about the Brexit situation. Gina gives her take, and explains the positives that she felt came out of Trump's election.
1:00:42 -- Talib asks Gina about the 'Mock of the Week' panel show, and quotes her from an interview: "In England, I'd still be the token black face on Mock the Week". Gina reminds us she was the only British comedian that appeared on Def Comedy Jam, and discusses her path of coming out of the closet, and owning her lesbian identity.
1:09:07 -- Gina speaks on her experience with the CBS show 'Bob Hearts Abishola.' Gina starts off talking about how she first met Chuck Lorre and how the series first came about. She was brought in to meet Chuck after he discovered her stand-up set online, and she was originally brought in as a consultant. After working and pitching on the show, Gina really felt like the show could be a platform for Nigerian culture, and she put her all into it.
1:23:21 -- Talib commends Chuck Lorre for putting stock into making a show like 'Bob Harts Abishola', giving Nigerian culture such a huge platform, pushing social norms, and controversial topics never seen on prime-time television.
1:30:16 -- Talib mentions Gina's playing of Lady Of Rage's 'Afro Puffs' on the stage entrance for her Netflix special, and Gina goes on to talk about her long-time love of hip hop music.
Longtime NFL quarterback Tarvaris Jackson died Sunday night in a car crash, according to NFL Network. He was 36 years old.
Jackson played 10 seasons in the NFL, including stints as the starter for the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. He spent five seasons with the Vikings, who drafted him in the second round out of Alabama State in 2006. He helped lead Minnesota to the NFC North title in 2008.
Jackson was Seattle’s starter in 2011, had a stint with the Buffalo Bills and then returned to Seattle to serve as Russell Wilson’s backup from 2013 to 2015.
A few years after retiring, Jackson began his coaching career. He first worked as a graduate assistant at Alabama State before landing the quarterbacks coach job at Tennessee State. He was entering his second season at TSU.
Philadelphia native and OBH Records artist, Lik Moss, releases an official music video for "Endless Pain" off of his project titled "Bear Season (The Warmup)."
Homicide Hartford, Connecticut rapper Cartier Chase drops off official visuals for his latest banger titled "No Shooters." The Young Chop and Tekashi69 diss is the lead single off of Cartier's forthcoming "Connecticut Connect" project.
J.Maurice has a new track out, and it’s a banger. It has heavy auto-tune on the hook, backed up by classic trap style beat. Oh yeah, the song has a clear and distinct message. He’s through doing favors. And we don’t blame him.
I’m sure we can all relate to the concept that J. Maurice is rapping about. The only difference is he’s really good about putting it into words, and even further more, a rhyme pattern.
Have you ever looked out for someone, But when you needed help they just turn the other cheek. What about people who only remember what you didn’t do for them, as opposed to what you did do for them? You know the type that’s always praying on your downfall. If this scenario sounds familiar to you, then make sure to give this track a listen.
New drone video shows a giant trench being dug at New York City's public cemetery on Hart Island to help handle an influx of unclaimed bodies due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As the death toll mounts in New York, the city's public cemetery has started receiving about the same amount of bodies per day that it used to bury there each week.
Normally, about 25 bodies a week are interred on the island, mostly for people whose families can't afford a funeral, or who go unclaimed by relatives. But recently, burial operations have increased from one day a week to five days a week, with around 24 burials each day, said Department of Correction spokesman Jason Kersten.
The medical examiner's office will only keep bodies for 14 days before they are sent to be buried in the city’s potter’s field on Hart Island in the Bronx.
Aerial images taken Thursday by The Associated Press captured workers digging graves on the island. About 40 caskets were lined up for burial on the island on Thursday, and two fresh trenches have been dug in recent days.
The island may also be used for temporary interments should deaths surge past the city's morgue capacity. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner can store about 800 to 900 bodies, while about 4,000 can be stored in refrigerated trucks dispatched to city hospitals.
Fresh off of the collaborative release of “A Time Called Forever” EP with leeandrewyoung, Barry MARZ spits beautifully crafted lyricism on his new single "We Were Gods," over a self-produced instrumental while imagery aiding the lyrics is shown behind him in the music video for it. Barry touches on many topics while staying true to the theme that in the beginning of time, we were seen and respected as Gods.
Directed By Momma Marzy.
Both "We Were Gods" and "A Time Called Forever" are available on all streaming platforms:
Da Cloth emcees M.A.V and Rigz cooked up a batch of audio heroin titled "Priority One" for your listening pleasure. Super producer Chup is on the boards.
Gilli Brando is gearing up to release a new EP titled "Godfather of the Bando" on April 22nd. Here's a taste of what to expect from the project in the form of this Cookin Soul-produced heater called "Cooking Souls."
Future is putting his alleged baby mama on blast -- claiming she's a nobody trying to be a somebody by profiting off his name, and their baby mama drama.
The rapper claims Eliza Seraphin continues to trash talk him with misleading info, while at the same time, using Future's name "to garner the attention of his fans for herself" ... this according to new docs, obtained by TMZ.
Future claims Eliza's plan all along "was to gain attention and direct traffic" to her online boutique store ... by publicly claiming he's the alleged father to her daughter. He also claims Eliza's profiting off his name, because she's now getting nightclub hosting gigs ... as if she were a celebrity.
In the docs, Future alleges she’s also “led a campaign of disparagement against" him to directly promote herself.
As we've reported, Eliza's filed a paternity case against the rapper, and he's sued her for defamation and invasion of privacy -- so there's no love lost between these two.
Eliza's trying to get Future's lawsuit tossed ... but Future's trying to keep it alive by insisting she's lying about him and invading his privacy just to gain clout.
During a 2014 speech, then-President Barack Obama warned about the need for the US to cast aside partisan differences to prepare for an upcoming pandemic.
Sonny Cheeba of Camp Lo talks to the interview king, Doggie Diamonds about how Jay-Z used to mimic his style and how "Feeling It" was originally a Camp Lo record.
Eminencee lives in the booth. After releasing five projects in 2019, the Houston emcee kicks off his 2020 campaign by dropping a new single titled "The Dark Side."
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