Latest news with #BlackCommunity
CNN
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Is Coca-Cola with cane sugar healthier?
Malcolm-Jamal Warner's impact on Black community Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known for his role as Cliff Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show,' has died at age 54 in a drowning accident in Costa Rica where he was on vacation with family, according to authorities. Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Department told CNN that Warner was swimming Sunday at Playa Grande de Cocles in Limon province when a current pulled him deeper into the ocean, where the Red Cross later declared him dead. CNN's Lisa Respers France reports.
CNN
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
‘The Cosby Show' star Malcolm-Jamal Warner dead at 54
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, an actor and artist who rose to fame as a child as Theodore Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show,' has died in a drowning accident in Costa Rica, where he was on vacation with his family, according to a source close to the actor. CNN reporter Lisa Respers France speaks about the impact Warner had on the Black community.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Black Voices Are Training Big Tech. But Who's Protecting Them?
Howard University and Google are partnering under the name Project Elevate Black Voices to release ... More data that can be used by artificial intelligence to better understand African American English. It was recently announced that Howard University and Google are partnering under the name Project Elevate Black Voices to release data that can be used by artificial intelligence to better understand African American English (AAE). A media release from Howard University explained that researchers traveled across the United States to capture different dialects used within the Black community, collecting 600 hours of vocal data across 32 states in different dialects, dictions and accents. The project's aim is to address the inherent bias baked into many artificial intelligence-driven tools we use to address difficulties interpreting and understanding Black users who have dialects and diction more common in the Black community. Howard University will own the dataset and licensing, making the data available to researchers and institutions at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and will allow Google to use the dataset to improve its products. In an Instagram post made by pocintech about the project, there were many who were leery of the partnership stating it wasn't a good idea, with some wondering how this partnership would benefit the Black community. It's understandable for some to be suspicious about this type of partnership. There is a long history of tech being extractive, exploitative and harmful to the Black community. The erasure of Black creators who have started trends and viral dances yet are the least protected on social media, racial bias in facial recognition software used for policing and surveillance, and technology that is more likely to flag Black creator's content as 'offensive,' are just a few examples. Though the backlash is warranted, we should also consider the different ways that a robust dataset containing different types of AAE can benefit Black workers and help create better technology. Many companies use tech tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams auto-captioning, AI notetakers, and meeting recording summaries. Having more data about AAE will help to improve these speech recognition tools, which can often misinterpret AAE. In some cases, a dataset like this may make employees less likely to codeswitch because they won't have to worry as much about whether their voice and speech patterns will be understood by workplace AI tools, making these tools more inclusive and accessible. Industries like healthcare, customer service and the legal sector, which may use speech-to-text tools for things like clinical documentation, customer sentiment analysis, and to transcribe legal documents could particularly benefit from Project Elevate Black Voices. Many companies use tech tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams auto-captioning, AI notetakers, and ... More meeting recording summaries. The criticism that can be seen online is not completely unwarranted. There are very real tensions around who will have access to the dataset in the future and some are worried that the data could be extracted and exploited to the detriment of the community that it was designed to benefit. The value of this type of rich data outside of improved speech recognition tools is a preservation and archive of Black American culture during a time when Black history is being actively erased. In the wrong hands though, this type of data could be used in nefarious ways, furthering the use of Black AI influencers and digital Blackface, training AI products without the compensation or credit (and in some cases the knowledge) of those whose data was used to train these products, and expanding the use of surveillance technology that disproportionately harms and targets Black people. According to Howard's media release about the partnership, 'The Howard African American English Dataset 1.0 will initially be made available exclusively to researchers and institutions within historically Black colleges and universities to ensure that the data is employed in ways that reflect the interests and needs of marginalized communities, specifically African American communities whose linguistic practices have often been excluded or misrepresented in computational systems.' It's understandable to question how this data could be used to further the harm that Black communities already face. While the initial intentions in collecting this data may be benevolent, it's imperative to understand how easy it is for data to be wielded for corrupt and capitalistic purposes. It is a great move that the data will be available to HBCU institutions, but a word of caution: Black-led, Black-founded and Black-owned organizations and institutions are not immune to harm and extraction—one could argue that within these systems, harm is more insidious and is sometimes more challenging to spot and combat. Organizations and institutions that are primarily Black or led by Black people can still engage in practices that are oppressive and harmful. Audre Lorde taught us that, 'the true focus of revolutionary change is never merely the oppressive situations we seek to escape, but that piece of the oppressor which is planted deep within us.' We must be careful that when we are trying to reclaim equity and repair broken tools that we do not recreate newer versions of the same harmful systems.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Experts pinpoint reason for huge surge in cases of bowel and colon cancer - and twelve other types
Rising obesity levels have led to a tripling of deaths from cancers linked to being overweight, American medics warn. Analysing data from 33,000 obesity related cancer deaths in the US between the late 90s and 2020 the experts found the number of fatalities had risen from 3.7 per million to 13.5 per million across the two decades. This included deaths from bowel and colon cancer, a form of the disease known to be mysteriously rising among young healthy adults under 50. The analysis also found certain parts of the population had been harder hit by rising cancer deaths than others. These included women, older adults, rural population and people from Black and Native American backgrounds. Obesity is known to increase the risk of 13 types of cancer, with being overweight the second biggest cause of the disease in Britain triggering one in 20 cases. In the US, cancers linked to obesity account for 40 per cent of all forms of the disease diagnosed per annum. Dr Faizan Ahmed, of Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Centre in New Jersey and lead researcher of the analysis, said the findings showed the importance of public measures to tackle obesity. 'This research underscores the need for targeted public health strategies such as early screening and improved access to care, especially in high-risk rural and underserved areas,' he said. The analysis also found the burden of obesity-related cancer deaths was higher in certain parts of the US. Regionally the Midwest had the highest rates while the Northeast had the lowest. By state level Vermont, Minnesota and Oklahoma had the highest rates of deaths, while Utah, Alabama and Virginia had the lowest. Obesity increases the risk of 13 cancers: oesophageal, breast, bowel, uterus, gallbladder, stomach, kidneys, liver, ovaries, pancreas, the thyroid and one type of brain and blood cancer respectively. Having extra fat on the body increases the risk of cancer in various ways. Too much body fat can cause levels of growth hormones to increase. This in turn encourages cells to divide more often, and the risk of mutations that could become cancer. Fat also causes inflammation in the body where it accumulates which also encourages cell division and increases the risk of cancer. Finally—for women—fat cells can produce more of the female sex hormone oestrogen after menopause. This can lead to increased cell division in the breasts and womb, increasing the risk of cancer developing. About one in four people in England are obese, roughly double the proportion in the 90s. The increase has been even starker in the US with 40 per cent now considered obese compared to about 12 per cent in the early 90s. While obesity is thought to be responsible for about 5 per cent of all cancers in the UK, this dramatically increases for certain types. For bowel cancer—which includes colon and rectal cancer—obesity or being overweight triggers 11 per cent of all cases of this disease. Men are especially at risk with research suggesting a man's risk of developing bowel cancer increases by 10 per cent for every 11lbs (5kg) he puts on in adulthood. The risk of colon cancer in men increases by 30 per cent for every five increase of their body mass index (BMI). For women the chances of developing colon cancer increases by 12 per cent for every five BMI they gain. Experts have noted a concerning and mysterious rise in rates of bowel cancer among young adults, defined in cancer terms as those under 50. A recent global study found rates of bowel cancer in under 50 year-olds are rising in 27 of 50 nations. England is averaging a 3.6 per cent rise in younger adults every year-one of the highest increases recorded. While the disease is known linked to obesity, experts have noted that the disease also seems to also be occurring in fit and healthy patients. Some experts believe the explanation must lie in environmental factors young people have been exposed to more than previous generations. While no 'smoking gun' has been found, there are multiple theories. These include modern chemicals in diets, microplastics, pollution, and one recent study even pinned the surge on exposure to E. coli in food. There are around 2,600 new bowel cancer cases in people aged 25-49 in Britain every year, and around 44,100 new cases among all ages. Around 44,000 cases of bowel cancer are diagnosed every year in the UK, with about 130,000 in the US. The disease kills almost 17,000 Britons each year, with the death toll rising to about 50,000 in America. Overall, just over half of bowel cancer patients are expected to be alive 10 years after their diagnosis. The health burden of obesity— which costs the UK economy billions —is one of the reasons why ministers are so keen to rollout revolutionary new weight loss jabs. Sold under the brands Mounjaro Wegovy, increasing access to these drugs is one of one the cornerstones of the 10-year-plan for the NHS. The analysis on US obesity-linked cancer deaths was presented at the ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in San Francisco and has not been fully published.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Carnival Cruise's new rules spark backlash: Black travelers ask if they're being targeted—company says no
The Carnival Cruise line addresses backlash amid new rules enforcement that some critics complain are targeting Black customers. Is Carnival Cruise, once synonymous with the word 'party,' toning it down? Recent cruisers seem to think so. The cruise liner is addressing the backlash it's receiving after announcing a new set of rules and regulations that many have accused of being anti-fun at best and anti-Black at worst. Among the notorious cruise line's new 'Have fun. Be Safe.' guidelines are bans on specifically non-electric handheld fans on dance floors, along with drinks, children under 18 in public areas after 1 a.m. unless accompanied by an adult or at a designated teen event, Bluetooth speakers, loud music, cannabis, smoking, and more. Meanwhile, recent cruisers with the cruise line have begun to complain on social media about what they claim is an unofficial ban on rap and hip-hop music. While it's true that a wide swath of the rules have always been firmly in place, the reaffirming of them at a time when more and more Black line dances requiring the 'clack, clack, clack' of a handheld fan take over dancefloors is interesting timing to say the least. In a statement to the Daily Dot, a Carnival spokesperson denied that the brand has any explicit bans on genres of music. 'Our DJs play a wide variety of music, including hip-hop,' they said. While speaking to Parade, Matt Lupoli, Senior Manager of Public Relations at Carnival Cruise Line, said, 'Unfortunately, certain media outlets have blown this matter out of proportion.' Carnival Cruise Line has developed a reputation not just as a party ship or budget-friendly cruise line but as a cruise line where unsavory shenanigans, including theft and fights, can sometimes go down. Black patrons aren't standing idle as the new rule enforcement gets underway. Many online have been calling out the brand and even going as far as canceling their upcoming trips with the cruise line. 'When people book Carnival, they know what they're booking,' said TikTok user @Kiarajaxn, who said she recently canceled a cruise she and her friends had planned a 30th birthday celebration. 'They know they are booking a 'turn up' cruise. Period. Everybody on there is looking to have a good time, party, and have fun.' More must-reads: DNC's Malcolm Kenyatta kicked off NewsNation by host who pushed him on Mamdani question Ms. Lauryn Hill and Essence set the record straight about her performance at Essence Fest 2025 Angel Reese debuts signature Reebok shoe on the cover of NBA 2K26 WNBA Edition
