Category: News

This article originally appeared on 02.07.15

Taryn looked perfectly healthy when her parents brought her home. She was growing — thriving, even.

Then one day, the baby made a strange sound. Her breathing became difficult. Her mom called 911 and started CPR.

Taryn died that night in the hospital. She had a heart defect, but no one had thought to check her heart before it stopped working.

Less than 50% of congenital heart defects are diagnosed before birth.

A baby who appears healthy might have a heart that is moments away from stopping.

Luckily, there is a simple, inexpensive, and non-invasive screening called pulse oximetry.

A pulse oximeter shines a red light through the baby’s toe, and reports the oxygen levels in the blood. Low levels are cause for further investigation. Practically all hospitals have pulse oximeters on hand.

In 2011, New Jersey became the first state to require pulse ox screening as part of the standard tests a newborn receives. As a result of this screening, over the following three years, 13 babies were diagnosed with a heart defect that could have been fatal if left undetected.

Since 2011, many states have added pulse ox to their newborn screening protocol. Here’s a handy map to see if yours is one of them. If you live in one of the seven states that doesn’t have a law requiring it, pulse ox should still be available to you in most hospitals. Ask your doctor.

If a law like this could save families from preventable heartbreak at minimal cost, it seems like common sense to me.

Feb. 7-14, 2015, is Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Week.

I don’t want you to freak anyone out, but could you maybe spread the awareness by sharing this? You never know whose life you could be saving.

<span class=”redactor-invisible-space”></span>Warning: The auto-generated captions on this video are awful and in some cases upsetting. Upworthy neither makes them nor has the ability to control them. However, if you scroll down below the video and click “Show Transcript,” you’ll see an Upworthy-created version that is much better.

As a kid, Jamel Holmes knew he wanted to be a teacher. He would spend rainy days giving spelling tests and playing math games with other children in his apartment building in New York’s South Bronx.

But throughout elementary school, Holmes never had a teacher who looked like him. It wasn’t until seventh grade that he had his first Black male teacher—Mr. Emdin. In some ways, he was lucky. Nearly 80% of teachers in the U.S. are white, and many Americans go their entire educations without having even one non-white teacher.

Teachers of color make a difference, which is why education nonprofit DonorsChoose has teamed up with The Allstate Foundation to support them. According to research from Johns Hopkins University and American University, having at least one Black teacher in grades three through five reduces the likelihood of Black students dropping out of high school by up to 39% and increases the likelihood that students from low-income households will aspire to attend college. An analysis published in Education Next also found that Black teachers tend to have higher expectations of Black students, which contributes to greater success.

Diversity in teaching helps white students, too. Educational laboratory REL Northwest found that white students with non-white teachers develop better problem-solving and critical thinking skills, expand their range of creativity and social and emotional skills, and increase their sense of civic engagement.

A joint initiative from DonorsChoose and The Allstate Foundation offers individuals and groups opportunities to help bridge racial gaps in the classroom. For one, The Allstate Foundation will match all donations to teachers of color who are using DonorsChoose to crowdfund projects for the first time. DonorsChoose has also partnered with The Allstate Foundation to launch a Racial Justice and Representation category on the site, making it easy for donors to help fund classroom projects focused on increasing diversity in curricula and creating a more inclusive environment. From buying books written by diverse authors to providing materials for anti-racism education, donors can directly support teachers working toward racial equity.

“Achievement soars when students see their identities reflected in both their teachers and learning material,” said Charles Best, founder of DonorsChoose. “Research also shows that too many students of color and students from low-income households enter classrooms without enough books, technology and supplies. By creating this new category on DonorsChoose, we want to support these students and give voice to their teachers, tapping their frontline wisdom.”

In addition to matching donations to teachers of color using DonorsChoose for the first time, The Allstate Foundation will also match every donation to projects in the Racial Justice and Representation category, up to a total of $1.5 million. You can see those projects here.

Jamel Holmes did grow up to become a teacher. He earned a master’s degree and now teaches special education for sixth graders at East Bronx Academy for the Future, the same school he attended. Holmes uses DonorsChoose to help his students get what they need both inside and outside school. He has crowdfunded technology tools for his classroom as well as personal care items for his students. He drives through the Bronx to give school supplies, clothing, laundry essentials and food to kids whose families are in need, and even takes students to get free haircuts. He wants to be a role model students can turn to.

Photo courtesy of Jamel Holmes

“As I think about Black male teachers … there are not many of us,” Holmes says. “We bring more than just the academics, the curriculum, pedagogy … [we bring] real life experience in which we can relate to our students well beyond the classroom.”

Schools are charged with providing a safe, nurturing and equitable environment for students and teachers. Supporting educators who are trying to create that environment by helping fund their racial equity projects is a good place to start.

Moneybagg Yo’s sleeper summer hit “Wockesha” receives a woozy remix courtesy of the two artists the Memphis rapper originally just sampled on the song: Lil Wayne and Ashanti. Lil Wayne, whose voice is sampled from an old interview on the song’s intro, contributes a sturdy verse dedicated to the delights of his favorite styrofoam cup filler. Then, Ashanti, whose song “Foolish” uses the same interpolation as “Wockesha” (from DeBarge’s 1983 song “Stay With Me”), offers a honeyed hook, as well as a melodic verse of her own.

“Wockesha” turned out to be the breakout hit from Moneybagg’s recently released album A Gangsta’s Pain, which garnered the Memphis native his first-ever No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart. Since the album’s release, Moneybagg has seen himself become an in-demand features artist as Belly tapped him for “Zero Love” and Fredo Bang put in the call for “Doin’ My Dance.” Moneybagg’s also accumulated high-profile performances, including one at Broccoli City’s return festival and the 2021 BET Awards, where he performed “Wockesha” live.

Meanwhile, his guests have had bountiful years of their own. Lil Wayne has popped up on tracklists from Conway The Machine, Drake, and more, while Ashanti recently graced the Verzuz stage twice, once in January in her own battle with Keyshia Cole, and again during Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s show, performing alongside both.

Listen to Moneybagg Yo’s “Wockesha” remix featuring Lil Wayne and Ashanti above.

Tulsi Gabbard—remember her?—seems to be a magnet for controversy. The former 2020 presidential candidate never had a shot in hell of becoming the Democratic party’s pick to run for the highest office in the land, and she blames that partly on Hillary Clinton. You may recall the war of words the two engaged in back in late 2019: After Clinton implied that Gabbard was “a Russian asset,” the presidential hopeful (and former congresswoman from Hawaii) called Hillary “the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party.”

Good times.

On Tuesday, Gabbard popped back up—this time on Fox News—to reassert her claims that Clinton conspired with the Deep State to ensure there was no chance Gabbard would move forward as a legitimate presidential nominee. As Mediaite reports, Gabbard chatted with Pete Hegseth on Fox News Primetime on Tuesday night to take “something of a victory lap” after attorney Michael Sussmann was indicted for “not disclosing his ties to the Hillary Clinton campaign when he reported damaging information about former President Donald Trump to the FBI.”

For Gabbard, the indictment was just further proof of what she’s been claiming all along:

“It really points to the fact that we have a situation in our country where the powerful elite, people like Hillary Clinton and those around her—the deep state, the media—they’re all colluding to destroy outsiders who they deem as posing a threat to their power. So essentially, what they do is they create this dictatorship those who are outsiders, those who put country first, those who are not afraid to challenge the establishment, and those who don’t toe the line, they do all they can to silence, and censor, and eliminate these outsiders if they indeed pose a threat to their power.”

When asked about whether she thought her public image suffered due to Clinton’s claims, Gabbard answered with a definitive yes, then—in what wasn’t the best PR move—compared herself to Donald Trump. “This happened to me, it also happened to Donald Trump,” she said. “This is not about Democrats or Republicans. It’s about their concerted and collective effort working together to destroy and silence who challenge their power.”

Maybe… but comparing yourself to Trump isn’t really the best way to get fellow Democrats on your side.

You can watch the full interview above.

(Via Mediaite)

David Simon is aborting Texas. As noted by The Hollywood Reporter, the awesomely outspoken creator of The Wire was set to film an upcoming project for HBO in the Lone Star State, but has opted to pull out as a result of the state’s near-total abortion ban.

In a tweet, David explained his decision to relocate production of the untitled project:

“[As] an employer, this is beyond politics. I’m turning in scripts next month on an HBO non-fiction miniseries based on events in Texas, but I can’t and won’t ask female cast/crew to forgo civil liberties to film there. What else looks like Dallas/Ft. Worth?”

Simon’s decision prompted the Dallas Film & Creative Industries Office (a.k.a. the Dallas Film Commission) to tweet a response and ask Simon to reconsider:

“Laws of a state are not reflective of its entire population. Not bringing a production to Dallas (a big “D”) only serves to further disenfranchise those that live here. We need talent/crew/creatives to stay & vote, not get driven out by inability to make a living.”

Simon was unmoved:

“You misunderstand completely. My response is NOT rooted in any debate about political efficacy or the utility of any boycott. My singular responsibility is to securing and maintaining the civil liberties of all those we employ during the course of a production.”

Though no details of Simon’s (formerly) Texas-based production are known, anyone who follows Simon on Twitter knows that nothing short of a change in the state’s law might even tempt him to reconsider. Those people also know that no one is better at tearing a person to shreds in 140 characters or less than Simon.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

UK pop star Rina Sawayama turned heads with her impressive debut LP Sawayama in 2020. The effort led to the chance to collaborate with Elton John and landed on Uproxx’s The Best Pop Albums Of 2020 list. The singer has now set her sights on a sophomore release, and given fans an estimate of its release date.

Sawayama hopped on Twitter for an impromptu Q&A. While she answered many questions about her preferences, like her favorite desert or whether she likes burnt toast, the singer also shared some details about the status of her sophomore album. When a fan asked about a release date, Sawayama gave a ballpark answer of when her listeners should expect to hear it. “next year late summer,” she replied.

The singer followed-up by answering some questions about her songwriting process. She said she started with a “clean slate,” rather than trying to rework old ideas. Sawayama also noted in differences working on music this time around. “all songs on the new record recorded in the UK, written in about 1/20th of the time of the first one, and I’m working with some producers I’ve always dreamed of,” she said.

Though fans can expect to hear Sawayama’s sophomore LP in less than a year, the singer isn’t expecting to release any new singles in 2021. “I don’t think there will be an original single before 2022 cos I need to finish album but there might be a collab coming out this year which I’m soooooooOOOO excited about,” she said.

Soon after performing a set at Rudy Giuliani’s favorite outdoor venue, Laura Jane Grace has surprise-dropped a new EP, At War With The Silverfish (a title that should resonate with anyone who has ever rented an apartment).

“These are songs of late night madness and loneliness, orphan songs that came wandering in looking to feed like insects,” Grace said in a statement about the new collection, adding, “I’ve learned that if you share your experience with good intentions that the universe will always surprise you with abundant return. Every song is an act of faith; you don’t necessarily know why you’re singing it other than you know you’ve got to sing it.”

Check out the EP’s tracklist below..

1. “Three of Hearts”
2. “Lolo 13”
3. “Long Dark Night”
4. “Electro-Static Sweep”
5. “Day Old Coffee”
6. “Smug FuckFace”
7. “Yesterday Pt. II”

The Against Me! and Devouring Mothers singer also shared a handful of fall tour dates, which you can see below. Tickets are on sale now.

9/23 — Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
9/25 — Las Vegas, NV @ Punk Rock Bowling (Downtown Grand Hotel and Casino)
10/08 — Champaign, IL @ Polyvinyl Record Co. HQ ^
10/10 — Hampton Beach, NH @ Hampton Beach Casino *
10/24 — St. Paul, MN @ Dark Horse
11/27 — Reading, PA @ Reverb #
11/28 — Worcester, PA @ The Palladium #
11/29 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club #
11/30 — Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom #

^ – w/ Cole Bridges
* – w/ Frank Turner and Austine Meade
# – w/ Thursday

Laura Jane Grace’s At War With The Silverfish is available to stream now via Polyvinyl Record Co.

It looks like Baby Keem is taking a page from Kanye West’s playbook, adding new songs to his album The Melodic Blue after its release. When the project originally dropped two weeks ago, fans noticed a pair of songs from the rollout missing: “Hooligan” and “No Sense,” two tracks released as singles before the album was officially announced. Today, Keem announced that he’d added them back onto the album, along with a new song, “Lost Souls” featuring R&B singer Brent Faiyaz. The three new tracks appear as a “Disc 2” on the reissue, which is notably not identified as a deluxe edition.

In addition to those singles, Keem also dropped “Durag Activity” featuring Travis Scott, and “Family Ties” featuring his cousin Kendrick Lamar. Both songs did appear on the original tracklist along with “Issues,” for which he dropped a video alongside the album, and “First Order Of Business,” which he dropped a few days later.

While releasing deluxe editions of rap albums a few months or even days after their initial release has become old hat, it’s notable that Keem isn’t calling this a deluxe. Kanye West did something similar with the release of his new album Donda, adding several tracks from his first two listening sessions back to the project.

The Melodic Blue is out now via PgLang and Columbia Records. Get it here.

The Mike Richards-hosting-not-hosting-not-even-producing fiasco continues to settle at Jeopardy! while producers continue to work on a permanent solution. Mayim Bialik, who was originally tapped for the primetime hosting thing, will now finish the syndicated season while sharing hosting duties with Ken Jennings. She’s recently edged into discussing the dust-up while admitting that she initially wondered, “How can I help?”

That desire to help has now shifted into a new gear. It’s worth noting that TMZ previously reported that producers originally wanted to give Mayim the full-time hosting job, but she was too booked up with other commitments. Now, things have apparently changed, and maybe Jennings (who was previously, and reportedly, ruled out over bad tweets) is a true contender these days? Well, Mayim has officially put her hat in the ring in a very public way during a Glamour interview when she was asked if it was “safe” to assume that she wanted the permanent hosting job. Here’s her unequivocal-sounding answer:

“I think it’s very clear. There’s no other job I would rather have. I love my sitcom work, I do. I love all the other things I do. I love the podcast. But I absolutely have never had a better job.”

Mayim also added more texture to her bid, including a declaration of how she loves the predictable schedule, and how the cast and crew can all appreciate that on this particular game show. In addition, she credits Jeopardy! as being “known as a low-drama, no-drama form of entertainment. That’s how it should be.” She was likely speaking in terms of “stability” for the staff and the audience, in terms of scheduling and reliability, too, but oh boy, how awkward. Because Mike Richards did bring the drama.

(Via Glamour)

The MVP of True Detective season one wasn’t Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, or Alexandra Daddario, or creator Nic Pizzolatto, or the beer can men. It was Cary Fukunaga, who directed every episode of the HBO show’s first season, including this all-time great sequence. True Detective hasn’t been able to re-capture that season one magic since (although season three came close), and that’s partially due to Fukunaga leaving to explore other projects, including the next James Bond movie, No Time to Die. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, he discussed why he didn’t return for further seasons and his “disheartening” relationship with Pizzolatto.

“The show was presented to me in the way we pitched it around town — as an independent film made into television. The writer and director are a team,” he said. “Over the course of the project, Nic kept positioning himself as if he was my boss and I was like, ‘But you’re not my boss. We’re partners. We collaborate.’ By the time they got to postproduction, people like [former programming president] Michael Lombardo were giving Nic more power. It was disheartening because it didn’t feel like the partnership was fair.” Fukunaga praised Pizzolatto as a “good writer,” but (there’s always a but)…

“…but I do think he needs to be edited down. It becomes too much about the writing and not enough about the momentum of the story. My struggle with him was to take some of these long dialogue scenes and put some air into them. We differed on tone and taste.”

Presented without comment:

No Time to Die comes out on October 8.

(Via the Hollywood Reporter)