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#QuarantineAndChill: Things to Do During the Covid-19 Crisis

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Folks are trying to manage how to teach their children at home and fulfill employment obligations while not losing their minds during this new normal marked by disappointments like canceled proms and graduations, rogue relatives refusing to follow the rules and constant news coverage of those who are sick and have passed away.

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Keep thoughts of isolation at bay by reconnecting with friends and loved ones and making use of what’s available in real time and online. #QuarantineAndChill and enjoy the time you have with those you love. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA)

By Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., NNPA Newswire Culture and Entertainment Editor

Covid-19, Coronavirus or “Rona” as some are calling it has changed the way society typically functions. Some cities have imposed mandatory quarantines while others are encouraging self-control and self-quarantining. Many are complying with official requests for social distancing and eliminating contact with those outside of the household.

Folks are trying to manage how to teach their children at home and fulfill employment obligations while not losing their minds during this new normal marked by disappointments like canceled proms and graduations, rogue relatives refusing to follow the rules and constant news coverage of those who are sick and have passed away.

Despite these challenges there is a silver lining. Just when you were lamenting over failing to follow through on giving up social media for Lent, lots of people are coming together on social media to offer wonderful activities for those at home. Check out a few below:

Free Celebrity Performances on Instagram:

Celebrities are offering outstanding free programming. John Legend was joined by model and partner Chrissy Teigen for a CONVID-19 benefit concert from his living room that played on Instagram. If you didn’t catch John Legend, musical acts as diverse as Luke Bryan, JoJo, Miley Cyrus, D-Nice and Common are offering online concerts via Instagram. All you need is an Instagram account to watch and you’re good to go.

If those folks don’t do it for you, then check out NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts series, intimate video performances, recorded live at the desk of “All Songs Considered,” host Bob Boilen. Rising rap star Chika’s performance just dropped and shows her skills and playful side. Other popular performances include The Roots featuring trombonist Jeff Bradshaw and Bilal, Rev. Sekou and The Seal Breakers, Lizzo, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah and Omara Portuondo.

Speaking of Instagram, can you say Debbie Allen? The iconic dancer, choreographer and director offered up a free dance class this past Wednesday to lift the spirits of those feeling isolated during the crisis. Thousands checked in and had a blast based on the comments.

Not to worry, if you missed it, she’s offering the dance class every Wednesday at 1 p.m. PST during the COVID-19 crisis. How much would it normally cost to take a dance class from Debbie Allen? Who knows but now you can dance with Allen for free and in the comfort of your home. Allen is also offering a kids class Saturday on Instagram at 11 a.m. PST so set your reminder!

Things for the Kids

If the Debbie Allen kids dance class is not for you, then check out some of the following things your kids might enjoy. Many zoos and museums are putting exhibits online during the COVID-19 crisis. The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens is livestreaming several animals and exhibits on their Facebook page.

Cosmickids.com offers yoga, programming and lesson plans to teach yoga and mindfulness to children. Although, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture is closed due to coronavirus, they have an app that features highlighted objects from their collection, multimedia and augmented reality and stories exploring their 12 inaugural exhibitions.

If arts and crafts are your thing, Michaels has lots of do-it-yourself projects for children that are easily made with materials around the house. If you’re jonesing for the touch and feel of cotton, then you can order online and pick-up curbside at participating Michaels stores.

Now is a wonderful time to breakout the boardgames like Sorry, Monopoly, Life, Clue, Jenga, Escape Room in a Box and Black Card Revoked, which not only entertain kids of all ages but also offer fun for adults. Not to fret adults, there’s also Spades Plus (virtual), virtual Chess games, Words with Friends and several online Tonk and Bid Whist sites, so you can get back to making blind bids and running Bostons on folks in no time at all.

For parents who have slacked off on watching media with their kids, now is the perfect time to practice media literacy by sitting down and playing video games with your kids so you can see what they’re doing and talk about it in a critically engaged, and fun way. You may just understand why you should think thrice before allowing your kids to play Grand Theft Auto or World of Warcraft.

You can also show them some of your favorite video games which parents may discover they like just as much. Finally, for those who are having anxiety over teaching their younger children academic lessons, check out ABCMouse.com which is offering a free 30-day trial. It’s where learning and fun meet online.

Binge-A-Thons

COVID-19 has created the perfect opportunity to binge on television series and film genres that you love. Blaxploitation films are often available On Demand for free via your cable provider. Choose your favorite director like Spike Lee, Gina Prince Bythewood, Ryan Coogler, John Singleton or Ava Duvernay and watch their films until your heart is content. You might also like TV shows from the 1970s and 1980s, many of which are also available On Demand.

If you want to Netflix and chill, check out outstanding programming you may not have had an opportunity to watch yet like Raising Dion, Dear White People (season 3), Dolemite Is My Name, Jezebel and Queen Sono. Netflix’s highly anticipated series Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madame C.J. Walker comes out Friday, March 20, 2020. “Inspired” by the life of Madame C.J. Walker, the first self-made woman millionaire, the series stars Academy award-winner Octavia Butler, Blair Underwood, Tiffany Haddish, Carmen Ejogo, Garrett Morris and Kevin Carroll.

If you’re tired of “Netflix and chilling,” then check out Lena Waithe’s new series Twenties, season 2 of Boomerang or Tyler Perry’s show Sistas on BET. For the black foodies out there, watch Kardea Brown make Gullah inspired recipes on Delicious Miss Brown (Food Network) or Caribbean Pot (Black Life TV) featuring the food of Chef Phil La Rosa.

After eating that delicious food, get up and get moving to the plethora of free workout videos available on YouTube. Follow your favorite YouTube fitness stars Jenelle Salazar (@getbodiedbyJ), Lita Lewis (@followthelita) for workout routines for various fitness levels. You may now have time to finally try Zumba or subscribe to a fitness site like Daily Burn which is offering a 60-day free trial.

Once you collapse on the couch after working out, there are also many web series to watch. Giants follows the lives of three young people chasing their dreams and struggling with various issues of romance, identity and mental health as they come into adulthood. Giants is now an award-winning television series on Cleo TV.

Pillow Talk makes you think and feel and The Punanny Diaries, which is an oldie but a goodie, makes you chuckle and thank God you are no longer in your twenties.

TV One’s Unsung series always satisfies dropping tea about entertainers you grew up with in the 1990s. Don’t forget to watch HBO’s Watchmen, which will not be coming back for Season 2 as of now, so watch it while you can, or forever hold your peace.

As the kids would say, COVID-19 is gonna COVID-19, so we may as well make the best of our time #AloneTogether. Outside of holidays, when do folks really have this much potential time to spend together?

Keep thoughts of isolation at bay by reconnecting with friends and loved ones and making use of what’s available in real time and online. #QuarantineAndChill and enjoy the time you have with those you love.

This article was written by Nsenga K Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. An expert in intersectionality and media industries, Dr. Burton is also a professor of film and television at Emory University and co-editor of the book, Black Women’s Mental Health: Balancing Strength and Vulnerability. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual or @TheBurtonWire.

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

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The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.


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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

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Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

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OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.

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A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses

By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder

I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.

Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.

That’s why I’m speaking out now.

Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.

Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.

Here’s what that means in plain terms.

Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.

The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.

This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.

In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.

Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.

If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.

I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.

Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.

 

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