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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Sep 17, 2015
September 17, 2015
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The President at play:
PRESIDENT OBAMA has extended an invitation to visit the White House to a Texas teenager who was suspended from school for bringing a homemade clock to class. The president used his personal Twitter account to invite 14-year-old AHMED MOHAMED to show off the device personally, tweeting, "Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great."
Mohamed told a late day news conference yesterday that he accepted Mr. Obama's invitation.
Mohamed is Muslim, and was arrested by Irving, TX, police on Monday and suspended from MacArthur High School after teachers mistook his clock for a bomb. No charges were filed. Mohamed said he built the clock because he is interested in engineering and technology.
However, Irving Independent School District spokeswoman LESLEY WEAVER defended the actions of teachers and administrators at Mohamed's school, saying, "We were doing everything with an abundance of caution to protect all of our students in Irving." (Pacelli)The Stock Market:
Today is the day we could find out whether the Fed will raise the interest rates.
All eyes are on Federal Reserve chairwoman JANET YELLEN, who could be justified in raising the rates signaling that we're back to normal and done with the second "Great Depression" that began in late 2008.
Liberals want to keep rates low to boost growth and fight economic inequality; conservatives say it's long past time to rip off the Band-Aid of federal stimulus. But the sticking point is that everyone's worried about how the skittish global markets will react, given the ups and downs of the past several weeks.Sucking the life out of the wire services:
Warning: note sexual content.
Back in the olden days we used to ask older sisters or trustworthy aunts about the birds and the bees, today we have JESSICA BIEL! Mrs. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE tells Glamour magazine that she's set to produce a series of sex education videos with WomanCare Global founder SAUNDRA PELLETIER.
Jessica feels it's something we need considering that half of American pregnancies are unplanned and just 22 states require public schools to teach sex education. The poor, beautiful brunette admits that she was totally embarrassed when she got her (ahem) cycle for the first time and wants girls to be informed without feeling scared, ashamed or gross. (Lee)On, off and way-off-Broadway:
Now, this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime Broadway events. NATHAN LANE will do a staged reading of the KAUFMAN & HART classic comedy, "The Man Who Came To Dinner" with JEAN SMART and HARRIET HARRIS. Nathan will be Sheridan Whiteside, of course, the part made famous on stage and screen by MONTY WOOLLEY. The reading happens December 7th at Studio 54. It's a benefit for the Roundabout Theater Company. (Marino)
Kanye Fashion Show Low-Down:
KANYE WEST's Yeezy Season Two for Adidas Originals was let loose upon the world yesterday. Details, according to the Hollywood Reporter:
--The Collection: Looked almost exactly like Kanye's debut collection: heavy on flesh-toned neutrals, body suits and minimal beauty looks. Outfits were paired, of course, with Yeezy Boosts. (Editor's note: Most of the clothes looked a lot like Spanx, but worn in public on purpose.)
--Who sat where: Kardash-a-clan members KIM, KHLOE and KOURTNEY sat front row with LORDE, COMMON, Vogue editor ANNA WINTOUR and SETH MEYERS. Seated in the secondrow: Kardashian half-sister KENDALL JENNER! That move had some calling "Snub!" and got the gossip-mongers mongering. Read into that what you will. NORTH WEST was there too, and she was seated on the floor! (Because, you know, she's just a baby.)
--Kanye dropped a brand new track: The song is called "Fade." Entertainment Weekly says it features POST MALONE, TY DOLLA SIGN and featuring and samples "Can You Feel It" by MR. FINGERS and "Deep Inside" by HARDDRIVE.
--Reaction: The official fashion reviews aren't in yet. But die-hard Yeezy fans have already proclaimed their love. Others are calling out the collection for looking like a copycat of last year's. And some were offended because the finale featured all the models in bodysuits that matched their skintones --and the models were lined up with "the whiter models near the front and darker models in the back." Muster what outrage you can from that. But it has some people wondering if Kanye was trying to make a social statement. (Bartha) -
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