CDC Decision Opens the Door for Children to Begin Receiving Covid Vaccine

As early as Wednesday of this week some parents will have the choice to vaccinate their young children,
following a unanimous vote by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory panel Tuesday to recommend giving the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to children ages 5 to 11.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky declared, "Today is a monumental day in the course of this pandemic and one that many of us have been very eager to see ever since your vote … recommending COVID-19 vaccination for those 16 and older," at the start of the panel meeting according to reporting from the Washington Post.

"There are children in the second grade who have never experienced a 'normal' school year," Walensky, who was expected to sign off on the recommendation later Tuesday, continued. "There are students in middle school who missed out on school sports and extracurricular activities. There are missed proms and homecoming dances … Pediatric vaccination has the power to help us change all of that."

Once  Walensky's signature is on the letter, 28 million kids will be eligible for a two-shot dose of the vaccine — containing one-third of the adult dose and administered three weeks apart — and according to White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients the vaccination effort is expected to be fully running by next week.

“Starting the week of Nov. 8, the kids vaccination program will be fully up and running,” Zients said at a press conference Monday, following the Food and Drug Administration's emergency use authorization of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids in the same age group Friday. “Parents will be able to schedule appointments at convenient sites they know and trust to get their kids vaccinated.”

President Obama, Dave Chappelle Help Induct Jay-Z Into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Saturday the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame welcomed one of its most diverse and talented classes, but one star shone brighter than the rest at the star-studded ceremony.

That Class of 2021 standout was Jay-Z. The 23-time Grammy winner and one-half of music's reigning premiere power couple, along with wife Beyoncé, was feted by friends, fellow musicians and a former president as he joined the less than a handful of rappers to be given the honor.

In a video proceeding his induction President Barack Obama shared how important the music of the street hustler, turned musician and finally billionaire business mogul, had been to him personally.

Barack Obama inducts JAY-Z pic.twitter.com/HREMW5FucS

— Dr. Bryan McGeary (@BMcgeary) October 31, 2021

“I’ve turned to Jay-Z’s words at different points in my life, whether I was brushing dirt off my shoulder on the campaign trail, or sampling his lyrics on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the 50th anniversary of the Selma march to Montgomery,” Obama said. "Today Jay-Z is one of the most renowned artists in history and an embodiment of the American dream, a dream he has helped make real for other young people like him."

The speech, part of a video featuring high praise from numerous other luminaries from the worlds of art, entertainment, music and sport; including LeBron James, David Letterman, Diddy, Chris Martin, Ed Sheeran, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jamie Foxx, Chris Rock, John Legend along with Jay-Z's wife Beyoncé and daughter Blue Ivy, was followed by an in-person induction by currently controversial comedian Dave Chappelle.

"This is an incredible honor to induct this next man into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame," Chapelle said. "But I need everybody in rock & roll to know that even though we are honoring him, he is ours. He is hip-hop. Forever and ever and a day."

Following Chappelle's speech, Jay-Z delivered the longest of the night, beginning with some words of thanks and an acknowledgment how far hip-hop has come as an art form since the 51-year-old began his own career.

JAY-Z accepts his induction pic.twitter.com/lT7MDrLvFa

— Dr. Bryan McGeary (@BMcgeary) October 31, 2021

"Thank you, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, for this incredible honor. And you know, growing up, we didn't think we could be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We were told that hip-hop was a fad," he said. "Much like punk rock, it gave us this anti-culture, this subgenre, and there were heroes in it."

The artist thanked a long list of family, friends, business partners, artists and others who have enabled and advanced his career. In addition to business partners Damon Dash and Tyran Smith, his mother Gloria, sister Annie and the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. — whom along with fellow 2021 inductee LL Cool J, Tupac and Jay-Z are the only individual rap artists to be enshrined into the hall — before ending his speech on an optimistic note.

"Hopefully, I'm informing the next generation that anything is possible," he said. "I don't know what's next — In fact, I do know what's next. I have to go to court Monday. There's good and bad, life is about balance — But you know, tonight, we're going to enjoy tonight. I appreciate this honor. Sorry for this long-ass speech, but I had to give it up. We did it, Brooklyn!"

While his induction stole the show, it was only a small part of what the hall touted as one of its most diverse classes ever. Tina Turner, Carole King, The Go-Go's, Foo Fighters and Todd Rundgren, were just a few of the big names from across the musical spectrum honored. 

Continue reading below to see a full list of the rest of this year's inductees:

Performer Category:

Tina Turner

Carole King

The Go-Go’s

Jay-Z

Foo Fighters

Todd Rundgren

Early Influence Award:

Kraftwerk

Charley Patton

Gil Scott-Heron

Musical Excellence Award:

LL Cool J

Billy Preston

Randy Rhoads

Ahmet Ertegun Award:

Clarence Avant

Fetty Wap Charged With Drug Trafficking

Photo Credit: Instagram

William Junior Maxwell II, better known to hip-hop fans as Fetty Wap, was one of six individuals indicted for conspiracy to distribute more than 100 kilograms of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and crack cocaine across Long Island and New Jersey Friday.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, the two-time Grammy nominee — who was arrested Thursday at New York’s Citi Field on the first day of the three-day Rolling Loud hip-hop music festival — and his co-defendants, “ran a multimillion-dollar bicoastal drug distribution organization with Suffolk County as their home base.”

“As alleged, the defendants transported, distributed and sold more than 100 kilograms of deadly and addictive drugs, including heroin and fentanyl, on Long Island, deliberately contributing to the opioid epidemic that has devastated our communities and taken too many lives,” said Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, of indictments in the statement. Michael J. Driscoll, a top official with the FBI’s New York Office added, “The fact that we arrested a chart-topping rap artist and a corrections officer as part of the conspiracy illustrates just how vile the drug trade has become.”

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Details from court proceedings and the indictment, paint a picture of a scheme that ran from June of 2019 to June of 2020 in which narcotics obtained on the West Cast were transported to Suffolk County, utilizing the United States Postal Service and “drivers with hidden vehicle compartments” for distribution and sale on Long Island and in New Jersey.

Maxwell, 30, was a kilogram-level redistributor for the trafficking organization according to the indictment.

What the arrest means for the career of the up-and-coming musician, whose 2014 debut single “Trap Queen” catapulted to mainstream success as it reached No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, remains to be seen.

If convicted on the charge of conspiring to distribute and possess controlled substances he faces a maximum of life in prison.

This is not the first legal challenge for the rapper, who suffered a profound personal tragedy over the summer when his 4-year-old daughter Lauren died and is still mourning the death of his 26-year-old brother Twyshon Depew, who was shot and killed in their hometown of Paterson, New Jersey last year. In 2019 he was arrested on three counts of battery for allegedly assaulting employees at a Las Vegas hotel, and he was charged with a DUI in 2017 after being caught drag racing in Brooklyn.

In 2019 he was sued by a woman who alleged he strangled and punched her during an incident inside of his Los Angeles home. That case was letter dropped by the L.A. District Attorney’s office citing insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Search warrants executed during the investigation recovered about $1.5 million in cash, 16 kilograms of cocaine, two kilograms of heroin, numerous fentanyl pills, two handguns, a rifle, a pistol, and ammunition.