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Baseball Remembers Jackie Robinson on His 100th Birthday

Major League Baseball is kicking off a yearlong tribute to Jackie Robinson, who would have been 100 years old Thursday.

Robinson’s widow, Rachel, and their daughter Sharon, will be handed the symbolic key to the city in Brooklyn, New York, where Robinson spent his major league career.

They will also join baseball commissioner Rob Manfred to open an exhibit dedicated to Robinson at the Museum of the City of New York.

A new Jackie Robinson Museum will open in New York later this year, and on April 15, every major league team will observe Jackie Robinson Day.

All players will wear a number 42 on their uniforms for one day, the number Robinson wore during his career. Baseball has retired the number 42, meaning no major league player can choose it for his number.

Robinson was the first African-American to play in the major leagues, joining the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 as a second baseman.

He faced outright racism from fans, other teams, and other players, including some of his teammates.

The sometimes short-tempered Robinson held back his anger, refusing to give his racist critics the satisfaction of reacting with violence, even when he was physically assaulted.

He instead silenced his critics with his performance on the playing field, including superb fielding, aggressive base-running, a .311 lifetime batting average, 137 home runs, six all-star games, and helping lead the Dodgers to the World Series six times and one world championship in 1955.

Robinson retired from playing in 1956 and was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame six years later. He was 53 when he died of a heart attack in 1972.

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Peter Jackson Making New Documentary of Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’

The Beatles’ farewell documentary “Let It Be” is getting an encore, and a reinvention.

“Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson announced Wednesday that he is making a new film out of some 55 hours of footage — shot in January 1969 — that has never been seen by the public. The original movie, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, came out soon after the Beatles broke up in 1970 and has long been viewed as a chronicle of the band members growing apart. In a Rolling Stone interview given months after the film’s release, John Lennon recalled the making of “Let It Be” as a miserable experience, “set-up by Paul (McCartney) for Paul. 

“That is one of the main reasons the Beatles ended. I can’t speak for George, but I pretty damn well know we got fed up of being side-men for Paul,” he said.

But Jackson says the additional footage tells a very different story.

“It’s simply an amazing historical treasure-trove,” he said. “Sure, there’s moments of drama — but none of the discord this project has long been associated with.”

For Jackson, the Beatles movie marks another turn to documentaries after his recent “They Shall Not Grow Old,” a film that brings World War I to life after the director restored heavily-damaged, grainy footage, transferred it into 3-D and even used expert lip readers to restore lost dialogue.

He is working on “Let It Be” with the cooperation of McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison, the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison. The new project was announced on the 50th anniversary of one of the highlights of “Let It Be,” the Beatles’ spirited performance on the roof of Apple Records in London.

No release date has been set. A remastered version of the original film, which won an Oscar for best original score, also is planned.

In 1969, the movie was meant to show the Beatles turning away from the psychedelic tricks of “Sgt. Pepper” as they jam on new songs such as “I’ve Got a Feeling” and “Get Back.” But the Beatles seem far older and wearier than the joyous moptops of a few years earlier. Harrison briefly walked out during filming and on camera argues with McCartney over a proposed guitar part. Harrison would later blame tension with McCartney and unhappiness with Lennon’s then-new relationship with Ono, who is often by Lennon’s side in the movie.

“Paul wanted nobody to play on his songs until he decided how it should go. For me it was like: ‘What am I doing here? This is painful!”’ he said in an interview for a 1990s video anthology of the Beatles.

“Then superimposed on top of that was Yoko, and there were negative vibes at that time. John and Yoko were out on a limb. I don’t think he wanted much to be hanging out with us, and I think Yoko was pushing him out of the band, inasmuch as she didn’t want him hanging out with us.”

“Let It Be” didn’t come out until May 1970, and Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner would speak of Lennon “crying his eyes out” when the two saw it together. 

Meanwhile, the accompanying album led to a bitter dispute between McCartney and his bandmates. The group had pushed aside longtime producer George Martin and brought in Phil Spector, who infuriated McCartney by adding strings and a choir to the ballad “The Long and Winding Road.” In 2003, McCartney oversaw a new and sparer version of the album, “Let It Be … Naked.”

Last fall, McCartney hinted at the upcoming revision of the film.

“I know people have been looking at the (unreleased) footage,” he said in an interview aired on Canada’s Radio X. 

“And someone was talking to me the other day and said: ‘The overall feeling is very joyous and very uplifting. It’s like a bunch of guys making music and enjoying it.’”

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Super Bowl Ads More Stars, Less Politics

Sarah Michelle Gellar makes a horror movie parody for Olay. Jeff Bridges and Sarah Jessica Parker tout Stella Artois. Steve Carrell hawks Pepsi.

Star power abounds in this year’s Super Bowl ads.

Advertisers are hoping to provide some welcome distraction and entertainment as economic fears persist and the nation’s political climate remains sharply divided. As much as this year’s Super Bowl will be a battle on the field between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams, it will be a battle between advertisers over who gets the buzz — and who gets forgotten.

Celebrities are a relatively safe bet to garner good will from Super Bowl viewers who aren’t looking to be lectured at. There has been a retreat from more overtly political ads that were seen during the 2017 Super Bowl from such companies as 84 Lumber and Airbnb.

“The big theme is a return to light-hearted humor,” University of Virginia professor Kim Whitler said. “There’s an acknowledgement the Super Bowl is about entertainment.”

The Super Bowl remains advertising’s biggest mass-market showcase, and one of the last remaining ones in an age of personalized ads targeted to individual interests based on data collected by Facebook, Google and other tech mammoths. Digital ads are expected to make up nearly 60 percent of ad spending by 2020, according to eMarketer, up from about 50 percent in 2018.

Yet a 30-second Super Bowl ad can cost more than $5 million. More than 100 million people in the U.S. are expected to tune in to Sunday’s game on CBS. SimpliSafe’s creative director, Wade Devers, said the home-security company is advertising during the Super Bowl for the first time because the game has “a unique audience” primed to be interested in watching the ads.

Advertisers are doing what they can to stand out — Bridges, for instance, revives his “The Dude” character from “The Big Lebowski” — while shying away from controversy.

“It’s such a big investment. Advertisers really want to generate as much return as they can,” Northwestern University marketing professor Tim Calkins said. “I think we’ll see a lot of humor and product-focused advertising. A lot of advertisers are nervous about taking on big themes.”

So don’t expect any mention of the government shutdown or the debate over building a wall at the Mexican border, for example.

But safe can also mean dull.

“It will be a lackluster year,” said Kelly O’Keefe, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth’s Brandcenter. “I hope to see a few standouts, but the ads could be more mediocre than they have in a few years.”

Tried and true

A few old favorites are returning. Anheuser-Busch is trotting out its famed Clydesdales. They pull a Dalmatian dog through a field populated with windmills to the tune of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” to promote the idea that Budweiser is brewed with energy from wind power.

As for celebrities, always a staple in Super Bowl ads, Jason Bateman appears as an affable elevator operator to showcase Hyundai’s Shopper Assurance program. M&M’s enlisted actress Christina Applegate, and Avocados From Mexico’s ad will feature Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth. Colgate Total’s ad features Luke Wilson as a close talker.

Strong women

Olay will play off horror movies and the phrase “Killer Skin,” with an ad starring Gellar. Toyota is highlighting the perseverance of Antoinette “Toni” Harris, a female football player at a California community college. And Bumble selected Serena Williams to be its spokeswoman in the dating app’s first ever Super Bowl ad.

Tech ribbing

Michelob Ultra has robots beating humans at sports like running and spinning. But then one robot looks longingly in a bar where people are enjoying a post-workout beer. “It’s only worth it, if you can enjoy it,” an on-screen message reads.

In an ad for Pringles , a smart speaker laments not being able to taste the snack.

Amazon pokes fun at itself as celebrities from Harrison Ford to astronaut twins Mark and Steve Kelly testing products that didn’t quite work out, including an electric toothbrush and a dog collar with Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant.

Music mania

The Super Bowl reportedly had trouble finding artists to sing during the Super Bowl: Singer Travis Scott agreed to perform only after the NFL agreed to donate $500,000 to charity. But there has been no hesitation with musicians jumping into Super Bowl ads.

First time-Super Bowl advertiser Expensify created a catchy music video with rapper 2 Chainz and actor Adam Scott. The 30-second ad also features the song.

Pepsi has long enlisted musicians to help sell its drinks and snacks. For its Doritos brand, Chance the Rapper is teaming up with the Backstreet Boys to promote a new flavor. Michael Buble will star in an ad for Pepsi’s Bubly sparkling water brand. And an ad for Pepsi itself has Carrell with rapper Lil Jon and pop singer Cardi B.

Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, has Ludacris.

Surprises

Although many companies released their ads online early, Villanova marketing professor Charles Taylor says some are holding back “for the potential to make a bigger splash.”

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Siberian Cave Findings Shed Light on Extinct Human Species 

Scientists using sophisticated techniques to determine the age of bone fragments, teeth and artifacts unearthed in a Siberian cave have provided new insight into a mysterious extinct human species that may have been more advanced than previously known. 

 

Research published Wednesday shed light on the species called Denisovans, known only from scrappy remains from Denisova Cave in the foothills of the Altai Mountains in Russia. 

 

While still enigmatic, they left a genetic mark on our species, Homo sapiens, particularly among indigenous populations in Papua New Guinea and Australia that retain a small but significant percentage of Denisovan DNA, evidence of past interbreeding between the species. 

 

Fossils and DNA traces demonstrated Denisovans were present in the cave from at least 200,000 to 50,000 years ago, and Neanderthals, a closely related extinct human species, were present there between 200,000 and 80,000 years ago, the new research found. Stone tools indicated one or both species may have occupied the cave starting 300,000 years ago.  

Scientists last year described a Denisova Cave bone fragment of a girl whose mother was a Neanderthal and father a Denisovan, evidence of interbreeding. The girl, nicknamed “Denny,” lived around 100,000 years ago, the new research showed. 

 

Pendants made of animal teeth and bone points from the cave were determined to be between 43,000 and 49,000 years old. They may have been crafted by Denisovans, suggesting a degree of intellectual sophistication. 

 

“Traditionally these objects are associated in Western Europe with the expansion of our species, and are seen as hallmarks of behavioral modernity, but in this case Denisovans may be their authors,” said archaeological scientist Katerina Douka of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany. 

 

Our species arose in Africa roughly 300,000 years ago, later spreading worldwide. There is no evidence Homo sapiens had reached Denisova Cave when these objects were made. 

 

Denisovans are known only from three teeth and one finger bone. 

 

“New fossils would be especially welcome, as we know almost nothing about the physical appearance of Denisovans, aside from them having rather chunky teeth,” said geochronologist Zenobia Jacobs of the University of Wollongong in Australia.  

 

“Their DNA in modern Australian Aboriginal and New Guinean people tantalizingly suggests they may have been quite widespread in Asia, and possibly even southeast Asia, but we need to find some hard evidence of their presence in these regions to flesh out the full story of the Denisovans,” added University of Wollongong geochronologist Richard “Bert” Roberts.  

 

The research was published in the journal Nature.

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Study: E-cigs Beat Patches, Gums in Helping Smokers Quit

A major new study provides the strongest evidence yet that vaping can help smokers quit cigarettes, with e-cigarettes proving nearly twice as effective as nicotine gums and patches. 

 

The British research, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, could influence what doctors tell their patients and shape the debate in the U.S., where the Food and Drug Administration has come under pressure to more tightly regulate the burgeoning industry amid a surge in teenage vaping. 

 

We know that patients are asking about e-cigarettes and many doctors haven't been sure what to say,'' said Dr. Nancy Rigotti, a tobacco treatment specialist at Harvard Medical School who was not involved in the study.I think they now have more evidence to endorse e-cigarettes.” 

 

At the same time, Rigotti and other experts cautioned that no vaping products have been approved in the U.S. to help smokers quit. 

Top cause of preventable death

 

Smoking is the No. 1 cause of preventable death worldwide, blamed for nearly 6 million deaths a year. Quitting is notoriously difficult, even with decades-old nicotine aids and newer prescription drugs. More than 55 percent of U.S. smokers try to quit each year, and only about 7 percent succeed, according to government figures. 

 

Electronic cigarettes, which have been available in the U.S. since about 2007 and have grown into a $6.6 billion-a-year industry, are battery-powered devices that typically heat a flavored nicotine solution into an inhalable vapor.  

  

Most experts agree the vapor is less harmful than cigarette smoke since it doesn’t contain most of the cancer-causing byproducts of burning tobacco. But there is virtually no research on the long-term effects of the chemicals in the vapor, some of which are toxic. 

 

At the same time, there have been conflicting studies on whether e-cigarettes actually help smokers kick the habit. Last year, an influential panel of U.S. experts concluded there was only “limited evidence” of their effectiveness.  

In the new study, researchers tracked nearly 900 middle-age smokers who were randomly assigned to receive either e-cigarettes or nicotine replacement products, including patches, gums and lozenges. After one year, 18 percent of e-cigarette users were smoke-free, versus 9.9 percent of those using the other products.  

  

“Anything which helps smokers to avoid heart disease and cancer and lung disease is a good thing, and e-cigarettes can do that,” said Peter Hajek, study co-author and an addiction specialist at Queen Mary University of London. 

More rigorous

 

The study was more rigorous than previous ones, which largely surveyed smokers about e-cigarette use. Participants in this experiment underwent chemical breath testing. 

 

Smokers in the e-cigarette group received a $26 starter kit, while those in the nicotine-replacement group received a three-month supply of the product of their choice, costing about $159. Participants were responsible for buying follow-up supplies. 

 

“If you have a method of helping people with smoking cessation that is both more effective and less costly, that should be of great interest to anyone providing health services,” said Kenneth Warner, a retired University of Michigan public health professor who was not involved in the study. 

 

Several factors may have boosted the results: All the participants were recruited from a government smoking-cessation program and were presumably motivated to quit. They also received four weeks of anti-smoking counseling.  

  

The researchers didn’t test e-cigarettes against new drugs such as Pfizer’s Chantix, which has shown higher rates of success than older nicotine-based treatments. 

 

Funding for the study came from the British government, which has embraced e-cigarettes as a potential tool to combat smoking through state-run health services. Some of the authors have been paid consultants to makers of anti-smoking products. 

Long-term questions

 

U.S. health authorities have been more reluctant about backing the products, in part because of the long-term effects are unknown. 

 

“We need more studies about their safety profile, and I don’t think anyone should be changing practice based on one study,” said Belinda Borrelli, a psychologist specializing in smoking cessation at Boston University. 

 

The American Heart Association backed e-cigarettes in 2014 as a last resort to help smokers quit after trying counseling and approved products. The American Cancer Society took a similar position last year. 

 

An editorial accompanying the study and co-written by Borrelli recommended e-cigarettes only after smokers have tried and failed to quit with FDA-approved products. Also, doctors should have a clear timeline for stopping e-cigarette use. 

 

Borrelli noted that after one year, 80 percent of the e-cigarette users in the study were still using the devices. Nine percent of the participants in the other group were still using gums and other nicotine-replacement products.    

No vaping company has announced plans to seek FDA approval of its products as a quit-smoking aid. Winning such an endorsement would require large studies that can take years and cost millions of dollars. 

 

The FDA has largely taken a hands-off approach toward vaping. It has not scientifically reviewed any of the e-cigarettes on the market and has put off some key regulations until 2022. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has said he doesn’t want to over-regulate an emerging industry that could provide a safer option for adult smokers. 

 

The delay has come under intense criticism amid an explosion in teenage vaping, driven chiefly by devices like Juul, which resembles a flash drive. Federal law prohibits sales to those under 18, but 1 in 5 high school students reported vaping last year, according to a government survey. It showed teenage use surged 78 percent from 2017 to 2018. 

Tank vs. cartridge

 

Matthew Myers of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids noted that the British study used so-called tank-based e-cigarettes, which allow users to customize their flavors and nicotine levels. Those devices have largely been overtaken in the U.S. by Juul and similar devices that have prefilled nicotine cartridges, or pods. Any benefit of e-cigarettes depends on the individual product and how it is used, he said. 

 

It is a fundamental mistake to think that all e-cigarettes are alike,'' Myers said.And in the absence of FDA regulation, a consumer has no way of knowing if the product they are using has the potential to help them or not.” 

 

Myers’ group is one of several anti-smoking organizations suing the FDA to immediately begin reviewing e-cigarettes. 

 

Ian Armitage was skeptical about e-cigarettes as a way to stop smoking, saying he tried vaping several years ago but gave it up after experiencing twitching and shakes from nicotine withdrawal. 

 

I tried it for a whole month, but it just wasn't doing it for me,'' said Armitage, an audio-visual technician in Washington.I still wanted a cigarette afterward.” 

 

Armitage, who has smoked for 15 years, said he also tried nicotine patches but found they irritated his skin.

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Economy & business
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Three US States Win Settlement for Oil Spills

U.S.-based Sunoco Pipelines has agreed to pay hefty fines and make procedural changes after it was found in violation of state and federal environmental laws in connection to oil spills in three states. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state regulators in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma said Sunoco Pipelines and its Louisiana partner Mid-Valley Pipeline Company have agreed to make amends for the spills that occurred in 2013, 2014 and 2015. 

Sunoco has also agreed to take additional steps to prevent and detect corrosion in its pipeline segments, including in the ones no longer in use by the company. 

“This excellent result shows how a strong federal and state partnership can bring about effective environmental enforcement to protect local communities in these states,” said Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

The fines of more than $5 million will be used to restore waterway shorelines when disasters strike, including other oil spills. 

“Our nation relies on the oil and gas sector to meet our energy needs, and we also expect companies to do so while protecting our vital water resources,” said EPA Regional Administrator Ann Idsal. “Companies who violate this responsibility must face consequences and assure their future compliance.”

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Drought Threatens Thousands of Flamingo Chicks in S. Africa 

Rescuers are moving hundreds of dehydrated lesser flamingo chicks from their breeding ground at a drought-stricken South African dam to a bird sanctuary in Cape Town, to save them from death by starvation and lack of water. 

 

Their birthplace, Kamfers Dam in the Northern Cape, is one of only three breeding grounds for the famously pink birds in southern Africa, the other two being in Namibia and Botswana, according to researcher Katta Ludynia.  

The rescued chicks take three to four months to fledge, and it is not yet clear whether they will eventually be released back into the wild in Cape Town or transported back hundreds of kilometers to their home in Kimberley, she said. 

 

“There are still several thousand birds breeding in the dam in areas that still have water,” said Katta Ludynia, research manager at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB). “It now depends on the water levels whether these birds will pull through.” 

 

Ludynia said the sanctuary was caring for around 550 chicks, most of them dehydrated when they arrived Monday after having been abandoned by parents who went off in search of food. 

 

The chicks are being moved to the sanctuary by plane and road.  

SANCCOB is one of several centers across South Africa caring for around 2,000 chicks that were rescued from the dam. 

 

Although it hosts the biggest population of lesser flamingoes in southern Africa, Kamfers Dam, north of Kimberley, is often dry and depends mainly on rainwater. It also gets some water from a sewerage works that releases water into its wetlands. 

“The dam in Kimberley is so important because it is manageable, so we can secure the water level there. That might be the only site the flamingos can breed in southern Africa, if the drought continues in other areas,” Ludynia said.

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‘Life-Threatening’ Temperatures Shock Even Routinely Cold US Cities

Millions of Americans are experiencing temperatures so cold that a burst of wind could cause frostbite within minutes — conditions that have caused the suspension of regional train service, work and school schedules, and even production of television and stage shows.

The National Weather Service said Wednesday some 25 million people will face temperatures that cause near-instant frostbite in New England (the northeastern United States) and the Midwest — states such as Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan.

In Chicago, Amtrak canceled train service, and even federal mail delivery was suspended in many areas to protect the mail carriers, whose motto declares they deliver mail in almost any weather condition.

In some cities, bus service has been suspended because the cold can cause mechanical difficulties.

The governors of Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin have declared states of emergency.

With the wind chill, it was minus 32 degrees Celsius (minus 26 degrees Fahrenheit) in North Dakota on Tuesday and minus 52 degrees in parts of Minnesota. The high temperature in Minneapolis on Wednesday is forecast to be minus 25 degrees Celsius (minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit).

In the city of Chicago, renowned for its tough winters, the temperature Thursday is expected to dip near the record low of negative 32.8 degrees Celsius.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is calling the weather “life-threatening.” Transit buses with nurses on board will be dispatched across the city to serve as emergency warming shelters for the homeless.

Churches throughout Detroit are also keeping their doors open for anyone who has no home and needs a place to keep warm.

At least four weather-related deaths have been reported.

The cold air will stretch from the Midwest to the East Coast and as far south as parts of Florida.

Meteorologists blame the weather on a breakup of the polar vortex — cold temperatures above the North Pole are being pushed south across North America because of a blast of desert heat from North Africa.

Global warming

Reacting to the weather, President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday “What the hell is going on with Global Waming? (sic) Please come back fast. We need you!”

It is unclear if the president was joking.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is devoted to climate science and information, tweeted, “Winter storms do not prove global warming is not happening.”

The agency said severe snowstorms may be more likely in a warmer climate because of the increased moisture in the atmosphere.

NOAA denies any connection between the president’s comment and its social media posting.

“We routinely put this story out at these times,” the agency said in a statement. “Our scientists weren’t responding to a tweet.”

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Silicon Valley & Technology
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A Virtual Human Teaches Negotiating Skills

Whether it’s haggling for a better price or negotiating for a higher salary, there is a skill to getting the most of what you want. Researchers at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies are conducting research on how a virtual negotiator may be able to teach you the art of making a good deal. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details.

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‘Empire’ Actor Alleges Homophobic Attack in Chicago

A cast member on the hit television show “Empire” alleged he was physically attacked by men in Chicago who shouted racial and homophobic slurs, police said Tuesday (January 29).

The police did not release the actor’s name but a statement from Fox, which airs “Empire,” identified him as Jussie Smollett, 36. Authorities said they are investigating the alleged attack as a hate crime. Smollett is black and openly gay.

According to a police statement, the actor was walking near the Chicago River downtown around 2 a.m. Tuesday when he was approached by two men who shouted at him, struck him in the face and poured an “unknown substance” on him before one of them wrapped a rope around his neck.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that when officers first came in contact with Smollett, he still had a rope around his neck. While being interviewed by detectives, Guglielmi said Smollett told them that the attackers yelled he was in “MAGA country,” an apparent reference to the Trump campaign’s “Make America Great Again” slogan that some critics of the president have decried as racist and discriminatory.

The police spokesman added that the two men were wearing masks. Investigators have not found any surveillance video or witnesses from which they can put together a description of the offenders, he said.

Smollett was able to take himself to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He was last reported in good condition.

Guglielmi also said the FBI is investigating a threatening letter targeting Smollett that was sent to the Fox studio in Chicago last week.

Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton called the alleged attack “outrageous and despicable.” He also said that if the alleged assailants really were shouting slogans related to President Trump, the president should publicly say “if his brand does not represent these kind of alleged attacks.” Sharpton added “his silence is deafening.”

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