Monday's Best Deals: Presidents Day Sales, Cooks Signature Dutch Oven, Sonic the Hedgehog Monopoly, and More

A 2-port Anker USB-C charger that powers two MacBooks at once, a $37 Dutch Oven, a Sonic the Hedgehog Monopoly board game, and an extensive list of Presidents Day Sales kick off Monday’s top bargains.

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NBA All-Star Game Highlights: Jennifer Hudson Sangs and Chaka Khan... And Team LeBron Takes Victory

Many are calling Sunday night’s 69th NBA All-Star game the best in recent memory. Maybe it’s because of the game’s new format change or maybe it was because the spirit of Kobe Bryant was most certainly in that arena all night, but the game is being hailed as the most dramatic, entertaining and competitive the world…

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Ne-Yo and wife Crystal Renay are divorcing after four years of marriage

Ne-Yo has confirmed he is splitting from his wife after four years of marriage.

The R&B crooner announced in an interview on Saturday, Feb. 15, that he and wife Crystal Renay are divorcing after rumors about their split began to circulate online last week.

“It’s slowly but surely becoming public knowledge that myself and my wife have decided to go ahead and get a divorce,” he said on the “Private Talk With Alexis Texas” podcast, Us Weekly reported.

READ MORE: Common opens up about the emotional pain of his break-up with Erykah Badu

“It’s not a sad thing, it’s more of us realizing that — long story short, I’m never gonna talk bad about her. I’m not that person. There’s nothing bad to say about her. She’s a fantastic woman. She’s the mother of my children and she’s always gonna be that and I will always respect her,” Ne-Yo added.

He wants fans to know that the divorce is not the result of infidelity or the work of outside forces. It seems their individual demons could no longer co-exist.

“Long story short, she’s got demons just like everybody else, just like me,” he continued. “We realize that our demons don’t mesh and until both of us get a hold of our personal demons, it’s gonna be just difficult for us to stay married.”

READ MORE: California school district names elementary school after Michelle Obama

News of their separation was first reported by The Jasmine Brand, with an insider telling the gossip site that Ne-Yo and Renay have been having major issues for a while now.

“With that being said, that’s that, that’s the end of that chapter, not the end of the book,” added Ne-Yo during the podcast interview. “Like I said, that’s the mother of my kids and I love her to death. We’re going to be family forever.”

He also noted that his upcoming new single titled “Pinky Ring” was inspired by his ex.

“The song is not a diss to her, the song is not about her,” he explained. “The song is about how I chose to handle the situation, the way that I chose to lift myself up and keep moving, as we all must do.”

In response, Renay appeared to troll her ex by posting a clip on IG of her with a man rocking a ring on his pinky finger, who she asks to be her Valentine’s date.

Ne-Yo and Renay tied the knot 2016 and share two sons, Shaffer, 3, and Roman, 20 months. He is also father to 9-year-old Madilyn and 8-year-old Mason from his previous relationship with Monyetta Shaw.

The post Ne-Yo and wife Crystal Renay are divorcing after four years of marriage appeared first on TheGrio.

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OPINION: Michael Bloomberg has best plan to close the achievement gap in our schools

We are failing to prepare poor kids across the country for success in school, putting them at a disadvantage for the rest of their lives. The school readiness gap between children coming from low-income and moderate- to high-income households is stark. While 75% of kids from moderate- to high-income families are ready for school at age five, less than 48% of poor kids are. We can and must do better to ensure every child in every zip code has the opportunity to realize their full potential.

Based on my experience as an educator working with children and families in Harlem for the past 30 years, I believe we must take a holistic approach to prepare young people for success in school, starting at birth. It is essential to help first-time parents learn the skills they need to properly care for their babies and help their toddlers build their vocabulary. We also need to open more high-quality early education programs in distressed communities. Students who go to high-quality early education programs are less likely to require special education or repeat a grade and are more likely to graduate from high school than other children.

READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Here is why Black educator Geoffrey Canada endorsed Mike Bloomberg

Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg recently outlined a comprehensive set of plans to help working families and improve child care and early childhood education across the United States. Bloomberg will give all new parents 12 weeks of paid family leave so that they can take time away from work to bond with their newborns or adopted children. He also will expand the federal government’s Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program so that more low-income families can benefit from free and voluntary home visits by trained nurses. Nurse home visits reduce maternal and child mortality rates. In addition, Bloomberg will provide grants to states to help promote language learning programs for young children that will narrow the school readiness gap.

Bloomberg will make sure working families have access to quality, affordable child care. He wants to provide more low-income families with free child care by expanding funding for Early Head Start and Head Start, with the goal of tripling the number of infants and toddlers in Early Head Start and ensuring more three- to five-year-olds who are eligible for Head Start are able to participate. Bloomberg also knows there’s a shortage of quality child care providers in distressed communities around the country. 56% of urban neighborhoods do not have enough licensed child care options. That’s why he will fund programs to help child care providers scale up their businesses in distressed communities as part of his $70 billion investment in the 100 most disadvantaged communities in America.

READ MORE: Joy Ann Reid on Bloomberg: Dems need nominee to ‘fight like a Republican’

Under Bloomberg’s plan, every family will have access to full-day preschool for their three- and four-year-olds. Bloomberg will incentivize states to provide universal access to pre-Kindergarten. States that increase enrollment of low- to moderate-income students and enhance the quality of early childhood education programs will be rewarded. Like me, Bloomberg is deeply concerned that the U.S. government’s spending on early childhood education ranks near the bottom among developed countries. As president, he will work with Congress to ensure our government makes a much greater investment in our nation’s young people.

I worked with Bloomberg on a number of initiatives during his time as New York City’s mayor. Although we didn’t agree on every policy he pursued, I never doubted his commitment to improving our education system and creating more opportunities for all New Yorkers. After reviewing his latest plans, I’m confident Bloomberg will take the steps we need to narrow the school readiness gap across the country and set up our young people for success in the classroom and beyond.

Geoffrey Canada is the founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone. He represents himself and is not representing the views of the Harlem Children’s Zone, which does not endorse any candidates for public office. He has endorsed Mike Bloomberg for president.

The post OPINION: Michael Bloomberg has best plan to close the achievement gap in our schools appeared first on TheGrio.

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PayPal SVP Peggy Alford Works Hard at Letting People Get to Know Her at Work

Featuring a broad cross-section of women who have distinguished themselves across a rich variety of careers, our Portraits of Power series is a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Black Enterprise, and of black women. It’s a place for today’s businesswomen to share their own favorite images and their own stories, in their own words. Today’s portrait is Peggy Alford, a senior vice president at PayPal and the first black woman to sit on Facebook’s board of directors. 

 

Peggy Alford

SVP, Core Markets, PayPal

My first job was at Big Al’s hamburger joint in a shopping mall in St. Louis. I was a cashier and had to make hand dipped ice cream shakes.

My big break came when eBay, where I was working, bought a company called Rent.com and they asked me to be CFO.

I’ve had to work hardest at letting people get to know me personally at work.

I never imagined I would have three boys.

I wish I’d learned to accept help from others sooner.

The risk I regret not taking is I never pursued a competitive university.

If I could design my fantasy self-care day, it would be spent with good girlfriends, hike, spa, good food and lots of wine.

Trying to balance all my priorities at work and home keeps me up at night.

When I’m struggling, I say to myself, I can do anything for (xx) amount of time.

I am unapologetically reserved.

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Portraits of Power is a yearlong series of candid insights from exceptional women leaders. It is brought to you by ADP.

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