Sen. Chuck Schumer: "The speech and reality have never been more detached." pic.twitter.com/B7vKrhegx3
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 1, 2017
Happier news…
FT exclusive: bidding for global rights to Obama memoirs reaches more than $60m. https://t.co/6fw7aIPRPH
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) February 28, 2017
Buzzfeed with more details:
… Financial terms of the deal with Penguin Random House were not disclosed, but the publisher said it will donate one million books to a nonprofit partner for the 2016 White House digital education initiative, Open eBooks. The Obamas also plan to donate a significant portion of the proceeds to charity, including the Obama Foundation, the publisher announced…
While the financial terms weren’t disclosed, a publishing deal worth $60 million would break a record for presidential memoirs — George W. Bush’s and Bill Clinton’s sold for $10m and $15m, respectively, the FT reported…
And in local news…
“I made it to Harvard. Never thought I’d be able to say that…but it feels good.” – @rihanna
…And she did this while saying that. pic.twitter.com/CeklN9sStX
— Andres Tardio ✍? ? (@AndresWrites) March 1, 2017
The Boston Globe:
… The Grammy Award-winning artist — whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty — was in town Tuesday to receive the college’s 2017 Humanitarian of the Year award.
And not surprisingly, her presence created something of a stir on campus.
By 7 a.m., students were already lining up to ensure they’d get tickets when they became available at noon. And as the day’s 4 p.m. ceremony approached, the line to get into Sanders Theatre stretched well down the block…
The point of the festivities, though, was to honor the performer’s humanitarian work, a lengthy resume oftentimes overshadowed by her success in the music industry.
At just 18, she founded the Believe Foundation, which provided support to terminally ill children.
And since then, she hasn’t much slowed down.
Her Clara Lionel Foundation — named for her grandparents — tackles a range of causes, from education to health and emergency response programs. And her work with the Global Partnership for Education and Global Citizen Project helped convince Canada to pledge $20 million to the Education Cannot Wait fund…
In thanking the university, she spoke about family, and her grandmother’s losing battle with cancer. She spoke of her upbringing in Barbados, and her childhood dreams of saving the world, one 25-cent donation at a time.
Mostly, she urged students to do their part, to make a commitment to help just one person.
“People make it seem way too hard, man,” she said. “You don’t have to be rich to be a humanitarian. You don’t have to be rich to help someone, you don’t have to be famous, you don’t even have to be college educated.
“My grandma always used to say if you’ve got a dollar, there’s plenty to share.”