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<div type="image" title="Lester Walker" height="1500" width="2000" msid="77768732" hostid="261"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="9830067" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lester-walker">Lester Walker</keyword> is one of the cofounders of Ghetto Gastro, a chef collective that combines extravagant events and experiential dining with politics and philanthropy. </li><li>Walker uses <keyword id="6181" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Food">food</keyword> as a way to spark larger conversations around inclusion, race, and economic empowerment.</li><li>Ghetto Gastro has partnered with the likes of Nike and Cartier, donated 150,000 meals a week to Bronx residents during the pandemic, and fed Black Lives Matter protesters in New York City.</li><li><strong>Walker is on Insider's list of Doers: 25 trailblazers creating hope and inspiring us. Check out the full list <a href="https://www.insider.com/doers-list-trailblazers-creating-hope-and-inspiring-2020-8">here</a>.</strong></li></ul><p>To describe what Ghetto Gastro does in just one sentence would be an impossible feat.</p><p>The Bronx, New York, chef collective combines extravagant events and experiential dining with politics and philanthropy. It has partnered with the likes of Cartier and Airbnb. It has donated 150,000 meals a week to Bronx residents in need during the pandemic. It hosts "Gastronomical Cribs," <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ghettogastro/?hl=en">an Instagram Live series</a> that has featured Naomi Campbell and Tony Hawk. And it has used food trucks to help feed Black Lives Matter protesters in New York City parks. </p><p>"Food is a weapon," chef and Ghetto Gastro cofounder Lester Walker, 39, told Insider. "It can build our community or destroy our community. Food can make neighborhoods flourish and grow. But how come, in these impoverished neighborhoods in the Bronx, we don't have natural-food stores, we don't have a Whole Foods, but I see a liquor store on every corner?"</p><h2>Walker and his cofounders are using food to spark conversations around inclusion, race, and economic empowerment.</h2><p>They've dished out deconstructed apple pies on a plate with a chalk outline — turning the traditional American dessert into a symbol for the Black Lives Matter movement. They've had waiters in penguin tuxedos serve their dishes on prison-style food trays made of imported Italian marble, bringing a "Bronx Brasserie" to the Place Vendôme hotel in Paris.</p><div type="image" title="Lester Walker" height="2465" width="2000" msid="77768739" hostid="261"></div><p>"We decided to put our minds together to find the best way to bring people together and have meaningful conversations, to find the best way to educate people on how to eat right, how to eat sustainably to feed our mind, our body, our souls — how to use food as a weapon not of mass destruction but of class destruction," Walker said.</p><p>But Ghetto Gastro doesn't use food just to illustrate the imbalances within society; it tries to correct them too. When the Bronx was hit hard by the pandemic — which has disproportionately affected Black people across New York and the US — Walker made sure that Ghetto Gastro was there to help.</p><p>The collective partnered with the nonprofit Rethink Food NYC and the Oaxacan restaurant La Morada, which is run by unauthorized immigrants, to distribute thousands of meals a day to Bronx residents in need. It also expanded its merchandise selection, selling new apparel to help support other Black-owned businesses and organizations.</p><h2>Walker no longer rocks chef whites, but he credits cooking with saving his life.</h2><p>He found his passion for food at a young age while helping his single mother, who he said gave him the "building blocks" to start creating things in the kitchen.</p><p>"I became the man of the house pretty early," Walker said. "My mom had a lot on her plate, and I just wanted to help provide for my family. There were many nights and mornings where it was just my brother and I, and I had to make something happen for our nutrition."</p><p>After bouncing around four different high schools in the Bronx, Walker found direction in one of the school's culinary programs and won a $10,000 college scholarship in a cooking competition. Before he headed to Miami for culinary school, Walker landed his first job as a breakfast cook at Avenue Bistro, a restaurant in New York City. It was there that Walker worked under a sous-chef whom he credits with first teaching him the ropes on what it takes to run a kitchen.</p><div type="image" title="Lester Walker" height="1500" width="2000" msid="77768742" hostid="261"></div><p>"At the time, I was like, 'I want to cook. I want to use the wok and flip the food in the air like they do on TV,'" Walker said. "But he was showing me the ropes, giving me the foundation, preparing me for uniformity, and training me to be more organized. To this day, I still carry those teachings."</p><p>While he was in school in Miami, Walker began cooking at different hotels in South Beach. </p><p>"I was so green, I'd wear my whites to work on a bus," he said. "I was in a chef jacket looking crazy."</p><h2>When Walker returned to New York, he honed his skills at a number of revered kitchens.</h2><p>"I noticed things early, the imbalance in ethnicity, the imbalance in social classes," he said. "I was one of the few that were Black in those kitchens, so automatically I had an eye on me. But I was chillin', honestly. You put me in a room full of roaches, man, I know how to navigate. Growing up in the Bronx gave me that capability. I really think it gave me the opportunity to shine."</p><p>It was while he was the chef at Copia in Manhattan that Walker — and his lemongrass shrimp soup — caught the attention of a kitchen scout from "Chopped."</p><p>"She came back to the kitchen and said, 'Would you like to audition for 'Chopped'?' I was like, 'What's Chopped?'" Walker said.</p><div type="image" title="Lester Walker" height="1499" width="1999" msid="77768745" hostid="261"></div><p>Walker went on to win his episode of the popular Food Network reality show. The birth of Ghetto Gastro soon followed in 2012, when Walker and Gray — a childhood friend who had graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology — decided to combine their collective experiences and create something the fashion and food worlds had never seen before.</p><p>In the collective's early days, Walker would bring back whatever was left over from whichever upscale kitchen he was working at and use it to create elaborate dinners at Ghetto Gastro's headquarters. </p><p>"What the corporation was going to put in the trash, I was using to start a brand, start a movement," he said. "Planning how we'd bring the world to the Bronx and the Bronx to the world."</p><h2>Walker eventually left the world of Michelin-starred restaurants behind to focus on Ghetto Gastro, which was landing increasingly bigger projects.</h2><p>The collective's creations have since appeared everywhere from New York Fashion Week to Art Basel in Hong Kong, often alongside major brand partnerships that have included Spotify, Nike, and Microsoft.</p><div type="image" title="Lester Walker" height="2696" width="3595" msid="77768748" hostid="261"></div><p>"We're getting a bag from these corporations, but the bag is going back to reinvest in the <keyword id="48560" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Communities">communities</keyword> that raised us," Walker said. "These corporations have to know that what they're paying for is for the benefit of these communities that my partners and I grew up in our whole lives."</p><h2>Walker hopes Ghetto Gastro will continue to 'change the narrative of superheroes in our neighborhoods.'</h2><p>"Growing up as a kid, I thought my only way out was to get rich or die trying," he said. "The superheroes, to me, were the dope dealers, or the ones that played ball and got paid by the drug dealers. And now it's like, I'm capitalizing off my freedom of speech, my art, my passion."</p><p>He added: "This is the way to change the narrative. When I go back to where I grew up, people are thanking me. I'm changing their outlook on what a superhero is supposed to look like. And that's just amazing."</p><p><strong>Read more: </strong></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/doers-list-trailblazers-creating-hope-and-inspiring-2020-8">The Doers: 25 trailblazers creating hope and inspiring us</a></p>

Ghetto Gastro's Lester Walker, a former chef at NYC's top Michelin-starred restaurants, is using deals with Nike and Cartier to donate 150,000 meals a week to families in need

<p><a href="https://www.insider.com/category/the-doers"></a></p><div type="image" title="dancers &amp; dogs" height="1485" width="1980" msid="79749507" hostid="261"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Dancers &amp; <keyword id="32596" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Dogs">Dogs</keyword> was created in 2017 by <keyword id="22383" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="photography">photography</keyword> duo Kelly Pratt and Ian Kreidich as an experiment that brought canines and dancers together.</li><li>Now, the couple creates a holiday version of the project each year — dubbed the "Muttcracker" series — that features adoptable <keyword id="6371668" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="animals">animals</keyword> posing next to St. Louis Ballet dancers in festive costumes.</li><li>Speaking to Insider, Pratt said the holiday project is all about having fun and raising awareness for animal <keyword id="6411790" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Adoption">adoption</keyword>.</li><li>Natalie Thomson of the Stray Rescue of St. Louis, which provides the animals each year, added that the photographs create an "incredible" impact that has resulted in featured animals being adopted.</li><li>This article is part of a series titled <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/the-doers">The Doers</a>.</li></ul><p>Some shelter animals go their entire lives without a permanent place to call home. But dance photographers <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ianandkelly/">Kelly Pratt and Ian Kreidich</a> are helping to change that for some <keyword id="6358374" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pets">pets</keyword> in Missouri.</p><p>Through their photography project, <a href="https://dancersanddogs.com/">Dancers &amp; Dogs</a>, the couple joins adorable canines with professional ballet dancers for stunning <keyword id="6359897" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Photos">photos</keyword>. And during the holiday season, they take their project a step further by photographing adoptable animals with dancers dressed in festive costumes for a series called the "Muttcracker."</p><p>Insider spoke with Pratt about Dancers &amp; Dogs' mission, helping animals get adopted, and spreading joy during a tumultuous year with the help of some ballerinas and furry friends.</p><div type="image" title="muttcracker photoshoot" height="1500" width="2000" msid="79749508" hostid="261"></div><h2><strong>Dancers &amp; Dogs began in 2017 as a 'random experiment'</strong></h2><p>At the time, Pratt thought it'd be interesting to have dogs pose alongside some of the St. Louis Ballet dancers that she and her husband have frequently worked with since 2014.</p><p>"We were just trying to see if we could make any shapes or interactions that looked interesting," Pratt told Insider. "But then it really caught on from there and we went with it."</p><p>Their first photo shoots went so well that Pratt and Kreidich set a goal to photograph 100 dancers and 100 dogs, turning their small idea into a massive project that extended out of St. Louis. Now, the duo has surpassed their goal - so much so that they've lost track of how many dancers and dogs they've photographed.</p><p>Luckily, Pratt and Kreidich have been able to find dancers and portrait-ready dogs just about everywhere they go.</p><p>Approximately one-third of the dogs featured in the photo project are owned by the dancers they pose with, according to Pratt, and others are local animals that are comfortable being in unfamiliar environments.</p><p>"If we go to New York or something like that, we'll screen for dogs that are trained to do pictures, or dogs that are just able to sit, stay, and be comfortable in the type of setting we're in," Pratt said. "It's not for every single dog. They're not all comfortable being in a studio with strangers."</p><h2><strong>Three years ago, Pratt and Kreidich started a holiday portion of the project playfully dubbed the 'Muttcracker'</strong></h2><p>"One thing we always wanted to do with Dancers &amp; Dogs is incorporate animals who are up for adoption," Pratt told Insider. "We wanted to give back, and we're big supporters of rescue animals, so we wanted to figure out a way to do that." </p><p>Pratt came up with the idea to have their dancer friends pose in festive costumes from "The Nutcracker" while interacting with dogs. And for a heartwarming twist, they'd feature animals from the <a href="https://www.strayrescue.org/">Stray Rescue of St. Louis</a> as their four-legged models.</p><div type="image" title="dancers and dogs muttcracker" height="1601" width="2000" msid="79749509" hostid="261"></div><p>According to Pratt, members of the St. Louis Ballet "volunteer their time for this project every year." The Stray Rescue of St. Louis, on the other hand, provides adoptable animals that they know will be comfortable around studio lighting and equipment. From there, everyone "just tries to have fun," Pratt said.</p><p>"It's really simple," Pratt added. "These aren't as involved as our usual images - we don't have the dancers do crazy moves or anything like that. It's just really to create some cute interactions and have fun."</p><p>Natalie Thomson, the director of marketing for the animal rescue, added that another goal of the "Muttcracker" project is to "help people realize that adoption is truly the best option" when bringing an animal into your life.</p><p>"These beautiful, healthy, happy animals are waiting in shelters across the country for a loving family to give them a chance," Thomson told Insider. "And this photo shoot does a wonderful job of conveying this important message."</p><p>Pratt said every animal featured in the "Muttcracker" photo shoots of 2018 and 2019 was adopted - most within a matter of days. And those featured in this year's photos are on track toward the same fate, according to the photographer. </p><div type="image" title="dancers dogs photos" height="1500" width="2000" msid="79749511" hostid="261"></div><p>Of course, the 2020 photo shoot was a bit different as a result of COVID-19 and other events that made for a rocky year. Still, Pratt, Kreidich, and all others involved knew that their holiday project was too important to their fans - and the featured animals - to skip.</p><p>"Everyone just needs something positive in 2020, so we really just had to do it again," Pratt said of the photo shoot.</p><p>Thomson added that while the Stray Rescue of St. Louis is "always thrilled" to be featured, those working for the donation-based organization knew that "this year would be more important than ever."</p><h2><strong>Pratt says she's especially proud of the fact that Dancers &amp; Dogs can put a smile on people's faces, even during difficult times</strong></h2><p>"We have people now, our followers, who really look forward to it," Pratt told Insider. "It's one of those warm and fuzzy projects that makes people happy and gives them a smile."</p><p>And it's not just viewers who are happier as a result of this project; the featured animals are benefiting just as much, if not more.</p><p>"We've featured some animals that have special needs and may have a harder time finding a home that's right for them," Pratt said, adding that they've featured a dog with a wheelchair, as well as two dogs who have issues with their back legs. "They deserve to have a happy home, and I think they do now."</p><p>Thomson agreed, and described the impact of these photo shoots as nothing less than "incredible." </p><p>"We seek out and take in those who no other organization will help, or would simply euthanize because they are too expensive to heal," Thomson said of the Stray Rescue of St. Louis. "We rescue the abandoned, beaten, bred, fought, injured, terrified, defeated, and betrayed."</p><div type="image" title="dancers &amp; dogs photoshoot" height="1500" width="2000" msid="79749513" hostid="261"></div><p>"The minute animals enter our doors, we look in their eyes and promise them all the second chance they deserve for health, home, commitment, and love, no matter the time or cost," she continued.</p><p><strong>"</strong>Many of the animals in the photos were pulled from death row, recovered from gunshots, survived dog fights, and more," Thomson said. "To see them in this beautiful way really shows just how beautiful and brave they really are."</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/doers-list-trailblazers-creating-hope-and-inspiring-2020-8">The Doers: 25 trailblazers creating hope and inspiring us</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-doers-jessie-strobels-anti-racist-book-subscription-service-2020-11">Jessie Strobel's book subscription service gives kids and parents access to anti-racism education</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-doers-janice-martellucci-mindfulness-peace-in-schools-2020-8">Janice Martellucci teaches teens the importance of mindfulness. In the midst of a global health issue, mass protests, and catastrophic natural disasters, it's more crucial than ever.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-doers-lester-walker-empowerment-food-inclusion-ghetto-gastro-2020-8">Ghetto Gastro's Lester Walker, a former chef at NYC's top Michelin-starred restaurants, is signing deals with Nike and Cartier and donating 150,000 meals a week to families in need</a></li></ul>

A couple is lifting spirits this holiday season by photographing adoptable animals with ballet dancers dressed in festive costumes

<p><a href="https://www.insider.com/category/the-doers"></a></p><div type="image" title="strobel lede" height="900" width="1200" msid="79533370" hostid="261"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Jessie Strobel founded Speak Up Book Club Inc. following the death of George Floyd. </li><li>The subscription-based service offers <keyword id="5050" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="books">books</keyword> written by Black authors, as well as educational materials to help families create change in their communities. </li><li>For every subscription Speak Up gets, the company donates a book to a child in need, and they've even created a special holiday box that celebrates different cultures. </li><li>"If the books that you are reading don't represent your children or your community, it's really a disadvantage to them," Strobel told Insider.</li></ul><p>Jessie Strobel lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband and two sons — just under a mile from the site of George Floyd's death. </p><p>Strobel, 39, also lived in the area when <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-a-look-at-whats-next-in-the-jamar-clark-case-2016-3">Jamar Clark</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/philando-castile-shooting-video-dash-cam-2017-6">Philando Castile</a> were killed by police officers in Minnesota.</p><p>"I didn't do anything after" their deaths, she told Insider. </p><p>But she said watching protesters march past her house made the collective grief and injustice of <a href="https://www.insider.com/judge-dismissed-3rd-degree-murder-charge-against-derek-chauvin-2020-10">Floyd's death at the hands of a police officer</a> harder to look away from.</p><p>"Whether you think your kids are watching you or not, they are," Strobel said. "I wanted to be sure that my kids knew that if they wanted to, they could make a difference, and you need to work hard to do that."</p><p>Strobel knew she had to take action.</p><h2>Strobel founded Speak Up Book Club Inc., a nonprofit book subscription service dedicated to educating families about race</h2><p>After Floyd's death, Strobel saw that there was an <keyword id="6355445" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="education">education</keyword> gap when it came to race and racism. </p><p>"I realized after George Floyd that there weren't really resources out there for families" hoping to learn more about racism and bias, Strobel told Insider. "And if the books that you are reading don't represent your children or your community, it's really a disadvantage to them."</p><p>That thinking led Strobel to found <a href="https://www.speakupbookclubinc.com/">Speak Up Book Club Inc.</a>, a book subscription service dedicated to providing families with books that help them understand and confront racism, in June 2020. </p><div type="image" title="untitled(19of30)" height="1332" width="1776" msid="79533371" hostid="261"></div><p>"Our mission is to encourage dialogue and action through educating parents and children on tough topics such as racism and white privilege," the company's <a href="https://www.speakupbookclubinc.com/">website</a> states. "Each month we choose an engaging book your child will love, provide new resources, action plans, activities, and crafts that help parents facilitate discussions of these hard topics."</p><p>The accompanying material provides families with options for initial steps they can take to be anti-racist that go beyond books, whether it be through joining organizations or by simply taking their kids to more diverse parks. </p><p>Each box costs $30. Speak Up donates a book to a child in need for each subscription it gets.</p><p>The Speak Up team is also offering a special <a href="https://www.speakupbookclubinc.com/subscriptions/p/holiday-box-preorder-yj8f6">Holiday Box</a> for December. The box costs $24.99 and has four books instead of one, each of which educates readers about holidays from different cultures.</p><p>"I grew up in the '80s where we didn't talk about many holidays besides Christmas or Thanksgiving," Strobel said, and she doesn't want kids today to have the same experience. </p><p>"We really want to make it affordable to anybody that wants this education," Strobel said.</p><p>Strobel partnered with her friend and former colleague Lola Ayisat Oshodi to bring the idea to life, and volunteers make the boxes happen each month. Speak Up was awaiting its nonprofit status at the time of writing. </p><h2>Volunteers review the books that go into the subscription boxes, and almost all of them are written by Black authors</h2><p>The company provides subscription boxes for three age ranges: infant to 4-year-olds, 4 to 8-year-olds, and 10-year-olds and up.</p><p>Almost all of the Speak Up books are written by Black authors, and the books come from locally-owned and BIPOC-owned bookstores.</p><p>"Black authors, in general, have been underrepresented, misrepresented, or invisible in children's literature," Strobel said of why the company focuses on Black authors. "We just want to do our part to have those voices heard."</p><div type="image" title="DSC08606" height="1333" width="1777" msid="79533372" hostid="261"></div><p>The Speak Up team consists of Strobel, Oshodi, and six other volunteers who select the books that go into the boxes.</p><p>Strobel said that the team spends "countless hours" vetting the books for the boxes. </p><p>"Usually, we try to pick a theme for each month," she said. "They'll usually come up with three or four different books that fit that theme." The group will then discuss the options and nominate the book that they think would be the best fit. </p><div type="image" title="untitled(15of43)" height="1333" width="1777" msid="79533374" hostid="261"></div><p>The company also allows customers to nominate kids in need to receive a free book through its website year-round.</p><p>"I would just give them to everyone if I could," Strobel said of why free books are part of the company's business model. </p><h2>Founding Speak Up has shown Strobel how much she still has to learn about anti-racism and her own privilege</h2><p>Strobel has degrees in psychology and social work, and education has been a common thread throughout her career. She's run afterschool programs for homeless and at-risk students, and she has taught in preschools and Montessori schools.</p><p>But Strobel told Insider that as she's explored new books through the company, she's realized how much she still has to learn about anti-racism and her own privilege.</p><div type="image" title="DSC07485" height="1333" width="1777" msid="79533379" hostid="261"></div><p>"I can't tell you how much I learned from just reading some of these books," Strobel said. "It was quite embarrassing. For someone that thought that I probably had pretty good knowledge of the subject matter, there was so much I didn't know."</p><p>Strobel said her own children's bookshelf has changed dramatically since Speak Up was founded. "We've always had really open conversations about everything, but now we're quite more intentional with what books come into the house and which ones we read," she said. Her youngest son's favorite book was <a href="https://www.insider.com/ibram-x-kendi-new-childrens-book-antiracist-baby-2020-6">Ibram X. Kendi's "Antiracist Baby"</a> at the time of writing. </p><p>"It's an ongoing journey," Strobel added of her anti-racism efforts. "There's work to be done every day."</p><h2>Strobel also hopes the work she's doing with Speak Up can help white people be better allies to the Black community</h2><p>"For so long, people just didn't want to ruffle feathers," Strobel told Insider of how white people often approach racism."But if someone's a racist, call it out. I don't care if they're your friends or your family. Tell them that they're wrong."</p><p>She hopes Speak Up's work can help white people be better allies to the Black community.</p><div type="image" title="untitled(38of43)" height="1196" width="1595" msid="79533382" hostid="261"></div><p>Strobel is trying to put her money where her mouth is by getting involved in her community with her family. "With my kids' school, we do the equity and justice committee," she said. "We sit on two board meetings. You want change to start at your level."</p><p>For Strobel, her work all comes back to what she wants her kids to bring to the world.</p><p>"I want to raise good humans," she said. "They can be whoever they want to be, and love whoever they want to. They just need to be good people."</p><p>You can learn more about Speak Up Book Club <a href="https://www.speakupbookclubinc.com/">here</a>.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/doers-list-trailblazers-creating-hope-and-inspiring-2020-8">The Doers: 25 trailblazers creating hope and inspiring us</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-doers-janice-martellucci-mindfulness-peace-in-schools-2020-8">Janice Martellucci teaches teens the importance of mindfulness. In the midst of a global health issue, mass protests, and catastrophic natural disasters, it's more crucial than ever.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-doers-activist-raquel-willis-black-trans-lives-2020-8">Meet Raquel Willis, the activist who made history with a powerful speech for Black trans lives in front of 15,000 people — and won't stop until the world is listening</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-doers-lester-walker-empowerment-food-inclusion-ghetto-gastro-2020-8">Ghetto Gastro's Lester Walker, a former chef at NYC's top Michelin-starred restaurants, is using deals with Nike and Cartier to donate 150,000 meals a week to families in need</a></li></ul>

Jessie Strobel's book subscription service gives kids and parents access to anti-racism education

<p>Donald Trump&#xa0;claimed&#xa0;<span>during the first presidential debate</span>&#xa0;that he&#xa0;considered&#xa0;using sordid details of Hillary Clinton's personal life against her, but refrained.</p><p>"I was going to say something extremely rough to Hillary and her family, and I said to myself, I couldn't do it. It's inappropriate, it's not nice. But she's spent hundreds of millions of dollars on negative ads against me, many of which are untrue," Trump said. "It's not a nice thing."</p><p>Trump later reiterated&#xa0;to Yahoo News reporter Hunter Walker&#xa0;in the spin room he was indeed tempted to bring up former President Bill Clinton's decades-old&#xa0;extramarital affairs.</p><p>"I was but I decided not to do it out of respect for Chelsea," the Republican presidential candidate said, referring to Chelsea Clinton.</p><p><div> </div></p><p>The comments came after the Republican presidential nominee&#xa0;<span>defended his assertion that Hillary Clinton does not have a "presidential look."</span></p><p>Pressed by moderator Lester Holt, Trump doubled down.</p><p>"She doesn't have the look, she doesn't have the stamina. I said she doesn't have the stamina," Trump said.</p><p>Clinton quickly shot back, touting her experience as secretary of state as proof of her stamina.</p><p>"As soon as he travels to 123 countries and negotiates a peace deal, a ceasefire, a release of dissidents, an opening of new opportunities around the world, or even spends 11 hours testifying in front of a presidential committee, he can talk to me about stamina," Clinton said.</p><p>"Hillary has experience, but it's bad experience," Trump replied.</p><p>Clinton responded by highlighting&#xa0;some of Trump's past comments about prominent women.</p><p>"He tried to switch from looks to stamina, but this is a man who called women pigs, slobs, and dogs," Clinton said.</p><p>She added: "One of the worst things that he said was at a beauty contest - he loves supporting them and hanging around them. He called them Miss Piggy and then he called her Miss Housekeeping, because she was Latina."&#xa0;</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hair-surgeon-explains-donald-trump-hair-2016-9">A hair surgeon explains what's going on with Donald Trump's hair</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="N4M2pleTqshFojtAM7PDyhnn3kvHa-h-" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

TRUMP: I was going to bring up Bill Clinton's sex scandals, but decided it was too 'inappropriate'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Dr. Cleavon Gilman is an emergency medicine physician in Arizona whose project #COVIDDeaths honors and helps track people who've died from the coronavirus. </li><li>He focuses on young people to combat beliefs that the virus doesn't affect them, and to wake people up to  their duty to take precautions like wearing a mask. </li><li>Gilman, a military veteran, first became an advocate for COVID-19 awareness when he was on the front lines of <keyword id="43587" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="pandemic">pandemic</keyword> in New York City. He called it "a war zone." </li><li><strong>Willis is on Insider's list of Doers: 25 trailblazers creating hope and inspiring us. Check out the full list <a href="https://www.insider.com/doers-list-trailblazers-creating-hope-and-inspiring-2020-8">here</a>.</strong></li></ul><p>Skylar Herbert was just five years old when she died from COVID-19. </p><p>"She was a beautiful spirit, she was friendly, she was loving, she was caring, she was funny, she was just a really happy five-year-old," Herbert's mom <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PjRJ8AOo-w">said</a> in April, soon after her death. </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6COdxBvJcGU&amp;feature=youtu.beu.be">Jameela Dirrean-Emoni Barber</a> was 17. The Maryland resident died the day after apologizing to her teacher because she felt sick and couldn't turn in her assignment. </p><p><a href="https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/coronavirus/2020/04/16/nj-coronavirus-ben-luderer-cliffside-park-baseball-coach/5103602002/">Ben Luderer</a>, a baseball coach in New Jersey, died at the age of 30. He's survived by his wife and his parents, who are now childless.  </p><p>These are some of the hundreds of young victims of COVID-19 that Dr. Cleavon Gilman, an emergency medicine physician in Arizona, has been documenting through his project <a href="https://cleavonmd.com/coviddeaths/">#COVIDDeaths</a>. </p><p>Others include his colleagues, patients, and a cousin — 27-year-old gym teacher Simon Press, who was trying out for the NFL and whom Gilman called "the healthiest person you're ever going to find." </p><p>Gilman, 41, launched the series in May to combat false beliefs that the virus only affects at-risk populations. He highlights people like healthcare workers, law enforcement, educators, and people under 45. </p><p>"'Only 104 kids died,'" Gilman said people on the internet will respond. "I'm like, 'Only?' That's a lot of kids who were otherwise healthy." </p><p>The project, as well as a handful others like it including <a href="https://twitter.com/markedbycovid?lang=en">Marked by Covid</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/CTZebra">@CTZebra</a>, also fill in important gaps in tracking; there's <a href="https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/nursing/nobody-accurately-tracks-healthcare-workers-lost-covid-19-so-she-stays-night-cataloging-dead">no formal collection of COVID-related deaths by these categories</a>. </p><p>Putting names and faces to statistics, he hopes, makes the virus more real and wakes people up to the duty to do their parts. </p><p>"In World War II, people were drafted into serving in the military. I've served in the military," Gilman, who was deployed to Iraq as a military medic in 2004, told Insider. "All we're asking people to do is wear a mask and stay six feet apart. It's not like we're having you deployed to ICUs in the hospital." </p><h2><strong>'I had to speak up about what I was seeing on the front lines' </strong></h2><p>Gilman didn't set out to become an advocate, nor did he have the time to. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-er-doctor-describes-a-hospital-day-covid-19-2020-4">Serving as the chief resident of emergency medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital</a> during the height of the pandemic in New York, he worked eight to 12 hour days in what he said felt like a boundaryless war. </p><p>"It's not unusual to walk into a shift and there's a corpse or something like that from an hour prior that has tags on the sheets," Gilman <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-er-doctor-describes-a-hospital-day-covid-19-2020-4">previously told</a> Insider. "That's just a constant reminder that I'm in a war zone."</p><p>Each shift, he'd call a handful of families to break heart-wrenching news. Pre-coronavirus, he made such calls one or twice a month.</p><p>Gilman is also a musician <a href="https://cleavonmd.com/music/">who raps about physician wellness</a>, <keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="health">health</keyword> policy, and evidence-based medicine, a fiance to his partner of 16 years, and an uncle to 10- and 12-year-old girls whom he raises like daughters. </p><p>And yet despite all the hats he wears, Gilman felt compelled to document his experience on the front lines through social media under the hashtag #CleavonMDJournal. He also began talking to the press, something few physicians do in large part for fear of repercussion from their institutions.  </p><p>"I really took a chance on this," he said, though it helped that he had no complaints about his hospital's handling of the virus. </p><p>"I've been in war before. I know that these are life-altering moments in our history, and this was bigger than me," Gilman said. "I had to say something, I had to speak about what I was seeing on the front lines." </p><p>"If I didn't say anything," he added, "I couldn't live with myself, knowing … this beast was here and it was going to sweep across the US." </p><p>Now that he's through residency and out of the hot spot, he's shifted his focus from #CleavonMDJournal to #COVIDDeaths. </p><h2><strong>Gilman says his military service aged him 10 years </strong></h2><p>Gilman, whose father is Black and mother is white, was raised by his mom in Long Branch, New Jersey. After high school, he told Insider, he couldn't land a job because of his speech impediment. Plus, he said, he didn't know how to properly dress, or prepare, for an interview.</p><p>"I've had to overcome a lot of adversity, but as my mom says, I would bring home animals who were hurt," like stray cats and birds with broken wings, Gilman recalled. "So I guess I've always had a good heart." </p><p>That led him to medicine by way of the US Navy, which he joined at age 19 as a hospital corpsman, eventually deployed to Iraq. </p><p>"I kinda aged by 10 years, seeing the bloodshed and carnage and poverty that you see in war," said Gilman, who experienced post-traumatic stress disorder when he returned. </p><p>He's worried that the current war against the coronavirus will lead to similar consequences for countless Americans.  </p><p>"There are going to be millions of people who have PTSD from COVID to healthcare workers and all the deaths that they've seen, the families who have lost children, who have lost brothers," he said. "I really hope that we can invest in our psychiatric departments. " </p><div type="image" title="hospital coronavirus" height="3714" width="5621" msid="77810423" hostid="261"></div><p>But military service gave him an important perspective, too. </p><p>"I had a really great appreciation for all the opportunity here in the US to have an education because in other places, if you're born poor, you don't have any kind of route to go to college or to school." </p><p>Back in the US, he was able to attend a North Carolina community college, transfer to UC Berkeley, and finish medical school at UC San Francisco before his residency in New York.   </p><p>"I'm taking advantage of every opportunity I've had because I didn't have any opportunity growing up," Gilman said. "That's not lost on me at all."</p><p>Still, his work takes a toll.  </p><p>"Posting about dead people every day -- I'm just like, 'Is it going to be me? Did that person know they were going to die when they woke up that morning?'" Gilman said. "It weighs very heavy on the heart." </p><p>But he does it anyway. People are still <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/anti-maskers-are-new-anti-vaxxers-threatening-public-health-coronavirus-2020-7">not wearing masks</a>. Schools are still <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-superintendents-federal-gov-is-not-the-nations-school-board-2020-7">reopening</a>. People are still partying. And <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/people-who-died-from-coronavirus-after-not-taking-it-seriously-2020-7">people are still dying</a>. </p><p>"I wake up every morning and I'm like, 'I can't believe this is my life,'" Gilman said. "I can't believe we're in quarantine. I can't believe people don't listen to science in 2020. I can't believe we are the worst in handling the pandemic in the whole world." </p><p>"I do this on my own time," he added, "because I want to prevent unnecessary deaths in America."</p><p><strong>Read more:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/doers-list-trailblazers-creating-hope-and-inspiring-2020-8">The Doers: 25 trailblazers creating hope and inspiring us</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-doers-activist-raquel-willis-black-trans-lives-2020-8">Meet Raquel Willis, the activist who made history with a powerful speech for Black trans lives in front of 15,000 people — and won't stop until the world is listening</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-doers-lester-walker-empowerment-food-inclusion-ghetto-gastro-2020-8">Ghetto Gastro's Lester Walker, a former chef at NYC's top Michelin-starred restaurants, is using deals with Nike and Cartier to donate 150,000 meals a week to families in need</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-doers-teenager-alexandria-villaseor-fighting-climate-change-2020-8">15-year-old Alexandria Villaseñor watched the deadliest fire in California's history burn through entire towns. Now she's leading a 'battle cry' for global action on climate change.</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-doers-janice-martellucci-mindfulness-peace-in-schools-2020-8">Janice Martellucci teaches teens the importance of mindfulness. In the midst of a global health issue, mass protests, and catastrophic natural disasters, it's more crucial than ever.</a></p>

Cleavon Gilman has worked on the front lines of hospitals in New York and Arizona. Now he's raising awareness of coronavirus risks for young people.

<div type="image" title="Janice Martellucci" height="1335" width="1780" msid="77790222" hostid="261"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Janice Martellucci is the managing director and lead teacher for Peace in Schools, a nonprofit that brings mindfulness education to public schools in Portland, Oregon. </li><li>Martellucci teaches mindfulness courses, helping students become more present and less anxious. The classes even help students process trauma.</li><li>Martellucci told Insider that she sees mindfulness improving students' and teachers' lives every day, and that LGBTQ+ and students who have experienced trauma are opting into and benefiting from the program the most.</li><li>"I don't think it's an overstatement to say that mindfulness saves lives," Martellucci said.</li><li><strong>Martellucci is on Insider's list of Doers: 25 trailblazers creating hope and inspiring us. Check out the full list <a href="https://www.insider.com/doers-list-trailblazers-creating-hope-and-inspiring-2020-8#alok-vaid-menon-29-is-challenging-myths-about-gender-in-fashion-1">here</a>.</strong></li></ul><p>The first thing you see when you walk into one of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/janicemartellucci/">Janice Martellucci's</a> classrooms is a group of teenagers sitting on the floor in a circle. They've come from an academic class and tossed aside backpacks full of geometry homework to settle in on yoga mats and cushions.</p><p>"We begin with a mindful minute, which is basically a brief meditation," Martellucci, the managing director and lead teacher for the nonprofit organization <a href="https://www.peaceinschools.org/">Peace in Schools</a>, told Insider. At 31, Martellucci's long hair and freckled face exudes a youthful energy that's hard to miss.</p><p>"Then we do a check-in and go around the circle. It's a big way that we build trust throughout the courses — just everyone getting a chance to be seen and heard without any requirements to share," she said.</p><h2>Peace in Schools, which has been around since 2014, created the country's first for-credit high-school mindfulness course.</h2><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/what-is-mindfulness">Mindfulness</a> is a practice of intentionally living in the present. Practitioners use breathing exercises, yoga, and meditation to process their feelings and experiences without judgment. It's proved to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23541163/">alleviate anxiety</a> and can even help people <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25365778/">better deal with pain</a>.</p><p>The sense of trust created in Peace in Schools classrooms is even more important now, as the staff tries to help students process things happening in the world around them — the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> pandemic, for example, and the recent Black Lives Matter protests. </p><p>"If something happens in the community or the world, we integrate it into our classes," Martellucci said. The courses give students a space to process the complex emotions they have about how these events impact them. Mindfulness can help to ground them when the external world feels out of their control.</p><p>"Right now, teens have nothing to hang on to," she said, pointing to the uncertainty of our current moment. "If we look outwards, there's nothing to make us feel stable, safe, secure, or optimistic about the future. So the class is really about how we access the safety of our own selves." </p><h2>Martellucci came to mindfulness in 2010, during what she calls her quarter-life crisis.</h2><p>Her father was sick with cancer, she was having <keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="health">health</keyword> problems of her own, and she had just fallen in love with a woman — who is now her wife — after 20 years of thinking she was straight.</p><p>"It was this period in my life where all of who I thought that I was and all the things that I had used to cope were changing, and it wasn't working anymore," she said.</p><p>Her initial reaction to all the change was anger. "I had no models of how to be with pain in a way that didn't create more of it for myself or for others," she said.</p><div type="image" title="Janice Martellucci" height="2667" width="2000" msid="77790226" hostid="261"></div><p>After she had a breakdown one night, a friend suggested she try mindfulness, and she decided to give it a chance. She agreed to go to a yoga class in Sacramento, California, where she met Caverly Morgan, who went on to found Peace in Schools. Morgan's presence and approach to the class moved Martellucci.</p><p>"It was the first moment that I thought and felt something that was possible that I didn't know was possible," she said.</p><p>Martellucci ended up studying under Morgan, meeting with her weekly to develop her mindfulness practices. She went on monthlong and weeklong silent retreats and participated in regimented formal training to fully embrace mindfulness. </p><p>Today, she said, her practice manifests in the way she treats her relationships and herself.</p><p>"It's no longer that I insert mindfulness practice into my life," she said. "It's that my entire life is a stage for my mindfulness practice."</p><p>She joined Peace in Schools as a staff member in 2015.</p><p>"When this opportunity came up, I jumped on it because it combined my two greatest passions: working in education with youths and mindfulness practice," Martellucci said. She also works with <a href="https://www.presencecollective.org/">Presence Collective</a>, a community group that hosts events, speaking engagements, and mindfulness sessions with the intention of dismantling white supremacy and other forms of oppression. </p><p>"I don't think it's an overstatement to say that mindfulness saves lives," Martellucci said.</p><h2>Having courses available during the normal weekday is an important part of the mission of Peace in Schools.</h2><p>"Our mission is essentially to make the tools of well-being accessible to all," Martellucci said. "What better way to do that than to do it from inside the public education system?"</p><p>Martellucci is glad mindfulness became part of her life when she was struggling, but she wishes she had access to it when she was a teenager. "I just would have loved the opportunity to love myself sooner," she said.</p><p>The program operates only out of Portland, Oregon, at the moment, but the organization hopes to become a nationwide endeavor at some point, according to Martellucci. </p><p>Since it was founded, the organization has grown to offer mindfulness meetups for teens and courses for educators in addition to its in-school programming, with Martellucci overseeing the teen and adult programs. The organization's mindfulness classes are available in nine public schools in Portland and reached 2,857 teens in the 2019-20 school year, according to its <a href="https://www.peaceinschools.org/about-us">website</a>.</p><h2>Each mindfulness lesson has a verbal and physical portion, and yoga is often part of the coursework.</h2><p>The classes vary, but there are common themes throughout them, such as a focus on community.</p><div type="image" title="yoga" height="2336" width="3114" msid="77790230" hostid="261"></div><p>"Mindfulness can get a bad rap sometimes because it's perceived as just very individual, isolated practice, which it can be," Martellucci said. "But it's really important to us that it's relational and that we're connecting it to their lives, so we're connecting it to larger structures in society."</p><p>Peace in Schools has tangible evidence their programming helps students. According to <a href="https://www.peaceinschools.org/mindfulness-research">research</a> produced in partnership with Johns Hopkins University, students had a higher interest in attending school and were less anxious after taking mindfulness courses.</p><p>The classes have transitioned online since the advent of the pandemic and look a bit different, but the general setup is the same. A lesson still starts with a mindful minute, there's a check-in for the group, and the curriculum incorporates yoga.</p><p>Now, however, the instructors have deviated from their planned lessons to help students deal with the new problems they've found themselves facing during the pandemic — like feelings of isolation and anxiety about the future. Courses in the fall will be designed specifically to help students process trauma.</p><p>Martellucci can see the classes making life a bit easier for students as they struggle with online learning and the unknowns of their futures. One of the program's students <a href="https://www.peaceinschools.org/blog-content/2020/7/14/teen-mindfulness-covid-19">wrote a blog post about her mindfulness courses amid the pandemic</a>.</p><p>"Mindfulness taught me how to cope and know that it's OK to feel the things I feel," the student wrote. "The schedule in our mindfulness class was shortened and different, but not any less helpful. In fact it is more important than ever right now. Mindfulness and meditation helped me through a really hard time, and it is helping me again." </p><h2>Martellucci hopes that mindfulness education can help people with their sense of self-worth and empathy.</h2><p>"If we were in touch with everyone's inherent value and how we are connected intimately forever and always, and if we acted on behalf of that understanding, just imagine how different all of the moments, small and huge, would be," she said. </p><p>She said she gets glimpses of what that life could be like when she's with her 1-year-old son, and through her work. </p><p>"At the end of the day, we all want the same thing," Martellucci said. "We want to be seen. We want to be heard. We want to feel like we belong. We want to love and be loved."</p><p>You can learn more about Peace in Schools <a href="https://www.peaceinschools.org/">here</a>, and you can follow Martellucci on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/janicemartellucci/">Instagram</a>.</p><p><strong>Read more:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/doers-list-trailblazers-creating-hope-and-inspiring-2020-8">The Doers: 25 trailblazers creating hope and inspiring us</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-doers-activist-raquel-willis-black-trans-lives-2020-8">Meet Raquel Willis, the activist who made history with a powerful speech for Black trans lives in front of 15,000 people — and won't stop until the world is listening</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-doers-lester-walker-empowerment-food-inclusion-ghetto-gastro-2020-8">Ghetto Gastro's Lester Walker, a former chef at NYC's top Michelin-starred restaurants, is using deals with Nike and Cartier to donate 150,000 meals a week to families in need</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-doers-teenager-alexandria-villaseor-fighting-climate-change-2020-8">15-year-old Alexandria Villaseñor watched the deadliest fire in California's history burn through entire towns. Now she's leading a 'battle cry' for global action on climate change.</a></p>

Janice Martellucci teaches teens the importance of mindfulness. In the midst of a global health issue, mass protests, and catastrophic natural disasters, it's more crucial than ever.

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div>Since the announcement of anchor Brian Williams' suspension from "NBC Nightly News" and Jon Stewart's departure from "The Daily Show" came simultaneously Tuesday night, media observers are floating a novel idea: Why not have the comedian take over Williams' role at NBC?</p><p>Stewart revealed his plans to leave Comedy Central's satirical newscast just before NBC announced Williams would be suspended for six months due to false claims he made about time he spent in Iraq.</p><p>And since many experts believe Williams <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/brian-williams-suspension-experts-weigh-in-on-whether-his-career-can-be-salvaged/">will never return to his gig</a>, people are speculating Stewart could be in line to replace him.</p><p>"Please raise your hand if you want Jon Stewart to replace Brian Williams at NBC?" The New York Times' labor reporter Steven Greenberg <a href="https://twitter.com/greenhousenyt/status/565346191689666560">wrote on Twitter</a>.</p><p>"As crazy as the 'NBC Nightly News' with Jon Stewart may sound, the timing of Stewart's announcement and the length of Brian Williams' suspension is oddly perfect for exactly that to happen," <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/jon-stewart-retirement-matches-nbc-opening-article-1.2110539">mused</a> Daily News columnist David Hinkley.</p><p>The Washington Post's Terrence McCoy <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/02/11/why-jon-stewart-and-brian-williams-should-just-switch-jobs/">also noted the switch could "make sense."</a> </p><p>Here are some reasons NBC might consider Stewart:</p><h3>1. The Contract Timing Seems Perfect</h3><p>NBC probably won't be replacing Williams immediately: If they had plans to do so, why would the company's Tuesday statement suggest the anchor could return to his post in six months? Instead, the network likely bought itself some time to figure out how to chart the best course forward.</p><p>And Stewart's contract with Comedy Central <a href="http://deadline.com/2012/07/jon-stewart-and-stephen-colbert-extend-contracts-with-comedy-central-306742/">expires later this year</a>, right around the time NBC will need to reveal its permanent solution. </p><p>"We're still working out the details," Stewart said Tuesday of when he'll leave his show. "I'm up in September. It might be around then. It might be December. It might be July."</p><h3>2. Stewart Is Interested in More Serious Topics</h3><p>Stewart isn't all laughs. He just finished a documentary, "Rosewater," that chronicled human rights activist Maziar Bahari's incarceration in Iran.</p><p>And despite the comedic nature of his show, Stewart has developed a reputation as a reliable news source. <span>In fact, a</span><span> 2008 New York Times </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/arts/television/17kaku.html?pagewanted=all">article</a><span> asked, "Is Jon Stewart the Most Trusted Man in America?" </span>This is important for NBC in the aftermath of Williams' scandal, in which he is accused of repeatedly fabricating stories. </p><p>"Stewart has become as much a serious media man as anything else," the Washington Post <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/02/11/why-jon-stewart-and-brian-williams-should-just-switch-jobs/">declared</a> Wednesday. "And most Americans agree. In 2008, Pew Research took a poll, asking which journalist they most admired. Stewart finished fourth. ... Another journalist finished right ahead of Stewart in the poll. It was Williams."</p><h3>3. NBC Was Already Interested in Having Stewart Cover Serious Topics</h3><p>According to New York Magazine's Gabriel Sherman, NBC <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/report-nbc-wanted-jon-stewart-to-host-meet-the-press-2014-10">attempted to recruit</a> Stewart to host its flagship Sunday news program, "Meet the Press" last year. Sherman said the story was based on three senior television sources with inside knowledge of the proposal and that the network was willing to give Stewart almost "anything." Stewart later confirmed the report, but downplayed NBC's interest. </p><p>"NBC went to Jon Stewart for 'Meet The Press' right? Imagine if they try to get him again to replace Williams," Business Insider's own Hunter Walker <a href="https://twitter.com/hunterw/status/563812457547046912">speculated on Twitter</a> last Friday. "Massive ratings booster." </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>However, there are a lot of reasons NBC may not be remotely interested in considering Stewart as well: </p><h3>1. A Comedian Might Be a Bad Fit</h3><p>An executive at another network told Business Insider that Stewart's funnyman reputation is not ideal for NBC as it looks to regain the American public's trust. </p><p>"I don't think it's even in the realm of possibility because I think he's going to go off and do movies and other things," the executive said. "If you are suspending a guy for inaccuracies and telling a story that he was involved in in the 'Nightly News,' you don't then get somebody who has no news background."</p><p>Stewart himself suggested it would have been "weird" for him to host "Meet the Press" because of his entertainment background.</p><p>"I'm sure part of them was thinking, 'Why don't we just make it a variety show?'" Stewart t<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/jon-stewart-on-meet-the-press-offer-they-were-casting-a-wide-and-weird-net-20141030#ixzz3HemDYOf4">old Rolling Stone</a> last year. "News and entertainment have melded in a way. But they would be overcompensating on the entertainment side. </p><h3>2. Stewart Might Be Too Partisan</h3><p>The "Daily Show" host has made no secret of his liberal leanings over the years and he might not fit the traditionally nonpartisan news anchor role. And with a desire to build on <a href="http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/brian-williams-comeback-begins-nbc-touts-nightly-news-ratings-milestone-1201429858/">the roughly 10 million viewers</a> "NBC Night News" already gets, Stewart would likely need to appeal to a broader, more centrist audience than his show has. </p><p>Indeed, conservative critics slammed NBC for considering Stewart for "Meet the Press" when details of the offer leaked last October.</p><p>"Considering the state of MSNBC, it's probably not surprise that NBC has a flexible definition of journalism," a NewsBusters blogger <a href="http://newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-whitlock/2014/10/08/report-nbc-wanted-jon-stewart-new-meet-press-anchor">wrote at the time</a>.</p><h3>3. NBC Might Have Someone Else in Mind</h3><p>It's possible the network already knows whom they want to replace Williams - possibly Lester Holt, who is filling in for Williams during his suspension, or one of "The Today Show" hosts, Matt Lauer or Savannah Guthrie. </p><p>Politico's Dylan Byers <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2015/02/how-to-read-the-brian-williams-news-202428.html">speculated</a> that Williams' job might Holt's to lose because NBC executives will be able to see if he can sustain the news program's ratings. </p><p>"Brian Williams probably isn't coming back," Byers wrote. "Consider the next six months an audition for Lester Holt." </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jon-stewart-leaving-the-daily-show-comedy-central-2015-2">Watch Jon Stewart break it to his audience that he's leaving 'The Daily Show'</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="5tcGlhczpRxbi6-zKogSCm2wvlJeWoAo" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Could Jon Stewart replace Brian Williams?

<p><em><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source">REUTERS/Tomas Bravo</p><p class="caption">Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel looks on during a dialogue with Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera (not pictured) after signing the 'Forging A Global Cities Economic Partnership' pact in Mexico City November 14, 2013.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Chicago's image as 'city that works' threatened by looming pension crisis</em></p>
<p>CHICAGO (AP) - It's not the vision of a world-class city that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel typically likes to portray.</p>
<p>More teachers losing their jobs, thousands fewer police and firefighters on duty, less frequent trash collection and miles of potholed roads going unrepaired - all as property taxes soar.</p>
<p>But that's the scenario Emanuel and others have said could befall the nation's third-largest city if the state Legislature - which passed a landmark measure last week to address Illinois' severe public pension shortfall - doesn't deal with Chicago's own multibillion-dollar pension problem.</p>
<p>The economic capital of Illinois and the Midwest, Chicago holds the dubious distinction of having the worst-funded public pension system of any major U.S. city. It's a crisis that's putting in peril Chicago's reputation as "the city that works," and its vision of being a modern transportation hub in the midst of a high-tech boom.</p>
<p>"Chicago sticks out for all the wrong reasons," said Rachel Barkley, a municipal credit analyst at Morningstar Inc., referring to a public pension system that is only 35 percent funded, compared to New York's 60 percent and San Francisco's 88 percent.</p>
<p>It's raising the question: Which version of itself will Chicago become?</p>
<p>Just raising taxes, which could cause businesses to leave, or cutting services, which would penalize residents, won't be enough, said Michael Pagano, dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago.</p>
<p>"I don't think either one is even a possibility," he said. "Everybody's going to have to give something."</p>
<p>Chicago's pension funds for city workers, police officers and firefighters are about $19.5 billion short of what's needed to meet its current obligations.</p>
<p>The shortfall amounts to about $7,100 per Chicago resident. That's nearly eight times the per person cost of the unfunded pension liability in Detroit, a city that saw its population plummet in the years before it went into bankruptcy earlier this year. Add in the unfunded liability for Chicago teacher pensions, and the total shortfall jumps to about $27 billion.</p>
<p>City officials say the shortfall is due largely to investment losses during recent economic downturns, to workers and retirees living longer and to increases in benefits. The city's annual contributions to the funds, set by state statute, also were well below what was necessary for meeting its obligations, according to a Morningstar analysis.</p>
<p>Under state statute, those contributions are now scheduled to more than double next year, to about $1.07 billion. Emanuel, a former White House chief of staff who is up for re-election in 2015, says the increase is about equal to the annual cost of having 4,300 police officers on the beat or resurfacing 16,000 city blocks.</p>
<p>If the city doesn't cut services and pension benefits aren't changed, he says, the annual payment would require a 150 percent hike in property taxes - an increase he calls "unacceptable." Chicago Public Schools' payment to the pension fund for Chicago teachers also is slated to increase next year, from $196 million last year to $600 million.</p>
<p>Emanuel wants the Legislature, which must approve any changes to pension benefits, to raise the retirement age and cut cost-of-living increases, as it did for the state pension system.</p>
<p>"The pension crisis is not truly solved until relief is brought to Chicago and all of the other local governments across our state that are standing on the brink of a fiscal cliff because of our pension liabilities," he said after lawmakers approved the state changes last week.</p>
<p>Senate President John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat, said he wants to take up the issue "as soon as we can when we come back next year." Lawmakers are next scheduled to meet at the Capitol in Springfield in late January.</p>
<p>Jesse Sharkey, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union, said the union fully expects a bill that will solve the problem "on the backs of working people."</p>
<p>He warned the Legislature should prepare for protests on the scale of those in Wisconsin in 2011, when thousands of union members camped out in the state Capitol to protest Republican Gov. Scott Walker's attempts to effectively end collective bargaining for most state workers.</p>
<p>"There's no way this attack isn't coming, and we're gearing up for it," Sharkey said.</p>
<p>Emanuel isn't backing down either.</p>
<p>He says reducing the city's and the Chicago Public Schools' payments to the pension funds is particularly critical for the school system, which closed dozens of schools this fall, in part because of budget problems.</p>
<p>"I don't want the cost as it relates to pensions to crowd out the future of the city of Chicago, which is our children," he told a group of executives during a recent Bloomberg Business Summit.</p>
<p>____</p>
<p><keyword id="176712" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Associated-Press">Associated Press</keyword> writer Kerry Lester in Springfield, Ill., contributed to this report.</p>
<div class="nc_footer">
<p>Copyright (2013) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.</p>
</div>
<p></p>

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