Videos of the Day: First Lady Makes Emotional Visit to Former Slave Fort in Ghana

Epoch Newsroom
10/3/2018
Updated:
10/4/2018
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First Lady Melania Trump headed to a former slave fortress in Cape Coast, Ghana, that served as one of the trading posts during the transatlantic slave trade, on the second day of her solo trip to Africa.

Trump vowed to never forget the tumultuous conditions where Africans were held before they were shipped across the Atlantic. She described the day’s events as an “emotional” experience and laid a wreath at Cape Coast Castle, a 17th-century fortress.

The castle, now a museum, was just one of the major outposts from 66 other forts originally constructed for the slave trade. Around 40 are still standing now. Cape Coast castle at one time shipped most of its slaves to America. One castle in nearby Elmina sent slaves to Brazil.

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Sanders Defends Trump Remarks About Ford

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended President Donald Trump’s remarks about the woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Sanders told reporters on Oct. 3 at a White House briefing that “The president was stating the facts” at a Mississippi rally Tuesday night.

Sanders also blasted Democrats, accusing them of launching a “full-scale assault on” Kavanaugh’s integrity, calling it “a coordinated smear campaign.”

The FBI is conducting a revived one-week background check into Ford’s accusations, all of which Kavanaugh denies.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the chamber will vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination later this week.

British Prime Minister May Dances to ‘Dancing Queen’ at Tory Party Conference

British Prime Minister Theresa May danced onto the stage to Abba’s “Dancing Queen” on Oct. 3 at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.

May received a standing ovation when she entered the hall to give her speech.

May attracted media attention for her dancing during a three-day tour of Africa in August when she danced with students at a school in Cape Town, South Africa on Aug. 29 and with Kenyan scouts on Aug. 30.

China Fines Movie Star Fan Bingbing in Tax-Evasion Crackdown

China has ordered A-list movie star Fan Bingbing to pay about 884 million yuan ($129 million) in overdue taxes and fines, state-run media Xinhua said on Oct. 3, as a crackdown on tax evasion in the entertainment industry gathers momentum.

The 37-year-old actor, whose June disappearance touched off speculation about her whereabouts, has appeared in the “X-Men” and “Iron Man” film franchises, and has more than 62 million online followers in China.

Fan, 36, has been listed by Forbes as the highest-paid Chinese celebrity every year since 2013.

Xinhua said an investigation by Chinese tax authorities found Fan had evaded taxes of 7.3 million yuan ($1.1 million) over payments for her role in “Air Strike,” a film due to be released this year. Fan and companies she represented also dodged 248 million yuan ($36 million) in additional taxes, Xinhua said, without offering further details.

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7-Year-Old National Anthem Singer Talks About Going Viral

Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, the seven-year-old who famously sang an unforgettable rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner, just over a week ago at an LA Galaxy game appeared on “Good Morning America” on Oct. 2.

Thinking back to her performance on Sept. 23, she said she felt “nervous and excited.”

“I told myself I can’t mess up because it’s a really special song for America,” she said.

She was shocked that the performance had gone viral. Emma clearly remembers her dad’s phone blowing up with messages and videos.

“Well yeah because like after LA Galaxy my dad couldn’t stop looking at his phone,” she said.

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