Singer, songwriter, activist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Joan Baez is this year's recipient of the Woody Guthrie Prize, an award that recognizes artists who speak out for the less fortunate.
Baez will be honored with a virtual ceremony on Aug. 16 during this year's virtual edition of the Philadelphia Folk Festival. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.
Woody Guthrie Center Director Deana McCloud noted Baez's activism that included marching for civil rights and opposing the Vietnam War.
"A staunch activist, Ms. Baez has consistently been on the front lines in the fight for social justice, peace, and equality," McCloud said in a statement.
Baez said in the statement that she has followed in the footsteps of Guthrie.
"It has been my mission to use my music as a voice for those who cannot be heard or have been silenced by fear and powerlessness," Baez said.
Past recipients of the award include Chuck D, John Mellencamp, Norman Lear, Kris Kristofferson, Mavis Staples and Pete Seeger.
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More