In Chicago, police are investigating a hate crime against African-American actor Jussie Smollett, after two men violently attacked him on the street Tuesday. Smollett is a star of Fox’s hit TV show “Empire.” The attackers shouted racist and homophobic slurs, “poured an unknown chemical substance” onto Smollett and tied a rope around his neck. Smollett publicly came out as gay in 2015. The actor is said to be in hospital in good condition. Responding to the news, NAACP’s Derrick Johnson said, “The rise in hate crimes is directly linked to President Donald J. Trump’s racist and xenophobic rhetoric. It is dangerous for any society to allow a tone of divisiveness and hatred to dominate the political discourse.”