Hollywood’s brightest stars sparkled on the red carpet at the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards.
Stars like Kerry Washington, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Tiffany Haddish, and Billy Porter served up some serious style when they hit the carpet and we can’t wait to see who will take home a trophy.
Netflix has announced a slate of projects that will premiere on the streaming service this year, including titles from Spike Lee and the Obamas.
As TheGrio previously reported, Barack and Michelle Obama inked a deal with Netflix back in 2018 to produce fiction and non-fiction content for adults and children, including documentaries, dramas that all focus on “celebrating the human spirit through struggles and triumph.”
American Factory was the first project from their Higher Ground Productions imprint, which debuted on Netflix last August. Up next is a documentary about a summer camp for disabled teenagers titled Crip Camp. The Obamas serve as executive producers on the project, which “follows the journey of disabled teenagers attending a summer camp in the 1970s,” Complex writes.
Another hotly anticipated project under the High Learner banner includes a biopic about Frederick Douglass, based on David W Blight’s Pulitzer-winning book, according to The Guardian.
Meanwhile, Spike Lee’s partnership with Netflix continues with the release of Da 5 Bloods starring Chadwick Boseman. The tale follows “four African American vets who return to Vietnam seeking their squad leader’s remains and the promise of buried treasure,” per the official synopsis.
Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It series was canceled last summer by Netflix after its second season. The acclaimed director plans to shop the show around to other networks.
“Spike Lee is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and we’re thrilled he brought the series She’s Gotta Have It to Netflix. While this is our last season, we’re very proud that it will be on our service for years to come and excited to be working with Spike on his upcoming Netflix film Da 5 Bloods,” Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement at the time to The Hollywood Reporter.
Meanwhile, with the Obamas’ Netflix deal, they will be able to reach 148 million paying subscribers, the New York Times reports. But they will avoid producing politically-driven material that could inflame tensions during the 2020 presidential election.
Vince Carter has cemented his place in sports history by becoming the first player in the NBA to play in four separate decades.
Carter was drafted in 1998, and the 42-year-old veteran played through the 2000s, the 2010s and now the 2020s as forward for the Atlanta Hawks.
The future Hall of Famer is also the first NBAer to play 22 seasons in the league, msn.com reports, breaking the four-way tie with Robert Parish, Kevin Willis, Kevin Garnett, and Dirk Nowitzki.
As retirement looms, Carter, now in his final season, has played in 1,510 total games and bagged 45,930 career minutes. He would have to play another year to top Parish’s all-time record of 1,611. He’s expected to pass Nowitzki’s 1,522 this season, CBS Sports reports, but Carter has a long way to go to challenge the all-time minutes’ record held by NBA icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with 57,446.
As Carter continues to go strong in the latter part of his career, he recently showered praise on another athlete for putting in that work: Patriots QB Tom Brady.
“For somebody to do it for that long, who has made a lot of money, it’s not about money. It’s about the love of the game,” Carter said. “He can still play and compete at a high level against guys who could be your kid. That’s what it’s all about. It’s doing what you love. We’ve been doing it for a very long time, and we’re fortunate enough that we’re healthy enough to continue doing what we love for a very long time.”
Fun Fact: Carter previously spoke about how Shaquille O’Neal nearly became a Toronto Raptor when he played on the team. This went down after O’Neal’s departure from the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I tried to get Shaq to Toronto,” Carter said in a Sports Illustrated interview. “I felt like it was close. It was tough at the time, just because … a lot of guys were like, What’s Canada about? It was tough to convince players that it’s a great place until they’re actually there. Even me, when I worked out for them, I didn’t really know what they had to offer until I was actually there.”
Black drivers in Los Angeles are disproportionately stopped and searched by police officers at nearly three times the per capita rate of white drivers, according to a new report by the state’s Department of Justice.
While Blacks make up about 6% of the population, they accounted for 15% of all traffic stops across California in the second half of 2018, “while White and Latino drivers were stopped at rates proportional to their populations,” cbs8.com writes.
The report was released Thursday from the California Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board, an entity reportedly comprised of leaders from law enforcement, community groups and attorneys who are responsible for advising the Attorney General’s Office about racial profiling and traffic stops.
The annual report is required under the Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015, and, according to The Huffington Post, these latest findings highlight the racial statistics of about “1.8 million traffic stops from July through December 2018 from the eight largest law enforcement agencies in the state,” the outlet writes — including jurisdictions in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, and California Highway Patrol.
Officers targeted Black people the most due to “reasonable suspicion” but found contraband on white drivers at a higher rate than any other racial group. Asians as a whole were stopped the least when compared to Middle Eastern or South Asian drivers.
“For the first time ever, Californians have comprehensive racial and identity data on each stop and search conducted by police officers at the largest law enforcement agencies in the state,” said Sahar Durali, co-chair of the advisory board that produced this report. “This is a critical first step in the fight to end racial profiling.”
Black folks were also more likely to be stopped and arrested at night.
“Anytime you have disparities that do not reflect the population, it’s concerning. so you have to look at that,” said local attorney Douglas Oden, a member of the statewide board overseeing the data collection.
“We always perceived there was racial profiling and we wanted a way to document that and to some extent, the statistics are bearing that out,” he added. “I know growing up, I was stopped a number of times – five times in one night.”
When asked to comment on Black drivers being disproportionately targeted for stops and searches, Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office said: “We’ll let the report, data and press release speak for themselves.”
The promoter who was on the receiving end of a beat down by rapper DaBaby is now planning to sue the artist.
DaBaby, 28, was slapped with a battery charge on Thursday after his involvement in a robbery of a music promoter, identified as Kenneth. The attack was the result of the hip-hop star not being paid in full by the promoter for hosting a party for rapper Stunna 4 Vegas at a Florida nightclub.
Kenneth claims since the attack, several attorneys have hit him up to offer their services in suing the North Carolina native, according to TMZ. He is planning to take legal action against everyone involved in the incident, claiming he suffered cuts and bruises on his face.
DaBaby and members of his entourage reportedly took the victim’s iPhone 7, a credit card and about $80 in cash. The promoter “stated that during the altercation, one of the offenders doused him with apple juice,” the police report said. Surveillance footage reportedly captured the attack and the moment DaBaby and his crew fled the scene in a black SUV.
DaBaby, whose birth name is Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, was released on a $1,500 bond on Saturday, two days after his arrest, E! News reports.
He was questioned by robbery detectives in what Miami Police Department spokesperson, Kenia Fallat, is calling “an open and ongoing investigation.”
As TheGrio previously reported, last week, DaBaby was also detained in his hometown after police found marijuana in his car, according to TMZ. He was charged with misdemeanor counts of possession of marijuana and resisting an officer.
He told TMZ he was targeted by police after they received a “bogus” tip that he had drugs and guns in his vehicle.
“Every time. There’s nobody when I pull up in the parking lot, the second I get out the car, 15 cops come around — can I borrow your microphone? ****** grabs mic … shining it into the car windows … they follow me, they pull us over for no reason,” TMZ quotes the rapper as saying.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has added her voice to the chorus of critics against Donald Trump’s threat to target “52 Iranian sites” if the county retaliates against America after his drone strike Thursday in Baghdad, killing Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
In a tweet on Saturday, the Democrat congresswoman from New York described Trump’s aggressive stance against the nation as a “war crime.”
“This is a war crime,” AOC tweeted. “Threatening to target and kill innocent families, women and children – which is what you’re doing by targeting cultural sites – does not make you a ‘tough guy.’ It does not make you ‘strategic.’ It makes you a monster.”
Trump ordered an airstrike last week after Iranian-militants reportedly surrounded the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Despite the president’s claim that Soleimani was preparing an attack on American targets, New York Times correspondent Rukmini Callimachi claims credible sources, including “two US officials who had intelligence briefings after the strike on Suleimani,” shared with her that “evidence suggesting there was to be an imminent attack on American targets is “razor-thin”,” she wrote on Twitter.
This is a war crime.
Threatening to target and kill innocent families, women and children – which is what you’re doing by targeting cultural sites – does not make you a “tough guy.”
Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed vengeance after his top official was killed, Washington Examiner reports.
“With his departure and with God’s power, his work and path will not cease, and severe revenge awaits those criminals who have tainted their filthy hands with his blood and the blood of the other martyrs of last night’s incident,” said a statement released by Khamenei.
Iran’s Gen. Gholamali Abuhamzeh triggered Trump over the weekend when he claimed to have 35 US targets ready to attack.
“Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago),” Trump responded in a tweet.
“Some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets. and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!” he added.
Following last week’s killing of Soleimani, the US has been increasing military presence in the area by deploying 3,000 paratroopers to Iraq, New York Post reports. Trump believes retaliation from Iran could go down “within weeks.”
The New Year marks the beginning of a fresh start. As a professional, you may have a number of goals that you are working toward in 2020—and aligning your wellbeing with your performance is a good one to add to your list.
According to research, the average professional will spend 90,000 hours at work—which is the equivalent of 1/3 of someone’s lifetime.
Workplace environment plays a big role in how productive people are at work; and how employees show up. Everything from air circulation, to the floor plan, and the colors of the walls factor into workplace well-being.
You’re probably wondering what it is that you can do with the amount of control that you do have. And the answer is, a lot! Starting with your desk. Your desk is typically where you spend the bulk of your time when you aren’t in meetings or traveling. That is why de-cluttering and livening up your space is a great way to protect your peace and be productive.
As you get back into the full swing of your work routine, here is a list of 20 ways that you can create an inspiring and productive space for yourself in the workplace.
20 Ways to Liven Up Your Desk
Hang up and inspiring calendar that you will use.
Decorate your desk with things that bring you joy.
Hang up photos of family, friends, or inspiring images.
Keep a powerfully scented candle to add an aroma to your area (Do not light it, of course!)
Print out helpful industry resources that you can post in your area that you can learn from during your down-time or refer to.
Have a personal first-aid kit.
Keep a grooming or beauty kit for days when you are on the go.
Hang words of affirmations that you don’t mind others reading.
Keep an umbrella under your desk for unpredictable weather.
Create a desk appropriate size pantry of non-perishable snacks.
Keep an extra pair of shoes at your desk.
Keep a stress reliever near your computer for moments when you need to take your mind to other places.
If you eat at your desk, having an electronics cleaning brush will help you keep your keyboard clean!
Place your favorite mug or tumbler on your desk.
Add a little life to your area with a small plant.
Being comfortable in your work climate is important. A desk fan or personal heater can help you keep your cool or stay cozy.
Add a stack of books that are significant to you at your desk. They are great reminders and conversation starters.
Keep a personal stash of cleaning supplies. Sanitizing wipes, screen cleaner, and air fresheners often come in handy.
Keep a sticky note or set an alarm that reminds you to walk around and get fresh air.
Bring your best self to work each and every day. That’s priceless!
The US and Iran continue their heated exchange as concern spreads throughout the nation – from Capitol Hill to Wall Street – over the threat of escalating military conflict in the Middle East. Responses have ranged from Democratic presidential contender Cory Booker citing the perils of a commander-in-chief who lacks a coherent strategy and conducts foreign policy “by impulse, by tweet” to Black Twitter followers engaging in a bit of gallows humor through commentary and memes under the hashtag #WWIII.
Wall Street’s reaction Friday to Iran’s vow of retaliation for President Donald Trump ordering the airstrike that killed its military leader Gen. Qassem Soleimani: skittish investors caused the Dow Jones Industrial Average to plummet some 230 points – its greatest one-day decline in a month – as oil prices spiked. Expect continued market volatility as Trump declares he’s “prepared to take whatever action necessary” if Iran attacked Americans.
“THEY ARE MOTIVATED NOW TO RETALIATE”
The potential for military, civilian, technical and economic hazards are real. Susan Rice, former UN Ambassador during the Obama Administration, told MSNBC Saturday that killing Soleimani does not eliminate the looming threat of an attack from Iran: “We can be certain that they are motivated now to retaliate in far greater scale than they may have been planning.”
USA Today reported that even though analysts confirm that Iran can’t match American military might, it can initiate a plan for revenge through rocket attacks on US allies such as Israel or sabotage oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway considered the most sensitive transportation choke point for global oil supplies. Moreover, observers also noted that Iran could engage in a series of cyberattacks as well as target American citizens and troops abroad near embassies, consulates or military installations. In the US, cities like New York beefed up security at landmarks, structures and other “sensitive areas” as Mayor Bill de Blasio maintained that “we’re at this point in a de facto state of war between the United States of America and Iran. None of us knows how this will play out.”
Trump told reporters Friday that he ordered the drone strike at Baghdad Airport to prevent a conflict with Iran because Soleimani was plotting attacks that endangered American troops and officials. However, he did not produce any evidence to back up his assertion. Despite the president’s claim, Democrats – including members of the Congressional Black Caucus – demanded more information about the strike, condemning Trump Saturday for not notifying Congress – including the Gang of Eight senior leadership — ahead of the airstrike.
“NO STRATEGY FOR CHALLENGES IN MIDDLE EAST”
Moreover, the Trump Administration’s action will most certainly impact the 2020 presidential race. In fact, US Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a Democratic presidential candidate, and Congressman Ro Khanna of California announced Friday introduction of legislation to prohibit any funding for offensive military force in or against Iran without prior congressional authorization. The measure to restrict funds for such military activities passed by a bipartisan 251-margin vote in the House but was later removed from the National Defense Authorization Act adopted by Congress in December. Sanders stated: “After authorizing a disastrous, $738 billion military budget that placed no restrictions on this president from starting an unauthorized war with Iran, Congress now has an opportunity to change course. Our legislation blocks Pentagon funding for any unilateral actions this president takes to wage war against Iran without Congressional authorization.”
US Sen. Booker of New Jersey has made the rounds at CNN, MSNBC, TIME and other media outlets to share his views on Trump’s reckless actions in the Middle East. “I have a lot of concerns right now as this is unfolding about that standard of the use of military force and I have a lot of concerns about a president who’s already shown to have no strategy for the larger challenges we have in the Middle East, especially around Iran,” Booker said in television interviews. “These are statements coming from the Trump White House. There’s a lot more facts that have to come out to see if indeed this president, who already has done things that have undermined what people on both sides of the political aisle in the Senate have said do not constitute the authorization for the use of military force.”
Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California, a founding member of the Congressional No War With Iran Caucus, said in a released statement: ”The assassination of Iran’s notorious high-ranking top paramilitary general, who is immensely popular in Iran, could trigger a deadly galvanized response from the regime and undoubtedly lead us to the brink of war. Tragically, [Trump] has done so without securing an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iran from Congress or properly briefing the American people.”
“IMPEACHED PRESIDENT’S ACTIONS PREDICATED IN POLITICS THAN POLICY”
She further expressed concern that “the now impeached president’s actions may have been predicated in politics rather than sound foreign policy.” In fact, she cited claims that Trump made against President Barack Obama of seeking to employ military action in the Middle East as a means of boosting voter approval to gain a second term. “In 2011, Trump tweeted, In order to get elected,@BarackObamawill start a war with Iran,’ and in 2012, he again tweeted, ‘Now that Obama’s poll numbers are in tailspin – watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate,’ ” Waters stated. “Perhaps Donald Trump believes that if he drags the country into war, the American people and Congress will rally behind him. Perhaps he thinks that war is a diversionary tactic. Perhaps he thinks it will drown out the criticisms of his scandal-plagued administration and protect him from removal by the Senate.”
Once again, partisan warfare broke out over the airstrike when Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas clashed with Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota – a member of “The Squad” – after she tweeted: “We are outraged the president would assassinate a foreign official, possibly setting off another war without Congressional authorization and has zero plan to deal with the consequences.”
Omar rebutted the GOP opposition Saturday: “They’re going to accuse anyone who cautions against war of ‘siding with our enemies’ or ‘supporting terrorists.’ This is the exact rhetoric that got us into the War in Iraq.”
“WILL DRAFT COME BACK?”
On Twitter, hashtag #WWIII was trending online. The New York Timesreported that the Selective Servuce System website, which maintains the database for those eligible for military if the draft was reinstated, crashed. Even though mandatory conscription ended in 1973, all men from 18 to 25 years old are required to register with the system by checking a box to register when getting a driver’s license or signing up when applying for federal student aid to attend college. Many now ask, “Will the draft come back?” And despite the irreverence of omments and images, a number of black Twitter followers offered their concerns on people of color being placed “on the front lines” if war broke out.
In responding to the possibility of war, the NAACP’s Crisis Magazine invoked the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., tweeting one of his powerful quotes: “We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but on the positive affirmation of peace.”
A black woman seeking makeup application services at an Ulta Beauty store in New Jersey says an employee told that her “skin was too dark for most colors in the store.” Now, she’s calling for the beauty store chain to give its workers’ diversity training.
Ebony Kankam London, an expecting mother from Houston, Texas, told KTRK-TV that she traveled to the East Coast for a baby shower on Dec. 28 planned by her mother-in-law. She says she went to the Ulta Beauty store a day before to book a makeup appointment and confirm that their makeup artists were comfortable working with her skin tone.
“Sometimes with darker skin, some people don’t feel comfortable [or] don’t know what they’re doing,” she told the ABC News affiliate. “So, I went in the day before just to see if they could achieve the look I was wanting.” However, she says the makeup artist assigned to her did a botch job and criticized her complexion.
“So today at Ulta Beauty in Holmdel I went in to get my makeup done for my baby shower. I brought in a picture for reference and was told that my skin tone was too dark for most colors in the store,” Kankam London wrote on Facebook and Instagram. She also shared side-by-side images of what she wanted and the look she ended up with.
When London told the makeup artist that she was dissatisfied with her work, she says the staffer “got really upset” and told her that “was the best she could do” because “her skin was too dark” for most of the products in the store.
“In a store full of people who didn’t look like me I felt sad and upset,” Kankam London wrote on social media. “Like my skin tone was a problem.”
The employee also asked her if she had ever had her makeup done professionally. Kankam London told her that she did and even shops at Ulta Beauty, but the staffer didn’t believe her.
In a separate update posted on Facebook on Monday, Kankam London said she was contacted by a manager at the Holmdel store “who is apparently biracial and witnessed the entire situation” but she “didn’t want to make a big scene” by interfering. Kankam London added that the store manager told her that she felt “comfortable doing black makeup” and offered to do her makeup over along with a bag of sample lotions as compensation. Kankam London, however, declined to get her makeup done at the store since she was returning to Houston, reports NBC News.
Ulta said it was in contact with Kankam London in a statement published Thursday on Twitter.
“Guest satisfaction with our services is a top priority,” a spokeswoman said. “We never want to hear that a guest has had anything less than a great in-store experience. This is our responsibility and we take it seriously.”
Ulta provides “ongoing artistry education, and diversity and inclusion trainings across the organization, which is an important commitment that we recognize requires daily action and accountability,” the spokeswoman said. “We remain committed to provide a welcoming, inclusive environment where our guests can feel their best.”
The legendary toy company, Hasbro, is officially the proud owner of Death Row Records – the iconic west coast music label once associated with artists Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and the late, great 2Pac.
Just a couple of days before the New Year, on Dec. 30, Hasbro finalized a $3.8 billion merger that placed Canadian studio Entertainment One (eOne) under its ownership. The acquisition places Death Row under Hasbro, after eOne purchased the music label back in 2013.
Entertainment One scooped up Death Row Records’ extensive music catalog after the company declared bankruptcy back in 2006. Death Row Records was originally founded by Dre and Suge Knight back in 1991. While the famed producer has gone on to flourish in other successful business ventures, namely his “Beats By Dre,” product line, Knight, now 54, is currently serving a 28-year sentence forvoluntary manslaughter.
Back in October, it was announced that singer Ray J would oversee Death Row in the future. In a statement to The Blast, Knight stated, “I respect Ray J and his business dealings, that’s why I choose him as one of the guys to deal with the music side of the future for as Death Row Records, anything to do Death Row.”
He continued, “It’s great to have him ‘cause he will be putting out this incredible album and I heard it before.”
Fast forward a few months later, and in an official statement of their own, Hasbro announced that it would be acquiring eOne.
“We are excited about what we can do together and see tremendous opportunity for shareholder value creation through this acquisition,” Brian Goldner, Hasbro chairman, and chief executive officer said in the company’s press release.
Goldner continued, “Our businesses are highly complementary with substantial synergies and a great cultural fit. The addition of eOne accelerates our blueprint strategy by expanding our brand portfolio with eOne’s beloved global preschool brands, adding proven TV and film expertise, and creating additional opportunities for long-term profitable growth. We are pleased to welcome the incredibly talented eOne team to our Company.”
While very little has been done to aptly investigate and penalize predator priests, far less has been done to help vindicate victims of clergy abuse, especially those of color.
However, Terrence Sample, a Black male Chicago native, recently broke his 33-year-silence on his own abusive past.
“Somebody had to make the effort,” Sample said in an in-depth interview and investigative piece with AP News, where several victims of color spoke out on their abuse.
“Why wasn’t it the church?” Sample rhetorically inquired.
According to Sample, growing up, he was one of six children in a family of few resources. At the time, the priest who assisted his family helped the Samples with tuition, clothing and money, while also promising them a better life. This same priest would also go on to abuse all six of the children.
Out of all of the Sample kids, no one spoke up out of fear of losing the very few resources being provided by their priest. It wouldn’t be until a recent investigation, nearly three and a half decades later, that Terrence Sample would even speak up.
As reported by the Associated Press, of the 88 dioceses that responded to their inquiry on clergy abuse, only seven knew the ethnicities of victims, and only one out of the 88 collected pieces of data, as it pertains to race, as part of their reporting process on clergy abuse, despite the fact that nearly half of the nation’s followers of Catholicism are people of color.
According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Hawaiians make up nearly 46% of the faithful in the U.S. However, despite said reports, the Catholic Church has made almost no effort to track the victims among these demographics.
“The church has to come out of the shadows, into the trenches to find the people who were victimized, especially the people of color,” Sample stated. He continued, “There are other people like me and my family, who won’t come forward unless someone comes to them.”
Brian Clites, a professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and a leading scholar on clergy sexual abuse, states that the church has demonstrated a known pattern of funneling predator priests specifically to economically disadvantaged communities of color, where the victims have far more to lose in the event that they report their abuse.
“They are less likely to know where to get help, less likely to have money for a lawyer to pursue that help and they are more vulnerable to counterattacks” from the church, which will hire investigators against the survivors, said Clites in reference to victims of color.
It’s been noted that on top of the general trauma that comes with being a victim of abuse, the taboos on sex and sexual abuse within the African American community, also impedes on more people of color, coming forward.
Singer, songwriter Trey Songz faces a $10 million dollar lawsuit for alleged sexual assault of an unnamed woman.
According to reports, Tremaine “Trey Songz” Neverson is being sued by Jane Doe, as stated in official court documents obtained by The Blast. The alleged victim, who is from Georgia, alleges that the assault took place on New Year’s Day, back in 2018, when the R&B crooner reportedly invited Doe to Miami’s E11even night club, following a New Year’s Eve celebration at Hip Hop mogul, Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ Miami home. According to Doe, it would be Songz’ VIP section at E11even where the assault later took place.
The lawsuit states, “[Songz] sexually assaulted and battered Jane Doe by proceeding to forcefully place his hand under her dress, without her consent, and attempting to insert his fingers into Jane Doe’s vagina without her consent or permission.”
The claim continued, “Neverson intentionally created an offer of bodily injury to Plaintiff by force under circumstances that created a well-founded fear of imminent peril in Plaintiff and Neverson had the present ability to effectuate his attempts to produce bodily injury towards Plaintiff when he reached under her skirt and attempted to insert his fingers into her vagina.”
Further into the statement, Doe goes on to claim she was not the only female victim to Songz’s assault. The document later details another woman confided in Doe that Songz placed his hands down her pants as well. The second victim, also unnamed, also alleged that Songz forcefully touched her buttocks without consent.
Songz alleged attack has led Jane Doe to seek more than $10 million from the artist, the result of which includes damages as the result of the assault and battery, as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Senator Cory Booker is still putting up a good fight in terms of fundraising, as it was recently reported that his campaign raised $6.6. million in the fourth quarter of 2019.
On Friday, it was revealed that the Democratic prospect had raised over six and a half million dollars in Q4, the largest sum Booker has collected during his presidential campaign to date. While this is a huge win for Booker, he still falls noticeably short in funds, compared to the vast majority of his 2020 campaign rivals.
As it stands, popular Dem. candidate, Sen.Bernie Sanders, leads the 2020 Democratic campaign haul with $34.5 million raised in the last quarter. Behind the Vermont Senator is South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg with $24.7 million, and former Vice President Joe Biden at $22.7 million.
According to a report from Axios, the full Democratic Q4 haul is as follows:
Bernie Sanders: $34.5 million
Pete Buttigieg: $24.7 million
Joe Biden: $22.7 million
Elizabeth Warren: $21.2 million
Andrew Yang: $16.5 million
Amy Klobuchar: $11.4 million
Cory Booker: $6.6 million
In an official statement cited by Yahoo, Booker’s campaign noted that more than half of the Q4 contributions came from new donors, also noting that, while it’s a big win for Sen. Booker, that the New Jersey Democrat is still struggling to stay in the presidential race ahead of the Iowa caucuses, set to take place in February.
The former Newark mayor is also looking to earn a spot on the last primary debate stage before voting begins after missing the most recent debate last month. Senator Booker has struggled to reach the polling threshold set by the Democratic National Committee.
Booker’s campaign manager, Addisu Demissie, celebrated Booker’s total, which Demissie stated came, regardless of “artificial thresholds that prevented viable candidates” such as Booker, from participating in last month’s Los Angeles Dem. debate.
Demissie also noted Booker’s role in the 2020 presidential run, as it pertains to campaign funding, to be more crucial than, following fellow candidates of color Julián Castro and Sen. Kamala Harris’ exits from the race, due to lack of funding.
The new graduating class of West Virginia correctional cadets strategically photoed posing with one arm up – a known Nazi-related gesture and salutation – are all set to be fired, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice recently announced.
In a recent statement released on Monday, Governor Justice condemned the training group’s behavior, according to CNN.
Justice stated, “We have a lot of good people in the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. But this incident was completely unacceptable. Now, we must continue to move forward and work diligently to make sure nothing like this happens ever again.”
The governor condemned the training group’s behavior in a statement on Monday.
The now-viral image, which hit the internet back in early December, shows members of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation Basic Training Class 18 uniformly posing with one arm raised, with the words, ‘HAIL BYRD,’ seen above the cadets. According to the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, ‘HAIL BYRD,’ is a reference to Class 18’s training instructor.
The Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety released the image to the public, blurring out the faces of the trainees and employees. Following the photo’s release, the department underwent an investigation, and a number of employees were suspended. Along with the suspension, Cabinet Secretary for the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, Jeff Sandy, recommended to Gov. Justice that the cadets be fired.
In Sandy’s letter to the governor, he noted that some of the cadets, “were aware of the connotations associated with the gesture, that they were uncomfortable with the practice … and/or that they only followed what they perceived to be an order” because they feared they wouldn’t graduate, according to CNN.
Sandy wrote, “Nonetheless, their conduct, without question, has also resulted in the far-reaching and harmful perceptions that are the antithesis of the values we strain to attain.”
Along with the pending release of the cadets, three staff members at the training academy are also slated for termination, and four instructors who failed to report the problematic picture will be suspended without pay.
You would think people know better, but ignorance continues to blossom. Anelementary school has apologized for having black students portray slaves in a “lesson” being presented by their peers.
According to CNN, at Lafayette Elementary School in Washington, D.C., fifth graders had been studying the Civil War and Reconstruction and the students started reading an article titled “A Nation Divided.” The teaching team gave the students options to further engage with the material they were reading by having them put on a dramatic reading, create a living picture, or create a podcast in small groups according to a letter to the families of the students from the school’s fifth-grade teaching team.
Some students of color were asked to portray roles by their peers that were “inappropriate and harmful,” including “a person of color drinking from a segregated water fountain and an enslaved person,” the letter stated in part.
Lafayette Elementary School Principal Carrie Broquard sent a letter of apology to the families of the students affected. “At Lafayette, we believe in the importance of teaching painful history with sensitivity and social awareness,” Broquard wrote in the letter, dated Dec. 23. “Unfortunately, we fell short of those values in a recent 5th-grade lesson.”
“During the classroom circles and small group discussions, students expressed discomfort in the roles they were asked to play,” Broquard wrote. “Others expressed uncertainty in how to respond or advocate for peers who were uncomfortable.”
“We acknowledge the approach to learning that took place around this lesson was inappropriate and harmful to students,” District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) said in a statement to CNN. “The school recognized its mistakes, addressed the matter with families, and is actively reinforcing values of racial equity across the entire school community. We support Lafayette Elementary as it nurtures young scholars to be models of social awareness and responsibility.”
Broquard said the school is planning to create a Diversity and Inclusion Committee and has teams working to ensure “all assignments are culturally sensitive and appropriate.” In January, the entire staff will also have diversity training.
Ghana's FA says it removed all its national team coaches 'in line with the vision' of the GFA's new administration and is now 'evaluating the situation.'
Surviving R. Kelly: The Reckoning is the aptly named title of a new docu-series from Lifetime producers who created the originalSurviving R. Kellydoc last year. That series, which featured alleged victims of singer R. Kelly’s sexual abuse, was the first time that many people in the general public heard directly from the women offering their first-hand accounts at length. The artist has allegations against him that date back to the 1990s, mostly involving sexual misconduct with teenage girls under the age of consent. The impact of the series went beyond ratings and social media trending topics. While R. Kelly decided to party at a Chicago nightclub days after the docu-series debuted and brashly proclaimed his lack of worries, officials in Illinois were inspired by the documentary to ask for any potential victims to step forward. And they did just that. R. Kelly is currently in jail in Chicago and he has multiple charges against him in both Illinois and New York, including 10 counts of sexual abuse with minors. In December 2019, he was charged by the federal government for bribing a government employee to obtain a fake identification for the late singer Aaliyah for the purposes of getting married. She was 15 years old at the time. That marriage was later annulled.
The new R. Kelly docu-series details everything that has happened since the original doc aired in 2019 and not just about the singer. There has been long-lasting and on-going impacts for the alleged victims. One woman had a seizure after she said she was confronted by someone from R. Kelly’s camp. Another has a hard time enjoying sex with her husband due to how traumatized she says she is from her sexual interactions with R. Kelly as a teen. Many of the women have experienced blowback from R. Kelly supporters. The first installment of the new docu-series aired on January 2nd and it is a heavy watch. It combines footage from the past year (including the threat that caused last year’s screening event to evacuate), R. Kelly’s brothers detailing the sexual abuse they endured at the hands of a neighbor when they were children, Dame Dash sharing his thoughts about his late girlfriend Aaliyah’s relationship with R. Kelly, a heart-wrenching account from the singer’s former hair-braider, mental health experts, and a couple of R. Kelly’s female employees who 100% vouch for his innocence. There is no shying away from the brutality, brokenness, anger, and sadness that permeate through much of the first installment. No soundbites or click-bait headlines will do it justice. It is something to watch for yourself and consider.
Surviving R. Kelly: The Reckoning comes on Lifetime in three parts: January 2 at 9 pm, January 3 at 9 pm, and January 4 at 8 pm.
The state of Illinois is starting off the new decade with a bang after reportedly making nearly $3.2 million in sales of recreational marijuana on its first day
According to CNN, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation is reporting that when they calculated the earnings of the 77,128 transactions made at the state’s 37 dispensaries, the sum came out to be over $3.17 million.
After Governor JB Pritzker signed the Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act into law back in June, Illinois became the 11th state to legalize weed. The bill allows residents who are age 21 and older to possess 30 grams of cannabis “flower” and for non-residents to have up to 15 grams.
The Chicago Tribune reports that these massive first-day sales are amongst the highest showings for any state that has legalized marijuana in the country.
“The amazing thing about that is that there’s a significant portion of these dollars that go directly into this community reinvestment fund, so we can continue to rebuild communities that have been hardest hit by the war on drugs,” Toi Hutchinson, Governor Prtizker’s senior adviser for cannabis control, said. “So sales are great but let’s never lose sight on the impact that we’re having on families around this state.”
To Hutchinson’s point, under the new law, any taxes obtained from these sales would first be used to expunge approximately 770,000 minor cannabis-related cases. Then, any remaining money will be put towards supporting drug treatment and enforcement programs, among other statewide initiatives.
It seems the war between talk show host, Tavis Smiley and his former employer, PBS, is heating up and taking a very public turn of events. Details of Smiley’s sexual misconduct accusations at PBS have been outlined in a shocking new report that was filed by Smiley’s lawyers as part of an ongoing court case.
The 500-page report, put together by an investigator hired by PBS, was unsealed and details several incidents dating back decades. It provides insight into allegations of consensual sexual relationships with subordinates, inappropriate comments, touching, and verbal abuse, according to Variety.
In the report, numerous women – both subordinates of Smiley’s and show guests – claim they had sexual relationships with him. In one example, Smiley is said to have invited a former female employee to lunch where he asked her a slew of intimate questions including if she had a boyfriend. Then while back at the office, he allegedly offered to take her to Victoria’s Secret after asking about her bra size so he could “buy you some stuff, some panties,” reports Variety.
The woman told the PBS investigator that she laughed at the comment but Smiley was serious. She also alleges that he left a voicemail on her cell phone, exclaiming that she looked “so good” in the pink dress she wore to work. Eventually, the woman said she was let go and some of her co-workers told her it was because she “knew too much” about Smiley’s behavior.
PBS fired the former talk-show host in December 2017 for violating his contract, although Smiley maintains he did nothing wrong. Smiley sued PBS last year for breach of contract. PBS turned around and countersued Smiley demanding that he return the $1.9 million in production costs associated with his show.
Smiley continues to deny the allegations and has instead accused PBS of racial bias and unnecessary reviews of his show budgets. While he acknowledged he has had relationships with employees, he professes that those relationships were consensual and as such, were not prohibited by the company’s policies.
Smiley’s case is set to go on trial Feb. 10. His lawyers had tried to get the case thrown out through summary judgement, arguing Smiley’s relationships preceded his contract with PBS, but D.C. Superior Court Judge Yvonne Williams found that PBS had more recent misconduct claims that fell within his contract period.
Another woman, who worked at the time as a traveling producer for Smiley, told PBS investigators that she and Smiley had a sexual relationship that started on a work trip, when Smiley directed a hotel front desk clerk to send her up to his room for business. She alleges that when she got there, he started to make sexual advances toward her, and she responded by telling him: “Look, I worked really hard for this job, and I am not trying to lose it because of a relationship with you,” according to Variety. The woman said Smiley promised her that she wouldn’t lose her job because she was “smart,” but that the two of them needed to “keep it a secret since I am your boss.”
Former talk show host Tavis Smiley. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
The producer said she was later fired after other employees learned of the relationship, although she said she was told the official reason for her termination was work performance issues. She told investigators that she believes Smiley fired her because he was involved in multiple relationships with other subordinates.
Other women who had sexual relationships with Smiley also say while those relationships were consensual, he was their boss or had booked them on his show at the time.
“Women are put in a bad position when their boss hits on them,” said a former guest in the report’s summary of interviews, according to Variety. She claims to have had a sexual relationship with Smiley and then wasn’t invited back to the show.
Meanwhile, Smiley has denied all claims in the report saying he never disciplined or terminated an employee after having a relationship with him and that he hasn’t been in a relationship with a subordinate in the last 10 years.
