Thursday, May 2, 2019
Poll shows most in US want changes in how government works
… not thinking about us." African Americans like Halliburton and Inez Parker … Americans are more likely than black Americans to think it needs only …
The Kentucky Derby: five reasons why you shouldn’t miss it
… chestnut colt Aristides, ridden by African-American jockey Oliver Lewis, triumph at …
Migos Rapper Offset Wanted After Atlanta Target Incident
Rapper Offset is reportedly facing a charge of criminal damage to property after a recent incident that took place at an Atlanta area Target.
According to Channel 2 Action News, Sandy Springs police have issued an arrest warrant for the Migos member, whose real name is Kiari Cephus. The rapper reportedly smacked a cellphone out of a fan’s hands while the fan was recording him while he was checking out.
The fan said, “What up, Offset?” to which Offset responded, “Get the f*** out of my face.” He then smacked the phone away and caused it to fall to the ground and break, shattering the screen.
The entire incident was caught on cellphone the video obtained by Channel 2 Action News. Target cash registers can be seen in the background.
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Shaun King: Officer ‘Mohamed Noor Never Stood A Chance’
For the first time in the entire history of the State of Minnesota, a police officer was just convicted of murder. Think about that. Minnesota was founded all the way back in 1858, that’s 161 years ago, and the very first officer, out of hundreds of fatal police shootings across the years, the very first officer was just convicted.
And it just so happened that the officer was not just Black, but was a Somali immigrant, and a Muslim – and the victim was a white woman.
I’m glad he was convicted, but if you think race & religion & nationality had nothing to do with this verdict, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
On the evening of July 15th, 2017, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Justine Damond, a 40 year old white woman from Australia, called 911 because she thought she heard some type of assault taking place on an alley outside of her home. She called the police once to report it – and as she continued to hear the noises – she called 911 again 8 minutes later to see if the police were close.
And when she saw the lights of the Minneapolis Police car in the alley, she went outside in her pajamas to speak to the officers to tell them what she saw.
Except she never got to speak a single word to the officers.
As she walked up to the driver’s side window of the car, the officer in the passenger side, Officer Mohamed Noor, saw her, grabbed his gun, and shot her right there in the alley.
I travel and speak in Minneapolis a lot. I heard about this police shooting the next day and as soon as I saw the picture of Justine Damond, and learned that her family was an affluent white family, that the Australian government was advocating for her, and that she was both a veterinarian and a meditation coach, I was surprised.
I’ve studied thousands of police shootings. For years, I’d study every shooting that happened every single day. Some days American police would shoot and kill 2-3 people, some days it’d climb higher, to 5-6, even as many as 12-13 people in a single day. And each day, I’d look at each name, read the reports, see what I could learn, and I saw a lot of trends in who American police would shoot and kill. Of course there are exceptions, but by in large American police rarely shot unarmed white women. If a white woman got shot and killed by police, and I’ve studied dozens of cases of white women being shot and killed, I’d say about 99% of the time she was either armed with a gun or a knife – or was having a severe mental health crisis – or some combination of these things. I don’t say any of that to justify those shootings, but I can’t recall another unarmed, non-violent, affluent, healthy, mentally stable white woman being shot and killed by police. Even in preparation for this episode I went back to look at my notes and I just couldn’t find a case. Now, I can tell you plenty of cases that fit this description when we make it a man, or make it a person of color, but when it comes to police violence, no class of American is more protected than unarmed, non-violent, wealthy, healthy white women.
So the moment I found out who Justine Damond was, and confirmed that she was indeed unarmed, non-violent, wasn’t intoxicated, wasn’t on drugs, and wasn’t having a mental health crisis– the moment was just weird. What happened to her, just doesn’t happen to white women.
Then I saw the name and picture of the officer who shot and killed her – and for the first time in my life, before or even since this moment, for the first and only time in my life, I knew for sure that we were about to see an officer get convicted of murder. Not because the evidence was overwhelming. Both cops on the scene had their body cameras off. The car didn’t have a dash cam. No cell phone videos filmed the shooting. No eyewitnesses saw the shooting. And the one person who could dispute the testimony of the cop’s was dead.
I knew we’d see a conviction in this case, because Justine Damond was a wealthy, popular, blonde haired blued eyed white woman and the officer that shot her was not just a Black man, but a Somali immigrant and practicing Muslim. The United States has about 2,500 counties. I believe Officer Mohamed Noor would’ve likely been convicted in all but maybe 1-2 of them.
Not one person I know thought this decision would go the other way. Because what we know is what I need you to know – nobody in the United States of America is held more responsible for their crimes than Black folk. Period. And then add on top of that the fact that he is an immigrant and a Muslim in the age of Trump – Mohamed Noor never stood a chance.
And it’s hard to explain my mixed emotions here. And I’ve seen other activists and organizers struggle as well. It’s just painful to see the ease in which Mohamed Noor, with less evidence, no camera footage, no other eyewitnesses, to see the ease in which he was convicted, when we’ve seen so many other cases, with so much more evidence, when the victim was Black, and see the cop be set free.
Let me close us out with this thought. I just studied the notes that the judge gave the jurors to consider in this case and I think this case may have unintentionally set a new precedent for when an officer can be convicted. I’m going to dive in and study that some more and will report back to you all what I find.
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AHA News: Director John Singleton's Fatal Stroke Spotlights Black Americans' Hypertension Risk
… his ability to portray black Americans' lives on screen … and obesity, which affect African Americans at higher rates, as … stress and perceived discrimination. Black Americans are also more likely … the increased risk for black Americans is a mystery, he …
Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas Left the BBMAs Early For a Vegas Marriage By an Elvis Impersonator
If Diplo didn't livestream your wedding from Vegas, did it really happen?
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The Semicolon: How a Seemingly Obscure Tattoo Signifies Survival and Solidarity
In 2013, 27-year-old Amy Bleuel began a mental health advocacy organization dubbed “Project Semicolon” to bring awareness to suicide, depression, addiction and self-injury. Bleuel, who had lost her father to suicide 10 years earlier, died by suicide at the age of 31. The campaign, however, remains strong, inspiring…
source https://www.theroot.com/the-semicolon-how-a-seemingly-obscure-tattoo-signifies-1834463118
#Mayochella: Professional Troll Swiftly Orchestrates Band to Get Into Gentrification
Lift every voice and lip sync, ‘til you clap on the 1 and 3.
source https://thegrapevine.theroot.com/mayochella-professional-troll-swiftly-orchestrates-ba-1834469709
Save $28 On Our Favorite Electric Beard Trimmer
The Philips OneBlade is the shaver of choice for most of the men on our staff, and one of the most popular products we’ve ever listed. But whether you already love yours or are curious to try it out, Amazon’s running a great deal on the upgraded Pro version today.
source https://kinjadeals.theinventory.com/upgrade-to-the-philips-oneblade-pro-for-28-off-1834469060
Black Girl Problems: Braids Are Just As Painful As They Are Beautiful
Ladies why do we keep getting our hair braided when it causes so much pain?! They’re absolutely beautiful and so low maintenance but is it really worth all of the pain that we endure for over a week? Sybil and Kym discussed it and they’ve decided that it makes perfect sense! If you want to look good you have to endure the pain.
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Ya Ya Dacosta Is Excited To Be A Part Of Telling The Story Of Buddy Bolden
Jazz music is a huge part of Black culture and yet most of us have never heard of the man credited with creating it.
Ya Ya Dacosta, yes the Ya Ya from America’s Next Top Model stars as Charles Buddy Bolden’s wife,
Charles Buddy Bolden who was a New Orleans native, is credited with inventing Jazz by fusing blues, ragtime, and gospel. The film’s producer, Dan Pritzker, first heard of Bolden about 20 years ago and it peaked his curiosity.
Now, 20 years later Bolden is getting ready to hit theaters on May 3. Dacosta says she’s proud to be a part of a film that’s, “putting a pindrop on the map of history that was lost.”
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Huggy Lowdown: The Democrats Treated William Barr Like A Pinata
Yesterday during William Barr’s hearing the democrats grilled him “like a republican panini,” and Huggy says he loved it! He compared Barr to a pinata that everyone was hitting to get all of the lies to spill out. But the highlight was when Kamala Harris hit him with a series of questions that he couldn’t dodge.
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Top Of The Morning: William Barr Was Caught Up
Yesterday Sybil watched what was going on with William Barr and it was like watching a soap opera! But, her favorite part was when Sen. Kamala Harris asked if anyone in the White House asked him to open an investigation into anyone and he couldn’t get any words out.
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RIP: Freddie Gray’s Best Friend Killed in West Baltimore
Juan Grant has died following a West Baltimore shooting over the weekend.
Grant, a close family friend of Freddie Gray’s and activist following Gray’s death from injuries suffered in police custody in 2015, was driving back to his grandmother’s home on Westwood Avenue Saturday evening when his car collided with a dirt bike on the 1800 block of N. Payson St. He got out of the car and that’s when he was shot.
Grant was taken to the hospital where he later died from gunshot wounds to the head. His death came on the four-year anniversary of Gray’s funeral and the riot in Baltimore later that day.
A vigil for Grant is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at Payson Street and North Avenue, where he died. No one has been arrested in connection to his death yet.
You can read more about Juan Grant here: Baltimore Sun
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30 Important Questions We Have After Game of Thrones' Battle For Winterfell in 'The Long Night'
The third episode of Season Eight introduced some major plot holes.
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New York City To Pay $3.5M Settlement In Rikers Inmate Death
(AP Photo)
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City has reached a $3.5 million settlement in a lawsuit filed over the 2014 death of a Rikers Island inmate who records show was deprived of seizure medication.
The Daily News reported Wednesday that the city agreed last week to pay the money to Rolando Perez’s girlfriend, who is the mother of his now-18-year-old son.
Perez died in January 2014, two days after being put in solitary confinement. He was being held at Rikers on burglary charges and was sent to solitary just a week before he was scheduled to be released.
The 36-year-old had suffered from a seizure disorder since he was a teen and relied on medications to control it. It was so severe he couldn’t hold a job, often falling to the ground without warning and flailing, only to wake up with no memory of the ordeal.
According to city records and Perez’s family, he was deprived of his medication while in solitary and had been placed there without being cleared by medical and mental health staff.
Inmates told investigators they heard him screaming for his medication.
A correction officer who saw Perez lying on his bed on his left side facing the back window kicked the door, but Perez didn’t respond, according to an investigator’s report. Two guards entered five minutes later, and one who tapped him on the shoulder heard Perez gasp for air. About 40 minutes later he was pronounced dead.
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What We Know About Ted Bundy's Girlfriend Elizabeth Kendall And Where She Is Today
"She didn't want to come to Sundance. She doesn't want to participate in the press. She wants to remain anonymous."
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St. Louis-Area Cop Indicted For Shooting Shoplifting Suspect
CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A suburban St. Louis police officer who says she meant to use her stun gun but mistakenly grabbed her service revolver was indicted on a second-degree assault charge Wednesday for shooting a suspected shoplifter outside a grocery store.
St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell said Julia Crews, 37, is charged in the April 23 shooting on the parking lot of a Schnucks store in Ladue, one of Missouri’s wealthiest communities. The woman who was shot was seriously hurt, Bell said.
The 33-year-old woman, who is black, remains in a hospital. While authorities said she will survive, her father, Robert Hall, said she is “fighting for her life.” Authorities haven’t released her name, but her family identified her as Ashley Hall.
Police Officer Julia Crews (St. Louis County Police via AP)
She hasn’t been charged in the shoplifting.
Crews’ attorney, Travis Noble, said after Bell’s announcement that Crews meant to use her stun gun but mistakenly grabbed her service revolver and shot the woman once. Noble described the officer as “devastated,” and called the shooting a case of “weapon confusion” that didn’t merit the criminal charge.
“The officer pulled what she believed to be her Taser,” Noble said. “Tragic accident.”
The shooting is among at least 13 since 2001 in which officers said they mixed up their guns and stun guns, University of Missouri-St. Louis criminologist David Klinger said. He noted that police officers typically train by drawing their gun, not their stun gun, and that becomes habit.
“Occasionally, what will happen is when police officers move to draw the Taser, which has the same basic feel as a service pistol, they draw the wrong weapon,” Klinger said. Noble said that’s exactly what happened to Crews.
Police were called to the store on a report of a shoplifting. The officer encountered one of two women accused of trying to leave with stolen merchandise. Police said the suspect apparently fell while trying to flee and was complaining about her injuries to the officer.
The officer, who is white and a 13-year veteran of the department, called for an ambulance and tried to handcuff the suspect, Noble said. The woman broke free and began to run.
Noble said the officer drew what she believed to be her stun gun and screamed “‘Taser! Taser! Taser!” The officer realized her mistake as soon as the woman went down, he said.
Bell said the shoplifting case is still under investigation.
Bell was elected prosecutor of Missouri’s largest county last year, upsetting longtime incumbent Bob McCulloch in the August Democratic primary and running unopposed in November.
McCulloch was prosecutor for 28 years and was perceived as a staunch supporter of police, a reputation heightened when he deferred to a grand jury after a white police officer fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was black and unarmed, in 2014 in Ferguson. The grand jury declined to indict the officer, Darren Wilson, who resigned in November 2014. The shooting led to months of often-violent protests.
Bell, who is black, was elected to the Ferguson City Council in April 2015. In his longshot bid to unseat McCulloch, Bell campaigned as a reformist, saying that while he supports police — his father also was an officer — he would hold those who act outside the law accountable.
Klinger said most officers who mistake their gun for their stun gun aren’t charged, typically because prosecutors deem the shootings accidents rather than acts of intentional harm.
But Bell said those other officers were facing threats to their own safety.
“In this case, the officer’s safety was not in question,” Bell said.
A prosecutor in April declined to charge a New Hope, Pennsylvania, police officer who shot inmate Brian Riling during a scuffle inside a police holding cell, ruling the shooting was accidental. The suspect was critically wounded but survived.
Former Lawrence, Kansas, police officer Brindley Blood was charged with aggravated battery in 2018 after shooting a man attacking another officer. Charges were dropped in March after a judge ruled that Blood meant to use the stun gun and grabbed the wrong weapon. Akira Lewis, who is black, survived the shooting and accused the white officers of racial profiling.
White volunteer sheriff’s deputy Robert Bates fatally shot Eric Harris, an unarmed black man, in 2015 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, while Harris was on the ground being restrained by other deputies during an illegal gun sale sting. Bates was convicted of manslaughter despite claiming he meant to use the stun gun. He served less than half of a four-year sentence before being paroled.
In the Ladue case, the mother of the woman who was shot said she forgives the officer, who could face up to seven years in prison if convicted.
“I’m going to pray for her and pray for my daughter at the same time,” Karen Carter said.
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Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Real Housewives Of Atlanta’s Eva Marcille Is Expecting Baby No. 3
Congratulations are in order for Eva Marcille of The Real Housewives of Atlanta and hubby, Michael Sterling.
source https://thegrapevine.theroot.com/real-housewives-of-atlanta-s-eva-marcille-is-expecting-1834463209
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