Thursday, July 18, 2019
Africa Cup Of Nations: Nigeria captain Mikel Obi confirms international retirement
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Steph Curry defends wife Ayesha after social media trolls attack her ‘Milly Rock’ dance video celebrating restaurant opening
Ayesha Curry’s fun attempt at hitting the ‘Milly Rock’ dance to celebrate the opening of her fourth restaurant, cause social media trolls to come for her.
—Ayesha Curry struggled with racial identity after moving to U.S. from Canada—
Dancing in celebration is pretty much a rite of passage for anybody accomplishing a big moment. But Curry ended up going viral because some felt like her dance moves were far from being in formation.
Her husband, NBA baller Steph Curry even had to weight in and hit back to defend his wife who was getting hung out to dry online by haters, PEOPLE reports.
“Slow news day today, I see, huh?” said the Golden State Warriors star in a video on his Instagram Stories Wednesday. “Just make sure y’all send me the video of you dancing at your own restaurant opening.”
“And we’re going to keep Milly Rocking until that happens,” Curry added while doing the popular dance started by rapper 2 Milly.
Exactly, Steph!
While Curry was appreciative her husband was standing by her side, she seemed a bit embarrassed too and covered her face.
“I hate you,” she jokingly told her husband.
On Tuesday, Ayesha reveled in the success of opening her fourth restaurant, International Smoke in Del Mar, California.
“Yesterday was a dream. We celebrated our 4th @internationalsmoke opening in Del Mar. I can’t thank the team enough. I have no words. This will never feel normal,” Ayesha photos from the ribbon cutting.
“I am so grateful. Thank you to my family and friends for coming to support me as well. We didn’t get pictures because we had wayyyy too much fun,” she added.
—‘POSE’ star Billy Porter: “Conservatives are human being too”—
And when the trolls attacked Ayesha’s loyal fans came to her defense for wanting to shake a little tailfeather in front of her boo.
“So @AyeshaCurry was trending because she was dancing for her man? What’s wrong with that? She doesn’t have to be the best dancer. Her man knows what’s up,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“Ayesha Curry dancing was cute and she was having fun y’all just love to hate on women,” another fan wrote.
“I Milly Rock like Ayesha Curry all the time because I think it’s funny. Sometimes women wanna dance goofy instead of twerking all the time. Let people live!!” another user wrote.
Do your thing, sis!
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Janet, Chris Brown, Future, 50 Cent to perform at Saudi concert Cardi B pulled out of over human rights concerns
Janet Jackson, Chris Brown, 50 Cent, Future and Tyga have been added to the lineup for the Jeddah World Fest, the concert in Saudi Arabia that Nicki Minaj pulled out of because of human rights concerns.
The website for the event, to take place Thursday at the King Abdullah Sports Stadium, posted photos of the newly added acts alongside previously announced performers Liam Payne and Steve Aoki.
The Human Rights Foundation and other organizations have asked artists not to perform in Saudi Arabia, where gender segregation between single men and women is enforced in many restaurants, coffee shops, public schools and universities. Other rules have loosened in the kingdom with women now allowed to drive and attend events at sports stadiums.
Representatives for Jackson, Brown, 50 Cent, Future and Tyga didn’t immediately reply to emails seeking comment.
Thor Halvorssen, president of the Human Rights Foundation, criticized the entertainers in a statement Thursday to The Associated Press, saying it was “profoundly distressing that they have chosen money over morals.”
He added: “These individuals constantly make public statements of support for LGBT rights and women’s rights, except, apparently, when a seven-figure check is attached. The hypocrisy is breathtaking. Principal apparently matters to them far more than principles.”
Minaj said she pulled out of the concert because she wants to show support for women’s rights, gay rights and freedom of expression. Human rights organizations praised the rapper for her decision.
Saudi Arabia saw profound change last year as a result of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s top-down reform efforts, including the opening of the first movie theater and the lifting of the world’s only ban on women driving. But there’s a hard limit to the reforms — as revealed by the brutal killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents close to the crown prince in October and the reported torture of several women’s rights activists in detention. While the arena for entertainment is widening, the space for political engagement and dissent has virtually disappeared.
“It’s clear that, after losing Nicki Minaj on the basis of the Saudi regime’s atrocious human rights record and their treatment of women and the gay community, the Crown Prince has chosen to spend whatever it takes to give the appearance that things are normal and that this is just another music concert. Except it isn’t,” Halvorssen’s statement read. “It’s a blatant public relations push on the heels of the pre-meditated assassination of a Washington Post columnist and the ongoing imprisonment of dozens of human rights activists. Saudi is engaged in a sophisticated campaign of distraction.”
Over the past several months, the kingdom has seen performances by Mariah Carey, Enrique Iglesias, the Black Eyed Peas, Sean Paul, David Guetta and Tiesto. That’s a stark change from when Saudi morality police would raid establishments that played loud music.
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Prosecutors seek prison terms for Charlottesville attackers
Hatred for Jews, blacks and feminists motivated three members of a white supremacist group to attack counterprotesters at a rally for far-right extremists in Virginia, federal prosecutors argue in seeking stricter sentences for the men this week.
Justice Department prosecutors recommend prison sentences ranging from 30 months to 46 months for Rise Above Movement members Benjamin Daley, Michael Miselis and Thomas Gillen, according to a court filing Monday. Each faces up to five years in prison when U.S. District Judge Norman Moon sentences them Friday.
The prosecutors said a “hate crime motivation enhancement” should be applied to their sentences. That enhancement would increase the recommended penalty for each defendant under sentencing guidelines, but the judge isn’t bound by those guidelines.
Defense attorneys are seeking more lenient sentences for their clients, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to riot at the August 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Prosecutors say members of the California-based group engaged in other racist and anti-Semitic activity before the violence that erupted at the “Unite the Right” rally. Monday’s court filing includes photographs of Rise Above Movement members gathering on a beach to burn books, including “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Schindler’s List,” and disrupting a “white privilege” workshop in Santa Monica, California, sponsored by the Committee for Racial Justice.
One of the photos of the July 2017 book burning appears to show a pork chop atop the copy of “Schindler’s List.” Others show Daley and Gillen performing a Nazi salute or a “white power” hand sign, prosecutors said.
“The defendants’ viewed their victims (and all counter-protestors) to be Jews that were part of Jewish-led conspiracy to marginalize the white race, and the defendants targeted these victims because of that motivation,” prosecutors wrote.
The Justice Department separately prosecuted and secured a life prison sentence for avowed white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr., who plowed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters in Charlottesville, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
Fields was charged with federal hate crimes. Daley, Miselis, Gillen and a fourth Rise Above Movement member, Cole Evan White, were indicted last year on charges they violated a federal anti-rioting statute. White also has pleaded guilty but will be sentenced separately.
The group often held combat training sessions for its members and associates to prepare for violent clashes at political rallies. RAM members assaulted protesters at rallies in Huntington Beach, California on March 25, 2017, and in Berkeley, California, on April 15, 2017, according to prosecutors.
“RAM’s goal when they attended these rallies was simple: They sought to provoke physical conflict, or – even better – they looked for any reason to serve as an excuse which they believed would justify their use of violence against their ideological foes,” prosecutors wrote.
Daley, Miselis and Gillen flew from Los Angeles to Charlottesville on the eve of the rally and participated in a torch-lit march through the University of Virginia’s campus, joining in chants such as “Blood and soil!” and “Jews will not replace us!” Daley called the torch-lit march a “HUGE success” in a document that investigators found on his laptop.
“I was proud and honored to be there as a part of it,” he wrote, according to prosecutors.
The next morning, cameras captured RAM members punching, kicking and choking counterprotesters, including women, as they walked toward a park where the rally was to be held. Daley, a group leader, looked into one of the cameras and said, “This country’s ours. Time’s up” before making a throat-slashing gesture and adding, “All of you,” according to prosecutors.
Less than two weeks later, a bartender at a restaurant in Southern California overheard Daley trying to recruit a man to join the group. The bartender told authorities he heard Daley say, “We’re going after feminists now,” according to prosecutors.
Daley’s attorneys accuse prosecutors of trying to “muddy the waters” by focusing on their client’s “white nationalist views” instead of his actions.
“A sentence of more than 27 months will improperly punish Mr. Daley for his admittedly extreme political views, which are protected by the First Amendment, instead of his actual conduct,” they wrote.
Gillen’s lawyer said his client admits he engaged in violence at the April 2017 rally in Berkeley, but said there is no evidence that Gillen committed violent acts at the rallies in Huntington Beach or Charlottesville.
“While this alone is certainly no defense to the offense of conviction, it is a mitigating factor,” Gillen’s attorney wrote.
Miselis has a master’s degree in aerospace engineering and had “top-secret clearance” while working as an analyst for Northrop Grumman, running simulations of air-to-air and air-to-ground combat, according to his attorney. His “notoriety” led to his firing after his arrest, the attorney said, adding that Miselis had difficulty making friends until he met RAM members in 2017.
“It was then that his life took a U-turn that was at odds with everything that he had done before,” the defense attorney wrote.
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Sen. Kamala Harris says Trump should be scared to debate her
On the latest podcast episode of Jemele Hill is Unbothered, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) pulled no punches. While the senator’s well-known megawatt smile and infectious laugh were on display, the former California attorney general also had a few stern and serious messages to convey.
The fun and informative interview by Hill, a veteran journalist, pulled out some notable quotables from Harris who was at the time of the podcast recording during Essence Fest, firmly in an impressive second place amongst Democratic 2020 presidential candidates. Several Democratic candidates made it down to New Orleans to mingle with the 500,000 attendees of the annual display of #BlackGirlMagic drip, but Sen. Harris is the only one who is actually in the legacy publication’s target demographic. She was in her bag and her answers reflected her comfort level.
Here are just a few gems from Sen. Kamala Harris’ talk with Jemele Hill:
Why She Decided to Run
The thing that really at the end of the day compelled me to make the decision to jump in this race and I was talking to my sister about it, is I felt so strongly and really quite emotional. And what this is what I said: “If I don’t get in this race, there is a voice that will not be present on that stage and a voice that needs to be heard.”
READ MORE: Beto O’Rourke appeals to Black voters after learning his ancestors once owned slaves
Why She Wants to Include Bills Like Rent and Utilities in the Credit Score
So here’s the thing, credit score is your credit score. If it’s good or bad, we’ll determine whether you have access to capital, whether you have access to loans. One of the things that we don’t measure, which I intend to change, is we don’t really have [an] accurate measure of people’s financial responsibility. For example, in your credit scores, they’re not measuring the fact that you pay rent on time. Let’s measure that. Let’s measure the fact that people pay their phone bill on time. Let’s measure the fact people pay their utilities on time because that’s an indication of financial responsibility, which is the whole point of it. Are you financially responsible so that I loan you this money? Well, so I want to change it.
Breaking Down the Gender Wage Gap
We’re talking about things like equal pay. The equal pay act was passed in the United States of America in 1963 we’ve been talking about this and talking about this and talking about it. Well, fast forward to the year of our Lord 2019 and women are still paid 80 cents on the dollar, black women’s 61 cents on the dollar, native American women, 58 cents, Latinas, 53 cents. I’m done. Like we don’t need to debate the question any longer. Are women paid equally for equal work? It’s a non debatable point. The question becomes what are we going to do about it?
Creating True Pay Equity for Women
So here’s what I’m prepared to do. I’m prepared to say I’m going to shift the burden from that working woman to prove to the employer that she’s not getting paid the same amount for the same work and shift the burden to the corporations to prove that they are paying women equally for equal work. If they are not, they will have to pay a fine, which will be for every 1% differential between what they pay men and women. It will be an equal 1% of their profits from the year before. That’ll get their attention.
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If She Thinks Donald Trump is Afraid to Debate Her
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It starts with “m” and ends in “ah.”
*Mic Drop* And on that note, you’ll have to go check out the entire episode of Jemele Hill is Unbothered to hear the rest of Sen. Harris’ thoughts on a myriad of subjects, including her record as a prosecutor, her candid thoughts on her heated debate exchange with Joe Biden and more.
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Kim Kardashian advocates on the ‘gram for a convicted murderer accused in grisly family slaying
Kim Kardashian introduced to her fans a man she believes was wrongly imprisoned in an effort to fight for his release.
—Mother of Eric Garner writes powerful essay after decline to prosecute police officer who killed him—
The soon-to-be lawyer and reality star, who facilitated the release of non-violent drug offender Alice Marie Johnson, took to Instagram Tuesday to advocate for Kevin Keith, an Ohio man who was found guilty of a 1994 triple homicide.
Kardashian explained the circumstances surrounding his case that led to her support in his favor, The Daily Mail reports.
“Kevin Keith was convicted of a triple homicide back in 1994 in Ohio and was sentenced to death,” Kardashian wrote.
“I heard about Kevin Keith’s case last year & the more I learn about it, the more I believe the world needs to hear what happened to him! He was on death row & came within days of execution before the governor of Ohio commuted his sentence to life w/o parole.
“I had the pleasure of meeting Kevin Keith through a video visit & was so impressed w/ the amazing programs he created in prison to help others inside better themselves! So much evidence has been uncovered proving Kevin’s innocence. I hope justice is served soon & he is released.”
Kardashian added a link to JusticeForKevinKeith.org.
Police claim Keith entered an apartment on the evening of Feb. 13, 1994, and sprayed it with gunfire, killing Marichell Chatman, 24; her 4-year-old daughter, Marchae; and the Marichell’s aunt, Linda Chatman, 39.
—Meek Mill lawyers: Case could crumble if new trial granted—
Three others were wounded, including siblings Quanita Reeves, 7, and Quentin Reeves, 4.
Marichell Chatman was the sister of an undercover police informant whose efforts led to a drug raid weeks earlier during which Keith was arrested.
Keith’s attorneys questioned eyewitness testimony that identified Keith as the shooter, provided evidence of an alternate suspect and lined up four alibi witnesses.
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland cited “legitimate questions” about evidence used to convict the inmate. But he also cautioned he did believe Keith committed the crimes.
The AP contributed to this report.
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Beach Tragedy: Black father dies while trying to save his two children swept out into ocean
A father of seven who urgently tried to save two of his children who were swept away by strong waters at a state beach, died during the ill-fated rescue effort.
—Meek Mill lawyers: Case could crumble if new trial granted—
On Sunday, Johnny Lee Vann Jr., of North Carolina found himself in troubled waters at Wrightsville Beach near Wilmington when his children were swept off a jetty wall and whisked away in the ocean.
Vann reportedly saved one child and but struggled to stay afloat when he went back to recover the second child, according to Capt. Jason Bishop of the Wrightsville Beach Police Department told ABC News.
Vann and the other child were subsequently rescued but the brave father was reportedly underwater for 30 seconds and could not be resuscitated.
“We came from church and we went to the beach to have fun. We wound up having a tragedy. You couldn’t ask for a better person,” the victim’s wife Dawn Vann told WWAY.
“You could have took anybody else,” she said. “I would’ve preferred to take me than him.”
“He never hesitated,” Dawn said about her husband’s heroic rescue efforts. “He threw everything down – phone keys and ran out there.”
Dawn said when people noticed that Vann was having difficulty, he told them, “Forget about me. Get my kids!” He didn’t care about nothing else,” she recalled. “They could’ve easily saved him,” she said explaining that he wanted them to focus on saving their children.
—Mother of Eric Garner writes powerful essay after decline to prosecute police officer who killed him—
“My dad always tells us, “You all are going to be together forever,”‘ said Vann’s daughter Kierstyn.
“His spirit is still alive and we’re all going to remember him as a hero,” she said.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help pay funeral costs.
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2019 Black Men XCEL Takes Celebration of Excellence To Miami
Black Enterprise will present the 2019 Black Men XCEL Summit, Aug. 28 through Sept. 1st, at the JW Turnberry Miami Resort and Spa. The new host location for the annual event will welcome more than 800 men and women who will celebrate and honor the leadership and excellence of today’s men of color.
After spending two years in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, the 3rd annual celebration will move to Miami to accommodate the larger audience and offer attendees a lot more, including: luxury rooms, a world class spa, top-notch golf courses, an amazing waterpark and much more. Black Enterprise will also introduce new elements to the event and more networking opportunities for the attendees. Black Men XCEL will feature nationally recognized leaders and provide attendees with thought-provoking sessions, a star-powered awards dinner, a hilarious night of comedy, a summer concert, and, golf and spa experiences.
The XCEL Awards will be a major highlight of the event. It will honor men who are the living embodiment of the purpose of Black Men XCEL: “Celebrating the best of who we are.” The XCEL Awards recognize outstanding trailblazers whose achievements, influence, impact, and leadership have helped to open doors of opportunity and present an inspiring example of success for others, especially men of color. XCEL Awards will be presented to Rev. Jesse Jackson, the founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition; Eddie Levert, one of the founders and lead singers of the legendary R&B group The O’Jays; Jerome “The Bus” Bettis, Pro Football Hall of Famer and one of the greatest running backs in NFL history; and Marc H. Morial, CEO of the National Urban League. The accomplishments of these honorees will continue to set the standard of success to which others aspire to match and exceed.
2019 Black Men XCEL attendees will also engage in development sessions and activities designed to train, equip, and inspire leadership. Topics will include Filling the Pipeline to Opportunity in Tech and Financial Services; Lessons on Leadership: What it Takes to Win the Trust of People, Teams, and Organizations; Mindy Body Spirit: How Black Men can Survive Trauma and Thrive,and more. Black Men XCEL will also host a golf tournament, executive leadership coaching, career opportunity showcase, concert, comedy show with Roy Wood Jr, Chris Spencer, Capone and Mark Viera, and networking mixers.
To register and get more information, visit www.blackenterprise.com/bmx.
The 2019 Black Men XCEL is hosted by FedEx, with presenting sponsors, AT&T and Prudential. Platinum sponsor Georgia-Pacific/Koch Industries. Corporate sponsors Apple and Walmart and Gold sponsor Accenture. To register for the Black Men XCEL or for more information, visit https://ift.tt/2tBH6CX. You can also search #BMXCEL for additional updates and information about the summit on social media.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Interested press should contact Johann Alleyne-Morris at 212-886-9598 or via e-mail at morrisj@blackenterprise.com.
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Da Brat defends Jermaine Dupri and his ‘genius’ after he was dragged online for criticizing ‘stripper rappers’
Da Brat is taking up for her big brother Jermaine Dupri and sounding off after he was blasted online for criticizing female rappers by saying with disdain, “it’s like drug dealers rapping.”
—After uproar on hip-hop ‘stripper’, comment Jermaine Dupri tries to offer olive branch—
Dupri was met with an almost instant backlash from many people in the hip-hop community, when he sat down with People TV and expressed his disappointment with female rappers and when he was urged to pick a favorite, he responded with a critique of women in the rap game today.
“For me, it’s like strippers rapping,’” Dupri criticized. “As far as rap goes, I’m not getting who is the best rapper. Oh, you got a story about you dancing in the club, you got a story about you dancing in the club, you got a story about you dancing in the club. OK, all right.”
In a video, Cardi defended her right to rap about whatever she wanted to and noted there is a gap in support for female rappers who don’t infuse their lyrics with sexually-charged content. She also shouted out new artists Tierra Whack and Rhapsody and criticized Dupri for not recognizing them.
Cardi B addressed Dupri’s shade aimed at mainstream rappers like herself and hit back at JD.
But on Tuesday, Brat called Dupri a “genius” and said despite the fact that he vilified female rappers his criticism turned out as a benefit to them because he plans to extend an olive branch and hold a female cypher.
“Everything Jermaine Dupri does, he does strategically,” she told TMZ. “You should be thankful that the conversation is even started now, because now the focus in on us [female rappers]. New [rappers], seasoned [rappers], legends…everybody’s commenting.”
Afterward, Dupri took to Twitter on Friday to announce the creation of a So So Def cypher to uplift women coming up in the rap game.
—Cardi B claps back at Jermaine Dupri over ‘stripper rappers’ comments—
“I love Jermaine Dupri, he’s very smart at what he does and there’s always a method to his madness,” Brat added. She said his words were “absolutely taken out of context.”
But is it too late for him to clean up this mess and make amends?
After all the calls,DMs, angry tweets and other messages saying “I am a major gatekeeper in the hip hop world,why don’t I invest in a female who is out here hustling and making a name for herself?” I decided to create the #SoSoDefFemalecypher, details coming soon pic.twitter.com/Nyxl5KpPXZ
— Jermaine Dupri (@jermainedupri) July 12, 2019
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