Friday, September 13, 2019
In pictures: Mourners in Zimbabwe view Robert Mugabe's body
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Keke Palmer on perfecting her pole-dancing skills for ‘Hustlers’ and scoring ‘GMA: 3’ gig
Keke Palmer left ‘sad’ and heartbroken after watching ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ documentary
The actress revealed her favorite move from the movie. “I can’t really remember the name, but you’re spinning your legs around, one is a kind of a kickback, climbing up the pole and then coming down,” she said before admitting the film also showed her how real women are making a living as strippers.
“I have seen many strippers make a nice living. Especially in those high profile areas, like Miami or New York,” she said. “They do private parties, have their own personal dancers and create another lane. There are so many ways you can create a hustle off being a stripper. Some people are trying to take advantage of women and there’s a lot of money to be made but it’s high stakes.”
Why Keke Palmer shared her abortion story and then deleted her #YouKnowMe post
Keke Palmer got to work with Jennifer Lopez for the flick, and considering J. Lo is the master of juggling several talents, we’re hoping Palmer got some inspiration about how to balance her TV gigs, movie roles, and music career all at once.
“It’s very hard. It’s not easy at all. Sometimes music gets the shorter end of the stick. But I do trust in God’s timing with everything. I follow where He leads me…When I did my first talk show it only lasted for a short while and then here it comes back around. I’ve got another opportunity,” she explained.
“Sometimes I’m working on television and then next thing you know, I’ll just be doing straight movies. Then everything will be quiet with the acting and then I’ll just be focused on music speaking engagements. I allow God to clear that space for me and I follow my heart on what I feel I can give most to at that time and I’m really learning to say ‘no’ to the things that I cannot take on even if it’s even if I love it.”
The post Keke Palmer on perfecting her pole-dancing skills for ‘Hustlers’ and scoring ‘GMA: 3’ gig appeared first on theGrio.
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Boston Gives Kindergarten Students $50 and a Savings Account on the First Day of School
For most kindergarteners, the first day of school can be exciting. Officials in Boston, however, made that day even more memorable by giving every kindergarten student in a public school a savings account with $50.
The new program, named Boston Saves, was announced Monday. It’s an expansion of a three-year pilot program that is devoted to helping children save money for their future college and career. The way it works is that the students are automatically enrolled in an online savings account. The best part is that they can use this account after graduating high school or once they have completed their GED, allowing them to accumulate money to be able to go to college, open a small business, and other goals.
“Boston Saves has proven to be an essential part of providing families with the tools to save for their children’s post-secondary future,” said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh in a statement. “I am pleased to announce the citywide expansion of Boston Saves, providing more families with these resources and strengthening the investment we are making in Boston’s youth.”
According to Fox Business, Boston Saves began in 2016 in 11 schools. Due to its growth, the organization expects to go statewide by the year 2020. In addition, parents are also encouraged to link their own accounts to their child’s savings account similar to a 529 college savings plan. The organization has various suggestions for deposits ranging from $20 to $25 a year, encouraging parents to continue saving or even just evaluate it with their child. The ultimate goal of Boston Saves is to educate and encourage families to make smart decisions about financial planning.
“This school year, we’re celebrating the full-scale launch of a great program called Boston Saves,” added Mayor Walsh. “Through Boston Saves, kindergartners are automatically set up with a savings account for college and career training.”
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DR Congo's Ben Malango waits for clearance for Raja move
Arrest warrant issued for R. Kelly in Minnesota after missing court date on sex abuse charge
Kelly apparently thinks he can fly above the law and on Thursday missed a court appearance in Minnesota after the singer was charged with two counts of prostitution and solicitation involving a girl under 18 he met at a concert in 2001.
Now an arrest warrant has been issued for the embattled singer who is locked up in Chicago on sexual abuse charges after he and his law team missed his court date in Hennepin County District Court, according to the DailyMail.com.
This time, Kelly is under fire for claims that he allegedly paid teenager $200 to prostitute her, “get naked and then asked to perform acts of rape on her in his Minneapolis hotel,” according to a complaint filed by Hennepin County District Attorney Michael Freeman.
Kelly’s lawyer reportedly blasted the new allegations: “Give me a break. This is absurd.”
Freeman did admit that this would be a tough case to prosecute because it is 20 years old.
The post Arrest warrant issued for R. Kelly in Minnesota after missing court date on sex abuse charge appeared first on theGrio.
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#AmINext protests in South Africa over violence against women
New SNL cast member under fire for racist and homophobic ‘jokes’ that resurfaced
As Saturday Night Live gears up for its season opener, one of its new hires is facing a fiery backlash for his history of making racist and homophobic remarks.
—Former NBA star Al Harrington says LAPD targets him for being Black—
Shane Gillis, who was announced as one of the new comedians hired at SNL for its 45th season, is coming under fire for his offensive attacks on gay people and racist language that even once got him fired from a gig.
At issue is Gillis racist attacks used in a former podcast he hosted called “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast,” with co-host Matt McCusker, The NY Daily News reports.
In a series of videos from 2018 posted on Twitter by Seth Simons, Gillis appears on camera saying “Let the f*cking ch*nks live there,” when referencing New York’s Chinatown.
In another video posted by Vulture Gillis mocked comedians who have a “confessional style” of comedy calling them “white f*ggot comics” and “f*cking gayer than ISIS.”
today SNL announced the hiring of its first cast member of East Asian descent, and also this guy pic.twitter.com/0FAGJZJUkK
— Seth Simons (@sasimons) September 12, 2019
He also goes on a tirade ranking comedians by race, gender, and sexual orientation.
“White chicks are literally the bottom,” Gillis says. “Ali Wong is making it so Asian chicks are funnier than white chicks.”
this, again, is from September 2018 pic.twitter.com/inYFT22zjl
— Seth Simons (@sasimons) September 12, 2019
That brand of comedy even got him fired from performing at Good Good Comedy Theatre in Philadelphia.
“Good Good Comedy Theatre stopped working with him within the past few years because of racist, homophobic, and sexist things he’s said on and offstage,” Kate Banford, co-owner of the theater, told Vulture.
—Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax Sues CBS for Defamation—
On Thursday, once the videos hit the internet, Gillis offered a lame and half-hearted apology for his offensive material.
“I’m happy to apologize to anyone who’s actually offended by anything I’ve said,” he wrote. “My intention is never to hurt anyone but I’m trying to be the best comedian I can be and sometimes that requires risks.”
Earlier in the day, SNL made an announcement that they hired the first Asian-American regular cast member Bowen Yang.
The post New SNL cast member under fire for racist and homophobic ‘jokes’ that resurfaced appeared first on theGrio.
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Republicans and ABC blasted for airing ad of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s face burning during #DemDebate
A vile ad sponsored by a Republican-affiliated PAC aired during the Democratic primary debate Thursday night showing the face of freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez erupt into a blaze of fire.
The political action committee behind the ad is called New Faces GOP and was created by Elizabeth Heng, a former California Republican congressional candidate, states the website.
Heng narrates the ad, which uses Ocasio-Cortez’s image which bursts into flames as Heng narrates, the NY Post reports.
“This is the face of socialism,” Heng says.
“Does Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez know the horror of socialism?”
“My father was minutes from death in Cambodia before a forced marriage saved his life. That’s socialism: Forced obedience. Starvation.” Heng says in the ad, which highlighted skulls in a Khmer Rouge death camp in Cambodia.
“Mine is a face of freedom, my skin is not white, I’m not outrageous, racist, nor socialist. I’m a Republican,” she says.
Ocasio-Cortez fired back on Twitter, writing: “Republicans are running TV ads setting pictures of me on fire to convince people they aren’t racist. Life is weird!”
“Know that this wasn’t an ad for young conservatives of color — that was the pretense,” she wrote. “What you just watched was a love letter to the GOP’s white supremacist case.”
Know that this wasn’t an ad for young conservatives of color – that was the pretense.
What you just watched was a love letter to the GOP’s white supremacist case. https://t.co/zvp1EB02c5
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 13, 2019
Many people called out ABC for airing the divisive ad.
And on Friday morning the hashtag #BoycottABC was trending on Twitter.
“Disgusting display of ABC airing an ad which portrays AOC as a communist authoritarian. This an attempt to smear AOC by Republicans and the right-wing. Republicans don’t know how to win anymore because their policies are abhorrent and only helping the top 1%. #BoycottABC” wrote user Joe Negan.
Disgusting display of ABC airing an ad which portrays AOC as a communist authoritarian. This an attempt to smear AOC by Republicans and the right-wing. Republicans don’t know how to win anymore because their policies are abhorrent and only helping the top 1%. #BoycottABC pic.twitter.com/nzISLBSlVW
— Joe Negan (@mynameisNegan) September 13, 2019
Complete disgusting display of politics. Ad had zero substance and was built to fear-monger. What have we come to. We have a political party with zero ideas attacking a political party that works and fights for the people. We should be ashamed with our culture as well #BoycottABC
— ♻️🇺🇸 Christopher Zullo (@ChrisJZullo) September 13, 2019
The post Republicans and ABC blasted for airing ad of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s face burning during #DemDebate appeared first on theGrio.
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The Danger of Thinking We’re All ‘Addicted’ to Tech
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Former NBA star Al Harrington says LAPD targets him for being Black
Ex-NBA player turned cannabis tycoon, Al Harrington, believes the LAPD’s got it out for him.
—Beyond The Smoke: Cannabis for health, not a high—
Harrington told TMZ that he’s been the target of police and has been pulled over several times for “driving while Black.”
Each occurrence, Harrington claims, he was never ticketed for, yet he says he continues to be hassled for no apparent reason other than being Black.
Harrington was caught by the paparazzi leaving a Viola Lifestyle event, the marijuana brand he created and named after his grandma.
The LAPD reportedly told the outlet they are taking Harrington’s claims “very seriously” and is looking into the matter.
A Black man with a fancy car and a lot of money seems to always turn heads when it should be normalized by now.
Harrington wants the smoke
The former NBA basketball star wants smoke, but not from the LAPD.
Harrington spent 16 seasons playing for the league and never once touched a gram of marijuana, and yet, once retirement was on the horizon, he began to think of the economic opportunities around marijuana.
His financial advisors thought of it as a risky investment and entirely too taboo for his otherwise stellar reputation.
It wasn’t until after his grandmother had a life-changing experience with medical marijuana did Harrington decide to push past the doubt and pursue a path where cannabis was worth selling.
—Meet The Black Woman Cannabis Owner Building A ‘High’ End Weed Lounge—
Harrington was also determined as an African-American entrepreneur to lay claim to some of the $10.4 billion dollar legal marijuana industry in the U.S. As a result, Viola was born; a line of cannabis products, named after his grandmother.
“Cannabis chose me and chose me to be one of its soldiers; one of its crusaders,” says Harrington in an interview at theGrio‘s New York City headquarters earlier this year.
“If you can find a way to get into this industry, I promise it’ll be very lucrative.”
The post Former NBA star Al Harrington says LAPD targets him for being Black appeared first on theGrio.
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Eto'o junior set to follow in father's footsteps for Cameroon
Duchess Meghan Markle launches clothing line to help jobless British women
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has launched a clothing line for a British charity that helps unemployed women find work.
The wife of Prince Harry attended a reception at a John Lewis department store to showcase a collection of workwear and accessories she created with designer and friend Misha Nonoo.
The line includes professional attire such as a blazer, tote bag and trousers. The launch came the day before London Fashion Week starts.
The Smart Set collection supports Smart Works. Meghan is royal patron of the charity that provides women with training and interview clothes.
Meghan said: “As women, it is 100% our responsibility, I think, to support and uplift each other.”
The reception was one of her first royal engagements since the birth of her and Harry’s son Archie in May.
The post Duchess Meghan Markle launches clothing line to help jobless British women appeared first on theGrio.
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