Bryce Gowdy’s mother was concerned with his behavior prior to his suicide

A Florida high school football player’s bright shining star has unfortunately dimmed.

After becoming a much sought after recruit, the young man’s bright future would never come to pass following his untimely death and now investigators have ruled his death a suicide.

Bryce Gowdy, 17, died on Monday in his hometown of Deerfield, Fla., after being hit by a freight train. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, authorities arrived on the scene shortly after 4 a.m. and transported the teen to the hospital where he later died.

READ MORE: Georgia Tech defensive tackle Brandon Adams died over the weekend in Atlanta

Gowdy had been a standout on the Deerfield Beach High School football team. As a star player, he helped lead his school in 30 wins over the last three seasons. AJC reported that he had received over 30 scholarship offers, including from Penn State, Syracuse, and Oregon, but in July, he chose to commit to Georgia Tech becoming one of the college’s top recruits.

Gowdy’s death came just one week before he was to officially join the team as he had finished high school one semester early, according to CNN.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that the night before Gowdy’s death, he had asked his mother, Shibbon Winelle, probing questions about life and whether his family would be OK in his absence.

“He kept talking about the signs and the symbols that he was seeing all over the place,” Winelle said in a Facebook video. “About how he could see the world for what it really was. He kept saying that he could see people for what they really are.”

Though Winelle was concerned about her son’s behavior, she said he had also been talking about positive things.

Georgia Tech’s football coach Geoff Collins released a statement expressing his condolences to Gowdy’s family and friends.

“Our entire Georgia Tech football family is devastated by the news of Bryce’s passing,” Collins said in the statement. “Bryce was an outstanding young man with a bright future. He was a great friend to many, including many of our current and incoming team members. On behalf of our coaches, players, staff, and families, we offer our deepest condolences to Bryce’s mother, Shibbon, and his brothers, Brisai and Brayden, as well as the rest of his family members, his teammates and coaches at Deerfield Beach High School, and his many friends. Bryce and his family will always be a part of the Georgia Tech football family.”

READ MORE: George Atkinson III, ex-Raiders, Notre Dame running back dies a year after twin brother’s suicide

A study released in October by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Black teens have increasingly been attempting suicide. Between the years 1991-2017, the study concluded that the suicide rate for black youths grew even as the rate of suicide attempts by teens in other racial and ethnic groups fell.

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Tuskegee Airman promoted to Brigadier General just after 100th birthday

A member of the famed Tuskegee Airman received a much-deserved promotion following 30 years of military service.

Charles McGee, a resident of Bethesda, Md., was just promoted to Brigadier General after Donald Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020 into law on Dec. 20.

READ MORE: Air Force names new trainer jet in honor of Tuskegee Airmen

“It’s wonderful to be recognized for service and what it means to serve,” McGee said. “Certainly to receive that honorary rank is very meaningful.”

WUSA9 reported that McGee, who was a member of the famous Red Tails Squadron, flew 136 missions over Nazi Europe while white pilots were sent home after 50 missions. Following his service during WWII, McGee went on to serve during the Korean and Vietnam wars before his retirement as a colonel.

“Col. Charles McGee’s service to our country is remarkable and fully merits this distinguished honor,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said. “I was proud to fight for the inclusion of this promotion to commemorate his work and his sacrifice. This progress comes just days after Col. McGee’s 100th birthday, and I could not think of a more fitting recognition from a truly grateful nation.”

Prior to the honorary promotion, McGee had just celebrated his 100th birthday for which he piloted a Cirrus Vision Jet, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Last year, for McGee’s 99th birthday, he co-piloted a blue-and-white HondaJet over the Virginia countryside.

READ MORE: M.I.A. Tuskegee Airman finally laid to rest, 75 years after being lost in heroic mission

“He had a high school counselor who said he’d make a good truck driver,” McGee’s son Ronald, who followed in his father’s footsteps to become an aviator, told the Washington Post at the time. “So he went to college and got an aerospace engineering degree.”

A book about McGee’s life, Tuskegee Airman: The Biography of Charles E. McGee, Air Force Fighter Combat Record Holder is available for those interested in learning more about the famed pilot. The book was written by McGee’s eldest daughter, Charlene McGee-Smith, Ph.D.

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Ex-PM wins Guinea-Bissau presidential election

Umaro Cissoko Embalo has pledged to resolve political tensions in the coup-prone West African country.

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Here's What the World Will Look Like in 2030 ... Right?

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Marshawn Lynch’s Return to NFL Has His Beast Mode Apparel Sales Spike

Returning back to the spotlight causes great things for business! According to ESPN, the return of Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch has sparked a sales spike for his Beast Mode Apparel.

Lynch, who recently came out of retirement for a second time, signed to the team he won a Super Bowl with, the Seattle Seahawks last week. Since the announcement of his signing, sales of his Beast Mode Apparel have drastically increased. According to Mitch Grossbach, the head of operations and finance for Lynch’s Beast Mode business, Beastmodeonline.com had generated close to $150,000 in sales from when Lynch’s return became official. The clothing line also includes new gear commemorating his Seahawks comeback.

“Obviously, we knew a little ahead of time that there might be this possibility of Marshawn returning, so we have a team that began thinking about what can we put on sale, assuming he gets confirmed to play,” Grossbach told ESPN.com. “And we designed a couple of styles.”

Grossbach estimated that sales projection for December will end up five to seven times greater than what the website averaged in the months leading up to the running back’s return.

“My phone started to blow up and I stepped out to check it,” Grossbach said. “I saw that we had, within the first half an hour, we had thousands of sessions and we were selling at a rate of a couple thousand dollars in sales every few minutes. So the site had just gone crazy and spiked. I can see it exactly. This was on Dec. 23 at around 9 p.m. We had hit around $20,000 in sales within the first hour of it being announced.”

Due to the anticipation of Lynch returning to his old team, it was decided to add new gear to the collection. The new gear includes hooded sweatshirts, T-shirts, and long-sleeve T’s that read either “Back in Action,” which have since sold out or “Unfinished Business.” As soon as the deal was signed and formalized, Lynch’s agent, Doug Hendrickson, texted Grossbach to inform him and then Grossbach texted his team to push the new gear live.

Related: Colin Kaepernick’s Nike Air Force 1 Sells Out Immediately

Marshawn Lynch played for the Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders, and Seattle Seahawks where he made four Pro Bowls and helped win Super Bowl XLVIII. Lynch earned the nickname “Beast Mode” for his powerful running style and consistent ability to run over defenders and break tackles.

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This Black-Owned Cafe is Redefining the Culture for People in Richmond, Virginia

A little black girl walks into a coffee shop and stops when she sees a black woman by the counter. With excitement and curiosity in her eyes, the little girl asks, “Do you own this?” Kelli Lemon, the owner of the Urban Hang Suite RVA social cafe, bends down as she looks at the little girl in her eyes and says, “Yes, what do you want to own?” 

A powerful voice in the Richmond community. Lemon is exuding black excellence through her work and is bringing others on the journey with her. She’s a highly-respected community leader, radio personality, and host of the Podcast ‘Coffee with Strangers.’ Recently, she added another title to her name: business owner. 

Lemon is one of the entrepreneurs that BLK RVA, a campaign started to promote patronage of black businesses in Richmond, highlights to celebrate black culture and change the narrative of what it means to be black in this city that was once the former capital of the Confederacy. 

Hundreds of years after slavery, there was still a racial and class divide in Richmond that shattered the image of the city. It was time to create an opportunity for black enterprise and create a new story for Richmond. After saving money for an entire year, obtaining investors, and signing a contract to obtain six-months rent-free for her business space, Lemon was ready to bring her vision to life—an idea that could change the landscape for creatives and business owners in Richmond. 

Opened in 2018, Urban Hang Suite has become a space for connections, coffee, and culture. “This space was created for conversations that would lead to creating a new culture. From a cup of coffee to an ear hustle to a general “how is your day going?” this space is creating a place for people to exhale,” says Lemon. “That’s what my motto was for the Urban Hang Suite. I wanted to allow us to engage and let our ideas shine and see ourselves in this space.” 

Photo Credit: Richmond Retail Merchants Association

Lemon adds, “We are organically owning things that we have always had our hands in but were afraid to step out of our comfort zones and be amongst RVA in Richmond. So many industries—film, art, food, craft beer, wine—are starting to feel our presence.” 

“Black RVA provides the safety net to take that first step,” says Lemon as she discussed her first year in business at the Urban Hang Suite. She strongly believes that individuals seeking to start a business in the hospitality industry need to have a network of support to overcome the hurdles associated with sustaining a business. “If I didn’t have the support system I have right now, I wouldn’t be able to do it. We can’t just call granddaddy and say can we get a half-million dollars to make sure that our business can operate for the next three years. I am consistently on a daily grind.” 

Related: 60 Black-Owned Alternatives to Starbucks

Any successful business owner knows that you need numbers that are supported by powerful data to attract individuals who believe in your vision. You also need to consider multiple streams of revenue to get you started and keep you going. “I had a full business plan that I wrote and then solicited for investors. Then I used a crowdfunding source to get me open and where I need to be. 

Lemon shares the importance of having a team of smart individuals by your side such as an accountant, lawyer, and general manager who is knowledgeable in your area. “It’s also very important to have a mentor in the business—someone who is already doing what you want to do,” says Lemon as she gives credit to her mentors AJ Brewer and Kendra Feather for helping her to navigate the hospitality scene in Richmond. “AJ Brewer has the only other black-owned coffee shop in Richmond and Kendra Feather owns six of Richmond’s best-known restaurants.” 

Owning a cafe isn’t easy but Lemon believes the conversations are integral to our progress. After surviving her first year in business, she’s ready to open the doors for more conversations in the future. For anyone wondering if they should take the next step in their entrepreneurial endeavors, Lemon offers these words of wisdom, “Your gut will tell you what moves to make. Trust yourself then seek advice from professionals. Find a mentor who can tell you the bad because it will ease the blow.” 

 

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Cities Race to Slow Climate Change—and Improve Life for All

Mayors across the world say we all need to consider how urban planning and climate intersect with well-being.

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The Canada Premier League wants to help develop African talent

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Everything You Need to Know About the CCPA

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What does it mean to be a black traveller?

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West Virginia Governor Will Fire Cadets Pictured Giving a Nazi Salute

It seems as if the longer President Trump is in office, the more blatant racists are going about the flaunting of their ignorance. According to CNN, West Virginia governor Jim Justice will terminate every cadet who posed for photographs giving the nazi salute.

In a press release, West Virginia Governor, Jim Justice stated, after receiving and reviewing the official report completed by the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety related to the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation Academy Class 18 and has approved the recommendations submitted by DMAPS Secretary Jeff Sandy.

“I have reviewed the factual information regarding this incident that was provided by Secretary Sandy, and have approved all of his recommendations,” Gov. Justice said. “I expressed my thanks to him and the entire Department for quickly getting this report done.

“As I said from the beginning, I condemn the photo of Basic Training Class 18 in the strongest possible terms. I also said that this act needed to result in real consequences – terminations and dismissals. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated on my watch in any agency of State government.

“We have a lot of good people in our 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 ever happens again.”​

Below is the letter sent to West Virginia Governor Jim Justice sent from DMAPS Secretary Jeff Sandy:

On Wednesday, November 27th, 2019 following the Corrections Academy graduation of Class 18 in Glenville, West Virginia, we received information about “unbecoming conduct” on the part of two staff members and cadets from Basic Class 18. These individuals failed to maintain the high level of professionalism demanded by your administration.

Per your orders, attached is Commissioner Betsy Jividen’s transmittal memorandum and the Executive Report. Based on the report, I recommend the following:

(1) Termination of one additional Academy staff member who failed to report the content of the class photograph, the substance of conversations with Instructor Byrd regarding the practice and the photograph, and also her knowledge of the ongoing conduct, thereby contributing to the negative perception and indelible harm that has resulted from the incident. This brings the total number of Academy staff terminations to three at this point in time.

(2) Suspension without pay for four Academy Instructors who are currently known to have seen the photograph and failed to report its content, or to have witnessed Instructor Byrd and her class participating in this conduct and while making attempts to stop it, failed to take the necessary steps to report the conduct and to ensure that it was, in fact, no longer occurring, thereby contributing to the negative perception and indelible harm that has resulted from the incident.

(3) I am further recommending the termination of all cadets participating in the open-handed salute and the closed fist salute in the class photograph. As the Executive Summary also reflects, some other cadets stated variously that they were aware of the connotations associated with the gesture, that they were uncomfortable with the practice, that they did not participate in its use during class, and/or that they only followed what they perceived to be an order from Instructor Byrd to do the “Hail Byrd” for the photograph because they feared they would not graduate, or would be disciplined for failure to follow the order of a superior. Nonetheless, their conduct, without question, has also resulted in the far-reaching and harmful perceptions that are the antithesis of the values we strive to attain. The inevitable consequence of the conduct has not only damaged the reputation of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, but also negatively impacts morale across the workforce.

I concur with the Commissioner’s actions to date and her recommendations for addition training. Although, it would have been best for the state had this event never happened; the event showed that your mandate of having a transparent Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety has worked. The citizens of West Virginia should be proud of the transparency exercised in the handling of this unfortunate event and how the Commissioner and Inspector General have worked to bring this matter to a quick conclusion.

During this highly publicized event, I have personally received communications from domestic and international law enforcement; federal authorities; and domestic political figures praising the transparency and expediency with which this matter was handled.

If you have any questions about my recommendations, the Commissioner Jividen, the Inspector General, the MAPS Legal Team, and I are available to provide any additional information.

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W. Va. police trainees get canned for group photo with Nazi salute

A photo of West Virginia correctional officer trainees giving an apparent Nazi salute, which went viral has the trainees’ faces blurred. But what’s clear is the punishment handed down to them this week: They’re all fired.

NBC News reports West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced Monday that he was approving the recommendation to fire more than 30 people investigated after the photo of one of the training classes was released — by the department in charge of training the officers — in December. Some 30 of the trainees posed with their right arms raised in the gesture, with the words “Hail Byrd!” at the top of the photo.

READ MORE: 13 Philadelphia cops to be terminated after offensive Facebook posts

“Byrd” was not identified further when the photo was released and when a state investigation was opened soon afterward, according to NBC News. However, she was found to be one of the class instructors who, according to the investigators, told a department secretary that the students were saluting her like that “because I’m a hard-ass like Hitler.”

A secretary reported in an investigation that she asked the instructor, “What are you all doing in the picture?” To which Byrd responded, “there is nothing wrong with it, we have people of all colors and backgrounds in the picture and every one of them are participating.”

The state did not release the names of everybody who was fired as a result of the photo. But almost immediately after the photo went public, two trainers and one trainee in West Virginia’s Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which oversees the cadet training, were fired, and 34 others were suspended without pay.

READ MORE: LAPD probes recruiting ad on right-wing news site amid furor

Also, firings and suspensions were handed out to those who knew about the photo and failed to report it at all, or to report it to the proper authorities, the report found.

The report, conducted by Jeff Sandy, the secretary of the state’s Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, claimed that some of the cadets “only followed what they perceived to be an order’’ and “feared they would not graduate, or would be disciplined’’ for not following it.

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Chicago family ‘outraged’ that daughter’s alleged killer isn’t charged with murder

A 19-year-old college freshman from Chicago is dead, and her boyfriend is jailed and charged with killing her. But the family of Michigan State University student Lyniah Bell is stunned and infuriated that the man is facing manslaughter charges, not murder charges.

Bell, who was home on winter break, was shot to death Friday night in an apartment in the Chicago neighborhood of Chatham. Lafayette Hodges, 18, turned himself in the next day and is charged with involuntary manslaughter after, police said, he claimed he and Bell were “play fighting.’’

READ MORE: Detroit Lions player Marvin Jones suffers unimaginable loss during holiday season

Bell’s parents don’t believe him.

“You intentionally shot my baby in the head, are you serious,” Bell’s mother, Evelyn Hightower, told Chicago’s WLS-TV.

“We are outraged and not taking this laying down,” added Bell’s father, Dairus Bell.

In an earlier report, the parents told WLS that Hodges had beaten her up and then shot her in the head. “I told her that I did not want her with him. But you cannot tell somebody what to do,” Hightower told the station, saying she had hoped that her going away to college would end the relationship.

Police told WLS that multiple people were in the apartment when the shot was fired, and that they interviewed those on the scene before arresting and charging Hodges.

READ MORE: Prosecutors say Georgia college basketball star admits her part in homicide

Bell had been on a full scholarship to Michigan State and was studying journalism, after attending North Lawndale College Prep, a charter school with 99 percent graduation rates, and becoming a National Honors Society scholar.

North Lawndale’s president and CEO, Dr. Garland Thomas-McDavid, sent a letter to the families offering counseling and saying, “We just can’t say enough good about the positive impact she had on the school community. She will be missed dearly, and our hearts grieve alongside her mother and family.”

Hodges was originally held on $50,000 bond, but it was revoked for violating a previous bond on charges of attacking two police officers, according to the station.

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‘Surviving R. Kelly’ sequel to feature ex-girlfriend who says she escaped from the singer

On the Lifetime documentary series Surviving R. Kelly earlier this year, one of the embattled singer’s former girlfriends was reported to have escaped being forced to live with the through extraordinary efforts of her mother. The sequel, airing Thursday, will include that ex-girlfriend’s own words as she appears on camera to tell her story.

The network released a clip this week from Surviving R. Kelly: The Reckoning which showed the woman, Dominique Gardner, sitting down for her interview, but nothing of her speaking. Her mother did talk in the clip, and spared no words or emotions in describing his alleged damage.

READ MORE: R. Kelly’s ex-tour manager admits he obtained forged ID so 15-year-old Aaliyah could marry the singer

“He (expletive) my daughter up, emotionally, Michelle Kramer, Gardner’s mother, said in the clip posted on Billboard.com, choking up as she spoke.

Kramer also speaks of how her daughter became “dark” and “like a loner” after getting away from R. Kelly for good, and how she is not “this bubbly teenager” as she had been before.

Since the original series aired in January 2019, Kelly has been arrested, charged and jailed on federal and state charges connected to his preying on girls and young women. The clip Lifetime released included disclaimers from Kelly’s lawyers, declining to answer certain questions while charges are pending…but also accusing those who spoke out against him of conducting “a smear campaign” and have “used their accusations to promote contemporaneous books, albums and speaking tours.”

READ MORE: Feds fear R. Kelly may seek retaliation against alleged victims while in prison

Gardner and her mother were interviewed in September for the addition to the documentary, according to the video clip. This is Gardner’s first interview about Kelly and her ordeal with him; according to the original documentary, after returning to him once, she has not gone back to him since.

“The Reckoning” airs two-hour episodes on three consecutive nights, Jan. 2-4, preceded by the original series. This series reportedly will include commentary from others including Damon Dash, Matthew Knowles and Tarana Burke.

Kelly, 52, has remained in federal custody in Chicago since July on several charges of child pornography and obstruction of justice. In addition he faces Illinois state charges of multiple counts of criminal sexual assault.

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CBS figures out John Lewis and Elijah Cummings are two different Black men; issues mea culpa

CBS News admitted Tuesday that it made what seems to be a common media mistake: reporters and producers confusing Rep. John Lewis and the late Rep. Elijah Cummings.

About an hour after airing a report on the health of Lewis, the civil rights icon and Georgia congressman, who revealed that he is battling stage IV pancreatic cancer, using a photo of Cummings, the Maryland congressman who died in October at age 68. CBS issued an apology for the mistake saying:  “We deeply regret the error,’’ the apology statement read, in part.

READ MORE: Leaders react with support, expressions of love after John Lewis cancer announcement

The hour in between broadcasting the mistake on the CBS Evening News and making their apologies, social media roasted the network nonstop, spreading the error far and wide.

Both Lewis and Cummings are legendary for their work in the area of civil rights and both men have played significant roles in progressive politics for more than half a century. While both are African American men from the Civil Rights generation (and do bear a similar physical appearance), they represent different districts and have served different purposes in Congress. Lewis chairs the Oversight subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. Cummings was chair of the House Oversight Committee.

CBS is at least the second network this year to mix Cummings and Lewis up.

Back in June, Fox News aired a clip of Lewis in a committee hearing — with his nameplate in the camera shot — and identified him as Cummings. The network was criticized apologized soon after. Also, in 2017, CNN tweeted out a link to an interview with Cummings using Lewis’ picture.

READ MORE: Rep. Elijah Cummings: Politicians and celebrities react to sudden death of Baltimore congressman

Several social media posts surfaced with either condolences about the passing of Lewis, or condolences for Cummings with photos of Lewis, or both. For a while the day of Cummings’ passing, John Lewis was trending on Twitter, enraging many.

Confusing Black people in the media is not a new phenomenon, as singer Patti LaBelle discovered last year after Aretha Franklin died and this surfaced on, again, Fox News. And also as Angela Bassett and Omarosa found out after an item from last year’s Emmy Awards was published in The New York Times.

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Philadelphia police, roiled by harassment scandal, brings in Black woman to turn it around

Philadelphia, in a response to a dilemma in which the city was facing turmoil and scandal in law enforcement has hired an African American woman — the first ever — to lead its police department in hopes she will help the city turn a corner.

Danielle Outlaw, 43, who has served chief of police in Portland, Ore., since 2017, was announced as Philadelphia’s new police commissioner on Monday by Mayor Jim Kenney, four months after her full-time predecessor was forced to resign amidst a sexual harassment scandal, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

READ MORE: Philadelphia, St. Louis police departments remove cops from the street after investigation into racist social media posts

Outlaw, a native of Oakland, is the first Black woman ever to run the Philadelphia police, and the second woman overall, following the acting commissioner brought on in August, Christine Coulter. Outlaw is also the youngest commissioner in at least two decades, according to the Inquirer.

But the new top cop is walking into a minefield, starting with but not limited to the way the job opened. Former commissioner Richard Ross resigned in August when a lawsuit surfaced accusing him of ignoring sexual harassment claims of an officer against a fellow officer. Ross, also an African-American, had been with the department for 30 years and had held the position since January 2016.

READ MORE: Philly police chief resigns as sexual harassment and discrimination claims roil department

Multiple cases of harassment, and of gender and racial discrimination in the department, surfaced after that. In addition, the crime rate in the city has continued to soar, as has the poverty level.

“I am very qualified to make the jump,” Outlaw said in her introductory press conference. “The issues remain the same. I am very experienced in each of them.”

Outlaw came out on top of a search of 31 candidates, 18 of which were from the Philadelphia force, the Inquirer said. Several factions pushed for a woman of color to get the job, and although many had favored one already in the force, they are glad the city was willing to take the leap to reward a previously-under-represented group.

“Most of us are very encouraged,” Philadelphia city councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell told the Inquirer about her fellow council members. “They’re especially happy that she’s a woman — and happy of course that it’s an African American woman — but especially happy that she’s a woman.”

READ MORE: 13 Philadelphia cops to be terminated after offensive Facebook posts

Outlaw also came with the endorsement of the head of the police union in her former home of Portland, Daryl Turner: “You’re getting a damn good chief. We hate to lose her.”

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Kanye approves of T.I.’s controversial fatherhood remarks; claims God does, too

Kanye West used the one-year anniversary of his Sunday Service to give some public support to a fellow rapper and his quest to preserve his adult daughter’s sexual purity. It wasn’t noticeably embraced by his Los Angeles audience, and didn’t seem to be a completely logical fit with the rest of his message.

In the midst of his service at Union Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter in Los Angeles, Kanye gave a shout-out to the embattled T.I., whose discussion about taking his daughter annually to assure that her hymen is intact (and thus, in his mind, her virginity) set off a public firestorm.

For his part, however, T.I., later appeared on Jada Pinkett Smith’s Facebook Live show ‘Red Table Talk’ and contritely explained that he did not mean to be taken literally when he made the comment.

OPNION: How Jada Pinkett Smith schooled an ‘incredibly apologetic’ T.I. during a candid ‘Red Table Talk’

Still T.I.’s actions, West told the crowd, were “God-approved,’’ as opposed to “devil-approved,’’ in video shown on TMZ.com. His remarks before and after that were about the appreciation of his presenting his Sunday Service for an entire year, and about multiple states’ death-penalty statutes and “a worldwide solution” to the homeless problem personified by the location of that current service.

“They tryna play T.I., but he’s talkin’ about somethin’ that’s God-approved,” West told the crowd in the clip TMZ showed. The New York Post said the comment, was “met by silence from the audience.’’ That differed from the louder, more positive reactions to his later remarks about his Sunday Services being an “alternative to opioids” and an “alternative to pornography.’’

READ MORE: Killer Mike calls out T.I. and Candace Owens for arguing over ‘who got the best master’

On the TMZ video snippet, West prefaced his T.I. comment with one about how “people love to take a soundbite and say, ‘This was not exactly devil-approved by the internet.’ ” That appeared to refer to the avalanche of online condemnation following T.I.’s remarks about his daughter.

West also randomly mentioned talking to Elon Musk and, calling it a “shameless name-drop,” alluding to a discussion with him about homelessness and addiction problems commonly confronted by Union Rescue Mission.

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Joe Biden, heading into primary season, says he’s OK with a GOP running mate

Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden may be taking the idea of reaching across the aisle farther than his 2020 election competitors.

According to CNN, while at a campaign stop in Exeter, N.H., Monday, the former vice president answered a question about whether he would consider picking a Republican as his vice-presidential running mate, with, “The answer is I would, but I can’t think of one now.”

READ MORE: Joe Biden on racism — White people ‘can never fully understand’

Biden made the remark in the state which will hold the first Democratic primary in less than two months. Until this revelation, all the speculation about his running mate had centered around non-white males, such as former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and former candidate Sen. Kamala Harris.

While Biden has consistently struck a conciliatory, cooperative tone about working with Republicans, that party has shown little desire to return the favor to him. The root of the improprieties that got President Trump impeached recently was his and his administration’s attempts to engage Ukraine in digging up incriminating information to use specifically against Biden.

There has not been a major-party presidential ticket in modern times in which the nominee and his or her running mate has been from the opposing party. According to CNN, the late GOP senator John McCain considered Democratic senator Joseph Lieberman in 2008, but settled on Republican Sarah Palin to eventually be beaten by Barack Obama and Biden.

READ MORE: Joe Biden remains top choice for Black voters, according to new poll

For what it’s worth, Biden clarified his statement in Exeter by saying, “You know there’s some really decent Republicans that are out there still, but here’s the problem right now … they’ve got to step up.

“There’s a plethora of really qualified people,’’ Biden said. “Whomever I would pick were I fortunate enough to be your nominee, I’d pick somebody who was simpatico with me, who knew what I, what my priorities were and knew what I wanted to.’’

The post Joe Biden, heading into primary season, says he’s OK with a GOP running mate appeared first on theGrio.

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5 Fun, Alternative Ways to Spend New Year’s Eve

Who says going out to a party is the best way to ring in the New Year? Some of the most satisfying moments in life are when we’re having fun in an intimate setting with friends and family. Below, we’ve rounded up a few unique ways you can celebrate New Year’s Eve.

 

Plan a game night. 

Whether you want to put an adult twist to one of your favorite childhood games, such as Jenga and Tic-Tac-Toe, or opt for a new game like Black Card Revoked; an Afrocentric trivia game; there are plenty of fun options to keep you having fun into the early morning hours of New Year’s day. Add some delicious food and spirits, and you’re in for a great New Year’s Eve.

Host a New Year’s Eve dinner party with friends.

 A classic way to bring in the New Year, but classic doesn’t mean boring, right? A New Year’s dinner party with family and friends is a great way to reflect on the past year and chat about plans for the New Year. Perhaps you can host a cook-off or prepare a tasting menu of festive finger foods. Check out a few New Year’s Eve recipes on Food Network and MarthaStewart.com. And, for champagne cocktails–check out Bustle.com.

Host a masquerade party. 

Plan an evening of mystery and magic with a themed masquerade party. Beyond requesting that guests wear masquerade masks, you can ask them to bring their favorite dish and bottle of champagne, or you can feature several drinks from around the world.

Attend church. 

From plays and musical concerts to games and speakers, many churches plan a series of watch-night events to usher in the New Year.

Plan the ultimate date night.

Looking forward to some quality time with your sweetie? Whether you’re in the mood for a romantic evening of food and bubbly at a great city restaurant, or a bonfire on the beach with a sparkling fruit sangria, there are several great ways you can ring in the New Year with your love. Check out PopSugar for a great list of fun and sexy date ideas.

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Editor’s Note: This story originally published on December 27, 2018

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