Rapper Tre Da Kid shot and killed in a drive-by shooting

A rapper named Tre Da Kid had his life cut short when he was hit with a hail of bullets in a drive-by just an hour before he was about to hit the stage in Baltimore.

—Rapper Bushwick Bill of the Geto Boys dies at 52—

The 32-year-old, born Edward Montre Seay, was reportedly pronounced dead on the scene and died from his gunshot wounds.

Seay was headed to The One Sports Bar & Lounge in Baltimore when police received a 911 call that the rapper’s car crashed around 9:19 p.m. No one else was in the vehicle, The Capital Gazette reports.

Police are still trying to determine if Seay was targeted because of his rap career or if he’s the random victim of a drive-by shooting.

The promising rapper made a name for himself after winning Verizon’s 2016 #Freestyle50 rap contest where he took home the $10,000 top prize and earned a 300 Entertainment recording contract.

“Tre impressed the judges with his delivery, showmanship and off-the-dome creativity,” 300’s co-founder Kevin Liles said about the artist.

In March, Seay dropped the album ‘TDK: Titles define Kings.

He even rapped about how rap saved him.

“I think about the days I could have died like 10 times. Only thing that saved me was rap, I had to spit rhymes,” he rapped.

—Busta Rhymes, Lil Skies, Too $hort set to perform at Michigan’s cannabis trade show—

Baltimore PD is offering a $2,000 for information on the Seay killing.

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Sudanese businesses shut in strike against military rulers

Most shops and businesses close as the opposition urges civil disobedience.

from BBC News - Africa https://bbc.in/2IwJXpE
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The Heady, Thorny Journey to Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms

The movement to decriminalize psilocybin is progressing so quickly, it’s even surprised psychedelics advocates. The potential complications, though, are plenty.

from Wired http://bit.ly/2F3adqG
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Big Tech Can Stay Ahead of Regulators by Breaking Itself Up

Regulators are coming after Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, and it could get ugly. The companies would benefit by acting pre-emptively.

from Wired http://bit.ly/2I6FuuS
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Porsche's 911 Goes Hybrid With Vonnen's Shadow Drive

The aftermarket system adds an electric motor—and a whole lot of power—to the venerable sports car.

from Wired http://bit.ly/2WrB9X9
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Rapper Bushwick Bill of the Geto Boys dies at 52

Bushwick Bill, the diminutive, one-eyed rapper who with the Geto Boys helped put the South’s stamp on rap with hits like “Mind Playing Tricks On Me” and “Six Feet Deep,” died on Sunday at the age of 52, according to his publicist.

Dawn P. told The Associated Press that the rapper died Sunday at 9:35 p.m., local time, at a Colorado hospital. The publicist says the rapper, whose legal name is Richard Shaw, was surrounded by family when he died.

His Dallas-based business manager, Pete Marrero, said the rapper was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in February. He had been planning to go on tour around the time he was hospitalized.

In an interview with TMZ, Bushwick Bill said he wasn’t afraid of dying, referencing one of his songs, “Ever So Clear,” from his 1992 solo album, where he talks about shooting himself in the head and losing an eye when he was high on drugs.

“I died and came back already on June 19, 1991 so I know what it’s like on the other side,” he said.

He said he was working on new music because, “I notice when most celebrities pass, they really don’t have nothing set up for their children and everything’s in disarray so I figure, old music will sell but if I have new music for them … at least they will have residual income from those things.”

The Houston-based Geto Boys was a trio consisting of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D that launched in the late 1980s. Their gritty verses punctuated by tales of violence, misogyny and hustling made them platinum sensations and showed that rap had strength outside the strongholds of New York, where it got its start, and later Los Angeles.

Bushwick Bill was the group’s most explosive member, and played up his real-life chaos: The cover of the Geto Boys “We Can’t Be Stopped” features him on a gurney with a garish eye wound. Later, he would compare himself to the horror character Chucky, even writing a song about it.

On another of the group’s tracks, “Damn It Feels Good to be a Gangsta,” he rapped about being a smart gangster who was positioning himself for success and longevity rather than a violent early death. The song was featured in Mike Judge’s 1999 workplace satire “Office Space.”

The Jamaica-born rapper was widely reported to have died earlier Sunday after a bandmate wrote a post on Instagram suggesting so, but his publicist had said Sunday afternoon that those reports were premature.

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Where are they now? Key players in O.J. Simpson murder trial 25 years after the trial of the century

The June 12, 1994, killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman brought the “Trial of the Century” that saw O.J. Simpson acquitted of the murders. From Johnnie to Kato to Ito, the trial brought together a fascinating cast of charters. Here’s a look at where they are now.

THE DEFENDANT
Two years after Simpson’s 1995 acquittal, a civil court jury found him liable for the deaths of his ex-wife and Goldman, and ordered he pay their survivors $33.5 million. He got into a series of minor legal scrapes ranging from a 2001 Florida road-rage incident (he was acquitted) to racing his boat through a protected Florida manatee zone in 2002 (he was fined). His most serious transgression came in 2007, however, when he and five others barged into a Las Vegas hotel room with guns and robbed memorabilia dealers of property that Simpson said was his. He served nine years in a Nevada prison and was paroled in 2017. Now 71, Simpson lives quietly in Las Vegas where he says he plays golf nearly every day with a group of “retired guys.” He also poses for selfies with the many people still enamored with his celebrity. Simpson told The Associated Press in a recent interview that he will never discuss the murders again.

THE VICTIMS’ SURVIVORS
Ron Goldman’s sister, Kim, was 22 and broke into hysterical sobs when the not guilty verdict was read. These days she counsels troubled teens as executive director of a Southern California-based nonprofit, The Youth Project, and is a speaker to victims’ rights group. She has authored several books and on Wednesday — the 25th anniversary of her sister’s death — begins a 10-episode podcast titled “Confronting: OJ Simpson,” in which she says she’ll discuss all aspects of the trial. Goldman, now 47, lives in a Southern California suburb with her 15-year-old son.

Fred Goldman, Ron’s father, has relentlessly pursued Simpson through civil courts, maintaining it is the only way to achieve justice for his son. Goldman’s family has seized some of Simpson’s memorabilia, including his 1968 Heisman Trophy as college football’s best player that year. The family has also taken the rights to Simpson’s movies, a book he wrote about the killings and other items to satisfy part of the $33.5 million judgment that Simpson refuses to pay. Goldman, 78, lives with his wife, Patti, in Arizona, where both are Realtors.

Denise Brown, Nicole Brown Simpson’s sister, has remained the family’s most outspoken critic of Simpson, although like the Goldman family she refuses to speak his name. The former model has become a victims’ rights advocate and a speaker, urging both women and men to leave abusive relationships. She said she has gotten over her anger with God for the killings but has never forgiven Simpson and will not watch any films or documentaries about the killings.

THE LEGAL DREAM TEAM
Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr., Simpson’s flamboyant lead attorney, died of brain cancer in 2005 at 68. His refrain to jurors that “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit” sought to underscore that the bloody gloves found at Simpson’s home and the crime scene were too small for the football legend when he tried them on in court. After the trial, that line became a national catchphrase. Following the trial Cochran expanded his law firm to 15 states and frequently appeared on television. He also became the inspiration for bombastic lawyer Jackie Chiles on the TV sitcom “Seinfeld.”

Robert Kardashian died of esophageal cancer in 2003 at age 59. He had renewed his law license specifically to defend Simpson, and his longtime friend stayed in Kardashian’s home between the time of the murders and his arrest. When Simpson fled authorities in a white Ford Bronco on June 17, 1994, Kardashian read to reporters a rambling message Simpson had left behind as a bizarre, nationally televised, slow-speed freeway chase unfolded. Since his death, Kardashian’s fame has been eclipsed by that of ex-wife, Kris, and children, Kourtney, Kim, Khloe and Rob, thanks to their reality show, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”

Robert Shapiro, the first member of Simpson’s defense team, continues to practice law. In 2005 he founded the Brent Shapiro Foundation to help steer young people from drug and alcohol addiction after his 24-year-old son died of an overdose. He also co-founded LegalZoom.com, a do-it-yourself service for people seeking to file legal documents without the help of attorneys, and RightCounsel.com for people searching for an attorney.
Barry Scheck was the lawyer who introduced DNA science to jurors as he attacked police methods of evidence collection to undermine the prosecution’s forensic evidence case. He and fellow Simpson lawyer Peter Neufeld co-founded The Innocence Project that uses DNA evidence to exonerate wrongly convicted prisoners. The project has helped overturn hundreds of convictions.
F. Lee Bailey was the lawyer who played a key role in exposing racist statements made by one of the prosecution’s key witnesses, police Detective Mark Fuhrman, undermining Fuhrman’s credibility. When he joined the defense team, Bailey already was famous for his role in some of the most high-profile cases of the 20th century, including that of heiress-turned-bank-robber Patricia Hearst. Bailey, now 86, was disbarred in Massachusetts and Florida in the early 2000s for misconduct in handling a client’s case. His efforts to be reinstated have been unsuccessful.

THE PROSECUTORS
Marcia Clark, the trial’s lead prosecutor, quit law after the case, although she has appeared frequently as a TV commentator on high-profile trials over the years and on numerous TV news shows. She was paid $4 million for her Simpson trial memoir, “Without a Doubt,” and has gone on to write a series of crime novels.

Chris Darden, the co-prosecutor, was criticized for having Simpson try on the bloody gloves without first ensuring they would fit. He is now a defense attorney himself. He recently represented the man charged with killing hip-hop mogul Nipsey Hussle before withdrawing from the case, saying his family had received death threats. Darden has also taught law, appeared on television as a legal commentator and wrote of his Simpson trial experiences in the book, “In Contempt.”

THE JUDGE
Lance Ito, who retired in 2015, presided over approximately 500 trials after the one that made him such a household name that “The Tonight Show” briefly featured a comedy segment called “The Dancing Itos,” in which Ito lookalikes in judicial robes performed. After the Simpson trial he had to remove his name plate from his courtroom door because people kept stealing it. Ito has never discussed the trial, citing judicial ethics.

THE HOUSEGUEST
Brian “Kato” Kaelin, a struggling actor living in a guest house on Simpson’s property, testified he heard a bump during the night of the murders and went outside to find Simpson in the yard, something prosecutors say showed Simpson was sneaking back home after the killings. Mocked on talk shows as America’s most famous houseguest, Kaelin has gone on to appear in reality shows, in small parts in TV sitcoms and films, and to launch a clothing line for slackers. In recent years he’s been a regular at Wizard World Comic Con in St. Louis.

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OJ Simpson Interview: 25 years after notorious murders and trial of the century

After 25 years living under the shadow of one of the nation’s most notorious murder cases, O.J. Simpson says his life has entered a phase he calls the “no negative zone.”

In a telephone Interview, Simpson told The Associated Press he is healthy and happy living in Las Vegas. And neither he nor his children want to look back by talking about June 12, 1994 — when his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman , were killed and Simpson quickly was transformed in the public mind from revered Pro Football Hall of Fame hero to murder suspect.

“We don’t need to go back and relive the worst day of our lives,” Simpson said. “The subject of the moment is the subject I will never revisit again. My family and I have moved on to what we call the ‘no negative zone.’ We focus on the positives.”

For a man who once lived for the spotlight , Simpson has been keeping a largely low profile since his release from prison in October 2017 after serving nine years for a robbery-kidnapping conviction in Las Vegas. He continues to believe his conviction and sentence for trying to steal back his own memorabilia were unfair but says, “I believe in the legal system and I honored it. I served my time.”

After his release from the prison in Lovelock, Nevada, many expected him to return to Florida where he had lived for several years. But friends in Las Vegas persuaded him to stay there despite the case that landed him in prison.

He’s glad he did.

“The town has been good to me,” Simpson said. “Everybody I meet seems to be apologizing for what happened to me here.”

His time in the city hasn’t been without controversy, however. A month after his release an outing to a steakhouse and lounge at the Cosmopolitan resort off the Las Vegas Strip ended in a dispute. Simpson was ordered off the property and prohibited from returning.
No such problems have occurred since, and Simpson is among the most sought-after figures in town for selfies with those who encounter him at restaurants or athletic events he attends occasionally.

He plays golf almost every day and said he is a member of a club of “retired guys” who compete with each other on the golf course. The knees that helped him run to football glory at the University of Southern California and with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills have been replaced and he recently had Lasik surgery on his eyes. But nearing his 72nd birthday, he is otherwise healthy.

Simpson said he remains close to his children and other relatives. His parole officer has given him permission to take short trips including to Florida where his two younger children, Justin and Sydney, have built careers in real estate.

His older daughter, Arnelle, lives with him much of the time but also commutes to Los Angeles.

“I’ve been to Florida two or three times to see the kids and my old buddies in Miami. I even managed to play a game of golf with them,” he said. “But I live in a town I’ve learned to love. Life is fine.”

He also visited relatives in Louisiana, he said, and spoke to a group of black judges and prosecutors in New Orleans.

Recently, a family wedding brought his extended family to Las Vegas including his brother, Truman; sister, Shirley; and their children and grandchildren. Simpson’s first wife, Marguerite, mother of Arnelle, also joined the group.

The glamor of his early life is just a memory.

After his football career, Simpson became a commercial pitchman, actor and football commentator. He was once a multimillionaire but he says most of his fortune was spent defending himself after he was charged with the murders.

His televised “Trial of the Century” lasted nearly a year and became a national obsession. He was acquitted by a jury in 1995 and has continued to declare his innocence. The murder case is officially listed as unsolved.

The families of the victims subsequently filed a civil suit against him, and in 1997 a civil court awarded a $33.5 million judgment against him for the wrongful deaths of his ex-wife and Goldman. Some of his property was seized and auctioned but most of the judgment has not been paid.

Simpson declined to discuss his finances other than to say he lives on pensions.

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Ex-Boston baseball star David Ortiz shot at Dominican Republic bar; shooter beaten by crowd

Former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was hospitalized Monday following surgery for a gunshot wound after being ambushed by a man in a bar in his native Dominican Republic, authorities said.

Dominican National Police Director Ney Aldrin Bautista Almonte said Ortiz was at the Dial Bar and Lounge in Santo Domingo around 8:50 p.m. Sunday when a gunman approached from behind and shot him at close range. Ortiz was taken to the Abel Gonzalez clinic, where he underwent surgery, and his condition was stable, Bautista said.

Ortiz’s father, Leo, speaking to reporters outside the clinic, said his son was out of danger and there wasn’t any collateral damage, meaning no damage to major organs. He said he had no idea why someone would have shot at his son.

“He is out of surgery and stable; he is resting,” Leo Ortiz said. “Big Papi will be around for a long time.”

The Boston Red Sox, in a statement early Monday, said they have been notified by Ortiz’s family that he sustained a gunshot wound to his “lower back/abdominal region” and that he is recovering after surgery.

The Red Sox said they offered the Ortiz family “all available resources to aid in his recovery” and they will continue to keep them in their hearts.

The alleged gunman was captured and beaten by a crowd of people at the bar, Bautista said. He said police are waiting until the man undergoes treatment for his injuries before questioning him.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Ortiz was the intended target, Bautista said.
Two other people were wounded, Bautista said, including Jhoel López, a Dominican TV host who was with Ortiz. Bautista said police believe López was wounded by the same bullet.
López was shot in the leg and his injuries were not life-threatening, said his wife, Liza Blanco, who is also a TV host.

Police did not identify the third person or detail that person’s injuries.

The Dial Bar and Lounge is located in eastern Santo Domingo on Venezuela Avenue, a bustling nightlife district packed with dance clubs and pricey bars that Ortiz is known to frequent. Ortiz, who lives at least part of the year in the Dominican Republic, is often seen getting his cars washed and hanging out with friends, including other baseball players, artists and entertainers.

The 43-year-old Ortiz hit 541 homers in 20 major league seasons, including 14 with the Red Sox. He helped lead Boston to three World Series titles and retired after the 2016 season. He was a 10-time All-Star and World Series MVP in 2013.

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Artist Boubou paints using whatever he can get his hands on

Senegalese artist Boubou went viral after painting showbiz stars with dumbbells and boxing gloves.

from BBC News - Africa https://bbc.in/2KKyJAu
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Getting the oil out of water

Oil and water are famously reluctant to mix fully together. But separating them completely — for example, when cleaning up an oil spill or purifying water contaminated through fracking — is a devilishly hard and inefficient process that frequently relies on membranes that tend to get clogged up, or “fouled.”

A new imaging technique developed at MIT could provide a tool for developing better membrane materials that can resist or prevent fouling. The new work is described in the journal Applied Materials and Interfaces, in a paper by MIT graduate students Yi-Min Lin and Chen Song and professor of chemical engineering Gregory Rutledge.

Cleaning up oily wastewater is necessary in many industries, including petroleum refining, food processing, and metal finishing, and the untreated waste can be damaging to aquatic ecosystems. Methods of removing oily contaminants vary, depending on the relative amounts of oil and water and the sizes of the oil droplets. When the oil is emulsified, the most efficient cleanup method is the use of membranes that filter out the tiny oil droplets, but these membranes quickly get fouled by the droplets and require time-consuming cleaning.

But the fouling process is very hard to observe, making it difficult to assess the relative advantages of different materials and architectures for the membranes themselves. The new technique developed by the MIT team could make such evaluations much easier to carry out, the researchers say.

These filtration membranes “tend to be very hard to look inside of,” Rutledge says. “There’s a lot of effort to develop new types of membranes, but when they get put in service, you want to see how they interact with the contaminated water, and they don’t lend themselves to easy examination. They are usually designed to pack in as much membrane area as possible, and being able to look inside is very hard.”

The solution they developed uses confocal laser scanning microscopy, a technique in which two lasers are scanned across the material, and at the point where the two beams cross, a material marked with a fluorescent dye will glow. In their approach, the team introduced two fluorescent dyes, one to mark the oily material in the fluid, the other to mark the fibers in the filtration membrane. The technique allows the material to be scanned not only across the area of the membrane, but also into the depth of the material, layer by layer, to build up a full 3-D image of the way the oil droplets are dispersed in the membrane, which in this case is composed of an array of microscopic fibers.

The basic method has been used in biological research, to observe cells and proteins within a sample, Rutledge explains, but it has not been applied much to studying membrane materials, and never with both the oil and the fibers labelled. In this case, the researchers are observing droplets that range in size from about 10 to 20 microns (millionths of a meter), down to a few hundred nanometers (billionths of a meter).

Until now, he says, “methods for imaging pore spaces in membranes were pretty crude.” For the most part, the pore characteristics were inferred by measuring flow rates and pressure changes through the material, giving no direct information about how the oily material actually builds up in the pores. With the new process, he says, “now you can actually measure the geometry, and build a three-dimensional model and characterize the material in some detail. So what’s new now is that we can really look at how separation takes place in these membranes.”

By doing so, and by testing the effects using different materials and different arrangements of the fibers, “this should give us a better understanding of what fouling really is,” Rutledge says.

The team has already demonstrated that the interaction between the oil and the membrane can be very different depending on the material used. In some cases the oil forms tiny droplets that gradually coalesce to form larger drops, while in other cases the oil spreads out in a layer along the fibers, a process called wetting. “The hope is that with a better understanding of the mechanism of fouling, people will be able to spend more time on the techniques that are more likely to succeed” in limiting that fouling, Rutledge says.

The new observational method has clear applications for engineers trying to design better filtration systems, he says, but it also can be used for research on the basic science of how mixed fluids interact. “Now we can begin to think about some fundamental science on the interaction between two-phase liquid flows and porous media,” he says. “Now, you can develop some detailed models” of the process.

And the detailed information about how different structures or chemistries perform could make it easier to engineer specific kinds of membranes for different applications, depending on the types of contaminants to be removed, the typical sizes of the droplets in these contaminants, and so on. “In designing membranes, it’s not a one-size-fits-all,” he says. “Potentially you can have different types of membranes for different effluents.”

The method could also be used to observe the separation of different kinds of mixtures, such as solid particles in a liquid, or a reverse situation where the oil is dominant and the membrane is used to filter out water droplets, such as in a fuel filtration system, Rutledge says.

“When I read his paper in depth, I was impressed by Greg’s way of using 3-D imaging to understand the complex fouling process in membranes used for oil-water emulsions,” says William J. Koros, the Roberto C. Goizueta Chair for Excellence in Chemical Engineering and GRA Eminent Scholar in Membranes at the Georgia Institute of Technology, who was not involved in this research.

The research was supported, in part, by the cooperative agreement between the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi and MIT.

from MIT News http://bit.ly/2WsShMa
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A Sad Day: Ebony to auction off its prized photo archives to pay creditors

For decades, Ebony Magazine has documented Black life in America for the world. Over the last few years, one of the most respected media platforms for African-American people in this country has experienced significant financial troubles.  Now, Ebony’s photo archive that depicts the history of Black life, is set to go on auction in July, is approval is received by the bankruptcy court.

The money made in the auction would be used to pay off those Johnson Publishing are indebted to. This past April, the publishing company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

Read More: Mellody Hobson, George Lucas seeking to obtain control of historic EBONY and JET archives

The Pantagraph reports Johnson Publishing unloaded its’ Ebony and Jet magazines three years ago and has been pushing for the sale of the photo archive since 2015. The archive holds 4 million images dating back to the civil rights era, while also telling the visual story of icons like Muhammed Ali. The appraisal amount for the collection comes at a hefty $46 million.

Those who Johnson Publishing owe include George Lucas and Mellody Hobson. They represented Capital V Holdings who issued a loan in the amount of $12 million to the publishing company. The sale of the photo collection would settle the debt.

Read More: Former publisher of EBONY and JET magazines files for bankruptcy

During the bankruptcy filing, Johnson Publishing agreed to a court-supervised sale of its assets. The Chicago Tribune reports the company had between $10 million and $50 million in assets and liabilities. Additional creditors included Hudson-Bay, Macy’s and former CEO of Johnson Publishing CEO Desiree Rogers.

“While the process is now in the hands of a Chapter 7 Trustee, Johnson Publishing Company is grateful for its 77 years of existence, and the unwavering loyalty, dedication and commitment of its employees, vendors and customers,” the company said in a news release. “The incredible legacy and impact of Johnson Publishing Company will always be honored and hold a proud place in the African-American experience.”

Read More: Issa Rae covers EBONY and serves serious fashion fierceness

Johnson Publishing was created in 1942, with Ebony’s first issue arriving in 1945. Jet would follow in 1951.

Johnson Publishing was created in 1942, with Ebony’s first issue arriving in 1945. Jet would follow in 1951. Extended business ventures included Fashion Fair cosmetics in 1973, which sparked a traveling runway show and more. The founder, John Johnson passed away in 2005 due to heart failure.

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Biden’s ‘Best Friends Day’ tweet to Obama sparks social media backlash

In honor of “Best Friends Day” on Saturday, Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden tweeted a picture of a bracelet that celebrated his friendship with former President of the United States, Barack Obama.

The tweet was of an orange and yellow woven bracelet that featured “Joe” and “Barack” names, accompanied by a smiley face, flower and pizza charms.

Happy #BestFriendsDay to my friend, @BarackObama. pic.twitter.com/JTd1t7NtyL

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 9, 2019

Read More: Barack Obama and Joe Biden grabbing lunch at DC cafe is the cutest video on internet today

During Obama’s tenure in the Oval Office, Biden served as his Vice President. Newsweek reports, now Biden is the top contender in the 2020 Democratic presidential race.

Biden has often celebrated the love and friendship between him and Obama. ABC News highlighted an October 2018 speech from Biden that acknowledge the memes and jokes dropped on Twitter demonstrating their friendship.

“All those memes? All those memes are basically true. Except I want to make it clear: Barack did the first friendship bracelet, not me.”

Read More: Obama wishes his ‘brother,’ Joe Biden a happy birthday with one of their internet memes

More memes, jokes, and criticism exploded on Twitter once the Best Friends Day message was shared with users and political pundits critical of the move. Statements ranged from the possibility of the damage an endorsement to simply celebrating the friendship.

“I feel like #BestFriendsDay was literally created by the Biden campaign just so he could post that. And what’s really sad is that it’s actually effective, because people are so damn petty and shallow,” one user wrote.

“I think an endorsement from Obama could do more harm than good in this climate. I’m sure the veteran politicians have given this some thought as far as timing and consequences,” another added.

Read More: Joe Biden says President Obama offered financial help during son’s illness

Biden didn’t give any attention to the detractors and instead returned to Twitter in celebration of the graduation of his granddaughter, Maisy.

In the Democratic race, Biden is coming out of the Iowa Caucus the leader in the polls. The New York Times reports he and Senator Bernie Sanders did lose some ground, while Senator Elizabeth Warren and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg have made gains with voters. The poll states Biden would be the first choice as a candidate by nabbing 24 percent of the caucus goers.

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Sephora’s shut down for diversity training is a temporary fix to bigger issue

This past week, Sephora closed down each of its 400+ stores for a day of diversity training. Could the training have been a useless shutdown?

The shut down impacted 16,000 employees who participated in an hour-long training on diversity. The call to train staff members came after Grammy-nominated singer SZA was racially profiled at a Calabasas, California branch of the chain store. The singer tweeted about the incident, stating she was attempting to buy makeup from Rihanna’s product line Fenty when she was followed by personnel. Following the incident, Rihanna reached out and sent a gift card for future makeup purchases.

Read More: SZA says ‘Sandy Sephora’ racially profiled her while she was shopping for Fenty

The hour-long training is believed to be too short a time period to an actual make an impact in ensuring future incidents like SZA’s do not occur in the future. MarketWatch connected with Cecilia Orellana-Rojas, Vice President of Strategy and Research at the National Diversity Council, who shared that she believes more time is needed to actually create a difference.

“It doesn’t work because you really have to address and explain concepts like unconscious bias, racism, and sexism, and it’s not impactful or effective when you really want employees to understand the behaviors that need to be changed or addressed,” said Orellana-Rojas.

A day after the incident with Top Dawg Entertainment star occurred, Sephora issued an apology in a response tweet, which preceded the training.

Read More: Sephora to close all 400 stores for inclusion workshops after SZA is racially profiled by security

Forbes details a statement Sephora made in regards to the workshops, revealing the training was planned before the SZA incident and was a part of a marketing campaign to be more all-inclusive for shoppers. The campaign is called “We Belong to Something Beautiful.”

“The store closure for the inclusivity workshop is part of a long journey in Sephora’s aspiration to create a more inclusive beauty community,” Jamie Bracci, a spokeswoman for Sephora, said in an email.

The Sephora shut down is similar to that of Starbucks and Gucci in the past.

The May 2018 sessions for Starbucks stemmed from a white employee calling police on two black men who were waiting on a business partner and Gucci was under the microscope at the start of the year for a sweater that drew comparisons to blackface.

Read More: Leslie Jones blasts Sephora after her makeup artist left a store in tears after being mistreated

The need for diversity and inclusion training has resulted in hiring professionals who can lead the training for the corporations. This will add to the price tag of $8 billion spent every year training personnel. While the training is thought to be essential, MarketWatch discloses the training efforts have a high risk of failure when they are mandatory or have restrictions on who will take the course. When the training is optional it is thought to be received better by employees who want to actually cause a change.

After the hour-long shutdown, Sephora reopened for a full day of retail.

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Study shows that whites cause more pollution resulting in national crisis

Black and Hispanic United States citizens are exposed to more air pollution that is caused by the consumer habits of their white counterparts, a study demonstrates.

The findings of the study are referred to as “pollution inequity” and reflects 131,000 premature deaths each year, making it the biggest environmental health risk factor in the country. The report can be found in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an over 100 year old peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. The study was composed by Christopher W Tessum, and a team of economists and engineers.

Read More: Pollution, seasonal wind causing air toxicity in Senegal, creating lung illnesses

Of that 131,000, 102,000 were caused by US anthropogenic emissions and 29,000 by other sources such as wildfires or biogenic emissions. Additional contributions are from Canadian and Mexican emissions.

The Guardian details Blacks are the most exposed to the levels of pollution more than any other emitter group.

The study details the typical impact of those who inhale pollution, while comparing the economics of various communities and their locations. Factors such as those living near coal-fired power plants, in association with the emitters of toxic chemicals like factories came to play in the results of the study. The Guardian reveals this new study takes an innovative approach by looking at personal consumption, reflecting into ethnic data.

Read More: Lawyer fighting palm oil among 6 to win environmental prize

Findings from the assessment show white people and other races are impacted by exposure levels that are 17% less in the result of consumption. In comparison to Black and Hispanics who receive 56% and 63% excess exposure, respectively.

The unit of measurement used in the study is PM2.5, also known as particulate matter, which are particles more narrow than a human hair that can be easily inhaled into the lungs and create cardiovascular issues. PM2.5 can also enhance the negative impacts of medical conditions such as asthma and create a greater chance of cancer and more.

Read More: Cory Booker to focus on environmental justice as part of presidential campaign

Assisting the crisis, clean air rules have decreased the levels of negative emission results, however, there is ground that needs to be covered to reduce the rates and how Blacks and Hispanics are impacted.

You can read the complete Inequity in the consumption of goods and services report here.

The post Study shows that whites cause more pollution resulting in national crisis appeared first on theGrio.

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Former Georgetown hoop star to spend 20 years in prison for assault

Former basketball standout Victor Page will now spend time behind bars for assault.

Page, a former star player at Georgetown University, has agreed to a plea deal that will place him in prison for 20 years after attempting to rape the daughter of his girlfriend.

During his college basketball career, Page who shared the court with NBA superstar Allen Iverson, started to make a name for himself- and then everything in a blink of an eye crumbled based on poor decisions, and recklessly deviant behavior.

Read More: 2018 video leaks of ex-Georgetown player Victor Page assaulting 17-year-old girl

According to TMZ Sports, the victim states she was attacked at her home in Camp Springs, Maryland on December 30. Page arrived at the home of the girl around 10:30 p.m. and was stated to have thrown a cigarette on the floor and initiated an attack on her.

While the victim was able to evade Page inside of her home, he followed her outside and smothered her while she was on the ground. The attack outside of her apartment lasted for two minutes.  According to Fox 5 DC, Page had to be physically pulled off of the teenage girl by neighbors and he attempted to choke her and force her pants off.

Read More: Rape victim’s story is window on injustice, activism

The victim went to the police, which led to Page’s arrest. He was charged with assault, attempted rape, child abuse, and additional serious charges and was facing life in prison. Prince George’s County State Attorney’s Office has stated Page is pleading guilty to 1st-degree assault and 4th-degree attempted sex offense.

After the 20 years in prison are served, Page will have an additional five years of probation. When released, Page will also have to register as a sex offender and provide a DNA sample for the following 15 years.

Read More: Tarana Burke reminds us #MeToo movement is more than just a trendy catchphrase

Prior to this incident, Page was released early on a 10 years sentence for 2nd-degree assault in 2013. In that case, Page reportedly attacked a woman he was spending the night with. The Washington Times states he reportedly attacked her by pulling hair out of her scalp and punching her in the face while running hot water on her in a bathtub. He would proceed to stab the victim with a kitchen knife. Between 2010 and 2013, Page was arrested 33 times. He also suffered a gunshot wound in 2003.

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Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ inspires autistic boy to sing

An Atlanta rapper’s take on country music has inspired a mostly nonverbal autistic boy in Minnesota to sing.

Lil Nas X has found huge success with the song, “Old Town Road.” It has sparked controversy , spawned a clothing line, made the rapper a household name and got his collaborator Billy Ray Cyrus a Maserati.

Now, it’s being credited for doing a lot more.

Cottage Grove, Minnesota, mother Sheletta Brundidge tweeted Tuesday about her family’s “#oldtownroad miracle,” The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported . She filmed her 4-year-old son, Daniel, humming the tune and then singing the lyrics. Now, she says therapists are using the music in his sessions.

Cyrus retweeted the video and Lil Nas X, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, tweeted “What a King” in response to the clip.

“Old Town Road” climbed the Billboard charts in April and gained national attention when Billboard removed it from the Hot Country Songs chart, declaring it not country enough. The song has now spent nine weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and even broke the streaming record previously held by Drake.

Hill recently partnered with Wrangler and released a clothing line inspired by the song.

The post Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ inspires autistic boy to sing appeared first on theGrio.

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Kamala Harris says prosecutor past will help defeat Trump in 2020

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris says her experience as a prosecutor has given her insight into trying to improve the criminal justice system and distinguishes her among the crowded field taking on President Donald Trump.

“We’ve got to hold this guy accountable by prosecuting the case in front of the American people against four more years of this administration,” Harris told a gathering of the state conference of the NAACP on Saturday night. “And I’ve prosecuted a lot of cases. But rarely one with this much evidence.”

In addition to portraying her ability to take on Trump directly, Harris aimed to use the speech in this early-voting state, where the Democratic primary electorate is primarily African American, as a way to explain her prosecutorial experience to anyone potentially skeptical of her background as a district attorney and state attorney general who was tough on crime.

In her campaign rollout earlier this year, Harris said she was ready to defend vulnerabilities related to her legal career. Criticized by some criminal justice advocates as being too tough on the accused during her tenures as the San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, Harris answered those criticisms by saying “too many black and brown Americans are locked up” and suggesting she supports major changes.

Echoing that sentiment Saturday, Harris said her motivations have been questioned in the election.

“But my mother used to say, ‘Don’t let people tell you who you are,'” she said. “‘You tell them who you are.’ So that’s what I’m gonna do.”

Noting that her love for the law came from an attorney uncle, Harris said that, like him, she “wanted to be the person who people called for help, to solve their problems, to protect people, and to fix what is wrong.” Harris noted that some within even her own family questioned her decision to become a prosecutor, saying she “had to defend that decision like one would a thesis.”

In that, Harris said she knew prosecutors had not always treated black people the same as white people and “looked the other way in the face of police brutality.”

But on the job, she said, she saw firsthand that her presence and perspective helped white colleagues see issues more fully.

“So I knew I had to be in those rooms,” she said. “We have to be in those rooms even when there aren’t many like us there.”

Harris also addressed black voters directly, saying that she hears their concerns about both safety and criminal justice.

“Everyone wants the police to respond when their home gets burglarized. Everyone wants accountability when a woman is raped, when a child is molested, and when one human being kills another,” Harris said. “What we do want is a justice system where no one is above the law, not even the president of the United States.”

The post Kamala Harris says prosecutor past will help defeat Trump in 2020 appeared first on theGrio.

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Geto Boys’ rapper Bushwick Bill fights for his life, son and publicist refute death claims

Reports circulated early sunday morning that Geto Boys rapper Bushwick Bill had passed away.

But his son claims his father is still fighting his battle with pancreatic cancer.

According to TMZ, Bill’s publicist told the outlet that he is “still alive and fighting cancer” in a hospital. She says she spoke to hospital staff to confirm, and says some of Bill’s family members are by his hospital bedside right now. Others are on their way.

Bill’s son says his father is “fighting for his life” and needs prayers and support. He also hinted at some friction between Bill and unnamed industry people. He said on IG, “Certain people have been so quick to write him off as dead so they can capitalize off it.”

He stressed, “There is no Geto Boys without Bushwick Bill.”

The post Geto Boys’ rapper Bushwick Bill fights for his life, son and publicist refute death claims appeared first on theGrio.

from theGrio https://on.thegrio.com/2Ivd3Wq
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Africa Cup of Nations: Bony named in Ivory Coast's final squad

Former Swansea and Manchester City striker Wilfried Bony is named in Ivory Coast's final 23-man squad for this month's Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

from BBC News - Africa https://bbc.in/2F0O6kI
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Warning: College Scholarships May be Subject to Income Tax

Did you or someone you know receive a scholarship? Congratulations! Now, double check the details of your scholarship proceeds to ensure it doesn’t turn into a major tax liability later.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 brought many changes to American households – including the way scholarships are taxed for low-income college scholarship recipients. When students filed tax returns this past tax season, they were hit with a tax bill they didn’t see coming.

“Low-income students are already struggling to pay for college tuition, books, and living expenses. Now they must contend with this,” says Theresa Harris, a Chicago-based scholarship strategist at ScholarshipMomma. “Parents and students should inquire about the purpose of each award and the applicable tax treatment associated with all educational proceeds when they receive their financial aid award letters. Seek the assistance of a tax preparer for further guidance.”

If you are a degree candidate at a qualified institution, scholarships covering tuition and fees are tax-free. However, scholarships that cover non-qualified expenses, including room, board, and travel are taxable.  For grad school students, assistant-ships and fellowships may also be subject to taxes.

How is a taxable scholarship classified? It can be considered “unearned income” and is subject to the rules of the Child’s Investment and Other Unearned Income, also known as the “Kiddie Tax.” These rules are applicable if the child is under 19, or is a full-time student under age 24.

The Kiddie Tax was enacted in 1986 to prevent wealthy parents from transferring money to their children tax-free. Parents would take advantage of their children’s lower tax bracket to shift wealth and avoid paying taxes on some income. That’s why the kiddie tax classified these funds as “unearned income” and subjected the funds to the same tax rate as a child’s parent. This rule also went into effect for taxable scholarships.

For example, a student from a single parent household with an income of $30,000 who received a scholarship that covered $13,000 in room and board would be taxed at their parents’ rate of 12%.

All thanks to the new rules in place for applying the kiddie tax, scholarship recipients coming from economically depressed communities are now being taxed at the rates applicable to trusts and estates. The student who was previously taxed at their parents’ rate of 12% would now be taxed up to 37 percent – the same rate used to tax single filers with incomes over $500,000.

Here is the new tax structure for trusts and estates. This applies to unearned income (including scholarships) for those in the “kiddie tax” category:

• 10 percent on amounts up to $2550
• 24 percent on unearned income over $2,550
• 35 percent on amounts over $9,150
• 37 percent on amounts over $12,500

So, students who receive unearned income over $12,500 will be taxed the same as a single person with over $500,000 in taxable income.

A new bill is on the table that would completely change the unintended consequence of the 2017 tax law.  If the bill passes, college students won’t be punished with a tax rate as high as 37 percent. Instead, scholarship money would be taxed at a lower rate.

“Scholarships are a critical component of the financial aid package that is meant to make college more affordable,” says Harris. “This tax is an added burden, causing additional financial stress for students. Congress needs to act quickly to correct this error.”

---

Black Enterprise Contributors Network 

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Africa Cup of Nations: Iheanacho left out of Nigeria squad

Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho is left out of Nigeria's final 23-man squad for this month's Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

from BBC News - Africa https://bbc.in/2WsHuSe
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Review: Garmin Forerunner 245 Gives You a Run For Your Money

After testing two of Garmin's new Forerunners, the 245 Music offers the best value for your money.

from Wired http://bit.ly/2wHLT9d
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Electric Buses, Quiet Tires, and More Car News This Week

Why haven't electric buses caught on? And how does Mattel shrink car designs to make Hot Wheels?

from Wired http://bit.ly/2Xw4yke
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Trump's Visit to the UK Tops This Week's Internet News Roundup

The trip was documented, and debated, on social media.

from Wired http://bit.ly/2wJ2Pwf
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Physicists See a Quantum Leap, Halt It, and Reverse It

An experiment observed quantum leaps as they happened, revealing that these speedy little jumps are in fact gradual, rather than instantaneous.

from Wired http://bit.ly/2MCVyc3
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Apple's 'Noise' App Is Designed to Save You From Yourself

The new app for Apple Watch buzzes your wrist whenever you’re in a loud environment—yet another app to protect you from the tech that surrounds you.

from Wired http://bit.ly/2wITy7l
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15 Best Nintendo Switch Games for Every Player (2019)

From Hyrule to Hallownest, these are our absolute favorite games for Switch. Multiplayer, co-op, and single player games.

from Wired http://bit.ly/2XyiKcF
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10 Black Business Leaders You Ought to Know (And Meet at BE’s All-New, Upcoming FWD Event)

Entrepreneurs assemble! In 10 days, BLACK ENTERPRISE will unveil what promises to be our most powerful, impactful business conference yet – FWD (for ‘FORWARD’). And at the event will be 10 black business leaders who represent some of the most successful, influential business leaders on the planet. Following their guidance and connecting with them at FWD may result in multi-fold growth in customers, market share and revenues

Our team has developed this event, which will be held at the Charlotte, North Carolina Convention Center from June 19 – 22, as a forum for instruction, inspiration and connection for businesses at every life cycle, from side hustles to second-generation enterprises. You will access the roadmap – including financing and certification – to successfully LAUNCH your venture. You will discover how to design strategic partnerships and scale-up strategies to GROW your business. You will learn the value of applying AI, VR and 5G and other tech tools to INNOVATE your company NOW!

One of BE’s event trademarks has been our exciting line-up of high-profile speakers – and FWD is no exception. This year you will hear success secrets from Isiah Thomas, former NBA Hall of Famer who serves as Chairman & CEO of Isiah International; Wendy Williams, the daytime talk show host who operates Wendy Inc., her diversified holding company; John Henry, partner of venture firm Harlem Capital and Viceland’s reality TV show, Hustle; Judge Glenda Hatchett, long-time television personality and founder of The Hatchett Firm; Ryan Leslie, Grammy-nominated artist and producer and creator of SuperPhone; Angela Simmons, a reality TV star known for being one of Rev. Run’s daughters who has grown into a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist in her own right; Malinda Williams, actress of Soul Food fame who along with tech maven Tariq M. Walker designed travel destination platform This Is Leaving; and Karen Civil, one of the nation’s top social media marketers/influencers.

Check out the profiles of 10 black business leaders who will be speaking at FWD – and go to our FWD Speakers Page to discover more entrepreneurial standouts.

 

10 Black Business Leaders You Ought to Know

 

Evens Charles, President & CEO

At the age of 25, Charles executed his first small transaction that required an out-of-pocket investment of $1,000 resulting in a $25,000 profit six months later. Today, he operates Frontier Development and Hospitality Group, one of the nation’s largest black-owned businesses with annual gross revenues of more than $50 million. As such, he controls a BE 100s company with a hotel portfolio of Marriott, Hilton and IHG hotels in urban and secondary markets such as Atlanta, Nashville, Tennessee, Columbus, Ohio, and the Washington, D.C – Baltimore corridor that’s worth more than $200 million. For entrepreneurs with a specific interest in real estate development, property management and hotel franchising, his session on “Open House! Turning Property into Profit” is a must-attend BE Talk.

 

 

Cheryl McKissack Daniel, President & CEO, McKissack & McKissack

McKissack Daniel is a civil engineer by training who comes from a long line of architects and builders and today runs a 114-year-old family business. She has grown this BE 100s company into a powerhouse in the construction industry that’s involved with some of New York’s largest projects including JFK Terminal One; LaGuardia Airport’s Central Terminal building redevelopment; Pacific Park/ Atlantic Yards Barclays Center and two of the city’s iconic African American-oriented landmarks, MART125 Cultural Center and The Studio Museum in Harlem. To learn more about general contracting as well as the longevity of multigenerational companies, FWD attendees should meet and listen to McKissack during her panel session, “Why You Need a Succession Plan.”

 

 

Mahisha Dellinger, Founder & CEO, CURLS Beauty Brands

Dellinger realized the need for products for her curly hair and transformed that desire into a multimillion dollar business. After leaving her post as Marketing Manager at Intel Corp., she developed the line of organic haircare products and gained shelf space at retailers such as Target, Sally Beauty, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Walmart and CVS over the past decade. As such, she lists Halle Berry, Alicia Keys, Issa Rae, Nia Long, Tia Mowry and Blair Underwood among her celebrity customers. She has used her success as a platform to inspire other entrepreneurs of color through conference and media appearances as well as her OWN Network television show, Mind Your Business with Mahisha. She will share her vital, business-building tips on the FWD Panel, “Growing Pains: How to Achieve Scale.”

 

 

Ash Cash Exantus, CEO, MindRight Money Management

This 15-year banking veteran, motivational speaker and best-selling author helps clients get on the wealth-building track through his financial education and media company, MindRight Money Management. He enables them to achieve their life goals by blending psychology and personal finance with music, pop culture and relevant news. He also delivers his message of fiscal responsibility, entrepreneurship and wealth empowerment as a regular speaker at national conferences as well as host of his eponymous radio program, The Ash Cash Show, which has a current reach of 2.2 million listeners. He will share his powerful message on the panel, “Solopreneurs: How to Set Up and Run a Business on Your Own.”

 

 

Charis Jones, Owner, Sassy Jones Boutique

Jones created an award-winning accessories brand deeply rooted in the belief of helping women feel confident about themselves. Leaving her position as a top-ranking corporate sales professional, Jones has built Sassy Jones into a multimillion dollar accessories brand in just two years. The key to her whirlwind success: Using digital technology to bolster relationships with her female clientele and showcase hand-crafted, global creations of women artisans. FWD attendees should find out more about her customer-engaging marketing strategies at her session, “e-Commerce: Global Reach Through Your Smartphone.”

 

Damian Mills, President & CEO, Mills Automotive Group

Mills started in the auto industry in 1992 as a salesperson while attending North Carolina A&T State University. Today, at 46, he’s one of the youngest innovators and most successful African American auto dealers in the nation. With 13 franchises in three states, Mills Auto Group has consistently been among the top five dealers on the ‘BE Auto 40’–BLACK ENTERPRISE’s yearly list of the largest black-owned businesses in the auto industry–and represents one of the largest black-owned businesses in the Charlotte metro area. Fittingly, he will receive the BE Auto Dealer of the Year Award at the event-capping Entrepreneurs Awards Gala.

 

Monique Idlett Mosley, Founder & Managing Partner, Reign Venture Capital

Mosley operates an early-stage investment firm that focuses on women and minority-led startups. Prior to becoming a VC, she served as CEO of Mosley Brands and Mosley Music Group, home to a multi-platinum roster of artists, including the iconic producer Timbaland, One Republic and Nelly Furtado, among others. Hear her BE Talk on “The Art of Collaboration.”

 

 

Michael Thompson, President & CEO, Fair Oaks Farms, LLC

Thompson, a corporate food services management veteran, has elevated Fair Oaks Farms into the nation’s largest minority-owned meat producer. The company is the considered the “gold standard” supplier of pre-cooked sausage, bacon, and other meat and poultry products for some of the world’s leading restaurant chains and retail companies, including McDonald’s and Walmart. Under his guidance, revenues have increased more than 300% and staffing has grown threefold, from 100 to nearly 300 employees. Particularly for those FWD attendees who aspire to build or expand eateries, distributors and manufacturers within the sector, you will be captivated by his participation on the “Delicious Dollars: Building a Food Business” panel as well as Fair Oaks Farms recognition as the BE 100s Company of the Year.

 

 

Adrienne Trimble, President & CEO, National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC)

Every attendee should try to connect with Trimble, who runs this leading supplier diversity and inclusion organization that matches more than 12,000 certified minority-owned businesses to its network of 1,750-plus corporate members. A known thought leader for advancing corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, she has served as General Manager, Diversity & Inclusion at Toyota Motor North America. During her tenure at the automaker, she led its supplier diversity program from 2005 – 2012 and grew its diverse vendor base to reflect more than a 300% increase in total spend, topping nearly $3 billion. Who better that Trimble to discuss how to “Get Your Piece of the Billion-Dollar Pie” with leading supplier diversity managers.

 

Willie Woods. President & Managing Director, ICV Partners

Woods is the co-founder of this top-notch BE Private Equity Firm with $1.4 billion in capital under management. For close to 20 years, ICV has built its reputation for stellar management and growth by acquiring a range of lower middle-market companies in sectors as diverse as healthcare, food production and business services. Moreover, it has played a critical role in diversifying high finance through its recruitment of  African American Wall Street professionals and corporate managers who have proven adroit at maximizing the value of portfolio companies to produce superior returns. Attend Woods’ session on “The Art of Uncovering Alternative Finance” to discover different ways to raise capital for your business as well as join our salute to ICV as the 2019 BE Financial Services Company of the Year.

 

Learn more about FWD speakers and sessions that will boost your business at the BLACK ENTERPRISE FWD conference in Charlotte, North Carolina; June 19-22, 2019 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, NC. 

Register for FWD today!

 

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Norway Women 3-0 Nigeria Women

Norway open their 2019 Women's World Cup campaign with a comfortable win over Nigeria to go level with hosts France in Group A.

from BBC News - Africa https://bbc.in/2WmNID7
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How to Stop Robocalls—or At Least Slow Them Down

Let's be honest, you can't kill robocalls completely. But you can block more of them than you might think.

from Wired http://bit.ly/31nrBjM
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iPadOS Isn't Just a Name. It's a New Direction for Apple

Let's take a three-finger flick at the future.

from Wired http://bit.ly/2I4GIXC
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Boxing teaches Kenyan girls to defend themselves

Girls in one of Nairobi's toughest neighbourhoods are learning to defend themselves by boxing.

from BBC News - Africa https://bbc.in/2Iy0AS5
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Sudan crisis: Call for civil disobedience after arrests

The pro-democracy movement responds to the military crackdown which left dozens dead.

from BBC News - Africa https://bbc.in/2EWrbas
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Letter from Africa: A royal feud threatens Nigeria's heritage

Why the Emir of Kano's power is waning, eroding years of tradition in the Muslim north.

from BBC News - Africa https://bbc.in/31mHJSC
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Women's World Cup: Spain Women 3-1 South Africa Women

Jenni Hermoso scores two penalties as Spain come from behind to beat World Cup debutants South Africa, who finish with 10 players.

from BBC News - Africa https://bbc.in/2wKfZZU
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This One’s for the Ladies film delves into black women’s sexuality

For many Black woman, the topic of sex can seem taboo. Unless its being rapped about in a song or portrayed in films, it’s seldom you hear Black women speak out loud about sexuality.

But director Gene Graham wants to change that. His documentary titled This One’s for the Ladies hit theaters yesterday. The NC17-rated film explores the world of male exotic dancers in Newark, New Jersey.

The twist in this documentary is the strippers featured are Black, and it focuses on the Black women who love them, Ebony reports.

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The film lives up to its NC17 rating by displaying plenty of frontal nudity. The documentary follows the lives of strippers from the New Jersey Nasty Boyz club, including a set of twins by the names of Tyga and Raw Dawg.

Graham noted in an interview with Jezebel that the documentary is also an exploration of class, community and sisterhood.

“They can be whoever they wanna be and do whatever they wanna do and express how they wanna express and have a couple of cocktails and, you know, touch some dick, and have a good time,” Graham says of the women in the film.

Although the strippers are a huge portion of the documentary, it also focuses on the women who frequent the club. They’ve even given themselves nicknames like Poundcake, C-Pudding and even a sister duo known as Double Trouble, according to Vanity Fair.

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The documentary includes interviews with the women and the male strippers to show their backgrounds as well as how they ended up in the exotic dancing world. Strippers and brothers Raw Dawg and Tyga’s back story is explained. In the film, they visit the housing project where they grew up and talk about how drug use affected their family. The film also highlights gun violence in Black neighborhoods, and how that has affected some of the characters.

This One’s for the Ladies is all about the ladies, but also about blackness, black bodies and the things that happen in our communities.

The post This One’s for the Ladies film delves into black women’s sexuality appeared first on theGrio.

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Black motorists are searched three times more than whites in Louisville

Black motorists in Louisville, Kentucky are being stopped and searched more frequently than their white counterparts.

About 20 percent of Louisville’s driving age population is Black, but they accounted for 33 percent of the stops and 57 percent of the 8,942 searches done on motorists, the Louisville Courier Journal reports.

The Courier Journal reviewed 130,999 traffic stops in Louisville from 2016 to 2018 where citations were issued. Black drivers were disproportionately stopped and three times as likely to be searched as white drivers.

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Black motorists were searched 12 percent of the time they were stopped, versus 3.9 percent of the time for white drivers.

A victim of this statistic was Jamaj Johnson. The Louisville Metro Police pulled Johnson over for a failure to signal a turn. Johnson and a passenger with a baby were ordered to get out of the car. Johnson was then frisked and handcuffed while his car was searched by a drug-sniffing dog.

“All this for a turn signal?” Johnson asked one of the Ninth Mobile Division detectives who stopped him, according to a police body camera video. “You see a n—– and you automatically treat me like a criminal.”

The police found nothing in his car, and the case was later dismissed.

Similar scenarios continue to occur. The data shows that police found contraband in 72 percent of the searches of whites versus only 41 percent for African Americans.

LMPD spokeswoman Jessie Halladay said the department “does not target individuals based on race.” She said the department found no reason to believe policy was violated in Johnson’s stop in Newburg, a predominately black neighborhood, Courier Journal reported.

“We place emphasis on people committing the most crimes, especially violent crimes,” she said, and “we direct our resources where most crime is committed.”

She also mentioned that in the second division, where 81 percent of the driving-age population is black, a smaller portion, 77 percent, of those stopped were black.

Similar situations have also occurred in other cities due to racial bias according to Charles Epp, a University of Kansas professor and co-author of Pulled Over: How Police Stops Define Race and Citizenship.

“This sort of pattern indicates that officers are using less careful criteria for selecting black drivers for a search than white drivers for a search,” he said. “The basis for a search of a white motorist is more likely to be objective evidence of a crime; the basis for a search of black drivers is more likely to be the driver’s race.”

Police Chief Steve Conrad spoke before the Metro Council Public Safety Committee on Wednesday and acknowledged that the department has disproportionately stopped Black drivers. He also mentioned that African Americans are disproportionately represented in all aspects of the criminal justice system, including in arrests and incarceration.

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He said that the department has focused on six high-crime neighborhoods where predominately “people of color live” and that to make those neighborhoods safer, “people who live there are going to be stopped.”

But Conrad also agrees, the routine traffic stops “is something we should have done differently.”

— Stats from the Courier Journal

STOPS BY THE NUMBERS

Stops in which citations were issued, 2016-18

Total stops: 130,999

Whites: 78,686 (60%)

Blacks: 42,876 (33%)

Others: 9,509 (7%)

Searches

Total: 8,942

Whites: 3,480 (39%)

Blacks: 5,150 (58%)

Others: 312 (4%)

Percentage of those stopped who were searched:

Whites: 4%

Blacks: 12%

Others: 3.3%

Positive searches (contraband found)

Whites: 2,507 (72%)

Blacks: 2,107 (41%)

Others: 182 (58%)

SEIZURES BY THE NUMBERS

From stops in which citations were or weren’t issued, Jan. 1, 2018-April 9, 2019:

Total stops: 79,742

Firearms seized in 720 stops, or 0.9% of stops

Drugs seized in 4,128 stops, or 5.1% of all stops

Note: LMPD says about 7% of all stops result in searches

Source: LMPD data

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Busta Rhymes, Lil Skies, Too $hort set to perform at Michigan’s cannabis trade show

Last November, Michigan joined states like California, Alaska, and Maine in legalizing marijuana.

Finding places to purchase weed in Michigan can be almost impossible due to lack of dispensaries. But that won’t be the case during the Cannabis Cup.

One of the largest marijuana trade shows in the country honors Michigan’s best marijuana products, including strains, edibles, and cannabis-infused cuisine, Detroit Metro Times reports.

New York Health Department continues to debate over cannabis oil

“We’re showcasing our famous lamb chops, macaroni and cheese steak bites and chicken bites and portobello bites,” owner of local dispensary Food With a Twist Wayne White Jr. told ABC 7 in Detroit.

Any adult over the age of 21 can attend with a photo ID, no medical card is needed to enter, unless you’re between the ages of 18 – 20, according to Metro Times.

This event is also used as a time to gain knowledge about marijuana and even try exclusives before the weed actually appears in stores. This is a perk for a lot of Michigan citizens since the only place to purchase weed currently is provisioning centers, which require a medical marijuana card.

Patrons can also bring their own weed to the Cannabis Cup. Even though the main function of this two day event is to honor weed, it has also turned into a music festival.

Musical talent such as Busta Rhymes, Lil Skies, Trick Trick and Too $hort will perform during the festival as well. In the past, Lil Wayne, Machine Gun Kelly, Steve Aoki, 50 Cent, Nas, Melissa Etheridge, and Insane Clown Posse have all performed, according to M Live.

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Sponsored by High Times Magazine, the Cannabis cup is expected to have tens of thousands of guests to sit in on panels, seminars and educational classes all geared towards marijuana.

High Times Magazine editor Danny Danko told ABC 7 in Detroit, that he thinks this is the start of a new day in Michigan.

“Michigan is a place where I feel like there could be a rebirth of a certain economy here with cannabis,” Danko said.

The post Busta Rhymes, Lil Skies, Too $hort set to perform at Michigan’s cannabis trade show appeared first on theGrio.

from theGrio https://on.thegrio.com/2Wmihc5
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Rico Love Gets Passionate About Music, Entrepreneurship, and Values

Behind Rico Love is a creative, visionary and music industry educator that has produced, written, and contributed to hit records including Usher’s “There Goes My Baby,” Nelly’s “Just a Dream,” Trey Songz “Heart Attack,” Kelly Rowland’s “Motivation” feat Lil’ Wayne, and Beyoncé’s “Sweet Dreams.” He has also contributed to Grammy-winning works such as Beyoncé’s 2009 Best Contemporary R&B album “I Am… Sasha Fierce.”

Rico Love’s body of work is extensive. However, not only does he work as both a producer and artist within the ever-changing landscape of the music industry; he also invests in technologies that provide a greater platform for artist discovery and creativity. 

In an interview, Love spoke about the music industry, creating financial opportunities, and gives advice to young creatives.

Black Enterprise: How do you see yourself evolving as a veteran in the music landscape that exists today?

Rico Love: I am now 36-years-old, which is a dinosaur in the music industry, but I’ve been in the game since I was 17 years old. At first, you are bothered by how easily accessible things have become. When you get past the initial annoyance of the change, you adjust. I have been able to create different platforms for myself where I can add value. This includes adding value to myself through the creation of content for others, developing platforms for emerging artists, and also developing this with a financial strategy in play.   

Financially, how are you able to set yourself apart to either create or take advantage of opportunities when presented? 

I went through some of the most challenging financial times of my life because of my value system and unwillingness to compromise on my principles for a dollar. It’s about having the willingness and smarts and being open-minded to recognize what is a good opportunity and what is not. Even more important is building your brand to be strong enough to fit in many rooms. I can fit in the streets, in Hollywood, and corporate because I can articulate myself in all three parameters. I do not limit myself, but I don’t spread myself so wide that I alienate myself from being able to gain financially. 

Why is community currency important, and as a musician why must you connect and have a genuine appreciation for the communities that support you?

I am who I am. I don’t place a level of importance on things that I do in the sense that I don’t have to tell myself to do things for the community. It is who I am so it is already important for me to do things in the community. The value and substance of who you are is a natural thing. It can’t be coached up.  

What are you working on in the world of tech?

There is something I have in the works that allow creatives to create and build records the same way people create via Twitter or Instagram. A quick form transfer file that allows collaboration between creatives. For example, I start a loop and post it—someone else can join in on the creative process. if a piano player goes to my page they can add a melody to the loop. Musicians are able to watch and join in on the session and create a whole track real time. 

What are three key pieces of advice for young creatives?

• If you want to do something and you are willing to do it for 10 years for free then that is what you truly want. if you see someone doing something and you see it as a quick way to make money then it is not your passion. Stop focusing on simply trying to get a dollar because even if you become successful you are still pushing the culture back. 
• Elevate yourself and stop looking for people to validate you and elevate you. Create something people cannot refuse. Stop telling people what you need and starting being what they need. When you become what they need you do not have to ask people for anything. 
• Who are you? People do everything else in the world and try to figure everything else out but never define who they are. Figure out and discover who you are as an artist, as a person, and as a brand. Once you discover this, remain true to your core value and belief system and do not compromise this. 

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Black Enterprise Contributors Network 

from Black Enterprise http://bit.ly/2WsgoKJ
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