Black News: Salon Beating Victim Refuses to Testify

 

Cavenia Bryant has been arrested for her involvement in the Oakland beauty shop beating posted on You Tube. “We’re close on bringing them in. We don’t want to scare them by releasing the names publicly,” said Jeff Thomason, Public Information Officer for the Oakland Police Department.

The May 5 assault took place around 5:50 p.m., but the victim, Melissa Seals, didn’t call the Oakland Police Department until around 7 p.m., Thomason reported. Officers responded and took Seals’ statement: six women entered her Oakland hair salon as Seals cut a customer’s hair, they locked the door from the inside, then two of the women proceeded to beat Seals for several minutes. Three other women watched the attack and a fourth videotaped the beating.
After giving her statement to the responding officers Seals declined to press charges or identify any of the women involved in the attack, according to OPD records. Seals’ refused to press charges for the misdemeanor assault; the officers were obligated by department policy to take a report and close the case without further investigation.

 

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Black Health Thought: Porn Star’s HIV Status was a Wake Up Call

Stefano Paltera / For The Times

Darren James vividly remembers the 2004 phone call that changed his life. He hopes that by getting his story out, the porn industry will be moved to require condom use to protect the health of its stars.

Porn production shut down for a month after Darren James tested positive in 2004, changing his life. Now he hopes he can protect others by telling his story.

By Rong-Gong Lin II
June 15, 2009

Darren James saw the news flash on his TV screen last week: A porn actress had tested positive for HIV. James, 45, felt a moment of shock, then sadness.
"I feel really bad for this girl," he said. "One thing I can say, I just wish her well. It's the worst thing to get that call."

• 

  Porn stars at L.A. convention defend HIV...

• 

  From the archives: Porn Actors'...

• From the archives: See No Evil

• More porn HIV cases disclosed

• Contact the reporter with your experiences

It's the call James got in 2004 when the well-liked porn star known for his courteous nature on set found himself at the center of an HIV outbreak in the San Fernando Valley's multibillion-dollar porn industry. His diagnosis, and the spread of the virus to three actresses he had worked with, shut down porn production for a month.
He had tested HIV negative just days before performing on screen.
"I predicted it would happen again," he said late last week in an interview at his attorney's Woodland Hills office, his second since his name became public five years ago.

James, dressed in trim black slacks and a fitted black T-shirt that showed off his muscular frame, said he decided to speak out now because he hoped his story would spur the porn industry to require condoms, rarely used in straight porn films.

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Read more black health news at www.YourBlackHealth.Blogspot.com.

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Lady Drama: Once a cheater….

Yes, that’s his REAL wife in the picture above

 

The Black Celebrity scoop on Kobe Bryant

Listen to the lyrics from the rapper Trina:

 

This n*gga thinkin’ I’m sweatin’ his Rolex watch
You need more than that, to get in my thighs
A car that’s fly, maybe a house in the sky

I know you wanna beat it up right quick
And I was the first b*tch Kobe cheated on his wife with…

 

 

There are also reports that Kobe has a new jump off, Carla DiBello.  Read what a Laker insider has to say:

“She sits court-side at the Laker games and travels to all the road games… the weird thing is Kobe Bryant flips the bill and buys her presents. Okay, maybe not so weird… I know she is banging him out. **Update…from within Laker camp… …Friends and family are not allowed to go to Orlando for the series, but Kobe got special approval from both Phil Jackson and Dr. Buss to let Carla DiBello come. They have been seeing each other ever since Kobe got back from China. There is no way that Carla can explain why she is court side taking cell phone pics of Kobe. This girl will never be able to hide all of her scandalous activity. She was in Orlando at the game last night (no friends and family allowed). That is probably why Kobe played like sh*t. He single handedly lost the game.”

Damn Kobe, ain’t you learned from the incident 6 years ago?

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Black News: Chicago Inmates were Handcuffed While Giving Birth

Former Chicago inmates Simone Jackson and Danielle Bryant are seeking to file a class action lawsuit against the Cook County Sheriff's Department. Both claim they were forced to give birth while shackled and handcuffed to the hospital bed.

Jackson said, "It's dehumanizing. It's degrading. It's immoral." Jackson and three other former Cook County inmates described how they felt when they gave birth while imprisoned.

"I couldn't have family there," Bryant said. "Nobody to support me, help me. The nurses were in and out. All I had was the police officer."

Jackson and Bryant were being held on theft charges when they went into labor and were transferred to Chicago's Stroger Hospital to give birth.

Bryant's restraints were removed right before the actual birth. But Jackson says her restraints never came off.

"It is not even feasible to run when you are actually going to have a baby," Jackson said. "There is no way to do that."

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Technorati Tags: black news,black celebrity gossip

Black News: Real Housewife Sheree Loses Her Home

Dusky Real Housewives of Atlanta star Sheree Whitfield just got herself included in the long list of casualties to the economic downturn.  The former wife of NFL player Bob Whitfield reportedly foreclosed her Sandy Springs, Georgia home and was sold for a huge bargain.  The near-9,000 square feet property was initially listed for $2.8 million but was sold for $1.1 mil.

Click to read.

Morgan Freeman’s Women Are Kicking His Butt

From bossip.com

Morgan Freeman is looking for a little lawsuit redemption.

The Oscar winner adamantly denies nearly all of the allegations put forth by an acquaintance who has sued him for negligence after they were in a rollover crash together last August.

In fact, the only thing he admits to is that a crash occurred while he was behind the wheel of plaintiff Demaris Meyer’s 1997 Nissan Maxima, according to court documents filed Friday on Freeman’s behalf in Mississippi.

But while Meyer’s suit states that Freeman lost control of the car after knocking back several drinks during the night, his lawyer argues that they’ll show Meyer was “comparatively negligent.”

View the documents.
The filing doesn’t explain why that is, nor does it address Meyer’s public claims that Freeman hung her out to dry when it came to the postcrash rumors that she broke up his 24-year marriage.

Meyer maintains that she had just met the Million Dollar Baby star earlier that night and that, though she had been invited to spend the night at the sonorous actor’s estate, she was just going to sleep on one of the smaller houses on the property to avoid a long drive home in the middle of the night.

“I had hoped and prayed that Mr. Freeman or his representatives would have set the record straight and cleared my name, but they have not done so and that is why I have chosen to come forward to tell the truth about our relationship,” she said upon filing her complaint in February.

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Black News: Denzel Washington Was Addicted to Heroin?

 

When Denzel Washington was 20 years old, he was having a tough time. A college dropout who'd come back from a heroin addiction that started when he was just 14, Denzel had lost his way. But one afternoon, while at his mother's beauty shop in Mount Vernon, New York, Denzel was shocked back onto the right track. There, one of his mother's customers wrote this prophecy on a piece of paper: "That boy is going to speak to millions of people."
Clearly, the woman known in the community as "the Prophetess" knew what she was talking about. Denzel has gone on to make more than 35 films, including his latest, "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3." See what other surprising facts we've uncovered about the Oscar-winning actor.

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Michelle Obama Compared to a Gorilla

GOP activist Rusty DePass is in hot water over comments about First Lady Michelle Obama.

Would you accept the apology from Rusty DePass after he likened First Lady Michelle Obama to an escaped gorilla?

Yes. He seemed sincere and contrite.

No. His comments were racist and unforgivable, and his explanation didn't make any sense.

A prominent South Carolina Republican killed his Facebook page Sunday after being caught likening the First Lady to an escaped gorilla.

Commenting on a report posted to Facebook about a gorilla escape at a zoo in Columbia, S.C., Friday, longtime GOP activist Rusty DePass wrote, "I'm sure it's just one of Michelle's ancestors - probably harmless."

Busted by South Carolina political blogger Will Folks on his FITNEWS blog, DePass told WIS-TV in Columbia, "I am as sorry as I can be if I offended anyone. The comment was clearly in jest."

Then he added, "The comment was hers, not mine," claiming Michelle Obama made a recent remark about humans descending from apes. The Daily News could find no such comment.

"'Humor' like this is nothing new for South Carolina Republicans - even as the party claims to be focusing on 'outreach' efforts to minorities," said Folks, a former gubernatorial spokesman and widely read blogger. "The fact that Palmetto [State] Republicans don't get that this is a serious problem for them baffles us."

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Visit www.YourBlackPolitics.Blogspot.com for Black Political News.

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Your Black relationships: Should He ditch the gold digger?

I am a widower. My wife of 46 years passed away a year and a half ago. I recently met and felt very attracted to a woman. My problem is that she is reluctant to open up to me even though we have a great time together. We live about 1,700 miles apart. She has this mind set that poor plus poor equals poor and yet she claims not to be a gold digger. She has been married twice to rich men and has traveled everywhere. Her longest marriage was with a man who she says wasn't affectionate with her. She has actually come right out and told me that I do not make enough for her style of living. Now I may be wrong but if both her marriages ended in divorce and she now has to scrape by while this "poor" guy with more money than she has at her disposal wants to be with her, would that not tip the scales in my direction? Or could it be she just does not want to be a three-time loser. This woman, whether she wants to admit it or not, has stolen my heart, and I have told her so. When I tell her I love her, she says thank you. We seldom talk on the phone though we were talking daily at first. I am at wits end, and I truly do not know what to do.

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Technorati Tags: black celebrity gossip,black bloggers,black love,black relationships

Madonna Gets a New Child: A Black One

BLANTYRE, Malawi – Madonna can get "Mercy," Malawi's highest court ruled Friday. The court overruled a lower court, saying the pop star can adopt 3-year-old Chifundo "Mercy" James.
"I am ecstatic," Madonna said in a statement in which she also thanked the court. "My family and I look forward to sharing our lives with her."

Madonna's lawyer Alan Chinula said he would now arrange a passport for Chifundo, which could take several days, and was awaiting word from Madonna on travel plans for the girl.

James Kambewa, a man who claims to be the little girl's father, told CBS news "I'm crying. I need my baby. I don't know where I can find any help," the network said.

But Peter Baneti, an uncle, said the family welcomed Friday's ruling.
"We hope Mercy will be joining Madonna soon," he said by phone from his village just outside Blantyre.

Read More celebrity gossip here.

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Mississippi Justice Falls Short for Jamie and Gladys Scott

The families of Jamie and Gladys Scott feel that they were victims of a wrongful incarceration in Mississippi.  They’ve written this letter asking Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the case.  Please feel free to copy this letter and send it in yourself.

For more information on this case, please visit: http://freejamieandgladyscott.blogspot.com/

 

Attorney General Eric Holder
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

The Honorable Attorney General Holder:

I am writing to request that you investigate the case of Jamie and Gladys Scott. The Scott Sisters were given double life terms each in October of 1994 for armed robbery in the state of Mississippi. No one was injured or murdered. One witness states that about 11 dollars was netted in the armed robbery. All witnesses and victims of this crime have testified that the Scott Sisters were not involved in the robbery. Witnesses testified that they were coerced and threatened to lie on the Scott Sisters. Three post trial affidavits also state that the sisters are innocent.

A 14 year old witness testified that he signed a statement which was prepared for him before he entered Deputy Sheriff Marvin Williams' Office. This statement was signed by the 14 year old without an attorney present. He was told that he would be released from the local jail the next morning if he signed it. He was not released.

This is an egregious wrongful conviction and the Scott Sisters have suffered now 14 years 8 months of double life terms each.
Jamie and Gladys Scott are housed in Pearl, Mississippi. Their ID numbers are Jamie Scott #19197 and Gladys Scott # 19142.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

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Shocking: Woman Gets Beaten in a Beauty Salon!

 

From Lady Drama at www.YourBlackGossip.com. 

Click here to watch a woman get beat down something terrible in a beauty salon!  This video is all over the net and after seeing it, all you’ll be able to say is “hayell nawwwwww!”

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Beyonce coming into the airport – looking great!

Beyonce on her way from London to JFK

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Tyra Banks: What a difference a nose makes

Did you ever know that Tyra Banks got a nose job?

 

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Rapper Queen Latifah Says she was sexually abused

Queen Latifah, who now appears to be ok with being openly gay, has admitted that she was sexually abused as a child.  Here is the AP report:

 

Queen Latifah has revealed a traumatic chapter of her personal life: The singer-actress was sexually abused as a child.

In the latest issue of Essence magazine, Latifah says the abuse occurred over a period of time, and at the hands of a teenager charged with watching her.

"He violated me," says Latifah. "I never told anybody; I just buried it as deeply as I could and kept people at an arm's distance."

Click to read

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Man Allegedly Rapes and Murders 8 Month Old

A 17-year-old Terrytown man was arrested on charges of aggravated rape and first-degree murder of an 8-month-old child Saturday afternoon, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office said.

Arnold T. Ross, of 136 Friedrichs Road in Terrytown, was booked into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Facility. No bond is available on the first-degree murder charge.

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Study: Black Women in DC Have Very Poor Health

Black women in the District suffer from obesity, diabetes, heart disease and generally poor health in alarmingly high numbers, and white women do not.

That is the finding of a study released early today by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The study said there is a large disparity in the incidence of certain chronic diseases between black and white women.

Kaiser's study was based on data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the federal Current Population Survey from 2004 to 2006. The study reflected health statistics in the states and the District.

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Singer Lauryn Hill Cancels the Rest of Her Euro Tour

Question: When is Lauryn Actually going to get it together?

Click to read.

 

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Your Black Health: Make sure your kids get sleep to avoid depression

 

Teens whose parents let them stay up after midnight on weeknights have a much higher chance of being depressed or suicidal than teens whose parents enforce an earlier bedtime, says research being presented today at a national sleep conference.

The findings are the first to examine bedtimes' effects on kids' mental health — and the results are noteworthy. Middle- and high-schoolers whose parents don't require them to be in bed before midnight on school nights are 42% more likely to be depressed than teens whose parents require a 10 p.m. or earlier bedtime. And teens who are allowed to stay up late are 30% more likely to have had suicidal thoughts in the past year.

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The Real Version of the Obama Marriage Revealed in a Book

President Barack Obama whispers into First Lady Michelle Obama's ear during the White House Cinco de Mayo celebration this year Photo: PETE SOUZA/THE WHITE HOUSE

Their regular Friday "date nights" make the television news, and there was a stir recently when they caught Air Force One for a night at the theatre in Manhattan.

This weekend, in the aftermath of the D-Day celebrations, they are in Paris with their young daughters - having turned down an invitation for dinner with President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla in favour of a more intimate family event.

 

Click to read.

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Financial Lovemaking with Dr. Boyce: Man has 21 kids with different mothers – what gives?

Desmond Hatchett is 29 years old and has 21 children with 11 different women. The Knoxville, TN native also works for minimum wage and can't support all of his kids. The state is only allowed to take 50% of his paycheck, which doesn't amount to very much for each child.

What do we make of Hatchett's decision? This is clearly a question for Financial Lovemaking.

Click to read.

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Black News: The Obamas in Paris

Oprah Catches Hell for Allegedly “Crackpot” Medical Advice

Oprah Winfrey has command of more than 40 million viewers each week, some so devoted they follow her every word without question.  A recent investigative report in Newsweek magazine questions her message, though, asking if the “Oprah Effect” produces more harm than good.

At issue is the medical advice dispensed by the show.  Critics, like Cynthia Pearson, executive director of the National Women’s Health Network, says the experts and specialists on the Oprah show don’t always bring forth the risks associated with the cures and therapies they tout, especially when it’s a celebrity, not a physician, presenting the information.  Given Oprah’s phenomenal influence, many viewers, mostly women, follow her advice blindly, even in the absence of enough objective data to make a choice that’s both safe and effective.  Syracuse University professor of television and pop culture, Robert Thompson, says the show gives validity to a number of health claims that many people would otherwise consider really “crackpot ideas.”

 

Click to read.

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Kimora Lee Has Her Baby

Fashion maven Kimora Lee Simmons and two-time Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou are the new parents of a baby boy.

The ex-wife of hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons announced the pregnancy herself on Twitter early Saturday morning.

"It's a boy! Thanks to everyone out there for all your well wishes! More to come.Thank God. And God Bless! Kimora + Djimon Love & Light, KLS," her tweets read.

To verify the authenticity of the twitter alert; her rep released a statement confirming the birth as well.

"Kimora and Djimon's son was born Saturday morning, May 30^th," said her publicist.

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Nicole Spence: Men Selling Dreams….Needs to stop

by Nicole Spence

There is this girl I know, and we're friends.

She has been sorta dating this guy, well they've flirted with the idea of being more, but never took it there fully. Why? Cuz he is always on some stop and go shit! You know one minute wanna kick things up a couple of notches and the next he's on his period!

I don't like inconsistency so I encourage her to dip out! Don't delete him from your phone, but he sure as hell shouldn't be in her top 5!She took my advice and remained out of the picture for a couple of months, and you know never really gave the idea of him another thought, other than the occasional " what the hell was his problem"?
Fast forward time passes and he reaches out stating how much he misses her ( oh yea? ) and get this, that he realized that he needs her in his life. ( Pretty heavy shit I thought). So they exchange niceties back and forth, but she's still wading in the water because she doesn't know what this brother wants.

Click to read more.

Comedian Slams Hard on Michelle Obama

 

A comedian made fun of Michelle Obama, calling her a “big dude” and comparing her to Count Dracula.  Did the comedian go over the line?  Click the image to hear the incident analyzed on 100.3 The Beat with Dr Boyce and Charlamagne.

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Black Celebrities: Kimora Lee is in Labor!

"It's time !! No turning back! At hospital in labor right now!! Love & Light, KLS"

This is child #3 for Lee and child #1 for her boyfriend, Djimon Hounsou. Congrats to them both.

Technorati Tags: kimora lee simmons,black celebrity gossip,black celebrities

What if Your Child Dies? Financial Implications

The death of Exodus Tyson, daughter of former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, brings immediate tears to the eyes. As a single father of three daughters, my heart becomes heavy at the thought of losing any of my precious little girls. I also fear what might happen if I were to suddenly pass on myself. While the pain of death is severe and complicated, there is always a lesson to be learned from the experiences of others.

In this case, there is the serious and gut-wrenching task of planning for the possibility that you may have to bury your child. In the black community, such issues are compounded by the alarming death rates of black teens in the inner city, higher infant mortality rates and reduced access to health care for African Americans. In light of our unique experiences and circumstances, we must be careful and intelligent in our financial planning.

How do you plan for your child's death? Is life insurance even necessary? Let's break it down and figure it out together.

Full Coverage >>

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Black News: Was Michelle Obama Insulted?

100.3 “The Beat” in Philly asks whether or not a comedian was insulting Michelle Obama by making jokes about her height and the way she looks.  Click the image to listen!

Technorati Tags: michelle obama,black men in america,dr boyce watkins,charlamagne tha god,black women,african american women

Black Health: Many Black Women Refuse Cancer Treatment

Nearly 1 in 4 African-American women in the United States with late stage breast cancer refused chemotherapy and radiation therapy, researchers said.

Study leader Dr. Monica Rizzo of the Emory University School of Medicine and Emory University's Avon Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center at Grady and colleagues reviewed stage III breast cancer data from 2000- 2006 from an inner city hospital in Atlanta that serves a large African-American population.

The investigators identified 107 cases of stage III breast cancers diagnosed and/or treated at this hospital over the six years of study. Approximately 87 percent of these cases were in African-American women.

Chemotherapy and radiation are recommendedtherapies for patients with stage III breast cancer; however, many women in this study decided to forgo these treatments.

 

Click to read.

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