Suicidal Man Jumps From Ninth Floor of Jersey City High-Rise, Lands on BMW and Miraculously Survives
A man averted a major tragedy after allegedly jumping out of a hi-rise building window and plunging nine stories in Jersey City, New Jersey.
According to The New York Post, a man jumped from the building, landed on a BMW, and miraculously survived. However, he suffered several injuries, and his right arm was dangling from the side of his body. The aftermath of the incident, which took place on Wednesday, was caught on a cell phone video.
(Milton Brown)
The survivor, who did not give police his name or address, was a 31-year-old man. After he crashed onto the roof of the black BMW 330i, a witness captured the scene.
Christina Smith exclusively told the New York Post what she witnessed.
“I heard a big boom and I didn’t think it was a person at first. The back window of the car just busted out — exploded. Then the guy jumped up and started screaming. His arm was all twisted. I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ I was shocked. It was like being in a movie,” said Smith, who said that she works in sales and had been on her way to a nearby McDonald’s. “He was like, ‘What happened?’ And was like, You fell. I was thinking, thank God, it probably helped that he had a fluffy jacket on.”
(Image: Facebook)
She stated she called 911 as she also took photos and recorded the scene seconds after he fell. The unidentified man, who jumped from the ninth floor of the building, was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance and was listed in critical condition as of Thursday, according to Jersey City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione.
Another onlooker, Mark Bordeaux, who works in the building the man jumped from, saw the aftermath of the jump. He stated that after the fall, the man kept telling people to “Leave me alone, I want to die.”
After the incident, Jersey City police officers briefly shut down the surrounding roads near the high-rise, including the Journal Square PATH Station and Hudson County Community College.
Black Mississippi Homecoming Queen Gives Away Crown to Honor Fellow Nominee’s Late Mother
Senior Nyla Covington was voted homecoming queen at Mississippi’s Forrest County Agricultural High School last month.
But when receiving her crown, she felt moved to give it away to another nominee who was mourning the loss of her mom, CNN reports.
Brittany Walters promised her mom that she and her dad would go to homecoming. She made the promise as her mother lay on her death bed with cancer and passed away on the same day as the big high school event.
After losing her mother earlier that day, Brittany and her dad stayed true to their word and attended the homecoming event.
Despite not winning the official title, Walters still walked away with the crown. While accepting her prize as homecoming queen, Covington decided it was only right to give it away to Walters, whose mother worked as an administrator at the high school.
“I just felt like it was something that was put on my heart,” Covington said.
“It was really just for her, to bring up her day a little bit, and she’d rather have her mom than a crown… but the point was, I was telling her that she was her mom’s queen, and I was just letting her know that she was loved by many and especially me.”
Nyla Covington gave her homecoming crown to Brittany Walters who lost her mother earlier in the day. (Twitter)
Walters was overcome with emotion as she stood next to her father, thinking about her mom, who was known as the “school mom.” She had no idea Covington would make such a nice gesture. But after asking the school for permission, she went over and crowned Walters.
“I just felt so like so much love from her, and I just felt so much love for her and the whole school,” Walters said of Covington. “As soon as I got off the field, I just got hundreds of hugs from every single person in the stands.”
Walters still has the crown, and Covington would like for her to keep it.
“It’s just something materialistic, but we put meaning to it so that’s why I want her to keep it,” she said.
Texas Man Sentenced to Life Without Parole After Killing 6 Children, Including His Son and 2 Others
A man who killed his son, along with five other young children and two others in Texas several years ago, has been given a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
According to a statement released by Kim Ogg, the District Attorney of Harris County, Texas, a jury in Houston found David Ray Conley guilty of capital murder for the heinous crimes.
1/2David Ray Conley, was convicted of cap. murder & sentenced to life without parole. Conley was sentenced to the max penalty permitted by law, as the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that persons who are intellectually disabled are not eligible for execution.https://t.co/soi8VPCL9P
2/2We thank ADAs Alycia Harvey, Christopher Condon & Zepinood Zimmer for their hard work in prosecuting the case as well as State District Judge Chuck Silverman for clearing the way for the case to be presented to a jury.
The 54-year-old Conley was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend Valerie Jackson, 40, her husband, Dwayne Jackson, 50, Jonah Jackson, 6; Trinity Jackson, 7; Caleb Jackson, 9; Dwayne Jackson Jr., 10; Honesty Jackson, 11 and Nathaniel Conley, 13.
Conley was sentenced to the maximum penalty permitted by law based on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that persons who are intellectually disabled are not eligible for execution. Both state and defense experts had reasonably concluded that Conley qualified as a person with intellectual disability.
“How could anyone look into the eyes of children handcuffed to their beds and slaughter them one by one?” Ogg said in a written statement. “We are forever indebted to the jurors who listened to the excruciating evidence, thoughtfully deliberated, and delivered justice.”
Conley surrendered to sheriff’s deputies after facing a police standoff at his ex-girlfriend’s house in northwest Harris County on Aug. 8, 2015. He reportedly broke into the home of the Jacksons and shot three members of the family right away. He then rounded up and restrained the remaining family members and shot and killed the rest of them later.
According to Law and Crime, four deputies entered the Jackson home through an unlocked door. They looked through a window and noticed one of the children on the floor not breathing, they retreated after Conley started firing his weapon at them.
A standoff of several hours ensued before the Harris County Sheriff’s Office’s High Risk Operations Unit and Hostage Negotiation Team took over and was able to get Conley out of the house.
Investigators then entered the home and found each of the eight victims handcuffed to something in each of the home’s three bedrooms and shot in the head.
Pregnant Registered Nurse Shot and Killed in Drive-By Shooting on Georgia Highway, Suspect Arrested
Tragedy struck when a pregnant woman was shot and killed on a Georgia highway earlier this week. Her unborn child also died in the incident.
The victim was Akeila Ware, 29, from LaGrange. Ware was taken to the hospital, where she and her unborn baby passed away. According to a Facebook post by Troup County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia, the crime occurred on Tuesday, Oct. 5. At 12:49 PM.
Police officers with the Troup County Sheriff’s Office and other first responders were called and dispatched to Highway 18 near E. Drummond Road.
The police officers were responding to a report of a single-vehicle accident with possible injuries. The police officers found a car riddled with bullet holes and found the victim inside unresponsive when they arrived at the location.
Akeila Ware (Facebook)
Ware was then taken to the hospital in critical condition, where she and her unborn baby died. Investigators from the Sheriff’s Office and Troopers with the Georgia State Patrol stated that it appears a second vehicle, a silver Nissan with possible front-end damage, may have been involved. The shooting probably took place near the intersection of Highway 18 and Whitesville Road.
“This was a targeted, senseless crime,” Sgt. Stewart Smith, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, told WSB-TV.
“It does appear to be a targeted crime at this point, not a random road rage. She was taken by ambulance to a Columbus area hospital in very bad condition and unfortunately, she and her unborn baby were pronounced deceased at the hospital yesterday afternoon.”
Ware’s mother is still in disbelief over her daughter’s untimely death.
“You know, it’s like you’re going to wake up out of it and … it’s not gonna be true,” Twila Waretold Fox 5.
Black Enterprise To Present Town Hall Focused On Increasing Higher Education Access, Workforce Preparation And Affordability For Black Students
The latest installment of BLACK ENTERPRISE’s Economic Equity and Racial JusticeTown Hall Series will focus on how Black students can leverage post-secondary education to succeed in today’s workforce.
The town hall will take place Tuesday, October 12, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. EST. The virtual town hall series is produced in partnership with host sponsor the Executive Leadership Council and presenting sponsor Walmart. CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers will serve as moderator.
Panelists for the Education Town Hall include Opportunity@Work CEO and Co-Founder Byron Auguste, Google LLC Bonita Stewart, and Bennett College President Suzanne Walsh. Remarks will also be given by BLACK ENTERPRISE’s CEO Earl ‘Butch’ Graves Jr., and Executive Leadership Council President and CEO Michael Hyter.
The town hall will address complex issues confronting Generation Z as they plan for college and their professional careers. Panelists will offer advice and commentary on how Black students can take advantage of educational and occupational opportunities and develop the skills and critical thinking necessary to join and excel in today’s workforce.
“Inequities in access to higher education on the front end, and the disproportionate student loan burden on Black families on the back end, are major contributors to the nation’s racial wealth gap,” Graves said.
“Access to higher education is still a key to long-term earning power in the workplace. However, we must stop requiring young African Americans to mortgage their futures—while also facing racial discrimination in hiring and advancement—to get that degree.”
Our expert panelists will highlight and discuss action plans that address preparing students for post-secondary education to get them career-ready; increasing the flow of Black students to HBCUs; making college affordable; and recruitment and retention of Black college graduates.
According to the Washington Post, the Black unemployment rate at 8.8% is double the rate for White unemployment. Additionally, the unemployment rate for Black Americans with bachelor’s and advanced degrees is higher than White high school graduates. Across all groups, employment among Black women is the last to recover from the pandemic. Currently, 550,000 fewer Black women are working compared to last February.
For The First Time In Its 232 Year History, A Black Man, Damien Williams, Will Lead The Southern District Of New York
Attorney Damien Williams has become the first Black man to lead the Southern District of New York in its 232 year history.
Williams was nominated for the position by PresidentJoe Biden in August and those who have previously held the position have gone on to become judges, senators and the mayor of New York City. The confirmation makes Williams the most powerful law enforcement official in the five boroughs.
The Southern District handles some of the nation’s most complex cases including fraud, terrorism and corruption. The office is currently preparing to try Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges and is investigating former NYC Mayor and former PresidentDonald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani over his dealings in Ukraine.
Williams, the son of Jamaican immigrants who left the island in the early 1970s, was born in Brooklyn and raised in Atlanta. He holds a degree in economics from Harvard University and a degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge. Williams also has a degree from Yale Law School and has close ties to the U.S. Justice Department.
Williams previously worked for John Kerry’s 2003 campaign and former Democratic National Committee Chairman and former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and clerked for Attorney General Merrick Garland and Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.
“Beyond his extraordinary qualifications, Damian is the right person at this time in history to be the U.S. attorney for Manhattan,” Theodore Wells Jr., a Black partner at the law firm Paul, Weiss and one of the nation’s most prominent litigators, told The New York Times.
One thing Williams will have to confront is the lack of diversity in the Southern District. According to the Times, of the 232 assistant U.S. attorneys and executives, less than 10 are Black including Williams. The Harvard graduate will also try to restore stability to the position.
Two of the last four people to hold the position were fired by the Trump Administration includingGeoffrey Berman, who twice refused to resign before Trump’s Attorney General Bill Barr fired him.
Retired Black Surgeon On Global Mission To Educate How Vitamin D3 Can Help Combat COVID-19
Dr. Leslie Ray Matthews has devoted much of his life—and spent $3.5 million of his own money—to research and uncover the benefits of Vitamin D3.
Matthews has been in the news lately talking about statistics that show 80% of people who have died from COVID-19 were Vitamin D3 deficient. The deaths included those who were vaccinated and unvaccinated.
Yet the international award-winning surgeon and retired doctor says that does not have to be the case for millions of people. Now, Matthews is on a global mission to inform how doses of Vitamin D3 can help prevent the contraction of COVID and minimize the symptoms related to the devastating sickness.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, is a fan of two supplements to improve immunity—vitamin C and vitamin D. He takes both daily.
“If you’re deficient in vitamin D, that does have an impact on your susceptibility to infection,” he stated.
Matthews hopes people of color get the message. For instance, he says 97% of African Americans are Vitamin D3 deficient. That compares worldwide to 50% of the population. He noted Vitamin D3 reduces chronic inflammation. It can help many people with ailments like heart disease, strokes, cancer, autoimmune diseases, joint and muscle pain, and upper respiratory tract infections.
Dr. Leslie Ray Matthews (Photo provided)
It has been reportedly proven that if you have enough Vitamin D3, your immune system will be stronger and that can help you fight off COVID-19.
So, why aren’t more people with COVID-19 related problems taking it?
“The reason more people are not taking Vitamin D3 is due to a lack of public awareness of its relevance and intensity,” Matthews says.
Based in Atlanta, Matthews retired in 2019 as a full professor of clinical surgery at the Morehouse School of Medicine. He was a trauma and critical care surgeon at Grady Memorial Hospital. A medical professional for over 30 years, he is a double-board certified general trauma surgeon. He has made multiple presentations before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
He has earned many accolades, including induction as a member of the Royal Society of Medicine, joining Charles Darwin and Sigmund Freud and others in the elite global organization whose members have made extraordinary accomplishments in the medical field.
BLACK ENTERPRISE connected with Matthews via email to get his expertise on Vitamin D3.
BE: It was estimated this month that 70 million eligible Americans remain unvaccinated, potentially providing more firewood for the highly transmissible Delta variant. Why does that make it more urgent for people to consider taking Vitamin D3 now?
The coronavirus pandemic will not be cured by vaccination. Vitamin D3 is necessary for a healthy immune system that can fight off any infection, whether it is viral, bacterial, fungal, or parasitic. Vitamin D3 deficiency is incompatible with a healthy immune system.
What makes Vitamin D3 such a vital health problem combatant?
Vitamin D3 is an anti-stress hormone. It is a necessity when the human body is under stress, such as after a heart attack, coronavirus, during childbirth, traumatic brain injury, or a gunshot wound. Within the first 24 hours of being admitted to the hospital, your vitamin D3 level declines by half. Vitamin D3 aids in the response to any kind of stress.
Is Vitamin D3 a complete cure-all for COVID and other illnesses or just a partial solution? If it is not an entire solution, what other steps should people be applying to battle those problems?
Vitamin D3 is a preventative measure. It is not a treatment. The term “cure” is frowned upon by the Federal Drug Administration. Vitamin D3 can slow or stop chronic inflammation. Also, chronic inflammation can be attenuated and reduced by vitamin D3. The development of most diseases is influenced by chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation is lowered by vitamin D3. Wearing face masks, washing your hands frequently, eating a healthy diet, exercising, social distancing, and getting adequate sleep are all things that should be done.
What are the newest research findings you have discovered on Vitamin D3 the public should be aware of?
I can reverse Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), treat traumatic brain injuries, and treat most resistant infections with a high dose of Vitamin D3. I’ve been awarded a patent for concussion /traumatic brain injuries.
How could taking Vitamin D3 helps to reduce an individual’s overall health care costs?
Vitamin D3 deficiency reduces the chances of achieving optimal health. Vitamin D3 decreases hospital length of stay, hospital cost, and the overall mortality rate. A vitamin D3 level less than 18 nanograms/per milliliter increases your risk of death by 30%. Therefore, keeping your Vitamin D3 levels greater than 18 nanograms reduces your risk of death and overall medical cost.
When and why did you get involved in Vitamin D3 research?
In 2002, I got involved in Vitamin D3 research. I did so because it is an anti-stress hormone that controls 3,000 out of 30,000 genes, or 10% of your DNA. I understood Vitamin D3 to have many medical usages, such as positively lowering hospital costs for patients. Vitamin D3 is essential for optimal health. You cannot maintain optimal health by being vitamin D3 deficient.
BE: What is next on your agenda tied to Vitamin D3 research, and what do you hope to accomplish?
Half of the world’s 7.8 billion population is Vitamin D3 deficient. I hope to do global education on the importance of Vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 deficiency is a pandemic that must be addressed before we can address the coronavirus pandemic.
Common Builds Music Studio Inside Chicago Prison for Inmates to Tap Into Creativity
Multi-talented rapper and actor Common has created a new space in a local Chicago prison that allows inmates to get away from the prison cell and into a music studio.
The Oscar-, Emmy-, and Grammy award-winning Chicago native used his resources and star power to create a built-in music studio in the Stateville Correctional Facility. Inmates there now get a rare opportunity to learn about music production and put their freestyle skills to use.
“The gentlemen who are incarcerated deserve access to better things in life so that’s why I fight for my city,” Common said. “And that’s why my heart is always with Chicago.”
The prison program is a part of several charitable projects by Common and his non-profit—Imagine Justice. The organization’s mission is to provide community, civic engagement, and mental wellness to disadvantaged communities with the hope to inspire change.
Imagine Justice is launching a 12-week course for the Stateville inmates to learn about the landscape of music production. They will have a fully equipped studio with access to mixing boards, microphones, sound panels, and musical instruments. Inmates who take part in the course can also receive a shorter sentence.
Common said he tries to give back to his hometown where he found his inspiration and guidance.
“Being from Chicago is one of the greatest gifts and assets to me in my career and my life,” he told CBS Chicago.
The innovative idea was created by attorney Ari Williams, who wanted new and better solutions for inmates to find outlets while fulfilling their sentences.
“I know music brings us all together. I want them to be OK. I want them to do something they’ve love to do,” Williams told CBS Chicago. “And I know many of them are rappers. They love to rap and they love to sing.”
“This brings so much hope for them and inspiration for them. Them to know people actually care about them, that can change them as well,” Williams said.
What Happens When The Most Powerful Black Women In Communications Get In The Same Room
ColorComm, which was founded in 2011 as a business community to support women of color in communications, celebrated its 10th anniversary last week—and it brought out the big guns.
Some of the most powerful Black women in the industry gathered at Michelin-starred restaurant DANIEL in New York City to reconnect and rededicate themselves to supporting each other, while enjoying a three-course lunch and a program of inspirational remarks from their fellow sisters in business.
Whoopi Goldberg delivered a moving keynote, supported by her former and present The View co-hosts Star Jones, and Sunny Hostin. Also in attendance were White House Correspondent April Ryan, ABC News Correspondent Deborah Roberts, and Biden campaign advisor Symone D. Sanders.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 01: Star Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, and Sunny Hostin attend the ColorComm 10 Year Anniversary Luncheon at Daniel on October 01, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for ColorComm)
“I started ColorComm over lunch,” said Founder & CEO Lauren Wesley Wilson. “I was working at a publicly traded company where I didn’t see any persons of color in leadership. I was 25 years old, and I was wondering how I was going to advance if I didn’t see people who look like me.”
“What we created unknowingly was this community of women of color who just wanted more for themselves, who wanted more for their professional journeys, who wanted more enriching personal lives, and just wanted more opportunities to figure out how they were going to advance in the workplace,” she continued.
“Women who had never met before ColorComm were all of a sudden becoming best friends, they were doing business together, they were getting each other jobs.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 01: Kim Godwin and Rashida Jones attend the ColorComm 10 Year Anniversary Luncheon at Daniel on October 01, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for ColorComm)
More impressive than the star power was the caliber of behind-the-scenes power brokers that ColorComm counts among its membership.
“As I look around the room, and there are so many women here who are breaking their own glass ceilings, I’m wondering who else is running the world if we’re all here,” joked Rashida Jones, the first Black woman president of MSNBC.
Jones recognized her “colleague and sister friend” Kim Godwin, who made history when she was named president of ABC News, before praising the work ColorComm has done: “You guys have changed the landscape of the industry. You have allowed and empowered women to claim their spot at the table, a spot that they weren’t given, but that they’ve earned.”
The organization’s impact over the last decade was underscored throughout the event.
“We’ve heard it time and time again that companies don’t know where to find qualified multicultural talent to hire. ColorComm and your community of more than 100,000 professionals is part of the solution to the excuses. It’s showing the world the impact and reach women of color truly have,” said Roz Brewer, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance and one of just two Black women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, who sent her congratulations via video message.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 01: Valerie Jarrett attends the ColorComm 10 Year Anniversary Luncheon at Daniel on October 01, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for ColorComm)
“Many of you in this room know that it gets lonely as you climb to the top,” former presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett said during impromptu remarks.
“It’s incumbent upon each of us to appreciate the fact that when we reach out to somebody else and say I see you, I feel you, I know you’re going through a tough day, it means something. To be in a room full of people who wish you the best is precious.”
Even Forever FLOTUS Michelle Obama wanted to congratulate ColorComm on its decade of success, sending a letter that read, in part: “ColorComm, at its core, is about a value that is near and dear to my heart: mentorship. Lauren and all the women in the ColorComm community recognize that when we make it in the world, we have an obligation to reach back and lift up the folks who will follow in our footsteps.
“I’m in awe of what you have accomplished so far. You’re empowering women of color to set agendas, ask for raises and promotions, and bring their authentic selves to the table. And in the process, you’re pushing us closer to a world where diversity and inclusion is not a box to be checked, but a genuine reality.”
Fitness Influencer Ca’Shawn ‘Cookie’ Sims Reported Missing By Family Members
A fitness trainer, who has a large social media following hasn’t been seen since last month, has been reported missing by her family.
Ca’Shawn Sims, who is also known as “Cookie,” hasn’t been seen since September 8 and her family is worried, especially because she left her dog and cellphone behind.
The 30-year-old fitness trainer has amassed an Instagram following of 216,000 people, who also know her as the Booty Doctor.
“Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Missing Persons Unit investigators are asking for the public’s help locating Missing Person Cashawn Ashley Sims Nickname of “Cookie”. She is a 30 year-old female Black who was last seen on September 8, 2021 on the 2100 block of Broach Ave., in Duarte. Cashawn is 5’1” tall, 120lbs with black shoulder length hair and brown eyes. Ms. Sim has a tattoo of “It’s found in the soul” on her left collarbone, “Earth” on her left forearm, and a tattoo of Spanish writing on her back. Her family is concerned with her wellbeing and asking for the public’s help.”
That message was posted several days ago.
Sims’ sister, Ca’rynn posted an update regarding her sister’s whereabouts two days ago on her Instagram account, which has since been removed.
“I never thought there’d come a day of me posting a missing flyer for my sister,” she according toPEOPLE. “We want her covered in prayers, God’s grace and to know that she is whole, well and alive.”
She said police officials had confirmed that Sims had been seen in Pasadena, CA, on September 11 and September 12. She had reportedly gone to a hospital on both of those days complaining that she had shortness of breath and was eventually released from the hospital both nights. She said they were still looking for her and asked the public to continue doing the same.
LAPD asks that anyone with more information contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Missing Persons Unit at (323) 890-5500.
