Deion Sanders, Colorado State, CU
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

November 10, 2023

Coach Prime Deion Sanders Scores Guinness World Record With Massive Football Lesson

Some would say Deion Sanders has earned his money and more since being signed as the head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder, and he hasn’t even completed his first year. Another week, another record. This past weekend, on Nov. 5, Sanders entered the Guinness World Record after holding a football lesson at the school’s facility.

According to Buff Beats, the NFL Hall of Famer, who also answers to Coach Prime, set the Guinness World Record for the largest American football lesson when he conducted one at the CU Indoor Practice Facility. He did the lesson with Colorado and UCHealth and broke the record of 250 people attending such an event when he attracted 280 participants.

The event was a football clinic that brought out children between 7 and 10. There was also a question and answer session for the adults who attended. According to CBS News, the coach also had help with the instructions given to the kids by CU football alumni Darian Hagan and Lance Carl.

The clinic was part of UCHealth’s Ready.Set.CO initiative that encourages Colorado residents to lead a healthy lifestyle. Coach Prime has been given the informal “Chief Motivation Officer” role for the Ready.Set.CO challenge, according to the website.

Sanders has been a boon to the spirit, finances, and sports program ever since he accepted the head coaching position at the school. Yahoo Finance reported last month that he has reportedly generated $90.6 million in revenue for the university from ad deals to celebrity endorsements and increased media coverage. Not only that, but the football team had a 1-12 record last year, and even if the team loses its remaining games, they will still have a better record as they sit at a record of 3-4.

The Buffaloes will have a chance to even their win-loss total at 2 p.m. on Nov. 11. They welcome No. 23rd-ranked Arizona for the school’s Senior Day.

RELATED CONTENT: Deion Sanders Wants NCAA Or The Rose Bowl To Reimburse Players For Stolen Jewelry

Giannis Antetokounmpo Gives Fans A Courtside Treat After Getting Ejected For Slam Dunk Stare Down
by Sharelle Burt

November 10, 2023

Giannis Antetokounmpo Gives Fans A Courtside Treat After Getting Ejected For Slam Dunk Stare Down

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo gave some fans a different experience during a game against the Detroit Pistons.

Antetokounmpo decided to take in some of the game by sitting courtside after getting ejected for “two unsportsmanlike technical fouls,” CNN reports. During the third quarter at the Fiserv Forum, Antetokounmpo did what he does best by postering over Pistons center Isaiah Stewart with a brief stare-down before getting back downcourt. Referees didn’t find it too amusing and found the emotional reaction was enough to give the NBA champion his second technical foul of the night, which resulted in him being ejected from the game.

His first technical foul was given during the first quarter for using profanity toward game officials. Even game commentators expressed confusion about the officials’ decision.

Surprised by the refs’ reaction, the two-time MVP then briefly sat with fans who were seated courtside before heading to the locker room. After the game, Crew Chief Rodney Mott explained why the Bucks big man was ejected.

“After the dunk, Giannis turns to his opponent and taunts him, and a taunting technical foul was called, an unsportsmanlike,” Mott explained.

“And he was ejected from the game, per rule, because two unsportsmanlike technical fouls; you are ejected from the game.”

According to the official National Basketball Association (NBA) rulebook, the rule states, “If a player blatantly taunts an opponent, a technical foul shall be assessed.” It continues, “If a previous unsportsmanlike act has been committed and if this situation is BLATANT, a technical foul must be assessed and the guilty player(s) must be ejected.” 

Fellow NBA player and Bucks teammate Damien Lillard described the referee’s decision as a “bad tech.”

Head coach Adrian Griffin said he was “surprised” at the call. “It’s an emotional game. He made a phenomenal play,” Griffin said, according to The New York Post. “It was exciting, emotional and I thought he moved on fairly quickly. So, I was surprised with the second technical, but that’s up to the league to decide.”

The night wasn’t a total wash as Antetokounmpo finished with 15 points, leading the team to a 120-118 victory.

RELATED CONTENT: Giannis Antetokounmpo Signs 3-Year, $186M Extension With Milwaukee Bucks

Co-Captain Charged With Assault Months After Viral Montgomery Riverboat Beatdown
by Sharelle Burt

November 10, 2023

Co-Captain Charged With Assault Months After Viral Montgomery Riverboat Beatdown

Law officials have been quiet surrounding pending assault charges against the Riverboat co-captain involved in the viral Montgomery riverboat brawl in August.

Court records show Harriott II co-captain, identified as Dameion Pickett, is being charged with third-degree assault, AL reports. While the charges were filed in Montgomery Municipal Court on Oct. 26., neither Montgomery police nor the city attorney have yet to announce the charges publicly. Zachery “Chase” Shipman, the complainant listed in Pickett’s case, is also facing a third-degree assault charge in connection with the brawl as Shipman was on the pontoon boat. Pickett is listed as a victim in the charges against the pontoon boat occupants.

The brawl took Black Twitter by storm on Aug. 5, 2023. Video footage shows the fight starting at Montgomery’s Riverfront Park when Harriott II crew members could not dock the cruise boat due to the pontoon boat being in the way. Pickett, who is Black, can be seen being attacked by the group of white passengers as other Black people who witnessed the attack come to his defense, including a 16-year-old deckhand. His mother, Crystal Warren, stated in a police report that Pickett was called racial slurs during the fight but later changed her story in court.

In a late October 2023 court appearance, pontoon boat occupant Richard Roberts pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges and apologized to Pickett for his behavior. He even said that he believes they would have been friends.

“I think under different circumstances, we could be friends. You might not think so,” Roberts said. “I know you were doing your job.”

According to WFSA 12, Shipman claims he wasn’t trying to fight Pickett and was defending himself. He suffered a bruised cheekbone after Pickett allegedly punched him in the face. Two of the five defendants pleaded guilty to their roles in the fight.

Roberts was given a four-month suspended sentence where he will serve 32 days on weekends in jail in Perry County. His sentence also calls for 100 hours of community service and court costs.

RELATED CONTENT: Two Black Professors Create Curriculum Guide For The Montgomery Riverboat Brawl

Black woman, White team, work, job, annoyed
by Stacy Jackson

November 10, 2023

Study Shows Black Women Working In Majority White Teams Experience Worse Job Outcomes

A Harvard study shows that work outcomes decrease for Black women who are employed in less diverse work environments.

Several companies are focusing on diversifying the workforce. A new study shows that their emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion has helped transform the workplace and Black women’s work outcomes.

Employers are finding ways to recruit a diverse team of workers. But retaining talent is just as significant. A new study from Harvard University shows that Black women working on teams that are majority white can lead to worse job outcomes in elite firms.

Emma Bloomberg, public policy and management associate professor; Elizabeth Linos; and colleagues Sanaz Mobasseri from Boston University and Nina Roussille from Massachusetts Institute of Technology analyzed the turnover and promotion of new hires in a large, professional service elite firm from 2014 to 2020. The analysis investigated retention and promotion rates for Black, Asian, Hispanic, and white workers. According to Harvard University, the study found that the largest turnover gap was between Black and white women.

Forbes reported that turnover measures how many workers leave a place of employment over a certain period.

Additional analysis of the Harvard study showed that the racial makeup of Black women’s co-workers also affected turnover and promotion. It revealed a 14% increase in the share among white workers was correlated with a 10.6% increase in turnover for Black women.

“No other employees of color, even similarly sized numerical minorities such as Black men or Hispanic women and men, were negatively affected by their initial white co-workers,” the study’s researchers wrote.

The negative effects on job outcomes for Black women may be attributed to challenges in the work environment, such as barriers to participation, according to Harvard. Researchers noted, “Black employees, and particularly Black women, reported numerous ways in which interacting with their majority white co-workers negatively influenced their participation and identified challenges related to their task assignments and performance evaluations.” 

They also found that Black women initially assigned to teams with more white workers often logged fewer working hours and a high number of training hours. On the other hand, turnover decreased when other Black co-workers surrounded Black women. These same effects were not apparent in other gender or racial groups.

“This is in line with a common finding in the literature that having more similar peers (in this case, Black co-workers) can have a positive effect on retention,” Lino and colleagues wrote. 

“Our findings call for an increased scholarly and managerial focus on the longer-term impact of conventional staffing and promotion systems that inherently rely on peers, shedding light on their role in perpetuating racial inequalities in the workplace.”

Overall, researchers concluded that there needs to be an emphasis on recruiting and retaining diverse employees.

Marilyn Mosby, divorce, trial, fraud, NAACP
by Sharelle Burt

November 10, 2023

Ex-Baltimore Prosecutor Found Guilty Of Two Counts of Perjury

Marilyn Mosby could be looking at 10 years in prison.

A federal jury has convicted ex-Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby on two counts of perjury.

The disgraced former district attorney was found guilty after being accused of making false statements on two loan applications for Florida vacation homes. She also faces charges of two counts of making fraudulent mortgage applications for the same homes in a different federal case.

In 2022, prosecutors say, Mosby, 42, pleaded not guilty to two counts of perjury and two counts of making false statements after authorities claimed she applied for the loans to withdraw money from her retirement accounts, touching the CARES Act that was created to help those financially during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to The Washington Post, she tried to access access $90,000.

Mosby denied any wrongdoing, claiming she hadn’t defrauded anyone.

The trial for the former prosecutor was moved from Baltimore to Greenbelt because her lawyer claimed a jury in the city she once served wouldn’t be fair. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Zelinsky pressed the severity of the case in his closing arguments, pleading to jurors that “telling the truth and taking an oath matters.”

“We should not allow Ms. Mosby to lie under oath regardless of her position,” Zelinsky said.

James Wyda, Mosby’s lead attorney and federal public defender, described the case as being about what his client thought when she filled out the application.

“The government spent time on things that don’t matter,” Wyda said in his closing arguments.

The lawyer continued to express how Mosby told the truth after she completed the paperwork, indicating the pandemic hurt her business, and argued her client “established the business, put money into i,t and was working to make it profitable in 2020.”

“She qualified, and she reasonably believed she qualified,” Wyda said. “She is innocent.”

Much of the trial centered on Mosby’s travel business, Mahogany Elite Travel. Prosecutors pressed that Mahogany Elite was barely a business — noting they had no clients, revenue, or records linked to processing trips. She failed to disclose the company on the 2020 financial disclosure forms she submitted as the state’s attorney during her tenure.

Prosecutor Sean Delaney alluded to the fact that if it wasn’t operating or bringing in money, there was no way the pandemic would affect the business.

“I got a math problem for you,” Delaney said during the trial.” What’s zero minus zero? Zero.”

The former top Black prosecutor, who once was in the spotlight for charging six police officers in the 2015 Freddie Gray case Mosby, didn’t have much to say after the jury gave the verdict. Outside the courthouse, she said, “I’m blessed. I’m blessed. I have nothing else to say.”

Masalit, Darfur, Sudan
by Iman Milner

November 10, 2023

Ethnic Cleansing In Sudan’s West Darfur Displaced More Than 6 Million Masalit

Masalit refugees are heading to Chad for safety.

The paramilitary group, identified as Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has allegedly carried out ethnic cleansing throughout Sudan’s West Darfur region, resulting in the displacement of over six million Masalit people. Refugees have reportedly been seen traveling nearly 20 miles to the neighboring country of Chad, seeking refuge amid the violence.

Videos of the brutality enacted upon the Masalit people were allegedly shared online and depicted RSF members whipping and shooting at captives they referred to as “dogs.”

The attacks occurred on an army base in Ardamata. The location has acted as a haven for internally displaced people (IDP) for nearly a decade. Men dressed in uniforms bearing the RSF logo were also reportedly seen forcing captives to lie face down on the ground and were heard being instructed to “slay them.”

The alleged RSF attacks are being considered a humanitarian crisis by the United Nations (UN).

“Sickening reports and images coming from Ardamata, West Darfur, inc [sic] of assassinations, grave violations and massacres of civilians, following RSF takeover of [the] area. Those with authority must uphold international humanitarian law, protect civilians, ensure [the] rule of law and provide unfettered humanitarian access to vulnerable persons,” the UN’s deputy humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, Toby Harward, said via a post on X.

RSF troops had completely taken control of the army base by Saturday, Nov. 4, causing many soldiers to also flee to neighboring countries. More than 500,000 people have crossed into Chad, with U.N. officials expecting thousands more to do the same as the conflict persists.

RSF leaders claim the violence enacted upon the Masalit tribe was not ethnic cleansing but rather an unfortunate casualty of their ongoing war with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which began to escalate in April.

“The conflict ended with our forces seizing control of the SAF 15th Infantry Division and liberating the division headquarters,” the group said, according to CNN. “Since the division was liberated, Ardmetta has seen no further acts of aggression or armed conflict. Residents have returned to their homes, and security has stabilized, allowing life to resume as normal.”

However, refugees who have descended upon Chad in recent weeks have told a vastly different and much more horrific tale.

“Our people there in Ardmata were killed and displaced. Children are slaughtered, women’s money and belongings are robbed, and they can’t escape,” one Sudanese woman, Nabila Abdel Rahman, said.

Though attacks carried out between Nov. 1 and Nov. 8 earned national attention, the UN investigated over a dozen mass graves in Darfur back in September. Since then, the number of Masalit people allegedly killed at the hands of the RSF has ballooned to over 5,000.

In 2004, the U.S. government declared actions taken by Sudanese leaders that allowed for mass killings of several African ethnic groups by local Arab militia, known as the “Janjaweed,” to be genocide.

Retired American Lawyer Identified As Shooter In Panama Environmental Protest Killings
by Derek Major

November 10, 2023

Retired American Lawyer Identified As Shooter In Panama Environmental Protest Killings

A motorist who is alleged to have shot and killed two environmental protestors blocking a bridge in Panama has been identified as a retired American lawyer.

The Daily Mail reports that Kenneth Darlington, 77,  appeared before a judge in the town of La Espiga on Nov. 8, where he was remanded to custody. Darlington, a Panamanian-born U.S. citizen, has a previous conviction for illegal possession of a firearm.

According to TVN-Noticias, photographers and television crews were on hand to film the protest when Darlington walked up to a roadblock on the Pan-American Highway and got into an argument with a group of people that included the two victims. Darlington then allegedly gunned down the two people.

The protestors were on the highway to fight against the Panamanian government’s agreement with a Canadian-based firm to run an open-pit copper mine that is the largest in Central America for the next 20 years.

Eliécer Plicett, a lawyer for the two victims, said Darlington has been charged with murder and illegal possession of a firearm. However, they added that he may avoid jail time due to his age.

The protestors, who have been fighting the mine for three weeks, set up a roadblock that left Darlington stuck in traffic while driving back to the interior of the country after various errands in the city of La Chorrera and reportedly told other passengers, “This ends today,” as he exited his car.

Before he allegedly shot the two protestors, Darlington threatened other protestors at the scene with his firearm. One of the victims, Abdiel Díaz, died at the scene, while the other, Ivan Rodriguez, was taken to a local medical clinic but died on the way there.

After shooting the two men, Darlington continued to clear the highway before returning to his vehicle and telling a woman in the car, “Let’s go.”

The woman refused, asking Darlington if he realized what he had done, and the retired lawyer responded, “Yes, I killed one and shot another.”

Darlington is set to appear in court in Panama City on Nov. 15.

RELATED CONTENT: BLM Protest Organizer in UK Sent to Jail After Using $30K In Donations On Personal Expenses

Keke Palmer Accuses Darius Jackson Of Physical And Emotional Abuse
by Mary Spiller

November 10, 2023

Keke Palmer Accuses Darius Jackson Of Physical And Emotional Abuse

Keke Palmer reportedly included security camera footage from inside her house of the described abuse.

Keke Palmer has lodged accusations against her son’s father, Darius Jackson, claiming that he was physically and emotionally abusive during their two-year relationship. According to documents obtained by Radar Online, Palmer accompanied her protective order filing with video and photographic evidence.

Palmer submitted her home security footage and testimony to the courts while pushing for full custody of the son she and Jackson share, Leo, and a restraining order petition.

“I am very concerned for Leo’s safety with Darius given his violent, volatile, and jealous nature, comments he has made which have caused me grave concern, and the lack of restraint Darius has already exhibited regarding his temper in front of our son,” the actress said to the court.

She continued to open up about the extent of abuse that she allegedly suffered at the hands of Jackson. 

“The abuse during our relationship was not just physical but emotional and manipulative. Darius would “love bomb” me and make me feel like I was the most important woman in the world, only to get extremely distant and cold over a perceived insult to him.”

Palmer outlined two specific incidents of violent abuse, accompanied by security camera footage of the alleged occurrences.

In a video clip dated Nov. 5, Palmer described an incident that morning when Jackson demanded to take their 8-month-old son to a football game after showing up unannounced at her home. Palmer recounted that she didn’t want the personal trainer to take him, and when she vocalized her opposition, he “lunged at me, grabbing at my neck and face, knocked me [backward] over the couch, stole my phone out of my hands and then ran out of the house.”

Palmer said the police who responded to the situation urged her to file a restraining order after speaking to her and Jackson.

The second encounter detailed in her petition for protection and sole custody of Leo occurred in February 2022.

After the multi-hyphenate showed her former lover a bikini picture to show off her progress in the gym, she said that he became irrationally enraged.

“[Jackson] choked me and body slammed me onto the stairs in my home after becoming violently jealous and irrationally angry…On the drive home, I was worried that we would get into an accident because of how angry he was. Darius spent the rest of the night yelling at me, not letting me sleep, so he could keep yelling at me.”

She expressed that his rage over the bikini picture continued the next day.

“In the bedroom, he slammed me on the floor and slapped my head from side to side. The next morning, he was standing at the bottom of the stairs near the front door, screaming at me as I was coming down the stairs. When I was almost at the bottom of the stairs, he grabbed me around the neck and body slammed me back onto the stairs.”

Palmer attached screenshots of the described moments of the security camera footage taken from inside her home during the abuse and is awaiting a judge to sign off on the protection order. 

RELATED CONTENT: Keke Palmer And Darius Jackson Boo Up At Beyoncé Concert After Usher Debacle

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Marjorie Greene, racist, eyelashes
by Sharelle Burt

November 10, 2023

Rep. Jasmine Crockett Receives Backlash For Saying Black Trump Supporters ‘Don’t Understand How Any of This Works’

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) is being scorched for implying that Black voters are leaning toward voting for Trump because they “don’t understand how any of this works,” FOX News reports.

Crockett participated in a panel on CNN’s State of the Union, hosted by Dana Bash, centered around a recent article by The New York Times that breaks down a report showing former President Donald Trump’s lead in five battleground states. According to the report, Black voters are registered at 22% in support of Trump. While fellow panelists admitted they aren’t too worried about it, Crockett said the numbers are scary.

“It’s really scary for me,” Crockett said before explaining where she thinks the shift is coming from.

That’s where things took a turn. The passionate congresswomen implied that there are two reasons — perspective and comprehension. She feels that Black Americans don’t understand how politics work, pointing out the fact that several Black artists have openly admitted supporting Trump because of the stimulus checks they received.

“While the facts may not align with their feelings, their feelings are dictating their reality, and their reality is that they feel better or they felt better when Trump was in office,” Crockett said.

“But we’ve been trying to push back. We’ve got some very popular African-American artists out here saying things like, ‘Oh, I got checks when Trump was in office. I want those checks again,’ not understanding that really came from Congress.”

Her remarks drew criticism from Twitter users on both sides of the political aisle and demographics. Conservative publication The Federalist’s Editor-in-Chief, Mollie Hemingway, said Crockett’s messaging wasn’t the best from Democrats. “‘Voters are too stupid and they don’t understand their betters’” is probably not a great campaign message for Democrats,” she wrote.

On Twitter/X, user @Charlesrat74 said that after speaking with a nurse, he feels Black people are simply voting with their wallets. “Black people are voting with their wallets,” he said. “I spoke to a nurse who is black and said that she is tired of her tax dollars going over seas.”

According to Newsweek, several hip-hop artists like Wake Flocka, Kodak Black, and Sexyy Red have received the same backlash for openly supporting Trump. Flocka, whose real name is Juaquin James Malphurs, tweeted support of the four-time indicted businessman with “TRUMP2024” in mid-October.

RELATED CONTENT: Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett Calls Out Sexual Abuse and Fearmongering Within the GOP

Wu-Tang Forever! Empire State Building Lights Up Yellow And Black To Honor Legendary Hip-Hop Group
by Sharelle Burt

November 10, 2023

Wu-Tang Forever! Empire State Building Lights Up Yellow And Black To Honor Legendary Hip-Hop Group

Nov. 9 has been officially proclaimed Wu-Tang Day by New York City Mayor Eric Adams in honor of one of the city’s most legendary hip-hop groups.

To commemorate this historic feat, the Empire State Building shined bright in yellow and black to match the colors of the group’s iconic debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), released 30 years ago, Pitchfork reports. To celebrate, Legacy Recordings is issuing a special edition 7” box set featuring the album on vinyl, a 60-page book of liner notes with RZA interviews, limited edition photos, album lyrics, and a pack of “36 Chambers Trading Cards.”

The celebration doesn’t stop there. On Nov. 15, a new documentary, A Wu-Tang Experience: Live at Red Rock Amphitheatre, will be screened at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater; it will be presented by the Hip-Hop Education Center, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and Wu-Tang founding member, RZA’s company, 36 Chambers ALC.

“Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)” was released on Nov. 9, 1993, and became an instant blueprint for hip-hop around the world. Within one year of its release, the album went platinum and has boosted triple-platinum status. In 2022, the album was archived in the Library of Congress. The group was founded by nine men from the New York City borough of Staten Island–RZA, Method Man, GZA, Raekwon the Chef, Ghostface Killah, U-God, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

Before a recent performance at NYC’s Gramercy Theatre, RZA spoke with the New York Daily News to touch on how it felt to be honored in the city that made him and the group what they are today, describing it as “surreal.” He reminisced about being an NYC messenger and delivering packages to the iconic NYC skyscraper.

“I couldn’t afford a bike. I’m a kid that’s going into Wall Street getting packages and delivering them to the Empire State Building,” RZA said. “And so now to know that same building that I delivered packages to, they’re gonna light it for Wu-Tang and our colors.”

RELATED CONTENT: The RZA Will Premiere’ A Wu-Tang Experience’ At Urbanworld Film Festival

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