Iranian officials issued an arrest warrant Monday for President Donald Trump and 35 others believed to have been involved in a U.S. airstrike that claimed the life of Iran’s Gen. Qassem Soleimani early this year, according to multiple reports.
Officials with Interpol later said they would not consider a request by Iran to pursue the issue. In a statement obtained by The Associated Press, the international law enforcement organization said its guidelines forbid it from “any intervention or activities of a political” nature.
Reddit said Monday it has banned a long-time forum used by President Donald Trump supporters as part of an escalation of its efforts against hateful conduct, a move that arrives as the social media industry faces a public reckoning over its handling of incendiary posts by the president.
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman announced in a post that r/The_Donald channel, which boasted more than 790,000 subscribers as of earlier Monday, has been shuttered for frequent rule-breaking, for antagonizing the company and other communities and for failing to “meet our most basic expectations.” Huffman said it’s one of about 2,000 newly banned subreddits, including at least one prominent progressive community, as part of a broader crackdown aimed at “closing the gap between our values and our policies to explicitly address hate.” The ban took effect at 1 p.m. Eastern time.
Twitch has temporarily banned President Donald Trump, in the latest surprise and high-profile suspension from the streaming service. Trump’s account was banned for “hateful conduct” that was aired on stream, and Twitch says the offending content has now been removed.
One of the streams in question was a rebroadcast of Trump’s infamous kickoff rally, where he said that Mexico was sending rapists to the United States. Twitch also flagged racist comments at Trump’s recent rally in Tulsa.
“Like anyone else, politicians on Twitch must adhere to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. We do not make exceptions for political or newsworthy content, and will take action on content reported to us that violates our rules,” a Twitch spokesperson told The Verge. The statement was originally issued last year when Trump’s channel was launched.
The 2020 BET Awards, honouring the best in music, movies, TV and more, happened virtuallythis year — but the stars still won big!
Sunday’s awards show was hosted by comedian and actress Amanda Seales, with performances from stars like Alicia Keys, Chloe X Halle, DaBaby, D Smoke, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Jonathan McReynolds, Kane Brown, Lil Wayne, Megan Thee Stallion, Roddy Ricch, SiR, Summer Walker, Usher and Wayne Brady.
Drake led this year’s pool with six nominations. He was followed closely behind by Megan Thee Stallion and Roddy Ricch, who each received five nods.
See the full list of winners below:
BEST FEMALE R&B/POP ARTIST
BEYONCÉ
H.E.R.
JHENE AIKO
KEHLANI
**WINNER**LIZZO
SUMMER WALKER
BEST MALE R&B/POP ARTIST
ANDERSON .PAAK
**WINNER**CHRIS BROWN
JACQUEES
KHALID
THE WEEKND
USHER
BEST GROUP
CHLOE X HALLE
CITY GIRLS
EARTHGANG
GRISELDA
JACKBOYS
**WINNER**MIGOS
BEST COLLABORATION
**WINNER**CHRIS BROWN FT. DRAKE – “NO GUIDANCE”
DJ KHALED FT. NIPSEY HUSSLE & JOHN LEGEND – “HIGHER”
FUTURE FT. DRAKE – “LIFE IS GOOD”
H.E.R. FT. YG – “SLIDE”
MEGAN THEE STALLION FT. NICKI MINAJ & TY DOLLA $IGN – “HOT GIRL SUMMER”
WALE FT. JEREMIH – “ON CHILL”
BEST MALE HIP HOP ARTIST
**WINNER**DABABY
DRAKE
FUTURE
LIL BABY
RODDY RICCH
TRAVIS SCOTT
BEST FEMALE HIP HOP ARTIST
CARDI B
DOJA CAT
LIZZO
**WINNER**MEGAN THEE STALLION
NICKI MINAJ
SAWEETIE
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
CHRIS BROWN FT. DRAKE – “NO GUIDANCE”
DABABY – “BOP”
**WINNER**DJ KHALED FT. NIPSEY HUSSLE & JOHN LEGEND – “HIGHER”
DOJA CAT – “SAY SO”
MEGAN THEE STALLION FT. NICKI MINAJ & TY DOLLA $IGN – “HOT GIRL SUMMER”
RODDY RICCH – “THE BOX”
VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
BENNY BOOM
COLE BENNETT
DAVE MEYERS
DIRECTOR X
EIF RIVERA
**WINNER**TEYANA “SPIKE TEE” TAYLOR
BEST NEW ARTIST
DANILEIGH
LIL NAS X
POP SMOKE
**WINNER**RODDY RICCH
SUMMER WALKER
YBN CORDAE
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
CUZ I LOVE YOU – LIZZO
FEVER – MEGAN THEE STALLION
HOMECOMING: THE LIVE ALBUM – BEYONCÉ
I USED TO KNOW HER – H.E.R.
KIRK – DABABY
**WINNER**PLEASE EXCUSE ME FOR BEING ANTISOCIAL – RODDY RICCH
DR. BOBBY JONES BEST GOSPEL/INSPIRATIONAL AWARD
FRED HAMMOND – “ALRIGHT”
JOHN P. KEE FT. ZACARDI CORTEZ – “I MADE IT OUT”
KANYE WEST – “FOLLOW GOD”
**WINNER**KIRK FRANKLIN – “JUST FOR ME”
PJ MORTON FT. LE’ANDRIA JOHNSON & MARY MARY – “ALL IN HIS PLAN”
THE CLARK SISTERS – “VICTORY”
BEST ACTRESS
ANGELA BASSETT
CYNTHIA ERIVO
**WINNER**ISSA RAE
REGINA KING
TRACEE ELLIS ROSS
ZENDAYA
BEST ACTOR
BILLY PORTER
EDDIE MURPHY
FOREST WHITAKER
JAMIE FOXX
**WINNER**MICHAEL B. JORDAN
OMARI HARDWICK
YOUNGSTARS AWARD
ALEX HIBBERT
ASANTE BLACKK
JAHI DI’ALLO WINSTON
**WINNER**MARSAI MARTIN
MILES BROWN
STORM REID
BEST MOVIE
“BAD BOYS FOR LIFE”
“DOLEMITE IS MY NAME”
“HARRIET”
“HOMECOMING: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ”
“JUST MERCY”
**WINNER** “QUEEN & SLIM”
SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
AJEÉ WILSON
CLARESSA SHIELDS
COCO GAUFF
NAOMI OSAKA
SERENA WILLIAMS
**WINNER**SIMONE BILES
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO
KAWHI LEONARD
**WINNER**LEBRON JAMES
ODELL BECKHAM JR.
PATRICK MAHOMES II
STEPHEN CURRY
BET HER AWARD
ALICIA KEYS – “UNDERDOG”
**WINNER**BEYONCÉ FT. BLUE IVY CARTER, WIZKID & SAINT JHN – “BROWN SKIN GIRL”
CIARA FT. LUPITA NYONG’O, ESTER DEAN, CITY GIRLS & LA LA – “MELANIN”
LAYTON GREENE – “I CHOOSE”
LIZZO FT. MISSY ELLIOTT – “TEMPO”
RAPSODY FT. PJ MORTON – “AFENI”
VIEWER’S CHOICE AWARD
CHRIS BROWN FT. DRAKE – “NO GUIDANCE”
DABABY – “BOP”
FUTURE FT. DRAKE – “LIFE IS GOOD”
**WINNER**MEGAN THEE STALLION FT. NICKI MINAJ – “HOT GIRL SUMMER”
Governor J.B. Pritzker Governor of Illinois Chicago, Illinois 60601
Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot Mayor of Chicago Chicago, Illinois 60602
Dear Governor Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot:
I write to you today to call your attention to and urge action on the devastating violence in Chicago. While I have been heartened to see crime reductions nationally the last few years, I have been horrified by the continued violence in this great American city.
I recently read an article from the Chicago Sun-Times on June 8, 2020, “18 murders in 24 hours: Inside the most violent day in 60 years in Chicago,” which discussed the severe crime and lack of law and order in our Nation’s third largest city. The article details how “85 people were shot and 24 killed the previous weekend, the most in modern history in Chicago.” Your lack of leadership on this important issue continues to fail the people you have sworn to protect. I am concerned it is another example of your lack of commitment to the vulnerable citizens who are victims of this violence and a lack of respect for the men and women in law enforcement. The article recounts the following horrors:
A hardworking father killed.
A West Side high school student murdered.
A college freshman who hoped to become a correctional officer, gunned down.
18 people killed Sunday, May 31, the single most violent day in Chicago in six decades.
The weekend of May 29, 25 people were killed and another 85 wounded by gunfire.
The most violent weekend in Chicago’s modern history, stretching police resources that were already thin because of protests and looting.
Violence and death, which are disproportionately harming young African Americans, are tragic and unacceptable, particularly on such a shocking scale. According to the Chicago Sun Times, “shootings across the City increased by 71 percent last month,” and just this past weekend 102 people were shot in the city’s most violent weekend of the year. A 3-year old toddler was killed. More Americans have been killed in Chicago than in combat zones of Afghanistan and Iraq combined since September 11, 2001, a deadly trend that has continued under your tenure.
The American people (hardworking taxpayers) send you millions of dollars in Federal funding each year to support public safety in Chicago. In 2018 and 2019, the City of Chicago benefited from $136 million in funding from the Urban Area Security Initiative Grant Program, and another $68 million was recently announced for Chicago from this important program. The Department of Justice awarded and is in the process of awarding nearly $20 million to support law enforcement and law-enforcement related entities in the City of Chicago and Cook County across 2019 and 2020, including resources for combating opioid abuse and recidivism reduction. The Department of Labor has also awarded funding to programs targeting prisoner re-entry and recidivism reduction in the Chicago area. My Administration allocated $898.6 million to the City of Chicago and Cook County from the Coronavirus Relief Fund, which helps support your first responders on the front lines. In the absence of any modicum of leadership, however, these substantial sums of taxpayer money are not being turned into results, and the safety of your most vulnerable communities continues to deteriorate. These funds are in addition to those collected through your combined insatiable appetite to tax the people of Illinois and Chicago.
I will continue to lead the way to support historically disadvantaged communities and would welcome your help in these endeavors. In December 2018, I signed into law the First Step Act, marking the first major reforms to our criminal justice system in over a decade. This brings historic reforms to make our justice system fairer and to help inmates successfully transition back into society by providing prisoners with a second chance through rehabilitative programs and fair sentencing. Additionally, when I signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, we created Opportunity Zones. Nationwide, nearly 9,000 communities have designated Opportunity Zones, including over 130 in Chicago, which are incentivizing investments in areas that have been forgotten for far too long. My Administration has also provided robust, unprecedented support to Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Recently, on June 16, I signed an Executive Order advancing important reforms to elevate a noble profession and strengthen the essential bond of trust between police officers and the communities in which they serve. My Administration continues to work closely with Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and others across the political spectrum to advance further policy improvements and meaningful reforms.
Unlike previous Administrations of both parties, I am willing to tackle unsolved challenges. If you are willing to put partisanship aside, we can revitalize distressed neighborhoods in Chicago, together. But to succeed, you must establish law and order. The combination of crime, high State and local taxes, and onerous State and local government regulations have caused thousands of Illinoisans to flee to other States. Between 2010 and 2019, Illinois lost more of its population than any other state in the Nation. If you are interested, I am willing to ask members of my Cabinet to meet with you and help devise a plan to make Chicago safe, since a successful formula has escaped both you and your predecessors. My Administration would also welcome the opportunity to engage with you and your colleagues as you develop bipartisan policy recommendations to improve policing and make our great cities safer for all.
Unfortunately, you continue to put your own political interests ahead of the lives, safety, and fortunes of your own citizens. The people of Chicago deserve better.
On June 26, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that allows a job applicant’s skills to have priority over a college degree.
Administration officials say the shift will allow the government to hire a more inclusive workforce based on skill instead of a person’s education level.
“This will ensure that we’re able to hire based on talent and expand our universe to qualified candidates and ensure a more equitable hiring process,” Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior advisor, told reporters on Friday. What do you think?
The Gap brand is looking to Kanye West to help revive its fortunes. The retailer struck a 10-year partnership with Kanye & Yeezy, his fashion co, and will introduce a "Yeezy Gap" apparel line for adults and kids in the first half of 2021.
Gap will pay royalties and equity to Yeezy, which is solely owned by Kanye, based on sales. Sounds like a similar arrangement to his Adidas deal but of course, the product is casual clothing, not shoes...
Award winning, Faithvonic is back with a sexy hot music video “No Money No Voice” to kick off the summer. The video, which also feature Boifatty for his verse, features other celebrities like Lib Sexy Love.
Angela Stanton-King was pardoned by President Trump and is running against John Lewis in Georgia. During an interview yesterday, on the Breakfast Club, she dropped facts upon facts, and held her own. She did a great job addressing all of the hot issues in the Black community.
The female host on the Breakfast Club was left with, “I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, so I’m going to be permissive to everything.”
One of the host came across as, “you are making a lot of sense.”
She went full blown, it was like three 3rd graders against a strong, confident, intelligent adult with moral convictions and life experiences to back it up. She was awesome. You should check out the interview.
Knowing what I know of Jesus, I really shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that Bucky Raw is highly spiritual. But it caught me off guard nonetheless when he told me that he was mentored spiritually by his grand father, Sammy Lor Mahm, who is a preacher. Who knew? As Bucky Raw outlines the list of things his grand father taught him, he mentions that he was taught to read the Bible in the Liberian dialect, Dan, which he says he is not currently fluent in, but he can try. The rapper who is known for his street hustles, talked about his daily devotions, and mentioned that when he is being more prayerful, God speaks to him more often. He claimed that God told him that he was going to get deported, therefore he got mentality and spiritually prepared for the journey.
Don’t be surprise if the artist hits us with a gospel album someday, it runs in his family, his grand mother was a famous gospel singer.
Go Gawthorn! Tuesday night, Madison Cawthorn unexpectedly won the run-off election against Lynda Bennett, to be the Republican nominee for North Carolina’s 11th District, a safe Republican seat in western North Carolina.
Cawthorn is a strong conservative with and interesting story. At age 18, he was headed to the U. S. Naval Acameny, but got into a vehicle accident in 2014, that left him paralyzed. His bills, he said, left him $3 million in medical debt as a
teenager; he has since become a motivational speaker. As he told the
Washington Examiner in a recent profile, he hopes his experience
can allow him “to be the face of the Republican Party when it comes to
healthcare.” (The health care section of his website says the following,
on health care: “I believe patients and doctors, certainly not
government bureaucrats, should be in charge of health care
decisions. I’m for expanding choice and competition in our health care
system. I strongly oppose the Democrats’ plans to create socialized
medicine.”
Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King said that it is important to
tear down the statues of Jesus Christ that show him with European
features because they support white supremacy.
"Yes, I think the statues of the white European they claim is Jesus
should also come down. They are a form of white supremacy. Always have
been," King tweeted on Monday.
"In the Bible, when the family of Jesus wanted to hide, and blend in,
guess where they went? EGYPT! Not Denmark. Tear them down," he added.
"Yes. All murals and stained glass windows of white Jesus, and his
European mother, and their white friends should also come down," he
explained in a second tweet.
"They are a gross form [of] white supremacy," he added. "Created as
tools of oppression. Racist propaganda. They should all come down."
King has been besieged by accusations
from former activist partners and employees that he has been accepting
much more money in donations than he is willing to account for publicly.
He has denied the accusations.
It has been confirmed that Bubba Wallace, the only Black driver in NASCAR's cup series, found a noose in his garage stall on Sunday, at the race in Alabama. Just two weeks ago, Wallace successfully campaigned to ban the displaying of the Confederate flag at NASCAR events. Wallace, who is the circuit's only full-time Black driver, released a statement of his own, saying "This will not break me, I will not give in nor will I back down."
This past weekend was a blood bath in Chicago. The city saw its highest number of shootings victims in a
single weekend this year with 99 people shot across the city from Friday
evening to Monday morning, 12 of them fatally. Five of those killed
were childern.
Two boys, 15 and 16, were walking in an alley at 12:18 a.m. in the 4700 block of West Superior Street when
someone fired at them, possibly from a gray sedan, according to Chicago
police. The 15-year-old was shot in his leg, chest and abdomen. He was
taken to Stroger Hospital and pronounced dead. The other boy, 16, was
hit in the ankle and taken to Stroger Hospital in fair condition.
A 13-year-old girl was killed and two other teens were wounded Saturday night in Austin on the West Side.
The girl was inside a home about 8:30 p.m. in the 1000 block of North LeClaire Avenue
when the shots were fired, and she was struck in the neck, police said.
She was taken to Stroger Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified her as Amaria J. Jones.
Two boys, 15 and 16, were sitting on a porch when one of
them noticed a red laser pointing at him and heard gunfire, police said.
The younger boy was struck in the back and the older boy was struck in
the leg. They were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition.
A 3-year-old boy was fatally wounded about two hours
earlier when someone opened fire at his father while they were driving
in Austin.
The toddler, identified as Mekay James, was struck in the
back about 6:25 p.m. when someone in a blue Honda pulled behind the
black SUV the boy’s 27-year-old father was driving in the 600 block of North Central Avenue and fired several rounds, authorities said.
A police source said the father was believed to be the intended target of the shooting.
The father drove the boy to West Suburban Medical Center
in Oak Park, police said, but the boy was pronounced dead shortly after
arriving. The father was also treated for a graze wound to the abdomen.
At least 99 total were hurt in shootings throughout Chicago between 5 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday.
"Uncle Tom" is a derogatory term used by Black Americans to describe someone who is overeager to win the approval of Whites. Surprisingly, 150 years ago, it was a compliment to be called Uncle Tom.
Uncle Tom originated as a fictional hero from the novel "Uncle Tom Cabnet", written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. When the book was released in March 1852, it was an immediate sensation. In the US alone it sold 300,000 copies in a year, and more than 2m copies by the end of the decade. The character "Uncle Tom" was passive, not out of stupidity and he definitely wasn't joyful of his position,
but was passive due to his religious values, which requires him to love everyone
and selflessly endure his trials. Tom was very religious, had strength of faith. He spread love others, helping to alleviate the pain
of slavery and enhance the hope of salvation. He encouraged others’ attempts at freedom. That is why
he supported Eliza’s escape, as well as that of Cassy and Emmeline
from the Legree plantation. Even though, Tom did not actively
seek his own freedom, he practiced a kind of resistance in his passivity.
When Legree orders him to beat the slave girl in Chapter 33,
he refuses, standing firm in his values. He submitted to being
beaten for his beliefs, but he did not capitulated or ran away.
The fictitious Tom's actual attributes and flaws over time became incidental.
Black America had another use for him in real life. He was to represent
the sell-outs of the Black race.
Senator Toomey stated that the theory of "lost income" is nonsense. He criticized the social security recipients, and claimed that social security was not negatively impacted by covid, therefore, retirees did not lose income, yet, they still received the stimulus check. Senator believes that it is not right.
The senator argument is flaw and shortsighted. Here is why:
Yes, it is true that retirees did not experience a change to social security income, however, believe it or not, retirees had other incomes beside social security. They have 401Ks, IRAs, pensions, and many people who received social security income still work. If there was no stimulus package and the federal reserve didn't step in, can you imagine what the stock market would be without any aid? That will have a direct impact on the retirement savings of these retirees.
This is your second stimulus check update, as of Friday, June 19. We have some big news! The House of Representatives has unveiled that they want to spend 1.5 trillion dollars on infrastructure. The house is saying that this will boost the economy through job creation. This legislation is known as the "Move Forward" act, and this is on top of the 3 trillion dollars that the democrats want to spend on the hero's act.
The White House and congressional leaders may spend the next few weeks
working on the outlines of their proposals. We don't expect much details on the second stimulus package till the end of
July, including if it will include a second round of
payments for individuals and families and how much, if anything, they
might expect in a check.
If you are like me, this year is your first time hearing about Juneteenth. What is Juneteenth and why is it significant to the Black struggle? In June of 1863 the finale action was taken to bring about full Emancipation Proclamation (Freedom of enslaved Blacks in America) sign into Law by then President Abraham Lincoln. This Day June 19 deserve and should be recognized by all Blacks in America as a special day. 47 States and the District of Columbia recognize Juneteenth as either a State holiday or ceremonial day, a day of observance. Juneteenth has been celebrated under many names, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, and Cel-Liberation Day, Second Independence Day, and Emancipation Day to name just a few.
I love me some me, and you should love you some you. Why? You can't give out love, if you don't have love to give. According to the bible, "Love your neighborhood as yourself". That sounds great, but how many have tried to love others more than they love themselves? I want you to take a moment and focus on the last two words in the quote "as yourself". Many try to love others without loving themselves. That is an absolute no no.
If you are not being kind and loving towards your own
person, you can’t expect others to do it. You can’t expect others to
do something for you that you yourself are not capable of doing.
Start treating yourself in the exact way you would like others to treat you and Let
the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because
sooner or later if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then
where are you? ~ Fanny Brice
Focus more of your attention on yourself by doing those things that are
meant to help you create a more balanced and happier life. Be kind to yourself and teach others how to be kind to you.
