Stacy BrownMedia

pagesix.com

Insiders suspect Randy Jackson is controlling Janet’s every move

In 1986, Janet Jackson had a No. 1 song all about being in “Control.” Now, her family is worried that she’s losing just that — and they blame it on her brother, Randy.
At least twice last week, the 52-year-old singer called Malibu, Calif., police to express concern that she couldn’t reach estranged husband, Wissam Al Mana, and that she feared for the safety of their son, 1-year-old Eissa, who was with Al Mana at a hotel.
“There was no evidence of any crime. The baby was fine, so there was no ...

Washington Informer

CAP Releases ‘Blueprint’ for Better Jobs, Stronger Communities

The Center for American Progress, a northwest D.C.-based progressive public policy research and advocacy organization, has released what it calls the “Blueprint for the 21st Century: A Plan for Better Jobs and Stronger Communities.”
The blueprint will create millions of jobs, with the goal of revitalizing economically distressed areas of the United States, CAP officials said in a news release.
In the report, researchers said millions of American workers — particularly those without a four-yea...

Washington Informer

Florida Co. Makes $4 Judgment for Fatal Police Shooting of Black Man

The internet remains abuzz with mostly outrage and shock that a St. Lucie, Florida, jury awarded just $4 in damages for funeral expenses and pain and suffering in a case in which a county deputy fatally shot a Black father of three through his garage door.
Deputy Christopher Newman killed Gregory Hill Jr., 30, in 2014 after a mother picking up her child at a school across the street called in a noise complaint. Newman and another deputy responded to Hill’s home, Hill partially opened the gara...

chesterspirit.com

Arraignment waived by boy in alleged school shooting plot

By StacyM.Brown
SPIRIT correspondent
An-Tso Sun, the 18 year-old Taiwanese foreign exchange student who allegedly threatened to shoot up Monsignor Bonner & Archbishop Prendergast High School in Upper Darby earlier this year, has entered an open guilty plea to terroristic threats for plotting a mass shooting at the school, announced District Attorney Katayoun Copeland.
Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Judge Barry C. Dozor sentenced Sun to four-23 months in the George W. Hill Correctional ...

blackpressusa.com

What Were They Thinking: Cosby Jurors Allegedly Talk Book Deals Before Guilty Verdict

By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor)
Before they convicted Bill Cosby on three counts of aggravated indecent assault last month, some of the jurors were already plotting on how they could cash in on the case.
People familiar with three of the jurors on the case said they had a book deal on their minds, long before evidence was presented in the courtroom.
“The 80-year-old comedian faces up to 10 years in prison on each count, but Cosby is likely to serve them concurrently,” CNN.com re...

Washington Informer

Prosecutors: Token Black Jurors Enough for Cosby

Race has reared its head in jury selection in the sexual assault retrial of comedian Bill Cosby.
On Wednesday, prior to a female African-American juror entering the courtroom, prosecutors appeared to have objected despite the woman having completed her pre-selection requirements.
When she affirmatively answered the judge’s questions as to whether she could be fair and impartial — a question that many of the overwhelmingly white panel responded negatively — prosecutors still asked that she be ...

blackpressusa.com

Anti-Apartheid Crusader, “Mother of the Nation” Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Dies at 81

By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor)
South Africa’s “Mother of the Nation” an anti-Apartheid crusader Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has died, her family confirmed in a statement on Monday, April 2.
The ex-wife of the late Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela was 81.
In a statement, her family said Mandela “died after a long illness, for which she had been in and out of hospital since the start of the year.”
“I am deeply saddened by the passing of…Winnie Mandela,” California Democratic Congress...

blackpressusa.com

Civil Rights Leaders Remember Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4

By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor)
On April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his prophetic but inspirational “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” speech at the historic Masonic Temple in Memphis, Tennessee.
One day later, the famous civil rights champion was assassinated.
While gunman James Earl Ray’s bullet silenced the legendary leader, his legacy continues to live on through contemporaries like Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. and organizations like the NAACP.
Younger organizatio...

blackpressusa.com

Costs Prosecuting Bill Cosby in Sexual Assault Trial Dwarfed by Costs to Defend Him

By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor)
Judge Steven O’Neill has warned that the retrial in the criminal case of comedian Bill Cosby will likely last longer than the first trial.
For Pennsylvania taxpayers, that means shelling out more money on top of the more than $220,000 spent on last year’s trial.
“The cost of the Cosby trial did not adversely impact the 2017 budget, and we have planned for it in our 2018 budget,” Montgomery County Chair of the Board of Commissioners Dr. Val Arkoosh...

blackpressusa.com

EXCLUSIVE: Cosby Paid Sexual Assault Accuser $3.5 Million in 2006

By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor)
Bill Cosby paid his sexual assault accuser $3.5 million in 2006 after prosecutors declined to bring charges against the legendary comedian, NNPA Newswire has learned exclusively.
Now, Cosby wants the judge in his criminal trial to let jurors know about the settlement.
“[Cosby] submits that evidence of the civil settlement and of the underlying civil litigation with Constand may be admissible,” Cosby’s lawyers wrote in court filings ahead of the he...

phillytrib.com

Are taxpayers taking hit in redistricting fight?

Millions of taxpayer dollars are being spent in the Republican-led fight to keep Pennsylvania’s old gerrymandered maps in play for this year’s election.
Senate and House GOP leaders have combined to spend more than $3.5 million in the battle while Gov. Tom Wolf and fellow Democrats have ponied up about $576,000.
And, the battle isn’t over.
Republican lawmakers have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and, on Wednesday, the returned to the highest court in America to ask the justices to bl...

Baltimore Times

Busy Baltimore Actor Continues to ‘Push the Envelope’

Brown Girl Magazine, whose focus is to empower and uplift women, recently highlighted 11 reasons the magazine loves Baltimore actor Utkarsh Ambudkar, a man.
Among them: He can sing. Rap. And act. All at the same time, the magazine’s editors wrote in praise of Ambudkar, who tells the Baltimore Times that he has been busy.
In February, the musical romantic comedy “Basmati Blues” in which Ambudkar starred opposite Brie Larson was released both in theaters and on-demand.
On March 23, 2018, Netfli...

Baltimore Times

Dr. Leana Wen Leads Baltimore’s Health Department

Under the direction of Dr. Leana Wen, the Baltimore City Health Department is leading the country in health innovations, including “B’More for Healthy Babies,” a collective impact strategy resulting in a 38 percent reduction of infant mortality in just seven years.
Wen, whose parents immigrated to the United States when she was eight, has formed and led programs like “Vision for Baltimore,” an initiative to provide glasses to every child who needs them and “Healthy Baltimore 2020,” a blueprin...

Washington Informer

Supreme Court Rejects Trump’s DACA Appeal

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear the Trump’s administration’s challenge of a federal judge’s decision requiring the government to continue its Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program — a decision that, at least temporarily, protects from deportation as many as 700,000 immigrants brought into the United States illegally by their parents.
“It is assumed the court of appeals will act expeditiously to decide this case,” the court wrote in its decision Monday.
Trump has ca...

Washington Informer

Ensa Cosby, Daughter of Bill Cosby, Dies at 44

Ensa Cosby, daughter of legendary comedian Bill Cosby, has died, a family spokesman said Monday. She was 44.

Ensa died Friday in Massachusetts of renal disease, Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt told The Informer.

“The Cosby family thanks many people for their prayers for their beloved and beautiful Ensa,” Wyatt said.

Her death comes just one week before hearings in her father’s criminal retrial are set to begin. The comedian is accused of sexually assaulting a former Temple University employee mo...