Texas Southern University Mourns Longtime Educator, Veteran, And Coach Dr. Jesse Hurst
The Texas Southern University Athletics Department is mourning the loss of former staff member, coach, and Veteran Dr. Jesse Hurst
The Texas Southern University Athletics Department is mourning the loss of former staff member, coach, and military veteran Dr. Jesse Hurst.
Hurst, 82, was born in Houston’s third ward in 1941 and lived a fascinating life. He graduated from Jack Yates High School and received an academic scholarship in baseball and football to Oklahoma State University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology.
Hurst was in the second class of African-American recruits at OSU in 1958 and was roommates with Chester Pittman, the first Black football player in school history, who signed the year before.
After graduating from Oklahoma State, Hurst went on to get a Master of Education from Prairie View A&M University and a Doctorate in Higher Education Administration from HBCU Texas Southern University.
Hurst also had an extensive military background that included graduating from the U.S. Army’s War College in Leavenworth, KS, and serving two tours in the Vietnam War as a member of the 12th Special Forces Reserves in Tulsa, OK. The Veteran received numerous honors, including the Army Commendation Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Air Medal, Bronze Star Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Republic of Vietnam Ranger Badge, Vietnamese Armed Forces Honor Medal 1st Class, two Bronze Service Stars to Vietnam Service, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm.
Later, Hurst taught physical education and was a coach for more than a decade at Prairie View A&M University, and oversaw the academic program for athletes at the University of Houston for seven years. Additionally, Hurst taught kinesiology and health education at Texas Southern University for more than 20 years.
Hurst leaves behind his wife, Mrs. Carol E. Hurst, and four children: Carolyn Hurst Hervey, Katrena Hurst Brantley, LaMonika Hurst Taylor, and Kenyatta Washington, and four grandchildren. According to a Texas Southern University release, a viewing and funeral will be held on Thursday, Feb. 1, at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston. The viewing will be held at 10 a.m., followed by an 11 a.m. funeral service.
Rick Ross Warns ‘Delusional’ Folks About Voting For Donald Trump
Rozay questions whether individuals actually "ate" when Trump held office or did those people steal "the money" regarding PPP loans
Rick Ross sometimes makes sense and schools people now and then, whether it’s business advice, real estate tips, or anything to do with hip-hop. But, this time around, he touched on politics for a quick minute.
In a video he posted to Instagram, he spoke about a phone conversation he was having with one of his “homies,” and it pertained to the time when President Donald Trump was in office, particularly during the pandemic. He warned folks not to get delusional when going to vote in the next Presidential election by thinking that Trump had people “eating (vernacular meaning that people were getting a lot of money).”
The Miami recording artist said, “I just got off the phone with one of my homies, and let’s make it clear. You vote for who you want to vote for, it’s fine with me, but one of my homies was like, ‘Boy, I can’t wait for Trump to get back in; he had a n**ga eating!’” Ross then paused as if to collect his thoughts.
“I just don’t want nobody to be delusional; you can’t be a delusional n**ga. Did he have you eating or was it a nationwide, worldwide pandemic and you n**gas stole the money?”
Rick Ross alludes to the PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loan that took place during the pandemic. The government was giving out loans, that small businesses did not have to pay back, for loss of income and to pay employees who lost work due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Rozay may be on to something regarding the alleged “eating” done by folks who applied and got the loan. According to NBC News, experts had predicted that about 10% of the approximate $800 billion given out by the government went to fraudsters who used the money for illicit gains. That amounts to as much as $80 billion.
Alarming Rise In Hate Crimes Within U.S. Schools: Report Reveals Disturbing Trends From 2018 To 2022
According to the FBI, 1 in 10 hate crimes that occur in America occur in schools. Most of the attacks targeted Black students.
According to a report released on Jan. 29 by the FBI, 1 in 10 hate crimes that take place in America occur in schools. In addition to this, most of the attacks targeted Black students, followed by Jewish and LGBTQ+ students. The report notes that the categories presented are not mutually exclusive; hate crime attacks can intersect with all these identifiers.
Schools were the third highest site for hate crimes, trailing residences and roads, but as Reuters notes, this is still significant because most schools were closed during the 2020 and 2021 school year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report, which covers 2018-2022, illuminates a general rise in hate crime incidents from 8,500 in the first year to over 13,500 by 2022. The numbers in schools are even more alarming, going from 700 in 2018 to 1,336 in 2022; the figure in 2022 made up 10% of all hate crimes for that year, a shocking proportion.
Though hate crime statistics are often unreliable because they are often underreported, the numbers give a good snapshot of when incidents occur and how frequently they occur. In this context, most hate crimes in schools are concentrated in the K-12 grade levels, accounting for over half of the total reported incidents in schools. The report is detailed, breaking down the types of crimes against persons and property, and the most common crimes in those categories, respectively, were intimidation and vandalism, which often are interconnected. Vandalism can be, and usually is, used as a form of intimidation. Among ethnic groups, Black people dealt with by far the most attacks; between vandalism, simple assault, and intimidation, 1,600 attacks were recorded across all years of the report. By religion, Jews faced the most attacks across those same categories, totaling 727 attacks from 2018 to 2022.
Over the years covered in the report, attacks most frequently happened in schools during the fourth quarter or between October and December. On average, October contained the most attacks; around four attacks per day happened in that month. According to the report, the aim was to gain an understanding of the scope of hate crimes in the United States.
“For more than three decades, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program has collected and published data on hate crime incidents in accordance with the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990,” the report reads. “The FBI’s UCR Program defines hate crime as a committed criminal offense which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias(es) against a race/ethnicity/ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, or gender identity. The goal of collecting data about these offenses is to better understand the scope of hate crime in our nation and the various facets of this unique crime phenomenon.”
Alabama Prison System Faces Outrage As Multiple Lawsuits Allege Unauthorized Organ Removals From Deceased Inmates
The University of Alabama at Birmingham, which does autopsies for the Alabama Dept. of Corrections, is also under scrutiny.
In December, the family of Brandon Clay Dotson filed a federal lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Corrections and several other entities, alleging that upon receiving Dotson’s body, it was in an advanced state of decomposition and missing his heart. CBS News later reported in January that another claim was added to the lawsuit by the family of Charles Edward Singleton, who also passed away in an Alabama prison.
Singleton’s daughter asserted that when her father’s body was returned in 2021, all of his internal organs were missing. Attorney Lauren Fariano, representing the Dotson family, emphasized to the outlet that these incidents suggest a troubling pattern.
Now, as Andscape reports, there is an additional case with similar points. Kelvin Moore, a 43-year-old Black man, allegedly died in the Limestone Correctional Facility in Alabama of a fentanyl overdose. However, when his body was delivered to the care of his mother in Mobile, the family mortician made a gruesome discovery: All of Moore’s organs had been removed. Because Moore died in prison, his body was first sent to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where autopsies for the Alabama DOC are performed.
According to Brendan Parent, a lawyer and the Director of Transplant Ethics and Policy Research at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine, “The idea that the warden of a prison is authorizing the recovery of bodies and of organs without that individual’s authorization during their life and without the family’s authorization is a total moral failing and probably a legal failing, too.”
Alabama’s prison system is also facing federal lawsuits. The Department of Justice is suing both the State of Alabama and its department of corrections, alleging that the conditions of many of the state’s facilities amount to a violation of the Eighth Amendment, the constitutional right to be exempt from cruel and unusual punishment. The trial is currently scheduled for November 2024.
The world got a glimpse of the living conditions of Alabama’s Donaldson Correctional Facility when in August 2023, an incarcerated person convicted of murder somehow live streamed on Facebook Live conditions inside the prison. This shed a critical light on Alabama’s prison system.
Fariano, a civil rights attorney based in Birmingham, is also investigating Moore’s case and she told Andscape her read on the case. “It’s a systematic abuse situation,” Faraino said. “UAB has been taking the organs of incarcerated people without family consent for years now, and we have a handful of families that have come forward who discovered that their loved ones were returned without their organs. But so many of these cases went completely unnoticed because families don’t typically think they need to do a second autopsy. Many of them can’t afford it, even if they wanted to.”
Fariano says that Black families are more at-risk of this happening, in part because much like the national statistics on mass incarceration, Black people are over represented in Alabama’s prison population. Despite only accounting for around 27% of Alabama’s population, Black people account for 56% of Alabama’s prison population. Fariano says that a 2021 law that was expressly passed to prohibit the practice of removing organs without consent was unambiguous, telling Andscape “It was very, very clear – a medical examiner may not take an organ without family consent.”
UAB released a statement saying that it was in compliance with the law. “We only conduct autopsies with consent or authorization,” the statement said. “The autopsy practice is accredited by the College of American Pathologists and staffed by credentialed physicians who are certified by the American Board of Pathology. In an autopsy, organs and tissues are removed to best determine the cause of death. Autopsy consent includes consent for final disposition of the organs and tissues. UAB is among providers that – consistent with Alabama law – conduct autopsies of persons at the direction of the State of Alabama.”
The family of Moore, meanwhile, is not giving up their fight, in part due to the dying wish of Moore’s father, Johnnie. Agolia Moore, Moore’s mother, told Andscape that her husband knew something just wasn’t right about how their son’s body had been returned to them. Agolia recollected Johnnie’s statement, “My husband was on his deathbed but he said, ‘Lo. There’s something wrong about what happened to Kelvin. It’s not right.’ He said, ‘Stick with it,’ and we’re going to stick with it.”
CEOs Who Defied Trump In 2020 Are Softening On Him In 2024
When former President Donald Trump falsely declared he won the 2020 Presidential Election, dozens of prominent CEOs of the nation’s top companies feared it could be the end of democracy in the U.S.
ABC News reported that, four years later, some of those CEOs are softening their stance towards Trump as he is likely to become the Republican nominee for president.
Earlier this month, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told CNBC that Trump wasn’t wrong about several critical issues, including China and the economy, according to the outlet. Several former JP Morgan executives and advocacy group leaders have expressed concerns to ABC News about how attitudes towards the former presidentare changing, and executives appear to be prioritizing the short-term interests of their companies over the long-term health of the nation’s democracy and, in turn, a stable free market economy.
However, the outlet reported that some of the former executives and advocacy group leaders believe many of those same CEOs acknowledge Trump poses a threat to democracy. However, they’re reluctant to publicly choose a side out of fear of an appearance of partisanship, or even backlash from Trump, should he become president.
“CEOs are hedging their bets,” Tom Rogers, the founder of CNBC, told ABC News. “People think being on the wrong side of Trump was a bad move for individual companies. People may fear that if he is unleashed in a second term, his willingness to take on individual companies could be even more extreme.”
Unlike in the run-up to the 2016 election, Trump is currently fighting numerous felony charges, including allegations in two separate indictments of an illegal attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election’s outcome. Additionally, he’s currently awaiting a verdict in his $370 million civil fraud trial in New York City that could end his ability to do business in the city.
Several CEOs have said their businesses will continue to thrive no matter who becomes president.
“The reality is, hey, we are the same company, regardless of when that election is going to occur. And regardless of who that president will be,” Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told Bloomberg earlier this month.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Bloomberg, “I believe America is going to be fine no matter what happens in this election.”
Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton Could Lose Over $40M Over ‘Stupid Rule’
Tyrese Haliburton faces a critical challenge as he returns from a hamstring injury, aiming to meet the league's new Player Participation Policy.
Tyrese Haliburton, the Indiana Pacers’ rising star, faces a critical challenge as he returns from a hamstring injury. According to Sports Illustrated, he aims to meet the league’s new Player Participation Policy announced on Jan. 30. This policy stipulates that players must play more than 20 minutes in 65 games to qualify for postseason awards, including the prestigious All-NBA team.
Haliburton, who recently signed a max contract extension worth $204.5 million, is eligible for an additional $41 million if he makes the All-NBA team. However, missing more than three games for the rest of the season could jeopardize his qualification. The stringent rule is part of the NBA’s effort to curb “load management” and maintain the value of the regular season, particularly as the league negotiates a new broadcast rights deal.
Expressing his frustration with the rule, Haliburton remarked, “I think it’s a stupid rule, like plenty of the guys in the league, but this is what the owners want, so as players, we gotta do our job and play in 65 games if we’re able to.”
The 65-game threshold and the In-Season Tournament were introduced to address concerns about key players sitting out, potentially diminishing the value of regular-season games. While media members vote for postseason awards, the rule seeks to ensure that the best players actively contribute throughout the season.
Haliburton, acknowledging the necessity to adhere to the rule, expressed the sentiments of many players in the league. “So, that’s what I gotta do, take care of my body to be able to play in those games, and I think you’re seeing other players in the league kind of face the same thing. As long as the owners are happy,” in a statement to The Athletic.
This rule also impacts other standout players like Joel Embiid, who, despite being a mid-season MVP favorite, could miss out on the MVP/All-NBA threshold if he exceeds the allowed number of games missed. The rule, implemented to uphold the value of the regular season, places considerable financial stakes on players like Haliburton, who risk losing a substantial bonus if they fall short of the mandated games played.
On Monday, Jan. 29, Kemp and her son with Ross, William Roberts III, proudly announced his decision to attend the HBCU Bethune-Cookman and play on its football team.
“COMMITTED‼️💯🎉🎉🏈🏈🐱🐱🐱🐱 #committed #bcu #hbcu #bethunecookman Let’s Go WILDCATS‼️🙏🏽⭐️🌴✨ GOD IS THE GREATEST‼️🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🤷🏽♀️💛☀️ #collegefootball #football #standingonbusiness,” Kemp captioned her post.
Roberts enjoyed his timeon the varsity football team at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the Miami Herald reports. According to CBS Sports, the school is no stranger to producing NFL players like Giovani Bernard, Nick Bosa, Joseph Bosa, Elijah Moore, Asante Samuel Jr., and James White.
“Will’s size, strength, and athleticism have enabled him to play some quality time this season and start a couple of games,” St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders head coach Roger Harriott told247Sports in 2021. “He’s an extremely talented player and a well-rounded, character-oriented person. His best days are ahead of him.”
Ross’s son was a standout on his varsity team in ways that produced offers from Division 1 football teams like the University of Miami, Texas A&M University, University of Colorado, Syracuse University, and Florida International University. The HBCU Albany State University in Georgia also sent Roberts an offer that would’ve had him playing for the same school his rap superstar father played for while in college.
Nate Dogg’s Estate Settled: $2.7M Distribution Among Widow And 9 Children
The resolution of Nate Dogg's estate has brought closure, as court documents obtained by Radar Online unveil the final settlement, valued at $2.7 million.
The resolution of Nate Dogg’s estate has brought closure to a lengthy legal battle, according to court documents obtained by Radar Online, revealing the final settlement, valued at $2.7 million. Following the death of the legendary rapper in 2011, the estate’s administrator has been directed to distribute the funds evenly among Nate’s widow, LaToya Calvin, and his nine children, an increase from the initially believed six children.
In a surprising revelation, the probate judge established Nate Dogg as the legal father of three additional children, altering the dynamics of the inheritance. Notably, the estate administrator has settled all outstanding debts, including a $144,000 IRS bill, relieving the survivors of any further financial obligations.
The conclusion of this settlement marks the end of a contentious legal battle over Nate Dogg’s estate. The rapper passed away without a will in 2011, leading to complications in distributing assets among his children from different relationships. LaToya Calvin, Nate’s wife at the time of his death, nominated herself as the executor, prompting a prolonged court battle with the rapper’s children.
Amid the legal proceedings, Nate Dogg’s children contended that he intended to divorce Calvin before his demise, presenting evidence of a divorce filing just 19 days before his death. As the legal wife, Calvin was entitled to a share of the estate.
In a further twist, Nate Dogg’s ex-girlfriend, Shereda Williams, sought the court’s intervention to secure child support for their 17-year-old son, Jayden. Williams provided court documents revealing the late rapper’s commitment to $4,358 per month in child support, signed in 2006. However, court orders two years after Nate Dogg’s death reduced the payments to $3,000 per month.
Williams, citing a “mistake in the court filings,” expressed concerns about losing the child support and petitioned the court to access funds from Nate Dogg’s estate. The final estate ruling, however, ensures that Jayden’s provisions are addressed.
The distribution of the estate’s assets and the settlement of debts have resolved the legal complexities surrounding Nate Dogg’s legacy.
Biden Pledges Response To 3 Black Army Soldiers Killed During Drone Attack In Jordan
Back at home, the parents of Breonna Moffett hope that cooler heads will prevail; they do not wish to see more violence and more death befall other American troops.
Three Georgia Army reservists were killed in a drone attack at an Army base in Jordan near the Syrian border on Jan. 28. According to The Associated Press, 24–year-old Spc. Kennedy Sanders, 23-year-old Spc. Breonna Moffett and 46-year-old Sgt. William Jerome Rivers were killed after troops allegedly mistook the enemy drone for an American drone.
A preliminary report indicates that the enemy drone and a U.S. drone were entering Tower 22 airspace simultaneously, which allowed the enemy drone to slip in without incident. In addition to the three soldiers who lost their lives, at least 40 troops sustained wounds in the attack.
Reporters asked Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh if the failure to eliminate the drone could be explained by “human error,” to which she replied that U.S. Central Command was still investigating what happened in Jordan. Even though President Joe Biden promised to respond to the attack, which U.S. intelligence believes originated from Iran, John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesperson, told The AP, “There’s no easy answer here. And that’s why the president is meeting with his national security team weighing the options before him.”
However, Kirby also took the same stance as Biden. “We are not looking for a war with Iran,” Kirby said to the reporters gathered. “That said, this was a very serious attack. It had lethal consequences. We will respond, and we respond appropriately.”
Back at home, the parents of Moffett hope that cooler heads will prevail; they do not wish to see more violence and more death befall other American troops. Moffett’s mother, Francine, cried as she told The AP her feelings at her kitchen table. “I just hope and pray no other family has to go through this. It takes your heart and your soul,” she said.
Moffett and Sanders were close friends; they became close after they both enlisted in the reserves five years ago. Shawn Sanders, Kennedy’s father, described his daughter as bright and determined in an interview on Jan. 29, saying, “She was loved. She didn’t have any enemies. All the time, you saw her smiling. This is somebody who was just living life, enjoying life at a young age, working toward a career.”
According to The AP, the Jordan attack was the first since Oct. 7 to involve American troops in Jordan and the first to result in American casualties. Iranian-backed militias have consistently struck at American installations in Iraq and Syria, using combinations of drones, rockets, mortars, and missiles. The militias have consistently said that their actions are an attempt to get U.S. forces out of the region and are a protest against the United States’ involvement in the Israeli bombardment of Palestinians. Iran, which has consistently denied responsibility for attacks in the region, continued that practice. According to Iran’s ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani, the “Islamic Republic of Iran has no role in decisions by resistance groups on how they support the Palestinian nation or defend their people.” Kanaani also said that “responsibility for the consequences of provocative accusations against Iran will be on those who raise the baseless allegations.”
We are saddened by the loss of three American heroes in Jordan last night, and we are praying for their families and for the 25 other service members who have been injured.
America must send a crystal clear message across the globe that attacks on our troops will not be…
Republicans have been critical of Biden’s foreign policy and are using the deaths of the three soldiers to call for the United States to send a message. House Speaker Mike Johnson issued a statement on Twitter/X, saying of the soldiers, “We are saddened by the loss of three American heroes in Jordan last night, and we are praying for their families and for the … other service members who have been injured. America must send a crystal clear message across the globe that attacks on our troops will not be tolerated.”
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader, echoed Johnson’s call in his own statement, saying, “Last night, the cost of failure to deter America’s adversaries was again measured in American lives. We cannot afford to keep responding to this violent aggression with hesitation and half-measures.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham took it a step further, calling for strikes on targets inside Iran, which would likely mean war. “The Biden Administration can take out all the Iranian proxies they like, but it will not deter Iranian aggression. I am calling on the Biden Administration to strike targets of significance inside Iran, not only as reprisal for the killing of our forces but as deterrence against future aggression,” Graham said in a statement. “The only thing the Iranian regime understands is force. Until they pay a price with their infrastructure and their personnel, the attacks on U.S. troops will continue.”
New Bodycam Footage Reveals Details Of Fatal Tyre Nichols Encounter
Newly released footage from the Tyre Nichols case in Memphis provides additional insight into the circumstances surrounding the fatal encounter.
NBC News reported that newly released footage from the Tyre Nichols case in Memphis provided additional insight into the circumstances surrounding the fatal encounter that occurred during a traffic stop on January 7, 2023. The videos, obtained from the city of Memphis, indicate that Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was initially pulled over for speeding and an improper lane change, according to then-officer Preston Hemphill.
The footage, captured by police body cameras, reveals a conversation between Hemphill and Officer Samuel Lively discussing the reasons for the traffic stop. Hemphill states, “Speeding and an improper lane change.” This information contradicts the initial statement from the Memphis Police, which mentioned suspected reckless driving as the cause of the stop. The department’s inability to substantiate the probable cause has been a point of contention.
The interaction continues with Lively suggesting potential charges against Tyre Nichols, including evading a vehicle. However, Hemphill dismisses this option, saying, “You can’t do evading a vehicle because that means it was a pursuit. You can get him for resisting arrest, fleeing on foot, which is a misdemeanor, speeding, and improper lane change. That’s at least four.”
In the footage, Hemphill describes Nichols as “politely resisting” the officers’ orders during the initial traffic stop. The situation escalated, leading to Nichols being violently and repeatedly punched and kicked by officers. Hemphill notes Nichols’ strength, stating, “Hell yeah, he was strong. It took the three of us, and we could barely get him to the ground.”
The videos also depict an encounter between Nichols’ parents and Hemphill after the incident. Hemphill informs them that Nichols resisted the initial stop, fought with officers, and ran away after being pepper-sprayed. The former officer speculates about Nichols being under the influence, stating, “I’m a CIT officer, so I specialize in people who… from the way he was fighting, he had to be on something.”
Toxicology testing on Tyre Nichols revealed the presence of substances associated with marijuana and alcohol use, with a blood alcohol content below the legal limit. Despite these findings, former officer Demetrius Haley, who participated in the violent encounter, suggested Nichols had “unbelievable strength” and speculated on the influence of substances.
Hemphill was fired for his role in the incident, while Haley and four other former officers face charges related to Nichols’ death, including second-degree murder and federal civil rights charges. The newly released footage provides a detailed account of the events leading to Nichols’ tragic death, contributing to the ongoing legal proceedings and public scrutiny.
