Oct 5 (Reuters) – A federal court on Thursday ordered Alabama to implement a new congressional map that will likely give Democrats an additional seat in next year’s elections, when control of the closely divided U.S. House of Representatives is up for grabs.
The three-judge panel selected a map that preserves the state’s lone majority-Black district while creating a second district in which Black voters make up nearly half of the voting-age population
The decision came after the court found – for the second time – that congressional lines drawn by the Republican-dominated state legislature likely violated the Voting Rights Act by illegally diluting Black votes.
Democrats would need to flip five seats in the 435-seat House of Representatives to take back the majority in the November 2024 election.
More than a quarter of Alabama’s residents are Black, but the Republican-backed plans only included a single district in which Black voters made up a majority or close to it. That district, the 7th, is represented by the state’s lone Democrat, Terri Sewell, a Black woman.
Civil rights groups challenged the Republican map, arguing that Republicans had deliberately spread Black voters thin to ensure they would continue to win six of the state’s seven districts.
The U.S. Supreme Court twicedeclined to overturn the panel’s conclusions that the Republican plans were unlawful.
“It did not have to be this way,” the panel wrote in its decision on Thursday. “And it would not have been this way if the legislature had created a second opportunity district or majority-minority district.”
Similar challenges are also pending in Louisiana and Georgia, where civil rights groups have argued that Republican lawmakers illegally disadvantaged Black voters by manipulating congressional lines.
The new Alabama map was one of three that a court-appointed special master drew for its consideration.
The panel included two judges appointed by Republican former President Donald Trump. The third was appointed by Republican former President Ronald Reagan and then elevated to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by Democratic former President Bill Clinton.
McDonald’s Customer Arrested For Allegedly Tossing Hot Coffee On Drive-Thru Employee
In Florida, a regular customer of McDonald’s recently found himself in handcuffs, facing a felony battery charge due to an incident that happened weeks earlier.
The altercation occurred at the drive-thru window, where the customer, 64-year-old Elizar Ravelo, was allegedly caught on camera purposely splashing hot coffee on an employee.
Miami Springs police officers arrested Ravelo on Oct. 2 for the Aug. 25 incident, according to Local 10 News. The confrontation reportedly started over a minor argument about the price of breakfast items Ravelo had ordered. Surveillance footage captured the dispute with the store manager at the McDonald’s drive-thru located at 4999 NW 36th St. When the employee handed the man the hot coffee he had ordered, he allegedly slapped it out of the manager’s hand and took off in his vehicle.
According to police, the manager suffered burns on her right arm and chest because of the incident.
Ravelo is facing a felony battery charge and was held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $5,000 bond. Miami Springs Police Department and the video clip on its Instagram account described what happened.
“On Aug. 25, Elizar Ravelo pulled up to the drive-thru at one of our local fast food restaurants. He got into a heated argument with the window attendant over the amount he was being charged. The restaurant manager approached the window and explained she did not appreciate the way he was treating the employees and that if he continued to do so, would not be allowed back at the restaurant. Ravelo began to verbally assault her and threatened to throw coffee on her. When the manager reached out to hand him his coffee, Ravelo purposely reached out and slapped it out of her hands.”
Shift manager Nayib Garcia spoke to Local 10 News about what transpired that day.
“He orders a Sausage McMuffin with a round egg separately, and he orders a senior coffee, is what I was told,” he said. Garcia also said he was told the argument was over a penny.
The police report mentions that Ravelo admitted being upset “over the amount he was being charged.”
He also stated he was not happy with the service he received.
The Huffington Postidentified the manager as Stephanie Restuccia, and according to local law enforcement, Ravelo was ordered to stay away from her and the McDonald’s location.
Jay-Z Sparks Debate After Turning Down A Cousin’s $4,800 Request, ‘Money Isn’t Free’
Jay-Z has the streets talking about a resurfaced clip where he explained his reluctance to be around certain family members who ask for money.
In July 2022, Hov appeared on Kevin Hart’s Peacock talk show Hart to Heart and opened up about the struggle he and the comedian both face when attending family gatherings. With them being the first to acquire wealth in their family, the rapper and actor spoke about the issues that arise when family members approach them with their business ideas.
Jay-Z explained his desire to spend time with family as a sanctuary, but how it can become uncomfortable when cousins ask for money to fund a business venture.
“Some people haven’t evolved past 16, they still stuck in that place,” Jay-Z explained. “But you’re evolving every year. So that may be a threat to them.”
The “99 Problems” rapper noted how someone of Kevin Hart’s status has to “navigate” being around people he grew up with who might be jealous of his success. He took it further by sharing an example of being around “cousins” who approach their successful family members for money at holiday gatherings.
“You have to go home for Thanksgiving and people are talking to you like Kevin Hart and you going home for solace. You’re going home for family,” Jay explained.
Hart agreed, noting that they were going home for “peace of mind” but “they don’t give you that because you’re not that.”
Jay continued to call out the “cousins” who approached him in Grandma’s living room saying “Yo man, I got this play. If you just give me $4,800, I could make you $2 million.” But the father of three explained that’s not how the real world works.
“It don’t work like that, family,” he said. “Life isn’t like that. Money isn’t free and no one is giving out opportunities.”
The Grammy-winning rapper shared how said cousin would then think that Jay or Hart don’t “believe in my dreams.” Despite making the point over a year ago, many have been sounding off about Jay’s remarks once the clip resurfaced online.
“I’ll NEVER get over a billionaire saying some bullsh*t like this!” one person tweeted.
“No one around them will say this to them, but they should be giving their cousins money cuz that is exactly how it should be working,” added someone else.
But others disagreed and said Jay-Z shouldn’t be forced to share his wealth just because he has it to give.
“Don’t Care. His Money,” one user wrote.
“I think you missed the entire point lol he didn’t make a mention about giving $4800 away,” added someone else.
“His point was to educate (within the example) why $4800 can’t make you $2Mil 😂🤦🏾♂️”
On Oct. 5, more context surfaced into Jay-Z’s alleged turn-down of his cousin’s $4,800 request. Apparently, Hov did invest in one cousin who opened up a buffalo wing spot in their native Brooklyn, NY.
Rapper Snoop Dogg Calls Colorado Coach Deion Sanders To Speak To Receiver After Breakout Game
Colorado Head Coach Deion Sanders might have suffered his second straight loss last weekend when USC held on for a 48-41 win against the Buffaloes, but he and his team are still making headlines.
USA Todayreports rapper Snoop Dogg, a big fan of USC football, called Sanders to talk to Colorado freshman wide receiver Omarion Miller, who had a breakout game against the Trojans, catching seven passes for 196 yards and a touchdown in the second half.
Sanders, who is in his first season at Colorado, talked with the rapper before handing the phone to Miller so he could speak to the 17-time Grammy-nominated artist.
This friend “wanted to let him know that he has a tremendous gift,” Sanders said. “And I don’t know what the conversation was, but I know I just handed him the phone, and I said somebody wants to talk to you.”
According to Sanders, Miller was shocked and amazed when he picked up the phone to see Snoop Dogg on Facetime.
“That whole thing was crazy,” Miller told reporters in Boulder Wednesday. Snoop Dogg, “was just telling me, you know, ‘Keep working.’ He liked what I did.”
The rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus Jr., isn’t the first celebrity Sanders has had around his team. Earlier this season, former Dallas Cowboys receiver Micheal Irvin talked to the Buffaloes after practice, and rapper Lil Wayne walked the team out before its game against in-state rival Colorado State, which was attended by Dwayne’ The Rock’ Johnson and rappers Master P and Offset.
Sanders did the same when he coached at HBCU Jackson State University.
Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, is an 8-time Pro Bowler, 6-time All-Pro, two-time Super Bowl Champion, and 1994 Defensive Player of the Year.
Colorado, who is 2-2 on the season, will take on the 1-4 Arizona State Sun Devils in their next game on Saturday.
‘When You’re Tired, You’re Tired’: Ciara Spills Tea On Leveling Up Post Future Breakup
Ciara is opening up about the “pivotal” moment when she decided to end her engagement with Future shortly after welcoming their son, Future Zahir.
The “Level Up” singer got candid during her recent appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast when asked about her 2014 breakup with the chart-topping rapper. For Ciara, she said it was in her self-reflecting that she realized it was time to end things.
“It’s almost like your taste buds change,” she told host Alex Cooper.
She shared, “You gotta also sometimes look in the mirror and reflect on yourself, like what are things that I could be doing differently in my life? I’m looking for a change, but what does that mean?”
Ciara and Future enjoyed a whirlwind romance that started in 2012 and ended months after welcoming their son in 2014. The “Goodies” singer cites parenthood as a huge factor in leaving the “Mask Off” rapper.
“When you have a child, it’s very important to me; it’s no time to play around,” Ciara declared. “I am now responsible for another life, so what am I doing? How am I thinking that through?”
Now, after welcoming two children with her husband, Russell Wilson, with another on the way, Ciara can look back at her past failed relationships and see how they helped her figure out her worth.
“I want joy. I want to make sure my cup is full,” she shared, adding that “when you’re tired, you’re tired and don’t nobody want to be tired all the time.”
She continued, “Those are things that come to my mind when I process; when I was making a pivotal moment in my life.”
Ci Ci’s latest revelation about her split with Future comes weeks after she opened up about her co-parenting relationship with the “Wait For You” rapper. When asked how things were going, Ciara burst out into laughter.
“The widespread publicity of this case, including uncontrolled speculation and social media commentary, has resulted in various threats made against various individuals in the case,” Jenkins’ mother, Tereasa Martin’s attorneys, said. “One of the main terms of the settlement for all parties was maintaining the confidentiality of the settlement.”
Jenkins was found dead inside a walk-in freezer at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel on Sept. 10, 2017, after going to a private party at the facility on Sept. 8. Martin filed a lawsuit seeking $50 million in damages in 2018 against the hotel’s parent company, security firm, and restaurant, claiming negligence on the staff as they didn’t secure the walk-in freezer or conduct a proper search once the victim went missing.
The suit also alleged staff failed to monitor security cameras that would send an alert of Jenkin’s location and possibly prevent her death. The lack of answers regarding her death made headlines and prompted protests around the country, but her family was left wondering if it was foul play or the police mishandling the case.
According to The Associated Press, police released surveillance videos that showed Jenkins wandering alone through a kitchen area close to the freezer shortly after she disappeared. The Cook County medical examiner’s office found that Jenkins died from hypothermia and ruled her death an accident. However, alcohol and epilepsy treatment drugs were “significant contributing factors” in her death.
Over 40 people were interviewed regarding the case. Thirty of them were people at the hotel room party. Police reports say the credit card used for the hotel was fraudulent and was linked to some gang activity. The final police report alluded that facts didn’t support all of the rumors surrounding Jenkins’ death.
Candace Owens Questions Why No One Has ‘Stepped Up To The Plate To Marry’ Taylor Swift
Candace Owens doesn’t typically unleash her conservative fury on white women. But things have changed now that Taylor Swift is dating Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce.
The conservative pundit took to her podcast on Friday, Sept. 29, to call out Swift’s “annoying and cringy” girl-next-door persona. With the global pop star, 33, now in a public romance with Kelce, 34, Owens is bringing attention to Swift’s “odd dating pattern” and questioning why she hasn’t been married yet.
“Why hasn’t any man stepped up to the plate to marry her?” Owens asked before naming a few of Swift’s exes.
“Why didn’t Joe Alwyn want to marry her after six years of dating her?
Owens, 34, came up with her own assessment of Swift’s dating history and her lack of wedding rings. According to the political commentator, Swift has too many “personalities” that apparently push men away.
“Well, maybe it’s because Taylor Swift has a lot of personalities, and people think that that’s cute and it’s funny. . but me, maybe I suffer from also being a 34-year-old adult woman, I just think it’s odd,” Owens said.
“I think her behavior is cringy.”
The Blackout author also took issue with Swift hanging out with Kelce’s mom at the Chiefs’ game against the New York Giants and accused the “Shake It Off” singer of only pretending to like football to appease her new beau.
“I don’t think Taylor Swift follows football,” Owens quipped before claiming the singer only started caring about the sport “this Sunday.”
“She’s just so fake, so plastic, so manufactured, very unauthentic, and that has always been my assessment about Taylor Swift.”
Despite seemingly picking on the pop star for YouTube views, Owens called Swift a “mean girl” who’s “rooted as the most dedicated Kansas City Chiefs man that you have ever seen.”
Minneapolis Man Awarded $12.2M Settlement After Jail Personnel Failed To Properly Treat Medical Issues
A Minneapolis man has been awarded a $12.2 million settlement by Scott County after an arrest for suspicion of drunk driving led him to be hospitalized, suffer a heart attack, endure painful skin lesions, and have his hands amputated.
The settlement will help the victim, Terrance Dwayne Winborn, pay for medical bills incurred from his injuries and take care of his future needs.
Winborn was arrested on Aug. 27, 2020, while driving in the Minneapolis suburb of Shakopee with a blood alcohol level of 0.13%, significantly larger than that of the legal limit of 0.08%. After being booked into jail and allowed to sober up, Winborn grew sick and began vomiting.
A nurse at the Scott County jail noted that the man was unable to stand when she did her daily COVID-19 check and that his right hand was “extremely swollen”; however, officials failed to get him imperative medical treatment. For 39 hours, a bacterial infection wreaked havoc on Winborn’s body, resulting in him spending four months in area hospitals.
By the time the Minneapolis native was seen by medical professionals, a flesh-eating bacteria known as necrotizing fasciitis had settled into his bodily tissue, resulting in an emergency amputation of both his hands and one of his forearms.
“I don’t sleep because every time I dream, I dream I have my hands, you know. And I wake up, they’re gone again,” Winborn said. “I’d rather have my hands than anything.”
Adjusting to life without two of his limbs will require ongoing medical care, a reality that Winborn’s attorney helped the county understand by showing a video of the man attempting to make it through daily tasks like eating. In the video, Winborn revealed that he only eats two meals per day due to the toll it takes on his body to attempt a third.
“That deliberate indifference allowed a bacterial infection to run rampant within his body, leading to a heart attack … and a host of other devastating and permanent injuries,” attorney Katie Bennett, who represented Winborn, said. Jail officials also failed to preserve videos of the man’s experience after 90 days, resulting in lost evidence of Winborn’s injuries before litigation.
Tasha Cobbs Leonard On Aligning Her Purpose Of Entrepreneurship With TAF’s StAART
Tasha Cobbs Leonard is already known for her powerhouse vocals and is now dipping her toe into the footwear business.
The Grammy-Award-winning vocalist is also making history outside of gospel music, becoming the first female recipient of The Athlete’s Foot (TAF) StAART program. The initiative, started after the height of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, seeks to champion African American entrepreneurs by granting them the opportunity to own one of the franchises.
As the first of her kind, while already well-versed in a music career, Cobbs Leonard seeks to be part of the positive representation of Black business owners within her hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. Keeping faith at the forefront, the entrepreneurial step is merging with the singer’s legacy to connect with her community while providing a resource that inspires confidence.
Cobbs Leonard exclusively shared with BLACK ENTERPRISE about the unusual beginning to her love of sneakers, how gospel music will be part of the business philosophy, and what her inclusion in stAART means for Black women entrepreneurs everywhere.
Juggling this with her music career, Cobbs Leonard is focused on balance as she builds the foundation of her first The Athlete’s Foot store. In co-ownership with her husband, the couple tailors it to their community’s desires on what is needed from the shoe franchise.
Image Provided By Tasha Cobbs Leonard
“For the past year and a half, I’ve been balancing between my music career, my husband and I’s church, and our children. I have this theory about balance, that it’s not necessarily about holding everything up on the same level at once, but whatever requires the most attention at that time. We’ve been putting a lot of attention toward The Athlete’s Foot and building it from the ground up. None of the other things are lacking because we find a way to give everything [that] it needs in each season.”
Her secret to holding it all together? A team with knowledge of the sneaker industry and deep care within the community to see the store and its customers thrive. Referring to herself as a “baby sneakerhead,” the business leader is allowing her team to contribute, as she believes learning from those with experience is vital to success; as to how she got her foot in the door, a friend of Cobbs Leonard introduced her to Darius Billings, the founder of TAF’s stAART program.
“I thought it was great that they were providing these opportunities for African Americans to get into the space with franchising,” shared the artist, whose friend took the leap by throwing her name out to the founder. “I really fit the bill of what they were looking for. Not only am I the first female franchise owner of The Athlete’s Foot, but the first female recipient of the program. They were there the entire time, just walking us through the process.”
Her start to having a “shoe game,” a styling habit noticed even in her performance attire, came from necessity. Tasha detailed why she had to venture out into wearing sneakers to prioritize her physical health and how that led to a love of its versatility and comfortability.
“I played basketball my entire high school career but broke my toe during a game my sophomore year. I went through the full healing process, but at age 25, I started to feel aches and pains in that same place. At that point, I was very active in the music ministry at my church, so I’d wear heels. But the bone-on-bone arthritis spread to my right toe, resulting in me trying the ‘sneaker thing.’ I started performing in them, and it became an expectation as part of my fashion. That could range from Gucci to Jordan 1s, but I just wanted whatever was on my feet to make a statement.”
As having an extensive shoe collection became part of her brand, her partnership with The Athlete’s Foot allowed her to represent Black women’s empowerment in the entrepreneurial space.
“I didn’t realize initially how important it was to make a major step like this for Black women,” shared the multifaceted mompreneur. “You don’t realize the hurdles that you are going to run into, not just because it’s something new, but because of who you are. It’s a little bit harder to walk through those doors, such as getting investors. It’s something I had to war through. There were seasons [when] I felt discouraged, but it was not just about me. This is for my daughters. I’m making it work despite the walls that are in front of me.”
“The strength that you need is already in you for everything that you’re purposed to do.”
Her new business endeavor aims to be more than a store for the people of Greenville but to connect with them, as a major part of her willingness to dive into this venture with stAART is its mission of communal outreach.
“This business is so aligned with who I’m purposed to be, giving back to the community through this and pouring back into people. TAF gives me the opportunity to do that in this platform. I tell my team all the time, ‘When people walk into this store, I want them to leave feeling better.’ I think that’s a way to sustain it, for them to feel like they are a part of this. When you walk in, it is total Black excellence. On another level.”
With the official grand opening of the Greenville location set for Oct. 7, the Cobbs Leonards plan to showcase other Black-owned businesses through the event as well. With stAART, their aspirations are beyond the success of their own brand, but to enlist their community on a similar journey.
“After the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests, the world was opening up, but there were so many issues that were revealed that we needed to talk out. TAF, through its stAART program, offered some form of solution to people who may have felt lost. Here’s something we can provide to help you get back in the game, to start over, and offer another tool to help you regain strength.”
As for whether patrons can expect a free show with a shoe purchase, Cobbs Leonard has no explicit plans to do so but speaks of all her career pathways serving the same mission. That being said, the potential collaboration of her two passions is not totally out of the question.
“Everything that we do is to expose people to the love of God. At the end of [the] day, yes, my singing, or selling somebody a sneaker, is in the hopes of making them feel better about themselves. There may be a day [when] I say, ‘Hey, let’s set up some speakers outside the store,’ and I may hop on the mic. But I think, ultimately, the two go hand in hand for my purpose.”
Her journey as a business owner is all about uplifting others. She envisions her service in this capacity to be one of restoration, for people to accomplish the dreams considered to be impossible, just like she has.
“What excites me the most about entrepreneurship is that I can inspire other people,” expressed the singer. “I want them to look at that hard thing and believe that they can defeat the giant. The great one for this specifically was opening the door, and faith played a major part in that. That hope is what I bring to this space. In most industries, faith needs to be restored, and that is what made me fall in love with my purpose from the beginning, bringing that to this community.”
To catch up with Tasha Cobbs Leonard and all her aligned purposes of music and sneakers, one can visit her website for the latest.
Burna Boy Recalls A Time When African Boys Were Viewed As Ugly, ‘The Whole Narrative Has Changed’
Burna Boy is noting the change in how embraced Black African men are compared to when he was growing up and made to feel “ugly” for not being light-skinned.
The Grammy Award-winning Afrobeats star was recently a guest on Kiss Fresh radio, where he was asked about the intro to his song “City Boys.” Burna opens the new track with a clip from British rapper J Hus’ Instagram Story, who took back his power after being called “ugly” many times.
“I’m not even an ugly yout’. I’m a sexy yout’ you understand,” J Hus can be heard saying at the start of Burna’s new song. Speaking with host Henri Viii, Burna explained why he chose that clip as the intro to his latest single.
“Because I feel like he was speaking for all of us. Black African boys. There was a time in life when we were not popping,” he explained. “You had to be light-skinned boy.”
He went on to ask Henri if she had posters of Chris Brown on her wall as a child, and she admitted that she did. That proved Burna’s point.
“We weren’t popping. We were getting called all types of names. It is what it is because now,” Burna said before trailing off.
“Gyal all over da globe,” Henri chimed in.
Burna can see the shift where Black African men like himself are now lusted after just as much as their light-skinned counterparts. With more awareness and conversations around colorism, times have changed, and Burna can understand why J Hus reclaimed his power by referring to himself as “Mr. Ugly.”
“That was the view society had of us. The whole narrative has changed and now it’s like ‘hmmm, so the whole time they were trying to finesse us,'” he explained.
“We’ve always known our worth; it’s everyone else that didn’t.”
His words rang true for many who sounded off in the comments section.
“They just caught on but black has and will always be beautiful ❤️,” one fan wrote.
“Internalized racism really had us out here thinking we were mid 👎🏾,” added someone else.
