White Woman Charged With Threatening To Kill Judge Tanya Chutkan Over Trump’s Election Case
A woman from Texas is facing charges for threatening to kill the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump‘s federal election interference case.
Abigail Jo Shry called Judge Tanya Chutkan‘s chambers Aug. 5 and left a threatening voicemail, saying she would “kill anyone who went after former President Trump,” CNN reports.
Shry is charged with Transmission in Interstate or Foreign Commerce of any Communication Containing a Threat to Injure the Person of Another.
“If Trump doesn’t get elected in 2024, we are coming to kill you, so tread lightly, b*tch,” Shry said in the voicemail.
“You are in our sights, we want to kill you.”
Prosecutors claim her threats included racist comments, calling Judge Chutkan “stupid slave n***er.”
Shry is being held in detention pending trial. A bond hearing is set for September 13.
The woman had no problem admitting to her crimes. According to a criminal complaint, Shry confessed to special agents of the Department of Homeland Security on Aug. 8 that she called Chutkan’s chambers but claims she didn’t have “plans to travel to Washington, DC or Houston to carry out anything she stated.”
However, the Alvin, Texas, native also “made a direct threat to kill Congresswomen Sheila Jackson Lee, all democrats in Washington D.C. and all people in the LGBTQ community,” according to a complaint.
Since Trump has been indicted, he has publicly attacked Chutkan, calling her “highly partisan” and “VERY BIASED & UNFAIR!” regarding her past comments in a separate sentencing case of one of the January 6 riot defendants, according to the Associated Press.
But the President Barack Obama-appointed judge isn’t backing down.
During a hearing in early August, Chutkan placed a protective order in the case, restricting what evidence Trump and his legal team can publicly announce. She warned Trump’s lawyers that his defense should be for the courtroom and “not on the internet.”
17-Year-Old Black Student Could Earn Her Teaching Degree By Age 19
Hannah Pearson, a 17-year-old college student from Robeson County, North Carolina, is on track to become a licensed teacher before turning 19. She finished high school early and has already graduated from Robeson Community College with an associate of arts. She is now majoring in Elementary Education at the University of North Carolina, Pembroke.
With an early start and a strong drive, Hannah is making remarkable progress in her education journey. “Because I just love to learn new information and just explore, learning many things,” She told WRAL. Her mother Miranda McNair, who has been a teacher at Fairmont High School for 28 years, proudly watched her daughter as she achieved her goals.
“She is self-driven. Even into foreign languages. She [says], oh, I want to learn a new language, so she’ll learn Korean, learn Spanish, and learn Portuguese,” she said.
Hannah started taking advantage of North Carolina’s Career and College Promise Program when she was in the 10th grade. This program offers free education, making it really affordable for students like her. With this program, she managed to pile up an impressive 60 college credits.
“I believe you can do anything you put your mind to,” Pearson said. “It doesn’t matter how well the next person does it. The only thing that matters is you and your drive.”
Her dad, Brian McNair, couldn’t be prouder. Inspired by his daughter’s drive, he made a big decision – to go back to school himself. He recently earned his bachelor’s degree from UNC Pembroke.
“I can’t tell her to do something, to go after something that I haven’t achieved myself… so I got back into school at UNC Pembroke,” he said. “God has given her a platform to show other kids that this is achievable.”
19-Year-Old Coco Gauff Wins Biggest Title Of Career At Sunday’s Cincinnati Open
Coco Gauff continued her hardcourt run defeating Karolina Muchova in straight sets (6-3 6-4) to take home the biggest title of her career at the Cincinnati Open Sunday, setting herself up for a run at the U.S. Open title.
The teenager, seeded seventh at her first WTA 1000 Final appearance, used a confident serve and solid return game to break Muchova three times in the first set. Muchova couldn’t bounce back and was doomed by inconsistent play and 35 unforced errors on a hot day.
Muchova did show some fight as it took Gauff three match points before she finally put the match away, leading to Gauff jumping up and down in excitement before hoisting the trophy. With the win, Gauff moves to 11-1 since getting knocked out of the first round of Wimbledon last month.
Her hardcourt play this summer has set Gauff up to make a run at the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 28 and runs through Sept. 10. If Gauff brings home the title, she would become the first Black woman to win it since Naomi Osaka in2020.
Gauff has been dominant on the hard court this summer, winning the Citi Open in Washington D.C. and reaching the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open.
Gauff burst on to the tennis scene in 2019 when she became the youngest player to reach the main draw at Wimbledon at 15 years and 3 months old. In her 2019 Wimbledon debut, Gauff defeated five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in straight sets, and made it into the fourth round before losing to eventual champion Simona Halep.
Last year, the teen reached her first major first singles championship match at the French Open, notching six wins before losing to Iga Świątek.
The U.S. Open, held in Queens, NY, is the last Grand Slam final of the WTA season. Last year, the tournament was a star-studdedevent as Serena Williams announced it would be her last tournament.
A new Artificial Intelligence (AI) sports analytics course at Morehouse College may be among the first of its kind at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
The Student Freedom Initiativeannounced a long-term partnership with Morehouse and Stats Perform, a world leader in AI solutions for the sports industry, to create an “AI in Basketball” course.
“The promise of AI in sports is emerging; leveraging sports is a perfect pathway to expose our HBCU students to the foundational principles of AI and address the wealth gap by better positioning them for the in-demand jobs of the future,” Student Freedom Initiative Executive DirectorDr. Mark A. Brown said in a news release.
The for-credit pilot-year course is housed at the all-male Morehouse College but is open to students at Morehouse, Clark Atlanta University, and theall-women’s Spelman College who are majoring in math, physics, and engineering. Stats Perform’s chief scientist, Dr. Patrick Lucey, will teach the course, working in connection with Morehouse faculty.
“Stats Perform has been the pioneer of AI in the basketball space for well over a decade, not only with our computer vision systems to collect player and ball tracking data, but also with our predictive models using machine learning,” Lucey said in a statement.
“We are excited to show the students some of the many ways AI can take basketball to new levels for teams, players, media organizations, fans, and others.”
Dr. Alfred R. Watkins, computer science department chair at Morehouse, said the partnership with Student Freedom Initiative and Stats Perform was “very intentional” to benefit students from these three Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUCC) HBCUs to harness “specific learning and career opportunities within high-demand, high-growth sectors of the economy.”
Students who complete the AI in Basketball course can apply for a limited number of internships with Stats Perform, with the potential for these internships to transition into full-time employment.
“At Stats Perform, we recognize the immense impact of DEI efforts on our communities, and on our own success and growth,” Stats Perform CEO Carl Mergele said.
“Representation plays a vital role in fostering innovation and driving our collective potential to new heights.”
Deemed “the leading provider in sports data collection and predictive analysis,” Stats Perform is a portfolio company of Vista Equity Partners, whose chairman and CEO Robert F. Smith paid off the student debt for the Morehouse graduating class of 2019, thus making this current partnership a fit.
Additionally, BLACK ENTERPRISEreported that Smith’s $50 million gift helped launch the Student Freedom Initiative in 2021.
Student Freedom Initiative COO Keith B. Shoates hopes other firms make similar long-term investments in Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) and their students.
“Targeted, strategic public-private partnerships that include measurable outcomes between MSIs and innovative companies like Stats Perform will continue to be the accelerant to transformative change,” he said.
A Few Entrepreneurs To Read About For Black Business Month
Originally published in 2019.
At BLACK ENTERPRISE, every month is Black business month. But since August is officially recognized as National Black Business Month, now is the perfect time to do a little summer reading about some standout Black entrepreneurs.
Travel Noire and Ebony both have roundups of the black businesses they think are worth your support. There are a number of impressive black-owned companies listed, including Me & the Bees Lemonade, started by Mikaila Ulmer, who made a deal on Shark Tank at the ripe old age of 10.
Speaking of the next generation, BET‘s coverage is all about young entrepreneurs, with profiles of “15 kid bosses who are 15 years old and under.”
Mikaila Ulmer (Image: Me & The Bees)
Even brands are getting in on the celebration. Intuit highlighted eight African American entrepreneurs from its QuickBooks community, includingMonique Greenwood, owner and operator of Akwaaba Inns.
Monique Greenwood (Image: Twitter)
American Express, which supports small business year-round, is marking the month by sharing what motivated 11 different African Americans to become entrepreneurs.
“I was motivated by helping others succeed and creating tangible change in the lives of black business owners in my community,” Diishan Imira told Amex. Imira, a former speaker at the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit, is the founder of beauty startup Mayvenn, which raised $23 million in funding last year.
Diishan Imira (Image: Mayvenn)
If local coverage is more your thing, you can check out amNewYork‘s interviews with black entrepreneurs about how they make it work in the Big Apple. South Florida Caribbean News is doing a series of National Black Small Business Month spotlights. And Qcitymetro is marking the occasion with 10 stories of small business in Charlotte, where BLACK ENTERPRISE held our first-ever FWD summit for entrepreneurs of color earlier this year.
And if you want to learn more about black business without reading a single word, take a look at NewsOne‘s video about Strivers’ Row, a project bringing awareness to black businesses in New York City, or Good Morning America‘s spotlight of Larry’s Seasoned Pickles founder Larry Wilson in a National Black Business Month video.
National Black Business Month Is A Big Deal For Black Communities
The value of entrepreneurship has long been a major influence in the Black community, making it an essential contributor to the nation’s economy.
Simultaneously, recent forces like the devastating impact of the pandemic and ongoing socioeconomic battles like lack of access to much-needed capital to open or expand ventures have made it extremely challenging for Black entrepreneurs trying to advance in the highly competitive business mainstream.
Now, this month represents National Black Business Month. This historic annual event provides a chance for consumers and proprietors to not only support Black businesses but provide them a platform to grow their enterprises and build wealth for current and future generations of African Americans.
More than 3.2 Million Black-owned businesses in America
According to 2018 data from the Annual Business Survey and Non-employer Statistics by Demographics, there were more than 3.2 million Black-owned U.S. businesses employing over 1.18 million workers, based on figures provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Some 19.4% of employer firms in 2019 were minority-owned, totaling about 1.1 million firms, and 2.4% were Black-owned.
Geared to help overcome hurdles, the roots of National Black Business Month stem back to 2004 when August was designated as such by two Black entrepreneurs, engineer Frederick E. Jordan and John William Templeton, president and executive editor of eAccess Corp., a scholarly publishing company. Jordan was bound to showcase and encourage Black business owners like himself after enduring major obstacles,BLACK ENTERPRISE reported.
The duo aimed to “drive the policy agenda affecting the 2.6 million African American businesses, to highlight and empower Black business owners all over, given the unique challenges faced by minority business owners, according to National Business Today. That included Jordan’s “personal experience of struggling to gain financial support and funding when he started his business in San Francisco in 1969.”
Black businesses making it happen for centuries
However, the history of Black entrepreneurship can be traced back to the late 1700s — when free and enslaved Black people opened small businesses like barbershops and tobacco outlets, National Business Today reports. It stated the number of Black-owned firms rose with emancipation and then, despite the times, grew during the early 20th century.
“From 1900 to 1930, the period was known as the ‘golden age’ for Black-owned businesses. Segregation helped nurture Black-owned districts, including Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma.”
There were other pivotal time frames reflecting the spirit of Black Business Month. One was the founding of the National Negro Business League in 1900 by the iconicBooker T. Washington. Now called the National Business League, the organization calls itself America’s oldest and largest trade group for Black businesses. Another stellar moment was the launch of BLACK ENTERPRISE more than half a century later. In August 1970, the late Earl G. Graves, Sr., published the magazine’s first issue. It served largely as a guidebook for Black entrepreneurs seeking to launch and grow their companies.
Four years ago, BLACK ENTERPRISE celebrated the 45th anniversary of its roster of the nation’s largest Black-owned businesses — The BE 100s. The tribute included 45 milestone moments, illustrating the broad impact on Black business and economic development and American industry over four decades. It featured some game-changing entrepreneurs and disruptors. Among them: Arthur G. Gaston, the late founder and chair of BE 100s financial institutions Citizens Federal Savings Bank and Booker T. Washington Life Insurance Co., and the late Reginald Lewis and TLC Group’s acquisition of Beatrice International Foods in a $985 million leveraged buyout, creating the first Black-owned business to pass the billion-dollar revenue threshold.
Nationwide Insurance, among the nation’s largest financial services companies, too, has been at the forefront of driving Black business development and advancement. In addition to its sponsorship of the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit, the company has been cited across corporate America for expanding business opportunities and increasing procurement dollars to MBEs as a major thrust of its diversity, exclusion, inclusion (DEI) efforts.
Buying Black to leap business hurdles
For their part, Jordan and Templeton also have advocated that government officials and community leaders address structural barriers that hinder Black businesses, the Post News Group reported.
“The key idea of National Black Business Month is redirecting a small portion of our individual spending would dramatically increase the sales of Black-owned businesses,” Templeton stated previously in BLACK ENTERPRISE.
Observers say it’s crucial consumers and business owners support Black business owners during the month for several other reasons. For instance, more than ever, patronage is needed as many Black firms are rebounding from the pandemic and have experienced a tougher time doing so than other groups. In fact, some 53% of Black business owners saw revenues fall by 50% or more since COVID-19 became a widespread concern, versus just 37% of white business owners.
Others add that backing is needed due to systemic racism throughout the nation, and Black businesses need assurance they are not fighting those conditions alone. Moreover, such advocacy and consumerism promote diversity and inclusion as Black businesses tend to hire more diverse employees and invest in their communities.
It too has been estimated Black entrepreneurs can earn over 10 times more than non-Black business owners, helping trim the racial wealth gap and promoting economic balance.
U.S. Wins Mixed Relay, Breaking Record At World Championships
The United States’ national track team is off to a successful run ahead of the upcoming 2024 Olympics. At the World Championships that took place over the weekend in Budapest, the mixed relay team took home first place after the racer ahead fell.
During the 4×400 meter relay, the last leg was a nail-biter to the finish. Netherlands runner Femke Bol was assumed to take home the gold until she fell and dropped her baton five meters from the line, leaving U.S. anchor Alexis Holmes to a straight victory.
According to Reuters, Holmes’ dash to complete the relay also resulted in a new world record for the team of 3:08:80, beating the previous record-holder, the 2019 team. Coming in at second and third place were Britain and Czech Republic’s team, respectively, who set national records at the event.
The U.S. team, which was not expecting the gold after the Dutch held a steady winning pace until the final moments, was elated at its first-place finish and landing the world record.
“It is amazing,” said Holmes. “It was definitely tough to run against Femke Bol. She is an amazing athlete but I believed I could run it down because I felt really strong and determined to win and I felt good.”
Holmes was not expected to get past Bol, who is currently the indoor 400m world record holder. However, her insistence on staying on Bol’s toes afforded her the ability to whip past the fallen runner to cross the finish line.
I don’t know what happened, I cramped towards the finish line, I was pushing, pushing, pushing,” Bol said, according to Reuters. “I was disappointed that my body did not have it in to finish the race strongly. I’m sorry for my team, I should have finished it off and it sucks big time.”
This win also established the U.S. as a formidable opponent in the newly added race, having only gotten bronze for the event on the world stage, specifically the Tokyo games, in the past.
Ron Cephas Jones, award-winning actor known for his television role in This Is Us as well as his stage work has died. He was 66.
Via statement, a representative for Jones toldPeople the cause of death was “a long-standing pulmonary issue.”
Jones was highly regarded, especially on the stage. He was recently nominated for a Tony Award, and won the Drama Desk Award For Outstanding Featured Actor, for his performance in Clyde’s.
Though his career started in the 1980s, Jones gained significant recognition for playing William, the biological father of Randall Pearson (Sterling K. Brown), in the popular NBC drama This Is Us. His heart-wrenching role earned him four Primetime Emmy nominations, winning two. One of the years he won was groundbreaking. In 2020, his daughter, actress Jasmine Cephas Jones, won her first Emmy, making them the first father-daughter duo to do so.
He announced his battle with pulmonary disease to the New York Times in 2021, beginning his work on Clyde’s after receiving a double lung transplant in 2020. Cephas, a dedicated performer, expressed gratitude for the surgery as it allowed him to further pursue his passion.
“My whole life has been the stage,” he said in a interview with Entertainment Weekly. “The idea of not performing again seemed worse to me than death.”
As recently as last December, Cephas Jones was revealed to be cast as Nation of Islam Leader Elijah Mohammed in Disney+ and NatGeo new series Genius:MLK/X, but whether or not he has completed filming for the show has yet to be confirmed.
“Throughout the course of his career, his warmth, beauty, generosity, kindness and heart were felt by anyone who had the good fortune of knowing him,” the statement read. Jasmine Cephas Joenes, who is also known for her work in the musical Hamilton, has yet to speak publicly of her father’s passing.
Affordable Housing Shortage Spells Crisis For Atlanta HBCUs
Students at the esteemed HBCUs within the Atlanta University Center are facing a problem outside everyday school woes: Where they will sleep?
As an affordable housing shortage risks the ability for students to live where they within or near the area, the administrations are rushing to find solutions.
As rent rises everywhere, especially in the Georgia capital, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirmed that schools, such as Morehouse, lack sufficient housing for their student body. The all-male institution can only house 1,400 students but has more than 2,000 attendees. The schools often use a housing draft to ensure fairness in regards to students having a chance to have a bed on-campus, but it leaves a significant number of scholars left to their own devices if they don’t make the cut.
However, those who get selected in the draft still face significant on-campus living costs. On Spelman College’s official website, the fees for housing for an academic year is over $16,000. Morehouse, its brother institution, has fees only slightly lower—approximately $14,000.
The shortage and costliness of housing led to student protest last fall, but the results it incurred were not enough to provoke long-term change. To make matters worse, more popular HBCUs are expecting an increase in applicants in the next few years, potentially doubling the already growing number of interested students.
There are plans for housing that will accommodate a vast majority, if not all, of Morehouse’s student body. However, those facilities won’t be completed for a few years, according to Dean Kevin Booker.
Attendees and their support systems are not giving up on their fight to make their matriculation not break the bank. Davida Morgan Washington, a mother of a Morehouse student, is president of the college’s Parent Council. They are advocating for the school to foster new plans with the city’s inclusion so that all students can have viable housing options.
“When you start to think about Clark Atlanta, Morehouse, Spelman, we need to take some of this space and build dorms high up,” shared Washington. “That needs to be a fundraising priority so that we can house all these students that we don’t wanna turn away.”
Three Memphis Police Officers Charged in Tyre Nichols’ Death Want Separate Trials
For their involvement in the January death of Tyre Nichols, three Memphis police officers’ requests to have separate trials will now be heard before a judge. The hearing has been set for Sept. 15.
If the request is granted, Tadarrius Bean, Desmond Mills, and Justin Smith will face Judge James Jones Jr. in their distinct trials as they deal with the multiple charges, including second-degree murder. ABC News reports that three three former officers, and the two not involved with the motion, have pleaded not guilty.
All five law enforcement officials were fired for their gross mishandling of Nichols, who was pulled over Jan. 7, 2023 for a traffic violation that led to his death. The situation, caught on video, showed the officers relentlessly punching and kicking Nichols as he cried out for his mother. Once they stopped, video footage also revealed the officers taking pictures of Nichols and his battered body.
Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, died at the local hospital a few days later.
Mills claims that a separate trial is critical, as he was not present at the traffic stop where the beating initially started. According to his attorney, following through with the original plans for a joint trial will have him on the stand for crimes he was not a part of.
However, the Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman believes separate trials are unnecessary and will push that the officers are tried together.
To this day, no evidence has been released to the public on why the officers issued a traffic stop on Nichols.
The shocking case gained national attention as the race of all parties–the officers charged were Black—showed that police brutality in the U.S. is a deeply rooted systemic issue. Nichols’ death offered a revelation on the role diverse representation in law enforcement has in police interactions with minorities.
