SLAMS, Shaquille O’Neal, Shaq, gummies,
by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

August 24, 2025

Shaq Wants To Invest In New LSU Arena To Support Alma Mater And Baton Rouge

However, the project may face setbacks over the controversies surrounding its firm developer, Oak View Group.

Shaq will give back to his alma mater, Louisiana State University, in a unique way. The NBA legend will become an investor in the new arena at LSU.

Shaq revealed his intentions to sign on as an early investor in the project on Aug. 22. The development will reportedly cost $400 million to support the Baton Rouge school’s Division 1 athletic teams. According to the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, the 53-year-old released a statement on his high hopes for the arena.

“LSU and Baton Rouge deserve a world-class arena, and I’m very excited to endorse Oak View Group’s plan,” wrote the entrepreneur. “I’ve worked with OVG in venues across the country (with my Big Chicken brand), and they are the best partners and great operators. I look forward to becoming the first investor to help bring this new venue to Baton Rouge and LSU.”

Shaq has become known for his business acumen as much as his basketball career. While also a sports analyst, the “Inside the NBA” co-host has a variety of investments and brand deals that have made him a media personality.

However, the project has not officially begun despite Shaq’s pledged involvement. While he hopes his public statement will seal the deal, no agreement has been finalized with Oak View Group, the developer involved in controversy. LSU Athletics has also stated that the proposed project remains in a “due diligence review” before it requests any government approval.

Oak View Group has faced scrutiny following the indictment of its former CEO, Tim Leiweke, by the Department of Justice. Leiweke currently faces accusations for his alleged role in a “bid-rigging scheme” for the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

The firm owns and operates multiple venues globally, but also has other pending cases. In particular, they are involved in an antitrust case against Ticketmaster, in which they were called a “pimp” for their parent company, Live Nation.

For their involvement in the new LSU arena, local voices have already criticized the project due to the lack of transparency surrounding its development. However, the arena could open as early as 2029 if Shaq and fellow parties secure the deal.

While Shaq has remained mum about Oak View’s ominous history, multiple factors will play a role in determining whether construction will get off the ground in Baton Rouge.

RELATED CONTENT: Shaquille O’Neal Connects With Campus To Launch Scholarship Program For Young Entrepreneurs

Donald Trump. Black women, Fat Black Women, Lisa Cook
by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

August 24, 2025

Trump Biographer Reveals President’s Rants Against ‘Fat Black Women’ Amid Tension With Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook

Trump biographer Michael Wolff says the president is "obsessed" with tearing down Black women who challenge his power.

A Trump biographer has revealed deeper insights into the President’s disdain for Black women.

Trump biographer Michael Wolff has much to say about Trump and his latest adversary, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, a Black woman. Wolff says Trump’s attacks on Cook reveal his deeper sentiments and accompanying rants against “fat Black women.”

Cook was appointed to her role in the Federal Reserve under the Biden administration. However, Trump now seeks to remove both her and Chair Jerome Powell’s control. Wolff appeared on the Daily Beast’s podcast, Inside Trump’s Head, to discuss his analysis of Trump’s issue with Black women, especially those in power.

“I spent the last two years, more than two years, deeply involved with Trump’s campaign,” Wolff explained on the episode. “One of the motifs that was pervasive in the campaign was Trump’s attitude toward Black women.”

Wolff shared how political figures such as Cook, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and New York Attorney General Letitia James are all the same “fat Black woman” archetype threatening his rule.

“This had particular and special meaning: Black women were coming after him. And that shortly became, in his rendition of this, fat Black women,” said Wolff. “The personal animus here, the personal revulsion on Trump’s part, the personal fear… This was essentially on a daily basis. People around him would call me up and say, ‘another fat Black woman.’”

His current issue with Cook comes from an accusation made by a Trump appointee, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte. Pulte made claims that Cook “falsified bank documents and property records” to commit mortgage fraud, as detailed in his criminal referral letter.

Cook belittled the accusations as an instance of bullying, and one that she refuses to succumb to. However, she stated that in light of her office, she will answer all questions related to her financial history.

Despite her denial of wrongdoing, Trump continued his own attacks against Cook. He threatened to fire her if she did not step down from her role, calling her unverified actions “bad” to reporters.

Trump has also attacked the credibility of Black women who challenged him before. For James, the attorney led a successful civil suit against him for inflating his financial records for better loan terms. Trump proceeded to call her a “criminal” for bringing on the suit. When he eventually won with an overturned verdict, the President called her “totally corrupt and incompetent” on Truth Social.

He made similar claims against Willis, who led an indictment against Trump and his team for alleged election interference in Georgia. He called Willis “corrupt” after she was removed from the case due to her relationship with a special prosecutor.

Wolff says his constant attacks on Black women in the political arena come from an “obsession.” Wolff believes this also stems from fear that they will lead to the demise of his power.

“But this is obvious,” continued Wolff. “I want to go beyond that and say this is an obvious pathology. It’s an obsession of his. It lives. One of his staffers said to me, ‘He must dream about fat Black women.’”

Unsurprisingly, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung vehemently denounced Wolff’s claims.

“Michael Wolff is a lying sack of s–t and has been proven to be a fraud,” Cheung said. “He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain.”

RELATED CONTENT: Trump: ‘African-American Ladies Are Saying, ‘Please, President Trump, Come To Chicago,’ Clean Up Crime. Black Women: ‘We Didn’t Invite You’

Shawn Kemp, house arrest
by Daniel Johnson

August 24, 2025

Former Sonics Legend Shawn Kemp Sentenced To House Arrest For 2023 Mall Incident

In addition to the house arrest, Kemp is required to serve one year of state Department of Corrections supervision and complete 240 hours of community service.

On Aug. 22, former NBA star Shawn Kemp was sentenced to 30 days of house arrest for a March 2023 incident in which he fired a gun at two men he claimed were attempting to steal his truck, cellphone, and memorabilia.

According to CBS News, in addition to the house arrest, Kemp is required to serve one year of supervision by the state Department of Corrections and complete 240 hours of community service. Initially, prosecutors recommended that Kemp be sentenced to nine months in jail, a year of supervision, and be required to pay restitution to the men he shot at.

However, in the estimation of Judge Michael Schwartz of Pierce County Superior Court, the circumstances of Kemp’s crime did not quite meet the level of those recommendations from the state prosecutors, and he wished for the 55-year-old Kemp to avoid incarceration.

Upon receiving his sentence from the judge, Kemp, who agreed to plead guilty to assault in May as part of a plea deal, was visibly relieved, breathing a sigh of relief and making the sign of the cross across his chest multiple times.

According to the trial brief, Kemp used a phone tracking app to locate and briefly talk to one of the men who was driving a Toyota 4Runner in circles around the parking lot of a casino. The men later dumped out some of Kemp’s possessions but kept the phone in the vehicle.

Kemp later used the phone tracking app to discover that his phone was near the Tacoma Mall, and upon arriving, he then found the same vehicle, and per the court documents, “expressed his understandable frustration” with the driver, when another man in the backseat of the vehicle fired at Kemp. When, per the brief, he “returned fire and attempted to disable the Toyota. It did not work.”

The man driving the 4Runner fled, and a few days later, the vehicle was found abandoned with an empty holster inside, but no gun. In an interview following the hearing, the six-time All-Star told reporters that “the last three years have been tough,” and indicated that he wanted to become an advocate for the prevention of gun violence, particularly among youth.

“Think twice. Think twice when you get mad. Think twice when you get a little upset,” Kemp noted.

According to The Seattle Times, Kemp’s defense attorney, Timothy Leary, wrote in a sentencing memo that Kemp is remorseful.

“He understands and appreciates that he could have and should have conducted himself differently that afternoon in the Tacoma Mall parking lot. However, the public scorn, disappointment, embarrassment and personal shame weighs heavy on Mr. Kemp. That punishment lasts much longer than any jail sentence,” Leary stated.

RELATED CONTENT: Former NBA Player Shawn Kemp Agrees To Plea Deal For 2023 Parking Lot Shooting

Scotland, Black Scots, Scottish
by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

August 24, 2025

TikTok Reveal Of Black People In Scotland Has Internet In A Frenzy

Black Scottish TikTok is taking over the internet and encouraging new conversations across the diaspora.

While the Black diaspora is vast and can be found almost anywhere, one area’s Black community has appeared relatively under the radar until now.

TikTok has seemingly unveiled the existence of Black people living in Scotland. Although Black people have lived in Europe for centuries, Black Scots have become the latest phenomenon on the internet.

The rabbit hole into the lives of Black Scottish people opened with one TikToker. Torgi Squire initially posted a video complaining about the weather. His accent immediately drew attention, with some hearing and seeing a Black Scotsman speak for the first time.

@starboysobersfitness PSA any tourists want guaranteed good Scottish weather book for the second week in August. Thank me later #scottishtiktok #blackscottishtiktok #relatable #scottishweather #sunshineonscotchbeef ♬ original sound – Starboy|Fitness

The comments section was rightfully flooded with appreciation and surprise at the man’s national heritage. Some hyped the man up for his melanin and Scottish accent. Others just shared their shock that he is from there.

 “I didn’t know we come in Scottish,” exclaimed one user.

 Another shared, “This is the FIRST time I’ve EVER experienced this.”

One woman even said, “Hold on now!!!! Beautiful dark skin, locs, AND a Scottish accent?!!? Oh naw, new cheat code unlocked.”

On his newfound celebrity, Squire expressed how Americans often only see their cultural influence in media, but this Black Scottish TikTok movement has others owning the spotlight.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” Squire told The Guardian. “Americans are kept in a bit of an echo chamber by their media, and their only point of reference for Scotland is either Braveheart, [Disney’s] Brave, or Shrek. They don’t seem to have much awareness of the diaspora, particularly when it comes to the UK, which is maybe why they’ve reacted with so much curiosity. But it’s not just Americans. I’ve had comments from people in England too, so there’s still surprise at a [B]lack person with a Scottish accent on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Other Black Scots then shared their own accents on TikTok, resulting in camaraderie across the diaspora. Across cultures and continents, Black Scottish TikTok also shared how they have similarities to Black Americans, while noting differences such as their slang and delicacies.

@divinee..__ You ask and you get… Slang words for ye #scottishblackgirl #blackscottish #blackscottishtiktok ♬ original sound – KingDee

The internet became so obsessed that Roy Woods Jr. then interviewed Squire and fellow Black Scots about their community. They all discussed how Black Americans are just finding out about Black Scots’ existence. They both acknowledge how Black culture and history are often slighted in education and media.

@roywoodjr Ran over to Scotland to talk with four Black Scots/Brits? to get to the bottom of this #BlackScottishTikTok stuff. We talked the gift & curse of American cultural influences and how you work to find cultural identity in a country where only 2% of the people look like you. Extended convo on my YouTube RoyWoodJrOfficial 
Big thanks to @mannyDaphey @WhatsUpKayWhatsUp @starboysoberFitness @GlennFHelen. Thank you to @monkeyBarrelComedy and the Glasgow P.D. for not trippin when you saw me and Starboy out there recording. 
In the comments let @MannyDaphey know the best spot in the States for the seafood boils. & let Kay know the best state to visit for a first timer to the U.S. #blackscottishtiktok #BlackScottish @Starboy|Fitness @Whatsupkay @Manny Daphey ♬ original sound – roywoodjr

“Media doesn’t show our faces or voices and things like this. So you have no experience of it,” explained Squire. “I couldn’t name one Black Scottish entertainer that has made it big, so to speak in America.”

While appreciating the interest and support from their American counterparts, Black Scots mostly want respect and understanding of their distinct cultural difference in the world and within the United Kingdom.

RELATED CONTENT: ‘Leave Me Alone’ Missing Texas Woman Found In ‘Lost Tribe’ In Scotland

sharon chuter, uoma beauty, dead
by Daniel Johnson

August 24, 2025

Sharon Chuter, Trailblazing Uoma Beauty Founder And Diversity Advocate, Found Dead At 38 In Los Angeles

Chuter recently filed a lawsuit over the company she created.

Sharon Chuter, the founder of Uoma Beauty and a driving force in the movement to diversify the beauty industry through both the company she founded and her own personal initiatives, was found on Aug. 14 dead on a patio, and her death is currently still under investigation, reports People Magazine.

Kirbie Johnson, who runs the newsletter “Ahead of the Kirb,” reported that a source familiar with Chuter’s circles said a former executive from Chuter’s company confirmed Chuter’s death.

Chuter, who launched Uoma Beauty in 2019 at Ulta with an initial offering of more than 100 inclusive beauty products, came with bona fides in the beauty industry, including most notably, convincing Revlon to distribute beauty products in her home country of Nigeria.

A year after launching Uoma Beauty, as conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion gained momentum following the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Chuter introduced two major initiatives — Pull Up for Change and the #PullUpOrShutUp campaign — challenging beauty companies to disclose the number of Black employees in corporate and leadership roles within 72 hours of being called out.

Her initiatives also encouraged consumers to vote with their dollars and avoid companies that failed to divulge this information.

Chuter spoke about this in more detail two years later, during an episode of “The Drew Barrymore Show.”

“I did that really to drive more awareness and shine more light to the lack of economic opportunities for the Black community, especially within the beauty space. I’ve always been the person who speaks up. Whenever I see something that needs to change, I don’t have it in me means to just sit it out,” she told Barrymore.

In 2023, despite all her work on behalf of diversity with Uoma Beauty, she opted to step down as CEO of the company, which she later explained was a decision made after a significant health scare in January of that year that made her seek out a healthier work-life balance.

She also admitted in an Instagram post addressing the matter that it wasn’t entirely voluntary, a point she would expand on in a lawsuit two years later.

According to Allure, in 2025, a few months before her untimely death, Chuter filed a lawsuit against MacArthur Beauty, BrainTrust, and Settle Funding, alleging that “BrainTrust took control of Uoma’s operations and ultimately pushed Ms. Chuter out of her operational roles.”

In addition to this, BrainTrust stopped Uoma’s operations while she was on medical leave, which she alleged was supposed to end in July 2023.

According to her lawsuit, she was also supposed to return in a “chief brand officer” capacity wherein she would have been in charge of “overseeing creative, product development, as well as being the face of the brand… This did not happen.”

Furthermore, after the lawsuit was filed, BrainTrust gave its side of what happened as Chuter’s tenure with Uoma came to an end.

“It’s not our practice to comment publicly on our investments in private companies, but this specious complaint requires a response. Ms. Chuter resigned from the Uoma board and publicly on Instagram after hiring an interim CEO who performed a forensic accounting review of the company,” they said in a joint statement with MacArthur Beauty, LLC leadership.

The lawsuit Chuter filed in February 2025 in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleges that BrainTrust et al engaged in “constructive fraudulent transfer, intentional fraudulent transfer, aiding and abetting fraudulent transfer, receipt of stolen property, and unjust enrichment.”

As a result of this, the lawsuit states that Chuter was seeking “damages for fraudulent transfer and MacArthur and BrainTrust’s receipt of Uoma’s nearly $50 million in stolen assets.” Which she noted in her lawsuit should be “determined according to proof at trial in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of $25,000.”

Despite the complex nature of the lawsuit, Chuter’s untimely death leaves many legal matters unresolved for now.

RELATED CONTENT: ‘I’m Not Going to Change the World by Myself, But I Can Start.’: How UOMA Beauty’s Founder Merges Activism and Makeup to Fight for Change

film, Kobe Bryant
by Daniel Johnson

August 24, 2025

Warner Bros. Takes A Shot At A Kobe Bryant Film

The script is described by insiders as 'Moneyball' meets 'Air.'

Warner Bros.’ bold bets on films in 2025 have paid off at the box office, and the studio is likely hoping its latest acquisition, a speculative script chronicling the late Kobe Bryant’s rise to becoming a Los Angeles Laker, follows the success of recent hits like Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” James Gunn’s “Superman,” and Zach Cregger’s “Weapons.”

According to Variety, the project from screenwriters Alex Sohn and Gavin Johannsen had attracted the interest of several studios. Instead of dealing with a potential auction, the studio opted to pick up the script, which has been tentatively titled “With The 8th Pick,” although the Charlotte Hornets actually took Bryant with the 13th pick.

As the story regarding Bryant’s draft night goes, the Hornets traded Bryant’s draft rights to the Lakers in exchange for center Vlade Divac, however, then-New Jersey Nets General Manager John Nash has expressed that he intended to draft the future Hall of Famer with the 8th pick, but was overruled by current University of Arkansas head basketball coach John Calipari.

The script is described by insiders as “Moneyball” meets “Air,” the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon picture that details how Nike courted the player Bryant patterned much of his game after, His Airness, Michael Jordan.

“Air” details the competing negotiations of Jordan’s rookie season in 1984, when he almost signed with another shoe company, but instead chose Nike, transforming that shoe brand and pop culture in the process.

According to Variety, when they asked representatives of Warner Bros. about the project, they didn’t give a comment.

Bryant, an 18-time NBA All-Star, played all 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, helping the organization to win five championships, including a rare three-peat alongside Shaquille O’Neal in the early 2000s. Eventually, Bryant would supplant even Magic Johnson as the greatest Los Angeles Laker ever. Like Magic, he was drafted to the organization and never left, while he delivered multiple championships.

According to The New York Times, Bryant’s long-time marriage to his wife, Vanessa, was threatened in 2003 when he was accused of sexual assault by a 19-year-old woman.

It wasn’t until 2018, seven months after he won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, that he and the world were reminded of his transgressions after a petition created bad press, and he was dropped from a film festival jury.

“This is an urgent time to say NO to toxic and violent behavior against women, the petition said in an effort to call on organizers of the Animation Is Film Festival to distance themselves from Bryant.

Kobe, as he had done in the past, declined to discuss the sexual assault case, only remarking that he was “disappointed” and wanted to focus on creating “diverse stories, characters and leadership” through which he hoped to change the world.

Bryant’s escape of his legal troubles after the accuser refused to testify birthed his “Black Mamba” alter-ego, which in turn begat the Mamba Sports Academy, Mamba Mentality commercial spots with Nike, and the nickname “Mambacita” for his daughter Gianna, whom he would often take to WNBA games with him before they died in a fiery helicopter crash alongside seven others in January 2020.

RELATED CONTENT: Upper Deck Basketball Card Featuring Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan Expected To Auction For Over $6M

accidental shooting, killing, arrested
by Daniel Johnson

August 23, 2025

Woman Sought Court Protection Multiple Times Before Being Fatally Shot By Ex At Detroit Hospital

Detroit Police arrested the suspect in the shooting death of Latricia Green, her ex-husband, Mario Green.

On Aug. 23, the Detroit Police Department announced that it had captured Mario Green, the alleged suspect in the shooting at the Henry Ford Hospital in the early morning hours. Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison referred to Green as a “monster” in his initial statement to the press.

“Our officers worked tirelessly to get this monster off the street. We have the best police department across the country, and I would like to thank our law enforcement partners who assisted us in apprehending Mario Green, along with the community, who gave us numerous tips about the suspect. No person deserves what happened to Ms. Latricia Green, and my heart and prayers go out to her family,” Bettison said.

The murder of Latricia Green involved Mario Green walking into the hospital on Aug. 22 and shooting his ex-wife at her job, as he claimed to be dropping off some of her things. Per witness accounts, she told him to leave, but he refused, and they argued briefly before he produced a gun and shot her.

Her family members, such as her cousin, Deantjuan Jones, are still trying to process her shooting death.

“When you see his picture, it’s like, ‘I know him.’ And to think that it happened at the place where she worked. When you say ex-wife, it just kind of clicked a little bit, like you didn’t have to say who it was,” Jones told ABC 7. “She was such a sweet person; she didn’t deserve what happened to her at all.”

Despite their chief’s claim that they are the best police department in the country, the police denied Green’s protective order request in June even though she said that her ex-husband “continued to call my job and threaten to meet employees outside” and that he “showed up to my job and tried to enter my office without my approval to get to me.”

She filed another request a little over a month later, on July 20, wherein she pleaded, “I have tried being cordial because I feel that the system has now let me down each time that I have tried to make reports on this man. My father was murdered, and now with this situation, I am now in mental distress and scared, not knowing what to do…”

She continued, “I have to constantly look over my shoulder to make sure this man is not following me to hurt me like he has done in the past with physical abuse. I am asking for help before this goes too far, and things are too late.”

This time her request was granted, but unfortunately, as she warned the police, they were too late in serving the protection order to her ex-husband.

According to her cousin, Rodney Hickman, his behavior had escalated as recently as last week.

“As early as last week, a friend told me he followed her home from work and ran her off the road, so she made another police report. We’re not sitting here gonna point the finger, but at the same time, she was a woman crying out for help.”

Henry Ford Hospital also released its own statement about the shooting death of its employee, noting that the police considered it an act of targeted domestic violence.

“At Henry Ford Health, we are family. We are devastated by the loss of our Henry Ford Hospital teammate, and our hearts go out to her loved ones—her family, friends, and the people she worked with every day. Police have confirmed this was a targeted act of domestic violence. At this time, all questions regarding what occurred should be directed to the Detroit Police Department. We are cooperating with their investigation and are conducting our own internal investigation as well.”

The hospital continued, “We understand this tragedy is wide-reaching, and we recognize and sympathize with the pain this has caused. We are providing resources to our team members who are dealing with the impacts of this tragic incident. The safety and well-being of our patients, visitors, and team members is our greatest priority.”

RELATED CONTENT: Olympian Runner Gabby Thomas Fears Potential ‘Stalkers’

Medicaid, Black children
by Daniel Johnson

August 23, 2025

Medicaid Cuts Poised To Have Disproportionate Impact On Black Children

The Medicaid cuts contained in Trump's so-called 'One Big Beautiful Bill' are poised to potentially disproportionately impact Black women and children.

The Medicaid cuts contained in Donald Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” are poised to potentially disproportionately impact Black women and children, standing to make already divergent health outcomes for Black Americans even worse.

According to Politico, the NAACP is warning that, in addition to the adverse effects on Medicaid, Trump’s budget is also anticipated to detrimentally affect high-poverty schools, maternal mortality rates, and Black families in need of critical care.

Per research from the Pew Research Center, Black Americans, who constitute approximately 14% of the population, make up more than 20% of people who are on Medicaid, and 60% of all Black children are enrolled in the program, which further highlights the necessity of the program’s funding.

As Patrice Willoughby, the chief of Policy and Legislative Affairs for the NAACP, told Politico, “States right now are having to make decisions on what services they’re going to cut … and their allocation of funding toward this population. It is unconscionable that Congress would leave American children, which are the future of the country, without the supports that they need and the interventions that they need to contribute meaningfully to develop to their fullest potential.”

She continued, “We know that Black boys, particularly if they’re having a learning disability, you’ve got to catch it by third grade in order to be able statistically to remediate it. Schools can often be the first points of contact to identify a health problem with a lower-income child that is affecting their schoolwork, and then make the appropriate referrals.”

Willoughby is far from the only advocate pointing out the potential disaster of the cuts to Black families, in May, Capital B News spoke to a Black 60-year-old grandmother who lives in Memphis, Tennessee; Arlita Walker, who represents the average Medicaid recipient.

Like many Americans on Medicaid, she was apprehensive about the looming cuts. Not long after speaking to the outlet, Walker, who had been having health issues, died on June 3.

As U.S. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) told the outlet at the time, “Medicaid has been a lifeline for millions of families in this country, but it has also helped us address critical disparities in health for Black communities. Without access to this care, we risk exacerbating deep-rooted inequalities and putting lives at risk.”

According to The Century Foundation, Medicaid doubles as a source of healthcare for students and a source of payment for school-based health services and across the country, in both Democratic and Republican controlled districts, as a direct result of losing access to Medicaid, millions of students stand to suffer lower academic achievement, higher rates of absenteeism, poorer mental health, and even wider educational disparities.

This kind of semi-universal coverage is spotlighted by a March KFF poll that indicates that a minority of Americans (17%) want to see Medicaid cuts. Over half of Americans (53%) have either themselves or a family member has received Medicaid assistance at some point, further highlighting the disconnect between the Republican Party and the constituents they claim to represent.

According to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, which examines the Medicaid cuts in the context of the Trump administration’s favorable tax policy for the wealthy, the cuts are expected to have a disastrous effect on the country as a whole.

“These cuts will not just cause harm to individual families; they will cascade, leading to hospital closures in rural counties, higher medical debt, lower earnings from future workers who will suffer from poorer health decades from now, and could even put upward pressure on federal budget deficits in the long run. In the very near term, these cuts will make the United States economy far more vulnerable to any recessionary shock. Nothing about this policy package—tax cuts mostly for the rich and benefit cuts for the vulnerable—is good for the vast majority of families in this country,” the Economic Policy Institute warned.

RELATED CONTENT: How The Senate’s Plan For Massive Medicaid Cuts Will Hinder The African American Community

Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears
by Daniel Johnson

August 23, 2025

Winsome Earle-Sears Targeted By Racist Sign, Virginia Leaders Condemn Incident

As Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears spoke at an Arlington School Board meeting, a crowd of citizens rallied outside in support of trans students, where a racist sign targeting Earle-Sears was also displayed.

While Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears addressed the Arlington School Board on Aug. 21, supporters of trans students held a rally outside the meeting.

At the meeting, the school board was slated to discuss its policy regarding a bathroom policy for trans children after the district received threats from the U.S. Department of Education that it would cut federal funding if trans children were allowed to use gender neutral bathrooms.

Unbeknownst to Earle-Sears, one sign held up by an older white woman outside of the meeting that referred to her by name also seemed to equivocate her stance on gender neutral bathrooms with whites-only water fountains of the Civil Rights era.

On one side, the poster read, “Hey Winsome, you have a gender neutral bathroom in your house,” but on the reverse side, it read, “Hey Winsome, if trans can’t share your bathroom, then Blacks can’t share my water fountain.”

As ABC 8 reported, that sign has been decried by Virginia’s Republicans and Democrats alike, including by Earle-Sears herself, as racist.

Earle-Sears, aligned with the Trump administration and its Department of Education stance on gender-neutral bathrooms, recently claimed—despite widespread debunking—that the policy could allow male sex offenders to enter girls’ restrooms by identifying as transgender.

https://twitter.com/NickMinock/status/1958685893012668779?s=19

As the sign’s prominence spread online, amplified by local Virginia journalist and the man who runs Virginia Scope, Brandon Jarvis, the criticism of the sign took on a strange dynamic, while Democrats decried the sign, including the Democratic nominee for governor, Abigail Spanberger, Republican supporters seemed to believe that their state’s Democrats largely supported the sign’s message.

However, according to Jarvis, Spanberger’s communications team sent him a response decrying the sign, “Abigail condemns this repulsive display. It’s racist, abhorrent, and unacceptable.”

In response to Earle-Sears’ statements at the meeting, Spanberger released a separate statement focusing on her opponent’s record regarding the defunding of public schools.

“While Abigail’s opponent, Winsome Earle-Sears stokes division and backs the Trump Administration’s threats to strip funding from Virginia schools, as Virginia’s next Governor, Abigail will work to protect public school funding, address the Commonwealth’s chronic teacher shortage, and contend with our last-in-the-nation math recovery ranking. While Winsome Earle-Sears has a decades-long record of trying to defund Virginia’s public schools — and has offered no plan to increase student achievement, Abigail will continue to focus on preparing students for success and bringing Virginia parents to the table,” Spanberger said.

As Virginia debates the merits of gender neutral bathrooms, Colorado’s East High School has responded to a Department of Education investigation by making two of its boys’ and girls’ bathrooms into gender-inclusive bathrooms.

Meanwhile, the DOE ruled on Aug. 20 that five northern Virginia school districts, including Arlington, violated Title IX by allowing students to use restrooms or locker rooms that align with their gender identity. DOE Secretary Linda McMahon described the ruling as their punishment for “choosing to abide by woke gender ideology in place of federal law.”

RELATED CONTENT: Virginia’s Black Female Republican Lt. Gov. Slams Jemele Hill After Sports Writer Blames White Supremacy For Her Win

Trump, Chicago, National Guard
by Daniel Johnson

August 23, 2025

Trump: ‘African-American Ladies Are Saying, ‘Please, President Trump, Come To Chicago,’ Clean Up Crime. Black Women: ‘We Didn’t Invite You’

Trump says he wants to send the National Guard to Chicago.

On Aug. 22, Donald Trump made his latest move to expand what many consider a hostile federal takeover of an American city that he believes is overrun with crime, targeting Chicago and its Black mayor, Brandon Johnson, for his next experiment in authoritarianism.

According to People Magazine, Trump inexplicably asserted to reporters inside the Oval Office that Black people in Chicago, in particular, Black women, are begging for his help. “After we do this, we will go to another location and make it safe also. Chicago is a mess, you have an incompetent mayor, grossly incompetent. We’ll straighten that one out. That will probably be our next one after this,” Trump told reporters.

He continued, “It won’t even be tough. The people of Chicago… are screaming for us to come. They’re wearing red hats, just like this one,” a statement referring to his refreshed red hat design that reads “Trump Was Right About Everything.” Trump kept spinning his tale. “African-American ladies, beautiful ladies, are saying, ‘Please President Trump, come to Chicago, please.’ I did great with the Black vote, as you know. They want something to happen.”

Trump did not actually “do great” with the Black vote, according to an analysis from Pew Research, he only captured around 15% of the Black vote nationally, and in other, more targeted breakdowns, he performed terribly among Black women specifically, approximately 90% of Black women supported then-Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid to become the first Black female president of the United States.

In addition, as Sydney Carr-Glenn, a political scientist at the College of the Holy Cross, told The 19th News, Black women are the electoral group that has both reached new levels of political power and currently provides the staunchest resistance to Trump and his agenda. It stands to reason that his use of these seemingly random Black women is an attempt to subvert these developments.

According to Wendy Via, the co-founder and CEO of Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, Trump’s moves against Black mayors stand out to her as “part of the authoritarian playbook” to create an “enemy” that can be conjured up in an effort to justify more extreme military action and policies that take away the rights of Americans in those cities.

“I do not think it is an accident that the mayors he’s gone after have been Black women, because another trait of authoritarianism is demonizing communities that have a history of being marginalized,” Via told The 19th. “When you can send in the troops and it’s a Black woman leader on the receiving end, then it’s not such a big deal to send in the troops — because they’re already the enemy, and they must not be capable of managing their city.”

Though Chicago is run by a Black man, not a Black woman, the tactics that Via ascribed to Trump and his administration are largely the same, and much like his push to take over Washington D.C., his focus on crime is an age-old dog whistle that Black people in America need monitoring.

According to Block Club Chicago, Johnson responded to Trump’s threat with his own statement, calling Trump’s crime strategy “uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound.”

He continued, hinting at the progress Chicago has made regarding crime during his tenure. “Unlawfully deploying the National Guard to Chicago has the potential to inflame tensions between residents and law enforcement when we know that trust between police and residents is foundational to building safer communities. An unlawful deployment would be unsustainable and would threaten to undermine the historic progress we have made.”

Mayor Johnson concluded, “We know that our communities are safest when we fully invest in housing, community safety, and education. The National Guard will not alleviate the housing crisis. It will not put food in the stomachs of the 1 in 4 children that go to bed hungry every night in Chicago…There are many things the federal government could do to help us reduce crime and violence in Chicago, but sending in the military is not one of them.”

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