‘Have Another Stroke’: Azalea Banks Goes After Wendy Williams
Two days ago, Azalea Banks went after Nick Cannon and his MTV show Wildin Out. She accused the cast of blindsiding her with colorist, insensitive jokes – making her the dark skin punching bag (who cried on the show!).
(Cast members admitted to calling AB ugly but they insist that they did not dole out any colorist jokes.) Watch Lovelyti’s video on the situation:
Yesterday, Wendy Williams commented on the situation, where she shadily or unknowingly kept calling Azalea, Iggy.
Afterwards, Wendy listed some of the celebrities that Banks fought with over the years like Cardi B, Remy Ma, Rihanna, Erykah Badu, Beyoncé, Russell Crowe, Skai Jackson and Kendrick Lamar.
“My thought about Azealia Banks, I don’t know her, but she seems to be smart but angry and her anger seems to be the problem,” said Wendy. “A lot of times people would rather work with second best who’s not so angry than first best. And I’m not familiar with her music. I’m just familiar with her anger.”
Some might say that Wendy took it easy on Banks and didn’t come down on her like she has other celebs. But that didn’t stop the rapper from responding on Instagram.
“OMG, can Wendy Williams have another stroke on TV and finally drop dead?” wrote Banks. “I would love to see her die on air.”
If you didn’t know, the rapper’s message has to do with a 2017 Halloween episode where Williams fainted on live TV.
Meanwhile, Banks was working on her new album “Fantasea II: The Second Wave” but shelved it after her “Wild ‘N Out” experience. “Album is canceled,” she wrote on her Instagram story. “I need some time to relax and bounce on d–k. I’ll release new music when I feel like it.”
We are waiting with bated breath for this episode to air.
In the meantime check out AB’s new hit Treasure Island!
False Alarm: Chance the Rapper Says He’s Not Dropping an Album This Week
And the year of the surprise everything continues: Chance the Rapper has announced that he’s releasing an album this week. He let the news slip to the Chicago Tribune, revealing no other details about how the project will arrive other than it’ll drop “just in time” for his Special Olympics 50th anniversary concert (held on July 21). His last album, 2016’s Coloring Book, was an Apple Music exclusive that became the first streaming-only album to win a Grammy. He’s not sure now if he’ll choose to monetize his work. “I’ve never been against selling music. Music has value,” he says. “I put my music out there for free because I wanted people to see and notice it as a beacon for what I’m doing, in terms of how unorthodox I wanted my approach and my delivery of each piece of music to be.” He does, however, still sound to be anti–record labels, saying that his collaborations with bigger artists have been stifled by their labels: “It has been difficult for me to release music with artists who work with the majors. A lot of stuff I’ve worked on hasn’t come out since Coloring Book because it’s hard [when collaborating with artists limited by record deals].”
As for his upcoming separate project with Kanye West, which Chance previously teased, he says they made two songs weeks ago during the Wyoming sessions and will revisit that work shortly. “We’re up in the mountains around these wild animals — it’s very different out there — and we got some music done, and then he asked me if he could do an album with me,” Chance says. “I don’t know of a timeline on it yet, the trajectory of it, but he’s coming here to work on it some more. We’ve just started making it, but I don’t want to manipulate the situation and impose any time frame, because that can hinder you.”
Update, 11:30 a.m.: On second thought, don’t get your hopes up yet. Chance has tweeted a clarification to the Tribune story saying he’s not, in fact, putting an album out this week. But he does hint that there’s music coming … whenever that will be. The element of surprise is still alive!
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Ex-day care owner gets probation for trying to hang toddler
MINNEAPOLIS — A former Minneapolis day care owner was sentenced Monday to 10 years of probation for trying to kill a toddler in her home by hanging him. Nataliia Karia, 43, received her punishment in Hennepin County court after pleading guilty to attempted murder and third-degree assault earlier. She also pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular operation for hitting a pedestrian, a bicyclist and another driver as she fled from her home in a minivan in November 2016.
Karia abandoned a possible insanity defense before entering the guilty plea, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Karia also must follow court-ordered mental health treatment and will be on electronic home monitoring for at least two months, the Star Tribune reported. She will live with her adult son but cannot have unsupervised contact with her daughters or other minors.
According to the criminal complaint, a father was dropping off his son at Karia’s home when Karia led him toward the basement, where he saw the toddler hanging from a noose. He released the child and fled with him. The 16-month-old boy survived. Police reportedly said a week after the incident the child was doing fine physically after a hospitalization.
Judge Jay Quam agreed with the assessment by doctors that Karia was “a low risk” to reoffend. He called her actions “the perfect storm of factors unlikely to ever be repeated.”
Defense attorney Brockton Hunter expressed relief on behalf of Karia.
“We came in here with our hearts in our throats,” Hunter said.
He said Karia, who has spent 20 months in jail since the incident and will get credit for her time already served, will leave jail no later than Tuesday.
Karia, who arrived in the United States from Ukraine in 2006, promised to follow probation and said in court she was glad no one died. She said in a statement her husband abused her, forced her to work despite her psychological struggles and prevented her from getting medical attention, reports the Star-Tribune.
“I don’t want to push this terrible crime onto my husband. I just want to explain what happened,” she said through an interpreter, reports the paper. “Your Honor, my children need me … Give me a chance to resume a normal life.”
Prosecutor Christina Warren reportedly pushed for nearly 13 years of prison time. Warren raised doubts that Karia could be properly supervised outside of prison and receive the care she needs to restore her mental health.
In a court filing, Warren wrote that instead of being the person most able and willing to protect the boy from harm, Karia “left him hanging by a noose around his neck in her basement.”
The defense argued for probation, pointing out that Karia already has served time in jail and lost her child care career.
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Haiti’s Prime Minister Resigns After Riots Over Fuel Price Hike
Haiti’s Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant resigned Saturday after days of riots sparked by a plan to raise prices on fuel.
Haitian President President Jovenel Moïse said on Twitter that he had accepted Lafontant’s resignation as well as members of his cabinet. Moïse said he would work to choose a new prime minister.
Lafontant, a doctor who only took up the job of prime minister in early 2017, resigned shortly before a no-confidence vote was to be called in Haiti’s parliament, which could have led to his removal from office.
Reports differ on how many people have been killed in riots — at least two,three or seven — that happened over the last weekend. Demonstrators reportedly blocked roads, burned tires and vandalized shops.
The government announced on Friday, July 6 that prices would go up the following day by 38 percent for gasoline, 47 percent for diesel and 51 percent for kerosene.
By the following day, Lafontant said the price rises would be suspended, and said the government “strongly condemns the acts of violence and vandalism” that happened after the initial announcement was made.
The price increases were part of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, which often requires countries to implement economic reforms in exchange for access to funds. The Haitian government signed an agreement earlier this year with the IMF to gain access to $96 million in loans and grants, according to the Miami Herald.
The Herald reports that for the past week, Lafontant “had refused calls to step down from business and opposition groups, which accused the government of mishandling the double-digit fuel increase that its ministers announced with little notice.”
Haiti’s government subsidizes the cost of fuel in the country. The World Bank said in a report last year that the richest 20 percent of Haitians were receiving 93 percent of the subsidies and that the country was spending 2.2 percent of its GDP on subsidies in 2014.
But the price hikes were too much to bear for many in one of the world’s poorest countries. The World Bank says the majority of Haitians, about 59 percent, make less than the equivalent of $2.41 per day.
The IMF said Thursday that it still supports removing subsidies as a way to give the government funding for social services, but advised doing so more gradually.
The U.S. State Department issued a “do not travel” warning for U.S. citizens on July 9 over what it called “widespread civil unrest and violent demonstrations in Haiti. Protests, tire burning, and road blockages are frequent and unpredictable.”
Article via: Haiti’s Prime Minister Resigns After Riots Over Fuel Price Hike
State abortion ballots prepare for post-Roe world
Many states have turned to both ballot measures and legislation to enact abortion policy in the event of a dramatic Supreme Court decision.
Anti-abortion initiatives on the ballot in West Virginia and Alabama this November could lay the foundation for the states to ban or sharply limit legal abortion as change comes to the Supreme Court.
Both ballot measures were in the works before President Donald Trump nominated conservative Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace the more moderate Justice Anthony Kennedy on the high court. But they take on greater import — and will likely draw far more national attention — given the shifting ideological balance on the court.
“They’re setting the stage for if and when Roe falls,” West Virginia abortion rights activist Margaret Chapman Pomponio said. “The criminal code will immediately be triggered.”
No ballot initiative can outright ban abortion as long as Roe v. Wade remains the law of the land. But the West Virginia and Alabama measures would amend their respective state constitutions to declare that abortion rights are not protected. That would pave the way for conservative state legislatures to ban or restrict abortion if the Supreme Court acts.
It’s too late to get similar measures on the ballot in other states this November, but another burst of activity could happen by 2020, according to Elizabeth Nash, senior state issues manager at the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.
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Watch the first teaser for Doctor Who’s next season
The season premieres this fall!
During today’s World Cup march, the BBC released its first teaser for its upcoming 11th season of its science fiction show Doctor Who, which will feature actress Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor.
The trailer shows off only a brief glimpse of Whittaker’s Doctor, who appears right at the end of the teaser. She is the first woman to play the role of Doctor, taking over for Peter Capaldi, who portrayed the Twelfth Doctor from 2014 to 2017. Fans of the show got their first glimpse of her during last year’s Christmas special, and her casting represents a new era for the show as Chris Chibnall (creator of the acclaimed crime drama Broadchurch) took over for Steven Moffat, the show’s long-time showrunner. The season is expected to premiere in October 2018.
Whittaker’s casting came after years of discussion over whether or not a woman should take over for the role of the show’s most famous character: up until this point, all 12 Doctors were played by men, and while the show’s creators had mulled the possibility, they didn’t feel that it was the right time. Moffatt told the Radio Times in December that it was Chibnall’s call when he took over the show, and said that he thinks that “she’ll be brilliant as the Doctor.”
Doctor Who’s cast and crew will be showing up at San Diego Comic-Con later this week, where we’ll undoubtably learn a bit more about the upcoming season.
Article via: Watch the first teaser for Doctor Who’s next season
Behind bars for 2 murders, he’s running for US Senate seat in Minnesota
A Minnesota man serving a life sentence without parole after being convicted of two murders is now vying for a U.S. Senate seat.
Leonard Richards, 75, has found a loophole that has allowed him to legally run for federal office, despite his criminal record.
Minnesota law bars felons from running for state-level offices but does not prevent them from seeking federal positions.
New York Post✔@nypost
Convicted murderer serving life in prison running for Senate seat https://nyp.st/2unrAgH
Richards was found guilty of killing his half-sister, May Wilson, in 1982 and of fatally shooting his lawyer, Robert Stratton, five years later.
He is now seeking the nomination of Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party, which will hold its primary Aug. 14. Richards is looking to upset U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who has held the seat since 2007.
His candidacy, while legal, has angered Stratton’s sister, who told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis that she hopes voters take the time to learn about Richards’ crimes before they cast a vote.
“I know he won’t win against Amy Klobuchar, but even one vote for this murderer is too many,” she told the newspaper.
She added that she hopes the state’s laws can be changed to prevent felons from seeking federal office.
But Bert Black, a legal adviser for the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office, said in an email to the Associated Press that courts have ruled that felons – even those currently incarcerated – cannot be prohibited from filing an affidavit of candidacy.
Richards has taken advantage of the loophole in the past.
In 1992 he ran in the Democratic primary for a congressional seat and earned more than 14,500 votes. He ran again in 1994, winning 4,000 votes.
Because Richards is behind bars without parole, there’s no chance that he would be able to serve if elected, the Star Tribune reported.
Article via: Behind bars for 2 murders, he’s running for US Senate seat in Minnesota
Nick Cannon Responds To Azealia Banks’ Accusation Of Mistreatment On “Wild’n Out”
Nick Cannon questions Azealia Banks’ karmic merit.
Banks first made her feelings known in the above post, then resorted to the Instagram Story feature for additional commentary, adding: “If I were to make fun of Nick Cannon for having lupus and being weak and sickly….If I made a joke that said he’d be dead by the end of the year….Then Azealia Banks is the bad guy…. right?”
Inevitably word got around to Nick Cannon that she’d referenced him by name. He then chose to enliven her post on his own page with a not so well intended message, in which he referenced a familiar proverb: “creating storms without an umbrella.” Nick Cannon closed his message by mocking her mental illness and by offering prayers for a “speedy recovery.”
Watch these videos on Azalea Banks:
Azealia Banks Says RZA is a “cokehead” & Cardi B is an ”Illiterate rat!”~ Cardi responds!!
Azealia Banks Drops Her New Single Then Blames Black America for Ruining Her Career
Azealia Banks Cries While Telling Her Side of the Russell Crowe Altercation
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Cops caught using coin-flip app to decide whether to arrest woman
A flip of a coin by Georgia cops determined a woman’s fate during a traffic stop in April, body camera footage showed.
The video showed Roswell police officers laughing as they used a coin-flip app to decide whether to detain Sarah Webb during a traffic stop, 11 Alive reported.
Officer Courtney Brown was heard asking Webb whether she knew how fast she was going. Webb apologized and said she was late for work, and Brown asked her to turn off the car and hand over her keys.
“The ground is wet and it’s been raining you’re going over 80 miles an hour on this type of a road. That’s reckless driving,” Brown said.
“I’m so sorry,” Webb replied.
Brown returned to her police cruiser to talk with fellow officers about whether to arrest Webb or just give her ticket.
“What do you think?” Kristee Wilson, a responding officer, was heard saying.
Brown said she “didn’t have speed detection,” but the other officer pointed out that the body camera recorded her cruiser’s speed, which would have shown how fast she was going to catch up to Webb.
Brown was then heard saying, “Hold on,” as she opens a coin-flip app on her phone. Wilson suggested that heads should mean arrest and tails should mean release. Brown agreee and flipped the coin in the app.
“A [arrest] head, R[release] tail,” Wilson said.
“OK,” Brown replied.
“This is tails, right?” Wilson asked.
“Yeah, so release?” Brown responded.
“23 [the police code for arrest],” Wilson replied.
“Michael Jordan?” Brown said while laughing. “All right, so I’ve got too fast for conditions, reckless…”
The officers decided to charge Webb with going too fast for conditions and reckless driving. Brown then arrested Webb, handcuffing her and putting her in the back of a patrol car. Webb was crying as she walked into the police cruiser. She called her employer to let her know of her arrest. Webb was not aware of the coin flip until 11 Alive obtained the video and informed her of the footage.
“Wow, these people put my freedom in the hands of a coin flip,” Webb told 11 Alive. “And that’s disgusting.”
The charges were dropped against Webb on Monday, and the case was dismissed.
Roswell Police Chief Rusty Grant told FOX 5 Atlanta that as he soon as he found out about the incident he started an internal investigation and put Brown and Wilson on paid administrative leave. He said he could not discuss details as the investigation was ongoing.
“I have much higher expectations of our police officers and I am appalled that any law enforcement officer would trivialize the decision-making process of something as important as the arrest of a person,” Grant said.
Webb said she would like to see the officers fired.
“I think they should be fired. I don’t think at all that they should be getting a paid vacation,” she said.
Article via: Cops caught using coin-flip app to decide whether to arrest woman
‘Coupon Carl’ Calls Cops on Black Woman at CVS for Allegedly Using a Forged Coupon, But Was Busted Himself for … Forgery Less Than 2 Years Ago
Yes, this is yet another story of a sorry white person calling the police on a black person for something trivial and not criminal—his moniker? “Coupon Carl”—but it’s also a cautionary tale of the blowback of such actions; or, as my mama says, “When you point a finger, there are three pointing back at you.”
Morry Matson, a white Chicago CVS manager who called the police on a black woman who tried to use a manufacturer’s coupon at the pharmacy (yes, you read that correctly), was captured on video in the absurd interaction.
The woman, Camilla Hudson, told Block Club Chicago that she initially tried to use the self-checkout, but it lacked a mechanism for taking coupons. It reports:
The store’s manager, Matson, offered to assist her on a register, but the situation escalated when he called for another manager, she said. That manager, whose name was not known, told Hudson they couldn’t accept the voucher because he’d never seen one like it before and accused her of possibly handwriting it, she said.
The situation escalated as Hudson was rightfully offended at being called a liar and a thief. She was asked to leave but stood her ground as Matson called police.
A screenshot of the Facebook post telling of her side of the story (taken down by the social media platform) is below:
In 2016, DNA Info Chicago (now in archives), reported that “A vote on extending the lakefront path from Edgewater to Rogers Park was yanked from the November ballot after city officials ruled that five pages of signatures on the petitions calling for the vote were forged.”
Guess who the forger was?
Yep, old Coupon Carl (aka Morry Matson).
Raw Story reports that Morry was leading an effort to build an expensive waterfront bike path to a beach near his own home, saying that improving the beachfront would not mean they saw an influx of “people from the South Side” (and we know who he means).
Yet apparently, an opponent of the bike path discovered that in at least five of the 13 pages of his ballot measure contained signatures written by Matson.