UPDATED: May 30 20237:52 AM EDT
(Photo: Jaziayh Parker is honored by Fort Worth City Council. Source: Facebook/Councilman Chris Nettles)
FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA) - A 12-year-old Texas girl was honored for calling 911 to get help for her sick family, saving them from carbon monoxide poisoning. Read full story
By Mike Davidson
UPDATED: May 24, 20237:52 PM EDT
U.S. singer Tina Turner performs at the O2 Arena in London March 3, 2009. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
Tina Turner, the American-born singer who left a hardscrabble farming community and abusive relationship to become one of the top recording artists of all time, died on Wednesday at the age of 83.
She died peacefully after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland, her representative said.
Turner began her career in the 1950s during the early years of rock 'n' roll and evolved into an MTV phenomenon.
In the video for her chart-topping song "What's Love Got to Do with It," in which she called love a "second-hand emotion," Turner epitomized 1980s style as she strutted through New York City streets with her spiky blond hair, wearing a cropped jean jacket, mini skirt and stiletto heels.
With her taste for musical experimentation and bluntly worded ballads, Turner gelled perfectly with a 1980s pop landscape in which music fans valued electronically produced sounds and scorned hippie-era idealism.
Sometimes nicknamed the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll," Turner won six of her eight Grammy Awards in the 1980s. In that decade she landed a dozen songs in the Top 40, including "Typical Male," "The Best," "Private Dancer" and "Better Be Good to Me." Her 1988 show in Rio de Janeiro drew 180,000 people, which remains one of the largest concert audiences for any single performer.
By then, Turner had been free from her marriage to guitarist Ike Turner for a decade.
The superstar was forthcoming about the abuse she suffered from her former husband during their marital and musical partnership in the 1960s and 1970s. She described bruised eyes, busted lips, a broken jaw and other injuries that repeatedly sent her to the emergency room.
"Tina's story is not one of victimhood but one of incredible triumph," singer Janet Jackson wrote about Turner, in a Rolling Stone issue that placed Turner at No. 63 on a list of the top 100 artists of all time.
"She's transformed herself into an international sensation - an elegant powerhouse," Jackson said.
Tina Turner performs on stage together with dancers during the start of her European Tour 2009 in Cologne, Germany, January 14, 2009. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo
In 1985, Turner gave a fictional turn to her reputation as a survivor. She played the ruthless leader of an outpost in a nuclear wasteland, acting opposite Mel Gibson in the third installment in the Mad Max franchise, "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome."
Most of Turner's hit songs were written by others, but she enlivened them with a voice that New York Times music critic Jon Pareles called "one of the more peculiar instruments in pop."
"It's three-tiered, with a nasal low register, a yowling, cutting middle range and a high register so startlingly clear it sounds like a falsetto," Pareles wrote in a 1987 concert review.
Actor Angela Bassett, who was nominated for an Academy Award for playing Turner in the 1993 film "What's Love Got to Do with It," said she was "humbled to have helped show her to the world."
"She gave us her whole self," Bassett said in a statement. "Tina Turner is a gift that will always be 'simply the best.'"
Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones said he was saddened by Turner's death, calling her "inspiring, warm, funny and generous."
"She helped me so much when I was young and I will never forget her," Jagger said.
Canadian singer Bryan Adams, who paired with Turner on the 1985 single "It's Only Love," said "the world just lost one hell of a powerhouse of a woman."
U.S. President Joe Biden described Turner as a "once-in-a-generation talent" and said her "personal strength was remarkable."
"Overcoming adversity, and even abuse, she built a career for the ages and a life and legacy that were entirely hers," Biden said in a statement.
'ONE-HORSE TOWN'
Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock on Nov. 26, 1939, in the rural Tennessee community of Nutbush, which she described in her 1973 song "Nutbush City Limits" as a "quiet little old community, a one-horse town."
Her father worked as an overseer on a farm and her mother left the family when the singer was 11 years old, according to the singer's 2018 memoir "My Love Story." As a teenager, she moved to St. Louis to rejoin her mom.
Ike Turner discovered her when she was 17 when she grabbed the mic to sing at his club show in St. Louis in 1957.
The band leader later recorded a hit song, "A Fool In Love," with his protégé and gave her the stage name Tina Turner, before the two married in Tijuana, Mexico.
Tina employed her strong voice and strenuously rehearsed dance routines as lead vocalist in an ensemble called the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. She collaborated with members of rock royalty, including The Who and Phil Spector, in the 1960s and 1970s and appeared on the cover of issue two of Rolling Stone magazine in 1967.
Ike and Tina Turner bounced between record labels, owing much of their commercial success to a relentless touring schedule. Their biggest hit was a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary."
Turner left her husband one night in 1976 on a tour stop in Dallas, after he pummeled her during a car ride and she struck back, according to her memoir. Their divorce was finalized in 1978.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted Ike and Tina Turner in 1991, calling them "one of the most formidable live acts in history." Ike Turner died in 2007.
EUROPE BOUND
After leaving her husband, Turner spent years struggling to regain the limelight, releasing solo albums and singles that flopped and gigging at corporate conferences.
In 1980, she met new manager Roger Davies, an Australian music executive who went on to manage her for three decades. That led to a solo No. 1 - "What's Love Got to Do With It" - and then in 1984 her album "Private Dancer" landed her at the top of the charts.
Beyonce performs with Tina Turner at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, U.S. February 10, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
"Private Dancer" went on to become Turner's biggest album, the capstone of a career in which she sold more than 200 million records in total.
In 1985 Turner met German music executive Erwin Bach, who became her long-term partner, and in 1988 she moved to London, beginning a decades-long residency in Europe. She released two studio albums in the 1990s that sold well, especially in Europe, recorded the theme song for 1995 Bond movie "GoldenEye," and staged a successful world tour in 2008 and 2009.
After that, she retired from show business. She married Bach, relinquishing her U.S. citizenship and becoming a citizen of Switzerland.
She battled a number of health problems after retiring and in 2018 she faced a family tragedy, when her oldest son, Craig, took his life at age 59 in Los Angeles. Her younger son Ronnie died in December 2022.
Her name continues to draw audiences years after her retirement. Musical stage show "TINA: The Tina Turner Musical," with Adrienne Warren initially acting and singing the star's life story, was a hit first in London's West End in 2018, and later on Broadway, and is still running. And in 2021 HBO released a documentary about her life, "Tina."
She is survived by Bach and two sons of Ike's that she adopted.
May 19, 2023
Former United States President Barack Obama, late night television host Stephen Colbert, and CNN’s Erin Burnett are some of the “500 Americans” Russia has banned from entering the country.
Russia on Friday announced it was banning “500 Americans,” many prominent figures of US executive power, from entering the country “in a response to the regularly anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the Joe Biden administration,” according to a statement from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The list includes Obama, former US Ambassador Jon Huntsman, several US senators and the next expected chairman of the joint chiefs Charles Q. Brown Jr.
The rambling list of names also includes American late night TV hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Colbert, and Seth Meyers.
The statement also said: “The attached ‘list-500’ also includes those in government and law enforcement agencies who are directly involved in the persecution of dissidents in the wake of the so-called Storming the Capitol.” On January 6, 2021, scores of supporters of former US President Donald Trump sought to stop Biden’s certification as president and attacked the US Capitol.
Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to question the arrest of the rioters a few months later, saying the people had come to Congress “with political demands,” Reuters reported.
Friday’s list also includes CNN Anchor Erin Burnett and is an update of a previously published longer list of sanctioned individuals that includes CNN’s Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh, CNN contributors Bianna Golodryga and Timothy Naftali.
While the list was labelled, “500 Americans,” Paton Walsh is a British citizen.
The ministry justified the bans in a statement on its website that read: “It is high time for Washington to learn that not a single hostile attack against Russia will go without a strong reaction.”
It did not specify complaints against each individual or explain what the sanctions would mean beyond a ban from entering the county.
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May 19, 2023
Cops were called to the home of Kevin Costner just days after the famous actor was “blindsided” by divorce papers, according to Radar Online.
The news outlet say that someone in Costner’s home in Carpinteria, California placed a call to authorities to report a trespasser who was refusing to leave the property.
Police responded swiftly, arriving at Costner’s address at around 10pm on May 6, with dispatch records listing the problem as “Trespass/Refusing to Leave.” A spokesperson for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office revealed that officers were able to resolve the issue using their public relation skills.
May 15, 20235:46 PM ET By Jaclyn Diaz
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, pictured here on April 21, 2023, signed a slate of bills Monday, one of which bans DEI initiatives in his state's universities. Alex Brandon/AP
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law Monday banning the state's public colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
"If you look at the way this has actually been implemented across the country, DEI is better viewed as standing for discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination," DeSantis said during a news conference at New College of Florida in Sarasota. "And that has no place in our public institutions."
Many institutions across the U.S. have DEI offices aimed at diversifying staff and to promote inclusivity for faculty and students.
The location of the bill signing is notable as DeSantis has targeted New College of Florida to put it in a more conservative direction. Earlier this year, he appointed six new members to the school's board of trustees, putting conservative allies in control of the board. He accused the school's leadership of overemphasizing DEI, critical race theory and gender ideology, which he characterized as not "what a liberal arts education should be."
DeSantis said Monday that he's viewed DEI initiatives as a discriminatory practice. "This bill says the whole experiment with DEI is coming to an end in the state of Florida. We are eliminating the DEI programs."
The new law also bans what can be taught in the state's higher education institutions. General education courses can't "distort significant historical events or include a curriculum that teaches identity politics," or critical race theory.
This effort is part of DeSantis' larger work to crack down on what he calls "woke indoctrination" in schools. In the last two years, state education officials have rejected dozens of mathematics and social studies textbooks for students in K-12 schools.
Texas has been working on a similar bill banning DEI programs in its own state university system.
"When you see elected leaders demonizing educators and weaponizing education, it's a five-alarm fire for democracy," Irene Mulvey, president of The American Association of University Professors, told Nature. "It important to understand that when governors attack DEI efforts, they completely mischaracterize them to create a straw-man demon that they now have to do away with." Florida rejects some social studies textbooks and pushes publishers to change others EDUCATION Florida rejects some social studies textbooks and pushes publishers to change others
The law will go into effect on July 1.
Updated 10:00 p.m. ET, May 9, 2023
A Manhattan federal jury found that Donald Trump sexually abused E. Jean Carroll in a luxury department store dressing room in the spring of 1996 and awarded her $5 million for battery and defamation.
Carroll alleged Trump raped her in the Bergdorf Goodman department store and then defamed her when he denied her claim. She described the verdict as a victory for her and other victims of abuse.
While the jury found that Trump sexually abused Carroll, sufficient to hold him liable for battery, the jury did not find that she proved he raped her. He does not face any jail time as a result of the civil verdict.
Trump said he will appeal the verdict. The former president opted not to testify in the trial and not put on a defense.
By D. Brown Published May 9, 2023 at 8:58 AM
Guns are the leading cause of death for US children and teens, since surpassing car accidents in 2020.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wonder database, firearms accounted for nearly 19% of childhood deaths (ages 1-18) in 2021. About 3,600 children died in gun-related incidents that year. That’s about five children lost for every 100,000 in the United States. In no other comparable country are firearms within the top four causes of mortality among children, according to a KFF analysis.
LOCK IT UP! One KEY to preventing INJURY OR DEATH!
Rather than being used for self-defense, guns in the home are 22 times more likely to be involved in accidental shootings, homicides, or suicide attempts. Many of these accidental deaths involve children. More Child access prevention is needed. PARENTS AND ALL GUN OWNERS SHOULD HAVE THEIR FIREARMS stored safely under LOCK and KEY
LOCK IT UP! One KEY to preventing INJURY OR DEATH!
By Eddy Martinez Published May 5, 2023 at 6:34 PM ED
A screenshot from New Haven Police Department video shows handcuffed 36-year-old Richard "Randy" Cox flying to the front of a NHPD transport van after the driver hit his brakes to avoid a collision. Cox is paralyzed from the chest down as a result of his head striking the metal interior wall of the van and five New Haven police officers are under investigation.
Police officers in Connecticut may soon be required to fasten the seatbelts of suspects riding in police vehicles.
A statewide bill mandating suspects be secured with seat belts in police transport vehicles cleared the state House of Representatives Thursday.
One of the co-sponsors of the bill is Democratic Rep. Anne Hughes, who represents Weston, Easton and parts of Redding in Fairfield County. While Hughes is pleased her bill cleared the state House, she lamented the need for a law in the first place.
“This is the public we're talking about. And we shouldn't have to litigate and legislate for basic humanity. But here we are,” Hughes said.
The proposed legislation is also known as the Randy Cox Bill, named after a New Haven resident who was permanently paralyzed while riding unsecured in a police van in 2022.
The bill would have the state’s Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) create a statewide policy mandating seat belt usage for suspects. It would also require police training to ensure suspects are safely secured while in transit.
The text of the bill states POST would be required to develop guidelines for seat belt usage by the end of 2023.
The bill passed the state House with 140 yes votes and 11 house members were absent. The state senate must pass the bill before it gets sent to Gov. Ned Lamont’s desk for his approval.
Republican State Rep. Craig Fishbein, who represents Middlefield and Wallingford, co-sponsored the bill. Fishbein said cities and towns would carry out the regulation, but POST would be responsible for punishment. Under the bill, an offending officer could face losing their state certification.
“The municipalities are supposed to implement the policy and officers are supposed to follow the policy otherwise POST, which created it has the ability to decertify,” Fishbein said.
No one in the House voted against the bill, but it faced opposition from the Connecticut Council of Police AFL-CIO, which issued public testimony against the bill.
Members claimed the policy would be difficult to follow due to the day-to-day realities of policing, where officers say they regularly deal with combative and violent suspects.
Hughes was and remains skeptical of that position.
“I think that's misinformed, quite frankly, that's misinformed. You have a person that's likely handcuffed and you can't seatbelt them? I don't get that,” Hughes said.
Hughes is skeptical because she is also a social worker and regularly dealt with aggressive behavior, when transporting people.
While she saids getting them situated can be challenging, she said she is able to get them strapped in single handedly without too much hassle. She noted many police officers often work with another officer.
The bill is a new proposal and comes not only after Randy Cox was paralyzed, but long after other high profile cases shed light on instances where those in police custody were severely injured or killed while riding unsecured in a police vehicle.
Freddie Gray was a Baltimore resident who died in 2015 after suffering a spinal cord injury after being tossed around in the back of a police van, while being transported unsecured.
When asked why this bill is only being considered now, Hughes was frank, and referenced two Bridgeport women whose families were not quickly notified of their deaths.
“The legislature is a little bit clunky. And we are reactive,” she said. “I mean, the same thing with the Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Lee Rawls bill that we passed, requiring police to notify families of their loved one’s death within 24 hours, Why should we have to legislate basic humanity and respect, but we tend to have to do that reactively,” Hughes said.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said the city’s police department quickly moved to ensure all suspects are secured in police vehicles. Suspects are no longer allowed to ride in vans unless there are several suspects, he said. The policies were enacted shortly after Randy Cox was paralyzed last year.
The four officers charged in Cox’s case, are facing possible termination from the police department but remain employed.
Elicker said the police commission would act but only after careful deliberation.
“I have confidence that the police commission wants to do the right thing and wants to be cautious and thoughtful about how they consider the evidence in front of them that's been presented by both parties,” Elicker said. “And I am confident that they want to be deliberate and take their time.”
Last month the commission postponed deciding the fate of Officer Jocelyn Lavandier, one of the officers charged in the Cox case and did not announce a follow up date.
Cox is suing the city of New Haven and the police department. He is represented by nationally recognized civil rights attorney, Benjamin Crump.
Crump also responded to the passage of the bill and says Cox’s family just wants to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else. He said he and Cox's family appreciate the state working to ensure people’s safety. Crump also said the state didn’t need Randy Cox to get to this point, referencing Freddie Gray.
May 4, 2023, 9:56 AM EDT
The man accused of opening fire in an Atlanta medical facility was charged with murder and four counts of aggravated assault, jail records showed Thursday.
Atlanta police are searching for the gunman who killed one and wounded four others in a mass shooting in a medical center waiting room on Wednesday, police said.
Police have released these images of the suspect, identified as 24-year-old Deion Patterson, who remains at large.
24-year-old Deion Patterson
The manhunt is ongoing for the mass shooting suspect, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, Atlanta police said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. Police said the gun has not been recovered.
The four injured victims, who are all women, are "fighting for their lives," Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said. They are ages 71, 56, 39 and 25, police said.
"As soon as possible I'll be in touch with the families of the victims," he said.
Michelle Obama steals the show at Bruce Springsteen concert in Barcelona
Former First Lady Michelle Obama joined Bruce Springsteen on stage and performed backing vocals during his concert in Barcelona, Spain
Updated: May 8, 2023
Ray Liotta’s cause of death has been revealed nearly a year after he died while in the Dominican Republic,
According to an official report, a medical expert determined the actor suffered from heart and respiratory system issues which led to his death.
The report said that the manner of death was natural and non-violent. The expert cited respiratory insufficiency, pulmonary edema and acute heart failure.
Updated: May 5, 2023
"We're devastated to share the very sad news that Tori Bowie has passed away," Icon Management announced Wednesday. "We've lost a client, dear friend, daughter and sister. Tori was a champion…a beacon of light that shined so bright! We're truly heartbroken and our prayers are with the family and friends."
Bowie's agent, Kimberly Holland, told CNN's Jill Martin she was found dead at her home in Florida and that no cause of death has been determined.
Updated: May 5, 2023
Legendary WNBA star Sue Bird has filed a lawsuit against Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson over the XFL's rebranded logo. The XFL's rebranded logo is similar to Bird's TOGETHXR. The WNBA star took to Twitter nearly two months ago complaining about the similarity. Since that tweet, Bird and Megan Rapinoe have threatened The Rock and the XFL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 1, 2023 Advisory:
On Wednesday, May 3, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff and Small Business Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman will travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota to celebrate National Small Business Week. This travel builds upon President Biden and Vice President Harris’ meeting at the White House with small business owners from all 50 states. . Read full story
Updated: 11:04 AM EDT Apr 30, 2023 NEWS PROVIDED By Kavontae Smalls
If you’re on social security, you’ve probably noticed by now your check has grown a bit this year. “Approximately 70 million Americans saw an 8.7% increase in their Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income” (SSI) this year which amounts to more than “$140 per month”according about courage, love and equality to the Social Security Administration. This coincides with the retirement age raised to 67 last year for people born in 1960 or later. These changes are among several others the federal agency implemented this year to the Social Security Administration. This coincides with the retirement age raised to 67 last year for people born in 1960 or later. These changes are among several others the federal agency implemented this year.
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Raising the retirement age is “a benefit cut,” Kathleen Romig, Director of Social Security and Disability Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said to CNBC.
News reports also indicate some lawmakers are considering raising the retirement age to 70 years old in the near future. One of the issues SSA faces has been longstanding, generating enough money from payroll taxes to cover benefit costs for those using the program. Social Security trustees reported on this last year on its 2021 financials and determined, “Social Security’s total cost is projected to be higher than its total income in 2022 and all later years.”
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The Social Security Office of Policy said in a 2004 report, “Funds would be exhausted in 2038…and retirement benefits would have to be reduced.”
Medicare is in a similar situation to the SSA where it faces insolvency because more money is going out compared to what’s coming into the government program.
In a recent CNN report, it noted “Medicare’s trustees reported that the hospital insurance trust fund will bring in $412.6 billion in 2023. It will spend $415.6 billion. That means it will spend $3 billion more than it generates in revenue this year.”
It is primarily because of these reasons, lawmakers have been pressured to do something about Social Security and Medicare’s money problem, but there aren’t any quick fixes to easily address the issues at hand. Social Security and Medicare are hot-button issues among politicians, and they become even hotter during election years. Many senior citizens who rely on these programs don’t want politicians to mess with them, but without some tinkering, they may cease to exist for future generations within the next decade.
An analysis of Social Security’s problem by CNN says three things must be done to solve the SSA’s money problem.
"Advertisement" - The Saga of Madison Brown “A Choice of Color”
The family of a North Carolina teenager killed by police has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit alleging excessive force. Nasanto Crenshaw, 17, was shot in the neck according to attorneys following the traffic stop that turned deadly last year. “I’ll never get to hold his hand or tell him I love him. They stole my son from me and they won’t even release the name of the officer who did it,” Crenshaw’s mother, Wakita Doriety, said during a press conference.
Photo taken from Chimeaka White Facebook Page
Doriety was joined by family, supporters, and attorneys Harry Daniels and Chimeaka White as they announced their lawsuit against the Greensboro Police Department on March 9.
“Once again we have another police officer killing another unarmed Black male even though he posed absolutely no threat and was actually trying to flee,” Daniels said.
The traffic stop occurred just after 9 p.m. on Aug. 21, 2022. Crenshaw was in the parking lot of a shopping plaza with a 15 and 17-year-old as passengers WFMY reports. An unidentified Greensboro police officer pulled Crenshaw over for an undisclosed traffic violation and discovered the car was reported stolen.
Photo taken from Chimeaka White Facebook Page
As police approached the car, Crenshaw reportedly fled the traffic stop. When police caught up to Crenshaw for another traffic stop, the two teenage passengers ran from the car. Crenshaw hit the gas again attempting to flee but ended up hitting the officer’s patrol car in the process. The officer responded by firing gun shots towards the driver’s side window killing Crenshaw at the scene.
“Nasanto did not have a weapon on him. Nasanto did not brandish a weapon towards this police officer. Nasanto did not use his vehicle as a weapon,” Reverend Gregory Drumwight said at the press conference.
Crenshaw’s family and attorneys say Crenshaw posed no deadly threat and he was fleeing at a low rate of speed. They want greater transparency from Greensboro police including releasing the name of the officer involved in the shooting. They also want the body camera video released to the public.
EXCLUSIVE: Video Released Of Police Killing Of Unarmed Black Teen
According to WXII, the officer involved was placed on administrative duty. A spokesperson for the Guilford County District Attorney’s office is reviewing the shooting to determine if the officer will face any criminal charges.
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