President Obama’s Last MLK Day Today January 16, 2017, marks President Barack Obama’s last Martin Luther King Day as Commander in Chief. The President has a busy schedule today that includes a White House visit from the World Series Champs, the Washington Cubs. According to right fielder Jason Heyward, it’s a huge honor and the significance of being a black man meeting with the first black President on MLK day isn’t lost on him. Via ESPN: “This is the ultimate time to go to the White House as an athlete, to meet the president after winning a ring,” Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward said at this weekend’s Cubs winter fan convention. “For me, being an African-American, there’s something (special) about it. And for my teammates who are from Venezuela, there’s something about it, guys from Alabama or Mississippi (or wherever), there’s something about it for them. Yes, there’s a lot of significance for a lot of different reasons.” Later President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will complete an MLK Day service project. The First couple will take to Jobs Have Priority Naylor Road Family Shelter to meet with needy families. They will also donate a White House swing set previously used by Sasha and Malia Obama. We’ll miss you President Obama! AP Images
FACEBOOK : Break-Fast JAM in Africa. It’s an annual #bboy event held in Uganda and Kenya, and brings together competitors from East African countries. Organized by FreshLane.
Circus Owners Announce Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus To Close In May After 146 years, “The Greatest Show on Earth” will come to a close this May. The owners of The owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus told The Associated Press the decision to close was due to a number of factors, including dwindling attendance, operating costs and ongoing issues with animal rights groups. “There isn’t any one thing,” said Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment. “This has been a very difficult decision for me and for the entire family.” The company broke the news to circus employees Saturday night after shows in Orlando and Miami. Ringling Bros. has two touring circuses this season and will perform 30 shows between now and May. Major stops include Atlanta, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston and Brooklyn. The final shows will be in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7 and in Uniondale, New York, at the Nassau County Coliseum on May 21. The circus, with its exotic animals, flashy costumes and death-defying acrobats, has been a staple of entertainment in the United States since the mid-1800s. Phineas Taylor Barnum made a traveling spectacle of animals and human oddities popular, while the five Ringling brothers performed juggling acts and skits from their home base in Wisconsin. Eventually, they merged and the modern circus was born. The sprawling troupes traveled around America by train, wowing audiences with the sheer scale of entertainment and exotic animals. “The competitor in many ways is time,” said Feld, adding that transporting the show by rail and other circus quirks — such as providing a traveling school for performers’ children— are throwbacks to another era. “It’s a different model that we can’t see how it works in today’s world to justify and maintain an affordable ticket price. So you’ve got all these things working against it.” Hard times for real… This is sad for so many reasons, but the silver lining is that the animals can look forward to retirement. “After 36 years of PETA protests, which have awoken the world to the plight of animals in captivity, PETA heralds the end of what has been the saddest show on earth for wild animals, and asks all other animal circuses to follow suit, as this is a sign of changing times,” Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, wrote in a statement. Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, acknowledged the move was “bittersweet” for the Felds but said: “I applaud their decision to move away from an institution grounded on inherently inhumane wild animal acts.” The Felds say their existing animals — lions, tigers, camels, donkeys, alpacas, kangaroos and llamas — will go to suitable homes. Juliette Feld says the company will continue operating the Center for Elephant Conservation. We are so sad for the clowns but also happy for the elephants. How do you feel about this news? Will you and the family be making a final visit to the circus before May? Instagram
The Audacity Of Orange: Donald Trump Tweets Badly About John Lewis This has gotten out of control… If you saw the film “Selma” you probably will remember watching a young John Lewis on the screen, living out his legacy as a Civil Rights leader who walked beside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lewis, as pointed out by Goldie Taylor of The Daily Beast , “was president of the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee (SNCC) and is the youngest and only living member of “The Big Six.” Lewis was one of the original 13 Freedom Riders, young people who risked their lives to challenge racial segregation in the South. He was arrested 45 times, beaten and bloodied in the name of human rights. Lewis became a congressman who represents Georgia’s 5th Congressional District… But Friday he told Meet the Press” he will miss his first Presidential inauguration in 30 years in Congress because he doesn’t feel that Donald Trump is a legitimate President. Of course Lewis’ comments didn’t sit well with Trump who struck out (where else?) on Twitter. Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to…… — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2017 mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk – no action or results. Sad! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2017 Hours later Trump added to his rant: Congressman John Lewis should finally focus on the burning and crime infested inner-cities of the U.S. I can use all the help I can get! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 15, 2017 If we thought he was an idiot before our opinion is now even lower. Lewis is a national hero who was beaten bloody for our freedoms. He sacrificed a lot in the name of progress, facing arrest some 45 times. Don’t be misled by Trump’s tweets. While crime and poverty rates are above the national average, the area is neither “crime infested” nor falling apart. It’s actually thriving — home to the upscale Buckhead neighborhood, several Fortune 500 companies — including Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines — as well as Emory University, Georgia Tech, Spelman, Morehouse and Atlanta’s airport. And as for Trump’s assertion that Lewis is all talk and no action is PURE HOGWASH… Also via Daily Beast : In 1994, when the country was caught up in hysteria and pushed a crime bill that later destroyed whole communities, John Lewis was one of only eleven black members of the House to stand against it. One of the “results” of Lewis’ activism was the Fair Housing Act, the very legislation under which the Justice Department sued Donald Trump and his father. SMH — can it get any realer than that? It is unfortunate that it is easy to believe that @realDonaldTrump would've have been proudly standing against John Lewis then as he is now pic.twitter.com/DSDzy0xduz — Khary Penebaker (@kharyp) January 14, 2017 There has been a huge wave of outrage on social media over Trump’s latest attack but we thought the tweet above said it all. Lewis has fought for what he believes is right his entire career, why should he be expected to stop because Trump was elected. In the meantime the NY Daily News is reporting that Trump has canceled an MLK day visit to Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture over scheduling issues. You may recall President Obama urged Trump to visit the museum after he said during the presidential campaign that there has “never been a worse time to be a black person” in America… Clearly Trump needs to brush up on his American history. SMH. WENN/Twitter
Single mother and stripper, Angela Robotte, was murdered in Atlanta. Chris Hansen gets to the bottom of this murder mystery with some not so surprising suspects. Turn the page for part 3…
Queen Latifah Talks Living Single Reboot Netflix has already proved that America loves a good reboot with shows like ‘Gilmore Girls’ and ‘Fuller House’ but one of the best shows from the 90s might be coming back too. Queen Latifah recently sat down with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live! to discuss a possible ‘Living Single’ reboot… Who else is excited about more Maxine Shaw!? Please sweet black baby Jesus let @IAMQUEENLATIFAH be able to pull together everyone for the Living Single revival! pic.twitter.com/mSndtbrbPU — Quavoncé (@MADly_INsane) January 13, 2017 Will you be watching?! Living Single
Mariah Carey Says She Didn’t Know If She Could Perform After Prince’s Death In a scene from Mariah Carey’s reality TV series “Mariah’s World”, the diva speaks to her audience at a Paris show about Prince’s passing and what he meant to her as a friend… R.I.P. to the Purple One, we’ll forever miss you. Image via WENN
Robin Thicke Calls Cops On Paula Patton Robin Thicke and Paula Patton’s custody fight is still heating up! We previously reported a California judge denied Paula Patton’s request to limit Robin’s joint custody of their young 6-year-old son, Julian. Patton claimed Robin excessively disciplined their son and was in the wrong for the alleged abuse. Paula also claimed that she was worried about Robin’s drinking and drug use over the years , as well as how he punished their son at his Hollyweird home. Robin vehemently denied abusing Julian but admitted to spanking their young son. Now the singer is firing back reports TMZ . Robin called th police to Paula Patton’s home yesterday morning because she allegedly violated their custody order by not allowing her ex to take their son. Watch the video footage of the confrontation below: On Friday morning Robin went to Paula’s Malibu home with L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies and the court order. We’re told the deputies went inside the house and spoke with Julian and he said he was scared of his dad and didn’t want to go with him. You see Paula in the video — obtained by TMZ. Robin is out of frame. The deputies explain they will not take the child against his will. One source connected with Robin says the couple is now close to reaching some middle ground on how to deal with the custody issues. Swirl gone sour!
