The verdict is in. About a week after officials at the Cincinnati Zoo shot and killed a gorilla named Harambe because they feared it would injure a toddler who had fallen into its enclosure, we now have legal closure on the case that has captivated the nation. The parents of said toddler will not be charged with any kind of crime. Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters announced on Monday morning that Michelle Gregg was NOT negligent when her three-year-old boy strayed from her watch the Cincinnati Zoo. Many on the Internet have been calling for Gregg’s head ever since the video below went viral: Cincinnati Zoo Gorilla Killed to Save Toddler’s Life: Who’s to Blame? It depicts the 17-year old, 450-pound gorilla throwing the child all around. Did Harambe mean the infant harm? Maybe not. But when you have this kind of size and strength discrepancy, there’s simply no way of knowing what would have happened… and no way the zoo could have taken any chances. In making his ruling, Deters pointed out Gregg had three other kids with her at the time one of her sons ended up in the animal’s clutches. Moreover, based on surveillance footage and witnesses at the scene, she was being attentive. Accidents simply happen. Deters explained very simply that “kids can scamper off and they do.” He added, in sort of hilarious fashion, that if Gregg had been “in the bathroom smoking crack that would have been a different story, but that’s not what happened.” Deters concluded by saying “there’s nothing that the mother could have done” and also defended the zoo’s difficult decision in putting Harambe down. The lawyer labeled this a “painful choice” for officials to make, however: “It’s still an animal. It does not equate to human life.” View Slideshow: Harambe Mourned, Celebrated by Celebrities Everywhere
On June 2, Brock Turner – a swimmer from Stanford University – was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman near a dumpster. His sentence of just six months in jail, followed by three months of probation, was seen as a slap on the wrist to many. It has stirred up an Internet storm. The judge ruled that a longer sentence would have done the 20-year old more harm than necessary, despite actions most believe to have been unconscionable. There has been outrage on social media about the whole thing and now Turner’s father, Dan, has only added fuel to the fire. A lot of fuel to the fire. In a statement, he compared his son’s assault on the woman to “20 minutes of action” for which his child should not be punished with any jail time. Seriously. This is a look at the statement in full: This case has gone viral because the brave victim at the center of it stood in front of the judge last week and read a moving letter, directing her anger, pain, bitterness and shock to Turner and everyone in court. In instances like this, you expect the parents to be releasing an apology for bringing the offender into this world… but it appears Brock’s father is just as deluded as him. “His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve,” Turner wrote. “That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20-plus years of life.” The whole thing is pretty disgusting. He then went on to speak about how his son has lost his appetite nowadays. He also blamed the incident on “binge drinking” and “promiscuity.” It’s truly disgusting all around. As a quick refresher: On January 18, 2015, two students found Brock on top of the unconscious woman. They even tackled him when he tried to flee. Evidence pointed to Turner shoving his fingers inside the woman, along with pine needles and other objects. His attorney tried to argue in court that the sex was consensual and that Turner asked for permission every step of the way. But a jury saw right through this defense. They found him guilty on multiple counts of rape. Yes, rape . Someone might want to explain what that term means to Mr. Turner. View Slideshow: 13 Celebrities Who Have Been Sexually Assaulted
She look kinda fly…why would she mess with a boy? She could surely find a man with the qualities she is sprung on…right? A middle school teacher is wanted by authorities, accused of sexually abusing a child. There’s a warrant out for her arrest. Alexandria Vera was an English teacher at Aldine ISD’s Stovall Middle School. According to court documents, last summer Vera met a 13-year-old boy who was a student in her 8th grade English class during summer school. A sexual relationship reportedly developed. Vera claims she and the teen are in love, and she’s been introduced to his family as his girlfriend, court documents state. The boy’s parents are reportedly accepting of the relationship, including Vera in family gatherings. Parents at the middle school are sounding off about the accusations. “I have chills just because of this — just think that the teacher would even do something like this,” parent Mary Claycomb said. One student told Eyewitness News that other students would talk about Vera’s suspicious behavior with the teen boy. “He like grabbed her butt, and everybody saw it,” the student said. “And then they were talking about it.” Court documents go on to detail the fact that Vera allegedly became pregnant with the boy’s baby in January, and his family was said to be excited and supportive about the baby. But after an unexpected visit to the school by Child Protective Services in February, when Vera and the boy were questioned about their relationship, she reportedly became nervous and terminated the pregnancy. Vera is charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child, and is currently wanted for arrest. Aldine ISD issued the following statement: “Aldine ISD has been made aware that charges have been filed against a former Stovall Middle School teacher involved in inappropriate behavior with a male student. When the allegation was made in April, the teacher was immediately removed from the school and placed on administrative leave. Aldine ISD Police investigated the incident and turned their findings over to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. The safety and security of Aldine ISD’s students and staff remains a priority of the school district.” ABC13
She look kinda fly…why would she mess with a boy? She could surely find a man with the qualities she is sprung on…right? A middle school teacher is wanted by authorities, accused of sexually abusing a child. There’s a warrant out for her arrest. Alexandria Vera was an English teacher at Aldine ISD’s Stovall Middle School. According to court documents, last summer Vera met a 13-year-old boy who was a student in her 8th grade English class during summer school. A sexual relationship reportedly developed. Vera claims she and the teen are in love, and she’s been introduced to his family as his girlfriend, court documents state. The boy’s parents are reportedly accepting of the relationship, including Vera in family gatherings. Parents at the middle school are sounding off about the accusations. “I have chills just because of this — just think that the teacher would even do something like this,” parent Mary Claycomb said. One student told Eyewitness News that other students would talk about Vera’s suspicious behavior with the teen boy. “He like grabbed her butt, and everybody saw it,” the student said. “And then they were talking about it.” Court documents go on to detail the fact that Vera allegedly became pregnant with the boy’s baby in January, and his family was said to be excited and supportive about the baby. But after an unexpected visit to the school by Child Protective Services in February, when Vera and the boy were questioned about their relationship, she reportedly became nervous and terminated the pregnancy. Vera is charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child, and is currently wanted for arrest. Aldine ISD issued the following statement: “Aldine ISD has been made aware that charges have been filed against a former Stovall Middle School teacher involved in inappropriate behavior with a male student. When the allegation was made in April, the teacher was immediately removed from the school and placed on administrative leave. Aldine ISD Police investigated the incident and turned their findings over to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. The safety and security of Aldine ISD’s students and staff remains a priority of the school district.” ABC13
Mark Salling, former star of the hit show Glee , has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography. The 33-year-old was indicted on two counts of child porn after he was arrested and his laptop seized last December, reports TMZ. Salling’s computer and a flash drive allegedly stored thousands of images and videos depicting child porn. Images of a “prepubescent minor and a minor under 12” were found. “Young victims are harmed every time an image is generated, every time it is distributed and every time it is viewed,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen Decker. Salling could face up to 20 years in prison on the count of receiving child pornography and 20 years for possession. At the time of the December arrest, the actor was booked in downtown Los Angeles and later released on $20,000 bail. When the news first broke, friends close to him were shocked . He had a reputation as a huge flirt, even coming off as “skeezy,” according to one Hollywood insider. However, they didn’t expect this. “This isn’t the guy I know at all,” a friend of Salling said at the time. “I have to believe his computer was hacked.” Unfortunately, this was not the first sex-related offense Salling has been accused of. In 2013, an ex-girlfriend accused Salling of sexual battery after forcing her to have sex without a condom and later pushing her to the ground. They eventually settled out of court for $2.7 million. View Slideshow: 20 Celebrities You Probably Want to Keep Away From Your Children
Janet Jackson Celebrates 50th Birthday Janet Jackson has a lot to celebrate this year! Not only is she finally with child after years of trying and IVF assistance, but she also just celebrated a monumental birthday. Being that she needs to rest, Janet kept her big half-century celebration lowkey this year, but according to E!online , Janet wouldn’t have had it any other way: Happy belated birthday, Janet Jackson! The pregnant musician turned 50 on Monday and celebrated with a low-key affair with only close friends and her husband, a source tells E! News exclusively. Janet is expecting her first child with husband Wissam Al Mana after working with a fertility specialist. Although she’s 50, the insider tells us that the “Dammn Baby” songstress is feeling great thanks to the people she has around her. “Her support system is extremely strong. Janet received many calls from her loved ones that couldn’t be there with her on her birthday,” the insider shares. “She is taking things easy these days and is feeling well but not over doing it in any capacity of her life. Janet is staying healthy for her and her baby.” Now that she’s finally pregnant, Janet “can’t wait” to get started. “She’s been praying for a child for a very long time,” the source tells us. “She’s already in the process of thinking of baby names.” Should she be blessed with a baby boy, our source says Michael Jackson’s name “may be part” of the child’s moniker as a tribute to her late brother. Nice! Great to hear she had such a wonderful birthday… Splash
Robert Kardashian III or nah??? Is Blac Chyna Having A Baby Boy? Remember when we told you that Blac Chyna and her fiancee Rob Kardashian were fielding rumors that they’re having a boy because of the emojis on Chyna’s Chymoji app??? Well the mommy to be is responding to the rumors and confirming whether or not her gut full of Rob Kardashian is a bouncing baby boy. E! News reports: E! News previously learned that the couple knows the sex of the baby but are keeping it close to the vest for now, but after taking a careful look at the options in her ChyMoji app, we thought she could be hinting that they’re having a baby boy—given the amount of blue in her maternity animations. B ut Blac told Zuri that her ChyMojis weren’t meant to be anything suggestive. “I have both boy and girl things on there,” she explained, adding that she wanted her options “to go both ways” so users could pick the color that works for them. Although there are a plethora of baby ChyMojis, Rob joked that his favorites are “anything with money,” while Blac chose a completely different options. WELP! Do YOU believe that she’s not throwing any hints about carrying the Kardashian legacy??? More from Chyna’s birthday festivities on the flip.
Mike Brown’s Mother Shares Excerpt From Memoir Mike Brown’s mother Lezley McSpadden is finally sharing her story with the world through her book “Tell The Truth & Shame The Devil: The Life Legacy And Love Of My Son Michael Brown” and ESSENCE Magazine has published an excerpt in their June issue, on newsstands now. Check out part of it below: And then one day our Mike Mike was shot and killed by a police officer on Canfield Drive in Ferguson, Missouri, and suddenly his name was being spoken everywhere: Mike Brown, Jr., Michael Brown or just Brown…but never Mike Mike, never our family’s name for him, the name that marked him as special to us and those who knew him for real. Pastor Creflo Dollar asked me what I thought about all the people out there on Canfield Drive when I got to the scene the day Mike Mike was shot. I turned, looking directly at him, and as sure as the breath I’m breathing, in a very matter-of-fact way, said, “I didn’t see those people. That day, I was looking for one person: my son. Nobody else mattered.” I think I kind of shocked -Pastor -Dollar. I was respectful, of course, but I had to tell it to him straight up. I was just keeping it real. You see, because as a mother, when your child is hurt, scared or in danger, you hurt, you want to comfort them, and you will protect them from harm, even if it means -laying your own life down. That day out on Canfield Drive, I had tunnel vision. Nothing and nobody was more -important than getting to Mike Mike and helping him in any way I could. It wasn’t until days later, when I looked at the news and people showed me pictures from their phones that I saw the crowd of folks who had been out there. So the only way I can really describe that day is to compare it to the day I had Mike Mike. Bringing him into the world was almost the same feeling as when he left here—a lot of people making noise and milling around, and my attention just glued to my new baby boy. I’m not going to lie; I’ve been wanting to get mad and just go f–k the world up, because my son being killed has messed my whole life up. No way should my son have left here before me. But I have to stop myself every time my anger begins to build like that. If I look at it that way too long, I’ll find myself in trouble, doing something out of rage and revenge. That would be out of my character, and Mike Mike would never want me to do anything like that. It’s so hard sometimes, but I have to find some type of something to keep myself calm so I can be a good wife and mother for my other kids. That’s why, looking at my son’s death today, I try to see it from more of a spiritual standpoint. God let me have Mike Mike for 18 years. He wouldn’t let me have him longer because He had other plans for us. Those plans are still being revealed to me, but I believe a big part of His plans was to wake people up to some things in the world that need changing. I’m ready, though, for whatever He has in store. What I do know for sure is that I was just a kid when I had Mike Mike. I made a lot of mistakes when I was young, but in raising him I got stronger, wiser. What we endured together, especially in his years as a small child, is a story that only his mother can tell. One that I have held close until now. The naysayers and judgers and haters wrote me off when I had my baby, saying things like, “She ain’t gonna do nothin’ with her life,” but I never gave up. I had to develop thick skin to get through those scary and confusing days, but I was determined to make it for my child, to do right by Mike Mike… I find a way to smile because my baby had aspirations and dreams. That really gives me comfort on the low days. That’s why I got to clear things up, because folks out here got it twisted: Mike wasn’t a criminal who deserved to be shot like a -dangerous animal. He was a good boy who cared about the right things, and family and friends were at the top of his list. He didn’t have a police record. He never got in trouble. He was a techie, in love with computers. He loved his mama and was proud to be headed to college and of the things he knew. The whole family was proud of him, too. When my son was killed, everybody had his or her own version of how everything went down. Cops with their version of the facts. People living in the Canfield Apartments with another. The television and newspaper people, EMTs, firemen, old people, young people, Black, White, you name it—everyone with a different story that was supposed to be the truth about my son’s last minutes on earth. My son was dead on the street in front of the world, and everybody -except Mike Mike was busy telling his story. Even in the months since that horrible day, people still haven’t stopped talking, from Twitter to Facebook to Instagram, in the beauty shop and coffee shop, everywhere. Well, let me just say this: I wasn’t there when Mike Mike was shot. I didn’t see him fall or take his last breath, but as his mother, I do know one thing better than anyone, and that’s how to tell my son’s story, and the journey we shared together as mother and son. I don’t wish this pain, this struggle, this hurt, this void, this guilt or this grief on anybody. After Mike Mike died, I believed we would have justice. I waited for the police to right the wrong, I waited for the county to bring justice for Mike Mike, I waited for the DOJ to discover the truth. The system has failed my son. It has failed me and it has failed all of us. But, now, I know that I can’t wait for anybody else to make change. I must make change, myself. That will be Mike Mike’s legacy; that will be his justice. That’s the truth of it. Powerful stuff right? You can purchase Lezley McSpadden’s book HERE Hit the flip to hear her talk about meeting Jay Z and Beyoncé and why she agreed to be part of the “Freedom” video.
Move over, Florida Man. And make room for… Arizona Teen! According to Reuters, a student at Red Mountain High School in Phoenix got arrested this week after he pulled out his penis for a yearbook photo. Editors apparently did not notice the unit just hanging out of the football player’s pants… ran the revealing photo… and were then inundated with complaints after it was printed in all of the school’s yearbooks. HA! The yearbooks were printed for approximately 3,400 students, but only about 250 books had gone out at the time the school was made aware of the exposed penis. The school really hopes to get back all of these yearbooks, while each one still in the school’s possession will be edited to cover the inappropriate content. The student, meanwhile, is named Hunter Osborn. He is 19 years old and he told authorities that he was acting on a dare from a fellow football player. There are actual court documents of the case that state Hunter “exposed his penis through the top of his waistband of his football uniform pants.” We’ve shared a censored version of the offending image above. Osborn was released from custody on Sunday after being his arrest. He faces 69 counts of misdemeanor indecent exposure and one count of felony furnishing harmful items to minors because 59 students – ranging in age from 15 to 19 years old – and 10 faculty members were present at the time he pulled out his junk. The senior is yet to address this incident in public. However, told police in an interview that he knowingly exposed himself… yet was “disgusted by what he had done.” We somehow doubt that. We’re guessing he was highly entertained by what he had done. But we understand why that statement may not have gone over well with the cops. View Slideshow: 9 Stars Who Have Sent Photos of Their Penis
