Source: Andres Otero/WENN.com / WENN Kim Kardashian has been quietly making moves to shake up the criminal justice system , using her wealth and influence to help aid in the release of over a dozen inmates. In all, the social media megastar has helped 17 inmates gain freedom in the past 90 days. TMZ reports : We’ve learned Kim and her legal team helped 17 prisoners gain freedom over the last 3 months or so — each of them having served years of life sentences without parole … for low-level drug offenses. It’s all part of the 90 Days of Freedom campaign launched by Kim’s lawyer, Brittany K. Barnett, in partnership with lawyer MiAngel Cody of The Decarceration Collective. The campaign puts the First Step Act — signed by President Trump last year — to work for prisoners who received Draconian sentences. Kim is footing the bill while Barnett, who also co-founded the Buried Alive advocacy group, and Cody handle the lawyering. We’re told Kim’s been secretly funding the campaign over the past few months. We’ve known about a few cases Kim’s backed — Jeffrey Stringer in Florida, Cyntoia Brown in Tennessee, Alice Marie Johnson in Alabama — but now we know the list is much longer. There are other cases that Kardashian and Cody are currently examining in order to work more hopeful magic. — Photo: WENN
Source: NurPhoto / Getty If you were one of the everyday Tweeters, who wanted the ability to retweet or quote retweet using a gif, photo or video your prayers have been answered. Twitter announced a new update allowing users to do such adding more flavor to your conversations on the social media platform. The update which is now has been rolled out across Apple iOS and Android devices will now all users to add up to four pieces of multimedia whether it be four photos, videos or a gif. When doing so, the original tweet will now be placed conveniently below so it doesn’t get lost in the conversation. When speaking about the new feature, Twitter broke down the process of coming up with the function and stated in a series of Tweets: “People come to Twitter to share their thoughts on interests, events, and news, and we wanted to give them more ways to express themselves.” “During the first usability test, we found it was challenging for people to quickly understand all the content in a Retweet with media. This was due to the layout; two large Tweets stacked on top of each other.” “To improve comprehension, we focused on creating hierarchy, prioritizing the author’s voice, and providing more context around the Tweet being Retweeted.” Next, we ran a second usability test, introducing a condensed inner Tweet that was styled similar to a pull quote. This was to help differentiate the two components of the Retweet. Participants reacted well to it. During the first usability test, we found it was challenging for people to quickly understand all the content in a Retweet with media. This was due to the layout; two large Tweets stacked on top of each other. pic.twitter.com/P9NsbaEIF0 — Twitter Design (@TwitterDesign) May 6, 2019 So what’s the final design look like? • Clearer visual hierarchy with a condensed inner Tweet • Including an avatar in the inner Tweet to give more context helping you quickly see who’s talking • Simple box container for easier interacting We hope you enjoy it! pic.twitter.com/11bRXn3dbk — Twitter Design (@TwitterDesign) May 6, 2019 Twitter also is promising another update that will make “Retweets with media more interactive and easier to read” while “exploring more ways to help people express themselves. Stay tuned!” That’s all fine and dandy, and it’s great that Twitter is listening to users but where in the world is the ability to edit Tweets after we hit send? — Photo: NurPhoto / Getty
Source: Chanel L. Porchia Albert / Chanel L. Porchia Albert The Duchess Of Sussex Meghan Markle reportedly used a doula during the birth of the royal baby, prompting more women to explore the benefits of having a doula in the room when they’re delivering their child. Doulas are becoming ever more popular as Black women continue to die at disproportionately higher rates during childbirth. Having extra representation in the room can prevent common medical mishaps that health professionals may otherwise overlook. As we’ve seen, death during childbirth doesn’t discriminate for Black women regardless of socioeconomic status or social class. Champion tennis Serena Williams shared her experience while giving birth and how she had to advocate for herself after doctors refused to check her lungs for blood clots. Shamari Devoe exclusively revealed to us that she too had to advocate for herself when doctors refused to check her cervix while she was pregnant with her twins. We caught up with Chanel L. Porchia Albert — founder of Ancient Song Doula Services, a reproductive health organization focused on providing resources and full spectrum doula services to women of color and marginalized communities, full spectrum doula, lactation counselor, and Midwifery assistant — informed us the benefits of having a doula. What is the role of a doula in the birth room? The role of the doula is to center the voice and autonomy of the birthing person. Providing evidence-based information to make an informed decision about their care and to provide various forms of comfort measures for the birthing person. When we look at black women and birthing the context is about ensuring that the voice of the pregnant person is not lost or fall on deaf ears. African- American women regardless of education, socio-economic status, or educational level are at a greater risk for complications stemming from varying degrees of institutionalized racism and systemic disregard for the voices of pregnant people and over medicalization of birth. Overall, the doula is bringing a human rights framework into the birth room to ensure pregnant people voices are heard and push bodily autonomy Why do you think the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle chose to have a doula in the room with her? Support. I can’t speak for Meghan but my thought is that with the growing news around traumatic birth experiences, the over medicalization of birth, and understanding how black women and those who are considered to be at advanced maternal age wanted to ensure that she had supportive individuals in her corner to assist in advocating for her needs and autonomy in her own birthing experience to ensure the best birth outcome. Birth has become a commodity that sees the value of motherhood in a heavy rotation of getting someone in and out at the cost of the individual. People want the good birth outcome and the experience that centers the parent and child. What’s a common medical emergency that happens in the birth room that doulas often catch? There are varying things that can take place in the birth room that may not be considered a medical emergency but can have lasting effects on the pregnant person such as forced episiotomies, fear-based coercion, over use of medical equipment, not being able to eat and drink in labor, desperation of parent and child at birth. Some of these interventions may be unnecessary and shift to a medical emergency. The doula is there is provide information to make an informed decision about care that centers the voice that is often dismissed in care. How many Black women use doulas? Black women are seeking out doulas at a higher rate then ever before. Understanding the complexities of racism and implicit bias within care and wanting to ensure the safety and well-being of themselves and children. Cost continues to be a barrier in that access but organizations like Ancient Song Doula Services, Mamatoto Village, Village Birth Intl, and others across the nation are and have been working to break down barriers to care. Resources like the Black Mamas Matter Alliance where black women can find a list of kindred partners and collaborators within their respective states to ensure they have the educational resources and support when choosing a provider. How much does a doula cost and how can the average woman get one for free? On average a doula can cost upwards to $3000 for services. There are various programs and models that specifically centers the voices of Black women and provide culturally relevant care from an evidence-based perspective that are free, low cost, or at a sliding scale basis. You can find that at Ancient Song and others kindred partners and collaborators at the Black Mamas Matter Alliance. RELATED STORIES: Listen To Black Women: How Can Black Women Lower Their Chances Of Death During Childbirth? 7 Black Women Share What No One Told Them About Motherhood
Source: Leon Bennett / Getty Layzie Bone is officially a dad, again. The Bone Thugs & Harmony was proven to be the father of a child after a paternity test’s conclusive results. The details are the real struggle, though. Reports TMZ : We broke the story … the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony rapper — real name Steven Howse — was involved in a paternity case in Michigan with the baby’s mother, Shateira Marketa Childress. She claimed he was the father of her child, Sevyn, and turns out … she was right. According to the test report … DNA samples were collected from the trio in April, and Layzie’s been determined to be the biological father with almost 100 percent certainty. As we told you, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is looking to establish Layzie as the father in order to determine how much he’ll have to fork over in child support. Reportedly, Layzie was involved in a different paternity test in 2013, and he was found to be the father in that case, too. But the kicker is he has three children, with his longtime wife. Those must have been some awkward convos.
Source: Peoples Choice / Peoples Choice Another year, another Teacher Appreciation Week to celebrate those who’ve lead us, taught us, and acted as our mentors. Many of us know that teachers can be strict in real life, sometimes for the better. However, when things get too rough with the real life instructors, luckily certain fictional characters set the bar high for our educational dreams. Hit the flip for some favorite television and movie teachers you might have wished strolled in your classroom when school got too hard.
Source: Pacific Press / Getty Just when we thought Kevin Hunter couldn’t get any more triffling, he went and proved us all wrong. See, Wendy Williams’ soon-to-be ex husband now wants to be paid spousal support and child support despite the fact that their son is going to be 19. According to Page Six , Hunter is also requesting the famed talk show host pay for their son’s college tuition, as well as “equitable distribution of all personal assets.” Apparently, Wendy has said that she will work to establish an “appropriate amount of child support” as well as “other further relief as the Court deems fair and equitable.” Listen…she’s better than us. As we previously reported , in April Williams filed for divorce from her husband of nearly 23 years, having those papers delivered at 6:30am. Hunter has also been fired as the executive producer of talk show . As we know, there are plenty of reasons for Williams to walk away from her marriage, which includes Hunter allegedly having a decade long affair with Hudson , perhaps even having a baby with her. That, and Williams has been battling with addiction issues , which Hunter’s alleged cheating may have caused her to spiral. Not to mention, there have been accusations of physical abuse, including a report that the police came to their home earlier this year because someone had accused Kevin of poisoning the talk show host . We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: We are glad that Wendy is getting as far away from Kevin as possible. Hopefully, she won’t have to pay half of her hard earned money to get him to go away for good. RELATED NEWS: Police Once Investigated Anonymous Call That Kevin Hunter Poisoned Wendy Williams Boy Bye: Kevin Hunter Officially Out As Executive Producer Of ‘The Wendy Williams Show’ Wendy Williams Is Working On A ‘New Life’ For Her & Her Son, Announces End Of Sobriety Treatment [ione_media_gallery src=”https://hellobeautiful.com” id=”3025804″ overlay=”true”]
Source: Pacific Press / Getty Just when we thought Kevin Hunter couldn’t get any more triffling, he went and proved us all wrong. See, Wendy Williams’ soon-to-be ex husband now wants to be paid spousal support and child support despite the fact that their son is going to be 19. According to Page Six , Hunter is also requesting the famed talk show host pay for their son’s college tuition, as well as “equitable distribution of all personal assets.” Apparently, Wendy has said that she will work to establish an “appropriate amount of child support” as well as “other further relief as the Court deems fair and equitable.” Listen…she’s better than us. As we previously reported , in April Williams filed for divorce from her husband of nearly 23 years, having those papers delivered at 6:30am. Hunter has also been fired as the executive producer of talk show . As we know, there are plenty of reasons for Williams to walk away from her marriage, which includes Hunter allegedly having a decade long affair with Hudson , perhaps even having a baby with her. That, and Williams has been battling with addiction issues , which Hunter’s alleged cheating may have caused her to spiral. Not to mention, there have been accusations of physical abuse, including a report that the police came to their home earlier this year because someone had accused Kevin of poisoning the talk show host . We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: We are glad that Wendy is getting as far away from Kevin as possible. Hopefully, she won’t have to pay half of her hard earned money to get him to go away for good. RELATED NEWS: Police Once Investigated Anonymous Call That Kevin Hunter Poisoned Wendy Williams Boy Bye: Kevin Hunter Officially Out As Executive Producer Of ‘The Wendy Williams Show’ Wendy Williams Is Working On A ‘New Life’ For Her & Her Son, Announces End Of Sobriety Treatment [ione_media_gallery src=”https://hellobeautiful.com” id=”3025804″ overlay=”true”]
Source: Paras Griffin / Getty Raz B ‘s life has been the subject of public scrutiny, scorn , and sympathy since forever. So it only makes sense that the B2K singer is joining the cast of Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood . Reports TMZ : Sources close to production on the VH1 reality show tell us … Raz B has already joined ‘L&HH’ and for the past few weeks a film crew’s been following him around, capturing all his ups and downs on the B2K reunion tour. We’re told Raz B inked his deal last month with the show’s Hollywood branch … and he’ll be featured in the upcoming season. Raz B is already giving ‘L&HH’ plenty of content. As we first reported … he got arrested in Minneapolis this week after cops said he strangled his girlfriend during an argument outside a Macy’s. Ultimately, the County Attorney’s Office decided not to prosecute the singer based on a lack of evidence. Reportedly, all the aforementioned incidents just happened to be caught on camera. Of course. — Photo: Getty
Source: Earl Gibson III / Getty The Braxton family are mourning the death of their beloved niece Lauren Braxton, who died of an apparent heart condition earlier this week. The heartbreaking news prompted responses from Toni Braxton and the rest of the family on social media sans Tamar, who later posted a note about monitoring people’s grieving process. “We ask that you respect the family’s privacy in their time of sadness and loss,” the Braxton family said in a statement. While Toni posted “R.I.P. to my amazing niece Lauren ‘Lo Lo’ Braxton… I’m still in disbelief and so very heartbroken.” Tamar remained silent , but found herself clapping a fan after she posted this: View this post on Instagram …. and now you know the rest of the story A post shared by Tamar Braxton (@tamarbraxton) on May 3, 2019 at 9:44am PDT View this post on Instagram #TSRClapbackSeason: #TamarBraxton had to check a commenter real quick about speaking on her family A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom) on May 3, 2019 at 11:26am PDT Now Tamar could use a piece of humble pie but this was not the time or status for this comment, which is why Tamar proceeded to read the fan for filth. Who was in the right and who was wrong? RELATED STORIES: Tamar Braxton Claims Her Mama And Sisters ‘Love’ Her New Nigerian Bae Tamar Braxton And Her Mysterious Boyfriend Are Back Together
Source: Nuccio DiNuzzo / Getty Valencia Love , the woman who famously paid R. Kelly ‘s bail, will not be questioned in the troubled singer’s unpaid rent case. Kelly is battling with his studio landlord over owed monies currently, along with his other mounting legal issues . The Blast reports : According to court documents obtained by The Blast, a Chicago judge recently dismissed Valencia Love from the lawsuit between Kelly and his former recording studio landlord. The landlord won a $173,000 judgment against Kelly over unpaid rent and has been trying to collect for several months. They fired off subpoenas to multiple banks where Kelly had accounts, Sony Music, and ASCAP (for his royalties). They were able to seize $154k from his Bank of America accounts plus $50k from Sony, which settled the debt. They also were informed by WinTrust Bank that Kelly was overdrawn and had negative $13 in his account. In newly filed docs in the case, it is revealed the landlord had also subpoenaed Love, in an effort to ask her if she was holding money for Kelly or had any of his assets. Love was quoted as saying the money she used to bail out the singer was his own, and the landlord suspected Kelly was hiding his assets among his legal team, who were also subpoenaed. The debt has since been settled. — Photo: Getty
