The Fox hit series Glee will pay homage to the late, great singer Whitney Houston April 24 in an episode appropriately entitled “Dance With Somebody.” New Directions will cover some of Whitney’s hart-toppers, and it looks like Brittany (Heather Morris) and Santana (Naya Rivera) will do the title song. Here’s a promotional photo from Glee’s Whitney Houston episode … The show returns with an all-new episode tonight. Next week, in “Saturday Night Glee-ver,” the Glee club will page homage to the movie Saturday Night Fever . Hope you’re all ready for some disco-infused numbers, followed by Whitney the following week, and probably some not-so-subtle PSAs thrown in as well. Interestingly, Glee’s Amber Riley shot this cover of “I Will Always Love You” right before Houston passed away. Will be tough to top. Listen below … Amber Riley – I Will Always Love You (Glee Clip)
The special prosecutor investigating the shooting death of Trayvon Martin ruled out using a grand jury in the case, meaning her office alone will decide whether or not to charge the teenager’s killer, George Zimmerman, with a crime. Florida Governor Rick Scott appointed Angela Corey, a seasoned state attorney based in Jacksonville, to take over the Trayvon Martin case as special prosecutor. “State Attorney Angela Corey has decided not to use a grand jury in the Trayvon Martin shooting death investigation,” her office said in a statement. “At this time, the investigation continues and there will be no further comment.” It’s very much unclear when a decision will be reached in the case. Martin’s death has captured national attention because of racial profiling and Florida’s controversial self-defense laws, prompting demonstrations across the U.S. The unarmed Martin, 17, was black and Zimmerman, 28, the neighborhood watchman who has not been charged with a crime, is white and Hispanic. A demonstration Monday temporarily shut down the police department in Sanford, Fla., the epicenter of the case and where the shooting took place. Sanford police declined to arrest Zimmerman after the shooting, saying they found no evidence to contradict his account that he acted in self-defense . Police cited Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which allows people to use deadly force against adversaries when they fear great bodily harm or death. But defense lawyers with experience litigating “Stand Your Ground” say Zimmerman, will face a tough challenge to assert immunity under that law. If the special prosecutor does not charge Zimmerman, some fear that the escalating racial tension could boil over into full-blown rioting in Florida. Meanwhile, the man at the center of the storm has launched a website. Zimmerman warns about various online groups that falsely claim to be raising funds for his defense, and has started soliciting donations for himself. “I am the real George Zimmerman,” declares the website. “On Sunday February 26th, I was involved in a life altering event which led me to become the subject of intense media coverage,” he writes. “As a result of the incident and media coverage, I have been forced to leave my home, my school, my employer, my family and ultimately, my entire life.” “This website’s sole purpose is to ensure my supporters that they are receiving my full attention without going through any intermediaries.” In addition to the controversies over race and Stand Your Ground, the case – in the eyes of many – has become the poster child for media bias . Zimmerman, despite his highly questionable actions, remains free and is innocent until proven guilty, yet has been vilified from day one. NBC’s editing of the Trayvon Martin 911 call was the most glaring example.
Michigan Construction Sign Hacked, Vandal Posts Racial Slur About Trayvon Martin The ugly racial divide over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin has reared its head in Michigan. Motorists in Dearborn report seeing a racial slur on a construction sign along I-94 overnight. The digital roadside sign displayed the message: “Trayvon A N***er”, a reference to Trayvon Martin, the Florida teen who police say was gunned down by a neighborhood watch volunteer in February. “The portable sign has a panel that was broken in to,” said MDOT spokesman Rob Morosi. “The message was changed and the keyboard was actually stolen.” FOX 2′s Amy Andrews reports the message was displayed for over an hour until workers were able to power down the sign. Michigan State Police are investigating. Anyone with information is asked to give them a call. This is a shame. Fawk the punk beyotch that did this isht! R.I.P. Trayvon Source More On Bossip! Part 3 Beyonce Never Seen Photos Of Family Plus Her And Blue Ivy Take A Stroll [Video] Vida Guerra Wants To Remind You She’s Alive By Showing Off Her Tight New Body On Twitter! We Want Prenup!!! Ruben “Teddy Bear Swag” Studdard Doesn’t Have To Hand Over A Dayum Dime To Golddiggin’ Ex-Wife High And Dry: The Most Disrespected Exes Of All Time
Trayvon Martin’s cousin, Ronquavis Fulton, said that he didn’t believe Trayvon would ever “circle back” to fight George Zimmerman after trying to evade him. Fulton said that Martin was a “well-mannered, soft spoken person,” and claims that he was the aggressor are “totally unbelievable.” He also said that he’s sure the voice on the 911 recordings is Trayvon’s. Image CNN
Diddy urges fans to retweet link to rapper’s ‘Wit My Hoodie On’ tribute track. By Rob Markman Trayvon Martin Photo: AP The tragic shooting death of Trayvon Martin has led a number of prominent hip-hop artists to speak out. On last week’s “RapFix Live,” Nas , Bun B, Killer Mike and Prodigy all expressed their views on the Florida teen’s death at the hands of neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman. The discussion around Martin, who was wearing a hoodie when he was killed, has also led to protests, televised debates and songs dedicated to young Trayvon. The latest of such singles comes from Diddy signee Los . On Sunday night, the Bad Boy mogul tweeted the link to Los’ “Wit My Hoodie On” and urged his followers to retweet it to the world. The Baltimore MC begins the somber, violin-laced track saying, “I just came here tonight to celebrate the life of Trayvon Martin. Put your hoodie on.” Los’ track was released eight days after Plies dropped his dedication, “We Are Trayvon,” in what seems to be a growing trend. On “Wit My Hoodie On,” Swagger Boy Los goes on to compare the Trayvon tragedy to his own troubles. He begins the first verse recalling the murder of his father 15 years ago and the effect it has had on his life. Toward the second half of the verse, Los brings it back full-circle, spitting, “I’m wrestling for this one shot/ Feeling like Trayvon on the lawn before the gunshot/ I ain’t gettin’ my up-to-no-good on/ They just wanna kill me, because I put my hood on.” The song’s hook is an ode to the hoodie, a fashion staple and now a symbolic representation of Trayvon’s gripping death. “I ride (with my hoodie on), I hustle (with my hoodie on)/ Damn right, I represent the struggle (with my hoodie on).” Veteran news reporter Geraldo Rivera recently said that he believed “the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman.” But on Sunday night, Rivera apologized to Martin’s parents when they appeared on his Fox News show. Trayvon’s dad, Tracy Martin, accepted Rivera’s apology and took a moment to clarify why his son was actually wearing the sweatshirt. “Your apology is accepted,” he said . “Let me just add one thing with the wearing of the hoodie. I don’t think America knows that, in fact, at the time of the incident when he initially made the call, it was raining. So Trayvon had every right to have on his hood. He was protecting himself from the rain. “So if being suspicious, walking in the rain with your hoodie on is a crime, then I guess the world is doing something wrong.” What do you think of Los’ “Wit My Hoodie On”? Tell us in the comments. Related Photos Diddy, Chris Brown Tribute Trayvon Martin Related Artists Diddy
‘He was killed by a terrorist,’ Atlanta MC declares on ‘RapFix Live,’ while Prodigy adds, ‘[Zimmerman] murdered that kid for no reason.’ By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway Killer Mike on “RapFix Live” Photo: Natasha Chandel/ MTV News Speculation over what happened the night of February 26 when 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was tragically shot dead continues to run rampant. On Wednesday, police surveillance video emerged showing the gunman, George Zimmerman, in handcuffs. The fact that he wasn’t charged with a crime that night and was release has fueled a public outcry for justice. Among the outraged are rappers Killer Mike and Mobb Deep’s Prodigy , who both appeared on Wednesday’s “RapFix Live” to discuss Trayvon’s death. Killer Mike called the shooting “an assassination.” “He was killed by a terrorist; there is no other way to put it,” Mike said, as he and “RapFix” host Sway wore hooded sweatshirts in a symbolic show of support for the teen, who died wearing a similar article of clothing. Via Skype, Prodigy said, “It’s definitely a murder, that dude just murdered him in cold blood. The dude, Zimmerman, I don’t know what he thought he was doing, but he murdered that kid for no reason.” It has been reported that Zimmerman called 911 on the night of February 26 after he saw Trayvon, who was wearing hoodie, walking through the Sanford, Florida, gated community where he lived and served as a neighborhood watchman. The police dispatcher instructed Zimmerman not to pursue the teen, but he reportedly ignored those instructions. What happened then is unclear, but when Sanford police arrived on the scene, Trayvon was dead. Zimmerman claimed Trayvon attacked him and he acted in self-defense, and police didn’t charge him with a crime. Critics who have watched the police-surveillance footage said Zimmerman doesn’t appear to have injuries consistent with his beating account, but the footage is grainy. Prodigy believes Sanford police should have immediately charged Zimmerman. “The burden of proof is on the person that’s claiming self-defense,” he said. The case has tremendous racial undertones: Zimmerman is a white man of Hispanic origin, and Trayvon was black. Killer Mike said he’s particularly concerned with the “Stand Your Ground” law, Florida legislation that allows a person to kill in cases of self-defense. The Atlanta MC believes that young black men should be armed to protect themselves under the confines of the law. “If you live below the Mason-Dixon line, gun laws allow you to arm yourself; you should be armed,” Killer Mike urged. “Because we live in a state where we are hunted, we live in a state that allows the conditions of black men to walk around in fear.” Prodigy believes that if Zimmerman isn’t charged, similar incidents might occur. “What the police department out there is doing is they’re gonna start a trend of people that’s just gonna go out there and think they’re neighborhood watch or whatever, and they’re just gonna clap whoever they feel like clappin’,” he said. Related Videos ‘RapFix Live’ With Nas & Killer Mike
A pair of videos – one featuring celebrities, one starring ordinary people – have surfaced online as public service announcements and tributes to Trayvon Martin. In the first, singer Chaka Khan enlists help from celebrity friends Kelly Price, Eric Ben
‘His legacy can become something that helps change things,’ Nas tells MTV News of late Florida teen. By Rob Markman, with additional MTV News staff reporting Trayvon Martin Photo: AP The tragic shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin has led to a public outcry for justice, which many feel has not yet begun to be served. The triggerman, 28-year old George Zimmerman, who claims he shot Martin in self-defense, has yet to be arrested or charged with a crime. Demonstrators have taken to the streets , lawmakers have protested on Capitol Hill and even President Obama has spoken out in support of Martin and his family. The hip-hop community has also been vocal about the delicate matter, which has overwhelming racial implications. “It’s something very near and dear to me, because my son is around his age,” Young Jeezy told MTV News last week. “He looks like an innocent kid. I understand the situation as far as dude wanting to be [on] neighborhood watch, but everybody that’s black and young ain’t up to no good.” On February 26, Martin was shot dead by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman as he walked through a gated Sanford, Florida, community. Zimmerman believed Martin — who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt — looked suspicious, so he called 911. The police dispatcher advised Zimmerman not to pursue the teen, but he reportedly ignored those instructions. By the time police arrived on the scene, Martin was dead. Although Zimmerman admitted to the shooting, police declined to arrest him citing the state’s Stand Your Ground law, which allows a person to kill in cases of self-defense. Mobb Deep’s Prodigy doesn’t understand why local authorities didn’t take Zimmerman into custody. “To me, it’s up to the police department out there in Sanford to handle that the right way,” he said. “They were supposed to arrest him.” “It’s unfortunate any time things like that happen, and I don’t know exactly what the motivation of the man who actually killed him was, but it doesn’t feel positive,” 50 Cent said. For any circumstances when someone’s killed and there’s a person there that we know did it, regardless of their intentions at that point, there’s right and wrong. And I think that it’s obvious who’s wrong in this actual situation.” Over the past week, there have been rallies calling for the arrest of Zimmerman in New York City, Chicago and Trayvon’s native Sanford, Florida. During a March 23 press conference, President Obama said if he had a son “he’d look like Trayvon,” and on Wednesday (March 28), Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush was removed from the House floor after he gave a speech in support of Martin while wearing sunglasses and a hooded sweatshirt in a symbolic show of solidarity. Game believes Trayvon’s death is another example of racial injustice in America. “For some reason, people don’t think that they need any excuse to kill us, beat us, hit us, run us over, disrespect us or anything like that,” he said. “This is just another reminder that stupidity still exists.” Killer Mike took a militant stance, expressing his frustration with the so-called Stand Your Ground law. “If we’re not gonna change the laws, then we have to change our mentality,” he said, urging young black men to arm themselves as long as they operate within the confines of their state’s gun laws. Trying to make sense of a senseless act, Nas hopes that young Trayvon didn’t die in vain. “Maybe he thought in football he’d have a legacy,” Nas reasoned, “but now his legacy can become something that helps change things, hopefully.” Share your condolences for Trayvon Martin’s friends and family in the comments below.
