The Dayton Dragons now call Day Air Ballpark their home.
Since its inception, the Dayton Dragons baseball team has been one of the staples of the community.
They had 20 year partnership with Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank for its stadium naming rights.
Now the ball club announced they entered a partnership with Day Air Credit Union for the unveiling of the new name of the stadium. The name of the stadium will be titled, Day Air Ballpark.
Fifth Third had naming rights to the stadium since 2000 when the team became affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds and started playing in the Midwest League. The team has nearly 1,400 straight sold out games since April with millions of fans watching games at Fifth Third Field.
Now the time for renaming has come.
"We are extremely proud that one of the true landmarks of Dayton will now be called Day Air Ballpark, "said Bill Burke, the president of Day Air Credit Union. "Together, the Dragons and Day Air Credit Union, will uphold he outstanding tradition at the ballpark and look forward to the new experiences and programs to impact and engage the community, fans, members and associates."
I remember then Senator Barack Obama of Illinois came to the venue when he was the Democratic nominee. I took my former girlfriend and her daughter to the event. We had to get up really early and I was a volunteer for the Obama for America (Ohio). I had an opportunity to get as close to the senator and managed to get a picture of him shaking hands with supporters.
I also remember the infamous fight at the stadium. A Dragons baseball player got hit in the head with a ball from the Julio Castillo of the Peoria Chiefs, the managers got into a heated argument. The umpires ejected them. Then as the teams started clearing the benches, Castillo got angry and threw a ball at the Dragons ballpin. The ball missed and it hit a fan. The Dragons and Chiefs would soon brawl and become one of the nation's most talked about fights. The fan got seriously injured. Castillo had to face criminal charges and possible deportation due to the incident being called felonious assault. He was convicted and sentenced to time served. He would end up being cut from the team and forced out of the MiLB.
Let's recap on yesterday's defense of President Donald J. Trump.
The 45th President of the United States hired his defense team. Many of them are fixtures on the far-white propaganda outlet known as Fox News. They spent a portion of their time throwing shit to the wall hoping it would stick. Of course, they invoked Barack Obama's name in the defense of Trump.
Trump's legal team basically bumbled through conspiracy theories they've watched on Fox News.
That "Pervert" Rupert Murdoch has built Fox News into a propaganda outlet. Not only it spews talking points for the Republican Party, it's practically the public relations firm, legal advisor and enforcer of Republican and conservative principles in the United States.
It's impact has gotten so bad, many Republicans are chirping lies without thinking of the consequences.
Are you better off now than you were three years ago? Almost everyone say YES!
They are attacking former National Security Advisor John Bolton. Bolton a war-hawk and controversial former UN Ambassador under George W. Bush has falling out of favor with the Republicans and agitators of the far-white. They called the book he's written a "money grab" and "falsehoods to undermine Trump."
There's been a whole lot of former and current White House officials feeling some type of way with President Donald J. Trump. Many of them are often speaking on television or radio.
John Bolton's excerpts of his bombshell book are rocking Washington, DC. The Republicans are scrambling to denounce the new book, "The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir" will certainly bring attention to him. The Democrats want Bolton to testify under oath his take on why Trump abused his powers as president.
I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens. In fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination. If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book. With that being said, the...
...transcripts of my calls with President Zelensky are all the proof that is needed, in addition to the fact that President Zelensky & the Foreign Minister of Ukraine said there was no pressure and no problems. Additionally, I met with President Zelensky at the United Nations...
...(Democrats said I never met) and released the military aid to Ukraine without any conditions or investigations - and far ahead of schedule. I also allowed Ukraine to purchase Javelin anti-tank missiles. My Administration has done far more than the previous Administration.
Bolton claimed that Trump along with his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani masterminded a plot to go after the Democrats and his most feared rival Joe Biden. He wanted a foreign power to investigate Biden in order for it to hurt his chances at winning the 2020 presidential election.
Really pathetic how @FoxNews is trying to be so politically correct by loading the airwaves with Democrats like Chris Van Hollen, the no name Senator from Maryland. He has been on forever playing up the Impeachment Hoax. Dems wouldn’t even give Fox their low ratings debates....
.....So, what the hell has happened to @FoxNews. Only I know! Chris Wallace and others should be on Fake News CNN or MSDNC. How’s Shep Smith doing? Watch, this will be the beginning of the end for Fox, just like the other two which are dying in the ratings. Social Media is great!
Trump is facing two articles of impeachment. He has abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
These are two very serious crimes. Trump joins Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton in this infamous club. He is the third U.S. President to be impeached while in office.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) is possibly facing a tougher reelection bid. She went on camera to admit that the Republicans' goal is to ruin Joe Biden's chances at beating Trump.
Pam Bondi brought her Softball Hannity notes to the impeachment trial. She wanted to look her best while delivering conspiracies about Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Jay Sekulow, Alan Dershowitz, Ken Starr and Pam Bondi are fixtures on that shithead Sean "Softball" Hannity's carnival of bullshit. Sekulow is allegedly ripping off Christian groups. Dershowitz defended O.J. Simpson, Jeffrey Epstein and has allegedly slept with underage girls. Ken Starr looked the other way when it came to rape at Baylor University. He was the point man Republicans hired in the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He has shady ties to Epstein as well. Bondi is a shady former Florida Attorney General. She got a pay off from Trump when he defrauded people who enrolled in the infamous Trump University.
Bondi and Jane Raskin is seen in photos with indicted Ukrainian operatives Lev Parnas and Igor Furman.
Pat Cipollone is facing ethics issues and is involved in the possible cover-up of Trump's "perfect call" with Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelansky.
Rudy Giuliani who is the president's personal lawyer isn't on the defense team. However, he's the guy who is openly talking about what the president's motives are. He is tied to Parnas and Furman. He also was the guy who helped Victoria Toensing and Joe DiGenova get in touch with corrupt Ukrainian officials and a mob boss. They also gave John "Deep State" Solomon the opportunity to generate this bogus claim that Biden's son Hunter was involved in a "quid pro quo" when he got to sit on board for a gas and oil company called Burisma.
Fox News has relentlessly went into Hunter Biden's personal life. He's not even running for office, but the far-white agitators (especially Softball Hannity) are running stories about his love-child, his addiction to drugs and personal matters.
Pedophile lawyer Alan Dershowitz talks about why Trump's stupidity should amount to his removal.
Not even concerned about Trump and his affairs. Not concerned about Trump's sexual trysts with Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. Not concerned about Donald Trump, Jr. numerous affairs and his relationship with former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle. Not concerned about Donald, Jr., Eric and Ivanka Trump's ethics while running the Trump Organization.
Not concerned about Melania Trump's entry into the United States on the grounds of false pretenses.
Not concerned about Trump being a terrible father to his daughter Tiffany and son Barron.
Not concerned about Trump allegedly having no morals, no compassion nor the competence to lead this nation in the time of war, natural disaster, global uncertainty and economic turmoil.
To Fox News and far-white agitators, Trump can't do wrong. Biden does wrong. Obama does wrong.
America is great. Israel is a religion. Insects are bugs not animals. If you live Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC, New York City or Boston, you're an elitist.
Trump never met Lev Parnas and Igor Furman. Pence and Giuliani never seen these two men before.
In the words of Softball Hannity, Trump is the voice of those "smelly Walmart people who cling to their bibles, their guns and shows their antipathy towards people who aren't like them."
Right now, the Trump team is wrapping up their hours long train of conspiracy.
Republicans are signalling they're not interested in having witnesses. They were warned by Trump and conservative donors that if they allow witnesses, they will have their heads on a pike.
Republicans are the party of stupid. Red herrings and misinformation helped Trump win in 2016.
It will help him in 2020.
Get this straight, we need to get motivated to vote in this election. Vote like your life depends on it!
The world is mourning the loss of NBA legend Kobe Bryant.
Before his passing, the junk food media shared a moment. Kobe and his family went to Disneyland for the holidays and were sharing their lives on social media.
Donald J. Trump, Mike Pence, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), the 53 U.S. Representatives, the remaining members of the House and the Senate, Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, George W. and Laura Bush, athletes, entertainers and people in the news have shared their thoughts on the passing of a legend.
Again, what are "thoughts and prayers" gonna do? It's not going to bring people back. Yeah, we treated Kobe Bryant like he's was one of the family. I get that. I understand. But the time for mourning should only be between his father, mother, wife, daughters, his best friends and his closest family members. They knew him. They loved him.
We loved him, too.
Bryant and his daughter Gianna along with seven other people died in a tragic helicopter crash on Sunday. It's still extremely hard to grasp the notion that an All-American basketball star died.
The NTSB, FAA, California State Highway Patrol, The Los Angeles County Boys, the Los Angeles Fire Department, The FBI and Calabasas Police have opened an investigation into why the helicopter pilot decided to fly when conditions were extremely bad.
The helicopter departed from the John Wayne International Airport (SNA) in Orange County. The group was traveling to the Mamba Academy in Thousand Oaks.
Due to the light rain and foggy weather, the LAPD grounded helicopter traffic and many air traffic at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) was delayed. The flight tracker showed that the helicopter circled above the L.A. Zoo due to heavy air traffic in the area.
Kobe and his ladies.
About 9:30am (PST), the pilot contacted Bob Hope Burbank/Hollywood International Airport (BUR) contacted the airport control tower, notifying the tower of the situation and was told he was "flying too low" to be tracked by radar. At the time, the fog gotten worse and only 15 minutes later, the helicopter crashed into the side of a mountain. The crash called a brush fire which was later extinguished.
The law publicly condemned tabloid agitator TMZ after they released the findings that Bryant was on board the helicopter. The law was trying to notify Kobe's family and they felt that TMZ is willing to drive shock value for ratings.
The victims included:
John Altobelli, the head coach of the Orange Coast College Pirates, his wife Keri and their daughter Alyssa.
Christina Mauser who was a physical education teacher and personal friend of Kobe. She was interested in getting a job coaching for Kobe's lady Mambas basketball team
Sarah and Peyton Chester were family friends of Bryant. Gianna was friends with Peyton and Alyssa.
The nine victims of a fatal helicopter crash.
Ara Zobayan was the pilot of the ill-fated Sikorsky S-76B. Zobayan was a sightseeing tour guide who had 20 years of experience piloting a helicopter. He was a certified flight instructor. The helicopter crashed in Calabasas while en route to Camarillo, California. Kobe frequently used the helicopter to avoid the congested Los Angeles traffic and considered it tool for maintaining his body, as it lets him avoid sitting in a car for more than two hours.
This tragedy is shocking to all who knew Kobe Bryant from his young days as a NBA player.
He signed to the Los Angeles Lakers at age 18 and been playing with the team for 20 years.
He was an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team and the 2008 NBA MOst Valuable Player (MVP). He was a five time NBA champion. He led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, ranks fourth on the league's all-time regular season scoring, and ranks fourth on the all-time postseason scoring list.
He is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
He was estimated at $350 million in 2016.
He and Gianna leave behind his wife Vanessa Laine Bryant, Natalia, Bianka and Carpi.
The Supreme Court's white male majority sided with Donald J. Trump and his bigoted attempts to strip immigrants of the safety net.
The United States is moving further towards fascism. Our government isn't for the people.
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretch refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I life my lamp beside the golden door!"
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Donald J. Trump and his executive order to deny green cards to those who may need government aid. So if you're an immigrant with children living in an area affected by a natural disaster, a mass shooting or a food desert, you can't look for Trump to help you.
Chief Justice John Roberts; Associate Court Justices, Samuel Alto, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch voted in favor of this new rule. The issue allows Trump to began enforcing new limits on immigrants who are considered likely to become overly dependent on government benefits programs.
Associate Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Stephen Breyer dissented the vote. They believe that the lower court's decision was suitable. They believe this would impact immigrants with children who were born in the United States.
The United States is moving slowly to fascism.
The Department of Homeland Security announced in August that it would expand the definition of "public change," to be applied to people whose immigration to the United States could be denied because of a concern that they would primarily depend on the government for their income.
So I am guessing anyone from Central America, East Asia, The Middle East, the African Union, some South American countries will be affected by this. Obviously, it's coded for "non-White" immigrants.
In the past, that was largely based on an assessment that an immigrant would be dependent upon cash benefits. But the Trump administration proposed to broaden the definition to include noncash benefits, such as Medicaid, supplemental nutrition and federal housing assistance.
The dickhead Ken Cuccinelli said, the proposed rules would reinforce "the ideals of self-sufficiency and personal responsibility, ensuring that immigrants are able to support themselves and become successful here in America."
For the millions of Americans who are struggling in Trump's "wonderful" economy, you're going to suffer more. If you lost your job, had your home destroyed by natural disasters, lost a family member to some form of violence, have mental issues, can't get a job because you're a felon or you're working two jobs to at least maintain a viable income, you might want to start screaming in your local U.S. lawmaker's ears.
Looks like Trump wants to meddle in your kitchen.
The safety net: It's this thing that helps the middle class and lower class. The safety net prevents Americans from rioting and/or looting. The safety net stops people from shoplifting from stores to feed their families. The safety net was created when Franklin D. Roosevelt passed The New Deal.
When Republicans crash the economy, Democrats always have to fix this shit. Whenever they fix this shit, the Republicans complain about how the Democrats are giving away the farm and the pantry.
The very same assholes who deny immigrants a right to travel to our great country want to punish immigrants who work twice as hard to keep their homes, their vehicles and their American or foreign born children from landing in the orphanage.
The safety net prevents a person from robbing you of your luxuries.
The safety net is only 10% of the federal spending. The way some people put it, 50% of the federal spending goes to food stamps and welfare. Some people believe that the safety net is making people lazy. And this is the stuff I've heard from people who think that it will never happen to them. They get their arousal over a person using an EBT card to pay for name brand items or expensive food.
With the rising food and gas prices, people are turning to food stamps, food banks and government assistance to keep themselves from landing in the homeless shelter.
Without a safety net, these people will rob and kill those who have the luxuries of having food in the refrigerator or in the pantry. They would steal fuel, water, bread and meat to keep feeding their families. And yet, these Republicans and their conservative allies are thinking the poor are the reasons for the economic recession. Perhaps those who complain about the poor, should walk a day in that person's shoes!
JCPenney announced they're shutting down a handful of stores.
They are planning to close up to 10 stores and one call center.
The stores will have "an effective closing date of April 24," Brooke Buchanan, senior vice president of communications said in a statement.
"This decision is the result of careful and ongoing review of our store portfolio," Buchanan said. "It's never easy to close a store, however, we felt this is a necessary business decision."
The Lenexa, Kansas call center is slated to close. It's located in the Kansas City metropolitan area. So that means folks living in Kansas and Missouri are losing their jobs.
In 2019, JCPenney decided to close up 27 stores and ended sales of appliances and furniture and placed its bets on apparel and related merchandise.
Stores that are affected will include Ohio, Montana, New York, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.
The shopping malls across the country are dying. It's not only affecting us here in Ohio, but across the country and even in Canada. Folks aren't going to the mall anymore.
I remember that malls enforced rules to target children of color. They imposed age restrictions, dress codes and placed security measures like gates to prevent theft. All of this was "coded" to target people of color.
Now the malls suffer.
This is Trump's economy folks and it's affect us here in the Dayton area.
Bar Louie is closing locations. Dayton and Cincinnati were affected.
Donald J. Trump carried Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. He is likely to carry Ohio and Wisconsin again.
These states have not seen the promise of Make America Great Again.
Dayton was hit once again with major closures of businesses. Business closures and the tornado has disrupted the community. It's likely Dayton had major population decrease while Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis saw modest growth.
The U.S. Census will determine which state gets a new U.S. Representative seat and major funds to accommodate population growth.
The states of Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona and Texas will gain a new congressional seat while New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Louisiana, New Jersey and Wisconsin will lose a seat.
So if you're a club or bar hopper, you're out of luck in Dayton.
The downtown establishment Club Masque closed its doors. The owner of the city's once popular LGBTQ nightlub announced he couldn't secure a lease. He said that he's hoping to find another location in the area soon.
The Fire Blocks district is slowly moving along. It's has not moved at the fast pace they once promised. The area still looks like it did before they added a few potted plants and lighted signs.
For those who can't go to Club Masque, they would head to Bar Louie.
Not anymore.
They decided to close up two popular bars in the area.
Today, we find out that Texas-based bar and grill chain filed for bankruptcy and have decided to abruptly close the two area restaurants at The Greene and Austin Landing.
They also closed the Oakley Station and Anderson Town Center locations in Cincinnati.
Bar Louie at The Greene been around for at least 13 years. The Bar Louie at Austin Landing opened in 2017. It's been in operation for nearly three years.
The Bar Louie chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after closing nearly 40 locations.
They had 134 locations at the time so that means they shaved off 1/3 of their restaurants.
The brand, a holding of Sun Capital Partners, said the filing will facilitate the operation's acquisition by one of three suitors that submitted letters of intent last month.
CEO Tom Frickle said that the locations that are closing will affect Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maryland, Florida, North Carolina and Colorado will see closures.
The company said that it will continue "business as usual" but if they don't find a person willing to invest in the chain, in a few months, all of the locations will close.
It comes as no surprise that those who worked at Bar Louie will lose their jobs. They will struggle to find work in a field that is shrinking fast.
The company began in Chicago in 1990 before branching out nationally. Bar Louie chains are located near town centers and malls.
This is Trump's economy folks and it's affect us here in the Dayton area.
Before I move on, here's something that got my attention. Bar Louie had a "dress code."
Hmm, wondering what that dress code was applied to?
We continue to watch and listen to the trial of 45th President of The Untied States.
The White House defense team includes Jay Sekulow, Alan Dershowitz, Ken Starr, Jane Raskin, Pat Cipollone, Robert Ray, Patrick Philbin and Pam Bondi. Most of them have appeared on Fox News or have shady ties to foreign agents.
The New York Times revealed that a former National Security Adviser John Bolton's draft of his book details how President Donald J. Trump explicitly linked releasing Ukraine's military aid to the country investigating Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
"There was absolutely no coordination with the New York Times or anyone else," Bolton's lawyer said in a statement. "Any assertion to the contrary is unfounded speculation."
The return of Ken Starr.
The White House defense team was shook. It was shook by the bombshell of former National Security Adviser Bolton and his upcoming book denouncing their repeated lies about Trump not abusing his power while in office.
Trump hits social media up and calls Bolton a flat out liar.
I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens. In fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination. If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book. With that being said, the...
...transcripts of my calls with President Zelensky are all the proof that is needed, in addition to the fact that President Zelensky & the Foreign Minister of Ukraine said there was no pressure and no problems. Additionally, I met with President Zelensky at the United Nations...
...(Democrats said I never met) and released the military aid to Ukraine without any conditions or investigations - and far ahead of schedule. I also allowed Ukraine to purchase Javelin anti-tank missiles. My Administration has done far more than the previous Administration.
White House defense leader Jay Sekulow was unfazed by the bombshell. He continued to point out a series of issues that the House impeachment managers left out during their trial.
They called upon disgraced Baylor University president and former independent counsel Ken Starr to make the case for Trump not to be removed from office.
Starr, who led the impeachment case in the same chamber in 1999, bemoaned the arrival of an "age of impeachment" without sufficient justification.
"Like war, impeachment is hell. Or at least, presidential impeachment is hell," said Starr.
White House defense Jane Raskin calls Rudy Giuliani a "colorful distraction." She added that Trump's attorney has "always been somewhat of a controversial figure."
Despite the revelations, Republicans aren't willing to call witnesses or evidence for the trial. They're willing to conclude that Trump did nothing wrong. Or they believe Trump did something wrong but it's not enough for Republicans to support removal of office.
At a news conference Monday morning, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), suggested the leak was aimed at boosting book sales for former national security adviser. He said the Bolton news was "a story about selective leaks from a book that you can order – preorder on Amazon.com from John Bolton."
Trump made the sales argument more explicit when he tweeted that he'd never told Bolton that the Ukraine aid was tied to investigating Democrats.
Bolton is about to spill the beans in a book.
"If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book," Trump tweeted.
In a statement, Bolton's attorney Charles Cooper said the White House was given a copy of the manuscript to review Dec. 30. Such a review is standard security practice for officials who write about their time in a presidential administration.
Cooper said the White House told him only those normally involved in the review process would see the manuscript. But the Times report showed "the review process corrupted and that information has been disclosed by persons other than those properly involved in reviewing the manuscript," he said.
Bolton had followed a White House directive not to respond to the House's request that he voluntarily testify.
House Democrats decided not to subpoena Bolton during their probe, arguing it would delay their investigation with a protracted court battle; instead, they labeled Bolton's refusal to appear as evidence of obstruction.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) spoke on Sunday calling the Trump Administration and their defense team ringleaders of a "organized crime" syndicate.
Republicans were warned by Trump and donors. They were told to tow the line or see their heads on a pike.
The Senate needs a slim majority to approve witnesses. It's still undetermined.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) are the senators to watch. I don't believe they'll approve the witnesses or evidence but the junk food media will pressure them to do so.
Hip-Hop's best acts are announced at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Let's get right to it. The Grammy Awards are under intense scrutiny after it ousted its president Deborah Dugan. She was relieved of her duties as Recording Academy President. When she was fired out the cannon, she spilled tea. She basically lit the place up and made allegations that the Grammy Awards are rigged. She said that many entertainers are robbed of their opportunities because the music executives are bribing for top votes.
Harvey Mason, Jr. took over as president for the foreseeable future. Dugan has filed a federal lawsuit in regards to the allegations of sexual harassment and unlawful termination.
In a CBS This Morning interview, she basically told the hosts that she was trying to clean up corruption in the Grammys.
Dugan made claims that the Recording Academy was complicit in corruption citing, "voting irregularities, financial mismanagement, 'exorbitant and unnecessary' legal bills, and conflicts of interest involving members of the academy's board, executive committee and outside lawyers.
The Grammys are still on. I don't watch awards shows.
I don't give two fucks about them.
Lizzo won multiple Grammys.
However I am very pleased that hip-hop got success.
Lil Nas X, the Atlanta based hip-hop star whose crossover country rap single, "Old Town Road (Remix)" with Billy Ray Cyrus won a Grammy. Lil Nas X came to international attention for his song that was released independently and inspired a TikTok challenge. Soon after it was getting commercial play on country and hip-hop stations, it helped him get a deal with Sony Entertainment. He released his debut EP called 7. He also came out as LGBTQ, although he doesn't identify himself as such.
Lizzo is grateful for being a hot talent. Melissa Jefferson known professionally as Lizzo is an singer-songwriter from Houston. She is another famous LGBTQ entertainer. Her songs are often played heavily at my job and on the radio. Her song "Truth Hurts" won a Grammy. She won Best Urban Contemporary Album, Cuz I Love You.
Nipsey Hussle got a Grammy. The late rapper who was slain in Los Angeles in 2019 got a Grammy for the best Rap Performance. It also gave Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy, their first Grammy award.
Anderson .Paak won another Grammy.
21 Savage last year faced deportation. The shocking news revealed he was born in London. He had committed felonies at a younger age and was under federal watch. When he was at a local restaurant he was arrested by ICE. He is still in legal limbo. He could be sent back to the United Kingdom if he is convicted for violations. He was detained before he would arrive to the Grammys last year. 21 Savage won a Grammy for Best Rap Song. His song "A Lot" won. The song featured J. Cole. The British-born rapper resides in Atlanta.
Tyler, the Creator won Best Rap Album. The Odd Future leader won widespread acclaim from critics and debuted number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, becoming Tyler's first U.S. number one album. The album success had driven Tyler, the Creator to greatness.
Kirk Franklin won Best Gospel album, Long Live Love.
Grammys host Alicia Keys performed It's So Hard To Say Goodbye with Boys II Men in honor of Kobe Bryant.
Koffee won the Best Reggae album, Rapture.
Beyonce won the Best Music Film, Homecoming.
Dave Chappelle won the Best Comedy Album for Sticks & Stones.
Michelle Obama won for Best Spoken Word Album, Becoming.
Glory Gaynor won for Best Roots Gospel Album for Testimony.
Esperanza Spalding won for Best Jazz Vocal Album, 12 Little Spells.
21 Savage won his first Grammy.
PJ Morton and JoJo won the Best R&B Song for their single, "Say So."
Anderson .Paak won the best R&B album for Ventura. The California based hip-hop artist signed to Aftermath Entertainment. His fourth studio album featured guest appearances from Andre 3000, Smokey Robinson, Lalah Hathaway, Jazmine Sullivan, Sonyae Elise, Brandy and posthumous vocals from Nate Dogg. He is from Oxnard, California and won the Best Urban Album for his previous album Oxnard.
Alicia Keys and Boys II Men honored Kobe Bryant.
So much to talk about but I'm just summarizing it.
Former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is pretty much letting loose on folks who costed her the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. She took aim at Donald J. Trump, Republican lawmakers, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, Julian Assange, Fox News, the Russian Federation and soon she'll be aiming at American journalist Glenn Greenwald.
Greenwald was strictly anti-Clinton. He was calling a warmonger and pushed conspiracies about her.
Now he's facing criminal charges in Brazil. He and his husband David Michael Miranda are under federal scrutiny for cybercrimes against the government.
The government accuses The Intercept founder of aiding in a hacking of phones and messaging apps of top government officials.
The charges come following a series of stories published in The Intercept based on a trove of date that "provides an unprecedented insight into the operations of the anti-corruption task force that transformed Brazilian politics and gained worldwide attention."
The stories included excerpts of phone messages from Justice Minister Sergio Moro, who led the task force before joining the government of the far-right president.
Guess who's laughing now?
Greenwald, a progressive/libertarian agitator. He won Pulitzer prize and Oscar for his works.
The agitator was charged. He has phone and computer hacking crimes, while others face crimes of money laundering.
Last year, a Supreme Court judge issued an injunction preventing Federal Police from investigating Greenwald following the publication of stories.
Greenwald is best known as the cover guy for Russian transplant Edward Snowden. Snowden, former NSA contractor contacted Greenwald informing him about "sensitive documents" he wished to share.
Greenwald openly published the documents that revealed the U.S. government's global surveillance disclosure.
Gone too soon. Kobe Bryant and his daughter died in a helicopter crash.
Devastating news out of California. There was a helicopter crash in Calabasas and it apparently took the life of NBA great Kobe Bryant and one of his daughters.
The 41-year old retired basketball star and media mogul death was confirmed by celebrity gossip agitator TMZ and TMZ Sports.
The gossip agitator reported that Bryant was traveling with four other people in his private helicopter when it crashed, killing everyone on board.
The cause of the crash will be under investigation by the NTSC and California State Highway Patrol.
Kobe with his wife Vanessa.
Donald J. Trump, Mike Pence, Melania Trump, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), the 98 senators, the House of Representatives, Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, George W. and Laura Bush, Beyonce and Jay-Z, Shaquille O'Neal, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Kawhi Leonard, Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, the Los Angeles Lakers, the 31 NBA franchises, celebrities and fellow athletes from all fields will eventually speak on the death.
Reports are that basketball great Kobe Bryant and three others have been killed in a helicopter crash in California. That is terrible news!
Bryant is survived by wife Vanessa and his four daughters, Gianna, Natalia, Bianca and Capri.
It was confirmed that daughter Gianna, 13 passed away as well.
Bryant's career with the NBA started at age 18 after graduating from Lower Merion High School.
Kobe and Shaq weren't the best of friends during their stint with the Lakers.
He was declared a top pick in the 1996 NBA draft and was selected by the Charlotte Hornets at first but ended up with the Los Angeles Lakers. He stayed with the Lakers for 30 years before retiring at age 39.
Kobe was born in Philadelphia to former NBA star Joe Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant. He was the youngest of three children and only son. He was named after Kobe, a famous beef of Japan. He was known as Bean to his family. Bryant traveled with his family to Italy where he learned Italian at an early age. He was fond of Reggio Emilia, which he considered a hometown. He was fond of basketball. He wanted to be like his dad and join the NBA. He would end up moving back to the United States and play basketball in the summer league. He also wanted to play soccer and was a fan of A.C. Milan. When his dad retired from basketball in 1991, his family moved back to the states.
He earned national recognition at Lower merion in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. He was on the varsity team as a freshman. He was considered an All-American during his time. He turned Lower Merion into a basketball champions. He would be hearing calls from the major colleges.
He had opportunities to play for Michigan, North Carolina and Villanova. He said bypassed colleges and went straight into the NBA. He signed to the NBA at 17 years old with his parents co-signature.
When he turned 18, he was able to sign on his own and took a rookie contract of $3.5 million.
Bryant debuted in the Summer Pro League in Long Beach scoring 25 points in front of a standing-room crowd.
Kobe with his family at the ceremony of his jersey being retired.
At the time, Bryant was the youngest player to ever play in an NBA game. His record was broken by Jermaine O'Neal and Andrew Bynum.
Standing at 6 feat and 6 inches tall Kobe was a shooting guard. He was called the most dangerous scorers in the league. He was honored to be a legend like "Jordan."
During his time with the Lakers, he had a biter rivalry with Shaquille O'Neal. The two were able to win three consecutive NBA championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002. The Three-Peat as they call it helped bring them into greatness. But it was a biter tenure between the two.
Shaq couldn't stand Bryant because of his "immaturity." The two would often clash on the court and criticize their playing styles. The two would later patch up their feud after O'Neal retired in 2011.
He was a shooting guard and 5x NBA champion. He was the NBA Most Valuable Player and 18x NBA All-Star. He has a legendary record of being an iconic basketball star.
He has scored 33,643 and has a shooting average of 25.0.
He has won two Gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Beijing (2008) and London (2012).
He also had a FIBA Americas Championship in 2007.
He also won an Academy Award for Best Animate Short Film for his film Dear Basketball.
He also had a rap single called, K.O.B.E. with Tyra Banks singing the hook of the song.
Bryant was an iconic face in the league.
His infamous mugshot after he was accused of sexual assault.
As the face of the league he faced a lot of controversy. At age 21, Bryant married Vanessa Laine when she was 17 and a background dancer for the rap group Tha Eastsidaz. Shortly after the marriage, he was caught cheating on his wife.
He ended up getting caught up in a sex assault complaint from a 19-year old hotel employee at a ski resort in Colorado. He was at the The Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Eagle County in advance of undergoing a knee surgery. The accuser said that Bryant raped her in his hotel room the night before he was supposed to have surgery. Bryant admitted he cheated on Vanessa but denied raping her.
The accusation placed damages on his "good guy" image. McDonald's and Nutella dropped him.
Sales for his jersey dropped and feminist groups started a burn.
When the trial was proceeding, the accuser refused to testify at the trial. The accuser did file a lawsuit against Kobe and they settled out of court.
Bryant did apologize to his wife, his children, his team and the accuser.
The Greatest of All Time.
Kobe had endorsements from Adidas, Coca-Cola, Upper Deck, Spalding, Sprite, Nintendo, EA Sports, Nike and Turkish Airlines. He was a global ambassador for the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2019.
He was the fifth highest paid sports star in the world behind Floyd Mayweather, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James and Lionel Messi.
Kobe established his own name brand clothing and took investment in Bodyarmor SuperDrink.
He also was an ambassador for the After-School All-Stars.
He also wrote a book in 2018. His book The Mamba Mentality: How I Play, with photographs and afterword by Andrew D. Bernstein, an introduction by Phil Jackson, his mentor and former coach.
His number will eventually be retired and the Lakers will honor him upon their next game.
On Friday, PBS anchor Jim Lehrer passed away. The veteran newsman who hosted PBS NewsHour passed away in his sleep.
Lehrer died "peacefully in his sleep," according to PBS. He had suffered a heart attack in 1983 and more recently, had undergone heart valve surgery in April 2008.
For Lehrer, and for his friend and longtime partner Robert MacNeil, broadcast journalism was a service, with public understanding of events and issues its primary goal. Lehrer was also a frequent moderator of presidential debates.
News of his death shocked both politicians and fellow journalists. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) tweeted the nation lost a "champion for truth and transparency."
CNN chief Washington correspondent Jake Taper tweeted his condolences to Lehrer's wife Kate Staples and the staff at NewsHour.
For 36 years, Lehrer began the nightly newscast with a simple phrase, "Good evening. I'm Jim Lehrer," PBS reports, in a news store about his passing.
The news program was once called The Robert MacNeil Report. It started in 1975 and it has Lehrer as a Washington correspondent.
The two had already made names for themselves at then the fledgling PBS seeing they both done work for the National Public Affairs Center for Television and its coverage of the Watergate hearings of 1973.
The broadcast was soon renamed the MacNeil-Lehrer Report and became the nation's first one-hour TV news broadcast in 1983 and was then known as MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour.
After MacNeil left the show in 1995, it became NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
Judy Woodruff hosts PBS NewsHour. Her former co-host Gwen Ifill passed away from cancer in 2016.
Lehrer was born in Wichita, Kansas in 1934, the son of parents who ran a bus line. In addition to titling his memoir, "A Bus of My Own," he collected bus memorabilia - from station signs to a feal 1946 Flexible Clipper Bus.
After graduation from college in 1956, he served three years in the Marines -- and later called the experience so valuable he thought all young people should take part in national service.
"I had no close calls, no rendezvous with danger, no skirted destinies with death," he wrote. "What I had was a chance to discover and test myself, physically and emotionally and spiritually, in important, lasting ways."
Lehrer leaves behind his wife Kate Staples, his three daughters Jamie, Lucy and Amanda. He also has six grandchildren.
