The Florida courts rule in the death of Robert Champion.
Robert Champion's death in a hazing incident led to some of the band members tapping license plates.
Back in the 2011, Champion a drum major who attended Florida A&M was given a serious beat down on a charter bus. When they tried to wake him up, they found Champion unconscious.
He collapsed after undergoing a ritual referred to as "the gauntlet", in which band members must walk from the front of the bus to the back while other band members kick, punch, and hit him with straps, drum sticks and other objects. Fellow band members told detectives that the ritual is required in order to be considered for leadership positions.
His family considered it to be a hate crime because they believed (or assured) their son was gay.
It took a few hours in the courtroom to find some of the 15 members guilty of manslaughter.
That charge alone could land the guilty in the iron college for 5 to 20 years.
The AP reports the jurors left the courtroom around 3:50 p.m. to being deliberating, following closing arguments and jury instructions Friday.
In his closings, a prosecutor said the three remaining defendants on trial for the hazing death of a Florida A&M drum major didn't beat him because they disliked him but because it was tradition.
A total of 15 defendants were charged originally, but most took plea deals.
State Attorney Jeff Ashton said Friday during closing arguments that Robert Champion's death was the result of a hazing tradition that was ingrained in the school's famed band.
Closing arguments were delayed after Ashton wanted to find out if jurors were influenced by the sight of two defendants praying outside the courtroom.
Five of the six jurors said they saw Aaron Golson and Benjamin McNamee praying.
Judge Renee Roche questioned the jurors but no one said it would influence them.
McNamee, Golson and Darryl Cearnel are the final three defendants charged with manslaughter and hazing in Champion's death.
Champion's beating death aboard a band bus parked outside an Orlando hotel after a football game exposed a culture of hazing within the school's famed band.
The medical examiner testified Thursday morning. She told the court how the hazing ritual killed FAMU drum major Robert Champion.
Good food Bayou. The New Orleans based Popeye's is doing damage control after one of its franchises fired a pregnant woman after she was told to payback the loot a robber stole.
Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits are company owned and franchised. The one that fired a woman out of the canon after an armed robbery was franchised. The controversy in suburban Houston managed to make the news.
A pregnant woman was told to pay up the loot after she was robbed at gunpoint at a Channelview Popeye's. According to her, her managers wanted her to fork up the $$$ after she was held up.
She refused and a few days later, she got fired out the cannon. Now she's telling her story to the junk food media and the public is none too happy about it.
Yeah, I understand that no one wants to be a part of an armed robbery. The victims are usually traumatized once they see the silver revolver in their face.
Yeah, companies may have the right to fire you based on work performance.
Obviously, most employers that have register operators tell them to keep it short. Because if you have more than $200 in your register, you're inviting yourself to an armed robbery.
Register operators are often naive on the rule. Say it was a busy day, they were holding a whole lot of $5s and $10s in their register but eliminated the larger denominations. Rather than keep it low, they keep enough of the smaller bills. So if you have over $200 in smaller bills, you're still giving an opportunity to a robber. You could get fired for it.
Marissa Holcomb got fired out the cannon after she got the silver in her face. Her bosses wanted her to payback the loot and she refused to comply.
Understanding that having too much money in your register automatically assures that you not focused on the safety of you and the liability of the company. They understand you were robbed but if you gave them a reason to be robbed, then they focus on your responsibilities as register operator.
It's not fair but it's a part of the economic food chain in capitalism.
Marissa Holcomb was the evening manager at Popeye's when the sliver was pointed in her face during a busy March 31 sales period.
Holcomb, who is a mother of three with a fourth child on the way, had a meeting with Z & H Foods owner Amin Dhanani on Wednesday, a day after our original story aired of her firing.
"He just apologized and pretty much offered me if I wanted to go back to his business and work there again," she said.
Dhanani argued she was fired because she broke policy multiple times by leaving too much money in the register.
Holcomb argued it was a busy Tuesday when they offer a 2-piece chicken meal for $1.19 and she moved money as fast as she could.
The unidentified robber got away with nearly $400.
Will Marisa take the job back?
Of course, this controversy managed to put Popeye's in a negative light. Usually most companies don't like the negative publicity coming from the social media when it comes to a social ill (i.e women, minorities and the disabled).
The Real is a daytime syndication show that features Tamara Mowry-Housley, Adrienne Bailon, Tamar Braxton, Loni Love and Jeannie Mai.
The Real is on BET during the nights, Fox and CW-owned television stations during its normal run.
The show is similar to juggernauts The View and The Talk.
The five host talk about issues that involve pop culture, politics, women's issues and family.
Warner Bros. Distribution owns the rights to the show.
According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, two women who were watching a taping of The Real were told to move out of their seats after complaints from Mowry-Housley.
The Raw Story and Addicting Info obtained information about the controversy.
The women were allegedly asked to sit off-camera during a taping of the daytime show The Real in Los Angeles this past February. CAIR’s Los Angeles office said in a statement that, while the women complied with the request, the studio had no legal authority to enact such a rule.
“No studio should maintain such a discriminatory policy that prohibits people wearing religious head coverings from being seen in its studio audiences,” said Fatima Dadabhoy, a civil rights attorney for the group. “It’s especially baffling that this particular show would want to hide their visibly-Muslim viewers, when the show purports to cater to a wide-ranging audience with its diverse cast.”
CAIR’s statement also highlighted a remark from one of the show’s hosts, Tamera Mowry-Housley, gushing about the show’s diverse outlook.
“I love to be traditional and just because you are conservative or a traditional person doesn't mean you have to be boring!,” she said on the show’s website. “The greatest thing about America is its diversity and this show reflects that diversity. No matter who you are, there is someone at this table that will be speaking for you.”
Tamara Mowery-Housley's husband is a Loserville host and contributor.
Dadabhoy’s group said it filed a complaint late last week with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. But according to the Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. was not aware of the incident and never received a copy of CAIR’s complaint.
“Warner Bros. policy is to welcome everyone and anyone into our studio audience,” the studio said in a separate statement. “The Real is a show that was created to represent and celebrate diversity. We take this inquiry seriously and are looking into the matter.”
Tamara and her sister Tia Mowry-Hardict are the famed Mowry twins. They are very close at most things. Politics is not one of them.
Mowry-Housely is married to Loserville radio host and contributor Adam Housley.
Hani Khan's case against the clothing company Abercrombie & Fitch is in the Supreme Court. She was fired after she failed to obey "The Look" and she took them to court. The decision is coming.
The Housleys got some heat after she revealed that she's a Black Republican and endorsed perennial loser Mitt Romney for president. Housley and his wife have received backlash on social media for their marriage, largely focusing on their interracial relationship and also because of his position at Loserville. He has aggressively defended his wife and family with some harsh words for those who levy racially-charged insults.
In one response he said, “The fact that in this day and age, we get attacked for our interracial relationship is beyond sad…it is pathetic. Yes I am white. Yes she is half black. Marrying a white man does not erase her color and marrying a woman who is half black does not mean I am blinded. The problem isn't pigmentation…the problem is backwards, bigoted thought from people who should know better.
I guess Adam got into Tamara's head that Muslims are "Oh so scary" and the repeated talking point about "radical Islam" in our country.
Tamara had a fit and told producers to get rid of them. Only accusations and not proven fact. But due to her political standings on issues, it's likely fact.
The country's worst cable news host gets combative with the lawyer of a family seeking information on woman who may have left the United States to join the Islamic State terrorist group.
Mediaite is right, this annoying conservative agitator's program is by far the worst cable news show to ever be on. To be quite frank with you, he's so annoying, you have to change the channel whenever you listen or watch him.
He and that old fart are so controversial, many national brands avoid them. When that old fart attacked Sandra Fluke on radio, he put a big dent in his well protected armor. Many activists force a boycott on him, this annoying agitator and Glenn Beck. The activists succeeded in getting many brands (i.e. Walmart, GM, McDonald's, U.S. Army, etc.).
The activists are trying to have them pulled from Armed Forces Radio.
Since 2012, the iHeart Media Group is trying to save grace. They know that it's costing a whole lot of $$$$$ to keep these two agitators on. I mean seriously, talk radio is thriving in the Obama years, but its not making money and that's what's killing it.
Chief Roger had a damn good reason to demote this clown to the 10pm slot. His show is too bland.
There's nothing but screaming and vicious name calling on this right wing carnival. The agitator can't even go a day without name dropping President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and everyone who's pissed him off in some way.
Hoda Muthana gave up everything. She fell in love with a man who may have ties to the Islamic State.
The agitator is a walking, talking, word vomit. You have to scoop up enough of it before you lose your lunch.
On occasions, since I am so thankful I have no cable, I often get the opportunity to view this garbage on Mediaite and YouTube.
The moron was talking about the evil "radical Islam" and this American woman who left her home in Alabama to join the Islamic State.
The family of Hoda Muthana are desperately search for their daughter. They pray that she didn't fall in love with a man who may have been inspired by the extremist group.
The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization that deals with civil advocacy. It is headquartered on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., with regional offices nationwide. CAIR is a civil rights group. Their job is monitor extremism from those who may get involved into terrorism. They also monitor hate crimes upon Muslims and all practicing faiths (inspired right wing extremism).
CAIR is very familiar with that guy.
Through media relations, lobbying, and education, CAIR presents an Islamic perspective on issues of importance to the American public, and seeks to empower the American Muslim community and encourage its social and political activism. Annual banquets, through which CAIR raises the majority of its funds, are attended by American politicians, statesmen, interfaith leaders, activists and media personalities.
Critics of CAIR consider it to be pursuing an extreme Islamic agenda.
In 2007 the organization was named, along with 245 others, by U.S. Federal prosecutors in a list of unindicted co-conspirators and/or joint venturers in a Hamas funding case involving the Holy Land Foundation, which in 2009 caused the FBI to cease working with CAIR outside of criminal investigations due to its designation.
The junk food media spooks Americans into believing a handful of men are more dangerous than a natural disaster.
CAIR was never charged with any crime, and it complained that the designation had tarnished its reputation. Following a motion from CAIR and other groups, a federal appeals court sealed the list on October 20, 2010, ruling the designation violated the group's rights and was the result of "simply an untested allegation of the Government, made in anticipation of a possible evidentiary dispute that never came to pass."
CAIR has been criticized numerous times by various officials and organizations. The organization was criticized as pursuing an extremist Islamist agenda, and putting out propaganda.
It has been listed as a terrorist group by the United Arab Emirates.
Hassan Shibly, the executive director of CAIR Florida, was on that right wing carnvial to talk about his representation of the family of Alabama college student Hoda Muthana, who left the U.S. to join ISIS and did an exclusive interview with BuzzFeed.
Shibly said the family is horrified by how she’s now surrounded by an “extremist violent gang of monsters.”
That annoying conservative agitator repeatedly pressed Shibly on why CAIR’s involved and called them a controversial group. Shibly told him to stop changing the subject, and he said, “I’ll ask any question I want, this is my show.”
But it got even more heated when that annoying conservative agitator asked Shibly if Hamas is a terrorist organization. Shibly got annoyed with the fool, and kept saying this is not what he came on to discuss.
As that annoying conservative agitator appeared to wrap up the interview, Shibly said, “Shame on you for just asking every Muslim what he thinks of terrorist organizations.”
Truly another pain inducing interview in which a real serious issue becomes a shouting match.
That annoying agitator doesn't give two fucks about that young woman. All he cares about is trying to expose "radical Islam" and attack President Barack Obama for not saying it.
So are you preparing for the cancellation?
I betcha that he'll be there until 2016. If his show contributes to a Democrat getting elected, he's going to be flying right out of the tent of Loserville studios. The cannon is ready to fire.
Robert Bates wants to celebrate the last moments of his freedom by taking a trip out of the country. Will he come back?
Robert Bates, the reserve deputy who shot an unarmed suspect with his firearm thinking he deployed a Taser is out on bail and he's thinking about escaping to a place where he may feel a little heat.
A paradise. The island nation of the Bahamas is where Bates is hoping to take a vacation to while he's awaiting a second degree manslaughter trial.
The family of Eric Harris is none too happy about this news.
Bates' lawyers told the judge that Bates, a reserve deputy with the Tulsa County sheriff's office, and his family planned to take their previously planned vacation ahead of his next court date in July.
"It's really not an issue," Corbin Brewster, one of Bates' attorneys, said in an interview after the hearing.
Harris' family criticized the trip, saying it sends a message "of apathy with respect to the shooting and Eric's life."
"At a time when we are still mourning the death of a loved one that he shot down in the street, Mr. Bates will be relaxing and enjoying his wealth and privilege," the family said in a statement released Tuesday.
They want this guy's restrictions either in the county lockup or watching the Bahamas on television.
Because if he could get out on a minimum bond, then the perception of White privilege and favoritism comes to mind.
What if he eludes custody? If he's a flight risk and he manages to escape authorities to a nation that doesn't extradite criminals back to the United States, what will they do now?
Eric Harris (right) was killed after Bates, a reserve deputy shot him. Harris was unarmed at apprehension.
Bates is good buddies with the Tulsa County sheriff and Tulsa Metro police. He personally knows the Sheriff of the Tulsa County.
He plead not guilty and he's decided to promise to return back to court once he gets his vacation over with.
CBS News reports that Bates was charged after the sheriff's office released video of the shooting, in which Bates is overheard apologizing for shooting the suspect.
Harris' family has questioned whether Bates was qualified to conduct police work. Their attorneys allege that the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office violated several of its own policies by not keeping a permanent record of Bates' certifications and allowing him to carry his personal handgun after training on another weapon.
But Sheriff Stanley Glanz said Bates - his longtime insurance agent and former campaign manager - had been properly trained and passed annual firearms certifications required by the state.
Bates, who sold his insurance business for $6 million in 1999, was trained to be a Tulsa Police Department patrolman in 1964, but he left the department in 1965.
He was out of law enforcement for 35 years before returning for volunteer work in Florida in 2000, and the Tulsa County force in 2008. Bates also made several donations to the Tulsa County sheriff's office, and was Glanz' campaign manager during the 2012 election.
On Monday, Glanz said he's known Bates for about 25 years and said that at one time, the two had traveled to the Bahamas together with other colleagues.
About damn time. The Senate confirms U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
We can finally have a replacement. Eric Holder will finally retire. Holder was a scourge of the Republicans and his departure will not be missed among them.
Republicans now will have a new scourge. The first Black woman to be appointed the U.S. Attorney General is confirmed finally after 5 months of waiting. With partisan trickery, Mitch The Majority Turtle (R-KY) finally got the ball rolling on this.
Over 166 days. A damn shame.
But in the minds of Republicans, it's payback.
Then majority leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) pushed the nuclear option. It ended the filibuster rule when it came to nominees who were stalled by senators who refused to vote on confirmation.
He tried to do a gesture of goodwill by allowing the new Congress to take up the Lynch vote. He made a grave mistake.
What will the Majority Leader stall next?
The Turtle vowed to get back at the president and Reid by stalling legislation and nominees. He knows that in the few years left of President Barack Obama's term, more controversial bills, a federal judge appointment or Supreme Court justice could become an issue. He'll run the clock out at his own peril.
Lynch was a relatively safe choice. But to the racist right, she's a radical Black racist.
Lynch was confirmed by the Senate by a 56-43 vote, making her the first African-American woman to serve in this position.
Despite the partisan bitching from the agitators, Lynch did sail through the needed votes.
Nine Republicans and the Turtle finally got Lynch confirmed.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL)
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Now who's up for reelection are Ayotte, Kirk, Johnson and Portman. They are going to be top priority for the Democrats. The Democrats have a chance in Illinois and Wisconsin. But the other two are going to be pretty damn difficult.
The whining began when Lynch agreed with the president over his executive order. The executive order was to grant illegal immigrants living in the country for five years to get a reprieve.
Those three nitwits (aka The Stallmigos) along with Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) voted against Lynch.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) either voted against or didn't show up for the vote. Worthless politicos.
Can't wait to see what happens if one of these nitwits become president. The Democrats are going to make them suffer.
Adam Gadahn was killed in a drone strike in Pakistan. His death marks a blow to al Qaeda. The American born extremist was an unlikely target. But in the quest to capture him, the U.S. admits two civilians died in this.
The news is that American born al Qaeda terrorists were killed in a CIA-drone strike in Pakistan. In the causalities, comes an American and Italian humanitarian workers.
President Barack Obama announced the capture of American led al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn and Ahmed Farouq were killed in separate drone strikes. But that drone strike led to the deaths of innocent civilians.
The president acknowledged failure on his part and he wants to get to the bottom of the reckless call.
Ahmed Farouq was killed in drone strkie.
A great day in the fight against extremism but unfortunately a debate into targeted killings, Americans being targeted in the fight against terrorism and habeas corpus.
The White House said that Warren Weinstein, an American held by al Qaeda since 2011, and Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian held since 2012, were killed in a January operation in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The operation targeted an al Qaeda-associated compound and there was no reason to believe either hostage was present, the White House said.
The White House said Farouq and Gadhan were not specifically targeted in the operations, nor did the U.S. have information indicating their presence at the sites.
President Barack Obama was to appear in the White House briefing room at mid morning to make a statement on the incidents.
The White House said Obama takes "full responsibility for these operations and believes it is important to provide the American people with as much information as possible about our counterterrorism operations, particularly when they take the lives of fellow citizens. "
The White House said that while it believes the operations were lawful, the U.S. is conducting an independent review to understand what happened.
The White House released a statement Thursday morning:
It is with tremendous sorrow that we recently concluded that a U.S. Government counterterrorism operation in January killed two innocent hostages held by al-Qa’ida. Our hearts go out to the families of Dr. Warren Weinstein, an American held by al-Qa’ida since 2011, and Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian national who had been an al-Qa’ida hostage since 2012. Analysis of all available information has led the Intelligence Community to judge with high confidence that the operation accidentally killed both hostages. The operation targeted an al-Qa’ida-associated compound, where we had no reason to believe either hostage was present, located in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan. No words can fully express our regret over this terrible tragedy.
Obama noted he had spoken with both Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and the wife of Weinstein about the deaths.
The CIA and President Barack Obama confirms that two Western hostages were killed in their pursuit of Adam Gadahn.
"As a husband and as a father, I cannot begin to imagine the anguish that the Weinstein and Lo Porto families are feeling today," Obama said.
"I know there's nothing I can ever say or do to ease their heartache," he added.
Two other Americans who were working with al Qaeda were also recently killed in the same region, according to the White House. Ahmed Farouq, an American who was an al Qaeda leader, was killed in the same operation that took the lives of Weinstein and Lo Porto, while American Adam Gadahn, a member of al Qaeda, was killed in a separate operation in January. The White House said the two were not specifically targeted and counterterrorism officials "did not have information indicating their presence at the sites of these operations."
The Wall Street Journal reports this is the first known instance in which the U.S. has accidentally killed hostages in a drone strike.
"No words can fully express our regret over this terrible tragedy," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement.
Obama defended U.S. counterterrorism operations in his remarks Thursday, saying the strikes occurred after "hundreds of hours of surveillance" had been conducted. He noted "it is a cruel and bitter truth that in the fog of war generally, and in our fight against terrorists specifically, mistakes...can occur."
President Barack Obama is not happy about today's news that an al Qaeda operative was put down at the cost of two innocent lives.
After Obama gave his remarks, Weinstein's wife released a statement on behalf of the family condemning the "cowardly actions of those who took Warren captive" and expressing disappointment in the U.S. government.
“I want to thank Congressman John Delaney, Senator Barbara Mikulski, and Senator Ben Cardin – as well as specific officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation – for their relentless efforts to free my husband.” Elaine Weinstein said. “Unfortunately, the assistance we received from other elements of the U.S. Government was inconsistent and disappointing over the course of three and a half years. We hope that my husband’s death and the others who have faced similar tragedies in recent months will finally prompt the U.S. Government to take its responsibilities seriously and establish a coordinated and consistent approach to supporting hostages and their families.”
We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to Warren Weinstein and Giovanni Lo Porto.
We don't advocate extremism. But to get an understanding of Gadahn, watch him explain his mission to fight against the United States. He demands that Muslims take arms and fight. Even in his death, he spoke of more strategic attacks.
Adam Yahiye Gadahn (Arabic: آدم يحيى غدن, Ādam Yaḥyā Ghadan; September 1, 1978 – January 2015) was an American senior operative, cultural interpreter, spokesman and media advisor for the Islamist group al-Qaeda. Since 2004, he had appeared in a number of videos produced by al-Qaeda as "Azzam the American."
Gadahn, who converted to Islam in 1995 at a California mosque, was described as "homegrown," meaning that he had converted to an ideology so firmly that he was willing to harm his country of origin.
American intelligence officials allege that he inspired the 2007 Osama bin Laden video.
In 2004, he was added to the FBI Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list. On October 11, 2006 he was removed from that list, and placed on the Bureau of Diplomatic Security Rewards for Justice Program list of wanted criminals.On the same day, Gadahn was indicted based on the testimony of the FBI case agent E. J. Hilbert II, in the Southern Division of the United States District Court for the Central District of California by a federal grand jury for the capital crime of treason for aiding an enemy of the United States, i.e., al-Qaeda.
