Newly divorced Porsha Williams took to a New York stage to perform the remix of single, “Flatline”, only to disappoint the sold out crowd. Williams sang and danced – terms used very loosely – in New York City’s El Morocco Nightclub with male background dancers who auditioned only days before the performance.

Onlookers took to Twitter to express dismay after Williams missed several notes and dance moves, but managed to twerk at the end of the show. Social media critiques included, “this is a joke right?”, “worst performance ever” and “she needed more training. They threw her to wolves too quickly. At least teach her how to sing with a track. I personally think they set her up for failure.”

Other users continued in the bashing, “Most embarrassing performance ever. WOW….a complete and utter mess,” and “Kenya Moore must be dying laughing right about now.”

Wanna see what you missed?

Check out her performance here:

Despite that cringe worthy showing, the Real Housewives of Atlanta star is no stranger to the stage. Before her Bravo fame and weave pulling antics, Williams was a television evangelist and self proclaimed woman of the Lord.  Videos recently leaked of the ex-housewife preaching to the masses at High Praise Christian Center Ministries in Lithonia, Georgia, in 2010.

Nigerian parents are reporting that armed men kidnapped 8 more girls late Sunday from Warabe Village. Residents reported the armed terrorists went door to door, abducting 8 girls, ages 12-15. According to a police source, the girls were taken away on trucks, along with stolen livestock and food . Over 200 Nigerian girls are still missing from a mass abduction on April 14.

On Tuesday, the United Nations’ human rights chief blasted Boko Haram, the terrorist group who has since admitted to kidnapping the girls, by sending a stern warning for the safe return of the girls who are reportedly being sold into marriage for only $12. Under international law, slavery and sexual slavery are “crimes against humanity.”

In a video released Monday, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau announced, “I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah… there is a market for selling humans. Allah says I should sell. He commands me to sell. I will sell women. I sell women.”

Boko Haram, whose name means “western education is sin”, released an hour long video, where Shekau repeatedly rambled for an end to Western education. The video also featured terrorists firing rifles in the air and screeching, “Allahu akbar!” or “God is great.” U.S. officials say the extremist group is trained by al Qaeda affiliates.

On Monday, the White House promised its support to the Nigerian government.

“We are doing everything we can to assist Nigeria in their efforts,” Jay Carney said, White House spokesman. “We will continue to provide counterterrorism assistance to help Nigerian authorities to combat Boko Haram.”

Office supply chain retailer Office Depot reportedly will close at least 400 of its stores in a merger deal with OfficeMax. Office Depot had over 1,900 stores, but 21% of its stores will consolidate with OfficeMax. The two stores completed their $1.2 billion deal last November.

Office Depot, based in Boca Raton, Florida, has not determined how many jobs will be affected, but plans to place the best employees in new roles at the new combined stores. At least 150 stores will close this year alone.

“The overlapping retail footprint resulting from the merger provides us with a unique opportunity to consolidate and optimize our store portfolio, while maintaining the retail presence necessary to serve our customer,” said chairman and CEO Roland Smith. The merge is projected to save the company $75 million annually.

On Tuesday, Office Depot reported that it lost money in the most recent quarter, despite reports of higher sales and an improved profit forecast due to cost-cutting efforts, including the planned store closures. In the three months ending March 29, Office Depot reported a net loss of $109 million, or 21 cents a share.

The closings are expected to be complete by the end of 2016.

Brick and mortar stores continue to compete with online retailers, a seemingly losing battle. Rival Staples, Inc. said in March it planned to close 225 stores in the US. RadioShack Inc. announced the same month that it will close 1,100 locations.

If there’s one thing that I, and many other Black men, have emphatically learned about Black women in the past 10 years, it’s how incredibly important a Black woman’s relationship with her hair is. We’ve always been aware of how seriously Black women took their hair, but the recent explosion of the natural hair movement has allowed us access into how deep these waters psychologically and spiritually run. We’ve gone from “knowing” to keep water the hell away from a Black woman’s head, to realizing how truly frightening and empowering a “big chop” can be for a woman. With that said, there’s still one important disconnect that exists between Black men and Black women when it comes to hair: Weave-dependency.

Weave-dependency is when a woman refuses to allow anyone, except her hairstylist, to see her hair in its natural state. Weave-dependency occurs when a woman goes out of her way to always have hair extensions for work, school, sitting on the couch with her man, and even going to the bathroom. Yes, going to the damn bathroom.

[Image: Shutterstock]

My homegirl Bee Quammie is a natural hair blogger who also writes here at UPTOWN. Two weeks ago we were hosting an event together, and afterwards we found ourselves locked in an extremely interesting conversation with one of the ladies who attended. The woman revealed she had recently started cutting her hair really short and it took her a long time to realize how beautiful she is without a weave or a wig. Then, she revealed that she used to have a post-shower wig that she threw on before stepping out of the bathroom and into bed with her man. Bee was shocked to learn that a woman was actually doing this, but I wasn’t. I knew my ex did that all the damn time. In fact, I’ve encountered many women who are excessively weave-dependent and it’s one of the unsexiest things I’ve ever dealt with when dating beautiful Black women — and Lord knows, I’m not alone.

[Image: Shutterstock]

Truth be told, I think a woman should wear whatever hairstyle makes her feel confident, and to hell with what anyone else thinks. Some Black women love natural hair, some like to relax theirs, and some love weaves and wigs, and it’s all good. But, if you’re in a relationship, please understand that when you become dependent on maintaining your weave or wig at every point during the day, you risk severely alienating your man in your relationship. It’s one thing to tell him he can’t touch your hair, but it’s an entirely different thing to refuse to even show him what is naturally growing out of your scalp. It’s almost as if there’s a piece of your soul that you aren’t ready to share with him, and men really regret being in that scenario.

This article isn’t about telling Black women they are wrong for wearing weaves or wigs. This isn’t natural-hair propaganda either. This is simply a message from strong Black men to strong Black women: Feel free to show every part of yourself to us, because we’ve got your back.

LAB

Lincoln Anthony Blades blogs daily on his site ThisIsYourConscience.com, he’s an author of the book “You’re Not A Victim, You’re A Volunteer” and a weekly contributor for UPTOWN Magazine. He can be reached via Twitter @lincolnablades and on Facebook at This Is Your Conscience.

[Image: Shutterstock]

The White House announced Tuesday that it will assist the Nigerian government in rescuing nearly 300 girls who have been missing since they were kidnapped by an Islamic extremist group about three weeks ago.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the technical experts heading to Nigeria include, U.S. military and law enforcement personnel skilled in hostage negotiation, intelligence, investigations, information sharing, and victim assistance. Carney noted that U.S. armed forces will not be sent.

Secretary of State John Kerry said that the U.S. has been in conversation with Nigeria “from day one” of the situation. He claims that repeated offers of U.S. assistance were denied by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, until Kerry tried again Tuesday in light of growing international concern for the girls. The #BringBackOurGirls movement has gained a lot of steam in the past week, and civilians and politicians alike are calling for the girls’ safe return. “I think now the complications that have arisen have convinced everybody that there needs to be a greater effort,” Kerry said at a State Department news conference. “And it will begin immediately. I mean, literally, immediately.”

President Barack Obama said that although the priority will be finding the missing girls, the Boko Haram terrorist group also needs to be dealt with.

“Obviously, what’s happening is awful, and, as a father of two girls, I can’t imagine what their parents are going through,” he told CBS News in an interview. Obama said the U.S. has long sought to work with Nigeria to contain Boko Haram. “You’ve got one of the worst regional or local terrorist organizations in Boko Haram in Nigeria. They’ve been killing people ruthlessly for many years now and we’ve already been seeking greater cooperation with the Nigerians,” Obama said in another interview with ABC News.

Boko Haram means “Western education is sinful.” Abubakar Shekau, the extremist leader, has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and is threatening to sell the girls. He has also warned that he will abduct more girls.

For the time being, the State Department has suggested that U.S. citizens do not travel to Nigeria.

Jim Coughlan, a Republican comptroller from Dutchess County, NY, is under fire after calling MSNBC anchor Melissa Harris-Parry a “damned dirty ape” via Twitter.

The disparaging remark came in response to an ad Harris-Perry recently appeared in that supported communities taking a stand to help raise children. In the ad, Harris-Perry says, “We have never invested as much in public education as we should have because we’ve always had kind of a private notion of children: ‘Your kid is yours, and totally your responsibility.’” She adds, “We have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents, or kids belong to their families, and recognize that kids belong to whole communities.” The message remains controversial among conservatives.

However, even the conservatives distanced themselves from Coughlan. “Jim Coughlan is toxic,” one conservative told the Daily News. “The Democrats are dying to run against him in November because they know he’s the best chance they have of keeping this seat in Democratic hands.”

Coughlan insists that his tweet wasn’t racist and that he was simply quoting a line from Planet of the Apes. The entire tweet read: “Unless you’re my wife don’t call them ‘our’ children. Keep your stinking paws off my kid, you damned dirty ape.” Coughlan claims that he didn’t know that Harris-Perry is Black. “I don’t watch MSNBC,” he told the Daily News. “I don’t know about their stories or their journalists.”

That smells awfully like a load of bullshit. Even if Coughlan somehow did not know that she is Black, as an elected official he should make it his business to do his research before he tweets to avoid things like this. Furthermore, beyond it being racially charged, it’s just plain insulting. Calling anyonea “damned dirty ape” simply because you disagree with their opinion is childish and uncalled for.

Coughlan has since suspended his Twitter account, but remains unapologetic. He is eying a Senate seat and believes that the criticisms are simply “Albany insiders who are scared of my candidacy because they know I’m not going to be a patsy in the Senate.” Sir, kindly get a grip.

V. Stiviano is having fun despite the recent fiasco with her confidante Donald Sterling. She’s had a whirlwind last couple of weeks, beginning with her exposure of racist remarks made by Sterling, who is also the owner of the LA Clippers. She told Barbara Walters in a sit-down last week that she considers Sterling a “father figure” and she’s apparently ready for motherhood.

Between dodging the paparazzi behind colorful sun visors, 31-year-old Stiviano has officially finalized her adoption of two African American children. Both children are said to be boys and under age 12.

According to the Daily Mail, Stiviano met the children while working in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. A source tells RadarOnline that Sterling has spent time with the kids and “was very sweet to them.”

[Image: Twitter]

RadarOnline also reports that the social worker dealing with Stiviano’s adoption visited her house for a final inspection just moments before she left to interview with Walters last Friday.

Stiviano plans to move to an undisclosed location where she can parent her two sons away from the paparazzi. Hopefully, this will be a step in the right direction for Stiviano, whose list of aliases and rap sheets were uncovered this week.

Things just keep getting worse for Chris Brown. He had to travel cross-country, from Los Angeles to Virginia, via ConAir in early April. He spent his birthday, May 5, in jail after violating probation and getting kicked out of an L.A. rehabilitation facility. And now, new photos have been released showing the bloody aftermath of an alleged fight between Brown, his bodyguard Christopher Hollosy, and D.C. man Parker Adams that occurred in October.

A judge approved the release of the photos Tuesday, May 6. The images were used as evidence for prosecutors in the trial of Hollosy.

[Image: AP]

Adams’ face appears scraped and is bloody around the mouth and nose. He says after attempting to take a photo with Brown, the troubled singer told him, “I ain’t down with that gay sh!t,” before attacking him.

There have been varying accounts made regarding the incident. A secret service agent at the scene corroborated Brown’s story that he never struck Adams.
Adams is suing for $1.5 million.

[Image: AP]

Apollo Nida pled guilty to mail, wire, and bank fraud charges that amassed over $2.3 million in four years, in court on Tuesday, May 6. By accepting the guilty plea, Nida, who is married to attorney Phaedra Parks of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, will face up to 30 years in prison and a fine up to $1 million on top of an unspecified restitution amount, the Associated Press reports. His official sentencing is set for July 8.

Assistant District Attorney Alana Black detailed in court how Nida, 35, carried out the elaborate scheme to defraud more than 50 people, government agencies, and financial institutions. By opening a fake debt collection agency, he was able to obtain access to databases full of individuals’ personal information. In turn, he would use people’s identities to find unclaimed funds, refunds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, stolen U.S. treasury checks, and refunds from fraudulent U.S. income tax returns in 11 states. In addition, he received payments from auto loans for non-existent cars by creating fake documents.

Nida’s partner Gayla St. Julien assisted officials after her September 2013 arrest in exchange for a plea deal. Nida instructed St. Julien to open mailboxes and checking accounts using the fake identities in order to cash the stolen checks. She was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay restitution for her involvement in the scheme.

When given the opportunity to speak in court, Nida said he accepted full responsibility for his actions and apologized for hurting those who were affected by his actions. He detailed how he felt pressured to keep up appearances besides his wife, who allegedly reels in $600,000 for her appearance on the highly-rated Bravo TV show, known for depicting elaborate lifestyles. Nida maintains that Parks had no involvement in the crimes, saying he kept their family in the dark by telling her he was working for a debt collection agency.

In a shocking move during The Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion, Nida confronted “housewife” Kenya Moore, who has repeatedly taken jabs at him. Nida shouted to Moore that if he was sent to prison, then he would give her information to put money on his books. No word on whether Moore will take him up on that offer, but she did offer her opinion on ex-cons.

You can have a criminal past and not have a criminal mind. They can be rehabilitated. All ex-cons are not current criminals. To be crystal

— KENYA MOORE (@KenyaMoore) May 7, 2014

Nida, on the other hand, hasn’t been handling the criticism very well with a series of recent tweets responding to negative comments and jokes about his pending sentencing.

TALK SHIT PEOPLE!! I EXCEPTING ALL THE NEGATIVE COMMENTS.

— APOLLO NIDA RHOA (@apollonida03) May 7, 2014

TMZ has obtained audio of a call made to 911 on April 2, 2014 by two men, a security officer and a friend of an apartment owner, who is believed to be star quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The sexual assault case involving Kaepernick, in which a woman alleges she smoked marijuana before waking up naked in the player’s apartment, is still open.

The first caller reported that a Black female was laying naked in Kaepernick’s apartment and that she refused to leave until she spoke with Kaepernick, who was unnamed in the call. The caller can be heard saying, “She don’t have no clothes on,” and “She says she’s not leaving.”

[Image: BET]

According to TMZ, the second caller, who has now been identified as Ricardo Lockette, said he did not know the woman’s name. Apparently, the alleged victim identified herself as “Jesus,” while at Kaepernick’s apartment. Hear the full audio below.

“Thanks, Beyoncé, but if we’re verbing, I think you meant ‘Bill Clinton’d all on my gown,’ not ‘Monica Lewinsky’d.’”

– Monica Lewinsky sends for Beyoncé by correcting the singer’s slang usage in “Partition.” In the song, Mrs. Carter sings, “He Monica Lewinsky’d all over my gown,” biologically, that’s impossible. For the first time, Lewinsky is discussing her infamous extramarital affair with President Bill Clinton in the ’90s, in an interview with Vanity Fair.

Director Lee Daniels can breathe a little easier now that FOX announced his Empire Hip-Hop drama has been picked up to series for the 2014-2015 season. Empire centers around hip-hop record label Empire Entertainment and the family of its owner Lucious Lyon played by Terrence Howard. Lyon is a street smart business man determined to take his record label to the next level with help from his ex-wife and former business partner Cookie Lyon, who spent 17 years in prison for drug charges that helped build the successful label, played by recent Vogue Italia model Taraji P. Henson. The series will reunite Daniels and actress Gabourey Sidibe, who earned an Oscar nod for her role in Precious.

The director, known for including complex and sensitive topics such as incest, teen pregnancy, and racism through the eyes of African-American characters, won’t shy away from tackling some of those topics in the series.  He said he wants the series to serve as a black Dynasty and will be in the vein of popular show Nashville. Hitmaker Timbaland is in charge of songwriting and producing original songs for the series. Notably, the super producer worked on Michael Jackson’s Xscape album set to be released next week.

“We’re making statements about sexuality, the African-American experience, what happens when you come from extreme poverty and hit it big and you’re a billionaire? What is jail really like?” He told THR, moments after Fox made the announcement. Despite receiving advice from Oprah, whom he worked with along with Empire partner Danny Strong, on last year’s box office hit The Butler, he decided to push into television.

Jussie Smollet from Patrik Ian Polk’s The Skinny will star as Jamal Lyons, a gay musician pursuing a music career with Cookie’s support despite his father’s disapproval of his sexuality. Singer Macy Gray will star as Tasha, a cougar involved with Hakeem Lyon, who uses her powers of persuasion to influence and control the much younger man.  Malik Yoba, Kaitlin Doubleday, Trai Byers, Grace Gealey and Tasha Smith round out the cast.

Photo Credit: Jussie Smollet/Instagram

When it comes to mothers, every day lived is one of honor. This calling in life is anything but typical, yet so many perform the important tasks of motherhood without skipping a beat, making the job look easy. Even when it comes to keeping up appearances, some have a knack for leading busy lives while maintaining their fabulosity. Among such savvy mothers, are the Hollywood celeb moms who successfully play dress-up effortlessly. In honor of Mother’s Day, this week’s Star Style highlights the inspirational looks of celebrity moms who really do know best when it comes to getting dressed.

There has yet to be a Solange Knowles spotting where she doesn’t serve up a fierce look. When it comes to coordinating vibrant prints and colors that others would not have thought of trying, or doing any and every thing differently — Solange adds her iconic imprint.

Brand new mommy Kerry Washington was declared the world’s best dressed by People in 2013. Throughout her pregnancy, she made daring moves, such as sporting a mid-rift baring top. I’m quite sure the new mother will maintain her style status throughout motherhood, as she did during her expectancy and her career.

Former Spice Girl Melanie Brown keeps her looks flavorful with a pinch of elegance and sizzle.

Michelle Obama presents her fashion sense in a way that is regal and complementary to every part of her life and mission as First Lady.

Christina Milian serves up carefree, urban flair with lots of class.

Any and every misconception regarding what a woman over 40 should, could, or can wear, Jennifer Lopez has pretty much proved wrong.

As a celebrity stylist, June Ambrose sets the trends that her clients wear and many of us love. And when it comes to her own personal looks, she marches and leads with a style of her own.

As a fashion designer of House of Harlow 1960, fashion it-girl, and socialite, Nicole Richie is often spotted in buzz-worthy looks.

As the better half of the Louis Vuitton Don, Kim Kardashian is scoped by the paps on the daily. In spite such pressure, she is just about always dressed to impress for her close-up.

Reality star, actress, author, and designer NeNe Leakes is a glam-ma with flair. After all, how many grandmothers can actually pull of distressed jeans and hot stilettos?!

An over 50 and fit Angela Bassett proves that perfect style knows no limits. Her glow of confidence is her best accessory.

Erykah Badu knows no style limit — at all. We’ve noticed this for years, and thankfully her flavor was noticed by Givenchy for the brands spring 2014 ad campaign.

Abortion clinic worker Emily Letts filmed herself having an abortion to show women that there is such a thing as a positive abortion story. Letts’ video went viral after winning a video contest sponsored by the Abortion Care Network, which aims to combat the stigma surrounding voluntary termination of a pregnancy. The video has amassed over 430,000 views and the share of comments ranges from supportive to outraged.

“Hey! I’m pregnant,” a smiling 25-year-old Letts says toward the beginning of the clip. She lets out an uneasy laugh and then a long sigh before announcing, “I’m going to be having an abortion tomorrow morning.” The three-minute non-graphic video follows Letts through her decision to terminate, terminating her first pregnancy of about two to three weeks, and her thoughts afterward. The footage shows the quick procedure being performed, while Letts hums and breathes through the procedure, assuring herself that she is a strong woman. After the procedure is performed by her co-workers at the Cherry Hill Women’s Center in New Jersey, Letts looks directly into the camera to explain she doesn’t feel like a bad person or guilty about ending her unwanted pregnancy because she knew it was right for her.

In a candid piece with Cosmopolitan, Letts delves further into abortion procedures and the reasoning for her own. She points out that while searching the Internet, she was unable to find any videos showing the procedure. While she aimed to inspire others, she knew her co-workers wouldn’t escape backlash for her willingness to share her story. She admits in the article that she couldn’t sleep after posting, for fear of people judging her for revealing something so intimate. What Letts didn’t expect is that people would start telling her about their own stories. Overall she writes, “I am grateful that I can share my story and inspire other women to stop the guilt.”

Mekhi Phifer, widely known for his role as Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC’s “ER,” and as Lem in Soul Food, has filed for bankruptcy. He owes more than $1 million to various entities.

The 39-year-old actor allegedly owes $1.2 million in back taxes. He also owes $50,000 in lawyer fees and $4,500 in back child support. Legal documents show that Phifer spends around $11,600 in monthly expenses, but only makes $7,500.

Phifer is now married to Reshelet Barnes, whom he wed in 2013, but he has one child with ex-wife, actress Malinda Williams. His recent projects include a minor role in Divergent and a recurring role on the Showtime series, “House of Lies.”

If the actor’s monthly earnings are less than $8,000, then his yearly earnings would total less than $100,000.

RELATED: Pay Up!: 10 Celebrities Who Owe Uncle Sam

San Jose State College has expelled three of four students who were charged with race-related bullying of a Black classmate, Donald Williams Jr.  Last November, Williams, who was then a freshman, reported harassment from the students, which included wrestling him to the ground, fastening a bike lock around his neck, calling him racist names, locking him in his room, and showing him the Confederate flag.

Logan Beaschler, Colin Warren and Joseph Bomgardner have been banned for life from enrolling in any California State University colleges, according to university documents.

LaDoris Cordell, a retired judge who aided in investigating the incident, said, “They have no business being enrolled at SJSU.”

Eric Geffon, a lawyer for one of the underage students charged, says he believes that college officials conducted a biased review of the evidence.

“We were very disappointed with the school’s process,” Geffon said. “It was clear early on they had already made up their mind.” Geffon maintains that his client’s actions were not racially motivated.

Despite this assertion, campus police reports state that the students nicknamed the victim “Three-Fifths,” in reference to the Three-Fifths law, which once counted Blacks as only a fraction of a person. When Williams protested, the students allegedly began calling him “Fraction.”

Williams’ parents reported his claims to SJSU after finding a Confederate flag placed over an Elvis Presley cardboard cutout in their son’s suite and a dry-erase board with the N-word scrawled on it.

A 17-year-old student has been released on $100,000 bond after being arrested for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl in their school hallway before first period class.

Jocori Marece Scarborough allegedly forced the girl, whose name is being withheld, to follow him down to a hallway in Parkside High School in Maryland. There were no surveillance cameras filming the secluded area where the teens ventured.

The victim told police that Scarborough started making sexual advances as the two were walking together at around 8 a.m. Monday morning.

Allegedly, the teen repeatedly said “no.” The teen said that she was grabbed by her hips and dragged down the hall. Surveillance recording from another area of the hall shows Scarborough grabbing the girl by the arm and forcing her to the area unseen by cameras.

Photo credit: WBOC

Police are unsure whether  Scarborough knew that there was no surveillance footage in that area. Scarborough allegedly lifted up the victim’s skirt before removing her underwear and forcing sexual intercourse, throughout which the victim says she tried to stop him and shouted “no”.

A warrant was issued for Scarborough’s arrest following the victim’s arrival at Peninsula Regional Medical Center. Scarborough has been charged as an adult for first and second degree rape, first and second degree assault, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and molestation at school.

That morning cup of joe may be good for something aside from lifting us out of a coma every morning. A Cornell University study reported Wednesday that a daily cup of coffee may prevent deteriorating eyesight.

The study describes how coffee contains the chemical compound chlorogenic acid (CLA), which makes up 7-9% of the drink versus only 1% of caffeine. CLA is an antioxidant that has proven to prevent retinal degeneration in mice.

The study was funded by The Korea Institute of Science and Technology and published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. According to the Cornell Chronicle:

…the study examined the retina, a thin layer of complex tissue at the back of the eye that collects and arranges visual input. It describes how the tissue is some of the most metabolically active, needing high levels of oxygen, which can lead to oxidative stress. A lack of oxygen can make the body produce radicals, highly reactive molecules that can also lead to tissue damage and loss of sight.

Mice were treated with nitric oxide, which created oxidative stress and radicals, and found that mice who were treated with CLA did not develop retinal damage.

Chang Y. Lee, a professor of food science and the study’s lead author, told the Cornell Chronicle, “Coffee is the most popular drink in the world, and we are understanding what benefit we can get from that.”

This is not the first time studies have found health benefits in coffee. The most popular beverage in the world has also been known to cut the risk of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, prostate cancer and age-related cognitive declines.

Charles Barkley has gotten himself in trouble over comments he made about women in San Antonio. Two obesity organizations are up in arms about the statements Barkley made on Tuesday’s “Inside the NBA.”

Co-host Kenny Smith asked, “What kind of women are in San Antonio?”

To which Charles replied, “Some big ol’ women down there … that’s a gold mine for Weight Watchers. Victoria is definitely a secret [in San Antonio] … they can’t wear no Victoria’s Secret down there.” Barkley went on to say a couple of other things in that vein.

The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance condemned Barkley for his statements. “Making slurs about body size is just as offensive as making comments about body color,” spokesperson Peggy Howell said. “One would think being a Black man, he’d be more sensitive to having his physical body criticized. It’s totally out of line. He should absolutely apologize.”

The president of the Obesity Action Coalition also chided Barkley: “As a former NBA player and sports entertainment figure, Mr. Barkley should encourage equality and respect among society and not look to shame or segment one population because of their size. Obesity is a serious medical condition and not a joking matter.”

I had no idea that there were obesity advancement groups. I cannot recall any incident where they’ve spoken up in someone’s defense. In any case, I think their comparison of weight and race takes thing a little far. I’m actually surprised that no one from San Antonio has stepped up in outrage because their city seems to be the butt of the joke more than anything else.

[Image: Shutterstock]

The nasty custody battle continues for Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade and ex-wife Siohvaugh Funches. Wade has allegedly denied Funches visitation with their two sons, Zaire, 12 and Zion, 6 for Mother’s Day. The three-time NBA champion has primary custody of the children.

The high school sweethearts filed for divorce in 2007, but it wasn’t finalized until 2010. Since their separation, reports surrounding the divorce, abuse, STDs, and Wade’s current fiancé Gabrielle Union have sparked a media firestorm.

“Anything Dwyane and his lawyers do to make my client’s life a living hell, they do,” said Funches’ attorney, Lisa Macci. “They’ve announced their intention of denying her a court-ordered Mother’s Day visitation, so I’m filing an emergency motion to force them to hand her the children on Mother’s Day.”

Visitation isn’t the only aspect the two are disputing. A financial settlement is currently in appeals court in their home state of Illinois. Wade also sued Funches for defamation after she made unfounded allegations against him in 2009, claims she eventually recanted. During the custody battle, she accused the NBA basketball player of child abuse, but those claims were dismissed for lack of evidence.

Last July, Funches sat outside of Chicago’s Daley Center with a sign that read: “NBA Miami Heat star, mother of his children on the streets.” In 2012, Funches was arrested for attempted child abduction after failing to return the children to their father’s care on time.

Evan Marks, Wade’s attorney in Miami, has yet to comment.