Former North Carolina State Senate candidate Ty Turner was cuffed and arrested on Monday for putting voter rights information pamphlets on cars.

“They said they would charge me for distributing literature,” Turner said when he was released a few hours later. “I asked [the policeman] for the ordinance number [being violated], because they can’t put handcuffs on you if they cannot tell you why they’re detaining you. I said, ‘Show me where it’s illegal to do this.’ But he would not do it. The officer got mad and grabbed me. Then he told me that I was resisting arrest!”

Apparently, there is a local ordinance that prohibits leafleting on cars. However,  local activist Casey Throneburg claims that the rule is rarely enforced and, “certainly not with handcuffs.”

Turner was not taken to the jail a few blocks away from the protest site. “They took me to three different spots other than the jail,” he said. “They knew they were in the wrong.”

Turner had been participating in the Moral Monday movement when the arrest occurred. It is a gathering of clergy, faith leaders and organizations such as the NAACP that has been going on in North Carolina every Monday since April 29th in protest of the right-wing agenda of the state government. When the group learned what had happened to Turner, about 30 people marched to the jailhouse to demand his release.

As the protesters awaited Turner’s release, local Rev. Kojo Nantambu made a call to the president of the NAACP, who then called the police department and demanded that Turner be let go. Shortly after, the crowd was told that Turner was being released with a citation.

Turner credits knowing the law for saving him: “I always tell people, ‘Know the law. Know what your rights are. You’ve got power,” he said. “The law works for you only if you know it.”

Photo: The Root

It’s the photo that shook up social media and demanded #JusticeForAvaLynn.  The Mississippi kindergartener’s mother, Lacey Harris, went to pick up the little girl from school last month and the child was swollen and bruised “beyond recognition.”

Parents of four Black high school students who claim their children were expelled for making rap music videos are suing a suburban school district in Ohio.  On Tuesday, an attorney representing the parents said the students were expelled from Colerain High School in Colerain Township for making rap videos in their spare time.

The suit is being brought upon the school district for a violation of the students’ right to free speech. The parents’ lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati against the Northwest Local School District, the Colerain Township Board of Trustees, members of both groups’ boards, and some police officers, according to the Associated Press.

The issue stems from Black students being treated differently from their white counterparts, who also participated in the production of the videos. Allegedly, school officials and police interrogated the Black students about their postings on social media and affiliation with other Black youths. Officials showed said postings to the students which had been uncovered by school staff and allegedly depicted the Black students making hand signs and making rap music videos.

[Image: Shutterstock]

Over a dozen Black students were accused of making “street signs” and belonging to a “gang,” while the white students received no penalty, according to the lawsuit.

A statement from the Northwest Local School District alleges that the lawsuit contains inaccurate information. The district’s attorney, John Concannon, insists that the disciplinary actions had nothing to do with race or rap videos, but rather threats made to students and staff in school and on social media. “This is about reasonable school rules that were violated in a serious way,” he said. Concannon never specified what these rules were.

The lawsuit calls for the expulsions to be expunged from the students’ records and unspecified punitive and compensatory damages.

Former Detroit Lions footballer turned Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw was arrested for sexually abusing eight Black women in August. What comes as a shock to many is that Holtzclaw has supporters online who have donated over $7,000 for his defense.

The 27-year-old cop is facing charges of rape, forcible oral sodomy, sexual battery, and indecent exposure for allegedly assaulting women he encountered while on duty. According to prosecutors, Holtzclaw often stopped Black women between the ages of 34 and 58, threatening to “arrest them or physically harm them unless they exposed themselves, allowed him to fondle them or [have] sex with him,” according to reports.

Holtzclaw has served with the Oklahoma City Police Department for three years, but is now being held on $5 million bond, as family and friends have created a Facebook page called “Justice for Daniel Holtzclaw,” as well as a GoFundMe campaign, in the hopes of raising $100,000 to assist with legal costs. So far the site has received $7,390 in donations.

Theodore Wafer was sentenced to 17 years in prison for fatally shooting a young woman, Renisha McBride, on November 2, 2013.

Wafer, of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, shot the 17-year-old unarmed African American woman in the face after he found her on his porch one morning. McBride was seeking help after being involved in an auto collision near Wafer’s home. Since then, he has been at the center of discussions on gun control and the unnecessary killings of young African Americans.

Last month, Wafer was convicted after a nine-month trial. The purpose of the trial was to determine if Wafer shot McBride in self-defense, since he claimed he was awaken by a loud pounding on his door. The jury rejected his claims of self-defense and found him guilty.

The prosecutors have recommended a minimum of 17 years behind bars. However, defense attorney Cheryl Carpenter has requested fewer years, calling a 17-year sentence a death sentence for the 55-year-old man. But the judge rejected her request. Wafer’s maximum sentence is 32 years. After serving 17 years, he may be eligible for parole.

Source

The Gucci maxi dress Jennifer Lopez wore to take her children, twins Max and Emme, to the Hampton Classic Horse Show was appropriate for the 39th annual event. Bridgehampton, NY experienced a bit of a heat wave during the Labor Day weekend, so it was smart for Lopez to choose a sleeveless, flowing frock that allowed the breeze to kiss her golden skin. She topped off the ensemble with her signature top-knot, an edgy chain belt, and a handbag just big enough to fit the essentials.

While Jennifer Lopez’s Hampton Classic Horse Show look conveys glamour in the heat, a layer or two of additional clothing transforms it into a totally chic autumn outfit. Here’s how you can Style Out like J. Lo did — but for a lot less!

Hayley Chiffon Floral Print Tie Back Maxi Dress, $23.99
Loft Doubleweave Cotton Zip Jacket, $74.99
The Limited Skinny Chain Belt, $26.97
Foley + Corinna Triple-Chain Strap Flat-Top Shoulder Bag, $120
Zara Open Work High Heel Sandal, $89.90

Popular men’s magazine Gentleman’s Quarterly has named Kim Kardashian-West the GQ Woman of the Year.

Kardashian-West graces the cover of British GQ’s October issue. This is her first time appearing on the cover, but it seems she may be following in the footsteps of her hubby, Mr. GQ, himself. Kanye West has played cover model two times, so this is probably as proud a moment for him as it is for her.

Mrs. West took to Instagram last night to express her gratitude. She posted this picture of herself and West at the GQ Men of the Year Awards ceremony at the Royal Opera House. In a caption she wrote: “Thank you @BritishGQ for making me Woman of the Year! Such an honor!!!!!!”

Image: Instagram

GQ released photos of Kardashian-West from the October issue online on Tuesday night after her big win. She poses nude, (well, with shoes) in most of the photos and leaves little to the imagination.

What do you think? Does the reality star-businesswoman-mom deserve to be called the GQ Woman of the Year?

[Image: GQ]

FKA Twigs, real name Tahliah Barnett, gained popularity this year,making a mark on social media for her wildly good dancing and eclectic sense of style. Now, her rumored new beau is gaining the singer more publicity than ever before.

Actor Robert Pattinson, once the on-again-off-again boyfriend of Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart, has flown Twigs out to New York with him. The pair have allegedly been seeing each other for a month.

But according to sources, Twigs is in no hurry to go public, despite reports of the couple getting serious very quickly, as she does not want to draw comparison to Robert’s high-profile ex.

Twigs, 26, hails from England and was introduced to Pattinson, 28, by mutual friends.  She grew up in rural Gloucestershire, with her Jamaican father and her mom who has English and Spanish roots.

About aspiring to get out of her country surroundings and become an artist, in an 2013 interview, she said, “I was never the pretty girl at school. I’m tiny and mixed-race. I grew up in a white area. I was always the loner. I was always kind of off– a little weird, wanting to be a ballet dancer or have opera lessons.”

Check out Twigs in action below in her Queen of the Damned inspired video for “Two Weeks.”

We never did get confirmation about the Ciara and Future split rumors, but if they were true it seems like the couple has made up. It was believed that the two had parted ways after the birth of their son Future Zahir, but sources are now speculating that Ciara and Future are still together.

According to recent rumors, Future took a female stylist on trips with him, presumably as a love interest. However, there was never any concrete evidence of misbehavior on his part, so everything has been just gossip.

Ciara posted the following cryptic tweet earlier this week, which got many questioning the intended target.

Sometimes You Have 2 Give Someone The #YoungPass. They Just Do Ignorant Things, Simply Because They’re Still Learning.. And That’s O.K. ☺️

— Ciara (@ciara) September 1, 2014

Ciara’s countless appearances since the birth of her new son without her engagement ring got the blogosphere talking late last month of a separation between her and her rapper fiance.

But with the shocking news of Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey‘s separation going completely undetected by blogs prior to Cannon’s own admission, the question is how much do we truly know about celebrity relationships? Matthew Knowles told a radio station that he feels his daughter’s family woes in an elevator were to promote Jay Z and Beyoncé‘s On The Run world tour.

CiCi never confirmed nor denied reports of a separation. Milk that publicity, girl.

After appearing as Hercules, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will transform into Black Adam, one of DC Comics’ greatest anti-heroes, in New Line Cinemas’ movie adaptation of Shazam. Johnson had played coy about what character he would play in the film, but has been adamant that he would be involved in some capacity. Many fans believed an announcement would be made during this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego in July, but that wasn’t the case.

“’Kneel at his feet or get crushed by his boot.’ My honor to become.. #BlackAdam #TheAntiHero #DCComics,” Johnson announced on Instagram yesterday morning.

Black Adam is the rival of Shazam, also known as Captain Marvel. Black Adam is a champion turned villain whose quest for dominance over all magic drives him to destroy anything that stands in his path, according to DC Comics. The anti-hero’s powers include super strength, flight, super speed, superhuman hearing, and magic. No one has been cast yet to fill the role of Shazam.

Shazam is currently in development and awaiting a first script draft. Screenwriter Darren Lemke is attached to write the script for the film, Variety reports. He most recently penned the script for Sony’s upcoming Goosebumps adaptation, which is currently in production. With Johnson signing on to Shazam, the project could be fast-tracked to begin production when all schedules permit.

“We Love Dwayne and have had nothing but success with him over the years,” Toby Emmerich, President and COO of New Line told Variety. “When I look at Dwayne both off screen and on screen, he is such a larger than life character and it just made perfect sense to me that we put him in a DC comic movie. You look at these comic book characters and they have this certain swag and charisma that Dwayne carries with him where ever he is so that’s why this always made sense.”

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Edge, pictured above, will be available to only a few select retailers.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, revealed new versions of the Galaxy Note smartphone on Wednesday.

The improved device features a clearer, 5.7-inch display in a metal frame and accessories designed to attract gamers. Its also equipped with an improved pen stylus and handwriting software as an alternative to typing on a keyboard.

Samsung also demonstrated a limited-edition version of the Note, The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Edge, which boasts a curved edge screen on one of the phone’s sides. This seemingly minor detail will help users stay focused on their main screen without having to respond to calendar reminders or new emails.

Since the Galaxy Note’s introduction in 2011, it has become a standard for high-end phones with its 5-inch and larger screen sizes for improved visibility. However, with Apple set to unveil its new large screen iPhone in the coming weeks, analysts wonder if the new Galaxy Note is enough to keep Samsung’s competitors at bay.

[Image: Los Angeles Times]

Source

Jill Scott is the latest star whose nude photos have been leaked in the largest celebrity photo hack in history. But it’s time for those wagging tongues to be put back in their mouths because Scott isn’t actually pictured in all the photos … or so she says.

Two alleged pictures of the neo-soul singer leaked Wednesday night. One photo showed the Philadelphia singer’s face, in a robe, covering her private area and breasts. She admitted the photo did depict her body, citing the photo as a weight loss victory.

In the second photo, breasts were exposed, with the face of the woman covered with a phone. Scott denied this photo, despite the woman having the same hair, same phone, similar body type, and background.

In a tweet that was later deleted, Scott expressed her disgust with the lack of privacy.

In addition to Scott, nude photos of Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lawrence, and Kate Upton were also hacked and leaked, leading to an investigation by Apple, Inc. Apple released a statement assuring its customers iCloud and the Find My iPhone app had nothing to do with the leak.

The FBI has also launched an investigation, saying it’s “aware of the allegations concerning computer intrusions and the unlawful release of material involving high profile individuals, and is addressing the matter.”

After a very public divorce, the former “The View” co-host may have found a new beau. Sherri Shepherd is dating New Edition crooner Johnny Gill, 48. The couple has been quietly cozying up this past year, since meeting on the set of “The View” last June.

Gill, who has never been married, reportedly flew Shepherd out to see him during the Houston, Los Angeles, and Virginia Beach New Edition “All Six” tour stops.

After their special date night in Houston, Gill tweeted: “You’re the best, I had so much fun hanging with you, love love love you!!!”

Gill jetted to New York City to be with Shepherd when she taped her last episode of “The View” on July 31. Bell Biv DeVoe, a break-off trio from New Edition, was one of her special guests.

Shepherd, 47, and second husband Lamar Sally, who met through mutual friend Niecy Nash, divorced in May. The stand-up comedian and mother of one offered to pay Sally $100,000 as a divorce settlement and $3,000 a month in child support for their child via surrogate. He refused. Sally is in the process of overturning their prenuptial agreement for more compensation.

Shepherd will make her Broadway debut as the wicked stepmother in the musical Cinderella, opposite Keke Palmer.

When I woke up today to hear that thousands of fast food workers across the country walked out of their jobs to protest their pathetic wages and lack of benefits, my only thought was, “it’s about damn time.” It’s clear to anyone who has put in a hard day’s work at a job they absolutely needed that these people have been underpaid for quite some time. But, while I completely support the strike, I definitely was NOT looking forward to engaging in conversations with people about minimum wage, because the massive ignorance around the topic is annoying at best, and infuriating at worst. Many have formed staunch opinions against a wage increase, yet most simply don’t understand the factual realities about the topic. If more people took time to understand what it’s all about, people would come to a heartbreaking realization that far too many people in our society don’t talk about – the fact that raising the minimum wage is about morality, NOT economics.

That statement will surely offend economic students, finance professionals and Paul Krugman, but it’s the reality of our day. Whenever political pundits go on roundtable debates on TV to discuss raising the minimum wage, the argument always gets deeply embroiled in economic causation. The people who favor a wage bump argue that paying workers a living wage will allow many of them to come off public assistance which helps tax-payers. And when you put more money in the hands of people with little money, they spend it on necessary goods and services which also helps the economy.

The people against minimum wage believe that the government should not force corporations to increase their labor budgets in hard economic times, especially when the offset would mean people like us – aka the customers – will have to pay more for a Big Mac or a Whopper. Many also see this issue as wholly unimportant because pimply-faced teenagers don’t need to be making a living wage when they live at home with their parents. They will also argue that fast-food jobs are mostly just transitional opportunities that someone takes until they “find something better”, which completely negates the necessity of rage increases.

But now it’s time to cut through the bullshit. The minimum debate has little to do with complex economics, and a lot to do with greed. The main reason corporations don’t want to pay their employees a living wage is because the executives want to keep making as much money for themselves as possible. The AFL-CIO paywatch report revealed that CEOs now earn 331 times as much as AVERAGE workers and 774 times as much as minimum wage earners. Isn’t it interesting how we never address altering executive compensation, yet we stay telling poor people to be happy being poor? That’s not about economic stability, that’s simply GREED.

Big businesses like Wal-Mart and T-Mobile, notorious for underpaying employees and overpaying executives, have a firm belief that maintaining profit margins down to every last cent is far more important than their employees not having to work full-time while being on public assistance. They still fashion themselves as companies who give seemingly optionless people a chance at gainful employment, like when Wal-Mart decided to hire seniors as greeters and veterans as part-time employees. And the reason such pr schemes are successful at making their companies look better is because many are ignorant about who is truly affected by low wages.

The people making minimum wage are not old retirees looking to make an extra buck, or teenagers learning the value of hard work, or university students flipping burgers until they get their degree and step into a high-paying job (which is another BS ideology I’ll address on another day). The vast majority of minimum wage workers are adult women. Many have children, and their menial wages represent half of the families total income. We collectively need to stop framing this issue as putting more beer money in the hands of irresponsible teens and call it what it statically is: Giving low-income families an opportunity to make a fair wage. It’s not about giving these folks money to put spinners on their Range Rovers, it’s about paying a woman enough to buy food for her kids AND herself.

The truth is, companies like Papa John’s who believe in passing their employees wage and benefit increases on to their customers (usually done in a public manner aimed for us to shame their workers “greed“) are the real problem. The truth is, companies like McDonald’s, who posted great profits even at the height of the recession, are the real problem. These are not mom and pop shops being squeezed out of their pennies to give little Billy or young Renee an underserved raise. The truth is, these are multi-million dollar, multinational corporations that believe executive bonuses and maintaining excessive margins are more important than their workers being able to live decently. That is NOT an economic issue, it’s a MORAL one.

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.

Two Georgia inmates, who were temporarily released to attend their grandmother’s wake, used the somber occasion to smuggle drugs stuffed in the casket back into jail.

Nekoase Vinson, 30, and Henry Rouse, 27 of Bibb County, attended 74-year-old Emma Mae Faulk‘s wake in Macon. When the duo were escorted back to prison, guards reportedly discovered drugs on them. They claimed to have gotten the stash from inside the deceased’s coffin. Police believe the drugs were placed in the casket by a relative, and once left alone to grieve, the inmates grabbed the narcotics. Now, the men are facing marijuana possession and bringing contraband to jail charges, in addition to the slew of other pending charges.

[Image: Shutterstock]

When the men returned to prison, the drugs were discovered during a routine search, along with tobacco, and a lighter. Vinson also had a cellphone on his person.

Vinson has been imprisoned since late-July for an undisclosed FBI-related criminal incident. Rouse, jailed on July 4th, has a criminal history of drug charges, street gang activities, and obstruction.

My favorite quote currently is: “Everybody isn’t gonna love you. Most people don’t even love themselves.” Although I don’t know who said it, the message is 100 percent correct, and it’s something that I, a man battling weight issues, reminds myself of every single day. That’s why I might’ve been the happiest heterosexual brother on Earth when Prince Fielder decided to pose for the 2014 ESPN Body Issue. Amongst all those ripped, unique human specimens was a dude that looked exactly the same way I do when I take my clothes off. Our physique is damn near identical, right down to our skin tones and beards. But, I’m a dude who needs to pump myself up just to take my shirt off at the beach, while this dude just confidently strutted in front of a photographer to pose-up for an international magazine that would be seen by millions. And as much as he received the typical Twitter trolling and insults, he received a LOT of great comments, which I decided to live through vicariously.

Fast forward three months later and we find ourselves amidst a celebrity data hacking scandal that resulted in the leaking of nude pics of Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton online. But the hacker more celebrity photos to release and, to be honest, of all the names in the world, I would have NEVER guessed that Jill Scott would be next.

For some reason, I’ve always imagined Scott spending her free time concocting natural cocoa butter lotion recipes and reading her son Maya Angelou poems before bed, leaving her no time or desire to pose half-naked in front of her mirror. But, alas, even Jill from Philly is human and documenting her weight-loss journey — NOT sexting — was what inspired those nude photos. But regardless of her intentions (hell, ain’t nothing wrong with sending a lover a sexy picture or two — or 10), the absolutely perfect thing about Jill Scott’s nudes was, the same thing that made Prince Fielder’s photos amazing: The beautiful glorification of the typical body type.

Typical is NOT meant as an insult, but rather a statistical reality of the world we live in. Let’s be real for a second, when you look at the ESPN Body Issue, you are seeing elite athletes with absolutely insane bodies. When you look at the Kate Uptons of the world, you are seeing a body type that is NOT representative of the average woman. Many celebrities, athletes, models, and pop/R&B singers are NOT physically representative of who many of us truly are, which is why we easily propagate their sex appeal. But after we turn off “The Real Housewives” or the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, many of us stand in front of the mirror and see Prince Fielder’s gut or Jill Scott’s thigh-touch staring right back at us. That’s one of the main reasons I laugh when folks get on social media and participate in body-shaming or bullying with their corny-ass online friends, because they are all out here portraying themselves to be something they’re NOT. Y’all really gonna tell me that in a country battling an obesity epidemic that none of you understand what it’s like to be big, or are trying to work on yourselves? Miss me with that bullshit.

The PERFECT thing about Jill Scott’s half-naked picture is the fact that she’s NOT some airbrushed, fake-ass representation of what a human woman looks like — and she’s still beautiful as hell. Instead of clowning her, more women should be wondering what she did to lose 63 pounds in two years, while LOVING herself every step of the way. And more men should be open to seeing the gorgeous appeal of HOW she carries her weight, especially since there’s a high chance their woman will have extra meat on her bones one day, if she doesn’t already. To the people who insist on shaming Jill Scott, Prince Fielder, or any big person alive, it’s cool — because we know your hate is NOT about THEM, it’s about YOU.

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.

There’s nothing new about celebs acting out. But it seems crazy is the new black in Hollywood. Take the case of one-hit wonder Blu Cantrell. At 2 a.m. Wednesday, Cantrell was seen running through the streets erratically screaming that people were trying to kill her. Police, who didn’t recognize the “Hit ‘Em Style” singer, took her to a hospital for psychological evaluation — but it doesn’t end there.

Cantrell claimed that “someone was giving her poisonous gas.” Her episode lasted for hours.

As much as we expect celebrities to hold it together in the public eye, it’s not always the case. Here are the crazy celebs whose genius toes the insanity line.

Columbus Short

Back in April, “Scandal” star Columbus Short was at the height of his career when he threatened to kill his wife. He was not only charged for domestic violence, but also child abuse due to their two year old being in the home. Shortly after, he was dropped from the show. Short was recently arrested for failing to appear in court.

Dennis Rodman

Known to be the best rebounder in the NBA, Dennis Rodman has had a sequence of outrageous moments. From marrying himself while wearing a wedding dress to befriending the supreme leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, we can’t seem to wrap our heads around it all.

Kanye West

Dubbing himself as “Yeezus” is just enough to label Kanye West a bit cray. The rapper is publicly known to go on outrageous rants about his “gifted” lifestyle and snap on paparazzi.

Naomi Campbell

Everyone duck! Naomi Campbell is known to be a hot-headed but fierce model in the fashion industry. Back in 2007, she plead guilty to assaulting her former maid by throwing a Blackberry at her head.

Katt Williams

As much as we loved laughing at Katt Williams, we certainly weren’t laughing when we learned of his crazy episodes. After leading police on a chase, Williams went into a Target and punched an employee for allegedly calling him the n-word. He was later admitted into a mental institution.

Maia Campbell

The ’90s beauty we all know for her role on “In The House” had been battling bipolar disorder her entire life when in 2009, a video surfaced of her allegedly high on cocaine. She finally reached out to Iyanla Vanzant to fix her life.

Tyra Banks

“We were all rooting for you!” was the most famous line in “America’s Next Top Model” history. Tyra Banks has been known for her cooky behavior, but we definitely believed it after watching her explode on contestant Tiffany.

Lark Voorhies

One of our favorites on “Saved By The Bell,” Lark Voorhies is almost unrecognizable. She barely makes any appearances but when she does, she wears a wig and lots of two-toned makeup. According to sources, her mother claims that Voorhies has been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder but she denies it. We hope she’s OK!

The new lineup for “Dancing With The Stars” was unveiled this morning on “Good Morning America.”

ABC announced the 13 new contestants in the series nineteenth season, which includes talk-show host Tavis Smiley, “Pretty Little Liars” actress Janel Parrish, Olympic athlete Lolo Jones, actor Antonio Sabato Jr. and fashion designer Betsey Johnson. 

Other dancing hopefuls include comedy veteran Tommy Chong, YouTube star Bethany Mota, Ultimate Fighting champ Randy Couture, “Mean Girls” star Jonathan Bennett and “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” actor-game show host Alfonso Ribeiro. 

Actress Lea Thompson, “Duck Dynasty” diva Sadie Robertson and NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip will also dance to be crowned champion.

The addition of Julianne Hough, named as the fourth judge last month, will add some pizazz this season. Hough, 26, won two mirror ball trophies as a professional dancer during her “DWTS” stint. She will have a permanent spot at the judges’ table next to veterans Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli.

DWTS premieres on September 15.

Comedy legend Joan Rivers died Thursday afternoon, a week after being admitted into New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital for cardiac arrest. The comedienne was 81. Daughter Melissa Rivers announced that Joan passed peacefully, surrounded by family and friends. Allover the Internet the outpouring of grief was full as fans remembered Joan’s snarky comments and quotes that kept us in stitches. Even in death, she continues to keep us laughing and enlightened on life, love, and dying. Here are our favorite Joan Rivers quotes to live by …

10. “Never be afraid to laugh at yourself, after all, you could be missing out on the joke of the century.”

9. “People say that money is not the key to happiness, but I always figured if you have enough money, you can have a key made.”

8. “A child can be taught not to do certain things, such as touch a hot stove, pull lamps off of tables, and wake Mommy before noon.”

7. “I have become my own version of an optimist. If I can’t make it through one door, I’ll go through another door—or I’ll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present.”

6. “We all mourn in our own way. I mourn with a great steak.”

5. “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is God’s gift. That’s why we call it the present.”

4. “I enjoy life when things are happening. I don’t care if it’s good things or bad things. That means you’re alive. Things are happening.”

3. “Anger is a symptom, a way of cloaking and expressing feelings too awful to experience directly – hurt, bitterness, grief, and, most of all, fear”

2. “Don’t follow any advice, no matter how good, until you feel as deeply in your spirit as you think in your mind that the counsel is wise.”

1. “No steam or gas ever drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.”

This week in celebrity quotes, Cee Lo Green tweets about rape and lands in hot water, Jill Scott is not feeling the shade about her leaked nude photos, and Pam Oliver is not happy about being sacked from her cushy Fox News gig. Plus, BeBe Winans loves being sexy for Jesus, and 50 Cent said what! AND I QUOTE…

“People who have really been raped REMEMBER!!!”

Cee Lo Green sends out a disturbing message  that may or may not be about the young lady he allegedly drugged at a party, via Twitter.

Continue reading at UPTOWN.

“I can’t help that I’m sexy for Jesus!”

BeBe Winans talks about keeping it sexy for Jesus and how modern-day Christian artists are judged based on their good looks, in an interview with The Grio.

Source

“I def took the 1st pic w/ a robe; weight loss chronicle but the 2nd, sorry freaks, is not me. I wish I had that space between my thighs.”

Jill Scott addresses the nude photo leak after iPhone’s massive celebrity phone hack, via Twitter.

Continue reading at UPTOWN.

“I was an awkward teenager. I went stag to my prom. I was a virgin until I was 20 years old! My mother was raising five kids on her own, I wasn’t just going to sit back and be a horny teenager and continue some cycle of teenage pregnancy.”

Rosario Dawson talks being a horny toad, teenage pregnancy and more, in an interview with Cosmopolitan for Latinas.

Source

“I don’t have no problems. Missy started hitting it if you really want to know. See it’s her fault for actually saying that to you.”

50 Cent reveals his former protégée, Olivia, had a sexual relationship with fellow rapper Missy Elliot, in an interview with The Breakfast Club.

Source

“They wanted me to work primarily on specials and long-form stories, but I told them I still wanted to do sideline reporting. It was important to me to have a twentieth season—to end on 19 is wack! I wanted 20.”

Pam Oliver on being fired from her longtime Fox Sports broadcasting gig, allegedly over ageism and racism,  in an exclusive with Essence.com.

Source

“Mr. West, what up? it’s been a while Ye/ your music is tough, but them skirts is wild gay.”

Cam’ron fires shots at Kanye West for his flamboyant and feminine fashion choices, in a new track titled “Back On Our Bulls**t.” 

Source