By Tracey Ford

Tessa Thompson’s breakout role in the much buzzed about indie flick, Dear White People, landed her on nearly every “on the verge” list. And her portrayal of Civil Rights pioneer Diane Nash, alongside David Oyelowo and Oprah Winfrey in the Ava DuVernay directed MLK biopic Selma will propel her to full-fledged stardom. But don’t think her not-so-overnight success has changed her. She’s still the quirky girl who tweets support of fellow actresses, brushes off compliments, and revels in a well-played photo-bomb. In fact, her new dilemma is “making sure people don’t think I’m too dignified.”

WHO’S THAT GIRL?

Thompson is well aware that prior to recent success, she fell into the category of the actress you’d seen before (Veronica Mars, For Colored Girls, Grey’s Anatomy), but didn’t know by name. “It’s nice to move between different parts and be that character and not always have it be you,” she says. However, she does admit to feeling a bit daunted by the lack of quality material. “There were definitely moments when I thought ‘What kind of longevity can I have if I’m not able to work on things that really don’t make my heart sing?’”

TRIPLE THREAT

Thompson’s father Marc Anthony Thompson founded the collective Chocolate Genius Inc., and she is following his path creating a musical project with songwriter and producer Jesse Nolan and Stephen Edelstein titled Caught A Ghost. And she’s been known to cut a mean rug as well. “My high school job was [dancing] at bar mitzvahs!”.

SEEING SELMA

The 31 year-old hopes that Selma humanizes MLK and the leaders of the movement. “In school, the Civil Rights era was taught in really broad strokes, which sets those people in [a certain air]. Then you read about them talk of the experience at the time and realize that they were just trying to figure it out.”

Image: Ben Miller

Courtesy of HypeHair.com

If budgeting is a goal of yours for 2015, you’ve come to the right place. As innovative as our world has become, the belief that more expensive products are better still exists. In some cases, that just may be true, but when it comes to beauty products, being thrifty won’t make you any less pretty and it will save you a few bucks. Many of you have impressively learned to get by with whatever products are available, but why not snag the best products that will truly make our wallets happy as well?

Take a look through the list of beauty products under $10 that we love, not just for the affordability but for the quality as well.

Keep reading …

Well this isn’t a great way to set an example on good sportsmanship. A female Georgia high school coach is facing prison time after allegedly biting a male coach in the eye and nose.

Melonie Joyce Martin, the 44-year-old basketball coach for South Cobb Eagles, reportedly got into a verbal argument, complete with expletives and name-calling, with Tyrone Harris of Campbell High School on Jan. 9th.

According to the report, Martin, who is also the school’s language arts teacher, threw a chair at Harris while threatening to bust his “grill.” The confrontation happened in a school office after Martin’s team lost to Campbell High School.

A warrant for Martin’s arrest was issued for charges of simply battery, which is a felony, and terroristic threats. After a seven-hour jail stay, Martin was released on a $7,500 bond.

Martin denies all claims and plans to fight the charges.

It’s unknown whether she will coach the Eagles’ upcoming game Tuesday.

This could get ugly. An investigation conducted by the NFL found Super Bowl contenders the New England Patriots used balls that were not properly inflated in 11 out of the team’s 12 games. According to the ESPN report, the footballs were under-inflated by two pounds per square inch of air pressure. NFL rules require all play balls to be inflated to between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch.

Deflating a football provides a competitive edge for players, and can change the way the ball is gripped or the way it travels through the air. Some quarterbacks and receivers prefer balls with less air or more air than the standard. Some observers believe under-inflated footballs are easier to grip for throwing and catching, particularly in wet conditions. The Patriots’ win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday was played in the rain.

The question now is whether the balls were intentionally under-inflated for the games. The league’s investigation remains ongoing with the Patriots preparing to battle the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl on Feb. 1 in Arizona.

But this isn’t the first time the Patriots were investigated for shady play. In September 2007, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell fined head coach Bill Belichick and the team $750,000 for improperly videotaping opposing coaching signals.

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Following the suspension of two AKA’s who starred in the controversial series Sorority Sisters, Delta Sigma Theta has followed suit. The sorority permanently suspended five Deltas who appeared on the VH1 reality show, which has since been wiped clean from the network’s website as if it never existed.

The ex-DST’s are Lydia Mitchell and Priyanka Banks from Alabama State University; MeToya Monroe, State University of West Georgia; Adrene Ashford from Marietta; and Shanna McCormick from Nashville. On January 13, only days before the sorority celebrated their founder’s day, the bickering co-stars were ousted. Their suspension date was the same day VH1 changed its schedule and unceremoniously dumped the show’s final three episodes last Friday.

April McRae and Joy Hammond were suspended for 18 months from Alpha Kappa Alpha.

An aggressive boycott campaign targeting VH1 advertisers was apparently effective because the show’s ratings were  strong enough to continue despite a lack of advertising support.

VH1 has not commented about the suspensions, nor has provided an official cancellation of the show.

Who needs soap operas when you have a real-life cheating scandal posted on Reddit?

A married man had Reddit, an entertainment and social networking service where registered community members can submit content, on fire as he live blogged his discovery that his wife was unfaithful. The page was so popular Reddit temporarily placed it in read-only mode due to heavy traffic. The thread, which started on January 16 has more than 10,000 words, first describing his heartbreaking discovery to hiring a private investigator to follow his wife to his realization that his sister-in-law is probably cheating, too.

The husband, who updated the thread for three days straight, first introduced himself to his now loyal audience and his wife Jenny to the Reddit community. Then, the scorned hubby described his wife’s and sister-in-law’s scheduled all-girls trip, and when he discovered explicit text messages to “Zack” in his wife’s phone.

The poster, who’s username is MyLifeSuxNow, has since hired a divorce lawyer after suggestions from his readers.

[Image: Shutterstock]

If there is one thing many of us will remember about 2014, it’s that the events of this year opened our eyes to police brutality and state sanctioned violence in a way we’ve never seen before. The names Mike Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice will become staples of the #BlackLivesMatter movement as it continues throughout the years. Knowing that one Black person is killed by a police officer, security guard, or vigilante every 28 hours is a fact that will stick with us for years to come. And just as we hoped 2015 would bring a monumental change in how police interact with minorities, we are brought right back down to Earth by video of a young Black male being gunned down on camera just before the New Year.

On Dec. 30th, Bridgeton, South Jersey police officers Braheme Days and Roger Worley stopped a Jaguar driven by Leroy Tutt for failing to fully stop at a stop sign. Officer Days approached the passenger side of the car, where Jerame Reid was sitting. The conflict began relatively friendly, but it quickly escalated. The police dashcam video below shows the tragic death of Reid at the hands of the police.

In the past year, many similar incidents of police shootings have been captured on video, and the footage paints a very clear picture of what occurred. When police executed John Crawford III in an Ohio Walmart, we all saw he wasn’t given any time to show that he was holding a toy rifle. When Tamir Rice was murdered, it was clear as day a frantic cop who responded with overt fear and panic killed a 12-year-old boy holding a toy gun. And when Eric Garner was choked to death in the street, it was obvious to everyone that police employed an illegal chokehold to kill him. But, the video of Reid’s death is different in many ways that will create a lot of debates and, hopefully, just as much investigation, as many questions still loom about this incident.

What was the real motive for the stop since Days knew Reid prior to the incident? What was Reid doing with his hands? Was Reid actually reaching for a gun? Why didn’t Reid follow the officers’ instruction to stay still? Why did Reid attempt to get out of the car? Why did Days respond with deadly force when Reid was unarmed with his hands at shoulder height?

Well, here’s what we know from the video and some of the extenuating circumstances leading up to this fatal shooting. Reid, 36, spent 13 years in prison for shooting at New Jersey State Troopers. After being known to police for almost becoming a cop killer, he was arrested last year on drug possession and obstruction charges — and Officer Days was one of the arresting officers.

So when we fast forward to the night of December 30th, their previous familiarity could possibly explain the quickness with which the situation escalated. After Officer Days approached the passenger side of the Jaguar, explained to the men why they were being pulled over, and asked for ID, Reid says “at the stop sign, we stopped,” which led Days to immediately draw his gun. Days, then, informed Worley that he spotted a firearm in the glove compartment, as they both have their guns pointed directly at the men in the car.

Days continually screamed at Reid “Don’t you fucking move!” and told him “If you reach for something, you’re going to be fucking dead!” Reid replied, “I ain’t got no reason to reach for nothing, bro.” Days kept telling Reid to stop reaching (presumably for a gun), but the video is unable to catch what Reid may or may not have been doing with his hands.

After one of the men in the car said, “I’m getting out and getting on the ground,” Days yelled at Reid “No, you not. Don’t fucking move!” Reid emerged from the car with his hands up, the officers fired at least six shots into Reid, wounding him fatally.

After more police arrived on the scene and began investigating what occurred, one of the officers is heard saying, “He pulled a gun on me.”

At this time, both Officers Days and Worley have been placed on administrative leave while the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office investigates the case.

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.

Last November, 51-year-old Timothy Tucker used a puppy to beat his girlfriend.  The attack resulted in the dog dying, the victim loosing her sight, and Tucker being put behind bars for six months.

After punching his girlfriend in the eye, the Kalamazoo, Michigan man grabbed a 2-week-old puppy and used the pet to batter the woman.  She later told authorities that she noticed that the dog had defecated while Tucker used the pooch as a weapon.  After the attack, the dog died.

On Tuesday in court, the woman told Circuit Judge Alexander C. Lipsey that she was blind for weeks after the attack, as she had suffered from a “severely swollen eye,” according to court documents.  She said she was also still suffering emotionally from the incident.

“I was hurt, scared in my own house, being attacked in my own house,” she explained. “I’m still scared and I shouldn’t have to feel like that from someone I cared about, someone I loved.”

“He’s going to find the wrong broken person and either they’re going to kill him or he’s going to kill them,” she continued.

Tucker was sentenced to six months in jail for domestic violence.  He agreed upon a plea deal that helped him evade being charged in the death of the puppy.  The deal included four years of probation and entering into the Swift and Sure Sanctions Program, which is a form of probation that is strict and requires that participants be monitored closely. He will also have to pay restitution and state fees.

“This is one of the few cases that turns my stomach,” said Kalamazoo County Assistant Prosecutor Mike Reisterer, who is a 25-year veteran in his field.  “To take a two-week-old puppy and bludgeon his significant other to the point that she requires hospitalization and the puppy is dead … is incomprehensible.”

Judge Lipsey mentioned during the hearing that this is one of several times that Tucker has found himself in legal troubles. He was convicted of domestic violence in 1999, 2001 and 2013.  In 2010, he had been found guilty of illegal entry and destruction of property.

The man who was by President Barack Obama’s side when he was a senator trying to reach the White House is spilling little-known details about his former boss.

Obama’s former personal aide Reggie Love wrote the upcoming tell-all memoir that focuses on his presidential run and early years in office. Power Forward: My Presidential Education will discuss some of Obama’s quirks, like his obsessive shoe habit, and will even include a story about the former Illinois senator catching a woman in his right-hand man’s bed.

Love applied for an internship at the White House while he was attending Duke University and playing on the school’s football team. Once he landed the position, he became Obama’s personal aide and assisted him all throughout his 2008 presidential campaign. He learned a lot about the politician behind the winning smile and charm.

In his revealing book, he outs the President as an avid footwear lover. “Shoes were always the biggest challenge for the senator,” Love writes, according to the New York Times. “The man was particular about his feet. He wouldn’t just throw on any old pair of mukluks. They had to look a certain way, feel a certain way. Anytime he couldn’t wear his favored dress flats, it was an issue.”

Love adds, “Throughout the campaign, I was always trying to scratch and scrounge to procure the ideal footwear. I’d send screen-shots to the advance teams and say, ‘Find these!’ Also, ‘Buy wool socks!’”

Love also mentions a humorous moment that he shared with the President, Jay Z, and Beyoncé during a meeting in New York at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. According to Love, Beyoncé was talking about how much her feet hurt because she had just got off a tour. Love says that Obama jokingly told her, “You have to have a masseuse to massage your feet. That must be in the budget for the tour production.”

“And Jay said, ‘Yeah, so long as it isn’t a man,'” Love writes. “I quipped, ‘You’ve seen “Pulp Fiction.” You never let another man massage your woman’s feet,’ after which Jay burst out laughing.”

The former “bodyman” describes Obama as being a health freak. While attempting to trade in his cigarette indulgence for Nicorette, Obama adamantly rejected fast food and had a strict list of nutritional demands: “No gum wrapped in tiny papers. No energy bars with fruits. Salads only in emergencies … Nothing battered or fried.”

Love claims that one day, while he was having a lady-friend over at his hotel room while on the campaign trail, Obama used the Secret Service master key to open the door. After walking in, he said “Hey, Reggie, we need to go over the schedule.” After seeing the woman laying in Love’s bed, Obama said “Oh, I apologize” and hurried out the room.

Love says he left his position in 2011 to pursue an MBA.

The publication date for Power Forward: My Presidential Education is Feb. 3.

A 68-year-old retired sheet metal worker was found dead in a malfunctioning sauna in North Miami Beach on Sunday. Dennis Antiporek visited the humid room at his Eden Isles Condominiums nearly every day to treat his neuropathy, but his family never expected that he wouldn’t return from his trip.

After Antiporek was gone for a few hours, his daughter, Laura, went to the sauna to check on him, the New York Daily News reports. What she found was horrifying. Her father’s body was curled up in the fetal position on the floor and lifeless. His skin, which was usually light, appeared darker than ever.

“I can’t get that image out of my head. I can’t get that smell … I don’t want to eat, I don’t want to do anything. Because all I can think about is being in that sauna and that heat and seeing the most important man in my life dried up into nothing,” Laura told CBS News.

Antiporek’s family is suing the company that maintains the sauna, Elite Management Associated Inc. The family’s representative, Ft. Lauderdale Attorney Joseph Madalon, said they suspect the cause of the incident was from the sauna’s timer being broken, as well as broken coils, which caused temperatures to rise higher than usual.

“He was totally broiled,” Madalon said. “His skin had fallen off his body. There were huge chunks of skin on the sauna floor. He literally looked like jerky.”

A medical examiner received Antiporek’s body Wednesday to uncover the cause of death. An autopsy is expected to determine whether the high temperatures in the sauna caused Antiporek to have a heart attack, stroke, or another ailment that hindered him from escaping the room.

Ronnie, Antiporek’s wife, told reporters that she can’t help but remember the traumatizing appearance of her husband after he was found dead.

“I close my eyes and I just see his face charred,” his wife of 49 years told the station. “And this sounds horrible, but there was skin on the floor and on the bench, and we shouldn’t have had to see that.”

In an attempt to quell the measles outbreak that began at Disneyland about a month ago, Orange County health officials have barred about two dozen high school students who don’t have proof of immunization from coming to school.

The decision came as officials confirmed that five Disneyland employees had been diagnosed with measles. This recent outbreak has been described as the worst California has seen in 15 years. As it stands, there are a total of 54 diagnosed cases of measles across California, as well as in three other states and Mexico.

Health officials ordered students out of class after learning that a student who was infected had returned to school after winter break. They resolved to do the same in other schools if a similar situation occurred.

“If there is a case in the school and their child is not immunized, they will be removed from the school for 21 days,” said Dr. Eric Handler, the Orange County public health officer. “From an epidemiological standpoint, in order to prevent spread of the disease, this is a necessary measure.”

Unfortunately, Orange County has a higher than average number of parents who have decided not to vaccinate their children due to personal beliefs. Experts say that this choice becomes an issue if 8 percent or more of parents decline vaccination.

Two out of seven elementary schools in the Huntington Beach City School District exceed that number: S.A. Moffett Elementary and Huntington Seacliff Elementary, where 10 percent and 11 percent of students have been exempted from vaccination, respectively.

This has been a growing trend, with measles immunization rates declining every year since 2002 among California kindergartners. Vaccines are believed to cause autism, despite numerous scientific evidence to the contrary.

“The vaccine is safe,” Handler said. “We can prevent this disease if people get vaccinated.”

Some health officials believe that it’s time to start forcing parents who decide not to vaccinate their children to leave them at home. Measles is so infectious that one infected person who walks into a community of non-immunized people infects 12 to 18 of them. It is spread through the droplets of a sneeze or cough.

“Unless we do something about, you know, say, 10 percent of the population susceptible, we’re in for a long winter and spring,” said Dr. James Cherry, a UCLA pediatric infectious diseases research professor. “If the rate of unimmunized is as high as it seems to be, you’re going to get more cases, and then you’re going to get more spread from those.”

The measles cases spread at Disneyland about a week before Christmas. Experts say that the location was a perfect incubator for the disease because it attracts visitors from all over the world, including Europe and Asia where measles is still a major issue.

Once it was confirmed that five Disneyland employees had the measles, the park requested that all employees who could have been in contact with them provide immunization records or take a blood test to prove immunity. Any employees who haven’t confirmed their status have been asked to go on paid leave until their immunity status is confirmed.

“As soon as the O.C. Health Care Agency notified us on January 7, we immediately began to communicate to our Cast to raise awareness,” Dr. Pamela Hymel, chief medical officer for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said in a statement. “In an abundance of caution, we also offered vaccinations and immunity tests.”

Patients who have been infected with measles are infectious before the telltale rash appears—first on the head and then on the rest of the body. Patients can be contagious four days before and after the rash appears. Other symptoms include fever, runny nose, and eye redness.

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[Image: Shutterstock]

Bill Cosby has been facing much public scrutiny after numerous women have come forward to accuse him of rape and sexual assault. While many celebrities have spoken out against the veteran comedian, most of his former “Cosby Show” cast members have shown support, or remained on the hush-hush over the situation. Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who we all remember as Theo Huxtable on the show, is finally speaking on the allegations with Billboard.

While he does not express his own opinion on the accusations against Cosby, Malcolm-Jamal does offer his sympathy to him while being in the public eye during this situation. He told the site, “He’s one of my mentors, and he’s been very influential and played a big role in my life as a friend and mentor. Just as it’s painful to hear any woman talk about sexual assault, whether true or not, it’s just as painful to watch my friend and mentor go through this.”

Malcolm-Jamal also discusses the allegations in comparison to the man and comedian he used to work with on the show back in the 1980s. He continues, “I can’t really speak on any of the allegations because obviously, I was not there. The Bill Cosby I know has been great to me and great for a lot of people. What he’s done for comedy and television has been legendary and history-making. What he’s done for the black community and education has been invaluable. That’s the Bill Cosby I know. I can’t speak on the other stuff.”

While there isn’t an official decision as to whether the accusations will turn into a trial, Cosby’s lawyer has reportedly urged him to let it go to one.

Racial profiling in this country has become a prominent topic of discussion, with much of the country partaking in protests and discussions to try and fix it. While there seems to be a grey area as far as what different races believe the cause is, some have their own ideas. For actor Anthony Mackie, one of the main factors that contributes to Black people being racially profiled is sporting a dreadlock hairstyle.

During an interview with TheGrio.com, the Captain America star spoke on Selma and Hollywood not casting many Black actors for Oscar-worthy roles, but his comments on racial profiling are what stirred up the most controversy.

Anthony told the site, “Like my nephew wanted to grow dreadlocks. I’m like fine, I’ll sit you down and I’ll watch ‘The First 48′ with you and everybody you see on that show, that’s doing something wrong, they’re black dudes with dreadlocks. So, do you want to be seen as part of the problem or do you want to be an individual?” He continues by using an example of what might happen to a person donning dreadlocks, who is stopped by police, “Let’s just say you have locks and you walking down the street. The police pull you over and say you fit the description of somebody. You start yelling and arguing with the cops. Next thing you know you pressed up against the wall going to jail for something you’re not even involved in just because you look like somebody and you don’t know how to handle yourself.”

Meanwhile, Kanye West spoke about being wrongfully arrested for a felony after being racially profiled back in 2000, when rocked braids and cornrows. TMZ got hold of the deposition that currently involves the Yeezus rapper, as he’s being sued by a paparazzi photographer, where he admitted to be being convicted of a felony. According to the deposition, Kanye was accused of stealing office printers from OfficeMax 15 years ago. He explains the conviction, “I was racially profiled for having a white T-shirt and braids.”

Yeezy also says that it was a case of “a mistaken identity for stealing some printers from OfficeMax after I was a platinum producer.” When an opposing lawyer shared his thoughts on that not being the charge, Kanye responded, “Yeah, I believe so. I think that’s what — I think that’s what — where America had me at that time for having braids.”

Do you agree with Anthony Mackie’s assessment of dreadlocks and racial profiling? Do you think Black men should change their hairstyles in order to avoid being racially profiled? Let us know in the comments.

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U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team goalie Hope Solo has had a rough 12 months, and now she has officially been suspended for 30 days. While she faced two charges of domestic violence from June, which were recently dismissed by a judge, the suspension by the U.S. Soccer league stems from her husband’s recent DUI arrest.

Hope and former Seattle Seakhawks player Jerramy Stevens were pulled over on Monday in Manhattan Beach. Although she was not arrested or detained, the league decided to suspend the 33-year-old goalie for being in the car.

The suspension was announced yesterday. Solo was kept from practice on Tuesday while the case was being investigated by the soccer league.

“During our current National Team camp, Hope made a poor decision that has resulted in a negative impact on U.S. Soccer and her teammates,” U.S. women’s national team head coach Jill Ellis said in a statement. “We feel at this time it is best for her to step away from the team.”

This means that Hope will have to sit out of the February friendlies against France and England, and part of the training camp happening now in Carson, California.

Source: Sports Illustrated

A two year old Florida toddler accidentally shot and killed himself when he was left alone in a car after finding his father’s loaded handgun.

Kevin Ahles left his son Kaleb Ahles alone in his car while the family moved out of their East Lake neighborhood of Tarpon Springs. Kaleb found the .380 caliber handgun in the secured glove box and pulled the trigger. The baby was hit with one single shot to the chest.

Kaleb’s mom, Christina Nigro, 23, began CPR resuscitation along with the help of other family – but to no avail. Kaleb was pronounced dead around 5:00pm at a nearby hospital.

Officials do not believe their was foul play in the boy’s death, as the shell casing was not fully expelled from the gun, implying the shooter had a weak wrist.

Kevin Ahles, 23, is unlikely to face charges, according to officer.

In a tell-all memoir of her extraordinary 12-year career as the assistant of boxer champion Floyd Mayweather, Tasha Robinson-White is exposing him and his extravagant lifestyle. And the memoir pulls no punches.

Robinson-White worked in the 37 year old’s inner circle as his “right hand,” and is now revealing Pretty Boy Floyd’s deepest secrets -from his rise to fame, rolodex of women, strippers by the dozen and domestic violence charges. In a brow-raising account of Mayweather’s life, White reveals how the millionaire would throw $100,000 in cash into a swimming pool to get women to jump in to grab the bills.

The Michigan born boxer had an entourage of strippers he would fly out regularly, with some on-call. The memoir also details Mayweather’s hate for credit cards and an insatiable need for cash- making daily trips to the bank just to fill a duffle bag with $100K, driving around with it on the passenger seat. According to the book, he made friends ride in the backseat so the money bag could ride up front.

Mayweather’s daily routine when not training was also revealed- sleeping from 6am to 3pm before spending hours dressing himself. He allegedly spent more then $35K on clothes and shoes in a single shopping trip. He’d throw away new shoes that got the tiniest scuff mark on them. And wearing white T-shirts more than once was a no-no; after one wear they were thrown away.

She also exposed a vulnerable side to Mayweather, born Floyd Joy Sinclair Mayweather, who went into “a dark place” after a domestic dispute with the mother of his children.

The tell-all entitled, Right Hand to the Champ, is available on Amazon. Are you interested?

A Black man visiting a Florida Walmart for coffee creamer was blindsided when he was attacked by a white vigilante who noticed he was wearing a gun – but didn’t consider that he might have a concealed weapons permit to carry it.

Michael Foster, 43, watched Clarence Daniels in the superstore’s parking lot place a gun, which he holds a legal permit to have, underneath his coat. As Daniels entered the store, holding a grocery list, he was immediately tackled to the ground by Foster, placing him in a chokehold.

“He’s got a gun!” deputies said Foster shouted.

“I have a permit!” Daniels screamed back multiple times in his defense.

The video shows two other white men rush to help Foster hold Daniels down until law enforcement arrived on scene just before noon. Foster was arrested and charged with battery.

“Unfortunately he tackled a guy that was a law-abiding citizen,” said sheriff’s deputy spokesperson Larry McKinnon. “We understand it’s alarming for people to see other people with guns, but Florida has a large population of concealed weapons permit holders.”

Check out the video:

Although Foster may have been well-intentioned, authorities advise not taking matters into your own hands, but instead call 9-1-1.

Brad Knudson of Minnesota took to YouTube in a tear-jerking video, calling out a family of bullies who harassed his adopted African American daughter.

It all began on New Year’s Eve when his 11-year-old daughter Dierdra Knudson was sending Snapchats to friends. A pair of twins joined in with racist and derogatory messages, calling her a “sl*t” and “n*gger.” After several failed attempts to speak with the twin teen’s parents, Knudson went to the police who coordinated a phone meeting. Yet the problem was far from over.  So Brad took it to YouTube.

In his six minute YouTube video, Knudson played a voicemail from the bullies’ father, Deron Puro, during which he allegedly calls Knudson a “n–ger lover” and “f-g.” After the video went viral, Puro lost his job as an independent contractor. Whether he was let go in direct connection with the video is unconfirmed.

Knudson ends the testimonial saying, “I just had to get this off my chest, I just don’t know what to do, other than say I love my daughter and I don’t want her committing suicide because of frickin’ morons like this…”

Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools is still investigating the incident to determine whether the students have been continuous in their harassment of Dierdra or if the incident was an isolated one.

Check out the emotional video:

During the 1990s there was a major movement in hip-hop in which women were making moves and setting their own agenda. Decades later, actress and rapper Eve is still having her way whether performing on stage or on the movie or television screens. This weekend, Lifetime TV will present With this Ring, in which Eve and her co-stars Regina Hall and Jill Scott all make a pact as girlfriends to get married within a year. In real life, Eve appears to be basking in the happiness as wife of Gumball 3000 founder and fashion designer Maximillion Cooper. While on the “Today” show yesterday with Scott and Hall, Eve was all smiles while talking to Hoda Kotb about her husband.

What I love about Eve is how her style has continuously evolved from her years as a Ruff Ryder. Once dubbed “The Pitbull in a Skirt,” she has always accessorized her looks with both a pop of edge and sass. Nowadays, Mrs. Cooper still comes with the same finesse, however with a more sleek grownup appeal. If you happen to be a woman who’s looking to mix in a sense of chic to your edgy style, look to my fellow Philadelphia native and this week’s Star Style, Eve, for inspiration.

What better way to take center stage, wherever you are, than in a bronze jumpsuit? Needless to say, Eve’s blonde hairstyle takes the look to a “bronze bombshell” level.

Eve fabulously layers her short-sleeve fur jacket over a sleek leather jacket, which doesn’t add bulk. To top her look off even further, her pencil skirt is a perfectly balanced piece.

Consider giving your sweatshirt and baseball cap a bit of superstar appeal. Simply add a pair of shades and kicks to make the look fashion-forward. A little effort goes a long way.

Sometimes, you really should go with the flow. A maxi dress is just as essential and versatile as a midi, knee-length, A-line or mini.

Eve remarkably paired two bold pieces, without one overpowering the other. Both the fur stole and the red suit can make a striking statement on their own, but together they ended up looking really hot.

Every woman has her dress down day, but Eve proves that you can still add a plush piece into the equation as she did with her velvet loafers.

Be all that shimmers in gold for your next special night out. But, for day try adding just a touch of metallic to give your mood a bit of a pop.

Make a statement of casual coolness with a glam-inspired varsity jacket, which can instantly take your jeans up a notch.

Replacing your staple black blazer with one that’s white will update your look in a snap.

Although the more dressed-up versions of jumpsuits may have your attention, why not consider finding one that is more on the casual side? Doing so, will give you a chic alternative to sweats or distressed jeans.

There’s no question all-black attire is the city girl’s uniform for a night out. Try pairing a little black dress with different textures of black to add another dimension.

Over-the-knee boots are the only way to rock a mini-dress, sans the tights, during the winter months.

Ever since I was a freshman in high school, I’ve held the belief that men enjoy dating more than women. My young ass male friends couldn’t wait to meet a new girl, go on dates, and round the bases as fast as they could, all while hoping they met a girl cool enough to “wife up.” On the other hand, my young homegirls approached the dating scene with great trepidation, having already felt the sting of “heartbreak.”

Now, as an adult, I realize this theory still rings very true. But, I wanted to conduct a small (unscientific) survey just to make sure I wasn’t jumping to sexist conclusions. This past weekend, I held an event called R&B: Relationships & Bullsh*t, in which I specifically asked the hundreds of people in attendance whether they enjoyed dating as a single person. When I asked the women to put their hands up if they hated dating, hands flew up so fast and aggressively I thought they were trying to start the wave. When I posed the same question to the men, there were NO HANDS UP AT ALL (much more women were there, but still). Not one man said he didn’t enjoy being single and dating, and I believe I know the reason both sexes see things so differently: Single men and women may both want relationships, but men tend to use variety to find what they want, while many women use investigation.

A man’s approach to dating variety is predicated on the idea that he will date as many women as he wants, for as long as he wants, until he feels he has found the right woman to enter into an exclusive relationship with. A woman’s approach to dating investigation is based on the concept that meeting one man, getting to know him inside and out, and dating him until he’s been completely vetted, is the best way to assess whether he’s “boyfriend material.” While both approaches have their pros and cons, the reality is that investigation-based dating lacks the requisite selfishness that most single folks should have while simultaneously posing many interpersonal challenges. Basically, if you date more people, you can assess each individual without becoming overly attached, like people who only date one person at a time and wind up developing a weird devotion to them — even though they aren’t even officially a couple.

One of the biggest reasons single people hate being in relationships is because of the stress of encountering someone else’s mental and emotional state. It can be downright exhausting to deal with someone who’s clingy, annoying, overly-entitled, or disrespectful. But, the extent to which that’s a problem is dependent on how much access to your heart, mind, and life you have allowed that one person. Someone who hasn’t been granted an all-access pass to your soul cannot seriously alter your mood, and that’s one of the reasons men date more than one woman at a time. If we aren’t in a relationship, why the hell should we feel any semblance of fidelity or act in a boyfriend-like manner to a woman we’re just seeing? If you don’t like what we do — leave. If you want to argue about some bullshit we’re not interested in discussing — leave. We don’t owe you anything, because we are not a couple. And we’re not going to waste our time entertaining your petty grievances, because we have other people to date who won’t do that.

[Image: Shutterstock]

Those last couple of sentences may rub some women the wrong way, but they shouldn’t, because many single women should feel and act in the exact same way. Why are you seeing a man and entertaining his bullshit (i.e. him not calling for days on end, catching him in lies, etc.) just because you like him? He’s not your boyfriend, so why the hell are you allowing him to own so much real estate in your heart? The problem with investigation-based dating is that many men are good at hiding the bullshit that’s wrong with them, so you may be way too emotionally invested by the time he starts showing his ass. By that time it’s already too late.

However, the indignant way my single female friends react when I tell them to consider seeing more than one man at a time, you would swear I was telling them to have a gang-bang. They don’t understand that dating does not mean you musta have sex with all these different men. However, more than anything else, they fail to see this method, commonly used by men, is a great way to vet people without getting attached to the WRONG person.

You know why I loved dating back in the day? Because I knew that it was fun and interesting to meet new and unique people in a stress-free environment, and the second I became stressed, I bounced. I owe nothing to a woman I’m not in a relationship with, outside of my personal honesty and the general courtesy with which I try to treat all people. And truth be told, any woman I dated only owed me the same. She didn’t owe me her loyalty or her love because I had not proved to her that I was worthy of that. I truly wish more women understood their immense love, their support, and their reliability are all traits that should be given to a man who has actively worked to make her a priority in his life.

Ladies, the dating scene is not as terrible as you think it is, but it will remain being hard if you keep approaching it from the same perspective. You’re allowed to be selfish. You’re allowed to have high-ass expectations. You’re allowed to date multiple men at once. You’re allowed to take time to yourself to not date at all and focus on more important things. Dating is fun, so keep it that way, and save the depths of your heart and your soul for the man who proves that he wants you more than anything else.

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.