Jesse and Kelly Cottle didn’t realize a photo of wife Kelly giving her double-amputee Marine husband a piggyback ride would go viral, but it has.

The picture was spur of the moment. In between shots of the entire family, photographer Sarah Ledford suggested snapping a few photos of the couple. Ledford posted the picture to her Facebook page, where it received over 7,000 likes and 500 shares.

Jesse, 28, lost both of his legs in Afghanistan in 2009 after stepping on an IED.

If not for losing his leg, Jesse told ABC news, he would not have met Kelly, 24.

The couple met at a swim meet during one of Jesse’s first outings with his prosthetic legs.

“The photo really says it all,” Jesse added. “I actually look at it very much as a symbol for our whole relationship in general. She’s physically carrying me, but there’s times where she’s carrying me emotionally. It’s a perfect representation of who Kelly is.”

[Sarah Ledford/ShutterHappy Photography]

We’ve all seen at least one movie in which a sullen teen has to work a crappy fast food job for the summer, and it’s portrayed as a miserable experience that they can’t wait to escape.  Some have thought back to similar experiences in high school and chuckled.  Others, however, were reminded of the job that they will return to the next day.  Only they’re not teenagers, seeing as the median age of employees in the fast food industry is over 28.  What’s more, more than 25 percent of these people have at least one child to feed via this laughable teenage job. Not so funny anymore, huh?

Employees in the fast food industry have decided that they deserve better.  A nationwide fast food worker walkout is slated for Thursday, August 29.  They are demanding a $15-per-hour living wage.

The strike is an expansion of a campaign that started in New York this past November when 200 fast food workers walked out on their jobs. It has since expanded to seven other cities—Chicago, Detroit, Flint, Kansas City, St. Louis, Milwaukee, and Seattle—over the course of the spring and summer. “The fast food restaurant industry is terrified that these [strikes] will spread to other cities,” Wall Street Journal editorial board member Steve Moore said in an interview last week on WSJ Live. It would seem that the industry has a reason to be scared. L.A. and Memphis have already been added to the list of cities for tomorrow’s walkout. Workers are spreading the word to other cities through LowPayIsNotOK.org, and tomorrow’s event is expected to be the largest strike ever to hit the fast food industry.

The timing is significant. August 28 marks the 50^th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington. African Americans disproportionately work in fast food jobs in this country. The movement felt that the strike would mirror the $2 wage demands of the organizers in 1963. Adjusted for inflation, that demand would be $15.26 today.

Fast food is a $200 billion per year industry, yet most employed within the industry earn minimum wage or just above it. According to the New York Times, the nationwide median wage for fast food workers is $9.05. The industry leaders argue that these entry level jobs are a stepping stone to better opportunities, but according to a report from the National Employment Law Project, only 2.2 percent of all jobs in the entire industry are managerial.

“We are united in our belief that every job should pay workers enough to meet basic needs such as food and housing,” said Nancy Salgado, a single mother of two who has worked at McDonald’s in Chicago for 10 years and makes Illinois’ minimum wage of $8.25 an hour. “Our families, communities, and economy all depend on workers earning a living wage.”

If you work in the fast food industry, I urge you to check the strike website and follow the Low Pay Is Not OK strike kit that gives you step-by-step instructions on how to participate in the walkout tomorrow. Anyone else sympathetic to the cause should perhaps encourage friends and family to boycott fast food meals tomorrow. It’s time Ronald McDonald shared the wealth with the people that keep his chains moving.

[Image: LowPayIsNotOK.org]

I’m beginning to think that Black women are being “Punk’d” this month. I mean, sure, being a woman of color is no walk in the park during any other time, but this month seems particularly and glaringly oppositional for us. First it was the shrugging off of our feminism plight with the #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen hoopla. After the VMAs the internet was on fire with condemnations of Miley Cyrus for her use of faceless black women back-up dancers, one of whom she had walk on solely to smack her posterior. Now, Fast Company decided to come up with a list of  ”25 Of The Smartest Women on Twitter,” not a single one of whom was a woman of color. Seriously guys?!?

Author Ann Charles shared her selection process in the intro to the list:

“We did not choose women based on number of followers or those listed as the ‘most powerful’ by other business publications. We made our selections without regard to big brand affiliation or title. Instead, we looked for women who were thought leaders and pioneers, and who continually advance groundbreaking ideas and provide surprising insights that can change perspectives.”

Apparently, they also made their selections without regard to diversity of any kind. I sat here for 10 minutes trying to think of plausible excuses as to why this might have happened and I’ve come up empty-handed. There are none. There are millions of women on Twitter, many of them quite intelligent. You could not think of a single solitary one of them who happened to be a woman of color? That’s more than an oversight.

Black women on Twitter came to their own defense yesterday with #SmartBlackWomenOnTwitter (or #SmartBlackWomenOfTwitter).  Many tweeted the author directly with their thoughts and suggestions, and although she hasn’t responded, she started following some new people that should help add to her Twitter color palette. Fast Company did, however, respond on Twitter and later added more women to the list.

Le sigh. Here’s to hoping that September steps its game up.

Seventeen year old Victoria Duval made headlines Wednesday morning for upsetting the former champion, Samantha Stosur, at the U.S. Open. But the teenager’s troubled past, pleasant personality and sky-high ambitions are just as newsworthy.

The Miami-born Haitian-American has endured her fair share of potential setbacks in her short career. While living in Port Au Prince as a child, Duval and her family members were robbed and held at gunpoint for hours.

“It was scary,” said Nadine, Victoria’s mother, of arriving at the home to find the S.W.A.T. team.

Shortly after the incident, Victoria and her family moved to the United States, forcing her mother to give up her medical practice. Her father, Jean-Maurice, had a practice of his own, and chose to stay behind.

In 2010, when the earthquake devastated Haiti, he was buried under his home. He was able to free himself from the rubble, but sustained two broken legs, a shattered arm, punctured lungs and seven broken ribs. A family that knew Victoria from the Racquet Club of The South in Atlanta agreed to pay for Jean-Maurice to be airlifted to a hospital in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. to receive treatment. If not for their contribution, he may have died.

Victoria, who entered the tournament ranked 298^th, was able to triumph over her No. 11 seeded opponent, much like she has triumphed over her circumstances. What’s best, she remains jovial and optimistic.

“I learn pretty quickly, and I just want to help people. I think that’s the main thing.” Her tennis career has certainly allowed her to do that.

Olive Garden is hoping that popular streetwear brand A Bathing Ape (BAPE) will be the alfredo sauce to their fettuccine. The line, once synonymous with urban fashion and culture, is reportedly in the process of redesigning the uniforms for the Italian-American chain. It’s always important to diversify your portfolio, but this camo-covered workwear looks like it would be more fitting for Rainforest Café (or Pharrell’s closet).

What do you think? Do the new uniforms make you want to order another plate of pasta, or ask for the check?

R&B crooner Johnny Gill is suing the Four Seasons after they failed to stop or prevent an alleged racist attack on him at their Beverly Hills location. The $1 million lawsuit is now headed to Superior Court.

The incident occurred on the night of August 23, 2011.  Gill and a date were sitting on the patio area of the hotel when a drunken guest began to hurl racial expletives at him. His complaint states:

“Plaintiff is African American and this individual who uttered these racially charged negatives remarks was Caucasian.

“Plaintiff objected to these unsolicited remarks and when he did so, this individual pushed plaintiff with such force and intensity that plaintiff was thrust up against a heating lamp causing great bodily injury with resulting pain and suffering, major medical expenses and loss of earnings as plaintiff was unable to perform as an entertainer, plaintiff’s extremely successful and lucrative chosen profession for over 20 years.

“ At no time did defendant’s security employees, staff or representative offer any assistance to plaintiff nor did any such intervene to protect plaintiff, prevent the individual from becoming inebriated and thus behaving in an unruly manner the result of which was the assault that was committed on plaintiff and the resulting injuries to plaintiff.”

Gill is suing for negligence, failure to intervene, failure to exercise reasonable care, pain and suffering and medical expenses.  If everything that he alleged is proven true, do you think he’ll win the case or will the Four Seasons settle out of court?

By Roland S. Martin

Hello, post–Civil Rights Movement babies! Has America gotten your attention now?

The collective outrage that spread all over the nation in response to the “not guilty” verdict of George Zimmerman in the murder of Trayvon Martin in July compounded what has been a tumultuous year for African-Americans. A month earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a key component of the Voting Rights Act, which has played an important role in African-Americans being able to fully participate in the electoral process, and beat back attempts to limit the influence of black voters in states governed by the VRA.

Those troubles are financial as well. There’s no denying that the debilitating recession and subsequent sluggish economic recovery have also taken their toll on black America. In June, our already highest unemployment rate in the country officially rose to 13.7 percent. Plus, we are still reeling from the foreclosure crisis of 2008. Appearing on Washington Watch, my TV One Sunday political forum, now Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren shared that an astounding 53 percent of black wealth was wiped out by foreclosures. Even more sobering, she said it would take as long as two generations to get just that money back.

Most Americans have their wealth tied up in their homes, but that is especially true for African-Americans. How has the wealth gap hurt black folks? A study by Brandeis University’s Institute on Assets and Social Policy concluded that between 1984 and 2007, the wealth gap between whites and blacks has quadrupled, with white families possessing $100,000 in median financial assets compared to just $5,000 for African-Americans. No, that is not a typo. There is a $95,000 gap between whites and blacks in financial assets.

I can go on and on citing similar gaps in education, health and other categories, and you might very well conclude that the state of black America in 2013 might indeed be worse than it was for black folks when the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was held on August 28, 1963. While I certainly understand that sentiment, it’s not easy for me to accept that conclusion or act as if all hope has been lost.

African-Americans have made considerable advancements in many sectors of American life. In the corporate arena, Ursula Burns, Ken Chenault and Don Thompson, who are all CEOs, respectively of Xerox, American Express and McDonald’s, are bright stars. In pro football, it was once impossible to see blacks front and center. Today, it’s not at all uncommon for black quarterbacks to lead their teams to victory, and, oftentimes, with black coaches on the sidelines. If we stroll through the political corridors of city halls, county commissioners’ courts, state legislatures and Congress, black elected officials are numerous. And, of course, no one can underestimate the progress we have shown as a nation in twice electing our first African-American president, Barack Hussein Obama.

As a community, we showed tremendous resolve in reelecting Obama in 2012, in the face of GOP legislatures’ attempts to pass oppressive voter suppression laws, by organizing and mobilizing like we hadn’t done in decades. Not only did we defeat them, but even on election night, as Ohio and Florida were called for President Obama, chants of “hold the line!” went up, with no one moving amidst rain and cold in many areas.

Yet, even with this strong showing, I contend the fundamental problem over the past 50 years has been our unwillingness to do what brought about those gains in the first place: fight, fight, fight. Right before his death, Frederick Douglass said the mission of black folks should be to “agitate! agitate! agitate!” Why, you ask? Because “power concedes nothing without a demand.”

A. Philip Randolph, who organized the legendary black labor union Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and co-organized the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, may be frequently overlooked in the annals of black history, but his profound comments on what it takes for black advancement still ring true today.

“At the banquet table of nature there are no reserved seats. You get what you can take, and you keep what you can hold. If you can’t take anything, you won’t get anything; and if you can’t hold anything, you won’t keep anything. And you can’t take anything without organization.”

The most fundamental key to black advancement has been our ability to organize effectively to agitate for social change. But, unfortunately, we have grown much too complacent, with subsequent generations deciding that such approaches are too “old school.” Instead, they have advocated a more “inside game” approach, a view that has been detrimental to black progress, for we have always achieved results by having black folks on the inside AND outside. The inside folks are always there to warn those in power that unless our demands are met, those on the outside will apply maximum pressure.

Those lessons have not been lost on Hispanic/ Latino and LGBT activists. It’s been amazing to see them successfully use the playbook that black folks perfected to get what they want and need for their communities. They haven’t been placated with empty promises either. Instead, they’ve pushed, prodded, demanded, organized and mobilized. In other words, they’ve agitated.

We can spend precious time and space lamenting black America’s stalled progress, or we can use what we see happening today as an opportunity to rekindle the fire in the belly that has always driven us. As we speak, the tremendous anger, bitterness, rage and fury over Zimmerman being found “not guilty” of the murder of Trayvon Martin lingers. But instead of just being mad and upset, this generation has begun channeling that outrage into a game plan fully focused on mobilizing and organizing for change.

Seeing the young folks in Florida who call themselves the Dream Defenders occupy the state capitol, demanding action against the Stand Your Ground law in July is very encouraging. In many ways, they are the 21st-century version of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a group that led some of the most successful campaigns during the 1960s. And they are not alone: There are numerous other grassroots organizations also hell bent on demanding changes to the criminal justice system, education, black-on-black crime and other vital areas of interest to black America.

In order for us to continue our forward progress, it will take a whole lot more of that. It will take a renewed spirit to fight those who think enough has been done for black folks in America. It will take a new generation to stand as Mississippi freedom fighter Fannie Lou Hamer did and say, “I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.” It’s going to take young black folks who support the music of today’s hip-hop artists to demand they get off the sidelines of commercialism and join the battle for freedom and equality. Like Paul Robeson, Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Dick Gregory and so many others before them, all of them need to become modern-day entertainment warriors.

Black entrepreneurs will have to stop wanting to only benefit from the movement and also fund the movement. Corporate America, labor unions, and, yes, white liberal/progressive benefactors, can’t be depended upon to make this happen. We need today’s black business leaders to do as A.G. Gaston, John H. Johnson and so many others did and provide the much needed resources to enable change.

Last but not least, we all need to understand that the fight for equality is not a short-term proposition. We must see it through in the short-, mid- and long-term stages. That means having the intestinal fortitude to see that progress is made in incremental steps.

Again, I’m not interested in lamenting what gains have been lost or crying about how bad things have gotten. It’s time for us to realize that our battles today are not just about us. They’re about ensuring the proper future for our children and future generations. And if fighting for your kid’s kids isn’t enough to motivate you, then nothing will.

Roland S. Martin is host and managing editor of TV One Cable Network’s new morning show, News One Now. He’s also a senior analyst for The Tom Joyner Morning Show and a syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate. He spent six years as a contributor for CNN.

Courtesy of The Frisky

Haters aren’t just gonna hate, they have to hate according to new research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The study looked at people’s “dispositional attitudes,” which are not simply a function of the thing someone’s evaluating, but rather an indication of the person evaluating them. Put in simpler terms, it’s the idea that the person who hates math may hate math, but tends to have a negative outlook on everything from algebra to your Instagram feed. You know that person. Or maybe you are that person. No judgement … I might be, too.

Keep reading …

[Image: Shutterstock]

First Lady Michelle Obama got highlights, and we love them! She debuted the coppery-blonde and reddish-toned highlights at a film screening in Washington, D.C. earlier this week. Gone are the bangs that made headlines earlier this year, which the FLOTUS called “irritating” and a “mid-life crisis.” Instead, Obama rocked a mid-length side-swept bang (which is a good way to style your bangs as you grow them out) which complemented the all-over highlights and curled bob, which is quickly becoming the ‘do of the season.

What do you think of Michelle Obama’s highlights?

Courtesy of EURWeb

For those who believe that a Hollywood actress would do practically anything in an endorsement deal, Octavia Spencer has filed a lawsuit that suggests otherwise, notes The Hollywood Reporter in the below exclusive.

Spencer, who won an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2011′s Help, says that when she agreed to endorse Sensa Products, she made it clear that she would only promote a “healthier lifestyle” and not significant weight loss. She says she passed up a $3 million offer from another weight loss company to take Sensa’s $1.25 million one (with an additional $100,000 going to charity) because the company agreed to various stipulations, including that the ad campaign wouldn’t focus on significant weight transformation, wouldn’t use before and after photographs and wouldn’t be placed in tabloid magazines or on gossip websites.

But according to a breach-of-contract and fraud lawsuit filed on Wednesday in L.A. Superior Court, the ad campaign didn’t go so well, and at some point, after the actress had lived up to her side of the agreement by losing the contractually required amount of weight, Sensa began “scheming” to extradite itself from paying the actress.

Among Sensa’s alleged actions was sending the actress a termination notice dated Aug. 6 that claimed Spencer was in breach of her agreement by insisting upon adding the hashtag “#spon” (meaning “sponsor”) at the end of her tweets for the diet product company. “Sensa manufactures and markets a diet product designed to trick one’s brain,” says Spencer’s lawsuit. “Therefore, it’s not surprising that it would manufacture allegations against its most prominent spokesperson, Octavia Spencer.”

Keep reading …

Courtesy of BlackEnterprise.com

In court da judge just gave dis bull 11 years for a gun….Smh….crazy!! – @MeekMill

Put it on da [news] how my Rolls Royce in da hood taking kids on they prom 4 free 2 motivate them to go further in life! — @MeekMill

“See, when I do joints like these, I do it for the youngin’ in the ghetto that you ain’t never going to hear his story cause he ain’t gonna make it to tell you … so, you know, it’s crazy: I went to court the other day, the D.A. say she hate me. How you gonna hate me when me and Lou just took 20 racks and put clothes on them kids backs? It’s 30 degrees outside.” — Meek Mill, The Ride

“Like, you can’t listen to Meek Mill and not go, ‘Wow.’ It’s crazy.’” — Nas

Have you heard Meek Mill’s best song? I heard it a couple dozen times until I heard it before a Wale show. It’s his Intro to the album Dreams and Nightmares, an elegant, piano-laden endgame of soundtrack that sounds more like an album’s ending than it does a beginning; more of an ode to a life lived than a promise of better days. The crowd, gathered at Times Square’s Best Buy Theater that night, was electric. Standing together they began rapping in unison:

I used to pray for times like this, to rhyme like this
So I had to grind like that to shine like this
In a matter of time I spent on some locked up s—
In the back of the paddy wagon, cuffs locked on wrists
See my dreams unfold, nightmares come true
It was time to marry the game and I said, “Yeah, I do”
If you want it you gotta see it with a clear-eyed view

The song went on and on like that, until its bass-heavy climax, where Meek Mill (born Robert Williams) proceeds to rap 32-or-so more relentless, angst-ridden bars, each more furious than the next.

Taking in the scene at the Meek Mill listening party Wale concert I thought back to the summer of 2012 and the way the addictive, faux-reverence of the artist’s Key Wane-produced Amen had become a bluesy anthem in the central Brooklyn neighborhood where I lived. People are listening to this man, I thought. And in a way that they aren’t listening to anyone else.

It’s why what he’s doing with his Dreamchasers Summit on August 30 at Temple University’s Liacouras Center is so intriguing. The event counts Meek Mill, Rick Ross, the NBA’s Dion Waiters, Thaddeus Young, and Lou Williams as panelists.

Keep reading …

Today, August 29, 2013, marks what would have been Michael Jackson‘s 55th birthday. Even though the King of Pop suffered an untimely death as a result of an overdose of Propofol, his memory still lives on.

Keep clicking to check out some of our favorite photos of the legend, as we say “Happy Birthday Michael Jackson!”

Perhaps irony seemed more evident than the lecturing reflection in President Obama’s highly anticipated 50^th Anniversary of the March on Washington speech this past Wednesday.  Fifty years ago, as the President noted, was the urgency of now; fifty years later was the urgency of organizers simply eager to fill the National Mall for mass wax nostalgic.  It’s hard to tell if the message of today connects with the message of yesteryear, hard to say if the collection of grievances and issues splattered about in oratory and protest signs this past week really struck any sort of nerve.

Fifty years ago, one man’s speech seemed to encapsulate the mission and then almost immediately set in motion a number of tangible political and policy accomplishments that followed shortly thereafter.  Fifty years later, admittedly, fell a little flat and thoughts on it much more mixed.  There aren’t any marching orders.  Nothing that really snapped the audience to attention. There is no specific mission, no special social contract struck with the audience to push forward with haste.

And as much as the President and others this week attempted to capture at least a hint of the spirit from 1963, it all appeared somewhat subdued in comparison.  The orators before the Lincoln Memorial fifty years later were, literally, not as hungry as the folks back then.  Fifty years later found the commemoration overrun by VIP sections, some fairly expensive clothing and cause célèbre.  In some respects, that’s what we wanted: Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream attained.  In other respects, there are now more – statistically – left out than before.  The sprint of 1963 may have slowed down to a jogging pace in 2013.

Related: Agitate, Agitate, Agitate!

It is, of course, a special treat to have the nation’s first Black president deliver a keynote speech memorializing the tipping point of the Civil Rights Movement.   But, he’s as beset by partisan polarization and Washington dysfunction as King was by police batons and fire hoses.  Back then, King was vilified by segregationists, politicians and an FBI director as a destabilizing Communist; today, Obama is still viewed by a cool quarter of the population as something foreign and not of this place.  For years since his election, there was no end to the baseless debate on the legitimacy of his birth certificate with many white conservatives and some Republican elected officials still fanning the flames.  When tea party birthers discover that one of their very own, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), was indeed born in Canada, the silence is deafening.  And so the president giving Wednesday’s speech on racial reconciliation is still peppered with the insults of what we can now confirm is outright bigotry.  This was never really about the birth certificate.  If it was the White guy from Canada should be getting way more grief than the Black guy who can legitimately claim this country as home.  But, he’s not and the birthers’ cover is completely blown.

Obviously, the stakes much higher back then than they are now.  Yet, stakes are still high, the gap – as you’ve already heard – still quite wide.  Wednesday’s damp and drizzly weather on the Mall seemed suited for the moment.  Anyone expecting a road map from the president walked away sorely disappointed unless platitudes is your thing.  This speech was designed for the sake of giving a speech, quietly mired in resignation and doused in forgettable chocolate.  “[W]e would dishonor those heroes, as well, to suggest that the work of this nation is somehow complete. The arc of the moral universe may bend towards justice, but it doesn’t bend on its own,” said the president.

But, as we waited for him to start bending it, that arc stood still.  There were no big announcements, no new policy initiatives, no grand opening for an Executive Order.  Just a lot of what we already knew: President Obama is a pretty remarkable and smart brother who sometimes gives damn good speeches (although the sermonic cadence at certain points could feel, at times, forced).  It was the speech we had to watch and should have made our kids listen to.

There are two types of speeches: there are speeches that say things and there are speeches that do things.  The president’s former campaign hand David Plouffe tweeted on Wednesday on the “Historic moment 5 yrs ago made more so by falling on anniversary of the March.”  But, five years ago was probably more historic than five years later.  At least people left Denver’s Mile High Stadium clear on the objective and equally clear on how they would reach it.  Not so five years later.  We got the history lesson and, perhaps, curiously naïve reminders from some of the more successful beneficiaries.

We look to presidents to set tone, agenda and pathway.  Maybe we shouldn’t expect Obama to build a yellow brick road – but, that hasn’t stopped presidents before him, now has it? What’s wrong with expecting that? Some argue that there is a lack of big-think excitement afflicting the American political consciousness. Hoover dams, New Deals and trips to the moon are only specks in the rear view mirror.  Everything is rather nuanced and mild – or, at least the way the Obama White House communicates it … or the way Republicans and a crowded media complex won’t let it communicate.  Affordable Care Act, stimulus package, Common Core standards, etc. – these are muted manifestations of the Obama long game.  Maybe he’s excited about it.  But, are we?

A milestone 50^th anniversary celebration marking the day it all changed would have been an interesting opportunity to act rather than to talk in that tradition. While a lot of love was on display, no down payments on a next step followed and folks may have walked away feeling a bit empty handed.

CHARLES D. ELLISON is UPTOWN Magazine’s Chief Political Correspondent and Washington Correspondent for the Philadelphia Tribune.  He is a contributor for SiriusXM Channel 124 and a veteran political strategist.  He can be reached via Twitter @charlesdellison.

Courtesy of The Huffington Post

An 18-year-old man was convicted of murder in the shooting of a baby who was riding in a stroller alongside his mom in a town in coastal Georgia despite the defense’s attempt to cast guilt upon several others, including the child’s parents.

Jurors deliberated about two hours before finding De’Marquise Elkins guilty of 11 counts, including two counts of felony murder and one count of malice murder in the March 21 killing of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago in Brunswick. The man’s mother, Karimah Elkins, was on trial alongside him and was found guilty of tampering with evidence but acquitted of lying to police.

De’Marquise Elkins faces life in prison when he is sentenced at a later date. At the time of the shooting he was 17, too young to face the death penalty under Georgia law.

His lead defense attorney, public defender Kevin Gough, vowed to appeal the verdict. A judge denied his request for the teen to be out on bond during the appeal.

“Marky Elkins and his family are confident that he will receive another trial in which he will be able to present fully his defense,” Gough said. “Mr. Elkins will eventually be exonerated.”

Karimah Elkins’ attorney, Wrix McIlvaine, said he would talk to his client and that they would likely appeal.

Sherry West testified that she was walking home from the post office with her son the morning of the killing. A gunman demanding her purse, shot her in the leg and shot her baby in the face after she told him she had no money, she said.

Continue here…

Courtesy of The Associated Press

Dunkin’ Donuts has apologized for the “insensitivity” of an advertising campaign in Thailand featuring a woman in blackface makeup to promote a new chocolate flavored doughnut.

The Dunkin’ Donuts franchise in Thailand came under criticism Friday after Human Rights Watch called the advertisements “bizarre and racist.”

The company’s chief executive in Thailand initially defended the campaign, but the U.S. headquarters quickly followed up with an apology.

“We are working with our Thailand franchisee to immediately pull the ad. DD recognizes the insensitivity of this spot,” Dunkin’ Donuts said in a tweet posted on its official U.S. website after complaints erupted on Twitter, in a variety of blogs and in mainstream American media.

The local franchise launched the advertisement earlier this month to promote its new “Charcoal Donut.” In posters, TV commercials and on Facebook, the campaign shows a smiling woman with blackface makeup, bright pink lipstick and a jet black 1950s-style beehive hairdo holding up a bitten black doughnut. The slogan in Thai reads: “Break every rule of deliciousness.”

Critics say the image is reminiscent of 19th and early 20th century American stereotypes for black people that are now considered offensive symbols of a racist era.

Continue here…

Today marks the first day of the 2nd annual Made In America Festival in Philadelphia, PA and what better way to celebrate than by looking back at its inaugural year?

Hip-hop heavyweight JAY Z and famed director Ron Howard have teamed up to bring audiences a candid look into the celebrity-heavy event that brought out the likes of Janelle Monáe, Jill Scott, Run-D.M.C., Drake, Pearl Jam and others in its first run. Earlier this week, Showtime announced that it acquired the Made In America documentary, which will make its television debut on Friday, Oct. 11.

“As soon as we saw this film we knew it was a perfect fit for Showtime,” said David Nevins, the network’s entertainment president. “Ron Howard and Jay Z have crafted an inspirational portrayal of American resilience, drive and creativity, interwoven with an incredible showcase of musical talent.”

Made In America will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, Sept. 7.

Check out the official trailer below!

Alicia Keys made a bold statement as she took the stage on Good Morning America Friday, revealing a super short bowl cut that was met with mixed reactions from the general public. Whatever the case, the Grammy-winning songbird was definitely feeling the love from her supportive fans.

“Feelin [sic] fresh and feelin the love this morning!” she tweeted out just hours after her performance. Keys followed up with tweeting out a few more photos to show the versatility of the new ‘do. One thing is for sure: her man loves it!

“Look at my baby new hair cut yummy,” Swizz Beatz stated via Twitter.

Let us know your thoughts on Alicia’s new look and check out her hair evolution after the jump…

2001: Who could forget her signature style in “Fallin’”?

2003: Alicia slowly began to make the transition from braids to a straighter look.

2007: It was all about bangs for Mrs. Keys while promoting Smokin Aces.

2010: Keys kept it relatively simple during her pregnancy with son Egypt, shown here with Swizz Beatz at Keep a Child Alive’s annual Black Ball.

2011: Alicia went back to her natural state for an appearance on Good Morning America.

2012: Keys opted for a polished braided updo at the Billboard Music Awards.

2012: Keys reveals her sleek new look via social media.

2013: The songstress rocks her low-maintenance look while leaving an interview with Extra! in Los Angeles.

2013: A. Keys and Maxwell rock the stage at Good Morning America as they perform “Fire We Make.”

It’s been a battle, but Robin Roberts is back!

The Good Morning America anchor announced earlier this week that she’s healthy enough to return to her five-day schedule after Labor Day. The news comes just one year since her diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome.

“I’m really at peace now. I’m not as frightened. I feel 90 percent of myself again, and that’s a great feeling,” she told PEOPLE at the 13th Annual USTA Serves Opening Night Gala on Monday.

“The day after Labor Day I’ll be back to a five-day a week schedule. I’m looking forward to it. I want to get back to my full life.”

Roberts also told reporters that she recently took a trip to Maui with her friends where she was able to play tennis for the first time since her diagnosis.

“In the hospital I had a picture of the beach in Maui and that was my motivation, so to have all my friends who loved me through this past year there was all I needed,” she said.

We wish Roberts all the best moving forward!

Courtesy of The Associated Press

Delaying what had appeared to be an imminent strike, President Barack Obama abruptly announced Saturday he will seek congressional approval before launching any military action meant to punish Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons in an attack that killed hundreds.

With Navy ships in the Mediterranean Sea ready to strike, Obama said he had decided the United States should take military action, but also determined “our country will be better off” if Congress renders its own opinion.

At the same time, he challenged lawmakers to consider “what message will we send to a dictator” if he is allowed to killed hundreds of children with chemical weapons without suffering any retaliation.

Lawmakers will return to session on Sept. 9.

After nearly three months, Nelson Mandela was discharged from a hospital in Pretoria on Sunday and was taken by ambulance to his Johannesburg home where he will receive intensive care, the office of South Africa’s president said. He is still listed in critical condition.

“His home has been reconfigured to allow him to receive intensive care there,” said a statement from President Jacob Zuma. “The health care personnel providing care at his home are the very same who provided care to him in hospital. If there are health conditions that warrant another admission to hospital in future, this will be done.”

The statement noted that during his stay at the hospital Mandela “vacillated between serious to critical and at times stable” and that “despite the difficulties imposed by his various illnesses, he, as always, displays immense grace and fortitude.” The 95-year-old global leader had been hospitalized since June 8 for a recurring lung infection.

Referring to his clan name, the statement continued: “Madiba has been treated by a large medical team from the military, academia, private sector and other public health spheres. We thank all the health professionals at the hospital for their dedication.”

The government has released few details about Mandela’s condition due to patient confidentiality.