CAUTION: VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED: Some may find this video disturbing.
South Carolina officials have released stunning dash camera video that they say shows a state trooper shooting an unarmed driver for an alleged violation at a Columbia gas station.
The trooper, who has been fired, was arrested Wednesday and charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, officials said.
The victim survived.
Warning: Graphic Video
By now, I’m sure you’ve seen many of your friends and family do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. You’ve probably seen your favorite actor, musician or athlete do it too. In fact, there is a good chance that you have also completed the Challenge. Your Facebook time line is probably clogged with people pouring ice cold water on themselves. Are you bored of it yet? Well don’t be.
Despite the fact that you have seen it everywhere, many don’t know how it became about ALS and even more don’t know the correct way to complete the challenge.
This is Pete Frates. He was 27 when he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He was 27 when a doctor looked him in the eyes and told him he has a disease that was a death sentence and has no cure and no course of treatment.
You wouldn’t blame the guy for giving up. You wouldn’t blame him for feeling sorry for himself or being angry. That’s not what happened though. You see, Pete was a hard nosed baseball player. He was the captain of the Boston College team. Giving up wasn’t something he was accustomed to. So he charged at the problem and began speaking and raising money for the ALSA which is an association that aides research in the hopes of finding a cure for ALS.
It was Pete’s friends that had seen others doing this ice bucket challenge to benefit various charities and decided to do it in honor of Pete. Well, it took off and now Pete has achieved what he set out to do. Pete is the reason that since July 29th of this year, ALSA.org has raised $31.5 million. And just to point out how incredible that actually is, that’s 16 times more than what the foundation received in the same time period last year.
Still, we can all do better. There are still many who don’t quite grasp how the challenge works. If you are nominated to complete the challenge, you are expected to dump a bucket of ice water over your head AND donate an amount of your choice to The ALSA . You can choose to not dump the water over your head and donate no less than $100. Either way, the foundation should be receiving a donation.
The whole point of dumping the ice water is to add a little fun to donating for a good cause. It keeps the cause circulating and getting bigger because each person nominates 3 others to complete the challenge.
I have to admit, I was one of the people who did not believe this challenge was helping anyone because I just didn’t understand it, but now that I do, I am amazed by how such an amazing cause has spread like wildfire. And it’s all thanks to a wonderful man names Pete Frates and his awesome friends. Thanks Pete!
To learn more about Pete and his cause, watch this ESPN special on Pete Frates and the Ice Bucket Challenge!
State Senator Maria Chappelle Nadel is not very fond of Gov. Nixon. After calling him out on MSNBC yesterday stating that he is a “coward,” for not taking control senator of the situation in Ferguson, Chappelle wasn’t done. She used her twitter account to respond directly to a tweet sent from the governor’s account.
Jay Nixon’s twitter message was one he delivered earlier in his press conference when he removed the local police and their horrendous handling of the protesters in Ferguson. The tear gas throwing, rubber bullets firing cops were replaced by State Patrol officers, and Nixon’s message was in reference to the actions of the local police.
“Situation in Ferguson does not represent who we are,” Nixon said. “Must keep the peace, while safeguarding rights if citizens and the press. ”
But that did not go over well with the Senator, who has accused the governor of not caring about the people in that district. “He has not come to ground zero,” she has said in interviews, and she called the governor’s handling of the shooting of Michael Brown “Nixon’s Katrina.”
“You don’t know shit,” Maria tweeted, “bc you never communicate. FUCK you governor.”
The man behind the best-selling basketball sneakers of all time is in the Basketball Hall of Fame and is still a household name even though his career ended years ago. No, it’s not Michael Jordan. We’re talking about Chuck Taylor.
This story originally aired on Nov. 2, 2013
Millions of people around the world wear Chuck Taylor’s name on their ankles every day. His signature has appeared on the high-top, canvas All Star sneakers since 1932.
In Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass., there’s a steady stream of college students, tourists, hipsters … and Chuck Taylors. On a sunny October afternoon, Morgan Goldstein was sporting a multi-colored pair of high tops. The 23-year-old has owned several pairs of All Stars.
Aleem Ahmed, 29, was wearing black low-tops. Ahmed has no problem explaining why he likes the sneakers, but like most Chucks owners, he’s less certain about Taylor’s story.
“I only know him from the sneakers. Maybe he has a skateboarding background? I don’t know,” he said.
Abraham Aamidor wrote a biography of Taylor published in 2006 titled Chuck Taylor, All Star.
“It became like Betty Crocker in a sense. If you were a cook, you knew the name Betty Crocker. There was no such person as Betty Crocker. But there really was such a person as Chuck Taylor. Most Americans didn’t know that,” Aamdior said. “People who were buying his shoes by the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and beyond, they just thought of Chuck Taylor as a brand. His brand grew with the shoe even as his persona, the real persona, was lost.”
A Player In Basketball’s Early Days
Charles Taylor was born in 1901, just ten years after Dr. James Naismith is credited with inventing the game of basketball. Taylor grew up in Columbus, Indiana and played for the Columbus High Bull Dogs. He graduated in 1919 and eventually landed in Akron, Ohio where he played for the Firestone Non-Skids, a semi-pro team owned by the tire manufacturer. But in 1922, he accepted a job as a salesman at Converse, and basketball was a critical part of his position.
Joe Dean worked for Converse for nearly 30 years, ending his tenure as a vice president. When Dean was hired in 1959, Taylor was already a giant at the company and in the world of basketball.
“He loved the game [of basketball]. He loved being a part of it. He put on clinics all over the country, helping kids learn how to play a little bit better,” said Dean, who later served as the athletic director at Louisiana State University and is in the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
“He was a loveable guy and fun to be around and a nice guy, and he, at one point, knew every college basketball coach in the country. And if you wanted to hire a coach, you went through him. He’d recommend somebody.”
In the 1920s and ’30s, Taylor played on Converse’s own team and generated publicity in local newspapers with countless basketball clinics. The self-promotion paid off. The All Star sneaker had debuted in 1917 and Converse added Taylor’s name 15 years later, but Aamidor says customers had already made the switch.
“People would order ‘Chuck’s shoe’ or ‘Chuck Taylor’s shoe’ instead of the Converse All-Star. So his signature was added just under the five-point star. Brilliant marketing, brilliant branding.”
Taylor never asked for a royalty for having his name on the shoe. Air Jordans have earned Michael Jordan far more money than he ever made as a player, but Converse gave Taylor a full expense account and commission. By the time he retired in the mid-1960s, Taylor had been out on the road selling for more than 40 years. He married and divorced then married again later in life, but had no children. Dean says Taylor had no regrets.
“He went years without having a house or an apartment or anything. He lived out of a hotel 365 days a year. And that was happy for him. Christmas Day was just another day to him. Converse paid for Christmas. They were just glad he didn’t ask for a little extra change for his name,” Dean said, laughing.
(Photo courtesy of Abraham Aamidor)
h/t – onlyagame
A California Highway Patrol officer was caught on tape punching a woman on the side of a Los Angeles highway on Tuesday.
The video posted on YouTube shows the cop pursuing the woman on foot past an I-10 on-ramp. Those recording it can be heard laughing at first. (Warning: video contains NSFW language).
But the laughs quickly subside as the cop grabs the woman, who is either pulled down or falls to the ground, and then repeatedly punches her.
CHP says the officer asked the woman to stop, but she refused and continued to walk away from him.
“A physical altercation ensued as the pedestrian continued to resist arrest, at which point a plain clothes, off duty officer assisted in applying the handcuffs,” the CHP said in a statement given to KABC.
The woman refused to give her name and is identified only as “Jane Doe.” KABC says she was taken to a hospital for physical and mental evaluation.
Video
According to the Charlotte Observer, a body thought to be that of Bianca Tanner, the missing mother and teacher who disappeared on June 7, has been found in a wooded area in southwest Charlotte.
Police shared this information during a news conference early this morning. The body has been taken to the medical examiner’s office and police said that a positive identification will be made, as the body matches the description of the missing 31-year-old. Tanner’s boyfriend, whom she shared a home with after moving from Greensboro to Charlotte, was arrested this morning and charged with first-degree murder.
As we have shared with you before, Tanner was reported as last being seen on June 7. Her boyfriend, Angelo Smith, said that they had an argument and an intoxicated Tanner left their shared home with a bag. He reported her missing on June 8. However, Tanner’s 3-year-old son said that the night his mother disappeared, Smith physically abused her.
“Mommy got a spanking with a belt.”
“Angelo kicked mommy’s butt and made her cry.”
“Angelo is mean to mommy and hurt mommy in the face.”
Smith cooperated early in the search for Tanner, but family said that he eventually refused to talk to police without a lawyer. Feeling the heat, Smith actually left Charlotte without telling anyone, heading for his uncle’s home in Glenwood, Illinois, and leaving Tanner’s 3-year-old son behind by himself. Smith was arrested by U.S. Marshals and extradited back to Charlotte for the neglect and abuse of the 3-year-old (a charge of “contributing to the delinquency of a minor”), but he’s now facing a murder charge. When he was taken into custody again this morning, according to News-Record, Smith told reporters “I’m sorry” three times. He is being held without bail.
Relatives of Tanner’s have been informed of the discovery of the body, and the 3-year-old who provided the police with the information they needed to pinpoint the individual who could be responsible for Tanner’s disappearance is now staying with his actual father. The father does not reside in Charlotte.
– See more here
Bobby Womack, the legendary soul singer whose career spanned seven decades, died Friday at age 70. A representative for Womack’s label XL Recordings confirmed the singer has died to Rolling Stone, but said the cause of death was currently unknown.
Bobby Womack Reaches Way Back for “Deep River”
The son of two musicians, Womack began his career as a member of Curtis Womack and the Womack Brothers with his siblings Curtis, Harry, Cecil and Friendly Jr. After Sam Cooke signed the group to his SAR Records in 1960, they released a handful of gospel singles before changing their name to the Valentinos and earning success with a more secular, soul- and pop-influenced sound. In 1964, one month after the Valentinos released their hit “It’s All Over Now,” the Rolling Stones put out their version, which went to Number One on the U.K. singles charts.
Three months after the death of Cooke in 1964, Womack married Cooke’s widow, Barbara Campbell, and the Valentinos disbanded after the collapse of SAR Records. After leaving the group, Womack became a session musician, playing guitar on several albums, including Aretha Franklin’s landmark Lady Soul, before releasing his debut album, Fly Me to the Moon, in 1968. A string of successful R&B albums would follow, including Understanding and Across 110th Street, both released in 1972, 1973’s Facts of Life and 1974’s Lookin for a Love Again.
After the death of his brother, Harry, in 1974, Womack’s career stalled, but was revived in 1981 with the R&B hit “If You Think You’re Lonely Now.” Throughout most of the Eighties, the singer struggled with drug addiction, eventually checking himself into a rehabilitation center for treatment. A series of health problems would follow, including diabetes, pneumonia, colon cancerand the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, though it was unclear if any of these ailments contributed to his death. Womack was declared cancer-free in 2012.
In 2012, Womack began a career renaissance with the release of The Bravest Man in the Universe, his first album in more than 10 years. Produced by Damon Albarn and XL’s Richard Russell, the album made Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Albums of 2012 alongside numerous other critical accolades. “You know more at 65 than you did at 25. I understand the songs much better now,” Womack told Rolling Stone at the time. “It’s not about 14 Rolls Royces and two Bentleys. Even if this album never sells a nickel, I know I put my best foot forward.” Upon his death, Womack was in the process of recording his next album for XL, tentatively titled The Best Is Yet to Come and reportedly featuring contributions by Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart and Snoop Dogg.
Womack was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. “My very first thought was — I wish I could call Sam Cooke and share this moment with him,” Womack said. “This is just about as exciting to me as being able to see Barack Obama become the first black President of the United States of America! It proves that, if you’re blessed to be able to wait on what’s important to you, a lot of things will change in life.”
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bobby-womack-dead-at-70-20140627#ixzz35tYBuGe4
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SALEM — Authorities continued their search Thursday for a suspect captured on amateur video repeatedly beating a woman as the victim’s toddler son watched and bystanders did nothing to intervene and stop the attack.
The victim, Catherine Ferreira, was left with limited vision in her left eye and she was also threatened with being shot during the attack, according to the warrant issued for the suspect, Latia Harris, 25, of Salem.
The video, briefly posted on Facebook, shows Ferreira’s 2-year-old young son trying to protect his mother by kicking her assailant inthe attack which took place Tuesday night.
“… this video is physically sickening to watch,” said Salem City Chief of Police John Pelura III.
Pelura said Harris remained at large Thursday.
Harris is an employee at McDonald’s, where she encountered the victim. The subsequent attack occurred while she was on duty and after she followed the victim out of the store, according to police.
“Her whereabouts are unknown, but we are actively seeking her,” Pelura said. The chief said when police went to her last known address — a Salem City Housing Authority complex on Anderson Drive — it was “vacant.”
Harris is facing charges of aggravated assault and two counts of making terroristic threats.
Additional charges could also be filed against her, Pelura said.
In the warrant issued for her arrest, authorities charge Harris attempted to “cause significant bodily injury” to the victim “under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.”
Anyone with information on where Harris is is asked to call the Salem City Police Department at 856-935-0057.
h/t – nj
Just Because……
Due to the size of the chapel, a live stream will be held by Wake Forest University so that fans, and people that were touched and inspired by Angelou can tune and watch and pay their respects.
Angelou, a professor at Wake Forest University taught American Studies since 1982. Angelou also received an honorary degree from Wake Forest University in 1977. She died while at home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina last week on May 28. The poet was 86-years-old.
The service is scheduled to start at 10 am, EST. Reports are saying that close friend, and TV host, Oprah is expected to be in attendance, as well as other celebrity and honorable guest.
Other events honoring Dr. Maya Angelou have been scheduled by the family, according to the University. No details have been announced yet.
In December of 1996, I was a programmer and producer of the Slamdance Film Festival, the punk alternative to Sundance. It was the third year of the festival, and we were still a very scrappy bunch. At the time all films were submitted on VHS tapes. We got over a thousand submissions that year. Each of us would take home a plastic mail bin full of tapes every night to watch, and as you can imagine, a large majority of the films submitted were not of acceptable quality, making my job the cinematic equivalent of finding a needle in a haystack. The tapes only had the titles of the films and maybe the director’s name. There was no other information to go on. When you picked up a tape from the bin you had no idea what you were getting.
Late one night, faced with a mountain of tapes and a looming deadline, I pull a tape out of my bin. It was a documentary called Perfect Moment. I inserted the tape in the VCR and pressed play. The movie began with the unmistakable, inimitable voice of Maya Angelou piercing the silence of my tiny one-bedroom apartment in Loz Feliz. She was reading not one of her own works but rather an adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, The Masque Of The Red Death, which considering the film’s introductory subject matter — the unrelenting reality of the AIDS crisis — was eerily fitting. As I watched the first five minutes of the film, all I could think was whoever directed this was a great artist — not only did this film need to be in the festival, but I had to become friends with him.
But this documentary had a larger scope, as it turned out. People from all walks of life were asked the same question: “If you were about to die, what moment would you remember most?” The film featured luminaries such as Phillip Glass, Edward Albee and Larry King along with priests, gang members, veterans and the homeless. I realized that I had discovered something special, singular and haunting. When the film ended I knew I had made a great discovery. I was ecstatic.
The next day I got in touch with the director, Nicholas Hondrogen, and told him how moved I was by his film. And I was not alone: in January of 1997, the film screened at Slamdance and won the Audience Award. By the end of the festival, Nick and I had become close friends. And over the next decade, we grew as close as two heterosexual men could be. He was at once like an older brother and father figure to me. But in 2007, our friendship ended tragically, nearly as fast as it had begun, when Nicholas died of mesothelioma cancer. I miss him every day, and there is always a small part of me that is empty because he is not here.
Perfect Moment was overlooked by potential distributors, meaning that it was never screened in theaters or on TV. When Maya Angelou died, I immediately thought about her powerful performance in this documentary that deals with truly timeless subject matter. Which, of course, begs the question: What moment will you remember when you look back on her iconic life?
Here is the clip from the opening of Perfect Moment as a tribute to Maya Angelou’s life and her work.
h/t – Huffington
