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Archive for April 18th, 2012
Judge In Trayvon Martin Case Steps Down
Posted April 18, 2012 5:25 pm By Deirdre B Pride
The judge who was set to preside over the trial of George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin has stepped aside.
Jessica Reckseidler’s recusal from the trial comes after Mark O’Mara, Zimmerman’s attorney, suggested that her husband’s job as a partner to Mark NeJame, a CNN legal analyst covering the trial, represented a conflict of interest.
NeJame was initially contacted by Zimmerman’s family to represent him, but NeJame suggested O’Mara.
The new judge in the case will be Kenneth R. Lester, Jr., who has presided over several much-covered cases, including ordering the release of a schizophrenic woman from a state mental hospital after she was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting deaths of her parents and sentencing an ax murderer to death after he killed a 71-year-old man. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Lester is popular among attorneys and is known for acting quickly.
The judge who would have been next in line to handle the Zimmerman case after Jessica Reckseidler could not take on the case because he had previously worked with O’Mara, Zimmerman’s attorney.
Zimmerman is facing second-degree murder charges in the killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old whom he shot on February 26 in Sanford, Fla. after an altercation. Zimmerman was not initially arrested or charged in the shooting. After weeks of public outcry calling for a reinvestigation of the case, Zimmerman was arrested and charged on April 11.
The case has become a flashpoint in the national conversations around gun laws and racial profiling.
Zimmerman is set to appear at a hearing this week to request to be released on bail. Last week, O’Mara asked for the records in the case to be sealed, and several news organizations have sued for the release of records in the case.
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Filed in News | Tagged: Trayvon Martin
Sheree Reveals She is Leaving “Real Housewives of Atlanta” *****Update*****
Posted April 18, 2012 4:40 pm By Deirdre B Pride
Sheree Whitfield has come forward to reveal that she is indeed leaving The Real Housewives of Atlanta. However she did not exclaim why. It was first leaked that she was fired. This fueled rumors that NeNe had her fired, but NeNe says she had nothing to do with “it” via her twitter page, but she was never specific to what it was……but we all knew. Updated to say…..Somebody lied. Check out the update below.
“After four solid seasons of helping Bravo build the show into its most successful Housewives franchise, I have decided to leave. The direction the show is going in is no longer a fit for my lifestyle. I’m tired of the fighting and the cattiness.
I want to be part of something that empowers and inspires women to not only be healthy, but to treat themselves with respect. I wish the rest of the women the best of luck. I’m thrilled to say I’m now a free agent and am already fielding offers.”
According to the report, the socialite will instead focus on her hot to trot clothing line, She by Sheree as well as also embarking on a new fitness venture to inspire people to live healthier lives.
Update********
The reality star told Wetpaint.com that she felt her time on the Bravo series had run its time and so she had chosen to leave — but RadarOnline.com can exclusively report, that Sheree was actually fired — for being a diva!
“After four solid seasons of helping Bravo build the show into its most successful Housewives franchise, I have decided to leave. The direction the show is going in is no longer a fit for my lifestyle. I’m tired of the fighting and the cattiness,” Sheree told Wetpaint.com.
“I want to be part of something that empowers and inspires women to not only be healthy, but to treat themselves with respect. I wish the rest of the women the best of luck. I’m thrilled to say I’m now a free agent and am already fielding offers.”
However, our source tells a very different story, one not so favorable to the Southern born socialite.
“Sheree was fired,” the source says. “She was demanding more money and that didn’t go over well with show executives. They are tired of dealing with her diva attitude and demands.”
The 42-year-old single mother of three was often captured on TV during her rigorous daily fitness regimen, arguing with her ex husband over child support and debuting her She By Sheree clothing line – all of which the show’s producers found less than exciting for primetime.
“Executives think she’s just boring and they want someone new on the show,” the source says.
Sheree is from Cleveland………..
Source: That Grape Juice via Wet Paint
R.I.P: Dick Clark Passes Away at 82
Posted April 18, 2012 4:09 pm By Deirdre B Pride
A lot of us watch and grew up with American Bandstand, Americas Funniest Home Videos and New Year’s Rockin’ Eve….. he’ll truly be missed….. A huge loss.
Dick Clark — famed TV producer, and “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” host — died from a massive heart attack this morning … TMZ has learned.
Clark’s rep tells TMZ, the TV icon had been in St. John’s hospital in L.A. after undergoing an outpatient procedure last night. Clark suffered the “massive” heart attack following the procedure. Attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.
Clark was 82.
Clark’s health had been on the decline since he suffered a significant stroke in 2004 — forcing him to retire from his hosting gig at “New Years’ Rockin’ Eve,” which he created in 1972. Ryan Seacrest took over in 2006. Dick has appeared on the show sporadically ever since. His final appearance was in 2011 (below).
Before suffering a stroke, Clark told Larry King he also suffered from Type 2 diabetes.
Clark got his first big break in 1956, hosting what was called “Bob Horn’s Bandstand” … what would later be renamed “American Bandstand.” Clark continued to host and produce “American Bandstand” until 1989.
In addition, Clark also hosted a bunch of game shows — like “Pyramid,” “Scattergories,” “The Challengers,” and many more.
Clark has been inducted into practically every hall of fame on the planet — including the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.
Clark has received a total of 5 Emmy Awards for his work, as well as a Peabody Award. One Emmy was a lifetime achievement award.
Clark was married 3 times — and has 3 children from his first two marriages. He is survived by his current wife Kari Wigton.
“For now, Dick Clark … so long.”
RIP
Source: TMZ
Filed in R.I.P
Does This Photo Make You Uncomfortable??? (Video & Pic)
Posted April 18, 2012 3:57 pm By Deirdre B Pride
Well does it? It certainly makes me very uncomfortable. They claim that the cake was “designed to highlight the issue of female genital mutilation.” GTHOH That then makes it insensitive as well as tasteless. I’m looking at this picture and all I see is a bunch of white that think it’s crazy funny to cut up a cake made into the depiction of a black woman dressed in African tribal gear. For them to feel that this was okay baffles the heck out of me. I don’t think they never thought this would make it public….that’s what it is.
Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, Sweden’s culture minister, had appeared at the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm when she was invited to cut the cake which was designed like a naked African woman.
The Swedish minister cut pieces from the black cake, which had blood-red sponge and was designed to highlight the issue of female genital mutilation.
Despite the intentions of the bizarre cake, however, critics described it as a ‘racist spectacle’, and demanded Ms Liljeroth resigned for participating in the ‘tasteless’ event.The Association for African Swedes said the cake was a crude racist caricature which ‘makes a mockery of racism’.
Kitimbwa Sabuni, a spokesperson for the group, told Swedish news agency TT: ‘To say that you did this for a good cause only makes the mockery of people who are victims of racism and of circumcision worse.’
Mr Sabuni told a Swedish newspaper Ms Liljeroth’s participation in a dubious event with cannibalistic overtones showed her ‘incompetence and lack of judgment’.
Makode Linde, the artist who came up with the cake, had placed his own head at the top of the cake and said it had been misunderstood.
The black cake, part of an exhibition on World Art Day, was intended as part of the artist’s project illustrating degrading stereotypes of black people through history.Liljeroth, whose photograph cutting a piece of the cake was widely shown in Swedish media, said she understood why people would be offended by the incident.
She said in a statement: ‘I was invited to speak at World Art Day about the freedom of art and its right to provoke.
‘And then they wanted me to cut into the cake. I don’t review art, but I can very well understand that this whole situation was misunderstood.’
Filed in Weird Whispers, You Need More People
For the Fellas: Taraji P. Henson Get’s Nude for Allure Magazine
Posted April 18, 2012 2:47 pm By Deirdre B Pride
Taraji P. poses nude for Allure’s May 2012 issue! The “Think Like a Man,” 41 year old bombshell, shows age is nothing, but a number. The photo shoot takes place on her bed in her New York City apartment’s bedroom.
Remember Taraji is a mother of a young man, so she had to keep it classy. The star reveals that she loves being nude.
She reveals, “Whenever we go to the beach, I’m like, ‘Is this a nude beach? Can I take my top off? As long as it’s all still looking good and not falling and you know, sagging, I’ll be nude. As long as people want to see me naked, I’m here.”
This girl stays keeping it 100. BTW, she stayed steadfast to bringing justice to the Trayvon Martin case and she still is.
Source: Allure via Black Voices
Filed in Interview Whispers | Tagged: Taraji P. Henson
Sad: Texas Nurse Admits to Killing Woman to Steal Her Baby ***Update***
Posted April 18, 2012 1:10 pm By Deirdre B Pride
All I can say is Texas is going to fry her as soon as they can. This was just senseless and she deserves what she gets. Update to reveal that she intended pass the baby off as her own to hide a miscarriage. I’m not sure how she thought she would do that with a Caucasian baby, but read the details and watch the video of the press conference.
A registered nurse has been arrested for fatally shooting a new mother and snatching her three-day-old son outside a doctor’s office as she took the baby for a check-up.
Verna Deann McClain, a 30-year-old mother of three who had told relatives she was about to adopt a baby, will face capital murder charges, the district attorney for Montgomery County, Texas said.
In dramatic scenes in the quiet Houston suburb of Spring on Tuesday afternoon, McClain allegedly gunned down 28-year-old Kayla Marie Golden, firing up to seven shots at close range.
Witnesses said a man then threw the baby in a light blue Lexus, which struck Golden as it made its escape. Golden screamed out ‘My baby! My baby!’ as it drove away and died soon after.
Police were led to the Fawndale Apartments in Houston, where sources told ABC News that a SWAT team found a woman inside speaking to another woman on the phone.
Authorities then tracked the other woman to a house in north Harris County, where they found the unharmed baby boy, Keegan Schuchardt.
Speaking on Good Morning America, district attorney Brett Ligon admitted it was ‘unusual’ to find the child and suspect so quickly after a murder, and credited the county’s authorities.
Once seized, McClain admitted to shooting the young mother and taking the baby to her home in Harris County, ABC reported.
An affidavit from the Montgomery County police adds that the suspect’s sister, Corina Jackson, said McClain, whose children are 16, 10 and six, had said she was about to adopt a baby.
After the shooting, McClain told her sister she had the baby.
Ligon said authorities ‘believe this was an intentional act on her part, not that Ms. Golden was targeted specifically, but that this was part of a plan to kidnap a child’.
He added: ‘She’s given a full statement to the detectives with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department. We did charge her in the early hours of this morning with capital murder.’
McClain has no previous criminal record and has been a licensed vocational nurse registered in California since 2008. She is being held in the Montgomery County Jail without bond.
Montgomery County police said another person of interest is being questioned.
Ms. Golden was walking to her pick-up truck after a check-up with little Keegan, when a woman in a Lexus parked in the adjacent spot starting fighting with her, police said.
Sheriff’s Lt Dan Norris said the woman pulled out a pistol and repeatedly shot Ms Golden at close range. Witnesses reported hearing up to seven shots.
A witness said a man in the car then picked up the infant and put him in the Lexus. Ms Golden tried to reach into the car and take him back as the car sped away, but the driver ran her down.The shooting happened just after 2pm outside the Northwoods Pediatric Centre in Spring, 20 miles north of Houston, Texas. Keegan was wearing a green-and-white outfit reading ‘handsome’.
Joshua Jesson said he was in the clinic with his girlfriend when he heard gunshots.
He said he saw the Lexus next to the pick-up truck, then later looked back and saw the car was gone and a woman lying in the spot where the Lexus had been parked.
‘I thought she just passed out. Then somebody ran in here and said, “Somebody got shot,”‘ he said.
Police surrounded the parking lot with crime-scene tape. The clinic is in an area thick with strip malls. Golden’s red truck sat next to yellow markers where spent ammunition cartridges were found.
It was not immediately clear how authorities had been led to the apartment block in Houston, where officers were seen wielding guns and riot shields.
Ms Golden’s husband, Keith Schuchardt, took to Facebook on Saturday to report the birth of his son: ‘baby keegan is here. born 4/14/12 6 lbs 15 oz, 20 inches long.’ he wrote. ‘Looks like me lol.’He arrived with Keegan’s grandmother Linda Golden and other family members at Conroe Police Department last night to be reunited with the infant.
But theHouston Chronicle reports that police want to carry out a series of investigations on family members before he is released.
Linda Golden said: ‘My daughter was brutally murdered protecting her baby. I think the baby should be given back to us. We’ve had enough today. We would just like our baby back.’
Friends and relatives have expressed their shock at the senseless crime. Friend Jennifer Hartis told KPRC: ‘She never did anything wrong. She’s just a mom doing her best to take care of her kids.
‘Keegan is only three days old. He’s needs to know his mom and he can’t do that now.’
Henry Schuchardt, Keegan’s paternal father, told the affiliate he was searching for answers. ‘I wished I knew, I wished I knew,’ he said. ‘I don’t know how they could do this?’
Truly sad. She just robbed two families. I will never understand how these people continue to kill to steal babies, and they are always caught, yet they still keep trying. Those Texans are probably giving her h*ll.
Source Daily Mail
Update*************
A Texas nurse accused of killing a mother and snatching her 3-day-old baby was trying to produce an infant for her fiancé after hiding a miscarriage from him, police said Wednesday.
Verna McClain, 30, acted alone when she attacked Kala Marie Golden, 28, of Spring, Texas, and took her son, Keegan Schuchardt, outside a clinic where the baby had a checkup Tuesday, police said at a news conference.
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office via Reuters
Verna Deann McClain is pictured in this booking photograph taken Wednesday.
McClain was charged with capital murder and was being held without bail after her first court appearance Wednesday, Montgomery County sheriff’s deputies said at a news conference.
The baby was recovered unharmed Tuesday night from the Harris County home of the suspect’s sister by Texas Rangers.
McClain told her fiance she’d had a live birth, Montgomery County Sheriff Det. John Schmitt told reporters. A May wedding was planned, he said she told officers.
Investigators were interviewing the fiance but believed he had never seen the kidnapped baby, Schmidt said.
Investigators said McClain and her fiance are black, the kidnapped baby is white, but they did not know how McClain planned to pass the infant off as hers and her fiance’s.
In this undated family snapshot provided by the Schuchardt family, Kala Marie Golden, right, and her husband Keith Schuchardt are shown on their wedding day.
The baby was reunited with his family Wednesday.
Officials said McClain first approached two deputies as a helpful witness at an apartment complex where they found a Lexus described by witnesses as being the suspect’s vehicle. However, her story soon fell apart as they talked to her and she later confessed to the killing, officials said.
Police said McClain was being held in a single-inmate cell and was not under any suicide watch. McClain is estranged from her husband, with whom she had raised three children, Capt. Bruce Zenor said.
She had been working as a vocational nurse through a staffing agency, officials said.
The investigation was not over, officials said.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Filed in News, Sighting Whispers
Sighting Whispers: Snoop and the Marley Siblings at the LA Premiere of “Marley” Biopic
Posted April 18, 2012 12:22 pm By Deirdre B Pride
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- Ziggy, Robbie, and Rohan Marley
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- Cedela (L) and Karen, Bob’s daughters
(hover over the bottom of each photo to see their names)
Snoop and the Marley Siblings were spotted at the LA premiere of the long waited biopic, “Marley.” Snoop was all smiles as he hung out with his idols children and wore a Bob Marley medallion proudly around his neck. Bob’s two daughters, Karen, and Cedella; sons, Ziggy, Rohan, and Robbie were all proudly present as well. The movie spans from around 1977, the very time Bob was diagnosed with cancer after a soccer injury, and all they way until his death at the very young age of 27 in 1981. It’s also during the time he left Jamaica to live in London after an attempt was made on his life. It was then that Bob started an affair with Miss World, Cindy Breakspeare while he was married to his wife Rita Marley as well. So the movie will be pretty interesting. UW spoke about the movie before and it’s also where you can read more on the movie.
Photos: AP and Getty Images via Daily Mail
Dog TV Announces Network Dedicated to Keeping Dogs Entertained
Posted April 18, 2012 10:48 am By Deirdre B Pride
Dog TV has announced a new network that will be dedicated to keeping your dog entertained while the owners are at work. Some people may think of this as nonsense, but I’m not one of them. I happen to love dogs and I think this is a great idea. The network promises no reruns or commercials. Jealous much? Wait, did you know they have the technology to make smell TV? I kid you not…..read on.
Dog TV has announced a new network that will be dedicated to keeping your dog entertained. Some people may think of this as nonsense, but I’m not one of them. I happen to love dog and I think this is a great idea. The network promises no reruns or commercials. Jealous? Wait, did you know they have the technology to make smell TV? I kid you not…..read on.
Filmmakers are calling DogTV a new breed of television – an eight-hour block of on-demand cable TV programming designed to keep your dog relaxed, stimulated and entertained while you are at work.
To get the right footage, cameramen got on their knees and shot low and long. “I shot from the point of view of the dog,” said Gilad Neumann, chief executive officer of DogTV.
In production, they had to mute colors, alter sound and add music specially written for dogs. Dogs can see blue and yellow, but not red or green, Neumann said, so colors are altered for DogTV too. What you won’t find on DogTV are the sounds that blare on regular TV: no gunshots, no explosions, no heavy metal music.
There will be no commercials, no ratings and no reruns, although some might argue that watching a slug crawl is hardly exciting new programming.
One million subscribers with two cable companies have access to DogTV in San Diego. It is doing so well that parent company PTV Media plans to offer it nationally in the next several months, Neumann said.
It will cost about $4.99 a month, Neumann said. If you figure more than 46 million U.S. households have dogs (according to the American Pet Products Association) and 97 percent of U.S. homes have televisions, the future looks promising.
Bleu, a year-old French bulldog, has been watching for a month and snorts and grunts his approval, owner Mary Catania of San Diego said. He used to perk up when “Family Guy” came on, Catania said, but he seems more intrigued by DogTV.
“I always feel guilty leaving him alone all day when I’m at work,” Catania said. “He’s like my kid. I don’t have any children so I really treat him like my child. Anything that makes him happy makes me happy.”
Do dogs really understand what they’re watching? Dodman said research is ongoing, but it appears that dogs not only recognize other dogs on TV, they may even respond differently to their own breed.
They definitely recognize sounds, though, whether it’s barking or sirens, and audio on DogTV has been tailored accordingly. Because high frequency sounds can be very irritating to dogs, they’ve been removed. And music is written and tailored for their hearing, though it sounds like elevator music to humans.
Exposure is designed to acquaint dogs with things they will see each day. “There are studies that show when young puppies are exposed to video images of other dogs, it acts as a form of socialization,” Dodman said. Sights and sounds during this part of the programming expose the animals to things like traffic, babies, other pets and doorbells.
Relaxation segments feature sleeping dogs and nature scenes – like the slugs – accompanied by dog lullabies.
Stimulation includes dogs running, playing and surfing, animation and a lot of panting. The idea behind this part of DogTV is to get a dog moving, even if it is home alone.
Shows are “refreshed” daily for variety.
Pets may one day be able to sniff DogTV, Dodman said. “The technology is here to add smell. There are boxes you can buy that have 60 different wells that you can fill with scents. Like fireworks, you can cue them with what’s on television.”
Too bad they can’t control the remote.
Source AP via DogTV.com
Filed in Techie Whispers, Television Show News
