Source: REACH Media / Reach Media
Musician Ray Parker, Jr.
Trailblazing Journalist Max Robinson, Jr., born 1939. First African American News Anchor in Washington, DC and First Black Broadcast Network Anchor-ABC News
1. Oh Man! The Mississippi River Keeps Rolling and Rising
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What You Need to Know:
Dangerous flooding in the Midwest to a tornado in Florida, are just the latest weather-related disasters that are affecting states and residents across the country.
The Mississippi River has taken over residential areas from Minnesota to Iowa, where travel by boat has become the norm. And everyday utilities, including heat and clean running water, are non-existent. Although many residents are hoping the worst is over, meteorologists are predicting the Mississippi River will crest at 21 feet sometime Monday. For many residents, this is nothing new, as flooding is expected, but with homes and their work-related equipment underwater, not to this extent.
To the south, NBC News reported, “Storm damage from a tornado forced authorities in the coastal city of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, to close major roadways in the city as workers cleared debris and inspected the wreckage. Images from the scene showed cars flipped over on top of each other, cracked tree limbs resting on vehicles and homes, as well as other debris littering streets.”
The National Weather Service had placed a large stretch of central Florida under a tornado watch Saturday afternoon as thunderstorms were cutting across the state.
On the other side of the country, Accuweather reported, “Record-breaking warmth will soon be a distant memory for residents along the West Coast. Instead, a new weather pattern will usher in showers and cooler air this week.
Warm and dry weather just recently settled into the West, one of the first times the region has had an extended stretch of rain-free weather in a while. However, as with the Midwest, more flooding from the melting snow to the north will continue to affect residents and a major source of income, agriculture.
Why You Need to Know:
According to the Food and Environment Reporting Network, California’s massive agricultural industry is still assessing the damage from a relentless series of atmospheric rivers earlier this month, which triggered mudslides, flooded communities, and killed at least 20 people. For some farmers, the storms may well have been a lifeline, bringing much-needed rain to a state suffering from its worst drought in 1,200 years. For others, the breached levees and flooded fields have been a disaster. And much of this weather-related flooding will affect many of us at our local grocery stores and restaurants.
2. The Spectre of Donald Trump Looms Large Over Rape Case and Insurrection Investigation
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What You Need to Know:
Former President Donald Trump is involved in several cases, two of which are in play today. Although he has not appeared in a Special Counsel investigation into the January 6 Insurrection, those closest to the President, including former Vice President Mike Pence, have been in the legal spotlight.
Former Vice President Mike Pence spent several hours before the grand jury associated with Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the January 6 Insurrection. Special Counsel Smith is investigating the former President’s efforts to block the certification of the 2020 presidential election. As late as Wednesday, an appeals court denied Donald Trump’s move to prevent Pence from appearing and answering questions before the grand jury. Before Trump could take his case to the Supreme Court, the former Vice President testified before the grand jury Thursday.
News sites report that former Vice President Mike Pence spent approximately seven hours before the grand jury. Not knowing what exactly Pence was asked or what his answers were, the difference was this was the closest first-person testimony heard by the jury. Legal analysts have speculated that the questions focused on the days leading up to January 6, 2021.
1-A January 4 discussion in the Oval Office between Trump’s attorney John Eastman about interfering with the Electoral College vote.
2-A January 5 conversation between Donald Trump and Mike Pence in the Oval Office and finally,
3-A January 6 phone call between Trump and Pence hours before the Capitol attack during which Trump supporters were held chanting, “Hang Mike Pence!”
There is a civil case taking place in Manhattan in which then-businessman Donald Trump is accused of rape and defamation by journalist E. Jean Carroll. Carroll charged that Donald Trump raped her over 25 years ago in a dressing room of a New York department store. Trump has denied the allegations, along with the denial that he ever met Carroll.
E. Jean Carroll returns to the stand Monday after several days in which she testified and responded to questions posed during cross- examination by Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina. In the early going, the writer stated, “I am here because Donald Trump raped me.”
During Tacopina’s cross-examination, he tried to plant seeds of doubt in the minds of jurors. The Trump lawyer asked Carroll, why she did not scream during the sexual assault. Carroll responded, “I’m telling you he raped me, whether I screamed or not.” Tacopina was admonished by the judge for being argumentative, repetitive, and inappropriate.
Still to come: Two other alleged victims of sexual assault by Donald Trump and the now infamous “Access Hollywood” audio of businessman Trump’s claims of grabbing women by their private parts.
Why You Need to Know:
This is a lot for someone who is not running in a competitive slate of primary presidential elections and an assumed general election.
In addition to these headline-grabbing cases, Donald Trump also faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to women who claimed to have had sex with him.
Also underway:
1-Investigation into classified documents found on the grounds of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
2-The New York Attorney General’s investigation into the Trump Organization.
3-District Attorney Fani Willis is investigating efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
3. 7 Facts About Parkinson’s Disease Everyone Should Know
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What You Need to Know:
The Parkinson’s Foundation highlights seven key facts about PD:
More people are being diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
As our population ages, the rate of people being diagnosed with PD will continue to rise. Every year, 90,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with PD. The number of people living with PD is expected to rise to 1.2 million by 2030. Because Black people with PD have been historically excluded from and have had little access to PD research opportunities, there is no current estimate of how many Black people are living with PD in the U.S.
There are 10 early signs of Parkinson’s.
A tremor while at rest is a common early sign of PD. Less commonly known early signs can include loss of smell, trouble sleeping, and constipation. When you or a loved one experiences an early sign of PD, speak to your primary care physician and discuss seeing a specialist. View all early signs now.
Black people with Parkinson’s are often diagnosed at a later disease stage than White people.
Research shows that Black people with PD are diagnosed at a later disease stage than White people and are less likely to be diagnosed compared to other racial and ethnic groups. This may be due to Black patients being negatively affected by health disparities, not having reasonable access to specialized care and other health and economic barriers that interfere with care access.
Parkinson’s can be treated and managed.
While there is no cure, there are medications and various treatments that help people with PD. Exercise helps maintain balance and mobility. Parkinson’s Foundation research shows that people with PD who start exercising earlier and a minimum of 2.5 hours a week, experience a slowed decline in quality of life compared to those who start later.
People in the Black community are often less likely to see a PD specialist.
(SOURCE: BLACKHEALTHMATTERS.COM)
4. Exonerated Black Man Walks His Daughter Down the Aisle Almost 30 Years Later
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WRITTEN & CONTRIBUTED BY COY MALONE
What You Need to Know:
Kiera Barrow was five months old when her father, Lamar Johnson, was incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit. After a nearly three-decade legal battle, Johnson was exonerated and became a free man on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2023.
During a news interview, Barrow said that she was getting married in April of this year and “It would just mean so much to me … for him to be able to give me away.”
Barrow got her wish. On April 21, 2023, Johnson walked his daughter down the aisle.
Barrow said she always knew her father was innocent. In 1995, 21-year-old Johnson was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the shooting death of his friend, 25-year-old Markus Boyd, who was shot by two gunmen on his St. Louis porch on October 30, 1994.
Johnson’s girlfriend at the time and Kiera’s mother, Erika Barrow, told investigators he was with her the entire night of the shooting, except for five minutes, which wasn’t long enough to travel to the crime scene three miles away.
Law enforcement never interviewed Erika Barrow but questioned Greg Elking, an eyewitness stating two men attacked Boyd. James “B.A.” Howard took the stand and testified that he and a friend were the real killers. Two months later, Missouri Circuit Court Judge David Mason exonerated Johnson, and he walked out of the courtroom a free man that day.
Elking alleged that he felt pressured by detectives to make an identification, but refused first. Investigators told him that his own life was in danger, and told him that Johnson may have been involved in as many as six other murders. “I lied on the testimony,” Elking said. “I lied because I thought I was doing the right thing.”
Though Barrow and her father formed a special bond while he was in prison, they will finally get to enjoy her father-daughter relationship in a whole new way — in person.
Why You Need to Know:
Time, innocence, and life matter. Revoking these things from Black people proves what to the world?
5. Alpha And Omega
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WRITTEN AND CONTRIBUTED BY WILLIE MCIVER
What You Need to Know:
In Christianity, ALPHA and OMEGA are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet and are used in biblical context to show that God encompasses ALL THINGS from beginning to end and everything in between. In Isaiah 44:6, God calls himself, “The beginning and the end…” Also in Revelation 22:13, God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega…the First and the Last…the Beginning…and the End.”
Many Christians interpret the meaning of Alpha and Omega to be applied not only to God, but to God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit. Moses had a different way of saying God is the Alpha and The Omega. In Psalms 90, he says, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from EVERLASTING to EVERLASTING, you are God.”
God’s role as The Alpha and Omega is not just a timeline, it is also a reflection of our Faith. Our faith starts with Him and our faith ends with Him. Hebrews 12:2 reads, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and Finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before He endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” That job you got started with God, and He will be there when it ends. That vision that you have, God was there when it came to you and He will be there when it comes to fruition. That illness that you have, He was there when it started and He will be there when it ends, however it ends.
God is ALWAYS the first one on the scene, and the LAST one to leave. So for Christians, when it comes to THE ALPHA and THE OMEGA, let’s just say, the buck stops and starts with God in three persons. God will be with us from the time we are born until the day we day, and if we live right, we get to be with Him throughout eternity.
With Agape Love, Willie Mae
