In Baltimore yesterday seven police officers were arrested in a large corruption case that many have said to be disgraceful.

These seven officers are being charged in connection with a racketeering conspiracy and racketeering offenses, including robbing victims, filing false affidavits and making fraudulent overtime claims according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The officers, Det. Momodu Bondeva, 34, Det. Evodio Calles Hendrix, 32, Det. Daniel Thomas Hersl, 47, Sgt. Wayne Earl Jenkins, 36, Det. Jemell Lamar Rayam, 36, Det. Marcus Roosevelt Taylor, 30 and Det. Maurice Kilpatrick Ward, 36 all extorted up to $200,000 from victims, along with stealing guns and drugs, prosecutors said.

Last month, the city of Baltimore and the Justice Department agreed on a consent decree, which calls for police reforms. It has yet to be approved by a federal judge.

“This is not about aggressive policing, it is about a criminal conspiracy. Prosecuting criminals who work in police agencies is essential both to protect victims and to support the many honorable officers whose reputations they unfairly tarnish” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein.

Each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for conspiracy and for racketeering.

The majority of the incidents in question occurred while the Baltimore Police Department was facing a U.S. Justice Department civil rights investigation for the 2015 police-involved death of Freddie Gray that plunged the city into turmoil.

Marilyn J. Mosby, Baltimore State’s Attorney said the involvement of federal authorities “confirms the inherent difficulties with the BPD investigating itself,” and warned the indictment would have “pervasive implications on numerous active investigations and pending cases.”

If you were unfamiliar with the name Van Jones after yesterday that may no longer be the case. Jones’s name has been trending on social media since last night after he made the following remarks on President Trump’s Joint Session speech to Congress.

According to Jones, Mr. Trump became “became president of the United States” when he recognized the widow of slain Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens.”

Jones also went on to say, “There are a lot of people who have a lot of reason to be frustrated with him, fearful of him, mad at him.”

“But that was one of the most extraordinary moments you have ever seen in American politics, period.”

Jones said, “He did something extraordinary,” and for people who have been hoping that he would become unifying, hoping that he might find some way to become presidential, they should be happy with that moment.”

Many found Jones’s comments to be off based. Jones has been an outspoken critic of the President since he took office in mid-January of this year, most recently opposing and going after the President on the proposed “Muslim Ban.”

Memphis Black Restaurant Week will be held this year, from March 6-12.

Cynthia Daniels, creator of the idea said she wants to get more people acquainted with black-owned restaurants in Memphis and create a platform where they can be showcased.

“Many Memphians aren’t aware of new black-owned restaurants, Daniels said. You haven’t heard of most of these restaurants. Certain restaurants are on the radar. You know a year in advance something is about to open. We don’t have that in our community, unfortunately.”

In 2015, the first year, Daniels was able to eight restaurants to participate. What happened next was something that she did not anticipate: $85,000 was spent in one week and 38 jobs were created.

Because of job creation a lot the staff was able to stay on board full time.

“This will be the second year. Really, what happened is I’m a big fan of Downtown Dining Week. I have a company that does a lot of social media for different companies in the city — Cynthia Daniels & Co. So, I was working with HM Dessert Lounge. She opened up November 2015. That’s during the same time as Downtown Dining Week.”

This year, participating restaurants will feature a two-course lunch for $15 and a three-course dinner for $25.

Daniels who seeks to provide a holistic experience for those in attendance, for example this year during Black Restaurant Week Two Vegan Sistas will be on the roster. Two Vegan Sistas is a vegan restaurant in the Summer-Bartlett area which serves only gluten free foods and is about holistic eating.

HM Dessert Lounge, who does chicken and waffles will be participating again this year. Fran Mosely the owner says Black Restaurant Week brought exposure to his restaurant and other restaurants.

“It brought folks from around the tri-state. So, we had folks from Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas. We also had folks from Louisiana, Texas, Chicago that came in to support the effort to bring awareness and drive revenue to some small restaurants that are owned by African-Americans” Mosley said.

If you’re in the area or are interested in participating you can find out more information on their website here: https://www.blackrestaurantweek.com/memphis

The city of Paris is finding itself in a state of chaos since news broke of a black man assaulted by French police two weeks ago.

Recounting the incident, Théo, a 22-year-old man said he left his house Thursday and found himself in the middle of a police identity check. These check are used to target drug dealers.

What proceeded was not a standard routine check, Théo’s pants were pulled down and he was sexually assaulted with a truncheon. He was repeatedly beaten on the head and around his genital area; the police also sprayed tear gas around his head and mouth.

Since that time he has undergone emergency surgery for his injuries and has been declared unfit for work for 60 days. Théo is still being hospitalized.

The four police officers involved have all been suspended and an investigation is underway. One has been placed under formal investigation for suspected rape and three others for unnecessary use of force. All deny wrongdoing.

French police are often accused of using excessive force especially against black and minority ethnic suspects.

Photo: French President Francois Hollande visiting Théo in hospital.

Protests have since erupted in Paris with property being destroyed and roads being blocked, prompting Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the education minister to appeal for calm, saying: “Young people’s emotion over the Théo affair is understandable, but we must let justice take its course.” Violence is “unacceptable.”

However, the movement is being sustained across the country, with school protests continuing to happen in a move of solidarity.

“The climate in France is becoming more and more worrying,” Independent Counter-Struggle Movement, a youth group that organized the protest on Facebook, said in a statement. “A great mobilization of youth is more than necessary to counter the security and racist climate.”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) will resume doing business with private prisons. This announcement came Thursday, as attorney general, Jeff Sessions wrote a memo saying phasing out private prison use “changed long-standing policy and practice” and “impaired” the ability of the Bureau of Prisons “to meet the future needs of the federal correctional system.”

The directive issued by the Obama administration instructing the DOJ to curtail the use of private prisons is officially obsolete.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union private prisons hold approximately 18 percent of federal prisoners and 7 percent of state prisoners.

Sally Yates, former deputy attorney general indicated private prisons “simply do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs, and resources; they do not save substantially on costs; and as noted in a recent report by the Department’s Office of Inspector General, they do not maintain the same level of safety and security.”

Yesterday, Wednesday February 22, 2017 in Anaheim, California video went viral of an off-duty police officer firing a gun during a scuffle with a child after the adolescents walked on his lawn according to reports.

The young teen at the center of the incident has been identified as a 13-year-old boy named Christian.

The videos shows the off duty officer firing a single round during a physical altercation with Christian. The teen’s friend then steps in and tries to break the officer’s hold on Christian. During the same time another teen rushes the officer, where he loses his balance and stumbles, still holding Christian in his grip.

The route where the altercation occurred is used to go to and from school by local children attending three schools in the area.

Christian was booked at Orange County Juvenile Hall for criminal threats and battery. The 15-year-old friend was arrested for assault and battery and was released to his parents.

Meanwhile, the unidentified off duty police officer was placed on administrative leave while the incident is being investigated said the LAPD.

Demonstrators gathered outside the home of the unidentified off duty police officer and then took the streets of Anaheim blocking traffic near Disneyland for several hours. It was then that the Anaheim police advised the public to avoid the area as officers in riot gear were sent into the area.

As of this morning, 24 people have been arrested, six of them juveniles, on suspicion of misdemeanor charges for failing to disperse, resisting arrest and battery on a peace officer, according to Anaheim police.

Anaheim’s mayor, Tom Tait said “Anaheim is committed to a full and impartial investigation. Our city will move forward without delay.”

“The case will be presented to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office when it is completed. The names of the involved parties are not being released at this time,” the statement said.

Jennifer Rojas, a policy advocate at the ACLU of Southern California, told NBC Los Angeles the organization is “deeply disturbed” by reports and demanded “a full explanation of why, in an altercation between the police officer and youths, the youths were arrested but not the officer who fired his gun.”

Second shooting in Chicago this week was caught on Facebook Live yesterday.

A two-year old boy and a 26-year-old man were killed as a result and a pregnant woman injured.

The child, Levontay has become the second child to die from gun violence in Chicago. Earlier in the week, Takiya Holmes was shot by in the head by stray bullets as she road in her family’s minivan. She died of her injuries in the hospital.

Police are saying the 26-year-old man was the intended target.

Chicago is one of the most racially segregated cities in the U.S., there is little to no violence in the city’s more wealthy communities while there is an exponential increase in much poorer neighborhoods in the south and west side of the city where most shootings are carried out.

“I got a bullet in my stomach … they shot him, oh my God,” the pregnant woman screams after running from the car to a home in the 2300 block of South Kenneth Avenue in the city’s Lawndale section, according to the Chicago Tribune. “I can’t go to the hospital … this bullet in my stomach.”

North Lawndale, where the boy and 26-year-old man were killed, has the second highest violent crime rate in the city, according to a rolling analysis of crime by the Chicago Tribune.

April Ryan from Urban Radio Networks said that Omarosa Manigault, Director of Communications for President Trump “physically intimidated” her when they got into an argument in the West Wing last week, February 8.

Ryan said Manigault’s intimidation could have involved the Secret Service.

Manigault is the Director of Communications and assistant to the President with a focus on public outreach.

Omarosa Manigault’s duties include coordinating public speaking engagements for members of the administration and the executive office of the president, focusing on administration transparency and inclusion, as well as listening to the public’s concerns.

Manigault said that Ryan was one of several African-American journalists whom the White House is keeping dossiers on. Ryan went on to say “It’s just ugly. She’s trying to harm my integrity and my career. I’ve been [covering the White House] for 20 years. I plan to be here for the next 20 years. You don’t mess with someone’s livelihood.”

Ryan acknowledges that she and Manigault were close friends. That changed when Manigault sent her an email saying, “This story suggests that as a reporter, you are (or were) a paid Clinton surrogate,” adding, “I pray this is not true! This could be hurtful to your legacy and the integrity of your work.”

She went on to include an Intercept article which explained and exposed Clinton and her campaign team’s efforts to secure favorable media coverage by “manipulating” reporters.

Link to Intercept article:

https://theintercept.com/2016/10/09/exclusive-new-email-leak-reveals-clinton-campaigns-cozy-press-relationship/

Ryan’s name appeared in a separate list of journalists Clinton’s team hoped to sway, the Post said, but were not paid by the Clintons.

One of the most notable people whose names were in the leaked emails from the Intercept is Donna Brazile, who resigned from CNN when her involvement became public.

Manigault when asked to comment on the incident told the Post via email “My comment: Fake news!”

Today is a different story.

Villa, had everyone talking with the dress she wore that said “Make America Great Again.” The back of the dress had the word “Trump” on the bottom in big bold letters.

The 25 year old singer’s Instagram profile says she’s “Grammy Considered.”

Since then the sales for her album, which was an obscure recording initially released in 2014,  have skyrocketed.

Her song, “I Make the Static” jumped to the top of Amazon’s top digital paid albums and reached number seven on the iTunes top album chart after her red carpet publicity stunt.

One must ask, is the increase in sales due to talent or the dress? Or something else?

Andre Soriano, the designer of Villa’s dress said on Instagram the gown is a “tribute [to] OUR President Of The United States Of America” adding the hashtag #MAGA

Villa is being supported online by many suspected white supremacist Trump supporters. Many of them are trying to hold Villa up as a proof that not all Trump supporters are advocates of white supremacist views and some Blacks like Trump too.

There are many feelings on the dress worn by Villa. Many are saying she was seeking  attention and publicity to boost her stagnant recording career. Others contend that she is a Trump supporter that wishes to ‘Make America Great Again’ and this was a show of her support.

It appears that  Joy Villa is fully aware that the fastest way for a Black person to get massive support by many in the dominant society, is to act as a “colored shield” for white supremacy.

Yesterday night, February 8, 2017 Guadalupe Garcia, a convicted felon was set to be deported in accordance with President Trump’s Immigration Executive Orders.

Garcia was arrested in 2008 during a raid on her workplace in Mesa Arizona and taken into custody under the suspicion of falsifying work documents. She was then charged with identity theft. Since that time, Garcia spent three months in jail and has been required to meet with a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer every six months while still residing in Arizona.

ICE had been ordered to deport Garcia back to Mexico in May 2013. However, the Obama administration considered her a low threat. Deporting only people who were deemed threats to public or national safety, had ties to criminal gangs, or had committed serious felony offenses or a series of misdemeanor crimes.

This should be a wake up call for white Hispanics who identify with white supremacy and espouse anti blackness.

Sunday while performing in Arizona, George Lopez, made a joke saying the following:

“There are only two rules in the Latino family — don’t marry somebody black, and don’t park in front of our house.”

A black woman who found contention with the joke was then told by Lopez, “I’m talking, bitch,” Lopez shouted at the concert attendee. “You paid to see a show. Sit your ass down. You can’t take a joke, you’re in the wrong motherf*cking place. Sit your f*cking ass down or get the f*ck out of here!”

This is not the first time that white Hispanics have identified with white supremacy. As Tariq Nasheed, an Anti-Racism Strategist stated on his twitter page “The problem with the George Lopez jokes about Latinos hating Blacks, is you have “Latinos” like George Zimmerman who ACT on that hate.”

The video has since gone viral.

The joke while to humorous to many, espouses how many white Hispanics view black people and subsequently their alignment with white supremacists views and actions toward black people in general.