4-28-2016-ERNIE ALLEN’S-TOP STORY- NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee’s Republican governor said Wednesday that he signed a bill into law that allows mental health counselors to refuse to treat patients based on the therapist’s religious or personal beliefs. “As a professional I should have the right to decide if my clients end goals don’t match with my…… MORE
4-27-2016-ERNIE ALLEN’S-TOP STORY- Dancing with the Obamas is one thing, but getting a non-drivers’ photo ID from the Washington, D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles is a whole different thing. That difference was apparent for Virginia McLaurin, the 107-year-old woman who became an Internet sensation after the White House posted a video of her dancing with…… MORE
4-26-2016-ERNIE ALLEN’S-TOP STORY- CLEVELAND (AP) — The city has reached a $6 million settlement in a lawsuit over the death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black boy shot by a white police officer while playing with a pellet gun outside a recreation center. An order filed in U.S. District Court in Cleveland on Monday says…… MORE
4-25-2016-ERNIE ALLEN’S-TOP STORY- Billy Paul, the Philadelphia based singer has died at the age of 81, his website and manager confirmed. Paul, born Paul Williams, is best known for the Philadelphia International hit “Me and Mrs. Jones,” written by the legendary Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Paul had been diagnosed with cancer and was hospitalized…… MORE
4-22-2016-ERNIE ALLEN’S-TOP STORY- CHANHASSEN, Minn. (AP) — Prince could play guitar like Carlos Santana or Jimi Hendrix, sing like James Brown, turn out pop melodies worthy of Motown or lay down the deepest grooves this side of Sly and the Family Stone. But no one could mistake his sound for anyone but Prince. The dazzlingly…… MORE
4-21-2016-ERNIE ALLEN’S-TOP STORY- WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. paper money is getting a historic makeover. Harriet Tubman, an African-American abolitionist born into slavery, will be the new face on the $20 bill. The leader of the Underground Railroad is replacing the portrait of Andrew Jackson, the nation’s seventh president and a slave owner, who is being…… MORE
4-20-2016-ERNIE ALLEN’S-TOP STORY- SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A group of mostly black women who filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the Napa Valley Wine Train have settled the case for an undisclosed amount. The group’s attorney, Waukeen McCoy, told the San Jose Mercury News on Monday the two parties reached a settlement last week. He…… MORE
4-19-2016-ERNIE ALLEN’S-OP STORY- SAN DIEGO (AP) — The stepfather of a 2-year-old boy who disappeared in San Diego 14 years ago has been arrested in North Carolina and faces a murder charge, officials say. Tieray D. Jones was arrested Monday by U.S. Marshals and Raleigh Police Department officers in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, a small…… MORE
4-18-2016-ERNIE ALLEN’S-TOP STORY- A former school officer in Knox County, Tennessee has filed a $250,000 lawsuit against the district and the city, charging that he was wrongfully terminated because his supervisor took offense to his marriage to a Black woman, writes USA Today. The lawsuit claims that John Smelser, who is White, was fired in…… MORE
4-15-2016-ERNIE ALLEN’S-TOP STORY- AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A 17-year-old runaway who’s been arrested in the campus killing of a University of Texas student claimed he left home in August because his grandmother’s religious beliefs demanded that teenagers his age go “make their own way in the world,” according to court records obtained by The Associated…… MORE
Snoop Dogg, the West Coast rap icon turned cultural mainstay, is officially bringing his life story to the big screen. Read more about Snoop’s upcoming biopic, film and TV deal with Universal inside. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Doggfather has signed a multi-year first-look deal with NBCUniversal through his Death Row Pictures banner, solidifying a…
NBC is going from being the Peacock network to the Canine network after inking a new deal with Snoop Dogg. Snoop’s Death Row Pictures has inked a multi-year creative partnership with NBC Universal. Part of the deal will bring him back to The Voice next season, and he’ll continue his cross-platform appearances, like he did…
Shannon Sharpe is being accused of sexual assault and battery. A civil lawsuit filed in Nevada by Jane Doe says she and Sharpe were in a “rocky consensual relationship” for almost two years. The woman claims that Sharpe recorded their sexual relations without her permission. Jane Doe said the infamous live stream where Sharpe allegedly…
SZA‘s new business venture is Not Beauty — literally. She just launched a new cosmetic line under the label. Fans at Grand National Tour stops this weekend were the first to get their hands on products from the new line. The initial offering includes a trio of lip glosses, called In the Flesh, Strawberry Jelly and Quartz,…