Home News A Week In Review: July 25th – August 1st, 2018

A Week In Review: July 25th – August 1st, 2018

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Media & Entertainment:

Source: Twitter.com

The Good: BET Premieres Trayvon Martin Docu-series

The docu-series “Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story” produced by JAYZ and the Martin family premiered on BET this week highlighting the life of Trayvon Martin before and after his fatal encounter with George Zimmerman in 2012.

The series takes an in-depth look into the shooting and subsequant trial that found Zimmerman not guilty of murder charges after he chased down and murdered 17 year old Martin who was holding Skittles and a soft drink. The series has viewers questioning Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, and it’s inappropriate use by criminal defense attorneys who’s clients wrongfully shoot someone.

This will be the second documentary JAYZ has been involved with since he produced his last film about Kalief Browder, the boy was was wrongfully accused of theft and held in jail where he sustained irrepable phycological damage and killed himself upon his eventual release.

The series will air on BET and is part of a 6 part project.

Source: Blogto.com

The Bad: Drake’s Keke Internet Challenge Growing Dangerous

Deal’s latest hit song “In My Feelings” has sparked a risky challenge around the world that has officials warning agaisnt participating. The challenge itself requires participants to film themselves getting out of their vehicle and dancing to the “In My Feelings” song. Police in Mumbai, Spain and Miami have tweeted out warnings to citizens about the Keke challenge citing several videos depicting people sustaining various injuries and causing thousands of dollars in proptery damage. In one video a man is seen jumping out of his car and being hit by an oncoming vechile while another shows a man trying to complete the challenge but instead loses control of his car as it rolls into a busy intersection.

Source: YouTube.com

In Egypt three social media influencers were arrested for doing the challenge and posting it online which prosecutors are saying poses public safety concerns. Several cities around the world have announced fines and possible jail time for reckless participants caught attempting the challenge.

So far no deaths have been reported in connection with the videos.

Law:

The Good: Manafort Trial Begins

The trial that has politicians anxiously anticipating an outcome that could have implications on Donald Trump’s presidency began this past Tuesday. Paul Manafort was Trump’s campaign manager before being let go after stories of money laundering and fraud allegations began to surface after it was announced he would be in charge of the campaign’s direction.

Although the case isn’t directly related to Trump, it is speculated that FBI director Robert Mueller is applying pressure to Manafort in an attempt to get him to give up collusion information he has between Russia and Trump in exchange for a lighter sentence. Although Mueller has not confirmed his legal strategy, he has previously confirmed he would be investigating Manafort and Trump’s involvement with Russia.

Mueller alleges that Manafort defrauded US banks out of millions of dollars and laundered money from Ukraine, hitting Paul with a total of 18 charges.

Source: 247sports.com

The Bad: Cop rigs McDonald’s Monopoly Game, Scams Millions

The story of how an ex-cop scammed McDonalds out of millions of dollars with the help of a variety of criminals including drug traffickers and mobsters is taking over the internet and being turned into a movie. FBI agents caught Jerry Jacobson and 7 others uncovering the racket Jacobson had created by selling stolen McDonalds monopoly prize tickets.

As the sole person in charge of overseeing the production of the famous McDonald’s monopoly prize tickets, Jerry Jacobson had access to all the prize tickets he could want. Giving prizes out to friends who would claim the money under different names, usually in a neighboring state; Jacobson made millions taking cuts of illegal earnings since the early 2000’s.

The FBI began their investigation after a tip was given to agents over the phone that claimed an individual named “Uncle Jerry” was defrauding McDonalds. After investigators informed McDonald’s cooperate office, their lawyers agreed to cooprerate with authorities and gave the government a list of all the people who had claimed prizes recently.

After tracing records and tapping phone lines, the feds uncovered a mafia like organization all fuled by Jacobson’s illegal “prizes”. Currently Jacobson is being held on 1 million dollars bond for conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

U.S. News

Source: Abcnews.go.com

The Good: Homeless Web Developer Gets Support From Tech Community

Chris Casarez moved to California to begin his dream of starting a tech company. After losing all his money on his investments, Casarez fell on hard times and lost his home. Instead of asking for money he created a sign that read: “Homeless. Hungry 4 Success. Take a resume.”

A passing motorist Jasmine Scofield saw Casarez dressed in his best holding up his sign and took his resume and posted it on her twitter account eventually creating a viral response.

Scofield tweeted:

“Today I saw this young homeless man asking for people to take a resume rather than asking for money. Please RT (retweet) so we can help David out.”

Since the post, Netflix, Pandora, Apple, Google, Amazon and other top tech companies have reached out to recruit him changing his life situation almost immediately. An outpouring of support also came to David’s aid with strangers offering community resources and help until he was able to find employment.

The viral moment has also shed light on the darker side of Scillicon Valley that’s amassing a large group of struggling tech professionals.

Source: Abcnews.com

The Bad: 3 Dead & 7 Injured In New Orleans Shooting, 7th Fatal Shooting In Two Weeks

In what seems to be a streak of killings, New Orleans suffers another fatal shooting after two men opened fired in a large crowd Sunday night. Two men and one women were pronounced dead at the scene while 7 other individuals were taken to local area hospitals.

The Mayor of New Orleans LaToya Cantrell spoke on the incident and reassured citizens that “There is no place in New Orleans for this kind of violence.” Cantrell continued: “I speak for everyone in our city when I say we are disgusted, we are infuriated, and we have had more than enough…Three more lives — gone. It has to end. This happened near my neighborhood, on the edge of Broadmoor. It’s unacceptable anywhere.”

Currently the suspects are at large and New Orleans police are asking for the public’s assistance in aprehending the two suspects.

This along with recent shootings in the area make this the 7th fatal shooting in New Orleans within the past two weeks.


Make sure to stay up on the week’s latest stories here at EMCEE!

A Few More Things You Should Know:

– California Wildfires Claim over 800 homes

– President Trump Met With Pastors About Prison Reform

– 6 People Are Dead After Results Of Elections In Zimbabwe Spark Riots

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Kip Sparrow is a HipHop creative originally from Boston, MA, and residing in Miami, FL. Kip grew up on music from Nas, Jay-Z, Eminem, and G-Unit, but when the south broke through mainstream media with artists like Paul Wall, Slim Thug, T.I. and Lil Jon, Kip fell in love with the 808’s and snares and began to create his own music, fueling his ongoing love affair with rap. While focusing on music production, and content curation, Kip uses writing, and podcasting as additional creative outlets to interact with the culture he loves. Kip’s focuses on highlighting quality content, and education within HipHop in an effort to continually push the culture forward.

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