On Tuesday, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain held a press conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, and addressed allegations of sexual harassment while he was head of the National Restaurant Association from a fourth accuser who held her own on Monday.
Sharon Bialek alleges Cain made unwanted advances toward her and is the first to speak publicly about it and share her identity following three others who cited sexual harassment claims anonymously. According to Bialek, following a business dinner with Cain to discuss her job search as they sat in a parked car, he reached under her skirt and pulled her head toward his crotch.
Cain denied the allegations during his press conference, saying “I have never acted inappropriately with anyone, period”. He also addressed accusations by another woman, Karen Kraushaar, who went public on Tuesday and identified herself as one of the original women who claimed Cain had sexual harassed her. According to Cain, “It was treated as a personnel matter because there was no basis to her accusations.” Kraushaar was reportedly paid $45,000 after leaving her position. Cain added that the “Democrat machine in America has brought forth a troubled woman” to make these claims and that he would “vigorously defend [his] reputation”. Continue
According to various reports, rapper/actor/producer Heavy D passed away unexpectedly early Tuesday afternoon in a L.A. hospital. The news spread around twitter hours before it was confirmed when Dj & rap pioneer Grand Master Flash tweeted:
Here is the information that TMZ has so far but the story is still developing…
———-“Heavy D — real name Dwight Arrington Myers — was rushed to an L.A. hospital around noon today … and was pronounced dead at the hospital 
at 1 PM. He was 44 years old.
We’ve learned a 911 call was placed from Heavy’s Beverly Hills home around 11:25 AM to report an unconscious male on the walkway . When help arrived, we’re told Heavy D was conscious and speaking — and was transported to a nearby hospital. He died a short time later.
Cops are investigating the death..”————
Heavy D is probably best known for “Now That We Found Love” song, but he also wrote and performed the theme song for “In Living Color” and acted in various movies and T.V. series. Most recently, the 2011 movie “Tower Heist” and series “The Tracy Morgan Show”..
He just performed at BET’s Annual Hip-Hop Awards last month (his first live performance in over 15 years) and he performed last month at the Michael Jackson Forever Tribute concert..
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Now that Sparkle‘s cast has been revealed, Entertainment Tonight had a chance to sit down with legendary singer Whitney Houston & singer/actress Jordin Sparks. The two ladies talked about their experiences while working on the upcoming movie and more. Read some snippets and watch the full video below…
On when she found out about her movie role:
WHITNEY: I got a call from my partner, Debra Martin and she said, ‘You’re not gonna believe this, but Sparkle’s been picked up and they want to do this film.’ And I was like, ‘You’re kidding. After all this? 13 years later? Are you serious?’
On what it’s like to work with someone she grew up admiring:
JORDIN SPARKS: There are a lot of parallels between me and her. Growing up in the church. I was singing in church a lot. I sang in school and then this one thing changed my life. So I’m sitting here going, “I listened to her. I watched her and I saw all this stuff and for her to just stand here and telling me different things”. I definitely want to take it to heart because she’s been through so much highs, lows, ups, downs, successes, different things. It’s just so amazing to stand here and sit here.
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Pictured above: Elaine Riddick and her son, Tony
From 1929 until 1974, the state of North Carolina sterilized 7,600 individuals whom it deemed unfit to have children. While some suffered from mental disease, many were poor and black and were often selected by the Eugenics Board of North Carolina, which consisted of five individuals, to not have children after engaging in premarital sex.
Such was not always the case, as detailed in the story of Elaine Riddick, who was raped and became pregnant in 1967 at the age of 13. After she gave birth to her son, the state ordered that she be sterilized, labeling her “feebleminded” and “promiscuous”.
In an interview with NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams, which premiered Monday, Elaine explained:
“I was raped by a perpetrator [who was never charged] and then I was raped by the state of North Carolina. They took something from me both times. The state of North Carolina, they took something so dearly from me, something that was God given.” Continue
