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From Essence

New dad T.J. Holmes is officially on diaper duty.

The former host of BET’s late-night talk show Don’t Sleep says he does his best to help his wife Marilee Fiebig with caring for their two-month-old daughter Sabine.

“I probably change more diapers than her because she breastfeeds and she has to do that,” Holmes told ESSENCE.com at the premiere of Free Angela. “So I do the thing that I can do and that’s change diapers.”

Awww, isn’t that sweet! Men don’t really like to help with diaper changes (it isn’t a woman’s favorite thing either) so it’s nice to see he’s become a pro at it. You can read the rest over on Essence.

What have been some of your most memorable moments as parents?

Source: Getty Images

Looks like congratulations is in order!

The YBF has officially confirmed that television anchor TJ Holmes and his wife Marilee welcomed a baby girl into the world on Friday.

Marilee gave birth to baby Sabine who weighed in at seven pounds and 8 ounces in Atlanta where the two still call their primary residence She’s also about 20 inches long. What a very pretty name!

YBF is also reporting that TJ will remain in Atlanta while his BET show Don’t Sleep, which is filmed in New York, is still on hiatus.  As it stands, there’s been no word on when the show will return to the BET lineup.

Since he’s still there, it may be time to see if the bridges are broken over at CNN; maybe he can do a little moonlighting over there like he did a few weeks on MSNBC.  I suppose we’ll have to see what happens next in his career.

Mom and baby are doing just fine. Congrats again to the happy couple.

I have one question: Who’s in charge of the sip & see? Fans of The Real Housewives of Atlanta will get that one.

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We weren’t going to say anything but since Eurweb brought it up, we might as well go there.

TJ Holmes, host of BET’s “Don’t Sleep,” made a surprising appearance on MSNBC Saturday morning as he filled in for Alex Witt on “Weekends with Alex Witt.” He then reappeared in an afternoon shift making us wonder: What’s going on with his relationship at BET?

Now, there are a lot of ways we can go with this (and we might) but let’s just point out that TJ tried to clear up any notions that he was completely done with BET by tweeting:

“To clear this up: last “Don’t Sleep” episode of 2012 was last wk. Look forward to it in 2013. But, u can see me other places, like#MSNBC.”

So, we know “Don’t Sleep” isn’t coming to an end just yet. But we also know that  Holmes wasn’t exactly excited that the show went from a daily 30 minute show to a weekly one hour show.  That move may have been exactly what he needed to start exploring other options and “moonlighting” on MSNBC is not a bad place to start.  We all know the best relationships start with some sort of a “meeting.”

Holmes also tweeted in regards to his anchor seat position:

“Yes, I’m doing some moonlighting with my former NBC family. Sitting in for @alexwitt this weekend. More on Monday. #backintheanchorchair“

So there’s news on Monday, huh?We eagerly await what TJ has to say, if anything, then.  The ratings over on BET aren’t great and it is possible that things just aren’t moving in the direction he thought they would.

We see you, TJ…make moves.

In MN’s Year In Review, we’re counting down our top stories as well as the biggest moments in television, music, movies, and news.

With so much going on every day, most news stories end up being big today and forgotten tomorrow, but these 10 stories were so shocking, sad, and disturbing they stuck with us all year. Check out the list:

Source: Fox News

No Excuse At All: Mother Arrested After Holding Baby Under Scalding Hot Water For Crying

In April, 18-year-old Port Richey, FL, mom Chekayla Dampier was arrested on charges of aggravated child abuse after she put her 7-week-old baby under scalding hot water to punish him for crying excessively. A little over a week later, the baby boy died from the burns he suffered as a result of the 142-degree water which left him with severe burns to his head, chest, arms, and even his eyes and ears.

DMX at the BET Hip Hop Awards. Via @HipHopAwards

Over the years many people have complained about Black Entertainment Television (BET). Among the complaints: too much focus on entertainment, not enough news, too much low-brow entertainment, to many explicit music videos. Complaints really peaked when BET failed to cover live the 1992 L.A. Riots following the beating of Rodney King by LAPD. During all of this, BET co-founder Robert Johnson would always answer his critics that BET was entertainment TV—not news TV.

Now Johnson’s former wife and BET co-founder, Sheila Johnson, is lamenting the history of BET, which was sold to Viacom in 2001 for $3 billion.

Johnson recently spoke at  the “Conversations and Encounters” program at the Carmel Art and Film Festival in Monterey County, CA where, according to EUR, she said she thought BET is a “squandered opportunity.”  She added, “I think we squandered a really important cable network, when it really could have been the voice of Black America. We’re losing our voice as a race as a result. I’m really worried about what our young people are watching. There are so many young people who are using the television as a babysitter. We have parents who are not being parents and not monitoring what their children are watching.”

News only recently returned to BET with Don’t Sleep with TJ Holmes. Prior to that, former BET journalist Ed Gordon’s news segments always struggled to find a solid place on the network, which played more video than news. And even the videos have come under attack, with calls for BET to censor some of the explicit videos and critics claims that BET promotes African-Amerian stereotypes.

Regardless, BET, which launched in 1980, remains the most prominent TV network targeting  African Americans. It currently reaches more than 90 million households.

Are you watching Don’t Sleep? Do you think they should air more news content?

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precious-curls.com

Hey loves!  I don’t know if the celebs stayed home this weekend to watch the beginning of the Summer Olympics or what because they were pretty quiet this weekend. No worries though, I was able to kick up a little dust and find some goodies for you! We all know that won’t completely leave us hanging! Check it out.

Read the rest of this entry »

Source: nydailynews.com

First and foremost, who knew that Dennis Rodman was 51???

But to the matter at hand. The former NBA star known for his colorful hair, multiple piercings, tattoos and sexual exploits, and oh yeah, his killer rebounding skills, was sentenced yesterday after being found guilty of four counts of contempt for failing to come up with his owed child support in 2009 and 2010. Rodman was hit with 104 hours of community service, along with three years of informal probation on the condition that he keep up with both spousal and child support payments to his ex-wife, Michelle Moyer. He has a son named D.J., 11, and a daughter named Trinity, 10, from his relationship with her. The couple married in 2003, but she filed for divorce in 2004. However, they tried to reconcile time and time again, but in the end, she filed for divorce again, and the marriage was put to an end this year.

Though Rodman’s ex-wife says he owes more than $800,000 in back child support, his lawyer, Linnea Willis, disputes the number (she says it’s much less of course) and says that Rodman isn’t and hasn’t been making enough money to pay up. According to the AP, she says the colorful NBA legend is broke, owing thousands in back taxes. On top of that, his troubles with alcohol and more had made it hard for him to get a job or endorsements to bring in more money, hence the struggle to pay spousal and child support payments recently. But now Rodman says that thanks to a few opportunities to play ball overseas (he’s 51 mind you…if you forgot), he’s doing okay, but not making the same dough he used to. “I’m making enough to keep everyone satisfied.” Rodman will have to report back to court on June 22 about more disputes over child support and additional contempt charges. While he is willing to do what’s necessary to do right by his children, Rodman made it clear that he was disappointed that things had to get so messy:

“It’s all about the kids. It does suck the fact that it had to come to this.”

It happens, brother. Just do better.

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Source: gallery-directory-stars.blogspot.com

The legendary comedian made several appearances on television last week, including stopping to do “Press Pass” (an extension of “Meet the Press”) with David Gregory, and also sat down for an interview with CNN. For both interviews, he talked about his thoughts on the murder of Trayvon Martin, among other things, and let it be known that the real problem in this situation is gun violence in general, not racism and racial profiling.

While on “Press Pass,” this is what he had to say on the topic:

“It’s about the gun. It’s about this gun. Guns in this country…When you have a gun, you may not realize it, but you put it on your person and you mean to pull this and kill somebody. That’s what you mean to do…You provoke with a gun. You have this power. You have this thing on you. It heightens what you’re supposed to be looking for.

You’re going to profile anyway, if you’re going to profile. But if you have this, it provokes a feeling.”

And when he sat down with CNN, he let it be known that he feels a gun in the wrong hands is what is responsible for this young man’s death, and calling Zimmerman a racist doesn’t change anything.

“When a person has a gun, sometimes their mind clicks that this thing will win arguments and straighten people out. In the wrong hands and the wrong mind, it’s death…What is solved by saying, ‘He’s a racist. That’s why he shot the boy.’ What solves that?”

And while he’s not trying to take away anyone’s rights to have a licensed firearm, he believes those who want to own guns need to be trained beforehand on how to use them and be “checked” out. Clearly, not everyone is capable of handling one and being responsible with said firearm.

“You’ve got to protect yourself in your own home, but I also believe that when you tell me that you’re going to protect the neighborhood that I live in, I don’t want you to have a gun,” Cosby said. “I want you to be able to see something, report it and get out of the way.”

After Cosby shared his comments earlier last week, some folks weren’t feeling them. They felt saying the race equation needed to be taken out of the picture was irresponsible, especially since a lot of evidence seems to point to the fact that Martin’s race was why Zimmerman found him to be suspicious. Writer and television personality, Touré, who says Bill Cosby is “rather misguided about the black community,” went on MSNBC recently and said that Cosby’s comments were very dangerous.

“Trayvon Martin was clearly profiled as a criminal black man…that’s why he [George Zimmerman] pulled his gun and used it on Trayvon. When a person of Bill Cosby’s stature comes out publicly and says it’s not a race issue, it’s a gun issue, it gives fuel to all those who misunderstand the situation…And he’s giving fuel to those people to say, “See look, even Bill Cosby agrees with us.”

But Cosby might have a point. Of course, racism is still an issue in this case, but I think we all know guns, both illegal and legal, are doing more harm than good these days, making them a huge problem as well.  And Cosby knows the effects of gun violence, as his son, Ennis, was shot and killed while trying to change his tire in a robbery attempt in 1997. Guns make the weakest people brave, as was the case with Zimmerman. He thought he was going to be able to handle the situation, despite the dispatcher saying NOT to follow Martin, but if he hadn’t had the gun, how would this incident really have turned out?

Do you agree with Cosby or do you agree with Touré in saying that Mr. Cosby has it backwards? Check out clips from their performances below:

Cosby on “Press Pass.” Fast forward to around the 11:30 mark:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

On CNN:

Touré on MSNBC:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Source: nbc33tv.com

Her name is Sweet Brown and she is either your worst nightmare realized or a funny anecdote to a story that could have been tragic.

Last Saturday, Brown narrowly escaped a three-alarm blaze that engulfed the Chateau DeVille apartment complex in Oklahoma City. The fire, which apparently started in the apartment of a wheelchair-bound woman, sent one resident to the hospital, destroyed five other homes and left as many as 44 apartments without electricity. Most of them will probably end up in shelters provided by the Red Cross until the complex is repaired or a permanent living situation can be found.

After the early morning fire had cleared, local news channel KFOR descended upon the scene to scope out residents for a first-hand account of how it felt to escape the fire. That’s when they found Sweet Brown. Donned in a carefully knotted mutli-colored head scarf and fronting a thick backwoods drawl, Brown described in the most dramatic fashion her horrifying experience, when she realized her apartment complex was on fire.

Said Brown, “Well, I woke up to get me a cold pop and I thought somebody was bar-b-quein’, I said oh Lawd Jesus, it’s a fare. Then I ran out, I didn’t grab no shoes or nuthin’ Jesus. I rr-ran for my life. Then the smoke got me – I got bronchitis. Ain’t nobody got time for that.”

Have you started face palming yet? Well, you wouldn’t be alone. If you watch the actual video, you will see a young man lurking back and forth in the background, shaking his head and palming his face as well. But the story of Ms. Brown doesn’t end there. You see, yesterday, the video went viral with over 350,000 views.  Pop culture blogs like Gawker proclaimed Sweet Brown as the next big viral star and Hip Hop Wired has said that she is coming for Antoine Dodson’s crown. And with that, six million black folks in the US collectively face palmed again. I can almost hear the chorus of many of them cursing her name and decrying how “she has set us back about 50 years.”

But me, I love everything about this clip. What’s not to love? First, who really does have time for bronchitis? Secondly, there is her name. That’s the kind of name you associate with somebody who makes sweet potato pies for a living or a Ray Charles song, not someone chilling at home, drinking pop (or soda, whatever you want to call it). Thirdly, who knew that Jesus was part timing it up as a television news reporter in Oklahoma? You would think that being the Son of God would garner him some cool perks like working in one of the top television markets. Must be the recession. And finally, she wakes up in the middle of the night, smells smoke and instantly thinks there’s a barbecue going on. Well played Ms. Brown, well played indeed.

Source: Black Voices

After reading about the Trayvon Martin story last week, it really hasn’t been sitting well with me.

Trayvon Martin was shot and killed back in February in his father’s gated community by neighborhood watch leader, George Zimmerman. He was only 17-years old.

Martin was an unarmed black child and only had a bag of skittles and Arizona Ice Tea on him.

This story touches me because it happens way too often. That kid could have been my cousin, my brother, my best friends. I just can’t. All I can do is continue to spread awareness. This child deserves justice. This just wasn’t another cop kills armed black kid story. This was a man who took upon himself to kill an unarmed kid, instead of waiting for the police, after he was instructed to do so.

Zimmerman currently hasn’t been arrested because he is saying that he shot Martin in self-defense.

There has been a lot of chatter online about whether Zimmerman’s self-defense case is actually legitimate.  Some people believe that he had every right to protect himself; others believe that he had no reason to take on the cop’s job.

My mom has 20 + years of criminal justice experience, she’s an NYPD cop who works in one of the roughest neighborhoods in NYC. My mom didn’t have to read any book or take a class to know what happened to that kid was a tragedy and what Zimmerman did was the epitome of a racially motivated attack.

I know what it’s like to be afraid to go into certain neighborhoods because I’m black. I know what it feels like to go into some high end retail store and be followed around by the white employees like I’m going to steal their overpriced items. Being black in America still means you’re a criminal by default for some folks. Trayvon Martin could have been my future nephew, or future son. I fear one day, if I were to ever bear a son, he must live everyday with the fear that some crazy lunatic will shoot him in cold blood because the perception America still holds on to when it comes to our black and brown babies.

There’s a petition going around on Change.org, started by Martin’s parents, to persecute Zimmerman for the murder of their son.

On the petition the parents describe their son:

Trayvon was our hero. At the age 9, Trayvon pulled his father from a burning kitchen, saving his life. He loved sports and horseback riding. At only 17 he had a bright future ahead of him with dreams of attending college and becoming an aviation mechanic. Now that’s all gone.

This is truly a heartbreaking case and I can’t even phantom what his family is going through. Trayvon Martin didn’t deserve to be shot down like an animal, and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

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