NEW YORK (AP) — R&B star R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday for using his superstardom to subject young fans — some just children — to systematic sexual abuse.The singer and songwriter, 55, was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking last year at a trial that gave voice to accusers who had once wondered if their stories were being ignored because they were Black women.U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly imposed the sentence after hearing […]

The U.S. Coast Guard had to escort a cruise ship back to shore after a melee broke out among its passengers in international waters.Officials said the fight, which involved up to 60 people, erupted around 5:20 a.m. on a Carnival cruise ship bound for New York. The fight reportedly stemmed from an argument that unfolded on the ship’s dance floor.The cruise ship ultimately landed in Manhattan as scheduled. ”Last night while Carnival Magic was returning to New York, a number of guests […]

BATON ROUGE – A state webpage used to submit unemployment claims was taken down Wednesday after the company that runs it was targeted in an apparent hack.The Louisiana Workforce Commission said Wednesday afternoon that efforts to restore the page were ongoing. The state said the outage affects nearly 11,000 people currently filing continued claims for unemployment in Louisiana.Up to 40 states with websites run by the same company, Geographic Solutions, are currently affected by the malware […]

BATON ROUGE – The Fabulous Dancing Dolls, Southern University’ famous dance team, is taking fans behind the scenes in an upcoming series from ESPN.ESPN announced that the Fabulous Dancing Dolls are going to be the spotlight of the series Why Not Us: Southern Dance on the network’s streaming service, ESPN+.The team has performed with the university marching band for over 50 years, and the series will highlight the journey of those on the team at the Baton Rouge HBCU.? @andscape presents […]

TANGIPAHOA PARISH – An Entergy worker raced to help when he saw a woman trying to stop her child from choking. According to new details Entergy released Tuesday, Jacob Crawford and a co-worker were on their way back from a job when they saw a car stop abruptly and a woman exit the driver’s seat to try and get her child from the back. Crawford realized the woman was in distress and parked next to her, hurrying to help. He saw the child was choking and quickly took over to […]