#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Rep. Coleman vs. RFK Jr., Rep. Thompson & Noem clash, Diddy trial, Trump Qatar Jet, FAMU prez search

Episode Date: May 15, 2025

5.14.2025 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Rep. Coleman vs. RFK Jr., Rep. Thompson & Noem clash, Diddy trial, Trump Qatar Jet, FAMU prez search There were heated exchanges on Capitol Hill today. First, New Jersey Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman confronted Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over proposed cuts to programs serving minority and low-income families.  And Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faced sharp criticism as House Democrats grilled her over what they called excessive "photo ops and costume changes" during ICE raids and border enforcement missions. Voters in Omaha, Nebraska, have elected their first Black mayor. We'll speak with the mayor-elect about this historic win and what's next for the city. Plus, it's Cassie's second day on the stand in the Diddy sex trafficking case. Cassie Ventura gave more disturbing testimony about the so-called "freak-offs." Legal Analyst Candace Kelley joins us to break it all down.   #BlackStarNetwork partner: Fanbasehttps://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbase This Reg A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.  This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. You should read the Offering Circular (https://bit.ly/3VDPKjD) and Risks (https://bit.ly/3ZQzHl0) related to this offering before investing. Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. A lot of times big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. Small but important ways from tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to everybody's business on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's, like, my best friend. that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean he's not only my parent like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn

about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit adoptUSkids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.

Listen to Absolute Season One, Taser incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season Two of the World on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war this year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports.

This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season

two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Today is Wednesday, May 14th, 2025, coming up on Roller Martin on the Filter, streaming live on the Black Star Network. Ooh, talk about bring the funk on Capitol Hill. They were going after Ice Barbie, Kristi Noem, and nutcase himself Robert Kennedy jr. wait until we show you what took place. Oh it was just way too much fun. Omaha, Nebraska guess what got themselves a new mayor, a brother, first time in history. We'll talk with the mayor elect about his historic win. Plus second day of the

Sean Diddy Combs trial in Cassie Ventura gives more disturbing testimony about vicious beatings from Diddy. We'll talk to legal analyst Candace Kelly. Folks, that and a lot more. Of course, we got crazy-ass Grifter in chief looking like a fool in the Middle East. We'll talk about that as well. It's time to bring the funk on Roller Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Let's go. He's rolling, best believe he's knowing Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling, yeah, yeah

It's Uncle Roroyo, yeah, yeah It's rolling Martin, yeah, yeah Rolling with rolling now, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real, the best, you know he's rolling, Martez. It was fever in the Funk House on Capitol Hill. First up, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. Boy, Congresswoman Bonnie Coleman Watson laid into his ass when it comes to his agency. Roll it. Mr. Secretary, few things enrage me more than the racist attacks I see this administration

carrying out by embarking on an ignorant crusade to rid the government of any programs that are working to improve the lives of black Americans. The administration has moved to ban the words black, race, bias, minority, oppression, prejudice, discrimination, disparity, and racism. Any grand application on federal programs that include these words had them immediately stripped. It is painfully clear to me that this, in doing this, this administration that you work with and work for is attempting to legitimize racial discrimination, and that,

sir, is a moral disgrace. It is not woke to improve the health and well-being of black people who are despairingly impacted by just about every health issue. It should not be controversial to make right a healthcare system that was not built to help people like me to take my concerns, my pain, my health, very seriously in this country.

Black women die from childbirth complications at a higher rate in this country than any other high-income country. And last year, where there was overall maternal deaths dropping in this country, well, black women, maternal deaths rose. This sickens me, and it tells me that our government has so much more that we must do to focus on improving the lives of black women, not less. Your decision and justifications are damning and troubling, particularly for destructive

impacts your choices and benefits will have on poor minority people. So tell me sir, how will eliminating minority health offices, how will eliminating initiatives and programs across the department that were created to look at the disparity in healthcare and the need to give greater attention to the fact that black folks experience in healthcare was very damaging, was very different. How exactly will HHS banning the words that we use to describe ourselves make us healthier? Congressman, President Trump's vision of this country

is the same as Martin Luther King's, that we should have colorblind administration. President Trump is deeply concerned about the maternal health crisis and the fact that black mothers are more likely to die in childbirth, 2.6 times, 260% more likely to die in. Excuse me, sir, let me claim my time because I don't need this rhetoric about Donald Trump and the lie

that he cares about me and black people. What I want to know is the proposals— I was answering your question, Congresswoman. I'm claiming my time, sir, reclaiming it. I want to know specifically, how do you intend to address those disparities and to overcome those disparities as it relates to black health in this country with the changes that you've decided are important or someone has decided for you I don't know with your department. Specifically sir. I've spent a lifetime working on those priorities and I continue to do so.

We have eight divisions, eight programs for minority health at HHS. We closed one of those offices. We're maintaining the other seven. We have 42 programs for maternal health. We're going to close a couple of them and consolidate them. We're going to still spend $1.7 billion a year. The commitment is there. We're just reorganizing.

OK, you know what? The impact of reorganization is something that I shall continually ask you to show me. So please, let me warn you now. I welcome those inquiries. And I don't want rhetoric. I want numbers. The other thing that really troubles me, sir, is LIHEAP.

It is a program specifically to address the needs of low-income and minority families as it relates to heating and even air conditioning. Why, why, why, and what is your rationale for eliminating that program specifically? Why, why, why? I'm very committed to LIHEAP. My brother ran a low— I don't care about your past. I care about your functioning in this department, in this administration, right now in response to this question? My time has expired. Well then so has your legitimacy. I yield back.

Well now, my panel, Rebecca Carruthers, Executive Vice President, Fair Election Center out of DC, Naomi Carter, author and associate professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland. Also, Andrew Clark, managing partner, District Legal Group out of DC. Glad to have all three of you here. Woo, that was a little fired up there, Rebecca. Little fired up there.

Okay, let me know when we get Rebecca back. Niamh, I'll go to you. I mean, that's what happens when you, I mean, this called light his ass up. Well, listen, I think this is a problem that so many of us have with this administration. I mean, look, Bonnie Coleman has been around for a very long time.

She is not a dumb woman and not to be trifled with. And unfortunately, we don't see a lot of fire in the belly like we see from her. And I think that's why it's so exciting to see, because this is the kind of congressional oversight we need. I mean, it has been clear that in this particular administration that people's credentials and bona fides do not matter. And Kennedy was trying to give a lot of talking points, even invoking Martin Luther King, who quite frankly, if they had their way,

we wouldn't even be able to talk about him, his name or his politics. They want to misrepresent their record. And the fact of the matter is, these people don't care about black people and they certainly don't care about black women. And so this whole talking point of what we're trying to do, what we're trying to do, you know, is reorganize, is consolidate.

We want to make a healthcare delivery better for black women. It's hogwash. We know they're doing everything they can to undermine the social supports and the social welfare network that could support many black families, black mothers, particularly those who are low income. And I mean, you know, everything from firing federal workers, where we know a lot of black

women are employed or were employed before this administration, down to Medicaid and Medicare expansion. These people don't care about black people. And I think what Congresswoman did, Congresswoman Coleman did show was that these people are just about the talk. The only thing they care about doing is destroying and lying, quite frankly. And you know, you have to think about what our grandmothers told us. If you lie, you cheat.

If you cheat, you steal. And if you steal, you kill. And these are politics of death these people are dealing in. I mean, we won't even be testing our milk pretty soon. This should concern all of us. And I think she cut to the quick with this one today. Rebecca, I mean, listen, this is what needs to happen, how they must be challenged. Absolutely, because here's the bottom line. If this administration cared about the health and well-being of black people, then they would do what it takes to increase the number of black health care workers, specifically black

doctors in this country. Today, they would not have went after and decided to investigate some scholarships in Ohio that looks to diversify the medical industry. If this administration really cared about the health and well-being of black folks, then the president would not have the executive order that looks to change some of the accreditation policies for medical schools, which includes having demographics around diversity

to make sure that there's a diversified. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one.

The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on everybody's business from Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Max Chafkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. With guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams,

and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull, we'll take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to everybody's business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this Taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad.

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st, and episodes four, five, and six on June 4th. Ad free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod.

And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Sir, we are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players

all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote unquote drug dance. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote.

Marine Corvette, MMA fighter Liz Caramouche. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcast. deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org, brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council.

Pipeline of people of color that's entering into the medical profession. So you know, hats off to the Congresswoman for using her voice and being forceful. And this is the type of thing that we need in order to challenge this administration. Yeah, because at the end of the day, these thugs are gonna do exactly what they're gonna do. And Andrew, they must be pushed, prodded, and called out and challenged at every turn. I mean, and first off, we're talking about healthcare here.

Can we just address the elephant in the room? What is going on with my man's voice? Why does he sound so raspy? And he's supposed to be the head of the health, whole entire United States. room what is going on with my man's voice. The whole the tight United States somebody get him a cup of tea somebody get him a large is something because the court just don't sound right now I mean I'm not going to pretend to know what to do with women's rights that I'm just going to be just like him I leave that to my scene palace but one thing that I

hate when they say, when they talk about equality, and they try to bring up Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King lived in a time when there was no equality, and he was trying to at least get us up on the same pedestal. And what we're talking about here today

is discrimination to try to knock us down off the pedestal to which we're talking about here today is discrimination to try to knock us down off the pedestal to which we're sitting. So please stop using MLK's name. And also please somebody get that man a cough drop or something. No, no, no. Somebody get him a new job. All right, y'all.

Hold tight one second. Lots more to break down, including Ice Barbie. Boy, they were going at her on Capitol Hill as well. But coming up next, we're gonna talk with the newly elected mayor of Omaha, Nebraska. That's next, Roller Martin unfiltered on the Blackstone Network. On the next Get Wealthy with me,

Deborah Owens, America's wealth coach. We're talking about the difficulty of being able to acquire wealth for Black Americans. My guest, Emily Flitter, is the author of The White Wall, How Big Finance Is Bankrupting Black Americans. The bad stuff that you feel when you're dealing with the financial services industry is not your fault. It's not your fault and you don't deserve to be treated like this. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Black Star Network. Farquhar, executive producer of Proud Family.

Bruce Smith, creator and executive producer of the Proud Family. Louder and Prouder. You're watching Roland Martin. So folks, big election last n police chief of Omaha Ne jr. Beat the incumbent Re Stother who was seeking her fourth term. Boy, talk about a huge, huge win. Ewing, last night, said this at his victory celebration. Hi, I'm John tell you all a story because he's

standing right here in front of me. About 13 years ago, I was in the legislative chambers when one of the former pastors in Omaha, Leroy Adams, told me I was going to be the first black mayor of Omaha. I then came down the escalator and Pastor Cedric Perkins, who's standing right here in front of us, said, you're going to be the first black mayor of Omaha. So within about two minutes, I heard that from those two men and I said, okay, that sounds good, but I didn't know if I truly embraced it at that moment. But they said that to me with such conviction that it stuck with me.

And so thank you for sharing that with me and thank you for being a great friend throughout this whole process. Tonight, we embark on a new chapter. I am deeply honored and humbled to stand before you today as your mayor elect. Well, Mayor elect Ewing joins us right now on Roller Martin Unfiltered. Glad to have you on the show. First up, congratulations. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me. This is an exciting moment in our city and we are on top of the world. So I thought if you look at all these other mainstream white media shows, they say that the Democrat party is dead. How could you, a black Democrat,

beat a three term incumbent Republican? I don't think the Democratic party is dead. I think what we need to do is show people that we are common sense folks who can bring people together and who can get things done. And that's what I've done in my 43 year career in Omaha. And that's what I sold to the people that we were going to bring people together. We had a vision of creating economic opportunity for everybody in this city, increasing very intentional economic development in North and South Omaha.

And that's what was the message that helped us win. Now, this was not the first time you ran for mayor of Omaha? Yes, it is. This was the first time? Yes, it was. So, so you previously, because in your remarks there, you said you, that's what This was the first time? Yes, it was. So you, now previously, cause in your remarks there, you said that's when you were in the state legislature.

No, what happened is I was, I'm the Douglas County Treasurer. Got it. And I was up in our legislative chambers for the city council, county board, and all of those organizations. And I came down from a meeting up there as I was leaving, Pastor Leroy Adams made the comment

as I got to the bottom of the escalators to go back to my office. Then Pastor Cedric Perkins made the comment to me as well. So I've been the Douglas County Treasurer. This is my 19th year. And I'm actually the first African-American to win a county wide election in Nebraska as well. So with that, what would you say to other Democrats,

other black Democrats who are running, whether it's mayor for state rep, state Senate, you know, because when you look at these polls, oh my God, the Democratic brand is so awful, it's so bad. Yet when you look at these polls, oh my god, the Democratic brand is so awful, it's so bad, yet when you look at a special election in Pennsylvania, one in Iowa, when you look at other ones, you see wins taking place. What do you say to people who, when they hear that, oh my god, the party is rudderless, it has no leadership, what do you say to that? I think you have to be your own individual first, and then I think secondly think you have to be your

And then I think secondla the people what you stand that you are going to par of the things I showed th is the chaos that is happ D. C. And I compared that style and how I was going to lead this city. And that resonated with people across political aisles,

Democrats, Republicans, independents, people want good government and that's what Democrats have to deliver. We have to impact people's quality of life. And when you look at your focus, what is your primary focus when you are sworn in and you become the mayor of Omaha? I want to do intentional economic development.

That was my number one thing that I talked to the people of this community about. We have an urban core plan that primarily impacts downtown Omaha, Nebraska. I want to spread that to the North Omaha community, which is primarily black folks, and then into the South Omaha community, which has a large contingent of Latino members of our community so that they can take part in the economic development in this city and the opportunities in this city.

Omaha is ranked highly by places like Forbes Magazine as the number one place to live. Well, I want us to be the number one place for everybody. You a deputy police chief. Yes. And what often happens is, when public safety is an issue, a lot of Democrats try to run as hardcore as they can because this notion that Democrats are soft on crime.

How do you make the argument though, as somebody who served in that capacity, now will be the mayor, that there has to be a balancing act when a lot of these cities are spending 50 and 60% or even more of their city budget on police and fire. I think we have to have a balance as you're saying. And I think one of the things I wanted to make sure

the people of this community understood is that I do want to increase the staffing because we're about 130 officers short. But I don't want to do that. So we're heavy on crime and we're writing more tickets and all of those things. What I want to do is get Omaha police officers the opportunity to be able to do community policing and be able to partner with their community and be able to help their community address the issues as they see them, not just as the police department sees them. And one of the things I point to is, I was co-chair

of the Crime Prevention Covenant here in Omaha when we started an effort called the Empowerment Network. We were able to reduce gun violence by partnering with the community about 70 percent. And we are one of four model communities because of that, as designated by President Barack Obama's foundation. So it's really about partnering with the people of this community and doing policing with them. And so the people of this community understand my experience in policing. They understand how I want policing to be in this city.

We're partners, not people who are doing policing to you. We're partners, not people who are doing policing to you. Questions from my panel. Nyamba, you're first. So congratulations, Mayor Lecun. Thank you. This is huge. So can you talk a little bit about how you approach these local communities? Because I can imagine this is not something that can be handled by, you know, consultants

and others outside of Omaha. This had to be a very local, very hands-on approach. Can you talk a little bit about your approach to your campaign? Sure. So the first thing is I've been in public service in this community for 43 years, first as a member of the Omaha Police Department, and then the last 18 and a half years as Douglas County Treasurer. But I've also been heavily involved in community service,

having served on about 70 boards. So I think one of the things you have to do is you have to know your community and you have to know your people. So everything we did with the campaign was local people who also knew the city, but they understood politics and I understood the city. So we took and combined those two approaches in order to develop a strategy that would help us win.

In the primary, as an example, we had significantly less money than the two people that everybody thought were going to go into the general. We spent about $3.66 a vote, but I had the name recognition. I had the reputation and then we worked hard. We knocked doors from January to yesterday. We also did phone calls. We did robo calls. We did everything we could to reach out to the voters with our message. And I attended 40 or 50 different forums

and neighborhood community group meetings and was able to get my message out there. But I think it really starts with knowing your community. Thank you. Andrew. Yes. So the first thing I know that is on everyone's mind. First, congratulations to you. Are you related to Patrick Ewing? I'm sorry. I didn't quite catch your question.

I don't know if you froze or if not. He asked, are you related to Patrick? A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action.

And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chafkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. With guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick.

Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to everybody's business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

Across the country, cops call this Taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad.

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st, and episodes four, five, and six on June 4th. Ad free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Glodd. And this is Season Two of the We're on Drugs Podcast. Yes, sir, we are back. In a big way. In a very big way. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the We're On Drugs podcast. Yes sir, we are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote unquote drug band. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill.

NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette, MMA fighter Liz Karamoosh. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real.

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcast. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend.

At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit adoptUSkids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. You and he must be a Georgetown,

he must be a Georgetown Hoya or something. I used to tell people that when I, when I was younger, but I'm about a foot shorter than he is. And congratulations to you, Mayor. Thank you. If you could just educate us on how, how were you able to overcome 12 years, 12 years that the previous mayor was in office? How were you able to overcome that? I know that you talked about what your election process was like, but what do you think was the central message that you had that was different?

Well, one of the things I tried to do, and I don't think people do enough of it is I ran a clean campaign, but I did talk about my opponent's record and some of the broken promises that were made, for instance, with the restaurant tax that we had. She ran saying that she was going to eliminate it when she was running for her first term and we still have that restaurant tax. So I reminded people of those type of things as well as we have a streetcar project that she said was going to go to a vote and she did not put it to a vote. So I reminded people of her record. I think one of the things we sometimes do is we don't remind people of our opponent's record and we let them get a free pass.

I wasn't going to give anybody a free pass in this election. Rebecca. John, I got two questions for you. The first question, so potholes, last time I was back home in Omaha, the streets were kind of jacked up. What is your plan for fixing the potholes in Omaha? So one of the things that I do is I use people that are really smart and experts in their

area. And Rebecca, as you know, being from Omaha, Jim Subtle was mayor, but he was also public works director. And so I told Jim subtle today, I said, Jim, I've been talking to people about fixing the potholes. One of the things you're going to help me do is you're going to help me develop a plan so we can let the people know that we are serious about repairing their streets and then we're going to tell them what the plan is. So Jim Suttles, he joked with me and said, man, you're going to put me back to work full time. And I said, yes, I am, but that's what I'm going to do is count on experts. One of the things I know also, Rebecca, is that the city used the wrong type of concrete

for their street repairs for at least the last 12 years. And I believe that we have to look at substances that will hold up to the weather in Omaha, Nebraska, when we have all of the snow, all of the freezing, ice and all of the thawing and freezing and all of those things. So that's something I'm going to investigate as well looking at what cities that are successful are using in terms of materials. All right then well go ahead Rebecca go ahead. One more question now first of all John congratulations to you and your team and your wife, Dr. Viv Ewing.

She's listening right across from me. Absolutely, I know she would be. So it was historical, but each time you've run in Omaha, it's been historical in nature. There are a lot of little black boys and little black girls who now will know that there is a black mayor in Omaha Omaha and representation matters. So what does it mean to you, especially when you're looking in the eyes of your grandson? What it means to me is that people,

especially our people get to see someone who looks like them in the most powerful position in this city and they get to believe their dreams are possible. When I first became Douglas County Treasurer, I went into the schools quite a bit and even up until COVID and I would tell young people there's nothing special about me. But I've been able to work hard. I've been able to take advantage of the opportunities and my dreams have come true. If you do the same thing,

then your dreams are possible as well. I was even sharing that message at a program today, honoring eighth grade honor roll students that your dreams are possible. And that's the message I want them to believe. And that's what I said in some of my interviews last night is that I hope they're watching. I hope they read about this and I don't just mean in Omaha, Nebraska.

I mean across this country. I want our young people to see that their dreams are possible. That's what my life has been about That's what my public service has been about when I first became a police officer The one of the first things I did was I became a Boy Scout leader at Lothar elementary school where I went to elementary school All right then. All right.

Well, Mary Lick, I certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much for joining us. When is the inauguration? It's going to be on June 9th. And I just have to say really quickly for those who don't know, Rebecca was my campaign manager when I ran for Congress in 2012, and she did an amazing job for me. I believe she was either the only or one of only two black women who was a campaign manager

during that cycle. So I'm proud to see you continuing to do well also. All right. Rebecca, you're supposed to reveal that. I didn't say nothing. I usually say nothing. I told your producer. You're supposed to say it. OK, so I want to say it.

It was the closest race in 2012 that was not backed by the Democratic Party. And so part of the reason why is that John heard this and I heard this. They didn't think a Black man could win in Nebraska. So I think that story is so powerful because there are a lot of black folks in this country who want to run for office and hire office,

but they're told by different folks that you can't do it. And so it's very important when you are a strong local leader and you're connected with community, you will win elections. Absolutely. All right. Thank you Absolutely. All right. Thank you all. All right. We appreciate it.

Good luck. Thanks a lot. Thank you. All right, folks. Going to break, we come back. We're going to talk about what we show you what happened with Ice Barbie on Capitol Hill. They will land into Kristi Noem.

That is next on Roland Martin on the Black Star Network. Don't forget, support the work that we do. Join our Breed and Fuck fan club. Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans on average contributing 50 bucks each a year. That's $4.19 a month, 13 cents a day. We purposely don't charge a subscription for our content.

We didn't want to do that. We wanted it widely available. So when you support the show, that's what you are doing. We've had great support since we launched this show September 4th, 2018. And so we hope you will join that list. And so if you want to contribute via Cash App, use the Stripe QR code. You see it right here. You can also use that code for credit card donations as well. You want to see the check in money order, go to P.O. Box 5. First of all, make it payable to Roland Martin Unfiltered. P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C. 20037-0196.

PayPal is R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is R.M. Unfiltered. Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. We'll be right back. On the next A Balanced Life, we're talking soul and soul food. The kitchen is the heart of the home.

So many memories that are there. The things we've learned, the recipes that we've tried to garner and to somewhat figure out how to cook ourselves. There's something about the kitchen and family and being at the table that brings u be joined by some amazing to talk to us about how do

alive and what are we doi The traditions and the ga warmth and security. Those important and we have to, those continue to happen. So no matter how we get in the kitchen or around the food, I just want you there. That's all next on A Balanced Life here on Black Star Network. Now that Roland Martin is willing to give me the blueprint. Hey, Syroz, I need to go to Tattler Parry and get another blueprint because I need

some green money. The only way I can do what I'm doing, I need to go to Talapeer and get another blueprint because I need some green money. The only way I can do what I'm doing, I need to make some money. So you'll see me working with Roland. Matter of fact, it's the Roland Martin and Sherlock the Witch Show. Well, it should be the Sherlock the Witch Show and the Roland Martin Show.

But whatever show it's going to be, it's going to be good. Ha ha ha. Ha ha ha. Well, y'all, Ice Barbie went before Capitol Hill today, and let's just say the shade, the pettiness I was fully there for. I'm glad Secretary Noem is finally testifying before the committee. After all, it's been three months since I sent you a letter asking for her to testify

on the Trump administration's dismantling of the Department of Homeland Security and its harmful effects on communities across the country. Secretary Noem, I guess the chairman didn't think systematically dismounting the Department of Homeland Security, firing the federal workers who keep us safe, and violating the Constitution of the United States justified your timely appearance before this committee. But when Donald Trump demanded that Congress hand him money to do more damage to our homeland security,

Republicans bent over backwards to help him and his billionaire friends at the expense of the American people. Whatever got you here, Secretary Noem, I'm glad you found time among your many photo ops and costume changes to testify about why President Trump is seeking more taxpayer dollars and what you plan to do with that money if you get it. Thank you, Madam Secretary. You have an important job.

I think you have one of the most important jobs in the cabinet. Thank you for doing it. I want you to have credibility and be taken seriously as you. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up.

So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action, and that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chafkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on,

why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. With guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to everybody's business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this Taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened

when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st, and episodes four, five, and six on June 4th. Ad free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the We're on Drugs podcast. Sir, we are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner.

It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote.

Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouche. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast

season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcast. Arapawe, you gotta pray for yourself, as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov.

Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Do the job. And so I want to put to rest this question about Mr. Garcia in this photo that the president posted on April 21. Madam Secretary, you agree that the letters MS and the number 13 in Times Roman numeral font that they are doctored on this photo, right? Congressman Abrego Garcia, the only member of MS 13, it wasn't based off of tattoos, it was based off an entire case. Okay, and I'll accept that for the purpose of this question. You agree though that this is doctored, is that right?

Madam Secretary, I want you to have credibility and I want you to be taken seriously. Is this doctored or is it not doctored? Is it doctored or not doctored? I understand. Is it doctored or is it not? I am taking quite seriously Is it doctored or not the importance that the president has given me to do I understand is it doctored or not? That's important to remember is that every single time a case is built. I have a seven-year-old six-year-old a three-year-old I have a bullshit detector. I'm just asking you is this doctored or not doctored sir The protocols in the case built again, built against the question were exactly the same. I don't have any knowledge as to that photo you're pointing to. Okay.

Can you take the photo? Walk walk with the photo down there. Please take a look at this photo is tweeted by the president on April 21. It's been hanging out there for about a month. So what is your point? My question is the numbers and the letter MS 13. Could you look at the photo, please? It's right in front of you.

Were you saying Abrego Garcia is not a white leader? No, ma'am. But he's not a criminal. He's not a human trafficker. He's not a member of MS-13. You vouched for Mr. Garcia when your team sent. Ma'am, you vouched for him when you said he was mistakenly deported.

I didn't vouch for him. I did not say that. In that photo. He should have been deported, absolutely. It's so telling that you won't look at the photo. And we will not be bringing him back to this country. Was it doctored or not? In staying here, if he comes back to this country, he would be taken away.

Madam Secretary, can you look to the right at the photo in front of you? I have seen this photo as you held it behind your head. Thank you. And the letters MS and the numbers 13. Are those doctored or not? Is this your entire testimony today is on a doctored photo? You don't want to talk about the facts? Okay. The importance of our national security? You acknowledge it was doctored.

Make sure that the United States is protected. Madam Secretary, this is not a hard question. Are those doctored or not? Sir. Is that actually on his hand or not? This is unbelievable to me that your focus. It's unbelievable to me that you can't look at the photo and tell the American people. I looked at the photo, but I don't have any knowledge as to this photo.

Okay, so it's been hanging out there for four weeks. You are one of the chief law enforcement officials in the country. What have you done to investigate whether the president misrepresented the reason that that person has been detained? Sir, we spend our time... Have you done anything to try and figure out whether that was doctored or not? The mission of the Department of Homeland Security

is to secure our nation and to make sure that we're out there going after those that are the worst of the worst, the criminals, the bad actors, Braco Garcia, the terrorist, So the answer is you've done nothing to correct the president. A member of MS-13, a wife-feeder,

and a human trafficker that should never have been in this country to begin with. Madam Secretary, thank you. Mr. Burnett. If the Supreme Court has ruled nine nothing, nine nothing, that he hasn't been treated appropriately, why is your opinion better and have more authority than the Supreme Court. Investigators, two judges, an immigration court that all said he was MS-13 and was removed from this country. But you understand, that is you saying that.

That is you saying that. That is them saying that. No, no, no, no. This is investigators and law enforcement officers in the case they built against him. If you don't trust our law enforcement officers and investigators, then who do you trust? The court has considered all that. The judge has considered all that, Madam Secretary. And if you would be quiet because I'm reclaiming my time, you are not following this court order. But let's focus on the court order because this opinion also says that to facilitate, which the Supreme Court is requiring, is an active verb. It requires that steps be taken. What steps have you taken to

return Mr. Abrego-Garcia to allow him to get due process? Abrego-Garcia is in his home country. What steps have you taken? If your continued advocacy for him were to... I'm not advocating for him. I'm advocating for a court order, Madam Secretary. The court order says that you must take steps to follow the court order. You are here under oath. What steps have you taken to return Mr. Obregón-Garcia pursuant to this court order? It's got to be extremely discouraging to be one of your constituents. To see you fight for a terrorist like this and not fight for them is extremely alarming to me.

I'm fighting for due process. And that's under the Constitution. The gentleman's time has expired. You refer to foreign terrorist organizations. You refer to aliens who are affiliated with foreign terrorism. You refer to arrests of suspected gang members. Not once do you mention the term domestic terrorism, domestic terrorists, or lone wolf. There's a gaping hole in your testimony today. You failed to reassure this committee or the American people that you'll protect the homeland from bad actors,

radicalized right here in the U.S. like the gunmen who opened fire on my community three years ago today. There's been a systematic, intentional effort by your department and this administration since June of this year right here in the US, like the gunmen who opened fire on my community three years ago today. There's been a systematic, intentional effort by your department and this administration since January 20th to ignore the very real threat posed by domestic terrorism. Well, hot there.

Here's the reality, Andrew. These thugs refused to abide by a Supreme Court decision. Yeah, and you know, when we look at the fact that he was forbidden from going to that country, that she... Actually, we're losing your signal, so let's, well, let me go to Nyambe. Nyambe? Yeah, I mean, look, I think this is what happens in this administration.

I mean, everybody here is for Donald Trump's comfort, not for the rule of law. You know, and it's one of those moments where we have to recognize the call is coming from inside the House. The biggest threats to our democracy are not the Abrego Garcías of the world, are the folks like Kristi Noem, who were willingly and regularly disobey the oath they took to the people of the United States and to defend the United States Constitution. The rule of law should be paramount, but so many people in this go-round of this administration

are spending their time being sycophants and loyalists to Donald Trump that they could care less. I mean, this is what is, I think, driving so many people away from this presidency. It doesn't necessarily mean that this is a shoe in for Democrats, but what it does mean is many of those people who took a chance, who thought that

what Donald Trump was saying about immigration, about the economy, would actually come to pass and they would see their lives better, recognize that these are just moves to basically dismantle a legal system that will allow anyone, including Americans, civil rights and civil liberties to be trampled on by this administration. And Kristi Noem, we know this woman who is by her own admission killed a puppy, doesn't care about people. I mean, she could not care less,

otherwise you wouldn't show up in a prison in another country with a Rolex on while people are being dehumanized and have had themselves, I mean, had their characters assassinated by no other word but your own in this administration. And this is the kind of stuff that really upsets people. And I mean, and upset is, of course, putting it mildly,

but is letting this government's hypocrisy be on full display. This, among many other things, right? Because while we're importing Afrikaners from South Africa, we are deporting people who have a right to be here and who are owed an opportunity to defend themselves in a legal setting. And Kristi Noem is just, again, another long list of people who have signed up and signed away their own integrity in the name of this administration. Absolutely.

Rebecca. You know, I'm glad the NB said it. Yeah, she's a puppy killer because she couldn't figure out a properly trained her puppy. So she decided to shoot it. That's simply ridiculous. And so is her approach in this administration. For those of you all who have been inside the airports recently, you see the Kristi Noem Ice Barbie posters as you're going through security and it's simply ridiculous. There are serious issues in this country. There are serious homeless security issues

in this country, but unfortunately the secretary is not a serious person to deal with it. She's more concerned with aesthetics than the actual substance of what's needed in this country, and that's very unfortunate. Is Andrews sick no better? Yeah. So, Roland, you know, the biggest issue that I have is how she's playing in everyone's face as though they're not going into the court and arguing something completely different.

They're not arguing that he's an MS-13 gang member. They're not arguing that he's an MS-13 gang member. They're not arguing that he's a domestic abuser. What they're arguing is that, oh, you know, because we already deported him, there's nothing that we can do. So we just, it's a mistake, it's an administrative error. So we're just gonna let it go. And then she's going into these congressional hearings

and flat out lying about what the government's position is before the court. And they absolutely can take those steps to try to bring him back. They just don't want to do it. Well, absolutely. Bottom line is we're dealing with an absolutely corrupt, corrupt, corrupt, corrupt White House.

And I'm all for Kristi Noem getting jacked up. I'm gonna play some more of Congressman Betty Thompson laying into her. Go ahead and play it. To you or to the president for the last declaration, and it's taken an inordinate amount of time more than normal. I just wanna know, is that inordinate amount of time more than normal. I just want to note is that inordinate amount of time

is based on some plan that you have knowledge of. If it's not in writing, I understand. So you talked about the rule of law. Are you telling the committee that due process for anybody that's picked up in this country should not be followed? Congressman, we have utilized due process as it is laid out in the tools that Congress has given us. We have followed the tools and the processes to which Congress has given us to give

due process to people appropriately as it is due. So your testimony to this committee under oath is that everybody that ICE has picked up in this country has been given every opportunity as it Section 5 under the Constitution provides. Correct. I believe everybody has gotten due process, and every person has been treated appropriately according to the civil or the criminal action to which they were encountering individuals and brought into our detainment and then also removed from this country. So your answer is yes.

The tools that you have given us as this body for due process have been implemented. No, I'm talking about the Constitution of the United States. I'm not talking about tools. The Constitution is clear. Correct. The tools that you have given us as this body for due process have been implemented. I'm not talking about tools. The Constitution is clear. Correct. And?

And your testimony under oath to this committee is that everybody that ICE has picked up and any other agency of DHS has conformed to those statutes. For example, Congressman, expedited removal. No, yes or no. No, I don't need an example. Expedited removal is one of the tools that you have given us to utilize as due process. I just need a yes or no. that That's what she is. All right, we're gonna go into a break. We're gonna come back. Candace Kelley will give us the breakdown of the testimony today in the Sean Denny Combs trial. It was a whole lot with Cassie Ventura

for her second day on the stand. We'll be right back. Next on the black table with me, Greg Carr, the Tuskegee Institute, now University, forever linked to the infamous and despicable syphilis experiments done on the poor rural farmers in Alabama and the Tuskegee Airmen, the famous heroes of World War II. But its history is about so much more. In his new book, The Tuskegee Student Uprising, author Brian Jones reveals

a largely untold history rich in radical activism and reform. Suddenly, the students are meeting these folks whose lifestyle is very different from theirs, very rural. But they're seeing them lose family members. People in their family disappear. How Tuskegee became an epicenter for black power. An amazing history lesson on The Black Table, right here on the Black Star Network.

Hello, we're the Critter Fixers. I'm Dr. Bernard Hodges. And I'm Dr. Terrence Ferguson. And you're tuning in to... Roland Martin Unfiltered. You're Terrence Ferguson and you're tuning into Roland Martin unfiltered. 42nd day Cassie Venturer returned to the stand in the federal trial of Sean Diddy Combs and man, it was just as shocking and devastating as it was on yesterday. Legal analyst Candace Kelly, Candace Kelly join us right now with the

breakdown. on yesterday. Legal analyst Candice Kelly. Candice Kelly, join us right now with the breakdown. You know, like you said, it was a lot. What we found out actually were more details, kind of just a hundred of encounters of these freak outs, freak offs, excuse me. Cassie really broke down everything. What she also said was that at one point Sean Combs did say that he wanted to blow up Kid Cudi's that he wanted to blow up Kid Cudi's car, wanted to make sure that all of his friends were there. And she also mentioned that many, many times,

she said that she did not want to do this anymore. Remember, that's very important to the case that the prosecution is trying to prove. But here's what was the really big bombshell, and this came at the end of the day. Cassie explained that when she finally broke up with Sean, she decided that she would have dinner with him. She said it was a fine dinner, a lovely dinner, but when they got back home, he raped her. I mean, and this was at the end of the day. So this

was really, really big news on top of such big news that, you know, this is why they asked jurors on questionnaires, are you comfortable with very detailed explanations about what goes on when people are in the middle of sex? She talked about how when Sean Combs found out that she was dating Kid Cudi, that he started beating her as she was having sex during one of these freak-offs. She talked about getting sores in her mouth because of having so much different types of oral sex with so many different people and, you know, uterine

trapped infections that the medicines just wouldn't heal. I mean, it was just a day of details and when asked how many freak offs did she think she was a part of, she said too many to count. She eventually said hundreds. So just a lot went on today and certainly a lot will go on tomorrow. That's when cross-examination will begin. She also talked about her 29th birthday

that he was just calling her so much that he won't have a freak off and he... A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on everybody's business from

Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. With guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull,oll will take you inside the board rooms, the back rooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about

VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to everybody's business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this Taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

Cops believed everything that Taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season One, Taser, Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st, and episodes four, five, and six on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glodd. And this is season two of the World of Drugs podcast. We are back in a big way, in a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. It's kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote unquote drug band. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown.

Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamouche. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real.

It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcast. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey.

We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit adoptUSkids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSkids,

the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. She just left her friends at a karaoke bar? She absolutely did. And this was more than on one occasion where she abandoned an event or abandoned friends at the karaoke bar. She abandoned a Prince concert

when he heard that she was coming. He rushed right out of there. She said she fell on her heels because she knew that she was going to be in trouble. And that was what the crux of what she was saying that, listen, I'm abandoning people, I'm scared. I'm scared of this man. I'm scared for my life.

She mentioned that he had guns. She also had pictures that were shown to the jury. Now these were her own pictures that she took over the years. Some of the pictures her mother took of bruises on the back of her body. Of course the jury got to see that, but everybody else in the court gallery did not see that.

In fact, we won't see any of that. This is part of the stipulation and decision that was made by the judge. But there were a lot of pictures and I would say, again, a lot of details just kind of layering on that this was something that she was doing every single week, three hours, four hours at a time, taking drugs. She mentioned the use of the IV drip

in order to revive her when she was getting tired. She mentioned once waking up in the shower after having blacked out. So, I mean, today was a day of details. She mentioned more than 10 men by names that were brought in as escorts, really building the prosecution's case. I will say that if I was defending Sean Combs,

I would have to dig into a couple of things that she brought up. Number one, she did initiate a couple of fights. She talked about initiating fights with Sean Combs. She talked about initiating a fight with someone who was taking a picture of her. She talked about texts that she sent to Sean Combs saying, I love you, you make me so happy.

She talked about a lot of things that might seem confusing to jurors and that they're going to have to decipher whether or not, you know, was she being real or not? Another big deal of the day was the fact that, yes, we all know that there was a settlement, but she told everybody in the court room that that settlement was $20 million. And I will say if I was a defense attorney, I would be bringing that up, asking her why did she, why was she asking for that money? Why did it take her so

long to ask for that money? Was it because she married someone that did not have as much money as Sean Combs? I would get on her about the fact that she did go on shopping sprees, that he paid for apartments and places where she lived. We really do have to look at both sides because on cross, this is what we are going to see the defense break down. I read one report where the defense told the judge they're going to be shifting their strategy as a result of her testimony. Well, sure. You know, they have to be very, very careful because she is a pregnant woman. She had very, very tight, um, uh, witness testimony.

And they have to be careful to make sure that the empathy that she gets is, is not, um, uh, magnified so much by the jurors. They're gonna have to be nice to her. This will not be a regular cross. You know, you normally have cross examination where you impeach the witness. You make sure that you want them to come off as liars to the jurors.

That's going to be very, very difficult in this situation. Plus what she's doing is she's giving up information before they can bring it up. For example, as I said, she said that she did start fights. Well, that's something that they can talk about, but the fact that she put everything out there, this is something that they're going to have to change. She was a likable witness, believable witness, again, a few holes, but they definitely have to go

a little more gingerly than they would on someone who was not eight months pregnant. again, a few holes, but they definitely have to go a little more gingerly than they would on someone who was not eight months pregnant. Again, it was a lot today about domestic violence. And so, do you believe that part of this strategy is that for the prosecution that they want this jury to be repulsed by Sean Diddy Combs? Oh, absolutely. I think that they want them to be repulsed. I think that they want them to know all of the details.

I think they want them to be really sick to their stomachs because when you hear this type of information, where a regular drug is not kind of curing something that a lot of women get, a UTI, that kind of puts a little hole in my stomach that she couldn't cure that because she was involved in this domestic violence situation. Listen, there are a lot of ways that this can happen too. I mentioned the expert that we're going to hear from

that will kind of justify and contextualize all of this. I would also suggest that if anybody wants to look at, those people who are in violent situations, look at the Duluth model out of Minnesota of control and power. It talks about all of the ways that women and men are controlled economically and physically and made to feel like they're alienated from their friends.

All of that plays into this. And I've worked with a lot of domestic violence survivors. So she seemed pretty typical, but we definitely need some contextualization as to what she was going through and what someone inside of that type of violent relationship is feeling because she stayed for a very long time.

Questions from our panel. Rebecca, you first. Thank you so much for your reporting. But as you talked about the testimony today that was centered around domestic abuse and domestic violence, we know that that isn't in the criminal complaint, but specifically it's around coercion and sex trafficking. How do you think the prosecution is gonna start to move over to the trafficking and the coercion to prove its case?

Well, you know, and thank you for the question, there was one point in her testimony where she talked about getting on a commercial flight. Well, you know, and thank you for the question, there was one point in her testimony where she talked about getting on a commercial flight. And during that flight, she made reference to the fact that Sean Combs right on the plane pulled up video that she thought was deleted just to make sure that she knew she had to continue in those freak offs. And this was after she had said several times, I do not want to be a part of these freak offs.

So I think that many people might look at that as coercion. There's threat, there's intimidation, there's that level of coercion. So they are drawing and connecting the dots very slowly because you're right. There isn't anything outright that says, Sean Combs wrote a note that says, I will kill you if you do not go to the street golfs.

But the way that she was treated, how many times she was beat and punched and kicking her head, I think that the jury will be able to connect the dots and make that coercion part of it really stick. Niambe. Yeah, so thank you again, Candace, for those details. I mean, I know it's pretty harrowing. Does it seem like the jury is reacting at all

to those details or is everyone trying to maintain a poker face? Because I think that's a pretty harrowing set of allegations there. No, absolutely. So listen, I've been in and out of the courthouse. At one point, it's reported that one of the jurors, when they saw these pictures that she had, gasped and put their hand up against their chest because they were

very, very surprised at the bruises that were shown that she took up herself. But most of the time, they have just had a poker face. And I think that they've just been taking everything in, as Sean Combs is is too. I think what's also interesting is that, while Sean Combs probably will not take the witness stand, just him sitting there all gray, reading the Bible, taking notes, you know, saying thank you to everybody with his hands clasped. You really are testifying when you're not,

when you're sitting there. So I think that the jury is just taking all of that in and they're trying to be as poker faced as possible. Andrew. Yes, thank you for your reporting on this. What's the overall, I guess, temperament in the courtroom in general? Are things pretty contentious?

Is everyone pretty civil? What are things like? Oh, you know, everybody is very civil. If you want a judge on any case, this is the judge you know, everybody is very civil. If you want a judge on any case, this is the judge to have. He is very civil. All the attorneys are very civil. And, I mean, they're powerhouses of attorneys,

so they're interesting to watch them do their work. It is packed. It's not as packed. You know, I covered the Sean Colum Shooting Trial 2001. It wasn't like that. It's certainly more kind of an assembly line of people who were sitting in there. I think what was interesting is that when we all sit down in court,

the manager of the courtroom says, hey, listen, you cannot talk and you have to be respectful because this is a part where the press has a responsibility to the public in order to report everything that's going on. I like that very much because this is a part where the press has a responsibility to the public in order to report everything that's going on. I like that very much because this is why we have the press and people like me who are able to go into the courtroom. But it is very civil and very quiet.

Outside, it's a madhouse. I mean, people are in line right now in order to be inside of the courthouse tomorrow. There have been fights that have been broken out, breaking out, and that there's a lot going on, but inside, very, very cordial. Well, again, it is a whole lot to take in. And again, the trial is expected to go eight weeks. This is only day two.

So the question then really becomes, what does the prosecution unveil? Again, I saw one that attorneys for a couple of other witnesses, including one person who was a combs assistant, talked about how scared to death and nervous they are are testifying. Oh, absolutely.

This is probably, she goes by the name of Mia. This was mentioned in the first day of the opening statements for the prosecution. We heard more about Mia today from Cassie Ventura and how she was treated as his assistant or an employee. And you know what, we'll probably hear, he's facing dozens of civil lawsuits. And of course there was due diligence done

to talk to all those people who filed. We'll probably hear from those people who filed those civil lawsuits but absolutely we're going to hear from two or three other women depending upon if they can get that one who's kind of missing in action we're going to hear their firsthand testimony as victims in this trial. All right Candace Kelly you appreciated thanks for the break for the breakdown. All right good Candace Kelly, you appreciate it. Thanks for the break for the breakdown. All right, good to see you. All right, folks, let me go to a break. Come back, more news to talk about,

including finally Supreme Court Justice Alison Riggs being sworn in in North Carolina. Folks, join our Breena Funk fan club. Support us via Cash App, use the Stripe QR code. It's right here. If you're listening, go to blackstudynetwork.com. You can use the QR code for credit cards right here. If you're listening go to Blackstudynetwork.com. You can use the Cura code for credit cards as well so you're checking money order by making it payable to Roland Martin Unfiltered P.O. Box 57196 Washington D.C. 20037-0196. PayPal's

are Martin Unfiltered. Vemos are M Unfiltered. Zell, rolling at Roland Martin on filter.com. We'll be right back. This week on the other side of change, let's talk vote blue. No matter who we need political imagination more than ever. And unfortunately, some people on the democratic side really are discouraging. Yeah, we're going to dig into all of it. The democratic party needs to remember who they are and who they are responsible to.

This is On the Other Side of Change, only on the Black Star Network. This is Essence Atkins. The celeb king of R.B., Raheem DeVaughn. Me, Sherri Shepard, and you know what you're watching. You're watching Roland Mars Martin Unfiltered. Well folks, the legal battle over the Supreme Court seat in North Carolina is now done with Allison Riggs being sworn in today as the Supreme Court Justice in that state. She already had the seat. She's being challenged by a Republican.

And of course for six months he was fighting this, just making stuff up. And so finally she was sworn in, here it is. All right, well I had a video. Okay, all right. Okay, let me find it myself. Do, do, do. This of course is a race that we've been looking at,

focused on and talking about. And that has been just absolutely crazy. This is actually a video that Riggs dropped after her swing in, watch this. I'm Justice, hi, I'm Justice Allison Riggs dropped after her swaying in. Watch this. I'm Justice. Hi, I'm Justice Allison Riggs. I was just sworn in again as an associate justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court. It is my great honor to continue serving

the people of this state. And my promise to you is this. I will fight for every North Carolinian, regardless of who they voted for. I will defend all North Carolinian regardless of who they voted for. I will defend all North Carolinians regardless of political affiliation. I will uphold the rule of law, the constitution, and follow my solemn oath without fear or favor,

and I will stand up for your rights and freedoms. Thank you. It was an absolutely just crazy back and forth that took place this year's video of her being sworn in as well. Just back to what the Republican was doing. I mean, trying to get some 65,000 votes rejected. Here's what was just the most nonsensical thing for me

about all of this, Rebecca, is that, this was weird. He was trying to get the ballots tossed in his race. And the North Carolina Supreme Court Republican-led was trying to help him all as they could, but you're gonna act like other people didn't vote? So toss out ballots only in his race, as if there were no other races on the ballot? That to me is what was so crazy.

So like, oh, only in his race, they were illegal. Yeah, yeah, so absolutely. So this is what's crazy. He was trying to go back 20 years and say that because the law has changed in the last 20 years, the requirements for voter registration 20 years ago is now stricter now. So, those who registered up to 20 years ago retroactively or fast-forwardly, they should have complied with the future voter registration restrictions were going

to be in North Carolina. So it's nonsensical. And then also, those 65,000 folks who voted, their votes were counted in the other races on that ballot that they voted for. Those votes were actually already certified. So it is ludicrous to say, only for this particular line on the ballot, do not count these ballots, because these people weren't properly registered to vote. So it didn't have legal bearing.

It didn't make sense. But even just on the surface of it, if you are someone who's sworn to uphold the law and to be a jurist in the state of North Carolina, you should first start by following the law. So ultimately, what we saw when the district court judge, which was a, I believe it was a Trump appointed judge, said, come on, it's over. At that point, the Republicans in North Carolina knew that it was indeed over.

Niamh, for the people who say my vote does not matter, this is the actual map between Alison Riggs and Jefferson Griffin. This is the map right here. You see the counties won North Carolina at the bottom. But the reality is this was a 734 vote margin. You look at the counties there in North Carolina, that tells you right there,

every vote does indeed matter. Absolutely. And I think when you're talking about a place like North Carolina, which has some really interesting politics, right? Where, you know, some places are blue, some places are more purple, some places are more red, it absolutely matters.

It's a big state with a lot of counties. So this really was going to be one on the margins. And I think when you think about places where voting equipment is not as updated as it should be, where you see people who are disenfranchised or excluded, again, these efforts matter so much more. And so, you know, the North Carolina State Board of Elections and others who've been involved

in this process, right, have spoken repeatedly, not just about the process, but about the sort of, the equipment and the infrastructure that is needed in this state. So this election, which is about election denialism and all this other stuff at the national level is really about equality and access too at the local level. And, you know, look, state races are so vital to our lives

and many are one with as few votes as we saw here in North Carolina. So if anything, I think this is a plug for people. If you're over the national stuff, okay, fine. But your state and local elections matter so much more for your daily life and how you experience your daily life in North Carolina is just one of many places. So this is whether we're talking about judges

or we're talking about school boards or any of those other positions, right? When we care about things like potholes, we gotta look locally. So I hope people pay attention and know that there's a lot of stuff happening in our communities right now that matter. Andrew, that's the point that we're always making.

But here's the other thing that people don't seem to understand, and Riggs did. When she spoke, she warned about the threat to future elections. Listen to this. Voters should not have to fight tooth and nail to have their lawful votes counted. Disappointed politicians should not use courts to try and get a different election outcome. That's right.

We have four, and we may continue. A lot of times, the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action.

And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on everybody's business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chafkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. With guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick.

Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to everybody's business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this Taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them.

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser, Inc. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st and episodes four, five, and six on June 4th.

Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glodd. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes sir, we are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote unquote drug band. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill.

NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette, MMA fighter Liz Caramouche. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to it. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the I Heart Radio app. Apple podcasts are wherever you get your podcast and to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content,

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcast. Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position,

pregame to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org, brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. To see efforts to undermine our rights and our democracy. And just as you use your voices in this fight, I encourage North Carolinians to remember, you decide elections.

Not candidates, not political parties. And those that you elect are a strong team. not candidates, not political parties. And those that you elect are a trauma to you. It is crucial for you to use your precious right to vote to elect candidates and especially judges who will put the Constitution, the rule of law, and their sovereign oath above their own personal political ambitions and ideologies. And the reason I was able to stand and resolute, not to discourage and not to intimidate, is because I knew that I stood arm in arm with you, protecting our precious fundamental rights of others.

Thank you. Thank you. Andrew, folk better not play around because again, these Republican courts in this state, they were trying to give this election to Griffin as badly as they could. They tried everything. Yeah, and it's so sad to see our democracy

and also the three branches of government, how it played out in a situation that was so egregious and how they were able to almost overthrow an election that was clearly won by the rigs. But ultimately we did see that the rule of law prevailed. And I think that it gives us a slither, a slither of hope that the rule of law can prevail. I like how she talked about perseverance and how she stood tall and how she was able to overcome even in the face of adversity. Absolutely. And so again, and so now you see

the woman who's holding the microphone there, that is that y'all may not y'all freeze it. Y'all may not realize this, but that's a black woman. That is North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls. She's going to be on the ballot next year. Again, Riggs and Earls are the only two Democrats on the Supreme Court. And they have been trying everything, Rebecca, to get Earls off. In fact, she gave an interview talking about diversity, equity, and inclusion among the staff.

These fools had her investigated and wanted to impeach her because she gave her opinion. Yeah, so Anita Earls is an amazing jurist. She spent her legal career as a civil rights attorney. She clearly understands the law. She's committed to upholding civil rights. She understands the importance of diversity in the state of North Carolina,

as well across the United States. And so right now we're seeing a scheme in North Carolina where they don't want representation. They wanna have two classes of citizenship in North Carolina, which is one reason why Anita Earl going into next year will be a target, but something else that viewers need to pay attention to. The other thing that North Carolina decided to do

is with their state election commission, it used to be that the governor made the appointees to that commission. Well, there was a change in the legislature last year. So it's no longer the governor that's making those appointments. It's no longer, it didn't even move to the lieutenant governor.

It didn't even move to the secretary of state. Instead, North Carolina decided to give move to the lieutenant governor. It didn't even move to the secretary of state. Instead, South Carolina, North Carolina decided to give it to the auditor. So now the auditor, the state auditor, who is a Republican, is now allowed to appoint those who will serve on the election commission. And the reason why that's important, as election rules are updated and changed

and when there are controversies, it's gonna be the Republican state auditors, appointees there are controversies, it's going to be the Republican state auditors, appointees, who are going to be making those decisions. So, one thing to look out in North Carolina is that there's potential litigation to actually get rid of that scheme. But people need to keep their eye in North Carolina, because when it comes to the vote, we're going to still see challenges going into the 2026 election cycle. And I understand, Neon B, why do they do that? Well, because the governor in North Carolina, the legislature did that.

The governor in North Carolina is a Democrat. The lieutenant governor is a Democrat. The secretary of state is a Democrat. The attorney general is a Democrat. That's why they shifted that authority to the state auditor. Absolutely. And I think, you know, the thing about Anita Earle is that it's been important and why people, the Republicans in particular in North Carolina, have targeted her is she has objected

to many of the things that they have done around curbing people's access to vote, like voter ID laws and other things. She has been a chief objector, in part because her argument is, this has nothing to do with, you know, voter integrity or anything like that. It's about keeping people of color out of the electoral process. And she has made that claim repeatedly.

As we've seen Republicans in the state get more aggressive, quite frankly, you know, they've been emboldened and have been for a while. And so, you know, North Carolina is one of those places that's kind of unique because if you know anything about North Carolina, you know, like Durham, for example, was never covered by the Voting Rights Act because of so many black people who were registered to vote in 1965. But there are other parts of that county, right? I mean, of that state, excuse me, where that were covered in part. And one of the things that North Carolina

has always been very good about is doing their racism in such a way that they didn't really use racist language. So when they didn't wanna integrate schools, what did they do? Started these private academies like lots of states did, and then gave local communities the ability to abandon schools.

They do similar things with voting and voting challenges, right? Where anyone could challenge someone's voter registration and those mails wouldn't be forwarded, say to your new address. So you wouldn't even know sometimes that that had happened to you. So North Carolina has a very long history of this and Anita

Earls has been one of the thorns in their side kind of obstructing their ability to do this with the speed and the quiet that they would like to do it with. Because the thing about the GOP in North Carolina, they like to do a lot of things, but they don't like to claim a lot of things They like to do a lot of things, but they don't like to claim a lot of things when it comes to undermining black voting rights in that state. And so Anita Earls has been a problem for them for quite some time. Andrew? Yeah. I mean, you know, I don't want to echo and rehash everything my panelists have said,

but one of the things that we have to remember is that the South still lives on. There's still going to be three or four steps ahead of us when it comes to the institution of racism. You see here 2025, and they're still trying to do the same thing, trying to oppress women and trying to oppress African African Americans and other minorities

so we have to make sure that we are staying ahead of the game and we're looking at what their blueprints are right and we're looking at the things that they're doing and making sure that doesn't doesn't trickle up north to our communities. All right folks quick break we. We're gonna talk about the gutless speaker of the house, Mike Johnson, who is so wimpy. He won't even call out Trump's $400 million airplane deal. Also, Florida A&M, whoo,

fevered a funk house there as well over the hiring of a new president. We're gonna talk about that as well. You're watching Roland Martin on Filtered on the Black Star Network. This week on A Balanced Life, we are getting real about mother wounds. While May is the month that we shower mom with love, for some people, this time of year is a stark reminder of fractured relationships and feelings of abandonment. is a stark reminder of fractured relationships and feelings of abandonment. In this episode, we will be uncovering the trauma of mother wounds and sharing tips on how we can begin to heal them. What we don't talk enough about in our community is giving ourselves permission

to even heal. That's all next on A Balanced Life here on Black Star Network. on the challenge live here, Black Star Network. Hello, I'm Jamia Pugh. I am from Coatesville, Pennsylvania, just an hour right outside of Philadelphia. My name is Jasmine Pugh. I'm also from Coatesville, Pennsylvania. You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Stay right here. the College is named Doctor F DuBois Bowman as his 13th president, marking a powerful return to a

Morehouse man Bowman 1992 graduate. Also, he is a nationally respected health leader currently serves as Dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, known for his visionary leadership and commitment to academic excellence. Doctor Bowman will take the helm on July 15th.

Trustees say he brings the perfect blend of intellect, strategy, and values driven leadership to Guymore House into its next era. Now, going to Florida, Florida A&M's presidential search has reached a fever pitch with controversy swirling around finalist Marva Johnson and the process itself

strikes strong opposition from students, alumni, and civil rights leaders, including a rally led by Florida A&M alum and Hollywood producer, Will Johnson. Johnson made her case before the Board of Trustees during her interview today. She thanked the search committee and emphasized her commitment to Florida A&M's legacy.

Meanwhile, critics say, or they question her academic qualifications and alleged political interference pointing to her ties to Florida's Republican leadership and her late addition to the finalist pool. NAACP leaders in the Florida and community have called for restart of the search to ensure transparency and fairness. The Board of Trustees is going to vote on May 16th with the Florida Board of Governors making the final

decision. Play some of that audio please. That's meant and this is one place where AI can be helpful. Getting real-time assessments from students might help the teachers improve their ability to service the students in the classroom. And so if we pull levers like that, I think we can see, we can make progress.

And if we can't make progress, maybe we can have a better perspective on what opportunities we should look to so that we can make that. All of the finalists have been meeting this week on campus with the board, with students. People have an opportunity to ask questions as well. And again, it was.

It was a lot here. This was a video posted person. I'm in Marvel Johnson's meet and greet session. Florida A&M alumni in the community is packed unlike previous evening sessions with the other finalist. Attendees include Will Packer and Lawrence Humphries, son of former Florida A&M president William Humphries. Watch this here, turn it up.

We have a 2 plus 2 articulation. So I, in my role as a member of the state board of ed and as the chair of the state board of ed, I've spent a lot of time working in education policy as well as in managing performance as it relates to delivering the outcomes that our families need for our children. So I'm a member of the state board of ed. I've spent a lot of time working in education policy as well as in managing performance as it relates to delivering the outcomes that our families need for our children. So I'm a member of the state board of ed.

I've spent a lot of time working in education policy as well as in managing performance as it relates to delivering the outcomes that our families need for our children. So I'm a member of the state board of ed. I've spent a lot of time working in education policy as well as in managing performance as it relates to delivering the outcomes that our families need for our children. So I'm a member of the state board of ed. I've spent a lot of time working in education policy as well as in managing performance as it relates to delivering the outcomes that our families need for our children.

So I'm a member of the state board of ed. I've spent a lot of time working in education policy as well as in managing performance as it relates to delivering the outcomes that our families need for our children. So I'm a member of the state board of ed. I've spent a lot of time working in education policy as well as in managing performance as it relates to delivering the outcomes that our families need for our children. So I'm a member of the time working in education policy, as well as in managing performance as it relates to delivering the outcomes that are being received by our students here in the city of Florida. Now, there have been others who've been commenting, who have been, again, raising their concerns.

Let me pull up a second here. I'm gonna show you, I'm gonna show you, I'm gonna show you here, give me a second right here. I wanna show you Andrew Gillum, of course, who is a graduate of Florida A&M. He weighed in as well with his thoughts on all of this on Instagram.

Let me go there. Wanna show you what he had to say. Again, folks are not at all happy specifically about, about Marva Johnson. They're unhappy that, that she has been picked as a finalist. Part of this is because they say she has no university experience whatsoever.

Now you heard her there talk about being on the State Board of Education, but again, she's never actually worked in higher education. Let me see if I can pull this together for you. This was on Instagram, Andrew Gillum. He says, meet Marva Johnson, political puppet, no ties to Florida A&M, no higher education experience. She's not here for us, she's here for them.

And so you have his post here. He says, Republican conservative operatives are knocking. They see FAMU as their next takeover. We can't let them in. And then he says, outside power players are trying to hijack our leadership. We see you and we won't stay silent." And so, they says, you see what it says here, no MAGA, MARVA movement.

Diyambi, that's a whole lot going on there. And look, the point is, you know, look, I personally know Marva Johnson. I met her years ago. She's been a cable lobbyist. So, I've met her at cable events. But when they say that if you want the president of a university, if you've never worked at a university in any capacity whatsoever, how are you qualified

to be the president of a university? I think this is a big can of worms in part because of DeSantis, right, and his move to like root out ideological stuff, as I think he used the term, at universities and claim U is the latest. Look, there are a lot of routes to becoming the president. I do think it is important for a person as a university president to understand how a university works.

It's not a business. It's not like other things. You not only have to know how to fundraise and distribute money, but you also have to know how to deal with students, deal with families, deal with parents. And yes, you have deans and vice provosts and all those kinds of folks to do that stuff. But a lot of your job is about restoring or installing confidence in that place. And if people don't feel that you are a person of integrity, that you are bringing that to that position, then you're going to get responses like this.

I don't think that there's a way that Marva Johnson can take this job with no prior university experience, with no ties to this institution and all of the other things and expect to have the respect of her university community. The fact that you saw this many students at that function when it is after the end of classes, right? At the very end of the semester, their summer technically should be starting now. And you see that many students there, that is a testament to how bothered

and upset these students are and how concerned they are. And it is no surprise that DeSantis would go after one of the flagship black institutions in that state. It's no means the only. But I think when you think about FAMU and think about its status in that state and just its status nationally as a premier institution, we should have known that it would be on the offing, especially since so many Florida universities have had new presidents in the last couple of years. So I think people should be rightly concerned that this person is there just to sort of do the bidding of the governor and not serve the needs of the students of Florida A&M

University. This is the thing that jumps out at me again. I am look as somebody who who understands institutions who who run places I just believe um I just believe Rebecca that when you're talking about being the president of a university, let's just look at some numbers here, okay? Florida A&M, 10,000 student body, okay? When you look at size of the faculty and staff, I mean, we're talking about 422 acre campus. We're talking about again, where the university ranks.

We're looking at so many different things. When it comes to background, if you've never run something, it's kinda hard to make the point about, yeah, let's, you go ahead and run this now. That's one of the points also Will Packer's been making. I'm gonna go to my iPad. This is the local station where he talked about

his opposition to her being president. Amphitheater's namesake himself, Will Packer. We have to make sure that we support each other and that we are loud and we are ardent in our opposition to somebody that is not right for the future of this institution, especially at a time that is so crucial. The renowned FAMU alum and film producer

tells us countless from. Now, you got 535 full-time instructional faculty, 476 support service staff. Again, if I'm hiring somebody, my first question is, have you ever run an institution of this size? Have you run an institution half this size? If you haven't, how can you be considered a finalist

for a job of a flagship university in the state of Florida? So here's the thing about FAMU. If you know anyone who went to FAM or is an alum of FAM, and if you're familiar or a part of the FAMU League, then you absolutely know how tight-knit that community is. If you never walked the highest of seven hills there, then you don't need to be trying to run FAMU. So it's not just whether or not

have you run an institution where it's over 10,000 enrolled students, plus just under 1,000 faculty and staff, but it's also what is your commitment to FAMU? The other thing is, Pastor's Prologue. So I believe she was the chair of the Florida State Board of Education. So tell me, how did black students in Florida public schools fair under your leadership? Did they increase? Did they improve in scholastic achievements?

Or was there a decrease? What were the outcomes of black students? If you can't answer that, if you can't prove, even in your past, you've done things to the betterment of black students in the state of Florida that you do not deserve to run on FAMU. And finally, I'm gonna be a little petty and no to those who are making comments,

I'm not gonna make fun of her wig, but this is what I'm gonna say. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. I think it's telling that they're like, usually when someone who's trying to go into leadership and is member of my illustrious sorority, we go up for that person. We are extremely supportive and supporting that person.

I think it's very telling that I'm not hearing members of Alpha Kappa Alpha shouting out their support of her in this endeavor. She certainly is not a good fit. She is not qualified. She has not shown a commitment to the FAMU community. And it is what it is. It's a farce.

So again, for me, I just look at very clear metrics and understanding. Andrea, we'll go to you. I'm looking at this is the resume. Again, y'all, this is not my opinion. This is the resume of Marva Brown Johnson. It says right here. Okay, this is, I just want everybody to hear

what I'm saying. Professional experience, charter communications, 2016 to president, group vice president, 2020 to president, Regional Vice President, State Government Affairs for the South, 2016 to 2020. Bright House Networks acquired by charter in 2016. So work there from 2016 to 2016. Corporate Vice President,

Government and Industry Affairs, 2010, 2016. Corporate Vice President, Government and Industry Affairs, 2010 to 2016. Corporate Vice President, Technology Policy and Industry Affairs, Interim Vice President, CLEC Operations. Then you go to Director, Carrier Services and Financial Operations, 2006, 2008. So if we're starting in 2000, if we're, and again, okay,

you know, law degree from Georgia State, MBA from Emory University, Executive Management Program, Harvard Business School, Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University, okay. So if I'm looking at experience, I'm looking at 2000. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has

gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on everybody's business from Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Max Chafkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories

in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. With guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull, we'll take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain.

I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to everybody's business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this Taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them.

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser, Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season One,

Taser, Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st, and episodes four, five, and six on June 4th. Ad free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott.

And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes sir, we are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players

all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne for Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote.

Marine Corvette. MMA fighter. Liz Caramouche. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real.

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcast. a setback, just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position, pregame to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org, brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. 16 to present, so that's 19 years.

I mean nine. Nope, nope. I'm sorry, nowhere in here do I see leading or running an institution. Running, how many employees, again, this is what I look at. I look at how many people did you manage? I look at, do any of these jobs have what we call P and L responsibility, profit and loss?

The answer is no. I'm sorry. I don't, and again, I know Marva personally. I've met her, she know Marva personally. I've met her. She's a golfer. I mean, I texted her last week. I just don't see how this light of a resume to be a university president,

these two simply don't correlate. Well, look, Roland, you know, honestly, after seeing this, I think that I might put in my application to be the president of Howard University. Because this is the definition of a plant. When you look at the other candidates that she's up against, one is the vice president of that university,

the other one works at Eastern Shore currently. They are so much higher qualified than she is even at this moment that it makes zero sense except for the fact that she is a MAGA plant. And for her to even be considered, you go back to thinking about the process of applying for a job. When you sit behind your computer, you put your resume in, and then you hope that you get a call back. You get all these qualifications that a person in this job needs to do this, this, this, this, and that. And then you apply for the job and you say, man, I have all these qualifications and I hope that I get a call back. And they called her back, someone that I was listening to. I didn't hear anything in there that said anything about being in any way related to education, whether it be even except for a student,

except for getting degrees in education, nothing in there, teaching a class, even sitting on a board of a university, nothing in terms of educational experience. This is the definition of a planet. It's sad because we have somebody in the White House right now that has experience, yes, four years beforehand, but is completely unqualified for the position. And now they're starting in Florida. Goes back to what I was saying about the South, that we gotta watch the South, right in these trends in the South.

And they're starting in Florida. Femme, you are very well known, highly respected HBCU. And I think that if they let her in, there's gonna be the trend. Because just because she's an AKA does not mean that she's qualified to run an entire institution. So I just want to show people, these are the finalists.

All right, so you look right here, Rondale Allen, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Maryland Eastern Shore. And then if you click CV, you'll see, let's see here, you'll see, let's see here. You'll see Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Acting Vice President for Strategic Initiatives. Dean of the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions. Associate Dean for Academic Quality. Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Xavier University. The Dean of Academic Quality with South University School of Pharmacy. Assistant Dean for Program Assessment, Xavier University. That's to me, that's called

relevant academic experience to be president, okay? Here's the next person. Gerald Hector, CPA, Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance at the University of Central Florida. If I click his CV, what is he gonna tell me? Senior Vice President, University of Central Florida, oversaw the issuance of structured bonds, okay,

all the whole deal, late implementation, all these things in terms of being the VP for Administration and Finance. Then, as I go go Morehouse College, executive vice president, chief business officer. Let's see here, Cornell university vice president for financial affairs, university treasurer, their two years before that. Let's see here. vice president for financial affairs. They're still

at Cornell. Okay. Ithaca College, vice president for finance and administration. Let me go down further. Johnson C. Smith, vice president of business and finance. Okay. Corporate controller, United Negro College Fund, there for six years. Deloitte and Touche, public accountant. All right. So that is an extensive business academic record. Okay. Again, I showed you Marva Johnson's resume. The fourth candidate, Donald Palm, executive vice president, chief operating officer, Florida A&M University. Okay.

So, if I go through here, Florida A&M, EVP, chief operating officer. Before that, let's see here, okay, academic stuff, policy, strategic, all this other stuff. Interim Vice President for Advancement, Executive Director, Florida A&M Foundation. Got it? All right. Let's see, previously, Virginia State University, Executive Vice President and Provost, Vice President of Student Affairs, Vice President for Research. Let's see here, let me go on down.

Progressive Leadership, Florida A&M, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs. Okay, so you have three candidates with significant university experience. One candidate, zero university experience. Also candidates that dealt with finances,

manage staffs. One who's been a lobbyist. I'm sorry, I understand why people at Florida A&M are going, what the hell? This don't make no sense. Absolutely. I mean, for the party that loves whining and complaining about DEI and merit-based hiring,

Rebecca, I'm sorry, I don't see the merit. And I'm making an apples to apples comparison to resumes. They didn't even try here. So it's very insulting. You know, they didn't even find somebody. I mean, maybe they could have found a black administrator at Liberty University or something, at least someone who has worked in higher ed.

Instead they're just like, oh, you're gonna fall for the okie doke, the banana in the tailpipe. And guess what? Black people are smarter than that, especially black folks connected to community. What we're seeing is this person's not connected to community, because if she was, they would have told her, hey, sis, this ain't for you.

You need to sit this one out. Instead, I don't know who her counsel is, but apparently she has a very unwise counsel. If she had integrity, she would remove herself from this process. But unfortunately, she may be someone with no integrity, which is why she's up for this position, even though she should not be.

Well, all I'm doing is sitting here, comparing the resumes. Listen, if Marva hit me right now, and said, what do you think? I would say, Marvin, you ain't qualified for this job. This ain't the first time I told somebody I know you ain't qualified for this job. I mean, I'm sorry.

This is, I mean, it is what it is. All right, y'all, before we go, I can't stand people with no guts, who are hypocritical, who are just weak. That's Speaker Mike Johnson. So he's asked today, he's asked today about the $400 million jet that Qatar wants to give to Donald Trump. If y'all want to see someone who will never win a profile encourage award, it's Mike Johnson. Listen. If the president were to accept an airplane from the Qatari government, should Congress have approval over that kind of act? Look, I've been a little busy on reconciliation, so I'm not following all the twists and turns

of the Qatar jet. I've certainly heard about it. My understanding is it's not a personal gift to the president, it's a gift to the United States and other nations give us gifts all the time, but I'm going to leave it to the administration. They know much more about the details of that, okay? I'm just, it's not my lane.

they know much more about the details of that, okay? I'm just, it's not my lane. Run that back! If the president were to accept a airplane from the Qatari government, should Congress have approval over that kind of debt? Look, I've been a little busy on reconciliation, so I'm not following all the twists and turns of the Qatar jet, I've certainly heard about it. My understanding is it's not a personal gift to the president, it's a gift to the United States and

other nations give us gifts all the time, but I'm gonna leave it to the administration. They know much more about the details of that, okay? I'm just, it's not my lane. It's not my lane. Not my lane. It's not my lane. Really? Henry, go to my iPad. Y'all, article one, section nine, clause eight says, no title of nobility shall be granted by the United States,

and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state. Um, Andrew, what, what that means is speaker Mike Johnson, it is your fucking lane. The constitution clearly states it's your lane. States, it's your lane. Go back right here without the consent of the Congress.

And then to say, oh, we get gifts all the time, not $400 million planes. And the announcement that it's going to go to the United States, and then after he leaves, it gets transferred to his library for his personal use. Bruh, really? Yeah. I mean, you know, talk about the miseducation of Congress. First off, the United States educational system needs to do better.

I don't know. No, the US education system is fine. That dumb ass don't want to answer the question. I am not the speaker of the house and I know about the emolument clause. Right, right. They didn't ask him to spell it. They asked him to weigh in on it.

Yeah, yeah, and I just don't understand how he can at least just say, or someone could have prepped him to say, you know, you're going to get asked about this jet. So if you're going to get asked about this jet, please just go ahead and say that Congress will have to, you know, decide it later. Instead, he just acts like he has no idea, completely uninformed about anything,

and then he makes this ridiculous remark that he has no, that the Congress has no bearing on whether or not a $400 million jet goes to the leader of the free world. Come on, this is ridiculous. I mean, this whole, I don't know, I don't know. There's not my job, I don't know. I mean, why y'all asking me?

I mean, I've been busy with some other stuff. I haven't heard, you ain't tell me, yo, as a Speaker of the House, and you ain't heard about this here? I mean, listen, if you can't chew gum and walk across the street at the same time, then this is clearly not the job for you. Look, Mike Johnson is not ready for prime time.

It's been clear from the beginning that he is there to essentially say whatever Donald Trump wants him to say. The fact that they're talking about accepting this plane and then trying to use our money to retrofit it, right, to make it the Air Force One, not thinking about the security concerns or anything else, but when it is decommissioned, right, when he leaves office, he's going to be able to use it for his private use and donate it to his presidential library. I mean, let's talk about what this is really about. Donald Trump wants an upgrade. He is willing to take a bribe from whomever is offering it.

In this case, it happens to be Qatar. I think there are real questions about Donald Trump not just wanting to be a king, but the level of public corruption that he will engage in. And then look at us with a straight face and say, no, I'm not. And everybody around him, the sycophants and others, whose job it is, again, to serve the people of the United States and not Donald Trump, just sit around and twiddle their thumbs and say,

I don't know anything about this. Everybody knows something about this by now. Why don't you know about this? And I think this stuff, this sort of mealy-mouth playing in our faces that they're all doing, it's going to come back to bite them eventually. Because one thing we do know about Donald Trump, he does not forget and he takes score. So those who choose to get a backbone and stand in the way of this gift, right, this government to government gift that somehow is going to revert to Donald Trump as a private individual once he leaves office, whenever that is, he will go after them. And I'm just curious to see how many people are going to, you know, I don't know, try to maintain

some semblance of integrity, try to pretend that this is still a democracy, that they are still people with actual titles and some power here. I'm waiting to see it. It's certainly not gonna be Mike Johnson, maybe Thune or some others will come forward and say something, but this is out and out ridiculous.

It's corrupt. It raises all kinds of security issues. And, you know, this is par for the course when you're looking at this administration. Before I go to Rebecca, I found this to really be laughable. If you want to see how hypocritical this fool is, watch this. Of President Biden. be laughable. If you want to see how hypocritical this fool is, watch this. Of president, speaker, you are very critical of president Biden and his family's foreign business

dealings. You supported an impeachment impeachment inquiry as a result of it. Are you equally concerned about president Trump's family's business dealings, especially given the fact that he is in a region now where his family has billions of dollars of investments in Doha, in Saudi Arabia, and the fact that he has a crypto business now where he's auctioned off access to the White House for the highest bidder in his mean coin. Look there are authorities that the police executive branch ethics rules I'm not an expert in that my expertise is here in the house okay I will say that the reason they many people refer to the Bidens as the Biden crime family is

because they were doing all this stuff behind curtains, but in the back rooms. They were trying to conceal it and they repeatedly lied about it and they set up shell companies and the family was all engaged and getting all on the dole. Whatever the President Trump is doing is out in the open. They're not trying to conceal anything. But Mr. Speaker, the investment in the meme coin, those folks are not transparent. We do not know who those people are. I don't know anything about the meme coin thing.

I don't know. I can just tell you that, I mean, President Trump has had nothing to hide. He's very upfront about it. And there are people who watch all the ethics of that. But I mean, I've got to be concerned with running the House of Representatives. And that's why I should.

Is it Congressional oversight, though? That's the congressional responsibility. Is it an option? Congress has oversight the congressional responsibility, isn't it? Congress has oversight responsibility, but I think, so far as I know, the ethics are all being followed. So, yes, sir. So, let me give you our translation. See, unlike some other people who we accused of being criminals,

but we couldn't find any evidence they were criminals. See, Donald Trump, he robs the bank in daylight. And see, when Donald Trump robs the bank, they don't wear masks, and they don't put on gloves. So see, what they do is, they send you a text and they don't put on gloves. So see what they do is they send you a text before they steal your stuff. So Trump's people are just all, see they are transparent with being grifters.

Rebecca, that's really what he said. Look, corruption is corruption and it is wrong, whether it's Democrat or Republican, whether it's behind closed doors or it's on the world stage. But they couldn't prove the Biden so-called crime family. They couldn't prove it. They didn't have the goods. Comber promised for four years, I got the goods, I got the goods, I got the goods, never had it. Yeah, they absolutely did not prove it.

But I also am old enough to remember when Secretary Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, I think she was given like a $250 necklace and it was all up in arms because she could not keep a $250 necklace from a foreign government. What's interesting here, the follow-up question to Speaker Johnson should be, hey, Speaker Johnson, you ride an Air Force One

from time to time. Do you feel comfortable riding on the new Air Force One that's given by a foreign government that at times has hostile anti-American interests? Would you feel comfortable riding in the sky around the world in that particular jet? And I bet you right then and there, Mike Johnson would have some things to say about that

and probably likely wouldn't wanna fly in what would be a compromised jet at that point. And this is ludicrous, it's bad for democracy. It also shows that speaker Mike Johnson is not a good leader. He's not upholding constitutional principles, especially for someone who claims to want to uphold the Constitution. Because as a reminder, Article 1 of the Constitution outlines Congress and Congress's principal role in this democracy in being the primary check and balance

on the executive branch. But this is something that Speaker Johnson isn't comfortable with doing. So maybe he's not qualified for the job. Right, and at least the Republican Senate Majority Leader has some guts. This is Politico. Senate Majority Leader John Thune

became the most prominent Republican to express discomfort with the deal, telling reporters there are, quote, lots of issues associated with that offer, which I think need to be further talked about. I guess he's not too busy being the Senate Majority Leader to actually keep up with the news. I'm just saying. All right. Thanks a bunch, Rebecca. Thank you, Niamh B. Thanks very much, Andrew. I appreciate y'all being on today's panel.

Thank you so very much. Folks, these people are just crazy. They just absolutely. So I just, I mean, I just sit there and I'm like, y'all really, really just the bullshit we gotta deal with. But I mean, that's how they roll. So, all right, folks. That's it for us.

Lots more we'll be covering, keeping up with some stuff. Let me see if we got anything new, anything, got anything. I told y'all yesterday, we were, I showed y'all the photos of our new mobile being built, be delivered next week. Look forward to that. If y'all want to support the work that we do, listen, it's a lot of stuff going on y'all. I was dealing with an ad agency today, and these ad agencies y'all don't wanna support

black owned media, make us jump through hoops, do all kind of stuff, and we're doing the best that we can. But the bottom line is we don't have millionaires, billionaires supporting us. Your support is critical for what we do. We are busy working on new shows, launching the network, shooting a business pilot this week. Looking at a health show as well. So we're trying to expand the offerings that

we have and so when you support Black Star Network, you're supporting all of these shows, not just my show. So we would love for you to join our Bring the Funk fan club. If you want to join via Cash App, your contributions, our goals to get people to give on average 50 bucks. If you can give more, great. If you can give less, we appreciate that as well. Does not matter. The QR code for strike is right here. This is the QR code. Click the Cash App button to contribute. Also, see a check in money order to P.O. Box first of all make a big payable

to Roland Martin unfiltered. See it to P.O. Box 57196 Washington DC 20037 dash 0196 PayPal on Martin unfiltered Venmo RM unfiltered jail rolling at Roland S Martin com rolling that rolling Martin unfiltered com download the Black Sun Network app Apple phone Android phone Apple TV Android TV Roku Amazon at Roland S Martin dot com. Rolling that rolling Martin filter com download the Black Star Network app Apple phone Android phone Apple TV.

Android TV Roku Amazon Fire TV Xbox One Samsung Smart TV. Of course, be sure to get my book white fear how the browning of America is making white folks lose their minds. Give the book stores nationwide. Also get the audio version I read on audible. Get your Roland Martin Black Star Network swag.

We got our new shirts, merchandise, you name it. We got it. Get your Roland Martin Black Star Network swag. We got our new shirts, our merchandise, we got it. Go to RolandMartin.Creator.Spring.com. The QR code is there as well. Plus, download the app Fanbase. And if you want to invest, go to StarKinja.com forward slash fanbase. Folks, that's it. I'll see you out tomorrow right here on Roland Martin on the culture. Holla! Star Network and black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home, ya dig? A lot of times big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways.

Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to everybody's business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts. Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them.

Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org, brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is Season Two of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war this year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast, season two, on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.