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-Kodak Black, the controversial Miami rapper who has had a number of run-ins with the law will be sleeping in his jail bed a little happier tonight.
-State prosecutors dropped three of the five charges that Black faces on Thursday.
-Black, whose real name is Dieurson Octave had one charge each of possession of a weapon or ammunition by a delinquent, grand theft of a firearm, and child neglect, dropped by the State.
-Despite the legal victory won by his attorneys, Black is still in jail without the option of bonding out.
-He was originally charged with grand theft of a firearm, two counts of possession of a weapon or ammunition by a felon, suspicion of committing child neglect and two counts of violating of probation.
-He was arrested in January after police raided his Pembroke Pines home after he posted a live Instagram video that showed people smoking weed near an infant. A handgun was also spotted in the video. When police arrived, they say that they found 95 grams of marijuana in the house.
WATCH: South Florida Kids Are Leading A National Revolution
This story is from The Miami Monster, a new brand focused on telling the true stories of what life is like for a young person living in South Florida. Be sure to also follow our founder Joel Franco on Twitter to keep up to date with the latest breaking news in the area. You can send news tips to [email protected]
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WATCH: Man Who Spent Last 44 Years Of His Life In Prison Deals With Modern Technology
Can you imagine being separated from society for 44 years only to have to abruptly face the realities of the modern age- all at once?
That is what Ottis Johnson has had to deal with in New York this year.
Johnson started serving prison time when he was 25 for the attempted murder of a police officer. Now at 69, Johnson is out of jail and is having to navigate a remarkably changed America without the aid of family or friends, since he doesn’t have any.
Johnson’s story was told in a remarkable profile by Al Jazeera and a video focused on the man’s reintegration into society has started to go viral.
WATCH: This man reacts to modern technology after 44 years in jail
H/T: Business Insider
Cover Photo Credit: Al Jazeera/ Youtube (Screengrab)
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10 Reasons to Go Back to College
By Melissa Davidson
It’s never too late to go back to college.
In fact, the number of students “returning” to school is now outpacing first-time students.
Traditional-aged students between 18 to 22 are no longer the majority of students in the higher education system in our country.
Attending college is a rite of passage after high school for some, while for others jumping into the job market is the way to go. No matter where you are in life, here are 10 great reasons you should go back to college and get the degree.
- Earning potential
Having a college degree not only increases your career earning prospects, it may make you eligible for a pay raise or promotion.
The difference in median weekly earnings between a high school diploma and a bachelor’s degree can be $20,000 a year or more, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yes, college can be expensive but the return on investment may be worth it down the road.
More education could qualify you for that promotion you’ve been gunning for.
Likewise, if earning a salary boost means going back to school, it seems like a no-brainer.
For new job hunters, the degree will likely land you a higher paying job with health insurance and vacation time.
- Career change
Sometimes we don’t know what we want to be when we grow up, so we work jobs to make ends meet until we figure out something more lucrative.
Or, maybe your current career feels like a dead end and pursuing a different path seems like a logical next step.
In fact, just getting a degree in anything can help you get a better paying job or open up opportunities for more senior positions.
According to Forbes.com, only 27% of college graduates have a job related to their major, so go study what your heart desires and still have a worthwhile career as anything from an entrepreneur to project manager to a realtor.
- New challenge
A mid-life crisis sometimes yields an expensive new Ferrari or an equally expensive divorce.
How about investing in a new life challenge?
Furthering your education! Taking courses is a positive pursuit of a new-found passion or playing off your current strengths. Learning new things keeps life spicy.
- Financial aid incentives
This is interesting: Big employers – like Pizza Hut, JetBlue and Starbucks – help older students finish their degrees through incentive programs.
Nearly 3.5 million Americans over 50 years old have taken some college courses, but have not earned a degree or certificate, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
For students like 63-year-old Diane W. Tavoian, the only way to finish her degree was by returning to college at Arizona State University, who partners with Starbucks to provide financial aid for employees.
Tavoian was already a student at ASU, but after hearing about the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, offered by ASU, she begged Starbucks to hire her as barista.
Starbucks got a good employee and Tavoian finished her bachelor’s degree.
- Positive role model
Your decision to return to school is an inspiring one for your friends and family.
You never know what your determination sparks in others.
It certainly sets a good example about finishing what you start. Good stuff.
- Personal achievement
Nothing is more satisfying than earning the degree you worked hard to get.
No matter what you study, your education leads to a richer life experience.
“When I was young for 15 minutes it was fashionable to tell your parents you weren’t going to go to college, “ writes higher education author Donald Asher. “My father, a design engineer, was driving down the freeway trying to convince me of the folly of my ways.
“Do you see that bridge,” he asked me, pointing to an overpass. “Sure,” I said, the typical insolent teenager. “Well, you see something different than I see. You see an overpass, and I see stress analyses, load factors, and fifty-year cycles of planned obsolescence. So I am getting more out of life than you are, and it’s because of my education.”
He was right, of course.
- Confidence boost
Learning new things makes you feel smarter, right? When you feel smarter, you’re enhancing your self-esteem. With a healthy self-esteem, your confidence shows, which shows your employer how valuable you are.
- Flexibility
You don’t have to attend a brick and mortar college or university to get your degree. Many students prefer online classes, especially busy people with families and current jobs to earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree.
You find a way to fit distance learning into your life in a timeframe that works best for you.
- More job options
Acquiring a new skill set makes you more marketable.
Not always, but college grads tend to have more job prospects because of the specialized skills they gain.
For example, many hospitals in the country will no longer hire registered nurses without a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
Nurses who’ve worked in the professional nursing field for decades are now going back to school to complete their degrees, sometimes on the hospital’s dime.
The degree also gives them more job options within the field.
- Meet new people
Classmates sharing the same interests is a good way to make connections that could eventually lead to a new job.
Having fun and meeting people is just part of the whole “college” experience.
If you’re nervous, like I was, about starting out on your college path, there are some things you can do to prepare so you will have the best time, like researching which campus group looks the most fun, or seeing if there are any out of the box classes that your school might offer that you could take for fun.
Plus, practicing those networking skills could serve you well in your new career.
Financially fit?
As you can see, going back to college has many advantages.
You’ll have to determine if the financial investment is worth it.
If you’re going to accumulate debt by going back to school, evaluate whether your potential salary will allow you to pay it off in a reasonable amount of time.
The goal is finding a career in a growing field with a paycheck that will do more than offset the costs of getting your degree.
But maybe the paycheck isn’t what it’s about at all.
College graduates tend to be happier and healthier and more optimistic about their past and future progress.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
Cover Photo Credit: Vincent LaConte/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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Totally Ethnik: The African Fashion Brand That Is Proud To Be Both African And “Ethnic”
By Nate Nkumbu
When people think of fashion in Sub-Saharan Africa, they often think of clothing that is passed down from family members or hand me downs donated by the West.
But one fashion brand from the continent seeks to change those Western notions.
Totally Ethnik is a fashion company based in Accra, Ghana and they are real path breakers.
As a brand, the company mostly makes their clothes from local sources coming from Ghana, Mali and the Ivory Coast.
According to Totally Ethnik’s public relations representative Marie Kipre, the main force behind the clothing line is for their looks to be as real as they can be to the cultural identity of Ghana.
“We keep our clothing as ethnic as possible,” Kipre said in an email to RISE NEWS. “We use wax prints [a] lot however, we fuse it with other fabric depending on the idea we want to portray with each piece.”
Kipre said that the company don’t deal with many problems being a being a fashion brand based in Africa.
However, she did say that the biggest obstacle that they face is getting the product to the global market.
“Our designs are authentic and truly ethnic making our clients satisfied anytime they wear our clothes,” Kipre said. “Our challenge is being able to get our clothing to other countries and be able to secure chain shops that will be interested in stocking our cloths.”
According to the World Bank, Ghana is the 114th most difficult business climate in the world with very high import and export costs and a difficult trade relationship with other countries in the region including Nigeria.
But despite some of these structural difficulties, Totally Ethnik is plugging ahead and making progress into being a widely known fashion brand.
“African fashion has been accepted all over world now and continues to grow and Totally Ethnik as a brand is one that people will love to be associated with,” Kipre said.
To learn more about Totally Ethnik, you can visit their website: http://www.totally-ethnik.com
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.
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