Allegation clouds Bobby Brown’s plan for violence shelter

ATLANTA — Singer Bobby Brown plans to build a shelter for domestic violence victims in honor of his late daughter while declining to directly address old allegations that he once hit his ex-wife Whitney Houston.

Brown is developing the not-for-profit Bobbi Kristina Brown Serenity House near Atlanta. The shelter will also offer a 24-hour crisis intervention line and an emergency transitional shelter.

On Monday, he received three proclamations from officials in Atlanta, Fulton County and the City of South Fulton acknowledging his plans.


Bobbi Kristina Brown, 22, was found unresponsive in a bathtub in 2015 and died after six months in a coma.

Her estate sued her boyfriend, Nick Gordon, for wrongful death, accusing him of assault and other offenses. An attorney for Gordon called the charges baseless, but after Gordon failed to defend himself in the civil case, a judge ruled against him in 2016 and ordered him to pay $36 million.

Bobbi Kristina Brown’s mother, Houston, died in 2012 after she drowned in a bathtub. Coroner’s officials ruled Houston’s death accidental and said heart disease and cocaine were contributing factors.

Last week, Brown denied to news reporters that his tumultuous marriage with Houston ever turned violent, despite a 2016 interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts in which Brown said he once hit her.

Asked again Monday about the allegations involving Houston, Brown did not answer directly, but instead described his own childhood experiences of domestic violence.

“I grew up in a domestic violence home,” he said. “I’ve seen it firsthand. It stopped after my mom was not going to have it anymore. They both would do it to each other. I’m happy that part of my life is over. I’m ready to move on. I’m becoming a better man, father and brother. This is all about being there for someone else, so they won’t have to go through it by themselves.”

Houston called police just outside Atlanta in December 2003 to report that Brown threatened to beat her and then hit her in the face, leaving her with a bruised cheek and a cut inside her lip. But Brown described the incident as a “little spat” saying the two were playfully “slap boxing” before Houston took one of his jabs a “little serious.”


A judge in May 2004 ruled there was enough evidence for Brown to stand trial on misdemeanor battery charges and set a deadline about two months later for Brown to turn himself over to authorities for fingerprinting. An Associated Press report from the time says Brown and Houston exchanged smiles during the hearing and left the courtroom arm-in-arm.

Brown turned himself in on July 11, 2004, a few hours before the court-imposed deadline, and was released after posting a $2,000 bond.

A notice from the Fulton County solicitor general’s office says the case was dismissed in December 2005. The reason prosecutors gave was: “Unable to contact the victim.”

Brown’s wife, Alicia Etheredge-Brown, said she doesn’t appreciate the old allegations against her husband getting fresh attention.

“It feels very hurtful,” she said. She added that, “everyone doesn’t have the platform that Bobby is on, so it’s exposed.”

She said they are currently looking at properties in Atlanta and plan to open a home in the next year.



City of South Fulton Mayor Bill Edwards said he supports Brown despite the old charges, saying it’s appropriate for Brown to receive a proclamation recognizing his plans for a shelter.

“You have to get to know the person for themselves. If you listen to the person and read between the lines, and you hear him today, that was genuine. That was not New Edition. That was a genuine love for his family. A genuine love for his daughter and for this movement to avoid domestic violence.”

Brown said he felt overwhelmed by the local officials’ support.

“I’m one of the happiest men on the planet earth right now,” Brown said. “It’s just beautiful that the mayor and city council have stepped up in support of my daughter’s passing.” MKH

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Buy Life Insurance with Social Security Benefits to Create a Retirement Nest Egg for Your Kids

Are you at or near the point of qualifying for Social Security benefits? If so, you may or may not need those payments to supplement your other income sources. For many of us, the focus becomes repositioning those payments to create a greater legacy for our kids or charity. We’ve dealt with this issue at length and below you’ll find a few ideas about how to handle this situation. 


Using Social Security to Buy Life Insurance

Let’s take Jim, a retired executive who has accumulated $15 million in assets over his lifetime. At 69 years old, Jim still has not turned on Social Security benefits because he knows they continue to increase each year that he waits. However, at 70 years old, the payments max out and there is no further benefit to waiting.

Jim’s plan is to turn on the roughly $40,000 of income and have it directly deposited into his checking account. In the process, he will withhold one-third of the payment to cover taxes that will be due on the income. Jim is trying to figure out the best way to leverage those payments into an eventual legacy, either for his kids or charity, and how to do so without increasing the size of his taxable estate.

We believe Jim should use his payments to buy a life insurance policy. Doing so will allow him to access some incredible advantages not offered through other vehicles. First, to prevent his Social Security payments from increasing the size of his estate, Jim decides to set up an irrevocable life insurance trust in which to purchase the policy. He decides to make his cousin the trustee and his two kids the beneficiaries. 

Given the roughly $25,000 that is left after paying taxes, Jim can purchase over $1 million of life insurance. As soon as he makes that first premium payment, the $1 million benefit is locked in. This strategy perfectly meets Jim’s desire to create a future nest egg for his kids without increasing the size of his estate. Plus, he can do so without taking on the market risk associated with stocks and bonds. 


Charitable Giving with Social Security Payments

Now, let’s suppose Jim wanted to use those payments to support his favorite charity instead. Rather than own the policy himself, he can $40,000 each year to the charity and have them use the money to buy a life insurance policy. Why would he do this? By donating the money, he can more than likely take a tax deduction for the full $40,000, part of which is the net amount of his Social Security income.

Also, by having the charity own the policy rather than himself, he is avoiding the death benefit being included in his estate: Nothing would upset Jim more than watching 40% of his gift slip away to unnecessary taxation. Also, because his premium is now $40,000 per year instead of $25,000, the face amount of his policy has jumped from $1 million to $1.5 million.  

When we compare the results of these strategies against the alternatives, it’s hard to rationalize a different move. If Jim just took his Social Security payments, paid the tax, and gave the proceeds to charity, he would likely give them somewhere between $300,000 and $600,000 in total depending on how long he lives. By using life insurance, he creates a $1.5 million gift, even if he dies in year one! 

If the charity is wise, they can choose to only spend the interest from that lump sum and create a gift that gives forever into perpetuity. Life insurance also provides a guaranteed death benefit, avoiding the volatility and uncertainty of market investments.   


The advisors at Howard Kaye can show you how to think differently about your estate plan. A fairly simple strategy such as the one illustrated above can change lives, just by taking an extra income stream and repurposing it for the benefit of your family or charity. Call 800-DIE-RICH to speak with us today and let us start crafting a similar plan for you.

source: howardkayeinsurance.com

WATCH: Charity event offers winner wine date with Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence remains one of Hollywood’s most desirable bachelorettes, and one lucky guy will be able to take her out on a fancy wine date.

Online fundraising platform Omaze is giving one fan a chance to fly to California and experience a wine-tasting event with none other than the 27-year-old actress.

As seen in a now viral ad, the “Hunger Games” star explained why she’s qualified as a wine-testing companion through a fun game of “Movie or Wine Review.”

“You want to help stop political corruption… and drink a ton of wine?” the alluring actress asked at the beginning of the clip, where she guessed which reviews were pertaining to wine or one of her movies.

“We’ll hang out, drink some wine, talk politics, drink wine, maybe we’ll call your ex, maybe we’ll call my ex,” she jokingly said.

Meanwhile, interested participants may enter omaze.com/jen and pick out any amount they are willing to donate.

The winner will also receive a package of lawn games, a picnic and accommodations at a 4-star hotel and airfare.

All proceeds will go to Represent.Us charity, which aims to “pass state and local anti-corruption laws that stop political bribery, end secret money and fix the broken election system.” /ra

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Richest 1 percent will own more than the rest by 2016 – Oxfam

LONDON - More than half the world's wealth will be owned by just one percent of the population by next year as global inequality soars, anti-poverty charity Oxfam said on Monday.

In a report released ahead of this week's annual meeting of the international elite at Davos in Switzerland, Oxfam said the top tier had seen their share of wealth increase from 44 percent in 2009 to 48 percent in 2014.

On current trends, it will exceed 50 percent in 2016.

The charity's executive director, Winnie Byanyima, who is co-chairing the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, said an explosion in inequality was holding back the fight against poverty.

"Do we really want to live in a world where the one percent own more than the rest of us combined?" she said on Monday.

"Business as usual for the elite isn't a cost free option. Failure to tackle inequality will set the fight against poverty back decades. The poor are hurt twice by rising inequality—they get a smaller share of the economic pie and because extreme inequality hurts growth, there is less pie to be shared around."

Oxfam said it would call for action to tackle rising inequality at the Davos meeting, which starts on Wednesday, including a crackdown on tax dodging by corporations and progress towards a global deal on climate change.

The richest 80 individuals in the world had the same wealth as the poorest 50 percent of the entire population, some 3.5 billion people, Oxfam said. This was an even bigger concentration at the top than a year ago, when half the world's wealth was in the hands of 85 of the ultra rich.

Members of the top 1 percent had an average wealth of $2.7 million per adult, Oxfam said.

The bulk of the world's remaining wealth was owned by the rest of the richest fifth, while the other 80 percent shared just 5.5 percent of the pot, equalling an average wealth of $3,851 per adult, it said.

Oxfam used data from the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Datebook, 2013 and 2014, and the Forbes' billionaires list to compile its research. — Reuters

Britain's banana price wars come at a cost to growers

LONDON – When a banana flown half-way round the world costs half the price of a locally-grown apple, many in Britain wonder whether Latin American banana producers are getting a fair deal.

The British love eating bananas. Like milk or bread, it is considered a shopping essential, a reason why consumers choose one shop over another and a battleground in the supermarket price wars.

Britain's Fairtrade Foundation charity, which promotes fair wages for developing world producers, kicked off a campaign in London this week to declare a truce in the battle that ends up with growers, mostly in Latin America, selling their bananas at below the cost of production.



Britain is the only country among the bigger European states where bananas are now cheaper than they were a decade ago. In Germany, France and Italy, prices have risen.

A banana that cost 18 pence ($0.30, €0.22) in Britain in 2002 now costs 11 pence around half the price of a locally-grown apple, according to the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development.

Fairtrade Foundation chief executive Michael Gidney said: "Small farmers and plantation workers are the collateral damage in supermarket price wars.

"The poorest people are bearing the cost of our cheap bananas and they have to work harder as what they earn is worth less and less in their communities," he told a London press conference.

"As a result, a product that is worth billions of pounds in global trade relies on poverty-level income for the people who grow it."

Alfonso Cantillo, a Colombian banana producer from the north coast Magdalena area who sells to Britain, was invited to London by Fairtrade to highlight the issue.

He said he receives $8.15 (€5.95 ) per 18-kilogram box – when his production costs are $9.

"We get no real benefit for what we invest. It's very frustrating," Cantillo said.

"When banana prices fall, we suffer from the impact. Our living conditions go down. We need price stability."

Britons eat 100 bananas per year

Not even the supermarkets are making money on bananas. Fairtrade said retailer representatives estimate the big chains may be losing hundreds of thousands of pounds a week as a result of banana price competition.

Each Briton eats around 100 bananas per year. Most are from Latin America: 28 percent from Colombia; 24 percent from the Dominican Republic; 16 percent from Ecuador and the remaining 32 percent from other countries.

The British reliance on bananas is a fairly new phenomenon, all thanks to refrigerated transport allowing them to be imported from across the Atlantic in huge volumes.

The nearest place where they grow is Spain's Canary Islands, off the northwest coast of Africa.

The British government instigated a national banana day in 1946, in which each child received a ration of one banana when imports resumed again.

It was a joyous way to lift the national mood after the hardships of World War II – but not for Auberon Waugh and his sisters, whose father, the novelist Evelyn Waugh, ate theirs.

"It would be absurd to say that I never forgave him, but he was permanently marked down in my estimation from that moment," a traumatized Auberon Waugh wrote in his memoirs.

Fairtrade has focused on bananas rather than other produce because "what has happened on the price of bananas is quite extraordinary," said Barbara Crowther, their director of policy and public affairs.

Unlike bananas, says Fairtrade, the price of eggs, bread and sugar – to name three basic foodstuffs – have increased by between 40 percent and 120 percent since 2002.

The organization blames a structural problem: competition laws prevent supermarkets from agreeing a minimum price, while the European Union has opened up its markets to ever more growers.

Fairtrade has written to Britain's business minister Vince Cable pushing for a probe.

"We are calling on you to urgently investigate retailer price wars on bananas, evaluate the impact on the long-term interests of banana producers and UK consumers and take action on the findings," says the letter from Gidney.

Of several major British supermarket chains contacted by AFP, only Sainsbury's would comment.

"Not all supermarkets are the same, and everyone who buys a banana from Sainsbury's knows the grower is getting a fair price, as set by Fairtrade," said Judith Batchelar, director of Sainsbury's Brand. – Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Do You Want To Get A Car For Free? Find Cars For Donation

Many people have a found a great way to get rid of their cars, by giving it away to charities and non-profit groups that offers cars for donation for tax deduction. Yes, that is right! Several charities can do these for people who have unused cars and old ones, but remember that not all charities can do this.

Anyway, charities accept cars for donation so that they can sell to raise funds or to use it as their own mode of transportation. But for some, they used these cars, so that they can give it to worthy people who are in need and people who cannot afford to buy one.

So if you are looking for cars like these, then you have to know the exact charities that offers donated cars at a very low price, if not for free.



Here are some tips to consider, if you want to find cars for donation and avail at the most affordable price that you can offer.

Steps To Receive A Donated Car For Free

Step 1 – Look for the different charities within your area who are accepting donated cars. Because if a charity does accept donated cars, then chances are, they also give our these cars for free.

Step 2 – Contact these charities and find out what are their requirements, in order for you to be eligible for receiving a donated car. Cars for Donation is most often than not, charities put more priority to single mothers, and people who are less privileged. They will also look at your source of income, and if they have proven that you are receiving less than what you need, and that having a car will improve your life and boost your chances of earning more, then you have a better chance of getting a donated car.

Step 3 – Show all of the documents that you have to prove your life status. For instance, if you are receiving government help, then provide proof for this. These documents are required most of the time anyway, so you have to make sure that you have them handy, before you start looking for a charity.

Step 4 – Check to see if there are any other additional requirements that the charity will be asking of you. Sometimes, charities ask for additional requirements after submitting the initial requirements, so you have to be ready for this.

Step 5 – Be prepared to receive the car. Sometimes, you will be asked to pick up the car, but most of the time, you will be asked to wait, as there are more than one people applying for this type of privilege. If you are placed on the waiting list, make sure to provide all of your contact details to the charity, so that they can contact you when the car is ready for release. Just make sure to give them the right contact details, so will not miss the chance of owning a donated car.

source: cardonationportal.com