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COMMENTARY: Bill and Camille Cosby Hit Back at Judge’s Briefing

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “Camille has always been a fearless warrior against corruption and bigotry. She’s not afraid of this unethical judge, nor am I afraid of O’Neill’s grossly immoral tactics,” said Cosby, who closed his statement by telling his wife to “keep fighting, Dear. I love you very, very much.”

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By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

After delaying his mandated argument to the Pennsylvania Appellate Court for several months, the trial judge in the Bill Cosby case finally delivered the rationale for his decisions during the trial and for sentencing Cosby to up to 10 years in prison.

In doing so, according to Cosby and his legal team, Montgomery County, Pa. Judge Steven T. O’Neill displayed his long-held bias – a bias that should have led O’Neill to recuse himself, as Cosby’s attorneys had requested the same from him on several occasions.

“I haven’t had an opportunity to review O’Neill’s brief, but his comments do not shock me,” Cosby’s longtime spokesman Andrew Wyatt said.

“O’Neill continues to try and cover up his errors, knowing that these charges should have never been brought against Mr. Cosby because he was given a deal by former District Attorney Bruce Castor who promised that no charges would ever be brought against him,” Wyatt said.

Cosby and his wife of more than 50 years, Camille Cosby have each released statements blasting O’Neill.

“Now, after more than 50 years of work, that humanized the dehumanized; which also challenged the perpetual architects of racist, exploitive and greedy maneuvers that have enabled them to divide and conquer, my husband has been severely redefined by Judge O’Neill, despite having zero proof,” Camille Cosby said.

“Judge O’Neill, with a great deal of help from the media, has tried to turn Bill Cosby into one of the most insidious stereotypes of African American men: the brutal, black buck,” Camille Cosby said.

Delivered by Wyatt, Bill Cosby’s statement read:

“I stand firmly with my wife on the foundation of solidarity and truth,” Cosby said.

“Camille has always been a fearless warrior against corruption and bigotry. She’s not afraid of this unethical judge, nor am I afraid of O’Neill’s grossly immoral tactics,” said Cosby, who closed his statement by telling his wife to “keep fighting, Dear. I love you very, very much.”

Cosby was convicted in April of 2018, of three counts of aggravated indecent assault in a case involving former Temple University employee Andrea Constand.

He’s currently serving a three to 10-year prison sentence at a maximum-security prison in Pennsylvania.

In his briefing filed On Tuesday, May 14, O’Neill claims he allowed five other accusers to testify against Cosby in the second trial in 2018 because their accounts had “chilling similarities” that pointed to a “signature crime.”

That conclusion was reached by O’Neill despite the striking differences between Constand’s 2004 incident and that of the other accusers from decades earlier.

It also ignores that Cosby had never been tried or convicted of any crime in his life and Constand’s allegations didn’t surface until 2005, while the other accusers didn’t publicly address their encounters until 2014.

Constand testified that she accepted over-the-counter Benadryl tablets from Cosby that rendered her unconscious, while the other accusers said they were provided prescription Quaaludes by Cosby – one accuser admitted to taking a Quaalude prior to a meeting with Cosby in the 1980s.

Still, O’Neill claims he believes Cosby has a pattern of illegal behavior.

“In each instance, (Cosby) met a substantially younger woman, gained her trust, invited her to a place where he was alone with her, provided her with a drink or drug, and sexually assaulted her once she was rendered incapacitated,” O’Neill wrote.

“These chilling similarities rendered (their) testimony admissible,” he said.

O’Neill said the new defense team, led by former Michael Jackson attorney Tom Mesereau, never directly challenged him on the difference in his two trial rulings about the other accusers’ testimony.

However, in his briefing, O’Neill notes that had Cosby’s attorneys challenged him, it’s likely he still would have ruled against them.

“Judges are not bound by their prior decisions,” O’Neill wrote.

Cosby’s team has also argued that Cosby had a binding agreement with Castor, which O’Neill rejected.

He claims that Castor’s signed press release confirming the agreement isn’t the same as a more formal immunity deal.

Castor investigated complaints made by Constand in 2005, but the former prosecutor said Constand continually changed her story and he found her less than credible.

Castor struck a deal with Cosby, getting the comedian to waive his Fifth Amendment rights in exchange for giving a civil deposition in a lawsuit brought by Constand against Cosby.

Cosby and Constand settled the civil case for $3.4 million and Castor agreed to the immunity deal which included that the deposition would never be able to be used against Cosby.

“O’Neill continues to show his hatred for Mr. Cosby by reconstructing the laws, which are based on his personal beliefs, not facts,” Wyatt said.

The silver lining is that with O’Neill finally filing his briefs, Cosby’s appeal can now move forward.

“I’m sure that his brief will further support our claims, that Mr. Cosby was falsely convicted but he will be vindicated when his appeal is reviewed by the appellate judges,” Wyatt said.

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#NNPA BlackPress

Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

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By Lauren Burke

By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.

The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.

“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.

“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable.  Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

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WATCH: NNPA Publishers Pivot To Survive

7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

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7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9oZc5Sz0jQQ&feature=oembed

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#NNPA BlackPress

Congressional Black Caucus Challenges Target on Diversity

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted

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By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Target is grappling with worsening financial and reputational fallout as the national selective buying and public education program launched by the Black Press of America and other national and local leaders continues to erode the retailer’s sales and foot traffic. But a recent meeting that the retailer intended to keep quiet between CEO Brian Cornell and members of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force was publicly reported after the Black Press discovered the session, and the CBC later put Target on blast.

“The Congressional Black Caucus met with the leadership of the Target Corporation on Capitol Hill to directly address deep concerns about the impact of the company’s unconscionable decision to end a number of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” CBC Chair Yvette Clarke stated. “Like many of the coalition leaders and partner organizations that have chosen to boycott their stores across the country, we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted,” Congresswoman emphasized.  “Black consumers contribute overwhelmingly to our economy and the Target Corporation’s bottom line. Our communities deserve to shop at businesses that publicly share our values without sacrificing our dignity. It is no longer acceptable to deliver promises to our communities in private without also demonstrating those values publicly.”

Lauren Burke, Capitol Hill correspondent for Black Press of America, was present when Target CEO Cornell and a contingent of Target officials arrived at the U.S. Capitol last month. “It’s always helpful to have meetings like this and get some candid feedback and continue to evolve our thinking,” Cornell told Burke as he exited the meeting. And walked down a long hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. “We look forward to follow-up conversations,” he stated. When asked if the issue of the ongoing boycott was discussed, Cornell’s response was, “That was not a big area of focus — we’re focused on running a great business each and every day. Take care of our teams. Take care of the guests who shop with us and do the right things in our communities.”

A national public education campaign on Target, spearheaded by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the NNPA’s board of directors, and with other national African American leaders, has combined consumer education efforts with a call for selective buying. The NNPA is a trade association that represents the more than 220 African American-owned newspapers and media companies known as the Black Press of America, the voice of 50 million African Americans across the nation. The coalition has requested that Target restore and expand its stated commitment to do business with local community-owned businesses inclusive of the Black Press of  America, and to significantly increase investment in Black-owned businesses and media, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU, Black-owned Banks, national Black Church denominations, and grassroots and local organizations committed to improving the quality of life of all Americans, and especially those from underserved communities. According to Target’s latest earnings report, net sales for the first quarter of 2025 fell 2.8 percent to $23.85 billion compared to the same period last year. Comparable store sales dropped 3.8 percent, and in-store foot traffic slid 5.7 percent.

Shares of Target have also struggled under the pressure. The company’s stock traded around $103.85 early Wednesday afternoon, down significantly from roughly $145 before the controversy escalated. Analysts note that Target has lost more than $12 billion in market value since the beginning of the year. “We will continue to inform and to mobilize Black consumers in every state in the United States,” Chavis said. “Target today has a profound opportunity to respond with respect and restorative commitment.”

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