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Five Women Sue Bill Cosby in New York for Alleged Assaults That Occurred Decades Ago

NNPA NEWSWIRE — In 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard arguments from Cosby’s attorneys and prosecutors during an appeal of the trial before ruling that the trial and subsequent conviction deprived Cosby of his constitutionally guaranteed due process rights. “What we found was what the state did was inappropriate,” said Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Max Baer.
The post Five Women Sue Bill Cosby in New York for Alleged Assaults That Occurred Decades Ago first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Eighteen months after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that his sexual assault trial and subsequent conviction unconstitutional — and more than four years that trial — Bill Cosby is facing new lawsuits from five women who claim the now 85-year-old entertainer assaulted them decades ago.

Lili Bernard, Eden Tirl, Jewel Gittens, Jennifer Thompson, and Cindra Ladd have filed suit in New York claiming that Cosby took advantage of them when they were young.

Bernard was a fixture at Cosby’s 2017 and 2018 criminal trials and made a guest appearance as “Mrs. Minifield” in a 1992 episode of the Cosby Show.

She has claimed that she didn’t report the alleged assault, which she says occurred in the early 1990s, because she feared for her life.

Tirl claimed Cosby kissed her neck and pressed up against her back while she visited his dressing room on the set of “Cosby.”

Gittens alleged that Cosby drugged and assaulted her at his home, while Thompson and Ladd made similar allegations.

Cosby was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison following a 2018 conviction where a jury believed accuser and former Cosby love interest Andrea Constand, who claimed the entertainer plied her with 1 ½ Benadryl tablets and put his hands down her pants.

A jury in 2017 couldn’t reach a verdict in the Constand case – they were reportedly split 10-2 in favor of acquittal. However, in 2018, a different and more controversial panel found Cosby guilty.

In 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard arguments from Cosby’s attorneys and prosecutors during an appeal of the trial before ruling that the trial and subsequent conviction deprived Cosby of his constitutionally guaranteed due process rights.

“What we found was what the state did was inappropriate,” said Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Max Baer.

Baer also said Bill Cosby had a deal with former District Attorney Bruce Castor, who refused to try Cosby because he opined that Constand wasn’t credible.

He brokered a deal with Cosby and Constand that allowed Cosby to pay a civil settlement with the understanding that testimony from a deposition would never be used to prosecute him.

“He went in and admitted his conduct because he had immunity,” Baer said.

“What we said is we’re not gonna let the Commonwealth, the state through the district attorneys, engage in that kind of reprehensible bait and switch. That’s to protect 13 million Pennsylvanians against that kind of conduct,” Baer said.

The U.S. Supreme Court in May of 2022 declined Pennsylvania prosecutors’ request to overturn the state highest court’s decision.

The justices let stand the decision that Cosby should never have faced the charges.

Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt issued a statement condemning the latest lawsuit.

“Unwilling to accept that actor and comedian Bill Cosby was vindicated by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, a pack of old alleged accusers have resurfaced to file a frivolous civil lawsuit against Mr. Cosby,” Wyatt stated.

“These alleged accusers were once represented by Gloria Allred and was part of a parade of accusers back in 2014 through 2016.”

Wyatt continued:

“As we have always stated and now America sees that this isn’t about justice for victims of alleged sexual assault, it’s all about money.

“We believe that the courts as well as the court of public opinion will follow the rule of law and relieve Mr. Cosby of these alleged accusations. Mr. Cosby continues to vehemently deny all allegations against him and looks forward to defending himself in court.”

The post Five Women Sue Bill Cosby in New York for Alleged Assaults That Occurred Decades Ago first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Fighting to Keep Blackness

BlackPressUSA NEWSWIRE — Trump supporters have introduced another bill to take down the bright yellow letters of Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., in exchange for the name Liberty Plaza. D.C.

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By April Ryan

As this nation observes the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama, the words of President Trump reverberate. “This country will be WOKE no longer”, an emboldened Trump offered during his speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. Since then, Alabama Congresswoman Terri Sewell posted on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter this morning that “Elon Musk and his DOGE bros have ordered GSA to sell off the site of the historic Freedom Riders Museum in Montgomery.” Her post of little words went on to say, “This is outrageous and we will not let it stand! I am demanding an immediate reversal. Our civil rights history is not for sale!” DOGE trying to sell Freedom Rider Museum

Also, in the news today, the Associated Press is reporting they have a file of names and descriptions of more than 26,000 military images flagged for removal because of connections to women, minorities, culture, or DEI. In more attempts to downplay Blackness, a word that is interchanged with woke, Trump supporters have introduced another bill to take down the bright yellow letters of Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., in exchange for the name Liberty Plaza. D.C. Mayor Morial Bowser is allowing the name change to keep millions of federal dollars flowing there. Black Lives Matter Plaza was named in 2020 after a tense exchange between President Trump and George Floyd protesters in front of the White House. There are more reports about cuts to equity initiatives that impact HBCU students. Programs that recruited top HBCU students into the military and the pipeline for Department of Defense contracts have been canceled.

Meanwhile, Democrats are pushing back against this second-term Trump administration’s anti-DEI and Anti-woke message. In the wake of the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, several Congressional Black Caucus leaders are reintroducing the Voting Rights Act. South Carolina Democratic Congressman James Clyburn and Alabama Congresswoman Terry Sewell are sponsoring H.R. 14, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Six decades ago, Lewis was hit with a billy club by police as he marched for the right to vote for African Americans. The right for Black people to vote became law with the 1965 Voting Rights Act that has since been gutted, leaving the nation to vote without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act. Reflecting on the late Congressman Lewis, March 1, 2020, a few months before his death, Lewis said, “We need more than ever in these times many more someones to make good trouble- to make their own dent in the wall of injustice.”

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Rep. Al Green is Censured by The U.S. House After Protesting Trump on Medicaid

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — His censure featured no hearing at the House Ethics Committee and his punishment was put on the floor for a vote by the Republican controlled House less than 72 hours after the infraction in question.

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By Lauren Burke

In one of the quickest punishments of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in the modern era, Congressman Al Green (D-TX) was censured by a 224-198 vote today in the House. His censure featured no hearing at the House Ethics Committee and his punishment was put on the floor for a vote by the Republican controlled House less than 72 hours after the infraction in question. Of the last three censures of members of the U.S. House, two have been members of the Congressional Black Caucus under GOP control. In 2023, Rep. Jamal Bowman was censured.

On the night of March 4, as President Trump delivered a Joint Address to Congress, Rep. Green interrupted him twice. Rep. Green shouted, “You don’t have a mandate to cut Medicare, and you need to raise the cap on social security,” to President Trump. In another rare event, Rep. Green was escorted off the House floor by security shortly after yelling at the President by order of GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson. Over the last four years, members of Congress have yelled at President Biden during the State of the Union. Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor-Greene was joined by Republican Rep. Lauren Bobert (R-CO) in 2022 in yelling at President Biden. In 2023, Rep. Greene, Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), and Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) yelled at Biden, interrupting his speech. In 2024, wearing a red MAGA hat, a violation of the rules of the U.S. House, Greene interrupted Biden again. She was never censured for her behavior. Rep. Green voted “present” on his censure and was joined by freshman Democrat Congressman Shomari Figures of Alabama who also voted “present”.

All other members of the Congressional Black Caucus voted against censuring Green. Republicans hold a four-seat advantage in the U.S. House after the death of Texas Democrat and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner yesterday. Ten Democrats voted along with Republicans to censure Rep. Green, including Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, who is in the leadership as the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. “I respect them but, I would do it again,” and “it is a matter of conscience,” Rep. Green told Black Press USA’s April Ryan in an exclusive interview on March 5. After the vote, a group of Democrats sang “We Shall Overcome” in the well at the front of the House chamber. Several Republican members attempted to shout down the singing. House Speaker Mike Johnson gaveled the House out of session and into a recess. During the brief recess members moved back to their seats and out of the well of the House. Shortly after the vote to censor Rep. Green, Republican Congressman Andy Ogles of Tennessee quickly filed legislation to punish members who participated in the singing of “We Shall Overcome.” Earlier this year, Rep. Ogles filed legislation to allow President Donald Trump to serve a third term, which is currently unconstitutional. As the debate started, the stock market dove down over one-point hours from close. The jobs report will be made public tomorrow.

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Trump Moves to Dismantle Education Department

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The department oversees programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), serving 7.5 million students. Transferring IDEA oversight to another agency, as Trump’s plan suggests, could jeopardize services and protections for disabled students.

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By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

The Trump administration is preparing to issue an executive order directing newly confirmed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin dismantling the Department of Education. While the president lacks the authority to unilaterally shut down the agency—requiring congressional approval—McMahon has been tasked with taking “all necessary steps” to reduce its role “to the maximum extent permitted by law.” The administration justifies the move by claiming the department has spent over $1 trillion since its 1979 founding without improving student achievement. However, data from The Nation’s Report Card shows math scores have improved significantly since the 1990s, though reading levels have remained stagnant. The pandemic further widened achievement gaps, leaving many students behind.

The Education Department provides about 10% of public-school funding, primarily targeting low-income students, rural districts, and children with disabilities. A recent Data for Progress poll found that 61% of voters oppose Trump’s efforts to abolish the agency, while just 34% support it. In Washington, D.C., where student proficiency rates remain low—22% in math and 34% in English—federal funding is crucial. Serenity Brooker, an elementary education major, warned that cutting the department would worsen conditions in underfunded schools.

“D.C. testing scores aren’t very high right now, so cutting the Department of Education isn’t going to help that at all,” she told Hilltop News. A report from the Education Trust found that low-income schools in D.C. receive $2,200 less per student than wealthier districts, leading to shortages in essential classroom materials. The department oversees programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), serving 7.5 million students. Transferring IDEA oversight to another agency, as Trump’s plan suggests, could jeopardize services and protections for disabled students.

The Office for Civil Rights also plays a key role in enforcing laws that protect students from discrimination. Moving it to the Department of Justice, as proposed in Project 2025, would make it harder for families to file complaints, leaving vulnerable students with fewer protections. Federal student aid programs, including Pell Grants and loan repayment plans, could face disruption if the department is dismantled. Experts warn this could worsen the student debt crisis, pushing more borrowers into default. “With funding cuts, they don’t have the materials they need, like books or things to help with math,” Brooker said. “It makes learning less fun for them.”

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