Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Adrian Ottah

Nationwide — Adrian Ottah, a 17-year-old African American student at University High School in Newark, New Jersey, is graduating with both a high school diploma and a college degree this year.

Born to Nigerian immigrant parents who moved to the U.S., Ottah was inspired by their sacrifices to make the most of his educational opportunities.

“My true motivation was my parents, my immigrant parents,” Ottah told 11Alive. “I know they didn’t have the opportunity to do this, so when I had the opportunity, I just took it and ran with it.”

His school offers a special program where college professors teach college-level courses to a select group of students.

Juggling high school classes and college-level coursework wasn’t easy. Ottah often stayed late after school to complete his college assignments. But his hard work has paid off. Ottah has already racked up enough college credits to potentially earn a bachelor’s degree by the time he is 19 years old.

Ace-Liam Nana Sam Ankrah

Nationwide — Meet Ace-Liam Nana Sam Ankrah, who at just one year and 152 days old, breaks records as the youngest male artist ever recognized by Guinness World Records. His artistic journey started when his mother, Chantelle Ankrah, noticed his fascination with painting at 6 months old.

While Chantelle worked on her own paintings, she laid out a canvas for Ace-Liam to play on. To her amazement, he didn’t just play.

“He ended up spreading the paint all over the canvas, and in the process, he created his first masterpiece titled The Crawl. It was clear that he found a lot of joy in it,” Chantelle recalled, according to Because of Them We Can.

Since then, Ace-Liam’s talent has attracted attention from local and global media, even catching the eye of Ghana’s First Lady. With over 20 paintings under his belt, Ace-Liam’s colorful creations spark discussions on art.

“He has created a buzz and heightened the conversation about art appreciation,” Chantelle said. “As well as discovering and nurturing talents in kids.”

Flavor Flav

A hip hop and reality show icon is showing his love for Red Lobster in a huge way.

On June 3, rapper and sometimes-controversial sports arena singer Flavor Flav posted an image on Instagram that quickly went viral. In the post, the 6-time Grammy nominee truly put his money where his mouth was in expressing a desire to help the beleaguered seafood company, which filed for bankruptcy last month.

“Ya boy said he wuz gonna do everything to help Red Lobster and save the Cheddar Bay Biscuits,” the star wrote on Instagram, adding he ordered everything available in quite the benevolent display.

Anyone on the platform can see the clock-wearing meme machine standing in front of several plated Red Lobster items on a table: nachos, vegetables, Cheddar Bay Biscuits and, of course, a whole lobster are waiting to be enjoyed buffet-style along with Loads Of Other Dishes.

Baraboo High School superintendent Rainey Briggs, left, is pushed away from the stage by Matthew Eddy during a commencement ceremony on May 31.

As his daughter was crossing the stage at the Baraboo High School graduation, Matthew Eddy walked onstage and moved Rainey Briggs away, preventing him from shaking hands with the teen.

A school superintendent in Wisconsin was granted a restraining order against a parent who rushed the stage during a recent high school graduation and blocked the administrator from shaking hands with his daughter.

In a temporary order filed  last Monday, a Dane County Circuit Court commissioner ordered Matthew Eddy to have no contact with the Baraboo Superintendent Rainey Briggs pending a hearing scheduled for June 14.

In his petition for the order, Briggs says Eddy “approached the stage quickly and put both of his hands on me to push me out of the way stating ‘you are not going to touch my f—— daughter.’” Briggs said he then “created space” and told Eddy to get his hands off of him, according to the petition. Briggs says Eddy then began to “push and pry” at him and that he put his hands out to keep Eddy away.

As his daughter was crossing the stage at the Baraboo High School graduation Friday evening, Eddy walked up the stairs to the stage and moved Briggs away, preventing him from shaking hands with his daughter, video of the incident shows. Briggs can be heard telling Eddy: “You better get up off me, man. Get away from me, bro,” while another person says, “I don’t want her touching him.”

It is unclear what prompted the altercation. Briggs and Eddy did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday and Thursday.

Jalen McLean and his family

An 18-year-old from North Carolina has won a million dollars thanks to a $10 scratch card bought by his sister, Dasha Silas. Jalen McLean is considering purchasing an Audi out of the $1 million earnings he made from the Jumbo Bucks ticket bought by his sister on May 21.

“He had a huge smile on his face. Like so big it looked like the movie character Venom,” Silas told NC Education Lottery officials.

Silas bought the winning scratch card from a Valero in Fayetteville, according to FOX 8, and watched her brother McLean, the youngest of five siblings, scratch it off. McLean claimed part of his $1 million prize from the North Carolina Education Lottery officials on May 22.

LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 24: Radio personality Shirley Strawberry (L) and Ernesto Williams attend the Neighborhood Awards Beach Party at the Mandalay Bay Beach at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on July 24, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for Nu-Opp, Inc)

Earnest Williams, the husband of Steve Harvey Morning Show co-host and radio personality Shirley Strawberry

ATLANTA-  Earnest Williams, the husband of Steve Harvey Morning Show co-host and radio personality Shirley Strawberry, has been indicted under the State of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) on 39 charges. According to the charging documents, that marriage is also coming under scrutiny as the indictment claims it helped facilitate Williams’ alleged criminal activity.

As WSBTV reported, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who has become notorious for her office’s expansion of the state’s RICO act , said Williams’ activity stretches back to 2009.

“He’s been conning people from 2009 to 2022. He would pretend to be a legitimate businessman , but he was stealing from people, in United States currency, vehicles, and really just taking advantage of people.”

Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner

Singer and rapper Sean Kingston is back in his home state of Florida, where he’s accused of committing more than $1 million dollars in fraud.

The singer, born Kisean Anderson, was extradited from San Bernadino County, California to South Florida and booked into the Broward County Jail on Sunday, June 2, online inmate records show. Florida authorities also posted Kingston’s booking photo online.

He faces a total of nine charges alleging fraud, grand theft, and criminal use of personal identification information without consent, plus a probation violation. His bail was set at $100,000 — $10,000 for each of the nine counts, plus another $10,000 for the probation violation.

Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner, 61, were both arrested on May 23.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office alleges Kingston and Turner have a history of bouncing checks and scamming businesses and banks for furniture, electronics, jewelry and a Cadillac Escalade.

 Uncle Luke, Marquis & Flavor Flav

2 Live Crew rapper Brother Marquis has passed away at the age of 58, according to the pioneering group.

The Miami-based collective announced the news on Monday (June 3), writing on social media: “Mark Ross AKA Brother Marquis of the 2 Live crew has passed away,” although no further details — including a cause of death — were given.

Tributes from around the Hip Hop world were paid to Marquis, most notably from fellow 2 Live Crew member Uncle Luke.

“My Condolence goes out to the Family of Brother Marquis and so many of his Fans from around the World after learning his passing,” Luke wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “We took on so many fights for the culture made Great music together something I would never forget.

Sarah Simpkins

Nationwide — At 102 years old, Sarah Simpkins has achieved her dream of earning a college degree as she recently graduated from Brightpoint Community College’s Early Childhood Education program in Chester, Virginia.

Even more special, she graduated alongside her proud granddaughter, Halimah Shepherd-Crawford.

“I can’t even express my emotions right now,” Halimah told WLBT. “It was all an idea, and we’re here now. And I’m just so excited for my grandmother that she accomplished what she wanted.”

“I feel very wild,” Ms. Sarah said. “I feel very grateful to God for letting me do whatever I do. Thank you, God.”

Returning to college was a long-time goal for Simpkins. She initially attended Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina, but had to drop out when she got pregnant when she was 20 years old.

Ms. Sarah focused on raising her family and had 12 children, but she never gave up on her dream.

“It’s something that I had to do,” Simpkins said. “I’m very, very grateful that God has enabled me to do this.”