Study Says Thousands In Jail For Life Over Nonviolent Offenses

In jails across America, individuals are serving lengthy jail sentences over minor, nonviolent offenses because of mandatory sentencing laws. A study finds that thousands will die behind bars despite many of that number being first-time offenders without a history of violence.

[HipHopWired]

New Study Finds Being Bilingual May Delay Alzheimer’s

A new study finds that being bilingual may reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s by 4.5 years compared to those who speak one language. The study, published in the Neurology journal, analyzed medical records of about 648 patients with three distinct types of dementia. Almost half of the patients spoke another language.

[Lossip]

Akon Allegedly Wants ‘Half-Caste’ Models For New Music Video

Akon and Nigerian rapper, WizKid are in Ghana making a music video and apparently had a very limited casting call. Models who showed up are reporting that some are being turned away for not being “half-caste,” a term that means of mixed race. According to reports, the darker skinned models were turned away but were asked to help find lighter skinned women for the shoot. The agent on site said, “they [Akon and Wizkid] now want half-caste girls.”

[StyleBlazer]

Queen Latifah Delivers Her Best Olivia Pope Impersonation In ‘It’s An Office Scandal’

Scandal is one of the most popular shows on prime time TV right now. So it’s no wonder that all of these hilarious spoofs keep popping up all over the place. I mean, who wouldn’t want to play dress up and pretend to be Olivia Pope for a few minutes? The latest spoof to surface on the web is another one by Queen Latifah. If you recall, last month Queen and Jennifer Hudson joined forces for a Scandal parody. But this time, the daytime TV host flew solo. According to the Queen Latifah Show Facebook page, she did it to prep for her upcoming interview with Kerry Washington, which is scheduled to air on Thursday.

[MadameNoire]

• Charlie Hunnam Blind Faith In His ‘Fifty Shades’ Replacement [TMZ]
• HOT or NOT: Katy Perry’s Hologram Outfit [Buzznet]
• City Votes On Abortion Ban With National Impact [HuffingtonPost]
• Egypt’s Military Commemorates ‘Martyrs’ It Gunned Down [TheDailyBeast]