FBI Rescues 168 of 'America's Children' From Sex Traffickers

The FBI has rescued 168 children — the youngest 11 years old, and some of them never reported missing — in a coast-to-coast crackdown on sex traffickers, officials said Monday.

"These are America's children," said FBI Director James Comey.

The week-long operation, called "Cross County VIII," resulted in the arrest of 281 pimps who recruited minors off street corners and online.

Some of the victims were in the child-welfare system before they went missing, said John Ryan of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which partnered with the FBI.

"Many of these children have been abandoned, often abused and neglected. Many of these traumatized children run away because they believe it’s the best option for them," Ryan said.

He said that some of kids were not reported missing before they were rescued.

"They are literally flying under the radar," he said.

The latest operation took place in 106 cities across the nation. Officials said both the victims and their captors were generally American citizens.

"This is not some foreign import scourge. This is our own," Comey said.

The operation began at the local level with prostitution and solicitation arrests. The FBI then used that information to zero in on organized trafficking efforts.

HAPPY JUNETEENTH: History of Juneteenth

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.  Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19^th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. 

The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment,the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

Later attempts to explain this two and a half year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another, is that the news wasdeliberately withheld by the enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still another, is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. 

All of which, or neither of these version could be true. Certainly, for some, President Lincoln's authority over the rebellious states was in question   For whatever the reasons, conditions in Texasremained status quo well beyond what was statutory.

Yaya DaCosta Cast As Whitney Houston In Angela Bassett's Lifetime Movie

Yaya DaCosta will play legendary singer Whitney Houston in Lifetime's biopic, due out in 2015, TVLine reported.

DaCosta made her small-screen debut on "America's Next Top Model" Cycle 3, but has since appeared in "All My Children," Ugly Betty," House" and "Lee Daniels' The Butler." In the Lifetime movie, she'll play Houston as she deals with her volatile relationship with Bobby Brown and her early success in the music industry.

Angela Bassett will make her directorial debut with the film, which is tentatively titled "Whitney Houston." Shem Bitterman wrote the script and Larry Sanitsky will produce. (Both worked on "Betty & Coretta," the Lifetime movie in which Bassett starred last year.) At the time the film was announced Bassett, who starred in 1995's "Waiting To Exhale" with Houston, said in a statement, "I have such regard for both Whitney's and Bobby's amazing talents and accomplishments; and I feel a responsibility in the telling of their story. Their humanity and bond fascinates us all. I'm beyond excited to have this opportunity to go behind the camera and into their world."

Lifetime doing Whitney Houston movie with Angela Bassett directing

Lifetime is doing a Whitney Houston movie. Because of course they are. When Lifetime’s They’re not already doing a Whitney Houston movie?Adding extra intrigue: Oscar nominee Angela Bassett will direct the film. Bassett and Houston co-starred in 1995′s Waiting to Exhale together. We’re told Bassett will not star, but she may have another role in the film.

press release hit our inbox, the first question that sprang to mind was:

Here’s Lifetime’s plan for its take on the pop singer, who died two years ago at the age of 48: “Whitney Houston chronicles the headline-making relationship between the iconic singer, actress, producer and model, and singer, songwriter Bobby Brown — from the time they first met at the very height of their celebrity, to their courtship and tumultuous marriage.  Throughout it all, difficulties followed the superstar couple while they dealt with the overwhelming rewards and consequences of the fame and fortune created by Whitney’s meteoric rise that would soon overshadow them both.”

Added Bassett: “I have such regard for both Whitney’s and Bobby’s amazing talents and accomplishments; and I feel a responsibility in the telling of their story. Their humanity and bond fascinates us all.  I’m beyond excited to have this opportunity to go behind the camera and into their world.” Whitney Houston (working title) is scheduled to premiere in 2015.

Homelessness in Los Angeles County

According to the Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty at the Weingart Center, an estimated 254,000 men, women and children experience homelessness in Los Angeles County during some part of the year and approximately 82,000 people are homeless on any given night. 

Unaccompanied youth, especially in the Hollywood area, are estimated to make up from 4,800 to 10,000 of these.

Although homeless people may be found throughout the county, the largest percentages are in South Los Angeles and Metro Los Angeles.  Most are from the Los Angeles area and stay in or near the communities from which they came. About 14 to 18 percent of homeless adults in Los Angeles County are not U.S. citizens compared with 29% of adults overall. A high percentage - as high as 20 percent - are veterans. 

African Americans make up approximately half of the Los Angeles County homeless population - disproportionately high compared to the percentage of African Americans in the county overall (about 9 percent).

Mayor Garcetti Partners with Over 100 Employers and 40 Public Sector Partners to Hire 10,000 Local Veterans by 2017

LOS ANGELES—Mayor Eric Garcetti announced today a new regional veterans hiring initiative called “10,000 Strong” aimed at getting 10,000 veterans jobs by 2017. The initiative brings together over 100 companies and 40 non-profit and public-sector partners to offer supportive services or jobs for veterans.

“The 10,000 Strong initiative aims to serve those men and women who have done so much to serve our country," said Mayor Garcetti. "By bringing together a vast network of regional non-profits, public organizations, and private-sector employers, we can put 10,000 Angeleno veterans back to work, benefiting our families, our neighborhoods, and our economy."

Through this initiative, the City's Worksource Centers, as well as regional service providers such as the California State Employment Development Department, the Veterans Administration, the US Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Service, and the Los Angeles County Worksource Centers will connect veterans to companies looking to hire them. The over 100 employer partners (listed in attached document) have offered to hire veterans over the next three years. By connecting and coordinating these services, we expect 10,000 veterans to find gainful employment.

THIS JUST IN: Team USA beat Ghana 2-1 in the team's opening Group G game at the World Cup. The Americans play Portugal June 22.

THIS JUST IN: Team USA beat Ghana 2-1 in the team's opening Group G game at the World Cup.

The Americans play Portugal June 22.

BREAKING NEWS: President Obama says up to 275 U.S. military troops will deploy to Iraq!

BAGHDAD --

The U.S. is urgently deploying several hundred armed troops in and around Iraq and considering sending an additional contingent of special forces soldiers as Baghdad struggles to repel a rampant insurgency, even as the White House insists anew that America will not be dragged into another war.

President Barack Obama notified Congress Monday that up to 275 troops could be sent to Iraq to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the American Embassy in Baghdad. About 170 of those forces have already arrived and another 100 soldiers be on standby in a nearby country until they are needed, a U.S. official said.

While Obama has vowed to keep U.S. forces out of combat in Iraq, he said in his notification to Congress that the personnel moving into the region are equipped for direct fighting.

And separately, three U.S. officials said the White House was considering sending a contingent of special forces soldiers to Iraq. Their limited mission - which has not yet been approved - would focus on training and advising beleaguered Iraqi troops, many of whom have fled their posts across the nation's north and west as the al-Qaida-inspired insurgency has advanced in the worst threat to the country since American troops left in 2011.

The moves come at the White House wrestles with an array of options for helping Iraq repel a Sunni Muslim insurgency that has captured large swaths of territory collaring Baghdad, the capital of the Shiite-led government. In a rare move, U.S. officials reached out to Iran Monday to discuss ways the long-time foes might help stop the militants known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The conversations took place on the sidelines of separate nuclear negotiations taking place in Vienna, Austria. U.S. officials quickly tamped down speculation that the discussion might include military coordination or consultation, though Secretary of State John Kerry said in an interview with Yahoo! News that the U.S. would "not rule out anything that would be constructive."

Kerry stressed that any contacts with Iran would move "step-by-step."

Taken together, the developments suggest a willingness by Obama to send Americans into a collapsing security situation in order to quell the brutal fighting in Iraq before it morphs into outright war.

The White House said the forces authorized for support and security will assist with the temporary relocation of some staff from the Baghdad embassy. The forces are entering Iraq with the consent of that country's government, the White House said.

Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said the troops on standby could "provide airfield management, security, and logistics support, if required." They could work with embassy security teams or operate as a stand-alone force as directed.

Officials would not say where the soldiers would be on standby, but It is likely they would be in Kuwait, which was a major basing ground for U.S. troops during the Iraq war.

If the U.S. were to deploy an additional team of special forces, the mission would almost certainly be small. One U.S. official said it could be up to 100 special forces soldiers. It also could be authorized only as an advising and training mission - meaning the soldiers would work closely with Iraqi forces that are fighting the insurgency but would not officially be considered as combat troops.

It's not clear how quickly the special forces could arrive in Iraq. It's also unknown whether they would remain in Baghdad or be sent to the nation's north, where the Sunni Muslim insurgency has captured large swaths of territory collaring Baghdad, the capital of the Shiite-led government.

The troops would fall under the authority of the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad and would not be authorized to engage in combat, another U.S. official said. Their mission would be "non-operational training" of both regular and counter terrorism units, which the military has in the past interpreted to mean training on military bases, the official said.

However, all U.S. troops are allowed to defend themselves in Iraq if they are under attack. Already, about 100 Marines and Army soldiers have been sent to Baghdad to help with embassy security, according to a U.S. official.

The three U.S. officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the plans by name.

Obama made the end of the war in Iraq one of his signature campaign issues, and has touted the U.S. military withdrawal in December 2011 as one of his top foreign policy successes. But he has been caught over the past week between Iraqi officials pleading for help - as well as Republicans blaming him for the loss of a decade's worth of gains in Iraq - and his anti-war Democratic political base, which is demanding that the U.S. stay out of the fight.

While the White House continues to review its options, Iran's military leaders are starting to step into the beach.

The commander of Iran's elite Quds Force, Gen. Ghasem Soleimani, was in Iraq on Monday and consulting with the government there on how to stave off insurgents' gains. Iraqi security officials said the U.S. government was notified in advance of the visit by Soleimani, whose forces are a secretive branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard that in the past has organized Shiite militias to target U.S. troops in Iraq and, more recently, was involved in helping Syria's President Bashar Assad in his fight against Sunni rebels.

In the short term, the U.S. and Iran both want the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stabilized and the Sunni-led insurgency stopped. But in the long run, the United States would like to see an inclusive, representative democracy take hold in Iraq, while predominantly Shiite Iran is more focused on protecting Iraq's Shiite population and bolstering its own position as a regional power against powerful Sunni Arab states in the Gulf.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said any discussion with Iran would concern ways that Iran could help press al-Maliki's government to be more inclusive and treat all of Iraq's religious and ethnic groups equally.

Any talks with Iran "would be to discuss the political component here and our interest in encouraging Iraqi leaders to act in a responsible, nonsectarian way," she told reporters. "Certainly a discussion of that is something that we would be open to."

Legendary radio personality Casey Kasem dies at 82

Born Kemal Amin Kasem in Detroit, the disc jockey began his career in nearby Flint before becoming an announcer on Armed Forces Radio Korea Network in 1952. Upon his return, he went on to work at radio stations in California, Ohio and New York before launching "American Top 40" in 1970. He hosted that show until 1988, and then a revived version from 1998 until 2004, when Ryan Seacrest took over. From 1988 until 1998, Kasem hosted a show called "Casey's Top 40."

Kasem, who was married twice and has four children, also had a colorful TV career, which included doing the voice for Shaggy on "Scooby-Doo" as well as voice-overs for many commercials. A devout vegan, he supported animal rights and environmental causes, as well as political organizations that spoke to him. Originally of Lebanese origin, Kasem felt it was important to improve Arab-Jewish relations.

In recent years, the radio personality's health declined and in 2013, his daughter Kerri said he was suffering from a form of dementia. Around that time, his three oldest children and brother launched a claim that his wife Jean was not letting them see their father. A court denied a petition his daughter Julie launched to take care of her father in October 2013, but just last month, Kerri was granted conservatorship amid a battle with Kasem's second wife, her stepmother, Jean.

“It’s a sad day for the broadcasting community and for radio listeners around the world,” said Ryan Seacrest, who took over "American Top 40" from Kasem in 2009, in a statement. “When I was a kid, I would listen to Casey Kasem’s AT40 show every weekend, and dream about someday becoming a radio DJ. So when decades later I took over his AT40 countdown show, it was a surreal moment. Casey had a distinctive friendly on-air voice, and he was just as affable and nice if you had the privilege to be in his company. He’ll be greatly missed by all of us.”

Ruby Dee dead at 91: Legendary stage and screen actress — and Civil Rights leader — frequently costarred with husband Ossie Davis

Ruby Dee, an acclaimed actress and civil rights activist whose versatile career spanned stage, radio television and film, has died at age 91, according to her daughter.

Nora Davis Day told The Associated Press on Thursday that her mother died at home in New Rochelle on Wednesday night of "natural causes."

Dee, who frequently acted alongside her husband of 56 years, Ossie Davis, was with loved ones, she added.

"We have had her for so long and we loved her so much," Day said. "She took her final bow last night at home surrounded by her children and grandchildren."

Day added: "We gave her our permission to set sail. She opened her eyes, closed her eyes and away she went."

Her long career brought her an Oscar nomination at age 83 for best supporting actress for her maternal role in the 2007 film "American Gangster." She also won an Emmy and was nominated for several others. Age didn't slow her down.

"I think you mustn't tell your body, you mustn't tell your soul, 'I'm going to retire,'" Dee told The Associated Press in 2001. "You may be changing your life emphasis, but there's still things that you have in mind to do that now seems the right time to do. I really don't believe in retiring as long as you can breathe."

She and her late husband were frequent collaborators. Their partnership rivaled the achievements of other celebrated acting couples. But they were more than performers; they were also activists who fought for civil rights, particularly for blacks.

"We used the arts as part of our struggle," she said in 2006. "Ossie said he knew he had to conduct himself differently with skill and thought."

In 1998, the pair celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and an even longer association in show business with the publication of a dual autobiography, "With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together."

Davis died in February 2005. Among those who mourned at his funeral included former President Bill Clinton, Harry Belafonte and Spike Lee.

Davis and Dee met in 1945 when she auditioned for the Broadway play "Jeb," starring Davis (both were cast in it). In December 1948, on a day off from rehearsals from another play, Davis and Dee took a bus to New Jersey to get married. They already were so close that "it felt almost like an appointment we finally got around to keeping," Dee wrote in "In This Life Together."

They shared billing in 11 stage productions and five movies during long parallel careers. Dee's fifth film, "No Way Out" with Sidney Poitier in 1950, was her husband's first. Along with film, stage and television, their richly honored careers extended to a radio show, "The Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Story Hour," that featured a mix of black themes. Davis directed one of their joint film appearances, "Countdown at Kusini" (1976).

Both were active in civil rights issues and efforts to promote the cause of blacks in the entertainment industry and elsewhere. Dee and Davis served as masters of ceremonies for the historic 1963 March on Washington and she spoke at both the funerals for Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X.

The couple's battle in that arena was lifelong: In 1999, the couple was arrested while protesting the shooting death of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed African immigrant, by New York City police.

Among her best-known films was "A Raisin in the Sun," in 1961, based on the classic play that explored racial discrimination and black frustration (she was also in the 1959 stage version). On television, she was on the soap operas such in the 1950s and '60s, a rare sight for a black actress in the 1950s and 60s.

As she aged, she continued to reach new career heights. Dee was the voice of wisdom and reason as Mother Sister in Spike Lee's 1989 film, "Do the Right Thing," alongside her husband. She won an Emmy as supporting actress in a miniseries or special for 1990's "Decoration Day."

She won a National Medal of the Arts in 1995 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild in 2000. In 2004, she and Davis received Kennedy Center Honors. In 2007, Davis and Dee's book won a Grammy for best spoken word album.

Born Ruby Ann Wallace in Cleveland, Dee was an infant when her family moved to Harlem, New York. She graduated from a highly competitive high school and enrolled in college but longed for show business.

"I wanted to be an actor but the chances for success did not look promising," she wrote in their joint autobiography.

But in 1940 she got a part in a Harlem production of a new play, "On Strivers Row," which she later called "one giant step" to becoming a person and a performer.

In 1965, she became the first black woman to play lead roles at the American Shakespeare Festival. She won an Obie Award for the title role in Athol Fugard's "Boesman and Lena" and a Drama Desk Award for her role in "Wedding Band."

Most recently, Dee performed her one-woman stage show, "My One Good Nerve: A Visit With Ruby Dee," in theaters across the country. The show was a compilation of some of the short stories, humor and poetry in her book of the same title.

She is survived by three children: Nora, Hasna and Guy, and seven grandchildren.

Day said funeral services will be private but a public memorial is planned.

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