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Clevelandurbannews.com, Ohio's Black digital news leader

Women's March Cleveland to host noon, Sat, June 21, 2025, Cleveland City Hall steps Roe Reversal Third Anniversary March and Leave Women Alone Rally

Facebook event page link: https://www.facebook.com/event...

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Former East Cleveland mayor Brandon King and former East Cleveland councilman Ernest Smith

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com


By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher


EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio - A Cuyahoga County jury on May 29 found suspended East Cleveland mayor Brandon King and former councilman Ernest Smith guilty of public corruption charges.


The trial followed months of legal manoeuvrings and claims of corruption by judges and prosecutors from the defense team.


East Cleveland is a neighboring Black suburb of Cleveland of some 15,000 residents, and one of the poorest cities in the nation.


King, 57, was convicted of three fourth-degree felonies – theft in office and two counts of having an unlawful interest in a public contract – as well as misdemeanor offenses. He faces up to 18 months in prison on the felony convictions alone.


King was found guilty of steering $75,000 to family businesses, while Smith, 49 and recalled from office by voters in 2022, was convicted of misusing a city vehicle and gas card. Both are barred from office for seven years. They remain free on bond, at least until sentencing on June 8.

Their supporters say the case is politically motivated and racist since both are Black and County prosecutor Mike O'Malley has allegedly been targeting Black elected officials for prosecution and leaving White ones, including some corrupt common pleas judges, alone.

King had been the city’s mayor since 2016. He was indicted in late October on 12 counts, including theft in office, unlawful interest in a public contract and soliciting or receiving improper compensation. In short, prosecutors say he steered contracts and money to family members and friends, and handed favors to former councilman Smith, who is Black like King.

King was later suspended with pay by the Ohio Supreme Court at the urging of Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley, whom critics say is out to criminalize Black, male elected officials one by one, and any outspoken Black community activists he can railroad into prison with help from crooked and racist judges.

O'Malley bragged to the mainstream media on Thursday after the jury convicted King and Smith, saying in part that “Mayor King’s conviction was inevitable,” and that "the citizens of East Cleveland deserve better than what their municipal government has provided them."

Activists say that it is unprofessional for O'Malley to brag about his efforts to imprison Black elected officials with help from a debilitating legal system in the county that is plagued with racism and steeped in public corruption.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com are the most-read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio. Tel. 216-659-0473. Email-editor@clevelandurbannews.com

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Former President Joe Biden

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher


CLEVELAND, Ohio— Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, mainstream news media like the New York Times and ABC News reported Friday, raising further concerns about the former president's health. Health issues and troubling campaign poll numbers forced him to relinquish his 2024 bid for a second term in the White House.

A loyal Democrat, Biden, 82, was a two-term vice president under former President Barack Obama, the country's first Black president, and won the presidency in his own right over now President Donald Trump in 2020. But he bowed out of his 2024 reelection bid amid plummeting poll numbers, pressure from prominent Dems, and criticism from the mainstream media that he and the Democrats were covering up his deteriorating health.

A Republican real estate mogul and former reality star, Trump, 78, would win a second non-consecutive term in 2024 over then-Vice President Kamala Harris, the nation's first Black female presidential nominee, of whom Biden and the Democrats endorsed.

Harris fought to win months leading up to the November 2024 presidential election, but to no avail as Trump, who won the presidency over then Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016 relative to his first term in office, ultimately won both the electoral college and the popular vote over Harris.

President Trump stated this weekend on his Truth Social media site that he and First Lady Melania Trump are pulling for former First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and the Biden family, and that "we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery."

Two U.S. presidents, Ulysses S. Grant and Herbert Hoover, have died from cancer. Grant died from throat cancer while in office, and Hoover died from colon cancer after he left office.

Biden's cancer diagnosis announcement comes as President Trump has sought to limit cancer and other critical research since taking office for a second, non-consecutive term in January.

Prostate cancer is a common cancer in Black men, who have a higher risk of developing and dying from the disease compared to other racial groups.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com the most-read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio. Tel. 216-659-0473. Email-editor@clevelandurbannews.com
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Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

 

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher

CLEVELAND, Ohio— After losing Games 1, 2, and 4, the Cleveland Cavaliers fail to the Indiana Pacers 114-105 Tuesday night at the the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse arena in downtown Cleveland, losing Game 5 of Round 2 of the 2025 Eastern Conference playoffs, a best-of-seven-games series that put to rest their quest to win the Conference Finals and, ultimately, the NBA Finals.

The Pacers won all of the Round 2 games in Cleveland, to the disheartening of Cleveland fans.

The NBA playoffs are presented by Google, an Internet giant, and one of the BIG Four tech companies.

The No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, Cleveland outdid the Miami Heat with a four-game sweep in Round 1, but struggled in Games 1, 2, 4 and 5 of Round 2 against the Pacers, the series ending 4-1, Pacers.

Led by head coach Kenny Atkinson, the Cavaliers had their eyes on the NBA Championship trophy, and so did Cleveland fans, Cleveland a largely Black major American city and the second largest city in Ohio, behind Columbus, the state capital.

Cleveland has not won an NBA championship since 2016, when megastar LeBron James, who now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, was a team member.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com are the most-read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio. Tel. 216-659-0473. Email-editor@clevelandurbannews.com

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