Steve Harvey's ratings tank after Trump meeting

Steve Harvey's ratings for his new talk show Steve have been tanking due to his meeting with Donald Trump in January.The comedian's black supporters criticized the meeting but Harvey failed to properly address the backlash, resulting in poor ratings for his programs.

Steve Harvey is attempting to save his new talk show by distancing himself from President Trump after his ratings took a hit due to fallout for taking a meeting with Trump in January.

The 60-year-old relaunched his daytime show when his previous program was set to be canceled because the host refused to sign his contract because he wasn't getting a raise and couldn't move his show to Los Angeles.

As a result, Harvey's talent agency decided to launch a new show, simply retitled Steve, for the comic based in Hollywood in an effort to keep the show going.

The retooled show premiered on September 5 after a few months of preparation, and both ratings and reviews for the program have been less than stellar.

Sources close to the production told DailyMail.com they believe the poor numbers reflect a fallout from Harvey's black audience after he met with Trump in January.

Now Harvey is turning on the president in a desperate bid to save his show, recently proclaiming on his radio show: 'Meeting with Donald Trump was the worst mistake of my life.'

Harvey faced tremendous backlash from his TV and radio fans when he paid a visit to Trump Tower in New York City to meet with Donald Trump in January

African-Americans were outraged by the images of Harvey being chummy with the then-President Elect and many called for boycotts against the comic.

Harvey was dismissive and defiant despite the backlash and lashed out at fans for challenging his decision.

The source said: 'This is the moment his brand took a hit. He had been through a few scandals before - the divorces, the Miss Universe Pageant and the Asian joke gone bad - but he had never faced the wrath of his core audience before, middle-aged African Americans.

'And unfortunately for Steve, he was too arrogant to realize the weight of his mistake and never made amends to his loyal followers for it.'

Since then, the ratings for Harvey's game show Family Feud took a dip and the audience for his variety show Little Big Shots dropped almost by half.

But it wasn't until the ratings for his revamped talk show started suffering did Harvey acknowledge his glaring Trump error.

Read more: Steve Harvey's ratings tank after Trump meeting

Rev. Jesse Jackson: NFL owners have 'plantation mentality'

Reverend Jesse Jackson, the noted civil rights activist, wants to have an extensive conversation with Texans owner Bob McNair.

In the wake of a firestorm of controversy following McNair saying "We can't have the inmates running the prison," at a recent NFL owners meetings, Jackson was sharply critical of the remarks in a telephone interview Sunday with The Houston Chronicle. Jackson accused owners, including McNair, of having a "plantation mentality."

Jackson added that there should be sanctions against McNair for his comments. McNair has apologized publicly in a statement and privately to his players and stated that he wasn't referring to players in those remarks. said he reached out to McNair and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and hasn't heard back from them.

Jackson suggested that the NFL provide extensive details about what was said at the closed-door meeting regarding players' national anthem protests.

"They really should make the minutes of that meeting public," Jackson said. "I understand there were some other things said that were just as bad from other owners. They have kind of a plantation mentality. The players are objectified in some sense. Mr. McNair is a product of the South. They act like he's a victim or misunderstood, but those players have made him a wealthy man.

"Mr. McNair said he's sorry, but he also said what he said in an uninhibited way when he's in a private meeting with the other owners. There should be some kind of sanctions. Other owners heard him talk that way and they shouldn't condone that kind of talk."

Jackson believes there's an opportunity to bring people together through this situation.

Read more: Rev. Jesse Jackson: NFL owners have 'plantation mentality'

Maxine Waters has tough words for predators and Trump

In no uncertain terms, Congresswoman Maxine Waters warned those who prey on women to "keep your hands off" Saturday at the Women's Convention in Detroit.

The 79-year-old Democratic icon from California, who's known for her no-filter honesty, was greeted with a standing ovation by a crowd at the Cobo Center.

Waters was there to address a packed hall of attendees -- and to be honored for speaking truth to power at an event titled the Sojourner Truth Luncheon.

Focusing largely on the issue of sexual harassment and assault that's been driven by the news about movie producer Harvey Weinstein, Waters stressed that the problem isn't limited to the entertainment industry.

Citing teachers, nurses, women serving in the military and fellow U.S. representatives who've added their voices to the #MeToo movement, Waters declared that such behavior toward women will not be tolerated.

"Keep your nasty comments away from us... Keep your hands off our backs and our g--damn bodies. We're not going to take it anymore," she warned.

Waters also made it clear that she thinks President Donald Trump is part of the problem. The grassroots women's movement grew out of concerns that rights for women and other groups would be impacted negatively by the Trump administration.

"This president has no respect for women," said Waters.

The Waters speech was one of the most anticipated offerings of the first such convention ever held by the Women's March movement.

Read more: Maxine Waters fires up Women's Convention in Detroit with tough words

Obama to report for jury duty in Chicago

Former President Obama has been called for service on a Chicago jury.

A judge from Cook County, Illinois, told county commissioners on Friday that Obama plans to appear in court next month.

“He made it crystal-clear to me through his representative that he would carry out his public duty as a citizen and resident of this community,” Chief Judge Tim Evans said, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The date and location of Obama’s expected service were not disclosed.

“His safety will be uppermost in our minds,” Evans said.

Obama is unlikely to be selected for a jury even if he’s willing to appear.

He is registered to vote in Chicago and owns a home there, as well as in Washington, D.C.

[SOURCE: THE HILL]

95-year-old black judge celebrates 50 years on federal bench

Judge Damon J. Keith thinks back on his 50 years on the federal bench and remembers many tumultuous and significant times, including being sued by President Richard Nixon after ruling that wiretapping couldn't be done without a court order.

The 95-year-old from Detroit, the only African-American among six current federal judges who have served 50 or more years according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, still hears cases about four times a year at the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. His approach — in or out of the spotlight, on or off the bench — is the same: Fight for the Constitution, not with each other.

"Just treat everyone with dignity," said Keith, who will be honored at a gala Saturday in Detroit for reaching the half-century mark.

The phrase "Equal justice under law," which is etched onto the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, drives Keith and reminds him of lessons Thurgood Marshall taught him as one of his professors at Howard University. Marshall became the first black Supreme Court justice in October 1967 — the same month Keith, a prominent lawyer in his own right by then, was appointed to the federal bench.

He recalled Marshall saying, "The white men wrote those four words. When you leave Howard, I want you to go out and practice law and see what you can do to enforce those four words."

"And that's what I've tried to do," Keith said last week at Detroit's historic federal court building, where he's had an office since President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him to the federal district court 50 years ago.

In 1970, Keith ordered a bus policy and new boundaries in the Pontiac, Michigan, school district to break up racial segregation.

A year later, he made another groundbreaking decision, finding that Hamtramck, Michigan, illegally destroyed black neighborhoods in the name of urban renewal with the federal government's help. The remedy was 200 housing units for blacks. The court case is still alive decades later due to disputes over property taxes and the slow pace of construction.

Read more: 95-year-old black judge celebrates 50 years on federal bench