McDonald's Settles $10B Discrimination Lawsuit Brought by Byron Allen's Media Company
McDonald's reached a settlement in the $10 billion lawsuit brought by Byron Allen's Allen Entertainment Studios, in which the media mogul accused the fast food company of discriminating against Black-owned media companies.
Allen's companies and McDonald's released a joint statement on Friday, revealing that they'd come to 'an agreement to settle pending litigation between them.' At the tailend of last year, U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin found that McDonald's may have violated federal and state civil rights laws by keeping a separate advertising tier for companies who create content target toward Black audiences.
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'We are pleased to find a resolution that maintains our business relationship,' Allen's Entertainment Studios and The Weather Channel said in a statement. 'During the course of this litigation, many of our preconceptions have been clarified, and we acknowledge McDonald's commitment to investing in Black-owned media properties and increasing access to opportunity. Our differences are behind us, and we look forward to working together.'
The news comes after McDonald's was set to go to trial for the lawsuit. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Later in the release, it was noted that 'The parties reached a confidential commercial agreement whereby McDonald's will continue to purchase advertising from ESN in a manner that aligns with its advertising strategy and commercial objectives and ESN will dismiss its lawsuit against McDonald's in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.' Additionally, they noted, 'Under the terms of the agreement, which are confidential, McDonald's is not admitting any wrongdoing, and the ads sold will, as per all such commercial deals, be priced at market value.
'We are pleased that Mr. Allen has come to appreciate McDonald's unwavering commitment to inclusion, and has agreed to refocus his energies on a mutually beneficial commercial arrangement that is consistent with other McDonald's supplier relationships,' McDonald's USA, LLC said. 'Our company's unique three-legged stool model relies on mutual respect, and we look forward to ESN's contributions to the betterment of our system.'
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USA Today
39 minutes ago
- USA Today
DiCosmo's Italian Ice turns 110: The story behind a small business with a big legacy
DiCosmo's Italian Ice turns 110: The story behind a small business with a big legacy Show Caption Hide Caption Caesar salad, invented in Mexico by Italian immigrants, is still pleasing palates after 100 years Caesar salad has something to celebrate: It's turning 100. In the U.S., 35% of U.S. restaurants have Caesar salad on their menus. (Scripps News) Scripps News On Wednesday, June 4, the family celebrated more than a century's worth of success. DiCosmo's Italian Ice will give one small free Italian ice away to one customer for 110 days, until Sept. 22. More than a century ago, southern Italian immigrants Giovanni and Caterina DiCosmo decided to offer a taste of their homeland in their new community of Elizabeth, New Jersey, when they started selling lemon Italian ice, a take on granita, which is a Sicilian frozen treat. They knew it would help their neighbors cool down during the particularly hot summer of 1915. What they didn't know was that 110 years later, their great-granddaughter Eileen DiCosmo O'Connor would keep their legacy alive just south in the city of Metuchen. DiCosmo's Italian Ice opened its seasonal shop five years ago, a sister store to the Elizabeth location. On Wednesday, June 4, the Metuchen store celebrated the brand's storied, 110-year history with $1.10 small cups of Italian ice. It was also the first day that DiCosmo's Italian Ice will give one small free Italian ice away to a different customer each day for 110 days, until Sept. 22. For a chance to win, customers should follow DiCosmo's Italian Ice on Facebook or Instagram, or subscribe to email updates on its website. Each day, the shop will randomly select one of the followers or subscribers. 'I'm surprised that this little seasonal business selling this niche item has endured,' said O'Connor, the fourth-generation co-owner of DiCosmo's Italian Ice. 'I'm really proud. I know we have a great product and we wouldn't be here without our customers. I appreciate that for generations, they keep wanting more.' More summer sweet treats: McDonald's new McFlurry is based on a campfire snack treat. See availability Despite the many decades that have passed since the DiCosmos first created a recipe simply using fresh-squeezed lemon juice, sugar and water, the way that the shop makes the Italian ice today is the same as it was 110 years ago. So are the ingredients. DiCosmo's Italian Ice uses real fruit, including local strawberries, peaches and apples when they're in season. By using real fruit, corn syrup and extra sugar are not needed, so the ice isn't overly sweet. Only five gallons are made at a time, and only eight flavors are offered at any time — always kept at a precise temperature and with minimal exposure to air — so ice never sits for more than 48 hours. 'When ice sits, the ice crystals grow and has a different mouthfeel,' said O'Connor. 'Because it's fresh, the ice crystals stay small and has that melt-in-your-mouth burst in flavor.' The original lemon flavor, as well as the pina colada, mango and cherry flavors, are always available. The other four slots are filled by rotating flavors based on the season. Flavors have included lime mint, dragon fruit pineapple, strawberry guava and lavender haze, in honor of when a Taylor Swift tribute artist performed in the borough. The Metuchen shop is open seasonally based on the weather, which means that it sometimes opens early if there's a warm week in April or stays open through October if it's a hot fall. The Elizabeth shop was recently sold to new owners, although the DiCosmos shared their recipes and methods with them. It will open on a to-be-announced date. After DiCosmo's Italian Ice founders Giovanni and Caterina DiCosmo retired in the 1900s, they passed the business down to their son, Alfred, and his wife Agnes, a talented cook. She developed additional flavors for the shop, while Alfred, a welder, mechanized the hand crank machines to reduce the manufacturing time and increase production. They passed it on to their son, John, and his wife Nancy, who transformed the business from a small seasonal hobby into a modern business with extended hours and modernized manufacturing. O'Connor, their daughter, now co-runs the shop alongside her husband Mike O'Connor. She hopes that one day, the fifth generation of her family will continue the DiCosmo's Italian Ice tradition. 'I hope that one of my kids takes the shop over one day,' O'Connor said. 'There are 14 grandchildren, so if not mine, then maybe some of the cousins.' Go: 20 New St., Metuchen, New Jersey, 732-243-9328, Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey since 2014. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. You can also follow her on Instagram at @seejennaeat and on Twitter at @JIntersimone.
Black America Web
2 hours ago
- Black America Web
Choir to Cypher: 18 Rappers Who Have Ties to Church
Kya Kelly/Radio One Cincinnati Before they were spitting and rocking sold-out stages, some of hip-hop's most influential artists were at church sitting in pews or singing in choirs. The Black church has long been a foundational space, not just spiritually, but creatively. It's where storytelling is born in rhythm, call-and-response becomes second nature, and community means everything. For a lot of rappers, the church wasn't just the first stage: it was the first studio, the first audience, and the first school of performance, discipline, and identity. RELATED: 11 Living Legends Who Deserve Their Flowers While a few have strayed far from traditional religious paths and others have blended their faith directly into their music, the influence of the church remains clear in some of their work. Here are 18 rappers who have ties to church, and carry a piece of it with them into music: Choir to Cypher: 18 Rappers Who Have Ties to Church was originally published on Source:Getty Snoop Dogg was raised in the Baptist church and began singing and playing piano there at Golgotha Trinity Baptist Church as a child. His mother, a choir member, introduced him to gospel music and old-school R&B, which heavily influenced his musical journey. Snoop has spoken about how his church upbringing instilled in him a sense of community and family. He also credits the church with teaching him lessons that have lasted throughout his life. While he later explored other faiths, including Islam, he acknowledges the positive impact his church background had on him. Source:Getty Missy Elliott's journey began in a Virginia church choir where she sang and played instruments from a young age. Missy often credits church music with shaping her ear for melody and harmony. In 2017 when speaking on her then-newly public illness, she said: 'Not everybody believes in God but I'm a walking testimony.' Source:Getty Before he became a hip-hop legend, Christopher Wallace was raised as a Jehovah's Witness in Brooklyn. He attended St. Peter Claver Church and graduated from the parish's elementary school in 1982. His mother, Voletta Wallace, was devout in her faith and kept a tight grip on his religious upbringing. Ms. Wallace didn't listen to her son's music until after his death. Source:Getty Kanye West has never shied away from his religious roots. Raised by his mother Donda West, who kept him close to the church in Chicago, Kanye started rapping and performing at church events. Gospel music and the Black church experience heavily influenced his early albums and later became the core of his Sunday Service series. Source:Getty Tech N9ne's spiritual background is layered. Born and raised a Christian, he spent his early years attending church with his mother. At age 12, when his mother married a Muslim man, his spiritual path shifted. He began studying Islam and continued until he was 17. In his own words: 'Yes, I was born and raised a Christian. My mom married a Muslim when I was 12. I studied Islam from 12–17. I ran away from home at 17 because I didn't understand how my stepfather was trying to mold me. He was trying to make a man of me, and I thought he was picking on me. I was wrong.' Source:Getty MC Hammer's foundation in the church goes back to childhood. He was raised in a religious household and began preaching as a teenager. Long before the world knew him for parachute pants and pop-rap hits, Hammer was deeply involved in church activities, including music ministry. Many also don't know Hammer was also apart of a Christian rap group, Holy Ghost Boys. After his peak, he returned to his faith, becoming an ordained minister and starting a ministry show. Source:Getty 3 Stacks was raised in a Southern Baptist church alongside his parents. In his own words: 'I had a strict Christian upbringing, my parents and I were members of a Southern Baptist church. But with age I got closer to God all while moving away from the church.' Though he eventually distanced himself from organized religion, he never lost his sense of spirituality. André has said that his faith evolved independently, allowing him to connect with God without 'having to listen to those purveyors of nonsense.' Source:Getty Busta Rhymes was introduced to the teachings of Islam at the age of 12. While he didn't follow traditional Islam, he found a strong connection with the teachings of the Nation of Gods and Earths, also known as the Five Percent Nation (a movement that teaches that the Black man is divine and that a chosen 5% possess true knowledge of self). Busta has often incorporated that ideology into his music, using his lyrics to reflect on power, purpose, and elevation. While his lifestyle has never fit into rigid religious categories, he's remained vocal about the influence of the Five Percent teachings on how he views himself, his success, and his role in the culture. Source:Getty Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor) was raised in the Seventh-day Adventist tradition. He and Q-Tip met in their church in Queens, New York, and Phife's family strictly adhered to Adventist beliefs. So much so that he was initially forbidden from engaging with hip-hop. Source:Getty T.I. was raised in a Christian household and identified as a Southern Baptist. He's a known member of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta and has remained quietly but consistently devout over the years. Though he doesn't speak often about his faith in interviews, he's made it clear that church has always been part of his foundation. Source:Getty DMX was a 'born-again' Christian who openly credited his faith as central to his life, often sharing that he read the Bible daily. Even during difficult times, like his stints in jail, DMX believed there was a higher purpose at work. He once said, 'I came here to meet somebody… Don't know who it was, but I'll know when I see him.' His music frequently intertwined realities with spiritual confession, and his relationship with God remained a deeply personal part of his journey until the end. Source:Getty Lecrae is one of the most prominent examples of a rapper whose church upbringing is front and center in his career. He was raised by his single mother in a tough Houston neighborhood before moving around to Denver and San Diego. His early life was marked by hardship, including sexual abuse at age six and struggles with drugs and crime as a teenager. Lecrae carried his grandmother's Bible as a symbol of good luck. After an encounter with a police officer who urged him to live by biblical principles, he turned his life around, eventually earning a theater scholarship and graduating from the University of North Texas. At 19, a Bible study invitation from a college friend helped deepen his faith, which has since become the foundation of his music and mission. Source:Getty Nas was raised in a Christian Southern Baptist household in Queensbridge, New York. His upbringing introduced him to Christian values early on, though as he got older, his spiritual views broadened. While he doesn't claim a specific religious denomination today, Nas has often spoken about believing in a higher power and the presence of divine order in the world. Source:Getty J. Cole grew up in a Christian household, and he's never dipped away from acknowledging the impact it's had on him. In an interview with Complex , he shared, 'I grew up with a Christian foundation, so that's always going to be a part of me. It's always going to be instilled in me, whether I want it to be or not.' Traces of that foundation run throughout his storytelling. Source:Getty Joseph 'Rev Run' Simmons was raised Christian, but his spiritual path deepened after the height of Run-DMC's fame. Following the group's split in 2004, he became an ordained minister and fully embraced his role as a man of faith. Reflecting on that turning point, he shared, 'I was a little unhappy with what was going on, so I started going to church… I started to see that learning the principles of God was helping to shape my life better.' Rev Run found a renewed purpose in ministry. Source:Getty Bushwick Bill was raised with a Christian foundation but found a deeper connection to his faith later in life. Known for his graphic lyrics as a member of the Geto Boys, he experienced a spiritual transformation in his later years, becoming a born-again Christian. As his beliefs shifted, so did his music, moving toward gospel and messages of faith, redemption, and uplift. Source:Getty Cheryl 'Salt' James, one-third of the group Salt-N-Pepa, has long been open about her faith and Christian walk. Her journey led her to be baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church during a mission trip to Ethiopia. Since then, she's used her platforms to share Bible verses, messages of encouragement, and glimpses into her spiritual life. Phrases like 'Church Flow' and 'Happy Sunday' have become part of her regular expression online, reflecting a lifestyle grounded in faith. Source:Getty Mase shocked the hip-hop world in 1999 when he walked away from music at the height of his fame, announcing that he had received a calling from God. He said he could no longer reconcile his lyrics with his faith, stating he felt he was 'leading people down a path to hell.' Trading in rap for the pulpit, Mase devoted himself to ministry and later became the pastor of Gathering Oasis Church, a non-denominational Christian church in Atlanta. While he's returned to music on occasion, faith remains central to his life and message. Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
However you celebrate Juneteenth, do it now. It might not be a holiday forever
There's a big question swirling around Juneteenth: How do we celebrate it? It's something organizers and activists are asking themselves as battles over history education and workplace diversity initiatives dominate debates and cross racial lines. Consider me cautiously optimistic and skeptically nervous. We've got a chance to get this right, but the George Floyd protests of 2020 and the Kendrick Lamar 2025 Super Bowl halftime concert have showed us just how far the gap is between racial progressives and social conservatives. Let's take a second to reflect on where we are and where we could go with the nation's newest federal holiday. Across the nation, Juneteenth gatherings have ranged from loud parties to quiet prayer services. These days, it's easy to find food trucks, panel discussions, live music, storytelling, history presentations, barbecue contests, spades tournaments, line dances (I know my family can't gather anywhere without doing the hustle), softball games and good-ol' fashioned speechifying. There's so much variety because Juneteenth isn't like the Fourth of July or Christmas with traditions that have become part of our national DNA. For the last 200 years or so, it's been a Black thing, and we wouldn't expect anyone else to understand. On its face, this question is wild. Does anyone ask the same thing about Hanukkah or St. Patrick's Day or Cinco de Mayo? Aside from that, Juneteenth has been for all Americans since 2021, at least. Despite the emancipation that Juneteenth celebrates, Black people have been living in two cultures throughout American history. We've got our own national anthem ('Lift Every Voice and Sing'), holiday season (Kwanzaa), Thanksgiving foods (sweet potato pie, please), music (Kendrick Lamar didn't come up with that halftime show from scratch), public figures (believe in Charlamagne tha God), authors (Angie Thomas), sports legends (Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and Cool Papa Bell, and that's just baseball) and cultural traditions (like sitting in a chair for half a day to get your hair braided before vacation.) It's a natural response to being shut out of so many mainstream places and spaces. Of course, but people from other racial backgrounds are guests, in this case. Good guests take pains to avoid offending their hosts. (For example, I don't offer coffee to my LDS friends or bacon to my Jewish friends.) Absolutely. This is a 'Saturday Night Live' sketch waiting to happen. There shouldn't be any blackface or watermelon jokes. And, please, don't wear a MAGA hat to the cookout. But mostly, I'm afraid of how Black culture might be reduced to stereotypes or warped beyond recognition. Remember when I mentioned St. Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo? I don't think anyone had green beer or leprechauns in mind when they decided to honor the patron saint of Ireland in the early 1600s. And why do so many people think Cinco de Mayo is just an excuse for half off margaritas and tacos? Do we really want Juneteenth to devolve into 'St. Blacktrick's Day' or 'Negro de Mayo?' Lord knows, there are enough Black stereotypes to keep Michael Che and Colin Jost busy every weekend for the next 10 years, at least. Let's not do that, please. Remember that the Black American experience is unique and try to honor it. For me, I can't think about the Black experience without thinking about separation. People were forced onto slave ships and separated from all that they knew. Children were separated from parents on auction blocks. Families were separated during the Great Migration. And we're still reeling from the separation of the prison epidemic. It's a good time to find a community of people and celebrate the racial progress we've made over the last few decades. (For example, when Kamala Harris ran for president, it was more about her being a woman than about her being Black. That would have been an unimaginable reality for any rational person during the civil rights era.) And given all the separation Black Americans have faced through history, it would be fitting to celebrate in a community gathering — the bigger, the better. Sure, you can. Especially if you have the day off. Some people don't like crowds. Maybe. You'll have to check with your employer. Private businesses aren't required to give employees the day off, paid or otherwise. And if you do get the day off, schedule it appropriately with your supervisor. Just a guess here, but it's probably a bad idea to just skip work without telling anyone. Good question. I remember being a kid and watching 'The Ten Commandments' every Easter and 'A Christmas Story' to celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus. I'm not sure there's a Black Hollywood equivalent, but Tyler Perry or Spike Lee might have some ideas. Maybe play your favorite Sidney Poitier movie on a loop and call it high cotton? (Black people have our own way of saying 'good,' too.) The balance for me is celebrating Black resilience without spending too much time reliving Black trauma. Juneteenth came about when enslaved people in Texas finally learned about their freedom about two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. We've had to overcome a lot just to exist, and some of us are thriving. Yeah. Celebrate it now because we need the momentum. The way things are going in Washington, D.C, we can't be certain Juneteenth will remain a federal holiday forever. Reach Moore at gmoore@ or 602-444-2236. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @SayingMoore. Like this column? Get more opinions in your email inbox by signing up for our free opinions newsletter, which publishes Monday through Friday. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How to celebrate Juneteenth? Here are the dos and don'ts | Opinion
