The protests surrounding Michael Brown’s shooting continue to rage in Ferguson, Missouri. And although the previous 24 hours had been peaceful in Ferguson following the replacement of the local police force with the Missouri highway patrol, tensions again ran high in the aftermath of the St. Louis police department releasing new information.

Following yesterday’s release of the name Darren Wilson as the confirmed identity of the officer who shot Michael Brown, police Chief Thomas Jackson disclosed that Brown was a suspect in a convenience store robbery that took place just prior to his death.

Related: Michael Brown Shooting: A Timeline Of The Fallout In Ferguson

Jackson’s decision to name Brown as a robbery suspect was met with immense backlash, and last night, protestors reached violent levels that included looting and robbing several businesses—including the convenience store in question.

Many questioned what the motivations were behind releasing this information, and Brown’s family also joined in expressing their outrage at the allegations, citing it as an example to tarnish their son’s reputation. The Missouri highway patrol also criticized the decision to release the video, in a rare showing of law enforcement disagreement.

So as night fell in Ferguson on Friday (August 15), The Washington Post reports that peaceful protests took an ugly turn. While some protestors attempted to stop the looting, others continues to break glass and steal from the businesses in the downtown area where the protests have been held. After the riot gear ...

Jimmy Fallon had to know the odds were stacked against him when he challenged action star Jason Statham to a Hamster Ball Race. On Friday’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” the pair both put on their game faces, but only one would emerge the winner.

Yes, that’s right, two grown men racing each other in a simulated “hamster ball” style by running inside of two clear, blow-up balls like little hamsters do to keep themselves occupied.

Statham, who stopped by the show to promote “The Expendables 3,” was practically born to win races, just consider see his butt-kicking roles in “Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, “The Italian Job” and “Crank,” among others.

He unsurprisingly owned “The Tonight Show” host, easily clearing the designated dancing panda bear halfway marker, but not before doing the equivalent of a hamster ball “fist bump” as he circled to the finish line in Rockefeller Plaza.

There was no bad blood after the contest, though: the out-of-breath Fallon pointed to Statham, saying, “The champ, the best guy, Jason Statham right there. You killed it, buddy!” Indeed. We’d like to see Statham against a real, live hamster next!

Althea Legaspi @AltheaLegaspi

Yesterday (August 15), Jay Adams, a pop culture icon and one of the founding members of the skateboarding collective the “Z Boys,” died at the age of 53. Adams was on a surf vacation in Puerto Escondido, Mexico when he died. According to the Los Angeles Times, the preliminary diagnosis for his death is a heart attack.

As a member of the Zephyr Skateboarding team or “Z Boys” that helped shape skateboarding as a sport and a cultural force back in the ’70s, Adams really rose to prominence in 2001 when the documentary film “Dogtown and Z Boys” was released. The film’s plot surrounded Adams and his friends Stacy Peralta and Tony Alva skating in the Santa Monica neighborhood of Dogtown.

Adams was especially known for the way his surfing style influenced his skateboarding, and for a certain fluidity that most skaters couldn’t achieve. He had nicknames like “pure seed” and even “the chosen one” but mostly shied away from big, corporate skating competitions.

The story of “Dogtown and Z Boys” was turned into a fictional account in 2005 called “Lords of Dogtown,” and actor Emile Hirsch played Adams in the movie. Yesterday Hirsch took to Twitter to express his sense of grief.

Others also keenly felt the loss of Adams, like professional skater Tony Hawk, who cites Adams as an inspiration.

Photographer Glen E. Friedman who helped promote the work of Jay and other counter-culture figures also tweeted his grief.

And shared his own tribute to Jay:

Another photographer, Mike Andrick, shared another ...

Stay with me now because things are about to get meta. A very special guest James Franco, oh excuse me, Dave Skylark, will be hosting a very special VMA special to help audiences get a grasp on what to expect from MTV’s annual awards show!

And of course, the legendary producer Seth Rogen I mean Aaron Rapoport will be behind the scenes making sure everything runs smoothly. Especially for us, they’ve given a sneak peek of one of the special’s guests—VMA nominee Jason Derulo.

Okay so yes, for “Dave Skylark’s Very Special VMA Special” Franco and Rogen will be acting very in character as their characters from the upcoming movie “The Interview.” What are these characters like?

We’re not totally sure yet, but judging by their performances on this special, the movie is going to be a real treat. Check out Dave harassing Jason into singing his name in the clip below, and tune in for the full special on Sunday.

“Dave Skylark’s Very Special VMA Special” with James Franco and Seth Rogen will premiere on Sunday, August 17 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Caitlin ...

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1993 was just over 20 years ago. It was exactly one year after the race riots in Los Angeles that erupted after another case of brutal police mistreatment.

1993 was also the year that the R&B girl-group En Vogue took the VMAs by storm, scooping up three VMAs for their “Free Your Mind” video.

Their aggressive, liberal-minded video takes on racial and sexist prejudices with unapologetic strength. “Free your mind and the rest will follow / be colorblind, don’t be so shallow,” goes the chorus.

At this point we’re dealing with more than just shallow attitudes but then again, all of this violence and injustice begins with misguided thought processes.

Related: Michael Brown Shooting: A Timeline Of The Fallout In Ferguson

The video for “Free Your Mind” dealt with a lot of the same frustrations and tensions that we’ve seen played out this week in regards to Ferguson. Watching Maxine Jones, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron and Terry Ellis of En Vogue walk the runaway with fierce determination and no apologies for what they wear or how they look, act or feel is a balm of its own.

That year, En Vogue were nominated for eight VMAs (and two Grammys!) and won the VMAs for Best R&B Dance Video, Best Dance Choreography and Best R&B video. Take a look below to see why.

Who will take home the VMA in those categories this year?

We all know by know that Justin Timberlake is a good guy. He’s the kind of date you’d want your daughter to bring home, he’s the buttoned up, suit-and-tie, clean cut nice guy. But last night he took it one step further.

In a post on a website The Manifest Station, Marika Rosenthal Delan, the mother of an 8-year-old boy with autism shared her story of attending a Justin Timberlake concert with her son Julian.

Marika and her husband took Julian to the concert for his birthday despite his young age because it was his one request, but like any mother, she was worried that the adults at the concert would be disturbed or annoyed by her son.

The Manifest Station

Boy, was she wrong. She describes a group of “model-esque girls” who sat near them, and she was afraid that her son’s excited repeating of “It’s my birthday!! This is my present! This is my present! I love you JT!” would ruin their night. But in the end, it was these same girls who helped get Justin’s attention during a lull in the show, and let him know that his biggest 8-year-old fan was having a birthday.

And in typical Timberlake fashion, he not only acknowledged and addressed Julian, but dedicated a rendition of “Happy Birthday” to him, while the whole crowd helped sing. Watch Justin serenade Julian in the video below, and read more of Marika’s ...

Hip-hop hasn’t been shy about its excitement over Remy Ma’s release from prison earlier this month. But there were a number of people who supported the Bronx native while she was locked up, too, and chief among them was 50 Cent.

“When I needed letters for my appeal, saying that if in fact I was released I would have a job and this is how I would stay out of trouble and reintegrate into society,” Remy began, during a recent interview with BET, “50 Cent had no problem not once, but twice signing letters saying that, ‘She would definitely have somewhere to work.’ And it wasn’t a delay. I didn’t feel like I had to chase anybody around.”

Rem also shouted out Keyshia Cole for supporting her early on, and said that once she was allowed to call cell phones, and not just land lines, she began to have increased contact with some fellow MCs.

That’s when she started connecting with guys like French Montana and Jadakiss, each of whom she collaborated earlier this week on “MegaDeath,” as well as Rick Ross.

“I gave him strict instructions to start writing his rhymes the day I spoke to him so it’d be perfect, without [a] flaw in it, by the time I got home,” she said of her convo with Kiss.

“I think they genuinely felt for my situation,” she added. “They didn’t look at me as Remy Ma the rapper. I was Remy and ‘Whatever you need I ...

Mike Brown’s family, along with their attorneys, released a statement on Friday (August 15), hours after the police both identified the officer responsible for Saturday’s shooting and named Brown as a suspect in a robbery from earlier in the day.

Read the statement in full below, via one of the family’s lawyers, Benjamin Crump:

Michael Brown’s family is beyond outraged at the devious way the police chief has chosen to disseminate piece mil information in a manner intended to assassinate the character of their son, following such a brutal assassination of his person in broad daylight.

There is nothing based on the facts that have been placed before us that can justify the execution style murder of their child by this police officer as he held his hands up, which is the universal sign of surrender.

The prolonged release of the officer’s name and then the subsequent alleged information regarding a robbery is the reason why the family and the local community have such distrust for the local law enforcement agencies.

It is no way transparent to release the still photographs alleged to be Michael Brown and refuse to release the photographs of the officer that executed him.

The police strategy of attempting to blame the victim will not divert our attention, from being focused on the autopsy, ballistics report and the trajectory of the bullets that caused Michael’s death and will demonstrate to the world this brutal execution of an unarmed teenager.

Despite the police naming Brown as a suspect in ...

In the cobwebbed attic of my ever-fading mind, “Full House” is a pleasant, semi-corny memory only really marred by that time I saw Uncle Jesse’s butt when he starred in “Cabaret” on Broadway when I was 16 (so many warring emotions…).

Oh, and then there was that weird yogurt reunion. That was also a little scarring.

Well, my — and your — recollection of the show is about to get a lot darker. Introducing, “Sad Full House” — which is basically a bunch of “learning moments” extracted from the sitcom and examined starkly in the harsh light of day. The creator, Benjamin Apple, is clearly an evil genius.

Yup, this little Web series basically takes this…

…And turns it into this…

Experience the glorious pain below…

Michelle’s Mom Is Dead

Stephanie’s Mistake

No One Will Believe DJ

Joey Quits Comedy

Brenna Ehrlich

Brenna Ehrlich is a reporter for MTV News as well as the senior writer/editor for the O Music Awards. In the past, she served as associate editor at Mashable, penned a netiquette column for CNN and co-authored the blog and book "Stuff Hipsters Hate." She likes trying not to die in moshpits and listening to songs on repeat. Follow her on Twitter @BrennaEhrlich for news on cats and punk bands.

After artists like J. Cole and Childish Gambino weighed in on the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, following the death of Mike Brown, Frank Ocean is speaking up in the conversation.

In a tumblr post, the singer included an image with a lengthy caption. The photo showed Highway Patrol captain Ron Johnson standing at a podium during a Thursday press conference, with the state’s governor, Jay Nixon, behind him, as well as a young black female and an older black male.

The Odd Future member questioned the sincerity of what he saw.

You see that black woman standing up there? I wonder if she was called to stand behind the governor because she’s black. I wonder if i’m supposed to think Missouri’s gov’t is pro-black because of her being stood up there with those other black men being all black and everything. I wonder if she was off the clock while she stood up there. If she was off the clock..then i wonder if she was getting paid for her time off like the guy who shot Michael 8 times. What’s that guy’s name by the way?

Early on Friday (August 15), the police identified Brown’s ...