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Lynn Hickson, the mother of Jacksonville rapper Lil Poppa, has broken her silence, revealing that toxicology results confirmed methamphetamine was present in her son’s system at the time of his passing.

“The reports confirmed that methamphetamine was in his system at the time of his passing,” she wrote in an Instagram statement. “As his family, we truly believe the drugs played a major part in what happened. Although he did struggle with depression and anxiety, we know in our hearts that the substances affecting his mind and judgment made an already difficult battle even heavier.

She emphasized that his state of mind at the time was not a reflection of who he truly was. “The son we knew and loved would never have wanted to leave behind his child, his family, or the people who cared about him so deeply if he had been in the right state of mind.”

Lil Poppa, born Janarious Mykel Wheeler, died on February 18, 2026, at just 25 years old. The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the cause of death a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death a suicide. The Jacksonville-bred rapper had been signed to Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group since 2022 and had recently released a new single, “Out of Town Bae,” just days before his death.

Rather than casting shame on her son’s memory, his mother said the family chose honesty in hopes of saving others. “We are sharing this not to shame him, but to tell the truth and hopefully bring awareness to how dangerous these drugs truly are, especially when someone is already struggling emotionally or mentally.”

She closed with a heartfelt tribute: “Beneath everything, he was still a loving father, son, and person with a good heart… Rest easy, son. We love you forever.”

Lil Poppa is remembered for hits including “Love & War,” “Mind Over Matter,” and “HAPPY TEARS,” leaving behind a legacy of raw, emotionally driven music.

A years-long rivalry between two of women’s boxing’s biggest names crossed a dangerous line Saturday night. Claressa Shields has been banned from all events promoted by Most Valuable Promotions following a physical altercation with fellow champion Alycia Baumgardner inside an exclusive VIP area during MVP MMA 1 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

Video captured backstage showed Shields reaching across and slapping Baumgardner in the face. Both fighters were quickly separated by security and officials who were standing nearby. The incident occurred during MVP and Netflix’s first foray into MMA, headlined by Ronda Rousey’s comeback fight against Gina Carano, and also featuring Francis Ngannou and a veteran clash between Nate Diaz and Mike Perry.

MVP issued a formal statement Monday evening.

“There is a time and a place for fighter tension and banter, but to physically attack a fellow athlete while there as a guest inside a private VIP area is unacceptable,” the promotion said, adding its appreciation that Baumgardner “did not retaliate and further amplify the situation.” The statement concluded: “Effective immediately, Claressa Shields is banned from all MVP events until further notice.”

Baumgardner, one of MVP’s emerging flagship names in women’s boxing, described the incident as an unprovoked physical assault and indicated legal action is being pursued. Shields disputed that account on X, claiming Baumgardner had verbally threatened her first, writing: “That lil a** girl said ‘I’ll beat your a** right now’ after already disrespecting me. Now you classy and playing victim.”

The feud stretches back years, fueled by social media exchanges, drug test accusations, and disputes over who holds the top spot in women’s boxing. A sanctioned fight, however, remains unlikely — Baumgardner last competed at 129 pounds while Shields recently fought at 174, a gap of more than 44 pounds.

Donald Trump just announced a $1.7 billion taxpayer funded payout to himself, his family, and the January 6 rioters who tried to burn down American democracy. It is the loudest crime yet in a presidency that has treated the federal Treasury like a personal Cash App since the moment he raised his right hand. To understand how brazen this latest move really is, you have to look at the whole pattern. Every receipt is public. Every dollar is documented. The only thing missing is consequence.

The Inauguration Set the Tone

Before Trump even took the oath, the buying season was open. When Trump took office in 2025, his inaugural committee received more than $245 million, including large donations from Big Tech, cryptocurrency companies, the pharmaceutical industry, fossil fuel interests, and other sectors facing regulation. That number alone tripled what most modern inaugurations have ever raised. Tech billionaires lined up. Crypto barons cut nine figure checks. Pharma giants who would soon need favorable rulings from the administration ponied up. The message was clear from day one. Access was for sale, and the line formed early.

The Crypto Empire Built on the Presidency

The cleanest window into the corruption is the Trump family crypto operation. By March 2026, Forbes estimated Trump had netted $550 million from token sales, with his stake in the venture valued at $240 million and his share of the WLFI tokens at $175 million. Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Barron Trump each hold stakes worth at least $133 million. Barron Trump, listed on the company website as a DeFi visionary, is a teenager. His stake outpaces what most American families will earn in ten lifetimes.

The buyers tell the real story. Days before Trump’s inauguration, interests tied to Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan agreed to buy 49 percent of World Liberty Financial for half a billion dollars. World Liberty Financial never disclosed it. Tahnoun is the UAE’s National Security Adviser. A foreign intelligence chief now owns nearly half of the sitting president’s flagship financial business. That is not a conflict of interest. That is the conflict.

Then there is the Justin Sun saga. The crypto billionaire invested $30 million into World Liberty shortly after Trump took office in 2025, and an SEC investigation into him was subsequently dropped. Read that twice. A foreign businessman under federal investigation cuts a check to the Trump family crypto firm, and the federal investigation against him quietly disappears. The SEC eventually settled the case for $10 million over allegations including selling unregistered securities, wash trading, and undisclosed celebrity endorsements. House Financial Services Committee Democrats have alleged pay to play influence in how the case was handled.

And it gets darker. In February 2026, Senator Richard Blumenthal opened an inquiry into Binance allowing $1.7 billion to flow to Iranian proxies and Russia’s shadow fleet. The same crypto exchange holding the Trump family stablecoin has been laundering money for the people Americans are told are our enemies.

The Qatari Plane Nobody Asked For

In May 2025, Qatar handed Trump a flying palace. The $400 million plane came to light as Trump was leaving for a trip that took him to Doha, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. On that trip, Trump said Qatar intends to spend more than $1 trillion on business deals with the United States. Trump told the country Qatar reached out as a friend. The receipts say otherwise. The Trump administration first approached Qatar to inquire about acquiring a Boeing 747 that could be used as Air Force One, contrary to the narrative from the president that Qatar reached out and offered the jet as a gift.

The kicker is in the fine print. The Boeing 747-8 is set to be transferred to Trump’s presidential library foundation at the conclusion of his second White House term. The gift to the country is actually a gift to Trump personally, parked at his future library, paid for by Americans who are footing the conversion bill. A U.S. official told reporters the conversion would likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Properties as ATMs

The hotels, the resorts, the golf courses. They have all been turned into payment processors for influence. Fifty-five officials from 21 countries made 60 visits to Trump properties in his first year back in office, posing potential Foreign Emoluments Clause violations and potential threats to national security. Foreign officials are not booking at the Holiday Inn. They are booking at Trump properties because they know who profits.

Political committees, including campaigns and party committees tied to members of Congress, spent over $900,000 at Trump properties between his inauguration and August 2025, outpacing the average $100,000 a month spent by these committees in the first year of Trump’s first term. Trump’s own PAC, MAGA Inc., has had eight events at Trump properties, more than any other political group. For at least three of these events, tickets went for an astounding $1 million per plate. A million a plate to break bread with the president, with the receipts going directly into Trump’s pocket. That is not democracy. That is a transaction.

And the Saudis kept the cash flowing. Saudi Arabia’s LIV Golf held a major tournament at Trump National Doral in April 2025 and sponsored a smaller event in May. LIV is returning in the 2026 season with tournaments at Trump National DC in May and Trump National Bedminster in August.

The Bribery Investigation That Vanished

Tom Homan, one of the most powerful enforcement officials in the administration, walked away from a federal investigation that would have buried most public servants. Federal prosecutors had developed evidence that Homan, a top Trump border official, accepted a $50,000 cash payment from undercover agents seeking government contracts. The bribery probe was shut down by the administration rather than pursued to indictment, raising serious questions about political influence and favoritism at the highest levels of Homeland Security. A bag of cash on tape. The investigation killed by the same administration the suspect serves.

The Justice Department Stripped of Its Ethics

Attorney General Pam Bondi gutted the guardrails inside her own department. Bondi fired the Department of Justice’s top ethics adviser. She then fired the head of the Office of Professional Responsibility, which investigates DOJ attorney misconduct. Bondi did not fill either position. Legal experts and former judges have called the DOJ an ethics free workplace. The cop investigating the cop got fired, and the chair stayed empty on purpose.

The Total Take

The scale is hard to wrap your head around. Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has pocketed an estimated $3 billion from his various business enterprises. His family is estimated to have raked in billions more. Much of the money appears to be coming from foreign governments and others seeking to curry favor with the Trump White House. Three billion dollars in personal enrichment in roughly sixteen months in office. The Trump family went from one bracket of wealthy to another stratosphere entirely, and the bill is being written by foreign governments, foreign intelligence chiefs, and American taxpayers.

Which Brings Us to the Slush Fund

Every receipt above leads directly to what just happened this week. The $1.776 billion Anti Weaponization Fund is not an aberration. It is the natural climax of a presidency built on monetizing the office. The Trump administration announced the creation of a $1.7 billion fund to compensate allies of the Republican president who claim they were mistreated by the Biden administration Justice Department. Trump sued his own government, then settled with himself, then created a fund he personally controls to pay the people he personally chooses.

Trump said members of his family and Jan 6 defendants could receive taxpayer funded payments from the fund. The same family already pulling in billions from crypto. The same insurrectionists who tried to overthrow the certification of the 2020 election. All eligible for taxpayer reparations while Black America is still waiting for a hearing on a 400 year old debt.

The Pattern Is the Point

None of this is hidden. The investigations are public. The disclosures are filed. The watchdogs are reporting. Government accountability groups documented more than 3,400 conflicts of interest between Trump’s presidential duties and his private business interests during his first term alone. This second term is racking up that number on a monthly basis.

The presidency was supposed to be a public trust. Under Trump it has become a private trust fund, where loyalty pays, foreign money buys policy, the ethics watchdogs get fired, and the people who attacked the Capitol get bonus checks. The $1.7 billion slush fund is not the scandal. The slush fund is the receipt. The scandal is everything that made it possible.

Mental health conversations are taking center stage in South Florida this month as former NFL Super Bowl champion Bryant McKinnie prepares to host another edition of his annual “Cocktails & Conversations” event through the BMajor Foundation.

Set for May 21 at DAER Nightclub inside the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida, the gathering will bring together athletes, influencers, mental health advocates, and community leaders for an evening focused on emotional wellness and breaking long-standing stigmas surrounding mental health in underserved communities.

The event arrives during Mental Health Awareness Month and continues a mission McKinnie has publicly championed for years. Through his nonprofit BMajor Foundation, the former offensive lineman has worked to promote wellness initiatives, mentorship programs, and community outreach centered around healing and personal growth. According to the foundation, the night will include panel discussions, networking opportunities, music, cocktails, and access to mental health resources.

“Mental health conversations are necessary, especially within communities where these discussions have historically been overlooked,” McKinnie said in a statement. “This event is about bringing people together, creating safe spaces, and reminding individuals they are not alone.”

McKinnie has spoken candidly in past interviews about witnessing close friends struggle with mental health challenges and how those experiences pushed him deeper into advocacy work. In a previous interview with the Minnesota Vikings, he stressed the importance of normalizing therapy and emotional support, particularly among men and athletes.

Media check-in for the event begins at 6 p.m., with programming scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

A 2023 peer-reviewed study is drawing renewed attention after a deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship killed three passengers and infected several others, raising new questions about how long the virus can linger in the human body.

The study, “Presence and Persistence of Andes Virus RNA in Human Semen,” published in the journal Viruses, examined a 55-year-old man who had survived a severe Andes hantavirus infection nearly six years prior. Although the virus was undetectable in his blood and urine, Swiss researchers discovered viral RNA still present in his semen. Their findings suggested sexual transmission could remain possible for up to 71 months after initial infection, though they emphasized that further research is needed.

The outbreak that reignited interest in the study occurred aboard the MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged cruise ship. Several Americans who disembarked have either tested positive or are under monitoring in the United States.

Hantavirus is primarily spread through contact with infected rodents — their urine, droppings, or saliva — or by breathing in contaminated dust. The Andes strain, found predominantly in South America, is unique among hantavirus variants as the only known form capable of passing directly between people. It carries a mortality rate estimated at up to 40 percent.

Global health officials say the current outbreak is not expected to escalate into a pandemic. The virus does not spread easily, and human-to-human transmission has only been documented with the Andes strain.

Scientists note that semen persistence is not exclusive to hantavirus. Ebola and Zika have similarly been shown to survive in semen and, in some documented cases, be transmitted sexually — a pattern that underscores the importance of post-recovery monitoring for emerging infectious diseases.

Donald Trump is facing fresh political pressure after a new New York Times/Siena College poll showed his approval rating slipping to its lowest point of his second term. The survey, released Monday, found that just 37 percent of voters approve of Trump’s job performance, while 59 percent disapprove.

The drop marks a decline from January, when the same poll showed Trump sitting at 40 percent approval. According to the survey, women, younger voters, Black voters, and Hispanic voters reported some of the strongest disapproval numbers. Eighty-three percent of Black voters surveyed said they disapprove of Trump’s performance, while 71 percent of Hispanic voters shared the same view.

The poll also pointed to growing frustration over the administration’s handling of the war in Iran. Sixty-four percent of respondents said entering the conflict was the wrong decision, while only 30 percent said it was the right move. Most voters also said they do not believe the war effort will ultimately be worth the financial cost.

The latest numbers arrive as economic concerns continue weighing heavily on voters nationwide. Recent polling from Siena College earlier this year found that many Americans still rate the economy as “fair” or “poor,” with affordability remaining one of the biggest issues heading into the 2026 midterm season.

Trump still maintains strong support among Republicans, with 82 percent of GOP voters in the poll saying they approve of his performance. However, the widening national disapproval numbers could create new challenges for Republicans as the campaign season ramps up.

The New York Times/Siena survey was conducted May 11 through May 15 among 1,507 respondents and carries a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.

Waffle House employees organized a protest in downtown Atlanta outside the Andrew Young International Boulevard location, demanding immediate workplace improvements.

Partnering with the United Southern Service Workers union, the staff highlighted ongoing issues with low wages, safety vulnerabilities, and unfair payroll practices.

The demonstration follows a study by Clark Atlanta University’s WEB Du Bois Southern Center for Studies in Public Policy, which examined corporate labor conditions. Dr. Joseph Jones, a representative from the center, noted that restaurant staff regularly face intense customer harassment. He emphasized that late-night, intoxicated patrons create a highly volatile environment, leaving many female employees feeling particularly unsafe.

To address these security gaps, the workers are demanding around-the-clock security guards at all restaurants. They are also calling for a baseline wage of twenty-five dollars per hour and the elimination of mandatory deductions that force employees to pay for shift meals.

Tipping policies serve as another major point of contention for the staff. Employee Katie Giede explained that tipping is inconsistent, and when customers do leave tips, the money is processed through corporate paychecks and heavily taxed rather than going directly to the server.

With Atlanta preparing for a massive influx of tourism revenue from the upcoming World Cup, the protesting staff argued that the service workers propping up the city’s economy deserve a fair share of the financial windfall.

Waffle House corporate headquarters has not yet issued a response regarding the union demands.

At 84 years old, George Clinton isn’t done fighting for what he’s owed — and his latest battle puts Universal Music Group squarely in his crosshairs.

The Parliament-Funkadelic architect filed a federal lawsuit Friday, May 15, in Detroit, accusing UMG of withholding more than $1.1 million in royalties across at least 12 of his accounts for over three years. The complaint alleges the label froze payments tied to Parliament recordings, his Clijo Productions imprint, and even his production credits with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

According to court documents, UMG has been using a now-resolved third-party copyright dispute as its justification. The estate of late P-Funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell filed suit in 2022, claiming Worrell was a co-creator and co-owner of 264 songs in the Parliament-Funkadelic catalog — including hits like “Flash Light” and “One Nation Under a Groove.” A federal judge ruled in Clinton’s favor in September 2025, finding the claims were time-barred under the Copyright Act’s statute of limitations.

Clinton’s attorneys argue UMG has continued freezing payments despite that outcome. “This is a straightforward breach of contract case,” the complaint states, calling out UMG for withholding royalties “based on a third-party lawsuit to which UMG is not a party, in which UMG faces no claim, in which UMG could incur no liability, and in which the third party has now lost on summary judgment.”

The breakdown of withheld funds is specific: one Parliament account reportedly holds $996,123.03 as of December 31, 2025, a Clinton/Clijo Productions account shows over $99,000, and a Red Hot Chili Peppers-related account reflects $29,543.22.

This is far from Clinton’s first legal battle over his catalog. He has fought lengthy disputes with Worrell’s estate and with former agent Armen Boladian, whose Bridgeport Music company controls 90 percent of Clinton’s publishing.

Clinton is seeking full repayment of the frozen funds, damages, a complete accounting, an injunction against further withholding, and attorneys’ fees. UMG has not commented publicly.

A deadly attack unfolded Monday morning at the Islamic Center of San Diego — the county’s largest mosque — when two teenage gunmen opened fire outside the Clairemont neighborhood facility, killing three men and triggering a massive law enforcement response before taking their own lives.

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San Diego Police received the first call of an active shooter at 11:43 a.m., and officers arrived on scene within four minutes, Police Chief Scott Wahl said at a press conference. They found three victims — all adult men — killed outside the Islamic Center. One of them was working as an on-site security guard.

Shortly after, police received calls about additional gunfire nearby. Officers located a landscaper who had been shot at but was not struck. The two suspects, later identified by the FBI as teenagers aged 17 and 19, were found dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds inside a vehicle on Hatton Street, a few blocks from the mosque.

CNN reported that one of the suspects took a firearm from their parents’ home and left a suicide note containing writings about racial pride. Hate speech was also found scrawled on one of the weapons, according to law enforcement sources.

Because of the Islamic Center location, we are considering this a hate crime until it’s not,” Chief Wahl said. He added: “There’s going to be a tremendous amount of information and details that we’re going to try to sort and put this puzzle back together again.” Security camera footage from the mosque will be among the evidence reviewed.

“This is every community’s worst nightmare,” Wahl said. “There is no further threat. Both suspects in this case are deceased. All of the kids are safe.”

A school operating on the Islamic Center’s campus was evacuated, and an imam confirmed all teachers, students, and staff were safe. Five San Diego Unified schools were placed on lockdown as a precaution.

President Trump called the attack “a terrible situation” Monday evening, saying, “I’ve been given some early updates, but we’re going to be going back and looking at it very strongly.” The Los Angeles Police Department announced increased patrols at mosques and houses of worship citywide, while LA Mayor Karen Bass said she was “outraged and heartbroken by today’s shooting and murder at the Islamic Center of San Diego, especially as today marks the first day of Dhul Hijjah, a sacred and holy time for Muslims.

The FBI is assisting local law enforcement and has pledged all necessary resources to the investigation.

Three adult men, one of whom was a security guard, were killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, local police said.

Two suspects are also dead, police said. All children who were at the center are safe.https://t.co/L70fOeVDiN pic.twitter.com/LZbZMrXZkN

— ABC News (@ABC) May 18, 2026

Zahara Jolie is officially a college graduate. The 21-year-old crossed the stage at Spelman College on May 17, earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology — all smiles as she soaked up the moment, with Angelina proudly watching from the crowd. She also minored in educational studies, opening the door to careers in advocacy, counseling, education, or nonprofit work.

When Zahara appeared onstage to accept her diploma, she was introduced as Zahara Marley Jolie — seemingly confirming she had dropped her father’s last name. It wasn’t a surprise to those who’ve been paying attention. While joining the Mu Pi chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority at Spelman a few years back, she had already introduced herself as “Zahara Marley Jolie.

Just weeks before graduation, Zahara spoke at a mother-daughter brunch for the Pearl of Purpose Foundation in Atlanta, where Angelina attended as well. She opened up about her close relationship with her mom, saying: “My mom and I have a unique, almost kindred, relationship that can be hard to put into words. This has never stopped my mom from being curious about all that I’m learning in and outside of my classrooms at Spelman.” She also declared: “She is the most selfless, loving, and understanding woman that I get to call my mom.”

That mother-daughter bond was on full display at graduation — but Brad Pitt was conspicuously absent. Sources close to Angelina tell TMZ that “Zahara’s mom and siblings, who have been involved over the four very special years, were present and cheering her and her Spelman sisters on.” The source added pointedly: “Nothing prevented him from showing up for her. Or ever visiting her. The day was about all she accomplished. Not whether he was willing to attend.” TMZ is told Brad did not contact anyone about getting a ticket to the ceremony.

Brad and Angelina were married in 2016 but divorced two years later, with the split finalized in 2024 after eight years of legal battles. Zahara isn’t alone in distancing herself from her father — on her 18th birthday, Shiloh filed court documents to remove “Pitt” from her last name, and Vivienne and Maddox have also taken steps to go simply by Jolie.

Latto dropped a highly anticipated vlog on Monday, giving fans an intimate behind-the-scenes look at her pregnancy journey, intertwined with the making of her upcoming album “Big Mama,” due May 29. The emotional footage begins with the 27-year-old Atlanta rapper at just five weeks pregnant, sharing the news with her sister Brooklyn — a quiet, personal moment before the world found out.

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The pregnancy announcement had come on March 20, when Latto unveiled the “Big Mama” album cover on Instagram, showing off her bare baby bump while cradling a baby cheetah. Fellow artists, including SZA, Doechii, and Flo Milli, flooded the comments with congratulations.

The reveal came roughly six months after Latto confirmed her relationship with 21 Savage, whom she referred to as her “husband” in a September conversation with TMZ. The two had been rumored to be a couple for years before going public. This will be Latto’s first child and 21 Savage’s fourth.

Throughout her pregnancy, Latto has been candid about embracing the journey, sharing that she “prayed” for the opportunity to start a family and expressing gratitude for the timing of both her personal and professional growth. She also confirmed during a Paper magazine cover shoot vlog that both she and 21 Savage were hoping for a girl, saying, “We both want a girl.”

The new vlog closes on a raw, reflective note — Latto at 37 weeks, grappling with how motherhood will reshape her career. She jokes, “I need a million dollars a show [now] ’cause I don’t want to leave the house.” The clip then fades to black with what sounds like delivery room audio, strongly hinting the baby has already arrived.

Latto has also announced that Big Mama will be her last album — a fitting close to one chapter and a beautiful beginning of another.

Duane “Keefe D” Davis is unfazed by the news that Suge Knight plans to name names in an upcoming memoir regarding the 1996 drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur.

Knight is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence for an unrelated 2015 fatal hit-and-run, but his book, “Your Pain is My Joy,” is set to hit shelves on August 4 through Gallery Books. The publication date lands just six days before Davis faces a jury for his murder trial on August 10.

Knight was behind the wheel of the BMW when Shakur was fatally shot on the Las Vegas Strip, shortly after their entourage clashed with another group inside a local casino. Knight has promised that his 352-page project will detail the exact timeline surrounding the assassination.

Michael Sanft, the defense attorney representing Davis, told the media that the book will have zero impact on their strategy or the jury selection. Sanft doubts prosecutors will even attempt to call Knight to the stand, noting that Knight’s story about that night has changed too many times over the last thirty years to hold up under cross-examination.

The defense’s confidence is striking, given that Davis has repeatedly bragged about his involvement in the killing. In various media appearances and recorded police interviews with Los Angeles and Las Vegas gang task forces dating back to the early 2000s, Davis stated he orchestrated the hit, supplied the weapon, and sat in the Cadillac where the gunfire originated.

In those recordings, Davis named his nephew, Orlando Anderson, as the trigger man. Anderson was killed in an unrelated gang shooting in 1998.

Sanft argues that these past confessions were completely fabricated by Davis in a desperate bid to cash in on the tragedy and secure fame. The attorney is confident that the state of Nevada lacks the hard evidence needed to secure a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt, choosing to view his client as a storyteller rather than a killer.

Michael Blackson turned a handful of residual checks into a viral conversation after posting a video showing what he received in the mail from previous television appearances, including Wild ’N Out and other projects. While laughing through the stack of payments, the comedian made it clear that TV visibility and real wealth are not always the same thing.

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Blackson flipped through several checks on camera, joking about the amounts while calling out the public perception surrounding entertainers and television personalities. One of the checks shown in the clip was reportedly worth just 64 cents, instantly becoming the detail that sent social media into debate mode.

The comedian used the moment to explain that many performers who appear regularly on television are not necessarily making life-changing money from reruns or residual payouts. Although audiences often associate TV fame with luxury lifestyles, Blackson suggested the reality behind entertainment checks can look very different once the cameras stop rolling.

The conversation quickly spread online, with fans reacting to the surprisingly low payments and questioning how residuals are calculated in today’s entertainment industry. Others pointed to ongoing conversations around streaming platforms, syndication rights, and fair compensation for actors, comedians, and creatives whose work continues generating content for networks.

Still, Blackson managed to turn the situation into comedy while delivering a serious point underneath the jokes. His message was simple: just because somebody is on your television screen does not mean the money matches the image.

“TV n**ggas are broke.”

Michael Blackson shows off the residual checks he received in the mail from TV shows like Wild ’N Out and more, and says just because people are on TV doesn’t mean they’re rich.

(🎥 Michael Blackson/IG) pic.twitter.com/1Yg79ns088

— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) May 18, 2026

What started as a tense ringside exchange quickly turned into one of boxing’s messiest viral moments this weekend. Claressa Shields is now speaking out after footage surfaced showing her in a heated confrontation with fellow champion Alycia Baumgardner during a fight event at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

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The clip spread fast online, with fans replaying every angle trying to figure out exactly what happened between the two stars. While the video quality and crowd movement make it difficult to clearly see the contact, social media instantly split into two camps. Some viewers believe Shields slapped Baumgardner in the face, while others argue she simply knocked her hand away during an aggressive exchange.

The tension did not appear out of nowhere either. Both fighters have built reputations for being outspoken competitors, and women’s boxing has seen growing public rivalries as the sport continues gaining mainstream attention following major pay-per-view success and increased visibility for female champions over the last several years.

Shields addressed the incident directly on X, making it clear she was not backing down from criticism. “Imma continue giving b***hes hell respectfully that lil a** girl said ‘I’ll beat your *ss right now’ after already disrespecting me,” Shields wrote. “Now you classy and playing victim. Can’t go around threatening people.”

After some social media users accused her of throwing a sucker punch, Shields responded again, writing, “I didn’t sneak anybody …. I was right there in her face.”

She also added, “I have plenty of class. She threatened me. Called me all kind of b***hes too.”

With both champions refusing to soften their stance, fans are already wondering whether the viral moment could eventually turn into a sanctioned fight.

🚨‼️CLARESSA SHIELDS
CONFRONTS & SLAPS
ALYCIA BAUMGARDNER LAST NIGHT‼️🚨
👋👀👀#Boxing
🥊🥊🥊🥊🥊 pic.twitter.com/rY0C43ha9T

— Dan The Boxing Man (@dantheboxingman) May 18, 2026

Spanish courts just handed Shakira a major legal victory after years of headlines, accusations, and courtroom drama tied to her finances. The global superstar has officially been acquitted in a tax fraud case connected to her 2011 income, with Spain’s High Court overturning a multimillion-euro penalty previously imposed against her.

According to Reuters and the BBC, the court ruled authorities failed to prove Shakira spent enough time living in Spain during 2011 to qualify as a tax resident. Under Spanish law, residents must spend at least 183 days in the country before being required to pay personal income taxes there. The ruling reportedly means the government must return more than €60 million, roughly $70 million, to the singer.

Shakira did not hold back in her response.

“After more than eight years of enduring brutal public targeting, orchestrated campaigns to destroy my reputation, and sleepless nights that ultimately impacted my health and my family’s well-being, the National High Court has finally set the record straight,” she said in a statement.

“There was never any fraud,” the singer continued, claiming authorities treated her as guilty long before proving their case.

The decision marks another chapter in Shakira’s long-running legal disputes in Spain. In 2023, she settled a separate tax case involving income between 2012 and 2014, agreeing to pay millions while maintaining her innocence. Prosecutors later dropped additional tax fraud allegations tied to her 2018 income in 2024.

The ruling arrives as Shakira prepares for the next leg of her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour, which resumes in North America this summer.

Tyrese is feeling every emotion possible as his daughter Shayla prepares to leave home and start her next chapter. The singer and actor took to Instagram with a heartfelt message reflecting on prom season, graduation, and officially becoming an empty nester after years of raising his firstborn in the spotlight.

The emotional Instagram post came as Tyrese revealed Shayla secured a full ride for college while also preparing for graduation next week. At the same time, he shared that he recently put his Los Angeles home up for sale, signaling that major life changes are happening all at once.

“Wiping sweat….Prom night in the can, a full ride for college solidified, just put my house up for sale in LA I’m officially an empty nester,” he wrote. “Graduation is next week and life is going to be very very different from this moment forth.”

Still, Tyrese made it clear that beyond the luxury lifestyle Shayla experienced growing up, the values he instilled in her matter most. “There is no such thing as an Iced out WATCH chain or pulling up. In a Rolls-Royce that would make my daughter like you because of your car or what’s on your wrist,” he wrote. “The only thing that will ever impress my baby girl is heart, integrity and a beautiful soul.”

He continued praising Shayla’s independence, intelligence, and faith while encouraging her to step confidently into adulthood.

“Spread your wings #MyShayla and get out of here and show them all that daddy instilled in you,” he added. “You will be more powerful and impactful than your father ever was.”

A federal jury in Oakland just delivered Elon Musk one of the biggest courtroom defeats of his career, and they did it in under two hours. On Monday, jurors handed down a unanimous verdict against the world’s richest man in his lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, finding that Musk simply waited too long to bring his case. The trial had stretched across three weeks and eleven days of testimony, but the jury room work took less than ninety minutes.

Musk had sued OpenAI in 2024 claiming that the company he cofounded in 2015 had betrayed its original mission to develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. He accused Altman and cofounder Greg Brockman of turning a nonprofit into a profit machine, demanding their removal from leadership along with damages he said could reach $134 billion. Musk left the OpenAI board in 2018 after he could not convince his colleagues to merge the company with Tesla or hand him control of a profit-driven version. By 2019, OpenAI had created a profitable subsidiary anyway. By 2023, Microsoft had poured $10 billion into the operation. By the time Musk filed his lawsuit, more than enough time had passed for the courts to say he should have moved sooner.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers did not soften the blow. She told the courtroom she had been prepared to dismiss Musk’s claims on the spot and that the jury’s findings would now stand as her own. She pointed to substantial evidence supporting the conclusion that the statute of limitations had run out, three years for the charitable trust claim and two years for the unjust enrichment claim. Musk’s attorney, Steven Molo, reserved his client’s right to appeal but admitted the legal team had not yet decided how to move forward, and the judge openly suggested an appeal would be an uphill climb because the timing question was a matter of fact rather than law.

The defeat lands at the worst possible moment for Musk and the best possible moment for Altman. SpaceX is days away from disclosing its IPO prospectus, with xAI expected to join the offering at a target valuation of $1.75 trillion. Altman walked out of court free to keep building. OpenAI just raised $122 billion at a valuation north of $850 billion and is racing toward its own public offering at close to a trillion dollars. The two men were once close friends and cofounders of the same lab. Now Altman is sitting on what could become one of the most valuable companies in the world, while Musk is reserving the right to appeal a case that took less than ninety minutes to bury.

For all the noise Musk made about saving artificial intelligence from greed, the jury saw a man who watched his cofounder build something massive, waited until the valuation made him uncomfortable, and then ran to court. Twelve former OpenAI employees had even filed an amicus brief during the case, calling Altman a person of low integrity and accusing the company of abandoning its nonprofit roots, but none of that mattered once the jury locked in on the timing question. Once they decided Musk should have sued back in 2019 or 2020 when the profit arm first appeared, the rest of the trial collapsed.

This is a turning point for the AI industry and a humbling moment for a billionaire who is used to bending courts, regulators, and public opinion to his will. The jury did not need a day. They did not need an afternoon. They needed an hour and a half to send Elon Musk home empty-handed.

Erica Campbell spent the weekend celebrating lasting love while her sister Tina Campbell continues navigating the end of her own marriage, creating an emotional contrast that fans of Mary Mary could not ignore.

The gospel singer and radio host renewed her vows with husband Warryn Campbell on May 16 during a large ceremony at California Worship Center in San Fernando, California. According to PEOPLE, nearly 600 guests attended the celebration as the couple marked 25 years of marriage together. Stevie Wonder, PJ Morton, Robi Reed, and several close friends and family members were reportedly present for the ceremony.

Erica and Warryn originally married in 2001 and have often spoken publicly about the work it took to maintain their relationship through ministry, parenting, and life in the spotlight. During recent interviews tied to the vow renewal, Erica described their marriage as something “beautiful and unshakable” after weathering difficult seasons together.

Still, the timing surrounding the celebration sparked conversation online because Erica’s sister and Mary Mary groupmate, Tina Campbell, is currently going through a serious divorce from her husband, Teddy Campbell, after more than 25 years of marriage. Court filings obtained by multiple outlets revealed Teddy filed for divorce in Los Angeles County in April, citing irreconcilable differences. Reports also state the couple had reportedly been separated since 2024.

The emotional weight of both situations has not been lost on Erica. During an appearance discussing the vow renewal, she acknowledged that her family is experiencing two very different realities at the same time. She reportedly described Tina’s divorce as feeling “like a death in the family” while also making it clear she did not believe love should stop being celebrated because another relationship ended.

For longtime Mary Mary fans, the moment feels layered. One sister is publicly recommitting after decades of marriage, while the other is quietly closing a chapter many people once viewed as a testimony of reconciliation and faith.

Luigi Mangione walked out of a Manhattan courtroom Monday with a partial legal victory, but prosecutors are still holding onto the evidence that could define the entire case.

A New York judge ruled that several items recovered during Mangione’s arrest after the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson cannot be used at trial, including a cellphone, passport, weapon magazine, and computer chip found during an initial warrantless backpack search at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The ruling handed Mangione’s defense team a procedural win after months of arguing that police violated his constitutional rights during the arrest.

Still, the bigger pieces stayed on the board.

Judge Gregory Carro ruled that investigators can move forward using evidence later recovered during a police station inventory search, including the handgun prosecutors say was used in Thompson’s killing and a notebook described in court filings as containing writings tied to motive and planning. Carro also suppressed statements Mangione allegedly made before receiving Miranda warnings.

Mangione, 28, has pleaded not guilty in both his state and federal cases connected to the December 2024 shooting that stunned New York and sparked national debate around the healthcare industry. Prosecutors say Thompson was fatally shot outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel while attending an investor conference. Authorities arrested Mangione five days later in Pennsylvania after a customer reportedly recognized him from surveillance images released nationwide.

The case quickly exploded online, with Mangione drawing intense attention across social media as frustration over rising healthcare costs and insurance denials fueled heated public reactions. Prosecutors, however, continue to frame the killing as a calculated act backed by physical evidence, surveillance footage, fingerprints, and DNA.

Mangione’s state trial is currently scheduled to begin in September.

The resale market wasted no time turning the new Audemars Piguet x Swatch “Royal Pop” watches into instant profit machines. Just days after the colorful pocket watches launched for retail prices between $400 and $420, listings started appearing online for thousands more, with some sellers asking as much as $21,000 for complete sets.

The frenzy around the collaboration pushed crowds into Swatch stores across New York, London, Paris, Dubai, and Milan. Some people camped outside for days, hoping to secure one of the watches before resellers flooded platforms like Chrono24, StockX, and eBay. In several cities, police had to intervene after shoppers rushed storefronts and lines became unmanageable.

The biggest money appears to be in the rare full collections. Reuters reported that complete Royal Pop sets have already sold for more than $25,000 online, while individual watches have been listed for anywhere between $1,500 and $13,000, depending on the colorway and availability.

One buyer told People magazine he waited five days in line before reselling his watch for $4,000 almost immediately. Meanwhile, GQ reported that people were even selling spots in line for up to $1,000 before stores opened.

The resale boom shows how luxury collaborations continue turning limited drops into fast cash opportunities online. Audemars Piguet’s traditional Royal Oak models normally sell for tens of thousands of dollars, so many collectors viewed the Swatch release as a cheaper entry point into the luxury watch world. Resellers clearly saw something else: instant profit.

A legal battle rooted in one of Washington’s most brazen data breaches has ended not with a courtroom verdict, but with a deal that critics are already calling an unprecedented use of taxpayer money. Donald Trump, along with his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump and the Trump Organization, voluntarily dismissed their $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS on Monday. The suit originated after a former IRS contractor illegally leaked Trump’s confidential tax returns to the New York Times and ProPublica during his first term. The contractor pleaded guilty and was sentenced to federal prison.

The contractor, Charles Littlejohn, leaked the tax information of Trump and thousands of other wealthy Americans, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Ken Griffin.

In exchange for dropping the suit, the Justice Department established a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund — the symbolic dollar figure echoing 1776 — that could pay claims from people who allege they were targeted by the Biden administration. Trump also agreed to withdraw two additional administrative claims, including those related to the Mar-a-Lago raid and the Russia investigation.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement, “The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again.” He added, “As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.”

Attorney Mark McCloskey, who has filed administrative claims for hundreds of January 6 defendants, told HuffPost he had advocated for exactly this kind of fund to compensate his clients.

The five-member commission overseeing the fund will process claims through December 15, 2028, with Trump retaining the power to remove any member. Democrats swiftly condemned the arrangement. Sen. Ron Wyden called it “the most brazen theft and abuse of taxpayer dollars by any president in American history.”

Trump himself will receive no monetary compensation under the settlement’s terms.

Electronic cigarettes first emerged in the U.S. market around 2007, marketed as a safer alternative to traditional tobacco. By the mid-2010s, a youth vaping epidemic had exploded, driven largely by flavored products with appealing names and sleek designs. In response, federal regulators spent nearly a decade constructing guardrails — a premarket authorization system requiring companies to prove their products posed no public health threat before reaching store shelves.

Those guardrails are now being dismantled.

In the span of just two weeks, the Trump administration granted marketing authorization to four flavored vaping products and issued new FDA guidance allowing unauthorized vapes to remain on the market — products that are, by current law, illegal to sell without official approval. The guidance reframes the agency’s massive application backlog not as a crisis to solve, but as a reason to step aside.

Critics say the timing is no coincidence. The tobacco industry poured over $10 million into Trump’s 2024 reelection campaign, with RAI Services Co. — a subsidiary of Reynolds American — serving as the largest corporate donor. Toward the end of the campaign, Trump explicitly vowed to “save vaping.”

The consequences for public health could be severe. Brian King, former director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, warned: “We’ve reached a period of regulatory reckoning. It’s evident that there’s now greater responsiveness to authorizing more tobacco products for sale on particularly flavored products, and also less ability to resist political interference.” He added: “Political interference is the death knell of evidence-based regulation.”

Former CTP Director Mitch Zeller was equally alarmed, calling the new guidance “a get out of jail free card for illegal products that remain in the market until FDA finishes its scientific review. It’s a huge gift to the industry and it’s inconsistent with the law.”

Youth vaping rates had been declining — dropping from 2.13 million middle and high school students in 2023 to 1.63 million in 2024, according to FDA data. Health advocates fear that trend is now at risk.

The timing of this guidance raises serious concerns about priorities and commitment to protecting kids,” said Ranjana Caple, director of federal advocacy for the American Lung Association. “The agency seems to be waving the white flag rather than restoring order to the marketplace.”

The rollback also cost the administration one of its own. HHS Secretary RFK Jr.’s chief spokesperson, Rich Danker, cited vaping policy directly in his resignation letter, writing that “senior HHS officials…have in recent months sought U.S. Food and Drug Administration marketing approval of cigarette flavors that would appeal to children and expose them to nicotine addiction, lung damage and higher risk of cancer.”

What was built over nearly a decade to protect young Americans from nicotine addiction is being undone in weeks — a stark reminder of how quickly political influence can override public health evidence.

The release of Drake’s new project, “ICEMAN” has already sparked major controversy.

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Florida Artist and producer 1900Rugrat took to social media to directly accuse Drake of ripping off his work for the track “Little Birdie.”

In a heated video, 1900Rugrat broke down exactly how his music allegedly ended up in Drake’s hands, explaining that the OVO camp reached out to him while he was working on his debut project.

“When I made the intro of my first album about a year and a half ago, Drake was hitting me around that time and wanted to hear music. Or Drake’s producer,” 1900Rugrat shared. “So I sent 10 songs through. They were all finna be on my album. Because I didn’t want nobody steal shit ’cause I know how people move.”

According to 1900Rugrat, Drake’s team took a strong liking to the intro track. While Drake allegedly offered to collaborate and send back a verse in exchange for the song, the feature never materialized, and 1900Rugrat kept the track for his own album.

He thought the situation was over until he pressed play on ICEMAN and heard “Little Birdie.”

“Twin, that’s the only beat I’ve ever produced and sat there and produced,” 1900Rugrat said, realizing the similarities to his own work. “Don’t rip my shit and re-pitch it like that fam. That’s fried. That’s fried out. And fucked up twin.”

Neither Drake nor his production team has responded to the beat-jacking allegations.

Florida rapper #1900Rugrat calls out #Drake for acting like he wanted to work with him, only to steal his idea instead 👀😳‼️ pic.twitter.com/HLtu2s7Q9c

— RAPOLOGY (@iRAPOLOGY) May 17, 2026

Lauryn Hill’s surprise appearance at Ye’s SoFi Stadium show earlier this year stunned fans and instantly restarted the conversation about why she walked away from music at the height of her success.

An Instagram post by FRAIM.World sparked debate after listing theories for Hill’s long absence from the studio, pointing to standard industry issues like label drama, legal battles over song credits, burnout from fame, and a personal focus on family and spirituality.

Hill saw the post and decided to respond directly in the comments.

After initially writing, “I disagree. [smiling face emoji],” she left a longer comment to break down her perspective. She explained that her absence is not about industry drama, but rather about the difficulty of protecting her art.

“When you’re inspired and desire to be principled, what doesn’t get talked about enough is the drain. Nor the challenge to find safety so that you can create with integrity,” Hill wrote.

The artist noted that corporate greed often ruins the purity of music once an album becomes successful. She pointed out that when she tried to release non-traditional, socially conscious music on her MTV Unplugged album, the industry began closing doors on her.

“If it was so easy to do, where is that expression now on the world stage?” Hill asked. “Systems fear what they can’t control. Creativity is most potent when it’s free. If I did nothing else, I introduced standards and possibilities to a generation that didn’t know they could operate on that level before then.”

Ultimately, Hill views her exit from the mainstream music machinery as a necessary choice to keep her creative freedom intact.

The clip from the Ebro, Laura, Rosenberg Show that has the timeline running this week is not really about Peter Rosenberg. It is about every white face in hip hop media who has built a career on Black music while expecting Black people to clap for the contribution. Jason Lee, Hollywood Unlocked founder, sat across from Rosenberg on May 14 and refused to soften what he had already said on Drink Champs. He called Rosenberg a culture vulture. Rosenberg pushed back hard. And what unfolded over the next several minutes was a real time argument about who gets to define the term, who qualifies, and what two decades of Black hip hop critics have already documented.

Rosenberg ran the defense almost every accused white insider runs. He said he had been grateful, he had given back, he had risked his job wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt on television, he had spoken on George Floyd, he had advocated for LGBTQ rights. “I have gotten things from hip hop culture. It’s helped make my life, and I’m incredibly grateful. But I have always and always will prioritize giving back to that culture, helping uplift other people, people of color specifically.” He told Jason that throwing the culture vulture label on a platform as big as Drink Champs without receipts was “some hurtful shit to say about someone that’s not who I am.” He asked Jason to consult ASAP Rocky, a mutual friend, for confirmation that he had cleaned up Rocky’s records for radio and helped move his career forward.

Jason did not budge. He said he would see Rocky that night at his and Rihanna’s son’s fourth birthday party and that he had no interest in relaying anything for Peter. “Me and Rocky talk about Rihanna. We talk about his children. We talk about how proud he is of me running for office and his love for Harlem and helping kids. We don’t talk about you or anybody else.” Rosenberg kept asking what groups Jason had stood up for that he was not personally tied to. Jason kept telling him the conversation was not about a resume. The exchange built to the line that has been clipped and shared more than any other moment from the show. “But you ain’t suck dick and you ain’t Black. And so you’ll never really know.” Rosenberg said drawing lines with allies erased the work. Jason’s response was that it was not a measurement, it was the truth. He closed with, “I think you’re a culture vulture. That’s my opinion.” And then, “You’re perfect for politics. You are full of shit.”

The term Jason used did not start with him and it does not start with Rosenberg. Dame Dash coined and popularized “culture vulture” in the late 2000s, eventually putting the phrase on the cover of a book that named music executives directly. Dame’s argument was simple. A culture vulture is somebody who takes from the culture, profits from the culture, builds a career and a fortune on the backs of the culture, and never gives back in any meaningful or structural way. The accusation was never really about white people loving Black music. It was about white people loving the money Black music could generate while keeping Black people locked out of ownership, equity, and final say. Once Dame put the language in the air, Black artists and journalists started naming names.

Iggy Azalea is the most documented artist case. Her rise was built on a sound, an accent, a wardrobe, and a posture lifted from Black women in the South. T.I., the man who signed and launched her, eventually called her his “greatest blunder” and said publicly that she switched up the moment she realized she did not need Black fans to be successful. Azealia Banks went at her for years. Eve weighed in. Even XXL, which made her the first woman in their Freshman Class, eventually admitted the music never lived up to the hype. Iggy herself sat for a Cosmopolitan interview and waved off the criticism, saying she was not going to stop making the same kind of music and could not be “that fucking sorry about it.”

DJ Vlad runs one of the most heavily trafficked hip hop news platforms on the internet, sits down with Black artists for hours of interviews, and has been called a culture vulture by name in the genre for years. In 2016 Bankroll Fresh’s uncle Marvin Shadi Powers wrote an open letter calling Vlad a “disrespectful culture vulture” after Vlad’s coverage of the late Atlanta rapper. Lord Jamar later sat across from Vlad on his own show and called him a “culture vulture with a conscience” to his face. Vlad’s own company is named “Hot In Here, Inc.,” lifted from a Nelly hook. He has been sued by a former Black female employee over racist and sexual comments. The accusations have not slowed the channel down.

Post Malone is the other obvious case. Lil B called him out as far back as 2017. Russ called him out by name on Brilliant Idiots, describing artists who use hip hop as a launching pad and then drop the aesthetic the second country or pop opens its arms. Post handed his critics the ammunition himself in that Polish interview where he told fans not to listen to hip hop if they were looking for lyrics or anything to think about. By 2024, when he was sitting with CBS pretending the culture vulture talk was something he had drunk himself through as a kid, Hip Hop Twitter and AllHipHop both ran the receipts. White Iverson got him in the door. The cornrows, the grills, the face tats got him a fanbase. Country got him out, and he barely waved on the way through.

Macklemore won Best Rap Album over Kendrick Lamar at the 2014 Grammys and immediately sent Kendrick a text saying he had been robbed. He posted the text publicly. The apology itself became the receipt. Vanilla Ice has been the punchline for forty years and is the case study every other white rapper has been measured against since. Justin Timberlake got dragged for using Jesse Williams’ BET Awards speech to talk about inspiration after he had built a career on Black sound and left Janet Jackson holding the entire Super Bowl bag in 2004. Miley Cyrus rode twerking and Black aesthetics through her Bangerz era and then publicly told Billboard she was stepping away from hip hop because she did not like what it was saying about women. Justin Bieber. Machine Gun Kelly, who got run out by Eminem and walked straight into pop punk. Mark Wahlberg, who started as Marky Mark and now does not even like to be reminded.

Adam22 of No Jumper might have the cleanest paper trail of any name on this list because Dame Dash, the man who coined the term, sat down across from him on his own show and asked him directly. Adam22’s answer was, in his own words, an admission. “I think there’s a fine line between making content about shit that you’re into and then just like shamelessly exploiting Black culture. I don’t get mad when I see people say that about me because the truth is I’ve probably stepped over the line and done some stupid ass shit and been too comfortable talking about Black shit on camera.” He named Slim 400, whose hospital address he leaked after Slim was shot, as an example of crossing the line. Adam22 has also been accused of rape by multiple women and lost a record deal with Atlantic in 2018 over those accusations. Wack 100 said one of the No Jumper brawls earlier this year started after the people who got punched dissed Adam22 as a culture vulture to his face.

Complex Magazine sits in a different lane than the personalities but the receipt against the brand is as on the record as it gets in hip hop. In March 2018, Nipsey Hussle sat down with Tariq Nasheed and called Complex and DJ Akademiks culture vultures by name. He said the company was “acting boujee” while critiquing a culture it was not actually part of, and he laid down a line that has been quoted by everyone from grassroots Black media to Hot Boy Summer commentators in the seven years since. “If you don’t come from the hip hop culture, be careful how you critique it because your opinion hasn’t been validated.” Nipsey was killed a year later. The words landed differently after that and have never stopped circulating. Complex has been the subject of public culture vulture debates dating back to at least 2018, including an All Def Music segment titled exactly that, and the brand’s eventual sale by Verizon to BuzzFeed and then to NTWRK only deepened the conversation about who actually owns the platforms that profit from Black music. Akademiks, who is Black, was called out by Nipsey in the same breath for what Nipsey described as soft shoe cooning on Complex’s Everyday Struggle. The two accusations are not the same, but Nipsey naming them together is part of why the quote has stayed in rotation.

That brings the conversation back to Peter Rosenberg. The argument Rosenberg is making is the same argument Adam22 made in a different register, the same argument Vlad made in a different register, the same argument Iggy made, the same argument Macklemore made. The work counts. The friendships count. The intentions count. The career built on Black music should buy a permanent pass. And for a long stretch of hip hop history that pass was issued. What changed is that Black media operators, Black journalists, and Black audiences stopped trading the receipts for the friendliness. Dame Dash put a word on it. Jason Lee, for better or worse depending on where you sit, used it on a man who has been in front of Black microphones for over twenty years and asked him to defend himself with something more than a resume.

Whether or not Peter Rosenberg belongs on the list is the question Hip Hop Twitter is now sorting through. The list itself has been there the whole time.

Beyonce’s groundbreaking album Cowboy Carter has officially made its way into the halls of Ivy League academia.

A new course at the Harvard Kennedy School is utilizing the project to deeply analyze complex social issues including race, class, immigration, gender, and the stark divide between the idealized American Dream and the realities of real life.

The curriculum centers its focus on the album’s opening track, American Requiem, using it as a foundational text to explore how government structures and cultural narratives intersect. Taught by Ayushi Roy, an adjunct lecturer specializing in digital government service delivery, the course pushes students to look past the musical arrangements and dissect the broader commentary on systemic exclusion in the United States.

By analyzing the opening themes of American Requiem, future policymakers are tasked with examining the historical erasure of marginalized communities from the body politic. The course bridges this cultural critique with the structural flaws found in modern social safety net programs, such as Medicaid and SNAP, where the actual needs of vulnerable populations are often overlooked during the policy design process.

Traditional public policy education relies heavily on quantitative statistics and economic models, which often flatten the lived experiences of everyday citizens. Roy utilizes the themes of Cowboy Carter to challenge students to look at the human element of policy implementation. By understanding the friction points highlighted in the music, students learn to identify administrative and operational barriers before they disrupt public services.

The course demonstrates that addressing deep rooted societal inequalities requires a thorough understanding of historical context and human centered design, rather than just technological fixes.

Through the framework of the track, the Harvard Kennedy School is training the next generation of leaders to critically evaluate how laws, benefits, and government programs are executed in the real world.

Lizzo didn’t sample it, didn’t lip sync it, didn’t drop it in the background of a thirst trap. She remade UCB’s “Sexy Lady.” The DC go-go classic that has been making women feel like that since 2005 just got the Lizzo treatment, and the internet has been buzzing since the reel hit her page. If you grew up anywhere near the DMV, you already know what this record means. That bounce, that pocket, those congas talking back to the snare. UCB built a whole movement off that song, and watching Lizzo flip it into her own version is the kind of cosign go-go deserves on the regular.

“Sexy Lady” lives outside of trends. Two decades in and it still hits every cookout, every house party, every wedding reception where somebody knows what’s good. UCB has been a cornerstone of the genre alongside legends like Rare Essence, Backyard Band, TCB, and Junkyard, keeping the pocket alive while the rest of the world finally caught on. Wale put go-go on his early mixtapes, Beyoncé borrowed the bounce on a few records, and now Lizzo is sliding the whole genre in front of her 11 million followers with her own remake of a record DC has been protecting for twenty years.

The timing of this moment is too perfect to ignore. Go-go is officially celebrating 50 years, and Baller Alert and Front Porch are presenting A Celebration of 50 Years of Go-Go at the 2026 Roots Picnic, hosted by Noochie and Kenny Burns. The festival lands May 30 and 31 at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia, with JAY-Z and The Roots headlining Saturday and Erykah Badu closing things out Sunday. Our go-go set is a love letter to the District, pulling all-star players from every band that built the sound and putting them on one stage where the rest of the country can finally feel it the way DC has been feeling it for half a century.

So shoutout to Lizzo for not just nodding at the culture but stepping into the booth and doing the record justice. Shoutout to UCB for making something that refuses to age. And shoutout to every go-go head who has been waiting for the genre to get its flowers on a stage this size. DC’s sound is having its moment, and Baller Alert is right in the middle of it.

Former Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kandi Burruss is keeping it real about her split from Todd Tucker, admitting that the emotional wounds are still wide open.

During a raw, emotional sit down with the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Grammy-winning songwriter broke down in tears as she opened up about the end of her 12-year marriage, confessing that she is nowhere near healed.

The conversation turned heavy when the interviewer asked Kandi how she has been navigating her life and whether she is taking time for self care, given how many hats she wears. Visibly overwhelmed, Kandi had to stop the interview before the cameras even fully started rolling to collect herself, saying, “Don’t make me cry. Where’s my tissue? How does anybody navigate? Sorry. No, you’re fine. Bring it together! Okay, I’m listening. I stay busy. Can we… Give me two seconds before I start. I mean, if y’all ain’t heard, I got divorced recently after 12 years of marriage. It was two and a half years. So we were together like 15 years.”

The breakup has been playing out in the public eye, especially with Kandi turning her pain into art for her new one woman show, I Do. I Did. I’m Done.

In the stage production, she addresses the breakdown of the marriage and confirms that Todd’s infidelity was the ultimate catalyst for their split. When the AJC interviewer asked how she has been able to heal from that betrayal, Kandi didn’t hold back or try to put on a brave face.

She admitted, “I don’t think I’m healed. Okay. I don’t. I mean it’s still kind of less than a year. Oh yeah, it’s been less than a year. That was July. I’m not healed. No. I am NOT HEALED. Okay. Simply.”

For a powerhouse mogul who is famously known for being booked, busy, and always on the grind, dealing with the heavy emotional toll of a divorce has forced her to confront feelings she usually tries to avoid.

Kandi explained that her typical coping mechanism is to pour herself into her work and push through the pain rather than sit in it. She shared, “You already see me as like I’m one of those people. Like I try not to talk about stuff because I don’t like to be emotional. I don’t like to be sad. I like to live into the positive. Lean into the positive. Lean into the fun.”

While she is doing her best to focus on the good vibes, it’s clear that unpacking 15 years of a life shared together is going to take some time.

#KandiBurruss talks about her divorce from Todd, & says she’s not healed.

VIA: @ajc pic.twitter.com/OvrEuqr1JH

— jay (@JaysRealityBlog) May 14, 2026

Former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” cast member Lisa Wu is facing police accusations after an old friend claimed she was tricked out of a house. The real estate dispute has resulted in an official police report, with both sides sharing completely different accounts of what actually happened.

The drama started when Lisa’s former friend, Norma Denise Mitchem, filed a police report claiming theft by deception over a soured property deal. Documents obtained by TMZ show that Norma wanted to purchase a home but could not get approved for the loan. Lisa allegedly stepped in to help by purchasing the property through an LLC.

According to Norma’s nephew, the agreement was for Lisa to transfer the deed to Norma once specific liens were resolved.

However, Norma and her nephew claim the former RHOA star went back on her word. Instead of transferring the property, they allege Lisa attempted to sell the house back to them at an inflated price. Norma now claims she was defrauded because she is paying for a home that does not have her name on the paperwork.

Lisa denies the allegations and claims she is the one who was taken advantage of. While she admits she bought the house, she states that Norma failed to keep up her end of the financial agreement.

She claims Norma made a couple of payments and promised she could afford the property, but stopped communicating entirely after Lisa refused to put the deed in the name of Norma’s son.

According to Lisa, Norma is still living in the house without making payments, leaving her stuck with the financial burden. She maintains that she was simply trying to do a favor for a friend.

“For more than 30 years, I’ve built my career and reputation with integrity, professionalism, and hard work,” Lisa said in a statement. “ I have absolutely no involvement in fraudulent activity of any kind, and the idea that I would be implicated simply because of people I know or professional relationships is preposterous.”

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Selma and Montgomery on Saturday to protest new congressional maps drawn by Southern Republican legislatures that target districts held by Black Democratic members of Congress.

An afternoon rally in Montgomery drew more than 5,000 people as part of the All Roads Lead to the South campaign, an initiative organized to build voter turnout and counter Republican redistricting advantages. Victor Coar traveled from Birmingham to attend the rally and stated, “Our democracy is on the line. Our rights are on the line. They are trying to take it all away. They are suppressing our vote, trying to keep us quiet, trying to silence our vote.”

The demonstrations intentionally connected current voting rights struggles to the historic Civil Rights Movement, occurring just weeks after a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling altered voting protections.

In Louisiana v. Callais, decided last month, the Court weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by requiring plaintiffs to prove intentional discrimination when challenging voting maps, establishing a much higher legal standard than previous precedents.

Following that decision, Republican-controlled legislatures across the South introduced redistricting measures targeting majority-Black districts. On Monday, the Supreme Court permitted Alabama to implement a 2023 congressional map that the high court itself had previously found to be racially discriminatory.

Governor Kay Ivey subsequently scheduled special primary elections for August in four congressional districts, even as litigation continues in the state’s primary redistricting case, Allen v. Milligan. A federal court scheduled a hearing for the case this upcoming Friday.

The day’s events began in Selma, where faith leaders met at Tabernacle Baptist Church to offer prayers and criticize the Supreme Court and Donald Trump, while calling for stronger voting protections.

Following the service, approximately 400 participants marched silently from the church across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the site where civil rights demonstrators were attacked on March 7, 1965. Reverend Cece Jones-Davis, who traveled from Washington, D.C., reflected on the march, saying, “I know how important moments like these are, and I am here because I know that one of us can go far but we cannot go far enough. It is going to take all of us, and so I am just here to add my voice to the collective.”

At the Montgomery rally, speakers expressed direct grievances regarding the Trump administration and the Supreme Court while encouraging the crowd to stay resilient. Bernice King, CEO of the King Center and daughter of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., invoked the legacy of her parents to mobilize the crowd, stating, “Today we return to the very grounds where my parents and freedom families stood, when Black voter registration was scarce, when discrimination was the norm, and when violence was the price for seeking dignity. Their sacrifice opened the door to the Voting Rights Act.”

She noted that the recent judicial actions require immediate public resistance, adding, “Because the recent Supreme Court rulings demand our presence. It was not only a legal decision, it is a moral disgrace and a shameless assault on Black political power.”

Alabama lawmakers urged the audience to maintain long term mobilization efforts. State Senator Merika Coleman asked the crowd to consider what they would have done during the 1960s movement, declaring, “We are here to tell you, you don’t have to wonder anymore. This is our time, right now, and we are fired up and ready to go.”

Members of Alabama’s congressional delegation also took the stage. The redrawn maps present a direct threat to the re-election prospects of U.S. Representative Shomari Figures and could eventually jeopardize the seat of U.S. Representative Terri Sewell. Sewell addressed the crowd, saying, “It is time to show up and show out, not just in one state capital, not just for one election but we need you to step up and show up for every one of our state legislators who are trying to get out the vote.”

U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey emphasized the civic responsibility tied to inherited rights, stating, “We also stand here with the understanding that the freedoms we inherited from our ancestors are not possessions that we hold, they are rights that we hold in trust. That we were given to be stewards of. A lot of people are drinking deeply from wells of freedom and liberty that they did not dig. They are eating from banquet tables prepared for them by their ancestors, sitting back, getting dumb, fat and ugly, and happy and comfortable. This is one of moments where we understand our blessings come with obligations.”

Local advocates pointed out the broader societal impacts of current legislative priorities. Khadidah Stone, a plaintiff in the Allen v. Milligan case, criticized the decision to hold a special legislative session for redistricting rather than focusing on pressing state issues.

Stone stated, “I would really like those legislators to focus on the quality of life of Alabamians. We have a lot of rural hospital closures, we have the highest maternal mortality rate in the country, 50,000 Alabamians just lost SNAP benefits, and most of the recipients are the elderly and children.”

Representative Figures expressed gratitude for the turnout, noting that seeing thousands of people gather to defend Black congressional representation was a humbling experience that he believes will sustain momentum through November.

Figures also highlighted the legal distinctions between the Callais case and the ongoing Milligan case, remaining confident in a positive outcome for the plaintiffs. He noted, “The dispute with our district goes all the way back to the 2020 census, and the original maps that the state Legislature redrew, and the three-judge panel, two of whom were appointed by Trump and one by Regan originally, they found that the state had engaged in intentional discrimination in how they drew those maps.”

Former U.S. Senator Doug Jones, who is currently running for the Democratic nomination for governor, joined attendees in criticizing the legislative map changes during an interview at the Montgomery event, stating, “It is important for folks to understand what folks are getting taken away from them, and they are getting taken away their right to representation. We have come so far in the state of Alabama. We have 60 years of progress that has been thrown backwards by the Supreme Court and the Legislature just a few blocks from here.”

The sentiment was shared by local residents and faith leaders alike throughout the day’s demonstrations. Reginald Mason, an attendee from Birmingham, emphasized the necessity of active political participation, stating, “People who don’t actually vote are not informed, they don’t know about the struggle that our ancestors went through. I never thought I would be standing here today fighting for what they have already fought for me.”

Reflecting on the enduring nature of the struggle for voting rights, Reverend Jones-Davis added, “What I realize is that it is just our turn, and freedom is not fought for once, freedom has been fought for many times. We are here to do our part.”

🚨 🇺🇸MAJOR BREAKING: They are marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge again.

61 years after Bloody Sunday. The same bridge. The same fight.

Today in Selma, thousands are gathering at the spot where Alabama state troopers beat peaceful Black marchers in March 1965.

That… pic.twitter.com/FHTB6LdCaV

— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) May 16, 2026

The music industry is still processing the massive triple album drop from Drake, who shocked fans by releasing Iceman alongside companion projects Habibti and Maid of Honour.

While listeners and music critics spend the weekend breaking down the extensive 43 track collection, legendary producer Timbaland has already made up his mind about the new material, specifically, Janice STFU.

The Verzuz co-creator took to social media to give the Canadian rapper his flowers, sharing his immediate reaction to the release. Despite the albums having just arrived, Timbaland expressed that the music has already provided a strong wave of creative energy.

“I’m telling you now. Me, me baby. I don’t know the words yet but… Throw my phone in a… Baby take it from the king. That song gonna be timeless. Just that chorus alone. Alright? You know what I’m saying? I ain’t telling ya. Got me inspired @champagnepapi,” Timbaland shared.

The public co-sign from one of hip-hop’s most decorated hitmakers highlights the immediate impact of the release. While public debate continues over the lyrical content and various subliminal lines scattered throughout the projects, the endorsement from Timbaland emphasizes the musical execution of the rollout.

Drake’s historic three album release marks his first major solo album since 2023, and it’s quickly dominating streaming platforms and driving the cultural conversation across social networks.

With veteran curators like Timbaland publicly declaring tracks as future classics, the initial momentum from the weekend drop appears ready to carry the projects well into the summer.

Super Producer Timbaland says Drake’s song “Janice STFU” is timeless, and puts the whole industry on notice 😮 pic.twitter.com/AniP6UkyQT

— The OWL Times (@scaryhours5555) May 17, 2026

Hip-hop pioneer Russell Simmons sat down for a candid interview on Podcast and Chill with Mac G, where he directly addressed why his name appears in the infamous Jeffrey Epstein documents.

During the conversation, Simmons pushed back against claims of any scandalous involvement, explained how everyday communications landed him in the files, and shared his thoughts on Bill Clinton and Michael Jackson.

The discussion grew tense when the topic of the Epstein files was raised, prompting Simmons to explain the completely ordinary context behind the mentions. “My name is in the Epstein files because a Ugandan model wanted to give me her bible. And I know a Ugandan model, Alice something, Miss Uganda. She wanted to give me her bible. I don’t know how that ended up in the files but it was somebody wrote somebody she’s looking to get Russell Simmons her bible.

He added that the only other mention involved another public figure, stating, “And the second thing is Deepak Chopra asked Jeffrey Epstein did he want to go to my house when Deepak was being honored for my art foundation. That’s fucking it. I never met the guy.”

Simmons made it clear that being included in millions of pages of compiled communications does not equal wrongdoing, pointing out how common it is for famous figures to be mentioned randomly.

SpongeBob is in the Epstein files. No, I’m serious. SpongeBob is in the files multiple times more than me. These are just words that came out and names. Like I’m famous. Every famous person is in there somehow.” He quickly shut down any insinuation that he attended Epstein’s parties, asking, “Why would you even say that? No clickbait shit.”

The conversation then shifted to other high profile figures whose names have been tied to the files, including Bill Clinton and Michael Jackson. When discussing Jackson, Simmons recalled meeting him four or five times, remembering him as a “sweet lovely man who I don’t believe could cause harm to anyone.” He expressed disbelief that Jackson could possess that level of cruelty.

In contrast, Simmons shared a different perspective on former President Bill Clinton, recalling how Clinton would behave when women were present.

“I know Bill. I don’t know if he’s a sweet and lovely man. Every girl I have been around him with, every time I was around with a girl, go to bathroom, he be… I come back he tell about size of his shoe. I mean shit like that.”

“Don’t bring that sh*t up.”

Russell Simmons explains why his name is inside the Epstein files as he speaks on Bill Clinton being tied to Jeffrey Epstein and says he doesn’t believe Michael Jackson could cause harm to anyone.

(🎥 MacG/Youtube) pic.twitter.com/HJCTpb19zu

— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) May 15, 2026

The lawyers’ guild folded. On Friday, the American Bar Association Council that controls law school accreditation voted to repeal Standard 206, the decades old rule that required every ABA accredited law school to show a real commitment to diversity in recruitment, admissions, and student programming. The rule that quietly forced hundreds of law schools to actually try when it came to recruiting Black, Latino, Asian American, Indigenous, and women students is on its way out the door.

Standard 206 wasn’t a vibes rule. It was the rule. It was the lever that made diversity work non optional inside legal education. If a law school wanted to keep its ABA accreditation, and therefore wanted its graduates to qualify for the bar in most states, it had to demonstrate measurable effort toward building a more representative student body, faculty, and pipeline. For a generation, that single standard quietly funded fellowship programs, pre law outreach, scholarship strategies, and the hiring of Black professors who shouldn’t have needed a federal nudge to get through the door, but did.

The rule has been frozen since February 2025, when the ABA quietly hit pause as soon as Donald Trump returned to the White House and federal pressure on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs kicked into a higher gear. In April 2025, Trump signed an executive order pointing Education Secretary Linda McMahon at the ABA itself, asking her to look into whether the organization should even be allowed to keep its status as the federally recognized accreditor for law schools. The order specifically cited the ABA’s diversity requirements as the problem. That moved the conversation from “should we tweak this rule” to “do we still exist as an accreditor at all.”

By spring 2026, the choice was made. The Department of Education had already sent warning letters to other accrediting bodies making clear that any application of racial diversity standards would be treated as a violation of federal law. The ABA’s own Standards Committee circulated an internal memo telling the council, in plain English, that the entire role of the ABA as an accreditor would be imminently threatened if Standard 206 was not fully repealed rather than just paused. So the council did the math and chose self preservation.

The internal contortion was loud in the room. Council member David Brennen, a former dean at the University of Kentucky College of Law, told the meeting he personally agreed with what the diversity standard was trying to do, but voted to kill it anyway because he didn’t want the ABA restricting the diversity of legal education environments. Translation: I believe in this rule, I’m just not willing to lose our federal seat at the table over it. Retired Colorado Supreme Court Justice Melissa Hart, the council’s incoming chair, framed the vote as a question about the obligations of an accreditor, not a measure of anybody’s personal commitment to diversity. Council Chair Daniel Thies described the move as part of a broader effort to streamline the minimum requirements for law schools, which is corporate speak for we just cut something important and we don’t want you to feel it.

The receipts on the public response are blunt. The ABA opened a notice and comment period that ended in mid April, and the council itself acknowledged that the overwhelming majority of feedback, mostly from legal educators, deans, professors, and students, asked them to keep or strengthen the rule. They repealed it anyway.

Standard 206 is the headline, but it’s not the only target. The same council also voted to open public comment on repealing Standard 303(c), the 2022 rule that requires law schools to teach students about bias, cross cultural competency, and racism before they graduate. They’re also reviewing changes to Standard 205, the non discrimination and equality of opportunity rule for students and faculty, and Standard 207, the reasonable accommodation rule for individuals with disabilities. A decision on those rollbacks could land as soon as August. So in one calendar year, the ABA is potentially gutting four interlocking civil rights inflected standards while telling the public it’s just housekeeping.

The state level moves are happening in parallel and they’re not waiting on the ABA. The state supreme courts of Alabama, Texas, and Florida have already moved to break or limit their reliance on ABA accreditation for bar licensing, and Tennessee and Ohio are reportedly weighing the same move. Most states still require bar applicants to graduate from an ABA accredited law school, which is exactly why the state level defections matter. They strike at the entire monopoly the ABA has held over who gets to practice law in this country. The Department of Education’s reaccreditation hearing for the council itself is set for September.

There is one part of the story the headlines miss. A report from the conservative group Defending Education found that as of April 2026, 72 law schools across 24 states still maintain DEI programs, many of them just rebranded under softer names. Villanova renamed its DEI page Unitas: Community Building. The University of Colorado Boulder went with Community and Culture. American University’s DEI office is now the Office of Inclusive Excellence and Leadership Development. The accreditation requirement may be leaving, but the work didn’t go anywhere. It just got a new logo and a softer caption.

What this vote takes off the table is the floor. For decades, Standard 206 told every law school in America that diversity wasn’t optional, it was the cost of doing business. Without that floor, the future of Black law students depends on whether individual schools decide the work is still worth it, and whether the states they sit in decide to let them do it. The final repeal still has to clear the ABA House of Delegates in August, and the official elimination may not be on the books until 2027. But the direction is set. The rule that built decades of pipeline programs is on its way out, and the rules on racism, bias, non discrimination, and disability accommodation are lined up right behind it.

The highly anticipated next chapter in the Friday franchise is officially moving forward.

Series creator Ice Cube and co-star Mike Epps confirmed that the fourth installment, titled Last Friday, is actively in development, bringing a long awaited resolution to years of fan speculation.

The duo shared the update during an appearance on Entertainment Tonight, offering the first concrete details regarding the production timeline and cast. Epps confirmed the project is officially moving forward, stating that the movie is “going down.”

A major point of discussion centered on whether Chris Tucker would reprise his iconic role as Smokey from the original 1995 film. Epps revealed that production is currently in active discussions with Tucker, noting that the actor wants to return to the franchise. Ice Cube expressed strong optimism regarding Tucker’s involvement, praising his talent and stating his belief that the reunion will happen.

While specific plot points remain heavily guarded, the project will center around the gentrification of a neighborhood. Production is scheduled to begin filming later this year, marking a massive breakthrough for a sequel that has faced a notoriously difficult development process.

Rumors regarding a fourth film have circulated for years with very little progress.

In 2024, Ice Cube publicly revealed that an entirely different script outline for a fourth movie had been rejected by New Line Cinema, causing a lengthy delay.

Momentum shifted earlier this year when Epps teased that the movie was finally getting made during an interview on The Breakfast Club. With filming on track for a late 2026 start, audiences may get an official first look at a trailer in the near future.

A Tennessee school district has officially removed Alex Haley’s historic novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family from its school libraries.

The decision was confirmed on Thursday, adding the acclaimed book to a growing list of 118 titles banned by the district over the last two years.

District spokesperson Carly Harrington stated that the removal was not a reaction to the overarching historical themes of the book, which details the multigenerational story of Haley’s enslaved ancestor, Kunta Kinte, and his descendants in the United States. Instead, officials targeted a single paragraph in Chapter 84 that was flagged as sadomasochistic.

School officials cited Tennessee’s 2022 Age-Appropriate Materials Act as the legal requirement for the ban. The review committee focused strictly on whether specific passages met state standards for age appropriateness. Harrington explained that under current state law, the broader themes or historical significance of a complete literary work cannot be factored into the committee’s decision. Because of this rule, the district maintained that the removal is a matter of statutory compliance rather than a commentary on the cultural or literary importance of the book to the nation or the local Knoxville community.

The district does not track or document the original sources of book complaints, meaning the individual who flagged the novel remains anonymous. Roots had been reviewed by the book-banning committee during a prior evaluation cycle but was not restricted at that time. While the new ban completely bars the novel from library shelves, the material can still be utilized by teachers during classroom instruction.

Published in 1976, Roots earned Alex Haley a Pulitzer Prize and went on to inspire a groundbreaking television miniseries adaptation in 1977. The author’s grandson, Bill Haley, who co-founded the Inherited Roots Project, released a statement criticizing the district’s choice as short-sighted and lacking merit. He invoked his grandfather’s philosophy regarding the importance of studying diverse cultural histories and questioned the logic of the ban, pointing out that other American classics containing uncomfortable historical themes, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, are not facing the same library restrictions despite being offensive to certain readers.

Kodak Black is officially back home after dealing with back-to-back legal problems in Florida. The rapper managed to stay out of a jail cell by paying his bail for two completely separate cases in just over a week, getting released right after being booked both times.

His most recent release happened after he turned himself in to the police in Broward County for an active warrant. Back in February, authorities charged him with trying to flee from a traffic stop and resisting an officer without violence back after police tried to pull over his pink Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The judge set his bail at $3,500. Kodak paid the money immediately and was let go, but the court ordered him to stay completely away from guns, weapons, and ammunition while the case plays out.

His lawyer, Bradford Cohen, spoke out about the situation and questioned why the police took so long to take action. Cohen argued that because the state waited five months to file these charges, the case is incredibly weak. He also stated that the police are intentionally targeting the rapper by stretching out old investigations just to arrest him multiple times.

This quick bail payment comes right after Kodak had to shell out a much larger amount of money for an arrest in Central Florida just days earlier. In that case, state troopers arrested him on heavy drug trafficking charges after claiming they found MDMA inside a car. Kodak has already submitted a formal plea of not guilty and was let out of the Orange County Jail after putting up a massive $75,000 bond.

To stay out of jail while waiting for both of his upcoming trials, Kodak has to follow a strict list of rules set by the courts. On top of paying the thousands of dollars in bail money, he is required to avoid all illegal drugs, stop hanging out with certain people, stay away from the locations where the alleged incidents happened, and cannot be anywhere near firearms.

SZA has joined the voice cast for CoComelon: The Movie, where she will lend her voice to a completely new character created specifically for the big screen.

The role marks her latest film appearance following her performance in the 2025 comedy One of These Days.

The voice cast features several new additions, with Nicholas Hoult and Sarah Sherman leading the new lineup. The ensemble also includes Ike Barinholtz, Ego Nwodim, Josh Johnson, Matt Friend, Rhys Darby, and Cristo Fernández. Familiar voices from the franchise will reprise their roles, including Connor Esterson as JJ, Camden Brooks as Cody, Olivia London Leyva as Nina, and Aerina DeBoer as CeCe.

Kat Good is directing the feature film, bringing her animation experience from her work on Kung Fu Panda. The musical elements will be managed by Justin Tranter, a prominent songwriter who has crafted hits for Chappell Roan, Justin Bieber, and Selena Gomez. Tranter serves as the executive music producer for the theatrical project.

Universal Pictures will handle the theatrical release, scheduling the film to hit theaters on February 19, 2027. The plot expands on the established children’s universe, sending JJ and his core group of friends on a narrative journey driven by original music.

The Biggest Boss is back on the press run, and this time Rick Ross is selling the dream of dating him like it’s a free upgrade to first class. Rozay pulled up to DJ Clue’s BagFuel podcast and explained, in full Maybach Music fashion, that getting on his wave is supposed to be life altering. According to the Miami rapper, “a month with me, 2 months with me could change your life forever, shorty,” which is why he says his former flames stay on good terms long after the situationship fades.

Ross painted the picture as a man who handles his romance with transparency, runs zero games, and roots for his women to win even when long term commitment isn’t on the table. He told Clue that everybody doesn’t deserve a real relationship with him, but if he’s rocking with you for the season, you deserve the boss treatment. He’s already shared that five kids in, plus a 2:30 a.m. phone call schedule he revealed to Linsey Davis on ABC News, walking down the aisle is a wrap before it ever starts.

Now the sermon sounds good in podcast form, but Baller Alert did the homework. A quick tour through Rick Ross’s dating history says most of these women were already moving like bosses, and several are doing better than fine without him in the picture.

Take Lastonia Leviston, the mother of his oldest daughter Toie. Lastonia dated Rozay way back when he was still chasing his first record deal, and in 2026 she’s a Netflix reality star on W.A.G.s to Riches, the founder of the Instatique boutique brand, and the proud mom of a daughter who runs her own beauty company, Ashanti Beauty. She built that lane independently of any Maybach.

Then there’s Tia Kemp, who has turned the co parenting saga into a full personal brand. She was a co host on Zeus Network’s Aunt Tea Podcast alongside Tokyo Toni and Karlissa Saffold, she dropped a memoir titled Tia’s Diary: Deeper Than Rap, sat down with Yung Miami on Caresha Please, and runs a TikTok and Instagram presence that keeps her booked for press. Whether you love her commentary or not, she’s monetized her story on her own terms.

Lira Galore was famously engaged to Rozay back in 2015 with an 11 carat ring that the rapper took back after she called the relationship toxic on Iyanla Fix My Life. Cut to today and Lira is a Fashion Nova ambassador with over 4 million Instagram followers, a daughter named Khaleesi, and a long standing partnership with Pierre “Pee” Thomas, the CEO of Quality Control Music. Different boss, different chapter.

Briana Camille, the mother of three of his children Berkeley, Billion, and Bliss, parlayed the breakup into the Fox Soul reality series Getting Back to Bri, where she documented the messy split and her co parenting journey. She walked away with real estate ties across Florida and Georgia, a child support arrangement reported at over $11,000 a month, and her own platform that doesn’t need a feature from Rozay to stay lit.

Pretty Vee, who quietly dated Ross from 2022 to 2023, kept her own bag the entire time. The Wild ‘N Out cast member sits at an estimated $5 million net worth, has more than 6 million Instagram followers, and continues to land acting roles and brand deals on the strength of her own comedy brand.

And while Keyshia Ka’Oir only spent a few months with Rozay in 2013 and 2014, she went on to marry Gucci Mane, build the Ka’Oir Cosmetics empire, and become one of the most recognized celebrity wives in hip hop. Foxy Brown, who he was briefly linked to in 2008, was already a platinum selling Def Jam rap legend before they ever crossed paths. Even his most recent reported flame, Cristina Mackey, has used her time in the spotlight to push sales on her own brand at mackeybody.com.

So when Rick Ross says a month in his orbit changes your life, the receipts suggest a lot of these women were already on game. Some of them used the Rozay chapter as a springboard, a few used it as content, and the smartest ones never let the Maybach Music branding define them. The Biggest Boss isn’t lying about being a boss. He’s just leaving out the part where the women he dates tend to be bosses too, before they meet him and long after he moves on.

For now, Rozay says he’s keeping his options open, his calendar packed, and his 2:30 a.m. check ins active. Whether that’s truly a lifestyle upgrade or just a season of content for the next ex to monetize, we’ll let the timeline decide.

The Atlanta music vault just opened up, and it turns out some of our favorite Real Housewives of Atlanta stars have history that goes way deeper than reality TV.

During a recent visit to V 103 with Big Tigger, Keri Hilson dropped a major bombshell about her early days in the industry, revealing that she used to be in a girl group with RHOA favorite Shamea Morton Mwangi. Even wilder? Porsha Williams auditioned for the group too, proving that holding a peach isn’t the only thing these ladies have in common, they both had musical ambitions early on.

While reflecting on her journey before breaking out as a solo superstar, Keri explained how Shamea ended up joining her project back in the day, though the pairing was brief. Keri shared, “We used to be in a group and her participation was kind of short lived because she was the last one added. We had been performing for I don’t know maybe a year or two as we were like The Rainbow Coalition. We were called Anthony Dent’s Group called Pretty Tony. So it was me, a Filipina, a Latina I mean sorry Filipina and a Latino girl who is our rapper. And then we had auditions to add another vocalist. She came in. We performed I don’t know how long but I think it was a pretty short time before we ended up disbanding. I think it was kind of short lived but we always stayed in touch.”

Even though the group, Pretty Tony, ultimately parted ways, Keri has nothing but love and respect for Shamea’s journey. Seeing her former groupmate thrive on RHOA and in her career as an Atlanta Hawks court coordinator brings Keri nothing but joy, especially because Shamea hasn’t changed a bit since their teenage years.

Keri gushed, “I love me some Shamea. She’s been a star. Like I’m so happy seeing her success now because she’s been this way actually. She’s the same level of energetic that she always was. She’s been a fool. She’s like the class clown girl. Like she’s hilarious. Her doing the Hawks thing like being a commentator, it’s all up her alley. Now seeing her new level of fame and her taking her own on that show, it is so her. I’m super proud of her success.”

Knowing that both Shamea and Porsha were running in the same musical circles as Miss Keri Baby makes you look at those old RHOA seasons in a whole new light.

Keri Hilson was on V-103 and talked about the group that she was in with Shamea Morton Mwangi. Keri also revealed that Porsha Williams auditioned for the group as well! It looks like singing was in the two “Real Housewives Of Atlanta” peaches blood! #RHOA

Source: V-103 pic.twitter.com/e3IptAI1bn

— No Chaser TV (@nochaser_tv) May 15, 2026

A painful four-year search in South Carolina has come to a tragic end. The Aiken County Solicitor’s Office announced that the human remains found buried near Highway 37 outside of Blackville belong to Krystal Anderson, a mother of four who disappeared in August 2022.

From the beginning, her family knew something was wrong, insisting the 30-year-old would never just leave her kids. Her sister, Shadria Smothers, talked about how close they were, stating, “She was a great mom, a great sister. She’s my baby sister. She’s always looked up to me and called me for everything when it came down to things that she wanted to do.” Smothers knew her sister wouldn’t just vanish, adding, “Even if she had issues, she would contact me. She would contact maybe her friends. Somebody always knew her whereabouts. She has never done anything like this before.”

The investigation quickly pointed to Anderson’s boyfriend, Tony Berry. He was arrested and charged with kidnapping and murder after police found his car burned in the woods in Newberry County, with Anderson’s DNA inside the trunk.

Waiting years for answers was incredibly hard on the family. On the three-year anniversary of her disappearance, Smothers made a desperate plea for help, saying, “If you know anything, please, I’m begging on behalf of her children. I know they say life is not fair, but it’s really unfair to a family that’s in the dark and is grieving over a loved one.”

The break in the case came when investigators uncovered the burial site. Private investigator Chandra Cleveland said personal items found with the body made it clear it was her, stating, “There were belongings found on those remains that were identical to Krystal’s belongings.” Cleveland admitted the news hit hard, noting, “It was devastating … it’s just like the first day it happened when she went missing.” But she hopes this brings a sense of peace, adding, “Maybe now we can give her a final resting place, and her children will be able to deal with the fact that their mother is not coming back.”

Because of the discovery, the legal case is now on hold. Berry was supposed to go on trial next week for the murder, but the court has postponed it so the new evidence can be processed.

The situation has been especially tough on Anderson’s four kids, who have been split up and living with different relatives since she vanished.

Smothers explained how they try to stay connected, sharing, “I think the hardest thing for them is being separated. They do FaceTime each other a lot during the week, and they are able to talk to each other.” The separation has been a huge adjustment for the youngest child, with Smothers adding, “I can say for the youngest one I have, who’s 6, it’s hard for her because she went from being raised with siblings to being raised like an only child.”

An Oklahoma prison gate has opened for Richard Glossip, a man who spent nearly 30 years facing the death penalty, following a critical assist from Kim Kardashian.  

Glossip, who has consistently maintained his innocence since his arrest in the late 1990s, was granted a $500,000 bond by an Oklahoma judge. To secure his immediate release, a 10% cash payment of $50,000 was required. Activist and film producer Scott Budnick broke the news on social media, sharing the moment Glossip walked out of custody. Budnick added that the billionaire reality star covered the financial requirement right away, writing, “AFTER 29 YEARS INNOCENT ON OKLAHOMA’S DEATH ROW – RICHARD GLOSSIP WALKED OUT AS A FREE MAN THIS AFTERNOON!!!!” before confirming the bond was “GRACIOUSLY paid for” by Kim.  

The lengthy legal battle began after the 1997 death of Barry Van Treese, a motel owner who employed Glossip. The state argued that Glossip masterminded a murder for hire plot, leading to a capital conviction.

Throughout his decades behind bars, Glossip faced an exceptionally brutal psychological toll, seeing nine separate execution dates scheduled and ordering his final meal three times before receiving last-minute reprieves.  

The case took a dramatic turn when the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the conviction. The high court determined that the state’s prosecution team allowed a vital witness to lie under oath despite knowing the testimony was false, an act that fundamentally destroyed Glossip’s right to a fair trial.

While the state still plans to move forward with a retrial, the attorney general’s office has stated it will no longer ask for the death penalty.  

Kim is part of a larger circle of high profile names who have fought for Glossip over the years, alongside actress Susan Sarandon and advocate Jason Flom.

While Kim continues her studies to complete her legal education, her financial resources and public platform continue to directly alter the lives of people impacted by the justice system.  

The aftermath of Drake’s new album rollout continues to dominate through the hip hop community, and The Breakfast Club is breaking down the latest shots fired.

On the morning show, DJ Envy, Charlamagne Tha God, and Loren LoRosa locked in on Drake’s specific bar targeting DJ Khaled, questioning what the producer actually stands for while critiquing his social media response to the Canadian rapper.

The trolling started when the hosts dissected the lyrics Drake aimed at his longtime collaborator. On the track, Drake took aim at Khaled’s background and his silence on major issues, prompting Charlamagne to react directly to the line, referencing Khaled’s heritage and the political undertones of the track by noting, “Your people are still waiting for a free Palestine but apparently everything is in black, white and red and green.”

DJ Envy pointed out that Drake’s decision to call people out in this manner opens him up to the exact same criticism from the public, wondering, “What have you ever stood for Drake?

Loren LoRosa tracked the online fallout closely, setting up the conversation as the hosts quickly shifted from the lyrical content to Khaled’s actual reaction online. Following the release of the diss, Khaled posted a throwback clip of himself, which did not sit well with the morning show hosts.

“Since we talking about Iceman Khaled, I need you when you get dissed by an ex you don’t post a video of you when you was wide and washed. Okay? You gotta post a new body and let them know that you’re doing better without him. That wasn’t it Khaled. That wasn’t the old body.”

🚨 Not only are the fans are speaking out on Drakes new album and the shots he’s taken, so are the people mentioned . DJ Khaled responds to Drake’s diss and @lorenlorosa has the latest! pic.twitter.com/HgqNhnfDiE

— The Breakfast Club (@breakfastclubam) May 15, 2026

The watch world is in absolute chaos, and history is repeating itself in the wildest way.

Swatch boutiques across the globe were supposed to celebrate the official launch of the highly anticipated Audemars Piguet and Swatch Royal Pop pocket watch collaboration, but things quickly got completely out of hand. Instead of a smooth release, doors were slammed shut, launches were cancelled, and thousands of empty handed collectors and resellers were left stranded on the sidewalks.

From London to Dubai, local authorities and Swatch management were forced to pull the plug on the unnumbered release due to overwhelming, aggressive crowds that completely compromised public safety. The panic quickly stretched across the Atlantic to the US, where twenty one retail locations, including major hubs in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Chicago, prepared for the drop. In New York, massive crowds swamped the Times Square and SoHo storefronts, while similar scenes played out at the King of Prussia mall in Pennsylvania and the Galleria in Houston, forcing security teams and mall management to scramble to prevent complete shutdowns.

Ever since the partnership was teased, the internet has been in a state of absolute meltdown.

Even though there was plenty of debate when the official announcement revealed that the Royal Pop was a bioceramic modular pocket watch on a lanyard, rather than a traditional wristwatch mimicking the legendary AP Royal Oak, the hype didn’t slow down. Because Swatch strictly mandated an in store only release, hopeful buyers began camping out days in advance. By the early hours of the launch, those orderly lines transformed into an uncontrollable sea of people.

The madness kicked off on a rolling basis as time zones woke up. In the UK, tents lined the streets of major hubs like Manchester, Birmingham, and Liverpool. Outside the Liverpool store, local police were called early in the morning following reports of a group of males acting aggressively and making threats. Swatch staff explicitly told the crowd that the doors would remain closed and nothing would be sold. By midday, London branches followed suit.

The scenes were mirrored across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Thousands swarmed the Swatch boutiques inside the Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates, leading to an immediate, total cancellation of the event.

Authorities in New Delhi and Mumbai pulled the plug on openings due to zero crowd control, while videos circulating on social media showed frustrated crowds crammed together. Outlets in Singapore and French boutiques in Lyon, Lille, and Deauville were similarly shuttered for the day, while riot police had to step in to manage crowds in Barcelona.

With scuffles breaking out globally and crowds crushing against mall barricades, Swatch took to its regional social media channels to issue a swift statement explaining the cancellations. “In view of public safety considerations, we have decided not to proceed with the sale of the product at Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates, and the event has been cancelled.”

Similar notices were rolled out for disrupted locations globally, echoing the sentiment that the brand could not proceed in light of safety considerations for both their customers and staff.

As it stands, neither Swatch nor Audemars Piguet has commented on when or if these cancelled store drops will be rescheduled, or if the launch strategy will shift to a lottery or online format to prevent further issues.

For now, the only place to reliably find a Royal Pop is on the secondary market, where pre sale listings and immediate flips are already tracking at more than three times the retail price.

Audemars Piguet X Swatch Launch in Dubai Just Got Cancelled at Two Malls Over ‘Safety Considerations’ pic.twitter.com/iIUVRzN38l

— Smashi (@smashibusiness) May 16, 2026

Swatch x AP in Times Square line is getting cancelled 😂😂😂😂😂 they saying the drop is cancelled but folks not moving. pic.twitter.com/VU94Qs3QcH

— 7% (or better) 🇯🇲 (@gregNEVERchills) May 16, 2026

Swatch-AP collab in Aventura (Miami) canceled due to 2000 person stampede. Swatch Fail! pic.twitter.com/g2h7n89BCK

— Jeff Ostrow (@JeffMilesOstrow) May 16, 2026

JUST IN: Swatch shut down some of the FCFS locations for the Audemars Piguet x Swatch “Royal Pop” Collection that was supposed to drop today ☠️⌚️🤦‍♂️ @Swatch pic.twitter.com/CTwiFHa0wW

— KicksFinder (@KicksFinder) May 16, 2026

A bunch of Swatch boutiques stayed closed and cancelled the Audemars Piguet Royal Pop launch.

Lines out of control at boutiques around the world (see Dubai, Milan, Tokyo below).

Swatch official accounts posted its “not a limited edition” so that people can chill out. Wild. https://t.co/AzWBDVTPXe pic.twitter.com/bnRSTz2YjY

— Trung Phan (@TrungTPhan) May 16, 2026

The massive success of Fox’s hit drama Empire was completely derailed during its final seasons by the intense public scrutiny surrounding Jussie Smollett.

Now, Taraji P. Henson is opening up about the emotional toll it took on the cast, describing the sudden shift from a prime time powerhouse to a media circus. In a recent interview with Vulture ahead of her Broadway debut, Henson admitted that the entire situation felt like “a punch to family” for everyone involved.

The 2019 controversy, which centered on Smollett’s claims of being the victim of a hate crime that authorities later determined was staged, divided fans and heavily impacted the show’s legacy. Henson explained that watching the drama unfold was incredibly painful for the cast.

“It hurt because it was family,” Henson said, recalling the 2019 headlines. “And then to have people drag somebody who says, ‘I’m trying to tell you my truth and you’re telling me I’m lying’? That’s not a good place to be.”

Despite the heavy fallout that eventually led to Smollett’s character being written out of the final episodes, Henson noted that her former on screen son is doing well these days.

This isn’t the first time Henson has spoken out in defense of Smollett. Following his 2022 sentencing, where a judge ordered him to serve 150 days in jail for disorderly conduct related to the false police report, Henson publicly questioned the severity of the legal system’s response.

At the time, she advocated for leniency on social media, arguing that the punishment did not fit the crime and drew comparisons to broader disparities in the justice system.

For the third time, a New York jury has failed to reach a verdict against Harvey Weinstein, leaving one of the defining sexual assault cases of the #MeToo era unresolved as prosecutors weigh whether to pursue a fourth trial.

A Manhattan jury deadlocked Friday in Weinstein’s rape retrial, prompting Judge Curtis Farber to declare a mistrial after jurors sent two notes within 90 minutes indicating they were hopelessly divided. Nine of the twelve jurors reportedly favored acquittal.

Weinstein, 74, remained expressionless as he left the courtroom. His attorney, Marc Agnifilo, framed the outcome as a partial victory: “Maybe it’s not the win that he wanted, but it’s a win, and we’re going to keep fighting.”

The case centers on hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann, who testified that Weinstein raped her in a Manhattan hotel room in March 2013. Several jurors cited inconsistencies in her account as pivotal. Juror Josh Hadar, 57, said he favored acquittal, noting: “I don’t come to that easily, but it just seemed that there was enough reasonable doubt.” Another juror, Sarae Perez, 25, said despite her background in feminist studies, “there were places where we couldn’t trust her word for it.

Mann responded firmly in a statement: “I deserve justice, which is why I stand up and face unbearable public scrutiny in the name of a greater good.”

Weinstein was first convicted on this charge in 2020, but a New York appeals court overturned that verdict. A 2025 retrial also ended in a hung jury. He remains incarcerated on separate rape convictions from both New York and Los Angeles. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said prosecutors will consult with Mann before deciding next month whether to pursue yet another trial.

A quiet Buckhead, Atlanta cul-de-sac has become an unlikely staging ground for scores of autonomous Waymo vehicles, leaving residents rattled and demanding the company rethink its routing practices.

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In recent weeks, families in the northwest Atlanta neighborhood have reported a dramatic surge in driverless Waymo cars looping through their streets — vehicles that appear to be idle, not carrying passengers. One neighbor counted roughly 50 cars passing through in a single hour one morning.

“I think yesterday morning we had 50 cars that came through between 6 and 7,” the resident told local station WANF. In another instance, eight vehicles were spotted “stuck trying to figure out how to turn around,” and a separate video captured 13 Waymo cars rolling through in just ten minutes.

For families living on those streets, the numbers are more than just curious — they feel dangerous.

“Our big concern is just the excessive traffic on the street,” one neighbor said. “You know, we’re families, we have small kids, we have animals and pets, we’ve got kids getting on the bus in the mornings, and it just doesn’t feel safe to have that traffic.”

Nearby resident Deborah Childers echoed the frustration.

I’m just hoping that Waymo will only come in our neighborhood when they’re called, like an Uber, you know, not use our neighborhood as a holding area or a training ground,” she said. “It’s enough of them that it’s bothersome. It’s not like one. It’s like three or maybe four. They do the same loop.”

The concerns come as Waymo faces heightened scrutiny nationally. The company — which handles roughly 500,000 rides per week across the U.S. — has issued multiple voluntary software recalls in recent months, including one covering nearly 3,800 vehicles after a robotaxi drove into a flooded San Antonio roadway and was swept into a creek. Earlier recalls addressed vehicles that illegally passed stopped school buses in Austin, Texas, and others that collided with roadside barriers like gates and chains.

In a statement provided to PEOPLE, a Waymo spokesperson said the company is already working to fix the routing behavior.

“At Waymo, we are committed to being good neighbors. We take community feedback seriously and have already worked with our fleet partner to address this routing behavior,” the spokesperson said. “Our service is proven to significantly reduce traffic injuries and improve road safety. We value our relationship with Atlanta residents and remain focused on providing a seamless, respectful, and safe experience for riders and residents alike.”

Millions of Americans already confide their money worries to an AI chatbot. Now that chatbot can actually look at the numbers. OpenAI on Friday rolled out a suite of personal finance tools for ChatGPT Pro subscribers in the U.S., allowing the platform to pull in live banking and investment data and answer questions about spending, budgeting, cash flow, and account activity in natural language.

The move is the culmination of a years-long quiet push by OpenAI into financial services. This is OpenAI’s second personal finance management “acqui-hire” in the past six months — the company also hired the co-founder and CEO of personal finance app Roi in early October 2025. Then, last month, OpenAI acquired personal finance startup Hiro Finance, whose founder, Ethan Bloch, previously built Digit, an automated savings neobank sold to Oportun in 2021 for more than $200 million. Bloch described the opportunity plainly: “For decades, personalized financial guidance has been too expensive, too generic or too hard to access. ChatGPT is finally changing that.”

The new tool is powered by a partnership with Plaid, allowing connections with more than 12,000 financial institutions. Plaid’s tokenized authentication system means ChatGPT never directly handles banking passwords — users authorize access through encrypted, permission-based data sharing channels. Once accounts are linked, ChatGPT can access balances, transactions, investments, and liabilities, but it cannot see full account numbers or make any changes to accounts.

Until now, ChatGPT could provide only generic recommendations — “automate your savings” or “reduce takeout to once a week” — lacking a window into consumers’ actual financial lives. The new system changes that, enabling questions like “Help me build a plan to be ready to buy a house in my area in the next 5 years.”

Industry analysts say the stakes extend well beyond OpenAI. “The deal is less about OpenAI entering banking and more about what industry will own financial advice and engagement,” said Javelin analyst Dylan Lerner. The feature is currently available to ChatGPT Pro subscribers — who pay $100 per month — on web and iOS, with broader rollout planned after user feedback.

Hip-hop mogul Rick Ross has set his sights on a new kind of flex — becoming a partial owner of the Miami Dolphins. In a candid conversation with Gray Rizzy on the SiriusXM Front Row Series on SiriusXM Hip-Hop Nation, the Miami native revealed that an NFL ownership stake is firmly on his radar.

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The Rozay, we’re thinking one of the next moves should be me buying a piece of the Miami Dolphins,” Ross told Gray Rizzy. “Let’s go Phins.”

It’s a bold vision, but the rapper — born William Leonard Roberts II — is no stranger to thinking big. Known as much for his business empire as his platinum discography, Ross has built a portfolio that spans restaurants, record labels, and real estate. Adding a professional football franchise to that list would be his most ambitious move yet.

Ross acknowledged he’s not quite there financially — at least not yet.

“Am I in the position to do that yet? I’m not sure,” he admitted. But he’s already laying the groundwork. The Boss recently collaborated with the Dolphins on a merchandise launch, a move he framed as a calculated first step.

“You got to start small. You got to plant those seeds and just water them,” he explained. “A lot of times we don’t even understand our value. It was a long time before I understood what my full potential was and once again, until you start challenging yourself, you can’t stay in your comfort zone. You know what you’re good at. You know what you got to be great at and you got to just push yourself. And I enjoy doing it.”

For a man who built his brand on the art of the boss mentality, a seat in the owner’s box might just be the next logical chapter.

Trina is clearing the air after a viral concert clip had social media convinced she was going off on her husband, Benjamin “Swurv” Kearse, during a recent live performance. In the video, the Miami rap icon appears visibly upset while yelling toward the stage area before grabbing Swurv’s arm and pulling him away from the crowd, sparking immediate reactions online.

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The footage spread quickly across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, with many viewers speculating that the couple was arguing in public. But according to Trina, that was never the situation.

In a statement shared to Instagram, Trina denied checking or embarrassing her husband and said her actions came after an altercation allegedly broke out on stage during the show.

“I was NOT checking my husband,” she wrote. “I was making sure he was good due to an altercation that took place on stage.” She also accused social media users of pushing a “false narrative” about the moment.

The rapper, whose real name is Katrina Taylor, privately married the rapper and entrepreneur in 2024 after years together.

Even with Trina explaining the situation, the clip continues circulating online as fans debate whether the moment looked more protective than confrontational. Either way, the internet definitely had something to say once cameras caught the interaction in real time.

Thousands of Spirit Airlines workers were blindsided when the budget carrier quietly turned off the lights for good — and now a group of them is fighting back in court.

Six former Spirit employees filed a proposed class-action lawsuit in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging the airline owed them wages and benefits following its abrupt closure on May 2. The sudden shutdown left approximately 17,000 workers jobless overnight.

Spirit’s collapse had been brewing for months. The airline had been struggling financially and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late 2024, attempting to restructure its debt and find a path forward. After a failed merger deal and an inability to secure new financing, the company ultimately announced it would cease all operations, grounding its fleet and stranding passengers at airports across the country.

The lawsuit centers on alleged violations of the WARN Act — the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 — which requires companies with more than 100 employees to give at least 60 days’ advance notice before mass layoffs. Employees who don’t receive that notice may be owed up to 60 days of back pay and benefits.

What makes the lawsuit particularly pointed is the claim that senior leadership actively discouraged workers from believing the worst was coming. As recently as April 16 — just two weeks before the shutdown — management allegedly told employees to “ignore the rumors that Spirit was near a termination point.”

Adding to the frustration, some employees say they still haven’t received their final paychecks, even as Spirit sought court approval for $10.7 million in executive retention bonuses.

This is an important case seeking to vindicate the rights of Spirit Airlines employees who suddenly lost their jobs,” said attorney Eric Lechtzin, who is representing the plaintiffs. “We are committed to obtaining the compensation the law provides and to holding Spirit accountable.”

A Spirit spokesperson told PEOPLE that final paychecks “remain in process” while an audit is completed, adding: “The company is finalizing these paychecks as soon as possible and will process payroll once the audit is complete.”