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As he rode his motorcycle to work at Wingstop, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 24-year-old Benny Pena-Rivera noticed he was being followed.

He didn’t know the driver tailing him was off-duty Manheim Township police chief Duane Fisher, who was not in uniform and drove an unmarked vehicle. Pena-Rivera said he even exchanged smiles and a wave with Fisher.

He next saw Fisher when he pulled into work. Without lights and sirens, Fisher pulled up behind Pena-Rivera, got out of his car, drew his gun, and ordered him to get on the ground. Before Pena-Rivera tried to register what was happening, Fisher, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, had grabbed him and pressed the gun to his face.

Manheim Township police chief Duane Fisher pulls a gun on a motorcyclist while on duty. (Photo: YouTube screenshot/Local 12)

“All I heard was, ‘On the ground. On the ground, or I will shoot you,” he told Local 12. “If you’re a cop or something, you’re supposed to identify yourself and not come up the way you came up to me. While he is slamming me on the electric panel, he still has his gun in his right hand, pointing it over here. I’m telling him, ‘Don’t shoot me. What’s the reason you’re going to shoot me for?”

The confrontation took place in late April and was caught on security video, though there is no accompanying audio.

Fisher claimed he identified himself as “Manheim Township Police” twice before the two men started wrestling. Pena-Rivera was able to escape on foot at the time. In a probable cause affidavit, Fisher states Pena-Rivera pushed and shoved him before fleeing the scene. The chief also claimed Pena-Rivera committed “several” traffic violations, including running the same light they had both stopped at and using his motorcycle to knock him over.

The affidavit goes on to allege that Fisher first observed Pena-Rivera on an unregistered motorcycle, driving erratically, and running a stoplight.

With Pena-Rivera on the run, Fisher switched his lights on for the first time and called for backup, as seen in the video. One day later, on May 1, Pena-Rivera was arrested.

“I woke up in the morning and went to the gas station, grabbed a pack of cigarettes, and when I was talking on the phone, apparently someone overheard my situation, and they called the police,” Pena-Rivera said of his arrest. “Five minutes later, eight, nine, maybe 10 cops pulled up to where I was at the moment, and that’s when I got arrested.”

Pena-Rivera pleaded guilty to several traffic violations, though charges of aggravated assault, evading arrest and resisting arrest were dropped after he obtained a copy of the video and showed it to Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams.

“The Manheim Police Department and the parties agreed with the resolution of the charges in this manner based on the facts and the circumstances of this case,” she wrote in a statement released to the media.

She went on to say the prosecution would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Chief Fisher “had a criminal mens rea, or intent to commit a crime, when he attempted to stop the defendant. Mens rea, per the legal definition, is a person’s thinking and/or intention/purpose at the time of an incident.”

She said her office “does not have authority over internal policy or discipline specific to any police department in Lancaster County” and that any decision to discipline the chief would have to come internally.

An internal probe has indeed been launched on Fisher, who is suspended with pay pending the completion of the investigation.

Pena-Rivera said the experience has tainted his view of police.

“I hope justice goes the way it should because right now, I don’t feel comfortable being outside,” he said. “Every time I see a police officer now, I feel threatened.”

‘On the Ground, Or I Will Shoot You!’: Pennsylvania Police Chief Suspended After Pulling Gun on Motorcyclist Over Traffic Violation While Off-Duty In Video

A Black woman is suing the city of Chicago and a co-worker in its transportation department who she said hurled racial slurs and gender insults at her and assaulted her, including while she was pregnant.

In her lawsuit filed on May 13 in U.S. District Court in Illinois and obtained by Atlanta Black Star, Danyiell Montgomery says she was content in her job as a concrete worker for the Chicago DOT, where she’d worked mostly among men for seven years, until April 2023 when she transferred to a new department.

She informed her new supervisors that she was pregnant, and would need time off for a surgical procedure related to her pregnancy. She had the procedure on May 1, 2023, and was off for one day.

Danyiell Montgomery is suing the City of Chicago and a co-worker at the Chicago Department of Transportation for racial and sexual harassment. (Photo: ABC7Chicago screenshot)

Upon her return, Montgomery requested light duty work for a temporary period as she recovered from her surgery and as an accommodation for her pregnancy.

That request subjected her to ridicule, harassment and discriminatory treatment from her male co-workers, she claims.

Raul Ramirez, her supervisor, asked her why she was working there since she was pregnant, she says.

Other co-workers made the following comments to her in front of management, according to her complaint:

“We don’t need no lazy woman here. Get her out of here.”

“Black women and their f—king attitudes.”

“Why the f—k is she still here?”

“We don’t need any disable[d] mother f—kers working here and not contributing to the work site.”

Then her supervisor Ruben Ochoa told her he did not want her doing any more concrete work “because of her condition” and demanded that she find another assignment.

Montgomery contends her doctor did not restrict her from doing concrete work altogether, only while she recovered from her surgical procedure.

On May 15, 2023, as she walked to her car during a group lunch break, she says Michael Bailey a co-worker, followed her, then proceeded to bang on her car window and asked, “What the f—k are you doing? You just had a break. Get out of that car and grade some dirt.”

Bailey continued harassing her, in view of other co-workers and supervisors, allegedly telling her, “Don’t you have a husband or something? I don’t want you here. Black women and their f—king attitudes. All you Black motherf—kers and your attitudes.”

He then allegedly “showed his gun to her in a threatening manner” and said, “That’s why I keep my gun on me at work. I have to work around all these ni—ers coming up and thinking they’re privileged. I’m from Bridgeport and we’re doctors and lawyers. I know judges, police officers and detectives, so nothing is going to happen to me.”

Montgomery says she feared for her safety and felt extreme distress and mental anguish over Bailey’s conduct and reported it to a local law enforcement agency.

“I would walk out of my house crying with headaches every day,” she told CBS Chicago. My chest was tightened. At the time I think I was 11 weeks pregnant.”

On May 16, 2023 Montgomery began working at a new job site, where her duties included picking up stakes, sweeping up debris, moving barricades and placing caution tape around newly poured cement areas. She says she asked her new supervisor Mike Devito if she could continue with the light duty work she’d been assigned since early May.

She also told another supervisor, Chris Davis, about the incident involving Bailey brandishing his gun at her while on work property, and that she wanted to submit a formal report to Chicago DOT.

Davis allegedly handed her a blank sheet of notebook paper, instead of the official form used to report such complaints.

Despite this impropriety, Montgomery says she filled the sheet out and gave it to Miram Velez, a labor relations specialist at Chicago DOT, who provided her with the appropriate form to make a complaint. Montgomery did so, emphasizing the gun incident and Bailey’s harassment and threats.

According to her complaint, the department failed to investigate or take any action to protect her safety or to address the hostile work environment. She continued to be required to work in crews that included Bailey, who kept making harassing and disparaging remarks to her regarding her race, gender and pregnancy.

The continuous harassment caused her distress, took a toll on her health and threatened the safety of her pregnancy, she claims, forcing her to take a leave of absence. She remained off work from May 28, 2023, through Nov. 22, 2023, during which time she gave birth to a healthy baby.

When she returned to work, she was assigned to a new crew that included Bailey. On her first day back, as she pulled up to the job site, she says she heard Bailey tell Devito on a speakerphone, “Bring that Black bi—h here. She has no authority to request a transfer.”

Since that day the work environment has remained hostile for Montgomery, who continues working at Chicago DOT, the lawsuit says. Her supervisors and the department are aware of the “severe and pervasive harassment” she has faced, but have failed to intervene.

Her lawsuit accuses the city of Chicago and Bailey with disparate treatment, harassment and hostile work environment because of her race, color, sex and pregnancy, in violation of federal civil rights law and the Americans With Disabilities Act.

It also alleges that the city of Chicago negligently supervised Bailey despite knowing of his unfitness for his position in the department and his history of aggressive and harassing behavior toward Montgomery, including threatening her with his gun.

The city and Bailey violated the Illinois Whistleblower Act and federal civil rights law, the lawsuit says, by retaliating against her when she complained about harassment from co-workers.

The retaliation occurred when they denied her light duty request; caused her to go on a leave of absence after subjecting her to a hostile working environment that threatened to cause a miscarriage; forced her to work without pay for six months; and “forced her to continue working under her abuser.”

Montgomery seeks a jury trial to determine compensation for lost income and benefits, and compensatory damages for emotional distress, mental anguish, physical harm and humiliation, and well as punitive damages to punish the defendants for their “willfully unlawful actions.”

“Some change needs to happen, some different policies need to happen, because no one should endure what I went through,” Montgomery told ABC7 Chicago. “You come to work to work, not to go through things.”

On Wednesday CDOT said in a statement: “While we cannot comment on pending litigation, the Chicago Department of Transportation takes any claims of discrimination and harassment seriously.”

The Chicago Department of Transportation has 21 days, or until June 3, to file a legal response.

‘Get Her Out of Here’: Black DOT Worker Allegedly Called ‘Lazy Woman’ and ‘Black Bi—h’ By Co-Workers While She Was Pregnant Sues City of Chicago for Failing To Stop the Harassment

Travis Kelce’s recent upgraded look scored praise online, but new photos of the NFL star have fans shaking their heads.

TMZ shared a shirtless picture of Kelce, 35, on the outlet’s Instagram page. The bearded Kansas City Chiefs tight end showed off his bare body while out in Florida on May 20.

Kelce had just finished an offseason workout with his former Chiefs teammate Ross Travis and his personal chef Kumar Ferguson. A photographer shot Kelce as he entered his vehicle.

Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, NFL player Travis Kelce, faces online scrutiny after photos of his bare back hit the internet. (Photo by XNY/Star Max/GC Images)

After pics of Travis’ hair-covered back hit the internet, social media users shared their takes on his latest appearance. For instance, someone tweeted, “That looks nothing like Kelce.”

“Damn, what happened to him?” one person in TMZ’s Instagram comment section asked in response to the images of the “New Heights” podcast host.

A second person declared, “He lost his sex appeal.” A third commenter stated, “He’s becoming less and less attractive.” A fourth added, “He used to be so fine until this relationship.”

Kelce’s famous girlfriend, 35-year-old Grammy Award winner Taylor Swift, was brought up numerous times as well. One critical comment read, “Taylor Swift ruins every man.”

“Damn, he’s never heard of laser hair, removal or waxing? I’m surprised Taylor Swift hasn’t gotten him to take care of that,” wondered another Instagram poster.

However, a Kelce defender expressed, “None of our business. He’s a grown man, back hair isn’t unusual.” Yet another supporter wrote, “Dad bod on fleek.”

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The Kelce and Swift romance first kicked off in July 2023 when Travis attended Taylor’s Eras Tour stop in Kansas City. By the end of that year, Swift was regularly seen at Chiefs games cheering on the three-time Super Bowl champion.

Swift became a focal point of media attention during Kansas City’s back-to-back playoff runs that ended at Super Bowl LVIII in 2024 and Super Bowl LIX in 2025, respectively. The “Shake It Off” hitmaker was often berated for supposedly hogging the spotlight since NFL cameras constantly cut to her in the stadiums’ luxury box.

“I’m just there to support Travis,” Swift explained in a December 2023 cover story for Time magazine. “I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads.”

While Swift has kept a mostly low profile in 2025, Kelce has stepped out several times since the Chiefs lost Super Bowl LIX to the Philadelphia Eagles in February. In early May, Snapshots of Travis posing in a preppy-inspired outfit in New York City earned generally positive feedback for his altered style.

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“They have been traveling nonstop and very much enjoy it,” an anonymous source told People in April as speculation of a possible breakup was gaining steam. “They are making the most of their time off together. They are hanging out with friends, too. It’s a special time for them.”

Swift was spotted out with Kelce in Philadelphia on May 11. The two A-listers celebrated Mother’s Day with members of both of their families, including Travis’ older brother and former NFL player, Jason Kelce.  

That outing to Philadelphia’s Talula’s Garden restaurant was the first time Kelce and Swift were seen together in public since a dinner date that took place in New York City back in March. They skipped the 2025 Met Gala to the surprise of many celebrity watchers.

According to reports, Kelce is currently living in a $20 million, 8,340-square-foot mansion in Boca Raton, Florida. He is said to be training at a local gym to prepare for the upcoming football season. It has not been confirmed if Swift joined him at the residence located in the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club.

‘That Looks Nothing Like Kelce’: Travis Kelce’s Shirtless Pic Has Fans Asking What Happened to Him as Taylor Swift Gets Blamed for Ruining His Look

Sarah Gladney first smelled the pungent odor on a recent morning outside her home in Boxtown, a predominantly Black community in southwest Memphis.

It wasn’t the “rotten cabbage” smell that was familiar to Gladney and her neighbors. This odor was more chemical, and she told “MLK 50: Justice Through Journalism” that she believes it emanates from the billionaire’s supercomputer located just one mile away from her home. 

“What do you have to compare to say that our health is not affected?” said Gladney, who’s lived in the neighborhood for 20 years and calls herself the “new kid on the block.” “Our health is our wealth.” 

Elon Musk attends the men’s final on day fourteen of the 2024 US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center on September 8, 2024 in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/GC Images)

In early April, the Southern Environmental Law Center reported that the Elon Musk-owned xAI supercomputer plant, dubbed Colossus, is powered by methane gas-burning turbines, which dump their exhaust into Boxtown and Southwest Memphis. The SELC found 35 gas turbines on the site, more than double the 15 that local officials had previously known since the facility opened in July.

The site is located in a main building the size of roughly 13 football fields. There, approximately 200,000 graphics processing units are housed to train Grok, Musk’s AI bot. According to NBC News, Musk was able to bring Colossus online in just 122 days and double its size in less than a year.

But that comes with a high cost. The SELC found the plant’s turbines “are violating critical limits on Hazardous Air Pollutants.” Such turbines emit formaldehyde, which can cause “acute respiratory inflammation.” These turbines also emit the hazardous pollutant nitrogen oxide, which is also linked to respiratory issues and smog formation.

In 2024, the county earned an “F” in ozone pollution prevention from the American Lung Association. For folks with asthma, Memphis is the 15th-most challenging place to live in America, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

Boxtown resident Alexis Humphreys, 27, a third-generation asthma sufferer, told representatives from the Shelby County Health Department and Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce, “I can’t breathe at home, it smells like gas outside.”

“How come I can’t breathe at home and y’all get to breathe at home?” she asked at a recent town hall.

The cumulative cancer rate is four times the national average, studies have found. The life expectancy of people living in District 9, which encompasses 38109 and three other ZIP codes in and around Boxtown, is lowest in the country.

And more problems are on the horizon. Bloomberg reports Colossus will also be using more electricity and water than is currently available in the city, according to the local utility provider, Memphis Light, Gas, and Water.

“We deserve to breathe clean air just like the communities out east,” Gladney said.

In late April, community members aired their concerns in a packed meeting to fight xAI’s permit approval. The plant’s senior manager, Brent Mayo, assured them its turbines would be equipped with technology to lower emissions, making it the “lowest-emitting facility in the country.”   

But Musk-owned companies have spotty reputations when it comes to maintaining environmental standards. Tesla, in California, and SpaceX, in Texas, have run afoul of regulators but have denied wrongdoing, NBC News reports.

But federal interference is not expected to be an issue for Musk, who has forged a close alliance with President Donald Trump. The new administration has already neutered the enforcement arm of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Meanwhile, Boxtown officials are touting the economic benefits xAI brings to the community.

Memphis Mayor Paul Young notes the tax revenue Musk’s supercomputer will bring and how the company is planning to build a water recycling facility.

But The Daily Memphian reports that the company is being taxed on a total investment of $2.2 billion, far shy of the $12 billion previously promised by the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce. Ted Townsend, president of the chamber, said the $33 million in tax revenue to the city and the county will still make xAI its second-largest taxpayer behind FedEx.

But Boxtown residents say you can’t put a price on good health.

Easter Knox, who lives just two miles from xAI, remembers when the since-closed Allen Fossil Plant left behind pits of toxic coal ash that the Tennessee Valley Authority only began removing in 2021. The Valero Memphis Refinery is also in the neighborhood, refining oil next to a public park. In 2021 and 2023, gas flaring at the facility released toxins into the air.

“They don’t need to be sending all this different pollution, the formaldehyde and the gas,” said Knox, 74, who moved to Boxtown in 1977. “We got a good little area, and I just really hate they’re bringing all these things to our area.”

The community pressure seems to be working. Through the Greater Memphis Chamber, xAI recently announced plans to remove some of the turbines within two months. 

And no gas turbines will be used at the 1-million-square-foot site in Whitehaven owned by the company.

KeShaun Pearson, president of Memphis Community Against Pollution, said the working-class neighborhood will not be the “easy target” it has been in the past.

“They always come to southwest Memphis,” Pearson said. “They always come to what they believe is the path of least resistance.”

He vows to carry on the fight against xAI.

“Until we see all of the turbines removed from South Memphis, there’s nothing to celebrate, and there’s nothing to believe,” he said. “We believe in facts down here.” 

“A decade of continued failure has to end here with this illegal pollution of our community. We are not a sacrifice zone for the profits of a Billionaire with Technocratic fantasies. Sacrificing our health for the ambitions of an oligarch who doesn’t live here or care about us is insane,” he said in a Facebook post.

‘Not a Sacrifice Zone for the Profits of a Billionaire’: Black Memphis Community Fights Back Against Elon Musk’s Toxic Supercomputer Plant That’s Pushing Pollutants In Air

A California cop who shot and killed a fleeing man claimed the man had tossed a gun over a fence before hopping over it, prompting the cop to fire several rounds through the fence.

But attorneys for Robert Brown, a 28-year-old biracial father of a 6-year-old boy, accused San Bernardino police of planting the gun because it was not found until 30 minutes after he had been shot.

It’s difficult to tell from the police body camera if Brown did indeed toss a gun over the fence but even if he did there is no evidence on the video that he ever pointed a gun at the officer, Jackson Tubbs, a motorcycle cop who attempted to pull Brown over for a vehicle code violation on December 27, 2023.

The family of Robert Brown, who was killed by police after they tried pulling him over for a vehicle code violation, accepts $4.9 million settlement. (Photo: body camera)

Earlier this month, Brown’s family agreed to a $4.9 million settlement for a lawsuit filed in December 2024. Most of the money will go into a bank account when his son turns 18. It was an unusually quick settlement, considering most of these lawsuits can drag on for years before a settlement is agreed upon.

“Robert hopped a fence,” stated a press release sent to the media by Brad Gage Law, the Southern California law firm representing Brown’s family. 

“Both of his hands were visible, and he had no weapon. When Robert landed in a backyard with children’s toys present, Officer Tubbs allegedly shot him. It took quite a while before Robert died. He suffered a painful, gruesome and horrible death.”

The federal lawsuit obtained by Atlanta Black Star states that “decedent used both hands to hop a fence. At no time did the decedent show or point a weapon towards TUBBS or anyone else.”  

“Nevertheless, TUBBS shot the decedent multiple times through a fence around the backyard of 1232 Crestview Avenue,” the claim states.

Watch the video below.

Vehicle Code Violation

Body camera video shows Tubbs was riding a motorcycle when he attempted to pull Brown over for an unspecified vehicle code violation, but Brown refused to pull over. Police said Brown had a warrant for his arrest, which is likely why he fled.

The video shows Tubbs pursuing Brown through several blocks before Brown stopped his vehicle in front of a house, then ran into the backyard. Tubbs stopped his bike and started pursuing him on foot.

At one point, as he was running into a residential backyard, Brown appeared to drop an object before stooping down to pick it up. Police say it was a gun.

Brown continued running and placed both hands on the fence before scaling it, which was actually a combination of two different fences next to each other, including a wooden fence and a chain-link fence.

Tubb ran up to the fence and fired five shots through a gap in the wooden fence before scaling the fence himself.

“Get on the ground!” Tubbs yelled at Brown, who was standing near a shed with his hands up, before he fell into the shed and to the ground.

Brown was sitting on the ground with both his arms extended to his side, showing his hands to be empty, as the cop ordered him to lie facedown on the ground.

“Get on your stomach right now!” Tubbs yelled as more San Bernardino cops started scaling the fence from the other side.

Several cops then pounced on Brown, piling on top of him with one cop yelling at him to “get your hands behind your back!”

Once he is handcuffed, the cops repeatedly tell Brown to “relax” as he struggles to position himself to breathe better, as blood is coming out of his mouth.

“Hey, hey, hey, relax,” a cop told him as he struggled to breathe.

“F_ck you,” Brown responded.

He was pronounced dead later that day at a local hospital.

The lawsuit filed by Brown’s sister, Victoria Brown, accused the cops of unreasonable seizure, battery and negligence. 

It also accuses San Bernardino Police Chief Darren L. Goodman of promoting “policies wherein police officers were ordered and encouraged to stop, detain, arrest, forcefully seize, and/or prosecute members of our community.”

According to the claim, the cops falsified evidence and submitted false police reports:

Chief Goodman ratified the unconstitutional actions of subordinates by continually rewarding officers for unconstitutional conduct through awards, positive evaluations, better assignments, promotions, and increased income/overtime.

Thus, the policy, practice and custom of defendants resulted in violating the rights of people to be free from violating equal protection, unreasonable seizures, unlawful arrests, and excessive force.

Thereafter in violation of Plaintiffs’ due process rights Defendants proceeded to falsify evidence and submit false police reports as well as to delay medical treatment so that the decedent would die.

Although police said Brown had a warrant for his arrest when they tried to pull him over, he was driving a car registered to his father, who does not have a criminal record, so that information would not have been available to Tubbs when he tried to pull him over for the code violation.

“He didn’t deserve to die like that,” Brown’s father, Willie Brown, told ABC 7 last year. “He didn’t deserve to die. He ran, so what? To shoot him in his back?” 

A similar incident took place in 2022 when San Bernardino police shot a 23-year-old Black man named Robert Adams in the back, resulting in a $4 million settlement last year.

‘Didn’t Deserve to Die Like That’: Califorina Cop Fatally Shot Fleeing Man In His Back Through Fence. Now City Must Pay His Family $4.9M

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ alleged affinity for narcotics and partying has created scandalous buzz about a former president.

Combs, 55, is currently on day 7 of his federal trial for racketeering and sex crimes charges.

During week 2 of testimony, the court heard from his former personal assistant, David James, who revealed details about the New Yorker’s rumored substance addiction.

James, who worked for the mogul between 2007 and 2009, told prosecutors that one of his duties was to maintain a supply of medications for Diddy. At any given time, he had as many as 25 to 30 bottles of pills.

Barack Obama’s name was salacious mentioned during week two of Diddy’s trial following claims from Diddy’s former assistant. (Photos by Spencer Platt/Getty Images; Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images for Sean “Diddy” Combs)

“There were various pills, but one was in the form of a former president’s face. … President Obama,” he alleged about Barack Obama-themed ecstasy tablets in court on May 20.

Other medications included over-the-counter pain relievers like Advil and Tylenol. “He had water pills to help him lose weight. He had Viagra in there. Some pills to help increase his sperm count. He had ecstasy and Percocet in there as well,” said David on the witness stand about the toiletry bag he kept on hand. 

Mention of Obama’s name in the trial is warped into the tales of sinister freak-offs, drug-fueled sex marathons between the disgraced music executive, singer Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, and sex workers. The Democratic political figure is not accused of participating in the nefarious allegations launched against Diddy. 

UPDATE: Diddy the Diddler

Diddy Trial Today Revealed Obama-Shaped Ecstasy Pills in Testimony

The testimony was given by David James, who was Sean "Diddy" Combs' former personal assistant and sometimes drug mule. https://t.co/dveSf4uNoe pic.twitter.com/BJTBS8vxyM

— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) May 20, 2025

The latest details were met with an outpouring of reactions online. For starters, one person remarked, “Drugs with the former President’s face on them. Not a fan of Obama but that’s actually disrespectful in my opinion.”

Several others shared similar sentiments about the Obama-shaped pills. 

A second person quipped, “Obama had absolutely nothing to do with this, smdh.”

Thirdly, an individual wrote, “What a way to memorialize someone who was allegedly regarded as an inspiration for P0C to have risen to such a place of honor. Drugs with his image. Trash. Just gutter, ghetto trash.”

Referring to specific headlines in the news another added, “It’s highly misleading to say former President Obama was “dragged into Diddy scandal” when his name was merely mentioned for sensational purposes as part of this guy’s testimony.”

FLASHBACK: Obama expressed strong appreciation for Diddy in the past.

"When you wanna be the President of the United States, you call your man, call MTV," Diddy told Obama over 20 years ago.

Summer 2004 pic.twitter.com/e6bGljVFPY

— Resist the Mainstream (@ResisttheMS) May 15, 2025

Diddy notoriously rallied support for the then-Illinois senator in 2004. When the two men crossed paths that year, Obama praised Diddy for being a “motivating force for young people all across the country. Your music moves people. You’re a trendsetter.”

“But part of what we’re trying to do is to make sure we’re setting a trend in terms of political participation,” the future president added.

The author of “A Promised Land” was also the subject of the “All About the Benjamins” rapper’s “Vote or Die” campaign in 2008, which motivated Black voters to get to the polls. His support of the politician continued during his reelection efforts in 2012.

Cassie Ventura sat on the witness stand during the first few days of Diddy’s trial, followed by former Danity Kane and Dirty Money singer Dawn Richards, who confirmed some accounts of Cassie’s abuse at the hands of Diddy. A federal agent, a male exotic dancer as well as Cassie’s former best friend of 17 years, Kerry Morgan, also took the stand.

On May 20, Regina Ventura, Cassie’s mom also testified that she took out a loan and wired Diddy $20K after he threatened to release a sex tape of her daughter over Cassie’s alleged relationship with rapper Kid Cudi.

‘Obama Had Absolutely Nothing to Do with This’: Fans Rush to Barack Obama’s Defense After Diddy’s Former Assistant Testifies to Bizarre Link Between Former President and the Rapper’s Party Lifestyle

A sheriff’s deputy in Sacramento who was fired after bodycam footage showed him swearing at, then shoving a woman to the ground out of a jailhouse, is now being charged for the incident.

The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office charged Matthew Gurich with one felony count of unlawful assault by a public officer.

Body camera footage captures interaction between a citizen and deputies. (Credit: Sacramento Police Department Video Screengrab)

Gurich was seen on body camera and surveillance videos forcefully shoving 71-year-old Ourinia Thimmhardy out of the downtown Sacramento jail on Oct. 7, 2024, after completing her release paperwork and escorting her from the facility.

The bodycam footage shows Thimmardy speaking with Gurich and requesting clarification as she signs multiple release forms. As she pauses between forms to make conversation, a visibly frustrated Gurich repeatedly asks her to focus on penning her signature.

At one point, he places a hand on her shoulder and asks her again to concentrate on signing the forms. When she asks him not to touch her and to stand back, he states, “You need to stop f***ing talking and just listen to us.”

Once Gurich, accompanied by other deputies, begins escorting Thimmardy out of the jail, he starts pushing her.

“Don’t push me,” Thimmardy states while attempting to nudge his hand off her shoulder.

“Shut the f*** up,” Gurich responds while putting her arm behind her back and physically shoving her toward the exit.

“What are you doing?!” Thimmardy exclaims.

As Thimmardy protests the treatment and threatens to file a complaint, Gurich tells her, “You’ll be OK,” before shoving her hard out of the exit, causing her to fall. Thimmardy audibly moans in pain, but Gurich and his partners walk back inside the jail, leaving her on the ground.

A Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said Gurich was placed on administrative leave following the incident and then was officially terminated on March 14, the Sacramento Bee reported.

Thimmardy is expected to file a lawsuit next week.

According to her attorney, the 71-year-old has a documented history of mental health issues. According to KXTV, she had to undergo surgery for a broken femur and was hospitalized for three months. During her hospitalization, her husband suffered a heart attack and died.

Her attorney says that, now, she cannot “climb stairs” and will require the assistance of care workers due to her injuries.

“Time has run out for the need to make substantial changes in the way the county deals with jail inmates from the top down,” attorney Mark Merin said. “There has to be training, there has to be staff accountability and they have to look at people who are in custody as human beings, who need care and help and not mistreatment.

In a statement about the charges against Gurich, the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office said, “It is our ethical duty to follow the law and facts when we prosecute all cases. Because these are pending cases, we cannot comment any further.”

‘Don’t Push Me!’: Sacramento Cop Who Was Fired After He Was Caught on Video Forcefully Shoving a 71-Year-Old Woman Out of Jail Exit Has Been Charged with Felony Assault

A man wielding a power saw menaced a Black woman looking for a parking spot on a side street in Hollywood, California. The suspect, who shouted racial slurs and slashed the woman’s car, is still at large and is facing battery charges.

On May 13, a young Black woman, who chooses to remain unidentified for safety reasons, was looking for a parking spot on Lodi Place, just a few blocks from the famous Sunset and Vine intersection, when she encountered a truck that was blocking the narrow road.

Her car was forced to come to a stop outside the storied Hollywood Studio Club, the historic all-female dormitory that was once home to Marilyn Monroe, Kim Novak, and other Golden Era stars.

Video screenshots show a man after he reaches into a woman’s car. (Photo: YouTube screenshot/KTLA)

But that glamour is long gone. On this recent evening, the woman asked two white men to move their truck and received a torrent of hateful backlash.

The two men, both bald and wearing black T-shirts, reportedly began screaming profanities and racial slurs, including the N-word, local news station KTLA 5 reported. One of the men aggressively approached her open passenger side window, and the scary interaction was caught on video.

“He stuck his hand actually inside and reached at me and reached at my phone, and that’s when I took out my pepper spray and deployed it to mace him, and then he backed away,” she told the outlet.

But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, he soon returned. The suspect had gone inside the garage of a house under construction at 1228 Lodi Place, where the offending truck was parked, and grabbed a power saw, the woman described. Like a scene straight out of a horror film, he approached the woman and began wildly slashing at her car.

“I was just honestly too stunned to speak or move at that point, but I was still managing to record on my phone to hear what was going on,” she told the outlet while remaining off-camera to protect her privacy.

The man approached her passenger window again, but this time with the saw, and struck her car several times. In the chaotic video, you can hear the power saw’s metallic screech amid the woman’s panicked screams. “At that point, that’s when I decided to call 911.”

During the ordeal, it appears that the woman dropped her phone, and the attack itself is not visible, but she took photos of the damage to her car, which she estimates to be upwards of $1,000. Unfortunately, by the time the police arrived, the man with the saw had disappeared.

Authorities spoke to the other man involved, and according to his statement, he denied knowing the suspect. He indicated the man was not part of his construction crew, but a complete stranger who had been walking down the sidewalk and suddenly offered to help with his equipment, reported KTLA 5.

“I was terrified. I was stuck in fear, but I just knew from the moment that he made the first initial racial comment that I just had to record,” recounted the woman, who was shaken up but not injured during the attack.

The suspect, who is clearly visible on the video, is still on the loose, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall, in his 50s or older, with green eyes, a mustache, and a scar on his left middle finger.

‘I Was Terrified’: White California Man Allegedly Threatens Black Woman with a Power Saw After Hurling Racial Slurs Over Parking Dispute. He Didn’t Expect What She Would Do Next

For several months, whenever Renee Williams walked into a store to make a purchase or answered a phone call about her bank account, she half-joked: “Let me check if I’m still alive today.” But behind her dry wit and slight grin is an ordeal that’s no laughing matter.

For more than six months, the West Philadelphia woman has been fighting to reverse the fallout from a Social Security Administration error that mistakenly declared her dead. The glitch landed her on the agency’s “Death Master File” — a government list that’s supposed to track the deceased — and triggered a cascade of life-altering disruptions: her bank accounts froze, health insurance vanished, and monthly retirement benefits were delayed or cut off without warning.

Social Security Administration if facing lawsuits and pushback from elderly incorrectly declared dead. (Credit: WBAL Video Screengrab)

“I go to sleep at night and think about if they’re going to cut me off again, not knowing day-to-day what’s going to happen to my benefits,” Williams said, according to CBS News Philadelphia.

While she’s managed to claw back some control — switching insurance providers and getting monthly checks again — the ordeal continues to leave scars. As of early May, Williams was still untangling issues related to her credit cards and banking.

“It’s a pain in the behind,” she said last November. That sentiment hasn’t changed much.

Her experience isn’t unique — and now, it’s the foundation for a broader legal fight. Philadelphia consumer protection attorney Jim Francis has launched a proposed class action lawsuit targeting the Social Security Administration on behalf of people wrongly listed as deceased.

“These are all people who are going about their normal lives, and all of the sudden, they lose access to all of their benefits, their pension, their medical insurance and they become financially paralyzed,” Francis said. “It’s a really serious problem and in the world of data being misreported this is almost as bad as it gets, if not the worst.”

Francis is representing the family of Joyce Evans, a Baltimore woman whose death was misreported by the SSA in 2023. The family claims the error caused extensive financial and health issues and may have contributed to her death a few months later. The SSA has not responded to the lawsuit.

The agency maintains that its records are “highly accurate,” stating that of the more than three million deaths reported each year, “less than one-third of one percent” require correction. But even that tiny error rate translates into nearly 10,000 living Americans wrongly declared dead every year.

The issue has become more urgent amid significant staffing cuts. As of this spring, 7,000 SSA employees were terminated due to DOGE cuts. At the same time, the Trump administration has taken aim at the opposite problem: stopping payments that continue to go to individuals who are actually deceased. A recent Inspector General audit revealed the SSA made about $300 million in improper payments over a five-year span from 2018 to 2022.

And while Williams is still navigating the aftermath, another woman’s life has unraveled over a much longer timeline.

Madeline-Michelle Carthen, a 52-year-old from St. Louis, Missouri, discovered her name was on the Death Master File back in 2007, just as she was preparing for a summer internship in Ghana through Webster University. What started as a clerical error turned into a 17-year nightmare.

“A nightmare of corruption. No oversight with government. It’s like a haunting,” Carthen said to local station KDSK in a 2023 interview. “I got denied my financial aid. Now, they’re saying, ‘Prove to us you’re not dead.’”

At first, Carthen thought it was some kind of mix-up.

“I laughed,” she recalled. “I said, ‘What do you mean? I’m sitting right here. I’ve been at school over a year and a half. … How am I dead? Is this going to affect my international internship?’”

SSA issued her a letter affirming she was alive, but the error had already been broadcast across multiple federal systems.

“Well, it got worse because it wasn’t creditors,” she said. “Being in the Death Master File, it went to the IRS, it went to the Department of Homeland Security, it went to E-verify, all of these things. It just started affecting my life.”

The consequences were devastating. Carthen was forced to quit school and lost multiple jobs because human resources departments couldn’t process her payroll. She’s been unable to secure housing and currently lives with her sister because she can’t get a mortgage.

“Sometimes I can get a job, and then within so many months, there’s going to be a problem. So it’s like I can get it, and then it’s yanked back from me. But I don’t know when it’s going to be yanked back,” she said. “I just know I’m alive. I don’t care what A.I. says or software says, but I’m alive. But it’s hard to prove that.”

She changed her name and was issued a new Social Security number in 2021, hoping to close the chapter for good. But even the new number was flagged, thanks to its tie to her old identity.

St. Louis consumer protection attorney Creighton Cohn says being declared dead affects every corner of someone’s life. “It can really impact every single aspect of your life,” Cohn told the station for the 2023 report. “So the first is to figure out where the information came from, so get your credit report.”

Carthen filed a $12 million federal lawsuit against the SSA and other agencies in 2019. It was dismissed under sovereign immunity, the legal doctrine that often shields the federal government from lawsuits.

David Seymour, an SSA spokesperson, reiterated that the agency receives three million death reports a year and that errors are rare. But for people like Carthen, that’s little comfort.

“I don’t know how this is going to work out,” she said. “I just keep advocating and fighting, and when I say fighting, within my spirit. Sometimes, I wanna give up, but my faith is too strong. I don’t care if it takes 20 years. I’m going to still do what I got to do to make this situation right, not just for myself but for others.”

The Social Security Administration advises anyone who believes they’ve been incorrectly listed as deceased to immediately contact their local SSA office and bring an original form of identification to begin the correction process.

But as both Williams and Carthen have found, proving you’re alive in the eyes of the government can take years —and in the meantime, it can feel like the system has already buried you.

‘It’s a Pain In the Behind’: A Philadelphia Woman Nearly Lost Everything After She Was Declared Dead By Mistake. Social Security Administration Calls a Statistical Fluke — But It’s Ruining Lives

Actress LisaRaye McCoy has social media buzzing after sharing what many fans are calling an X-rated intimate massage session on Instagram.

The 56-year-old “Players Club” star recently posted footage of herself receiving a full-body massage from a well-built male therapist, showcasing techniques that had her followers doing double-takes and questioning whether the encounter crossed professional boundaries.

LisaRaye McCoy sparked conversation after posting a steamy video of her getting a massage. (Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)

The viral video features McCoy in a fully relaxed state as her masseur, identified as Greg Savage, works methodically across her body with slow, deliberate motions.

The session includes moments where Savage manipulates McCoy’s limbs into various stretched positions, twisting her body in what she described as a “pretzel experience.” Throughout the video, the therapist can be seen gently stroking her arms, thighs, and back while McCoy appears completely at ease with the therapeutic experience.

The “All of Us” captioned the joint post with the massage therapist, “@thatsgregsavage You definitely made a believer out of me. The pretzel experience (Thai massage) followed by the deep tissue table work was just what I needed. Thank you so much for stretching me.”

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A post shared by LisaRaye McCoy (@thereallraye1)

She added, “If you’re looking for a body healing Personal trainer. @thatsgregsavage got me right. Currently serving the Greater Las Vegas NV area but travels too. Stay tuned cause I will be back.”

The clip quickly accumulated thousands of likes and comments, with reactions ranging from shocked disapproval to enthusiastic support.

Some viewers expressed concern about the sensual aspect of the massage techniques displayed in the video.

“This is bulls—t. If I am professional or not he is doing too much. This is more than a massage. Do your own stretching unless it’s your mate. F—k that,” one commenter wrote, clearly bothered by what they perceived as inappropriate contact.

Another viewer kept their critique brief but pointed, joking, “This n—ga selling more than yoga.”

Some fans seemed conflicted about the professional nature of the rubdown.

“I’m a real man. I know what he was thinking. Lisa Raye. He kept it professional. If you were my girl you had let a female do that to you not no man,” wrote one follower, suggesting that while the massage therapist maintained professionalism, the interaction might still be too intimate for someone in a relationship.

Not all reactions were negative, however. Several followers expressed admiration for both the service and McCoy’s openness about her self-care routine.

“He’s stretching all, of the parts of a woman’s body that needs it. And I admire his professionalism. Shoot, I need a good stretch like that,” one enthusiastic fan commented, wishing she could be in her place.

Another viewer wanted to swap places with Savage, “I need to apply for this job. I like stretching women and massaging.”

While the massage session raised eyebrows among some viewers, it’s worth noting that the post served a dual purpose as both personal content and a business promotion. McCoy’s tag and endorsement of Savage’s services highlighted that this wasn’t just a private indulgence but also a strategic collaboration to boost the massage therapist’s visibility among her 2.3 million followers.

Thai massage, often referred to as “assisted yoga,” typically involves more stretching and joint manipulation than traditional massage techniques.

Practitioners use their hands, knees, legs, and feet to move clients into a series of yoga-like stretches, which can appear more interactive and physically engaging than standard massage approaches.

This isn’t the first time McCoy has publicly shared her massage experiences.

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A post shared by CHICAGO’S MASSAGE THERAPIST (@apoetspalm_massage)

In December 2023, another massage therapist from A Poet’s Palm Massage proudly announced McCoy as a new client, praising her energy and describing their session as focusing on relieving her back pain. The therapist called working with McCoy “the best Christmas I have had in my life.”

The conversation around McCoy’s recent massage video highlights the sometimes blurry lines between professional wellness services and personal boundaries.

While professional massage therapy follows strict guidelines, according to the American Massage Therapy Association, about appropriate touch and client interaction, the public perception of these practices can vary widely, especially when shared on social media platforms where context might be limited.

For McCoy, who has long been known for her candid approach to life and wellness, the post represents her continued commitment to self-care and body maintenance as she embraces her mid-50s with the same confidence that has defined her decades-long career in Hollywood.

Whether viewers see it as too intimate or perfectly professional, McCoy’s massage video has certainly accomplished one thing: getting people talking.

‘This Is More Than a Massage’: LisaRaye McCoy’s Sultry Workout Clip Has Fans Wondering What They’re Really Watching

President Donald Trump is demanding a “major investigation” into celebrities like Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey and Bono, purporting that they were illegally paid to endorse former Vice President Kamala Harris during her 2024 presidential campaign.

In a late-night post on TruthSocial, Trump presumed that these major entertainers were compensated to endorse Harris personally and that their payments were cloaked as entertainment fees for performances at her campaign events. He posted no evidence to support these allegations.

“HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT? WHY DID HE ACCEPT THAT MONEY IF HE IS SUCH A FAN OF HERS? ISN’T THAT A MAJOR AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION? WHAT ABOUT BEYONCÉ? …AND HOW MUCH WENT TO OPRAH, AND BONO???” Trump wrote.

Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump and Beyoncè(Photos: Getty Images)

“I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter. Candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment. In addition, this was a very expensive and desperate effort to artificially build up her sparse crowds. IT’S NOT LEGAL! For these unpatriotic ‘entertainers,’ this was just a CORRUPT & UNLAWFUL way to capitalize on a broken system. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!”

Just hours after that post, Trump singled out Beyoncé, citing “news reports” that alleged she was paid $11 million to walk onto a stage and “quickly endorse” Kamala.

“According to news reports, Beyoncé was paid $11,000,000 to walk onto a stage, quickly ENDORSE KAMALA, and walk off to loud booing for never having performed, NOT EVEN ONE SONG! Remember, the Democrats and Kamala illegally paid her millions of Dollars for doing nothing other than giving Kamala a full throated ENDORSEMENT. THIS IS AN ILLEGAL ELECTION SCAM AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL! IT IS AN ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION! BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, OPRAH, BONO AND, PERHAPS, MANY OTHERS, HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO!!!” Trump’s post read.

Beyoncé rarely responds directly to online criticism or controversy, maintaining a distance that keeps her above most public feuds. This lack of engagement leaves her fans to take up the mantle of defense, often with even greater intensity.

Beyoncé’s fanbase, known as the Beyhive, is famously passionate and protective. Historically, they have mobilized en masse to defend her against perceived slights, often flooding critics’ social media with bee emojis and harsh responses.

“The BeyHive is not going to be happy!!!! That’s a fight I think Trump won’t win!,” one person said on X.

Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, denounced those allegations months ago, stating her daughter “did not receive a penny for speaking at a Presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris’s Rally in Houston. In fact, she actually paid for her own flights for her and her team, and total Glam.”

Campaign finance records show that Harris’ campaign paid Beyoncé’s production company, Parkwood Production Media LLC, $165,000 a month after the Houston event.

Oprah Winfrey and her team have also previously stated that Winfrey received “no personal fees,” after Harris’s campaign paid her production company, Harpo Productions, $1 million last October to cover the costs for a town hall Winfrey’s production company helped put together in Michigan.

“The campaign paid for the production costs of ‘Unite for America,’ a livestreaming event that took place Sept. 19 outside Detroit, Mich.,” a spokesperson for Harpo said in a statement to Variety. “Oprah Winfrey was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo.”

Trump’s accusations come shortly after intense criticism from Springsteen at a concert on the European leg of his “Land, Hope, Dreams Tour.” Springsteen told audience members in Manchester, England, that America “is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.”

The president went after Springsteen a day later, calling him a “pushy, obnoxious JERK,” and a “dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker.”

“I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States. Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country. This dried out ’prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare.’ Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”

But a defiant Springsteen did not let up on his backlash. According to the Los Angeles Times, he only doubled down on the denunciation at a second concert in Manchester on May 17.

“In my home, they’re persecuting people for their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. That’s happening now,” Springsteen said. “In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. That’s happening now. In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers.”

After the 2024 election, the Harris campaign denied paying personal fees to artists or performers. Campaign advisors told Deadline that campaign finance laws required them to pay for some performance costs related to travel or production, but they stressed that the campaign had followed all campaign finance laws “religiously.”

“We do not pay. We have never paid any artist and performer. We have never paid a fee to that person,” Adrienne Elrod, senior adviser and senior spokesperson for the Harris campaign, stated. “There are laws that have to be followed that we have followed religiously on this campaign.”

‘A Fight Trump… Won’t Win’: Donald Trump Issued Warning After Threatening to Launch ‘Major Investigation’ Into Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé, and Oprah Winfrey

Chrissy Teigen says alcohol is a “f—king beast” that she cannot seem to overcome.

The model has been on a four-year sobriety journey and has had her fair share of milestones and restarts. However, in a recent update, she admitted to fans, “I let it back into my life.”

She made the admission in a May 15 Instagram post. Ironically, she was promoting the “30 Days to a New Relationship with Alcohol” episode of her “Self-Conscious with Chrissy Teigen” podcast featuring guest Holly Whitaker.

In the post, the model posed with a copy of Whitaker’s book “Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol.”

Chrissy Teigen ditches sobriety journey years after expressing immense regret for her boozy mishaps as husband John Legend has stood by her side. (Photo: @chrissyteigen/Instagram)

Teigen said she had been “dreading” the episode’s release because of her own vices.

“The truth is, I don’t know what I’m doing. I one hundred percent know I like me better sober. … I absolutely feel better in my body without it. And I am one hundred percent pissed that I can’t be normal and have a cocktail with my husband on vacay without it turning into 8 and feeling like s—t,” she wrote. 

The wife of singer John Legend further noted, “I’m tired of throwing up on a Tuesday…All I know is my relationship with the whole process of sobriety (and messing up) has changed for the better. I am deeply aware of where this can go if I let it.”

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A post shared by chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen)

The former Sports Illustrated model said her plan is to remain “mindful.” She expressed pride in knowing that “photos of my kid’s birthday parties are no longer me with bleary, sleepy drinking eyes…But I still know my relationship with alcohol just isn’t normal and never will be.”

Legend wrote, “Always proud of you.”

A supporter commented, “Your honesty and vulnerability is so commendable.” A second follower remarked, “This is so relatable. Thank you for sharing openly. I feel a lot of this!” Countless other spectators quipped that the Cravings founder was shamelessly using her addiction to generate press.

Chrissy Teigen’s "stupid moments" have strengthened her commitment to sobriety. #HollywoodBeautyAwards pic.twitter.com/lbEuS5rLPM

— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) March 21, 2022

One such reaction read, “No one overshares quite like this one. Sooooo needy for attention.” And a second person declared, “She has phony written all over her. She has never appeared genuine to me.”

Teigen previously disclosed that moments of “immense regrets” helped steer her toward sobriety. At times, she shared day-by-day updates, marking her longest stretch without booze in 2022 when she celebrated one year without the vice.

‘Had Phony Written All Over Her’: Fans Are Skeptical of Chrissy Teigen After Her Relapse Revelation Four Years Into Her Sobriety Journey

CNN commentator Van Jones is under fire from the left for comments about Joe Biden’s ill-fated 2024 presidential campaign.

Jones was interviewed Sunday by CNN’s Jake Tapper, who has also come under significant fire from both the left and right for his book, “Original Sin: “President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” which alleges the former president’s inner circle, including his family and longtime allies, tried to dupe voters by obscuring Biden’s noticeable cognitive decline.

The Dream Corps President & Co-Founder and CNN Host Van Jones speaks onstage at the EMA IMPACT Summit at Montage Beverly Hills on May 21, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Environmental Media Association)

Critics say Tapper is profiting off a cover-up in which he allegedly participated, while Jones’ full-throated endorsement of the book’s criticisms of the Biden re-election effort angered many Democratic loyalists who already believe Jones, a former Barack Obama advisor, is too conciliatory with MAGA.

Jones said the actions of Biden’s closest advisors to shield the public are a “crime against this republic” because they helped usher in Donald Trump’s second term.

“This is the emperor’s new clothes playing itself out in real time,” Jones said. “I was shocked to see his condition (during his debate with Trump), and so was the world. There are people who knew and said nothing. “

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A post shared by Atlanta Black Star (@atlblackstar)

Jones predicted Democrats would pay a political price for the scandal “for a long time.”

On X, Jones was accused of always following the popular narrative.

“In case you haven’t noticed, Van Jones goes anyway the wind (and the money) goes,” wrote one X user.

Progressive podcaster Dean Obeidallah got personal, writing, “CNN commentator Van Jones tells Jake Tapper that Democrats will face long-term political consequences for what he called a ‘massive cover-up of Joe Biden’s cognitive decline during his final year in office.'”

“Translation: Van has to help CNN’s Jake Tapper sell books,” Obeidallah said.

Another X user said Jones’ condemnation of Biden’s inner circle reflects a political conversion of sorts.

“I have never liked Van Jones!!! He’s a MAGA synochoph,” he said.

Trump supporters seized upon the comments, citing Tapper’s book and Jones’ criticism as proof of what they’ve been alleging all along.

“Wild to see Democrat supporters now admitting the party covered up Biden’s mental decline,” opined one Trump supporter. “It was obvious to anyone actually watching him — but hearing Van Jones call it out confirms what we already knew.”

Anyone else think it is morally reprehensible that Jake Tapper and Van Jones are trying to act that they had no idea about Biden’s mental acuity?” wrote another Trump supporter. “They were in on MSM’s gaslighting America about Joe’s cognitive decline. Anyone with eyes and a functioning brain could see the truth.”

But while the Biden forces are on the offense some observers say the criticisms from Jones, and Tapper, are warranted.

“Probably the most honest thing Van Jones has ever said in his career,” said another X user. “In fact I had to read it twice!”

The interview aired the same day that Biden, 82, announced that he has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones. 

The diagnosis followed a recent medical examination prompted by worsening urinary symptoms and the discovery of a prostate nodule.

‘Goes Anyway the Money Goes’: Van Jones Dragged Online for Saying Democrats Will Pay Price for Covering Up Biden’s Cognitive Woes ‘for a Long Time’ In Jake Tapper Interview

The family of a 5-year-old girl shot and wounded during a police chase at a Fulton County gas station in metro Atlanta has filed a sweeping federal lawsuit against the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and a former deputy, alleging recklessness and a history of misconduct.

The shooting happened on June 23, 2024, at a BP station on Fulton Industrial Boulevard during a high-speed pursuit of 25-year-old Rashauny Mike Palmer, who had avoided being taken into custody and led deputies on a chase from Douglas County into Fulton County before crashing near the gas station.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, Palmer, who was unarmed, ran to the station and climbed into the backseat of a BMW occupied by Aaliyah Adams, her daughter Skylar, and her husband. That’s when Deputy Thomas Samples opened fire, hitting Skylar in the upper right arm.

Skylar Adams was wounded on June 23, 2024, by a Douglas County Sheriff Deputy. (Photo: YouTube screenshot/11 Alive)

“This little girl is lucky to be alive,” said attorney Ben Crump in a statement. “Not only do we need officers like this to be held accountable, we need to hold accountable the departments that hire and protect them.”

The child’s injuries were described as non-life-threatening, and a Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) probe is ongoing, according to local media reports. The GBI later said Skylar was likely struck by a ricocheting bullet fragment.

Palmer was arrested at the scene and now faces multiple charges, including attempted murder, kidnapping, escape, terroristic threats, obstruction, and cruelty to children.

But the family and their attorneys — Crump, Bakari Sellers, and Mario Pacella — say Palmer wasn’t the biggest danger that day. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, the lawsuit argues that Samples acted with no regard for innocent lives when he opened fire near gas pumps and into a car without determining whether anyone was in immediate danger.

“This is a failure at every level,” said Sellers. “Not only did Deputy Samples have no business shooting into that car wounding a defenseless child, he should never have been a cop in the first place.”

The lawsuit outlines a “troubling pattern” of violent and reckless behavior by Samples — both before and during his time at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. Prior to being hired in 2022, Samples was charged in a road rage incident in which he allegedly pointed a handgun at a young woman. 

In March 2024, he was ordered to undergo remedial training after he Tased and arrested someone in their home without verifying that a crime had occurred. Later that same month, he was suspended for a dangerous high-speed pursuit, during which he ran a red light at 129 mph. On June 3, 2024, just weeks before the shooting, Samples was removed from the Emergency Response Team after failing a basic firearms qualification during SWAT training at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center.

“This isn’t a one-time mistake,” Pacella said, referring to the shooting of the young victim. “This is a history of recklessness and negligence. The fact that the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office gave Thomas Samples a badge and then let him keep it despite these documented incidents is a threat to all of us.”

The lawsuit seeks a jury trial, as well as compensatory and punitive damages. It also challenges the sheriff’s office directly, alleging it was negligent in hiring and retaining Samples despite a clear record of violent and reckless behavior.

“This little girl is lucky to be alive,” Crump repeated. “Innocent lives are at risk, and if you can’t take that seriously then you have no business wearing a badge.”

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the pending legal case, citing active litigation, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

‘Lucky to Be Alive’: Family of 5-Year-Old Girl Who Was Shot By Georgia Deputy In Pursuit of Unarmed Suspect Sues, Citing Pattern of Misconduct and Reckless Use of Force

An Atlanta-area school bus driver has been placed on administrative leave and is facing criminal investigation after allegedly forcing a hapless 6-year-old girl off the bus during a violent rainstorm and leaving her alone nearly a mile from home.

Kaylani Davis, a first-grade student at Flat Rock Elementary School in DeKalb County, had to cross a busy road on May 12 in the early morning downpour before a neighbor found her screaming for help, according to 11Alive News. 

“She was like, ‘Can you please help me?’” said Iasha Parker, who was checking her mailbox on Athena Drive in Stonecrest when she heard the girl screeching for help. “She said the bus driver threw me off the bus, and I said, ‘Hold on — she did what?’”

Iasha Parker was shocked after learning her daughter was kicked off a DeKalb County Schools bus in the rain. (Photo: YouTube screenshot/Fox 5 Atlanta)

Parker knew the family and quickly called Kaylani’s mother. “I said the bus driver threw your baby off the school bus; I got your baby right here.”

Alicia McClendon, Kaylani’s mother, said she was speechless. Just moments earlier, around 6:45 a.m., she dropped off her daughter and expected her to arrive safely at school. 

“I get a call 15 to 20 minutes later stating that my daughter is walking the streets in the rain, just crying and screaming for help,” McClendon said. “I’m more relieved that my baby made it home to me, but I do need answers. It could’ve been handled way better than that.”

The bus driver involved has not been publicly identified by DeKalb County Schools or law enforcement. District officials have only referred to the individual as a “transportation employee,” while an investigation remains ongoing. 

It’s not clear whether a criminal case will be opened, but McClendon made it clear she intended to press charges.

According to both Kaylani and her mother, the driver became angry after the child spoke on the bus, though it’s not clear exactly what the little girl said, but her words set the driver off. “She said, ‘You know what, I’m sick and tired of you,’ and then she grabbed me and dragged me off the bus,” Kaylani recounted.

The first grader found herself alone in a blinding rain, with no clue where she was or how to get home. Desperation kicked in, then tears, then panicked screams for help. 

“She was terrified, she was crying, she was screaming,” McClendon said. “She didn’t even know where she was. She didn’t know anything; she didn’t know what was going on.”

Kaylani described the ordeal as “horrible” — a hard lesson in how unforgiving the world can be, even for a 6-year-old just trying to get to school.

Parker comforted the child and took her home. “She calmed down, but she’s a child. When she saw her mama, she started crying, and I started crying too,” Parker said.

McClendon, still shaken, expressed gratitude to Parker. “Thank you for protecting my baby, you were there. Now I’m finna go to Flat Rock and we finna handle this, because this is unacceptable.”

The shock only deepened once she got to the school. According to McClendon, when she arrived, the bus driver was unloading other students and no one from the school seemed to know that Kaylani was missing.

Inside a room with the principal, school resource officers, the driver, and a transportation supervisor, McClendon was told that the driver had been explicitly instructed not to let Kaylani off the bus and leave her, as it would be considered abandonment. A separate bus was supposed to pick the child up—but it never showed.

“She deserves to be behind bars. Fired. Terminated. She needs more because it could’ve been her life,” McClendon said. “I trusted you all with her care. I cannot push that under the rug. I can’t and I won’t.”

In a statement, DeKalb County Schools acknowledged the incident and emphasized their commitment to safety:

“The safety and well-being of students and staff are the top priorities of the DeKalb County School District (DCSD), which takes any allegations of inappropriate or unlawful behavior seriously,” the statement read. “On May 12, the district received allegations concerning a transportation employee’s conduct directed toward a student. Given the nature of these accusations, the employee has been placed on administrative leave and is prohibited from entering any DCSD schools, properties, or fleet vehicles while DCSD police and Employee Relations investigate the matter.”

Meanwhile, the DeKalb County Police Department has opened its own investigation. 

Since the incident, Kaylani has refused to board a school bus again. Her mother now drives her to and from school.

“She’s very traumatized,” McClendon said. “It’s really shocking to us.”

‘Threw Me Off the Bus!’: : 6-Year-Old Forced Into Storm By Georgia School Driver and Left Screaming for Help Nearly a Mile From Home; Mom Demands Charges

It was clear from the dashcam video that Harris County Constable Roberto Felix Jr. placed himself in danger when he shot and killed a 24-year-old Black man named Ashtian Barnes in 2016 by hopping on the doorsill of the car as Barnes attempted to drive away from a traffic stop over less than $10 in unpaid tolls after he was ordered to step out of the car.

However, a Texas grand jury cleared Felix of criminal charges. Then a lawsuit filed by Barnes’ family was dismissed by two lower courts, including the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, because both courts focused solely on the two seconds Felix was clinging to the car on the doorsill rather than the moments leading up to the shooting which in this case, did not show Barnes to be a threat.

On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the lower courts, reviving the lawsuit by sending it back to the lower court under the orders that it must review the“totality of the circumstances” that led up to the shooting which is the precedent in the other circuit court of appeals throughout the United States.

The United States Supreme Court revived a lawsuit filed by the family of Ashtian Barnes, a 24-year-old Black man killed by police in a traffic stop over unpaid tolls in 2016. (Photo: Go Fund Me and body camera)

“Today, we reject that approach as improperly narrowing the requisite Fourth Amendment analysis,” Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the 17-page unanimous decision.

“To assess whether an officer acted reasonably in using force, a court must consider all the relevant circumstances, including facts and events leading up to the climactic moment.”

“In looking at only the two seconds before the shot, they excluded from view any actions of the officer that allegedly created the danger necessitating deadly force.”

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is one of 12 circuit courts that make up the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, presiding over regional geographical areas. 

It is one of four circuits that use the “moment-of-threat” rule rather than the “totality of circumstances” doctrine, meaning those circuits do not consider the events that led up to the shooting when determining if an excessive force lawsuit can move forward.

But the Supreme Court ruling should ensure that all circuits follow the totality of circumstances doctrine instead of the moment-of-threat rule, making it easier for excessive force lawsuits to move forward in the court system.

The Fifth Circuit, which presides over Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, is considered the most conservative and has been accused in the past of “dismantling democracy” and being a “rogue” circuit.

“The rogue 5th Circuit Court has helped undermine the separation of powers, established precedent, and principled legal reasoning to accomplish right-wing policy goals,” according to a May 2024 article from the Center for American Progress.

Another site, Democracy Docket, which accused the Fifth Circuit of dismantling democracy, cites seven “anti-democratic rulings” in a January 2024 article. Both sites were referring to actions unrelated to the Barnes’ case.

“In the past nine months alone, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has handed down seven anti-democratic rulings affecting voters in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas — the trio of states that fall within the circuit’s jurisdiction,” the Democracy Docket article states.

“Just two weeks ago, a three-judge panel of 5th Circuit judges unanimously greenlit the creation of an unelected court in Mississippi’s majority-Black capital of Jackson, with a judge and prosecutors appointed by white state officials.” 

The Shooting

Felix pulled over Barnes on April 28, 2016, in Houston, Texas, after receiving a radio alert that the Toyota Corolla Barnes was driving had outstanding toll violations totaling $6.45.

The video shows Barnes, who was on his way to pick up his girlfriend’s daughter from daycare, pulling over to the side of the highway within seconds. Barnes then walks up to the car, asking for his driver’s license and proof of insurance. Barnes tells him he does not have his license on him and that the car is a rental under his girlfriend’s name. 

Despite demanding documents, Felix ordered Barnes to stop “digging around” as he was rummaging through some papers inside the car.

Felix then claimed to have smelled marijuana from inside the car, which is a common justification police use to justify searching a car, even though it can never be proven in court whether or not the cop truly believed he smelled weed. In this case, no marijuana was found inside the Corolla or on Barnes.

Barnes informed Felix that he may have some identification inside the trunk, and the cop ordered him to open it, which he did. Barnes also turned off the car’s ignition.

Here is how the Supreme Court described the events that followed:

Then things began moving even faster. With his right hand resting on his holster, Felix told Barnes to get out of the car. Barnes opened the door but did not exit; instead, he turned the ignition back on. Felix unholstered his gun and, as the car began to move forward, jumped onto its doorsill. 

He twice shouted, “Don’t f-cking move.” And with no visibility into the car (because his head was above the roof), he fired two quick shots inside. Barnes was hit, but managed to stop the car. Felix then radioed for back-up. By the time it arrived, Barnes was dead. 

All told, about five seconds elapsed between when the car started moving and when it stopped. And within that period, two seconds passed between the moment Felix stepped on the doorsill and the moment he fired his first shot.

Barnes’ parents, Janice Hughes Barnes and Tommy Duane Barnes, filed a federal lawsuit in March 2018, accusing Felix of using excessive force because even if their son was fleeing the traffic stop, he did not pose an immediate threat to the officer.

Watch the video below.

Lower Court Decisions

But the district court dismissed the case in March 2021, using the precedent from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that has developed a much narrower approach when ruling in these situations compared to most circuit court districts.

However, in its ruling, the district court also suggested it did not agree with the Fifth Circuit precedent but was bound to it nevertheless.

By limiting the focus of the judicial inquiry so narrowly as to only examine the precise moment the officer decided to use deadly force, the Fifth Circuit has effectively stifled a more robust examination of the Fourth Amendment’s protections when it comes to encounters between the public and the police. 

The Court invites this Circuit to consider the approach applied by its sister courts, affording § 1983 claimants the opportunity to have each party’s conduct reviewed objectively and, if appropriate, hold officers accountable when their conduct has directly resulted in the need for deadly force and infringed upon the rights secured by the Fourth Amendment.

But ultimately duty bound to faithfully apply current Fifth Circuit precedent in cases involving the use of deadly force, the Court determines that at the exact moment Felix was hanging onto Barnes’s vehicle, and Barnes was attempting to flee, Barnes posed a serious threat of harm to Felix. Accordingly, the Motion is GRANTED. This case is hereby DISMISSED.

Barnes’s parents then appealed to the Fifth Circuit, but the suit was dismissed on that same precedent. 

However, Fifth Circuit Court Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham also expressed disagreement with the precedent while acknowledging they were bound to the precedent.

By limiting the focus of the judicial inquiry so narrowly as to only examine the precise moment the officer decided to use deadly force, the Fifth Circuit has effectively stifled a more robust examination of the Fourth Amendment’s protections when it comes to encounters between the public and the police. The Court invites this Circuit to consider the approach applied by its sister courts, affording § 1983 claimants the opportunity to have each party’s conduct reviewed objectively and, if appropriate, hold officers accountable when their conduct has directly resulted in the need for deadly force and infringed upon the rights secured by the Fourth Amendment.

But ultimately duty bound to faithfully apply current Fifth Circuit precedent in cases involving the use of deadly force, the Court determines that at the exact moment Felix was hanging onto Barnes’s vehicle, and Barnes was attempting to flee, Barnes posed a serious threat of harm to Felix. Accordingly, the Motion is GRANTED. This case is hereby DISMISSED.

Barnes’ parents then appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which pointed out the Fifth Circuit’s precedent differs from the other circuits.

The moment-of-threat rule applied below prevents that sort of attention to context, and thus conflicts with this Court’s instruction to analyze the totality of the circumstances. By limiting their view to the two seconds before the shooting, the lower courts could not take into account anything preceding that final moment. 

So, for example, they could not consider the reasons for the stop or the earlier interactions between the suspect and officer. And because of that limit, they could not address whether the final two seconds of the encounter would look different if set within a longer timeframe. 

A rule like that, which precludes consideration of prior events in assessing a police shooting, is not reconcilable with the fact-dependent and context-sensitive approach this Court has prescribed. A court deciding a use-of-force case cannot review the totality of the circumstances if it has put on chronological blinders.

Barnes’ parents, Janice and Tommy Barnes, have accused investigators of covering up for Felix from the very beginning because it took them three weeks to claim they found a gun underneath the seat in the car.

“Does that make any sense that all these officers would miss something in the very first place you’d look in a search?” their attorney, Howard Fomby, told Fox 26 in 2016.

Police also claimed in the days after the shooting that Barnes tried to take Felix’s gun as he was driving away. It also took police three months to release the dash cam video, and only after their attorney filed a motion with the court.

“If you really look at the video closely and pay attention, he murdered my son,” Tommy Barnes told Click2Houston in August 2016 after a grand jury chose not to indict Felix.

“The car didn’t move until he murdered my son. How would you feel if it was your son? It’s like cutting open a wound that wasn’t healed.”

‘Don’t… Move!’: Supreme Court Rules ‘Rogue’ Texas Cop Must Face Judgment for Excessive Force Lawsuit After Fatally Shooting Black Man In Car When He Wasn’t an Immediate Threat

Brittany Mahomes is making headlines again after unveiling a dramatic post-pregnancy transformation at a recent fundraising event in Las Vegas.

The 29-year-old mother of three, who just gave birth to her youngest child in January, stunned attendees at the 15 and the Mahomies Foundation Golf Classic with her super sexy and trim appearance, Heavy reports.

The wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been transparent about her postpartum fitness journey, regularly sharing workout videos and progress updates with her followers.

After welcoming their third child, daughter Golden Raye, on Jan. 12, Brittany wasted no time returning to her active lifestyle. Golden joined siblings Sterling Skye, 4, and Patrick “Bronze” Lavon, 2, completing the Mahomes family of five.

While Brittany has consistently documented her intense workout regimen on social media, her recent pictures on Instagram have fans and critics alike questioning whether her new look can be attributed solely to her fitness routine or if there might be more to the story.

Brittany posted photos from the Las Vegas event on Instagram with the caption “Viva La @15andmahomies” before her followers poured in, with one writing, “Pat def got some work done on her since when she start lookin good.”

Brittany Mahomes shares a picture of herself and her husband, and social media questions if her fit body is a result of gym work or plastic surgery. @brittanylynne/Instagram

Others were quick to speculate about possible cosmetic enhancements, focusing particularly on her chest.

“Damn look at the new implants,” wrote one follower, while another chimed in with, “Pat bought that rack huh.”

Another added, “Plastic surgeon went a little overboard. But 3 kids will make them drop so.”

Some commenters expressed disbelief that her transformation came naturally so soon after childbirth, with one person remarking, “Postpartum whoooooo???”

Despite the speculation, Brittany has maintained that her post-baby body is the result of dedication and consistent exercise.

She impressed fans by not missing a single Chiefs game after giving birth to Golden, appearing at Arrowhead Stadium just six days postpartum to cheer on her husband as the Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans in the AFC divisional round.

In April, she shared details of her fitness routine with Sports Illustrated, revealing that she had been working out right up until Golden’s birth and resumed training shortly afterward.

Her commitment doesn’t go unnoticed by her trainers, who have publicly praised her dedication.

Just three months after delivering her third child, Brittany’s trainer posted videos of her performing heavy-weight squats, noting the impressive progress she’s made in such a short time.

“Just 3 months postpartum with baby #3! This kind of progress doesn’t happen overnight-she’s been showing up consistently, often with her little ones along for the ride,” her trainer wrote.

Adding, “Big focus on breathwork, core, and pelvic floor recovery. She put in so much thoughtful, consistent work during pregnancy with @kirstyraefitness in KC, and it’s paying off now in such a powerful way.”

Brittany’s approach to fitness includes incorporating her children into her workouts. In videos shared by her trainer, Betina Gozo Shimonek, she can be seen doing squats while holding her giggling 2-year-old son Bronze.

Shimonek, a Nike global trainer, works with new mothers through her “24 Day Early Postpartum Restore Program,” helping them safely return to fitness after childbirth.

Exercise is not all she says she does. Nutrition plays a key role in Brittany’s recovery as well.

During an appearance on the “Whoop Podcast” last August, she discussed her commitment to healthy eating.

“I like to put good foods into my body. I feel better that way,” she explained.

Her typical meals include fish with vegetables and coconut rice for lunch and steak with couscous and greens for dinner, though she maintains she enjoys desserts in moderation.

Brittany has expressed surprise at her own recovery, sharing on Instagram that she’s consistently received “green recovery scores” on her wellness app Whoop since returning home after Golden’s birth. These scores indicate her body is “well recovered and primed to perform” despite getting less sleep with a newborn in the house.

As the Mahomes family enjoys a break following the Chiefs’ 40-22 Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Brittany Mahomes is staying in the spotlight — this time for her noticeably sculpted post-baby body.

With three kids under 5, she’s still hitting the gym and showing off her fit physique online, but fans can’t help but wonder if her transformation is purely the result of hard work — or if a little nip and tuck helped speed things along. Whether it’s hours of training, a visit to the surgeon, or a mix of both, Brittany is clearly committed to keeping all eyes on her during the off-season.

‘Damn Look at The New Implants’: Patrick Mahomes Fans Speculate ‘Pat Bought That Rack’ as Wife Brittany’ Post-Baby Transformation Stuns Social Media

Former Spice Girl Melanie “Mel B” Brown recently opened up about her improved co-parenting relationship with Hollywood actor Eddie Murphy.

The revelation came as a surprise to many who were unaware the pair shared a child or had forgotten about their brief but headline-making romance nearly two decades ago.

In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, the 49-year-old singer revealed that she and the 64-year-old “Beverly Hills Cop” star have been successfully working together to raise their child, Angel, who celebrated his 18th birthday in April.

The “America’s Got Talent” host explained that rebuilding their relationship took time, especially as she dealt with personal challenges, including PTSD and what she described as coercive control in other relationships.

“I think being in the kind of [situation] that I was in, it was hard for me to step out and have that relationship [with Eddie] flourish,” Mel B stated. “I managed to do it bit by bit.”

The pair’s romance began in 2006, with Brown describing Murphy as the “love of her life” in her 2018 memoir “Brutally Honest.”

Their relationship was short-lived, however, as they split before Angel was born in 2007. What followed was a public paternity dispute that left the Spice Girl facing significant public scrutiny.

The singer recalled the painful period when she was on television, saying, “I was like, hanging my head in shame because people where like, ‘Oh, is that the father or isn’t it?’ I knew what I knew. I had people calling me a gold digger saying I got pregnant on purpose. It was a horrible time.”

After DNA tests confirmed Murphy’s paternity, the relationship between the two stars remained strained for years.

According to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail, Murphy eventually agreed to pay $35,000 monthly in child support for Angel, up from an initial $25,000 after Brown sought an increase in 2020 citing a decline in her earnings.

In her memoir, Brown shared insight into why their relationship ended, suggesting it was about equality and independence.

“If something doesn’t feel right, if it isn’t equal, then what’s the point? Yes, Eddie Murphy’s a massive star. In my eyes — Spice Girls — so am I,” she wrote, adding that she wasn’t willing to give up her career “to be a housewife.”

Today, Brown says their co-parenting relationship has “flourished even more” since she began her healing journey and relocated to Leeds, England.

“Angel is coming over [to Murphy’s house]. They spend time together. They go on holiday together. He has [10] kids and he’s a proper father,” Brown said, referencing Murphy’s other children from various relationships.

According to Brown, Angel has developed interests in “art and Japanese culture,” speaks fluent Japanese, and prefers to stay “very much to himself” rather than seeking the spotlight.

Last year, he traveled to Japan with his girlfriend to embrace the culture he loves.

The revelation about their co-parenting success caught many social media users by surprise, with many expressing shock at learning about their past relationship and shared child.

When The Shade Room posted the “Wannabe” singer’s comments, their followers weighed in.

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A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom)

“I didn’t know these two even knew each other,” one person commented.

Another expressed disbelief, writing, “Eddie and A Spice girl HAD a BABY ???? WHAT.”

Some commenters found humor in their own surprise: “Lmao me acting shocked that I didn’t know they had a kid together as if these ppl aren’t older than my own mama!”

Others speculated about the timing of Brown’s positive comments, with one person suggesting, “It ‘flourished’ because he ain’t gotta cut that BIG ASS child support check anymore.. Eddie, you ain’t slick!”

A similar sentiment was shared by another who wrote, “She just trying to be nice now he doesn’t have to pay child support, the girl/boy is 18 she thinks she slick.”

Despite these cynical reactions, Brown’s recent comments suggest the two stars have genuinely moved past their turbulent history for the benefit of their child.

The singer, who is also mother to daughters Phoenix, 26, and Madison, 13, is currently engaged to hairstylist Rory McPhee, while Murphy is married to Paige Butcher, with whom he shares two young children.

‘I Honestly Didn’t Know They Had a Child’: Fans Shocked Mel B Praises Eddie Murphy’s Co-Parenting Years After Comedian Denied Paternity

A white North Carolina mother who boarded a Currituck County school bus and unleashed a profanity-laced tirade that included a racial slur directed at a Black student has been arrested and faces multiple charges.

The May 15 incident involving Samantha Danielle Spoor, 35, of Moyock, has prompted widespread outrage and a review of school safety procedures.

Samantha Danielle Spoor is facing charges after boarding a school bus and verbally abusing children. (Photos: WAVY TV 10)

Spoor was arrested Friday and charged with trespassing, disorderly conduct, and communicating threats after a video captured her storming onto the bus and berating students. Spoor was released on a $2,000 secured bond pending trial.

In the now-viral video, Spoor is seen threatening a busload of middle schoolers with profanities, daring them to send their parents her way if they had a problem.

“Sit the f—k down,” she said, raising her hand for emphasis. Ain’t none of you gonna do f—king sh—.” 

Spoor then singled out the student who was filming: “Record it for your motherf—king mama, I live over here. Send her. F—king n—er!” she growled at the child.

The driver did not intervene.

According to Savannah Bailey, the eighth grader on the receiving end of the slur, Spoor’s son told her he had been kicked by another student on the bus, which apparently prompted Spoor to confront the students.

Savannah said she stood up only to better hear the confrontation, but was mistakenly targeted.

“I was like raised to not take disrespect, so even though I didn’t say anything, it was just shocking that she talked to me that way, even though she doesn’t know me,” Savannah said.

Her parents were stunned by the situation and later discussed the uncertainty it created in their minds.

“To have a parent step on my child’s bus, these days and times, you don’t know what could have happened,” said the girl’s mother, Christina Bailey.

“I send her on the bus to get a safe ride home,” added her father, Anthony Bailey. “I’m not sure if I want her to ride that bus anymore. It’s being an adult and knowing how far to take it and not getting on a bus yelling and screaming at children.”

The incident occurred Thursday afternoon on a Currituck County Schools bus in the Outer Banks. In response, the school district released multiple statements denouncing the woman’s behavior.

“Currituck County Schools is investigating an incident that occurred yesterday afternoon, involving an unauthorized adult boarding one of our school buses, using profane and derogatory language,” the district said. “This type of behavior is unacceptable and, furthermore, is prohibited by law.”

District officials confirmed the case was immediately reported to law enforcement. The school resource officer reviewed footage with Moyock Middle School administrators, which led to Spoor’s arrest.

“We are fully cooperating with the investigation and reviewing our transportation procedures to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place,” the district said. “Only authorized personnel and students are permitted to board school buses. The safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our highest priority.”

A district spokesperson added, “Currituck County Schools is committed to ensuring that the person seen on video is held accountable for their actions. Furthermore, we are committed to reviewing all of our school bus safety protocols to assist us in preventing such an incident from happening in the future.”

The Baileys say they’ve left the matter in the hands of law enforcement but remain shaken. The incident has sparked broader questions about school safety and adult behavior around children.

Savannah, reflecting on the confrontation, said simply: “It was just shocking.”

‘Sit the… Down!’: White North Carolina Woman Boards School Bus and Unleashes Racist Tirade on Black Student, Ends Up In Handcuffs

Google has agreed to pay $50 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by current and former Black workers alleging the tech giant discriminated against them by systematically paying them less, denying them promotions and leadership roles, and subjecting them to a racially hostile work environment.

The proposed settlement filed in federal court in California on May 8 would benefit about 4,000 Black and “Black+” workers (who are mixed race, including being Black) in California and New York, and still requires a judge’s approval.

The suit was originally filed in 2022 by April Curley, a Black woman who was hired by Google in 2014 to expand its outreach to Black college students and to recruit more Black employees.

April Curley (Center) is one of the lead plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against Google for racial discrimination, reaching a proposed $50 million settlement in May 2025. (Photos: Dinendra Haria/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images and April Curley/LinkedIn)

According to her complaint, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, only 1.9 percent of Google’s employees identified as Black or African-American when she was hired. Despite a concerted, public relations-driven effort to recruit more Black employees during the national reckoning in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020, by 2021, Google’s workforce was only 4.4 percent Black+, compared to 9.1 percent Black representation in the tech sector, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And only 3 percent of Google’s top leadership was Black.

In her lawsuit, Curley argued that Google’s “anemic diversity statistics” were the result of its discriminatory hiring and employment policies and practices, which include assigning highly qualified Black professionals to lower-level roles, paying them less than non-Black employees, unfairly rating their performance, and denying them advancement and leadership roles because of their race, while steering them into dead-end jobs.

Highlighting her own experience, Curley said that despite having a master’s degree and performing a similar recruiting role at Teach For America for three years, she was hired as a Level 3 employee, which at Google is usually for entry-level, post-bachelor’s degree hires. Over the next six years, she never received a promotion or merit pay increase, despite her “stellar qualifications and performance,” the complaint said.

Curley was frustrated to see that non-Black employees performing the same responsibilities as her were assigned to higher levels, paid more, and supported in ways that made their careers progress. That included a white man on her team who also recruited employees from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), who was placed at Level 4 and soon began earning more than she did.

Nevertheless, she says she succeeded in helping Google establish “a strong pipeline of talented Black engineering candidates,” which led to an increase in Google’s Black technical hiring.

But she contends that effort was constantly stymied by Google’s discriminatory hiring practices, which included screening out Black candidates and assigning them lower scores than similarly qualified and even less qualified non-Black candidates. Recruiters also subjected Black candidates to “culture fit” interviews to assess their “Googleyness,” an ill-defined quality that, if found lacking, often served to deny well-qualified Black applicants jobs and opportunities.

When they did get hired, Black employees were subjected to a hostile workplace in which racial segregation and harassment were commonplace, the lawsuit said.

That included being routinely harassed, stopped and asked to show their identification and work badges, while “non-Black Google employees freely stroll Google’s state-of-the-art workplaces.”

Black employees were frequently subjected to “striking racist and racialized comments by their peers and managers,” the complaint alleged.

Plaintiff Desiree Mayon, a Black woman who worked as a technical program manager and came to Google with two bachelor’s degrees, 18 years of experience managing technical software projects and the ability to code in seven languages, said colleagues told her she was “not smart enough to be technical,” “incompetent,” “needs to learn how to speak proper English,” a “b-tch,” and “aggressive.”

Mayon said she was regularly badge-checked by Google employees and once told she could not use the only women’s restroom in the building. When she did anyway, the employee “chased her around the bathroom” and said, “Your people are not welcome here,” referring to African-Americans.

One Google colleague allegedly told her, “I thought Black people didn’t get sunburns” as it was “historically impossible” due to enslaved Africans working outside all day at plantations.

Another reportedly ordered her to ask, “How can I serve you?” before addressing him.

When she complained about racial hostility and other racial discrimination to HR, Google’s Chief of Staff allegedly dismissed Mayon’s concerns and ordered her not to “bring her Blackness to work.” Another manager responded to her complaints by slamming his door, which hit her in the face. Instead of apologizing, he said, “It is always something with you,” and stormed off.

Plaintiff Ronika Lewis worked as a Senior Program Manager from February 2020 to March 2023 and led coronavirus testing sites as part of Google’s partnership with the White House. She earned accolades for her performance, including a Google Citizenship Award. Despite this, Google denied her promotions and pay increases, the complaint said, while awarding her white peers with higher pay and bonuses for doing the same work.

Meanwhile, Lewis said she endured severe and pervasive racial harassment, including being told:

“You’re not smart enough to work at Google.”

“You should be a DoorDash driver instead of working at Google,” and

“I want to see you take a bone off someone’s plate and bite into it” at a Google-sponsored country club event.

Lewis repeatedly complained and reported to numerous supervisors Google’s discriminatory pay, treatment and hostile work environment, the lawsuit said, and was told by Google’s HR Department that she was not being “Googley,” a term the plaintiffs call a “racist dog whistle” that is “essentially code for racial discrimination.”

After she joined the class action lawsuit in June 2022, Lewis said she faced retaliation that included substantial new duties without a pay increase or a new title. Meanwhile, she claimed Google revoked her access to necessary software, left her out of important meetings, and gave her an unwarranted poor performance review.

She was terminated after Google said her position was being eliminated due to “changes in business needs” in early 2023, when the company laid off 12,000 employees and, the lawsuit argued, disproportionately fired Black workers.

Plaintiff Rayna Reid was hired by Google in October 2018 and moved from New York to Austin, Texas, to take a job as a staffing specialist. Despite her master’s degree in education, a law degree and seven years of management and legal experience, she was placed as a Level 3 employee because of her race, the complaint said.

After she was told she was not “Googley enough” and “not smiling enough” during a performance review, she said she scrolled through her manager’s social media posts to better understand what being Googley meant. There, she discovered racist anti-Black imagery of a cartoon “Mammy” caricature of an African-American woman smiling and holding a child. Reid’s manager had replaced the child’s face with his own.

“Appalled,” Reid alerted Human Resources for help and to report the discrimination, “to no avail,” the complaint said.

Reid also alleged that colleagues made racist comments about her hair and expressed a variety of racist sentiments, including that “Black men are disgusting.”

During a meeting, a manager “used a Black woman gesture trope and started snapping her fingers around in the air,” the complaint said. Other co-workers regularly mistook her for a cafeteria worker and asked her to restock food.

After complaining about the hostile work environment multiple times, the lawsuit said Reid was put on a performance improvement plan, even though she was “over exceeding” her hiring number goal and outperforming her peers. Then, Google allegedly hired a less educated white man with limited experience as a Level 4 recruiter. Perceiving she was “targeted for termination,” Reid quit her job on MLK Day in January 2020.

Meanwhile, Curley said she was enduring “harassing and hostile actions” from a series of managers.

One manager frequently called Curley and another female manager “girls” and mistook them for each other, calling them by the other’s name.

Another manager refused to let any Black women speak in or present during important meetings, the complaint said.

Curley claimed other managers “demeaned and sexualized” her as a Black woman, including “by asking her which colleagues she wanted to sleep with.”

After she pushed for pay and level increases, and was repeatedly denied, a white manager told Curley at a holiday party that she and other Google employees considered Curley “intimidating,” “unwelcoming” and “angry” — “a stereotype with which Black women in America are all too familiar,” the lawsuit said.

Curley claimed that she was never considered for career advancement opportunities and was reprimanded for speaking up in team meetings and challenging internal practices. In the spring of 2020, Curley joined a group of a dozen Black and Latino employees in her department who gathered to address “the many issues facing people of color at Google.” The group met several times and developed a list of desired reforms.

In “plain retaliation” for her leadership role in this advocacy group, she claimed, in June 2020 Google placed Curley on an informal performance improvement plan (PIP), and then in August warned Curley to either accept severance immediately or be placed on a formal improvement plan.

She opted for the latter and began preparing a detailed report about the company’s racial bias in hiring practices. In response, she claimed, Google ended her PIP early and unlawfully fired her on Sept. 11, 2020, freezing out her access to the document and her ability to complete her report on the online search company’s discriminatory practices.

The amended complaint filed in July 2024 by Curley, Mayon, Lewis, Reid and two Black women denied jobs by Google on behalf of themselves and similarly situated Google employees alleged racial discrimination, sex discrimination, pay discrimination, hostile work environment and retaliation in violation of federal civil rights law, New York human rights law, and California employment law.

In its answer in August of 2024, Google denied all of the allegations in the class action suit and claimed it had legitimate business reasons for any adverse actions it took in relation to the plaintiffs. It further asserted that “any pay differences between them and similarly situated non-white individuals” were based on “a merit system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production and/or a bona fide factor other than race or sex.”

Google said it did not condone or know about any of the discriminatory conduct the individual plaintiffs complained about, and further posited that it had long-standing practices in place to prevent discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, and “acted with reasonable care and conformity with its policies and procedures.”

After three years of litigation, including depositions of Google employees and 200,000 pages of documents and workforce data exchanged between the parties, followed by mediation led by a complex class action lawsuit expert, the plaintiffs and Google reached a settlement in March.

Besides establishing a $50 million settlement fund to compensate about 4,000 Black and mixed race settlement members employed by Google between 2017 and 2023, the proposed settlement agreement filed on May 8 includes substantial non-monetary relief for the plaintiffs.

For three years after its effective date, Google will continue to analyze pay “to identify unexplained differences based on race” before finalizing pay changes for the following year. Google will also maintain well-publicized methods for employees to report concerns related to the terms and conditions of their employment, including concerns that they have been treated unfairly or paid incorrectly.

Google will take steps to ensure pay transparency and fairness, including by continuing to list salary ranges in job ads and reaffirming its commitment to not ask for or base compensation decisions at hire on the salary history of applicants.

Through August 2026, Google will not require any employee to enter into mandatory arbitration agreements for employment-related disputes.

While most of the settlement class members will have to release all claims of employment discrimination and retaliation against Google in order to stake a claim to the settlement fund, the three settlement class representatives — Curley, Lewis, and Mayon — may continue to litigate their claims, which have not been settled.

If the proposed settlement is approved by U.S. Magistrate Judge Kandis A. Westmore, the three settlement class representatives will each receive $50,000 service awards “as compensation for their considerable efforts on behalf of the class,” which included helping counsel to investigate, to prepare court pleadings and participating in multiple mediation sessions, and for subjecting themselves to intense public scrutiny and possible retaliation.

“Huge respect to the class representatives who stood up and spoke out,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represented the plaintiffs, posted on X on May 9. “It takes courage to speak your truth against one of the world’s biggest tech companies. Your voices have already sparked change, and that’s power.”

Up to 25 percent of the settlement fund, or $12.5 million, will be reserved for attorneys’ fees, and counsel can claim additional funds for expenses. That leaves about $37 million to be divvied up among the rest of Google’s Black workers in the settlement class, who will not receive a formulaic award, but one based on their individualized claims.

The individual settlement class members can file a claim and participate in a “nuanced and detailed process through which they will receive an individualized assessment” of their claims of discrimination beyond wage disparities, including consideration of post-Google wage loss, emotional distress, as well as the impact of a hostile work environment and wrongful discharge, according to the proposed settlement.

While agreeing to the settlement terms, Google said in a statement, “We strongly disagree with the allegations that we treated anyone improperly and we remain committed to paying, hiring and leveling all employees consistently.”

The company’s pending agreement with Black workers follows a $28 million settlement Google agreed to pay in April for allegedly paying Latino, Indigenous, and Pacific Islander employees less money than white and Asian workers, and a $118 million settlement in 2022 in a class-action suit alleging gender pay discrimination against women employees, noted Sfist.com.

‘Your People Are Not Welcome Here’: Black Female Google Employees Called ‘Incompetent,’ ‘Agressive’ and Regularly Badge-Checked. Now the Company Must Pay Them $50M