(NOTE LANGUAGE) –Rappers Lil Wayne and T.I. reunited at Dreamville Fest this past weekend, marking the duo’s first public appearance together since their dispute over Black Lives Matter comments.
In 2016, during an interview with ABC News’ Linsey Davis,Lil Wayne said he felt no connection to the Black Lives Matter movement, and that it “just sounds weird.”
At the time, T.I. responded to the comments with a lengthy Instagram message for Lil Wayne. “I’m at a complete loss of words here,” the rapper started. “I don’t know what you goin thru, or what you are attempting to avoid but this s*** is absolutely unacceptable!!!!”
Since the exchange, the only time the two rappers were mentioned together was regarding the BLM incident. That all changed on Sunday night, when T.I. walked on stage during Wayne’s performance and embraced him. The two shared a tight hug and fans went wild.
—Nicki Minaj recently showed love to a fellow music artist. On Monday, she slid into Doja Cat‘s DMs to congratulate the singer on her first-ever Grammy win. “Congratulations on your Grammy mama. You really really really really really really really ***** deserve it,” Nicki said.
After Doja rushed from the bathroom to the stage to accept her Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Kiss Me More,” she delivered an emotional speech. The win comes at a time when the superstar has been back and forth on quitting the music industry.
Nicki has been nominated many times for a Grammy, but hasn’t yet won.
–In the latest update on the Cardi B.-Tasha K defamation case, a judge has forced the blogger to delete old posts of Cardi, according to TMZ.
Back in January, Cardi B was awarded over $1 million, after she sued Tasha for posting content that alleged Cardi had STIs and used drugs.
(WASHINGTON) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin got into a fiery exchange with Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz during a House Armed Services Committee budget hearing Tuesday, as Gaetz accused the Pentagon of strategic failures due to misplaced focus on alleged “wokeism.”
Gaetz began by asking Austin why taxpayers should fund lectures supporting socialism at the DOD-funded National Defense University, a reference to a recent virtual event hosted by the school titled “Responding to China: The Case For Global Justice and Democratic Socialism,” presented by French economist Thomas Piketty.
Austin said he was unaware of the lecture.
“So now that you know that they did this, would you agree that embracing socialism is not an effective strategy to combat China?” Gatez asked.
“I certainly don’t agree with embracing socialism,” Austin replied.
Gaetz continued, asking, “So why would we invite people we don’t agree with to evangelize views and values that we don’t share at the National Defense University, when we should be learning strategy about how to combat our enemies and make assessments that are accurate?”
Austin responded that learning strategy and other relevant subjects is the focus of military universities.
Decorum began to crumble as the two men started talking over one another, Gaetz reiterating the controversial content of the lecture, Austin reiterating that the Pentagon does not embrace socialism.
“I control the time!” Gaetz protested.
The Florida congressman proceeded to accuse the Defense Department of making poor predictions about the invasion of Ukraine and the fall of Afghanistan.
“You guys told us that Russia couldn’t lose. You told us that the Taliban couldn’t immediately win. And so I guess I’m wondering what in the $773 billion that you’re requesting today is going to help you make assessments that are accurate in the face of so many blown calls.
Austin paused for nearly six seconds before responding.
“You’ve seen what’s in our budget, you’ve seen how the budget matches the strategy, and so I’ll let that speak for itself,” he said.
The secretary then grew visibly annoyed when Gaetz said the U.S. has fallen behind other countries in terms of hypersonic weapons.
“What do you mean we’re behind in hypersonics? How do you make that assessment?” Austin said.
“Your own people brief us that we are behind and that China is winning. Are you aware of the briefings we get on hypersonics?” Gaetz asked.
Austin responded, “I am certainly aware of briefings that we provide to Congress.”
MORE: China’s reported hypersonic weapon test raises security concerns
Gaetz again attacked the Pentagon’s priorities.
“While everyone else in the world seems to be developing capabilities and being more strategic, we’ve got time to embrace critical race theory at West Point, to embrace socialism at the National Defense University, to do mandatory pronoun training,” he said.
Austin fired back: “This is the most capable, the most combat-credible force in the world. It has been and it will be so going forward. And this budget helps us to do that.”
“Not if we embrace socialism,” Gaetz said.
Austin then implied Gaetz was being unpatriotic.
“The fact that you are embarrassed by your country, by your military, I am sorry for that,” Austin said.
Gaetz retorted as Austin was still speaking: “Oh no, no, I’m embarrassed by your leadership, I am not embarrassed for my country.”
“It’s what you’re saying, it’s what you’re saying,” Austin said.
“I wish we were not losing to China … That is so disgraceful that you would sit here and conflate your failures with the failures of the uniformed service members. You guys said that Russia would overrun Ukraine in 36 days. You said that the Taliban would be kept at bay for months. You totally blew those calls. And maybe we would be better at them if the National Defense University actually worked a little more on strategy and a little less on wokeism,” Gaetz said.
“Has it occurred to you that Russia has not overrun Ukraine because of what we’ve done and our allies have done? Have you ever even thought about that?” Austin said.
Gaetz used his remaining seconds to reply: “But that was baked into your flawed assessment. And so I saw that the Obama administration tried to destroy our military by starving it of resources, and it seems the Biden administration is trying to destroy our military by force feeding it wokeism. I yield back.”
Want to join DNCE on a song? Joe Jonas has announced an “Open Verse Challenge,” asking fans to create their own remix to “Dancing Feet.” All you need to do is download the music clip Joe provided and come up with your own lyrics. Be sure to stitch them on TikTok to enter.
Camila Cabello‘s Familia album isn’t the only thing she’s dropping on Friday — she’s also releasing the single “Psychofreak” and its music video. She shared a snippet to Twitter and hinted it will have a spider theme. She later showed off the black leather outfits she and song collaborator WILLOW wear in the vid.
Maroon 5 sent another song into Spotify’s “Billions Club” — their 2012 hit “Payphone.” It’s their fifth song to amass over a billion streams on the service. “THANK YOU, so much, for continuing to enjoy,” the band tweeted. Interestingly, the song celebrates its 10th birthday on April 16.
On the topic of Maroon 5, their “Beautiful Mistakes” collaborator Megan Thee Stallion is going makeup free until Coachella kicks off on April 15. She even shared a makeup-free selfie, causing fans to ask in droves how she achieves such clear, smooth skin.
Lady Gaga has some new admirers — K Pop sensations BTS revealed to Entertainment Weekly it’s their dream to collaborate with her. The “Dynamite” singers also hope Olivia Rodrigo joins them in the studio, with whom they pretended to get flirty ahead of their Bond-themed Grammy Awards performance on Sunday.
Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish were nominated for the 26th Annual Webby Awards. Ariana was highlighted in fashion and beauty for her r.e.m. beauty while Billie was honored in media and entertainment for lending her music to Beat Saber on Oculus Quest 2. Voting’s now open and winners will be announced May 16.
(BERLIN) — German authorities took down the world’s largest illegal marketplace on the darknet with the help of U.S. law enforcement agencies, they said.
Hydra Market was a Russian-language marketplace that had operated via the Tor network since at least 2015 and was known for extensive drug trafficking, according to German authorities. The market’s 17 million known customers were also known to buy and sell forged documents and stolen credit cards, they said. In 2020, its sales amounted to well over $1 billion euros.
German authorities said they seized Hydra’s server infrastructure and about $25 million in bitcoin on Tuesday.
“The seizures carried out today were preceded by extensive investigations that have been conducted…since August 2021 and in which several US authorities were involved,” the German federal police announced.
Numerous U.S. agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the IRS Criminal Investigation and others were involved in the operation, they said.
The investigation targeted the operators and administrators of Hydra, according to German authorities. Among other things, authorities said the market was being used for criminal transactions, money laundering and abundant sales of illegal narcotics.
Hydra was the illegal marketplace with the highest turnover worldwide, German authorities said. Its sales amounted to at least 1.23 billion euros in 2020 alone. It also offered a service for obfuscating digital transactions, complicating crypto investigations for law enforcement agencies.
In addition to the law enforcement actions taking down Hydra’s illegal marketplace, the U.S. sanctioned the company, along with a virtual currency exchange based in Estonia, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement.
“The global threat of cybercrime and ransomware that originates in Russia, and the ability of criminal leaders to operate there with impunity, is deeply concerning to the United States,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in the statement. “Our actions send a message today to criminals that you cannot hide on the darknet or their forums, and you cannot hide in Russia or anywhere else in the world.”
Hydra accounted for some 86% of illicit Bitcoin transactions in Russia in 2019, according to the U.S. Treasury, while Estonian exchange Garantex was used for over $100 million in virtual currency transactions associated with illicit actors. Estonian authorities stripped Garantex of its license in February, but it continued to operate “through unscrupulous means,” the department said.
These sanctions are an attempt by the Biden administration to show that virtual currency will not be able to evade U.S. and international sanctions on Russia or other criminal actors.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control “is closely monitoring any efforts to circumvent or violate Russia-related sanctions, including through the use of virtual currency, and is committed to using its broad enforcement authorities to act against violations and to promote compliance,” the department said.
Paramount+ has announced a four-part docuseries called Ghislaine — Partner in Crime, about Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted ex-girlfriend of politically connected sex trafficker and abuser Jeffrey Epstein.
The show will be available to stream in full starting April 7, and its producers promise that it will feature “revealing, emotional interviews with Maxwell’s siblings Ian, Kevin and Isabel Maxwell; her friends; legal experts; and her alleged victims.”
“The docuseries unravels the shocking pyramid scheme of sexual abuse that Maxwell controlled, and uncovers what really happened at Epstein’s properties, including his private island,” the announcement teases.
See It Now Studios producer Susan Zirinsky adds that the docuseries “paints a vivid picture of Maxwell’s privileged yet turbulent lifestyle, from the parties and the A-list friendships to the trial.”
In December, a jury convicted Ghislaine of conspiring with and aiding serial sex offender Epstein in his sexual abuse of underage girls. Epstein reportedly killed himself under mysterious circumstances in 2019, while in a New York City prison where he was awaiting trial.
Bob Dylan has won a lawsuit brought against him by the widow of Jacques Levy, who co-wrote seven songs on Dylan’s 1976 album Desire, seeking a portion of Bob’s lucrative catalog sale to Universal.
Billboard reports that a New York appeals court announced Tuesday that it had rejected a lawsuit Claudia Levy filed against Dylan, Universal Music Group and other parties last year alleging she was owed a $7.25 million stake in the $300 million catalog sale to Universal.
The court upheld a ruling by a trial judge in August 2021 that Jacques Levy had signed away his catalog rights to the songs long ago, noting that under a 1975 agreement, the compositions, “with all the copyrights, were to be Dylan’s ‘sole property.'”
The court added, “Nothing submitted by plaintiffs concerning music industry custom and practice supports a reading otherwise, or even suggests an ambiguity in the relevant contractual language.”
Among the songs Levy co-wrote with Dylan for Desire were the hit “Hurricane,” “Mozambique” and “Isis.”
Claudia Levy originally filed her lawsuit in January 2021, and after the trial judge rejected the case while characterizing Jacques’ 1975 deal with Dylan a work-for-hire-agreement. Claudia appealed the decision, claiming that her late husband was being written “out of Dylan’s history.”
This past January, Dylan described the attempted appeal of the lawsuit as an “opportunistic attempt” at an “unjustified windfall.”
According to Billboard, Levy can appeal the decision once more, in front of New York’s Court of Appeals, although the magazine notes that “such reversals are rare.”
Dylan attorney Orin Snyder tells Billboard, “Today’s decision puts the nail in the coffin of this opportunistic lawsuit. We are pleased the court has again rejected this sad attempt to profit off of Bob’s recent catalog sale.”
(OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.) — Oklahoma passed a bill Tuesday that would make performing an abortion a felony, punishable by up to several years in prison.
The bill was passed in the state House 70-14 without a single Democratic vote after passing the Senate last year. Just one Republican state representative voted against the bill.
It is now heading to the desk of Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, who is expected to sign it into law.
Under the bill, any medical provider who performs an abortion would face a fine of $100,000 and up to 10 years in prison. The only exceptions for performing an abortion would be if the mother’s life is in danger.
State Rep. Jim Olsen, who sponsored the bill, did not return ABC News’ request for comment.
However, he did stress to the Associated Press that penalties would only be imposed on medical professionals who perform abortions, not on women who receive them.
Passage of the bill occurred the same day a “Bans Off Oklahoma” rally was held at the state Capitol in support of abortion rights.
“These legislators have continued their relentless attacks on our freedoms,” Emily Wales, interim president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes — which organized the rally — told the Associated Press. “These restrictions are not about improving the safety of the work that we do. They are about shaming and stigmatizing people who need and deserve abortion access.”
In the past few years, anti-abortion bills have passed in Oklahoma Legislature, only to be overturned by the courts who deem them unconstitutional.
It’s unclear whether this bill will face the same challenges, but it comes on the heels of several Republican-led states passing legislation ahead of a Supreme Court decision in June that will decide the future of Roe v. Wade.
The court will review a 15-week ban in Mississippi and decide whether or not it is constitutional.
In preparation for Roe to be overturned, or gutted, Arizona and Kentucky moved forward on 15-week abortion bans last week.
The Arizona legislation, which was signed by Gov. Doug Ducey, only includes exemptions for medical emergencies when continuing with the pregnancy would “create serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function” for the mother.
Meanwhile, in Kentucky, the ban passed along with other anti-abortion measures including making it illegal to send drugs for medical abortions through the mail and requiring the names of physicians who provide medication abortions to be published online.
Additionally, last month, Idaho became the first state to pass and sign legislation modeled after the recent law passed in Texas that bans abortions after six weeks.
Since the law in Texas went into effect in September 2021, thousands of women have flocked to Oklahoma to receive the procedure.
A recent study from the Texas Policy Evaluation Project at the University of Texas Austin found that of the 1,500 women that traveled out of state every month to receive abortion since September, 45% visited Oklahoma.
Madonna only started getting tattoos in the last couple of years but now she has quite a few, including an “X” for her Madame X album, and the initials of her six children. Now, she’s gotten inked again…as a tribute to her late mother.
The Queen of Pop posted video of herself getting the French word “maman,” which means “mom,” on her wrist. As the tattoo artist works on the design, he wipes away blood. “I’m doing this for my mother,” Madonna explains. “‘Cause when you give birth, what do you do? You bleed. It’s all connected.”
Madonna’s mother, Madonna Louise Fortin Ciccone, died of breast cancer in December of 1963, when the future superstar was five years old. In the video, Madonna explains to her son David that she chose the word “maman” because, she notes, “I can’t put my mother’s name because it’s the same as mine. I would look like I put my own damn name on my arm!”
Showing off the finished project, Madonna says, “My mother bled for me, and so I’m bleeding for her. It’s a family affair.”
According to Rolling Stone, Daystar Peterson, better known as Tory Lanez, was handcuffed and taken into custody on Tuesday.
Accompanied by his father, the Canadian-born rapper appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court regarding the felony assault case in which the rapper is accused of shooting Megan Thee Stallion,born Megan Pete, in her foot during a 2020 altercation.
Judge David Herriford said that Tory, who has pleaded not guilty, violated pre-trial protective orders that should have prevented him from contacting, speaking to or harassing Megan.
The reason Lanez was taken into custody: the possibility that he provided YouTuber and entertainment blogger DJ Akademiks with intel about the case, resulting in a February tweet from Akademiks that read, “Tory Lanez DNA was not found on the weapon in the Meg Thee Stallion case.”
Peterson’s lawyer, Shawn Holley, argued that Peterson did not provide Akademiks with any information, and that the tweet was, in fact, incorrect. “If he (Akademiks) had seen this document, he presumably would have got it right,” she said.
According to the Rolling Stone report, the rapper had a bondsman present and was expected to quickly post the $350,000 bail that was imposed upon Peterson. “And that bail is being posted now,” Holley told the magazine.
On October 8, 2020, Peterson was charged with one count of assault and one count of carrying a concealed, loaded and unregistered firearm in a vehicle. The trial date is set for September 14 of this year.
(NOTE LANGUAGE)Last weekend’s installment of Saturday Night Livefeatured a music video starring Pete Davidson in which he decried the trend of overly long movies, particularly when surfing Netflix, saying he “craved some ‘Short-A** Movies.'” Now the streaming service has apparently answered back.
Netflix’s new ’90-Minute Movies’ section includes Ben Stiller‘s Zoolander, which clocks in at 90-minutes on the button; the classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which is a skosh over, at 92 minutes; and 2000’s Road Trip, from a pre-Hangover, Old School and Joker director Todd Phillips.
There’s no shortage of thrills and chills in the section as well, with the Final Destination films, Nightmare on Elm Street and Anaconda also there.
Not included are Michael Mann‘s two hour and 50-minute Heat, which Pete in the sketch says left his friends Chris Redd, Gunna and actor Simon Rex “drooling on the couch,” or Martin Scorcese‘s 3 hour, 45-minute long epic Once Upon a Time in America.
“Think about this,” Pete notes during a break in the song. “Sex and the City 2 was two hours and 26 minutes long,” compared to Jurassic Park, which “told the history of dinosaurs, how DNA works, and explained the science of bringing dinosaurs back,” all in a tight two hours and seven minutes.
So if you’re a “simple man with no attention span,” like Pete raps about, you’re in luck.
