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T.I. pulled up to Posted on The Corner with plenty to celebrate and even more on the way. In a conversation that mixed reflection, humor, and forward motion, the Atlanta rap veteran opened up about the 20-year anniversaries of both ATL and King, his new single “Mr. Him is Here,” upcoming tour plans, film work, and the freedom he’s found in this chapter of his career.
The interview opened with the hosts saluting two major milestones: 20 years of the film ATL and 20 years of King, one of T.I.’s defining albums. Still, the second male voice in the interview made it clear he is not only looking back. He spoke on his new record “Mr. Him is Here,” which reconnects him with Pharrell. “We just put it out, the first record we did,” he said, explaining that the hook came to him while he was abroad. “The hook for ‘Mr. Him is Here,’ I wrote when I was in Thailand, I was in Phuket.”
That trip clearly left an impression. T.I. said Thailand appeals to him because “you can still live life without all the extras,” adding, “It’s just a vibe. I like it. The beaches are clean, the food is good.”
He also gave fans a look at what’s coming with the King Succession Tour, which will include his sons. “It’s called the King Succession tour and I’m taking Domani and King with me,” he said. On sharing that stage, he added, “I think it’s going to be an experience for all of us.”
Beyond music, T.I. revealed he has film projects in motion, including a romantic comedy headed to ABFF. He also spoke on Kill the King and the mindset behind his current music. “The freedom comes in not giving a damn what nobody thinks,” he said. “Just being free to do what you want to do.”
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That same gratitude came through when he discussed family and Atlanta. Reflecting on fatherhood, longevity, and his place in the city, he said, “It’s a blessing just to be here.” Looking back on the King era, he remembered the grind clearly: “I was filming the movie and recording at the same time.” Two decades later, T.I. sounds just as driven—only sharper, freer, and more grounded in what matters.
T.I. Reflects on Legacy, Birthday Bash, New Music & What’s Next was originally published on hotspotatl.com

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Nika King hyped up her long-awaited Euphoria comeback…only for her one scene to be cut down drastically.
The third season of Euphoria has been getting mixed reviews, to say the least.
The show’s creator and producer, Sam Levinson, has made a lot of changes to the show since the first season, which aired back in 2019. This season’s storylines follow the characters after their time in high school, which makes for a big contrast to the series’ former setting.
A lot of characters from the series no longer appear on the show, which includes Nika King, the actress who plays Zendaya (Rue)’s mom in Euphoria.
She made a small appearance in the most recent episode of the show’s season 3, which she teased all week on her social media pages. However, when the episode finally dropped on Sunday, King saw, along with fans, that her scene was cut down to just one single line.
The 47-year-old took to Instagram after the episode aired to reveal that more dialogue was filmed, but was cut out entirely.
“I just watched the episode that I’ve been promoting all week—and my mom over here is clowning me!” she said to the camera with a laugh.
King went on to say that her mother was laughing at her because “the internet waited all this time for [her] to just say one line.”
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Her mom added, “Three years!” However, fans actually had to wait four years for season 3, as King’s last appearance in season 2 aired in 2022.
In the actress’ video, she turned to talk to her mother, who remained off-screen, saying, “You better be glad I have a sense of humor, you better be glad I’ve got thick skin.”
The episode in question, titled, “Stand Still and See,” sees Rue have a near-death experience after narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with a truck. That’s when she heads to a church to find some comfort, and while sitting there, she receives a call from Leslie (King).
During their long, emotional conversation, Rue tells her mother that she’s searching for redemption and gushes over how much she misses her. But, as pointed out by King, the camera only shows Rue’s end of the phone conversation until the camera cuts to her mother on the other end for one line.
Leslie tells Rue that she loves her before the conversation ends, and that is King’s first time onscreen in Euphoria since 2022.
Check out some reactions to Nika’s single line after the flip:
Nika King Laughs Off Her ‘Euphoria’ Comeback Being Cut Almost Entirely: ‘My Mom Is Over Here Clowning Me!’ was originally published on bossip.com

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Esther is spread across Estonian House’s many spaces—including the entrance area, featuring work by artist Katja Novitskova (above), represented by Temnikova & Kasela Photo: Matthew Sherman
Even among Frieze New York’s satellite fairs, Esther (until 16 May) is off the beaten path at Estonian House, an historic émigré cultural centre on East 34th Street. But it was a hive of activity during Tuesday’s opening, with at least two galleries selling out their presentations on the first day of the fair’s third and final iteration in its current form.
Esther was founded by the Estonian gallerists Olga Temnikova and Margot Samel. They have foregone conventional stands, making the most of Estonian House’s Beaux-Arts, 19th-century interior. Displays by the 22 participating galleries plus three bespoke projects are arranged like a museum show. One of the special projects, by the Estonian artists Darja Popolitova and Madlen Hirtentreu, is displayed in the basement and turns beauty-industry equipment into installations that look like torture devices.
The fair spans the building’s vault-like basement, grandiose wood-panelled entry, first-floor café and pool room, second-floor blue salon with white columns and a grand piano, plus two top-floor rooms and landings resembling an artist’s garret. One of the rooms was taken over by Kogo Gallery from Tartu, Estonia, and the Montréal-based gallery Pangée. Kogo Gallery is showing framed, iced cookies by the Latvian artist Elīna Vītola, priced at $4,500 each.
The blue salon, shared by three galleries, is a microcosm of Esther’s style and range of offerings. Temnikova’s Tallinn-based gallery, Temnikova & Kasela, is showing sculptures inspired by early artificial intelligence, an aesthetic the dealer describes as: “Is it cute or is it zombie?” The presentation includes works by Katja Novitskova and a sculptural dress by the Latvia-born, Georgia-based artist Thea Gvetadze.
The Brooklyn-based dealer Laurel Gitlen, who has participated in all three editions of Esther, is showing textile compositions by Jill Goldstein and sculptures by the Chicago-based artist Max Guy, who explores themes of identity. Alongside Gitlen in the blue salon is the Portland, Oregon-based gallery Adams and Ollman, which is showing paintings by the Pennsylvania artist Bethann Parker priced between $2,000 and $9,000, including nature scenes that resemble textile works.
The Budapest-based gallery Longtermhandstand is showing works by the young sculptor Kata Tranker in the large hall. Péter Bencze, the gallery’s co-founder, describes the big fairs as “overrun”, while at Esther gallerists co-operate and “share clients”. As a gallerist from Hungary, emerging from more than a decade of Viktor Orbán’s strongman rule, he says he has often been asked by buyers what was happening in his country. “I don’t deal with politics,” he says. “We have to make success on our own. We did a lot. Since 2013, I realised more than 150 exhibitions around the world with no state funding.”
The New York-based gallerist Thomas Erben, showing in Estonian House’s large hall, sees Esther as an opportunity to promote three-dimensional works by Mike Cloud, whom he has represented for years. His presentation, with works priced around $18,000, coincides with Cloud’s solo exhibition at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Erben describes Esther as “a nice counterpoint to the more institutionalised” fairs and expresses hopes for new alternatives.
Samel pointed to a commemorative plaque marking Esther’s three-year run, installed on one of the Estonian House café bar stools, below a row of Estonian pastries, as proof that the run is over. Temnikova intimated that something might be brewing, while at the same time expressing concerns about the American art market turning inward, Estonia being threatened by Russia and foreign galleries taking fewer trips to the US.
In addition to Adams and Ollman and the New York gallery Management (showing works by Willehad Eilers) selling out their presentations, Shanghai’s Bank Gallery reported selling one work each by Alice Gong Xiaowen and Florian Meisenberg to “influential local collectors” during Tuesday’s preview.
Esther, established by two gallerists from the Baltic state, is inspired by the pop-up Basel Social Club
Despite mounting costs and political pressures, exhibitors from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and elsewhere are bringing their artists’ work to the city—with the fair committed to representing the region
Boutique fair, now in its second edition, has taken over two additional spaces in the historical building, with 25 exhibitors and a custom fashion pop-up
Abbas Akhavan will represent Canada, while Merike Estna flies the flag for Estonia

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In an era when content creators are striking it big on platforms with their highly personal content, where does that leave the reality TV star? 

In the early 2000s, during the dawn of reality TV as we know it, to get a show, a person had to be famous already or get famous somehow—bonus points if it came through a marriage to someone already famous, a “leaked” sex tape, or a scandalous crime.
Now, as figures are plucked from algorithmic obscurity by the unpredictable machinery of virality, the equation has changed.
There’s a new kid on the block: the social media star who can garner an audience seemingly overnight. Naturally, reality TV figures—who helped create the modern mold for raw and highly personal content—step into that role very well. Maybe a little too well.
It’s part of how figures like Cardi B broke the mold as one of the first genuine celebrities to emerge from social media. Her early online persona built an audience that led to “Love & Hip Hop” before she eventually branched out into rap superstardom. Since then, several more have followed, including Pretty Vee, who turned millions of followers into an acting career after a long-running stint on “Wild ’N Out,” and DreamDoll, who amassed an online following before landing on “Bad Girls Club” and later “Love & Hip Hop.” Really, the list goes on.
Chelley Bissainthe of “Love Island” fame had a modest but growing following before she stepped foot into the villa. VH1 even has a series called “The Impact” dedicated to social media influencers. And while Tareasa Michele Johnson—better known as the online personality ReesaTeesa—may not have landed on a reality TV show yet, she did achieve the kind of fame aspiring actresses dream about with her viral “Who TF Did I Marry” TikTok saga. For many viewers, it became their introduction to the lengthy, deeply personal, multi-part storytelling format that now dominates the platform.
“I thought the ReesaTeesa series was really interesting because it just shows kind of the power of personal narrative and independent production online,” said Chelsea Peterson-Salahuddin, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Information.
TikTok is also how we got “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” Once one person starts speaking publicly about a situation online, everyone else—named and unnamed—often comes out of the woodwork to tell their side. Before long, there’s an entire Hulu series about Mormon wives who “soft swing” and cause each other drama. You genuinely couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried.
But producers clock this. They aren’t just paying attention to the shock value or the raw personalities. They’re taking note of the views and realizing they already have a logline, a cast, a core demographic, and built-in metrics ready to go. They even have the content already.
While it might appear to some that the social media star has killed the reality TV star—or is on the way to doing so—it may be more accurate to say social media has decentralized fame. Particularly in Black culture, where reality television has historically relied on hyper-conflict, scandal, and narrow archetypes, social media has shifted power away from networks and toward creators themselves. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram now allow personalities to build audiences, shape narratives, monetize directly, and engage with fans in real time without waiting for television executives to validate them.
“Reality TV is highly edited,” Peterson-Salahuddin, a self-described Bravoverse fan whose research is in the way racially marginalized communities, particularly Black women and femme and queer folks, engage with different types of media and technology, noted. “People say it’s a platform for people to tell their stories, but it is a platform for people to tell their stories in a way that is edited and produced in a way that the production company or the network needs it to be produced.”
She added that “a lot of Black women, honestly, [have been] harmed in that process, because their stories sometimes get edited in such a way, or sometimes they attempt to edit them in such a way, where they’re trying to perpetuate a stereotype. They’re trying to pit the two Black women against each other, and a lot of that doesn’t happen because of the way they’re telling a story. It happens because of the way that networks often choose to edit.”
However, the autonomy social media has granted many reality stars over their own narratives has also created a bit of a double-edged sword. From the Bravoverse to the Zeus Network, by the time some of the most popular reality shows return for a new season—or even for the reunion—fans already know much of the juicy drama.
When Porsha Williams divorced her second husband, Simon Guobadia, fans didn’t learn about it through “Real Housewives of Atlanta.” They learned about it online. The same thing happened when, following the divorce, she publicly moved on with a woman in her first public queer relationship.
Fast forward to Season 17 of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta”, which is currently airing, where fans have had to pretend they don’t already know what’s around the corner as her newly divorced storyline begins with her still entertaining male company. It’s the same way viewers have had to pretend not to know yet about castmate Pinky Cole’s bankruptcy saga or act surprised entering the “Summer House” reunion, fully aware of how the cast dynamics have changed since filming wrapped.
And if it’s not the reality stars themselves posting, Peterson-Salahuddin noted, it’s often the networks uploading previews, highlight reels, and behind-the-scenes clips that go viral online and give away entire episode arcs without viewers ever having to sit through the full hour.
Regardless, the future of reality television may not be a battle between traditional stars and social media personalities so much as an ecosystem where they coexist. Social media may continue to serve as a launchpad for new talent and diverse stories to break through traditional gates while simultaneously amplifying the stars already inside them.
“I don’t think it’s replacing, I think it’s just becoming a new part of this kind of entertainment circulation and economy that’s happening,” Peterson-Salahuddin said. “And I think reality TV and social media go hand in hand a lot of the time.”
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The “Out of Bounds” campaign calls for an athletic and financial boycott of public university sports programs that remain silent as Black voters are carved out of political power in the South.
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), enraged by the Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act and subsequent Southern states’ elimination of Black representation, joined the NAACP’s call to boycott athletic programs at public universities, demanding that institutions that remained silent in the face of attacks on Black political power speak up or suffer economic consequences.
“This is an unprecedented moment featuring an unprecedented attack on Black political representation, and therefore, it requires an unprecedented response,” said U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the Democratic leader of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Congressman Jeffries joined dozens of CBC members at a Tuesday press conference on Capitol Hill to co-sign the NAACP’s boycott, which calls on Black athletes and fans to divest their dollars from public state universities within the NCAA Southeastern Conference.
The boycott, dubbed the “Out of Bounds” campaign, also urges incoming college athletes not to attend any university in a Southern state that has not publicly condemned the wave of racially gerrymandered congressional maps that carve out majority-Black districts to obtain political advantages for the Republican Party in November’s midterm elections.
Jeffries slammed southern states like Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida, which he said “unleashed these Jim Crow-like, racially oppressive tactics,” calling it “unacceptable, unconscionable, and un-American.”
“We believe that the silence of these institutions is complicity, and we will not stand for it,” said the New York leader who is poised to become the first African-American U.S. House speaker should Democrats win the majority in November by overcoming the gerrymandering battle waged by President Donald Trump and Republicans.
The CBC also unanimously opposed supporting the SCORE Act, which would regulate name, image, and likeness (NIL) compensation for universities and students, given the Black voting rights issue.
“The success, visibility, and cultural influence of major athletic conferences and institutions are inseparable from the talent, labor, leadership and cultural contributions of Black communities,” CBC Chairwoman U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, D-N.Y., said at Tuesday’s press conference.
Clarke added, “Black political representation is not a side issue, and this is not politics as usual. This is a defining moral moment for our country. The Congressional Black Caucus cannot support legislation benefiting major athletic institutions that continue to remain silent while Black voting rights and Black political power are being systematically dismantled across the South.”
NAACP President Derrick Johnson told theGrio that the nation’s oldest civil rights group launched the college sports boycott after the success of other campaigns, like the Target boycott, in response to the corporation’s rollback of DEI policies pushed by the Trump administration.
The civil rights leader said there’s also a historic precedent that should not be lost in this moment.
“There was a time where Ole Miss would fly a Confederate flag in that stadium until in the late 1990s. There was a player who said I can no longer play for a school that waved the Confederate flag. Within two months, the state of Mississippi and Ole Miss took down the flag,” said Johnsn. “The power of our athletes is something that has not been appreciated in recent times, but if you think about the history of the civil rights movement, we’ve always had athletes to stand up, whether it was Jim Brown, Kareem Abdul [Jabbar], [or] Muhammad Ali.”
He told theGrio, “Today it is important not only for those young athletes to stand up, but the parents of those athletes understand what impact they could have…those parents also must understand that the denial of representation is also a form of exploitation, and their children and those families have decisions to make, and those decisions can be and should be not to play for any state school that would deny representation.”
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., told theGrio there should be “big time” economic implications for public universities and other institutions that do not speak up for Black voters and against racial injustice. The popular 87-year-old congresswoman recalled the Black Lives Matter protests of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
“Kaepernick, who took a knee, talking about injustice in national football…He didn’t get the support that he needed at the time. But I and others are not only willing to take a knee, I’m willing to give a life,” said Waters.
The CBC’s standing in solidarity with the NAACP’s college sports boycott is a new escalation in the broader fight to protect the voting rights of Black Americans. The historic and influential caucus of more than 60 stands to lose several members should southern states succeed in drawing Black voters out of political power, and thereby casting out the Black lawmakers who represent them in Congress. The group of lawmakers says that while Black communities may seem defeated in the current political climate, they will continue to fight for justice by any means necessary.
“The silence from our institutions in moments of injustice carries consequences,” said Leader Jeffries. “We are calling on American institutions to stand with us, meet this moment with courage, clarity, and conviction. History will remember who chose to stand for democracy and equal representation and who chose silence.

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So, basically, we should be calling them Trumperations, not reparations — because what are we even supposed to be repairing here?
Since the start of his second term, President Donald Trump has been toying around with the idea of paying reparations to Jan 6 convicts, in his ongoing effort to rewrite the history of what happened that day, as well as who ultimately caused it. And if the federal government paying reparations to people who tried to overthrow the federal government wasn’t absurd enough, Trump’s MAGA-fied Justice Department has set up a $1.7 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund”  to pay restitution to people who allegedly “suffered weaponization and lawfare” under former President Joe Biden.
So, basically, we should be calling them Trumperations, not reparations — because what are we even supposed to be repairing here?
So, here’s what’s actually going on…
In January, Trump, the leader of the federal government, sued the federal government for $10 billion, which would be weird under normal circumstances, but in the MAGA Upside Down, it’s really just another Tuesday. Specifically, Trump sued the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Department because his tax returns got leaked while he was being investigated by the FBI. Then, last month, a federal judge essentially asked the president if he might be wasting the court’s time by suing the very federal government that he currently leads, using the DOJ, which has only existed to serve him and other aggrieved white men for practically the entirety of his second term.
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“Typically, adverseness is found in a situation where one party is asserting its right and the other party is resisting,” U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams wrote in an order, questioning whether an actual disagreement between parties even exist . “Consequently, if there is no adverseness, there is no case or controversy.”
The judge ordered both parties to explain “whether a case and controversy exists” by May 20, and Trump basically responded by moving to dismiss the suit, and now the DOJ is claiming that, in exchange for a settlement, Trump was granted a fund to get his self-serving, propaganda-bolstering, transparently corrupt Trumperations plan off the ground. (I mean, the department didn’t say it like that, because it would be far too accurate.)
From NBC News:
Justice Department officials announced that Trump and his co-plaintiffs would drop their IRS lawsuit, as well as other claims of damages, in connection with the 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home, and in connection with the Russian collusion scandal “in exchange” for creating the fund, which the Justice Department said set up a “systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare.”
The fund was established ahead of court deadlines in the IRS case, which would have required the Trump administration to explain whether there was an actual case to be heard, given Trump’s control over the Justice Department’s actions.
The massive fund would give Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Trump a mechanism to seek taxpayer payouts for their claims of government overreach. The fund could even issue “formal apologies” to people who made claims against the government, the announcement said. The fund will stop processing claims by Dec. 15, 2028, about a month before Trump’s second term is set to end.
The fund is reportedly capped at $1,776,000,000, which the DOJ says is based  “upon the projected valuation of future claimants’ claims.” These people honestly expect us to believe the figure just magically landed on a number that begins with 1776, which represents the year the U.S. became a nation, and the title Trump and other Republicans use for various right-wing indoctrination projects that they pretend are efforts to teach a patriotic version of the nation’s history.
Obviously, this whole thing is just more evidence that the Trump administration is a white supremacist organization. Conservatives sneer at the very idea of paying reparations to Black people — because they stubbornly refuse to believe that two and a half centuries of slavery followed by another century of second-class citizenship had any reverberating effect on the current condition of Black America, and the disproportionate adversities we experience — but they’re fine with Trumperations being paid to largely Caucasian MAGA minions for reasons that are not tethered to any semblance of reality.
Then, there’s the sheer hypocrisy of it all. Trump and his team of comically incompetent DOJ prosecutors have spent the last year and a half launching lawfare cases or investigations — that didn’t even pretend to be non-political in nature — against political rivals like New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI Director James Comey, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, and, of course, former President Barack Obama. All of these lawfare cases have either failed repeatedly in court, or failed to even get off the ground in the first place because they were nonsensical. So, even if the many successful prosecutions of Trump, Jan. 6 convicts and other Trump allies were examples of weaponized lawfare, it would only mean all of Trump’s rivals were much better at it than him and the unqualified morons he appoints.
In fact, now that the fund has been announced, Comey is wondering where his piece is.
“It’s to compensate people who’ve been targeted by the Justice Department for, they say, personal, political or ideological reasons,” Comey told  CNN’s Jake Tapper, sarcastically. “So, I’m guessing I’ll be in line. I hope I’ll be ahead of those who savagely beat police officers and sacked the Capitol.”
Meanwhile, Trump appears to be responding to questions about the fund the same way he used to respond to questions about Project 2025: by pretending he doesn’t know anything about it except, conveniently, how popular the idea is.
It’s worth noting that, on the same day that the Trump administration announced the fund, the Treasury Department’s general counsel, Brian Morrissey, who was confirmed by the Senate in October to serve as the Treasury’s top legal officer, stepped down from his position, making him the latest official to exit the revolving door of Trump officials who can’t or won’t hold on to their jobs.
This administration has been a demonstrable, observable disaster that more than 75 million people voted against.
Maybe we all deserve reparations, too.
SEE ALSO:
House Bill Would Prevent Jan. 6 Rioters From Receiving Taxpayer Money

Trump Tries To Rewrite The History Of Jan. 6

Donald Trump Wants To Give Reparations To Jan. 6 Insurrectionists

Trump’s DOJ Sets Up Reparations Fund For Jan 6 Rioters And Other Non-Victims Of ‘Lawfare Weaponization’ was originally published on newsone.com

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So, basically, we should be calling them Trumperations, not reparations — because what are we even supposed to be repairing here?
Since the start of his second term, President Donald Trump has been toying around with the idea of paying reparations to Jan 6 convicts, in his ongoing effort to rewrite the history of what happened that day, as well as who ultimately caused it. And if the federal government paying reparations to people who tried to overthrow the federal government wasn’t absurd enough, Trump’s MAGA-fied Justice Department has set up a $1.7 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund”  to pay restitution to people who allegedly “suffered weaponization and lawfare” under former President Joe Biden.
So, basically, we should be calling them Trumperations, not reparations — because what are we even supposed to be repairing here?
So, here’s what’s actually going on…
In January, Trump, the leader of the federal government, sued the federal government for $10 billion, which would be weird under normal circumstances, but in the MAGA Upside Down, it’s really just another Tuesday. Specifically, Trump sued the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Department because his tax returns got leaked while he was being investigated by the FBI. Then, last month, a federal judge essentially asked the president if he might be wasting the court’s time by suing the very federal government that he currently leads, using the DOJ, which has only existed to serve him and other aggrieved white men for practically the entirety of his second term.
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“Typically, adverseness is found in a situation where one party is asserting its right and the other party is resisting,” U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams wrote in an order, questioning whether an actual disagreement between parties even exist . “Consequently, if there is no adverseness, there is no case or controversy.”
The judge ordered both parties to explain “whether a case and controversy exists” by May 20, and Trump basically responded by moving to dismiss the suit, and now the DOJ is claiming that, in exchange for a settlement, Trump was granted a fund to get his self-serving, propaganda-bolstering, transparently corrupt Trumperations plan off the ground. (I mean, the department didn’t say it like that, because it would be far too accurate.)
From NBC News:
Justice Department officials announced that Trump and his co-plaintiffs would drop their IRS lawsuit, as well as other claims of damages, in connection with the 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home, and in connection with the Russian collusion scandal “in exchange” for creating the fund, which the Justice Department said set up a “systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare.”
The fund was established ahead of court deadlines in the IRS case, which would have required the Trump administration to explain whether there was an actual case to be heard, given Trump’s control over the Justice Department’s actions.
The massive fund would give Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Trump a mechanism to seek taxpayer payouts for their claims of government overreach. The fund could even issue “formal apologies” to people who made claims against the government, the announcement said. The fund will stop processing claims by Dec. 15, 2028, about a month before Trump’s second term is set to end.
The fund is reportedly capped at $1,776,000,000, which the DOJ says is based  “upon the projected valuation of future claimants’ claims.” These people honestly expect us to believe the figure just magically landed on a number that begins with 1776, which represents the year the U.S. became a nation, and the title Trump and other Republicans use for various right-wing indoctrination projects that they pretend are efforts to teach a patriotic version of the nation’s history.
Obviously, this whole thing is just more evidence that the Trump administration is a white supremacist organization. Conservatives sneer at the very idea of paying reparations to Black people — because they stubbornly refuse to believe that two and a half centuries of slavery followed by another century of second-class citizenship had any reverberating effect on the current condition of Black America, and the disproportionate adversities we experience — but they’re fine with Trumperations being paid to largely Caucasian MAGA minions for reasons that are not tethered to any semblance of reality.
Then, there’s the sheer hypocrisy of it all. Trump and his team of comically incompetent DOJ prosecutors have spent the last year and a half launching lawfare cases or investigations — that didn’t even pretend to be non-political in nature — against political rivals like New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI Director James Comey, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, and, of course, former President Barack Obama. All of these lawfare cases have either failed repeatedly in court, or failed to even get off the ground in the first place because they were nonsensical. So, even if the many successful prosecutions of Trump, Jan. 6 convicts and other Trump allies were examples of weaponized lawfare, it would only mean all of Trump’s rivals were much better at it than him and the unqualified morons he appoints.
In fact, now that the fund has been announced, Comey is wondering where his piece is.
“It’s to compensate people who’ve been targeted by the Justice Department for, they say, personal, political or ideological reasons,” Comey told  CNN’s Jake Tapper, sarcastically. “So, I’m guessing I’ll be in line. I hope I’ll be ahead of those who savagely beat police officers and sacked the Capitol.”
Meanwhile, Trump appears to be responding to questions about the fund the same way he used to respond to questions about Project 2025: by pretending he doesn’t know anything about it except, conveniently, how popular the idea is.
It’s worth noting that, on the same day that the Trump administration announced the fund, the Treasury Department’s general counsel, Brian Morrissey, who was confirmed by the Senate in October to serve as the Treasury’s top legal officer, stepped down from his position, making him the latest official to exit the revolving door of Trump officials who can’t or won’t hold on to their jobs.
This administration has been a demonstrable, observable disaster that more than 75 million people voted against.
Maybe we all deserve reparations, too.
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Trump’s DOJ Sets Up Reparations Fund For Jan 6 Rioters And Other Non-Victims Of ‘Lawfare Weaponization’ was originally published on newsone.com

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May 18, 2026
For Robert Smith, it’s teaching our children the basics
Robert F. Smith, founder, chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, says each Black American has a role in the success of other Black people around the world. To Smith, a 2025 BLACK ENTERPRISE XCEL Award Honoree, who paid off school loans for the entire Morehouse graduating class of 2019, there is no greater role than giving Black children a solid foundation to build economic wealth and prosperity.
In his acceptance speech, Smith told the attendees at the 2025 XCEL Summit for Men that a major part of the foundation involves trusting one another. Without that trust, the Black community will not survive; but with it, the Black community will thrive. And while there will always be challenges, Smith knows from experience that anyone with grit, determination, and a desire to work together can overcome them. 
RELATED CONTENT: Robert Smith Maintains That Diversity Is Good For Business Amid DEI Whitelash
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During a May 19 visit, Allen told employees he wants HuffPost journalists to remain fearless, outspoken and committed to the truth.
Byron Allen visited the offices of BuzzFeed and HuffPost on Monday, May 19, where he addressed employees and outlined his vision for the company following his recent acquisition.
During the meeting, and with theGrio present, Allen emphasized editorial independence, truth-telling and the significance of Black ownership in media, while assuring staff he does not intend to change the existing culture at either outlet.
“I want the HuffPost, I want you to be yourself,” Allen told employees. “I want you to be loud and proud. Say whatever the hell you want to say. Say it. Say it loud and proud.”
Allen encouraged journalists to aggressively report on issues they view as unjust or harmful.
“If you see something that’s not right, say it,” he continued. “Say it and just get out there and be real. I want you to be real.”
The media executive also spoke about the role truth has played throughout his career, invoking his friendship with Coretta Scott King, the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Coretta Scott King was a friend of mine,” Allen said. “And she taught me, she said, ‘Byron, our greatest weapon is the truth. If we bring the truth we will always win.’”
Allen’s remarks come at a time when many digital media companies continue facing questions about profitability, editorial direction and audience trust. His acquisition of BuzzFeed and HuffPost significantly expands Allen Media Group’s footprint, which already owns dozens of television stations, TheGrio, and The Weather Channel, among other properties.
Allen also spoke directly about the importance of Black ownership and the economic opportunities he believes it could create for BuzzFeed and HuffPost.
“We have Black majority ownership,” Allen said. “I think the culture will be the same. Here at BuzzFeed and HuffPost, the culture is the culture. I don’t think that changes.”
He added that his previous legal battles against major corporations over advertising inclusion could ultimately help drive additional revenue to the company.
“Because I sued a number of these corporations and said you need to include Black-owned media in your budgets because you’re literally spending a trillion dollars and there’s no economic inclusion, that opens the door,” Allen said.
At the same time, Allen stressed that he has no interest in reshaping the internal identity of the outlets under his ownership.
“I have no interest in any way, shape, or form of getting involved in the culture,” Allen said. “I love the culture of this company.”
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May 16, 2026
The truth of federal indictments often gets lost between the trial of public perception and the actual rule of law.
High-profile legal matters are regularly being fought in the courtroom and the court of public opinion. Federal indictments and viral courtroom clips dominate the 24-hour news cycle. The truth often gets lost between the trial of public perception and the actual rule of law.
Enter LaJanee Alford, known as the “Docket Diva.” A veteran of traditional journalism schools. Her resume includes stints at Black media juggernauts The Shade Room and BET. The Docket Diva has carved out a unique niche: translating dense legal jargon for everyday people while maintaining a deep “cultural fluency” in hip-hop. 
“I break down dense legal jargon for everyday people,” she said. “The distinction between me and others is that I don’t just regurgitate what I heard in the courtroom. I provide a legal analyst’s explanation of what it means and how it culturally impacts our communities.”
Identifying as a “journalist by nature,” Alford transitioned from entertainment news and social media strategy into legal reporting to find work that was both meaningful and challenging. Her approach is rooted in the rigors of traditional reporting, verified sources, and constant fact-checking. She employs all tools at her disposal to ensure her reporting is not sensationalized. The Docket Diva’s methods range from attending trials, pulling courtroom transcripts, lawsuit filings, and sources “that are right next to the defendant.”
While she embraces traditional journalism, her approach is adapted to engage a generation with short attention spans. Her work exists on multiple social media platforms, broken down to make it digestible. On X, she has multiple threads following court cases relevant to the Black community and hip-hop. As an independent journalist, she is making an impact. 
“My Project 2025, Page 159 exclusive created a 5-day news cycle and was amplified by Charlamagne Tha God, Don Cheadle and more.”
Alford argues that her perspective as a Black woman is essential when covering cases that disproportionately affect the Black community. 
“I’m Black, so I’m fluid in hip-hop culture,” Alford said. “It ain’t something that I learned. I’m born into it.”
One of the greatest challenges in modern legal reporting, she notes, is the rampant spread of misinformation. She cites the Sean “Diddy” Combs case as a prime example of how the public often conflates moral outrage with legal charges. The rap mogul was sentenced to three years in prison, yet many felt the court was too lenient. The Docket Diva made her stance clear, though the mogul has done “evil things,” his charges and subsequent convictions did not support a longer sentence. 
“With Diddy, people always refer to the [Cassie] video, but if he was charged with domestic violence, it wouldn’t even be a federal case.” 
To give clarity, the Docket Diva stepped in for the community. She wants to provide accurate information that sheds light on the inner workings of the criminal justice system, specifically regarding Black people.
“I wanted to be precise. I wanted to be reliable. I wanted to be truthful,” she said of her pivot to legal reporting. “If I can’t verify, I don’t report on it. ”If I can’t explain it to myself, I don’t try to explain it to other people.”
RELATED CONTENT: Chris Brown Requests Judge To Block Mentions Of Rihanna Assault In New Housekeeper Civil Trial

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EXCLUSIVE: During an interview with theGrio, Maryland’s first Black governor hints at the kind of leadership the nation needs and says calls for him to pursue the White House in 2028 are “humbling.”
Maryland Governor Wes Moore delivered the commencement address at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday, urging the HBCU class of 2026 to be leaders who “fight” for something amid the “greatest assault on Black voter representation that we have seen in generations.”
“You are entering the world in the middle of a battle. And we need you all to soldier up,” Moore told the 200 graduates. “If you don’t fight for our folks, who will? We know who’s attacking them. We now need to know who’s going to fight for them.”
As Moore gave the young scholars a message of urgency and hope as they embark into their professions, Maryland’s first Black governor was met with calls to run for president.
“Future president!” yelled out an audience member as Moore was hooded and received his honorary doctorate. The audience inside the Bojangles Coliseum erupted in loud applause as Moore smiled and laughed at the adoration.
“I wanted to say it but I couldn’t,” said JCSU President Dr. Valerie Kinloch, who led the audience in more chants for Moore to run for president. She jokingly added, “I didn’t say it!”
During a phone interview with theGrio Monday morning, Gov. Moore said the moment was “humbling,” but was sure to keep the focus on his re-election campaign, bringing the attention back to Maryland politics rather than Washington, D.C., and any perceived aspirations for higher office.
“It’s very humbling that people are paying attention to what’s happening in Maryland. I’m proud of our results,” Moore told theGrio.
The 47-year-old, first-term governor touted the state’s historic drop in violent crime, which he noted is the “fastest drop” in the country, as well as adding 55,000 new businesses, raising the minimum wage, enacting paid family leave and investments in HBCUs and statewide apprenticeshps.
“I’m really proud of what we’ve done, and also how we’ve done it, but I think the people of my state know that I am laser focused on November,” he explained, adding, “We’re not just trying to win in November, we’re trying to send a message about how we win in November as well.”
Moore’s disciplined campaign for a second term will likely do nothing to stop the speculation or calls for him to pursue a run for the White House. It is expected that Democrats, regrouping after Kamala Harris‘ upset defeat to President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, will see a laundry list of contenders for the party’s nomination in 2028.
Moore, a former U.S. Army lieutenant and Rhodes Scholar, has repeatedly said he is not running for president whenever asked; though it has done little to stop the questions.
When asked what type of leadership is needed in 2028 considering how President Trump has led in his second term, Moore told theGrio, “I think we need people who are focused on action…we need people who do what they say they’re going to do, and actually have results and receipts.”
Continuing to distance between himself from a pursuit of the presidency, Moore elaborated: “I want somebody that isn’t just pushing back, I want someone who has the capacity to push forward, and that I think is going to be a key criteria.”
During his Sunday commencement address, Gov. Moore encouraged the graduates of Johnson C. Smith University to be their own leaders — the kind of leadership some may feel is missing in this moment.
“You’re going to have to walk into leadership spaces where, frankly, we have people who have very big titles who are doing absolutely nothing with them. You are walking into a society where people are intentionally using their power to hurt other people who don’t have the same amount of power,” said Moore.
“We need you in these spaces. We need you in these rooms. We need you to lead with values, with love – unapologetic and unafraid,” he added. “We need you to be able to go into the rooms where you belong. We need you to build better systems. We need you to leave no one behind.”
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The WNBA’s 30th season is off to an electric start! Check out some of the biggest talking points and storylines so far!
The WNBA’s 30th season is barely over a week old, and the league already feels like it’s moving at playoff speed. Opening night arrived May 8 with three games, two new expansion teams entering the party, stars changing jerseys, rookies getting tested immediately, and contenders trying to remind everybody why they’re still contenders. The season is young, but the temperature around the league is already loud. Every night feels like somebody is making history, announcing themselves, or giving fans a reason to circle the next matchup.
That’s why we’re kicking off “Who Ran The WNBA This Week,” a weekly recap built to keep fans in the loop as the league continues one of its most important seasons ever. Every Monday, we’ll look back at the players, teams, games and storylines that shaped the week before — not just the box-score stuff, but the moments that had everybody talking. For this first edition, we’re covering May 8 through May 17, with the league standings and storylines current as of Monday, May 18. As of this moment, the Aces are on top at 4-1, while the Liberty and Sky are both at 3-1 despite facing real injury questions early.
And already, the league has given us plenty. The Portland Fire picked up its first win in franchise history on a buzzer-beater against the Liberty. The Mystics and Fever gave fans an overtime thriller. Chelsea Gray reminded everybody why she’s one of the coldest closers in basketball. Angel Reese wasted no time making history in Atlanta. Olivia Miles looks like she skipped the rookie learning curve entirely. And Caitlin Clark, somehow, keeps finding new records to break while the noise around her only gets louder.
The defending champs got punched in the mouth in their season opener, but they’ve responded exactly like a team that knows what June, July and August are supposed to look like. Las Vegas has ripped off four straight wins since that opening loss, and most importantly, the Aces already look comfortable winning on the road. A’ja Wilson’s 45-point explosion against the Connecticut Sun was the loudest reminder that the best player in the world is still very much moving like it, while Chelsea Gray’s late-game shot-making against Atlanta showed the Aces still have that championship calm when everything gets chaotic. Wilson dropped 45 on 15-of-18 shooting and made all 13 of her free throws in the win over Connecticut.
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One of the early under-the-radar stories for Vegas has been Chennedy Carter settling into that bench spark role. The Aces don’t need her to be the whole show every night, but when she gives them instant pressure, downhill scoring and another player who can create her own show, that makes an already scary team even harder to guard. In a tight win over Atlanta, Carter joined A’ja Wilson (20) and Chelsea Gray (21) in putting up a combined 61 points, which is exactly the kind of extra punch Vegas needs if it wants to run it back.
The Liberty are 3-1 without Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally, and that alone deserves attention. New York dropped one to Portland in dramatic fashion, but the bigger picture is that the 2024 champs have held steady while waiting to get whole. Breanna Stewart has been the stabilizer, Marine Johannès has helped carry the offense, and the Liberty’s depth has been tested way earlier than expected. Sabrina has been out with a left foot injury, while Satou has been sidelined with a cyst, but New York has still looked like a team that knows how to survive a rough opening stretch.
The Sky might be one of the grittier stories of the opening week. Rickea Jackson suffered a concerning left knee injury Sunday against Minnesota, and Skylar Diggins also missed that game with an eye injury, but Chicago still found a way to beat the Lynx and improve to 3-1. That says a lot about the defensive identity already taking shape, but it also puts a spotlight on Jackson’s future status, as she entered Sunday as Chicago’s leading scorer at 22 points per game.
Caitlin Clark’s week had a little bit of everything: record-breaking basketball, loud criticism, and the usual internet debates that follow her around. After backlash from her Morgan Wallen walkout and the “overrated” talk starting to get louder again, Clark responded on the floor. She became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 1,000 points, 250 rebounds and 250 assists, then broke the league record for most career games with at least 20 points and 10 assists. After a stat correction gave her a 20-and-10 game against Washington, she followed it up with 21 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in Indiana’s win over Seattle.
Angel Reese’s new chapter in Atlanta is already coming with history attached. In her Dream debut, Reese posted 11 points and 14 rebounds in a 91-90 comeback win over Minnesota, giving her the 50th double-double of her career in just 65 games — the fastest mark in WNBA history. She followed that hot start with another double-double before a tougher home debut against Las Vegas, but the message is already clear: Reese is still a double-double machine, and Atlanta has another centerpiece who can change the glass, the energy, and the physicality of a game.
Olivia Miles looks like a problem already. The No. 2 pick has stepped into the WNBA with the poise of somebody who has been here for years, not days. She already looks elite, with a professional feel, speed, handle, change of pace, and ability to create open looks even when the defense is set. Her debut — 21 points, eight assists, two steals and two blocks — immediately put her in Rookie of the Year conversations and made Minnesota look like it may have landed a franchise point guard.
Jovana Nogić’s name needs to be on the early-season radar, too. The Phoenix Mercury win lit up the Chicago Sky for 27 points, five threes and four rebounds in a 91-83 win, giving Phoenix a major boost and giving the league another international player making noise in the 30th season. If she keeps shooting like this, Phoenix may have found one of the early surprise weapons of the year.
Washington’s frontcourt has been one of the best young stories in the league so far. Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin have given the Mystics size, production and a real identity inside, while Sonia Citron has been hooping on the perimeter. Going into Monday’s matchup with Dallas, Iriafen is averaging 19 points and 13.7 rebounds, Austin is averaging 17.7 points per game, and Citron is leading Washington at 24.3 points per game. That’s a young core worth watching every week.
Between Olivia Miles, Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen, Shakira Austin, Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Jovana Nogić, Pauline Astier and more, the early season has had a real youth takeover feel. The vets are still the vets, but the young talent is not easing into the league quietly. They’re producing, closing games, putting up big numbers and forcing teams to adjust immediately.
The Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo make this season feel different just by existing, but Portland’s first win made it real. Beating the Liberty 98-96 on a Sarah Ashlee Barker buzzer-beating putback gave the Fire their first franchise victory and gave fans one of the best moments of opening week. Toronto is still searching for that same signature moment (they have two wins, while the Fire sit at one), but the league’s expansion era already feels like it’s adding new juice.
It is early, but health is already a major part of the conversation. The Liberty are waiting on Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally. The Sky are monitoring Rickea Jackson’s knee and Skylar Diggins’ eye issue. The Fever have already had to manage absences around Clark. The teams that can survive these early stretches without slipping too far may be the ones sitting pretty when the season gets heavier.
This was the storybook moment of the week. Portland picked up its first win in franchise history by beating the Liberty on a Sarah Ashlee Barker putback before the buzzer. Bridget Carleton dropped a career-high 26 points, Carla Leite added 21, and the Fire gave their home crowd a moment they’ll remember forever.
This was one of those early-season games that felt like it had a little bit of everything. Caitlin Clark led Indiana with 32 points, seven threes, eight assists, four rebounds and two steals, but Washington survived in overtime behind a huge performance from Sonia Citron and strong frontcourt work from Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin. Citron had 30, Iriafen finished with 25 and 13, and Austin added 19 as the Mystics showed their young core can handle a big stage.
Atlanta nearly stole this one after trailing by as many as 19, but Chelsea Gray had other plans. Gray hit a stepback jumper with 3.6 seconds left, then Las Vegas got the final stop to escape with the win. With Rhyne Howard out, Atlanta still showed fight behind Allisha Gray, Te-Hina Paopao and Madina Okot, but the Aces showed why championship teams don’t panic late.
This one is all about young star power. Washington brings Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin into a matchup with a Dallas team built around Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd. It’s early, but this feels like one of those games we may look back on later as a preview of where the league is headed.
The Valkyries are trying to prove last season’s expansion success was not a fluke, while the Liberty are trying to keep stacking wins until their stars are healthy. It’s an early measuring stick game for both teams: Golden State gets to test itself against a championship-level roster, and New York gets another chance to show its depth is real.
This will be the first regular-season meeting between the league’s two newest franchises, and that alone makes it worth watching. Expansion matchups like this are going to matter all season because they help define the identity of both new teams.
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Who Ran The WNBA This Week: Angel Reese Is A Double-Double Machine, Olivia Miles Is A Problem, And Caitlyn Clark’s Loud Critics was originally published on newsone.com

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Toon Kelder’s Portrait of a Young Girl Photo courtesy of Arthur Brand
For years Portrait of a Young Girl by the Dutch artist Toon Kelder has quietly hung in a hallway of a house near Utrecht. This week, the art detective Arthur Brand announced that the painting has been discovered in the possession of the heirs of a notorious Dutch collaborator and SS commander Hendrik Seyffardt and confirmed that it is one of the more than 1,100 paintings that were plundered by German occupiers from the Amsterdam art dealer Jacques Goudstikker.
Brand was contacted several months ago by an heir of Seyffardt, he tells The Art Newspaper. The man, whose family changed its name, reached out after finding out about his ancestry.
“I discovered that my family is in possession of the looted painting,” said the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, to the Dutch paper the Telegraaf. “I was stunned. This is why I am now bringing it to public attention. I feel deep shame about the family past and I am furious about the years of silence. The painting must be returned to the rightful Jewish owners.”
Brand found the painting listed in the archives of an auction in 1940, where part of the looted Goudstikker collection was sold Photo courtesy of Arthur Brand
On the back of the painting, according to images shared by Brand, is the “Collectie Goudstikker” label and the number 92. When Brand investigated the archives of an auction in 1940, where part of the looted Goudstikker collection was sold, he found item No 92 was listed as Portrait of a Young Girl.
The anonymous man told Brand the location of the painting, owned by a relative. However, the Dutch authorities cannot raid the property because the statute of limitations for the theft has passed, while the Dutch Restitutions Commission strictly only has power over national collections. “The only way to get it back was to announce it”, Brand says, in the hopes that public exposure would encourage the current owner to return the painting to its rightful heirs.
The owner told the Telegraaf that she did not know it was looted. “Now that you confront me with it like this, I understand that Mr Goudstikker’s heirs want the painting back,” she reportedly said. “I didn’t know that.” She added that the family is discussing the return of the painting.
Brand added that the case had symbolic weight, after years of silence about historic collaboration with the Nazi regime in a country where three-quarters of the Jewish population was murdered during the Nazi occupation. “We are talking about a Goudstikker, which is a symbolic name for Nazi looted art—and the Nazis [perpetrated] the biggest art theft in history,” Brand says.
Brand added that the case had echoes of Portrait of a Lady (around 1710) by Giuseppe Ghislandi, which was spotted last year in a house sale advert for a property in Argentina owned by a senior Nazi official, who emigrated after the Second World War. That painting, also from the Goudstikker collection, has been formally claimed by the rightful heirs.
Eagle-eyed Dutch journalists spotted what is believed to be ‘Portrait of a Lady’ by 18th-century Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi in a photo—but the work has quickly disappeared once more
The Golden Age work by Aelbert Cuyp was looted from Jacques Goudstikker and acquired by Hermann Göring
Ice Skating by Adam van Breen was acquired by Hermann Göring, Adolf Hitler’s second-in-command, and bequeathed to the city of Trier’s museum in 1987

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Courtroom battles end for the final suspect in Young Dolph’s death. Cornelius Smith Jr. accepts a 20-year plea deal.
The years-long courtroom battles surrounding the shocking death of Memphis rapper and independent label owner Young Dolph have officially come to a close. On Friday, May 15th, the final suspect in the investigation, Cornelius Smith Jr., was sentenced to 20 years in prison after accepting a plea deal in a Memphis courtroom.
According to FOX 13, Smith pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder. He was initially facing first-degree murder charges for his role in the November 2021 daytime ambush that took the life of the 36-year-old artist, born Adolph Thornton Jr. According to the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, the plea agreement dropped other pending charges against Smith, factoring in his full cooperation with the state to secure convictions against those involved.
With Smith’s sentencing, prosecutors have officially resolved the last remaining active piece of the homicide case. Smith served as the state’s main witness during the 2024 trial of Justin Johnson, the second gunman in Young Dolph’s death. As reported by AP News, Smith’s detailed testimony naming Johnson as the co-shooter ultimately led to Johnson being convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and felon weapon possession, landing him a life sentence plus an additional 35 years.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy released a statement following Friday’s hearing, reflecting on the community’s loss and the end of the legal saga.
“Young Dolph was a beloved member of this community, his death a tragedy, his murder an outrage,” Mulroy stated. “We’re glad to finally have this last part of the case resolved. The sentence properly reflects the gravity of the offense while giving due consideration to the cooperation this defendant provided. We hope this resolution can give Dolph’s family some sense of closure.”
Throughout the multiple trials connected to the investigation, prosecutors painted a dark picture of record label rivalries and a financial hit that led to the shooting. Testifying under oath, Smith confessed that he and Johnson were executing a $100,000 hit put out by Anthony “Big Jook” Mims—the late brother of rival rapper Yo Gotti and an executive at Collective Music Group.
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According to court testimony, the rivalry intensified after Young Dolph repeatedly turned down offers to sign with Yo Gotti’s label, choosing instead to remain fiercely independent. Smith testified that smaller bounties had also been placed on all artists signed to Dolph’s label. Hernandez Govan, who was accused of acting as the middleman who organized the hit for a $10,000 cut, was acquitted of all charges by a Memphis jury in August 2025. Big Jook himself was shot and killed outside a Memphis restaurant in January 2024 and was never legally charged in connection with the case.
The daytime shooting, which occurred while Young Dolph was visiting Makeda’s Homemade Cookies near his childhood neighborhood, deeply struck the hip-hop community. As previously reported, at the time of Young Dolph’s death, the artist was in town for his annual tradition of handing out Thanksgiving turkeys to local families. An autopsy report later revealed he had been shot roughly 20 times after two men jumped out of a white Mercedes-Benz.
Case Closed: Final Suspect Sentenced To 20 Years In The Ambush Killing Of Young Dolph was originally published on bossip.com

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The former First Lady didn’t shy away from what she imagined her husband to be before their first lunch together.
The love story of the Obamas has endured in the public eye for more than 30 years now. But not everything was an exact fairy tale between Barack and Michelle early on.
In an interview with Sam Fragoso for his “Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso” podcast, the former First Lady opened up about how Barack serves as her Google, her feelings about the current “mess” the country is in and how no one is happy, and more. But one subject that elicited the strongest response from Fragoso was the retelling of how the Obamas actually met.
During her first year working at the Chicago law firm Sidley Austin, Michelle was informed that a young, first-year Harvard Law student was applying for a summer position at the firm.
“It was rare for them to select a first-year in their program,” Michelle recalled around the 29-minute mark. “But everybody who met him, who interviewed him said, ‘Oh, he’s amazing.’ The secretary is like, ‘He’s cute,’ and he’s that, and he’s “Barack Obama.” And I’m like, ‘Oh, OK.’ I get a picture, and the picture is not a great picture. I mean, it looks like he’s gone into a 7-Eleven to take his picture, right? I mean, it’s bad lighting and you know, and I was like, I don’t think he’s that cute. And I’m thinking, okay, these are white people that are flipping over an articulate Black man.”
She added, “I was like, let me just lower my expectations. And then, it was like, he was from Hawaii and I was like, whoa, what black people are in Hawaii? So I already had in my mind that this was going to be some nerdy ultraconservative, you know. I just sort of painted a picture, not an angry picture. I was just like, uh, I know what I’m getting.”
However, that unmistakable Barack charm managed to work on Michelle after their very first phone call.
“I called him first on the phone just to introduce myself and when he picked up the phone, he had that Barack Obama voice,” Michelle said with a wry smile. “That, I didn’t expect because I had already pictured him as kind of a dweeb kind of person who would be appealing to white people as a Black man.”
“He was like, ‘Hello, it’s Barack Obama.’ But I was like, ‘Whoa!’ The voice was sexy over the phone! And I was like, ‘Wow, this is Barack Obama.’ Let me look at this photo again. Hold on.”
The Obamas’ love story has been examined not only in their respective books “Becoming” and “The Audacity of Hope” but also in the film “Southside With You.” Michelle’s belief that Barack would be a “dweeb” is hilarious, considering how his life took him from Hawaii to Kansas, Illinois, and ultimately to Harvard. But that’s the thing about outdoing first impressions. Sometimes all it takes is a conversation.
Or in the case of the Obamas, a phone call and a one-of-a-kind voice.
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