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The Cabeza Prieta Wildlife Refuge, where a 1,000-year-old intaglio was recently bulldozed during construction the Mexico-US border wall Photo by Dan Sorensen, via Wikimedia Commons
Multiple reports have confirmed that a rare archaeological site in the Sonoran Desert in southwestern Arizona was bulldozed by a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contractor during construction of the latest sections of the wall along the border between Mexico and the United States.
On 24 April, as bulldozers scraped the landscape along an area around 150ft from the Mexican border, they destroyed a 280ft by 50ft etching in the desert sand, known as an intaglio, believed to have been around 1,000 years old.
Located in a remote corner of Arizona’s Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, the area is sacred to local Indigenous communities and part of a Unesco biosphere. With wide alluvial basins separated by steep mountain ranges, the biosphere is home to rare and endangered flora and fauna. It also contains more than 3,000 petroglyphs. Destruction of the intaglio inside the refuge has environmental and cultural significance, according to Lorraine Eiler, a Hia-Ced O’odham elder and co-founder of the International Sonoran Desert Alliance.
“You can’t separate our land from our culture,” Eiler tells The Art Newspaper, noting that the border crosses tribal lines, and that she and members of her community still visit their cousins in Mexico for ceremonies in spite of plans to wall off reservation lands, which would separate tribal lands in the US from those in Mexico. The destruction of the intaglio, she adds, “is an insult to our ancestors”.
Eiler says that a group of O’odham “runners”, participating in a ceremonial practice of running and praying through their traditional territories, warned her on 23 April that they had seen bulldozers getting perilously close to the intaglio site. This was despite the fact, she says, that “DHS and the border patrol had been warned by the tribe and by Cabeza staffabout the importance of the intaglio and what it meant to our people”. After being alerted by the runners, Eiler made dozens of calls to environmental and tribal groups, but to no avail. She now thinks the bulldozing of the intaglio was a “deliberate act”.
The DHS contractors “either weren’t told or completely ignored what they were told—and without notifying anyone they destroyed it”, Eiler says. “They weren’t even supposed to be in the area—they were supposed to be further west. They just didn’t want to be stopped.”
Eiler says the contractors destroyed a stretch of the intaglio around 70ft long. The etching had depicted the form of a fish, possibly in reference to those in the nearby Sea of Cortez.
“It connects us to our ancestors, carrying memory and meaning and teachings passed down through generations. People who aren’t native American might think it’s just a landmark, but it’s so much more.”
Rick Martynec, a retired archaeologist who has studied the intaglio for two decades and advocated for its preservation, told The Intercept: “I liken it to destroying the Nazca lines”—referring to the hundreds of figures drawn into the deserts of southern Peru—“something that culturally we should have been relishing and promoting. Not destroying.”
Aaron Wright, a preservation anthropologist with Archaeology Southwest who visited the intaglio with Martynec shortly before it was destroyed calls its demise “an archaeological travesty”.
“It’s unique in that it’s a rare inland intaglio in a remote section of the Sonoran Desert,” Wright tells The Art Newspaper, noting that it sits on a lava field near two dried up rivers. He describes intaglios as “designs—often geometric but sometimes figurative—scraped into desert pavements: geological surfaces of compacted and patinated gravels”. He adds that the one bulldozed along the border last month was similar to examples he has studied near the Gila River.
“There’s a lot more at the at the site than had been previously recognised or documented,” Wright says. “There are complexes of intaglio like features on the ground, but they don’t show up in aerial photographs very well.” Further research requires more aerial photography and visits to the Mexican side, he notes, currently impossible with the new border wall.
“The scope, pace, and apparent lack of substantive oversight for the border infrastructure work currently underway is endangering archaeological, cultural and sensitive natural resource sites throughout the heart of the Sonoran Desert,” Aaron Cooper, the executive director of the International Sonoran Desert Alliance, tells The Art Newspaper. “If this work continues, the irreversible damage to this sacred site is not just likely to happen elsewhere, it is inevitable.”
Representatives for the US Department of Homeland Security had not replied to The Art Newspaper’s requests for comment by the time of publication. Construction of the border fence along the border with Mexico has been a priority for US president Donald Trump in both his first and second terms. In March, archaeologists and landowners in Texas’s Val Verde County raised concerns about plans to build the border wall along the Rio Grande river, which could harm the area’s many prehistoric rock art sites.
Archaeologists and landowners claim the proposed extension of the Mexico-US border wall in Val Verde County could damage thousands of millennia-old cave paintings located within a designated national historic landmark
It’s the first physical iteration of the El Paso and Juárez exhibition in five years, after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the 2020 edition
Experts worry that artefacts would be in peril if a 30-ft-high steel barrier is built
New research has confirmed the site of the giant ancient metropolis, but further archaeological work has been delayed due to issues such as travel restrictions

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Amy Sherald sports a custom look by Thom Browne based her 2013 painting Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance) at the 2026 Met Gala Photo by Anthony Behar / Sipa USA / Alamy Live News
Protests against the 2026 Met Gala’s honorary chairs Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos did little to dampen the theatrical arrivals at the event on Monday (4 May), the most high-profile fundraising soirée of gala season in New York. The Bezoses reportedly contributed at least $10m, helping to raise a record $42m for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute (surpassing last year’s take of $31m).
Protesters rallied near the gala’s arrivals area brandishing signs that read “Tax the Rich” and “Resistance Red Carpet”. A group called Everyone Hates Elon strategically left around 300 fake bottles of urine throughout the museum labelled with Jeff Bezos’s face and the slogan “Boycott the Bezos Met Gala”, in reference to the practice among Amazon truck drivers of urinating in plastic bottles due to the arduous pace of their deliveries.
Within the event itself, the gala was a typically frictionless display of wealth (tickets cost $100,000 each) and outlandish outfits. Unsurprisingly, some of the most inventive interpretations of the event’s dress code, “fashion is art”, were artists. Amy Sherald, a member of the event’s host committee, attended in a custom Thom Browne look based on one of her own paintings, Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance) (2013).
Another eye-catching figure on the verdant arrivals staircase was the artist, actor and stage performer Jordan Roth. He sported a velvety grey outfit by the London-based designer Robert Wun that included a faceless human figure looming over his shoulder, framing his head and torso with its hands. Roth told The Hollywood Reporter that the outfit was inspired by a particular work from the Met’s collection.
“As soon as I knew the theme of this year’s exhibition and gala, I knew I wanted to explore the relationship between figures in classical sculpture, as well as a specific painting in the Met collection, Pygmalion and Galatea by Jean-Léon Gérôme, in which the sculptor kisses his sculpture as it comes to life,” he said.
Going for a notably more muted look, the artist Tschabalala Self (another co-chair of the event) enlisted her former Bard College class- and room-mate Brandon Blackwood to create her gown and look for the evening. The result was a striking white-silk corseted gown with elements of soft tulle, satin and chiffon. In an interview with Artsy, Self said it struck her as both very contemporary and art historical in its evocations.
“The gown is super contemporary, with lots of different silhouettes,” she said. “It makes me think of Degas’s ballerina sculpture, which is a fusion of this hard bronze sculpture with textile. This garment’s unique textile elements really speak to me, because textiles are such an important part of my practice.”
This year’s Costume Institute exhibition, Costume Art (10 May-10 January 2027), chronicles depictions of dressed figures throughout the Met’s collection, pairing works from its costume collection with art spanning ancient Greek vases to contemporary paintings by Yayoi Kusama. The show marks the debut of the Met’s 12,000-sq.-ft Condé M. Nast Galleries, which will serve as a dedicated and more prominent venue for its blockbuster fashion exhibitions.
The Bezoses may be getting used to being met with protests in artful settings. The couple’s Venice wedding in summer 2025, reported to have cost between $47m and $56m, sparked highly visible protests around the city. According to Forbes, Jeff Bezos, the founder and chairman of Amazon, is currently the fourth-richest person in the world with a net worth of $280bn.
South African singer Tyla’s sandy Balmain dress was a show-stopper—and not just because she had to be carried up the stairs
The annual benefit gala’s theme for this year is “The Garden of Time”; as usual, Vogue editor Anna Wintour will chair the event
The Metropolitan Museum’s annual fashion extravaganza drew divergent interpretations of its Gilded Age theme

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NewsOne Crossword May 6th was originally published on newsone.com

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Right on schedule for Mother’s Day, adidas Originals has the momma’s boys covered in the form of a sneaker collab with MENACE Los Angeles.
Mother’s Day will always garner some sort of sweet collaboration, and when it comes to the sneaker community we think adidas might have it in the bag.
With the adidas Originals x MENACE Superstar “Old Rose,” arriving right on time for the occasion at hand, many momma’s boys of the world will be able to honor the top ladies of their lives with a flip on the floral tradition.

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While it’s perfectly acceptable to still show up with flowers for mom, necessary even in some cases, these provide a cool alternative if you’ve got something extra to spend on yourself. Steven Mena, creator and head designer of the LA-based imprint, made these in direct tribute to his own mother who gave him the strong example to be a leader in his field today. Naturally, her favorite color is the antique beauty of an Old Rose. As he told The Three Stripes in the press release, “These shoes carry her spirit, the weight of those sacrifices, and the love that is the foundation for everything we’ve built. This one is for my mom, and for every mom out there.”
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Although they look soft to the touch, the silhouette is actually built from rugged materials to evoke the spirt of workwear. The pink hue is a bright pop, but comes balanced out by a rubber gumsole and heavily etched suede upper. The paisley print bandana embroidery finishes off the premium detailing.
As an added bonus, adidas Originals and MENACE will bring the collaborative efforts in-store with a pop-up flower shop running on Saturday (May 9) for a pre-Mother’s Day prep in the form of complimentary flowers for the first 100 attendees. They also get a special “buy-one-gift-one” purchase option for the “Old Rose” collab dropping the following day. All those in attendance will have a day of delights with custom conchas by La Princessa Bakery plus matcha and sparkling lemonade by Harun Coffee. The shoe will retail for $180 USD, available through the adidas CONFIMRED app and MENACE LA’s online shop.

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The Rick Ross-French Montana Verzuz battle promises a night of hip-hop’s biggest club anthems.
Two of hip-hop’s most decorated collaborators are finally going head to head. Rick Ross and French Montana are set to face off in a Verzuz battle on Thursday, May 7, streaming live at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT on Apple Music and the Verzuz Instagram page.
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As theGrio previously reported, Verzuz made its highly anticipated return last October with the No Limit Records vs. Cash Money Records matchup, and the Tank and Tyrese battle in March kept the momentum going with a night full of hits and viral moments. USA Today reported that Verzuz is billing the Verzuz showdown as a celebration of the biggest club anthems.
French Montana spoke about what the battle means to him in an interview with Complex. “It’s like student versus the teacher. Rozay is my brother, man. He was one of the people that discovered me when I was coming up,” said the “Unforgettable” and “Pop That” rapper. “It feels good to share the same stage and celebrate with him.” The Verzuz matchup carries that same weight, two artists whose careers have been intertwined for over a decade celebrating together with their catalogs.
This will be Ross’ second time on the Verzuz stage. He previously faced off against 2 Chainz in 2020, one of the platform’s earlier battles before it evolved into full in-person productions. Known for hits like “Aston Martin Music” and “Hustlin’,” Ross brings a deep catalog to the Verzuz matchup. Montana, for his part, has spent years building one of hip-hop’s most consistent runs of features and crossover records.
Verzuz launched during the COVID-19 pandemic as a virtual hit battle between founders Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, and has since grown into one of music’s most-watched live events, with landmark matchups including Brandy vs. Monica, Snoop Dogg vs. DMX and The LOX vs. Dipset at Madison Square Garden.
How to watch: Stream live Thursday, May 7 at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT on Apple Music or the Verzuz Instagram page.

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“Michael” is also the highest-earning music biopic ever, surpassing “Straight Outta Compton” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
The success of “Michael” is translating off-screen. Michael Jackson’s already record-breaking music has surpassed its own streaming numbers.
In the week of April 24-30, also the week of the film’s premiere, Jackson’s solo music discography registered a collective 137.5 million official on-demand streams, according to data from Luminate obtained by Billboard. This is an increase of 146% from the previous week’s high of 55.9 million song clicks.
The late artist’s music has also re-entered the Billboard charts in several different categories. He is currently third on the Billboard Artist 100 list, the highest ranking he’s received since debuting at number 32 in 2014. The hit music leading the King of Pop’s new run is the album “Thriller,” which has re-entered the Billboard 200 at number 27, and the song “Billie Jean,” which previously spent 25 weeks on the Hot 100 and now adds another week at number 38 on the chart.
According to Billboard, 10 of Jackson’s songs, including “Human Nature,” “Man in the Mirror,” “Beat It,” and “Rock With You,” have made their way back onto the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. “Human Nature” and “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” in particular exceeded their previous peak rankings on the list, going from numbers 27 and 46 to numbers 10 and 17.
The music of The Jackson 5 and The Jacksons is also seeing an increase in streams, per Billboard. The Jackson 5 had 4.3 million streams the week before “Michael” hit theaters, which increased to 10.1 million the week the film was released. The Jacksons’ music received over double the amount of clicks in that same timeframe, from 2.1 million to 4.9 million.
Despite mixed reviews, “Michael” had the biggest box office debut ever for a music biopic, bringing in $97 million domestically and $217 million globally. The film beat out the debut numbers for “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Straight Outta Compton.” The film reportedly had a $200 million budget, befitting of the larger-than-life entertainer.

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Migrant Child is seen as a reference to the global refugee crisis
Photo: cabuscaa
A Banksy mural removed from the façade of a 17th-century palazzo in Venice last year will tour the canals of the lagoon city this weekend after having been restored. According to Venezia Today, the revitalised work known as Migrant Child, was unveiled yesterday near the Arsenale, a Biennale site, following extensive conservation funded by the banking group Banca Ifis.
Migrant Child, which shows a child holding a flare in her hand and wearing a life vest, was sprayed onto a wall of the Palazzo San Pantalon, a lavish three-story residence on a canal in Venice’s Santa Croce district, in 2019. Positioned just above the canal’s waterline, it is one of only two works of art in Italy officially attributed to Banksy.
Italy’s ministry of culture announced in 2023 that the piece would be restored by Banca Ifis, sparking debate over whether the piece should be preserved or allowed to decay in situ. The bank purchased Palazzo San Pantalon the following year and commissioned Zaha Hadid Architects to work on the building’s restoration.
The mural—seen as a reference to the global refugee crisis—became a popular tourist attraction but six years of neglect and exposure to the elements caused it to fade, with about a third of the work having deteriorated. It underwent analysis and restoration under the supervision of Federico Borgogni, who also oversaw the 2021 removal of Banksy’s Aachoo! from a Bristol house.
In an online statement, the bank says that “Banksy’s work will once again be made accessible to the public as part of [some] free projects organised by Ifis art [the bank’s cultural arm] in agreement with the authorities responsible for the protection of Venice’s artistic heritage.” Banca Ifis was contacted regarding whether the mural would be returned to Palazzo San Pantalon.

The work at London’s Royal Courts of Justice was revealed by the street artist on Instagram
Proposed urban art museum in South Wales will also include works by Kaws and Blek le Rat
Two men have appeared in court charged with burglary following the theft of a version of ‘Girl with Balloon’

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The rapper said he’s been getting to know himself over the last few years, following a dark period of his life.
Isaiah Rashad has had time to reflect since he was forced to publicly confront his sexual identity, and now says he feels “blessed.”
Speaking to The Breakfast Club after the release of his first project in five years, “It’s Been Awful,” the 34-year-old rapper opened up about the internal work he’s done during that time.
“I went through some shit to an extent, but it was, you know… between being an artist and the expectations of that, and I guess the deconstruction of my masculinity, it’s been a lot of getting to know myself,” Rashad said.
He told host Charlamagne that he had been grappling with his masculinity before the public began discussing and dissecting his sexuality.
“I’m blessed to how everything happened with me,” he said. “And the reception of everything. Because it allowed me to really step back and re-examine what I was doing. Regardless of how much I love myself, I still put myself in an irresponsible situation for anyone to control my narrative.”
Less than a year after he released his second studio album, “The House Is Burning,” Rashad became the subject of online discourse unrelated to his music. Two unconsensually released sex tapes of him with men were leaked, and the rapper had never publicly spoken about having relationships with men prior.
In a time where rapid response is the typical trend, Rashad chose not to speak about or acknowledge the sex tapes for months. It wasn’t until a 2022 interview with Joe Budden that he said he identified as sexually fluid.
The Tennessee artist also opened up about the dark period of his life following the leak, telling Budden that he crashed his car in the days after the video was posted. He also said he was dealing with a separate trauma entirely; his grandfather died, his grandmother was battling cancer, and it was a challenging time for his family.
Isaiah Rashad says he crashed his own car after finding out his sextape leaked

His grandfather died from a stroke 2 days after as well pic.twitter.com/WhOAazarZu
Since then, he’s learned that there’s not a right or wrong way to navigate his identity.
“At some point, I’ve accepted that they don’t make a manual for being a bisexual Black men,” he said. “It was less hiding myself from anything, and more so not knowing how to not be ostracized.”
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The New York African Film Festival had its Opening Night screening at the Lincoln Center with ‘Promised Sky,’ a film many will find relatable.
Stories that trace back to our African roots will always hold a special place in Black culture. That’s why were were honored to join the festivities last night (May 6) at the 2026 New York African Film Festival for an amazing Opening Night presentation.

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Now in its 33rd year, the NYAFF offers a month-long experience in African culture through the lens of various perspectives and mediums. From feature films to shorts, documentaries to animation, cinephiles of all tastes will definitely get a good serving. The festival itself is spread throughout the Big Apple in four portions: a kickoff week via Film At Lincoln Center (5/6 – 5/12), a weekend in Harlem at the Maysles Documentary Center Cinema (5/15 – 5/17), a week at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music (5/22 – 5/28) and a closing outdoor screening finale back in Harlem for one night in St. Nicholas Park (5/30). We can’t promise to be everywhere, but we’ll be doing our best to cover as much as possible and for sure hit up all four locations at the very least.

Getting back to Opening Night, the screening of Promised Sky was a culture shock in realizing just how connected our experiences are as Black people across the world. Spoken entirely in French and Arabic while filmed in Tunisia, the film has been in many foreign film festivals since its premiere a year ago as the opener of the Un Certain Regard section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. The combined efforts of Aïssa Maïga as Marie, Laetitia Ky as Jolie, Deborah Lobe Naney as Naney and pint-sized starlet Estelle Dogbo as Kenza work in tandem to display a captivating tale of survival, prejudice, struggle, sadness, triumph, hope and at the core of it all sisterhood. The 95-minute feature ends with as many questions as it begins with, yet you still leave the theater with a real understanding that we relate as Black people on a deeply innate level. In short, struggles faced in the often-segregated dwellings of Tunisia can easily go hand-in-hand with the inner city woes of Black Americans as well.

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Pussy Riot at the protest outside the Russian pavilion
© Nikita Teryoshin
Major protests have been staged across the Venice Biennale, after weeks of internal political turmoil at the international art event.
On Wednesday, the protest group Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) held a large demonstration outside the temporary Israeli pavilion, which this year has been moved from its permanent Giardini site to the Arsenale.
More than 200 people attended the protest, calling on biennial organisers to stop art-washing and to close the Israeli pavilion. The ANGA organisers, participating protestors, and onlookers—surrounded by photographers and cameramen—then moved further into the narrow area outside the Israeli pavilion, chanting “silence is complicity” and “shame on you” and distributing leaflets. The Israeli pavilion entrance was lined with private security forces and Italian carabinieri, though there was little sense of escalation.
ANGA is also reportedly planning a further demonstration for later in the week.
Less than an hour earlier a second group, the Solidarity Drone Chorus, performed the sound of drones humming, a composition by the Gazan Ahmed Muin that mimics the sound of drone weaponry heard nearly continuously throughout the Gaza war. Around 60 artists from the Biennale’s main exhibition, including Muin, are taking part in the chorus, which is staging daily interventions at 12pm throughout the preview days of the biennial. Each wears a T-shirt bearing the name of an artist from Gaza on the front, and then an image of their work on the back.
“Our goal is to bring attention to the artists in Gaza and to show our solidarity with our community,” one member of the group told The Art Newspaper. He was wearing a T-shirt with the name of Halima Kahlout, who was killed in 2023 along with ten members of her family. Yesterday’s march wound through the Giardini, and featured prominent Lebanese, Palestinian and diaspora artists.
Also on Wednesday in the Giardini, the Russian dissident art group Pussy Riot and the feminist activist group FEMEN protested Russian participation in the art event. More than 50 members of the groups, wearing bright pinks masks, surrounded the Russian pavilion, forcing it to shut its doors.
“Russia’s best citizens are either imprisoned for anti-regime and pro-Ukraine actions or killed in jail, while Europe opens its doors to Putin’s officials and propagandists,” Pussy Riot and FEMEN said in a statement. “If art is meant to represent a country at the Venice Biennale—something like the Olympics of the art world—then artists imprisoned for their anti-war, pro-Ukraine stance are the real face of modern Russia.”
The protests come on the back of an already rocky beginning for the biennial. Just days before the opening, all five of the curators announced they would not be awarding any Golden Lions, the prizes for best pavilion that are typically given out by the jury. The jury previously said they would not consider pavilions from countries whose leaders are “currently charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court”, as they put it in a statement on 20 April—largely understood to be a reference to Russia and Israel. They resigned a week later, in response to what The Art Newspaper understands was immense state pressure. 
There were repeated calls to exclude Israel’s participation in the Biennale, with 236 artists and art professionals from the event and its pavilions signing a petition first circulated by ANGA in October 2025. During the last biennial in 2024, the Israeli artist Ruth Patir opted to close her show at the country’s pavilion, saying at the time she was doing so until a ceasefire and hostage release agreement were reached in the Israel-Hamas war. While protests occurred during that edition, they were far smaller in number and scale than what has already happened by day two of the biennale preview this year.
Israel and Russia’s return to the Biennale has sparked threats of disruption
The five-person jury resigned amid an escalating dispute over the participation of Israel and Russia at this year’s Biennale
Signatories include artists Alfredo Jaar, Yto Barrada, Rosana Paulino, Meriem Bennani and Cauleen Smith, along with curators such as Binna Choi and Carles Guerra
A rally is also planned to take place in the city on the same day, 8 May

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Days after a viral proposal, a sudden death and lingering questions leave Ashlee Jenae’s grieving family searching for truth.
This week, influencer Ashlee Jenae, born Ashly Robinson, was laid to rest in New Jersey. However, as her family and friends gathered to honor her life, one character was notably absent at her funeral: her fiancé Joe McCann. 
People magazine and TMZ report that McCann, who had been with Jenae on the trip where she was found dead, did not attend the funeral, raising even more questions for those following the case. 
As previously reported by theGrio, the influencer was sharing updates about her birthday trip-turned-engagement on social media. On April 3, Jenae shared a video of Mcann’s proposal on Instagram. However, by April 9th, she was reportedly found unconscious in her hotel room before being pronounced dead. While authorities initially believed her death was a suicide, her family is seeking more answers. 
“The suddenness, the unanswered questions, and the distance from home have made this tragedy even more overwhelming for our family. At this time, there is an active investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ashly’s suspicious passing,” they wrote in a statement. “Although we have many questions, we are placing our trust in the officials in Zanzibar and are working closely with them as we seek clarity and answers.”
Five days after her death, McCann’s travel documents were reportedly withheld as he continued to be questioned by authorities. Though they have not accused McCann of any wrongdoing, police report that the couple had been fighting 
 Police in Zanzibar have said the couple had a dispute days before the incident, prompting hotel staff to move them into separate rooms “for the safety of each other.” Authorities later confirmed McCann was being questioned as a witness and emphasized that no arrests had been made.
“As we grieve, we are also navigating an ongoing investigation and the challenges of being thousands of miles away while trying to bring Ashly home with dignity and seek answers,” her parents wrote on a donation page.
 Ashlee Jenae’s parents launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral arrangements, travel, and related expenses. The fundraiser has raised more than $60,000, with over 1,200 contributors.
“Our beloved daughter, Ashly Robinson, traveled to Zanzibar, Africa to celebrate her 31st birthday and got engaged during what should have been a joyful and memorable trip. Just days later, she was found unconscious in her villa at the Zuri Hotel and was rushed to a local hospital, where her death was confirmed hours later. What was meant to be a dream became our family’s worst nightmare,”  her parents wrote on the page. “As we grieve, we are also navigating an ongoing investigation and the challenges of being thousands of miles away while trying to bring Ashly home with dignity and seek answers.”
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Manager Blue isn’t going anywhere, and she’s not doing anything she doesn’t want to do!
Blue Ivy Carter’s first appearance at the Met Gala may have looked effortless, but behind the scenes, it seems there was a bit of a push to get her to ditch one key accessory. Her unwillingness to comply wasn’t just a total teen moment; it fell in line with the longstanding “Manager Blue” meme about the 14-year-old being in charge of the whole family.
As seen in a video obtained by the Daily Mail, the eldest daughter of Beyoncé and Jay-Z walked the Met steps in a flowing cream Balenciaga gown paired with a matching bomber jacket as she joined her mom at the iconic venue.
At one point, Beyoncé’s longtime publicist Yvette Noel-Schure approached Blue and repeatedly motioned for her to take off her sunglasses for some pictures. She then turned to Beyoncé, appearing to ask her to step in and encourage her daughter to remove them. Stylist Ty Hunter also joined in, followed by Jay-Z, who all made the same request.
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Still, with everyone on her team telling her otherwise, Blue Ivy didn’t budge. She kept the sunglasses on as cameras flashed around her, seemingly ignoring the repeated suggestions.
Despite the rest of the world wanting her to remove the glasses, Beyoncé seemed completely unfazed. The Met Gala co-chair, who wore a skeleton-inspired gown by Olivier Rousteing, smiled at her daughter throughout their time together on the red carpet.
All across social media, clips later spread that seemed to back up the idea that Blue Ivy had no interest in removing her shades.
Blue’s Met Gala debut wasn’t just iconic; it also broke from a long-standing guideline. In recent years, the event has required attendees to be at least 18 years old. However, organizers told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018 that the Met Gala is “not an appropriate event for people under 18,” noting that exceptions can be made if minors attend with their parents.
Blue Ivy was granted that exception, likely helped by Beyoncé’s role as a co-chair of the event alongside Nicole Kidman, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, and Anna Wintour. Kidman’s 17-year-old daughter, Sunday Rose Urban, was also in attendance.
Despite the sunglasses standoff, Beyoncé couldn’t help but gush about sharing the night with her daughter.
“It feels surreal [to be back] because my daughter’s here,” she told Vogue, referencing her return to the Met Gala after a decade away. “She looks so beautiful. It’s incredible to be able to share it with her, and I think she looks so incredible.”
Blue Ain’t Budging! Blue Ivy Goes Viral For Refusing To Remove Her Shades On The Met Gala Red Carpet was originally published on bossip.com

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May 3, 2026
Reuben Armstrong, a former minister-turned-best-selling author and activist, is stepping into one of the most controversial religious debates in America with his bold new book, God Doesn’t Need Your Money: God Isn’t Collecting, Your Pastor Is. He says that every Sunday, millions of Americans who are struggling financially are being victimized as they place both their faith and their money in the hands of churches across the country, especially Black churches.
Armstrong is confronting what he describes as a culture of pressure, guilt, and blind giving, where believers are encouraged to give faithfully but discouraged from asking honest questions about how their money is used.
He comments, “As a former minister myself, I’ve seen how this system works from the inside. Congregations are often made to feel guilty if they don’t give, pressured to hand over money meant for bills, rent, even food for their families, all while being promised a blessing. That’s not faith. That’s a system taking advantage of belief.”
Armstrong points directly to the influence of high-profile megachurch leaders such as T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, and Jamal Bryant as central figures in the rise of prosperity-driven church culture – a system he says has reshaped how millions view faith, money, and leadership. He argues that this culture has created an environment in which financial sacrifice is expected, but financial transparency is rarely demanded.
“This isn’t about attacking God,” he says. “This is about exposing a system that has learned how to profit from people’s belief in God.”
Armstrong says the conversation is especially urgent in the Black church, where faith, loyalty, and financial sacrifice have long been deeply connected–– but emphasizes that the issue extends across all modern megachurch systems. With trust in major institutions continuing to decline across the country, he believes churches cannot remain beyond scrutiny simply because the subject is uncomfortable.
His book, God Doesn’t Need Your Money: God Isn’t Collecting, Your Pastor Is, is available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, and eBook formats.
Previously posted on BlackNews.com.
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In this exclusive, Eliany Puello shares how her post went viral, plus more deals and discounts for teachers this week.
Teacher Appreciation Week has begun, and at least one teacher based in Washington, D.C. is getting to ride to school for free courtesy of Lyft. 
Over the weekend, Eliany Puello, a pre-k teacher in Northeast DC, went viral after she made a plea to Uber ahead of Teacher Appreciation Week to potentially comp her rides, since she, like many teachers, relies on rideshares to get to her school.
“I am a DC teacher who Ubers to and from work EVERY SINGLE DAY to pour my heart & knowledge out into my Pre-k babies. All I want for Teacher Appreciation Week next week is for Uber to sponsor my rides for a week. Is that too much to ask for? THRIENDS… help me make this happen!!!” she wrote in a post on Threads.  
Sure enough, her thriends came through, and while Uber did not respond, their competitor Lyft stepped up to the plate and offered her a credit on her account.
“We’re not Ub*r, but we love our teachers! Check your dms,” the company replied in the comments. 
The exchange has since gone viral, launching the educator and entrepreneur into an unexpected moment. But she told theGrio by phone on Tuesday that the virality of her post has shown her that, “there’s people out here who actually care.”
“And for Lyft to come through, like, message me directly,” she continued, adding, “I was like, me out of all people? But it feels nice. It feels very nice that they chose me, and I’m able to show up to work easier because sometimes we are pinching pennies as teachers.”
Puello, who identifies as Afro-Latina and has been teaching for six years and currently teaches at a charter school in an underserved area of the city, said this gesture from Lyft has helped her immensely. 
“This helped me show up for my kids,” she said. 
Since her post went viral, other teachers have been wondering how they, too, can get in on any potential ride-share deal, as Lyft has yet to announce a special Teacher Appreciation Week promotion others can make use of.
“I have seen other teachers post similar things, and I try to repost their stuff, you know, so they can also get a piece of the cake,” Puello said, adding, “We don’t gatekeep around here. I like to help other teachers out.”
Lyft did not immediately respond to theGrio’s request for comment. 
When asked what she hopes others take away from this unexpected Teacher Appreciation Week blessing, Puello said she hopes others realize how integral the “village” is for a young student, even if that means making sure their educators can get to work.
“I feel like when the parents and others feed into the children, it shows,” she explained. “It takes a village to really build up students. So just be there. Support kids as best as you can, whether that’s giving them resources, donating to their school, whatever it is, putting them in activities, just doing things that they’ll always remember, because you never know how you can impact a child.”
Teachers’ Appreciation Week, which runs now through Friday, May 8, was initially established in 1984 by the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) to celebrate teachers’ dedication through the school year. Over time, the week has evolved into a way to raise awareness of the challenges educators face—and to offer tangible support to a profession that remains among the most under-resourced and underpaid. 
While it’s unclear whether Lyft will introduce additional promotions, a range of other deals are already available through the end of the week, including free breakfasts, discounts on classroom supplies, and streaming service offers. Below, we’ve rounded up some of the best deals currently available for teachers.
Chick-fil-A – While they are not doing a nationwide promotion, some area locations are offering promotions, so check your local Chick-fil-A. 
Chipotle – The fast-casual Mexican restaurant is offering 100,000 free meals to teachers and educators. Sign up for a chance to win now through May 12. 
Whataburger – The burger chain is giving free breakfast nationwide to teachers and school staff on Thursday, May 7, from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. local time. Check with your local Whataburger for exact timing, as promotion hours may vary by location.
Buffalo Wild Wings – Teachers and school staff get 20% off their dine-in order now through May 10 with a valid school ID. 
Nuuly – Enjoy 29% off of their monthly subscription and receive a new set of clothes for $70. All you need to do is verify that you are a teacher through SheerID to unlock the offer.
Rothy’s – Step in style and comfort next year by enjoying 20% off at checkout. 
Stitch Fix – The online styling service is offering $40 off their first “fix” to teachers. 
Target – teachers can save 10% or more through the store’s Target Circle program now through Saturday, May 9. 
Canva – Verified teachers can get Canva Premium for free and use endless of templates and design tools for their projects.
Peacock – Catch up on your streaming with 12 months of Peacock Premium for just $6.99.
Tarte – Tarte offers K-12 teachers who verify their profession a 40% discount on its entire website all year long. 
Yeti – Teachers can save 15% off Yeti products all year long on yeti.com through id.me! 
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“This is our moment in time to resist, to persist, to fight back,” Tennessee State Rep. Justin J. Pearson tells theGrio.
A week after the Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Republican state legislatures in former slave states in the South have quickly moved to pass redrawn congressional maps targeting districts comprised of majority Black and brown communities.
While the outcome is almost inevitable in these states where Republicans hold strong majorities, Black Democratic state legislators aren’t taking the likely political defeats silently. Many are using their microphones and the power of resistance and organizing to, if not prevent, at the very least bring attention to what they say is President Donald Trump and Republicans’ deliberate effort to seize more power at the expense of what is fair and democratic, and more than 60 years of voting rights protections for Black Americans.
“It’s disturbing and disgusting to see how this administration and the white leadership here are trying to codify white supremacy and dilute Black political voting power because that’s what’s happening,” Tennessee State Rep. Justin J. Pearson tells theGrio. “I think none of us should make any mistake about what is going on. The attempt to remove Black representation and our ability to elect representatives of our choice is one of the most significant attacks on Black voter participation and Black voter representation since the end of Reconstruction.”
Pearson would be directly affected by the Tennessee General Assembly’s redistricting, which is already underway. The Republican majority is seeking to eliminate the 9th Congressional District, the only Democratic district in the state, based in Memphis, a majority-Black city. Pearson, who represents state District 86, is a candidate in the Democratic primary election for the 9th Congressional District, currently represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen.
The new map, unveiled on Wednesday, would split Memphis, a city that is more than 60% Black, into three districts, which critics note will dilute the ability of Black residents, staunch Democratic voters, to influence the outcome of elections–and, more importantly, have their policy and political interests represented in Congress.
The Supreme Court ruled on April 29 that, moving forward, claims of racial discrimination in map redistricting under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act must prove that race was intentionally used as the basis. The conservative majority said targeting Black voters is legally permissible if the reason is political. Critics say now Republicans have the green light to carve out majority-Black districts–as long as they say it’s political–simply because Black voters tend to vote for Democrats.
In response to the redistricting effort, Pearson joined other Democrats and residents in protest and introduced several bills to protect voting rights in Tennessee and beyond, including a resolution calling on Congress to codify the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore the protections gutted by the Supreme Court over the past decade. On Monday, the 31-year-old lawmaker led a 9-mile march with constituents to “Defend District 9.” On Wednesday, Pearson joined hundreds of protesters both inside and outside the State Capitol in Nashville as Republicans advanced the map through the legislature.
Pearson said resistance is demanded in this moment, telling theGrio, “America has never been a democracy in and of itself or by itself. It’s been because of pressure, persistence, and people who persevered through the trauma, the lynching, the violence, the degradation that we’ve experienced.”
He added, “This is our moment in time to resist, to persist, to fight back. And we have to realize we’re not in this just for this week, or these months, we’re in this for a lifetime in order that we might leave this country in a different place than we’re currently experiencing it and have inherited it.”
In Florida, Republicans passed a new congressional map on Monday that redraws districts held by Black members of Congress, although some remain Democratic leaning.
Ahead of a vote on the map in the House of Representatives, Florida State Rep. Angie Nixon, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, used a bullhorn to call out her Republican colleagues on the House floor during legislative proceedings.
“This is a violation of the Constitution,” she shouted. “I will not allow you to destroy our democracy!”
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After the House floor demonstration, Nixon explained that she had to “disrupt” the proceedings because the new map was illegal under Florida’s state constitution and “diminished representation” for Black, Latino, and Jewish communities in Florida.
“This is a slap in the face to voters,” said Nixon. “Republicans are only doing this so they can look out for Donald Trump and allow him to have unfettered power.”
Though Democrats are used to being drowned out by the Republican majorities in Florida, Nixon urged, “We have to do something different!”
Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones turned to the tactic of shaming Republicans. During a Senate committee hearing on Florida’s new map, the lawmaker reminded his Republican colleagues that Florida voters already voted in 2010 to ban political gerrymandering in the state.
“Shame on us for listening to Washington, D.C. before you listen to the 24 million people in this state,” said Jones.
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The Florida senator told theGrio, “Black Floridians should be mad as hell, but motivated at the same time. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Districts Amendments passed by voters in 2010 were not suggestions; they were mandates.” He continued, “When communities that have historically fought for representation suddenly find their voting strength weakened, people have every right to ask whether this is racial gerrymandering wrapped in politics.”
Jones added, “And if some folks want a civil rights era fight over voting rights and representation, I think they’ve met their match, because going backward is not an option.”
While some Democrats are engaging in civil disobedience in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights era, others are adopting another tactic of Dr. King’s by appealing to their morals.
Back in Tennessee, State Senator London Lamar sought to reach the consciences of her Republican colleagues.
“I need you to know this will be one of the most racist actions taken in the…modern history of this legislature,” Lamar said on the Senate floor as they moved to eliminate the only seat of power for Black voters in Memphis. “I know some of you sitting in this body actually don’t agree with this. I know you don’t. But there’s an opportunity for you to have some courage…Y’all know this is wrong. You know it. You know it.”
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Senator London added, “I’m calling on the soul of you to do the right thing. Let’s not carve out Memphis because you can’t fairly win in a ballot box or to favor one member in this body’s path to Congress. If you do this, this is racist, and it’s intent…Let’s call it what it is.”
Resistance from Black legislators in the South will most likely continue as other states are advancing gerrymandered maps targeting majority-Black districts, including Alabama, the birthplace of the Voting Rights Act, and Louisiana, where the Voting Rights Act case was decided by the Supreme Court last week.
Rep. Pearson, who noted that Memphis was a “pillar of the civil rights movement and civil rights struggle,” said the resistance must go on and urged Democrats to invest in the South.
“We can never lose hope. This is a moment, particularly in the South, where we have to start investing in our infrastructure for the short term, the medium term, and the long term,” he told theGrio. “As long as Democrats participate in U.S. races, gubernatorial races, we might be able to change the way that the country is functioning and operating. And so I’m not giving up on us.”

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