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February 19, 2026
The lack of fuel and oil due to President Donald Trump’s tariff threats has resulted in a domino effect of turmoil in Cuba, including a decline in economic prosperity. 
Life for close to 10 million residents has come to a halt as tourism has plummeted amid a lack of incoming flights and warnings from the UK and Canada against non-essential travel to Cuba. Schools are empty, classes are suspended, and workers are furloughed to save energy.
Hotels are reporting vacancies after the annual Habanos Cigar Festival, which brings in millions in revenue, was canceled. 
Tour guide Mandy Pruna, who is famous for cruising in his bright red 1957 Chevrolet with visitors such as Will Smith and Rihanna on classic-car tours, reminisced about the period of economic prosperity the country saw after former President Barack Obama restored diplomatic relations with the Caribbean nation in 2015.
“All sectors of society benefited from that,” Pruna said.
“You saw people painting their houses, opening new businesses. For me, it was fantastic. It was the best era for tourism in Cuba.”
Now the streets are paved with mountains of garbage as the lack of fuel has stopped working dump trucks from doing their pick-up jobs in neighborhoods. According to DW, only 44 of Havana’s 106 garbage trucks were fully operational as of February 2026. ​​”It’s all over the city,” resident Jose Ramon Cruz said. 
“It’s ‌been more than 10 days since a garbage truck came.”
The issue of a public health crisis has increased as it seems Cuba cannot lean on its remaining allies to supply the hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of fuel needed to keep the economy going.
However, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has called on residents to “resist creatively” and adopt what he calls “a wartime mentality.”
“We will eat what we can produce in each place. Now if there is less fuel, then food will not be able to leave from some municipalities to other ones,” President Diaz-Canel said during a January 2026 televised appearance. 
But the business owner residents aren’t feeling it.
“We are paying two, three times as much to restock and keep people happy,” one food vendor said. “There’s no food. The impact will be terrible. We won’t have anything.”
It doesn’t look like the country will receive much help from the U.S. as Trump has referred to the country as “a failed nation,” pushing for it to make a deal with Secretary of State and Cuban-American, Marco Rubio, because it’s really a humanitarian threat.” 
While Florida Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar gives the option of resolving short-term suffering or “free Cuba forever,” those who call Cuba home, like Pruna, are thinking about leaving for good, as he no longer sees a future. “Everything is uncertain at the moment. There’s no fuel. We don’t know if  there will be any and how we will pay for it,” he said.
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Former President Barack Obama recently said aliens are real, but clarified that there’s “no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us.”
President Donald Trump accused Barack Obama of sharing classified information following the former president’s recent comments about aliens being real.
“They’re real, but I haven’t seen them. And they’re not being kept in…Area 51. There’s no underground facility unless there’s this enormous conspiracy, and they hid it from the president of the United States,” Obama told podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen. He later clarified that he saw “no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us.”
On Thursday, when asked about Obama’s remarks and whether or not there are actual aliens, President Trump told reporters on Air Force One, “Well, I don’t know if they’re real or not, but I can tell you he gave classified information. He made a big mistake.”
He added, “He gave classified information; he’s not supposed to be doing that.” 
Public interest in the existence of aliens has persisted for decades and has spawned numerous conspiracies. Sightings of mysterious drones in U.S. skies, flying over sensitive airspaces such as military bases and airports in 2023 and 2024, sparked alarm, including from members of Congress who demanded intelligence analysis. Under President Joe Biden, several flying objects were shot down by U.S. fighter jets.
But Trump’s callout of Obama for allegedly sharing classified information follows a series of personal and political attacks over the years.
Trump, who once led the racist birther conspiracy about Obama’s citizenship, has repeatedly accused America’s first Black president of spying on his 2016 presidential campaign. Last year, Trump, without evidence, suggested that the 44th president of the United States should be jailed for “treason” in connection with an intelligence report on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
Most recently, Trump posted a racist video of Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, depicting the former president and first lady as apes. The president even used a tribute post to Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died on Tuesday at 84, to take a dig at Obama.
Responding to Trump’s racist video of him and his wife, President Obama told Cohen, “It’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling.”
He added, “It is true that it gets attention, that it’s a distraction. But as I’m traveling around the country, you meet people… they still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness. And there’s this sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on television.”
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When life came swinging, Karrueche Tran did not flinch.
Deion Sanders is praising his prime pick, Karrueche Tran, for standing by his side during his cancer battle, even when he gave her the option to leave.

According to Complex, Coach Prime, 58, gave his girlfriend, 37, a full permission slip to exit stage left after he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bladder cancer in spring 2025. Yes, Coach Prime himself basically told her, “Baby, you can clock out if this is too much.”
In a video posted to his personal Instagram, Karrueche revealed that Deion told her she did not have to stay and did not have to deal with his health battle. He admitted he would not have been upset if she decided to bow out because, in his words, she “didn’t sign up for this.”
“I would not be upset … if you checked out.”
That is not light pillow talk. That is real life.
Sanders later underwent bladder reconstruction surgery in July under Dr. Janet Kukreja at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and was declared cured. But the road there was rocky. He also had to undergo another surgery in the fall for blood clots, marking his 16th surgery overall. And through every hospital visit, recovery day, and emotional spiral, Karrueche was right there.
Karrueche admitted it was mentally hard. She said it was difficult. But she made it clear she is not built to run when things get uncomfortable. In her words, leaving would have been “the easy way out.” Instead, she chose to stay and fight alongside him.
“If I [had] dipped, I would’ve taken the easy way out,” said Karrueche. “It was hard, it was difficult mentally. … But we made it work.”
Now, if you have been paying attention, this devotion should not shock you. As we previously reported, Deion has been grinning ear to ear whenever Karrueche’s name comes up. In a previous BOSSIP post, Coach Prime could barely contain himself as he called her a “good woman” who has brought joy to his life. The Sanders clan has welcomed her in, his kids rock with her, and even the grandbaby is locked in.
But this right here? This is different.

Deion has said the cancer diagnosis shifted his mindset and pushed him to truly start living. Karrueche believes she is part of that purpose, encouraging him to travel, experience new things, and enjoy life outside of football.
Listen. Plenty of relationships crumble under far less pressure. An age gap, public scrutiny, and a major health scare would have sent many packing. But these two seem locked in. And in an era where loyalty feels rare, Karrueche standing beside her man through 16 surgeries is not just girlfriend behavior. That is ride or die energy.
Shout out to the happy, persevering couple.
RELATED: Karrueche Tran Seemingly Confirms Coach Prime Coupledom Amid Deion Sanders’ Bladder Cancer Announcement
The post Prime Pick: Deion Sanders Says He Gave Karrueche The Option To Leave Amid His Cancer Battle But She Stayed–‘We Made It Work’ appeared first on Bossip.
Prime Pick: Deion Sanders Says He Gave Karrueche The Option To Leave Amid His Cancer Battle But She Stayed–‘We Made It Work’ was originally published on bossip.com

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While the Barbican has not commented on the reasons for Devyani Saltzman’s departure, The Stage reports that she was made redundant Photo: pxl.store
Devyani Saltzman, the director of arts and participation at the Barbican Centre in London, is leaving her post after only 18 months in the role. According toThe Stage, Saltzman was made redundant. In a statement, Saltzman says the move is “due to an organisational restructure” and that her role will not be replaced.
Saltzman recently announced a five-year creative vision for the venue, saying last June: “At a time of deep international geopolitical and technological change, our ideas-led, seasonal approach allows us tangibly to respond to the world today, through a programme that allows audiences to see the world holistically, in a wholly new light: interconnected, and always evolving.” In January a new chief executive, Abigail Pogson, started at the central London arts venue, which draws around 1.5 million people annually.
Saltzman, appointed in 2024, was previously the director of public programming at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. “Key to her vision for the next chapter of the Barbican is the potential to create a new type of ethos in public institutions that is truly in service to their people and public, in addition to presenting the best of cutting-edge programming,” said a press statement on her appointment.
In her statement about her departure, posted on 17 February, she said: “This chapter has been defined by the joy of collaboration, ambition, and bold programming. Working alongside an exceptional team of leaders, curators, programmers and producers, we set out to reimagine the Barbican’s artistic future at a pivotal moment. Together, we designed and delivered a bold reset of the artistic vision (2025-30), positioning the centre as a global platform for interdisciplinary practice, international exchange and urgent cultural dialogue.”
She thanked the Barbican board, the City of London Corporation, the Barbican’s global partners, resident companies and associates, supporters, artists and internal team. She continued: “I am excited for the next chapter: continuing to work internationally, contributing to global conversations including at the Hong Kong International Cultural Summit and the Venice Biennale, developing new partnerships, contributing to global cultural strategy, and preparing for the publication of my forthcoming book, Exiting: Towards a Future of Work that Serves Us All, in early 2027.”
The Barbican said in a statement: “The Barbican Centre today announces that, after two highly successful years, Devyani Saltzman will be departing from her role as director for arts in May 2026, following a phase of artistic and organisational transition as the centre prepares for the first stage of Barbican Renewal. Her tenure concludes a complete reset of the Barbican Centre’s Artistic Vision and commissioning key pillars of the main programme until the planned closure in 2028.”
The statement listed her achievements in detail, including “the continued development of large-scale public art commissions, such as this spring’s first UK commission by Colombian artist Delcy Morelo.” It said: “During her tenure, Devyani led the development of a coherent cross-arts strategy, re-establishing the Barbican’s role as a global cultural convenor and setting out the clear artistic pillars… The Barbican thanks Devyani for driving a cross-arts narrative and artistic vision, both of which are rooted in the pressing conversations of our time.”
Saltzman’s departure caps a turbulent time for the Barbican. In 2021 the Barbican Centre carried out an extensive staff reorganisation following the publication of a book that included more than 100 alleged instances of prejudicial behaviour at its venue.
Will Gompertz was appointed director of arts and learning at the Barbican in March 2021, later becoming its artistic director. In late 2023 he left the museum after being appointed the director of Sir John Soane’s Museum in London. Gompertz was at the forefront of implementing the organisation’s anti-racism plan.
In 2023, meanwhile, a display at the Barbican’s Curve Gallery by the Resolve Collective was taken down by the artist group after it accused Barbican staff of censoring a talk at the centre.
According to The Guardian, Saltzman had been seen “as a figure who helped repair trust between the organisation and sections of the artistic community”.
Saltzman said in her statement: “We [Barbican staff and Saltzman] focused on breaking down boundaries between art forms, whilst also honouring individual disciplinary programmes, and strengthening the Barbican’s role as a global cultural convenor. The most profound shift happened internally, creating new cross-arts structures that enabled teams to collaborate and work as one institution that centred deeper engagement with artists and audiences worldwide.”

UPDATE 18/02/2026: This article was updated to include fresh statements from Saltzman and the Barbican
Former BBC culture editor Will Gompertz steps into joint managing director role with Sandeep Dwesar
Devyani Saltzman is new arts director at City of London venue while Nicole Yip replaces Robert Leckie in Bristol
The Indian curator, appointed a year after a racism dispute at the centre, hopes to diversify audiences and expand the presence of art across the Brutalist complex

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David Hockney (left) will create a work for the Sunley Gallery window (right) to celebrate the Margate Museum’s 15th anniversary Hockney: © David Hockney, photo: Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima; gallery: Photo: Richard Bryant, courtesy Turner Contemporary
Artist David Hockney will unveil a major work this spring at Turner Contemporary in Margate, UK, as part of the gallery’s 15th anniversary celebrations. “Measuring seven by ten metres, Hockney’s work will transform the gallery’s iconic floor-to-ceiling window in the Sunley Gallery overlooking Margate’s beaches and the North Sea,” a statement says.
The new window piece (1 April-1 November) will depict a sunrise in Normandy based on a work Hockney made in 2020 as an iPad painting. “Illuminated at night, the work becomes a point of light on the seafront,” says Clarrie Wallis, the director of Turner Contemporary. According to its annual report, Turner Contemporary drew more than 322,000 visitors from 2023 to 2024 (year ending 31 March 2024).
The gallery, which opened in 2011, is inspired by the life and work of the 18th-century British artist JMW Turner who has also been a touchstone for Hockney. In 2007, the Bradford-born artist co-curated an exhibition of Turner’s watercolours at Tate Britain in London.
The appetite for Hockney shows no sign of slowing down in the UK. The Serpentine Galleries’ first-ever show by the octogenarian artist opens next month (12 March-23 August 2026). “The exhibition unveils a new body of work by the celebrated British artist, comprising five still-lifes alongside five portraits that depict members of the artist’s close circle, including his family and carers,” a statement from the London-based gallery says.
The show will also feature A Year in Normandy (2020-21), a 90m-long frieze inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry, showing the change of seasons at the artist’s former studio in Normandy. The Bayeux Tapestry is due to go on show at the British Museum later this year.
Earlier this year Hockney said that bringing the tapestry to London this autumn is “madness”, adding that the “beautiful as well as historically important” masterpiece could be damaged in transit, a claim refuted by the museum director, Nicholas Cullinan.
Hockney shows are a proven crowd-pleaser; his retrospective at Tate Britain in 2017 drew more than 478,000 visitors. The largest-ever exhibition on the British artist also took over the entire Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris last year, attracting thousands of visitors.
More than 150 works will be on display, from those executed early in his career to some whose paint is still wet
Bigger Trees near Warter is 12m long and 4.5m high, and made up of 50 separate canvases
Exhibition comes five years after triumphant Royal Academy show in 2012
We look at which contemporary artists hold the record for the most shows in the capital over the past 20 years

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The conversation arrives not long after Harris returned to social media with her KamalaHQ account being rebranded as Headquarters to engage with young voters ahead of the 2025 midterm elections.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris has made combating misinformation a focal point of her relaunched Headquarters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, a race she and other Democrats are high on for, among other reasons, bringing checks and balances back to Washington, D.C.
Harris spoke with Knowa de Baraso, the 14-year-old who went viral during the 2024 Democratic National Convention for his “Now You Know” podcast and during their candid conversation, Harris opened up about Nicki Minaj leaning into misinformation, why she chose not to run for Governor of California to succeed Gavin Newsom, and her thoughts on President Trump and his views on Black History Month.
When it came to the question of whether she would run again for President, or seek high office in her home state, Harris eased back on the idea of running for the top office in California.
“It’s not my calling,” she said. “But it is a great state, and there’s a lot at stake. California has 40 million people, and when I was U.S. Senator representing California, I was representing 1 in 8 Americans.”
Y’all my full interview with Vice President Kamala Harris is out now!

Go listen:https://t.co/XHk2KmD8DV pic.twitter.com/EXU8FsmSYR
The 49th Vice President spent much of 2025 traveling across the country in promotion of her book, “107 Days.” Along those journeys, she says she spoke to young voters who wanted to take part in the political process and figure out what their best course of action was, given the current state of the government.
“A lot of people, as I’ve been traveling this last year, have been asking what can they do,” Harris said. “One of the things people can do and lets organize around these elections. Part of the pain the country is experiencing is because we have a President and his administration who are subverting the rule of law, who are engaged in frankly, the most callous kind of approach to humanity, and there are no checks and balances.”
She added, “Why are the 2026 elections important? If we take back Congress, the House of Representatives, the Senate, then there will be checks and balances on the President’s power, which right now there are none, and we’re seeing a complete abuse of power.”
Later in her conversation with De Baraso, Harris didn’t hold back her views on Trump, weeks after a post on his Truth Social account depicted former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes, linking his actions and subsequent inaction regarding Black History Month to his character.
“Real talk? When we just saw most recently the President use his social media to disparage and demean in such a disgusting, vile way the former President of the United States and First Lady of the United States, we know that we have a President who does not understand the importance of Black history, or celebrating Black history, or teaching Black history,” Harris told De Baraso.
She added, “He has a history of being hostile to these issues and is quite unapologetic in his approach and attitude, even in his use of language and words. And it’s a shame. We can’t actually ask the children to take their cues around how one should think and talk about their fellow human based on how the President of the United States acts because that would be a very bad example. We have to look to each other and on the subject Black history, we have to look to each other to those that will teach and remind us of America’s history through Black history.””
As far as 2028 is concerned? Harris says she’s focused on 2026.
“We have to focus on what’s in front of us,” she told the young interviewer. “Hopefully, in 2026, we’ll be able to right the ship.
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The former NFL quarterback made the remarks during a podcast discussion about relationships, blended families, and dating expectations.
Former NFL MVP Cam Newton is drawing backlash online after remarks he made about dating and motherhood during a recent podcast appearance.
On the “It’s Giving” podcast, Newton was asked whether he believes a woman’s value gets lowered if she has multiple children by different partners. He responded, “Women’s value get lower, the more children that they have.”
The comment quickly spread across social media, where many users criticized the statement, particularly because Newton himself is the father of nine children with multiple partners.
The conversation, however, came during a broader discussion about relationships, responsibility, and blended families. Newton emphasized that a partner dating a parent must also be willing to accept their children.
Recalling a conversation with one of the mothers of his children, he said he told her that any man unwilling to embrace her kids “ain’t the guy for you.”
“When I came into your life, I was willing to accept you and whatever you had,” he said, adding that some men want a relationship with a woman but not the responsibility of her children. “That ain’t how it works.”
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Newton repeatedly framed parenthood as a lifelong obligation, saying his children — and the women he shares them with — remain part of his responsibility.
“All them children… they’re my responsibility,” he said, later describing co-parenting relationships as similar to a “family business.”
He shares four children with ex-fiancée Kia Proctor, two with LaReina Shaw, and two with his current girlfriend, comedienne Jasmin Brown. He also helped raise Proctor’s child from a previous relationship.
Controversial public commentary has become a hallmark of the retired athlete, with moments from his “Funky Friday” podcast and guest appearances on other shows frequently going viral for his polarizing takes.

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The controversial moment occurred shortly after Reddick won the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s biggest race on Sunday.
What should have been Michael Jordan’s biggest moment as a NASCAR owner on the track following the Daytona 500 turned into a different conversation online.
Jordan, the six-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer, was seen on video interacting with driver Tyler Reddick’s six-year-old son, Beau, after the child appeared to have ice down the back of his shirt. Many on social media believed the interaction was inappropriate, with some users even throwing away their Jordans in protest.
Reddick addressed the controversy during an appearance on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” on SiriusXM on Tuesday (Feb. 17), downplaying the incident and saying the criticism of Jordan has been blown out of proportion.
“From my perspective, I’ve gotten to know Michael and his family very well over the years I’ve been here with 23XI, and I don’t see what other people see when it comes to this,” Reddick said.
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In the clip, Jordan appeared to be pinching the child’s backside and briefly brushed against his leg while confetti fell at the podium. Reddick initially did not comment on the matter when asked on Monday, letting time pass before he gave his full thoughts to Smith.
Jordan himself has not publicly commented on the issue.
Reddick said he remains focused on celebrating the moment of winning his first Daytona 500 and the first Daytona 500 for 23XI Racing, citing his relationship with Jordan and the Jordan family as a huge factor.
“This is a huge moment, the biggest moment of my career,” Reddick told Smith. “A huge moment for my family and his family and I just put that off to the side.”
He added, “I think about the look on Yvette’s face and the whole family and his whole group when they got to Victory Lane too. Just how happy everyone was celebrating together. That’s where I’m at with it.”
In victory lane, Jordan compared winning NASCAR’s biggest race to winning an NBA title.
“It feels like I won a championship,” Jordan said. “Until I get my ring, I won’t even know.”
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Raines, who often went by Ms. Shirley, passed away on Jan. 27 after police conducted a wellness check on her residence.
The death of activist Shirley “Ms. Shirley” Raines set off shockwaves in communities along the West Coast and worldwide. The Beauty 2 The Streetz founder was found unresponsive on the side of her bed at her home on January 27. Despite her youngest daughter attempting to reach her to conduct a wellness check, Raines was pronounced deceased. She was 58 years old.
Her daughter, Danielle Williams, confirmed that Raines died of hypertensive heart disease. The Clark County Coroner’s Office confirmed the manner of death to PEOPLE, saying Raines died naturally and there was no foul play.
With Beauty 2 The Streetz, Raines found a passion in assisting the unhoused by distributing resources and goods, particularly on Skid Row. The organization’s popularity blossomed on TikTok and Instagram, where both pages have combined to amass over 6 million followers. The nonprofit organization also assisted in makeovers for women in the unhoused community.
“Ms. Shirley dedicated her life to serving others and made an immeasurable impact on homeless communities throughout Los Angeles and Nevada,” a post shared on Instagram following Raines’ death reads. “Through her tireless advocacy, deep compassion, and unwavering commitment, she used her powerful media platform to amplify the voices of those in need and to bring dignity, resources, and hope to some of the most underserved populations.”
Two days after Raines’ passing, Beauty 2 The Streetz shared an update on Instagram, thanking the community for its outpouring of support following a “shock” loss.
“We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love, prayers, and comfort we have received for our beloved CEO, Ms. Shirley Raines,” the statement read. “Your support has meant more to us than words can express during this incredibly difficult time.”
The statement continued: “We are working closely with Ms. Shirley’s family to ensure her legacy is honored as we move forward and that the work she was so deeply proud of continues. We ask that you please understand this is an extremely difficult time for all involved, and we kindly ask for positivity in honor of Ms. Shirley. Thank you for the continued love and support shown to Ms. Shirley, her family, and the Beauty 2 The Streetz team.”
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Barack Obama addressed the racist video of him posted by President Donald Trump, denouncing it and similar social media posts as a “clown show.”
President Donald Trump’s recent and disturbing repost of a video depicting Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes caused many across the nation to speak out against it. The former president finally addressed it in a recent interview, noting that it was something that seems to be representative of Trump and those who share his views. Political commentator Brian Taylor Cohen asked Obama, “How do we come back from all of this?”
“Well, first of all, I think it’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,” Obama said at the outset of the 47-minute-long interview. “It is true that it gets attention. It’s true that it’s a distraction. But as I’m traveling around the country, as you’re traveling around the country, you meet people, they still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness.”
“There’s this sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on television, and what is true is that there doesn’t seem to be any shame about this among people who used to feel like you had to have some sort of decorum and a sense of propriety and respect for the office, right?” Obama said to Cohen. “That’s been lost.”
“But the reason I point out that I don’t think the majority of the American people approve of this is because ultimately, the answer is going to come from the American people,” he continued, adding: “We just saw this in Minnesota, in Minneapolis.” 
The racist video of the former president and first lady was posted on Trump’s Truth Social media platform a little over a week ago. In his typical pattern, he expressed that he “didn’t make a mistake,” with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt offering a nonsensical defense. An unidentified staffer would also be blamed for the insult. It would also result in Trump being blasted by Democrats, and in a surprising move, by some Republicans who demanded that he take the video down.
Check out the entire interview above.
The Audacity: Barack Obama Calls Trump’s Racist Video “Clown Show” was originally published on hiphopwired.com

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The couple wed in 2015 in a courthouse ceremony, but Taylor had never officially proposed until he picked her show in Houston alongside Anthony Hamilton to do so.
Fantasia isn’t letting any drama stop her from celebrating her husband.
After a public back-and-forth with her estranged father Joseph on social media, the Grammy Award winner took to Instagram on Wednesday (Feb. 18) to show her love to Kendall Taylor, days after he re-proposed to his wife during her concert in Houston on Valentine’s Day.
“For 11 years, for many anniversaries, for many birthdays, Valentine’s, I shared my angel with you,” Taylor told the crowd. “So give me some grace and share my wife back with me.”
The couple revealed that they wed without Taylor actually getting down on one knee to propose. Once he did, Fantasia fell to her knees with joyful tears and slipped off her wedding band in favor of her new ring, which featured 11 carats, one for each year of their marriage.
A post shared by Fantasia Taylor (@fantasia)
Despite the happy moment in Houston, trouble brewed online. Joseph Barrino, Fantasia’s father, went on Facebook and alleged that Taylor had been stealing money from his daughter and said the proposal was nothing more than “fake cry bull crap.”
“Fake Cry Bull Crap…hes giving back some of the missing money the fired financial committee says hes probably stole…that they couldn’t account for…y’all pray for fantasia! I hate this for her!” he wrote on Monday (Feb. 16). Barrino went further, addressing some of his claims on Facebook Live, suggesting that Taylor attempted to pin the missing money on an individual tasked to handle the singer’s finances.
“I was just told a week or so ago by a financial person that was fired from her camp that that they were running up on him [Kendall] because their was money missing,” Joseph said in his video. “And there was no paper trail on his part, the other folk got fired but he got her [the financial person] fired.”
He later added, “If she don’t talk to me because I’m trying to help her, that’s God, she gon have to deal with God for that. There’s too many celebrities who have went down because of the same thing. You say you love God but you put a man before him.”
Fantasia hit back at her father’s accusations, posting a screenshot of his arrest record and claiming him to be a “donor.” In a since-deleted Instagram post, the “Truth Is” singer laid it all out there for the public to view.
“I wasn’t Going to do this but this has Gotten Out of Hand,” Fantasia began. “I cant even call you Dad or a Father, you are a DONOR!!!:
She added, “We have covered for you long enough. My Mom and Me have made you LOOK like you were and Okay Man but NOW YOU HAVE COME FOR MY KING!!! Tonight I will go Live and behind me will stand all who know YOU!!!! How can someone steal if I Fantasia Taylor is the CEO and My King Kendall Taylor is the President of ALL OUR COMPANIES. Tonight I shall help finish the war you STARTED!!!”
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“Donald Trump thinks about the world purely through the lens of transaction, but you cannot transact respect, dignity, empowerment, and opportunity,” Democratic strategist Joel Payne told theGrio.
After kicking off Black History Month with a racist post about former President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama, and disinviting America’s only Black governor, Wes Moore, from an upcoming dinner, President Donald Trump was met with an alternative embrace from Black conservative supporters during a Black History Month reception hosted at the White House.
Hundreds of mostly Black MAGA-friendly guests cheered on Trump and chanted “four more years!” as he delivered remarks on Wednesday in the East Room, where Black members of his administration touted his perceived accomplishments for the more than 48 million Americans living in the United States.
“We thank God for the strength and courage and regret and devotion and Black Americans who have helped make America the most powerful country in the history of the world,” said Trump.
The president was joined by Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Scott Turner; Dr. Ben Carson, who also served as HUD secretary and now advises in the Department of Health and Human Services; White House Pardon Czar Alice Johnson, among others, who delivered remarks of praise for Trump on issues like criminal justice reform, HBCU funding and the president’s signature Opportunity Zones program to incentize private investment in underdeveloped communities.
Johnson, who was pardoned by Trump in 2020 before being hired to lead the White House’s pardon program, told the crowd how much she “loved” the president.
“This president, President Donald Trump, brought me from the prison pit to the White House!” exclaimed Johnson, who added, “Don’t let anyone tell you that this president right here, Donald Trump…is not for Black America because he cares.”
Forlesia Cook, a grandmother who lost her grandson to gun violence in Washington, D.C., probably drew the loudest applause as she delivered fiery praise of Trump, whom she defended against claims that he is racist.
“I don’t wanna hear nothin’ you got to say about that racist stuff!” said Cook. “And don’t be looking at me on the news hating on me because I’m standing up for somebody that deserves to be standing up for. Get off the man’s back! Let him do his job!”
The deliberate efforts by Black MAGA to defend Trump come after heightened coverage of the racist post of the Obamas, and subsequent efforts by Trump to push back by posting pictures of himself with Black celebrities before he was president, and claiming in a tribute post to civil rights icon, Rev. Jesse Jackson, that he was “falsely and consistently called a racist” by Democrats.
“Donald Trump thinks about the world purely through the lens of transaction, but you cannot transact respect, dignity, empowerment, and opportunity. Black folks have watched this president and his Administration insult Black and brown people,” Democratic strategist Joel Payne told theGrio. “They have seen him use power to strip rights and recognition from our community. They have seen him use the bully pit to belittle our experience. Donald Trump has failed Black America in his second term the same way he failed Black America in his first term.”
A White House fact sheet on Trump’s perceived successes for Black Americans noted actions such as the launch of Trump Accounts for U.S. children born between 2025 and 2028, and the president’s signature tax cuts. However, economists note that the Trump tax cuts will mostly benefit the rich and corporations.
Meanwhile, Black Americans, who, along with Native Americans, have the highest poverty rates in the country, are staring down unemployment levels as high as they were during the Covid-19 pandemic. What’s more, Trump’s executive orders prohibiting DEI have restricted how Black history is taught in schools and displayed on federal sites, and resulted in cuts to racial equity investments to close gaps in health care, housing, educational access, and environmental harm.
“The things that we see Trump attacking are the things that he’s been able to make vulnerable through propaganda and disinformation,” U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., told theGrio. “They’ve been able to kind of cause fissures in what we think about the institutions that we have in our community and the programs that we have in our communities that work.”
The congresswoman continued, “The first stage before cutting diversity, equity, inclusion programs across the country, before cutting federal jobs, they had to convince us that it wasn’t working as intended, or that it wasn’t working at all, or they had to convince us we didn’t deserve to have it.”
While the Trump administration has faced setbacks in federal court over things like banning DEI in colleges and universities, or recently removing a slavery exhibit from a national site in Philadelphia, Lee urged, “Don’t be fooled. They always have a next thing that they’re looking at.”
The Pennsylvania lawmaker said Trump’s crusade against racial justice is why Democrats must win back power in Congress in November’s midterm elections.
“They have nothing but heinous plans. Every machination that they have is prepared to do maximum harm, especially to the most marginalized and vulnerable people,” she said.
However, she noted, “I don’t believe that this is just a political problem,” adding, “This is a cultural issue that we’re dealing with in the United States. A political issue, you can vote out. You can’t vote on a cultural issue.”
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A new mini round-robin All-Star format delivered real competition and fans were hype.
Fans wanted the excitement and competition of All-Star Weekend’s past, and Adam Silver delivered…times four. 
With the competition broken into a mini round-robin tournament of four games, the first game was World vs. Stars. As expected, Victor Wembanyama led the World’s scoring with 14 points, including two 3s. But he was no match for Anthony Edwards’ 13 points as the Stars got the win in overtime.
After eking out the 37-35 win, it was time for the Stars to take on the fellow American team, dubbed the Stripes, in Game 2.  
Anthony Edwards again went off for 11 points, alongside Cade Cunningham, yet the Stripes, stacked with LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Kevin Durant, were able to band together to take down the young guns. 
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The final sequence began with defense (yes, actually) when Edwards stole the ball and confidently sank a pull-up three-pointer. But down with the clock dwindling, it was Donovan Mitchell who swung the ball to De’Aaron Fox on the wing, who sank a three.
Stripes won 42-40, and they kept the momentum going in Game 3 when they took on the World. 
Wembanyama once again proved why he’s being groomed as the face of the league and delivered a standout 19-point performance for the World team. However, he did miss the game-tying three at the buzzer after Kawhi Leonard put on a clinic. 
While in Los Angeles, he put on for his hometown, scoring 31 out of the team’s 48 points, and at one point scoring 15 in a row. 
Team World needed 3 points to advance, and Leonard iced the last three with a step back jumper to secure the win 48-45. 
Just as fans were finally on the edge of their seats to see who would win the championship game between the Stars and Stripes, it turned into a dragging blowout. At one point, the Stars were up 33-9 and eventually won 47-21. 
The Kobe Bryant MVP trophy went to Anthony Edwards, who scored 32 points through three games.
They also skipped the mid-event concerts and social media skits this year, but did give us a solid interview with President Obama, who approved of the new format and spoke about the Obama Presidential Center opening up soon in Chicago.

The 2026 All-Star Weekend is in the books, and social media is ripe with criticism. See the reactions below. 
Fans Declare That The NBA All-Star Game Has Officially Been Resurrected & Obama Approved was originally published on cassiuslife.com

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Words from his oldest and youngest daughters paint the picture of a father who would always be there, even when work called. The activist passed away on Tuesday after a long illness. He was 84 years old.
As tributes poured in from around the world for the late Rev. Jesse Jackson on Tuesday (Feb. 17), two of the most impactful came from his daughters.
In a letter shared on Instagram and Threads, his youngest daughter, Ashley Laverne Jackson, revered her father, saying she was “immensely grateful” for him and what he meant to her as a father.
“I am immensely grateful to have been held by your love a love so vast it moved nations and changed lives,” she wrote. “That love is what will sustain our connection in all realms. It does not end; it simply shifts form. Your presence and your love will remain with me always. I promise to honor your legacy, now and forever.”
She later added, “What a gift it has been to share this lifetime with you: to come from your lineage, to learn from a legend, to simply call you Dad.
Now, as I step into my own adulthood-flying on winds shaped by your enormous wings I find myself unspooling the threads of your legacy while weaving my own. I remain in awe of the giant that you are: in global and domestic politics, in faith communities, in the fight for civil rights, and also in the everyday ways you moved through the world, all six-foot-four of you, with conviction and heart.”
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Sanita Jackson, the Reverend’s oldest child, spoke with ABC News about her father’s legacy and how he remained a present father despite serving others.
“My father wanted to be in our lives. He wanted to be present for us,” Santita Jackson told ABC News’ Kyra Phillips. “He said, ‘the greatest present I can give you is my presence,’ and so there was never a day in my life where I didn’t speak with him. … and even now, I feel his presence.”
She added, “He was the most threatened political presidential candidate in history up to that point in time, and he had to get his Secret Service protection well in advance,” she said. “He was part of a group of men and women who were willing to die for their beliefs.”
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The Jackson family announced his passing on Tuesday after a long illness. He was 84 years old.

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The Church of St. John the Baptist in Sebastia
Photo: Danita Delimont
As Israel moves to expand its control of the West Bank—sparking international condemnation—concerns have been raised about the territory’s heritage.
A new bill aimed at establishing an Israeli civilian authority to govern antiquities and archaeological sites in the West Bank has been denounced by campaign groups, which claim that it violates international law.
The bill, which was approved for a first reading by members of the Israeli Knesset’s Ministerial Committee on Legislation on 8 February, would grant “sweeping authority” to the minister of heritage—currently Amihai Eliyahu—to appoint the governing council, declare antiquity sites, and expropriate land and antiquities throughout the West Bank. It is now due to have a first, second and third reading in the Knesset Plenu—the Knesset’s central authoritative body—and is expected to be passed later this month.
The advocate groups Peace Now and the Geneva Initiative, along with the Israeli NGO Emek Shaveh, released a joint statement expressing their concern about the heritage bill. The letter described the bill as “extraterritorial annexation” that “poses a serious threat to the viability of a negotiated two-state solution.”
It also says that the bill violates the 1954 Hague Convention and the Fourth Geneva Convention, “which prohibit an occupying power from making permanent institutional changes or exercising sovereign rights”. The statement adds that “applying Israeli authority to Areas A and B would effectively dismantle the Oslo II Accord, which assigned civilian responsibility for antiquities to the Palestinian Authority”.
The Oslo Accords divided the West Bank into three administrative areas: Area A, Area B, and Area C. Under the accords, heritage in Area A and B is overseen by the Palestinian Authority (though Israel controls security in B) and Israel has authority over heritage sites in Area C. According to the release “The Oslo II framework recognised that these ancient sites are the shared heritage of both Israelis and Palestinians and stipulated for the establishment of a joint Israeli-Palestinian committee for governing antiquities (Annex III, Article 2:Archaeology). The committee never met but the rationale that informed its creation is more relevant than ever.”
In a recent Facebook post, Israel’s heritage minister Amichai Eliyahu, a member of the far-right ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party, which is part of Israel’s coalition government, confirmed plans to move “forward with the establishment of an independent Antiquities Authority for Judea and Samaria” (terms used by the settler movement to describe the West Bank.)
He wrote: “And the world is watching and understanding the message: The people of Israel will not leave the sites of its birthplace… Sovereignty is not a declaration. It is an action. There is no need for false piety or denial. Indeed, we are conquering. Just as Joshua conquered the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, his forefathers.
He continued: “Israel takes full responsibility for its heritage… All we’re doing now, is taking care of this legacy properly”.
The campaign groups behind the letter criticising the move say it is a land grab. Many of the 6,000 antiquity sites in the West Bank are situated within or near Palestinian towns, and the notice claims that “the power to declare sites and expropriate land provides a legal pretext for establishing Israeli control deep within Palestinian population centres”.
New measures also announced on 8 February that would expand Israeli control of the West Bank to include Areas A and B, and make it easier for settlers to take over Palestinian land in areas under Palestinian control, have added a sense of urgency to the situation. The measures are expected to be signed off by Israel’s top military commander for the West Bank.
The antiquities bill is the latest apparent example of Israeli authorities attempting to seize control of heritage on the West Bank. For residents of the West Bank town of Sebastia, in Area B, the bill adds to stress already caused by a recent expropriation order. In November 2025, the Israeli Civil Administration (ICA) served a notice announcing that it was seizing the heritage site adjacent to the town, in Area C, as well as plots of land belonging to residents of Sebastia and its neighbouring town of Burqa.
The site and the town embody a continuous cultural history spanning millennia, with impressive remains from the Iron Age through the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman periods. The ancient site has been inscribed on the tentative Unesco World Heritage list for Palestine since 2012 and is the subject of heritage alerts by both Unesco and Icomos, due to threats from illegal settlements, military activities and infrastructure development.
Zaid Azahari, a tour guide from Sebastia, says that residents who rely on cultural tourism economically—who are the majority—fear that, based on previous instances, the Israeli ministry of heritage will move in very soon to physically separate the site from the village through bypass roads, fences, and controlled entrances, giving settlers exclusive control of the site.
The expropriation will be the largest seizure of land for an archaeological project in the West Bank since Israel occupied the area after the Six-Day War in 1967.
After the expropriation order was declared in November last year, Binyamin Har-Even, the staff officer for archaeology within the Civil Administration, told the Israeli media outlet Channel 7: “Sebastia is one of the most important archaeological sites in Judea and Samaria. The expropriation will make it possible to protect the remains, rehabilitate the damage, and make the site accessible for future generations. We will continue to act to safeguard the assets of our national heritage.”
Tayla Ezrahi, the head of International Relations and Advocacy at Emek Shaveh, however, says: “The Israeli argument that the expropriation of 1,800 dunams of land from the residents of Sebastia and Aqraba is necessary is pure gaslighting. Israel claims that the land must be confiscated in order to protect the site, yet it already exercises full enforcement powers over the area. The expropriation is in fact intended to facilitate the development of the site, the construction of a road that will bring Israelis from Area C, and the fencing off of the site to block Palestinian access. None of these measures are in any way related to preservation; rather, they serve as tools to push Palestinians out of the site.”
Prior to this order in 2023, Israel’s ministry of heritage allocated $8.8m to transform Sebastia into a tourism destination, with plans for a surveillance infrastructure and a military tower.
Azahari says of the new expropriation order: “The site is our livelihood and our identity. Our families have lived with and protected these ruins for generations and cutting us off from them means destroying local tourism, shutting down shops and cafés, and erasing our ability to make a living. This is not preservation it is displacement under the cover of archaeology.”
What is happening now goes beyond laws and bills, Azahari says. “It is about a living town trying to defend itself. We have seen this model before in other places, and we know exactly what it leads to. That is why our community, together with the municipality, tour guides, farmers, and heritage groups, is mobilising to save Sebastia by speaking out, engaging international institutions, and insisting that this site remains connected to the people who have protected it for generations.”
“This is a struggle to keep Sebastia alive,” he says. “Not just on a map, but as a community.”

The Byzantine-era gem has been described as “the most beautiful mosaic floor” found in Palestine
Experts warn that the bill, which expands the Israel Antiquities Authority’s jurisdiction, violates international law and could lead to sanctions against Israel
The Nahal Heletz settlement—which is due to be established within the protected Land of Olives and Vines—puts heritage in danger and risks cutting Palestinians off from their land, warn groups and residents

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