50 Cent Doubles Down On Accusation That Diddy ‘Got Tupac Killed’
Queens rapper and successful television producer Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 Cent, has once again placed the blame for Tupac’s death on Combs Global CEO Sean “Diddy” Combs. He repeated the claim at a recent concert while performing on stage.
A video clip of the show appeared on the X account of Diverse Mentality. 50 brought up the topic of Diddy allegedly putting a hit out on Tupac.
“I hate when they leave me to talk because I always say the wrong thing,” he tells the audience. “Last time they left me, I said something about Puffy. You saw that clip? I gotta stop doing that kinda shit. I been talking to a therapist to try to help me with the shit I been saying. It’s some crazy shit on my mind. Maybe I said that shit about Puffy because he got Tupac killed.”
On Oct. 9, 50 posted a photograph of Tupac and Suge Knight on the night the prolific artist passed away. The caption posted by the “Power” executive alludes to the statements Keefe D has made over the years that Diddy allegedly paid to have Tupac and Suge killed.
“Damn so pac got lined by brother love. LOL Time to Lawyer up, sh*t might get sticky. #lecheminduroi#bransoncognac,” he posted.
According to VIBE, Keefe D claimed that Diddy paid $1 million to the South Side Crips street gang. He also alleged that the street gang never got the down payment for the hit.
Vulture reported that Keefe D said the “No Way Out” producer allegedly told him, “Man, I want to get rid of them dudes,” about the rapper/actor and Suge Knight, the former owner of Death Row Records. Diddy denies the accusation and has told L.A. Weekly that the suspect’s words were “pure fiction and completely ridiculous.”
Tupac was shot multiple times in Las Vegas after a Mike Tyson boxing match on Sept. 7, 1996. The prolific entertainer died in the hospital six days later at age 25.
What Retirees Need To Know About Social Security Cost Of Living Adjustment
The Social Security Administration’s annual cost of living adjustment is expected to be less than previously thought.
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients should keep their eye on a lower increase than the 8.7% adjustment received in 2023, The Hill reports. The Cost of Living Adjustments, also known as COLA, was designed to help social security and SSI recipients keep their money afloat against rising inflation costs. The increases are determined by the Bureau of Labor’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, which is how the change in regular consumer goods and services is measured.
The actual COLA is scheduled to be published on Oct. 12, and the Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonpartisan senior advocacy group, estimates it will be close to 3.2%. Although it’s lower than both 2023’s and 2022’s 5.9% increase, the increase in 2024 is set to be one of the largest in more than 10 years.
The group warns that the increase still won’t be enough to maintain the cost of living for beneficiaries. “Because retiree costs are rising at a far more rapid pace than the COLA raises benefits, this study found that a SS benefit of $1,969.80 per month in 2023 would have been required,” the league wrote.
According to data from a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services report, TSCL expects Medicare Part B premiums, which are automatically subtracted from SS checks, to go up from $164.90 to a little less than $180.
“Nobody is getting rich,” Johnson said, according to Fox Business. “The reality is that the dollar amount of the COLA increase received is meager at best, with the average monthly retiree benefit only $1,790 in 2023.”
Johnson said that the SS system can be a lose-lose situation, as higher SS payments reduce eligibility for programs like food stamps and push people into higher tax brackets, causing retirees to pay more taxes on their monthly payments. The group is pushing for Congress to create legislation that would put a cap on the inflation adjustment specifically for senior citizens.
Two Whites Charged With Lesser Assault Offenses After Allegedly Attacking Black Woman In Minnesota
In a recent development regarding the Sept.12th incident at Duluth, MN’s Rustic Bar, where two white men allegedly assaulted a Black woman, the suspects have been identified as Mylon Griak, 56, and Scott Rabold, 41. They now face charges of misdemeanor 5th-degree assault, shedding light on the legal action taken against them in connection to the alleged assault.
According to Bring Me The News, the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office said: “Based on the information reviewed, the incident does not contain any chargeable crimes that rise to the level of the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office’s jurisdiction (felony level, in this instance).”
The Duluth Police Department released a statement on Facebook on Sept. 29.
“The Duluth Police Department has completed our investigation into the incident that occurred at the Rustic Bar on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023,” the statement read. “The St. Louis County Attorney’s Office determined not to pursue gross misdemeanor or felony charges in this specific incident, which is within their sole jurisdiction.”
Additionally, the DPD provided that after the case was reviewed by The Duluth City Attorney’s Office, the men would be issued citations, but would not be taken into custody, in compliance with Minnesota Statute.
The police department indicated in a previous statement obtained by Bring Me the News, that the two white men intervened to break up a “fight” the assault victim was allegedly having with another woman. Police said surveillance showed the women “having a conversation that turned physical.” Police added, “That’s when two males became involved in the confrontation and assaulted the female.”
Since the attack, the victim’s daughter, Katasia Khabeer, launched a GoFundMe to raise money to cover rent and other utilities while her mother is out from work to recover.
“It’s hard to say when she will be able to return due to not only the physical pain and hurt but also emotional pain,” Khabeer wrote above a few photos of her mother’s bloody belongings.
Khabeer said witnesses saw her mother being stomped on and kicked by one of the white men.
“Her clothes and shoes have drag marks indicating she was dragged on her side and she woke up alone in the dark parking lot of the bar,” she wrote on the fundraiser’s page. “Some how she made it to me I was at work about 4-5 minutes walking distance from the bar. My mother was cover in her own blood crying…”
The daughter wrote that the incident left her mother with a broken nose, two swollen eyes, a cut between her eyebrows and a swollen head.
She added that the police were never called during the attack at the bar; Khabeer called 911 after her mother showed up at her job. On Sept. 20, she updated supporters with news that her mother has been diagnosed with post concussion syndrome as well as a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury).
In recognition of his contributions to the music industry, another hip-hop legend is primed to receive the key to the city of his hometown.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Earl Stevens, known professionally as E-40, is slated to receive a key to his hometown of Vallejo, CA, if the city council agrees with the motion. The vote was to have taken place on Oct. 10, but an update has yet to be announced.
KTVU reported that Mayor Robert McConnell issued a memo for the declaration for the legendary recording artist.
“Mr. Stevens has represented Vallejo and made significant philanthropic contributions to the city, including supporting local schools, providing bikes for the youth, and donating meals to those in need,” the mayor’s memo stated, “He also leveraged his voice for key social causes, including joining California Governor Gavin Newsom for a bill-signing in 2022 that would protect hip-hop artists’ creative expression through their lyrics.”
The Vallejo City Council will be asked on Tuesday to give a key to the city to E-40. pic.twitter.com/icJKB3PUgs
Fans of the West Coast Legend will also be able to purchase his latest product when it goes on sale next month on Nov. 14. Another California legend, Snoop Dogg has collaborated with the “Sprinkle Me” rapper for a cookbook titled, Snoop Dogg Presents Goon with the Spoon, which will be released by Chronicle Books. You can view more than 65 recipes from the two businessmen as a follow-up to Snoop’s book, From Crook to Cook: Platinum Recipes from Tha Boss Dogg’s Kitchen.
The last offering sold more than 1 million copies, and Snoop has connected with his Bay Area rapper cohort, E-40, who owns and operates his food product line, called, Goon with the Spoon.
Complex reported in March that E-40 launched a new vodka line named Tycoon Vodka. The vodka, which is distilled six times, is named after one of his earlier songs, Tycoon, which he released in 2016.
Tommy Davidson Claims He Was Ambushed By Will Smith For Kissing Jada Pinkett Smith On Set Of ‘Woo’
Now that Jada Pinkett Smith let the cat out of the bag on her and Will Smith’s separation, her old castmate Tommy Davidson is opening up about his violent encounter with her estranged husband.
Davidson recently appeared on Shannon Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast where he revealed the run-in he had with Will after filming a love scene with Jada in their 1998 film Woo. It was after sharing a kiss with Jada as part of their onscreen roles that Will decided to confront Davidson.
“Me and Will had a run-in,” Davidson tells Sharpe in the clip.
Will Smith Almost Beat Tommy Davidson Up For Kissing Jada Pinkett Smith
Full episode is out now on all platforms. Watch on YouTube. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. pic.twitter.com/byLHmO1WtR
The “In Living Color” star says he was initially confused as to why Will was upset but remained civil as he was seated when Will stood over him to confront him.
“Will. Will…” Davidson says Jada said while Will allegedly bit his bottom lip in frustration.
“I’m like, what’s happening, man?’ ‘You tell me what’s happening. Hmm? Hmm?’ You know when a guy does this,” Davidson said as he bit his lip, “He might do something.”
Davidson recalls repeatedly asking Will what he was upset about and not getting a straight answer.
“So finally I just said, ‘This is a small place, and people are here. We should talk about it, me and you, outside, because it looks like you need to get something off your chest,” Davidson said.
“And Jada was like, ‘Aw, naw, naw, naw, naw, naw, y’all. Naw, y’all’ And I said, ‘Whatchu mean naw y’all? Tell him!’”
It wasn’t until 15 years later when Davidson had completed his memoir, Living in Color: What’s Funny about Me, that he finally learned the real reason Will confronted him.
Davidson assumed it was because of the kissing scene, and Will’s best friend Charlie Mack confirmed this when giving Davidson permission to include the confrontation in his book.
Davidson and Jada were forced to film the kissing scene without any practice and had to do a couple of takes before landing the shot. It was the multiple kisses that apparently bothered Will at the time.
The revelation comes amid Jada’s shocking reveals about her and Will being separated since 2016. She also revealed the date Chris Rock once asked her on after believing divorce rumors about the Smiths.
Fans have been sounding off with shady remarks in response to the Smiths split.
“Imagine getting mad at someone kissing your ex wife,” one Twitter/X user wrote.
Yung Joc Wants Sexyy Red ‘To Be Careful With Being Exploited’
Yung Joc is applauding the rise of Sexyy Red. But he’s also warning the St. Louis rapper about being “exploited” if she doesn’t “check those h*e spirits.”
The rapper turned reality star/radio personality was on VladTV on Oct. 11 when he shared his thoughts on Sexyy’s budding success as a hip-hop newcomer. While Joc is here for what the “SkeeYee” rapper is bringing to the rap game, he’s also expressing concern with how she’s branding herself.
“She’s not trying to pretend to be something she’s not,” he said. “I think she’s comfortable in her truth. But I think she has to be careful with being exploited.”
He continued: “I’m seeing the way she presents herself, and it’s not that she don’t know better. It’s what she’s comfortable with doing. I’m not knocking Sexyy Red. I don’t want nobody to think I’m knocking her.”
For Joc, who has eight children with four different women, he wants Sexyy, 24, to be “more sensible” with censoring herself, considering all the children that enjoy her music.
“I just think she should be a little more sensible when it comes to the censorship because these babies be listening to this sh*t, you know what I’m saying? Gotta check those h*e spirits,” he said.
His remarks come amid a recently leaked sex tape involving Sexyy Red that surfaced online last week. The rapper is known for her raunchy rap lyrics.
Her breakout single, “Pound Town,” contains a hook that boasts about her private parts being “pink” and “brown.” Her second hit single, “SkeeYee,” went viral on Twitter and has been widely embraced by young school-aged children in videos that show them singing the song in class or even with their teachers.
Sexyy, who also has appeared in features for Drake and Da Baby, recently performed a medley of her new hits at the BET Hip Hop Awards following the backlash she received after expressing support for Donald Trump.
Tory Lanez In General Prison Population With No Extra Security
Tory Lanez has gotten his way in being transferred to the general population at North Kern State Prison.
The Toronto rapper is now living among the rest of North Kern’s prison community and follows the same schedule as a majority of the inmates, TMZ reports. After spending months in isolation, due to his celebrity status, Lanez now wakes up at 6:30 in the morning before having breakfast in the chow hall and performing work release duties.
Work release typically involves a variety of hands-on jobs, including plumbing, carpentry, and fixing air conditioners. Inmates can also attend classes to receive work credits. Those who aren’t working enjoy time in the dayroom or rec room and receive tablets to speak with their family.
Box lunches are provided to inmates and can be eaten at any time of the day. Educational programs include opportunities to obtain certificates, college, and eve master’s degrees. Inmates can also take part in personal development courses like anti-drug programs, alternatives to violence, and parenting classes.
Dinner is served after a mandatory headcount at 5 p.m. Afterward, inmates can hang out in the dayroom or yard until 9 p.m. when it’s lights out for everyone.
Lanez’s new schedule followed by almost 96 percent of the general prison population. He receives no added security and spends his days like most inmates.
It’s what the “Say It” singer wanted and something his legal team stressed was important for his prison experience. In December 2022, Lanez was found guilty of shooting Megan Thee Stallion during a heated exchange in July 2020.
His three felony charges were assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence. In August, Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
There were reports of Lanez being offered a four-year plea deal in 2021 but he turned it down and reportedly was convinced he would win his trial. After his sentencing, Lanez issued a statement and refused to apologize to Megan, but he did profess his innocence.
“Regardless of how they try to spin my words, I have always maintained my innocence and I always will,” Lanez wrote.
Now he gets to enjoy chow and box lunches while Megan recently performed alongside Beyoncé as part of her “Renaissance” tour. She also dropped her second single with Cardi B, “Bongos,” which they performed at the MTV Video Music Awards.
U.S. Supreme Court May Make It Harder To Prove Racial Gerrymandering
*Originally published by Reuters.com
WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court may be on the verge of making it even harder to win legal challenges accusing state officials of racial gerrymandering — the illegal manipulation of an electoral district’s boundaries to alter its racial composition – to dilute the clout of Black and other minority voters.
The nine justices this week heard arguments in such a case involving the relocation of 30,000 Black residents from South Carolina’s 1st congressional district to another one in an electoral map adopted by the state’s Republican-led legislature. The Supreme Court has been asked by the litigants to rule on the legality of the map by the end of the year.
The legal battle is being waged in the run-up to the 2024 congressional elections in which Democrats are hoping to win the 1st district as they try to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives from Republicans. Black voters tend to favor Democratic candidates.
Gerrymandering involves redrawing electoral district boundaries to marginalize a certain set of voters and increase the influence of others. The Supreme Court in 2019 forbade federal courts from intervening in cases involving gerrymandering done for partisan advantage. Gerrymandering predominantly driven by race remains illegal.
“Such an outcome would send a terrible signal to states that they can hide behind political defenses even when their means to get there is by excessive uses of race and/or minimizing the voting power of racial minorities,” said civil rights lawyer Leah Aden of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, who argued the case for the plaintiffs on Wednesday.
A federal three-judge panel in January blocked the map, ruling that it sorted voters along racial lines and reduced the influence of Black voters in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th and 15th Amendments, which guarantee equal protection under the law and prohibit race-based voting discrimination.
A group of Black voters sued to block the use of the reconfigured district.
Jason Torchinsky, a lawyer with the firm Holtzman Vogel who filed a brief supporting South Carolina’s position on behalf of the district’s incumbent congresswoman Nacy Mace and five other Republican members of the state’s congressional delegation, called the litigation politically motivated.
“What these plaintiffs in these cases are doing is basically bringing partisan gerrymandering claims and trying to dress them up as if they’re racial gerrymandering claims,” Torchinsky said. “That’s what’s going on here, and I think the justices are seeing that.” He
A HEAVY BURDEN
Plaintiffs in racial gerrymandering cases long have borne a heavy burden.
To win, they must prove that race was the predominant factor in an electoral map’s design, even in instances in which a strong correlation exists between race and party, as in South Carolina where Black voters overwhelmingly vote Democratic. Typically, plaintiffs lack any direct evidence revealing an intent to discriminate by those who devised the map.
In this case, the three-judge panel backed the plaintiffs. The new map increased the district’s share of white voters while reducing its share of Black voters, which the panel referred to as “bleaching.”
“Here’s a case where the state legislature targeted Black voters out of their home district to buttress Republican voters,” said David Gans, a lawyer with the Constitutional Accountability Center liberal legal group who filed a brief supporting the South Carolina challengers. “But we heard some of the conservative justices say that’s not a constitutional problem.”
“The bottom line is it would be much harder to bring a racial gerrymandering claim where a state is saying that it sorted voters to achieve a partisan end,” Gans added, “even if it used race as the means to do so.”
Harvard Law School professor Nicholas Stephanopoulos, a redistricting expert, said if the Supreme Court reverses the lower court, “it will be even more important for plaintiffs in future cases to disentangle race from party.”
One way challengers could do so is by submitting an alternative map that achieves the state’s partisan goal but does not artificially inflate or deflate the minority population of the challenged district, Stephanopoulos added. None of the maps produced by the South Carolina plaintiffs maintained Republicans’ electoral advantage in the district.
John Gore, the lawyer who argued on Wednesday on behalf of the South Carolina officials, suggested that the alternative map requirement had already been imposed by the Supreme Court’s prior rulings — an assertion rebuffed by liberal Justice Elena Kagan, who authored one such ruling.
“I’m going to butt in,” Kagan said, cutting off Gore. “The alternative map requirement, I mean, doesn’t exist.”
Among the court’s conservatives, some clearly believe that alternative maps “are necessary in cases like this,” Torchinsky said, adding that plaintiffs have failed to produce them “because they can’t.”
‘Our Kids Are Being Attacked’: St. Louis Parents Outraged Over District’s Handling Of Racial Slurs Aimed At Students
A group of St. Louis parents are speaking out against what they say is inaction by the Wentzville School District leaders to stop Black students from having to endure relentless racial slurs from peers.
“The fact that she has to put in her headphones to try to drown them out is not okay,” she said. “This is my baby, you understand. My job as a parent is to protect my kids.”
According to the outlet, the experience of Moore’s daughter is not an isolated incident, as more students have complained of an onslaught of hate.
“It’s not one time that she was referred to as the N-word. It’s multiple times a week,” said parent Tamara King.
Both King and Moore have expressed disappointment in the school district for their failure to dole out punishment and expulsion to the students perpetuating the vile treatment. King recently wrote a letter to the school board outlining the injustices.
“Our kids are being attacked. The children who were responsible for that, from my understanding, were given in-school suspension and a few days off the bus,” King said.
The relentlessness of the alleged attacks and subsequent silence from Wentzville has been exhausting for both the Black students and parents in the district.
“It’s nerve-wrenching, it is heartbreaking, it’s disturbing, and I’m tired of it,” Moore said. “They have to do something. If we have to go to the very top, we will do so.”
A spokesperson for Wentzville released a statement condemning the actions of the students in question.
“Racism is not tolerated in our schools. The Wentzville School District is committed to fostering an environment free from harassment and discrimination,” the statement reads. “Any action that does not align with that commitment is met with a thorough investigation and appropriate disciplinary measures in alignment with District policy. We value and welcome students and parents who raise concerns. By reporting concerns, we can promptly assist and protect our students.”
According to the outlet, school leaders are expected to meet with parents on Oct. 12.
Memphis Basketball Player Mikey Williams Will Stand Trial On 6 Felony Gun Charges
Basketball player Mikey Williams, who the University of Memphis recruited, has been ordered to stand trial on six felony gun charges. The charges are related to an incident in March at his home in eastern San Diego County.
According to the Associated Press, Superior Court Judge Sherry M. Thompson-Taylor has scheduled Williams’ arraignment for Oct. 24. The prosecution wanted to increase the basketball player’s bail to $500,000, but the judge denied the request. He has been free after posting a $50,000 bond after his arrest on April 13.
Williams faces five charges of assault with a weapon and one count of firing into an occupied vehicle. If convicted on all charges, he could end up in prison for up to 28 years.
His attorney, Troy P. Owens, has entered a not-guilty plea on Williams’ behalf.
The Memphis basketball player was accused of firing shots at a vehicle, after an argument at his $1.2 million home in unincorporated Jamul, in eastern San Diego County. The incident happened just before midnight, after the car left the house with five people in it. The bullets struck the vehicle, but no one inside was hit.
Judge Thompson-Taylor said that there was probable cause to go forward with the case after testimony from witnesses saw him with a gun and heard him threaten to kill them. No one saw him fire the weapon.
The University of Memphis revealed that although Williams remains on the roster and is enrolled in online classes, he is not allowed to use the team facilities or participate in activities. After the trial, a decision on his status with the team will be made.
