Taye Diggs and Apryl Jones are still going strong into the New Year after teasing their romance on social media all last year.

Diggs celebrated his 52nd birthday on January 2nd and Jones took to Instagram to express her “love” for The Best Man star.

“Happy Born Day to you my love! I love you to pieces. ❤️” she captioned a photo of the happy couple.

 

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A post shared by Apryl🈲 (@aprylsjones)

Fans filled Jones’ comments with messages of support for her continued romance with Diggs.

“I just love how y’all seem to make life so much lighter for each other #Blessings 🥰,” one user wrote.

Others made references to Diggs’ role in the cult classic The Best Man films and the Final Chapters series that recently premiered on Peacock.

“See Apryl I love you for Harper! Robyn could nevaaa 😂😍,” one fan jokingly said in reference to Digg’s character Harper Stewart and his onscreen wife Robin, played by Sanaa Lathan.

“I hope he better boyfriend or husband then he is in best man…. Robin didn’t deserve that in best man finally chapter,” another person wrote.

Diggs has opened up about his relationship with Jones, which started after he joined TikTok in December 2021, Us Weekly reported. By February 2022, they made their red carpet debut when Jones joined Diggs at the premiere for his film Incarnation.

“I LAUGH MY A** OFF WITH YOU! YOU’RE SO F’ING DOPE!!!!!” the Love and Hip Hop star wrote on Instagram at the time.

Diggs returned the love in her comments section writing, “@aprylsjones Who? Me? I’m the lucky one.”

The following month, Diggs dished about meeting Jones on TikTok and hitting it off.

“I literally saw one of her Instagrams or TikToks, and I just texted, or whatever it’s called, and said that she was hilarious,” Diggs told Distractify in March 2022. “She helped me get a million followers. I love that stuff like that just kind of comes organically.”

George Santos has been under fire for the series of outlandish lies he’s been caught telling in the wake of being elected to represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District in the House of Representatives.

Santos, 34, is facing an internal investigation by the Republican party for actions that incoming chairman, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) deemed a “disgrace,” as noted by The New York Post. In addition to federal, state, and local authorities looking into potential criminal wrongdoing by Santos, the Long Island Republican is facing scrutiny for the lies he’s told.

Among the lies include his claim that he attended the elite Horace Mann private school, something a school spokesperson said there is “no evidence” of. Santos also falsely claimed to have gone to Baruch College and New York University, a lie he admitted to and claimed to be “embarrassed” about telling.

Santos also admitted to lying about previously working at the banks Citigroup or Goldman Sachs, The Independent reported. Instead, Santos claims to have worked for the banks through a third party he has yet to provide proof of.

He did own the firm that he launched in March 2021, which raked in millions in a matter of months before closing in 2022 due to having no paperwork. With no college degrees to his name or accreditation from working with reputable financial institutions, many have wondered how Santos was able to make so much money through his short-lived firm.

But if those lies aren’t enough, an old Instagram post is highlighting Santos’ racist ties. A screenshot shared on Twitter shows one of Santos’ Instagram posts from 2014 where he posted a meme that made Barack and Michelle Obama appear as apes.

George Santos is keeping it classy by posting Barack and Michelle Obama photoshopped as monkeys. pic.twitter.com/wyDzpmwR2W

— Right Wing Cope (@RightWingCope) December 29, 2022

The racist meme is just another addition to the long list of offenses allegedly committed by Santos. He’s also accused of lying about being a Jewish descendant of grandparents who fled the Holocaust, running a charity, owning real estate, identifying as homosexual, and, perhaps most bizarre, his mother having died twice, once in 9/11 and again in December 2016.

Amid all the lies coming to light, Santos refuses to step down and has continued to show up to Congress to participate in the new Republican-controlled House.

Great news coming out of Cincinnati!

The Buffalo Bills sent out a tweet confirming that safety Damar Hamlin is showing progress after suffering cardiac arrest on the field.

Hamlin has shown “remarkable improvement” after he suffered a cardiac arrest during Monday night’s contest between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals.

“Per the physicians caring for Damar Hamlin at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Damar has shown remarkable improvement over the past 24 hours. While still critically ill, he has demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact. His lung continues to heal and he is making steady progress.”

pic.twitter.com/4Fyd2JZVLb

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 5, 2023

The Associated Press reported that Ronald Butler, Hamlin’s agent, told the media outlet that he is now awake and has been able to grip the hands of his family members who are currently at his side.

The news of Hamlin being awake has spread across social media as teammates, friends, and family rejoice.

Hamlin’s teammate Kaiir Elam tweeted out a message earlier today.

“Our boy is doing better, awake and showing more signs of improvement. Thank you God. Keep the prayers coming please. All love 3!”

Our boy is doing better, awake and showing more signs of improvement. Thank you God. Keep the prayers coming please. All love 3!

— Kaiir Elam (@kaiirelam5) January 5, 2023

Hamlin’s family spokesperson, Jordon Rooney, also told ABC NY, that his doctors expressed to the family early this morning that Hamlin’s condition was moving in a “positive direction.”

Rooney also mentioned to ABC News that Hamlin’s uncle, Dorrian Glenn, was mistaken when he stated that Hamlin had to be resuscitated twice. Once on the field and another time at the hospital. Rooney said it was a misunderstanding and that did not take place Monday night.

There were erroneous reports that the defibrillator that was used on the Bills player had malfunctioned that night. Rooney stated that was untrue and that all of the medical equipment was working properly.

With the upcoming football contest scheduled for this weekend between the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots, the Bills team returned to their practice facility on Wednesday. This Sunday’s game is the final game of the regular season. Emotions will be high on the field when the game starts.

• Men

by Stacy Jackson

January 5, 2023

Executive Director at The Hidden Genius Project Provides Training, Mentorship for Young Black Men

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With appreciation of the support he received growing up, this Black man has put forth his best efforts to provide resources to his community.

Brandon Nicholson, Founding Executive Director at The Hidden Genius Project, is an advocate for providing professional and educational opportunities for young, Black boys.

According to CNBC Make It, The Hidden Genius Project is a nonprofit, training, and mentoring organization for young Black males in technology, entrepreneurship, and leadership.

“My parents were trained as lawyers and were very much involved in school policies, taking me to school board meetings and parent association meetings as they’re trying to advocate for more resources,” the 39-year-old told the outlet. “So I got a lot of support.”

Nicholson was inspired to advocate for the youth from a moment during his school years when he was extended the opportunity for extra resources through A Better Chance, a program designed to support young people of color seeking to attend prep schools throughout the country.

Recalling his experience, Nicholson recognized there were other students who were not granted these same opportunities, leading him to provide a solution to his concern.

The Hidden Genius Project has assisted in the professional development of over 9,300 students. Efforts towards their success include the provision of over 600,000 hours of direct training, obtaining grants, and extending mentorship and tech skills to Black boys across California and Detroit.

Nicholson attended both UCLA and UC Berkeley, and has stayed connected to some of the Black men he met at the universities, with one presently working on the project’s executive team.

“I think my college leadership activities with organizations like Community House, Black Student Union, Black Men’s Awareness Group, and others were instrumental in me learning how to ‘step up and step back,’ all while progressing toward a bolder common goal,” Nicholson said.

Nicholson recently celebrated the launch of the new headquarters for The Hidden Genius Project, with a grand opening ceremony that was held on December 2. The headquarters will be located in Nicholson’s hometown in Oakland.

 

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“Ultimately, I hope we will have built a space that our community adopts as its own,” he said.

Reportedly, the organization will also be expanding to Atlanta and Chicago this year.

When it comes to key metrics like revenue growth and industry performance, Black small business owners are more confident than their peers about how they will execute overall in 2023

Yet the top business challenges for Black entrepreneurs include headwinds like inflation, supply chain disruptions, and economic uncertainty. And despite ongoing concerns of a potential recession this year, fewer Black owners (55%) expect that to happen nationally, versus (61%) for all small business owners. Those are among findings from the JPMorgan Chase’s 2023 annual Business Leaders Outlook survey.

The new research examined the pulse of small and midsize business leaders, including gaining expectations for their companies and their views on such issues as recession predictions, inflation challenges, and hiring plans for this year.

Some 79% of Black owners are optimistic about their own performance this year, versus 72% nationally. Likewise, 75% have a favorable view about their industry’s performance, compared to 63%. Black owners are among minority leaders also more optimistic about the local economy relative to small businesses overall.

Further, 72% of Black owners expect revenue and sales growth this year, versus 69%. And some 69% of Black owners expect their profits to rise in 2023, higher than the 65% for all small businesses.

On the job front, Black entrepreneurs (55%) anticipate hiring full-time employees over the next 12 months, in contrast to 51% for all small businesses. Some 50% of Black owners plan to boost wages, and 38% plan to offer up-skilling and training opportunities, versus 42% and 29% respectively across America.

The online survey for the small business report was done by Chase Insights last year from November 14 through November 22. It includes data from more than 1,000 business leaders in various industries across the country, including Black business owners who were questioned.

The survey findings that show the bullish outlook among Black entrepreneurs are surprising, as those firms were among the hardest hit in recent years by the COVID-19 pandemic and other economic setbacks. This story reveals some of the difficulty. Yet, Black owners’ optimism may have been fueled by support they gained in recent years after the murder of George Floyd and subsequent national racial justice movements.

Ben Walter, CEO, Chase Business Banking, stated, “Following the challenges of the last few years, it’s encouraging to see the resilience of small business owners and leaders. The next economic cycle is always right around the corner, so our role is to help small business owners plan ahead so they can succeed in good times and bad.”

To help Black businesses grow, JPMorgan Chase provided the following tips entrepreneurs may want to consider in their 2023 planning:

•  Stay In-Tune with Economic Trends: “While business leaders are undoubtedly familiar with today’s top economic headlines, they will want to keep a close eye on whether current trends related to the Federal Reserve, consumer spending, inflation, labor markets and more continue, abate or reverse in the year ahead.” Check out more here.
• Recession-Proof Your Business: “Regardless of when or if a recession ultimately materializes, businesses can take steps today to remain flexible, bolster their balance sheet and even find opportunities amid volatility.” Gain more details 
• Optimize Working Capital: “Working capital is a key indicator of businesses’ financial health, and maintaining it is even more crucial in times of economic volatility. To manage working capital more effectively, businesses may want to consider utilizing supply chain finance and dynamic discount solutions, implementing more efficient inventory management, and reworking current debt to reduce liabilities” Check this out for more. 

Shereé Whitfield celebrated her 53rd birthday on Monday and made sure her curves took center stage.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta star has been sharing highlights from her lavish birthday brunch on Instagram and showing the familiar faces who came to celebrate with her. On Tuesday, Shereé gave fans an update on how she honored her birthday with a brunch filled with “love, pampering, and good food” catered by her son, Kairo Whitfield.

“This year have started off amazing and I can’t say enough how much I love, enjoy and appreciate being with my family, friends & loved ones ❤️,” she shared in her lengthy caption.

 

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As Shereé adjusts to life in her 50s, the reality star is going into the New Year with a new motto that she shared in her birthday post.

“My motto for this next chapter is “F*ck It! Enjoy the moment” because these past couple of years has shown us all that life is too short so we need to b sure to enjoy every moment,” she wrote.

In a second post shared on Wednesday, Shereé gave a special shout-out to fellow RHOA star Marlo Hampton for flying out to celebrate her special; day.

“My girl @marlohampton came to celebrate w/ me straight off the plane,” she shared. “I appreciate u for making it babe 😘.”

 

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In the first photo, Shereé posed at an angle that showed off her amazingly toned figure. The Bravo star donned a bright pink velvet jumpsuit with a deep v-cut that showed off her cleavage. Others in attendance included Love & Marriage Huntsville star Martell Holt.

Shereé and Martell have been teasing their budding romance since late last year and with them both being on popular reality shows, fans are wondering if a TV mashup could happen.

It is definitely Undisputed that Shannon Sharpe is not in a happy place with co-host Skip Bayless.

Less than a month after a heated on-air discussion between the Undisputed co-hosts, Sharpe and Bayless, were at odds once again when Bayless posted what many deemed as an insensitive tweet after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest.

“No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game – but how? This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome…which suddenly seems so irrelevant.”

No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game – but how? This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome … which suddenly seems so irrelevant.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 3, 2023

The backlash was immediate and people did not understand why Bayless, knowing that a young man was fighting for his life, would make such a statement.

Sharpe was so outraged he did not appear on-camera on Tuesday when he returned to the show on Wednesday he immediately confronted Bayless about the Tweet sent during the football game on Monday.

“There has been a lot of speculation of why I wasn’t on-air yesterday,” Sharpe began.

“And I won’t get into speculation or conjecture and innuendo, but I will say this: In watching that game on Monday night, what happened to Damar Hamlin struck me a little different,” Sharpe said.

He continued, “As a brotherhood in the NFL, when injuries happen, and we know injuries are a part of the game…but I’ve never seen anybody have to be revived and fight for their life on the field.”

During the nationally televised football game between the Bills and the Bengals, Bills safety Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest after completing a play on the field. After the play stopped and Hamlin was resuscitated, the game was suspended before the officials decided to postpone it.

While officials were deciding how to proceed, Bayless sent out the tweet about the importance of the game continuing despite Hamlin being out.

When Sharpe did not show up for the Undisputed taping on Tuesday, some speculated that his absence was because of Bayless’ Tweet, which Bayless did not take down.

As Sharpe began his monologue to open the show, he made mention of the Tweet. Before Sharpe could finish his thought, Bayless immediately cut him off.

He went on to address the elephant in the room.

“… Skip tweeted something and although I disagree with the tweet, and hopefully Skip will take it down.”

Bayless again cut him off.

“Timeout, I’m not going to take it down. I stand by what I tweeted.”

Clearly agitated, Sharpe then said, “I cannot even get through a monologue without you interrupting me… I didn’t want yesterday to get into a situation where Damar Hamlin was the issue. We should’ve been talking about him and not getting into your tweet. That was what I wasn’t going to do, but you can’t even let me finish my open monologue.”

The pair got past the tense exchange before continuing the show.

When Sandra Douglass Morgan became the first Black woman in National Football League history to be hired as a team president, it proved that leaders look different in an overwhelmingly male-dominated field.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Las Vegas native and Raiders President Douglass Morgan reflected on her trailblazing position as it amplifies her responsibilities to show leadership and honors her community.

Growing up, Douglass Morgan admired Emmy and Peabody-winning journalist Connie Chung for breaking barriers for women in journalism. Now she is taking on an esteemed position, driving impact, and making history.

I am deeply grateful for the outpouring of support and positive messages. Thank you #RaiderNation! pic.twitter.com/ZKjg37B18D

— Sandra Douglass Morgan (@SDMraiders1) July 13, 2022

“You know, there’s a responsibility, I think, not only within the organization but also externally, and I have personally had to kind of push myself to realize that, you know, those Connie Chung moments for me as a child, you know, could be someone’s moments for another little girl or a teenager or even maybe an adult woman seeing me in the position that I’m in now and realizing that people do–it’s helpful to see someone in that position to know this is an opportunity, this is a possibility for me,” Douglass Morgan said in the interview.

Before the season, Douglass Morgan attended a Raiders event at Allegiant Stadium for season ticket holders. There, she realized how much her role has had a tangible impact on people outside of the organization.

“Hey, we’ve been season ticket holders in Oakland, we’re happy to be in Las Vegas and I’m just really happy to meet you because my daughter for the first time said, ‘Hey, I can be the president of the Raiders,’” Douglass Morgan recalled a gentleman saying when he approached her, per The Athletic.

“At that point, even though it was just a casual conversation, it really hit me that this is much bigger than myself.

“It’s just giving people that hope and visibility and optimism that this is something that’s attainable. … And so, if me even talking to you today allows one person, one girl, one woman to think, ‘OK, I didn’t know that was a position that’s something that I could strive for,’ then that’s the goal I think in life: To continue to pay it forward,” she continued.

• Lifestyle

by Sharelle B. McNair

January 5, 2023

‘Divorce Court’ Judge Lynn Toler Announces Sudden Death of Her Husband Eric ‘Big E’ Mumford

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Popular television show host and judge, Lynn Toler, took to Instagram to announce the sudden death of her husband, Eric Mumford.

“I am in a million pieces,” the Divorce Court judge posted on January 4th.

 

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A post shared by Judge Lynn Toler (@realjudgelynn)

Toler and Mumford, known as “Big E,” were married for a little over 33 years and shared six children together. Toler admitted that their marriage wasn’t always perfect, giving credit to her show for saving their marriage.

In another emotional post called “love’s timeline,” she shared:

“Me and BigE #married 33 years today. (Together 35). There was no happily ever after. There was The Journey
First you’re simply besotted. Then the two practical people that you are you get unceremoniously hitched at lunchtime. Then you try to survive the kids so you can get to the part where you can enjoy the grands.
On the way there you get a chance to be drunk in Paris (BigE took this) After that you settle in for the fourth quarter.”
Toler wrote an op-ed for The Huffington Post in 2017 entitled, “How ‘Divorce Court’ Saved My Marriage.”

“I learned this particular lesson from couples who couldn’t figure out how they had gotten to “Divorce Court” in the first place.” She mentioned that the show gave her an “aha moment” but she didn’t implement the advice to real life right away, starting an argument that lasted 18 months. “The hardest thing in the world for anyone to see is oneself.”

The author of Making Marriage Work: New Rule for An Old Institution also wrote about their communication style and how, over a year and some change, she and Mumford broke down their marriage and rebuilt it to resemble one where they listened to each other and tried to understand better where the other was coming from. “We no longer act on that right-now feeling without considering long-term consequences.”

While Mumford’s cause of death has not been revealed, Toler has received an outpouring of support from fellow celebrities such as Viola Davis and Tamar Braxton.

“So very sorry! I will pray for you❤️,” Davis wrote.

Prince Harry‘s upcoming autobiography Spare hasn’t hit the bookshelves just yet. Still, an excerpt released to the U.K. newspaper The Guardian on January 4 gave a glimpse into his stained relationship with his brother William and The Royal Family.

The issues stemmed from the negative treatment Prince Harry’s wife and former actress, Meghan Markle, has received from the British press since the couple announced they were dating in 2016. For years, the U.K. media racially targeted Markle, who is mixed, and published stories to make the Suits star look bad. The negative coverage ultimately caused Prince Harry and Meghan to leave England and step down as Duke and Duchess of Sussex. 

In Prince Harry’s book, the father of two claimed that in 2019 things came to a head when his brother William, the Prince of Wales, got physical with him following an argument about Meghan. The Guardian reported that the altercation began after William described Meghan as “difficult,” “rude,” and “abrasive” in the couple’s then-home, Nottingham Cottage, in London while discussing the pair’s relationship and their “struggles with the press.” 

The publication also stated that before the brothers’ conversation became heated, Prince Harry tried to reason with his brother by offering him a glass of water, which William drank.

The excerpt read, “He set down the water, called me another name, then came at me. It all happened so fast. So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out.”

The Guardian article shared that William encouraged Prince Harry to hit him back during the scuffle, which he refused. Immediately after Prince Harry turned down William’s offer to participate in a sparring match, he apologized for his actions. William also suggested that Prince Harry not tell Meghan about what went down. Meghan eventually discovered what happened after seeing the bruises on his back.

Prince Harry claimed in the excerpt that Meghan wasn’t “surprised” by the attack but was saddened that it took place.

Spare is scheduled to be released on January 10.