Russell Wilson Proposes to Ciara Again to Ask for More Babies: ‘Just Give Me One More’
Russell Wilson got down on one knee to repropose to his famous wife and ask for more babies.
Wilson and Ciaraare already parents to Future Zahir, 7, whom Ciara shares with her rapper ex Future, daughter SiennaPrincess, 4, and 19-month-old son Win Harrison. But the Seattle Seahawks player is begging his wife for more children.
On Thursday, Ciara served as a guest host on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and was joined by her NFL champion husband. Wilson got down on one knee and surprised the Grammy Award-winning singer with another proposal during the show.
Ciara was already blushing from the bouquet of roses Wilson gifted her when he teased that he would make her more nervous.
“Do you guys want me to make her more nervous?” Wilson asked as Ciara looked surprised. Getting down on one knee, Wilson asked his wife a big question.
“I have a question for you. Serious question. Can we have more babies?” he asked with a smile.
“I mean, it would be perfect. Just give me one more at least,” he added.
Ciara laughed while agreeing to the offer. “We definitely can, but we’ve got a little time before we get there,” the “Goodies” singer replied.
The singer noted how hectic her days are raising three kids but praised Wilson for when he’s in “daddy mode” because it’s “one of the sexiest things” about him, she said.
Wilson and Ciara tied the knot in 2016, one year after they first met. They were expecting their first child together a few months after exchanging their vows, Bridesreports.
When it comes to raising her trio of children, Ciara says it’s not easy, but she enjoys the adventure.
“These kids are funny. Our kids are really hilarious, and obviously, the older they get, the more they think they know,” Ciara toldPeople.
Despite baby Win being the youngest, the “Body Party” singer says he is the one “leading the charge.”
“They say the third baby kind of moves or learns the quickest because they’re trying to keep up with their siblings, and he’s on it,” Ciara said. “He’s talking really early, he’s moving, he’s a big baby, and he’s really tall, you know?”
Meghan Markle’s Half-Sister Sues Over Meghan and Harry’s Oprah Winfrey Interview
Meghan Markle is busy accepting NAACP Awards alongside her royal husband but her family drama is still finding ways to disrupt her peace.
It was Meghan and Prince Harry’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey that apparently ruffled the feathers of her half-sister Samantha Markle. On Thursday, Samantha sued Meghan for defamation claiming the Duchess fabricated her “rags to royalty” life story, TMZ reported.
In the suit, Samantha blasts Meghan for spreading lies in her interview in order to paint a narrative of being victimized by her leeching family members. Samantha points out how Meghan referred to herself as an “only child” during the interview despite the half-sisters sharing the same father, Thomas Markle.
Samantha also claims that Meghan lied when she said the last time she saw her sister was “at least 18, 19 years ago and before that, 10 years before that.” Her sister also claims Meghan lied when she insinuated that Samantha only changed her surname to Markle after Meghan started dating Prince Harry.
The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister author went on to accuse Meghan of lying about growing up in “virtual poverty,” US Weeklyreported. Samantha credits their father for paying for Meghan to attend “elite and expensive private schools.”
She also claims Thomas Markle covered the cost of Meghan’s tuition at Northwestern University despite the Duchess’s assertions that she worked to pay her own way through college. Samantha claims the Suits alumna lied about her and their father “could not interfere with or contradict the false narrative and fairytale life story [she] concocted.” Samantha’s lawsuit also accuses Meghan of negatively impacting the sales of her autobiography. .
“This baseless and absurd lawsuit is just a continuation of a pattern of disturbing behavior,” Meghan Markle’s attorney Michael Kump said. “We will give it the minimum attention necessary, which is all it deserves.”
SheaMoisture Partners with Girls With Impact, Kicks Off Benefit Concert
An initiative to train 100,000 Black women in business will officially kickoff at the International Women’s Day Benefit Concert presented by Girls With Impact, SheaMoisture and Live Nation in New York City on Tuesday, Mar. 8, it was announced.
The effort, led by SheaMoisture, calls for educating 100,000 under-resourced, Black women (over the next three years) with Girls With Impact’s business academy.
“SheaMoisture is proud to partner with Girls With Impact ensuring that women of color have the support necessary to see success in their entrepreneurial endeavors against systemic barriers,” said Cara Sabin, CEO of SheaMoisture.
Pointing to the “double whammy” that women of color have faced as a result of Covid – low earnings coupled with job loss, Girls With Impact CEO Jennifer Openshaw said:
“Now more than ever, under-resourced women need a jump-start to their financial and professional lives.”
“Our International Women’s Day Benefit Concert is a powerful opportunity to gather, celebrate women and lift up those who have yet to realize their potential,” she continued.
“We’re calling on other CEOs to join SheaMoisture to make this a reality.”
SheaMoisture will also serve as Presenting Sponsor of the Mar. 8 concert, which features a powerful trio of Broadway performers: Nkeki Obi-Melekwe of Broadway’s smash hit TINA – The Tina Turner Musical, Grammy Award Winner Jennifer Nettles, and Grammy Award winner, songwriter and actor Sara Bareilles.
The Concert – open to the public – will be held at The Town Hall in New York City. Tickets are on sale now. Ticket & sponsorship packages are also available.
Girls With Impact’s business academy, delivered live, online, by business professionals, teaches women the fundamentals of business and graduates them with a business plan and venture pitch. Outcomes include confidence, college and career readiness and professional skills.
The SheaMoisture scholarships will provide Black, under-resourced young women with Girls With Impact’s training, furthering the brand’s longstanding commitment to close the racial wealth gap by supporting the next generation of Black entrepreneurs.
Eric Dickerson Loves the NFL; That’s Why He’s Criticizing It
In a brilliant 11-year NFL career, Eric Dickerson routinely sped past defenders. He couldn’t outrun everything. The Hall of Fame running back with the Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis Colts, now 61, knows something is off. He’s OK now. Very soon, though, he might not remember anything.
And there’s a lot on his mind. Watch My Smoke ($26.95, Haymarket Books, out now), written with People magazine editor Greg Hanlon, is the rare sports memoir that favors honesty over overwrought nostalgia. Whether the NFL’s single-season rushing leader is describing the raucous nightlife or observing drug use in an NFL locker room, Dickerson reveals the real NFL. It’s a bracing, transfixing read of the man behind the googles.
Today, Dickerson wants the NFL, that glittery, year-round sports colossus, to be better. It’s like an underachieving child: you love them, but you know they can improve. In this candid interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE, edited for clarity and space, Dickerson didn’t hold back.
“I was never going to be anybody’s kiss-ass,” he said last week.
ERIC DICKERSON: I think everything he’s staying is true. When we Black guys talk, it’s a different talk than when the white guys talk. It’s different for the Black players. Way different. Things haven’t really changed that much since I played. You talk to players and it’s still politics involved. They’re still going to hire the white coach over the Black coach. I know his daddy. I played with his daddy. Me and his daddy have been friends for 20 years. He might not be the most qualified guy, but it happens. It’s the same thing with playing time. If a Black guy’s playing great and the white guy is playing great, the white guy is going to get to start or they’re going to build him up. If the Black guy is a superstar and the white guy is a good player, they’re going to build [the white guy] up as much as they can. You might not want to admit it, but we live in a different world than the white person.
The NFL gave me a life that I could never have. I’m grateful for that. I love the sport. The politics and the bullsh** make you despise the sport that you love so much. That makes me sad. It’s like my mother said, “Eric, it’s different for you It’s different for y’all.” They don’t want to admit it, but it is. How in the world is the NFL is 80% Black and there are three Black head coaches? It just baffles me. A [white] reporter said to me: “Let me tell you something. If the NFL was 80% white, there’s no way that you would be suffering with pension and healthcare. That’s how they see you: it’s a bunch of Blacks.” And in a sense, they don’t really care. Look, the whole “we are family” crap that the NFL throws out there. They’re not our family. The players, we’re family, because we know the struggles out there. We know what it’s like playing. We know all the ups and downs.
It’s like when I tried to do stuff with the Hall of Fame to get a stipend for the guys, healthcare for the players, the reporters wrote like I was doing something wrong. What the hell was I getting out of it? Frustration. My thing was is that I want to help. I think we deserve better. We deserve to be treated better. That was all I was trying to do.
The NFL does stuff when it’s popular. It’s like when the Kaepernick thing came out, they didn’t like that. Now, all of a sudden, when George Floyd got killed, they want to put $250 million into it. OK. What’s changed? Nothing changed.
How do you align those feelings with working for the Rams and commenting about the NFL?
The NFL was good for me. It’s been good to me in the aspect of giving me an opportunity to play a sport that I love. But do they do everything right? No, they don’t. Do they do everything wrong? No, they do a lot of good. Trying to keep players safe; I think that’s great. They have programs now for life after football. That’s fantastic. They have mental programs if you have mental issues. I think that’s great. Those are things that I wish we’d had as players.
What they do a bad job of is not taking care of the players after they retire from football, like baseball and basketball. I had dinner with [basketball legend] Clyde Drexler three weeks ago. I said, “Clyde, you’re even.” He said, “Uh-uh. We’re above the owners. The owners listen to us. Y’all are in the outhouse.” They don’t care what we say. You know why? The players can’t stick together, so you can’t even blame it on the owners. You know who will stick together? The wives and the girlfriends who are attempting to take care of our old asses after we’re beat up and retired from sports. The women are the ones that really deserve it.
A great pension would be a great start. It’s always a fight with NFLPA (National Football League Players Association). DeMaurice Smith: He’s [NFL commissioner Roger] Goddell’s puppet. It’s a joke. That’s what he is. I spoke out against him a couple of weeks ago. Now, all of a sudden, I get a letter—they’re trying to deny my pension, my disability. I know what that’s all about. I’ve had a disability for 14 years, now all of a sudden I say something about him publicly. I know how it works with him. And I’m gonna fight it. I’m gonna win. But that’s how they operate. They operate on fear. They want you to fear them. They don’t want you to say nothing about him. They want you to go along with everything. The PA is supposed to help the players, yet they’ve hurt us. They’ve hurt the players so much, in so many ways
If you talked to someone coming into the NFL, what would you say?
If you’re lucky enough to get drafted high and make a lot money, man, put that money away. Don’t get into these deals like, “I got a friend over here, Little Pookie, he’s got a tech deal.” You can’t do that. I think all of us have been suckered into the stuff that we didn’t’ know about. Invest in something you know. If you don’t know it, learn it or get somebody that you can trust that really knows it.
But just know this much: You’re going to be an old man a lot longer than you’re going to wear that NFL uniform. I think they don’t ever think about being 35, 40 years old, never playing that sport again. And it happens. I will never forget one of my first times I thought about it. I was in practice and we broke the huddle and I was in my stance and just something hit me: One day you will not be doing this. So be prepared.
Maine Willing To Pay $40,000 In Student Loans if You Move There And Buy A House
Lawmakers in Maine are trying to attract younger workers by forgiving up to $40,000 in student loan debt to first-time homebuyers.
Maine Senate PresidentTroy Jackson told Business Insider the Pine Tree state has a significant challenge filling its job market. Residents are getting older and retiring, while at the same time, younger workers may not have the funds for a down payment or the financial record of an experienced buyer.
“A lot of people are trapped in debt. I believe very strongly that was by design,” Jackson said.
According to a Maine State Housing Authority report, the top two reasons people are delaying buying a home are they’re unable to save enough for a down payment and they don’t feel financially secure enough due to existing loan debt.
The Maine Smart Buy Program would allow qualifying first-time homebuyers to purchase a home through the MaineHousing First Home Loan Program and receive forgiveness of up to $40,000.
The Maine Smart Buy program is designed after similar programs in Maryland and Illinois. To be eligible, participants must have a student debt balance between $5,000 and $40,000 and work with the state to pay off the debt by the time participants close on their homes. It must also be their primary residence for at least five years or they will be required to pay a portion of the student loan assistance back to the state.
Participants must also have a minimum credit score of 640 to be eligible and the home must be valued between $86,600 and $131,100 depending on location and family size. Other particulars of the bill are still being worked out by the Maine Senate which is in session until April.
Student loan debt is the third-highest debt Americans carry behind mortgage and credit card debt totaling $1.7 trillion. President Joe Biden pledged to cancel $10,000 in student loan debt during the run-up to the Presidential election but has rarely mentioned it since. Additionally, Biden didn’t mention student debt forgiveness in his State of the Union address this week.
Biden did erase student debt for disabled students and victims of for-profit colleges. He also extended the pause on student loan repayment through May 1.
Blacks 43% More Likely to Spend Emergency Savings Since COVID-19
Two years have passed since the start of COVID-19 and Black Americans are among those continuing to face difficulties rebounding financially.
A new study reveals that Black respondents are 43% more likely than overall respondents to have spent their emergency savings since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The study by Real Estate Witch was based on an online survey done in late January of 1,000 people questioned on several topics, including their “financial situation, debt and worries” tied to the pandemic.
A robust 71% of families have not recovered financially from the pandemic, and 90% of Americans are stressed about it. Some 32% are even more stressed than last year. Americans are also concerned about cash shortages as 70% have lived paycheck to paycheck sometime during COVID. Another 48% are living under those conditions now.
Simultaneously, 52% of parents are convinced it will take up to five years for their finances to recover, and one in seven don’t trust their finances will ever recover. Another disturbing finding is that 41% of Americans have no emergency savings, and 40% believe their savings will run out this year.
Danetha Doe, a spokesperson for Clever Real Estate, provided insight on why Black Americans were more likely than other respondents to have used up emergency savings since the onset of COVID-19. Real Estate Witch is part of Clever Real Estate, an education platform for homebuyers, sellers, and investors.
Doe said the legacy of socioeconomic discrimination and racism within the United States created a precarious situation for Black Americans who historically have been locked out of building generational wealth.
“This created a vicious cycle where if a Black family’s finances were already strained, then the pandemic further exacerbated the situation and made it tough to recover,” she says.
However, there is uplifting news. Doe said the study found 37% of Black Americans are optimistic about their financial recuperation and anticipate their finances will recover within the year. She added the study showed 33% of Black respondents report they have no non-mortgage debt and 43% are less stressed about the pandemic than they were last year.
Doe says despite the hand dealt to Black Americans, their levels of debt are still manageable, and their financial confidence is still intact.
“Confidence is the biggest determinant to wealth building, and although the system has tried to strip financial confidence away from Black Americans, it is still present.”
Ex-Police Officer Brett Hankison Found Not Guilty of Endangering Breonna Taylor’s Neighbors
A police officer involved in the no-knock police killing of EMT worker Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, has been found not guilty in his recent trial.
According to NBC News, former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison was found not guilty on three counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree. The ex-officer was not on trial for shooting Taylor but for endangering her neighbors.
Hankison was charged after a grand jury stated that he endangered Taylor’s neighbors when he fired his service weapon blindly into her apartment during a botched no-knock March 2020 narcotics raid. He was the only ex-officer charged following the deadly raid.
After two weeks of testimony, the jury took a little over three hours to determine that Hankison was innocent of the charges against him.
He was accused of endangering Taylor’s neighbors Cody Etherton, his partner, Chelsey Napper, and their 5-year-old son. Hankison fired shots that went into their apartment on the night of March 13, 2020. Police shot and killed 26-year-old Taylor, who was Black, after her boyfriend fired a shot at the police officers fearing they were being attacked in her apartment.
The Louisville Metro Police Department terminated Hankison in June 2020. He was the only police officer involved in the raid charged. No charges were filed against him or his fellow officers in the death of Taylor.
The jury found him not guilty despite the testimony of Etherton, 29, who testified that police were “unorganized” and “reckless” on the night of the raid. He stated how “debris started going past my head and face” as bullets soared into his apartment. The bullets pierced and shattered his sliding glass patio door.
“I could put two and two together…I was like they think my backdoor is her backdoor. That’s what I thought, which to me is just very unorganized,” he said. “They didn’t even know whose backdoor that was. They didn’t even know who lived there. So, to me, that kind of upset me. It was just reckless to me.”
Kyrie Irving Hires Stepmother As Agent—Believed To Be Only Black Female Agent In NBA
Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving has changed his representation and is keeping it in the family, hiring his stepmother, Shetellia Riley Irving.
According to The Athletic‘s NBA insider, Shams Charania, Riley Irving currently serves as the vice president of ad sales at BET and is believed to be the only Black female agent representing an NBA player. Roc Nation and Jeff Wechsler previously represented the Nets guard.
Irving has a player option for the 2022-23 season that will pay him $36.6 million, but he can also decline the option and become a free agent. Irving has played in just 15 games this season, all in road games outside of Brooklyn due to his reluctance to get the COVID-19 vaccination and New York City’s vaccination mandate for indoor events.
Many fans hoped New York City MayorEric Adams would make an exception for the superstar point guard, but Adams refused. Although mask mandates have been relaxed for indoor venues, the vaccination mandate still stands, meaning Irving cannot play home games.
The Nets entered the season as an NBA Finals favorite, but things haven’t gone well for them whether or not Irving has played. Teammate Kevin Durant has dealt with injuries all season, and James Harden eventually expressed his displeasure with his two teammates constantly being out and was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. Ben Simmons, who the Nets received when they traded Harden, is currently out with a back injury.
The Nets are eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 32-32 record and are holding onto the conference’s last playoff spot by one game. In the 15 games Irving has played, the Nets are just 5-10.
Irving previously played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, winning a title with LeBron James, and the Boston Celtics. Irving has been to seven All-Star games and is a three-time All-NBA player.
Deep Pocket Drake Partners With Online Gambling Company ‘Stake’ After Betting Over $1B
The 6 God Drake has a new business venture, and it involves gambling – a lot of it.
After COVID-19 restrictions hit Toronto casinos, Drake has been participating in online gambling sites like Stake while at home, said to have gambled over one billion since becoming a member on Dec. 28, 2021.
That’s right, billion.
Fans have seen user “DeepPockets6” post on his Instagram his bets with online roulette, having just recently wagered $1.25 million in Bitcoin. From bets for NBA games to the Los Angeles Rams winning the Super Bowl, the Toronto rapper will be partnering with virtual gambling site Stake for a live betting event in which all winnings will be given to his fans, reminiscent of his “God’s Plan” music video.
“It was inevitable. Drake and @stake have come together,” he revealed in a joint Instagram post with Stake on Tuesday. “I am going to be announcing a date for an upcoming live event where I play to win some real money and give it all to you because what’s better than sharing the love with my people. Stay tuned for details.”
Since December, Drake’s winnings lie between $354,000 up to $7 million on a single roulette wheel spin, per the outlet. He was even spotted playing online roulette while courtside at the Toronto Raptors games at Scotiabank Arena. “Had a extra seat for my laptop… may as well,” he posted on an Instagram story. Besides his pockets, his love for gambling runs even deeper.
While there has been no date set for the partnership investment, his promo video where he is seen vacationing at the side of his laptop on the Stake website, has garnered almost 2 million views, exciting fans on this new business venture. It certainly seems to be paying off.
Looks like another bag is on its way for the Certified Lover Boy.
Born To Flex: Cardi B and Offset Drop $1,400 Tip At New York Eatery
On Monday Night, celebrity hip-hop couple Cardi B and Offset took their palates to the chic Brooklyn Chop House, where they served up some love to servers who gave them good service.
According to Page Six, the pair took over a few tables, feasting on orders of dumplings and dessert. Although the tab totaled $,3000, they left the staff a $1,400 tip.
In the middle of dessert, the rap couple posed for a picture alongside the owner of the Brooklyn Chop House, Robert “Don Pooh” Cummins, which was later shared on Instagram. Rocking casual chic, the “WAP” rapper stepped out in a black Vetements hoodie and orange-framed glasses. Her husband, meanwhile, came to dinner in a Supreme puffer coat over his hoodie, also wearing shades.
The Brooklyn Chop House is slated to launch its second location in Times Square on March 7. It is known as the only restaurant offering a 3-pound. 45-day dry-aged porterhouse, a 7-pound Peking duck, and a 4-pound salt & pepper lobster at one table.
This wouldn’t be the first time Cardi B and Offset dined at the Manhattan eatery, also tipping generously. According to the celebrity gossip site, they arrived at an already packed restaurant for a private dining experience last November.
But the restaurant had to sway diners with bottles of Cristal for them to leave sooner to cater to the couple and their entourage of about 10 persons. What was a $1,000 bill for dinner turned into an additional $1,000 for the server.
A source told Page Six, “[Cardi] was very gracious, and really nice. She was very friendly to everyone. Everyone loved it.”
The couple got married in 2017 before having their first child together in 2018. Although there have been talks of splitting over the years along with cheating rumors, they seemed to have made it through and welcomed their second child in September 2021.
