Trump, rwanda

Donald Trump Allegedly Goes On Racist Rant Over Funeral Costs For Fallen Soldier Vanessa Guillén

How could he say something like that?


A new report claims former President Donald Trump made a racist comment about American soldier Vanessa Guillén after having to pay for her funeral costs following her murder, according to NBC News. 

Atlantic Magazine issued a report claiming that during Trump’s White House term, he complained about the $60,000 cost of Guillén’s funeral after he promised her family he would foot the bill in July 2020. Unidentified sources said notes from a meeting just five months later, in December 2020, highlighted the former president’s annoyance after being told what the price tag was. “It doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a f—ing Mexican!” he allegedly said at the time. 

After his response, he told former chief of staff Mark Meadows not to pay for it. Guillén’s family attorney, Natalie Khawam, mentioned that the bill was sent to Trump, but funds were never received. Some of the funeral expenses were paid for by the U.S. Army and generous donations. 

Guillén’s death made headlines after she was brutally murdered in 2020 by a fellow soldier while stationed at the Fort Hood Army post, now known as Fort Cavazos, in Texas. For two months, the soldier was missing before her body was found. According to The Guardian, Guillén was killed at the hands of Aaron Robinson, who killed himself after he was propositioned by law enforcement. His girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, received 30 years behind bars for her role in the murder after pleading guilty to one count of accessory to murder and three counts of false statement or representation.

Public protests and outcry were led by the League of United Latin American Citizens and the nation’s oldest Latino civil rights group. 

While the Hispanic community has expressed outrage over Trump’s alleged comments, not all feel that way, including Guillén’s own sister, Mayra. She pushed back on the Atlantic’s story and defended Trump on X. “Wow. I don’t appreciate how you are exploiting my sister’s death for politics–hurtful & disrespectful to the important changes she made for service members,” she wrote. 

“President Donald Trump did nothing but show respect to my family & Vanessa. In fact, I voted for President Trump today.”

Khawam also condemned the story and celebrated Trump and his administration for his support. “After having dealt with hundreds of reporters in my legal career, this is unfortunately the first time I have to go on record and call out Jeffrey Goldberg@the Atlantic: not only did he misrepresent our conversation, but he outright LIED in HIS sensational story,” she said. 

“More importantly, he used and exploited my clients and Vanessa Guillen’s murder … for cheap political gain. As everyone knows, not only did Trump support our military, he also invited my clients to the Oval Office and supported the I Am Vanessa Guillen bill too.”

While a statement from Trump’s campaign spokesman Alex Pfeiffer described the indicted businessman as spending his “life caring for America’s military heroes,” the light shed on his history with the Hispanic community looks tarnished. In 2015, Trump said immigrants from Mexico were rapists, criminals, and drug dealers. He even questioned the judicial ability of the U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel due to his Mexican ancestry. 

However, a recent poll revealed that 40% of registered Spanish voters admit their support of Trump. However, 54% want to see Vice President Kamala Harris in the White House.

RELATED CONTENT: Trump Goes On Anti-Black Rant Against VP Kamala Harris At Rally

chat GPT, Chat GPT, AI Work

New Report Finds ChatGPT Can Be Manipulated To Instruct People How To Commit Crimes

This can't be good....


A Norwegian tech firm confirmed that ChatGPT can be manipulated into instructing users on how to commit a number of crimes, CNN reported. 

The firm, Strise, conducted some experiments that proved the software can be tricked into giving detailed insight on ways to commit certain crimes, including money laundering, exporting weapons to sanctioned countries, such as some against Russia that include a ban of cross-border payments, and selling weapons. 

The experiment raised some red flags. Strise’s co-founder and chief executive, Marit Rødevand, said it’s eye-opening how easy it is. “It is really effortless. It’s just an app on my phone,” Rødevand said. “It’s like having a corrupt financial adviser on your desktop.” 

Strise sells software that financial clients like PwC Norway and Handelsbanken use to fight money laundering schemes. However, the company behind ChatGPT, OpenAI, possibly placed some blocks on the platform to prevent the chatbot from being manipulated and responding to certain questions by way of asking questions indirectly or taking on a persona. “We’re constantly making ChatGPT better at stopping deliberate attempts to trick it without losing its helpfulness or creativity,” an OpenAI spokesperson said. 

“Our latest (model) is our most advanced and safest yet, significantly outperforming previous models in resisting deliberate attempts to generate unsafe content.” 

This isn’t the first time the chatbot has been called out as a dangerous tool. Since its launch in 2022, Chat GPT has been labeled as being too accessible to criminals. ChatGPT makes it “significantly easier for malicious actors to better understand and subsequently carry out various types of crime,” a report from Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, said in March 2023. 

“Being able to dive deeper into topics without having to manually search and summarize the vast amount of information found on classical search engines can speed up the learning process significantly.” According to Straight Arrow News, a similar report issued concerns after finding there was a way to “jailbreak” ChatGPT, resulting in finding instructions on how to create a bomb.

While reports continue to be released, OpenAI continues to stand its ground saying that they are aware of the “power its technology holds” but are working through them as best as they can. The company’s policy issues a warning that accounts can be suspended or canceled if certain violations occur.

RELATED CONTENT: Black Experts Team Up To Offer Comprehensive ChatGPT And Artificial Intelligence Workshop

South Carolina State House, Robert Smalls, Monument

Gullah Geechee Civil War Hero Robert Smalls To Be  Honored With Statehouse Statue

The Robert Smalls statue will be the first monument to honor an African American person.


¹South Carolina will soon erect its first individual statue for a Black person on its Statehouse lawn in its capital, Columbia. During the Civil War,  Robert Smalls, a native of the Gullah Geechee Corridor city of Beaufort, South Carolina, donned a Confederate uniform to steal an enslaver’s ship. Smalls sailed his family and others to freedom.

For more than a decade, Smalls served in the U.S. House and helped rewrite South Carolina’s constitution, which allowed Black men equality after the Civil War.

Democratic Rep. Jermaine Johnson said he is excited to bring his children to the Statehouse to see this historic monument.

“The man has done so many great things, it’s just a travesty he has not been honored until now. Heck, it’s also a travesty there isn’t some big Hollywood movie out there about his life,” Johnson told The Associated Press

The idea for Smalls’ statue has been brewing for years but has been met with opposition.  However, in 2024, the state House and the Senate unanimously approved the proposal. 

Some lawmakers are contemplating the best way to honor Smalls. Some want to depict him as the ship pilot who navigated others to freedom. Others would like to recognize him as the politician who advocated for education and voting rights for Black Americans.  The state-implemented Robert Smalls Monument Commission will work together to develop a design for the statue.

Robert Smalls was born in Beaufort in 1839 to Lydia Polite, an enslaved woman. Smalls later purchased his childhood home, located at  511 Prince Street, from his former master.  

Smalls’  legacy is apparent in his hometown of Beaufort, where a school is named after the leader. Robert Smalls Parkway is a section of U.S. Highway 170 that runs through Beaufort. A bust of Robert Smalls is located at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Downtown Beaufort, where the Civil War hero is buried. 

RELATED CONTENT: SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE PASSES BILL TO CONSTRUCT ROBERT SMALLS MONUMENT

Holly Robinson Peete

Holly Robinson Peete Among The ‘Old People’ Hallmark Allegedly Didn’t Want to Cast

A lawsuit accuses Hallmark of allowing age discrimination against Holly Robinson Peete and others.


A new age discrimination lawsuit against Hallmark accuses the studio of targeting “old people” like Holly Robinson Peete and Lacey Chabert.

The complaint names Hallmark’s Executive VP of programming, Lisa Hamilton Daly, who allegedly told her staff she didn’t want to cast “old people,” claiming they didn’t align with her vision for the channel, Variety reports. Hamilton Daly allegedly singled out Robinson Peete, 60, and Chabert, 42—regulars on the channel who have starred in numerous holiday movies and shows—as examples of “old talent” that needed to be “replaced,” the lawsuit states.

“No one wants her because she’s too expensive and getting too old,” Hamilton Daly allegedly said of Robinson Peete. “She can’t play leading roles anymore.”

As for Chabert, Hamilton Daly is quoted as allegedly saying the Mean Girls star is “getting older, and we have to find someone like her to replace her as she gets older.”

Hallmark has since replied to the suit to show its solidarity and support of Robinson Peete and Chabert.

“Lacey and Holly have a home at Hallmark. We do not generally comment on pending litigation,” the statement read. “And while we deny these outrageous allegations, we are not going to discuss an employment relationship in the media.”

The suit was filed on Oct. 9 in Los Angeles Superior Court by Penny Perry, a 79-year-old casting director who alleges that she was abruptly fired in April due to Hamilton Daly’s age discrimination. According to the complaint, Hamilton Daly repeatedly told Perry, a nine-year veteran at Hallmark, that she was “too long in the tooth” and sought to have her removed as part of a goal of finding “new talent.”

“We need to bring in someone who knows more young talent,” the executive said, according to the suit. “Our leading ladies are aging out.”

Perry’s suit cites her multiple sclerosis diagnosis and says she is legally blind in one eye, alleging that Hallmark failed to provide necessary accommodations for her disability. The veteran casting director, known for her work on Cocoon, Young Guns, and The NeverEnding Story, claims she was fired despite consistently receiving strong annual performance evaluations, including one just two months before her termination.

The suit alleges that shortly after Hamilton Daly was hired as Hallmark’s EVP of programming in September 2021, she wasted no time deciding that Perry was “too old to work in her position and maneuvered to push her out of the company.” She claims to have been treated differently, including having her office relocated to a different floor, being excluded from meetings, and her casting responsibilities on one project being reassigned to an outside consultant. After her termination, Perry alleges the company replaced her with a younger man.

RELATED CONTENT: Holly Robinson Peete Gets Candid About Overactive Bladder Symptoms and Treatment

NAUPA, unclaimed, property, money, cash, welfare, wealth, millionaire, Game developer, hardship grants, united way

26-Year-Old Procured $150K In Startup Funds By Emailing Investor

Destin Bell founded Card.io in 2022.


Destin Bell founded the fitness app Card.io. But to get the app out to the masses, Bell needed help. The entrepreneur presented his idea to game developer Niantic. The company sponsors the Black Game Developers Initiative, which financially supports Black game developers. However, Niantic initially passed on Bell’s pitch.

Instead of accepting this rejection, Bell emailed the company’s CEO weekly for three months. His persistence paid off; the company agreed to give the game developer $150,000 in startup funds. The creator shared this story when he appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank. Daymond John, Shark Tank investor and Fubu founder, said that Bell reminded him of his younger self. 

“I got to be part of this, and I don’t care how I’m part of this,” John said. “I love your energy. I did the same thing. I just did it with a phone. Forty years ago, I made 50 calls a day for six months, until people picked up,” CNBC- Make It reported.

The 26-year-old went on the show to ask for additional funds to invest in the business’ growth. Bell asked for $150,000 in exchange for a 5% equity stake in the company.

Three of the five investors on the panel dropped out. However, Daymond John and guest investor Rashaun Williams, a minority owner of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, agreed to help the businessman. The two men offered Bell $150,000 for 15 percent of his company. The 26-year countered with 10 percent, but the investors stood firm with their offer. 

With the encouragement of his mother, who accompanied him on the show, Bell accepted the deal.

Users can download the Card.io app to compete for turf in their city by walking, running, or biking. The app has individual and group subscription tiers that provide an ad-free experience and offer social media-type functions for members.

The Card.io App is available on Google Play and the App Store.

RELATED CONTENT: Check Yourself: 3 Questions Entrepreneurs Should Never Stop Asking

Cardi B, Tasha K, lawsuit

Cardi B Pulls Out Of ONE MusicFest Due To ‘Medical Emergency’

'I am so sad to share this news, but I’ve been in the hospital recovering from a medical emergency the last couple of days and I won’t be able to perform at ONE MusicFest.'


The ONE MusicFest will be taking place this weekend on Oct. 26 and Oct. 27, but it will be missing one of its headline acts.

Bronx-bred entertainer Cardi B announced via social media that she is unable to perform at the festival due to a “medical emergency” from which she is currently recovering.

“I am so sad to share this news, but I’ve been in the hospital recovering from a medical emergency the last couple of days, and I won’t be able to perform at ONE MusicFest. It breaks my heart that I won’t get to see my fans this weekend, and I really wish I could be there. Bardi Gang, thank you for understanding, and I’ll be back better and stronger soon. Don’t worry. Love yall.”

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Cardi B (@iamcardib)

The reality TV star did not reveal the reason she was hospitalized or if she is still in the hospital.

The organizers of ONE MusicFest also announced that they are looking to replace the popular rapper for the upcoming weekend.

“Hey #OMFFam! Unfortunately, @iamcardib announced that she is no longer available to join us this year due to ongoing health issues. Let’s all keep her in our prayers for a full recovery! We are working hard to find a replacement at this late date. More to come soon.”

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ONE Musicfest (@onemusicfest)

The ONE MusicFest was originally scheduled to take place at Piedmont Park, where it occurred last year, but earlier this month, organizers stated that it was returning to Central Park, where it happened in 2022.

On Oct. 26, people can expect to see performances by Earth, Wind & Fire, Fantasia, Method Man & Redman, and Nelly. Atlanta DJ Greg Street’s OMF Anthem will also allow local talent Young Dro, Crime Mob, Travis Porter, and Trillville to take the stage.

The following day, Jill Scott, Victoria Monet, Keyshia Cole, Dru Hil, Gunna, Glorilla, and Sexyy Red are expected to take the stage. DJ Drama will also have special guests. DJ Mars Block Party will also have T.I., Keri Hilson, Lloyd, and other artists.

RELATED CONTENT: Patti LaBelle Wants To Do New Music And Collaboration With ‘New Best Friend’ Cardi B

Bronny James, Lakers, G League

Shaquille O’Neal And Charles Barkley Feel Bronny James Belongs In The G League

Both NBA Hall of Famers feel playing in the G League would give Bronny an NBA career


With the sports world focused on the first father-son tandem to play in the NBA, everyone has opinions on the play and prospect of LeBron James’ firstborn son, Bronny, who joined his father on the Los Angeles Lakers this season. Two of the world’s most famous NBA Hall of Famers have given their outlook on what LeBron James Jr. should do to have a successful NBA career.

While speaking on their TNT show, Inside the NBA, former Lakers superstar Shaquille O’Neal and Phoenix Suns legend Charles Barkley joined in with critics who feel that Bronny needs to further hone his skills in the G League this season.

According to People, the famed duo took turns speaking about the most talked-about second-round No. 55 NBA draft pick, who just happens to be the son of arguably one of the best NBA players of all time.

“I think he should be in the G League,” Barkley said. “He’s not ready to play in the NBA right now. He should be in the G League because he’s not ready to play in the NBA, first and foremost.”

As other critics have stated in recent months, Bronny needs to gain some real-time skills playing against others who are trying to get to the NBA.

“I think to take the pressure off him and let him get better as a player, he should be in the G League,” Barkley stated.

Shaq agreed with the sentiment that he may not be a starter right now, but with the right work and time put in, he can stay in the NBA, although he would just be a bench player.

“He’s not going to be in the starting lineup, he’s probably not going to be in the second lineup, but if I’m him, I’m working somehow to get some type of rotation to get some type of flow,” O’Neal said. “Again, because of his last name, we want him to be great, but as LeBron said, there are 450 of us [playing in the NBA], and there are only a few rookies that have came in and had a great impact immediately. [I’ve] known the kid a long time.”

RELATED CONTENT: Bronny James Breaks Silence On 2023 Health Scare At USC

Tyler Perry Studios, Joint Venture, unscripted

Tyler Perry’s Former ‘Diary Of A Mad Black Woman’ Mansion Is Up For Sale

The Fulton County mansion comes with two vintage cars.


Would you like to live in the Metro Atlanta mansion that once belonged to Tyler Perry? You’re in luck; for $3.9 million, the home could be yours. 

Located in the Atlanta suburb of Chattahoochee Hills, the mansion was featured in Perry’s film, Diary Of A Mad Black Woman and the 2022 comedy Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul

“This property is a rare opportunity for anyone looking to own a piece of Atlanta’s rich entertainment history,” Hubert Tate, the property’s lead listing advisor with Keller Williams Realty Buckhead, told 11 Alive News Atlanta. 

The media mogul built the luxury estate inspired by the grand chateaux of Europe. The mansion has a gated entry that leads up a landscaped driveway to a circular motor court. The massive home has six bedrooms, six bathrooms, a tennis court, a gym, a state-of-the-art movie theater, and a 4,000-square-foot, two-floor master bedroom suite. It also features custom chandeliers. 

The 16,000-square-foot abode sits on 11 acres and is approximately a 25-minute drive from Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson Airport. In addition to the home, the owners include a 1973 Rolls Royce and a 1975 Ferrari.

Perry owns homes in Wyoming, Texas, and Los Angeles, where he famously hosted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. 

In 2009, the screenwriter purchased two small islands in the Bahamas. He built a Balinese-style villa and a set of bungalows on one of the previously uninhabited islands. Perry chose the Bahamas as the backdrop for his film, Why Did I Get Married Too?  In an interview with The Bahamas Chronicle, the mogul said he said he wanted to display the beauty of the Caribbean nation.

“I absolutely wanted to show the world that this place is unbelievable. Some of the clearest waters; I’ve never seen water like this. Ok, so I bought a little place here and bought a little island here. For about a mile all around, I can see everything in the water, it is amazing, just the clarity. I wanted the world to see that,” he told the publication.

RELATED CONTENT: Young Thug Stands Trial While Former Mansion Listed For $2.6M

Wesley Bell, Missouri, Congressional Seat 

New ‘I Couldn’t Vote’ Stickers Bring Awareness To Voter Suppression

Design company brings awareness to voter suppression.


New “I Couldn’t Vote” stickers were released to draw attention to voter suppression. Voter rights organization VoteAmerica partnered with Public Domain to design the sticker, Fast Company reported.

Rob Colucci and Zack Roif are co-designers of the initiative. Colucci compared it to the “I Voted” sticker many Americans receive after casting their ballots.

“We hijacked the ‘I voted’ sticker to really kind of give a voice and a face to the millions of people that are suppressed by voting.”

Roif says hearing the stories of people whose votes have been suppressed caught his attention and made him want to take action.

“Once you hear one story [of voter suppression], you sort of can’t look away from the problem.”

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by I Couldn’t Vote (@icouldntvote)

The campaign employs multiple methods to educate citizens about voter suppression, including personal testimonials.

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by I Couldn’t Vote (@icouldntvote)

 

VoteAmerica and Public Domain are using stickers to raise awareness. Georgia students have decided to protest.

BLACK ENTERPRISE reported on Georgia students marching at the Atlanta Morehouse campus to protest the Election Integrity Act, SB201, which was voted into law in 2021.

The law bars volunteers from passing out water and food to voters while waiting in lengthy voting lines.

Nicole Carty, the executive director of Get Free, a student organization, spoke about what she calls the law’s “inhumane” stipulations.

“It is so visibly dehumanizing to actually criminalize such an act of humanity and dignity. It really exemplifies the broader inhumanity and inequality of all these voter laws that are happening. It’s not just about not being able to hand out water. Many of the most insidious components of these anti-voter laws are deep in the bureaucracy and Jim Crow. So, we’re using it to shine a light on what is dehumanizing about these laws.”

The reference to Jim Crow harkens back to policies designed to keep Black people away from the ballot box. Policies like the “grandfather clause” or poll taxes placed financial and historical barriers in voter’s way.

While the restrictive policies began in the 1800s, they were still employed well into the Jim Crow era.

“It was not until Pres[ident] Lyndon B. Johnson introduced the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which Congress was able to put an end to the discriminatory practice,” cites the Encyclopedia Britannica.

RELATED CONTENT: Queen Latifah Encourages People To Vote For Kamala Harris

New Orleans Tells UnHoused To Bounce, Taylor Swift Is Coming

New Orleans Tells UnHoused To Bounce, Taylor Swift Is Coming

Unhoused New Orleans residents will have to make way for Taylor Swift and tourism.


According to the Associated Press, the city of New Orleans is clearing out its unhoused encampments to make way for Taylor Swift. The pop singer will perform at the New Orleans Ceasars Superdome on Oct. 25—27.

Louisiana officials approved a massive sweep of encampments near the Superdome and movement of the unhoused two blocks from the concert venue. 

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry’s Communications Director, Kate Kelly, issued a statement reinforcing the decision and citing the concert as a factor. 

“As we prepare for the city to host Taylor Swift and Super Bowl LIX, we are committed to ensuring New Orleans puts its best foot forward when on the world stage.”

Advocates for the unhoused say the state’s move is a setback to their progress. The unnamed advocates are working to find viable housing options for the 75 displaced individuals. 

“Advocates said the sweep would disrupt progress in finding long-term, permanent housing for those affected. Other people without shelter living in the historic, tourist-dependent French Quarter neighborhood would also be moved to the same location,” AP reported.

The state government is, seemingly, prioritizing its tourist revenue over the long-term well-being of its citizens.

Due to multiple climate issues and the rise in housing costs, the number of affordable dwellings has decreased. As a result, many are left unhoused, and the city of New Orleans is feeling the effects of this crisis.

“The city’s homeless population grew 20% in two years, totaling 1,454 people in 2024, both living outside and in shelters, a 5% increase from the previous year,” according to the report on the 2024 Point in Time survey.

Though the state is intent on having a good appearance before the world stage, New Orleans’ unhoused population can rest knowing they will not be criminalized for their circumstances. 

On June 28, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Grants Pass v. Johnson that unhoused people sleeping in public spaces could be arrested and charged with a criminal offense. 

However, the New Orleans City Council passed a resolution to ensure its unhoused residents are protected from criminal charges and given the resources to secure adequate living spaces. 

The resolution states: “The New Orleans City Council hereby affirms it’s ongoing commitment to ending homelessness, not through criminalization efforts that punish unhoused residents for sleeping in public, but through investing, improving solutions that both improve housing, stability and preserve dignity and respect for all New Orleans sleeping in public, but through investing, improving solutions that both improve housing, stability and preserve dignity and respect for all New Orleans.”

The resolution also addresses funding for the unhoused through the Home for Good New Orleans initiative, which focuses on direct housing placement for unhoused residents. 

RELATED CONTENT: Extended-Stay Hotels: A Harsh Reality For Homeless Students In Atlanta

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