Ice Cube went from Fuck Tha Police to shining the master's shoes. What the fuck?
From N.W.A. to solo acts, he was down with the Lynch Mob. Now he is down with the MAGA Mob.
From making movies like Boys 'N The Hood, The Player's Club, Are We There Yet?, Friday and Higher Learning to now sitdowns with conspiracy theorists and white nationalists.
Ep. 10 Stay in your lane: our drive through South Central LA with Ice Cube.
From the Big 3 Basketball to the Sleezeball of conservative agitating media.
O'Shea Jackson is a Coon Wit Attitude.
Oh, he on the blacklist of music. I will not listen to his shit much longer.
Folks calling him Ice Coon for hanging with white nationalist Tucker Carlson.
I remember he said that Eazy E getting an invitation to speak to the Republicans was the coon at the rabbit's picnic.
He went on to insult several others who made their way into his mentions, calling one a “dirty bitch.” Check out some of his tweets from that week .
Ice Cube subject of vitriol this month after meeting with conservative politician Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The critiques thrown at the 54-year-old rapper were amplified when an interview with Tucker Carlson was published and featured him speaking negatively about the COVID-19 vaccine and Barack Obama.
The Los Angeles rapper appeared on Tucker On Twitter on Tuesday (July 25) and did not withhold any of his polarizing thoughts. While driving around South Central LA with Carlson, Cube stated that he felt the COVID-19 vaccine “wasn’t ready” when it first became available.
Lebron James' son Bronny James had experienced cardiac arrest while on the basketball court. The family released a statement saying that he is in stable condition.
Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin offered support to James.
“Yesterday while practicing Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest. Medical staff was able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital," according to a family statement.
"He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU. We ask for respect and privacy for the James family and we will update media when there is more information. LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes.”
Bronny James, 18, announced earlier this year that he plans to play basketball at the University of Southern California, where the medical emergency unfolded.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a medical emergency in the 3400 block of South Figueroa Street at 9:26 a.m. PT on Monday and took an adult male to the hospital, a department spokesperson said.
The Galen Center, the home arena of USC basketball, is at 3400. S. Figueroa St.
The 6-foot-3 James was a McDonald’s All-American and was one of the nation’s most heralded players coming out of Sierra Canyon School in Los Angeles.
His commitment to USC was covered by national media and LeBron James, 38, has said he hopes to stay in the NBA long enough to share the pro hardwood with his oldest son.
The heart health of athletes has always been a concern in the world of sports, but has been the focus of several high profile incidents recently.
Cartier Woods, an 18-year-old high school basketball player from Detroit, died earlier this year suffering cardiac arrest during a game.
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field during his team's nationally televised game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2.
And perhaps the most famous on-court death unfolded in Los Angeles, when Loyola Marymount's Hank Gathers collapsed during a game in 1990.
An event that happened in July has the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Circleville Police under fire. The two agencies are blaming one another for the incident that had a suspect injured by a police dog. The suspect was driving a semi truck on U.S. Route 23 when a trooper spotted him. The trooper was going to engage in a pull over over a missing mud flap.
So the trooper tried to pull him over but the driver did not stop. So it led to a chase.
The driver was on the phone with 911 as well. The chase lasted 30 minutes and ended near Circleville.
When the chase ended, the trooper and assistance ordered him out the vehicle. The driver exited the vehicle and followed the directions. Soon the Circleville Police arrived and an officer with a K9 appeared. The Circleville Police have orders and warned that the suspect was going to get bitten if he did not comply.
So two conflicting orders and it led to the officer releasing the dog and the man getting bit multiple times. He was treated at a Columbus hospital and released to the custody of the Pickaway County sheriff. He was placed in custody for failure to stop, resisting arrest and failure to comply.
The suspect is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Jadarrius Rose, 23 appeared to tell 911 dispatchers in at least two calls that he didn't know why he was being pulled over or why troopers had their guns drawn.
“Right now I’m being chased by like 20 police officers and they all got their guns pointed directly to my truck,” a man police believed to be Jadarrius Rose told a Pickaway County dispatcher during a 2-minute call released Monday. “So now I’m trying to figure out why they got their guns all pointed to me and they’re all white people.”
Rose was pulled over July 4 in Circleville, Ohio, because the semi-truck he was driving “was missing a left rear mud flap,” according to an incident report from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Following a pursuit, Rose stood outside his vehicle with his hands raised when a Circleville police officer instructed his dog to attack. A trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol could be heard in a body camera video advising against releasing the dog because Rose had surrendered.
The 911 caller, who didn't identify himself but is believed to be Rose, also says that the troopers "exploded" the tires on his truck, which he was driving to a delivery point. (He was referring to tire-deflating devices called "stop sticks" that troopers deployed in an attempt to stop Rose's truck.)
"And it's not even my truck, I'm just driving to my delivery point," he said. "All of them got their guns pointed directly to me."
When asked for a second 911 call Rose made to Ross County, a spokesperson provided audio in which the caller says: "I don’t know why they’re trying to kill me."
Unarmed man was bitten by a police dog after two agencies gave two different orders.
"I do not feel safe with stopping, I don’t know why they’re throwing stuff on the ground trying to get me in an accident," the caller said.
On the 911 call with Pickaway County, the dispatcher advised: "Listen to what the officers are telling you."
"They ain't told me nothing, they ain't told me nothing," the caller said. "I don't know why they're pulling me over."
The dispatcher tells the caller to roll down his window.
"I did that the last time and all of them had their guns pointed at me. You think I feel safe?" the caller said.
The caller is then instructed to put both hands out the window, then open his door with his left hand showing. The call ends shortly after.
Rose was traveling westbound on U.S. Route 35 when a Motor Carrier Enforcement inspector and troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol tried to pull him over. When Rose failed to stop, troopers deployed the stop sticks on his vehicle twice before it came to a stop on U.S. Route 23.
After he was ordered several times to get out of the vehicle, Rose can be seen on the body camera video standing in front of troopers with his hands in the air.
Circleville police officer, identified as “R. Speakman,” deploys his K9 and instructs the dog to attack Rose.
“Do not release the dog with his hands up!” a trooper can be heard yelling multiple times before Speakman releases the dog.
The bodycam video then appears to show the dog biting and pulling Rose by his arm as he screams loudly.
Although Circleville police vehicles have dashboard cameras and officers are meant to wear body cameras, Circleville Mayor McIlroy said he does not know if Speakman had one on during the incident.
Speakman was placed on paid administrative leave around five days ago, McIlroy told NBC News.
When asked why Speakman wasn’t immediately placed on leave following the incident, McIlroy said, “I cannot answer that question.”
“Nothing like this should ever happen to anybody. ... It’s just a very unfortunate situation,” he said.
This isn't the first time Speakman's conduct has been under review, according to McIlroy. The officer was investigated in connection with another incident approximately within the past two years.
A use of force review board is reviewing the incident, according to the Circleville Police Department. The board’s findings will be released next week.
McIlroy said he understood how people could be concerned about race factoring into the officer’s actions but adds “… we do not have any racial problems here in the city of Circleville.”
He called the community “all inclusive" and "a great place to live, a great place to raise your family, a great place to send your kids to school.”
Let me clear: I will continue to spotlight missing women of color. Over 100,000 Black women and Black children go missing in the United States. The junk food media does not place a spotlight on the missing people of color. Thanks to Black Twitter, America woke up to the news of this missing Alabama woman.
And now Black Twitter will tear her apart after it was confirmed by the woman's lawyer, she made the whole thing up.
The Jefferson County, Alabama prosecutor has not commented on the pending charges Carlee Russell is about to face but she likely will get handed some.
She is the female "Jussie Smollett."
It did not take long for coon officer Candace Owens to chime in.
Hoover Police Chief Nicholas Derzi raised several red flags regarding Russell's account, and said that police could not yet verify Russell's story. Police also said that Russell had made several internet searches related to Amber Alerts, among other topics, in the hours leading up to her disappearance.
Hours after a lawyer representing Russell revealed the 25-year-old Alabama woman was not kidnapped as she reported to police, her now-ex boyfriend posted a statement condemning her actions.
Russell was missing for two days before reappearing in Hoover, Alabama, and telling law enforcement she had been kidnapped July 15.
By July 19, police said they had been “unable to verify” statements Russell had made about her alleged kidnapping.
In a statement shared Monday, Russell’s now-ex-boyfriend Thomar Latrell Simmons condemned her actions. Simmons had previously spoken to media and posted online about being Russell’s boyfriend before her lawyer said her kidnapping was a hoax.
In his post on late July 24, he called the nursing student his “ex” and said she had created “hurt, confusion and dishonesty.”
On the day before Emmett Till’s 82nd birthday, I give zero f**ks that Carlee Russell lied. Unlike Carolyn Bryant, Russell apologized… and she will probably suffer more consequences than Bryant who got a 14-year-old lynched and lived to be 88 years old. pic.twitter.com/SwW1wbWmOo
— Clay 'Critical Thinking Theory' Cane (@claycane) July 24, 2023
This is the story of 25-year-old Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell who was recently abducted and is currently considered missing in Alabama. Please share and spread awareness. Carlee stopped her car to help a stranded toddler on the side of the road when it's assumed she was… pic.twitter.com/SjsjDWo6fU
#CarleeRussell isn't missing but my daughter #HayleeCummings is and has been for nearly a year can I please get some much needed attention on her. Please share retweet share to your other platforms etc. Please help bring Haylee home!! pic.twitter.com/CDl0q23kGC
— Elizabeth Cummings (@Elizabe03325671) July 19, 2023
“I was made aware of the false narrative after coming to the defense of my ex Carlee Russell,” he said in the statement. “Myself and my family’s nature was to react in love, and genuine concern. We are disgusted from the outcome of this entire situation. I strongly feel exactly like you all. blindsided with Carlee’s actions.”
He added that it’s “still an ongoing investigation” but with Russell’s “confession now we gain closure with this situation.”
He concluded by thanking followers for their support and asked that people “continue to keep us in your prayers.”
In a statement read by police on July 24, Russell’s lawyer said she apologized to the community and everyone who had searched for her.
“As for her friends and family, we ask for your prayers for Carlee as she addresses her issues and attempts to move forward, understanding that she made a mistake in this matter. Carlee, again, asks for your forgiveness and prayers,” the statement concluded.
With Americans being polarized by what they see in the junk food media, many of those who voted with Washed Up 45 believe that racism does not exist. They actually think that the Kia Boyz breaking into cars, immigrants coming into the U.S., President Joe Biden appointing people of color to the federal courts, The Little Mermaid, Barbie and movies that replace white protagonists are threats.
Washed Up 45 carried the white vote hands down.
Yahoo News/YouGov polling states that white voters are very concerned about racism towards them.
The survey of 1,638 U.S. adults, which was conducted from July 13-17, shows that among 2020 Washed Up 45 voters, 62% say that racism against Black Americans is a problem today — while 73% say that racism against white Americans is a problem.
Asked how much of a problem racism currently is, just 19% of the former president's voters describe racism against Black Americans as a “big problem.” Twice as many (37%) say racism against white Americans is a big problem.
Washed Up 45voters and self-identified Republicans — overlapping but not identical cohorts — are the only demographic groups identified by Yahoo News and YouGov who are more likely to say racism against white Americans is a problem than to say the same about racism against Black Americans. A majority (51%) of white Americans, for instance, think racism against people who look like them is a problem — but overall, far more white Americans (72%) say racism against Black Americans is a problem.
The Supreme Court ruled that Alabama made an illegal gerrymandered map and they must redraw the map to include an additional Black congressional district.
Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Ohio, Illinois, New York, Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina will have to redraw their Congressional districts as well.
Alabama is defying the ruling. Expect other states to follow.
Alabama governor Kay Ivey approves political map that refuses to create 2nd majority-Black congressional district.
Alabama lawmakers on Friday approved new district lines six weeks after the surprise U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding a lower court ruling that the state’s previous map — with one Black-majority district out of seven in a state that is 27% Black — likely violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting power of Black residents.
The state’s Republican legislative supermajority boosted the percentage of Black voters in the majority-white 2nd Congressional District, now represented by Republican Rep. Barry Moore, from about 31% to almost 40%. The plan also dropped the Black voting-age population in the state’s sole majority Black district, now represented by Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell, to 50.65%.
A group of voters who won the U.S. Supreme Court decision announced that they will challenge the new plan. The three-judge panel has set an Aug. 14 hearing on the new plan and could eventually order a special master to draw new lines for the state.
“The Alabama Legislature believes it is above the law. What we are dealing with is a group of lawmakers who are blatantly disregarding not just the Voting Rights Act, but a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court and a court order from the three-judge district court,” the plaintiffs said in a statement. “Even worse, they continue to ignore constituents’ pleas to ensure the map is fair and instead remain determined to rob Black voters of the representation we deserve,” the plaintiffs said.
Alabama will argue that the map complies with the court order and adheres to other redistricting principles such as keeping districts compact and not dividing communities of interest.
“The Legislature’s new plan fully and fairly applies traditional principles in a way that complies with the Voting Rights Act. Contrary to mainstream media talking points, the Supreme Court did not hold that Alabama must draw two majority-minority districts,” state Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office said in a statement. ”Instead, the Court made clear that the VRA never requires adoption of districts that violate traditional redistricting principles.”
In a July 13 letter to the state legislative redistricting committee, Marshall said the plaintiffs in the case “now demand a plan that provides not just a ‘fair chance’ to compete, but instead a guarantee of Democratic victories in at least two districts.”
Republicans, who have been reluctant to create a Democratic-leaning district, are gambling that the court will accept their proposal or that the state will prevail in a second round of appeals. In his letter, Marshall noted that Justice Brett Kavanaugh only partly joined with the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling against Alabama.
“I’m confident that we’ve done a good job. It will be up to the courts to decide whether they agree,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Reed, a Republican from Jasper.
The three-judge panel that struck down Alabama’s existing map in 2022 said the “appropriate remedy” is a map with a second majority-Black district or “an additional district in which Black voters otherwise have an opportunity to elect a representative of their choice.” The judges added that it should include a second majority-Black district or “something quite close to it.”
Americans should consider leaving Israel due to instability within its government.
While I don't condone the actions, it appears that Israel is on the brink of a civil war.
Israel's ultra orthodox and ultra Zionist groups are with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial decision to reform the national courts. Many believe Israel is leaning towards a dictatorship.
Israel for years peddled an influence campaign into American politics. The lawmakers, lobbyists and media agitators falsely equate criticism of Israeli policies with antisemitism. The U.S. has just passed a resolution condemning Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) after she said Israel is a "racist state" during the 2023 Netroots Nation convention.
Nine Democrats voted against the resolution. They were people of color. The Jewish Democrats and senior Democratic leaders have forced Jayapal, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) to apologize or walk back statements. Omar was removed from her Foreign Relations Committee by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) because she criticized AIPAC in 2019. Her remarks "all about the Benjamins" was condemned by Jewish Democrats, senior Democratic leaders and Republicans as anti-semitic. Even though she did not mention religion, they falsely equated her attacks on AIPAC as an attack on Jews. The Anti-Defamation League is also invested in the peddling of propaganda on behalf of Israel. Jonathan Greenblatt, the current leader of the ADL condemned Tlaib after she claimed it was an apartheid.
The Israeli government is using apartheid measures when it comes to the Palestinians.
Those living in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Golan Heights and East Jerusalem are subjected to second class status. They are forcibly removed from their homes. They are either hit with non lethal or deadly force if they react to Israeli forces with protests or weapons.
They literally are shooting doctors, children and journalists who get in the way.
The Israeli military have blocked ambulances and UN inspectors.
The junk food media continues to refer the Palestinians who defend themselves as militants. They ignore the brutal bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government claims that Hamas launched rockets into Tel Aviv and they have to bomb facilities to stop the militants.
Excuses from the U.S. is basically, "Israel has a right to defend itself" or "[We] stand firm with the Jewish state."
The lawmakers on Monday approved a key portion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive plan to reshape the country’s justice system despite massive protests that have exposed unprecedented fissures in Israeli society.
The vote came after a stormy session in which opposition lawmakers chanted “shame” and then stormed out of the chamber.
It reflected the determination of Netanyahu and his far-right allies to move ahead with the plan, which has tested the delicate social ties that bind the country, rattled the cohesion of its powerful military and repeatedly drawn concern from its closest ally, the United States.
The overhaul calls for sweeping changes aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary, from limiting the Supreme Court’s ability to challenge parliamentary decisions to changing the way judges are selected. Netanyahu and his allies say the changes are needed to curb the powers of unelected judges.
The dictator in waiting.
Protesters, who come from a wide swath of Israeli society, see the overhaul in general as a power grab fueled by personal and political grievances of Netanyahu — who is on trial for corruption charges — and his partners.
In Monday’s vote, lawmakers approved a measure that prevents judges from striking down government decisions on the basis that they are “unreasonable.”
With the opposition out of the hall, the measure passed by a 64-0 margin.
After, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the architect of the plan, said parliament had taken “first step in an important historic process” of overhauling the judiciary.
More mass protests are now expected, and the Movement for Quality Government, a civil society group, immediately announced it would challenge the new law in the Supreme Court.
The grassroots protest movement condemned the vote, saying Netanyahu’s “government of extremists is showing their determination to jam their fringe ideology down the throats of millions of citizens.”
“No one can predict the extent of damage and social upheaval that will follow the passage of the legislation,” it said.
Earlier, demonstrators, many of whom feel the very foundations of their country are being eroded by the government’s plan, blocked a road leading up to the parliament, and big mall chains and some gas stations shuttered their doors in protest.
Further ratcheting up the pressure on Netanyahu, thousands of military reservists have declared their refusal to serve under a government taking steps that they see as setting the country on a path to dictatorship. Those moves have prompted fears that the military’s preparedness could be compromised.
Ahead of Monday’s vote, opposition leader Yair Lapid had declared: “We are headed for disaster.”
The vote came only hours after Netanyahu was released from the hospital, where he had a pacemaker implanted.
His sudden hospitalization added another dizzying twist to an already dramatic series of events, which were watched closely in Washington. The Biden administration has frequently spoken out against Netanyahu’s government and its overhaul plan. In a statement to the news site Axios late Sunday, President Joe Biden warned against pushing ahead with the legal changes that were sparking so much division.
“Given the range of threats and challenges confronting Israel right now, it doesn’t make sense for Israeli leaders to rush this — the focus should be on pulling people together and finding consensus,” he told the site.
Biden has also been critical of the government’s steps to deepen Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.
The massive, sustained democracy protests have shunned mention of Israel’s 56-year occupation of lands the Palestinians seek for their hoped-for independent state, fearing the issue might alienate supporters. But critics portray this rule over another people as a major stain on Israel’s claim to be a liberal democracy and accuse the protesters of harboring a significant blind spot in their struggle.
As lawmakers debated, tens of thousands of people gathered for mass rallies for and against the plan.
Protesters banging on drums and blowing horns blocked a road leading to Israel’s parliament, or Knesset, and police used water cannons to push them back. The protest movement said one of its leaders was arrested.
“The state of Israel stands before destruction and ruin that is being brought upon it by a gang of extremists and kooks. We must go up to Jerusalem today!” one branch of the protest movement called out to demonstrators on social media.
Netanyahu’s supporters, meanwhile, thronged central Tel Aviv — normally the setting for anti-government protests.
Despite the attempts to project business as usual, Netanyahu’s schedule was disrupted by his hospitalization, with a Cabinet meeting and trips postponed. His doctors said Sunday the procedure had gone smoothly and the prime minister said in a short video statement from the hospital late Sunday that he felt fine.
Netanyahu paused the overhaul in March after intense pressure by protesters and labor strikes that halted outgoing flights and shut down parts of the economy. After talks to find a compromise failed last month, he said his government was pressing on with the overhaul.
Jason Aldean, a famed country music star is a staunch supporter of Washed Up 45. He and his wife Brittney have been known to attract controversy.
While in Cincinnati, he dismissed the allegations of racism and encouraged his fans and supporters to continue listening to his music video.
The musician's latest song has drawn backlash and fierce defense.
The Republicans have rendered their agenda to the American people useless. So instead of building on the promises of lowering inflation, bringing down debt and focusing on principled conservatism, they revert to conspiracy theories and culture wars.
Alden releases a song called "Try That In A Small Town" and it received backlash. It was pulled from CMT after protests and some saying it has racial undertones.
The song was released May 18 of this year with the music video to accompany it dropping on July 14. The lyrics have been controversial as many have interpreted them as being pro-lynching, something that Aldean denied in a statement he shared on Twitter after learning his video was yanked from the country music cable channel.
Aldean is seen performing in the music video in front of a courthouse that was a site of a famous lynching as images are projected onto the facade of the building.
“As so many pointed out, I was present at Route 91-where so many lost their lives- and our community recently suffered another heartbreaking tragedy,” he added. “NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart.”
“Try That in a Small Town” has lyrics that include, “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face, stomp on the flag and light it up, yeah, ya think you’re tough, well, try that in a small town, see how far ya make it down the road.” In another part of the song, Aldean sings, “got a gun that my granddad gave me, they say one day they’re gonna round up, well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck.”
Aldean said that the song “refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences.”
He continued, “My political views have never been something I’ve hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this Country don’t agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to- that’s what this song is about.”
Other musicians have responded to the song. Sheryl Crow criticized both the song and Aldean on Twitter, claiming that "even people in small towns are sick of violence". She went on to accuse Aldean of "promoting violence" and state that the song "is not American or small town-like. It's just lame." Adeem the Artist recorded and posted on Twitter a parody titled "Sundown Town", satirizing the song's viewpoints: "we root for the cops to stop people like you". However, fellow country singer Travis Tritt wrote in support of Aldean that "IMO, this song isn’t promoting violence as some have suggested", and that it represents the viewpoint of many Americans who are opposed to the escalating violence of certain activist groups. In more support for Aldean, singer Parker McCollum retweeted a post, originally by political commentator Matt Walsh, highlighting the hypocrisy of those who say the song promotes violence while being silent when "nearly every rap song for the past 30 years has directly and enthusiastically glorified murder, drug dealing, robbery and every other violent crime".
Responding to criticism, Aldean wrote on Twitter that the song "refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences." Of the video, he said, "There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it—and there isn't a single video clip that isn't real news footage—and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music—this one goes too far."
Republican presidential candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley began playing the song at their campaign events, with Ramaswamy saying he wanted to help get it to number one on the Billboard chart.
The X Group owned by controversial billionaire Elon Musk has decided to scrap all the birds on the dying platform Twitter. Since his takeover, the company has lost advertising, charges all users to be verified, limits how many tweets can be seen, how many followers are seen and constantly glitches.
In addition, there is porn, hate, misinformation, disinformation and Musk.
Musk also reportedly sent an email last night to Twitter employees telling them the company would become X, and that it was the last time he would email from a Twitter address.
With the rival Threads already surpassing over 160 million subscribers, Twitter is desperately trying to stop the bleed by offering incentives to keep people from leaving. Literally Twitter is paying extremists to promote the brand.
Most recently, Twitter said it would limit the number of DMs for non-paying users, a LinkedIn-like hiring feature showed up for Verified Organizations, and Musk said the site would soon let users post ”very long, complex articles” to the site. The article feature seems to be called Articles, but at one point was apparently called Notes — you know, the name for article site Substack’s Twitter clone, the debut of which, you may remember, was a little dramatic.
Under Musk's tumultuous tenure since he bought Twitter in October, the company has changed its business name to X Corp, reflecting the billionaire's vision to create a "super app" like China's WeChat.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Twitter's website says its logo, depicting a blue bird, is "our most recognizable asset". "That's why we're so protective of it," it added.
The bird was temporarily replaced in April by Dogecoin's Shiba Inu dog, helping drive a surge in the meme coin's market value.
The company came under widespread criticism from users and marketing professionals when Musk announced early this month that Twitter would limit how many tweets per day various accounts can read.
The daily limits helped in the growth of Meta-owned rival service Threads, which crossed 100 million sign-ups within five days of launch.
Twitter's most recent complication was a lawsuit filed on Tuesday claiming the firm owes at least $500 million in severance pay to former employees. Since Musk acquired it, the company has laid off more than half its workforce to cut costs.
Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard and Jan Harvey
Jamie Foxx speaks out after his recent health scare. The entertainer is thankful to his sister, daughter, the medical staff and his fans.
It's unclear how long Foxx was hospitalized. On May 3, Foxx broke his silence and posted on Instagram: "Appreciate all the love!!! Feeling blessed."
His daughter Corinne said in a social media post on May 12 that her dad "has been out of the hospital for weeks, recuperating." Earlier this month, Foxx was spotted in public on a boat, smiling and waving at passersby.
Foxx had a really serious medical emergency and folks thought it would be the end of a legendary comedian, singer, director, actor and father.
Foxx experienced a "medical complication" while filming his upcoming Netflix film, "Back in Action," in Atlanta, Georgia, his daughter Corinne Foxx previously revealed in April. Since then, his family and friends have kept the details of his medical condition tightly under wraps.
The Oscar-winning actor did not reveal what the health scare was but said he "went through something that I thought I would never ever go through."
"I know a lot of people were waiting or wanting to hear updates, but to be honest with you, I just didn't want you to see me like that man ... I didn't want you to see me with tubes running out of me and trying to figure out if I was gonna make it through," he said.
Foxx added that he went to "hell and back" and that his "road to recovery has some potholes as well."
While the actor was holding back tears as he spoke, Foxx also made light of some of the bizarre rumors that spread in the absence of updates from him and his family and friends.
Jamie Foxx is a man of principle and holds himself to a standard. The junk food media wanted to take that away from him. Thankfully, he fought the rumors and took the time to recuperate and bring his body back to normal.
If you're not aware, Prince Harry is suing five tabloids for invasion of privacy.
If you're not aware of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and how they address the junk food media, well let me clarify the facts.
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan rarely speak to the press. They talk to reliable outlets.
If you are calling them friendly, that's fine. At least they have an opportunity to set the record straight whenever they are in the news for some controversy coming from sources who claim to have inside knowledge of the two.
The Sussexes were really angered by The Daily Mail posting images of the prince holding his daughter. They don't promote their children to the junk food media.
Also, Meghan has not tipped off paparazzi. They have used drones, sat outside their Los Angeles home, have spotters and check a routine schedule of where they go.
There is scandal in England and one of the chief antagonists at The Daily Mail is facing scandal as well. Dan Wooten is accused of catfishing minors. Prince William and Princess Catherine have been spotted arguing. He kicked King Charles III and Queen Camilla out of their Welsh cottage.
Meghan and Harry have not spoken to the press. Now here's a bonkers rumor.
The Daily Mail claims that the Sussexes asked President Joe Biden for a ride on Air Force One during the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. That is ridiculous for the start.
The prince and duchess stayed in Britain for the services, private funeral and greeted well wishers. Besides they live in California. Why would the U.S. government fly from Britain to Washington, DC and then to California and back?
When King Charles III was coronated, Meghan stayed home. Guess what the junk food media talked about?
They are now getting "sources" that Meghan and Harry are spliting. It's all because of them losing endorsement deals right?
Harry is suing Mail on Sunday publisher Associated Newspapers Ltd. over an article alleging he tried to hush up his separate legal challenge over the British government’s refusal to let him pay for police security.
During a hearing at the High Court in London, Harry’s lead attorney asked Judge Matthew Nickin either to strike out the publisher’s defense or to deliver a summary judgment, which would be a ruling in the prince’s favor without going to trial.
In a written witness statement published Tuesday, Harry said that he felt “as though the tabloid press thought that they owned me absolutely.”
“I genuinely feel that in every relationship that I’ve ever had — be that with friends, girlfriends, with family or with the army, there’s always been a third party involved, namely the tabloid press,” he said.
Hacking — the practice of guessing or using default security codes to listen to celebrities’ cellphone voice messages — was widespread at British tabloids in the early years of this century. It became an existential crisis for the industry after the revelation in 2011 that the News of the World had hacked the phone of a slain 13-year-old girl. Owner Rupert Murdoch shut down the paper and several of his executives faced criminal trials.
Mirror Group has paid more than 100 million pounds ($125 million) to settle hundreds of unlawful information-gathering claims, and printed an apology to phone hacking victims in 2015.
But the newspaper denies or hasn’t admitted any of Harry’s claims, which relate to 33 published articles.
If Alabama woman staged an abduction, it will have long lasting impacts on the search for actually missing women of color.
Over 1,000 Black women and children go missing without a national news story. If one does get coverage, it's amplified by Black Twitter.
No one heard of this until the social media lit up.
Carlee Russell is being called a racial hoaxer. Of course, we can't confirm the allegations but the Hoover Police released some damning evidence to show that the missing woman may have staged an abduction.
Some issues I seen through social media.
1. She apparently was fired out the cannon from her job.
2. She and her boyfriend had a fallout. See 7.
3. She posted on social media frustration about life before disappearance.
4. Claims a white toddler on Interstate 459 in Hoover, Alabama. That stretch of freeway has traffic cameras and the state police did not see much on a frequently travel stretch of the road.
5. Claims a white man with orange hair abducted her and she ended up in a empty trailer of a semi-truck. How the hell, did she escape a locked trailer given that temperatures in the south were extreme?
6. Searches of movies like Taken, hotel reservations to Nashville and how to kidnap were search when they retrieved her phone.
7. Boyfriend filed a restraining order against her weeks before the disappearance.
8. Refuses to explain to the police how she ended up in the situation.
9. Social media deactivation or private.
Russell vanished last Thursday night from the side of an interstate after telling 911 she saw a toddler in a diaper on the side of the road. Approximately 49 hours later, she returned home, sparking an outpouring of questions as to where she was and what happened to her.
If this is true how did the family go from receiving a call from the Red Roof Inn from #CarleeRussell to her showing up at the family home knocking on the door? This police scanner implies that the family showed up at the Red Roof so WTF really happened? pic.twitter.com/hzz3AfTChv
— Stagecoach Mary🇺🇦 🌈 (@Stagecoach_Mary) July 16, 2023
#CarleeRussell | Her last 3 tweets were on the same day she disappeared— the very last one was tweeted at 9:19 and she made the 911 call at 9:30. pic.twitter.com/rzI3fvdbo6
— 🕵🏻♀️🦋💭L̤̮E̤̮G̤̮🅰️C̤̮Y̤̮🦋💭🕵🏻♀️ (@iamlegacy23) July 22, 2023
— Ig~ @melaninbeautiesunite (@mbutweets) July 21, 2023
In an interview, Russell's parents said she was "not in a good state" when she returned home and that they believe she was "fighting for her life" while missing.
Hoover Police Capt. Keith Czeskleba began the Wednesday news conference by stressing that the police work on the case was not finished.
"Keep in mind this is still an ongoing investigation and there may be questions we cannot answer," he said.
Mayor Frank V. Brocato said the vanishing of Russell sent fear and panic throughout the community and the state. Brocato said it is important to share an update so the community can be at ease.
Police Chief Nicholas Derzis said officers have been working since Russell's return to determine where she was.
If this was a hoax, her parents will pay the price as well.
"Due to the public fear this case has generated, we owe it to the public to share what we have learned," he said.
The chief said surveillance video shows Russell concealing a bathrobe and toilet paper when leaving work Thursday night.
He said she ordered food from Tazikis, then bought granola bars and cheese crackers at Target. Derzis said she then spoke to people known to her on her phone as she drove before she called 911 from the interstate and said she saw a child.
Officials then played the 911 call in its entirety.
Derzis reiterated Russell's call was the only report of a child on the side of the road. He added that no children have been reported missing.
He said she travelled 600 yards while she was following the child, on phone with 911.
"Six football fields, to think a toddler could travel six football fields, without getting in the road, without crying, it's very hard to understand," Derzis said.
Derzis said her wig, cellphone and purse were in or near her vehicle when first responders arrived, but the snacks from Target and the items she took from her workplace were not.
For two days, tips poured in but Russell was no where to be found. Until she returned home on foot Saturday night.
According to Derzis, Russell told detectives that when she got out of her vehicle to check on the child, a man came from the woods, forced her into a car, and then she woke up in the trailer of a semi-truck.
She said she was taken by a white man with orange hair with a bald spot, a woman, and said she heard a child crying.
Russell said she was forced to undress and she believes the two took pictures. She said the woman played with her hair and fed her cheese crackers.
She said she was eventually able to escape and ran through some woods before she was able to find her way and walk back home.
Derzis said detectives did not press her after that initial interview so she could have time to rest.
However, Derzis said multiple searches were found on the day of her disappearance and leading up to the disappearance that he feels are relevant. Those searches include: "Do you have to pay for an Amber Alert," "How to take money from a register without being caught," "Birmingham bus station," "Taken (movie about abduction)," and "maximum age for an Amber Alert."
"There are many questions left to be answered, but only Carlee can answer those questions," Derzis said. "I do think it's highly unusual for the day someone gets kidnapped, several hours before that, they're googling the movie Taken, about an abduction, I find that very strange."
The Jussie Smollett fallout led to far right extremists questioning missing people of color and racial violence.
He said law enforcement has not been able to verify the story Russell told them, but he does not believe there is any danger to the community.
Derzis said Russell's parents have told them that their daughter is not ready to speak. He said he thinks they are believing what their daughter tells them.
If this turns out to be a hoax, the woman will be held accountable. It will immediately become a series of attacks on Rev. Al Sharpton, the retired Rev. Jesse Jackson, Barack Obama, Vice President Kamala Harris, Black Lives Matter and the rehashing of Black hoaxers like Jussie Smollett.
Jussie Smollett set back Blacks format least two generations. His racial hoax led to Empire being cancelled, him being permanently blacklisted from the entertainment business, Washed Up 45 and MAGA to doubt there was ever Black victims of racial violence.
What's worse, the far right and Republicans will likely exploit this for political gains.
Missing white woman syndrome has led to a number of tough on crime measures, mainly on the right, that were named for white women who disappeared and were subsequently found harmed. In addition to race and class, factors such as supposed attractiveness, body size and youthfulness function as unfair criteria in the determination of newsworthiness in coverage of missing women. News coverage of missing black women were more likely to focus on the victim's problems, such as abusive boyfriends or a troubled past, while coverage of white women often tend to focus on their roles as mothers or daughters.
Black women and indigenous women are missing far more and yet they never get the attention that white women get. Think about Gabby Petito and the amount of attention she and her killer got.
If the suspect is Black, Muslim or immigrant, the white extremists would often troll Black blogs and social media to throw inappropriate discussions about how white women should avoid relationships with people of color. They would use racial slurs, coded language and concern trolling as an excuse to justify their hatred.
How many women of color are killed by white men?
Do white men often troll social media with "thoughts and prayers" to women of color?
