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Shaquille O’Neal often has shouldered the blame for the demise of his marriage to Shaunie Henderson. Now he’s shedding light on what really goes down with NBA players on the road and women and why it’s so hard for athletes to maintain solid relationships.

On June 5, the NBA legend and his co-host Adam Lefkoe got deep on their “The Big Podcast with Shaq” show when Lefkoe asked if it’s difficult for single NBA players to settle down after they retire.

The former Lakers player suggested that the transition might be tough because the player’s status would have decreased and they might eventually become less recognized, “whereas before every city you go to the women are looking for you.”

But Shaq said that the idea that NBA players are besieged by groupies when they’re traveling is false. 

Shaquille O’Neal explains why NBA players ‘tiger lifestyle’ stops them from maintaining their serious relationships. (Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images)

“That’s a myth,” O’Neal said without any hesitation. “I’ve been in a lot of lobbies — I didn’t see anybody. So I remember I was coming in, they did this Esquire article about how the girls would be waiting out[side]. So, I was looking for that. Never happened. Never happened. Trust me, I was the baddest on the road. It never happened. You go and you see people.”

Shaq was married during most of his NBA career, playing for five different teams: Los Angeles Lakers (2002-2004), Miami Heat (2004-2008), Phoenix Suns (2008-2009), Cleveland Cavaliers (2009-2010), Boston Celtics (2010-2011).

He retired in 2011 but as a divorcee he understands why some NBA players’ relationships and marriages end up not working out.

“The problem with us is when you live a certain lifestyle, and then it all shuts down, you only know what you know. So, if you don’t know the rules of commitment, it’ll never work. And then, you know, us being not committed, everything is an excuse,” Shaq said. “Because once you say to somebody, ‘I’m going to commit,’ you’ve got to do your f-cking job as a man. Right?”

Putting it in perspective, the 53-year-old used an analogy.

“If you live a tiger lifestyle and then you try to become a tame tiger it ain’t going to work,” he continued. “It’s not going to work. So, you know, there’s a reason why the divorce rate is high. Because we live a certain — and not all of us — but like, we live a certain lifestyle and a lot comes with it. And then when that’s all stopping, and you trying to go out and look for that, if you don’t understand their rules and understand their laws it’ll never work.”

Shaq responds to his ex wife shaunie on ig after she wrote in her book

“I don’t know if I was ever really in love with the man” pic.twitter.com/MgU532VdRi

— Shannonnn sharpes Burner (PARODY Account) (@shannonsharpeee) May 8, 2024

Most fans online claimed they could relate to O’Neal’s response to Lefkoe.’s remark.

One person reacting to NBA Soundbites’ repost of the clip said, “Well Shaq would know about that… listen to him guys.”

Another person on New York Post’s page wrote, “Lots of husbands travel for work and don’t nail everything that walks by them!!! It’s a culture thing, not an NBA player thing!!!”

A third wrote, “Like many here, hard to understand his point but I’ll try to explain it and it’s pretty simple. Many people are shallow and just into themselves. Therefore they can’t (and really don’t want to) commit to others. Period!”

O’Neal knows the topic well—he was married to Shaunie Henderson from 2002 until their separation in 2009, finalizing the divorce in 2011. Before getting married they each had one child from previous relationships, and together they had four more children. 

Now, his ex-wife Shaunie is remarried to Pastor Keion Henderson who is the lead pastor of a Houston, Texas church called The Lighthouse Church and Ministries. The couple tied the knot in May 2022.

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A post shared by Shaunie Henderson (@iamshaunie)

O’Neal has admitted several times that his extramarital actions caused his marriage to end. He talked about it in his 2011 memoir “Shaq Uncut: My Story.”

“At one time my ex-wife Shaunie and I were happy, but I admit it–I was a guy,” he wrote. “I was a guy with too many options. Choosing to be with some of those women, well, that’s on me. In my mind, I never did it disrespectfully, but obviously I shouldn’t have done it all.” 

O’Neal didn’t detail why he didn’t consider his behavior disrespectful.

Instead, he said, “You know as well as I do relationships are about maintaining … It wasn’t the big stuff, it was the small stuff, and that’s my fault. I had things to do. I was trying to win, trying to make some money. I admit I wasn’t the best partner. I just didn’t know how. I’m learning now.”

‘I Was the Baddest on the Road’: Shaquille O’Neal Warns NBA Players About the ‘Tiger Lifestyle’ That Ruined His Marriage to Shaunie

Tensions flared among U.S. lawmakers after Sen. Alex Padilla was thrown to the floor, handcuffed and dragged out of a press conference held by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Thursday.

Rep. Maxwell Frost engages in a contentious moment during the House Oversight Hearing. (Credit: US House Committee Video Screengrab)

It happened after the California lawmaker tried to question Noem during the immigration-related event in Los Angeles.

A hearing by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was underway in Washington as news broke about the Padilla scuffle, according to HuffPost. Florida Democrat Rep. Maxwell Frost repeatedly mentioned the incident and asked the committee to subpoena Noem for questioning.

“Shut up! Just shut up!” Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer snapped, yelling at Frost.

“No, you’re not going to tell me to shut up,” Frost retorted.

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene kept interjecting, “Reclaiming my time. Reclaiming my time.”

Before he exploded, Comer, the committee chair, tried to ignore Frost’s request to subpoena Noem as he led a panel of governors in a discussion on sanctuary states, so-called because they offer safety from deportation to undocumented migrants.  

Comer accused Frost of looking for media attention, the HuffPost reported. And Greene, wanting her turn, tried to grab the spotlight.

“Democrats can’t follow the rules! Can’t follow the law!” she yelled.

Many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were horrified by how Padilla was treated at the Noem press conference.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned the spectacle on the Senate floor. “I just saw something that sickened my stomach — the manhandling of a United States senator. We need immediate answers to what the hell went on,” the New York Democrat said, according to NBC News.

And California’s other senator, Sen. Adam Schiff wrote a scathing post on X also denouncing Padilla’s treatment above a video showing the incident.

“The disgraceful and disrespectful conduct of DHS agents, pushing and shoving him out of a briefing like that, demands our condemnation. He will not be silenced or intimidated. His questions will be answered. I’m with Alex,” Schiff said.

“It’s horrible. It is shocking at every level. It’s not the America I know,” Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said.

California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said Padilla’s treatment was unfathomable. “Sen. Alex Padilla is one of the most decent people I know. This is outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful,” Newsom wrote on X. “Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now,” he added.

Noem and other officials said they had no idea who Padilla was, even though he identified himself as “Sen. Alex Padilla” before he was forcefully removed after trying to ask Noem a question. Padilla later told reporters he “was there peacefully,” according to NBC News.

Noem gave a false account of what happened in an interview with Fox News. She claimed Padilla did not identify himself.

“We were conducting a press conference to update everyone on the enforcement actions that are ongoing to bring people bring peace to the city of Los Angeles, and this man burst into the room, started lunging towards the podium, interrupting me and elevating his voice, and was stopped, did not identify himself, and was removed from the room,” Noem said in the interview.

“What happened yesterday was part of a much bigger effort to try and silence anyone who dares to question what the Trump administration is doing,” Padilla said in a post on X. 

“But we will not be intimidated, and we will not be deterred. We must hold this administration accountable,” he added.

The incident follows three days of violent protests last weekend over raids by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement.

‘You’re Not Going to Tell Me To Shut Up!:’ Maxwell Frost Shuts Down Disrespect from James Comer In Heated Exchange Over Subpoenaing DHS Head Kristi Noem 

Prosecutors shed more light on their case against an Atlanta woman who was recently found guilty of her best friend’s murder and reportedly suggested that the death happened after the pair were playfighting.

O’Keisha Range, 37, was arrested in March 2022 and charged with murder and aggravated assault in connection with the death of 34-year-old Shameria Gelisa Fletcher.

O’Keisha Range (left) was sentenced to life for murdering her best friend, Shameria Gelisa Fletcher (right). (Credit: WSBTV Video Screengrab)

A week before her arrest, Atlanta police responded to a “person down” call at a townhouse complex on Piedmont Avenue near Ralph McGill Boulevard, where Fletcher and Range lived.

Officers arrived to find Fletcher unconscious, and when paramedics arrived, they pronounced her dead at the scene.

The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s office determined that Fletcher’s cause of death was manual strangulation, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Within days, homicide detectives found enough probable cause to arrest Range and charge her with Fletcher’s murder.

Fulton County prosecutors told WSB-TV that both women were best friends. They were so close they called each other sisters — Range’s nickname was “Mo,” and Fletcher’s was “Mimi.”

However, they say defining aspects of Range’s and Fletcher’s friendship were causes for concern.

Prosecutors stated that Range held an iron grip on the relationship, frequently faking illnesses to manipulate Fletcher. During two interviews with Atlanta detectives, prosecutors say Range was faking seizures, allegations Range’s lawyers denounced.

“She still maintains that she’s never faked any type of seizures,” defense attorney Anton Rowe said. “She did in fact have real illnesses.”

A woman who testified in court stated that she lived with both women for 10 months and said that Range was “very controlling” of Fletcher, and pointed to instances when Range would draw attention to times she was sick, and behave in strange ways when Fletcher’s friends were around.

“When we were roommates together, they seemed to have a great relationship,” former roommate Antoinette Degree said. “I wanted justice for Mimi, because during the time that I was in her space, I didn’t feel like she was being treated fair in the friendship.”

Prosecutors say that during the time when both women lived together, Range never paid rent, bought herself food, or had a source of income, to which Range’s defense attorney responded, “Being a freeloader does not equal a murderer.”

When asked to account for what happened the day Fletcher died, Range said that she and Fletcher had been playfighting, according to prosecutors. Range kicked her, but said Fletcher was still alive and talking after that. Range didn’t explain how the choking factored into that.

Prosecutors delivered a very different version of events, asserting that Range beat Fletcher badly, then strangled her.

“She beat her where she had contusions all over her body from her head to her feet. And then after that, she strangled her to death,” Fulton County Chief Senior Assistant District Attorney Kassie Hall said.

Range was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life without parole.

Her attorney said that she has expressed a desire to appeal the case and file a motion for a new trial.

‘Very Controlling’: Witness Reveals Atlanta Woman Reportedly Faked Illnesses to Maintain Control Over ‘Best Friend’ Before Choking Her to Death, Defendant Sentenced to Life in Prison

President Donald Trump is warning Iran that if it doesn’t make a deal on its nuclear program, “there’s much more to come’ and “it will only get worse!” In an ominous Friday morning post on social media, Trump demanded, “JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”

That, as Atlanta Black Star has learned, the U.S. military is now involved in the fighting between Israel and Iran, despite an earlier statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that “We are not involved in strikes against Iran.” The Associated Press is now reporting that the U.S. is helping intercept missiles Iran is firing at Israel.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a ceremony before posthumously awarding Medals of Sacrifice to three fallen Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies in the Oval Office of the White House on May 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump awarded Medals of Sacrifice to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies Ralph “Butch” Waller Jr., Corporal Luis Paez, and Deputy Ignacio “Dan” Diaz, who died in a line-of-duty crash on November 21, 2024. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump’s morning posts on his platform, Truth Social, follow Israel’s unprecedented attack on Iran’s nuclear sites, air defense systems, and military leaders late Thursday, killing its top generals and nuclear scientists, and destroying a large swath of military infrastructure. The attack, which follows years of threats, involved some 200 planes and around 100 targets in the first round of strikes on the authoritarian country, according to CNN.

I thought he was the antiwar president…

— MA Sanscartier (@MASanscartier) June 13, 2025

Iran then retaliated, sending military drones into Israel, as Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned of “severe punishment” in a developing situation that is threatening to destabilize the region and increase tensions in parts of the Middle East. Israel has also confirmed that Iran later launched a barrage of missiles across the country.

Earlier in the week, Trump warned Israel not to attack, hoping Iran would come to the negotiating table. The U.S. has been in talks with Iran to try to forge a nuclear deal. The President said he gave Iran “chance after chance.”

“Two months ago, I gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’ They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!” Trump said Friday morning.

“I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come,” Trump said in a separate post on Truth Social.

“Certain Iranian hardliners spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!” he added.

After the strike, the White House first released a statement from Rubio trying to distance the U.S. from the attack.

“Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region.” But Trump’s social media post hours later contradicted Rubio’s statement showing the administration clearly knew about Israel’s plans.

And Trump’s tone shifted by Friday morning, threatening the Muslim nation with more strikes. “Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump said his administration was aware of Israel’s plans to attack Iran. The WSJ asked what kind of a heads-up Trump received.

“Heads-up? It wasn’t a heads-up. It was, we know what’s going on.” Trump said.

This escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program is occurring seven years after Trump tore up a nuclear deal reached under the Obama administration, saying at the time it “was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.”

And there’s possibly no end in sight for this current conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation would continue “for as many days as it takes” to eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat, according to reporting by CNN. Iran has an extensive and well-protected nuclear operation.

Meantime Israel is widely believed to have its own covert nuclear weapons program, although it has never publicly confirmed this, but news reports suggest the Dimona nuclear facility in the Negev desert, south-east of the city of Dimona is central to the nation’s nuclear program and that Israel may have as many as 200 warheads.

Israel’s military strike on Iran comes almost 25 years after Tel Aviv launched a surprise airstrike on a nuclear facility in Iraq, destroying the Osirak nuclear reactor near Baghdad.

Social media reflected the MAGA movement’s support of the attack and Trump opponents’ concern that Israel’s strike could spark a wider war.

“I thought he was the anti-war president…,” an X user posted.

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham supports Israel’s attack on Iran: “Game on. Pray for Israel,” he posted.

Game on.

Pray for Israel.

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 13, 2025

Game? Disgusting.

Pray for Israel? Did they not strike first? Are we anticipating Iran to defend itself like Israel did in Gaza or does that logic not apply here?

But yes, pray for Israelis & people around the world that these blood thirsty war mongers have just put in danger. https://t.co/Av3s8sd0IU

— Owen Shroyer (@OwenShroyer1776) June 13, 2025

And journalist Owen Shroyer posted this: “Pray for Israel? Did they not strike first? Are we anticipating Iran to defend itself like Israel did in Gaza or does that logic not apply here? But yes, pray for Israelis & people around the world that these blood thirsty war mongers have.

The U.S. had scheduled nuclear talks with Iran this weekend. It’s unclear if those talks are happening now.

‘There’s Much More to Come:’ Donald Trump Warns Iran There Will Be Nothing Left of the Country If Iran Doesn’t Make a Nuclear Deal As U.S. Secretly Joins Israel’s War—Despite Denials

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is facing criticism after calling a Black reporter’s question about planned peaceful protests at President Donald Trump’s military parade Saturday “stupid.”

The testy exchange happened at the White House press briefing Wednesday, a day after Trump issued a warning about the planned protests in the capital Saturday.

“For those people that want to protest, they’re going to be met with very big force,” Trump said. “And I haven’t even heard about a protest, but you know, this is [sic] people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force.”

Karoline Leavitt and Reporter Jasmine Wright (Photos: X/Atrupar)

Reporter Jasmine Wright with the nonprofit news outlet NOTUS, or News of the United States, asked Leavitt, “So if there were peaceful protests on Saturday for the military parade, President Trump would allow that?”

“Of course, the president supports peaceful protests. What a stupid question,” Leavitt scolded. 

Trump ordered a military parade in Washington Saturday as part of events celebrating the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday. Although the parade is also scheduled on Trump’s birthday, critics have speculated it’s really a birthday event for him with a $45 million price tag.

Wright first had asked Leavitt if she could “clarify what kind of protest President Trump does support or find acceptable.” 

Leavitt responded, “The President absolutely supports peaceful protests. He supports the First Amendment. He supports the right of Americans to make their voices heard.”

“He does not support violence of any kind. He does not support assaulting law enforcement officers who are simply trying to do their jobs,” Leavitt added. It was then that Wright asked the 27-year-old press secretary to clarify whether Trump would allow peaceful protests at his military parade this weekend.

When a white male reporter asked a tough follow-up question, though, Leavitt changed her tone and responded in a respectful manner.

“In the president’s comments yesterday, though, he just said protesters would be strongly dealt with. … Why is he not out saying all peaceful protesters will be protected?” David Sanger of The New York Times asked.

“I think two things can be important at the same time, and the President, as I just answered, supports the right of Americans to peaceably protest. He supports the First Amendment. But that is not the majority of the behavior that we have seen taking place in Los Angeles,” Leavitt said, referring to the protests in Los Angeles this week over raids by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement.

In a historic act, the president called up California’s National Guard and deployed the U.S. Marines to Los Angeles to help quell the demonstrations, bypassing state and local officials, something unprecedented in modern times.

Wright, a former CNN reporter, asked the question after a warning from Trump Tuesday that any protesters in the capital on Saturday would be met with “very big force,” according to reporting from The Hill.

Social media erupted after Leavitt’s comments slamming her for her rude remark.

“Not a stupid question when Trump and Leavitt purposely imply all protestors are criminals,” an X user posted.

Not a stupid question when Trump and Leavitt purposely imply all protestors are criminals.

— Bill Johnson (@Bill43111) June 11, 2025

Another X user noted the condescending nature of Leavitt’s response to Wright’s perfectly legitimate question.

“’…(Trump said Tuesday, ‘If there’s any protester that wants to come out, they will be met with very big force.’)’ So it wasn’t a stupid question at all, but the response was–a glorified intern in way over her head.”

"…(Trump said Tuesday, 'If there’s any protester that wants to come out, they will be met with very big force.')" So it wasn't a stupid question at all, but the response was–a glorified intern in way over her head.

— CLA (@ConservativeLA) June 12, 2025

Of course, there’s no surprise MAGA supporters weighed in with vitriol.

“Reporter Jasmine Wright tried to be a smart a-s. But Levi tt put her in her place. Good for her,” an X user commented.

And another X user wrote, “When NOTUS Jasmine Wright asked if peaceful protests on Saturday would be allowed to go forward, Leavitt rebuked her interrogator. ‘Of course, the president supports peaceful protests. What a stupid question,’ Karoline Leavitt snapped.”

‘What a Stupid Question’: Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Insults Black Reporter After She Questions Trump’s Support for Peaceful Protests But Is More Respectful to White Male Reporter

Democratic U.S. Rep. Stacey Plaskett chided Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for interrupting her during a House committee hearing on Wednesday.

Plaskett, a non-voting delegate representing the U.S. Virgin Islands, took Bessent to task after he tried to cut her off as she explained the stock market has dipped since President Donald Trump took office.

Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI) speaks during a markup meeting with the House Budget Committee on Capitol Hill on May 16, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

As Bessent tried to interject, telling Plaskett that her notes were “incorrect,” she began lecturing him about conversational etiquette.

“Excuse me. Let me get something straight with you first here. I’ve seen you interrupt everyone,” Plaskett tells Bessent. “When you come to someone’s house, you respect their rules, and in this house, we don’t interrupt individuals, and you’re not going to interrupt my time. I’m going to give you time to respond.”

She then suggests that he take notes and then deliver his response only when she’s done speaking.

“You may want to jot down some notes about things that you don’t agree with me on so that you can respond to them at that time. But while I’m speaking as the person holding this time, you will refrain from speaking, sir, until I’m done, and then I will give you time to speak,” she said.

Bessent interjects again with, “I look forward to responding. I look forward to the facts.”

Plaskett comes back with, “I look forward to your response, whether they’re factual or incorrect.”

Plaskett to Bessent: "Excuse me. Let me get something straight with you. I've seen you interrupt everyone. When you come to someone's house, you respect their rules. And in this house, we don't interrupt individuals. And you're not going to interrupt my time." pic.twitter.com/ZfO8JtrYds

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 11, 2025

After she completes her remarks, Bessent then dives into his rebuttal, suggesting Plaskett fire the staffer who mocked up her chart, asserting that the stock market has been up since the first day of 2025, even though Trump wasn’t sworn in until Jan. 20.

“Well, first of all, I would fire the staffer who did that chart, because it stopped in February 2025, and prices are down substantially since then. But that’s an inconvenient truth. Secondly, the S&P, if the congresswoman would care to check Bloomberg, the stock market as judged by the S&P, which is the most widely held index by American 401(k)s, is up on the year,” Bessent said.

The NASDAQ reported that the S&P 500 closed at 6,049.24 on Jan. 21 and closed at 6,022.24 on June 11.

A Labor Department report released on June 11 also shows consumer prices increased 2.4% in May compared to last year. That is up from a 2.3% yearly increase in April. According to the report, the cost of groceries, toys, games, and large appliances rose from April to May, while prices of new and used cars, clothes, airfares, and hotels.

After a clip of Plaskett’s remarks to Bessent went viral, one X user directed a sexist comment toward her, and Plaskett responded with a fiery comeback.

Excuse you!! This twat, cunt, pum pum whatever you want to call it represents an organ that gives LIFE and is resilienr so thanks for the compliment. I can take one interruption but Bessent was out of control. And…. I know I look good for my age but baby I’m post menopausal and… https://t.co/04jSJPVknP

— Rep. Stacey Plaskett (@StaceyPlaskett) June 11, 2025

‘We Don’t Interrupt Individuals’: Black Congresswoman Schools Treasury Secretary on Etiquette After He Cuts Her Off During House Committee Hearing

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and relatives of seven elderly people who died last fall when a ferry dock gangway over turbulent waters at Sapelo Island on Georgia’s coast collapsed held a press conference in Atlanta on Wednesday to announce their multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the companies that designed and built the aluminum structure.

Dozens more people were injured on the afternoon of Oct. 19 as they walked across the narrow, 80-foot walkway connected to a floating dock to board a ferry boat to take them to the mainland. The gangway suddenly snapped in the middle, sending about 20 people plunging into the swirling tidal water and fighting for their lives.

Some, like Regina Brinson, could not swim.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump (center) announced at a press conference in Atlanta on June 11, 2025, a wrongful death lawsuit against construction firms accused of negligence in building the gangway at the ferry dock at Sapelo Island that collapsed in October 2024, killing seven people and injuring dozens of others, including Regina Brinson (left). (Photo: WSAV Savannah screenshot)

She described helping Carlotta McIntosh, 93, who was using a walker to get across the gangway when she heard a “crack” and then saw her family friend plunge into the water. Brinson and her uncle, Isaiah Thomas, 79, also fell in and were quickly carried away by a rough current.

Brinson said she tried to help her “Uncle Bubba” stay afloat, but as he pulled her underwater, she had to escape his grip by peeling his fingers one by one off of her shirt to avoid drowning. She watched him drown, and eventually doggy paddled to shore.

Both McIntosh and Thomas died.

“This has not be easy for me, not at all,” said Brinson, a plaintiff in the lawsuit who said she is still plagued by nightmares and sees a therapist to help her cope with the trauma from the incident.

She numbered among about 700 people who had visited Sapelo Island that day for the annual celebration of the Gullah Geechee community, history and culture still surviving in a small part of the island called Hogg Hummock, founded by enslaved people who were descendants of West and Central Africans.

“This was supposed to be a celebration of Black pride, but it became a great, great, great Black loss of humanity and life,” said Crump, one of several attorneys representing 60 plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including seven people who died (six of whom were African-American), 30 who fell into the water or were otherwise injured, and many of their surviving family members.

“That day was horrific,” said Nathaniel Hicks, who recounted how his mother, Joann Ross, who cannot swim, was swept out by the strong current flowing under the dock, located where the Turpin River meets the Atlantic Ocean. She was rescued by a younger woman, but suffered a badly broken ankle, and continues to “hobble,” he said.

“There was no expectation of danger when any of them stepped out on that platform, and this has to be addressed,” said Hicks.

“When people put profit over safety, you have the traumatic loss” that the deceased and the survivors have endured, Crump said.

The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in Gwinnett County State Court, accuses defendants Stevens & Wilkinson, the design firm which managed the project; Centennial Contractors Enterprises, the general contractor; EMC Engineering Services, the civil/structural engineer; and Crescent Equipment Co., which designed and built the gangway, of “sheer and alarming incompetence” in how they collectively designed, approved and built a structure that was “destined to fail.”

The gangway “was so poorly designed and constructed that any competent construction professional should have recognized the flimsy and unstable nature of the gangway and its poor build quality during installation procedures and sounded the alarm,” the complaint says.

The genesis of the gangway and dock project at Sapelo Island Marsh Landing Dock was a 2015 lawsuit in which residents of Sapelo Island filed a lawsuit against McIntosh County, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and other state agencies alleging discrimination on the basis of race and disability.

After a 2020 settlement, the state was required to make repairs to two docks serving Sapelo Island, which included constructing new wooden piers, aluminum gangways and concrete floating docks.

DNR hired the private construction firms to design, build and install the gangway at Sapelo, which was completed and installed in 2021.

The gangway was supposed to be designed and constructed to withstand an evenly distributed load of 64,000 pounds, the complaint says, which would equate to 320 persons.

“In reality, it was under designed by many orders of magnitude, poorly constructed and incapable of safely withstanding even a fraction of the specified and required live load,” the lawsuit says.

“We’ve had experts take apart the gangway and reconstruct the gangway,” said Jeff Goodman, a Philadelphia attorney representing several plaintiffs, and known for representing clients in structural collapse cases, at the press conference. “And what that has proven with clarity is that this gangway was capable of supporting less than one third of what it needed to.”

Crescent Equipment failed to provide design calculations and drawings reviewed and signed by a professional engineer as required by its contract with DNR, “which should have been an insurmountable roadblock” to the design being approved and the gangway installed, the complaint contends.

Crescent Equipment also allegedly cut corners on materials, using a 2 ½ inch diameter pipe for a major structural element of the gangway, when the industry standard to support the desired load was to use a 6” x 8”, ½” thick rectangular tube, the lawsuit says.

The weld quality on the Sapelo gangway was also poor and “observable” and should have been noticed during inspections, the complaint contends.

After the gangway was installed, Centennial Project and Crescent Equipment were advised that it had been making “strange and concerning noises” and were asked to reinspect it.

An email chain referenced in the complaint from May 25, 2022, that was released by DNR revealed the DNR Sapelo Island manager had received two separate reports that a loud ‘pop’ or ‘crack’ noise was heard on the aluminum ramp by University of Georgia employees who were regular ferry riders.

Centennial Project Manager Tim Dugan responded on May 26 that he had conducted an inspection and noted several cracks in underside welds connecting deck planks to the structural members of the gangway but said he observed no issues “that would cause concern for the structural integrity of the gangway.”

Another contractor suggested reinspecting the gangway in a few months “to see if there [are] any additional weld failures and if so, decide what corrective action should be taken.”

The fact that welds were already failing on the gangway just a year after it had been installed should have spurred Centennial to totally reevaluate the structure, the lawsuit argues.

And when, a few months later in September 2022, a different gangway designed and manufactured by Crescent and installed at a dock at St. Mary’s, Georgia “suffered a failure and caused injuries to 17 people who fell when it failed,” the cause for concern over the quality and integrity of the Sapelo gangway “should have heightened,” the plaintiffs assert.

The cause of the Sapelo gangway collapse remains under investigation by state officials, a DNR spokesperson told The Associated Press, which noted that Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr also engaged a private engineering firm to perform an independent investigation.

“This tragedy was easily preventable had it not been for Defendants’ negligence, recklessness and outright abdication of their important responsibilities with respect to ensuring the safety of the subject gangway,” the lawsuit says.

“This tragedy was not just preventable; it was inevitable,” said Goodman. “It wasn’t a matter of if this gang way would collapse it was a matter of when this gang way would collapse, and the failures happened at the design level, at the engineering level, and at the construction level and that is why the lawsuit that has been filed seeks to hold those design, engineering and construction professionals accountable for this senseless and unnecessary loss of life.”

The complaint asks for a jury trial to determine unspecified compensatory, special and general damages for negligence, wrongful deaths, personal injury and survival claims.

Crump, who twice referred to the case as a “multimillion-dollar lawsuit,” said, “We’re filing this lawsuit to speak to that tragedy, to say that we won’t let them sweep it under the rug, we won’t let them say these Black people were insignificant … that these Black senior citizens were irrelevant …that their lives didn’t matter. … We’re dealing with yet again trying to remind people that Black tears are just as valuable as white tears.”

Attorneys for Crescent Equipment and Centennial Contractors declined reporters’ requests for comment, and Stevens & Wilkinson and EMC Engineering did not immediately respond to such requests.

The defendants have 30 days, or until July 11, to file a response to the complaint.

Putting ‘Profit Over Safety’ Led to ‘Traumatic Loss’: Relatives of Black Victims of Fatal Sapelo Island Gangway Collapse File Lawsuit Charging Construction Firms with ‘Alarming Incompetence’

Ricki Lake’s slimming new look is turning heads, and sparking suspicions. 

The former host of the “Ricki Lake” show has been more than open about her weight loss over the years after losing over 130 lbs. She was complimented on her glow-up during a June 12th episode of “Watch What Happens Live.”

In the midst of discussing her past battle with hair loss, host Andy Cohen told her “You got a juz up! You look really good.”

Ricki Lake shows off her new look after having work done on her face and neck. (Photo: @rickilake/Instagram)

Lake then revealed that she recently had a “lower face and neck lift.”

“Thank you, I kind of think it’s the best facelift I’ve ever seen,” she replied, calling her doctor, Dr. Allen Foulad “a genius.”

“This is something that was bothering me. I lost a lot of weight and I had this certain thing hanging and I had it fixed,” Lake explained.

Fans online seemed to agree with Cohen as they wrote “No lie. It’s the best face-lift I’ve ever seen. She looks amazing” and “She really does look dang. Took 10 years off her” in the comments.

On Wednesday, June 11, the “Hairspray” star was spotted in New York City flaunting her slender body as she strutted inside of the Bravo Clubhouse. Lake waved at the paparazzi while wearing a black, form-fitted maxi dress she paired with a leather jacket.  Giving herself some extra height, she also had on black pumps. 

Lake opened up about her weight loss to Us Weekly back in January and shared that she was able to drop 40 pounds — with no thanks to Ozempic. She told the outlet that she started this weight loss journey back in October 2023. 

Not only did she do intermittent fasting but she was also “following a very strict keto diet.” As for physical activities, Lake went hiking daily and wore a weighted vest. And “four days a week” she did Pilates.

She clarified that no weight-loss drugs were used to assist her on this journey. She said, “I did not go on any drug because I wasn’t prediabetic,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with those drugs. They’re actually game changers for so many people. But for me, I did not want to be reliant on a drug if I could help it.”

Detailing more of what she did do instead of taking medications similar to Ozempic, she said, “I wore a glucose monitor. I wore my Oura ring. I prioritized sleep and overall, a low-stress lifestyle. And it worked,” she said.

She insisted that almost two years later, “it continues to work.”

Ricki Lake shows off chiseled jawline and sculpted legs after major weight losshttps://t.co/SOAt6wJQZw pic.twitter.com/wt2VOhpFq9

— MirrorUSNews (@MirrorUSNews) May 11, 2024

Daily Mail’s report of Lake being spotted by paparazzi in her black dress spurred a range of reader reactions. 

One fan said, “Bravo Ricki; you did it the correct way!! You’re rocking it!”

A second person who had a skeptical reaction said, “She looks great…but I don’t believe she’s lost that weight without some sort of injection helping her.”

A third person wrote, “She looks great. Just keep your weight and don’t lose anymore. You don’t want to look like Sharon Osbourne or Ariana Grande or Cynthia Erivo. They look unhealthy and scary looking.” 

A fourth feeling similar to the second fan said, “I call bs. All of these celebs that could
Never ever lose the weight until now and want you to believe it’s not the shot. Nope. Sorry not biting.”

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A post shared by Us Weekly (@usweekly)

Some fans claimed to notice actresses Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo — who were already known for their slender frame — getting even skinner around the time they filmed their movie “Wicked.” The two women were accused of getting so small that their bone structures were obvious under their skin. 

As for Sharon Osbourne, the TV personality had been using Ozempic for four months before stopping in April 2023. But, that same year in November she admitted that the drug (which is actually used to treat Type 2 diabetes) has had adverse effects on her. Fans online are often pointing out that she looks “too gaunt” as she struggles to put on weight past 100 pounds. 

This is not the first time Lake has taken a stab at losing weight. When she was cast to play Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 movie “Hairspray” she weighed 200 pounds at 19 years old. 

But by 2011 she had dropped about 130 pounds from her peak weight. Reflecting on that, she told “Good Morning America,” “To have almost 130 pounds on top, I mean, almost twice what I weigh, I can’t fathom what that feels like today. Being a size 6 feels better than being a size 24.”

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A post shared by Ricki Lake (@rickilake)

Lake told “GMA” hosts that her slide toward obesity began in childhood. At age 9 or 10, she started to pack on pounds after a traumatic experience.

“I was sexually abused as a child, as a young child,” Lake said. “And I think that is what contributed to my being overweight … and obese, in the later years. I, even subconsciously, did not want to be attractive to men. And it was my way of, you know, protecting myself, I think … and maybe stuffing my feelings with food.”

Unlike some celebrities, the “Ricki Lake” talk show host has no shame about being heavier in her past. In fact, she embraces every body image she’s had throughout her life.

She recently shared an Instagram post with photos from some of her plus size days to her more slender days. On the May 27 post, she wrote the caption “All these ladies are part of me… I feel like I’ve lived many lives.”

‘Took 10 Years Off Her’: Ricki Lake’s New Transformation After Her Drastic Weight Loss Transformation Has Fans Doing a Double Take

Brandon Williams’ legal ordeal began in January 2020 when he was confronted by a lying white cop in a Virginia public park over a questionable trespassing allegation. The officer later falsely accused the Black man in court of being one of the “rudest, most combative suspects” he had ever come across.

Norfolk police officer John McClanahan further lied when he told the judge the following month that Williams had told him he did not have to comply with his orders since his father was a police chief from a nearby agency.

Unbeknownst to McClanahan, Williams had recorded the interaction, proving he said none of that – which led to Norfolk police retaliating against him.

In an exclusive interview with Atlanta Black Star, Williams, 40, said the judge stopped him from explaining his side of the story after 30 seconds during the trial, turning to the cop to hear his version.

Brandon Williams has been fighting a five-year legal battle with Norfolk police in Virginia after he exposed one cop to be a liar, leading to other cops retaliating against him after he was struck head-on by a drunk driver, knocking the engine out of his Mercedes-Benz before the truck flew off the bridge. (Photos: Brandon Williams)

“He cuts me off, lets the officer talk, asking ‘what happened that night?’” Williams explained. “The officer immediately says, ‘the suspect over there was one of the rudest, most combative suspects I have ever come across,’ so immediately I am dumbfounded.”

“Then he takes it further and says, ‘He told me his dad was chief in the other city and he doesn’t have to listen to me, and he doesn’t have to listen to my authority.’”

When the judge asked Williams if he had anything to say, he told the judge there were no signs informing people not to trespass in the park and also informed the judge of the recording which would prove McClanahan committed perjury.

“I said, ‘Your honor, I promise you this officer is lying and I have proof. I have him on tape.’”

But the judge refused to listen to the recording, convicting Williams of misdemeanor trespassing for having parked two minutes after hours inside a popular Norfolk park named Community Beach Park, ordering Williams to be booked and photographed.

“He said, ‘you’re guilty,” so I had to get a mugshot and be processed but I was released at the same time,” he said.

“I then met my dad in the hallway and he was irate because he had listened to the tape, he knew the officer had lied,” Williams said.

Williams’ recording had captured McClanahan ordering him to provide a thumb print after signing the trespassing citation – which Williams found strange but complied with. However, that portion of the interaction was removed from the body camera videos later obtained by Williams. 

Williams told his father, Kenneth Ferguson, who at the time was interim police chief in Hampton, the city’s first Black police chief, and his father was shocked and said, “we don’t do that, that’s not protocol.”

Father Gets Involved

Ferguson had been in the courtroom that day and was livid about how the trial turned out.

“He was pissed off at the judge, but it was more so an officer lied on the stand because he had already heard my recording,” Williams said. 

Ferguson shared the recording with the local district attorney, Hampton Commonwealth Attorney Anton Bell, who shared it with Norfolk Commonwealth Attorney Greg Underwood.

“Now my dad is in the middle of this because he is an officer of the law and he has to let someone know this officer is lying,” Williams said. “And he saw that this officer can go testify and ruin so many other cases.”

Underwood shared the recording with Norfolk City Attorney Bernard Pishko whose office mostly oversees civil matters for the city. 

Pishko called McClanahan into his office to discuss the matter but ended up siding with the cop despite the audio evidence proving he had committed perjury.

Williams appealed the conviction, which went before another judge in September 2020 where prosecutors offered him a plea deal to apologize to the cop in exchange of having his case nolle prosequi, meaning they won’t prosecute.

“I told them absolutely not,” Williams said. “I was not apologizing. This cop lied on me, and I could not believe that they were asking me to apologize.”

The judge dismissed the case after listening to arguments from prosecutors and Williams, not even bothering to listen to the recording, expressing surprise he had been cited in the first place. 

“She looks at me and says, ‘Young man, I’m dismissing this. This case shouldn’t have been here in the first place,’” he said.

“So I leave the courtroom, I’m happy I won. I’m vindicated. Now I can go to internal affairs and report this officer.”

But then the retaliation began before he even had a chance to file his complaint.

Cops Retaliate

Two weeks after the appeal reversal, Williams was struck head-on by a drunk driver traveling at least 70 mph, who was revealed to have had a .30 blood alcohol concentration, according to a report from the local hospital.

Norfolk police took that opportunity to retaliate against Williams after one of the officers recognized him for having exposed McClanahan.

“This is the guy that gave McClanahan a ration of sh_t,” said one of the Norfolk police officers who responded to the scene, according to body camera footage.

The footage shows witnesses telling the officers the man in the truck that struck Williams, Rex Aman, a pilot for the U.S. Navy who was in full uniform, had been traveling at least 70 mph when he swerved into the path of Williams on a bridge.

Aman’s truck ended up going over the bridge, while the engine from Williams’ Mercedes ended up strewn on the bridge. Both men miraculously survived the crash, according to both police and witnesses on the scene. But Williams suffered extensive injuries.

Despite witnesses and evidence showing Aman was traveling at a very high rate of speed, the cops claimed in their report he was traveling at 35 mph when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into Williams’ car, blaming it on defective steering. They also claimed there were no skid marks but body camera video shows a witness pointing out the skid marks.

The police report also claimed Aman had not been drinking, but none of the officers gave him a breathalyzer, simply asking him if he had been drinking, which he denied. 

It was only at the hospital, about an hour later, that a blood test revealed him to have a .30 blood alcohol concentration, which is almost four times the legal limit of .08.

Williams also said Aman’s wife was allowed to gather items from inside her husband’s truck before the cops had secured the scene.

The fact that the cops lied in their reports made it more difficult for Williams to file a claim with the man’s insurance company but he eventually settled three years later.

“I didn’t get near what I needed to pay for all the injuries that I have,” he said. “I have permanent nerve damage on the right side of my body. I have a condition called CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome).” 

“It’s a nerve condition caused by blunt force trauma, and it is called the suicide syndrome because it is literally the most painful syndrome that you can possibly have, let alone all the mental stuff that I’m going through.”

“The psychical pain is one thing, but the mental injuries far exceed the physical pain,” he said. “It damn near tore my family apart.”

Setting Precedent 

Williams filed a federal lawsuit against the Norfolk police officers in September 2022, accusing them of retaliation, but a judge dismissed the case in July 2023, prompting him to file another appeal.

In October 2024, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s decision to dismiss the case, stating the following in its 14-page opinion.

Officer John D. McClanahan first falsely charged Williams with misdemeanor trespassing. He then perjured himself at trial to obtain a conviction. On appeal, Williams exposed McClanahan’s perjury through a recording he had taken of the incident, and the state appellate court ordered the charge dismissed. 

Two weeks later, Norfolk police officers, including McClanahan, responded to an accident in which Williams had been hit by a speeding drunk driver. They recognized him immediately as “the guy that gave McClanahan a ration of sh_t.” The officers allegedly falsified information on the accident report with the intent of depriving Williams of his property right to sue the other driver. 

Williams brought a claim of retaliation for the exercise of his First and Sixth Amendment rights against the police officers. The district court granted the officers’ motions to dismiss Williams’ retaliation claim, holding that he failed to plead an adverse action, and granted their motions as to his conspiracy claim upon finding that he failed to plead a constitutional violation. 

Considering the facts as pled, Williams has adequately alleged that the officers’ intentional misrepresentation on the accident report would likely deter him from recording police activity and defending himself at trial in the future. Therefore, we reverse the district court’s dismissal of his retaliation claim. 

It was a huge victory for Williams, who had never given up in his fight for justice, taking it upon himself to request the body camera videos that exposed the lies and retaliation, spending two years fighting the case on his own before he brought in attorneys.

“It sets precedent for law officials to now be held accountable of what they put on police reports,” he said. 

“And prior to the new case law, that was not a given. The panel agreed that a police officer can be held accountable by making a false police report with animus, and it is absolutely admissible in court now.”

“Prior, it wasn’t admissible in court because they said a police report wasn’t admissible.”

“It was a major victory and hopefully gives people victory and justice in the future for what the Fourth Circuit was brave enough to step up and do something about.”

Williams, who is scheduled to go to trial in September, has been considering going to law school.

“I went to Morehouse (College) to study psychology, and I was going to go the whole medical route, but honestly, after all of this, I’m definitely considering law in some capacity to help people out.”

Watch the video below showing bodycam footage from the initial altercation with McClanahan, as well as from the car crash where they chose to retaliate against him.

‘The Guy That Gave McClanahan a Ration of …’: Cop Caught Lying on Stand Allegedly Retaliates Against Man Who Exposed Him Weeks Later After He’s Hit By Drunk Driver

Donald Trump‘s administration continued its flirtation with authoritarianism Thursday as a Democratic senator attending Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference was dragged from the room and handcuffed.

Noem, responding on X, said the California senator “chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem. Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands. @SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately.”

Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from a news conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles on June 12, 2025, and placed in handcuffs. (Photo: X screenshot/ Acyn)

But CNN host Abby Phillip, posting on X, said a closer inspection of the video showed the DHS’ account isn’t supported by the facts.

As you can see in the video, Sen. Padilla clearly identifies himself. DHS still wrote this post falsely claiming that he did not. https://t.co/Xt3MmowSH0

— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) June 12, 2025

“As you can see in the video, Sen. Padilla clearly identifies himself,” Phillip said. “DHS still wrote this post falsely claiming that he did not.”

Padilla told reporters he attended Noem’s Los Angeles presser “as part of my responsibility as a senator to provide oversight and accountability.

“Over the course of several weeks several of my colleagues have been asking the Department of Homeland Security for more information…and we’ve gotten little to no information in response to our inquiries,” he said.

“I was there peacefully. At one point, I had a question, and so I began to ask a question,” Padilla continued. “I was almost immediately forcibly removed from the room, I was forced to the ground, and I was handcuffed.

Disturbing scene of Senator Alex Padilla being handcuffed pic.twitter.com/T8GjjrR9A2

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 12, 2025

He insisted he was neither arrested nor detained.

“I will say this: if this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question. If this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they’re doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community, throughout California and throughout the country,” he concluded.

Democrats were irate about the treatment of Padilla.

“What just happened to @SenAlexPadilla is absolutely abhorrent and outrageous,” wrote Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. “He is a sitting United States Senator. This administration’s violent attacks on our city must end.”

Former Vice President Kamala Harris also chimed in, saying, “United States Senator Alex Padilla was representing the millions of Californians who are demanding answers to this Administration’s actions in Southern California. This is a shameful and stunning abuse of power.”

But not everyone thought Padilla’s arrest was out of bounds. MAGA voters cheered the arrest, with one Trump supporter writing on X, “Democrats are no longer above the law I VOTED FOR THIS!”

“We are just following Democrats’ orders at this point,” wrote another. “Nobody is above the law.”

He didn’t say what law Padilla broke.

According to DHS, Noem, who famously defined habeas corpus as a presidential authority to deport individuals, met with Padilla after the incident. Details about their 15-minute meeting were not disclosed.

‘I Voted for This!’: MAGA Celebrates Violent Removal of Alex Padilla After Confronting Kristi Noem As Abby Phillip Exposes DHS for Lying to Justify Dragging the Senator Out

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard dropped an atomic bomb on X this week, posting a video message on June 10, urging Americans to take action against a growing nuclear threat.

Gabard, reflecting on the “haunting sadness” that still hangs over Hiroshima, where the U.S. dropped the first nuclear bomb that hastened the end of World War II, warned that “political elites and warmongers” are fomenting fear and tension, pushing us closer to “the brink of nuclear annihilation than ever before.”

US National Security Director Tulsi Gabbard and Charlamagne Tha God (Photos: Getty Images)

“Perhaps it’s because they are confident that they will have access to nuclear shelters for themselves and for their families that regular people won’t have access to,” she said.

The three-minute clip includes a simulation of a nuclear attack on San Francisco that shows the Golden Gate Bridge being vaporized by the blast.

“This isn’t some made-up science fiction story. This is the reality of what’s at stake, what we are facing now,” Gabbard said in the video.

The top Trump official urged the American people to “speak up and demand an end to this madness.”

“We must reject this path to nuclear war and work toward a world where no one has to live in fear of a nuclear holocaust,” Gabbard said.

The video resulted in more questions than answers. Who are these shadowy figures pushing for nuclear conflict?

“You can’t just post this like a regular reel and walk away,” radio host Charlamagne Tha God observed on Thursday’s edition of “The Breakfast Club.” Gabbard was named “Donkey of the Day,” a regular feature on the show. “You can’t drop this on the timeline and just walk off.”

He continued, “Tulsi, aren’t you the political elite? The principal adviser to the president? You should tell all the political elite people, and all the warmongers, to stop.”

Gabbard, a longtime skeptic of the D.C. establishment, was one of the more controversial Cabinet picks by Donald Trump. She had virtually no experience in the intelligence sector and was criticized for her cozy relationships with some of the world’s most odious dictators.

Sen. Mitt Romney said she was “parroting fake Russian propaganda” when she accused the U.S. of operating at least 25 biolabs in Ukraine.

Her relationship with former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad also invited scrutiny. She opposed U.S. intervention in the Syrian civil war and spoke favorably of al-Assad’s leadership at a time when he was laying waste to a significant portion of his country’s population.

Charlamagne took issue with Gabbard putting the onus on the American people to stop nuclear annihilation.

“What are we the people supposed to do with this information?” he said. “We’re supposed to be out here living our best life while ya’ll handle stuff like threats and nuclear war.”

“Nuclear war is too serious for a tweet and a call to action,” he continued. “We don’t have to reject it. We never wanted it to be an option in the first place. But I guess, now it is, and you want us to fix it.”

Charlamagne called on Gabbard to “tell us what you know.”

“It’s your job to tell the world,” he concluded. “Give us time to repent for our sins. You just can’t walk up to me, Tulsi, and say you’re going to die!”

‘Can’t Drop This on the Timeline and Just Walk Off’: Charlamagne Blasts Trump’s Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard for Nuclear Warning That Leaves Americans Panicked and Clueless

Shad “Bow Wow” Moss, 38, was all smiles at the 2025 BET Awards on June 9, but his daughter’s clothing choice for the event had social media users raising their eyebrows.

“Mr. 106 & Park” was tapped to work as a red carpet correspondent for the evening before the awards ceremony kicked off. Shai Moss, 14, joined her father briefly outside the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

When Bow Wow attempted to get Shai to cut to a commercial like her dad, the budding influencer fired back, “No, I’ll just do it how I would do it, because I’m the queen here.”

Rap star Bow Wow and his daughter, Shai Moss, faced criticism for the teenager’s BET Awards red carpet outfit. (Photo: @shadmoss/Instagram)

Bow Wow, dressed in a white button-up shirt and black pants, praised his daughter Shai’s red carpet look, calling her “beautiful.” The teen made a bold appearance at the star-studded event in an all-black outfit that stopped above her thighs and featured a cut-out detail near her left hip.

Some people online took issue with Shai’s outfit, including pearl clutchers who expressed their unsolicited disapproval of her award show attire by commenting on BET’s social media pages.

“Did dad see this whole outfit!?” an Instagram user wondered. A second person referred to Bow’s mother, Teresa Caldwell, by writing, “I know his mama had a fit when she saw that outfit.”

“Wrong outfit for a kid of 14 years old!” one faultfinder exclaimed. Likewise, another critical comment read, “This outfit [is too] damn grown.”

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A post shared by BET (@bet)

In a more mixed reaction, someone commented, “She [is] growing up to be a beautiful, intelligent young lady. But that outfit [with] her hip out is crazy.”

One woman advocated for Shai by stating, “Her outfit is cute. Y’all do too much entirely.”

Bow Wow shares Shai with his ex-girlfriend, dancer Joie Chavis, who gave birth to their daughter in April 2011. The “Like Mike” actor also has a son, Stone Moss, born in 2020, with model Olivia Sky.

Since Shai’s arrival, Bow Wow has repeatedly spotlighted his oldest child on the internet. He celebrated her 10th birthday by performing a karaoke version of his 2005 hit record “Like You” with the then-preteen in a video that went viral.

For her 14th birthday, the longtime “Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta” cast member recruited R&B singers Chris Brown and Ray J to sing “Happy Birthday” to Shai backstage at the 2025 Millennium Tour.

Bow Wow says he and Shai bond over hair and style. The proud dad credited his daughter as the inspiration for his KISS Colors and Care collab, noting she collects luxe durags in every color.

“She’s probably the main reason why I have half a box of durags now,” Bow Wow told BET in 2022. “Absolutely! When she wears them, she looks just like me when I was 13—especially when she has long box braids and braids straight to the back.”

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A post shared by Bow Wow (@shadmoss)

Additionally, Bow Wow has touched on how fatherhood changed him as a person. The So So Def Recordings alum reflected on taking on the role of raising a daughter while speaking with Rolling Out in 2015.

“Having my daughter has helped me put a lot of things into perspective. I’m still who I am, though. You can look up a video today and still see me pouring champagne, Patron, or any vodka into people’s mouths in any club [around] the world,” Bow said.

He continued, “That’s how daddy gets the money to bring home to my daughter. But I’m more respectful now. Looking at my little girl, I really have tunnel vision. How could I ever let her down? She’s my best friend, and I’ve been waiting for her to finally get to this age [4 years old].”

Bow Wow not only interviewed guests on the red carpet at the 2025 BET Awards, but he performed as part of the all-star 106 & Park 25th Anniversary Celebration during the main show. The man also known as “Mr. 106 & Park” ran through his hit singles “Like You” and “Fresh Azimiz.”

‘That Outfit Wit Her Hip Out Is Crazy’: Bow Wow’s Teen Daughter Shai Moss Faces Criticism Over ‘Inappropriate’ Dress While Out with Dad as Fans Claim She ‘Too Grown’

Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, stoked controversy on X after resharing the committee’s post labeling “Democrat-run Los Angeles,” accompanied by video of a motorcyclist circling a burning car while waving a Mexican flag. Jordan then wrote, “We fly the American flag in America,” despite also flying an Israeli flag outside his Washington office.

Jordan’s comments have been criticized as hypocritical for two reasons: the First Amendment protects flying any flag, and he has not condemned MAGA supporters who have defiantly flown Confederate flags. 

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) speaks to media outside a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing with sanctuary city mayors, at the US Capitol, on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Graeme Sloan for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

HuffPost noted that Trump supporters have also flown U.S. flags bearing Trump’s image or MAGA slogans, actions technically at odds with the U.S. Flag Code, which forbids placing marks or images on the flag.

Social media responses included California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who reposted images of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot with the caption, “Like this?”

An X user sarcastically replied, “I can fly whatever flag I want. It came free with my First Amendment.” Another shared a photo of Confederate flags, commenting, “Apparently not.” One user tagged Jordan’s statement, showing a Trump-branded flag overlaid on U.S. stars and stripes, prompting accusations of hypocrisy.

WHICH FLAG? pic.twitter.com/oUvj9JVGz9

— Khalissee (@Kahlissee) June 9, 2025

The Mexican flag quickly became emblematic of protests reacting to recent ICE raids in L.A., where federal authorities deployed hundreds of National Guard troops and active-duty U.S. Marines under Title 10 orders for crowd control. This marks the first full federalization of the California Guard without the governor’s consent in decades, raising legal challenges.

Gov. Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta have filed emergency lawsuits—Newsom v. Trump—arguing the deployment is an unauthorized and coercive use of federal power. 

Newsom said, “The federal government is now turning the military against American citizens,” calling the move an assault on democracy and demanding that the militarization stop.

‘Like This?’: GOP Rep. Jim Jordan Mocked for ‘In America’ Flag Comment Amid ICE Protests As Critics Remind Him That MAGA Supporters Wave Confederate and Trump-Branded Flags with Impunity

Christopher Schwarzenegger, the 27-year-old son of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, showed off his body transformation in Hollywood on Wednesday.

The University of Michigan graduate walked the red carpet in Los Angeles for his father’s “FUBAR” season 2 premiere at the Netflix Tudum Theater.

Christopher attended the event alongside his sisters, 35-year-old Katherine and 33-year-old Christina, as well as his 31-year-old brother Patrick, as they all posed with their dad in photos. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son Christopher shows off his drastic weight loss over the years. (Photos by Schwarzennegar/Instagram; BG004/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Arnold’s youngest child with his ex-wife, Maria Shriver, flaunted his leaner frame for the cameras. Shriver, 69, and Schwarzenegger, 77, wed in 1986 before finalizing their divorce in 2021.

For the past several years, Christopher has been focused on shedding weight and improving his health. In May, he discussed his transformation at the Beacher Vitality Happy & Healthy Summit in Los Angeles.

“I started in 2019 when I was living in Australia. I was on this big trip. I made it a big [deal] like, ‘Oh, I’m going to go out and do all this stuff, be in Australia,’ and I just saw how much my weight was prohibiting me from doing the everyday activities,” he explained to People magazine.

Christopher confessed that he “tried everything” after struggling with body issues in high school, noting, “It’s not an overnight thing, but it took a lot of trial and error.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s kids — Patrick, Katherine, Christopher, Christina — and son-in-law Chris Pratt joined him on the red carpet at tonight’s FUBAR premiere in Hollywood. pic.twitter.com/6GNYihyIKu

— Netflix (@netflix) June 12, 2025

Apparently, a Christian religious observance played a vital part in Christopher dropping the pounds. He credited his decision to stop eating bread for Lent to losing 30 pounds in less than two months.

“I was like, ‘Well, if I’m giving up bread, I might as well just take the opportunity and I’m a good Catholic boy, so I’m not going to break it,’” he stated. “And that was my one rule. I was like, ‘I’m not going to break Lent.’”

Commenters on the People article about Christopher’s dramatic changes shared their thoughts on his slimmer figure. “Good for you dude! It’s so difficult to take weight off… You need to be proud of yourself!” one person expressed.

“Christopher, you look fantastic, and I can only imagine how much better you must feel, plus healthier! You are very handsome! Congratulations on your difficult journey, and now KEEP IT OFF so you don’t have to go through it ever again!” another supporter exclaimed.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver’s son, Christopher, recalled his dramatic 30-pound weight loss journey over six years. https://t.co/Yfi1kok6RF pic.twitter.com/CE2bvHv2iR

— E! News (@enews) May 12, 2025

In contrast, a skeptic posted, “If he lost 30 lbs by dropping bread, I don’t believe for a second that he tried everything. If you binge ate because you were depressed, it’s ok to admit it, but if bread did that for you, dropping soda and exercise would have done much more for you.”

Other people suggested Christopher may have used a weight-loss drug. Someone typed, “These people will do anything except admit they’re on Ozempic. You don’t lose 30 lbs in a month from giving up bread.”

Another said, “I’d say there is more to it than just giving up bread, no shame in taking weight loss medication at all, such a handsome young man.”

Christopher was also championed, regardless of the methods for getting his new physique. One supportive individual commented, “He looks healthy. Whatever it took to get there is nobody‘s business.”

Arnold shared a touching message for Christopher’s 24th birthday in September 2021 that provided some insight into his son’s exercise routine.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Arnold Schwarzenegger (@schwarzenegger)

“Happy birthday, Christopher! I love you and I’m proud of you every day! You’re so smart, and you have such a big heart,” Arnold captioned an Instagram photo carousel. 

The “Total Recall” actor continued, “Between your boxing classes, your weightlifting classes, your stretching classes, your cycling classes, and on and on, I can’t even keep up with you! I can’t wait to see what you accomplish this year.”

Besides the display of Christopher getting in shape, the “FUBAR” premiere also was notable because of Arnold’s fifth child, Joseph Baena. The fitness model was born to the Schwarzenegger family’s longtime housekeeper Mildred “Patty” Baena. 

Social media users noticed Joseph did not take pictures with Christopher, Katherine, Christina, and Patrick at the event. However, Arnold was seen with Maria’s kids and then seen with Joseph separately.

‘There Is More to It Than Just Giving Up Bread’: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Son Christopher Goes Viral Again for His Drastic Weight Loss Amid Ozempic Allegations 

Sometimes you just have to see it to believe it.

Marc Lamont Hill, a CUNY professor of urban education and longtime cable news analyst, appeared on the June 11 episode of “The Joe Budden Podcast” this week and shared an anecdote about the time he was pepper-sprayed. The host and his friends weren’t buying it, suspecting that if Hill was sprayed, it must’ve been by a scorned woman.

Marc Lamont Hill (Photo by Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images)

The next day, the video of the incident surfaced, and it supports Hill’s version of events.

Hill is speaking at an event in his native Philadelphia on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 2024. There was a Q&A session in which a young woman asked him about the “sexual abuse I’ve encountered.”

Marc Lamont hill was pepper sprayed by a whale at a speaking event pic.twitter.com/2LocFHtqCe

— Akademiks TV (@AkademiksTV) June 12, 2025

He tells her he is unaware. She begins approaching him slowly, then, picking up her pace, she gets just a few feet from Hill and begins spraying in his face. Hill is knocked back out of his chair and rushes backstage as the woman is tackled by two security personnel.

“She had been stalking me for a couple of weeks,” Hill said on the Budden podcast.

She had written him a letter detailing how the CIA, with the help of then-President Joe Biden, had framed her for murder, Hill said.

A few weeks earlier, she was caught by police spray-painting Hill’s Philadelphia bookstore, with a brick in her purse. She was not arrested, Hill said.

Hill said he recognized her name when she stood up to ask her question at the MLK Day event. In the video, he can be seen signaling to someone offstage, presumably security.

When she approached him and pulled something from her purse, “I’m thinking she’s reaching for a gun,” Hill said. Instead, it’s her keys, where the little container of pepper spray was attached.

Hill did not press charges and, in a post published Thursday morning on X, he shared what’s happened since.

“I have worked with her family and community members to enable a restorative process,” he wrote. “Through the process, I have learned that she did indeed suffer significant childhood abuse, as well as serious mental health challenges that continue to this day. Instead of criminal prosecution, I have done my best to make sure that she receives social and mental health support to help her heal as best as possible.”

I’m fine, everyone. The video of me being pepper sprayed was from January 2024. At the time, the attacker believed that I was part of a conspiracy (along with the CIA, Mumia Abu Jamal, and the president) to cover-up traumatic events from her childhood. Since then, after refusing…

— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) June 12, 2025

On social media, commenters threw deep shade on Budden and his co-hosts while commending Hill for setting them straight. Many applaud him for his empathy.

“Respect, Marc. That is more empathy than most people would show in this situation, and shows a real depth of character,” one person wrote. “Great people can see that Marc continues to practice what he preaches,” another X follower wrote.

‘Believed That I Was Part of a Conspiracy’: Video Shows Alleged Stalker Pepper-Spraying Marc Lamont Hill. His Reaction Will Surprise You

In a weird way, the biggest perceived roadblocks to former Clayton County, Georgia, Sheriff Victor Hill’s just-announced run for Congress could end up being political assets.

The president is a convicted felon, after all. Hill was convicted in 2022 on federal civil rights charges for violating detainees’ constitutional rights by ordering that they be held, without justification, in a restraint chair for hours. Hill was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after being found guilty of violating inmates’ civil rights.

Like the president, Hill blamed his conviction on political opponents. And, also like Trump, Hill remains popular among a significant portion of the electorate.

Former Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill (Photo: Victor Hill)

“When you talk to Clayton County residents, there’s mixed reactions about Victor Hill,” Tharon Johnson, a Democratic political strategist with Paramount Consulting Group, told Fox 5 Atlanta. “A lot of them respect him. A lot of them think that he did a phenomenal job as sheriff and as state rep when he was there. But also, some folks think that he was a distraction and there was some controversy surrounding him. It’ll be very interesting for him to articulate to the public why he wants to now reenter political life as a congressional candidate.”

‘

Some voters won’t need much convincing.

“He’s a very active and fearless person,” Clayton resident Aso Odus told Fox 5 Atlanta. “That’s what I love so much about him.”

On social media, potential constituents were less open to Hill’s candidacy.

“This isn’t in jail! What is happening here?! Ikyfl Victor Hill, please sit down somewhere,” wrote one woman on X.

Added another, “Victor Hill crazy af lmao he need to gone.”

Hill, who is out of prison and is currently serving the remainder of his sentence on probation, broke the news Tuesday on his podcast, saying he will challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams for the Democratic nomination in the 5th District Congressional seat once held by the late John Lewis.

The veteran lawman said he’ll tack to the middle if elected as part of a yet-unseen “problem-solving caucus” in Congress.

“It’s where Democrats and Republicans sit down together and see what can we agree on, what can we work on,” Hill said. “I think we know what we don’t agree on… but what can we get done? And that’s what I’m interested in accomplishing while I’m there and that’s what I’m interested in being a part of.”

Hill said reforming prisons and criminal sentencing would be a major part of his platform as he runs for one of Georgia’s most traditionally progressive seats. That may play well with Democratic voters, but referencing Donald Trump as “a victim” of politically based prosecutions almost certainly will not.

“I think if there’s ever a time, where we can address these issues, grand juries, convicted felons or whatever. We have people in power now that have been victims of lawfare, up to including the president, who ran as a convicted felon,” Hill said. “And if we can’t agree on anything else, we can at least agree on this and get this done.”

Those comments reflect an apparent shift in philosophy by Hill, who called himself “The Crime Fighter” in his campaigns and was known to run one of the toughest jails in the metro Atlanta area.

Hill previously was sentenced to 12 months’ probation and a $1,000 fine for the 2015 shooting of a female real estate agent at a model home in Gwinnett County. He pleaded no contest; both Hill and the victim described the shooting as an accident. 

‘Please Sit Down Somewhere!’: Former Georgia Sheriff Who Served Prison Time Over Inmate Abuse Announces Run for Seat Once Held By John Lewis

President Donald Trump, 78, and first lady Melania Trump, 55, made a rare public appearance together in Washington, D.C., this week.

He and the former professional model attended a performance of “Les Misérables” at the John F. Kennedy Center on June 11.

According to reports, the Trumps were met with mixed reactions. Members of the audience cheered and allegedly booed when the Republican couple arrived in the presidential box.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump got a frosty reception at the Kennedy Center. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

While attendees of the musical set in early 19th-century France had different reactions to Donald and Melania in person, people on social media took notice of a specific image of the pair.

Trump was photographed with Melania by his side wearing a black tuxedo. His spouse was seen in a black dress and dark glasses.

In the snapshot, the former “The Apprentice” reality television host is seen barely holding one of his wife’s fingers. Melania’s clenched mouth seems to suggest she was not enthused about the physical touch from her husband.

Numerous X users notice Donald and Melania’s awkward interaction. One person tweeted, “Melania wants to be anywhere else.”

What do you notice? pic.twitter.com/zi4xi9Ru6N

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) June 12, 2025

Additionally, a second tweet stated, “Brutal. She’s not holding his hand—she’s enduring it. He’s clinging like a man who knows she’d rather be anywhere else.”

One individual wrongly proposed that the photograph of the Trumps was made by artificial intelligence, writing, “The photo looks like it has been AI-edited or created.”

“Melania obviously didn’t want to hold his hand in public, so Trump decided to at least grab her thumb for the cameras,” read a tweet.

Similarly, someone stated, “Pulling her hand away… Oh, she can’t stand him, that’s completely [obvious]. Anyone will tell you that you don’t need a body language expert. He’s a scum bag. He has no respect for women at all, that’s clear by his recording on that bus. She knows $$$$$.”

Donald Trump is booed at the Kennedy Center pic.twitter.com/OJYRIoRFQX

— FactPost (@factpostnews) June 12, 2025

Donald wed Melania in January 2005 after his previous marriages to Ivana Trump and Marla Maples. Melania gave birth to the president’s youngest child, Barron Trump, in March 2006. There have been multiple occasions of her presumably expressing annoyance with the POTUS in public. One incident during the first Trump administration went viral.

In May 2017, Trump tried to hold Melania’s hand after landing on the Ben Gurion Airport’s tarmac in Israel. She reacted by batting him away as they walked from the airplane.

Melania later insisted in her self-titled 2024 memoir that her hand swipe against Trump at the Israeli airport was a “minor, innocent gesture, nothing more.”

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A post shared by 60 Minutes Australia (@60minutes9)

However, Trump biographer Michael Wolff’s recent press run included the “Fire and Fury” book author alleging that Melania has a deep-seated hatred for the commander in chief.

“I asked someone very close to them. I said, ‘So what’s going on?’ And this person looked at me like I was a real dunce, and then said, ‘She hates his f—king guts!’” Wolff said.

During his interview with “60 Minutes Australia,” the veteran journalist also added, “[Trump] has a long history of relationships with other women, porn stars, and the like.”

The state of the Trumps’ complicated relationship was not the only bubbling scandal that made headlines from their rare date night out at the Kennedy Center.

CNN claimed that at least 10 to 12 members of the “Les Misérables” cast planned to sit out the show to boycott Trump’s unprecedented takeover of the Kennedy Center.

Trump was elected as the Kennedy Center’s Chairman of the Board in February 2025, following the MAGA leader’s purge of 18 Democratic appointees and the appointment of loyalists.

“It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees. We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!” the president stated on Truth Social.

‘Melania Obviously Didn’t Want to Hold His Hand’: Melania Trump Seemingly Rejects Donald Trump During Date Night as Fans Say She Looked Uninterested

Federal courts in this country have long protected police officers from lawsuits in the name of qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that shields cops from civil lawsuits unless their actions violated a “clearly established statutory or constitutional rights.”

But last month, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed the “Back the Blue” bill into law which expands qualified immunity, making it even tougher for citizens abused by police to sue them for their unconstitutional actions in state courts.

Dakarai Larriett, who was arrested last year on false charges, is now running for office to fight for criminal justice reform. (Photo: Body camera and Atlanta Black Star interview)

Now, a Black man named Dakarai Larriett, who last year was falsely arrested by Michigan state police on fabricated charges that he had been driving under the influence, is running for U.S. Senate in Alabama to fight for criminal justice reform.

“I am running for office due to a very personal event that happened last year when I was falsely arrested in Michigan,” Larriett said in an exclusive video interview with Atlanta Black Star, posted below.

“I was thrown into jail, my driver’s license was confiscated for two and a half months, and I still have not received justice for that night.”

“In fact, five months after the incident, I realized not only was I harassed and racialized that night, but also, the troopers attempted to plant narcotics in my car.”

He has since left Michigan back to his home state of Alabama where the state’s new Back the Blue law is very personal for him because his own lawsuit was dismissed by a Michigan judge.

“When I think about what’s happening here in Alabama, the expansion of qualified immunity, it seems like it’s open season for folks who look like me,” he said.

Watch the Atlanta Black Star interview below.

False Arrest

Larriett, who comes from a family of cops, was arrested in April 2024 after he was pulled over by police at 3 a.m. as he was driving a friend home.

The cops accused of failing to make a complete stop at two flashing red lights, then accused him of smelling like alcohol.

Body camera video shows Michigan State Trooper George Kanyuh asking Larriett when did he have his last drink.

“Has it been at least two hours?” Kanyuh asked.

When Larriett replied yes, the cop then tried to manipulate the situation by claiming his answer meant he had been drinking two hours earlier.

However, the way the cop phrased the question by asking if it had been “at least two hours” since he last had a drink, Larriett could have gone years without having a drink and still have answered the question honestly.

When Larriett realized the cop was trying to manipulate the situation, he clarified that he had not been drinking that evening.

That was when the cop ordered him out of the car, accusing him of changing his story.

“Why are you changing your story on us?” Kanyuh asked.

“I said two hours and now I smell it on your breath, and now you’re denying it all,” he said. “That’s suspicious to me.”

“I’m not commenting any further,” Larriett replied, realizing the cop was trying to set him up.

The cop then tried to accuse him of having consumed marijuana but he denied that as well.

The cops had Larriett submit to field sobriety tests and then placed him under arrest, driving him to a hospital to draw his blood, which proved he was neither under the influence of weed or booze, but he still spent six hours in jail before bailing out.

The charge of driving under the influence was dismissed within days, but it still took Michigan state police more than two months to return his driver’s license.

Five months later when he obtained the body camera footage to prepare his lawsuit, which he said was edited and redacted, he came across a portion of the video where Kanyuh is searching through the trunk of his patrol car for his “stash” that Larriett believes was evidence the cops were trying to plant drugs on him.

But the cops told the judge they were seeking the breathalyzer instrument to administer it to him which was one reason why the judge dismissed the lawsuit which he is appealing.

“It was almost as if the judge was the police’s defense attorney and ignored all of the evidence and basically said I was suspicious for driving at 3 a.m.,” Larriett said. “At 42 years old at the time, I guess I had a curfew.”

“That is what is so scary about qualified immunity, everything that happened that night, all that evidence, the drug planting on camera, doesn’t matter,” he said.

“We can’t even discuss it because the stop itself in the opinion of the judge valid.”

“So that’s what opened the door to qualified immunity, and that is why I’m so worried about HB202 (the Alabama Back the Blue law).

The initial lawsuit described an X account belonging to Kanyuh that contained racist, homophobic and misogynistic language, including one retweet of a photo of a Black woman captioned, “Met the biggest beauty of a crackhead last night” and another retweet of a white man burning a Colin Kaepernick jersey.

That account, @GKanyuh, has since been deleted but not before Larriett was able to gather screenshots.

“Trooper George Michael Kanyuh is not shy about his bias and prejudices against gay people and Black people. A simple gander at his social media that was still up as of this writing is indicative of that,” the complaint stated.

Last year, Larriett hired a forensics specialist to view the video who not only determined the video had been redacted and muted in several portions but that Larriett was not showing signs of impairment. 

“As a forensic examiner for 20 years, I have seen many DUI traffic stop videos,” wrote Jim Stafford, Forensic Examiner for Eclipse Forensics. “This is one of just a few I have examined where I did not see signs of impairment.”

Stafford further stated the following in his report:

“Although Officer Kanyuh’s actions may have been well intentioned it is my opinion that he misrepresented the field sobriety test results to conform with a predetermined finding of marijuana use by Mr. Larriett. I have recommended to my client that he obtain the unredacted videos to have an accurate representation of the actions on 04/10/2024. Examining that metadata would determine authenticity.”

Larriett plans to continue fighting for justice in his own case as he runs for office to help Alabama citizens abused by the system.

“It’s going to get to the point where the police can do anything without any repercussions or accountability to the public,” he said.

‘Attempted to Plant Narcotics In My Car’: Black Man Falsely Arrested on Fabricated Charges Runs for U.S. Senate In Alabama to Combat State’s New ‘Back the Blue’ Law

So who wins in the court of public opinion between a Black man hitting an allegedly overserved woman and a white man who tried to intervene but then threatens to kill the Black man, or ‘n—a,” as he words it?

On Reddit, at least in the feed of Bodymore410, on whose page, which promotes “Baltimore-related music and street content — the video was posted, the white man lost badly. He also suffered major defeats in the actual fight and to his ego.

A screenshot from a viral video of a brawl in a convenience store. (Photo: Reddit/r/Bodymore410)

It’s unclear what the Black man and the non-white woman were fighting about at the unidentified Baltimore convenience store. The video starts with her pointing in his face and telling him, “You’re talking to the wrong n—-a, bitch!”

“Don’t touch me,” he warns repeatedly.

“Ain’t nobody touching you,” she responds.

She kept running her mouth
byu/IamASlut_soWhat inBodymore410

“Drunk-ass b-tch,” he replies before telling her to “Get yo n—-a in here.”

“You the b-tch, she taunts back, repeatedly.

He says something about her trying to “harass this man.” It’s unknown who she was trying to harass, or if she was even harassing him.

The Black man then turns to the person shooting the content and says, “I’m gonna slap this b-tch. I’m gonna slap her!”

At which point the white man, pudgy, at or near middle-aged and dressed in a pink polo shirt and Khaki pants, tries to intervene in the most ignorant way possible. Seemingly pitching his voice to sound tough, and, in his mind, conjuring a voice he remembered from “New Jack City,” the white man approaches the Black man, gets in his face and says, “I’ll kill you, n—-!”

The white man, then turns, opening the door for the woman. Whether or not they’re together is unclear, but some commenters had their opinions.

“I’ll slap both of ya’ll,” the Black man says. And then he does, slapping the woman and throwing her to the ground, then smacking the white man with a series of open-fisted punches, knocking him to the ground.

He then stands over him, repeatedly yelling, “I tried to help you.”

Was the white man the one the woman was “harassing”? We may never know. One commenter said it appeared he was trying to assist the store’s cashier after she allegedly tried to pass a bad check, but that’s unverified.

Then, in one of the most sudden about-faces in street fighting history, the white man, on his knees, looks up to the Black man and says, “I love you.”

The woman returns to the store and pushes the Black man. The white man, back on his feet, tries to separate them.

“Don’t touch me,” says the Black man, who follows with a series of blows.

Then, in a blow to poorly executed chivalry, the woman also tells him not to touch her.

The man ends up falling on his backside at the entrance of the store, dazed by the repeated blows. After one particularly brutal kick to the face, the man is on all fours and store workers and witnesses encourage the Black man to stop.

The white man crawls to his feet, puts his hand on the woman’s arm, and she yells at him again. Finally, he did the one smart thing he did that afternoon: Walk away.

Here’s how some other Reddit followers saw it:

“I’m white and we do not claim this man. He def dropped a racial slur and everything is out the window once that line is crossed. Nobody deserves to be called a slur, it’s gross and that man fofa that day why you shouldn’t say it.”

“The switch up was crazy.”

“This is so trashy and I hope this man ends up in jail for assault. Bottom of the barrel person right there. It’s one thing to talk sh-t. It’s one thing to push. It’s another thing to kick a man in the face while he’s on the ground. Absolute garbage human being.”

‘Don’t Touch Me’: White Man Who Threatened to Kill Black Man Quickly Switches Gears After Realizing He Got More Than What He Bargained for

Jenna Bush Hager tried to put her “Today” show colleague Al Roker on blast during a morning segment this week.

The “Jenna & Friends” host dropped a bombshell during the “Jenna’s Morning Boost” segment before later having to correct herself. The mix-up took place on June 10 when Bush Hager revealed that her late grandmother Barbara Bush, the first lady during the term of Bush Hager’s grandfather George H.W. Bush, would be honored with a commemorative stamp.

Bush Hager then segued to asking Roker about an intimate moment that he allegedly had with Barbara Bush.

Jenna Bush apologizes to Al Roker after mistakenly saying he kissed her grandma. (Photo: @jennabhager/Instagram; Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

In front of their co-hosts Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie, Carson Daly, Bush Hager looked at Roker and asked, “Remember when you made out with her, Al?”

The 70-year-old journalist was taken aback, but she continued on. “Didn’t you kiss her?” she asked. Then realizing that she had the wrong man, Bush Hager revealed the identity of the actual person who laid a smooch on her grandmother. 

She said, “That was Willard,” referring to Willard Scott who during his lengthy career as a broadcaster, worked for more than three decades as the weather forecaster on “Today.”

Roker jumped in to respond and said, “That was Willard, other bald weather guy.”

A big #HappyBirthday to my 2nd #dad Willard Scott. You are the best pic.twitter.com/uKgHV2YEHZ

— Al Roker (@alroker) March 7, 2018

Laughing across the table, Bush Hager quickly apologized. She said, “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to confuse you.”

Roker, who didn’t seem to take it to heart said, “It was awkward on so many levels, so many levels. I’m thinking, did I make out with her grandmother?”

At that moment the other co-hosts chimed in, and talked over each other so much that no one heard Roker say, “Not that I wouldn’t have.”

People magazine reported on the weird exchange on their Instagram page, where fans left their own reactions.

One person said, “I don’t have to see this to know this was awkward as hell.”

A second person noted, “This ridiculous and awkward moment is it for me. Thankfully we do not get the 4th hour on Today. We get Local news and Tam. Hall. God is good all the time. Sacramento Ca.”

Another person who was in disbelief over Bush Hager’s mistaken claim wrote, “I don’t see Barbara with Al. Not no way, no how!”

Two other disbelievers simply wrote, “Ewww” and “In no way do I believe this!”

Not only has Roker been married to Deborah Roberts since 1995, but Barbara was also 29 years his senior.

Luckily for Roker, there is video evidence to prove that it was in fact Scott who smooched Bush Hager’s grandmother. 

Scott was in the field capturing the moment when George H.W. Bush waved to the crowd at his Jan. 20, 1989, inaugural parade. Bush embraced his supporters until he locked eyes with Scott, whom he then directly waved to and pointed at.

Barbara, who was standing by her husband’s side, spotted Scott as well, and ran over to him to greet him. When she got closer, she quickly kissed him on the lips before rejoining her husband in the parade.  

“How ‘bout that! I’ve been kissed by the best!” Watch the exciting moment Barbara Bush surprised Willard Scott with a kiss during the 1989 inaugural parade for President George H.W. Bush pic.twitter.com/ya9wBByMQG

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 18, 2018

Scott responded, “How ‘bout that! I’ve been kissed by the best.”

‘Not That I Wouldn’t Have’: Jenna Bush Hager Accuses Al Roker of Having a Wild Encounter Out with George Bush’s Mom