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Reviewers Say This Luggage Set Is ‘Very Light’ & ‘Easy to Handle’ — It’s on Sale Now for Just $70

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Labor Day is right around the corner—mark your calendars for Monday (Sept. 2). If you’re traveling that weekend and need a new luggage set, consider adding this stylish pink Tripcomp two-piece luggage set to your cart. Originally priced at $199.99, you can now snag it for just $69.99. This set features a 14-inch carry-on and a 20-inch suitcase, both designed with a sleek hard shell exterior. According to the brand, this enhances durability, reduces weight, and helps endure rough handling during travel without significant damage. If that’s not enough, it’s also designed with multidirectional wheels for easy maneuverability in any direction. This makes navigating through the crowded airports a breeze without any effort needed.

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Whether you’re heading out for a quick trip or a longer adventure, this lightweight yet durable suitcase set makes it easy to get from one place to another. According to the brand, the handle is smooth and comfortable, so you can effortlessly roll your suitcase with ease wherever you go. You can get this luggage set in seven different colors: Black, Blue, Green, Light Blue, Olive Green, Orange, and Pink.

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Want free shipping on Walmart items? Join Walmart+ for free for the first 30 days. The membership includes free shipping and free delivery from your local store, free Paramount+ and so much more!

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Tripcomp Luggage Set 2-Piece Suitcase Set

If you’re still indecisive, check out the reviews. One Walmart customer said, “Needed a carry-on for a recent flight, and this set was perfect. Good storage capacity in the rolling case (including a zippered side and bungie straps), and the smaller case was perfect for holding all the little extras as a personal item. Color is also very nice.”

Another Walmart customer described this luggage set as “very light, easy to handle, and roomy.”

For more product recommendations, check out these travel-friendly Olay Face Cleansing Melts, the best makeup bags, and this CalPak Stevyn Duffel Bag to keep you organized.

Afrobeats to the World: 4 Best Moments at Afro Nation Detroit

Afro Nation Detroit 2024 was a two-day music festival that brought together top Afro artists across Afrobeats, hip-hop, R&B, dancehall, gqom, amapiano and more. Held in the birthplace of Motown and techno, Detroit proved to be the perfect location for this vibrant celebration.

The world’s largest Afrobeats festival took place Saturday to Sunday, Aug. 17-18, at Bedrock’s Douglass Site. This historic venue, formerly the Brewster-Douglass Projects, was the nation’s first federally funded housing project for African-Americans and the former home of legends like Diana Ross and Smokey Robinson.

Afro Nation Detroit showcased a wealth of performances from the Black diaspora, including Rema, Omah Lay, Ayra StarrKizz Daniel and Michigan native Kash Doll on the main stage. Meanwhile, artists like Uncle Waffles, Musa Keys, Scorpion Kings, DBN Gogo and others kept the party alive all weekend at the Piano People stage. To be honest, there were moments when the Piano stage was even more lit than the main Lit Everywhere stage.

The festival’s opening day faced a rocky start due to weather delays, but once the festivities began, the party didn’t stop until around midnight. DJ Marine kicked things off with an electrifying set, setting the tone for Charity, who brought main-stage energy. King Promise followed, illustrating why he’s the king, delivering a performance that turned the audience into a choir. Rema shut down the day with an unforgettable, fiery performance.

Day 2 saw a significant increase in turnout — if day 1 was full, day 2 was packedJuls and DJ Marine amped up the crowd upon entry, setting the stage for Ruger, who worked the audience with ease.

When Shenseea took the stage a few minutes later, the crowd erupted, as if they had been waiting their whole lives for this moment. She performed fresh tracks from her new album Never Gets Late Here, followed by Asake, who delivered an animated performance, quite literally bouncing off the walls.

Although Lil Wayne had to cancel due to bad weather in NYC, the festival was still an incredible experience.

Check out the four best main-stage moments.

Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club Making a Comeback in 2025 With Plans to Integrate Sports Betting

Jay-Z and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin hosted an invite-only pop-up of the reimagined 40/40 Club this past weekend at Fanatics Fest NYC.

The newest version of the mogul’s famed sports bar — expected to reopen some time in 2025 — will have the Fanatics Sportsbook integrated, allowing customers to place live bets as they’re inside watching games.

The 40/40 Club has been closed since August of 2023, but Memphis Bleek told TMZ that the sports bar is “coming back bigger, stronger than ever.” In a recent exclusive interview with Us Weekly, vice president of operations Sheldon Robinson confirmed a comeback, telling the outlet, “It’s always been the plan to open a new spot. Finding the right location that makes sense to the brand is key, and that takes some time. We’ve narrowed it down to our last few choices and now we’re in the negotiation phase.” Adding, “Hopefully by the end of this year we’ll have a lease signed and we can break ground. The idea is that we’ll have a club in 2025.”

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Robinson also revealed that Jigga has been very involved in the process and has been to meetings and checked out potential sites. “Jay definitely wants to keep it as part of his legacy,” he said. “It just shows, whether it’s a young entrepreneur or just people that work around him, that when you envision something or dream something, you can make it happen. He’s a living testament to that.”

And he promised that they plan on keeping some of the same things that made the club unique in the first place, just with an updated vision. “You’re going to feel like you’re walking into the club, a renewed version of it” Robinson explained. “Similar feel, similar texture. Seeing the cool jerseys walking down our Hall of Fame wall like we had on the second floor. Seeing the champagne tower above the main bar. The gigantic screens, as well. We’ll have all the same touches that people grew used to in the old club.”

He concluded the interview by saying, “It is all the reasons that Jay and his partners originally opened the club. They wanted to create an environment where guests have this sense of luxury, good service, good food, while watching their favorite sports team play, and also listening to their favorite artists. It’s combining sports and music… and we’re gonna remain consistent.”

Crybaby Reacts To Cyrax In ‘Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns’ Being A Black Woman, X Hilariously Reminds Him The Character Was Also A Black Man

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Cyrax Being A Black Woman In 'MK 1' Has One White Man Crying

Source: Warner Bros. Games/ NetherRealm Studios / Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns / Cyrax

Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns is the first major update coming to MK1, and some gamers are BIG MAD that two popular characters have been gender-swapped, and of them are Black.

In Mortal Kombat 1, thanks to the efforts of Fire God Lui Kang, the sacred timeline was reset, ushering in a new era of peace and making some changes to the characters we know from previous games.

In the latest trailer delivered by NetherRealm Studios, we see those specifically with the two popular cyber ninjas, Cyrax and Sektor.

The first trailer since the expansion’s announcement at San Diego Comic-Con follows Cyrax, one of the six new playable characters joining the already expansive roster of fighters.

This version of Cyrax is a Black woman. She is a young Lin Kuei warrior from the Zaki clan whose skills are second to none, earning her the honor of donning a cyber suit. She also has the honor of serving directly under Sektor, who has been gender-swapped this time.

Unlike Sektor, Cyrax serves Lin Kuei and her grandmaster, Sub-Zero, on her own terms, which doesn’t sit well with her mentor.

While giving us her backstory, the trailer also shows off Cyrax’s impressive moveset, fatality, and animality and should be received as just another trailer to get us excited for the Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reign’s expansion, right?

Wrong.

Of course, some folks are losing their sh*t at the fact that both Cyrax and Sektor are no longer men. One person in particular hopped on X, formerly Twitter, to complain about Cyrax showing her face and being Black.

This Is Not The First Time Cyrax Was Black

Hilariously, folks, we’re quick to remind him that another version of Cyrax took the mask off, revealing himself as a Black man GASP.

There is even a website calling the decision a “woke disaster” and alleging that the Montreal-based consultation studio Sweet Baby Inc. was behind the decision to change Cyrax and Sektor in Mortal Kombat 1.

These people seriously need to go outside and touch grass.

Social media has been clowning the folks who are mad about Cyrax and Sektor’s changes; you can see those reactions in the gallery below.

2. Exactly

3. Lol, bingo

Chappell Roan Opens Up About ‘Harassment’ From Fans: ‘That’s F—ing Weird’

If you think Chappell Roan will let you cross her boundaries, good luck babe.

The “Red Wine Supernova” singer took to TikTok on Monday (Aug. 19) to open up about “harassment” she’s been receiving from fans recently. “Just answer my questions for a second,” she says in the two-part clip. “If you saw a random woman on the street, would you yell at her from the car window? Would you harass her in public? Would you go up to a random lady and say, ‘Can I get a photo you with you?’ And she’s like, ‘No, what the f—?’ And then you get mad at this random lady? Would you be offended if she says no to your time because she has her own time? Would you stalk her family? Would you follow her around? Would you try to dissect her life and bully her online? This is a lady you don’t know, and she doesn’t know you at all.”

Calling herself a “random b—-,” Roan continued, “I don’t care that abuse and harassment, stalking, whatever, is a normal thing to do to people who are famous or a little famous. […] I don’t care that this crazy type of behavior comes along with the job, the career field I’ve chosen. That doesn’t make it OK. That doesn’t make it normal. That doesn’t mean I want it, doesn’t mean I like it. I don’t want whatever the f— you think you’re supposed to be entitled to whenever you see a celebrity.”

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She concluded that she doesn’t “give a fuck” if it’s “selfish” to decline photos or hugs. “That’s not normal. That’s weird. That’s f—ing weird.”

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Watch both videos here and here.

Roan has skyrocketed to fame in the months since she dropped her debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess last year. After a series of headline-making performances — including at Coachella and Gov Ball 2024 — the 14-track project earned a new peak of No. 5 on the Billboard 200 last month.

The singer previously shared her thoughts on the ups and downs of fame with Drew Afualo on the latter’s The Comment Section podcast last month. “People have started to be freaks — like, [they] follow me and know where my parents live, and where my sister works. All this weird s–t,” she explained.

She continued, “I’m just kind of in this battle … I’ve pumped the brakes on, honestly, anything to make me more known. It’s kind of a forest fire right now. I’m not trying to go do a bunch of s–t.”

However, Roan also shared the positives of her newfound fame, including recognition from her idols. “People who I’ve looked up to my entire life are like peers, which is sick,” she told Afualo, noting, “Miley [Cyrus] invited me to a party, and I was like, ‘You don’t know that you were my first concert when the Jonas Brothers were opening for you.’”

Former Congressional Scammer George Santos Plead Guilty To 23 Fraud Charges

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George Santos Pleads Guilty To 23 Felony Counts In U.S. District Court

Source: Michael M. Santiago / Getty

Geoge Santos, the CONman CONservative who CONNED his way into CONgress before he was expelled last year amid indictments on a then-growing number of federal fraud charges, is now expected to plead guilty to fraud charges in order to avoid a trial he doesn’t believe he can win due to how well-known he is. (I mean, it probably doesn’t help that he’s well-known for lying about his education, work history, charities he started and his race and ethnicity in order to take up space in the U.S. House.)

From the New York Times:

Mr. Santos arrived at federal court in Central Islip, N.Y., ahead of a 3 p.m. hearing where he is expected to enter a guilty plea and give a statement acknowledging the crimes he has agreed to plead to, according to two lawyers and two other people with knowledge of the case.

Pleading guilty would allow Mr. Santos to avoid a trial on nearly two dozen charges — including wire fraud, money laundering and stealing public funds — for which he was facing as many as 22 years in prison.

Santos was charged with a total of 23 federal counts of fraud-related activity, including charges he initially pleaded not guilty to such as allegations that he stole money from donors and lied to the government to cover it up. Santos’ trial was set to begin in a few weeks, but, on Friday, prosecutors asked presiding Judge Joanna Seybert to schedule a new pretrial meeting for Monday.

More from the Times:

Prosecutors painted Mr. Santos’s campaign as so desperate for cash that it turned to lying, cheating and stealing to finance its operations. But they also assert a pattern of self-dealing, which saw Mr. Santos repeatedly using his campaign account as a personal piggy bank.

Prosecutors said Mr. Santos used stolen credit card information from one donor to take $11,000 for his personal use. He convinced other donors to give money to what he said was a super PAC supporting his campaign. Instead, he used some of the money to buy designer clothing and pay his personal credit card bills.

On top of all that, Santos’ former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, previously admitted that she helped the Bernie Madoff of politics falsify a $500,000 loan to his campaign that never existed so he could qualify for financial and operational support from the Republican Party. Marks pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to defraud the United States in October and is now facing between three and four years in prison.

Donald Trump Cites AI Fakes To Falsely Claim Taylor Swift’s Endorsement

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Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump Holds Rally In York, Pennsylvania

Source: Tierney L. Cross / Getty

Donald Trump falsely claimed that Taylor Swift endorsed his presidential campaign online, sharing AI-generated images in the process.

On Sunday (Aug. 18), Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shared a post on his Truth Social network that he cited as an endorsement from Taylor Swift. The post contained four screenshots of young women wearing “Swifties for Trump” t-shirts in different styles, which was taken from a post on X, formerly Twitter. Another image showed Swift dressed up like the character of Uncle Sam with the text, “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump” emblazoned on it. “I accept!!” Trump wrote in the caption of his post. The pop superstar has not publicly endorsed any support for Trump, and it’s since been discovered that all of the images save for one were generated by artificial intelligence.

According to a report from WIRED magazine, the lone image is of a Trump supporter by the name of Jenna Piwowarczyk, who created the “Swifties For Trump” t-shirt, which she wore to his campaign rally in Racine, Wisconsin, in June. Piwowarczyk is selling other copies of the shirt on Etsy. The other images were traced back to Amuse, a conservative news account on X, formerly Twitter. The group cited the cancellation of Swift’s concert dates in Vienna, Austria, due to a thwarted terror attack attempt in their post. The post is labeled as satire.

Swift, who is currently performing at London’s Wembley Stadium during her Eras Tour run, hasn’t commented on the false postings. Stephen Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, said in an email that “Swifties for Trump is a massive movement that grows bigger every single day.” Swift publicly endorsed President Joe Biden in 2020, and blasted Trump after his “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” comment after George Floyd’s murder, condemning his “nerve to feign moral superiority” after “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency.”

This isn’t the first time that Trump has willingly shared AI-generated imagery online in his campaign against Harris. He also shared one image featuring Vice President Harris dressed in red, presumably speaking to a crowd of Maoists at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, but with the old Soviet Union flag bearing the hammer and sickle hanging up.

Chappell Roan Shares Thoughts on Her Rise to Fame | Billboard News

Chappell Roan’s sudden rise to fame has thrown her into a whirlwind. Keep watching to see what she has to say about her rapid rise to fame!

Tetris Kelly:

Chappell Roan has taken over the airwaves, with a Hot 100 Top 10 and an album approaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200. She sat down with SNL’s Bowen Yang, for Interview Magazine, to talk about what seems like her sudden rise to fame. 

When asked about sharing her struggles on stage, she said, “This is really weird and really hard. In the past, honestly, eight weeks, my entire life has changed. It’s been really emotional because I’m not just singing pop music, it’s automatically political because I’m gay.”

But it is one of the many reasons her fans love her. Over the weekend she gained a couple more famous fans. Folks on the internet discovered that both Ariana Grande and Rihanna followed Chappell on IG. They’re just the latest added to the list of her famous followers. Chappell also told Bowen how fortunate she is to be able to pick and choose which projects she is a part of since she’s so booked and busy now. 

She said “I’ve never been guaranteed money before. That’s the difference. I’ve always been a writer, but I didn’t start making money to pay my rent until last year.” Another perk of her hard earned success is the respect of others. She told Yang, “I’ve never given a fuck about the charts or being on the radio, but it’s so crazy how industry people are taking me more seriously than before. I’m like, ‘I’ve been doing this the whole time, bitch.”

No offense taken on the charts comment, we look forward to seeing Chappell continue to do what she’s done this whole time.

Amazon’s Popular Projector Can Connect to Your Streaming Stick & It’s on Sale for Under $100

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Projectors for the home have made it possible to watch everything from channels like ESPN to streaming platforms such as Prime Video without having to splurge on a new TV. Figuring out what to watch is already stressful enough, but Amazon’s limited-time home projector deal is making it possible to stream The Bachelorette and more without having to burn your savings on a flat screen TV.

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More than 10,000 shoppers have purchased the HAPPRUN Projector in the past month — and you can now a tech deal of 30% off. Reviewers have been praising the home projector for its ability to “give a movie theater experience” due to its “high quality” and “crisp” picture quality.

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The device has the ability to connect to your phone, soundbar and streaming device using Bluetooth and has a wireless remote that’ll let you change settings without having to get up from the couch.

Keep reading to learn more and shop the deal below.

Amazon

HAPPRUN Bluetooth Projector

$76.49

$109.99

30% off

Amazon is offering an additional 10% off deal when you clip the coupon before adding the projector to your cart, which will let you snag the device for just $77. The home projector lets you choose where you want your screen to be whether it’s your plain white wall or ceiling.

Shoppers raving over how “easy” the projector is to setup no matter if it’s to your smartphone or laptop. Just connect it through your internet, USB or HDMI cord for instant streaming. Thanks to its Bluetooth capabilities you can connect the projector to your speakers or headphones, or just use the built-in speakers for an even simpler setup. It’s versatile enough to use with wifi or attach the device to an HDMI cord to avoid losing network connection.

For more product recommendations, check out ShopBillboard‘s roundups of the best tablet deals, laptop deals and home projectors.

Sony Music Promotes Christoph Behm to CEO of Germany, Switzerland and Austria

Christoph Behm has been named the new CEO of Sony Music Germany, Switzerland and Austria (GSA), replacing Patrick Mushatsi-Kareba, who is exiting the company at the end of August. 

Berlin-based Behm, who began his career at Sony Music in 2011 and has worked in a number of senior roles for the label over the past decade, including head of streaming and director of digital sales, will report to Daniel Lieberberg, president of Sony Music Continental Europe and Africa. 

In a statement announcing Behm’s promotion, Lieberberg said the newly appointed CEO’s “deep understanding of our DSP partners and creativity as a leader will serve him well in his new role.”     

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“Christoph has played an important role building and expanding our business across this region during the streaming era,” said Lieberberg. “He has worked closely with our artists to bring their music to new fans in innovative ways and has embraced continuous industry change to create opportunity despite rapidly shifting paradigms and business models.” 

Sony Music did not provide any details about Mushatsi-Kareba’s departure from the company. The outgoing CEO has headed Sony Music’s operations in the GSA region since 2018 when he joined the label from Universal Music Germany. Prior to that, Mushatsi-Kareba spent eight years at Apple, where he was responsible for overseeing the tech company’s music business in multiple European markets, including Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland.

Although Sony Music GSA has enjoyed significant commercial success over the past six years, sources with inside knowledge of their relationship tell Billboard that Mushatsi-Kareba and Lieberberg did not always see eye to eye.

Prior to his promotion to CEO, Behm held the role of senior vp of Sony Music GSA’s commercial division, where he oversaw a large team, including the company’s family entertainment business. In the past two years, Behm’s responsibilities grew to also encompass oversight of catalog, sales and streaming departments in the region.

Top-selling frontline Sony artists in the GSA market include Apache 207, Nina Chuba, Rap Larue and Reezy

“It fills me with pride to now lead the company that I have served in various roles for so many years,” said Behm, who takes up the CEO post on Sept. 1, in a statement. “We are at another exciting time for our industry, and I look forward with great confidence to this next chapter for Sony Music GSA,” he added. 

Germany is the world’s fourth-biggest recorded music market in IFPI’s annual rankings behind the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom.