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Amazon was thought to be one of the major companies aligned with the policies and practices of President Donald Trump. However, the major online retailer is now in the crosshairs of the White House after Amazon decided to highlight new pricing plans based on Trump tariffs, which angered White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Punchbowl News first broke the news that Amazon is going ahead with a plan to show tariff pricing on a portion of items sold on its platform, as it was largely expected that prices would rise under Trump’s economic plan. Experts have long warned that tariffs, which are a normal part of global trade, eventually pass on costs to consumers.
Leavitt framed the pricing listing as “a hostile and political act” and then questioned why company leadership never listed the pricing jump in previous years.
“Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” Leavitt said during a press briefing with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. According to the report, Amazon will share how much the tariffs will add to the cost of the items. However, it isn’t meant to be used across the entire site.
While remaining on the attack, Leavitt cited a Reuters article that said the company Jeff Bezos founded had “partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm,” doing so while holding up a printed page of the article referenced that was first published in December 2021. The Reuters report pointed out that Amazon removed public reviews and ratings from President Xi Jinping’s book of speeches.
On X, many are reacting to Amazon’s tariff price listing announcement, noting that the company is already releasing statements countering the original slate of reports that pricing would be shown on all goods affected by tariffs. Those responses can be viewed below.
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Photo: MANDEL NGAN / Getty
All three of the Carter girls made their Cowboy Carter Tour debuts Monday night (April 28), with Blue Ivy and Rumi both joining Beyoncé on stage for an emotional performance of “Protector” during the trek’s opening night at SoFi Stadium.
In clips taken by fans in Inglewood, Calif., both of the superstar’s daughters accompany her about a third of the way through the show for the tear-jerking Cowboy Carter ballad about motherhood, which samples Rumi’s voice in the recording. As the 7-year-old sits next to Bey on a set of stairs flanked by backup dancers, 13-year-old Blue crouches behind them, wrapping her arms around both her younger sister and their mom.
“Born to be your protector,” Bey sings before standing up, taking Rumi’s hand and walking with her downstage. “Even though I know someday you’re gonna shine on your own, I will be your projector.”
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At one point, the little girl turns around and gives her mom a big hug, at which point Bey can’t help but stop singing and giggle. “Give it up for Rumi, y’all!” the Destiny’s Child alum then says proudly as the crowd cheers, while Rumi excitedly waves.
Though Monday’s kickoff marked Rumi’s first time ever joining her mom on stage, Blue has long been working with her mom as a backup dancer. The teenager first started dancing on Bey’s Renaissance Tour in 2023, and on Christmas Day 2024, Blue was on the field with the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer for the star’s NFL Halftime Show.
Blue also had a couple shining moments to herself during the Cowboy Carter show, showing off synchronized choreography with her mom during “America Has a Problem.” She also had her own dance solo set to Bey’s “Deja Vu,” commanding a line of other dancers in a brown leathery fit as fans went wild.
Performing tracks from past albums as well as a bulk of the songs from her Grammy-winning, Billboard 200-topping album Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé kicked off about three months of touring with her show at SoFi. The vocalist will stay at the stadium for four more nights before embarking on a run of performances across the United States and Europe this summer.
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Source: Anthony Steverson/The Apollo / Anthony Steverson/The Apollo
On Saturday (April 26), Lyricist Lounge, the vaunted rap showcase from the ’90s—hosted one of its legendary shows at the world-famous Apollo Theater—headlined by Ghostface Killah. As per the name, Lyricist Lounge set it off in Harlem with some good ole-fashioned emceeing, deft wordplay and cool freestyling. All of that.
As a ‘70s baby, I’m not new to this thing called Hip-Hop. It’s in my bones; my heart beats that ole boom-bap, and just so you know, my first gig in journalism was at The Source when it was still the Bible of Hip-Hop (and yes, I was at that infamous ‘95 Source Awards when Suge Knight kicked a hornet’s nest, André 3000 snapped back at the crowd, and, according to Questlove, the underground died—an amazing show by the way). In short, I am a Hip-Hop concert connoisseur.
Decades in, I still (mostly) love H.E.R. (not the singer, but Hip-Hop.) And so, when I had the chance to see a few folks from my favorite crew (Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang), in my neighborhood no less, I was all in.
The brainchild of Danny Castro and Ant Marshall, Lyricist Lounge is one of those New York Hip-Hop institutions like The Stretch and Bobbito Show, Video Music Box or real-time Funk Flex on the wheels of steel. Throughout the night Marshall and Castro took to the stage to introduce the lineup and noted that they will “finally” be putting out a documentary about the legendary showcase, created in 1991. They also said that night’s show would be one of the last in the old Apollo, which is apparently being renovated. According to Time Out NY, the new fixings include “restored seating, updates to the iconic marquee, upgrades to backstage areas, and an expanded lobby with a cafe and bar.”
Source: Anthony Steverson/The Apollo / Anthony Steverson/The Apollo
And onto the show. First and foremost the system in the Apollo was booming. As an ole head, this is revolutionary. I can’t count the number of Hip-Hop shows where the sound system was annoyingly garbled and distorted. Yet on Saturday, the top dawg of the Theodore Unit took to the Apollo Stage with his fellow Wu brethren—Cappadonna, Inspectah Deck—and a slew of MCs who take that moniker seriously: Math Hoffa, Grafh, Kyah Baby and Noah-O.
They tore the place up proper like.
I’mma start with the femcee, Kyah Baby, straight outta Queens. Homegirl had a masterful command of the stage, and lyrics, too. As everyone knows, the Apollo/New York crowd can be rough if not apathetic, but Kyah rose to the occasion. One of her songs was about her father being incarcerated, and she exhorted the crowd to put two fingers up if they knew anyone in the belly of it. Soon, she had the crowd rocking over some hard beats.
Math Hoffa kicked a fierce freestyle when the system went bad (what can you say, it’s Hip-Hop), and then, as older Black folk tend to do, got kinda churchy…not my cup of tea unless it’s Sunday Service, but whatever. Grafh did his thing, but was conspicuously booed throughout his set, which he deftly ignored (what was that all about?) We also got some nice rhymes from Noah O from Richmond, Va., and Shooter from Harlem came through with that slick uptown gangsta ilk. Weather Park, Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s son, did a rendition of “Brooklyn Zoo.”
And then the real show began. Introducing Ghostface Killlaaaaaaahhhhhh!
Thirty-odd years in, Ghost knows how to rock a crowd—and not just because he got hits. Starks came through with a hoodie and red leather pants—light work for a man known for outrageous furs and thick bathrobes flanked by gold ropes. His presence? Pure Wu magic: Voice command, breath technique, literally moving the crowd. I am a Hip-Hop concert fanatic; I have probably seen Wu-Tang seven or eight times through the years, and this intimate Apollo show was just as special.
Back story: My spine-tinglin’ love affair with the Wu began with a raved about 12-inch, “Protect Your Neck” (B-side “Method Man”), and was cemented with Enter The Wu-Tan: 36 Chambers, which I played incessantly on my yellow Sony Walkman. It lives to this day. See, the appeal of Wu-Tang (RZA, GZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, U-God, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa and Ol’ Dirty Bastard) is that not only are they top notch MCs who have taken the genre and smacked it up, flipped it and rubbed it down in their own likeness, it is the sheer mastery, elevation and adoration of the art form that deserves a salute. And it stay fonky. The beauty—the enigma—of Wu-Tang is that they exist as a paradox, seeming opposites that go well together, like Rae and Ghost on a track.
Okay, for one: Wu is some singing-warbling ass R&B/soul n*ggas till the end, but they also appeal to that hardcore ish. And in true form, Ghost serenaded the Apollo crowd with classics like “I’m Dreaming” by Christopher Williams cut up by his DJ Scram Jones (Ghost: “this on some mixtape sh*t”); “Outstanding” by the Gap Band, you know, some “slow dragging” music, and even the theme from “Cheers” (and he was really checking if the crowd knew the words), and yet, the Wu is so thugged out they’re a little intimidating (especially back in the day.)
Finally, Wu is crossover AF (how many white guys have a Wu tattoo?). But they are like the Blackest ever—their very love of Blackness, calling the Blackman God, keeping a foot in the dirt, but have penned and rapped some of the most intimate, vulnerable stories ever put on disc (“All I Need” and “All That I Got Is You”—both duets with Mary J. Blige). It’s that whimsical wordplay and creativity. Oh, and they ride that f*ckin’ beat like Beyoncé on a magical silver horse. They are indeed special. No one else could pull it off.
And so Ghost and Deck and Cappadonna ran through quite a few Wu joints, each of them taking their fellow members’ parts/lyrics. When Dek and Ghost both did RZA’s intro on “Wu‐Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit” I was geeked! Of course, Cappadona dropped bars. And then Ghost had the crowd in the aisles rocking to sundry hits from the years, from the squad— “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” by ODB; “Da Mystery of Chessboxin’”; “Ice Cream”; himself—“Cherchez LaGhost,” and “Apollo Kids” (how apropos) or mixes and snippets like his verse from “Freek’n You” (remix) by Jodeci, a foreverrrrrrr bop.
Also, lyrics for days. There was a moment during the show when he took a few moments to thank the crowd for its support over all these years. “N*gga we brothers, we cousins, all that shit—I’mma f*cking godfather to your f*ckin’ children,” said Pretty Toney. Ghost looked good. In all the ways. My Wu-Gambino booskis did it up, as per usual, and I’m so glad I got to experience it at a legendary Harlem venue, with Lyricist Lounge, a Hip-Hop institution.
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Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz
50 Cent’s dislike for Big Meech is still at an all-time high. The rapper trolled him once again with snitching allegations.
As reported by HipHopDX, 50 Cent keeps some petty ready. Last week, he went back to Instagram and posted a video that showed a rat trying to get a piece of cheese out of a trap with a snap mechanism. It seems this is not the first time the tiny animal has encountered the device as the rodent carefully inspects it before proceeding and getting the cheese unscathed. “New footage of Big Meech, slick Rat you know the vibes!” 50 Cent wrote in the caption.
While Big Meech and 50 Cent once had a professional relationship because of the BMF series; things went sour between the two when Meech was released from prison in October 2024. The former crime boss partnered with Rick Ross for his homecoming party, which Fif perceived as disloyal. From there the “I Get Money” rapper unleashed a series of social media posts calling Meech a snitch and revealed that his son Demetrius Flenory Jr. has a drug problem and would often show up intoxicated to the television set.
Back in February Big Meech finally addressed the accusations in a short video. “I wasn’t going to address this, because I’m not trying to let nobody trick me off the streets,” he said. “But I never folded, never told, never will. Death before dishonor, always, with me. So I’m doing this for my loved ones and the support of my friends and family.” You can see him defend his name below.
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Source: John Shearer / Getty
50 Cent is back at it, this time taking shots at Beyoncé over rumors that her recent show at SoFi Stadium in L.A. had thousands of empty seats just hours before it started.
TMZ was the first to drop the news, claiming the Queen’s opening night still had plenty of tickets up for grabs, which had some folks side-eyeing the situation. Never one to miss a moment to troll, 50 hopped on Instagram, posted a screenshot of the headline, and threw shade with the caption, “Shit getting real out here, hey the tickets ain’t selling?”
Beyoncé ain’t said a word back yet, but fans were quick to remind folks who she is. Her last tour, the *Renaissance World Tour* in 2023, was a straight-up flex, pulling in over $579 million worldwide. That made it the highest-grossing tour ever by a female artist. She sold out stadiums across the globe, shut down cities, and had fans going wild for the visuals, fashion, and energy. It wasn’t just a concert, it was a whole movement.
50’s comment adds fuel to the fire in his ongoing back-and-forth with JAY-Z, who he’s been clowning for years. This time, he’s going at the Carter household from a different angle, but it’s still the same troll energy. Whether those ticket sale rumors hold any weight or not, one thing’s for sure, Beyoncé’s not new to this, she’s true to this. A couple of empty seats ain’t about to shake her throne.
Cardi B has never been one to pull punches when it comes to her love life. And on Sunday (April 27) the “Bongos” rapper took to Twitter Spaces to lay it all out about the new man she said is rocking her world. While Cardi did not name names, she did give the gentleman props […]
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Source: Piaras Ó Mídheach / Getty
On Sunday night (April 27), 60 Minutes was coming to a close with its “Last Minute” segment. Host and correspondent Scott Pelley began, “A note on Bill Owens, the executive producer of 60 Minutes and until last week, our boss.” Owens resigned in a memo to the staff last week, citing a lack of journalistic freedom as the show’s parent company Paramount is cozying up to President Donald Trump while attempting a high-profile corporate merger.
As a montage of photos of Owens played, Pelley spoke about how much Owens’ presence and work was valued by the staff and correspondents at 60 Minutes before calling out Paramount. “Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways. None of our stories has been blocked, but Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires,” Pelley said. “No one here is happy about it.”Owens’ decision to leave 60 Minutes as just the third producer in the 60-year history due to not being able “to make independent decisions based on what was right for ’60 Minutes,’ right for the audience” in the wake of Paramount Global attempting to placate Trump as he sued CBS News last November claiming that the news program tried to influence voters by airing two different edits of Vice President Kamala Harris’ remarks on the show. In January, CBS put in a new layer of editorial supervision presumably to vet standards. That and other changes prompted Owens’ decision to resign. “Bill resigned on Tuesday. It was hard on him and it was hard on us,” Pelley said. “But he did it for us.”The move by Pelley reflects the mood of others working on 60 Minutes. Correspondent Lesley Stahl voiced her displeasure last week in an interview with Variety. “I have been made aware of interference in our news processes, and calling into question our judgement,” she said, adding: “That is not the way that companies that own news organizations should be acting.” Pelley has spoken out against CBS’ mismanagement before, alleging that he was removed from their evening news coverage due to questioning the workplace culture of the newsroom. It also falls in line with MSNBC anchors such as Rachel Maddow and Nicole Wallace to publicly question the network’s attempt at hiring former Republican Party chair Ronna McDaniel as an analyst.
At age 26, Laufey has already reached the pinnacle of her industry. Now, she’s looking to help other young musicians realize their dreams, too.
On Tuesday (April 29), the Grammy-winning artist, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist announced the launch of The Laufey Foundation, which will strive to make music education, specifically youth orchestra programs, accessible to young people from all different backgrounds. Laufey got her start in youth orchestra programs before receiving a Presidential Scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music.
“The support and scholarships I received as a child have directly led to the career I have now,” Laufey said in a statement. “It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to provide the next generation with the same support and opportunities. I can’t wait to connect with the young musician community!”
The foundation will award inaugural grants to the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, LA Phil’s YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) program, The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and two of Carnegie Hall’s national youth ensembles (NYO2 and NYO Jazz). It plans to extend grants to additional orchestras globally in the years to come.
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Along with Laufey’s personal contribution to the foundation’s launch, AWAL, AEG Presents, and Steinway & Sons were announced as founding partners, while Warner Chappell, Catbird, and Gibson have come aboard as benefactor partners. Laufey will also donate a portion of the proceeds of every Mei Mei the Bunny plushie sold to the foundation.
This isn’t Laufey’s first charitable endeavor. Last year, she founded the Laufey Scholarship for Graduate Students at Syracuse University’s Bandier Music Business Master’s Program, which will provide $100,000 to international students in need of financial aid over the next 10 years. Earlier this year, she also donated to several organizations — including World Central Kitchen, Pasadena Humane Society, Altadena Girls and L.A. Regional Food Bank — that supported Los Angeles residents in the aftermath of the L.A. wildfires.
Donald Trump hosted the 2025 Super Bowl LIX champs the Philadelphia Eagles at the White House on Monday (April 28), where he took the opportunity to once again lash out at Taylor Swift. The President took his latest swipe at the pop star during the visit when he lauded the Eagles for their commanding 40-22 win in February over the Kansas City Chiefs.
“It was an incredible game. A little surprising, but right from the beginning of the first quarter of the big game, which I was there I watched in person,” said Trump before adding a diss aimed at the billionaire pop superstar who is, of course, dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. “I was there along with Taylor Swift, how did that work out? How did that one work out?”
Trump, the first sitting President to attend the NFL championship game, has made a habit of lashing out at world-beating pop star, including on the night of the Super Bowl, when he wrote, “The only one who had a tougher night than the Kansas City Chiefs was Taylor Swift. She got BOOED out of the Stadium. MAGA is very unforgiving.”
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While Swift was met with some audible boos from the crowd when she was shown on the jumbotron that night, Trump’s latest comments come on the eve of the 100-day mark of his second term in office at a time when, according to a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll 45% of those polled gave him an “F” for how he’s handled things so far, compared to just 23% giving him an “A.”
Trump’s overall approval rating is 42%, which stands as the second-worst approval rating for any president at the 100-day mark in the past 80 years, bested only by the 41% lodged by Trump during his first term; in a different Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll, his approval rating was ahistoricallylow 39%. And while Trump promised to fix the economy on day one and lower the nation’s debt by slashing government agencies, his onerous across-the-board tariffs and DOGE-led mass firings have resulted in a 39% approval rating to date on his handling of the economy, a new low for Trump.
As is his wont, Trump lashed out in all-caps at the dismal poll numbers, decrying them as “FAKE POLLS FROM FAKE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS” and saying that they should be “investigated for ELECTION FRAUD!”
The White House visit is a tradition for some championship teams, but a number of prominent players skipped Monday’s event, including QB Jalen Hurts, as well as star players A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Brandon Graham and six others; the Eagles turned down a visit to the White House after winning their first Super Bowl in 2018 during Trump’s first term.
BeatStars has partnered with Sureel, an AI music detection and attribution company, to provide its creators with the ability to express their desire to “opt out” of their works being used in AI training.
To date, AI music companies in the United States are not required to honor opt-outs, but through this partnership, Sureel and Beatstars, the world’s largest music marketplace, hope to create clarity for AI music companies that are wishing to avoid legal and reputational risks and create a digital ledger to keep track of beatmakers’ wishes regarding AI training.
Here’s how it works: Beatstars will send formal opt-out notices for every music asset and artist on its platform, and all of the creators’ choices will be documented on a portal that any AI company can access. By default, all tracks will be marked as shielded from AI training unless permission is granted. Companies can also access creators’ wishes using Sureel’s API. It will also automatically communicate the creators’ desires via a robots.txt file, which is a way to block AI companies that are crawling the web for new training data.
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As the U.S. — and countries around the world — continue to debate how to properly regulate issues related to AI, start-ups in the private sector, like Sureel, are trying to find faster solutions, including tools for opting in and out of AI training, detection technology to flag and verify AI generated works, and more.
“This partnership is an extension of our longstanding commitment to put creators first,” said Abe Batshon, CEO of BeatStars, in a statement. “We recognize that some AI companies might not respect intellectual property, so we are taking definitive action to ensure our community’s work remains protected and valued. Ethical AI is the future, and we’re leading the charge in making sure creators are not left behind.”
“BeatStars isn’t just a marketplace — it’s one of the most important creator communities in the world,” added Dr. Tamay Aykut, founder/CEO of Sureel. “They’ve built their platform around trust, transparency, and putting artists in control. That’s exactly the type of environment where our technology belongs. This partnership proves you can scale innovation and ethics together — and shows the rest of the industry what responsible AI collaboration looks like.”
