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Almost a year after the Central Park Five sued Donald Trump for defamation for his slander of the five men, a judge has ruled that Donald Trump must face them in a court of law after unsuccessfully trying to get the lawsuit dismissed.
According to Raw Story, U.S. District Court Judge Wendy Beetlestone declined Trump’s legal team motion to have the case dismissed and stated that the case will proceed as Donald Trump lied during his debate with Kamala Harris and claimed that the men killed someone and pleaded guilty even though they were exonerated of the crime decades later. Trying to clean up the mess he made for himself during the debate, Trump’s lawyers claimed that his lies were protected under the First Amendment’s free speech grounds, but Judge Beetlestone was having none of it and informed them to get ready for what comes next.
Per Raw Story:
In a 20-page ruling on Thursday, Beetlestone said the court did not agree that Trump’s words were statements of opinion.
“Defendant’s assertions—that Plaintiffs pleaded guilty and that Plaintiffs killed someone—can be ‘objectively determined’ to be false, so Defendant’s statement must be construed as one of fact, not opinion,” the judge wrote.
“For the reasons set forth above, Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss shall be denied as to Plaintiffs’ defamation claim,” the ruling added.
The judge, however, dismissed additional claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress without prejudice, “thus allowing Plaintiffs leave to amend their Complaint with respect to that theory and that claim.”
While we hope that the 34-count felon is held accountable for one of his most infamous lies, the fact that he’s now the president with the power of an obviously loyal and bias Department Of Justice behind him, we’re not sure things will pan out as they should in a normal democracy.
What do y’all think about Trump’s latest legal setback? Will justice be served, or will it be rigged in his favor in some way, shape or form? Let us know in the comments section below.
Earlier this week, the soundtrack for Ryan Coogler’s highly anticipated thriller Sinners was announced — with one gap in the tracklist that simply said, “coming soon.” Now, Billboard can exclusively announce that the slot will be filled with an original song titled “Dangerous” by star of the film Hailee Steinfeld, whose contribution to the album marks her first music release in two years.
Arriving April 18 along with the rest of the Sinners soundtrack — which drops the same day the movie premieres in theaters — “Dangerous” finds the Academy Award nominee singing over a tribal drum beat and eerie production that blends in with Ludwig Göransson’s genre-bending, Delta-blues-infusing score for the film. Of penning the tension-filled lyrics with the composer and cowriter Sarah Aarons, Steinfeld tells Billboard, “We were all so tuned into the vision, and because I was both inside the story as an actor, and helping shape it through music, it created this really fluid creative loop.”
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“Blending music and acting like this feels like the fullest expression of who I am,” she continues. “It’s rare to have a project that lets you show up completely — and Sinners gave me that.”
Also starring Michael B. Jordan as twins Smoke and Stack who return to their hometown post-WWI to find that a great evil is waiting for them there, Sinners features the Edge of Seventeen actress as Mary, a married woman who has “unfinished business” with the latter brother. In addition to “Dangerous,” the film’s soundtrack features contributions from Rod Wave, James Blake, Don Toliver, Lars Ulrich, Brittany Howard and more stars.
“Lyrically, I wanted to tap into Mary’s deep desire to be with Stack and (maybe selfishly) not always acknowledging what a dangerous position that puts them in,” Steinfeld says of “Dangerous,” a snippet of which Billboard is premiering below. “That sort of unrequited love. There’s a vulnerability in these characters that I really connected with, and I wanted my voice to reflect that.”
Steinfeld last released music two years ago, dropping “SunKissing” and “Coast” featuring Anderson .Paak in April 2023. “Dangerous” also comes a full decade after the Pitch Perfect 2 star made her musical debut in 2015 with “Love Myself,” which reached No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100, after which she shared EP HAIZ later that year.
The singer-actress has also worked on the soundtracks for a number of her past screen projects, including “Afterlife” for Dickinson and “Back to Life” from Bumblebee.
“Two years might not seem long, but for me, it turned out to be the exact amount of time I needed — to grow, live a little, and step back to reconnect with why I make music in the first place,” says Steinfeld, who got engaged to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen in November, of returning to music after her break. “I didn’t want to come back just to fill space. I wanted it to mean something.”
“There was something so raw and emotional about Sinners that pushed me creatively and personally,” she adds. “The music became an extension of that. It felt honest and it felt like me again. I wouldn’t call this a comeback — it’s about returning to the truth, and I’m so grateful to Ryan and Sinners for giving me the opportunity to do that.”
Sinners hits theaters April 18. Check out a snippet of Steinfeld’s “Dangerous” for the soundtrack below.
04/11/2025
These are all officially-licensed products, including pieces inspired by her album cover and by merch sold at her concerts.
04/11/2025
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04/10/2025
From boho-inspired platforms to flats with flourish, the singer’s latest offerings will have you feeling like a firework.
04/10/2025
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. Season three of The White Lotus has come and gone and one of the breakout stars of the show this year […]
The Elton John AIDS Foundation is making sure that the world knows what a recent action from Russia means for the those living with HIV and AIDS in the country.
In a statement released April 3, the prosecutor general’s office of the Russian federation banned both the British and U.S-registered foundations of the EJAF from offering its services in Russia, designating the non-profit as an “undesirable” organization — a classification that would allow the state to prosecute and potentially jail individuals affiliated with the charity if they continue working in Russia.
In response to the government’s ban, the EJAF shared a statement with Billboard, saying that it were “devastated” to learn of its new label under Russian law. “This decision by the Russian Federation will undoubtedly endanger lives and disrupt critical HIV prevention efforts for ordinary Russian citizens,” the statement reads. “At a time when we have the tools and knowledge to defeat HIV, it is heartbreaking to be unable to support them.”
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The organization pointed out in its statement that, according to the Russian government’s own reporting, more than 1.2 million people were living with HIV in the country as recently in 2024, with nearly half a million of those individuals not receiving proper treatment. “For more than two decades, we have worked in collaboration with federal and non-governmental partners in Russia to provide hundreds of thousands of people with vital HIV services, including testing, treatment and care,” the EJAF tells Billboard. “Despite this setback, we will continue our work across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where the Foundation is the largest philanthropic HIV/AIDS funder.”
The prosecutor general’s office of Russia cited the EJAF’s support of LGBTQ+ rights, including “non-traditional sexual relationships, Western family models, and gender reassignment,” as well as the organization’s “negative attitudes” toward countries promoting “traditional spiritual and moral values,” as primary factors in its decision to deem the group “undesirable.”
“When a musician plays along with those trying to sow the seeds of democracy, it is propaganda,” the statement (translated from Russian) read. “And when it’s Elton John calling the tune, then it’s more than just anti-Russian propaganda, too.”
This is far from the first time that John has expressed his concern regarding Russia’s treatment of the LGBTQ+ community. In 2019, he penned an open letter to Russian president Vladimir Putin criticizing the leader’s “hypocrisy” in saying he cared for LGBTQ+ people while also promoting anti-LGBTQ+ policies.
“I find duplicity in your comment that you want LGBT people to ‘be happy’ and that ‘we have no problem in that.’ Yet Russian distributors chose to heavily censor my film Rocketman by removing all references to my finding true happiness through my 25 year relationship with David and the raising of my two beautiful sons,” he wrote at the time. “I am proud to live in a part of the world where our governments have evolved to recognise the universal human right to love whoever we want.”
Read the EJAF’s full statement to Billboard about Russia’s ban below:
Thirty years ago, HIV began by affecting a community that no one wanted to support. We failed that group then, and as a result, HIV continued its destructive path across the globe, eventually infecting more than 80 million people worldwide. What began as a disease outbreak grew into a global pandemic.
As one of the leading HIV/AIDS organizations in the world, we recognize that the compassionate and effective way to fight HIV is by acknowledging our common humanity and providing funding where it is needed, regardless of gender, race, sexuality, or faith. This is why the Foundation’s mission is to leave no one behind.
We are devastated by the decision of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation, which will prevent the Foundation from providing lifesaving care to people living with HIV in Russia.
For more than two decades, we have worked in collaboration with federal and non-governmental partners in Russia to provide hundreds of thousands of people with vital HIV services, including testing, treatment and care. This work is urgent: In 2024, there were over 1.2 million people living with HIV in Russia, with over 430,000 not receiving treatment.
This decision by the Russian Federation will undoubtedly endanger lives and disrupt critical HIV prevention efforts for ordinary Russian citizens. At a time when we have the tools and knowledge to defeat HIV, it is heartbreaking to be unable to support them.
Despite this setback, we will continue our work across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where the Foundation is the largest philanthropic HIV/AIDS funder.
Here’s what you missed on Glee: Lea Michele and Dianna Agron had a mini cast reunion to support Darren Criss amid his Broadway stint in the musical Maybe Happy Ending, with both actresses sharing adorable pictures and gushing about the experience on Instagram afterward. After catching one of the former Warbler’s performances at Bellasco Theater […]
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.
The vinyl revival symbolized by Record Store Day has been great for vinyl — but it hasn’t done much for audio. When LPs were the most popular way to listen to music, serious fans played them on record players hooked up to stereos. These days, to judge by the popularity of inexpensive, self-contained record players with built-in speakers, many people listen to vinyl that cost up to $50 on turntables that cost less than $100 — and sound like it.
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That’s a fine way to discover vinyl. But if you want to get the best sound out of your records, you’ll need a proper stereo system — separate components such as a turntable and a CD player (if you’re into that), plus an amplifier they connect to and speakers that it can drive. A quality system gets expensive — a truly great turntable costs $1,000 or more, as do speakers and amps. And that’s not even at the high end.
A proper stereo doesn’t need to be expensive, though. For $1,000, you can buy one that will blow away a self-contained turntable. It’s also possible to build one for $1,000. About $1,500 to $2,000 is where things get interesting though. For that amount of money, you can choose among some quality turntables, and add nice amplifiers and great speakers that suit the kind of music you like. Add a little more, to get to about $2,000, and you can upgrade to add a better turntable cartridge or pre-amp, or add even a CD player or digital-to-analog converter.
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Even the most basic components system will represent a serious improvement over self-contained turntables, which generally don’t perform well even as turntables — the cheaper needles can cause distortion and sometimes even wear on records, let alone as amplifiers and speakers. A proper turntable will better reproduce the sound in the grooves of records, and quality amplifiers and speakers will present it more accurately. Some of this is a matter of taste — different combinations of amps and speakers sound better with different music, and to different ears. But serious sound starts with a system that might look like this.
If you love vinyl, start with a solid turntable. There are two main kinds of models: direct drive, where a motor turns the platter directly, and belt drive, where — you guessed it — the motor moves a belt that in turn moves the platter. The first can start and stop faster — which is why DJs use them — and they are often more durable. But the latter sound better because the platter is isolated from the motor’s vibrations. (Much of home audio performance essentially comes down to reducing vibrations and electrical interference — admittedly rather nerdy obsessions, but they dramatically affect the music you hear.)
The Best Turntables
If you want a direct drive turntable, try the $500 Audio-Technica AT-LP5X. It sounds great, it looks great and it comes with a counterweight to prevent the needle from wearing out your record too fast. As far as direct drive models go, it handles vibrations pretty well, too. It should last as well.
Audio-Technica AT-LP5X Turntable
If you want the best sound, though, go for a belt drive turntable like the $600 Rega Planar 1. Rega Planar turntables are reliably great, even this entry-level baby of the bunch. (I had a Rega Planar 3 for years, and I moved up from there to a Rega Planar 8.) Rega’s turntables are studies in vibration reduction, and this one comes with a mounted MM cartridge, which saves time and hassle. (There are two main kinds of cartridges for turntables — Moving Magnet and Moving Coil. The latter offers better sound and more flexibility with setup, but it’s not worth thinking about until you start looking at turntables that cost more than $2,000 – and maybe not even then.) You also have the option of upgrading it with a better cartridge.
Rega Planar 1 Turntable
The Best Amplifiers
A proper turntable needs a phono pre-amp, to bring its signal up to “line level,” equal to the output of a CD player or any other component. At this level, you don’t need a separate one. When you do, start with the NAD PP 2e Phono Preamplifier.
NAD PP 2e Phono Preamplifier
Until then, I’d sooner trust a phono preamp that’s built into an integrated amplifier than one that’s in a turntable itself. Partly for that reason, the amp I’d recommend at this level is the $500 NAD C 316BEE, which includes one. It’s one of the best entry-level integrated amplifiers available. It has dedicated inputs for a turntable, a CD player, a tuner and video, plus an extra. (If you want to use a phono preamp, plug the turntable into that and that into another input — not the phono input.) Its clean design looks great, too.
NAD C 316BEE Integrated Amplifier with Phono
The Best Speakers
Speakers — amps, too — are a matter of personal taste. It’s easier to evaluate turntable motors or CD player digital-to-analog conversion systems, but various combinations of amplifiers and speakers differ in how they present sound in ways that are much harder to describe, let alone judge. If you can, test them. Listen for soundstage (a sense of dimensionality), presence, clarity of detail, and clear bass, treble and midrange. Think of what kind of music you listen to most: A system that booms with the heavy bass of EDM might not have the detail demanded by jazz, which is a fancy way of saying your mileage may vary.
I can recommend two sets of speakers, though. The $500 Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M II have big horns, and thus crisp sound. As reference speakers, they are optimized for accuracy, not sweetness. For the same price, the KEF Q350 speakers also offer impressive accuracy and bass for the size and price. (At this level, you don’t need tower speakers; it may make more sense to invest in stands to stabilize these. For $700, you can get KEF Q550 floor-standing speakers, which have more bass and presence, but at that point you might want to upgrade other parts of the system as well.)
klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M II Ebony Bookshelf Speakers
KEF Q350 Bookshelf Speakers
KEF Q550 Floorstanding Speaker
The Best CD Player
That’s $1,600 spent so far. Depending on what your music collection looks like, you may want a CD player. I know what you’re thinking — dad! — but CDs often offer higher fidelity than streaming services and most downloads. Any CD player will sound OK — they just differ less than turntables — but for a relatively low amount of money, this $400 NAD C 538 CD Player, which includes the high-quality Wolfson digital-to-analog converter, will sound great and look nice with the NAD receiver. I’ve had this myself for more than a decade, and it’s dependable, and it sounds and looks great. That brings the total to an even $2,000.
NAD C 538 CD Player
The Best Accessories
At this level, most components come with wires that connect to an amplifier, so the only other thing you’ll need to buy is speaker wire. The basic kind is fine. (Specifically, Amazon Basics is fine.) At some point, you may want to buy better wire — or even try to understand the dizzying debate on how much it matters — but give that some time. This is a good way to start. But be warned: You may enjoy better sound so much that you want to upgrade.
Amazon Basics 14 gauge Audio Speaker Wire Cable
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.
Fans from all around the world can tune in to a Mary J. Blige concert as part of the R&B singer’s For My Fans tour, slated for Thursday (April 10).
The concert event livestreams from Madison Square Garden in New York City at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Veeps.
Read on for details on how to stream on Veeps.
How to Watch Mary J. Blige: Live From Madison Square Garden
Veeps subscribers can stream Mary J. Blige for $24.99. If you’re not subscribed, you can sign up for $5.99 per month, or $60 per year. Veeps has a free subscription tier, while you can still purchase access to the livestream feed for the concert with a free subscription.
Owned by Live Nation Entertainment, Veeps All Access features hundreds of livestream concerts, a catalog of past shows, exclusive bonus interviews, discounts and other benefits. Learn more about Veeps All Access here.
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Courtesy of Veeps
Mary J. Blige: Live From Madison Square Garden
April 10 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
Want to attend the Mary J. Blige concert in person? There are still last-minute tickets available via Vivid Seats (get $20 off purchases of $200 and over with code BB30), StubHub and GameTime (score $20 off ticket orders of $150 and over with code SAVE20). Prices vary depending on the city and seats available.
Moreover, you can get $150 off when you spend $500 with promo code BILLBOARD150, or $300 off when you spend $1,000 with promo code BILLBOARD300 at TicketNetwork.com.
Meanwhile, those who want to watch internationally can access the streaming service with a VPN, such as ExpressVPN or NordVPN.
The Mary J. Blige: Live From Madison Square Garden livestreams from New York City with a start time of 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. You can watch the entire event live for $24.99 on Veeps All Access.
Want more? For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Xbox deals, studio headphones and Nintendo Switch accessories.