State Champ Radio Current Events
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Source: Variety / Getty
Atlanta rapper Silentó has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the aggravated manslaughter of his cousin, Frederick Rooks III, and other charges related to the 2021 shooting.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced in a news release on Wednesday that Silentó, born Ricky Lamar Hawk, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to charges of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and concealing the death of another. According to the Associated Press, a murder charge was dropped as part of a plea agreement.
For those who are unfamiliar with the downfall of the “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” artist and the violent death of his cousin, here’s a quick rundown as reported by AP:
DeKalb County police found Frederick Rooks III shot in the leg and face in the early morning hours of Jan. 21, 2021 outside a home in a suburban area near Decatur. Police said they found 10 bullet casings near Rooks’ body, and security video from a nearby home showed a white BMW SUV speeding away shortly after the gunshots.
A family member of Rooks told police that Silentó had picked up Rooks in a white BMW SUV, and GPS data and other cameras put the vehicle at the site of the shooting.
Silentó confessed about 10 days later after he was arrested, police said. Ballistics testing matched the bullet casings to a gun that Silentó had when he was arrested, authorities said.
In 2020, Silentó, who was a high school junior in 2015 when he released his “Watch Me” smash hit, had been involved in a number of run-ins with the law, some of which involved violence allegedly threatened or committed against others.
In August 2020, he was arrested in Santa Ana, California, on a domestic violence charge. The next day, in Los Angeles, he was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after witnesses said he entered a stranger’s home looking for his girlfriend, who wasn’t there, and swung a hatchet at two people before he was disarmed.
In 2019, he made an appearance on the medical talk show The Doctors, where he discussed struggling with depression and witnessing violence and mental illness among his family members growing up.
“I’ve been fighting demons my whole life, my whole life,” he said.
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Israel carried out a massive military strike that was aimed at taking out Iran’s nuclear and top Iranian military officials. Iran has retaliated against Israel, with the world watching to see if this will escalate into an all-out war between the two nations.
Tensions between Israel and Iran date back to the South Lebanon conflict in the mid-1980s and have persisted at varying levels since. This latest offensive from the IDF and Mossad was aimed at taking down Iranian nuclear, missile, and military sites, and Israeli officials have reportedly taken out an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) leader along with two other top commanders, which Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei confirmed.
As reported by several outlets, including CNN, Reuters, and The Hill, the attack comes after months of negotiation between the United States and Iran to complete a new nuclear deal. While most major nations have largely agreed to scale down nuclear weapons production, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) discovered that Iran was fast-tracking the enrichment of uranium, which set off warning signals to Israeli leaders.
Iran has launched over 200 drones in retaliation against the overnight Israeli strikes, setting the stage for more military offensives from both nations. President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal that he was aware of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that the United States had no involvement in the strikes.
“Tonight, 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,” Rubio said Thursday night (June 12).
“Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel,” Rubio continued.
On X, formerly Twitter, most are pointing out the impetus of a large-scale war between Israel and Iran, while also aiming barbs at President Trump over his foreign policy aims. We’ve got those reactions below.
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Photo: Getty
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Sen. Alex Padilla of California was removed from a press conference and handcuffed, then placed on the ground in a video that has since gone viral. Sen. Alex Padilla was attempting to address Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who held the press conference to address the volatile immigration enforcement standoff in Los Angeles.
Homeland Security’s Kristi Noem hosted the press conference at the Federal Building in Los Angeles on Thursday (June 12), where Sen. Alex Padilla is from. When Padilla attempted to interject and push back against Secretary Noem’s depiction of the actions undertaken by ICE and supported by armed forces, he was approached by a pair of Secret Service agents.
As noted in the video footage and social media posts, Sen. Padilla was heard saying, “I am Sen. Alex Padilla and I have questions for the secretary” ahead of being handcuffed and put face down on the ground.
Noem used her time at the podium to take jabs at Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has clashed with President Donald Trump over the operation, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
“We’re not going away,” Noem said. “We are going to liberate the city from the burdensome leadership, mayor, and governor.”
On X, formerly Twitter, some users are expressing shock at the way that a sitting United States senator was manhandled. We’ve got those reactions below.
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Photo: MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images / Getty
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Source: Al Bello / Getty
During his half a decade stint as the head coach of the New York Knicks, Tom Thibodeau earned himself a Coach Of The Year award and led the team to four playoff appearances in his five-year tenure and though fans were mostly relieved to learn the news that Thibodeau had been fired by the team’s owner, James Dolan, Thibs doesn’t seem to harbor any ill will towards the franchise, the fans or the city (unlike a Julius Randle).
A week after the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau following the team’s elimination at the hands of the Indiana Pacers, Tom Thibodeau took out a full-page black-and-white ad in The New York Times to thank the Knicks and the city of New York for helping him live out his “dream job” as he was able to coach the Knicks back to relevancy following decades of pain, scandals and disappointment for fans of the franchise.
“I am grateful that dream became a reality. Thank you to our players and coaching staff who gave everything they had, and to everyone who makes the franchise special. I am proud of everything we accomplished together, including four playoff appearances and this year’s run to the Eastern Conference finals – our first in 25 years.”
Unfortunately for the team, it seemed like Thibs was outreached by Indiana Pacers head coach, Rick Carlisle who seemed to have Thibs number at every twist and turn throughout the series.
With rumors swirling that Thibs was fired by the team after players were interviewed about the situation, it didn’t help that one of the teams top players allegedly said he couldn’t continue to play for Thibodeau next season. Though no names have been leaked as to who might’ve made such a statement, people assume it was one of the Knicks starting five players as Thibs never plays his bench anyway. Another reason many fans wanted Thibs to be relieved of his head coaching duties.
Regardless of how you may have felt about Tom Thibodeau, the man did make the Knicks winners again and helped bring back excitement to the Mecca of Basketball that hadn’t been felt in decades.
Thanks, Thibs.
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Julia Beverly / Diddy
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ defense team is now trying to present their client as just a regular guy with freaky kinks.
Spotted on Vulture, Diddy’s third sexual misconduct accuser, “Jane Doe,” who many on the web believe to be 50 Cent’s ex, Daphne Joy, was cross-examined by the disgraced music mogul’s legal team on June 10 with a line of questioning that aim to paint their client as an egregiously horny man.
When asked if she would describe Diddy as a voyeur, Jane Doe responded, “I would use the word cuck for him, more so.”
Jane Doe Brings Up Bi-Sexuality During Cross-Examination
Doe further explained she came to that conclusion after doing a deep dive into cuckoldry because he wanted so many of those nights, so wanted to get an understanding of her ex’s freaky ways.
“I came across this word that was called a ‘cuck,’ a cuckolder,” Doe testified on Tuesday (June 10). “I was just trying to understand… I was just like, this is spot-on.”
In another instance Doe seemingly alluded to Diddy’s allegedly bi-sexuality.
“One [reason is] the cuck derives pleasure from seeing his woman derive pleasure from the other man,” Doe explained during the cross-examination. “Cucks could also have a bi-curiosity that they’re too ashamed to experience themselves, so they use the women.”
The Defense Focused On Previous Conversations With Jane Doe
Jane Doe’s cross-examination by Defense attorney Teny Geragos followed three days of testimony.
She accused the Bad Boy general of pressuring her into taking part in days-long sexual encounters with male escorts.
During this time, Diddy watched and pleasured himself. These freakishly horny events occurred between mid-2021 and late summer 2024.
Geragos, through her line of questioning, attempted to paint a picture for the jury in which Jane was a willing participant during what they referred to as “hotel nights.”
“You loved Mr. Combs, right?” Geragos asked Jane, and she replied, “Yes.” “You even said two days ago that you love him currently,” Geragos pressed. Jane said, “I do.”
Jane Doe Said She “Relished” The Time They Spent Together After “Hotel Nights”
Geragos also brought up conversations with Jane when she sat down with Diddy’s defense team back in April, pointing to her “relishing” the time they spent together after “hotel nights.”
Per Vulture:
Geragos referenced a prior conversation she had with Jane — who had sat down with Combs’s defense team as recently as April — where she described relishing the time after these encounters.
“I think you told me before that you enjoyed taking care of him after these ‘hotel nights’?” Geragos asked. “Yes, he was my baby,” Jane answered. Did Jane want to be close to her partner, her lover? Jane said yes.
She was asked, did Diddy enjoy the “foot rubs” part of their time together? Hugging and cuddling him? Bathing him? Jane answered in the affirmative. Jane said that they would stay up late together watching his favorite show, Dateline. Geragos asked about their conversations together.
“You enjoyed listening to his perspective on different issues?” Jane said yes. This included Diddy’s faith. “He had a favorite pastor, and he would also put a lot of sermons on the television and we would watch it together and we would talk about it, and he would send me sermons.”
In even stranger testimony, “Jane Doe” also revealed that Diddy compared himself to Michael Jordan, her to Kobe Bryant, and the escort they used during their threesomes, or “trifectas” as he labeled them, to Shaquille O’Neal.
Audio of a voice message sent to Jane Doe from Diddy reveals that he had a nickname for Jane Doe, his “crack pipe.”
We wished we were making this stuff up.
This trial needs to wrap up immediately.
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An Air India flight bound for London crashed Thursday morning (June 15) in a residential neighborhood, with a reported 242 passengers on board, including the flight crew. Details are still developing, and images of the crash have spread through various media channels as officials on the ground examine the wreckage.
According to still-developing reports from CNN and the Associated Press, the Boeing 787-8 was heading to London’s Gatwick Airport, with 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian on the flight. The crash occurred in the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat State. Initially, Indian authorities reported that all passengers aboard the plane perished in the crash. Al-Jazeera is reporting that 204 people were killed and that hospitals in the region were taking in injured passengers.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national visiting family in India, told The Hindustan Times that he was a passenger aboard Flight 171 and heading back to London with his brother. Ramesh says that there was trouble around 30 seconds into the flight. Video clips that have spread widely on social media support Ramesh’s account, as it appeared the plane struggled to achieve proper lift before slamming into the side of a building.
As this breaking story develops, we will return with more updates.
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Photo: Anadolu / Getty
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty / Elon Musk / Donald Trump
Elon Musk is now looking to repair the bridges he burned when he had all the smoke for his MAGA homie, Donald Trump.
Musk now “regrets” flaming Donald Trump on the platform he allegedly no longer owns after voicing his displeasure about Orange Mussolini’s tax bill, stupidly named the “big beautiful bill.”
On his X account, Musk wrote, “I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.”
Musk did not specify which posts on X he was talking about, but it would be a safe bet to assume he was referring to his now-deleted post where he alleged that Donald Trump’s name was on the infamous Epstein list, a claim the White House vehemently denied.
The Tesla chief also called the Orange Menace’s tax bill a “disgusting abomination” that seemingly led to the end of the MAGA bromance with Trump, saying last week that their “relationship” was over and had no interest in patching things up with Musk.
Musk, for his part, let his disgust for the bill be known, urging Americans to call their representatives and demand they “kill the bill.”
In typical Trump fashion, he responded to Musk, claiming the billionaire “lost his mind,” and also threatened to end Musk’s government contracts, which are estimated to be valued at $38 billion.
Following those threats to his contracts, Musk has deleted most of his tweets, including the ones calling for Trump’s impeachment.
Elon Musk Called Donald Trump
According to CNN, Musk called Trump on Monday night, before expressing regret on X, formerly Twitter. The website also reports that the phone call took place after Vice President JD Vance and Trump’s chief of staff, Susan Wiles, spoke with Musk on Friday.
As expected, social media has thoughts on the latest developments in this matter.
You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
1. LOL, bingo
2. Excellent question
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President Donald Trump ordered 4,000 National Guardsmen and 700 Marines to appear in Los Angeles to quell exaggerated reports of violence from those protesting the efforts of ICE agents i the city. During a meeting this week in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump floated the idea of sending the military to other major cities where ICE protests, many of which have been nonviolent, are occurring.
As reported by ABC News, President Donald Trump addressed the situation in Los Angeles amid conflicting reports of widespread violence from members of his administration, with their account drastically contrasting with those on the ground and seen on social media. President Trump, leaning heavily into his campaign promises of widespread deportation, appears to want to present a tougher image by employing armed forces to quell the protests.
“This is the first, perhaps, of many,” Trump said regarding future military deployments. “You know, if we didn’t attack this one very strongly, you’d have them all over the country, but I can inform the rest of the country, that when they do it, if they do it, they’re going to be met with equal or greater force.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California addressed Trump’s use of the military in an address to his constituents, stating that “democracy is under assault” as he dodged verbal attacks from House Speaker Mike Johnson and Border Czar Tom Homan, among others. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has echoed similar sentiments, alongside over a dozen other Democratic Party governors.
Trump also suggested enacting the Insurrection Act, which would give him the authority to deploy military forces to suppress violence and assumed rebellion. It should be noted that President Trump did not enact the Insurrection Act during the Jan. 6 insurrection attempt at the U.S. Capitol.
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Photo: Anna Moneymaker / Getty
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Source: Paras Griffin / Getty / Doechii
Monday night at the Peacock Theater, Doechii wanted to make sure to point out what was happening in the streets of downtown Los Angeles while they celebrated “culture’s biggest night,” at the BET Awards.
The Swamp Princess’ stellar year continued at the 2025 BET Awards, taking home the award for Best Hip-Hop Artist, but that’s not what she was getting praise for.
The Florida artist used her acceptance speech moment to remind everyone of what was happening outside the Peacock Theater, away from the celebrating, glitz, and glamour. Donald Trump and his administration are using the full might of the government to terrorize immigrants and American citizens who don’t rock with the MAGA agenda.
Before BET Weekend kicked off, mostly peaceful demonstrations denouncing the immigration raids of workplaces conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), where hardworking immigrants are being detained under the guise of detaining “dangerous illegal immigrants and gang members,” were conducted by the government agency.
Over 40 people were arrested as a result of the raid.
LA Mayor Karen Bass said to reporters, “ICE initiated enforcement actions on several workplaces. That created a sense of chaos, outrage, fear, and terror because people are very worried as to what happened to their families.”
The situation was exacerbated when Donald Trump federalized the National Guard without consulting Governor Gavin Newsom, who, under normal circumstances, is in control of the state’s National Guard.
The Swamp Princess Didn’t Miss The Moment To Speak Up For Marginalized People
Doechii, unlike some other artists, was not afraid to keep it real (looking at you, Snoop) about what is going on in the streets of LA and possibly across the country.
“I do wanna address what’s happening right now outside of the building,” Doechii began. “There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of law and order. Trump is using military forces to stop a protest, and I want y’all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us.”
“What type of government is that?” she asked, drawing huge applause from the crowd. “People are being swept up and torn from their families, and I feel it’s my responsibility as an artist to use this moment to speak up for all oppressed people.”
She continued, “For Black people, for Latino people, for trans people, for the people in Gaza. We all deserve to live in hope and not in fear, and I hope we stand together, my brothers and my sisters, against hate, and we protest against it. Thank you, BET.”
Doechii received plenty of praise for using her moment to highlight the struggles that were happening in the streets of Los Angeles.
You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
1. Salute to her
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Source: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / Getty
President Donald Trump was caught on video tripping on the stairs of Air Force One, prompting several social media jokes.
President Donald Trump nearly took a tumble on airplane steps, and social media called him out along with noting that it wasn’t getting as much coverage as opposed to what happened to former President Joe Biden. On Sunday (June 8), Trump was set to board Air Force One to head to Camp David in Maryland, purportedly to meet “a lot of people, including generals… and admirals.” He also fielded questions about the protests in Los Angeles against the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and his move to deploy National Guard troops.
He took more questions, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at his side before exiting to take the stairs to enter Air Force One. As he climbed the stairs, he tripped and grabbed onto the railing with his right hand before collecting himself and resuming the climb into the airplane. The entire moment was caught on C-SPAN.
The moment immediately went viral online, including a close-up shot of Trump’s profile at the moment he tripped and caught himself. It also led many on social media to take their shots at Trump and Republicans who had consistently mocked former President Joe Biden for his moments of difficulty entering and exiting Air Force One. “Slipping on all them lies he’s saying about Los Angeles.” a TikTok user named MammaMia wrote.
Others also called out the hypocrisy they viewed within media outlets who might brush off Trump’s near-tumble but still obsess over how old former President Biden was. “Life has a funny way of showing you different prospectives after one has harshly judged another,” wrote TikTok user Emi333. Others also noted Rubio seeming to trip as he boarded the stairs for Air Force One, and commented that he might’ve been trying to dilute some of the potential barbs thrown at Trump. And a few social media users called out MAGA supporter Joey Mannarino’s odd defense of the stumble.
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