Current Events
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Source: Arturo Holmes / Getty / Joy Reid
Joy Reid will host her final show on MSNBC this week, and many folks are understandably BIG MAD about that.
Joy Reid has lost her evening news show as part of a lineup shakeup at MSNBC spearheaded by Rebecca Kutler, the network’s new president.
Sources familiar with the matter tell CNN that Kutler plans to replace The ReidOut, which has been on the air at 7 pm since 2020, with co-hosts from The Weekend: Symone Sanders-Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez.
The Weekend has recently enjoyed success with a 35% increase in viewership during its 8 am time slot on Saturday and Sunday.
Before landing The ReidOut, Reid hosted a weekend show, AM Joy, from 2016 to 2020.
While fighting back tears, Reid talked about her shows canceling during a Zoom call on Sunday’s edition of the Win With Black Women, where she doubled down on her work and topics like Trump, Black Lives Matter, and Gaza that “she went hard on.”
Mediate reports that over 10,000 people joined the call.
Per Mediate:
Where I land is that the moment that I’ve– of guilt that I felt that I went hard on so many issues–.
Whether it was the Black Lives Matter issues of a young baby or a mom or dad that was killed, or when we opened up people’s eyes to the fact that Asian Americans were being targeted and not just Black folks.
That– or went hard for immigrants who’ve done nothing but come to this country like my parents did and try to make a life and defended them.
Or whether we’ve talked about what the president is doing that is subversive to the Constitution, that is injurious to our liberty, you know, defending books that people find inconvenient, you know, that Nikole Hannah-Jones put into our spirit that we need to understand 1619 as the real founding of this country.
Whether it’s talking about any of these issues and, yes, whether it’s talking about Gaza and the fact that we as the American people have a right to object, to have a right to object to little babies being bombed.
And and where I come down on that is I’m not sorry. I am not sorry that I stood up for those those things because those things are of God.
https://x.com/tommyxtopher/status/1894102834800435435
Joy Reid Was Not The Only Anchor Affected
Reid’s show wasn’t the only casualty. The Daily Beast reports that anchors Jonathan Capehart, Katie Phang, and Ayman Mohyeldin are also losing their shows.
According to the website, Capehart and Mohyeldin will host separate editions of The Weekend at 7 am and 6 pm Phang will stay on as a legal correspondent but will no longer have an anchor slot.
Miami-based anchor José Díaz-Balart is also losing his show, but he will stay as a weekend host of NBC’s Nightly News.
Social Media Reacts
Reactions to Reid’s apparent “firing” aren’t sitting well with folks. Some are even calling Kuttler’s plans racist, mainly because everyone involved in the shakeup is people of color.
https://x.com/notcapnamerica/status/1894088735265886333
Others are using the moment to give Joy Reid her flowers and providing them a platform to give their thoughts on the political climate when other networks didn’t.
“I owe the television part of my career to Joy Reid, as do so many other Black voices y’all never would have heard of if not for her. And *that’s* why she’s gone. They can treat black folks as interchangeable, but everybody Black knows that Joy was indispensable,” Ellie Mystal wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Yes, Reid’s MSNBC cameras are turning off, but we are sure the haters will never silence her voice.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
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Source: Sylvain Gaboury / Getty
The Harlem home of the iconic New York Amsterdam News will soon become a museum as well as a community space.
For over a century, the New York Amsterdam News has been one of the staunchest voices of the Black community.
A new project will take its Harlem newsroom into a new phase, converting it and other floors in the 115-year-old location on Frederick Douglass Boulevard into a historic museum and community space. The paper is still in operation, in a digital format that reaches 135,000 monthly visitors on average, and runs a print edition of 40 pages that’s released on Thursdays and available for $1.
The project was conceived and is being carried out by the Amsterdam News Educational Foundation, the nonprofit organization that currently owns the building. The first floor is set to be a community cafe and lounge, and the newsroom would move to the second floor, being leased out to the publication. The third and fourth floors of the building will compose the museum and gallery space, with part of the fourth floor to be renovated to look like a newsroom in the 1930s. There will also be an archival room set up for visitors and researchers. The foundation currently has raised $450,000 to plan and design the museum project.
“We want to celebrate the pivotal role both The New York Amsterdam News, and the Black press writ large, have played in advancing civil rights in our country,” Editor-In-Chief and publisher Elinor Tatum said in an interview from the newsroom space where she still works from on the second floor. She took over the reins from her father, Wilbert Tatum in the 1990s. The newspaper’s nine editors and reporters are currently spread out in different cities, having worked remotely since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The publication is still beloved in the community, particularly due to Blacklight, the first investigative unit at a Black legacy newspaper. Blacklight is overseen by executive editor Damaso Reyes with two grant-funded reporters assigned to it. For Reyes, it’s a platform to build on a legacy that includes Malcolm X’s first published opinions and its claim of coining the phrase “Hip-Hop” in the 1980s. “I want to give opportunities to young journalists of color that I didn’t have,” he said of the unit.
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Dan Bongino, a popular podcaster known for putting forth conspiracy theories, was appointed as the deputy director of the FBI over the weekend By President Donald Trump. Dan Bongino will be second in command to FBI chief Kash Patel, and many online have shared their thoughts.
President Trump took to his Truth Social platform to celebrate the addition of Dan Bongino to the FBI leadership role.
From Truth Social:
Great news for Law Enforcement and American Justice! Dan Bongino, a man of incredible love and passion for our Country, has just been named the next DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FBI, by the man who will be the best ever Director, Kash Patel. Dan has a Masters Degree in Psychology from C.U.N.Y., and an MBA from Penn State. He was a member of the New York Police Department (New York’s Finest!), a highly respected Special Agent with the United States Secret Service, and is now one of the most successful Podcasters in the Country, something he is willing and prepared to give up in order to serve. Working with our great new United States Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and Director Patel, Fairness, Justice, Law and Order will be brought back to America, and quickly. Congratulations Dan!
As noted in Trump’s post, Bongino has worked in law enforcement but, similar to Kash Patel, has never headed an agency much less oversaw the headquarters of an office. Bongino has garnered attention in the past for making charged statements about the COVID-19 virus, and he’s also been public in saying that the 2020 election was rigged in favor of President Joe Biden.
On X, formerly Twitter, many are reacting to the news that Dan Bongino will be the FBI’s deputy director. Keep scrolling for more.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: Tierney L. Cross / Getty
President Donald Trump has cut protections for thousands of Haitians in the country, placing them on a path for deportation months away.
On Thursday (Feb. 20), President Donald Trump took another step in furthering his immigration crackdown by removing the Temporary Protected Status for Haitians in the United States. The number of those affected by the move amounts to over 500,000. An 18-month extension that had been signed by former President Joe Biden before he left office was revoked by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, meaning that those Haitians are subject to deportation in August instead of next February.
“For decades the TPS system has been exploited and abused,” the DHS said in a memo announcing the move and echoing Trump’s sentiments about the system. The move comes as Haiti is dealing with continued instability, as gangs currently control 85% of the capital city of Port-au-Prince in addition to sexual violence incidents inflicted on children increasing by 1000% during the past year, according to the United Nations. Some have had TPS since 2010 when it was first invoked by then President Barack Obama. It follows the decision on Feb. 1 to end TPS for Venezuelans living in the United States, who number 600,000 currently in the country. Trump has badmouthed Haitians in the past and made it a campaign pledge to revoke protections.
“T.P.S. has served as a crucial lifeline for many members of the Haitian community, allowing them to live and work in the United States at a time when Haiti is experiencing tremendous political, social and economic instability,” Ahilan Arulanantham, the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the U.C.L.A. School of Law head said. Massachusetts Representative Ayanna Pressley decried the decision as “shameful,” adding: “Haitians who have lived in the U.S. for 15 years are at risk of deportation for “no reason other than being Haitian.”
Attorneys are currently fighting the Trump administration in court on behalf of an advocacy group for Venezuelans, filing a lawsuit on Wednesday (Feb. 19). Haiti’s migration director, Jean Negot Bonheur Delva, said to AP News that only 21 Haitians have been deported back to the country so far, but worries about what the others would come back to. “It’s very sad that people who left Haiti to look for a better life elsewhere … will come back,” Delva said. “With the insecurity problem, the lack of resources, they will be miserable.”
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Source: Netflix / Netflix
Ever since it was announced that Charlie Cox would be reprising his role as Daredevil in the current Marvel Cinematic Universe, many fans have been clamoring for the return of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones (Iron Fist not so much) and we get a glimmer of hope as it seems like Marvel Studios might actually bring said characters back.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Marvel Studios’ streaming and TV boss Brad Winderbaum and his team have been brainstorming on how to bring back Mike Colter’s Luke Cage, Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones and even Finn Jone’s Iron Fist for another run at some point in the future now that Daredevil: Born Again is just a few weeks from premiering on Disney+. While we wouldn’t be heartbroken if we never see Iron Fist again (no shots), fans would very much love to see Luke Cage and Jessica Jones standing side-by-side some of your favorite Marvel superheroes at some point.
Whether or not that will come to pass remains to be seen, but it just might as Winderbaum wouldn’t let something like this slip if they didn’t intend on making it happen.
Per Variety:
“I can’t say much, but I’ll tell you that it’s so exciting to be able to play in that sandbox,” Winderbaum says. “Obviously we don’t have the unlimited storytelling resources like a comic book. If you can draw it, you can do it. It’s dealing with actors and time and the massive scale of production in order to build a cinematic universe, especially on television. But I can just say that all those variables taken into account, it is certainly something that is creatively extremely exciting and that we are very much exploring.”
Keep in mind, there was word that the Russo Brothers were planning on adding Luke Cage to Avengers: Infinity War and having him save Iron Man’s butt when he was getting his ass handed to him during his fight with Black Dwarf in the beginning of the film. Ultimately, they decided against it as they felt Luke wouldn’t fit into the overall story and had Spider-Man get involved in that fight. So we understand why they might feel the need to give them more backstory before having them appear in big budget Marvel movies. Still, that would’ve been dope.
Now that it seems like Luke Cage and company might be joining the main MCU at some point, that leaves questions about additional side characters that have appeared in Marvel’s Netflix series as well and whether or not there’s hope for them too.
When asked about characters like Elektra (played by Elodie Young across the Netflix run) and ninja clan the Hand, Winderbaum says, “Who knows what the future brings? Once we arc out here, there’s obviously any number of stories that we’d want to revisit or pull from the comics that involve Elektra or the Hand or any part of the Daredevil mythos.”
“100 percent it’s in the back of our heads,” Sana Amanat, another executive producer on Daredevil: Born Again, comments to EW separately of Elektra and the Hand. “Eventually we’ll try to figure out a bit more with that.”
Never give up hope, y’all.
What do y’all think? Should Marvel bring back Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: Jacob Kupferman / Getty / Steve Smith Sr.
When former NFL wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. woke up on Saturday morning, we are positive he didn’t think he would be one of the top trending topics on X, formerly Twitter.
Things got interesting for the former Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens wide receiver, now an NFL Network analyst, when the husband of a woman on X responded to his post featuring a video of himself playing golf, accusing him of sleeping with his wife. He came bearing receipts in the form of text messages.
Smith has been married since 2000 and has four children.
Man just found out that former NFL receiver and current NFL Network analyst Steve Smith Sr. has been sleeping with his wife. He posted the texts and a phone call with Smith on X after finding out.
“I’m sorry”
pic.twitter.com/Q6FckGDXy8
— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) February 22, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The accuser shared a screengrab of the alleged sexts between Smith and his wife while tagging multiple news outlets, Smith’s sponsors, Yeti Coolers and TaylorMade, his former team, the Panthers, Ravens, and, for some strange reason, Antonio Brown.
He also shared a video of an alleged phone call between himself and Smith where you can hear the former pro football player saying, “I’m sorry,” and a photo of a bare-chested Smith with a unicorn graphic over his midsection.
The man claims his wife met Smith while working for the Ravens marching band.
Social Media Had Jokes About The Situation
Following the revelation of social media has been on one, of course, it was nothing but pure jokes, especially regarding the explicit nature of the sexts.
“White man crashing out on Twitter cause his wife’s fucking Steve Smith Sr….and yall think I’ll leave this app? Tuh. NEVER. Can’t pay for this kind of live entertainment,” one user on X wrote.
Another user was too tickled by the accuser’s wife telling Smith he almost shifted her contraceptive device. “Rearrange my IUD…..I am dead,” the user said.
Bruh, moments like these make the dumpster fire that is X bearable.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
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Source: Grant Lamos IV / Getty / Hooters
Welp, it looks like your going to have to get your fill of beer, boobs, and wings elsewhere pretty soon because it might be a wrap for your local Hooters establishment.
According to Bloomberg News, the restaurant franchise best known for dressing its servers in skimpy orange shorts and tiny tops that give patrons beer, wings, and a side of boobs is on the verge of going belly-up.
According to the website, the casual dining chain has engaged in talks with law firm Ropes & Gray to begin the bankruptcy process, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News.
No final decision has been made regarding seeking Chapter 11 protection, but according to sources, it could all happen within the next two months.
Hooters’ financial problems aren’t new; they have been going on for some time, with the company actively seeking a way to become profitable again.
Per The New York Post:
Hooters — which has about 300 locations nationwide — has faced increasing financial strain as traffic declines at its kitschy restaurants, leading to the closure of several outposts.
The Atlanta-based company has been working alongside turnaround consultants from Accordion Partners to address its financial difficulties, particularly its debt burden.
Several of its creditors have also sought guidance from investment bank Houlihan Lokey, Bloomberg reported.
The Post has sought comment from Hooters, Accordion Partners, Ropes & Gray and Houlihan Lokey.
The company had previously raised approximately $300 million through asset-backed bonds in 2021, a financing structure that allows businesses to use franchise fees and other assets as collateral.
This form of structured debt, known as whole-business securitization, is commonly used by restaurant chains, fitness centers and other franchise-heavy enterprises.
X Reacts To Hooters Possibly Being Shuttered
Social media, of course, has thoughts on the possibility of Hooters going away for good.
“How bad is the economy when strippers are complaining about empty clubs & low/no tips, and Hooters is filing for bankruptcy? This is all the proof you need something needs to change,” one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter, which honestly puts some much needed perspective on the current state of things.
Another user celebrated the chain’s apparent downfall and pointed out racism she experienced as an employee writing on X, “good, when i was 20 y/o i quit hooters because corporate emailed our manager and said it was too many black girls working there.”
Welp.
Hooters is not the only restaurant chain experiencing hard times lately. TGI Fridays had to cede control of some assets due to failing to fulfill debt obligations, and everyone’s favorite seafood restaurant, Red Lobster, also filed for bankruptcy in May. Flavor Flav did his part to prevent Red Lobster from further sinking into the bankruptcy abyss by becoming a pitchman and purchasing the entire menu.
We don’t think Hooters will have the same luck, but who knows, maybe somebody loves seeing boobies and eating wings as much as Flavor Flav loved cheddar bay biscuits.
More reactions to Hooters mulling Chapter 11 bankruptcy are in the gallery below.
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Source: Andrew Harnik / Getty / Elon Musk
The world’s richest clown, Elon Musk, made an appearance at the right-wing Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) yesterday, and many people were left wondering if the Tesla chief was high as hell or if there was something else going on with him.
Elon Musk once again made a complete a** out of himself as he stormed onto the CPAC stage, wielding a custom chainsaw while rocking a black MAGA hat and wearing shades.
When he eventually settled down, Musk told the crowd, “My mind is a storm.”
Clearly.
What proceeded was a very incoherent interview that left everyone on X, formerly Twitter, scratching their heads because you could barely understand a word he was saying.
“Elon can barely form a sentence right now,” journalist Aaron Rupar, who we rely on to recap all of the Trump/GOP madness, said while sharing a Newsmax of Musk making a fool of himself.
Legal analyst Ken White said in response to Rupar’s post on BlueSky, “Hard to argue with him.”
In another post, Rupar wrote, “Wearing sunglasses inside and following an event where he at times had a hard time speaking coherently, Elon Musk walks off the CPAC stage waving around a chain saw. This is the guy currently running our government. Congrats, America!”
Other comments about Musk’s appearance didn’t hold back.
“Kleptocratic ketamine addict,” wrote legal analyst Jennifer Taub.
“The same guy running around the stage with a chainsaw and unable to complete a sentence wants to put his microchips in people’s brains,” Melanie D’Arrigo, New York Health Campaign director, said on X.
This is truly going to be a very long four years.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
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Source: Noam Galai / Getty
A federal judge held off ruling on the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams after a hearing.
On Wednesday (Feb. 19), U.S. District Court Judge Dale E. Ho held off on issuing a ruling on whether the Department of Justice’s motion to dismiss federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Adams and his legal team along with acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove were present for the hearing, which lasted a shade under 90 minutes. Attorneys who had prosecuted Adams in the past were not present.
“I’m going to take everything you said under careful consideration,” Judge Ho told Bove after hearing arguments from him and Adams’ lawyers. “It’s not in anyone’s interest here for this to drag on. I understand that.” Judge Ho would add, “To exercise my discretion properly, I’m not going to shoot from the hip here on the bench.” He promised to provide a ruling in writing, but asked for “patience as I consider these issues carefully.” The prior arguments from Bove denied that there was a “quid pro quo,” calling it a fabrication. “We offered nothing and the department asked nothing of us,” Bove claimed. When asked if the dismissal meant there would be no further investigations against Adams, Bove replied, “No.”
Mayor Adams has been under intense scrutiny since the Justice Department’s recommendations to drop the case against him, allegedly so that Adams can aid President Donald Trump further in his immigration agenda of deportations. The directive led to the resignation of a half-dozen attorneys from the DOJ, including Danielle C. Sassoon, the acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York who penned a stern letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying she was “baffled” by Bove’s decision.
While Adams seemed unfazed by the proceedings, even smiling and cracking a joke at one point, the situation has added more trouble to his future. New York Governor Kathy Hochul is weighing whether to remove Adams from his position. “In the 235 years of New York State history, these powers have never been utilized to remove a duly-elected mayor; overturning the will of the voters is a serious step that should not be taken lightly,” she said in a statement, adding: “That said, the alleged conduct at City Hall that has been reported over the past two weeks is troubling and cannot be ignored.”
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Source: JIM WATSON / Getty / White House
Donald Trump and his lame administration are working hard to set the advancement of Black culture back years with the removal of DEI programs, but that’s not stopping these Black celebrities from joining him at the White House to celebrate Black History Month.
The Associated Press reports that Donald Trump’s White House will host a Black History Month event on Thursday, and the who’s who of sellouts will be in attendance to celebrate the jig.
According to the website, Trump’s heada** pick to be ambassador to t Herschel Walker, Trump’s favorite African American, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Republican Rep. John James of Michigan, prison reform advocate and recipient of a Trump pardon in 2020 thanks to Kim Kardashian Alice Johnson, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece, Alveda King will join Felon 47 in the East Room for the event.
Other notable sellouts in attendance will be former ESPN host Sage Steele, Kodak Black, Lil Boosie, who recently begged Trump for a pardon on X, formerly Twitter, and Rod Wave, fresh off from performing at the Crypto Ball alongside Snoop Dogg.
The event was scheduled for last week but was postponed due to inclement weather.
Social media has been responding accordingly to the list of names who will be at the event.
“Sorry but ever single attendee (including that fuck ass president) is a cte having criminal degenerate,” one person on X wrote, adding a long rap sheet of problematic behavior from Rod Wave.
Luke Cage showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker added, “Glad to hear our best and brightest will represent us….and if you don’t hear the sarcasm in my voice, you clearly don’t follow me on here.
The list of Black Trumpers continues to grow. Never forget these people were on the wrong side of history.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
4. Exactly
7. “Jigaboo Jubilee” HOWLING