Current Events
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Trayvon Martin would be 30 years old today if not for the meddling of volunteer night watchman George Zimmerman. While sobering thoughts hang over the heads of many regarding the loss of Trayvon Martin, many are choosing to use this time to hold up his lasting memory.
Instead of writing my usual report regarding Trayvon Martin, I’m electing to speak as myself and completely from the heart. Martin’s death hit me particularly hard because I, like many Black men who grew up in the inner city, know full well what being Black in America means and how potentially dangerous it has largely always been.
When I was writing for NewsOne, I traveled to Sanford, the Florida town where young Trayvon was gunned down by Zimmerman. I spoke with town leaders and with Martin’s parents, trying to make sense of the pain while also doing my duty as a reporter. I can say with measurable confidence that it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. And yet, I was struck by the resilience of Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, no longer romantically involved but unified in honor of their son.
Martin’s death was one of the many catalysts for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, which launched in earnest a year after Martin’s 2012 passing. Of course, several observers have their thoughts about BLM, some favorable and others unsavory, but the significance of that period will never be forgotten.
I’m just a writer. I’m not an activist nor do I know what to do in times like this beyond sharing my undying devotion to the elevation of my people and that those who have been killed unjustly are never a footnote but instead an inspiration.
If we can honor Trayvon Martin in one unifying way, it would be to keep his name alive and never let those in power forget that Black bodies are not targets. Black people are not automatic threats. Black people deserve to live on the same terms and with the same grace as all people should.
And with that, I pledge to live out loud for Trayon. May he rest powerfully in peace.
Keep scrolling to see thoughts from X, formerly Twitter.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / Getty
President Donald Trump’s tariff standoff with Canada and Mexico is on hold, with observers noting his agreement to deal with both contains elements that were already in place.
On Monday evening (February 3), President Donald Trump announced that he and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had agreed to pause tariffs coming into each other’s nations after the two spoke by phone. In a post on his Truth Social media platform, Trump wrote: “Canada has agreed to ensure we have a secure Northern Border, and to finally end the deadly scourge of drugs like Fentanyl that have been pouring into our Country, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, while destroying their families and communities all across our Country,” adding “I am very pleased with this initial outcome, and the Tariffs announced on Saturday will be paused for a 30 day period to see whether or not a final Economic deal with Canada can be structured.” Trump reached a similar pause agreement with Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president.
News of the pauses brought relief to the financial markets and American consumers who were stressed over the economic hit they would suffer if the tariffs went through. The only problem? Trump has agreed to deals on security measures that were mostly already in effect with both nations.
Concerning his deal with Canada, Trudeau announced that Canada was already implementing a border security force worth $1.3 billion to “ensure 24/7 eyes on the border”. According to journalist Mehdi Hasan in a post on X, formerly Twitter, “Trump got played again. Canada *already* has 8,500 frontline personnel at the border.” Trudeau and former President Joe Biden had struck a similar deal in December 2024 before Biden left office. Canada had also begun patrolling the border between it and the United States with Blackhawk helicopters and committed to a “fentanyl czar” and joint task force operations.
https://x.com/mehdirhasan/status/1886534635288715571
Trump and Sheinbaum came to their agreement earlier on Monday, three days after he announced the 25% tariffs to be placed on goods from both countries entering the United States, in addition to a 10% tariff on goods entering the country from China. While Sheinbaum promised that she would immediately send 10,000 soldiers to the border to prevent the trafficking of fentanyl, she announced in her press conference that Trump agreed to do more to prevent high-powered weapons from the U.S. from falling into the hands of drug cartels. There are already 15,000 Mexican soldiers stationed at the border with America.
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Source: Allen J. Schaben / Getty / Kanye West
Following his ridiculous Grammys red carpet stunt that saw him show up with his butt-naked wife Bianca Censori, Kanye West took to his favorite soapbox, Instagram, to clap back at claims that he and Censori were shown the door.
West or Ye has been active on his Instagram account, and while promoting some new hot ass mess he calls clothing and teasing new dated music, he addressed the issue of whether he and his mannequin of wife were told to leave the Grammys.
In a now-deleted post featuring a photo of Don Lemon, West wrote in the caption, “This the goofball that started the rumor that me and my wife got kicked out the Grammies 3 decades of innovating music and they always K—S like this.”
Lemon quickly responded, “I saw someone on your team who asked me to correct it because it had been reported everywhere. So first of all, get your s*** straight.”
Lemon also posted a video on his Instagram page reporting that West was not kicked out of the Grammys.
The Aftermath of The Stunt
Reports about the incident vary. The New York Post reported that the police removed West and Censori following the stunt for possibly violating the Grammys dress code. The Daily Mail reported that CBS was worried about backlash from advertisers and sent someone to speak with the Chicago rapper, but it denied involving law enforcement.
TMZ and Variety claim that is not the case. They claim that Ye and Censori were not told to leave, but they walked the red carpet and left.
Page Six also claims the stunt was done to recreate West’s Vultures 1 album cover with a lip reader determining Yeezy instructed his wife to “make a scene.”
The “Jesus Walks” crafter is also on the Gram boasting that he “beat the Grammys” and that his wife is the “most Googled person on the planet.”
Someone should tell him mainly because she was naked, and people on the internet are dangerously horny.
He is also currently going on a bizarre rant on X, formerly Twitter, and sharing some interesting Polaroids featuring himself and his wife. The gallery below shows his posts and more reactions.
1. Bruh… What?
4. Rehearsal
5. No lies detected
7. Dee-1 With some Knowledge
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Source: Emma McIntyre / Getty
It’s not enough for anti-Trump voters and activists to speak out against the bigoted, oppressive, exclusionary and white nationalist-friendly agenda that President Donald Trump is forcing on the federal government, and, by extension, the nation.
We need our Democratic leaders, the people who are in the closest position to resist Trump’s policies, to speak out and do so without mincing words and using soft language. And, for that, we have Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
On Friday night (Jan. 31), the Trump administration began a purge of federal law enforcement employees, including prosecutors who handled Jan. 6 cases, officials involved in prosecutions against himself and FBI agents involved in investigations against him. Basically, we put a child-like bully back in the White House and now he’s exacting his revenge like he’s pretending to be his favorite cartoon villain. (In real life, he’s half the country’s least favorite cartoon villain.)
https://x.com/repjasmine/status/1885504967538004025
Anyway, Crockett kept it a buck.
From Raw Story:
The D.C. Field Office, in particular, has seen a wave of firings. It comes as the acting head of Trump’s Justice Department is also moving to eliminate the jobs of prosecutors who handled the Jan. 6 cases and worked with special counsel Jack Smith.
“Trump’s DOJ Deputy AG is ordering the FBI Acting Secretary to create a blacklist of officers for termination because they LAWFULLY INVESTIGATED an insurrection at the Capitol that resulted in severe injuries and deaths, including of law enforcement,” wrote Crockett, a former public defender, on X. “Instead of respecting the acts and contributions of the FBI for holding people to account for desecrating the hallowed halls of Congress, my Republican colleagues are now cheering for their removal.”
“LET’S BE CLEAR: Firing these experienced law enforcement officers is a victory for lawlessness, organized crime, and corruption,” she continued. “It is a get out of jail free card for the drug smugglers, human traffickers, child exploiters, and violent extremists that the FBI investigates.”
“But most importantly, tonight is a tragedy for the rule of law,” Crockett concluded.
That’s right, y’all. The so-called “party of law and order” who constantly deride their Democratic counterparts as being “soft on crime” are out here behaving disorderly as if they’re above the law and reminding us daily that they decide which crimes matter.
One would think Trump and his GOP goons were actually masters of manipulation, but, truthfully, white supremacy and idiocracy had already done all the work for them in the backward-ass country.
But MAGA, right?
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty
President Donald Trump accused South Africa of “confiscating land” in a social media post and cut aid to them, prompting that country’s government to fire back with a denial.
The nation of South Africa is the latest target of President Donald Trump’s wrath, as he falsely attacked the country in a post on Truth Social Sunday night (Feb. 2). “South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” he wrote, continuing by stating that he would be cutting off aid as a response: “I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa briskly denied the allegation in a post on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “South Africa is a constitutional democracy that is deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality. The South African government has not confiscated any land.”
https://x.com/CyrilRamaphosa/status/1886319401101910311
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Trump would repeat the claim to journalists, and allegations were echoed by his backer, tech billionaire Elon Musk (who was born in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1971) who wrote in a post on X that South Africa had “openly racist ownership laws.” Musk, through his actions with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has already announced the shutdown of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), claiming it was a joint decision with Trump. David Sacks, the billionaire PayPal co-founder and Trump ally, also hails from South Africa.
Land ownership in South Africa has been a hotly contested issue for over a century since the British restricted Black ownership of land beginning in 1913 with the Natives Land Act, transferring large swaths of land to white settlers including, the Afrikaner community and confining Black people to townships and homelands. Currently, Black people (who compose 80% of the population) constitute 4% of landowners in South Africa, while three-quarters of the land is owned by whites who constitute 8% of the population.
Trump has spoken out about this issue before in his first term, but having Musk as a supporter suggests that he’s inclined to be more aggressive in cutting off aid. Members of the African National Congress, the ruling party in South Africa, have also pointed to the right-wing AfriForum group as having lobbied Trump and others in the U.S. AfriForum, who represents the Afrikaner population in South Africa, has fought for Ramaphosa to change the new law but has opposed Trump’s proposed removal of aid to the country.
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Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty
An agency at the Pentagon has paused observing Black History Month and Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the behest of President Donald Trump.
According to reports, the Defense Department’s intelligence agency has halted observances of Black History Month, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and other cultural and historical events. The directive, revealed in a leaked memo, is following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) on his first day back in office on Jan. 20. An unnamed official verified the memo’s authenticity.
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“We are receiving questions across the workforce on the way forward,” the memo said. “DIA will pause all activities and events related to Agency Special Emphasis Programs effective immediately and until further notice.” The memo calls for a halt of observing 11 events including Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, National American Indian Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Women’s Equality Day, and Women’s History Month.
The source said the change would not affect the holidays being celebrated nationally, and it’s not policy across the Department of Defense. But Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth instructed his staff last Wednesday (Jan. 29) to create a task force to eliminate DEI programs from the Pentagon. “We’re not joking around,” Hegseth said in an interview Wednesday with Fox News when asked about it. “There’s no changing of names or softly manipulating something. DEI is gone.”
The backlash has hit the White House, particularly as Black History Month kicked off Saturday (Feb. 1). White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the controversy Friday (Jan. 31) and tried to downplay it. “As far as I know, this White House certainly still intends to celebrate, and we will continue to celebrate American history and the contributions that all Americans, regardless of race, religion, or creed, have made to our great country,” she said. Trump would then sign a proclamation later that day declaring that Black History Month be observed by “public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities,” although there were no further details on what those programs would be.
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Source: Frazer Harrison / Getty / Babyface
The Associated Press had to apologize to Babyface following some blatant disrespect on the Grammys’ red carpet.
Reporters for the Associated Press, Leslie Ambriz and Krysta Fauria, had to apologize after social media, specifically the Black delegation, expressed dissatisfaction with how they treated the legend, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.
Ambriz and Fauria were initially talking to Babyface but quickly lost interest in the iconic singer/songwriter when Chappell Roan appeared behind him.
Babyface quickly noticed the disrespect, telling the two thirsty reporters to interview Roan, “You guys wanna do that? Go do that,” before handing them back the microphone and walking off.
The outrage on social media was instant. Dionne Warwick said on X, formerly Twitter, “13x Grammy Award-winning Kenneth ‘Babyface’ Edmonds? Am I seeing this correctly?” and followed that up with a screenshot of the dictionary definition of the word “decorum.”
You know it’s bad when culture vulture Khloe Kardashian calls you out.
The Associated Press Apologized
The fallout was so bad that the Associated Press apologized to Babyface for the two reporters’ behavior.
“We are deeply sorry for cutting our interview with Babyface short on our YouTube livestream of the Grammys red carpet. We have apologized to him through his representative and to our viewers on the live stream,” AP’s post reads.
Folks on X aren’t accepting the apology. One person wrote in response to the AP, “Girl [middle finger emoji] you and this fake ass apology. Next time hire some real reporters and not dumb fangirls to conduct the interviews.”
Damn.
Still, it was an epic night that saw Kendrick Lamar sweep every category he’s in and cement “Not Like Us” as the greatest diss song ever, Doechii bring home a Grammy for the rap girlies, Beyoncé win “Best Country Album,” and the elusive “Album of The Year,” and Janelle Monáe piss off Michael Jackson fans.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
2. Very true
3. Shawn Stockman from Boyz II Men with a message
4. Well deserved
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Source: Kevin Winter / Getty / Janelle Monáe
We all love Janelle Monáe, and when it comes to performances, she is always on point, but if you checked social media last night, her impersonation of Michael Jackson during the tribute for the late Quincy Jones was a rare miss.
The talented multi-hyphenate and 10-time Grammy-nominated artist took on the task of performing Michael Jackson’s iconic record “Don’t Stop’ Til You Get Enough,” a song produced by Jones as part of the tribute that also featured performances from Stevie Wonder, Cynthia Erivo, and more.
Jones has won 28 Grammy Awards throughout his career, and his most recent win came in 2018 for Best Music Film category for the short Quincy.
Will Smith, who worked with Jones on the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air sitcom, ended his awards show hiatus after the slap heard around the world to introduce the segment.
Monáe had MJ’s signature look down, rocking a sparkly tuxedo that would have made him proud, complete with bedazzled socks and penny loafers.
She also had the dance moves down, flawlessly executing the moonwalk, which got a massive rise out of the crowd, before taking off her jacket, revealing an “I [heart] QJ” t-shirt honoring the producer who passed away on Nov 3, 2024, at age 91 and chucking into the crowd where Taylor Swift caught it and proceeded to wear it.
https://x.com/StopYoureLosing/status/1886264801237549496
Social Media Had Thoughts About Janelle Monáe’s Performance
The performance impressed some viewers. “Janelle Monáe the PERFORMER. PLEASE PUT RESPECT ON HER NAME,” one post on X, formerly Twitter, read.
https://x.com/mmpadellan/status/1886259387708113160
Sadly, many thought Janelle Monáe didn’t stick the landing with her performance.
“Fuck Janelle Monae. That shit was trash, disgusting, and disrespectful. How dare you go up on that stage and perform a song by a legend after disrespecting him and his family the way you did. You need Cheryl Porter and Paula to teach you some things about choreo and vocals,” one angry viewer said on X.
Well damn.
https://x.com/0nlyFoxx/status/1886259414111305916
If you ask us, the performance was satisfactory; you can see more reactions in the gallery below.
2. Damn, sounded like a good choice to us
4. Someone enjoyed it
5. Lol, damn, not the Beyoncé
12. Beyoncé liked it
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Source: JC Olivera / Getty
And the winner is…Doechii. On Saturday, February 2, the MC sensation out of Tampa won Best Rap Album for her proper debut, Alligator Bites Never Heal, at the 2025 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.
Doechii accepted her award by noting that two women before had won in the category, Lauryn Hill and Cardi B. It was the latter who present her with the award.
From the stage, she dedicated the win to her sobriety and “God told me he would reward me and show me just how good it can get.”
The “Denial Is A River” rapper also thanked TDE and her mother, show she brought up on stage and made sure to big up her Tampa roots.
Doechii won in a hyper-competitive field that included projects from J. Cole, Eminem, Common & Pete Rock and Future & Metro Boomin.
Hip-Hop is in great hands with Doechii.
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Kanye West is back on the Grammys red carpet in Los Angeles. In addition, for 2025, he brought along his wife, Bianca Censori, who was pretty much naked.
Seriously, Censori was on the red carpet at the Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, Feburary 2 rocking what looked like a sheer stocking minidress that didn’t leave much of anything for the imagination. As for Ye, he was rocking a black tee shirt tucked into his black pants along with some big ass combat looking boots—so we guess he wasn’t trying to coordinate.
To her credit, she initially rolled up in big fur coat, before revealing that was…wait for it…naked, again.
https://x.com/PopCulture2000s/status/1886192717056651457
But the kicker is that Ye and Censori reportedly rolled up uninvited, and then were escorted out by security. What a time.
Along with admiring Censori’s body, discussing what is the deal with Ye objectifying his wife and wondering if she voluntarily along for this ride, the social media peanut gallery had plenty more to say.
See for yourself, along with more angle—because, you care—in the gallery.
This story is developing.
1. Were you really shocked?
2. Does that count as rolling up?
3. Wait…
4. A law or two may have been fractured…
5.
6. The jokes always write themselves.
8. Allegedly.
10. A question that’s actually been answered.
Respectfully.
11. 67th GRAMMY Awards – Arrivals
Source:Getty
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 02: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (L-R) Kanye West and Bianca Censor attend the 67th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic) vertical,color image,photography,celebrities,arts culture and entertainment,usa,topix,music,california,city of los angeles,annual event,ye – musician,crypto.com arena,bianca censori,67th grammy awards
12. 67th GRAMMY Awards – Arrivals
Source:Getty
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 02: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (L-R) Kanye West and Bianca Censor attend the 67th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic) vertical,color image,photography,celebrities,arts culture and entertainment,usa,topix,music,california,city of los angeles,annual event,ye – musician,crypto.com arena,bianca censori,67th grammy awards