Current Events
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Source: Gareth Cattermole / Getty /Ryan Coogler / Sinners
Ryan Coogler is highly thankful to all the support and love his phenomenal vampire flick, Sinners, starring Michael B. Jordan, is receiving, so he took the time to thank them personally.
Despite becoming one of Hollywood’s most successful filmmakers, Ryan Coogler remains humble and recognizes that it is the viewing audience that has helped him achieve his success.
Keeping the same energy after fans flocked to theaters to see Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Coogler penned an open letter thanking moviegoers for running, not walking, to see the film, leading to it taking a massive bite out of the box office and dethroning A Minecraft Movie in the process.
Fans also contributed to the film becoming one of the highest-grossing horror films of all time.
Coogler Expresses Eternal Gratitude To Fans
In the typewritten letter shared on the Sinners, Proximity Media, and Warner Bros. Instagram accounts, he wrote:
“Eternal Gratitude. I want to thank each and every one of you who bought a ticket to see SINNERS. Who decided to drive to see the film in different formats,” he begins. “Who bought popcorn and a drink, booked a sitter and carpooled, and stood in the lobby afterward and talked and made a friend. Who changed their work schedules. Who saw the film in groups.”
He further thanked viewers for the success of Sinners, as the project was deeply personal to him, drawing inspiration from his late uncle and his passion for blues music, one of the film’s many themes, alongside the vampiric element.
Coogler continued, “I had the gift of the opportunity to make a film inspired by my family and ancestry, but it was always a film that we wanted to make for audiences.” We always had our minds on you, the audience, and felt a deep responsibility to entertain you, and move you in the way only cinema can.”
Ryan Coogler Vows To Keep Making Cinematic Heat To Repay Fans For Their Support
The Black Panther director also noted he would repay fans by continuing to put out cinematic heat while showing love to his “cinematic influences,” Spike Lee, John Singleton, Steve McQueen, Ava DuVernay, Barry Jenkins, Quentin Tarantino, Jordan Peele, Francis Coppola,, Steven Spielberg, the Safdie brothers, Stephen King, Martin Scorcese, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, and Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Of course, he also had to thank his longtime collaborator, Michael B. Jordan, for their 13-year partnership, his wife, Zinzi, and his picture editor, Michael Shawver.
Sinners is still in theaters and on track to gross $100 million, despite publications like Variety attempting to downplay the film’s success.
Social media continues to praise the movie as well. You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
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Source: Anadolu / Getty
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is overseeing a plan to collect data on autistic people nationwide, which has drawn backlash from the public.
According to reports, the National Institute of Health is creating a database of Americans’ private health records in line with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial plan to find a cause and cure for autism. The plan will cull data from pharmacy chains and private laboratories as well as from government agencies such as the Department of Veteran Affairs and potentially from Medicaid and Medicare.
NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya detailed the plan in a meeting with a panel at the agency, according to NPR. “The idea of the platform is that the existing data resources are often fragmented and difficult to obtain. The NIH itself will often pay multiple times for the same data resource,” he said while emphasizing that the data collected would be subject to “state of the art protections” for confidentiality purposes.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been persistent in promoting his incorrect views on autism, having recently stated at a press conference that those diagnosed have “regressed … into autism when they were 2 years old. And these are kids who will never pay taxes, they’ll never hold a job, they’ll never play baseball, they’ll never write a poem, they’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.” He also falsely claimed that vaccinations and environmental factors are the causes.
“Even among those with an intellectual disability, there’s huge variability,” Penn Center for Mental Health David Mandell said, refuting RFK’s autism claims. “People with Down’s Syndrome have an intellectual disability, but often are quite capable and can do all the things RFK points to.”
The plan has alarmed many who call it an “autism registry” and liken it to eugenics. “This idea is dangerous, unethical, and a serious threat to privacy. People with autism deserve dignity and respect—not surveillance by their own government,” New York State Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, adding: “I stand with advocates across the country in strongly opposing this proposal.” Santabarbara has a young child diagnosed with autism.
Senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center Sara Geoghagan touched on the breach of privacy involved. “The collection and processing of personal information, especially health-related information that can reveal health conditions in this way, is out of context and inappropriate,” she said in an interview.
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Just days after Maryland Senator Dick Van Hollen was able to confirm that wrongfully deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia was still alive and well in a Salvadorian prison, we’re learning that his wife and children in New Jersey had to be moved to a safe house after the Trump administration publicly revealed their home address.
According to Raw Story, Jennifer Vasquez Sura and her children had to be swiftly moved out of their home and into an undisclosed location after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, took to X and posted an old order of protection that Sura filed against Garcia in 2021. In an obvious attempt by this administration to further smear Garcia’s character to “justify” his deportation and their refusal to facilitate his return, the Trump administration just made Sura’s life that much more difficult by doxxing her address and putting a target on her home for MAGA to harass (as they’re known to do).
Per Raw Story:
“I don’t feel safe when the government posts my address, the house where my family lives, for everyone to see, especially when this case has gone viral and people have all sorts of opinions,” said Vasquez Sura. “So, this is definitely a bit terrifying. I’m scared for my kids.”
A DHS spokesperson did not respond Monday to a request for a comment about not redacting the family’s address, according to the newspaper’s lengthy story about Vasquez Sura—who shares a 5-year-old nonverbal, autistic son with Abrego Garcia and has a 9-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter from a previous relationship that was abusive.
On Wednesday, The New Republic published a short article highlighting the safe house detail and noting that “the government has not commented on the decision to leave the family’s address in the document it posted online,” sparking a fresh wave of outrage over the Trump administration endangering the family.
As with everything else that this administration does, it’s all about the cruelty.
Fortunately, Jennifer Vasquez Sura and her family have been moved to a safe house, but we just hope that the Trump administration doesn’t learn its whereabouts because knowing them they’ll just “leak” where that place happens to be too.
What do y’all think about this latest development in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: Piaras Ó Mídheach / Getty
According to reports, the senior producer for the long-running CBS investigative news program 60 Minutes resigned on Tuesday(April 22), citing a loss of journalistic independence. “Over the past months, it has … become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it,” Bill Owens wrote in a memo sent out to staff, adding, “To make independent decisions based on what was right for ‘60 Minutes,’ right for the audience.
“So, having defended this show — and what we stand for — from every angle, over time with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move forward,” Owens concluded. His departure sent shockwaves through the news industry, as he was only the third person to ever hold that position in the show’s history. He maintained that he was not apologizing for the work done on the Harris interview in the memo, nor would he recommend a retraction.Observers quickly noted that the 57-year-old’s reference to losing journalistic control was tied to the show being sued initially for $10 billion recently by President Donald Trump, who took umbrage over the program’s October 2024 interview with Kamala Harris. Trump alleged that the interview was heavily edited to make him look bad. He recently upped the suit’s claims for damages to $20 billion.Another aspect of Owens’ resignation is that it comes at a tense time for CBS’ parent company, Paramount. Shari Redstone, the president, has been currying favor with Trump in order to get approval for the sale of her media conglomerate to Skydance Entertainment. Skydance Entertainment is run by David Ellison, the son of tech magnate Larry Ellison. Paramount reportedly has been in settlement talks with Trump since January. CNN’s Jake Tapper called the network out on Tuesday evening, addressing Redstone directly as he highlighted the severity of Owens’ resignation. “And that is the context of Shari Redstone’s likely bending of the knee. Hope the money’s worth it, Shari,” he said.
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Source: Marvel Studios / Thunderbolts*
Word on the streets is that Marvel Studios is back (even though they never left), according to reactions from those who saw the latest entry in the MCU, Thunderbolts*.
Fans and critics, including our very own Bernard “Beanz” Smalls, got to see Thunderbolts* ahead of its May 2 release, and the consensus is that the movie is a return to the top-tier comic book movie form we have come to expect from Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios.
Most reactions praise the film for its surprisingly emotional tone, a quality often lacking in Marvel flicks. Others are praising Florence Pugh’s performance as Yelena, who is now headlining her first film since her debut in the underrated Black Widow film and a guest appearance in the Disney+ series Hawkeye.
Pugh’s performance is being hailed as “superb,” with Beanz adding in his first reaction that she was the film’s “MVP.”
“#Thunderbolts was awesome. Tons of implications on how the MCU is moving forward. The team works well together, plenty of emotion. Yelena is my MVP. Definitely a super fun movie,” Beanz’s full reaction read.
Another reaction read, “#Thunderbolts is A24 meets Superhero character study. Raw. Fresh. Hilarious at times. Sad at others. It has you rooting for this scrappy ensemble on the edge of your seat. Big implications, but still it’s own thing. If this is how the MCU is doing films now, BRAVA.”
We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves.
Film writer Emily Murray described Thunderbolts* as “easily one of the best MCU movies in a long time,” adding it “Has so much spark, charisma, and tells a genuinely emotional story you connect with. A tear was shed. Florence Pugh in particular superb, just walks away with it.”
“Biggest compliment I can pay #Thunderbolts is that it felt like Infinity era MCU. A focus on the characters and story, rather than fan service or future set-up (until lengthy post-credit scene). Terrific cast, led by the always-excellent Florence Pugh,” said another user on X.
Hit the #Thunderbolts hashtag on X, and you will be hard-pressed to find a negative reaction. We shall see if the critics all agree when reviews drop next week.
Until then, hit the gallery for more reactions.
1. All facts here
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Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty / Megan Thee Stallion / Queen Latifah
Megan Thee Stallion is gearing up for another hot girl summer, kicking things off with her Coachella performance these past two weekends. During night one, living legend Queen Latifah was one of her many guests during her headlining set, and the two linked up offstage.
The Houston megastar delivered a phenomenal Coachella performance, which also featured appearances from Ciara and Victoria Monet, who elicited the most enthusiastic reactions from the fans.
“Thank you to everyone who came out to watch my team show out at @coachella ! Thank you to all my dancers and JaQuel 💙” wrote in the caption of her Instagram post. “yall are so amazing and are always so supportive and I appreciate yall for pushing me and motivating me ! Thank you to all my ladies @queenlatifah @courtneylaplante @ciara @victoriamonet that came out and shared the stage with me YALL ARE ICONS and made this experience so much more amazing for me thank you 1000 times !!! Love you hotties.”
The Trio We Didn’t Know We Needed
After ripping the stage together, Megan Thee Stallion joined Queen Latifah and her wife, Eboni Nichols, and they decided to enjoy some fine dining, including escargot, also known as snails.
“So me, Queen, and Eb is at dinner and b***h, and we’re about to try some sh*t we ain’t never ate before,” the “Hiss” crafter begins in the video.
Before embarking on their escargot journey, Thee Stallion boasted about her oyster seasoning skills after a friendly competition between herself and Nichols, saying they will battle for the title of “Best Oyster Maker.”
Next on the menu for Supreme Hot Girl was caviar with bread which seemed to be hit based on her joyful reaction. The final treat was steamed escargot paired with bread.
“I don’t know about this,” she said as she picked up the delicacy with her fork.
To top things off, she also got a lesson on how to eat mussels from the Queen herself, who warned her that if the shell doesn’t open by itself, don’t eat it.
The Hotties Loved To See It
The Hotties loved the candid moment between Megan Thee Stallion and Queen Latifah.
“I love this. Meg deserves to be surrounded by vets in the game who will uplift her and build solid healthy friendship/peer mentorship. A lot of the OG Women rappers like Queen, Missy, Brat, Eve and Kim have solid friendships with one another, “one post on X, formerly Twitter read.
Another post read, “A group I didn’t know I needed lol.”
Same sis, same.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
5. Very true
6. Not a “warm welcoming lesbian,” bruh.
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Source: MERCEDES-BENZ / Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz has once again partnered up with Ice Spice. She worked with the brand on a new custom molten chrome CLA.
As spotted on Newsweek, the automobile maker celebrated the re-grand opening of their Mercedes-Benz of Manhattan dealership in Manhattan. The evening’s theme was “Stars, Sounds & Slices,” a nod to the New York City experience. As part of their “Class of Creators” initiative, Mercedes-Benz had Ice Spice in attendance to formally kick off the collaborative project by unveiling a tricked out version of the CLA four-door sedan.
Source: MERCEDES-BENZ / Mercedes-Benz
The art piece features molten like chrome detailing and paint drips throughout the entire body. Additionally, we get an interpretation of her signature diamond “Princess” pendant on the side with the chain extending all around the car. The wheels also have Ice Spice’s name to complement chrome fixtures on the runner panel. According to a press release, the theme of this car will also be represented in a capsule collection that will include T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, and more.
Bettina Fetzer, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Digital & Communications, expressed the brand’s enthusiasm in a statement. “The all-new CLA is the leading-edge trailblazer of our portfolio – the gateway into the world of Mercedes‑Benz. We are thrilled to collaborate with our ’Class of Creators,’ represented by Ice Spice, Gustaf Westman, KidSuper, League of Legends and Hot Wheels,” she said. “Together, we want to connect and engage with diverse communities by inviting them to be a part of this conversation.”
Gustaf Westman’s event will be next on May 22, and Kid Super will follow with his art piece on June 28. You can see Ice Spice discuss the art piece below.
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Anadolu / Delroy Lindo
Marvel Studios’ take on Blade starring Mahershala Ali has become a running joke in Hollywood, and Delroy Lindo is providing some insight on why the film can’t seem to get out of limbo.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Lindo, who is currently promoting Ryan Coogler’s epic vampire flick, Sinners, opened up about the troubled Marvel Studios project, touching on issues like creative differences that have hampered production for the film, which was announced in 2019.
Lindo was announced to be joining the Blade reboot in 2021, subsequently exiting the project, revealing to the publication that it “went off the rails.”
“When Marvel came to me, they seemed to be really interested in my input,” the Da 5 Bloods actor said. “And in the various conversations I had with producers, the writer, the director at the time, it was all leading into being very inclusive. It was really exciting conceptually, but it was also exciting in terms of the character that was going to form. And then, for whatever reason, it just went off the rails.”
Lindo revealed that his character in the Blade reboot was supposed to have a “Marcus Garvey-esque” persona.
“I’m not saying that it would’ve been an out-and-out Garvey-ite. Not that, but just in terms of how this man’s philosophy, his ethos, and what was driving him. He was a character who had, very similar to Sinners, created a community, a Black community. He was a character who was the head of this community,” Lindo added.
It sounds like we missed out on something epic.
Welp.
Ali’s Blade Movie Is Currently A Joke
Since Ali’s Blade has failed to enter the MCU, the Academy Award-winning actor has appeared in other films, as well as the forthcoming entry in the Jurassic Park film franchise, and in other movies that were announced around the same time as the reboot, which has become a constant gag.
Wesley Snipes, who successfully brought the Daywalker to the big screen in three feature-length films, and recently reprised the role in Deadpool & Wolverine, has even taken shots at Ali’s Blade movie.
Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige insists that Ali is still very much involved with the Blade project and that it’s coming. We will continue to put faith in the man that is finally giving us the X-Men we have wanted to see for years, and delivered some of the greatest comic book movies of all-time.
He deserves that much grace.
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Source: Scott Dudelson / Getty
Lil Uzi Vert was rushed to a local hospital in New York City on Monday, April 21. The Philadelphia rapper was seen getting loaded into a waiting ambulance.
TMZ reports that paramedics were summoned to a hotel on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in response to a “sick person.”
The 29-year-old, born Symere Bysil Woods, was wheeled on a stretcher through the hotel lobby and placed into a waiting ambulance. Reportedly, they were accompanied by their girlfriend, City Girls rapper JT. Security did their best to shield them from cameras.
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Source: Scott Dudelson / Getty
Lil Uzi Vert was rushed to a local hospital in New York City on Monday, April 21. The Philadelphia rapper was seen getting loaded into a waiting ambulance.
TMZ reports that paramedics were summoned to a hotel on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in response to a “sick person.”
The 29-year-old, born Symere Bysil Woods, was wheeled on a stretcher through the hotel lobby and placed into a waiting ambulance. Reportedly, they were accompanied by their girlfriend, City Girls rapper JT. Security did their best to shield them from cameras.