Current Events
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Senator JD Vance and Governor Tim Walz squared off in their only vice presidential debate, which was surprisingly filled with several key exchanges.
On Tuesday evening (October 1), the vice presidential debate between Republican Senator JD Vance of Ohio and Democratic Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota took place at the CBS News studios in Manhattan, New York. The first and only debate between the two took on a heightened level of importance as early voting for the election in November has already begun. The debate was moderated by CBS anchors Norah O’Donnell and Margaret O’Brennan and notably did not have the stringent rules that were present in the ABC News presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump – particularly the network’s decision to not heavily fact-check the candidates’ assertions in real-time.
The debate began with the pressing news concerning the conflict between Iran and Israel that exploded earlier in the day. Walz answered first, starting a bit unsteady while Vance defended Trump’s position of “effective deterrence” while pointing out that the situation was weakened under President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris. Walz fired back by claiming that Iran is more emboldened due to Trump’s leadership and allies have noted his weakness. “He will go to whoever has the most flattery,” he said.
Immigration became a heated flashpoint in the debate, as Vance was asked if he would separate children from their parents who’ve migrated to the U.S. illegally. “We have to stop the bleeding,” he replied, blaming Vice President Harris for a “historic immigration crisis”, before alleging that she enabled Mexican drug cartels to operate freely. Walz rebuked those claims, citing Harris’ record of going after the cartels as California’s Attorney General. He then called Vance out for spreading false claims about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio. “This is what happens to an issue when you don’t want to solve it,” he said. “You demonize.” The moderators fact-checked Vance after he again called the migrants “illegal”, to which he took offense, beginning to speak again over Brennan and O’Donnell leading to the microphones for Vance and Walz being cut off.
The moderators then asked pointed questions of each candidate, beginning with asking Walz about a discrepancy concerning his being in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He gave a quick overview of his background but didn’t answer the question. “I got there that summer and I misspoke on this,” he replied after being pressed about the issue. Vance was confronted with his past remarks blasting Trump including calling him “an American Hitler” before becoming his running mate, acknowledging that he disagreed with him in the past but that he also misspoke.
Reproductive rights and abortion proved to be another flashpoint, as Walz blasted Trump for his bragging about the reversal of Roe Vs. Wade, and spoke about Minnesota’s codifying reproductive rights into law. “We made sure that we put women in charge of their health care,” he said while bringing up Project 2025 and referencing Amber Thurman, the Georgia woman who died recently seeking help out-of-state. Vance, who has been highly conservative on the issue, acknowledged his past comments but claimed that he and Trump are “pro-family in the fullest sense of the word” and denied that there’d be a national abortion ban.
Both candidates were combative but also conciliatory at times. The topic of gun control was one example as Vance expressed sympathy when Walz disclosed that his 17-year-old son witnessed a mass shooting. But that topic also led Vance to blame mass shootings on “mental health issues in this country”, to which Walz rebutted by being cautious “What we end up doing is that we start looking for a scapegoat. Sometimes it just is the guns. It’s just guns, and there are things that you can do about it,” he said.
Vance also tried to tie Vice President Harris to illegal immigration repeatedly, at one point claiming “25 million illegal aliens competing with Americans for scarce homes is one of the most significant drivers of home prices in the country.” They also discussed healthcare, where Walz seemed to shine citing Minnesota’s stature as a national leader in healthcare policies, also jabbing Vance for falsely claiming that Trump “salvaged” the Affordable Care Act while he was in office. “Let me tell you the benefits of being an old guy. I was there,” Walz said, touting the strength of the ACA and Harris’ proposed policies to expand it.
The topic of the January 6th insurrection proved to be explosive, as Vance sidestepped the question of whether he and Donald Trump would challenge this year’s election results. Walz was forceful at this point, referring to the deaths of Capitol police officers that day and Trump’s false claims of the 2020 election being stolen. “A president’s words matter,” he said as Vance tried to assert that Harris was using “the threat of censorship” using social media platforms during the COVID pandemic “at an industrial scale”. Walz fired back: “Facebook ads did not cause Jan. 6,” Vance was asked again if he and Trump would accept the results of the 2020 election, and he pivoted again to accusing Harris of censorship. “That is a damning nonanswer,” Walz said, adding: “The winner needs to be the winner. This has got to stop. It’s tearing our country apart.”
The nominees closed out the debate after a short break, with Walz going first and citing the broad coalition behind Harris, saying: “They don’t all agree on everything, but they are truly optimistic people. They believe in a positive future in this country, and one where our politics can be better than it is.” Vance went afterward, drawing on his rural upbringing and blaming Harris for regular Americans not being able to achieve “their full dreams with the broken leadership that we have in Washington.”
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Source: Shareif Ziyadat / Getty
John Amos, the actor famed for portraying James Evans on Good Times, amongst other roles, has passed away. He was 83.
Variety reports that Amos’ reps confirmed that he actually passed away over a month ago, on August 21, in Los Angeles from natural causes. It is unclear why it took so long for the public to become aware of his death.
“It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned,” said Amos’ son, Kelly Christopher Amos, in a statement. “He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold… and he was loved the world over. Many fans consider him their TV father. He lived a good life. His legacy will live on in his outstanding works in television and film as an actor. My father loved working as an actor throughout his entire life…. most recently in ‘Suits LA’ playing himself and our documentary about his life journey as an actor, ‘America’s Dad.’ He was my dad, my best friend, and my hero. Thank you for your prayers and support at this time.”
Born in Newark and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, Amos’ most popular role as an actor was easily as the middle-aged, blue collar father James Evans on Good Times. But it is worth noting that Amos was infamously fired after three seasons on the hit show due to disagreements with its writers. Apparently, Amos felt the scribes didn’t understand the Black people they were supposed to be writing about.
“The truth of it was when the show first started, we had no African-American writers on the show, and some of the attitudes they had written, as per my character and, frankly, for some of the other characters as well, caused me to say, ‘Uh uh, we can’t do this, we can’t do that.’ And they’d say, ‘What do you mean we can’t do this?’,” Amos told Sway In The Morning in 2017. “They’d go on about their credits and all the rest of that and I’d look at each and every one of them and say, ‘Well, how long have you been Black? That just doesn’t happen in the community. We don’t think that way. We don’t act that way. We don’t let our children do that. I was laying down what I thought were good rules to make the show stronger and better, they didn’t agree with me.’”
Other beloved characters in the late actor’s portfolio include Kansas City Mack in 1975’s Let’s Do It Again, Cleo McDowell in 1988’s Coming To America, and the adult Kunta Kinte in 1977’s miniseries Roots.
As soon as news of Amos’ passing start to spread, tributes to his greatness began pouring in over social media. We’ve compiled some of the more notable reactions below.
Rest in powerful peace John Amos.
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It seems LVMH is looking to increase their portfolio within the luxury apparel sector. The conglomerate has made an investment into Moncler.
As spotted on Hype Beast the French holdings company announced on Thursday, September 26 that they acquired a 10% stake in Remo Ruffini (the investment vehicle controlled by Ruffini Partecipazioni Holding) which owns a direct stake in Moncler. The move will not only increase Double R’s ownership from 15.8% to 18.5%, but also affords LVMH the right to appoint two board seats at Double R. According to Yahoo! News long tenured LVMH executive Antonio “Toni” Belloni will get one of the seats while the other has yet to be announced. Remo Ruffini will remain as Moncler’s CEO and Chairman.
He expressed his enthusiasm in a formal statement. “This partnership reinforces Double R’s position in Moncler and provides the stability needed to execute my vision for the future” he said. “I have long admired Bernard Arnault’s entrepreneurial spirit and unique understanding of the luxury sector, and I am delighted he so clearly supports my long-term ambitions for our Group’s extraordinary brands.”
Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH, also commented on the agreement. “Moncler has been one of the most significant entrepreneurial success stories in the industry over the past twenty years. Remo Ruffini’s vision and leadership are remarkable and I am delighted to invest in his holding company to reinforce his position as leading shareholder on Moncler and support the independence of the Moncler Group.”
Moncler is an Italian luxury ready to wear apparel company based in Milan. They are most known for their down jackets
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Donald Trump might enjoy favorable support among his base but the race for the White House against his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, remains tightly contested. However, Donald Trump took things to a shocking level when he essentially endorsed police brutality to stamp out crime.
Donald Trump was in Pennsylvania on Sunday (September 29) and delivered a speech that should have been focused on his policies but devolved into him spouting debunked claims of crime rising under President Joe Biden’s administration and more talking points that he’s largely remained committed to. However, things took a dark turn when the former president suggested the police be allowed to use rough tactics to stop crime, especially in the world of retail theft.
“See, we have to let the police do their job,” Trump began. “And if they have to be extraordinarily rough…and you know the funny thing about all of that stuff. Look at the department stores. You see these guys walking out with an air conditioner and a refrigerator on their backs.”
The Trump faithful applauded on cue during this speech segment the business mogul continued to deliver his dangerous rhetoric.
“And the police aren’t allowed to do their job,” Trump continued. “They’re told if you do anything, you’re going to lose your pension, you’re going to lose your family, your house, your car. The police want to do it. The Border Patrol wants to do it. They’re not allowed to do it because the liberal left won’t let them do it.”
He continued to double down on the threat of police violence against theft, once again to the approving cheers of his supporters.
“One rough hour, and I mean real rough, the word will get out, and it will end immediately, end immediately. You know, it will end immediately,” Trump said.
On X, formerly Twitter, observers have likened Donald Trump’s support of concentrated and lawless police violence to the film franchise, The Purge, in which for 24 hours, crimes can be committed without consequences.
We’ve got reactions listed below.
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Photo: Getty
1. Regardless of what people are framing it as, it’s scary to imagine.
2. Worth a watch.
4. Some more talking points about what Trump may allegedly be angling for.
10. Instead of reducing it to name-calling, just keep educating. It’s all new information for some.
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Source: James Devaney / Getty / Yung Miami
Many people have been looking at Yung Miami following Diddy’s indictment due to her recent relationship with the disgraced mogul and wondering if she had any involvement in the alleged “freak-offs.” A new lawsuit implicates her in one of those alleged romps.
Allegedly, Yung Miami, aka Shawty Wop, and her former boo, Sean “Diddy” Combs, were acting bad together. Spotted on HipHopDX via USA Today, new documents obtained by the latter filed to the New York State Supreme Court disclose a new lawsuit from Jane Doe with some serious accusations.
The unnamed movie claims that she was subject to abuse at the hands of Diddy from 2020 through July of this year, which would mean the alleged incidents would have happened while his legal troubles were happening, even after federal agents raided his homes.
The documents also alleged that Yung Miami “harassed” the woman after she discovered she was pregnant.
Per HipHopDX:
Among the many allegations, Doe says Diddy (real name Sean Combs) forced her to have non-consensual sex, drugged her with substances like ketamine, recorded their encounters without her consent and manipulated her with threats and financial control. The lawsuit also details incidents where Doe blacked out after being given drugs or alcohol, waking up with injuries and no memory of the events.
Combs allegedly tracked her movements, monitored her communications, and used intimidation to dominate her actions and limit her independence. She says she complied with his behavior out of fear of what he would do if she said no.
As for the City Girls rapper’s involvement, Doe says that after she discovered she was pregnant, Miami “harassed” her with countless phone calls telling her to get an abortion. She says she later suffered a miscarriage, however, and hasn’t spoken to Combs or anyone around him since.
The unnamed woman is seeking an unspecified amount of damages. A statement from Jane Doe’s attorneys at New York-based law firm Napoli Shkolnik called out powerful figures involved in exploiting up-and-coming artists and fans.
“Powerful figures in the entertainment industry have long exploited aspiring artists and fans. Recent high-profile lawsuits aim to hold these celebrities accountable, potentially transforming industry practices and providing justice for victims. Fame and wealth do not protect Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs from serious allegations of sex trafficking and abuse.”
Yung Miami Has Denied Any Involvement
Before these latest developments, Yung Miami has been called out for response or lack thereof after sh*t hit the fan for Diddy. In an episode of her podcast, Caresha Please!, she told her best friend, Saucy Satana, about her time with Combs, saying he wasn’t violent towards her during their 2-year fling.
“I can’t speak on something that wasn’t my experience, and I can’t speak on something that I don’t know,” she said.
She continued, “I can’t speak on these allegations because I wasn’t around at the time. I don’t know that person, and that wasn’t my experience.”
The “Act Bad” crafter also spoke out against domestic violence, revealing in her previous two relationships, it was something she experienced, but not during her time with Diddy.
Of course, users on X, formally known as Twitter, are not buying what Caresha is selling.
You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
1. Interesting if that happens
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Dikembe Mutombo, the shot-blocking NBA legend and member of its Hall of Fame, has passed away. He was only 58.
NBA analyst Shams Charania reported that Mutombo passed away from brain cancer. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver released a statement announcing the eight-time NBA All-Star and philanthropist’s death.
“Dikembe Mutombo was simply larger than life. On the court, he was one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players in the history of the NBA,” said Silver. “Off the floor, he poured his heart and soul into helping others.”
OG NBA fans remember Mount Mutombo blocking shots and famously waving his finger at anyone who tried him when he was protecting the rim.
Even before his playing days were over, Mutombo began helping the people of his native Democratic Republic of the Congo, a passion that saw him open a school and hospital via his charity. He also served as a Global Ambassador for the NBA.
As soon as news of his passing broke, Xitter began going up for Mutombo, saluting for his exploits on the court and a life well played. Rest in powerful peace Dikembe Mutombo.
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Source: Julia Beverly / Getty / Boosie Badazz
Boosie Badazz continues to let the world know he’s a homophobic moron and his daughter had time for her father.
Making an appearance during a live taping of Yung Miami’s podcast Caresha Please! on day three of the Revolt World Conference, Boosie Badazz put his homophobia front and center when speaking about his daughter, Iviona Hatch, an up-and-coming rapper who goes by the name Poison Ivi.
The conversation between the two Hip-Hop acts shifted about Boosie’s daughter, who is also a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and him not allowing her to bring her girlfriend into his home out of fear she will “contaminate” her siblings.
Per XXL:
“It was nothing; I mean, she still can’t bring her situation to our house; my daughter’s grown,” Boosie says in the clip below. “Because I don’t want it to contaminate her other… It’s a generation we raising. I don’t want her to contaminate her other six, seven sisters who look up to her. I want them to bring me grandchildren the right way. If I want grandchildren the right way, that’s what I’m a stand on. If I don’t want my other little girl to look at daddy and say, ‘What’s that daddy?’ to somebody she looks up to? It’s not gonna come around. My grandfather didn’t let it, my daddy didn’t let it, and I didn’t let it.”
Ivi Had Time For Boosie Badazz
In the clip, which has since gone viral, audience members who honestly had time to waste by listening to him can be heard gasping loudly, with one person saying, “Boosie crazy.”
Ivi saw the comments and sounded off on her dad in an emotional Instagram Live session, where she can be seen fighting back tears as she pleaded for her father to stop talking about her sexuality with strangers.
“Emotionally, mentally, you suck,” she says in the live. “You suck, bruh. And I know you suck with that cause you’d rather go to the internet and have a conversation with the internet about your kids before you come to us and have that conversation.”
She also praised Boosie for being “a good provider,” said he was not “a bad father,” and said she would not “disrespect” the “Wipe Me Down” crafter.
“I’m not finna get on here and go against the grain and go against my daddy,” she said. “Nobody finna make me do that. But it’s like, you makin’ me do that, they not even makin’ me do that. You makin’ me do that,” she continues emotionally.
“You steady speakin’ on me. I would respect if you just say, just one time, just say, ‘My daughter know how I feel about that can we move on to the next question?’”
Boosie’s Long History of Homophobia & Being Problematic
This latest incident with Boosie is not the first time he said some ridiculous sh*t. The rapper once proudly boasted he paid an adult woman to perform sexual acts on his underage son and nephews.
“I’m training these boys right, I’m training these boys right,” Boosie said. “Ask any of my nephews, ask any of them, ask my son. Yeah, when they was 12, 13 they got head. Yeah, that’s how it’s supposed to be.”
“Hell yeah I got my f***in’ son dick sucked,” he continued. “You f***in’ right. Yes, a grown woman, grown, super grown … checked his ass out. Checked all my nephews out, super grown. Is she grown? She check me out. I know what the f**k she did to them, she checked me out, that bitch. I’m getting them prepared, man.”
He also claimed he walked out of a viewing of The Color Purple because it “seemed gay.”
Social media is lighting Boosie up in defense of his daughter. You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
1. No lies detected here.
2. Well damn
3. Exactly
4. Crazy when you think about it
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Source: Variety / Getty / Idris Elba
Idris Elba and David Oyelowo continue to be booked and busy.
Variety exclusively reports that Elba has signed on to executive produce and star in a TV adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, which A24 is developing.
The website reports that the series has no home yet, and no writer is attached to the project. Gina Carter joins Elba as an executive producer under their recently launched 22Summers banner.
David Oyelowo and Amanda N’Duka will also executive produce under their Yoruba Saxon production company.
Per Variety:
The official description of “Things Fall Apart” states it is the “story of Okonkwo (Elba), one of literature’s most iconic characters—a fearless African warrior and leader who is resolute about preserving his people and culture. As British colonizers disrupt his world, Okonkwo’s struggle to maintain power and tradition spirals into a heart-wrenching confrontation. His fierce resolve, a fatal flaw in the face of unstoppable change, makes him an unforgettable character, embodying the tension between strength, vulnerability and adaptability.”
According to the website, Things Fall Apart is considered by many to be one of the greatest novels ever written. The book has been translated into over 60 languages and won multiple awards, including the Nigerian National Merit Award and the Man Booker International Prize.
This won’t be the first time the book will be adapted for the small screen. It was developed into a miniseries starring Pete Edochie, who starred as Okonkwo, and as a film.
Both Elba and Oyelowo have been quite busy. Elba is coming off Emmy nominations for his stellar work in the Apple TV+ series Hijack.
Oyelowo and Yoruba Saxon most recently produced the Paramount+ series Lawmen: Bass Reeves, in which Oyelowo starred as Reeves.
We look forward to what these two are cooking up with Things Fall Apart.
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Source: Kevin C. Cox / Getty / Latto
A Waffle House employee saw one door close after the restaurant chain gave her the boot after she posted a video of herself doing Latto’s “Brokey” TikTok challenge during her shift. The Atlanta rapper came through in the clutch, awarding her $10,000 for her efforts.
Latto sent some folks scrambling on social media on September 15 when she posted on X, formerly Twitter that she is giving away $10,000, plus flying the lucky winner out to be in the music video if they record the best video while at work with her single, “Brokey,” off her latest album, Sugar Honey Iced Tea playing.
In the post, she wrote, “I hate that y’all think I was calling hard workers brokeys so I got $10k for whoever make the best video at they job to brokey & I’ll fly u out to be in the music video…no mo waiting til ur bday to go outta town. Tag me & hashtag #Brokey so I can see them all.”
One TikToker, yadirajramirez, answered the call and dropped her entry to the challenge on the social media platform, revealing on Friday that Waffle House fired her a day after her contribution to “Big Latto’s Challenge.”
“I’m glad I placed six years in a company that would fire me in literally a day, a day, a day of posting one video, one video that harms nobody, that everybody was actually literally rooting for and happy about,” the former Waffle House employee said. “They will never rehire me again.”
Latto Came Through In The End
Two days later, in a follow-up video, Ramirez thanked everyone for “all the positive, loving feedback.” She added, “Our company policy doesn’t say we’re not allowed to have our phones. It just says, ‘Don’t bash or talk bad about the company,’ and we didn’t.”
She also pointed out that one person assumed to be a manager was a manager in training, revealing that two other managers were there who declined to participate in the video. One of those managers was the one who terminated her, and she also revealed that she was the only employee to be fired.
“No one else got fired; no one’s getting written up from what I’ve been told,” she said.
“I’m not going to ask for nothing. I really don’t want nothing,” Yadira continued. “I’m just thankful for all the positivity really.”
Her misery was brief because, in the next video, Yadira shared a video of herself in the studio with Latto, who handed the fired employee $10K. The two twerked after she tossed the bills into the air.
Salute to Latto for keeping her word, coming through for Ramirez, and making Waffle House look incredibly dumb.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
1. Word, makes no damn sense.
2. In an instant
4. A blessing in disguise
6. Maybe she will invest it
7. Y’all play too damn much
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Source: Matt Cardy / Getty
An independent journalist, Ken Klippenstein, was suspended from X, formerly Twitter, for publishing a dossier on JD Vance on the platform.
On Thursday (Sept. 26), an independent journalist was suspended from X, formerly Twitter, having his account locked. The reason given by the platform’s safety account for the suspension was “for violating our rules on posting unredacted private personal information, specifically Sen. [J.D.] Vance’s physical address and the majority of his social security number.” The journalist Ken Klippenstein published a PDF, which is an opposition research file on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s running mate earlier in the day.
Klippenstein, who formerly wrote for The Intercept, disclosed why he published the Vance dossier in his Substack newsletter. “If the document had been hacked by some ‘anonymous’ like hacker group, the news media would be all over it,” he wrote, referring to other news outlets being reluctant to publish the document despite having had access to it since June. “I’m just not a believer of the news media as an arm of the government, doing its work combating foreign influence. Nor should it be a gatekeeper of what the public should know.”
The suspension also extends to the social media platform flagging the link and automatically blocking anyone who attempts to post it. The decision comes after the platform updated policies on “hacked materials” in the wake of stories concerning Hunter Biden’s laptop appearing on X in 2020. Those stories would be published, but links within them blocked as a result.
The 271-page document does contain unredacted personal information about Vance. At least three major news outlets and other independent journalists had received the dossier but didn’t publish it, later citing a lack of anything newsworthy to be found in it. Their decisions drew criticism from others who cited the media frenzy when emails from Hilary Clinton during her 2016 presidential campaign were leaked and then published wildly a short time before the election.
The Trump campaign has alleged that the document leak was the result of their servers being hacked by the Iranian government, occurring in the same period in June as confirmed by three U.S. intelligence agencies. Iran’s vice president for strategic affairs denied the claims to NBC News, saying that “the government and official agencies of Iran have not hacked anybody. People working for us haven’t, either.”