State Champ Radio Current Events
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Disturbing news coming out of California as authorities busted up a sex trafficking ring at this year’s annual Comic-Con event.
Yes, Comic-Con.
According to Deadline, California’s Attorney General, Rob Bonta, announced that his investigators arrested 14 individuals involved in the sex trafficking ring and recovered 10 victims in the operation. While many people know that sex trafficking rings are a problem worldwide, we’re lowkey surprised such a thing would be operating at a place like Comic-Con where families and friends go to live out their geekiest cosplay fantasies. Still, that’s what happened, and now people are going to have to pay the piper for their transgressions.
Deadline reports:
“Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit,” Rob Bonta said toady, announcing the sting at the just-concluded convention. Along with the apprehension of more than a dozen alleged sex buyers, among the 10 victims was a 16-year-old who law enforcement “recovered.”
“These arrests send a clear message to potential offenders that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated,” the California AG said of the sting that took place from July 25-27. “We are grateful to all our dedicated partners involved in the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, whose collaboration has been invaluable. We take great pride in our office’s commitment to uplifting vulnerable Californians by offering them assistance and guidance when they need it most.”
Now, with this sex-trafficking ring busted up, best believe authorities will be keeping an eye on New York’s Comic Con come this fall for similar illegal activity.
“San Diego proudly hosts special events like Comic-Con – highly attended events like these allow us to showcase our growing and beautiful city,” Christopher Davis, acting special agent in charge for HSI San Diego, said Wednesday. “However, when people use these events as an opportunity to prey upon minors, HSI and our law enforcement partners will find you and bring you before a court of law to face criminal charges. There is no place for alleged predators to operate in our city and HSI is committed to helping the victims of these crimes.”
Man, ain’t nowhere safe these days.
What’s your thoughts on sex traffickers using Comic-Con for their illegal activities? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Rayful Edmond, once the most powerful drug kingpin in Washington, D.C. during the so-called “Crack Era” has been transferred from federal prison to a halfway house. According to the reports, Rayful Edmond is being held in a facility in Nashville, Tenn.
Local Washington outlet Fox 5 DC reports that Rayful Edmond, 59, was transferred on Wednesday (July 31) to the halfway house by the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Nashville Residential Reentry Management Office. The outlet added that Edmond is either under home confinement, a Residential Reentry Center, or a halfway house.
Edmond oversaw a sprawling crack cocaine in the 1980s, and his meteoric rise atop the drug lord food chain came with requisite violence which included murders carried out on his behalf that turned the streets of Washington, D.C. into a literal war zone. Edmond was also known for his lavish spending while also becoming something of a mythical and even beloved figure by some.
Ruling with fear heightened by the threat of violence from his street soldiers, Edmond commanded his drug network with the precision of a Fortune 500 company until his propensity to live out loud eventually led authorities to halt his operation. Edmond was previously serving a life sentence without parole due to his mounting federal drug charges after taking a guilty plea in 1989.
Edmond continued to deal drugs while in prison, leading to his subsequent arrest in 1994. From there, Edmond flipped on his organization and cooperated with federal investigators, a point of his life that has been documented in droves by several outlets.
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Photo: Rayful Edmond
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Source: Mike Marsland / Getty /Jonathan Majors
Jonathan Majors has finally broken his silence about losing his Marvel Studios gig.
The actor revealed how he was feeling after seeing Robert Downey Jr. make his triumphant return to the universe he built, the MCU, and secure a tremendous bag to the play Marvel Studios’ next big bad, Victor Von Doom, aka Doctor Doom, officially putting to bed Major’ Kang The Conqueror.
Speaking with TMZ, Majors revealed he was “heartbroken” after Marvel Studios announced its latest casting decision at San Diego Comic-Con.
Majors’ Kang was set to play a significant role in this current phase after making his MCU debut in Loki season 1, then starring in Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quatumania.
That all came to a halt after Majors was convicted of assaulting his now ex-girlfriend, and Marvel Studios kicked him to the curb.
“Yeah, heartbroken,” Majors told the celebrity gossip site after being asked how he felt about RDJ taking over the villain role in the upcoming Avengers films. “Come on, yeah, of course. I love him. I love Kang.”
The actor expressed optimism about returning as Kang said, “If that’s what the fans want, if that’s what Marvel wants, let’s roll.”
We doubt that will happen.
Majors also talked about Ezra Miller, RDJ receiving second chances in their careers.
As expected, users on X, formerly Twitter, had plenty to say since the recasting decision. Some are still putting on their capes for Majors.
“Can we as black men agree to stop repeating the lies about Jonathan Majors??? He did not “fumble” anything. A racist white woman named Grace Jabbari weaponized a racist criminal justice system to ruin Jonathan Majors life with obvious falsehoods. Stop lying about that man,” one post on X read.
Others do not feel bad for him at all, and he compares his situation to Ezra Miller and RDJ.
“This is so misleading Ezra DID NOT get another shot. His movie was already filmed so DC(not Marvel/Disney) decided to still release it and not lose money. RDJ issues were over 20 years ago. Iron man was his redemption role and that came years after his mishaps,” another post read.
Welp.
You can see more reactions below.
2. Rigggghhtt
3. Basically
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Source: Shareif Ziyadat / Getty / Joe Budden
Rapper-turned-loud-mouth podcaster Joe Budden is out here pitching conspiracy theories about the Megan Thee Stallion shooting to his listeners.
While Megan Thee Stallion is out here trying to help get Kamala Harris elected, Joe Budden is running his gums about the Tory Lanez shooting.
On a recent episode of his self-titled podcast, the “Pump It Up” crafter pumped up wildly unsubstantiated claims about Megan Thee Stallion, accusing her of framing the man who shot her, Tory Lanez.
Budden’s glazing of the incarcerated musician included him explaining why he is skeptical of the story that Lanez shot at Thee Stallion’s feet during the July 2020 incident, which also involved Megan’s former best friend, Kelsey Harris.
Budden went as far as to pin the blame on Harris, saying she was the shooter and not Lanez.
Per HipHopDX:
“All of them involved have reason to lie, so I’m not really going with, who do I trust more? I’m just going with… n-gga thoughts,” he said.
“What is more likely? Tory leaves the studio, goes to Kylie Jenner’s house, is having a blast, thinking he’s about to get the foursome popping off. Meg gets jealous — we know how they got in the car. What is more likely? That Tory was so angered in that car that he took Kelsey’s gun and shot her?”
“Listen, we know whose gun it was,” he continued. “So he took her gun and shot [Megan]. Why? Why was he so mad […] Y’all think a man is just shooting a girl for no reason? Give me a reason! ‘Cause the only reason we got was, ‘I [Megan] said that I have more number ones than him.’
“Or what’s more believable? Two people that was running around as best friends, new in the music industry, one gets COVID, comes back, finds out her best friend is fucking the n-gga that she’s fucking on. And this n-gga was just about to get some Kylie Jenner ass […] That guy is shooting? No, that guy wants to go back!”
Joe Budden Alludes To Powerful People Above Megan Thee Stallion Influencing The Situation
He wasn’t done. He got the ears of Lanez’s loyal fans to perk up when he expressed that more powerful people are at play and that Megan Thee Stallon is just a “pawn.”
The “umbrellas” and Lanez’s father all believed Thee Stallion’s management, Roc Nation, definitely influenced the court’s decision.
“I think it’s above her. I don’t think she made it up. She’s a mere pawn in this,” Budden said. This play is greater than her. She didn’t make nothing up. I ain’t gonna say who I think made it up… but it wasn’t her. N-ggas out there know who it is. I know exactly who it is, I know how that gun got there, I know whose gun it was.”
The former Slaughter House member also shared a private conversation with Kelsey Harris in his DMs.
“I thought it was weird that the last time we talked about this shit, Kelsey jumped into my DMs talking about, ‘Aye, don’t talk about this no more.’ Why? You got immunity. It’s odd,” Budden said.
Harris quickly responded on X, formerly Twitter, basically disassociating herself from his comments while promising to drop more information and telling her followers to “stay tuned.”
You can peep the reactions to Budden’s comments in the gallery below.
2. Well damn
3. Make it make sense
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A South Carolina man who was recognized as the king of an African village was stabbed on Monday (July 29) later succumbing to the wounds. Police have arrested the suspect but details are still largely being kept under wraps as the village prepares to properly bury the leader.
Oba Adegbolu Abiogemo Adejuyigbe Egunjobi Oyewole Adefunmi II was the king of Oyotunji African Village, located near Sheldon, Beaufort County in South Carolina. Oyotunji was founded in 1970 by Oba Efuntola Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I.
According to a report from local outlet WJCL, reports of the stabbing Monday came in around 2:45 local time according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office’s communications team. Adefunmi was taken to a local hospital and died from the stab wounds.
A suspect, Akiba Kasale Meredith, 53, has been identified by the authorities and it now facing murder charges. According to the accounts delivered by BCSO officials, Meredith fled the area on foot but was later apprehended after walking back to the scene of the crime. A motive has not been established.
Source: Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office / BCSO
Officials at the Oyotunji African Village site have decided to speak with the press after completing proper burial services for Adefunmi.
Oba Adegbolu Abiogemo Adejuyigbe Egunjobi Oyewole Adefunmi II was 47.
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Photo: Allen Funerals
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Vice President Kamala Harris called out Donald Trump during her campaign rally in Atlanta for declining to debate her in September.
On Tuesday evening (July 30), before a crowd of 10,000 at the Georgia State Convention Center, Vice President Kamala Harris called out Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for declining to debate her in September. The presumptive Democratic nominee spelled it out plainly, saying: “You may have noticed he pulled out of the debate,” she began. “The momentum in this race is shifting, and there are signs that Donald Trump is feeling it. Well Donald, I do hope you’ll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage, because as the saying goes, if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face,” Harris finished, with the crowd wildly roaring in approval. Harris has said she will be at the Sept. 10 debate.
Trump has refused to commit to debating Vice President Harris after President Joe Biden decided not to run for reelection and endorsed Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee. His campaign team has gone on record saying it would be “inappropriate” since the Democratic Party could change their minds and not officially nominate Harris at their convention in Chicago beginning Aug. 15. Trump had agreed to two debates against President Biden, with the first moderated by CNN on June 27. However, he has also called for the second debate to be moved from ABC News to Fox News, saying in an interview with Laura Ingraham that he doesn’t “like rewarding fake news” in addition to insulting host George Stephanopoulos. “I don’t like that ABC is going to get rich,” he added.
The enthusiasm for Harris as the Democratic nominee has potentially given Trump and his team cause for worry. According to reports, recent polls have shown that the vice president has dramatically wiped out leads that Trump has had in key battleground states. Harris alluded to that throughout her speech at the rally, which also featured Hip-Hop stars lending their support to Vice President Harris. Quavo talked at length about her support to institute laws to prevent gun violence. “You can’t understand the struggles of gun violence if you’re not in the field or in the heart of it. One thing I learned about working with Vice President Harris is she’s always standing on business,” he said. Megan Thee Stallion was also present, performing a mini-concert for all in attendance.
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Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty
For years we’ve been told that eating foods like bologna, hot dogs, and other kinds of ultra processed foods are horrible for your health. Now, we’ve gotten some more incentive to avoid the delicious deli meats as Boar’s Head is recalling a lot of their products from your neighborhood markets and bodegas.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Boar’s Head has announced that they’ve recalled more than seven million pounds worth of ready-to-eat-meats and poultry products due to fears of possible listeria contamination. The news comes just days after they recalled an initial 270,000 pounds of meat for the same exact reason for their Strassburger Brand Liverwurst products that were made in Virginia on the same line during the same day.
The Detroit Free Press reports:
A liverwurst sample collected by the Maryland Department of Health, “tested positive for the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes,” according to FSIS alert. Meat intended for slicing at retail delis and some packaged meat and poultry products sold at retail locations are also being recalled.
The products have sell-by dates ranging from July 29, 2024 through Oct. 17, 2024 and were distributed to retail locations nationwide with some exported to the Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama. The products shipped to retailers have the establishment number “EST. 12612” or “P-12612” inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels.
According to a Boar’s Head website July 30 message to customers, and out of an abundance of caution, the company voluntarily expanded the recall to all items produced at its Jarrett Virginia, facility. Boar’s Head also said they’ve “paused ready-eat-operations” at the facility until further notice.
We hope consumers take notice of the recall and check their Boar’s Head products before consuming them and ending up with a fever or a bad case of diarrhea. If you happen to be in possession of one of their recalled products, it is recommended that you thoroughly clean your refrigerators to prevent cross-contamination with your other produces on your shelves.
Yeah, it’s that real.
With that being said, be safe eating that “harmless” sandwich, y’all. You might end up paying for it one way or another.
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Source: Julia Beverly / Getty / Megan Thee Stallion
Some people believe Megan Thee Stallion’s performance at Kamala Harris’ presidential rally in Atlanta was a bit too much.
Last night, the energy in the race for the White House truly shifted for the better for Democrats after 20,000+ reportedly packed a Georgia arena to hear VP Kamala Harris lay the groundwork for the first four years of Harris’s administration and warn us what’s at stake.
Before VP Harris took the stage, the excited attendees heard from an all-star lineup of political figures, including Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossof, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, and Stacey Abrams, who was instrumental in flipping normally conservative state blue and helping President Joe Biden win the 2020 presidential election.
The event was also Harris’ campaign attempt to energize the youth vote, so it shouldn’t shock anyone. That’s why Quavo, a former ATL rap stable The Migos member, was in attendance.
Quavo has also been a staunch advocate of gun reform after his nephew and fellow Migos member, Takeoff, was viciously gunned down in 2022.
But outside Harris’ fantastic speech that left us with many soundbites, folks have been talking about Megan Thee Stallion’s performance, and it is now the subject of respectability politics discussions on timelines.
Dressed in a blue pantsuit that fit her to perfection, flanked by her background dancers, the Houston rapper hit the stage to perform a medley of hit records while performing the same dance routines fans who have attended her tour have seen.
Respectability Politics Takes Centerstage In The Social Media Discussion
Following the performance, people have accused VP Harris’ campaign of “pandering” and also called Thee Stallion’s performance distasteful and inappropriate for a political rally.
“All the Democratic Party feels like they have to do is have someone shake ass on the stage to get bp’s vote. Ghetto!” one person on Twitter, formerly X, wrote.
Jason Lee, a man who makes a living off spreading gossip, mainly about Black people in the entertainment industry, also did not like the Houston rapper’s performance, somehow equating it to Trump having rappers at his rally.
Bruh.
X has been dragging Lee for his comment about Thee Stallion situation, calling him out for giving Jonathan Majors a “Perseverance Award.”
Are People Missing The Point In Focusing On Megan Thee Stallion’s Performance?
For those complaining about Megan Thee Stallion’s performance and claiming the rally was a “missed opportunity” to focus on policy, one post from a user on X perfectly shut that argument down.
“The Harris campaign will use many methods to cast as wide a net as possible for potential voters. Some will appeal to you and some won’t. That’s fine. But please don’t get all “We want policy, not twerking!!!” when the policy was right there. Before and after that performance,” the tweet read.
Proud K-Hive member and popular social media political commentator 2RawTooReal also had time for those using Megan Thee Stallion’s performance to drag down Harris’ rally.
Honestly, the Harris campaign knew what they were getting by asking Megan Thee Stallion to perform at the rally. Also, Thee Stallion is out here doing the work, talking about issues like body autonomy and helping the people of her home state.
Just saying.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
2. That part
3. Truuuuueeee
6. Nope, definitely not
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Source: Jason Armond / Getty
Vice President Kamala Harris will not be appearing at the NABJ Convention, as organizers deal with the backlash of Donald Trump being invited to speak there.
According to reports, Vice President Kamala Harris will not attend the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists taking place in Chicago. The news comes as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is slated to appear at the convention, sparking a massive backlash and online debate. A source close to the negotiations between the NABJ and Harris’ campaign team confirmed that the vice president’s schedule as her presidential election campaign is building up steam is preventing her from being physically present.
In a statement released on Wednesday morning (July 31), NABJ President Ken Lemon said that the “last update” they had received was that Vice President Harris “would not be available in person or virtually during our Convention.” Another source said that the NABJ had declined the suggestion from Harris’ team for a virtual panel initially, but is now fervently working to convince them to take part in a virtual town hall, claiming her appearance is “pending”. Another factor in the vice president not appearing at the convention, which begins on Wednesday and ends August 4 is her attendance at the funeral of the late Sheila Jackson-Lee, the longtime Congresswoman from Texas.
The NABJ is also dealing with the outrage from journalists and observers over the panel featuring Trump, which will be moderated by Fox News’s Harris Faulkner, ABC News senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott, and Semafor politics reporter Kadia Goba and was announced 48 hours before the convention’s start. NABJ’s political journalism chair, Tia Mitchell, defended the decision in a post on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “I helped make this call. And it’s in line with invitations NABJ has sent to every presidential candidate for decades. But continue to go off on your feed. I’ll continue to work to create opportunities for journalists to interview the potential next President.”
Critics point to Trump’s history of demeaning Black people and his disregard for Black people in the past as a reason to disqualify him from appearing. “If a super conservative white woman can’t get straight answers out of him, what makes you think that three Black women are going to get them?”, journalist Matthew Wright said to The Guardian, citing Trump’s recent interview with Laura Ingraham.
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Simone Biles achieved a remarkable feat during the 2024 Summer Olympics, becoming the most decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast in history. After making the historic mark, Simone Biles subtly hit back at former gymnast MyKayla Skinner Harmer, who made disparaging comments about the work ethic of Team USA.
Simone Biles, 27, and the U.S. women’s gymnastics team captured gold which adds to Biles hefty medal total. As reported by NBC Olympics, Biles has five gold medals, bypassing Shannon Miller. In all, Biles owns eight Olympic medals in total.
Much has been made of the age of the women’s gymnastics team, especially after they won silver as a team at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Fellow gymnasts Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera join Biles in becoming the fourth American gymnastics team in history to win gold in the Olympics.
Biles, who suffered the “twisties” during the vault event at the 2020 Tokyo Games, landed her vault in Paris with confidence and beaming pride. While one announcer called her vault, quote, “safe,” it was clear that whatever fears and concerns Biles had before are now behind her.
“I was like, phew, at least no flashbacks or anything,” Biles said. “I did feel a lot of relief and after I landed vault I was like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re definitely going to do this.’”
And “do this” they did.
The win is a direct jab back at Skinner Harmer, this after the Olympic silver medalist posted a now-deleted YouTube video saying, “Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be. Just notice like, I mean, obviously a lot of girls don’t work as hard.”
Skinner Harmer has since apologized by Biles isn’t letting it go as evidenced in the Instagram post below.
Further, Biles took to Twitter to share the team’s real nickname after the F Around And Find Out team name went wide.
“[O]kay on the real though, the official team name is golden girls (because oldest olympic team) s/o to cecile,” Biles wrote on X.
Although we can’t confirm it, it appears that Skinner Harmer blocked Biles on X after the win. Check out the assumed jab below.
Congratulations to Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera! Keep scrolling for comments from X.
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Photo: Getty
