Mayor Karen Bass, LA, ICE agents, Latino, DHS

by Mitti Hicks

March 5, 2025

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ Response to Palisades Fire Prompts Recall Push

The mayor's opponents need about 330,000 signatures over the next four months to officially trigger a recall election.

There’s a movement underway to recall Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass over her handling of the Palisades Fire.

Some of Bass’s foes have filed paper work with the Los Angeles Ethics Commission, which allows opponents to raise money so they can put a recall on the ballot, the Los Angeles Times reports.

According to the website, recallbassnow.com, organizers accuse Bass of underfunding and overworking first responders.

“The LAFD’s budget was slashed by more than $17 million, stripping critical resources from firefighters as Los Angeles faces escalating wildfire threats and emergency response challenges,” the website reads. “At a time when rapid response is more crucial than ever, officials are underfunding the very department responsible for protecting lives and property.”

The Pacific Palisades Fire erupted on Jan. 7. Fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds, the fierce fires sent thousands of residents fleeing from burning homes and killed 29 people, according to ABC News.

In what is considered the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history, close to 28,000 acres in Los Angeles County were destroyed. Nearly half of the properties in the Black neighborhood Altadena were destroyed.

Some residents criticized Bass, who when the fire started was in Ghana for a diplomatic mission. Bass later fired L.A. Fire Chief Kristen Crowley, adding that she not told about the severity of the fire weather conditions before traveling to West Africa. Crowley has denied this and is appealing her resignation, claiming the department did not have enough funding or staffing to battle the wildfires.

Bass’ opponents need about 330,000 signatures within the next four months to officially trigger a recall election, KTLA reports.

Bass has some support, including actresses Yvette Nicole Brown and Kym Whitley. The pair believed Bass is being targeted because of her race and spoke to BLACK ENTERPRISE in February.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

March 5, 2025

Young Thug Settles Multi-Million Dollar Lawsuit With AEG

Details of the settlement were not revealed.

AEG (Anschutz Entertainment Group) and Atlanta rapper Young Thug have reached an agreement.

According to Billboard, the $5 million lawsuit filed by AEG has been settled after both sides entered a motion on Feb. 14 that the matter had been resolved. The judge finalized the agreement four days later.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Thug was sued by the company after it accused the YSL recording artist of defaulting on a loan given to his label back in 2017. AEG also claimed that it was left out of a $16 million sale of his music catalog, which it was entitled to share in the profits because the copyrighted songs included in the deal were supposed to be collateral for the loan given to YSL.

AEG said Thug owed the company more than $5 million.

The lawsuit was originally filed before Young Thug’s YSL Rico trial, where he was accused of running a criminal enterprise while committing several illegal acts throughout the years. After Thug’s arrest in 2022, the case was put on indefinite hold.

Following the rapper’s guilty plea, which led to a lengthy probation sentence, AEG went back to court to resume the lawsuit.

The lawsuit stated that Young Thug’s label, YSL, was given a $5.25 million loan in exchange for AEG obtaining exclusive global rights to promote live shows the artist would have performed. AEG was expecting the boutique label to pay back the money, plus interest, while sharing revenue from concert sales involving third-party promoters.

The entertainment company also claimed that Young Thug and YSL defaulted on the $5 million loan and misrepresented their finances to fulfill the repayment promises they agreed to.

It claimed that the “Hot” rapper made over $16 million in 2021 when he sold his stake in several hundred songs, leaving AEG out of the arrangement once the ownership of the copyrights shifted hands. Young Thug, AEG claimed, breached the contract when he told the buyers of the songs that the works sold were free of legal entanglements.

The rapper is heading to Belgium to perform his first post-prison show at the Les Ardentes music festival from July 3 to July 6.

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

March 5, 2025

Claressa Shields Vacates Light Heavyweight Title As She Fights Marijuana Use Allegations

Shields opted to keep the heavyweight title that she earned last month.

Claressa Shields will remain the World Boxing Organization’s Female Heavyweight champion after vacating her light heavyweight title.

Shields was prompted to choose which of her two titles to keep as a WBO rule forbids boxers from holding multiple at once. WBO President Gustavo Olivieri shared the update on X on March 3.

Re: WBO Female Light Heavyweight Division

Be advised Claressa Shields has relinquished her WBO Lt.
Heavyweight title. Per our rules, NO WBO Champion may hold titles in two different weight divisions simultaneously. Therefore, Shields remains Champion in Heavyweight division.
— Gustavo Olivieri, Esq. (@OlivieriLaw) March 3, 2025

“Be advised Claressa Shields has relinquished her WBO Lt. Heavyweight title,” Olivieri wrote. “Per our rules, NO WBO Champion may hold titles in two different weight divisions simultaneously. Therefore, Shields remains Champion in Heavyweight division.”

Shields opted to earn the vacant heavyweight title during a match against Danielle Perkins on Feb. 2. After an unanimous win over Perkins, the 29-year-old became the undisputed heavyweight champion.

Shields’ rise in boxing was the recent subject of the biopic The Fire Inside,. Ryan Destiny starred as the acclaimed boxer alongside Brian Tyree Henry. The film depicted her rise to winning an Olympic gold medal.

The Flint, Michigan, native currently has a 16-0 record with three knockouts.

However, Shields faced controversy after Michigan’s athletic commission stated that she tested positive for marijuana after her recent match. Despite the outcome, Shields said that she does not use the drug, which also is not performance-enhancing.

Instead, she believes the positive result may stem from second-hand smoke or close-contact with others on fight night. She discussed the incident on the Tamron Hall Show.

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“The place reeked of marijuana,” Shields said of the fight’s site, the Dort Financial Center. “And then, before I got to do the mouth swab, everybody was hugging and kissing me in Flint. Everybody there—my cousins, sister, brother, friends—everybody was hugging and kissing me. And I know some boxers don’t stop and greet the fans, but I’m not one of them. I hugged and kissed everybody back.”

Currently, Shields remains prohibited from fighting in Michigan. With the threat of losing her newly-acquired belt looming, she has since appealed the suspension. According to a WBO notice, she has 30 days to clear her name.

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

March 5, 2025

‘This Is About The People,’: Rep. Al Green Brought All The Smoke To Protest Donald Trump’s False Claims

Green emphasized that his actions were done to protect the people of his district from Medicaid cuts.

Rep. Al Green (D-TX) was forced to leave the House chamber after disrupting President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday night.

As Trump began his televised speech, Green began shouting and using his cane in protest about his words about Medicaid. According to NBC News, his continued action led to others on both sides joining in the chaos.

Amid the boos and cheers sparked by Green’s persistence, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) reminded the lawmakers of the House rules to “maintain decorum.

“Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the House and to cease any further disruptions,” Johnson said pointedly.

However, Green, a longtime opposer of Trump who pushed for the president’s impeachment during first term, kept engaging in his act of civil disobedience. His refusal to stop shouting led to Johnson calling upon the House sergeant at arms to remove him from the chamber.

Upon leaving, Green told reporters about why he decided to speak out. He cited Trump’s false claim of having a mandate to cut Medicaid. The Shade Room reposted footage of his explanation.

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“The president said he had a mandate, and I was making it clear to the president that he has no mandate to cut Medicaid. I have people who are very fearful,” said the lawmaker, who represents the 9th District which includes parts of Houston. “These are poor people, and they have only Medicaid in their lives when it comes to their health care. And I want him to know that his budget calls for deep cuts in Medicaid.”

Green called to protect Medicare and other “safety net programs” such as Social Security, which he wants to raise the cap on.

He added, “These are the safety net programs that people in my congressional district depend on. This President seems to care less about them and more about the number of people that he can remove from the various programs that have been so helpful to so many people that across.”

Reporters asked Green why he disrupted the speech to protest Trump’s proposed actions.

“It is the best way to it get across to a person who uses his incivility against our civility. He is a person who has consistently used incivility against civility,” asserted Green. “I am willing to suffer whatever punishment is available to me. I didn’t say to anyone, ‘Don’t punish me.’ I’ve said I’ll accept the punishment. But it’s worth it to let people know that there are some of us who are going to stand up against this President’s desire to cut Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.”

Green then explained that his actions were for the people at risk of losing these social programs.

“Whatever the punishment is, I’m not fighting the punishment,” he affirmed. “This is about the people who are being punished by virtue of losing their health care. This is the richest country in the world, and we have people who don’t have good health care. We’ve got to do better. Now we’re about to cut Medicaid, which is for poor people. Health care has become wealth care for many people, and we can’t afford to let that happen.”

However, this is not the only priority for Green.

“I have other things I’m protesting, and I’m also working on my articles of impeachment. This president is unfit. He should not hold the office.”

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

March 5, 2025

Jeff Bezos’ Takeover Of ‘Washington Post’ Opinion Section Prompts Loss of 75K Digital Subscribers

'The Washington Post' has been losing subscribers in droves since October 2024.

The Washington Post dropped more than 75,000 in digital subscribers after owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos took over the opinion section on Feb. 26 to boost his conservative views.

An anonymous insider revealed the massive loss in subscriptions days after Bezos announced his plans to overhaul the paper’s opinion pages to radically reflect libertarian priorities and exclude opposing points of view, NPR reports.

The announcement prompted the immediate resignation of opinions editor David Shipley, who couldn’t convince Bezos to abandon the plans.

Longtime figures at the outlet, including Associate Editor David Maraniss and former Executive Editor Marty Baron, opposed the decision. Baron described it as “craven” and argued that Bezos, whom he had previously praised in his 2023 memoir, was “basically fearful” of Donald Trump.

The swift cancellations are part of a broader wave that began in late October when Bezos scrapped a planned endorsement of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Between then and Election Day, over 300,000 subscribers canceled their Post subscriptions, representing more than 12% of its digital subscribers, who make up the majority of the paper’s paid circulation.

Despite these setbacks, The Post has actively attracted new subscribers with heavily discounted rates, bringing in 400,000 new subscribers, an anonymous executive revealed. However, there is still widespread agreement within the organization that, had it not been for Bezos’ conservative-driven decisions, the paper would have gained hundreds of thousands additional paying subscribers since before the election without the brutal losses.

In his recent announcement, Bezos said “we are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets.” The message comes as Bezos, who purchased the paper for $250 million in 2013, has increasingly overridden editorial decisions and cultivated a culture of apparent censorship of views opposing his own.

In January, Washington Post editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned after editors pulled a satirical cartoon that mocked Bezos and other media and tech giants for their loyalty to President Donald Trump. In early February, the paper also canceled a planned “Fire Elon” advertisement.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

March 5, 2025

Finally! Mike Epps Confirms ‘Friday’ Sequel

'I haven't seen the script,' Epps said. 'But I'm sure it's good.'

After more than 20 years, another sequel to the classic comedy, Friday, is in the works.

During an appearance on The Breakfast Club, Mike Epps confirmed that the next installment of the Ice Cube-led movie is a go after Charlamagne Tha God inquired.

“He (Ice Cube) called me the other day, said we just finished the deal,” Epps told the radio host. “So, we doing the last Friday. And big shout-out to Cube; that’s another brother that has put so many brothers on, man, and don’t really get the props for it. Put me, Chris Tucker, Bernie Mac, I mean name ’em. This dude gave dudes opportunities.”

The next movie will follow the original Friday (1995), Next Friday (2000), and Friday After Next (2002). The franchise has given a platform to talents such as Katt Williams, Ludacris, the late John Witherspoon, Don Curry, Clifton Powell, and Terry Crews.

“I haven’t seen the script, but I’m pretty sure it’s good,” said Epps. “And we’re gonna bring in the new comics. We’re gonna put the DC Young Flys and all of them in with the OGs. It’s going to be a good ass time.”

Charlamagne posed the million dollar question: will “Smokey,” aka Chris Tucker, be in the new installment.

The memorable role as Cube’s perpetually stoned best friend launched Tucker’s career, but he has not appeared in any of the sequels. Most Friday fans have been clamoring for Smokey’s return, including Epps.

“People still love Chris Tucker, he’s still Smokey,” Epps said. “He laid it down, he positioned me to do it. So Chris, if you’re listening, we need you, baby boy. Come on back.”

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Boomers’ Retirement Plans Stalled by Tough Job Market

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

March 5, 2025

Boomers’ Retirement Plans Stalled by Tough Job Market

Baby boomers seeking well-paying jobs before retirement are having little success.

Baby boomers looking to secure a full-time job ahead of retirement aren’t finding much success in the current job market.

Older Americans who need a few more years of work to achieve financial stability for retirement are facing challenges. Business Insider uncovered this trend through reader surveys on work and retirement.

“I don’t know when I’ll retire because Social Security is not going to be enough,” Gino Marconi, 64, said. “My wife used to say I should do whatever increases my income, but I’m not going to work as an engineer making no money.”

Marconi is one of many older Americans struggling to find stable work in a job market that has grown more challenging in recent years. Excluding a two-month pandemic-related drop in 2020, U.S. businesses are hiring at nearly their lowest rate since 2013, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Marconi earned $60,000 a year as a sales representative for an outdoor supply company until two years ago, when he resigned due to the stress of long days on the road. Since then, he has applied to over 600 remote and in-person positions across various industries and skill levels but suspects he’s being rejected for being overqualified.

He’s tried omitting the years he completed certain degrees and certifications on some applications but to no avail. Marconi said he hopes to retire in a few years and rely on Social Security income, but his plans may change if he is unable to secure higher-paying work.

He is working part-time with a transportation company for a hotel chain and is taking steps to become a full-time insurance agent. He expressed frustration with the application process, recalling an instance when he was stood up for an interview, but remains optimistic while cutting back on unnecessary spending.

“My home is paid off, my cars are paid off,” Marconi said. “But I need to keep going until I get back to work.”

As of January, the unemployment rate for Americans aged 55 and older was just 3%, compared to 4% for all workers. Some older Americans say that while they could technically retire, they are delaying their plans due to concerns that their savings and retirement income won’t be enough if unexpected expenses arise. There are also boomers who want to keep working to stay busy.

“There are the people that love their job, working or even volunteering,” said Deb Whitman, AARP’s chief public policy officer, adding, “There’s sort of a social connection, a sense of purpose and meaning that people get.”

by Keka Araújo

March 5, 2025

Elon Musk Co-Signs Ben Shapiro’s Ridiculous Call To Pardon George Floyd’s Killer

Even if President Donald Trump were to heed Shapiro’s plea, any federal pardon for Derek Chauvin wouldn’t touch the state charges that ensure he remains behind bars.

Elon Musk, the self-proclaimed free-speech absolutist and owner of X has once again waded into controversy by amplifying a plea from conservative commentator Ben Shapiro for President Donald Trump to pardon Derek Chauvin, the disgraced former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd.

Shapiro, in a podcast clip Musk retweeted March 4, argued that prosecutors and law enforcement were “railroading” Chauvin and framed the officer’s conviction as the “defining achievement of the Woke movement.”

“The inciting event for the BLM riots that caused $2 billion in property damage in the United States and set America’s race relations on their worst footing in my lifetime was, in fact, the railroading of Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd,” Shapiro claimed in the video.

https://t.co/ZQ9yABoWtM pic.twitter.com/4Wo1R3hamx
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 4, 2025

Musk’s response? A casual, “Something to think about” as if the murder of a Black man under Chauvin’s knee for nine minutes and 29 seconds—a killing that ignited a global racial justice movement—was merely fodder for debate.

blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”>

Something to think about https://t.co/KbZQEMpFXP

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 4, 2025 <

The Tesla maker’s decision to amplify Shapiro’s inflammatory rhetoric drew immediate support from right-leaning clowns on X.

I thought they could get him on a manslaughter but they got him on an intentional murder charge. It’s disgusting.
— my man (@ohgeezman_) March 5, 2025

I think he should get a new trial — and in a different jurisdiction.
— Dawn Does Not (@DawnDoesNot) March 5, 2025

Needs to happen. It was a grave injustice.
— Founding Principles LLC (@FoundingPLLC) March 4, 2025

They should pardon Derek. That being said, Shapiro needs to be put on mute because he's just going to send my taxdollars to his Real Country and tribe.
— Christine A. Libbey (@TheFeminineFix) March 5, 2025

Chauvin, who is concurrently serving 21-year federal and 22½-year state sentences for violating Floyd’s civil rights and committing murder and manslaughter, became a global symbol of police brutality after Floyd’s killing in 2020. The video of the convicted killer kneeling on Floyd’s neck as Floyd begged for his life is seared into public memory. Shapiro’s revisionist framing—and Musk’s tacit endorsement—seems designed to erase this reality.

For Musk, this latest episode is emblematic of his increasingly reckless stewardship of X. Under his ownership, the platform has become a haven for reactionary voices and disinformation campaigns, with Musk himself often fanning the flames. Amplifying Shapiro’s plea for Chauvin’s pardon is not just an endorsement of bad-faith arguments but a troubling display of Musk’s willingness to undermine public trust in the justice system for clout and clicks.

Shapiro’s remarks—which dismiss the racial reckoning sparked by Floyd’s murder and cast the subsequent protests as nothing more than destructive riots—are equally galling. His characterization of Chauvin as a victim, rather than a perpetrator of state-sanctioned violence, is a chilling reminder of how far some are willing to go to rewrite history in the name of political expediency.

Even if President Donald Trump were to heed Shapiro’s plea, any federal pardon for Chauvin wouldn’t touch the state charges that ensure he remains behind bars. But that reality doesn’t seem to matter to Musk or his reactionary fan base on X, who are more interested in stoking outrage and feeding conspiratorial narratives than engaging with facts.

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

March 5, 2025

Walgreens, FedEx, and Neiman Marcus Among Nearly 100 Companies Planning Layoffs In March

Experts say the move is driven by inflation and a focus on profit gains.

Nearly 100 American companies are preparing for mass layoffs this month, with experts attributing the trend to high interest rates.

Intel, FedEx, Neiman Marcus, Walgreens, and Macy’s are among the fleet of companies cutting staff this month, Newsweek reports. The reveal comes by way of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), which forces companies to submit notice before carrying out mass layoffs.

According to WARNTracker.com, over 90 employers are set to lay off workers in March.

As companies navigate inflation and changing consumer demand, many have struggled financially in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. The report emphasizes how workers are being laid off across industries as companies aim to boost profits.

Some experts blame rising interest rates, which drive up the cost of capital. However, Michael Ryan, a financial advisor, says that AI is a major factor behind the announcements.

“What’s really interesting is that corporate profits are still pretty healthy!” Ryan said. “It’s not like these companies are struggling to stay afloat.

“They’re making these cuts while their bottom lines look good, which makes you wonder what’s really driving this,” he added. “I think what we’re seeing isn’t just a normal economic hiccup. It feels more like companies are using this moment to fundamentally reshape how they operate. They’re thinking, ‘Well, if we can replace these positions with automation, why wouldn’t we?'”

Dark times are ahead as experts forecast weaker employment reports in light of the layoffs. Ongoing changes in the technology sector, coupled with the decline of white-collar jobs, suggest a restructuring of the U.S. economy that could significantly affect workers across multiple industries.

With the Trump administration continuing to reduce the federal workforce, the number of Americans facing unemployment is expected to rise. Additionally, a decrease in consumer spending is anticipated as people cut back during these economic shifts.

However, at the backbone of the mass layoffs is corporate leaders lasered in on their profit gains.

“Corporate greed is alive and well. These layoffs are not about company survival,” HR consultant Bryan Driscoll said. “They’re designed to protect profit margins and shareholder returns.”

Check out the full list of companies conducting layoffs this month HERE.

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

March 5, 2025

Carol’s Daughter Returns To Independent Ownership, Founder Promises ‘Bolder’ Next Chapter

Lisa Price is now president of Carol's Daughter following an amicable split from L’Oréal.

Carol’s Daughter is returning to being a completely Black-owned and independently run operation after L’Oreal sold the company.

The pioneering textured haircare brand announced March 3 that founder Lisa Price will lead the company alongside an independent beauty entrepreneur with a proven track record in acquiring and growing beauty brands.

Price, now Carol’s Daughter president, launched the company in Brooklyn, New York, over 30 years ago.

“This next chapter? It’s bolder. It’s fearless. It’s about innovation that doesn’t just follow trends but sets them,” Price said in an Instagram video announcement “Most importantly, it’s about deepening our commitment to you, the community that built us, to every person who has ever believed in me, to those of you who have rocked with Carol’s Daughter from day one.”

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Price started her announcement by sincerely thanking L’Oreal for the “extraordinary” partnership that helped the brand “touch so many lives.”

L’Oréal described the transition as a testament to its confidence in Price’s leadership and the new partner’s ability to uphold the brand’s heritage, values, and dedication to its loyal customers.

“We are proud of Carol’s Daughter’s long legacy and the transformative impact it has had on the beauty industry,” David Greenberg, CEO of L’Oréal USA, said in a press release. “At the heart of this legacy is Lisa Price, an entrepreneur who has always been ahead of her time and has built Carol’s Daughter into a beloved brand that has honored and celebrated women of color for decades. We are confident that, with Lisa Price as President and the support of its new partner, Carol’s Daughter will continue to thrive for years to come.”

L’Oréal will work alongside Carol’s Daughter and its new partner to ensure a seamless transition. Following the announcement, loyal fans have expressed their support and shared requests for the anticipated revamped product line.

“Congratulations! Please bring back the body products! Specifically the Ocean scent!” one said.