Brittney Griner, return, WNBA, Basketball, court, Russia, captive, all star

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

January 8, 2025

Brittney Griner Ready To Resume Offseason Play When Unrivaled Starts Inaugural Season

Brittney Griner returns to playing basketball in the WNBA offseason after her experience in Russia in 2022.

As the Unrivaled season prepares to debut, Brittney Griner will be one of the WNBA players participating in the winter women’s basketball league started by fellow players Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier.

According to ESPN, Griner is excited to return to playing basketball in the WNBA offseason after her harrowing experience in Russia, where she was detained in February 2022 after her arrest at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on drug charges. The Unrivaled Basketball League was started for someone like Griner, who had to play overseas in the offseason to make money while on break from the WNBA.

Griner was held in Russia for 10 months before a prison exchange brought her back to the States later that year in October.

The WNBA veteran is in Miami, ready to play for the Phantom BC team. This will be the first time since her arrest in Russia that she will play during the offseason after vowing not to play overseas again after her detainment in 2022.

“I feel like something was missing in my offseason; I was used to playing year-round,” Griner said. “I wanted to go back to working year-round. This is going to help me stay fresh, knocking all the dust off and being ready for when the [WNBA] comes back around.”

The opportunity allows her to play again while the WNBA preps for the upcoming season later in the year and make money playing a sport that she loves.

“[Unrivaled] is bringing something new to women’s basketball. They’re trying to give us a different look, a different feel. We can bring everybody together in one spot. They’re really pouring in a lot. Unrivaled is showing that you don’t need a lot of time to pull resources together to be able to put a good product out there.”

She also mentions that the chance to play will allow her to work on changing her approach to the game, trying to play differently than we are used to seeing her play in the WNBA.

“It’s going to challenge me to play a little bit differently,” Griner said. “I’ve been trying to evolve my game anyway, not just playing on the low post always. Stretching out, playing on the wing a little bit. I’m looking forward to showcasing that and being challenged as well. And then I’ll be in the best shape ever coming back [to Phoenix].”

by Kandiss Edwards

January 8, 2025

‘tWitch’ Boss’s Family Speaks Out After His Wife Alleges He Was A Drug Addict

tWitch's family members and close friends were forced to sign an NDA to attend his funera;.

Two years after the death of Stephen “tWitch” Boss, his wife, Allison Holker, began a campaign to reveal his personal struggles. tWitch’s family is speaking out about allegedly being forced to sign NDAs at his funeral, his supposed drug problem, and being alienated from his children after his 2022 suicide.

The rehashing of older grievances comes amid Holker’s “tell-all” interview with People magazine. In the interview, Holker reveals that the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” DJ and dancer had what she believed was a serious drug problem.

Taking exception to the characterization, Boss’s cousin, Elle, spoke out in a post on X. Elle denies the allegations, saying she believes Boss’s occasional marijuana use does not indicate a severe drug problem.

“He wasn’t an addict. He smoked weed and was actively trying to quit. He wasn’t some junkie,” she wrote.

Elle also discussed Holker’s attempt to keep the late DJ’s children away from his family.

“She’s been trying to tarnish his legacy and refuses to let the Boss family see the children, only to exploit and lie about my cousin. Hell no,” Elle said. “Yeah, I don’t give a f*** about an NDA. This crazy woman made me and his actual family, including his mother, sign an NDA just to even attend the funeral.”

Yeah idgaf about an NDA.

This crazy woman made me and his actual family including sign an NDA just to even attend the funeral. She’s been trying to tarnish his legacy and refuses to let the Boss family see the children.

Only to exploit and LIE on my cousin. Hell no. https://t.co/lfTE4xWxgM

— BIG ELLE 🍒 (@wthDARIELLE) January 7, 2025

Elle is not the person close to the Boss who divulged alleged information about Holker’s actions after his suicide. His longtime friend, Emmanuel Hurd, wrote an open letter to Holker. Hurd claims her campaign of slander is baseless and that she is the one suffering from addiction. Hurd says that if Holker continues her campaign, he will release evidence of her addiction and use of Molly, ecstasy, and cocaine.

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A post shared by Emmanuel Hurd (@manny_cross)

The turn of events is unfortunate. Boss died by suicide on Dec. 13, 2022. The popular entertainer’s death sparked a conversation about the disproportionate rate at which Black men are committing suicide.

A 2021 JAMA study revealed that Black men had a more considerable increase in suicide attempts than any other racial group, and the rates of youth suicide attempts also rose by 47%. Though no drugs were found in his bloodstream at the time of his passing, it seems his life is now reduced to rumors, allegations, and speculation.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

January 8, 2025

New Orleans Woman Has Her Mother To Thank For Surviving Mass Shooting

The advice came from television.

They say a mother knows best.

According to NBC News, an Alabama woman, Alexis Scott-Windham, was shot in the foot during the New Orleans mass shooting that killed 15 people, including the gunman. Scott-Windham’s friends called her mother as she lay on Bourbon Street bleeding from the wound.

Scott-Windham’s mother, Tryphena, instructed her friends to make a tourniquet to control the blood flow in her foot, a move she learned “from watching TV.”

“So I just told my daughter’s friend to just tie her other sock around her leg so she wouldn’t bleed so heavy,” she told NBC News. “I just blurted that out. I was in straight panic mode.”

“So they took my sock off my left foot,” Scott-Windham, 23 and a mother of a 1-year-old daughter, said. “They tied it around my ankle to cut out the circulation.” A stranger later took her to a local hospital for treatment.

“I’m so thankful to him,” she said. Scott-Windham is now at home recovering.

Fifteen people were killed and dozens injured after 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar struck several people with his truck in the early morning on New Year’s Day. Jabbar was shot and killed after he shot at police officers.

Scott-Windham said she tried to get away but the truck clipped the back of her right foot and she went down hard. Then she heard gunshots.

“That’s when I tried to run, but I couldn’t,” she told NBC News. “I knew something was wrong with my foot. I thought it was just a broken bone or something, but it wasn’t. My feet had started leaking.”

Police and the FBI have said that Jabbar was inspired to commit mass murder by ISIS but that he likely acted alone.

by Sharelle B. McNair

January 8, 2025

Jeff Bezos Cuts Back On Journalism Promotion At Washington Post, Fires 4% Staff

It's now about 'talent promotion.'

On Tuesday, The Washington Post suffered more layoffs at the hands of owner Jeff Bezos and a change in focus. The public relations team was told the paper is “no longer promoting the journalism,” The Daily Beast reports.

Six staffers from the publication’s relations department were let go on Jan. 7, with only four managers remaining.

Kathleen Floyd, senior publicist and co-chair of the Post’s union, said the new focus is “entirely on talent promotion” during a Zoom call.

“It’s almost unconscionable that the decision of our leadership would lead to an impact on us,” Floyd said. “It’s not the day-to-day employees’ fault we lost more than 250,000 subscribers.”

Chief communications officer Kathy Baird confirmed the move in a memo, saying that old ways just aren’t what they used to be in terms of goals for the company.

“We need our journalism to be accessed at an even greater rate, and we no longer believe traditional outreach is the way to get us there,” Baird wrote.

The layoffs are labeled as four percent of the publication’s workforce, but no one in the newsroom. In the Post‘s advertising department, 73 people were laid off.

“The Washington Post is continuing its transformation to meet the needs of the industry, build a more sustainable future and reach audiences where they are,” a spokesperson said in a statement, according to The Daily Beast “Changes across our business functions are all in service of our greater goal to best position The Post for the future.”

Since late 2024, the Post has been met with massive scrutiny due to the impromptu changes handed down by Amazon’s billionaire owner. For the first time in years, the publication failed to endorse a presidential candidate. Once expected to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, Bezos killed the narrative, resulting in a number of high-profile columnists resigning.

The decision led to more than 200,000 Post subscribers ditching their reader subscriptions. Bezos pulling the plug on an endorsement resulted in a $77 million loss for the company.

The new year has already been a rocky one for the esteemed newspaper. Cartoonists Ann Telnaes quit after a controversial drawing of Bezos and other media executives bowing before President-elect Donald Trump was rejected by a top editor, according to the Post.

Ann Telnaes, who has worked at The Washington Post as an editorial cartoonist since 2008, says her cartoon below was killed — and now she has quit the paper pic.twitter.com/ThHbQiATOS
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 4, 2025

“As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable,” Telnaes wrote on her Substack. “For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job. So I have decided to leave the Post. I doubt my decision will cause much of a stir and that it will be dismissed because I’m just a cartoonist.

“But I will not stop holding truth to power through my cartooning because, as they say, ‘Democracy dies in darkness.’”

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

January 8, 2025

Chef Alexander Smalls ‘Graced The Table’ With Children’s Book Inspired By His Southern Upbringing

Chef Alexander Smalls' 'When Alexander Graced The Table' is available to buy now.

Chef Alexander Smalls is revealing more into the upbringing that shaped his taste through a new children’s book.

The chef became famous for infusing his South Carolina roots in dishes loved from down South to Dubai. Now, he details his “origin story” to a tinier audience in When Alexander Graced The Table (Simon & Schuster, $19.99), released on Jan. 7.

Co-written by Smalls and New York Times best-selling author Denene Millner, and illustrated by Frank Morrison, the book is published through Millner’s imprint Denene Millner Books.

It celebrates family and the traditions one fosters within and beyond it.

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A post shared by CBS Mornings (@cbsmornings)

The story focuses on a young Smalls as his family prepares for Sunday dinner, an after-church tradition of many Black and Southern households in the United States. In the book, Smalls prepares to showcase his own dish at the dinner table that everyone will enjoy.

Families will learn more about Small’s ingrained passion for Southern comfort meals as well as values of family and togetherness.

Smalls has appeared on The Today Show, Top Chef, and Food Network to delight with bites inspired by his life. Smalls has also used his platform to promote diverse eats on a global scale, creating the first contemporary modern African Dining Hall in Dubai. The James Beard award-winner earned a Grammy and Tony award for his operatic singing in a cast recording of “Porgy and Bess.”

The celebrity chef and acclaimed singer spoke to People about how this book gives a glimpse into his childhood.

“When Alexander Graced the Table is a love letter to my parents, Alexander and Johnnie Mae Smalls, my upbringing in a close-knit Southern family, our Gullah Geechie culture and customs and, of course, my delight in using food to build community and connection,” explained the 72-year-old.

“It really is a children’s depiction of my origin story, one that I’ve long wanted to bring to the page.”

According to a press release, the book’s title pays homage to Smalls memoir and cookbook, Grace The Table. However, the children’s novel allows a new audience to develop a love for cooking while learning of Black Southern culture. Moreover, parents and kids alike can recreate Smalls’ recipe featured in the book, his Lemon Ice Box Pie with meringue.

“The bonus is that children everywhere will be able to read this story and think about all the ways that same love that encouraged and enriched me as a child runs through their families, too,” Smalls told People. “And they’re going to love that recipe for the Lemon Ice Box Pie!”

The lated Cicely Tyson called the project “a brilliant and fascinating portrait of Southern Comfort.”

When Alexander Graced The Table is available now through multiple book retailers.

wildfires, California, Los Angeles, fire, Hollywood, insurance

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

January 8, 2025

Blazing Fires Roaring Through Los Angeles Expected To Continue Until Thursday

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center has notified area residents that the fires will last through Jan. 9, with extreme conditions taking place early on Jan. 8.

Raging flames spread throughout several Los Angeles neighborhoods as firefighters try to contain the blazes. Still, the water supply from area fire hydrants has dropped, jeopardizing efforts to eliminate the threats.

According to the Los Angeles Times, fires have engulfed areas in Los Angeles. Firefighters have stated that some fire hydrants are down, thwarting efforts to stop the deadly flames. Fires have been reported throughout Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Pasadena, and Sylmar, with wind gusts of up to 99 mph.

Firefighters battling the blaze reported on internal radio systems that fire hydrants in Pacific Palisades were coming up dry.

“The hydrants are down,” said one firefighter.

“Water supply just dropped,” another one stated.

As of Tuesday, Dec. 7, the rapidly spreading fire had grown to more than 2,900 acres. It started around 10:30 a.m., damaging many homes and forcing thousands to evacuate the area. How the fire started is unclear, but authorities are encouraging anyone in the immediate vicinity to evacuate.

The National Weather Service reported wind gusts of up to 99 mph near Altadena at 10:20 p.m., 98 mph near Woodland Hills at 9:37 p.m., and 84 mph at Hollywood Burbank Airport at 8:30 p.m.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the fires.

“This is a highly dangerous windstorm creating extreme fire risk -– and we’re not out of the woods. We’re already seeing the destructive impacts with this fire in Pacific Palisades that grew rapidly in a matter of minutes.

“Our deepest thanks go to our expert firefighters and first responders who jumped quickly into fighting this dangerous fire. If you’re in Southern California, please pay attention to weather reports and follow any guidance from emergency officials.”

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center has notified area residents that the fires will last through Jan. 9, with extreme conditions occurring early on Jan. 8.

Dangerous fire weather conditions are ongoing in southern California with the most extreme conditions expected this morning. Winds should gradually weaken somewhat through the day, but critical fire weather conditions are expected to persist into Thursday. pic.twitter.com/bl4WLF21Ua

— NWS Storm Prediction Center (@NWSSPC) January 8, 2025

CBS News has also reported that more than 200,000 homes and businesses have lost power in L.A.

As of 12:30 a.m., the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power confirmed that nearly 127,000 customers were without power. Southern California Edison reported that more than 52,000 customers did not have power as of midnight. The most significant outage was centered in Duarte, where 7,930 residents were without electricity at around 10 p.m. The utility company said it was considering public safety shutoff for roughly 409,000 Southern California residents, mainly in Riverside and Los Angeles counties. They expect an estimated 123,400 and 113,735 customers to be affected in the respective areas.

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

January 8, 2025

Ja Morant Wants A Memphis Chicken Wing Restaurant To Pay Up $365K After Breach Of Contract

Morant says the restaurant never paid him the agreed amount for using him in advertisements.

Ja Morant may get a hefty payday, but not from the NBA. The professional athlete is reportedly owed over $365K by Memphis restaurant The Wing Guru for breach of contract.

According to Fox13, the ruling was issued in August, but Morant and his lawyers want a judge to sign off on the requirement officially. Court documents report that the Memphis Grizzlies star signed a contract in 2022 to promote the restaurant. However, Morant claims that the restaurant stopped payments in March of that year yet continued to use his name, image, and likeness in promotional materials.

Upon discovering this, Morant’s team asked the restaurant to cease using his name or likeness in their marketing. Despite agreeing to, Morant claims that The Wing Guru still used him for advertisements.

Morant’s lawyers then alleged that the restaurant told the 25-year-old it would pay the entire $75K owed as once written in the defunct deal.

“You guys will receive the entire $75K by Jan. 1st,” the restaurant allegedly told Morant through a direct message on Instagram. “Relax. Thanks for the understanding.”

However, Morant stated that he never received the funds, leading him to take legal action. The case then went to arbitration, which sided with the NBA player. Overseeing the case, the arbitrator ordered Wing Guru to pay $300K in compensation and damages. The arbitrator also ordered another $65K to cover interest and additional legal costs.

Like their previous alleged behavior, Wing Guru allegedly failed to pay up again. They initially had until November to cough up the hundreds of thousands or fight the ruling. Due to doing neither, Morant’s team wants another judge to mandate the payment and affirm the arbitrator’s decision.

Morant does not seem stressed about cash, considering his five-year extension deal with the Grizzlies for $193 million guaranteed, per ESPN. He still wants his money.

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

January 8, 2025

Ashanti and Nelly To Launch Docuseries On Peacock About Life And New Family

Ashanti and Nelly have reportedly begun filming the project.

New parents and superstar singers Ashanti and Nelly will offer a viewers a glimpse into their family-focused life on an upcoming Peacock docuseries.

Deadline reports that the duo have already begun filming the project, where they will serve as co-executive producers. Critical Content, the company responsible MTV’s Catfish, will also help bring the show to life.

There’s no word yet on when the series will premiere.

BLACK ENTERPRISE first shared reports of the developing docuseries in July, the same month Ashanti gave birth to their son, Kareem Kenkaide Hayne. Rumors began to swirl that the beloved couple would let fans into their world as they tried to build a new one together.

After a decade-long relationship that ended in 2013, the couple reunited in 2023, married that December, and welcomed their son around six months later.

Both have experience on movies and television. Ashanti appeared in lead roles in the Muppets Wizard of Oz and John Tucker Must Die. She also appeared on multiple unscripted shows.

Nelly showed off his acting skills in The Longest Yard remake and the mockumentary Real Husbands of Hollywood. In reality television, he starred in his own BET show called “Nellyville” from 2014 to 2015 and was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars in 2020.

In their joint project, fans may also get some answers on a new report that Ashanti is expecting another child. The couple has yet to confirm the news.

ART MEETS COMMUNITY: WILLIE LOGAN’S TEN NORTH GROUP TRANSFORMS COMMUNITIES THROUGH ART AND CULTURE

by Black Enterprise

January 8, 2025

ART MEETS COMMUNITY: WILLIE LOGAN’S TEN NORTH GROUP TRANSFORMS COMMUNITIES THROUGH ART AND CULTURE

Willie Logan’s Ten North Group merges art, culture, and development to reimagine communities and empower residents. In this Q&A, Logan reflects on the personal experiences that shaped his mission, the role of historical awareness in his work, and how creative initiatives like the “Art of Transformation” event foster pride and attract investment. Discover his insights into using art as a catalyst for change, the challenges of balancing revitalization with community needs, and his vision for expanding Ten North Group’s impact in Miami and beyond.

tariffs, price hikes, Walmart, shopping,

by Sharelle B. McNair

January 8, 2025

Walmart, Branch Messenger Accused Of Using Illegal Payment Practices With Delivery Drivers

You can't play with people's money.

Walmart and work scheduling platform Branch Messenger are being sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) over accusations of employing illegal payment practices with delivery drivers, the Associated Press reports.

The retail giant and scheduling platform allegedly forced drivers participating in the company’s gig program, Spark, to use deposit accounts to secure payment and misrepresented the ways to gain access to their wages. The Spark program uses gig workers who make deliveries from Walmart stores across the country for “last mile” deliveries. The bureau alleges the practice dates back to 2021, prompting Walmart and Branch, a financial technology company that offers deposit accounts at Evolve Bank & Trust, to violate federal law by forcing one million drivers that use the program to use Branch in order to get paid and claim they would fire workers who didn’t.

The alleged practice cost workers over $10 million in fees.

The companies also face allegations of misleading workers about having same-day access to their earnings. CFPB alleges the drivers had to follow a complicated process in order to see their funds, and once completed, drivers experienced more delays, on top of fees, given a need to transfer the money they earned into a chosen account.

In a statement, agency director Rohit Chopra said Walmart took advantage of their employees. “Walmart made false promises, illegally opened accounts, and took advantage of more than a million delivery drivers,” Chopra said.

“Companies cannot force workers into getting paid through accounts that drain their earnings with junk fees.”

However, both companies pushed back on the allegations.

“The CFPB’s rushed lawsuit is riddled with factual errors and contains exaggerations and blatant misstatements of settled principles of law,” the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said in a statement, according to CBS News. “The CFPB never allowed Walmart a fair opportunity to present its case during their rushed investigation.”

Branch shared similar sentiments, saying the agency’s suit “includes intentional omissions” to cover what they called an “overreach.”

“Branch has provided Walmart and their driver partners valuable services allowing quick and easy access to funds via their business accounts—a key fact the bureau’s press release omits,” the company’s statement read.

CFPB has been taking a look at other companies accused of illegal business practices involving their employees or customers. In May 2024, a suit was filed against SoLo Funds, a fellow Evolve partner, alleging that it deceived borrowers on the total costs of loans. The Federal Reserve got involved by enforcing action against Evolve after an investigation found it failed to police its fintech partners properly.