NEW YORK (AP) — An investigation found that Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed nearly a dozen women in and out of state government and worked to retaliate against one of his accusers, New York’s attorney general announced Tuesday, hastening calls for the Democrat’s resignation or impeachment.
President Joe Biden was among those who said Cuomo should resign, a high-profile condemnation from a onetime close ally.
“I think he should resign,” he told reporters Tuesday.
The governor remained defiant, saying in a taped response to the findings that “the facts are much different than what has been portrayed” and that he “never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances.”
The nearly five-month investigation, led by two outside lawyers, concluded that 11 women who said that Cuomo had touched them inappropriately, commented on their appearance or made suggestive comments about their sex lives were telling the truth.
Those accusers included an aide who said Cuomo groped her breast at the governor’s mansion and a state trooper on his security detail, who said he ran his hand or fingers across her stomach and her back.
Cuomo’s lawyer issued a written rebuttal to the investigation’s findings, arguing in most cases that serious allegations, like the alleged groping, didn’t happen, or that his actions were misconstrued.
“For those who are using this moment to score political points or seek publicity or personal gain. I say they actually discredit the legitimate sexual harassment victims that the law was designed to protect,” Cuomo said.
PATCHOGUE, N.Y. (AP) — With laughter and tears, songs and stories, friends and family of Biz Markie celebrated his life and legacy at a funeral Monday, remembering the rapper as larger than life and full of love.
“He cared for people, he had a way of making us laugh through our pain,” said Rev. Al Sharpton in his eulogy at the Patchogue Theatre on Long Island, where Biz Markie’s black coffin was placed center stage, an arrangement of white flowers on top.
“He’d come in a room and his presence didn’t have to be announced, it was felt,” Sharpton said.
Markie, known for the 1989 classic “Just a Friend,” died last month at the age of 57. His death brought a stream of tributes from his musical contemporaries and those who were simply fans.
Among those who attended the funeral were Ice-T and Fat Joe, as well as Montell Jordan and Al B. Sure.
Markie, born Marcel Theo Hall, was known for his lighthearted ways, and was the self-proclaimed “Clown Prince of Hip-Hop.”
“The thing I’m going to miss the most about him was every time he would see me, his face would just light up with that Chiclet, toothy smile,” said his widow, Tara Hall.
“He made me laugh every day,” she said. “That is not hyperbole. That is a fact.”
A New York native, Markie began his music career in 1985 and became known in the mainstream in 1989 with the platinum-selling song “Just a Friend,” which made VH1’s list of 100 greatest hip-hop songs of all time.
The Black teen who was mounted by a white cop in Texas has evacuated her home - along with the rest of her family - following death threats over the viral video.
18-year-old Nekia Trigg is the woman in the troubling video & her mother, Antanique Ray, & a few other family members have left their Forney, TX home ... fearing retaliation from local citizens & even law enforcement ... according to Nekia's attorney, Kim T. Cole.
We're told Antanique got arrested for an alleged altercation with cops as they escorted Nekia away in cuffs, but the day after she & the family packed their bags & went to an undisclosed location.
As for why the family fears law enforcement will retaliate ... we're told they have a general fear of the Kaufman County Sheriff's deputies after prior experiences close family friends have had with them.
We're told Nekia, who just graduated from HS, is worried about her mother facing jail time & fears she may have no place to live if Antanique has to serve time behind bars.
Cole says a slew of the death threats were made via social media, including direct messages telling the family they got what they deserved during the incident with police. Cole advised the family to lay off social media while everything unfolds -- she's expecting the threats to increase.
Cole says she plans to file a civil rights lawsuit on Nekia's behalf against Kaufman County & Deputy Conner Martin ... who literally straddled her and held her arms down above her head as she screamed saying she couldn't breathe.
Cops say they'd gotten reports Nekia was walking in front of cars, attempting to harm herself ... but the family refutes that.
A Louisiana man was arrested on his wedding night after he injured two people when got into a fight and started shooting at his bride’s male friend while they were stuck in traffic.
St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre said an accident stopped traffic on Interstate 10 near the off-ramp to Interstate 310 when Devin Jones shot two people, WWL reported.
Jones shot the first person intentionally, while the second person was injured incidentally. The victims were taken by helicopter to a hospital. They are both in stable condition, L’ Observateur reported.
“While we were assisting the State Police, our 911 center started getting calls of a shooting in the traffic that was backed up from the crash,” Tregre said.
Tregre said the incident was “domestic in nature.” He said that Jones and his bride, who were both still in their wedding outfits, were sitting in their vehicle with another passenger, a man who was friends of the bride, L’ Observateur reported. Jones suspected there was a romantic link between the two and started fighting with the man. The verbal conflict devolved and Jones pulled out a gun and started firing as he chased the man through traffic. The man was eventually wounded in the leg.
The bride stopped an ambulance. She told medics her husband was trying to kill her and they barricaded her in the vehicle as Jones started to approach. He tried to force his way into the ambulance as deputies arrived and took him into custody.
Jones was arrested and charged with attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery, according to arrest records.
Pedro Munhoz wraps up camp in Florida. Vicente Luque arrives on a redeye. Derrick Lewis does S&C in the Houston heat. Jose Aldo plans to recapture gold. Ciryl Gane tries to improve his form… at golf.
CORONA, Queens (WABC) -- The NYPD is hoping surveillance video and help from the community will help them track down the group they say is responsible for a mass shooting in Queens over the weekend.
Officers in the area continue to patrol, as retaliation is feared in this incident of gang violence.
It happened around 10:40 p.m. Saturday, when two men opened fire near the corner of 98th Street and 37th Avenue. After the shooting, they jumped aboard two waiting mopeds driven by two other men and took off.
Ten people were hurt, and most were innocent bystanders.
One of them said he's heard about shootings in the neighborhood but never imagined he'd be caught in the middle, and needless to say, he's just glad to have survived.
"The right side of my ear, there was this loud ringing," said the 19-year-old college student, who didn't want his name used. "It's still going on, to be honest. Yeah, this whole part was just vibrating and shaking."
Detectives were still gathering evidence at the scene Monday, looking through another car that was struck on 37th Avenue that belongs to another man who was shot while standing nearby. His cousin says the violence is out of control.
"It's getting crazier every time," Alberto Castillo said. "Crazier and crazier. Dangerous, at nighttime especially."
With his new highly acclaimed album "Warm Ups" bubbling in the streets, Rochester, New York emcee Rigz of Da Cloth drops off an official music video for "Coconut Water" off of the project.
01. Rigz – Coconut Water 02. Rigz x Mooch; Times Change & Illanoise – Wipe Da Timbs Off 03. Rigz x Rob Gates – Trophies 04. Rigz – Show You 05. Rigz x Ransom – Da Predicament 06. Rigz – Sobrinos Skit 07. Rigz – Get Urs 08. Rigz x Rob Gates – Let Me 09. Rigz x Mooch – Beach Chairs in Marcy 10. Rigz x Times Change – Misled 11. Rigz x MAV & Symph – No Mercy Rule 12. Rigz – Swole Hearted 13. Rigz – Throw It Away 14. Rigz – Grateful
DaBaby apologized to the LGBTQ+ community after making homophobic remarks and comments about HIV/AIDS victims at Rolling Loud Miami last month, July 25th.
The rapper posted the statement Monday, August 2nd, on Instagram. “I want to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made,” he said. “Again, I apologize for my misinformed comments about HIV/AIDS and I know education on this is important.”
DaBaby also addressed the widespread backlash to his comments, and his initial doubling down, like his inflammatory “Giving What It’s Supposed to Give” video. “Social media moves so fast that people want to demolish you before you even have the opportunity to grow, educate, and learn from your mistakes,” he said. “As a man who has had to make his own way from very difficult circumstances, having people I know publicly working against me — knowing that what I needed was education on these topics and guidance — has been challenging.”
DaBaby also thanked “the many people who came to me with kindness, who reached out to me privately to offer wisdom, education, and resources. That’s what I needed and it was received.”
DaBaby’s statement came after he was dropped from two more major festivals: Governors Ball in New York City and Day N Vegas in Las Vegas. He was also bumped from Lollapalooza at the last minute, and he’s no longer playing the Parklife Festival in Manchester, England this September. On top of losing those shows, DaBaby has drawn criticism from Questlove, Elton John, Madonna, and Dua Lipa, who first issued a statement and then reportedly removed their “Levitating” remix from streaming service playlists.
Prior to the statement issued today, DaBaby had previously put out an “apology” on Twitter, July 27th, though he only seemed to show some remorse for his comments about HIV/AIDS, saying, “Anybody who done ever been effected by AIDS/HIV y’all got the right to be upset, what I said was insensitive even though I have no intentions on offending anybody. So my apologies.”
In the same tweet, however, he added, “But the LGBT community… I ain’t trippin on y’all, do you. y’all business is y’all business.” In his subsequent video for “Giving What It’s Supposed to Give,” DaBaby inexplicably held up a sign that said “AIDS” written on it, while at the end, rainbow-colored text appeared on screen that read, “Don’t Fight Hate With Hate,” while below that was another statement, “My apologies for being me the same way you want the freedom to be you.”
Hot Ones host Sean Evans goes Sneaker Shopping with Complex's Joe La Puma at Stadium Goods in New York City and talks about his favorite sneakers growing up, getting his own Reebok collaboration, and some of his trademark sneakers.
Philadelphia heavy spitter Wyise is firing on all cylinders this year. The Nothing Alike CEO, drops yet another new single and accompanying music video. This one is for "Bottom Line."
Fetty Wap and his entire family have been hit by an unfathomable tragedy … his 4-year-old daughter, Lauren Maxwell, has died.
Lauren’s mother, Turquoise Miami, confirmed the news over the weekend on Instagram with a Boomerang video of Lauren smiling while having fun in the swimming pool. The cause of death at the time of this post is unknown.
Turquoise’s caption said, “This is my amazing, beautiful, funny, vibrant, loving, talented, smart and hardheaded princess mermaid Aquarius. If you see this post scrolling by with her comment or just say to yourself ‘I love you LAUREN’ because they say that souls can feel your love #RIP.”
While performing at Rolling Loud last weekend in Miami … Fetty dedicated his set to Lauren. He wrote on his Instagram Story, “Lolo daddy di that s*** for you last night baby girl” followed by a butterfly, dove and heart emojis.
It’s been a grueling couple of years for Fetty and the family. As we first reported … Fetty’s daughter, Alaiya, underwent emergency brain surgery back in January 2019 after she was born 3 months premature. The surgery went well.
In this episode of "People's Party With Talib Kweli," Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with rapper, actor and ghostwriter:
SKYZOO
He's been helping carry the torch for NY's underground since the early 2000's. Here's what we discussed with one of Brooklyn's finest.
• How he got his nickname from his family as a toddler. • The artist and song that made him want to pick up a mic at 9 years old. • Where his love of basketball began. • The influence of Biggie, Bad Boy and Diddy's iconic string selections. • Fans' separation of "pop-hop" from "hip-hop". • Meeting 9th Wonder and the rest of the Justice League. • Writing his album 'Music For My Friends' from the perspective of his 13-year-old-self. • Exploration of Sky's song 'Money Makes Us Happy' and rappers shamed over success. • The legacy of the late, great Stack Bundles and how ahead of the times he was. • Working with rapper Che'Noir and producer Apollo Brown on '...As God Intended'. • The importance of the media's representation of the black family. • His father making him write essays for movies 'Boyz N The Hood' and 'Malcolm X.' • Why he felt it was important to write the song 'A Song For Fathers'. • Discussion about his love of the film 'Strapped'. • A desire to write the blackest album ever with 'In Celebration Of Us'. • Culture vultures living in a "make-believe ratchet play world". • Losing his voice while on Tour in OKC and being forced to lip sync. • His love of Jazz music and a dream coming true with 'The Bluest Note'. • How he got into ghostwriting and the roadblocks he ran into. • Why he doesn't use the N-word in his own rhymes. • Comparing and contrasting 'Snowfall' against 'The Wire' and if one is better.
TIME STAMPS:
2:52 -- The interview kicks off with the origin of Skyzoo's name. They discuss how his family came up with the nickname when he was a toddler as well as labels suggesting that he change it. He also gets into starting his music career after being let go from Morgan Stanley, what artist and song made him want to pick up a mic at 9 years old and why he feels like his music is akin to a sociology experiment.
8:53 -- Skyzoo is asked about where his love of basketball began. He talks about growing up in his neighborhood with a hoop on every corner, his earliest raps full of b-ball references and freestyling while shooting free throws. They also discuss Sky paying homage to his influences in his rhymes which are apparent in songs like '’95 Bad Boy Logo', Sky growing up on Biggie's block and fans' separation of "pop-hop" from "hip-hop".
18:37 -- Skyzoo speaks on when he met producer 9th Wonder and the rest of the Justice League. He talks about 9th dropping beat CDs on him often which eventually led to them recording twelve songs together in just three days time. He also answers the question of how he and 9th both got in with Duck Down records around the same time and writing his album 'Music For My Friends' from the perspective of his 13-year-old-self.
26:28 -- They go on to explore Skyzoo's 'Money Makes Us Happy' that deals with people's complicated relationship with the mighty dollar. Sky and Talib give their take on the tug of war that occurs while trying to balance substance within a capitalistic society, artists being shamed for how they found success and why Skyzoo feels like he's happy with his move out of Bed Stye to Atlanta.
31:11 -- Skyzoo talks about the legacy of his friend - the late, great emcee Stack Bundles. They discuss how much impact he had on the New York street rappers coming up during the mix-tape era before he was shot and killed in 2007. Sky also goes on to talk about his experiences working with rapper Che'Noir and producer Apollo Brown on '...As God Intended'.
36:57 -- Skyzoo details why the media's representation of the black family is so important to him, how he felt watching Spike Lee films growing up as a Brooklyn kid, his father making him write essays on movies like Boyz N The Hood and Malcolm X, Sky and Talib linking up to do the song and video 'Spike Lee Was My Hero' and his process of writing the song 'A Song For Fathers'. Feeling it was important to pay tribute to the fathers that deserve it.
45:31 -- Skyzoo discusses his love of the film 'Strapped' that was highlighted with references spoken in the song 'Bamboo', the two worlds Sky felt like he was living in growing up, his wanting to make the blackest album ever when he penned 'In Celebration Of Us' and people saying it was the rap version of Solange's 'A Seat At The Table'. They also discuss culture vultures living in a "make-believe ratchet play world" and outsiders dictating black art.
54:22 -- Skyzoo speaks on one of the most frightening moments of his career when he lost his voice while on tour with rapper Elzhi to promote 'Retropolitan', forcing Sky to lip sync the entire show in Oklahoma City. They also explore Skyzoo's deep love and appreciation of Jazz music, he is asked to give us a quick "Jazz For Dummies" class, and they discuss one of his dreams coming true when he made a live Jazz album with 2020's 'The Bluest Note'.
1:03:58 -- Skyzoo digs into the profession of ghostwriting. They discuss producer Illmind introducing him to the job, the fact of most ghostwriters being emcees that didn't "make it" for one reason or another and the process of custom-tailoring the rhymes for the rappers he writes for. Sky also explains why he doesn't use the N-word in his own rhymes and they go into the question of if 'Snowfall' is better than 'The Wire'. Doing a deep compare and contrast of both shows.
Fetty Wap and his entire family have been hit by an unfathomable tragedy … his 4-year-old daughter, Lauren Maxwell, has died.
Lauren’s mother, Turquoise Miami, confirmed the news over the weekend on Instagram with a Boomerang video of Lauren smiling while having fun in the swimming pool. The cause of death at the time of this post is unknown.
Turquoise’s caption said, “This is my amazing, beautiful, funny, vibrant, loving, talented, smart and hardheaded princess mermaid Aquarius. If you see this post scrolling by with her comment or just say to yourself ‘I love you LAUREN’ because they say that souls can feel your love #RIP.”
While performing at Rolling Loud last weekend in Miami … Fetty dedicated his set to Lauren. He wrote on his Instagram Story, “Lolo daddy di that s*** for you last night baby girl” followed by a butterfly, dove and heart emojis.
It’s been a grueling couple of years for Fetty and the family. As we first reported … Fetty’s daughter, Alaiya, underwent emergency brain surgery back in January 2019 after she was born 3 months premature. The surgery went well.
According to various online reports, Edai was shot and killed Saturday, July 31. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and stomach. He was rushed to to the University of Chicago Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
He was 32 years old.
Our sincere condolences go out to Edai's family and friends.
Lamar Odom has been ordered to shell out nearly $400,000 to his “Basketball Wives” ex-girlfriend after he allegedly stopped paying her child support and other costs related to their two kids.
Former gal pal and TV reality star Liza Morales sued the ex-Los Angeles Laker in May, claiming the Queens-born baller hasn’t been honoring their 2015 settlement agreement over their now-adult children since June 2020.
Morales alleged that Odom was behind on child support, college costs and tuition, as well as rent for the Lower Manhattan apartment where she lives with their kids Destiny, 23, and Lamar Jr., 19, prompting an eviction case against her.
At a court hearing last month, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Matthew Cooper granted Morales’ request for a default judgment against Odom — who was once married to Khloe Kardashian — since he hadn’t appeared in the case to defend himself against the claims.
Cooper then signed his judgment, made public Thursday, ordering Odom to pay $380,549 in child support, rent arrears, college costs and her legal fees in the case.
Odom also must fund a life insurance policy worth $1 million — naming his ex as the beneficiary — by Friday, the judge said. Otherwise, Morales “may enter a judgement against Lamar Odom for an additional $1,000,000,” reads the order, signed July 20.
The final day of Lollapalooza began with a change to the musical lineup. The rapper DaBaby would no longer headline the Bud Light Seltzer Stage at 9 p.m. Instead, according to posts by the festival on social media, Young Thug, previously slated for 4 p.m. on the T-Mobile stage, would take his spot, with Chicago rapper G Herbo taking over T-Mobile stage afternoon duties.
The change comes in the wake of calls for DaBaby to be pulled from Lollapalooza after homophobic slurs and remarks about HIV/AIDS he made at the Rolling Loud Miami music festival July 25. The Charlotte rapper, aka Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, subsequently made a tentative apology July 27 on Twitter but the backlash against him on social media has only grown, joined by celebrities the likes of Elton John and the moviemaker Questlove. DaBaby has since repeated some of his earlier remarks.
The statement from Lollapalooza early Sunday said in part: “Lollapalooza was founded on diversity, inclusivity, respect, and love. With that in mind, DaBaby will no longer be performing at Grant Park tonight.”
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