2 Chainz is looking out for his community ... by feeding the homeless instead of reopening his Atlanta restaurants for dine-in service.
The Atlanta rapper fed about 120 homeless people Monday, the day he was originally slated to reopen his 2 food joints, Escobar Restaurant and Tapas, for table service.
2 Chainz and his business partner, Snoop Dillard, distributed free meals outside their downtown Atlanta location ... and folks in need practiced social distancing while waiting for the free grub, standing six feet apart in line.
On the menu -- butter garlic chicken pasta and water. Snoop also hopped in a car and drove around the neighborhood, handing out free meals to people living on the streets.
As we reported ... 2 Chainz and Snoop were planning to reopen their restaurants Monday with Georgia lifting many of the state's coronavirus restrictions, but they reversed course after more consideration.
The restaurants are still open for take-out service, which is way safer than dining out.
"I want to get it removed from my body. It's shameful that I had it on there ignorantly."
That's Patriots rookie Justin Rohrwasser fighting back tears and apologizing for the "3 Percenter" tattoo on his arm ... saying he'll now have it removed because "that's not who I am."
You've probably heard by now ... the 23-year-old has been under fire over the tattoo since he was drafted by the Pats in the 5th round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Why? Well, Justin claims he got the tat when he was 18 as a tribute to the military -- but some experts and watchdog groups say the "3 Percenters" are actually a dangerous right-wing militia ... some chapters reportedly associate with "extreme racist groups."
3 Percenters' leaders have disputed the claims -- claiming they're just patriots trying to protect American liberties.
Still, Rohrwasser has been getting crushed on social media by people calling him racist, a white supremacist sympathizer and more.
So, the former Marshall kicker did an interview with WBZ-TV's Steve Burton (who is black) to explain why he's JUST NOW having regrets about the ink.
"When I was 18, I got it. [3 Percenters were] described to me as the percentage of colonists that rose up against the authoritarian government of the British, and I was like, 'Wow, that's such an American sentiment. A patriotic sentiment. And coming from a military family, I thought that really spoke to me and I always was proud to be an American. I'm very proud to be an American."
"The first time I found out what it was linked to was on Saturday. That's why it was so surprising."
Shocking statement considering the 3 Percenters made national headlines back in 2017 when several 3P members showed up at the violent Charlottesville protests in military fatigues while carrying weapons.
"As soon as I saw what it was linked to on Saturday, it's exactly that time I knew I had to get it totally taken off my body. I said cover it up, but I want to get it removed from my body. It's shameful that I had it on there ignorantly. I'm sorry for all my family that have to defend me.
Rohrwasser says putting his family and friends in the "compromising position" of having to defend his character is "one of the biggest regrets I'll ever have."
"I'm sorry I'm going to learn from this ... this is not who I am ... no matter what, that 's not who I am. Hopefully, you will all find that out."
For his part, Burton believes him ... tagging his report, "I did not find him to be a racist whatsoever. I found him to be very authentic and very apologetic. This kid deserves a chance."
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers have repaid a loan of roughly $4.6 million from coronavirus business relief funds after learning the program had been depleted.
The Lakers applied for the loan under the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, a part of the federal government’s $2.2 trillion stimulus package. The Lakers’ request was granted in the first round of distribution, but after the fund ran out of money in less than two weeks, the team returned its loan, as did several wealthier business including Shake Shack and AutoNation.
The Lakers issued a statement Monday confirming what happened.
“The Lakers qualified for and received a loan under the Payroll Protection Program,” the statement read. “However, once we found out the funds from the program had been depleted, we repaid the loan so that financial support would be directed to those most in need. The Lakers remain completely committed to supporting both our employees and our community.”
ESPN first reported the Lakers’ decision.
The Treasury Department issued further guidance for the loan program last week, asking companies not to apply for the funds if they don’t need the cash to survive.
The Lakers qualified for the program because they have only about 300 employees. But the team is thought to be the NBA’s second-most valuable franchise, with Forbes estimating a value of roughly $4 billion.
The 16-time NBA champions play in the nation’s second-largest media market, and their current roster led by superstars LeBron James and Antony Davis was on top of the Western Conference when the NBA suspended play last month.
The Lakers haven’t furloughed or fired any employees during the coronavirus pandemic, and the franchise doesn’t plan to make any cutbacks. The team’s top executives agreed to defer 20% of their salaries until later this year or early next year.
One of the leaders of ReOpenNC, the movement against Gov. Roy Cooper's stay-at-home order, posted on Facebook that she tested positive for coronavirus.
Audrey Whitlock missed the group's first two rallies in Raleigh while she was in quarantine, a fellow organizer, Ashley Smith, told WRAL News.
Smith said that Whitlock tested positive three weeks ago.
"She never left her house during her quarantine, so she has not been at any rally or any of the functions that we've done," Smith said.
About 1,000 people rallied downtown last Tuesday against Cooper's stay-at-home order. Protesters say the order violates their constitutional rights.
In Whitlock's Facebook post, she wrote, "I will take a stand every day until we are a free people again, to sound the alarm because someone has to do the right thing in the face of wrong."
She wrote on Facebook that her quarantine ended on Sunday and ended her post with "See you Tuesday."
While Smith initially told WRAL News she expected Whitlock to be in the crowd, she reversed course just before 5 p.m. and said Whitlock would not attend.
"I'm not responsible for other people's choices. I'm for personal liberty," Smith said. "Everyone has their own decisions to make. If they want to come, that's up to them. I'm going to be there. I'm not afraid of the virus. I'm more afraid of losing my constitutional rights and losing my livelihood than I am of the virus."
Organizers told WRAL News that ReOpenNC would be focusing their next rally on the state legislative building.
Smith said the Mcklenberg County Health Department never followed up with Whitlock to trace her contacts or to ensure she kept her quarantine.
"It was never handled as something as serious as what our governor is perpetrating," she said.
Super producer Statik Selektah went into his vault and pulled out a couple of rare Biggie Smalls verses and turned them into a new unreleased gem titled "Bastard Child."
The Black Soprano Family brings you episode one of their vlog series. The Quarantine House features BSF boss Benny the Butcher, as well as Heem, DJ Shay, Rick Hyde and more.
Killer Mike and El-P, together known as Run the Jewels, drop an official music video for "Ooh LA LA" featuring DJ Premier and Greg Nice.
"we shot this video only a few weeks before the pandemic hit with no clue as to what the future held. the fact that we got the chance to do it is damn near miraculous in hindsight.
in conceptualizing the video with our friends Brian and Vanessa Beletic we imagined the world on the day that the age old struggle of class was finally over. a day that humanity, empathy and community were victorious over the forces that would separate us based on arbitrary systems created by man.
this video is a fantasy of waking up on a day that there is no monetary system, no dividing line, no false construct to tell our fellow man that they are less or more than anyone else. not that people are without but that the whole meaning of money has vanished. that we have somehow solved our self created caste system and can now start fresh with love, hope and celebration. its a dream of humanity’s V-DAY… and the party we know would pop off.
Springfield, Massachusetts native and M.D.S. (Mack.Donn.Stone.) member, Joe Mack, recruits Jonny Ca$hanova and Kyreem Tabar for a new Rokem-produced single titled "Time Will Tell."
Be on the lookout for a new album from M.D.S. set to be released soon. That will be followed by the "Best of Joe Mack" mixtape dropping Summer 2020. Last but not least, Joe Mack will bless fans with his debut album in late 2020. The project is produced entirely by Staten Island beat maker, S Eyes Finest.
One of the best basketball products to come out of New York City lost his mom and brother after they battled coronavirus.
Erica Telfair, the mother of former NBA and Abraham Lincoln High School star Sebastian Telfair, died early Monday after battling the virus, although her official cause of death is unknown. She was 64.
Her passing comes after her son and Sebastian’s older brother, Dan Turner, died March 28 from COVID-19. Former Lincoln head coach Dwayne “Tiny” Morton confirmed both deaths.
During an interview with the Undefeated in late March, former Knicks and Nets guard Stephon Marbury, Telfair’s cousin, said Turner died from COVID-19. He also noted that Telfair’s mom was “fighting for her life” at the time because of “this virus.”
Both Sebastian and younger brother Ethan Telfair, who played at Lincoln and Idaho State, posted remembrances of their mother on social media Monday. “Let me see them X-rays. I ain’t no expert. We just hurt!” was posted on Sebastian’s Instagram story along with his mom’s name, her birthday and the day she died.
“Rest In Peace Mommy,” Ethan wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “Until we meet again my angel.”
Dan Turner, who was a coach at Lincoln and for the Juice All-Stars travel program, also used to run the basketball tournament on Coney Island bearing Sebastian Telfair’s name.
“Today i lost my big brother and it’s ripping my heart and spirit apart,” Ethan Telfair wrote on Twitter in March. “I love you so much and i don’t know how I’m going to get over this.”
Sebastian Telfair was the first guard to make the jump from high school to the NBA, drafted No. 13 overall by the Trail Blazers in 2004. He ended up playing 10 seasons in the NBA before going to play in China. Telfair, 34, was convicted in Brooklyn of weapons possession in April 2019. He was sentenced to 3 ¹/₂ years in prison last August, but is out on $500,000 bail and confined to house arrest from 7 p.m.-7 a.m., according to TMZ.
More than 12,000 people in New York City have died from coronavirus.
An attorney representing Teshaun Hightower said the former Tulane basketball players' brother, Jeffrey, fired the gun that killed a man on April 8 in self-defense, according to ESPN's Mark Schlabach.
Teshaun Hightower is being held in the Henry County Jail without bail after being arrested and charged with murder Saturday. His charges include felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and battery following an investigation into the fatal shooting of Devante Long.
"He's innocent. He didn't shoot anybody," Averick Walker, Teshaun Hightower's attorney, told ESPN. "It's sad that this detective sought to make him out to be a monster and he's not. When it's all said and done, it will come out in the wash that the person who did fire the gun shot the gun to protect Teshaun.
"Teshaun's brother actually fired the weapon and fired in self-defense. The victim came out of the house with a gun in his hand and turned his weapon toward Teshaun to shoot him. That's why the victim was shot himself."
The Henry County Police Department said the incident occurred at an apartment complex in Stockbridge, Ga., on the morning of April 8. In a Facebook post on Friday, the department named Teshaun and Jeffrey Hightower and four others as being involved in the homicide. ESPN reports five of the men were in custody on Monday and one man still hadn't been arrested.
Tulane dismissed Hightower from the team on Sunday.
Hightower spent his first two seasons at Georgia before transferring to Tulane prior to this season. A native of Lithonia, Georgia, he played in 30 games for Tulane in 2019-20, averaging team-high 15.9 points per game. He had declared for the NBA draft on April 18, 10 days after Long was killed.
In this episode of People’s Party, Talib Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with acclaimed director, writer, and producer -- Jessy Terrero. This wide-ranging discussion covers his path from being an extra in the movie 'Juice' to becoming one of the most sought after music video directors of the 2000s. They discuss his Dominican heritage, growing up in the Bronx and Queens, as well as his start writing music video concepts before getting the opportunity to direct for acts like 50 Cent, G-Unit, Ne-Yo, Chris Brown, Sean Paul, Daddy Yankee and countless others. They also discuss the criticism many of these videos received for the perceived objectification of women, and debate how much, if any, responsibility falls on the director.
Later Jessy talks about what it was like directing the legendary Robert De Niro in the movie 'Freelancers' and expands on how down to earth he was during the whole process. He also reflects on his experience directing the now cult classic 'Soul Plane,' detailing how he dealt with the backlash over many calling it out for perpetuating stereotypes, and also talks about the huge loss the movie took at the box office due to it being widely bootlegged before it was even officially released in theaters. Finally Jessy illustrates his involvement with the push of Latin music to the mainstream by demanding executives give these artists the marketing they deserve with more funding for their music videos.
TIMESTAMPS:
2:40 -- Talib mentions that he and Jessy came up in the game around the same time, attending many of the same parties. Then they go on to discuss Jessy getting his first taste of the film industry as being an extra in the movie 'Juice'. They also talk about his Dominican heritage, and growing up in the Bronx, New York, then moving to Queens.
5:57 -- Jessy speaks on the battle he's always had with if he should market himself as a 'Latino' director, as that limits the scope of incoming opportunities. They also discuss a few of the projects he was involved in just getting started, writing concepts for music videos, like Lox's 'Money, Power Respect', and others.
11:07 -- Jessy talks about his first shot at directing a mainstream video being Jill Scott's 'Getting In The Way', and tells the story about how he pursued doing 50 Cent's first videos when other directors weren't interested and how that led to his close affiliation with G-Unit. Jessy also gives his take on why New York has always been a city of grinders, full of people that have always strived to be the best, and hustle so hard for their success.
16:10 -- Jasmin asks Jessy about the criticism of hip-hop music videos objectifying women. Jessy looks back at how rap videos first started and how that objectification criticism has changed over time. Talib and Jessy also discuss how responsible, if at all, directors are to inject their own morals into the music videos of others. He also speaks on his small acting stint on The Sopranos.
23:43 -- Jesse reflects on his experience directing Robert De Niro in the movie 'Freelancers' along with Forest Witaker and 50 Cent. He talks about overthinking what he was going to say, and even what to wear during his first meeting where he was to sell the project. He details how down to earth Robert turned out to be, asking Jessy to call him 'Bob' before they even started shooting the movie.
30:26 -- Jesse tells about how the opportunity to direct the movie 'Soul Plane' came about, and frames how his agents told him about the project after he pitched them a similar concept of his own he had for a comedy about the airline industry. Talib asks how Jessy dealt with all the backlash from people's criticism of the movie perpetuating stereotypes. They also discuss the movie's huge losses due to it being widely bootlegged after someone leaked it before it was even released.
38:17 -- Jesse talks about making a conscious decision to get back into making music videos after all the headaches of 'Soul Plane'. Seeking to work with more Latin artists, as Reggeton, and other forms of Latin music were really starting to get more airplay. He took notice that these artists weren't getting the market space and funding for their music videos that others were, and speaks on how he pushed these label executives to ante up.
41:23 -- Jesse gives his take on what manifested the huge explosion of Latin music into the mainstream that's taken place in just the last several years. He talks about how he saw the potential for that very early on, and reflects on the only thing holding it back being the record industry afraid of taking chances.
"The food supply chain is breaking," wrote board chairman John Tyson in a full-page advertisement published Sunday in The New York Times, Washington Post and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
US farmers don't have anywhere to sell their livestock, he said, adding that "millions of animals — chickens, pigs and cattle — will be depopulated because of the closure of our processing facilities."
"There will be limited supply of our products available in grocery stores until we are able to reopen our facilities that are currently closed," Tyson wrote.
Tyson Foods, which employs roughly 100,000 workers, closed its pork plants in Waterloo, Iowa, and Logansport, Indiana, last week so that workers in those facilities could be tested for the virus.
The Waterloo plant closure came after weeks of public pressure. Production had already slowed there because many of its 2,800 workers had been calling out sick, and local health authorities linked the Tyson plant to 182 cases — nearly half of the county's total.
CNN recently spoke to three employees who work in the facility who expressed ongoing concerns that not enough was done to protect them from Covid-19. One worker said that practicing social distancing inside the facility was nearly impossible to do.
Asked by CNN about those claims, Tyson Foods said that plants were sanitized daily. And Tyson, the chairman, wrote in Sunday's advertisement that the company has taken steps to protect its workers, including taking their temperatures and requiring face masks in all of its facilities. He added that the company is paying out bonuses to frontline workers and truckers, as well as donating food in local communities.
Some of the country's largest abattoirs (processing plants or slaughterhouses) have been forced to cease operations temporarily after thousands of employees across the country have tested positive for the virus.
Pork processing plants have been hit especially hard, with three of the largest in the United States going offline indefinitely— Smithfield Foods in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; JBS pork processing in Worthington, Minnesota; and the Tyson plant in Waterloo, Iowa. Together, the three plants account for approximately 15% of pork production.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A retired FBI agent from Northern California was arrested Friday for allegedly taking more than $200,000 in bribes to pass law enforcement information to a lawyer with ties to organized crime, prosecutors announced.
Babak Broumand, 53, of Lafayette in the San Francisco Bay Area was arrested on a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official that was filed in Los Angeles federal court, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.
Broumand could face up to five years in prison if convicted. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.
Broumand spent 20 years as an FBI special agent before retiring last year. Prosecutors said that from 2015 to 2017, while working on national security matters at the San Francisco field office, he received gifts and cash averaging $10,000 a month.
The bribes came from a lawyer with links to Armenian organized crime, prosecutors alleged.
In return, Broumand “would perform official acts and omit to do acts,” providing protection and information to help the lawyer “evade detection by law enforcement,” according to an affidavit in support of the criminal complaint.
Among other things, Broumand revealed an FBI investigation into a client of the lawyer who last month was convicted in Utah in connection with a $1 billion fraud scheme, according to prosecutors.
Broumand used some of the bribe money for a down payment on a $1.3 million vacation home near Lake Tahoe, authorities said.
Broumand also accepted gifts including an expensive motorcycle, hotel stays and escort services, according to prosecutors.
The allegations are disturbing, but “we found no evidence to suggest this went beyond an isolated incident,” Paul Delacourt, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, said in a statement.
Broumand currently works as a staff investigator at the University of California, Berkeley, handling whistleblower allegations of “improper governmental activities” and investigating sex harassment and sexual violence allegations, according to his LinkedIn profile.
A high school football player that was set to continue his career at Louisville was shot and killed late Saturday night in Orlando, according to multiple reports.
Dexter Rentz, a wide receiver at Ocoee High School, was one of four people shot, but the 18-year-old was the only one to die.
“We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Dexter Rentz,” Louisville coach Scott Satterfield said in a statement. “He was a great young man who had a contagious personality, and was able to light up a room with his smile. He was a great kid to be around and he will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Rentz family during this extremely difficult time.”
Rentz was a three-star recruit, according to Rivals, and signed with Louisville in December. The team captain, who set a state record with five interceptions in one game and was also a track star, was set to enroll in June along with high school teammate Lovie Jenkins. Jenkins was among those to post a tribute to Rentz early Sunday morning.
Josh Minkins, another Louisville signee who was set to room with Rentz, also remembered him in a tweet.
“I’m over here hurt typing this, all the conversations we had and the time when you came to The Ville and I first met you I knew you was destined for big things,” Minkins wrote. “It’s crazy we was about to be roommates and all, I hate they took you from us dawg. I’ll make sure you name lives on.”
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