Episodes – Page 1384

Wakandaween Forever! Lupita Nyong’o praises Ciara posing as her “Black Panther” character for Halloween

JNI/Star Max/GC ImagesCiara took a trip to Wakanda for Halloween, and Black Panther star Lupita Nyong’o says she nailed it!

The “Level Up” singer dressed as Lupita’s Black Panther character, Nakia, as she hosted the Bacardi Liberate Your Spirit Halloween bash Tuesday night with Swizz Beatz at the Villain party space in New York City.

Ciara wore a dark red and black bodysuit with a snakeskin belt and black thigh-high lace-up boots. She posted a video on Instagram of her modeling her costume with the comment, “Wakanda Forever. #BlackPanther.

Nakia @lupitanyongo #HappyHalloween” Lupita reposted the clip, commenting, “My Wakanda Knots have unraveled! @Ciara #BlackPanther#Hallowakanda”

Ciara also performed at the party, opening up her show with her latest single, “Dose.”

Nicki Minaj has a new feud target: Steve Madden

Republic RecordsNicki Minaj and Cardi B may have called for a truce in their feud, but now Nicki has a new target: Steve Madden.

Nicki stated on social media that the fashion designer had offered her a multi-million dollar endorsement deal before deciding instead to work with Cardi. Madden responded by calling Nicki a liar, tweeting, “@NickiMinaj you can’t turn down an offer that was never made. #StopLying.”

Nick then went on the war path, tweeting, “Since u wanted attention a**hole. Turned down 4 MILLION. NOW EAT MY A** & GO AWAY. MY FANS WILL NEVER SUPPORT YOU AGAIN.”

50 Cent joined the beef, defending Nicki and reposting a Vibe article in which Madden confirmed he offered a previous deal to the “Anaconda” rapper.

Nicki added fire to the feud, tweeting that she met with Madden, Irv Gotti and her manager, Gee Roberson three years ago, and they were “BEGGING me to do the deal. I said no. You then did a deal w/[Iggy Azalea] & she hated the pics you used & went in on you online.”

Now Madden is apologizing and trying to keep the peace.

“I love both @NICKIMINAJ and @iamcardib music. I hope they can reach some peace,” he tweeted. “Together they could probably take over the world. There is a lot of negativity out there right now, and I shouldn’t have contributed to that.”

The fashion mogul added, “@NICKIMINAJ is an incredibly talented artist but we couldn’t work together cuz the timing wasn’t right. @iamcardib came on the scene and I had a fantastic collaboration with her, and she is also an amazing talent.”

Family angered by Maryland football's decision to keep coach after player's death

iStock/Thinkstock(COLLEGE PARK, Md.) — The parents of Jordan McNair, the Maryland football player who died during conditioning drills this summer, blasted the school for deciding to retain head coach DJ Durkin and athletic director Damon Evans.

The University System of Maryland Board of Regents made the recommendation to retain both at a press conference Tuesday.

“I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach and somebody spit in my face,” father Martin McNair said at a separate press conference following the announcement from the school.

Jordan McNair, 19, died in June after collapsing from heatstroke on May 29 while taking part in offseason conditioning drills. The practice was run by Maryland strength and conditioning coach Rick Court.

Court resigned from his position on Aug. 13. He received about two-thirds of the money remaining on his contract, or $315,000, according to The Washington Post.

Durkin was placed on administrative leave prior to the start of the 2018 season as independent commissions were set up to investigate McNair’s death and the culture of the program. Durkin took over as coach in 2016. The former Florida and Michigan assistant was 10-15 in his first two seasons in charge.

“Our thoughts have and will continue to be with Jordan’s family. I am proud that the team has remained united and represented themselves and the University well during this difficult time,” Durkin said in a statement Tuesday.

The commission’s report on McNair’s death, released in late September, found that athletic trainers did not follow protocol for treating heatstroke and waited to call an ambulance.

The commission’s separate investigation into the culture of Maryland football, released just last week, found there was “insufficient level of in-person oversight of the football program,” including by Evans, and a failure to supervise Court by Durkin. The report alleges Court once choked an injured player, forced a player to eat until he vomited and verbally abused players with a variety of slurs. However, the report said there was not a “toxic culture” within the football program.

The return of Durkin brought a rebuke not just from McNair’s family, but players on the Maryland team. Evans informed the team Durkin would be returning before Tuesday’s practice, causing several players, including starters, to walk out of the locker room, according to ESPN.

Durkin is expected to coach against Michigan State on Saturday, ESPN reported.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who is currently running for re-election, did not directly criticize the decision to keep Durkin, but released a statement, saying, “Many will understandably question whether enough has been done to address the serious concerns that exist among many in the College Park community. I am one of them.”

The family said it intends to pursue legal action against the university.

“The university has an obligation to keep its students safe, and it failed,” Hassan Murphy, the McNair family’s lawyer, said. “Coach Court had an obligation to protect Jordan, he failed. Coach Durkin had an obligation to keep his player safe, he failed. And your report so profound, yet he remains. The only person who has paid for those failures is Jordan McNair — and for their outrageous behavior, Jordan paid with his life.”

Hassan called the recommendation by the board “callous” and “indefensible.”

The university’s board of regents said Tuesday it believes Durkin was being unfairly blamed.

“We believe Coach Durkin has been unfairly blamed,” said James Brady, the chair of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents. “We believe he is a good man, and a good coach, who is devoted to the well-being of the student-athletes under his charge.”

At least one of McNair’s teammates went public with his dissatisfaction over the retention of Durkin. Ellis McKennie, an offensive lineman like McNair, said on Twitter a “group of people do not have the courage to hold anyone accountable for his death.”

“Every Saturday my teammates and I have to kneel before the memorial of our fallen teammate. Yet a group of people do not have the courage to hold anyone accountable for his death,” McKennie wrote. “If only they could have the courage that Jordan had. It’s never the wrong time to do what’s right.”

McKennie retweeted other teammates who voiced support for McNair on Tuesday, including defensive lineman Adam McLean and linebacker Tre Watson. It was unclear whether any of the three intended to transfer schools.

Maryland University President Wallace Loh announced at Tuesday’s press conference he will retire at the end of the academic year. Loh said in August that he accepted the “legal and moral responsibility for the mistakes that were made in the diagnosis and treatment of Jordan McNair.”

Rutgers football player arrested for alleged murder conspiracy

WABC-TV(NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.) — A Rutgers University football player was arrested and charged on Tuesday in connection to a murder plot, police said.

Izaia Bullock, a junior linebacker, was accused of initiating a plan to kill “the family members of an acquaintance,” according to the Middlesex County prosecutor’s office.

The office did not release any details about the alleged plot, but it said the “intended victims” weren’t affiliated with the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based university.

Bullock, 22, was arrested after an investigation by the Rutgers University Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office determined he initiated the plot on Oct. 29, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. He was charged with two counts of attempted murder in the first degree and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree.

Rutgers dismissed Bullock from the team in the wake of the charges, and school officials said he could face disciplinary actions. He made his on-field debut in a game against Buffalo in September — the first and only game in which he played.

Bullock previously attended Middlesex County College in Edison, New Jersey, about 25 miles southwest of Newark, where he wrote for the school’s newspaper, according to My Central Jersey, a local media outlet.

“He published several stories in the school newspaper, Quo Vadis, and regularly attended the newspaper meetings,” Melissa Edwards, a journalism professor at Middlesex County College, told the outlet. “He was also quite outgoing and always made constructive comments in class. He expressed that his dream was to play football.”

Bullock was being held at a New Jersey jail pending an initial court appearance. It’s unclear if he’d obtained an attorney.

Scoreboard roundup — 10/30/18

ABC News(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from yesterday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Sacramento     107 Orlando         99
Final Cleveland      136 Atlanta        114
Final Charlotte      125 Miami          113
Final Toronto        129 Philadelphia   112
Final Boston         108 Detroit        105
Final Memphis        107 Washington      95
Final Portland       104 Houston         85
Final Oklahoma City 128 L.A. Clippers 110

   NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final N-Y Islanders   6 Pittsburgh   3
Final Detroit         5 Columbus     3
Final OT Calgary         2 Buffalo      1
Final Boston          3 Carolina     2
Final Dallas          4 Montreal     1
Final Tampa Bay       8 New Jersey   3
Final Nashville       4 Vegas        1
Final Minnesota       4 Edmonton     3
Final Philadelphia    3 Anaheim      2
Final Arizona         5 Ottawa       1
Final SO N-Y Rangers     4 San Jose     3

Kanye West tweets he's “distancing himself from politics”

ABC/Randy Holmes

Kanye West, who has been a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump and the Make America Great Again movement, announced in a Wednesday tweet-storm that his “eyes are now wide open,” and he’s “distancing himself from politics and completely focusing on being creative.”

West claims he’s been “used to spread messages I don’t believe in,” adding, “I am distancing myself from politics and completely focusing on being creative !!!”

In another tweet, Ye attempted to clarify his views on social issues, writing, “I support creating jobs and opportunities for people who need them the most, I support prison reform, I support common-sense gun laws that will make our world safer.”

“I support those who risk their lives to serve and protect us and I support holding people who misuse their power accountable,” he continued, adding, “I believe in love and compassion for people seeking asylum and parents who are fighting to protect their children from violence and war.”

Kanye went on to thank his “family, loved ones, and community” for supporting his “ACTUAL beliefs,” and his “vision for a better world.”

Additionally, West, who has gotten backlash over his alleged involvement in “Blexit” — short for “black exit from Democratic Party” — seemed to lay blame at ultra-conservative commentator Candace Owens for the misconception.

The 41-year-old “I Love It” rapper denied having any part in designing Blexit shirts seen at a Turning Point USA’s Young Black Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. over the weekend, insisting he merely “introduced Candace to the person who made the logo and they didn’t want their name on it so she used mine.”

Tamia on why her children love Halloween: “My kids are definitely knocking on doors for free candy”

Plus 1 Music Group / 21 Entertainment / Entertainment OneAfter wrapping up her Passion Like Fire tour Friday in New York City, Tamia is back home in Florida and ready to celebrate Halloween with her two children.

“My kids are definitely knocking on doors for free candy,” Tamia tells ABC Radio. “We are in Florida so it’s hot. It’s just a good time.”

The six-time Grammy nominee and her husband, former NBA star Grant Hill, enjoy driving around their community with their kids every year on Halloween.

“Really, we use it as a time to get out and get to know your neighbors,” she says.

The “Leave It Smokin’’ singer has two daughters: Myla, 16 and Lael, 11. For her and her husband, they are always their priority.

“Our number one job is to be Myla and Lael’s parents, and to get them to the best possible place in their life, and hopefully, create lots of memories along the way.”

Tamia and husband Grant celebrated their 19th anniversary in July, and she marked the occasion by releasing a new wedding song titled, “Today I Do.”

D’Angelo returns with first new music in three years: “Unshaken” from “Red Dead Redemption 2” soundtrack

Skip Bolen/WireImageD’Angelo is back with his first new music in three years.

The four-time Grammy winner has dropped “Unshaken,” from the soundtrack of the Red Dead Redemption 2 video game. The action-adventure game follow two outlaws in the Wild West in 1899.

D’Angelo released his most recent album, Black Messiah, in 2014, and released one single that year: “Really Love.” A second single, “Betray My Heart,” was released in 2015.

Black Messiah was D’Angelo’s third studio project; it arrived 14 years after his 2000 album Voodoo.

Black Messiah won a Grammy for Best R&B Album, and “Really Love” was named Best R&B Song.

Up in smoke: 2 Chainz is now selling his own strain of marijuana

ABC/Randy Holmes2 Chainz is now officially in the marijuana business.

The Georgia rapper has partnered with the Green Street Agency to launch his own weed business, called the Gas Cannabis Co. 2 Chainz is offering three strains of weed: Octane 93, Octane 89, and Octane 87.

“When you seek high performance, the 93 line is the highest octane GAS on offer. It’s a high quality, super premium GAS. With the signature deep aroma, 93 will keep your engine running smoothly,” the brand’s website states.

Octane 89 is “supercharged and powerful, but a smooth ride. When you’re looking for the most affordable GAS, the 87 line of products is a high quality GAS, that won’t break the bank.”

All varieties are available in pre-rolled joints and 3.5 ounce packages that come in gas cans. 2 Chainz posted images of his product in two videos on Instagram. Customers can check out his merchandise at his cannabis store located in Van Nuys, California.

The rapper’s partnering company, the Green Street Agency has also collaborated on marijuana deals with Snoop Dogg, The Game, Cypress Hill and Rae Sremmurd, according to Billboard.

Ice Cube announces release date for first new album in eight years, “Everythangs Corrupt “

ABC/Randy HolmesIce Cube is ready to end his eight-year album hiatus: He announced today he’s dropping his tenth studio album, Everythangs Corrupt, on December 7.

The former N.W.A. member posted the album image of a bloody hand clutching a $100 bill on Instagram with the comment, “December 7, 2018. A day that will live in Infamy…”

Cube was referencing Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 which led to the United States entering World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed that day “a date which will live in infamy.”

The actor/rapper’s most recent album, I Am the West, was released in 2010. Since then, he’s focused on his film career, including Ride Along, and Ride Along 2 with Kevin Hart.

Cube is currently in pre-production for a new installment of the Friday franchise, Last Friday, which will also star Mike Epps.