Archives: Episodes

Killer Mike, 2 Chainz say proposed bill may negatively affect minority-owned nightlife businesses in Atlanta

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Killer Mike and 2 Chainz are speaking out about a proposed ordinance they believe may negatively affect minority-owned nightlife businesses in Atlanta. According to Billboard, the rappers appeared at a city council meeting Monday, where they griped about the proposed legislation, introduced to city officials as a way to reduce crime in the area. The bill, per WGCL, would allow the closure of any establishment deemed a “nuisance” after two or more violent conduct reports.

“I’m very blessed and I also like to be a blessing to others, and that’s what my businesses have allowed me to do,” said 2 Chainz, who addressed the crowd using his birth name, Tauheed Epps. He owns two businesses –Escobar and Escobar Seafood — in the city. “They need to retract some of the things they have on the ordinance,” he said. “And I think crime is up everywhere, not just in Atlanta.”

2 Chainz then passed the mic to Killer Mike, who questioned the city’s support for local businesses. Mike previously expressed his dissent for the bill in a May 10 meeting and noted that not much has been done since then. He said that nightlife was inevitable in a city with rapid development and argued that people should be allowed to choose among a group of clubs that include minority-owned businesses.

Mike highlighted that politicians “oblige” rappers/business owners when asking for donations to their campaigns and noted that the bill would “wipe out opportunity” for these businesses if passed.

City leaders have delayed a vote on the nuisance ordinance to further review the matter and will cast their votes in two weeks.

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'Industry' cast talks the “messy” awkwardness of sex and drug scenes

Nick Strasburg/HBO

Season two of the drug, sex, and financial drama Industry debuted Monday night on HBO, with the junior investment bankers at Pierpoint & Co. back for their second year of deals and debauchery.

Despite what’s shown on-screen, Myha’la Herrold, who plays Harper, admits that behind the scenes, it can get “a little bit messy.”

“Especially when you’re snorting things and then also doing intimacy,” she tells ABC Audio. “In between takes, you’re, like, blowing your nose and then going and kissing.”

Explaining one particular scene, Marisa Abela, who plays Yasmin, adds that it’s more awkward when you’re fully clothed and someone else is naked.

“There was a scene where…we were doing some drugs and a guy came in and took all clothes off complete and was like stark naked,” she explains. “So I kept being like, ‘do you want a snack? Do you need anything?'”

Nakedness aside, the most challenging part of the gig was understanding the financial jargon.

“It’s like another language. It is so difficult,” Herrold admits. “You really have to know the words by heart in your sleep, so that once you get [on set], you can let the words fall out and you can play the intention.”

And when it comes to getting things right, Herrold says that she’s had “a lot of particularly Black people in finance reach out and say how seen they felt by every character.”

What Herrold loves most about the show though is that none of the characters are “stereotypical” or “archetypal.”

“For Harper particularly, she goes left every time you assume a young Black American woman would go right,” says Herrold. “And whether or not you like it or it’s morally correct is beyond the point. It’s that she’s a human being and she’s multifaceted and she is different.”

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Brittney Griner to appear in Russian court as US floats proposal to secure her release

NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — WNBA star Brittney Griner is set to appear in court Tuesday in Russia, where she has been detained for more than five months, as the United States floats a proposal to secure her release.

Griner, a 31-year-old Houston native who plays professional basketball for the Phoenix Mercury, was detained on Feb. 17 at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Khimki as she returned to Russia to play during the WNBA’s offseason after she was accused of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in the country. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison and also has a right to an appeal.

In a sharp reversal, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced last week that he will hold a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “in the coming days” to discuss securing the freedom of Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since late 2018.

“[They] have been wrongly detained and must be allowed to come home,” Blinken told reporters on Wednesday. “We put a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago to facilitate their release. Our governments have communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal, and I’ll use the conversation to follow up personally and I hope [to] move us toward a resolution.”

Blinken told reporters on Friday that he had a “frank and direct conversation” with Lavrov about a U.S. proposal to exchange convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout in return for Griner and Whelan’s freedom.

“I pressed the Kremlin to accept the substantial proposal that we put forth on the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner,” Blinken said.

“I’m not going to characterize his responses and I can’t give you an assessment of whether I think things are more or less likely, but it was important that [he] hear directly from me on that,” he added.

At a press conference in Moscow on Thursday, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova confirmed that “the issue of mutual exchange of Russian and American citizens, staying in places of detention on the territory of the two countries, was discussed at one time by the presidents of Russia and the United States,” but “a concrete result has not yet been achieved.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began one week after Griner was detained, and some officials have expressed concern that Americans jailed in Russia could be used as leverage in the ongoing conflict.

The U.S. State Department classified Griner’s case on May 3 as “wrongfully detained.”

Calls to free Griner and Whelan escalated following the May release of U.S. Marine veteran Trevor Reed, who was freed from a Russian prison as part of a prisoner exchange.

Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in court last month, saying that the vape cartridges containing hashish oil were in her luggage mistakenly and that she had no “intention” of breaking Russian law.

Her legal team told ABC News in a statement last month that her “guilty” plea was recommended by her Russian attorneys.

Griner, who last appeared in court on July 27, testified that she did not mean to violate Russian law when bringing vape cartridges into the country.

She testified that she has permission to use medical cannabis and used a certificate to buy it in the U.S. Last month, one of Griner’s attorneys presented a letter from an American doctor in court, giving her permission to use cannabis to reduce chronic pain.

Griner also said she did not mean to leave the cartridges in her bag, but that she was in a hurry and was stressed after recovering from COVID-19 that month. The WNBA star said she was aware that the U.S. had warned Americans about traveling to Russia, but she didn’t want to let her team down in the playoffs.

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Diane Warren responds to backlash from Beyoncé fans over songwriting credits

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Diane Warren is setting the record straight on some comments she made about songwriting credits on Beyoncé’s new album. 

It all started Monday morning when the 65-year-old songwriter seemingly shaded the R&B singer, expressing confusion over a song on her latest album Renaissance that credits two dozen writers.

“How can there be 24 writers on a song?” Diane tweeted, followed by the eye roll emoji.

After many fans took offense to the question, Warren added in a separate tweet, “This isn’t meant as shade, I’m just curious.”

There were many different responses to the question, some of which actually attempted to educate Warren.

“It’s quite simple,” one user wrote. “If you sample/interpolate several songs within a new recording all of those original songwriters receive credit along with those who contributed to the new composition.”

Hours after the backlash, Warren took to Twitter again to express that she meant no ill-will with question. 

“Ok, I meant no disrespect to @Beyonce, who I’ve worked with and admire,” she said. “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.”

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Scoreboard roundup — 8/1/22

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

INTERLEAGUE

Cleveland 6, Arizona 5

AMERICAN LEAGUE

NY Yankees 7, Seattle 2

Minnesota 5, Detroit 3

Baltimore 7, Texas 2

Kansas City 2, Chi White Sox 1

Boston 3, Houston 2

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cincinnati 3, Miami 1

NY Mets 7, Washington 3

San Diego 4, Colorado 1

LA Dodgers 8, San Francisco 2

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