World News - Blog Posts

Hello, I am from Gaza, due to the shortage of medicine in Gaza, my mother who is a type 1 diabetic and was supposed to undergo urgent eye surgery, has not been able to get insulin or any medical care for the past three months. . Some members of my family fled to the southernmost part of Gaza (Rafah) in tents. But my parents and sisters have nowhere else to stay. They are forced to stay in the Nuseirat refugee camp, which has been bombed since the beginning of Christmas. "I am on my knees asking for your donations. Please help me. where you can.

Goal: $700

Please share!

I Myself am not that great in funds at the moment. But, I will share as much as I can!<3

Biden Made Trump Bigger. Harris Makes Him Smaller.

www.rileyfrankcap.com

Here is the video essay I've made about the migration crisis we are currently facing together.

Cheers, sister!

Link to post.

"The Committee said on Tuesday that its newly-published report is the first output from a series of meetings exploring what a united Ireland would mean and examines the current economic relationship between the jurisdictions on the island and the potential of the all-island economy.

The report, the Committee said, goes on to examine the cost of a united Ireland and makes the case for planning and preparation for a united Ireland to begin."

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So a Microsoft Software Update just screwed up over 100,000 flights

Great job Microsoft

The news template has breached containment

Imagine they are your children 💔

Help My Family and Our Children Have The Life They Deserve, After Their Dreams Destroyed 🙏💔🇵🇸

You Can Support By Donate Or Share with Friends 🙏

Note : Verified by @90-ghost , @aces-and-angels

gofundme.com

Donate to Help save my family to survive the genocide in Gaza, organized by Mahmoud AlBalawi

Hi world , it’s Mahmoud Please read this as if you were in my… Mahmoud AlBalawi needs your support for Help save my family to survive th

Please Help My Family 💔

"The children have just begun to live. We feel sorry for our country, they (russins) are killing us and no one is doing anything."

Locals have been bringing flowers and toys to the site in Kryvyi Rih since morning where children were killed in a russian attack on April 4. Nine children were killed in a russian Iskander missile strike. Six remain in hospitals, most of them in serious condition.

Source: Suspilne Dnipro

Y’all I genuinely urge you to stay up to date with world politics.

In my country, Venezuela, elections have just been held and the blatant disrespect that the so called government have for their people is astonishing.

How can they claim that Nicolas Maduro, one of the most hated dictators of our time, won 51%/5+ million votes?

How is it possible that he won when the voting panels have been updating every hour how Edmundo Gonzalez (the opposing candidate) has been winning by TRIPLE the vote?

How is it possible that most of the 7.3 million Venezuelan immigrants can’t vote and have no say in what goes on the country that gave them life?

How is it possible that Venezuelans have to fear for their life in voting stations because the military are set there to prevent them from voting?

How is it possible that the pig that’s called president is currently celebrating his “well-earned” victory?

Countries like Chile and Peru are already making statements that they will not recognize the results given by the CNE (the Venezuelan electoral system)

FREAKING ELON MUSK IS MAKING TWEETS REGARDING THE SITUATION

I think it’s sickening how all people can do is talk about it and not do a single thing about it, especially because as a society we try to condemn any harm to human rights just like how we did Russia, who by the way, is one of the dictatorships biggest supporters.

VENEZUELA HAS BEEN FACING AN HUMANITARIAN CRISIS!!!!

People have been facing literal hell since the late 90s and people in power DO. NOT. CARE.

Educate yourself, educate others, and most importantly TALK ABOUT IT, because I’m certain we’re not the first or the last country to go through this.

This is as much as I’ll say.

I hope they all rot in hell.

🇻🇪

One year ago russia blew up the Nova Kakhovka Dam.

Our (Georgian as in the country) government quietly made new additions to the foreign agent law today.

1. The foreign agent law will affect not only organizations, but individuals. Failure to comply with the law causes a 5000 lari fine.

2. The law will allow the government all of your personal information including your political stance and sexual relationships. It makes every organization forced to comply with handing over all of our information to the government. If you are queer, have differing political views, or are part of a non-governmental organization against domestic violence, your anonymity is no longer guaranteed.

3. Only thing this does not include is country's secrets, nothing else is off the table.

Thank you, Sakartvelo. Keep fighting. We believe in you.

🇬🇪🫂🇺🇦

HELLO! MY COUNTRY IS DESCENDING INTO AUTHORITARIANISM! PLEASE READ!

I'm too angry to formulate how many lines the government has crossed and how dangerous the situation has gotten… please read, and know the truth.

losing yourself in world events is extremely easy right now. reminder that its okay to take a step back and rest. you need to be able to breathe before you can help others to.

To: 2024

​The euro was unable to go back into the mainstream of upward correction

The main events of last week, to which was attracted the attention of investors was publication of data on consumer price inflation in the Eurozone, the UK and the US. As expected, in the Eurozone inflation remains at a fairly low level, together with the comments of Mario Draghi maintains high expectations of the introduction by the European Central Bank the additional stimulus measures. These include the expansion of the asset purchase program and another lowering of interest rate on deposits, placed in the Central Bank.

This week is planned:

Monday, November 23rd: 12:00 PM, GMT - Eurozone. The meeting of the Eurogroup; 01:30 PM, GMT - USA. Index of national activity of the FRS Chicago; 02:45 PM, GMT - USA. The index of business activity in the manufacturing sector, Markit.

Tuesday, November 24th: 12:05 AM, GMT - Australia. Speech by the Head of the RBA, Glenn Stevens; 07:00 AM, GMT - Germany. Gross domestic product (q/q, yr/yr); 07:00 AM, GMT - Germany. The final GDP not including seasonally adjustments (yr/yr); 09:00 AM, GMT - Germany. Indicator assessment of the current situation from the IFO; 09:00 AM, GMT - Germany. The index of economic expectations from the IFO; 09:00 AM, GMT - Germany. The index of business optimism from the IFO; 09:00 AM, GMT - Great Britain. Hearing of the report on inflation; 01:30 PM, GMT - USA. The price index of domestic acquisitions; 01:30 PM, GMT - USA. Annual GDP data; 01:30 PM, GMT - USA. The price index for personal consumption expenditures (q/q); 01:30 PM, GMT - USA. The main index for personal consumption expenditures (q/q); 02:00 PM, GMT - USA. House price index S&P/CaseShiller (yr/yr); 03:00 PM, GMT - USA. The level of consumer trust; 03:30 PM, GMT - Canada. Review from the the Bank of Canada.

Read more information…

WTF! 9 people dead, 27 injured, in another mass shooting in Dayton Ohio

WTF! 9 people dead, 27 injured, in another mass shooting in Dayton Ohio

(CNN)Nine people were killed and at least 27 injured Sunday in a shooting in a popular nightclub district of downtown Dayton, Ohio, police say.Officers killed the lone suspect after he fired for less than a minute from a “.223 high-capacity” gun, and he had additional magazines with him, Mayor Nan Whaley said. The .223 caliber is used in rifles like the AR-15 assault rifle used in previous mass shootings.

Witnesses comfort one another at the scene of a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio.Deb Decker, public information officer for Montgomery County, said the shooter used an assault rifle.The event followed by 13 hours a shooting that left 20 dead in El Paso, Texas.The Dayton shooting took place about 1 a.m. on East Fifth Street in the city’s Oregon District, Dayton Deputy Director and Assistant Chief of Police Lt. Col. Matt Carper said early Sunday morning.FOLLOW LIVE UPDATESThe gunman was identified as Connor Betts, 24, according to local and federal law enforcement sources. The FBI and local law enforcement served a search warrant at his family home in Bellbrook, Ohio.Brad Howard, a friend of Betts’, said he was quiet and kept to himself.”He was a really nice kid,” Howard told CNN affiliate WHIO. The two grew up together, he said, and knew each other for more than 20 years.Betts and Howard would talk music and pop culture, he said.”It’s a kick in the teeth” to the Bellbrook neighborhood, Howard said.

He wore body armor

Carper said the shooter fired multiple rounds from “a very large gun, in technical terms.” The shooting happened as the suspect was making his way toward a bar called Ned Peppers, Decker said.What we know about the shooting in Dayton, OhioSomeone from Ned Peppers grabbed the barrel of the rifle, and the shooter “picked up a handgun and was willing to continue shooting,” Decker said, when police arrived and killed the shooter.The shooter wore body armor, she said.No officers were injured, Carper said.

Authorities work the scene Sunday morning in Dayton.”In less than one minute, Dayton first responders neutralized the shooter,” Whaley said.”I really want to — think about that minute. The shooter was able to kill nine people and injure 26 in less than a minute. And if we did not have police in the Oregon District and the thousands of people in the Oregon District enjoying their Saturday evening, what we could have had in this city,” Whaley said.”The question has to be raised, why does Dayton have to be the 250th mass shooting this year?”Police believe that the suspect acted alone and that there is no remaining threat to the community, but the investigation is ongoing, Carper said, and the FBI is assisting. The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear.

‘Bodies all over the place’

Graham Hunter, 24, of Dayton said he and four friends arrived just as the incident was over and immediately came upon the body of the shooter outside.”Everyone was panicking and running around,” Hunter said. “After the shooter was dead, everyone was just crying and stuff,” and he saw “bodies all over the place.”A police officer told him and his friends to go into Ned Peppers.He said he and his friends consider the area a safe, fun place to hang out on weekends, where many people walk around outdoors and enjoy patios at restaurants and bars.”It’s a nice spot,” he said. “It’s where everyone goes to hang out.”The district will be open Sunday afternoon, the mayor said.A vigil is planned for 8 p.m. at a location to be named.

A deadly end to a deadly week in America

The shooting in Dayton was the fourth similar incident across the country in the past week. At least 34 people were killed in total.Saturday morning In El Paso, 20 people were killed and 26 injured when a gunman opened fire at a shopping center. Authorities are investigating a racist, anti-immigrant scree they believe was posted by the suspect.He has been identified by three sources as Patrick Crusius, a 21-year-old white man from Allen, Texas.

Tuesday in Mississippi, a shooting at a Walmart left two employees dead and a police officer wounded.On July 28, when a 19-year-old man wearing tactical gear opened fire at at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California, killing three people, including two children.

Hospitals respond to influx of wounded

The mayor said 27 people were treated at hospitals and 15 had been released by about 10 a.m. ET Sunday.Elizabeth Long, spokeswoman at Kettering Health Network, which operates several Dayton-area hospitals including Kettering Medical Center and Grandview Medical Center, said 13 people were taken to three of the network’s hospitals, many with gunshot wounds to the “lower extremities.”At least one person was shot in the abdomen, and at least two people were taken into surgery. She did not give an age range for the injured.Miami Valley Hospital received 14 patients, plus two others across its health system, emergency physician Dr. Randy Marriott said.Twelve had been treated and released by 10 a.m. ET Sunday.Most of the injuries were gunshot wounds, but there were others, like cuts received while people were fleeing the scene.”At this point, we can say we’ve had one critical, four admitted, none have gone to surgery,” Marriott said.Most people arrived via ambulance or police car, but several others arrived on foot or by personal vehicle later, Marriott said.

Congressman’s daughter was in the area

Dayton-based US Rep. Mike Turner tweeted that his daughter and a friend had just entered a bar across the street when the shooting began. “As they ran home, I followed their progress & prayed for them & our community. Thank you to @DaytonPolice for their bravery in stopping this evil.”

My daughter & a family friend had just entered the Tumbleweed Connection when the shooting began across the street. Both reported of the visible @DaytonPolice presence before the shooting and the bravery they witnessed as officers ran toward the gun shots.

— US Rep. Mike Turner (@RepMikeTurner) August 4, 2019

Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement that he was “absolutely heartbroken” and ordered flags flown at half-staff.US Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, tweeted, “It is beyond time for our leaders to do what is necessary to enact laws that keep guns out of the hands of people wishing to do harm. This has to stop. #EnoughIsEnough #EndGunViolence”

My heart is heavy after hearing the news of another shooting, this time in Dayton, Ohio – 13 hours following the El Paso shooting that robbed 20 innocent people of their lives. Sending prayers to the victims, their families, law enforcement and the entire Dayton community.

— Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (@RepMarciaFudge) August 4, 2019

President Donald Trump tweeted, “The FBI, local and state law enforcement are working together in El Paso and in Dayton, Ohio. Information is rapidly being accumulated in Dayton. Much has already be learned in El Paso. Law enforcement was very rapid in both instances. Updates will be given throughout the day!”

The FBI, local and state law enforcement are working together in El Paso and in Dayton, Ohio. Information is rapidly being accumulated in Dayton. Much has already be learned in El Paso. Law enforcement was very rapid in both instances. Updates will be given throughout the day!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 4, 2019

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20 people dead in El Paso shooting, 26 injured Texas governor says!

20 people dead in El Paso shooting, 26 injured Texas governor says!

(CNN)Twenty people were killed and more than two dozen were injured in a mass shooting at an El Paso shopping center on Saturday, according to Texas and local authorities.”Lives were taken who should still be with us today,” Gov. Greg Abbott said at a news conference.Twenty-six people were injured, according to El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen.What we know about the shooting in El Paso, Texas“The ages and genders of all these people injured and killed are numerous in the age groups,” Allen said. “The situation, needless to say, is a horrific one.”A 21-year-old white man from Allen, Texas, is in police custody, Allen said. Authorities are looking at potentially bringing capital murder charges against him.FOLLOW LIVE UPDATESThe case also has a “nexus to a potential hate crime,” he said.”Right now, we have a manifesto from this individual that indicates to some degree a nexus to a potential hate crime,” Allen said.FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Emmerson Buie said more investigative work was needed before determining whether there was a possible hate crime.

Authorities on the scene of a shooting at a Walmart near Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso.CNN reported the suspect is 21-year-old Patrick Crusius of Allen, just outside Dallas, according to three sources.Two federal law enforcement sources and one state government source confirmed the suspect’s identity. The federal sources said investigators are reviewing an online writing posted days before the shooting that may speak to a motive.The online posting was believed to be written by Crusius, the sources said, but that has not been confirmed.

‘This was a massacre’

The first call of an active shooter went out at 10:39 a.m. local time, Allen said. The first officer arrived on scene six minutes later.El Paso Police Sgt. Robert Gomez previously told reporters police were initially given multiple possible locations for the shooting, at a Walmart and the Cielo Vista Mall next door.

WalmartCielo Vista Mall

“This is a large crime scene, a large area,” Gomez said of the scene Saturday afternoon.Multiple agencies responded to the scene, including the FBI, the sheriff’s department, the state Department of Public Safety and Border Patrol.The crime scene will “be in play for a long period,” Allen said. “Unfortunately, the deceased will remain at the scene until the scene is processed properly for evidentiary purposes to be gathered for later prosecution.”

El Paso Police Department Sgt. Robert Gomez briefs media on a shooting that occurred at a Walmart.Officials from two local hospitals said they had received at least 23 people.Thirteen people were taken to University Medical Center of El Paso, spokesman Ryan Mielke told CNN, and one of them has died. Two children with non-life-threatening injuries were transferred to a children’s medical facility, Mielke said.Eleven victims were transported to the Del Sol Medical Center, hospital spokesman Victor Guerrero said. Nine are in critical but stable condition, he said.At least two of the patients are in a “life-threatening predicament,” according to Del Sol Medical Center Dr. Stephen Flaherty. He said the patients ranged in age from 25 to 82. Two are in stable condition, he said, and seven required emergency operations.”This was a massacre,” US Rep. Veronica Escobar, who represents the area, told CNN. Escobar has received conflicting reports on the numbers of casualties, she said, but added, “The numbers are shocking.”

Footage shows people lying on the ground outside Walmart

Walmart issued a statement regarding the shooting, saying, “We’re in shock over the tragic events at Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso. … We’re praying for the victims, the community & our associates, as well as the first responders.”Inside the mall, crowds hid inside stores after hearing reports of an active shooter, according to 26-year-old Brandon Chavez, an employee at Forever 21.Chavez had just started his shift when he saw customers and staff members running to the stock room to take shelter.”There were about 20 children and adults, plus employees, hiding, all cramped like sardines,” he told CNN. “Most of us were desperate, some were on their phones. There were girls crying, people trying to talk to each other and women with babies in their arms.”

Shoppers exit with their hands up after a shooting in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday.Store employees had closed the glass doors but he could see police officers walking around the mall and evacuating people from other stores.After police officers knocked on the store’s doors, Chavez said his group had to leave the store, forming a line with their hands up and running.In a shaky Snapchat video aired by CNN, a woman holding the camera frantically runs with a small group of girls or women through a mall department store and into a parking lot.As the group hurries past racks of clothes and cases of merchandise, voices off camera shout, “Hands up!”Once in the parking lot, one member of the group asks, “What happened?””I don’t know,” the woman holding the camera responds. “I don’t know.”Another video, shot from outside the Walmart, showed people lying on the ground, some of them next to a table set up by the store’s entrance.

Authorities respond to an active shooter at a Walmart near Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso.”There’s a man lying down at the stand that a school set up,” the man holding the camera says in Spanish.”Help!” a man screams in English.”We need CPR,” someone else says. “We need CPR.”

‘Our community will heal,’ mayor says

Mayor Dee Margo said Saturday evening that his city would rise above this “senseless and evil act of violence.””We will be defined by the unity and compassion we showed in the wake of this tragedy,” he said. “United, our community will heal.”Nowhere was that spirit more on display than at blood donation centers. Authorities had said donations were urgently needed, and said if local residents wanted to help, they should make appointments to do so.Frances Yepez, waiting in line at one blood donation center, said the center was at max capacity and dozens of people were waiting to make appointments for Sunday or Monday.”It’s easy to make a dollar, but it’s harder to make a difference,” she said. “So I get out there and do whatever I can do to help.”She said the mood there was somber, and she could hear sniffling as the crowd of people learned updates over the television.

White House pledges ‘total support’

President Donald Trump has been briefed on the shooting, and the White House is monitoring the situation, deputy press secretary Steven Groves said in a statement.”Terrible shootings in El Paso, Texas,” the President tweeted Saturday afternoon. “Reports are very bad, many killed. Working with State and Local authorities, and Law Enforcement. Spoke to Governor to pledge total support of Federal Government. God be with you all!”

Terrible shootings in ElPaso, Texas. Reports are very bad, many killed. Working with State and Local authorities, and Law Enforcement. Spoke to Governor to pledge total support of Federal Government. God be with you all!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2019

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, who once represented the area in Congress, addressed the shooting while at a speaking event in Las Vegas.”We know there is a lot of injury, a lot of suffering in El Paso right now,” he said. “I am incredibly sad and it is very hard to think about this.””But I’ll tell you, El Paso is the strongest place in the world,” he added. “This community is going to come together.”O’Rourke said he would be cutting short his trip to Las Vegas to return to El Paso.Gov. Abbott tweeted late Saturday afternoon that he had arrived in El Paso.”Texans grieve today for the people of this wonderful place. We united in support of all the victims. We thank First Responders for their swift action,” the governor said. “We ask God to bind up the wounds of all who’ve been harmed.”The scene was unfolding in the same week two employees were fatally shot at a Walmart store in Southaven, Mississippi, and three people were shot and killed at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California.

CNN’s Josh Campbell, Evan Perez, Ed Lavandera, Theresa Waldrop, Artemis Moshtaghian, Shawn Nottingham and Jay Croft contributed to this report.

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14 shot in 48 hours in suspected gang violence in Atlanta

14 shot in 48 hours in suspected gang violence in Atlanta

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — An MS-13 gang member who once was on the FBI’s top 10 list of most wanted fugitives has admitted killing a man on behalf of the gang and agreeing that a conspirator would commit multiple violent acts. Walter Yovany Gomez pleaded guilty Monday to racketeering conspiracy. Federal prosecutors will recommend that he receive a 25-year prison term when he’s sentenced July 31. A 2013 indictment charged Gomez and another man with the fatal beating and stabbing of a fellow gang member suspected of associating with a rival gang in Plainfield.

Two separate shooting scenes in two separate parts of Atlanta. Two days apart. Each with seven shooting victims. According to Atlanta Police, both shootings are believed to be gang-related.

Investigators said the two shootings are not connected. However, state officials said gang violence is at a crisis level in Georgia.

‘Certified gang member’ charged with second-degree murder in shooting death of 14-year-old

A 16-year-old is facing a second-degree murder charge after deputies say he was involved in the shooting death of a 14-year-old girl earlier this month. In the early morning hours of June 18, deputies said the girl was shot inside a vehicle near the intersection of Kingsway Road and East Clay Avenue in Brandon. The vehicle then drove about two miles to a Walgreens parking lot before someone called 911. Previous: 14-year-old girl dies after being shot in Brandon During a Wednesday morning news conference, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said the 16-year-old suspect is a “certified gang member.

In the first shooting, which took place early Thursday morning in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward area, investigators said several dozen shots were fired from two cars at a group of people standing in the 600 block of Parkway Drive, N.E.

According to police investigators, five men and one woman initially appeared to be targeted in the shooting. They later discovered that a seventh victim transported themselves to the hospital.

“Several of them are known, documented gang members,” said Atlanta Police Major Michael O’Connor. “They were out there in the very early morning hours.”

“The neighborhood itself, you know, it’s somewhat challenged – this particular series of apartment complexes that stretches for a while,” O’Connor said. “That’s been the case since I’ve joined the police department. The entire time I’ve been here it’s been something of a drug market over there.”

Guide murdered alongside American doctor had trouble with a local gang, police say

Dr. Gary Swank was visiting the Central American country and he was found dead Sunday alongside a local tour guide, identified as Mario Graniel.

He said it is not a new problem in that neighborhood, which is only a few blocks from the revitalized Ponce City Market area and the BeltLine.

“As we pick one person off, somebody else fills that spot,” O’Connor said. “So we continue to work on it diligently. It’s an ongoing effort; it has been for decades now.”

Police said they have several significant leads in the case. They are looking for multiple suspects and are searching for one silver car and one other dark-colored car.

The second shooting took place in the Mechanicsville neighborhood of Southwest Atlanta late Friday night in the 700 block of Ira Street, S.W. at about 11:15 p.m.

White said that seven people were hit by gunfire when, according to witnesses, a black SUV and a black sedan drove into the location and began firing into a group of people. He said that four vehicles were also damaged by gunfire.

So far this year, 1,229 people have been shot in Chicago, about 100 fewer than the first six months of 2018, and the lowest total since 2015. Police also said there have been 236 murders through the end of June, 21 fewer than the same time period last year. During the violence over the weekend, 17-year-old Jarise Baker was shot and killed early Saturday in the North Lawndale neighborhood. Baker was walking his girlfriend home around 12:30 a.m. near 18th and Keeler, when someone in a passing car shot them both. Baker was shot in the chest and upper body, and died at Mount Sinai Hospital.

The shooting victims took themselves to hospitals for treatment, according to White.

Police said that shooting is also believed to be gang-related. However, is not believed to be connected to the Parkway Drive incident.

In April, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp launched a gang task force, with the goal of reducing what state officials are calling a crisis.

“Nearly every county in Georgia has reported gang activity,” Kemp said. “I’ve made my position clear when it comes to street gangs and drug cartels. It is a serious issue in our state. One we cannot afford to ignore.”

Kemp said there are about 71,000 gang members in the state of Georgia.

“Most crimes are gang-related, specifically violent crimes – the aggravated assaults, the drive-by shootings, the murders,” according to Jaret Usher, the former Cobb County prosecutor who is leading the task force.

“When you look further into why these are happening and the motivation behind them and the evidence that comes out, the statistics do back up that they are gang-motivated and gang-related.”

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Who’s the victim, and who is to blame? A bullet, a miscarriage and an unthinkable question

A 27-year-old Birmingham woman was indicted on manslaughter charges Wednesday in the loss of her pregnancy, even though, police say, another woman pulled the trigger. The East Thomas neighborhood is shaken with the question of who is to blame. (Gheni Platenburg for The Washington Post)

A 27-year-old Birmingham woman was indicted on manslaughter charges Wednesday in the loss of her pregnancy, even though, police say, another woman pulled the trigger. The East Thomas neighborhood is shaken with the question of who is to blame.

BIRMINGHAM — As she recovered in a hospital bed on a chilly December night, Marshae Jones could only think about what she’d lost.

The 27-year-old was five months pregnant when she was involved in a fight that, authorities say, prompted a woman to fire a gun in self defense. The bullet tore through Jones’s abdomen and caused a miscarriage, anguishing the young mother — and the historic East Thomas neighborhood of central Alabama, where her family has lived for generations.

“As her pastor, I would ask whoever to prayerfully consider the heart of this young lady,” said Rev. George Robinson Jr., the pastor of First Baptist of East Thomas, where Jones and her family attend church. “Marshae is not the person that has been pictured or painted of her. She’s not that young lady.”

Robinson said he prayed with Jones in the hospital that night, and in the weeks leading up to Wednesday, when a grand jury indicted her on a manslaughter charge for the death of her own fetus.

The complex case has divided those seeking to place blame in the fetus’s death, a tension augmented by the abortion debate in Alabama and the state’s broad manslaughter law, which makes it a felony to “recklessly” cause the death of another person.

“She was really sorrowful about everything that actually transpired up to this point,” Robinson told The Washington Post, speaking of the woman’s reaction in the aftermath of the shooting. “Her words to me were she could not believe she lost the baby.”

In a Friday statement, the office of District Attorney Lynneice Washington said they have not decided whether Jones will be prosecuted for manslaughter, face a lesser charge or be cleared in the death of her fetus. A grand jury looked at actions by both women and declined to indict Ebony Jemison, the woman who fired the shot, prosecutors said. The jurors instead returned an indictment for Jones.

Robinson and others close to Jones, who has a young daughter, say it’s difficult to picture the “lovable and caring” mother as an aggressor. They say Jones may have been caught up in the heat of the moment on the afternoon of Dec. 4, 2018, when police and prosecutors allege she initiated a fight with Jemison outside a Dollar General.

In a phone interview late Thursday, Jemison’s mother, Earka, told The Post that her daughter was cleared by the grand jury because evidence and testimony was presented to suggest that Jones started the fight, causing Ebony to fire a warning shot out of fear. Jones worked at the same company as Ebony Jemison and the fetus’s father, and tension developed between the two women, according to Jemison’s mother.

She said things boiled over in December when Jones, who was driving with friends at the time, spotted Jemison and leaped out of the vehicle to attack her. Jones’s friends left the car soon afterward and began to move toward the scuffle, she said.

“Ebony was afraid for her life and reached in her purse for the gun,” her mother said, adding that her daughter had a license to carry the weapon. “She tried to fire a warning shot to get away from her.”

But the shot — which Jemison’s mother says was aimed at the ground — ricocheted into Jones. Earka Jemison told The Post that her daughter received threats after the indictment.

“If they weren’t sitting in the courtroom, let them talk,” the mother said about the people threatening her daughter. “I saw the evidence. I saw the evidence.”

Jones was released on $50,000 bond Thursday. In a statement Friday, Jones’s attorneys said their client was facing “unprecedented legal action” that had tarnished the reputation of both Jones and the state of Alabama. The law firm White Arnold & Dowd said it would fight vigorously for her exoneration to prevent a “grave injustice.”

“This young mother was shot in the stomach while five months pregnant and lost her baby as a result. She lost her home to a fire and lost her job,” the firm said. “Now, for reasons that defy imagination, she faces an unprecedented legal action that subjects this victim of violence to further distress and harm.”

In front of a modest blue home in Birmingham on a hot, sunny day, Jamal Jones identified himself as Marshae Jones’s second cousin. He told The Washington Post that Jones and Jemison had feuded in the past but that Jones has always been a quiet, soft-spoken person.

“She’s a good mom,” the 37-year-old said of Jones, who has a young daughter. “Her daughter is with her everywhere. She makes sure she gets her to school every day, picks her up, feeds her. She don’t try to put her off on anybody.”

Booking photo of Marshae Jones. (Jefferson County Jail)

He added: “She’s a good person. I’m not just saying that because she’s my cousin. She gets along with anybody.”

Jones’s mother, who declined to give her first name, said she was turning to her faith amid a trying time for her family.

Jones “is a fun-loving mom, churchgoing, a hard-working lady,” Jones’s mother said. “My child just doesn’t bother anybody.”

Speaking with AL.com, Jones’s grandmother, Patrice Jones, echoed those sentiments.

“It’s not fair,’’ the grandmother said. “Marshae didn’t have a gun. How did they turn it around on her?”

“We feel sympathy for the families involved, including Ms. Jones, who lost her unborn child,’’ the district attorney’s office said. “The fact that this tragedy was 100 percent avoidable makes this case even more disheartening.”

Alabama is among 38 states with laws that classify fetuses as victims in homicide or assault, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Alabama, a “person” includes embryos and fetuses at any stage of development. And rights groups say those laws are ensnaring pregnant women.

Lynn Paltrow, executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women, says Alabama leads the country in mothers charged with crimes related to pregnancy. But she said this case was unique.

“This is the first time the idea that fertilized egg or fetal personhood has provided the basis for arrest of a woman because she was pregnant, and she herself was the victim of a criminal act,” Paltrow said. “Alabama has indicted Ms. Jones, claiming it is a crime for a woman to be unable to protect her own life and health.”

Randall Marshall, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, said the state “is one of the most dangerous places in the country for a black woman trying to carry her pregnancy to term, and this prosecution is just one more attack on the basic human rights and dignity of black women in our state.”

Rev. Robinson, the pastor at Jones’s church, said he did not see young woman as a criminal. He called the situation “shocking” and said the 200 or so members of his tight-knit congregation are equally concerned about the case.

As they struggle to answer unthinkable questions, the East Thomas community waits for a prosecutor to decide whether Jones should be held accountable for her lost pregnancy.

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Toys ‘R’ Us, Back From the Dead, Will Open U.S. Stores in 2019

KINGSTON, MA – MARCH 15: The exterior of the Toys R Us store in Kingston, MA is pictured on March 15, 2018. The company is declaring bankruptcy and closing all of its stores.

Maybe American kids will only have to live through one Christmas without Toys “R” Us.

About a year after shuttering U.S. operations, the remnant of the defunct toy chain is set to return this holiday season by opening about a half dozen U.S. stores and an e-commerce site, according to people familiar with the matter.

Richard Barry, a former Toys “R” Us executive who is now CEO of new entity Tru Kids Inc., has been pitching his vision to reincarnate the chain to toymakers, including at an industry conference this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public.

The stores are slated to be about 10,000-square feet, roughly a third of the size of the brand’s big-box outlets that closed last year, the people said. The locations will also have more experiences, like play areas. The startup costs could be minimized with a consignment inventory model in which toymakers ship goods but don’t get paid until consumers buy them, some of the people said.

A spokeswoman for Tru Kids said the company wasn’t ready to publicly share details on its U.S. strategy.

New Rivals

It remains to be seen how much of a boost the retailer’s comeback will provide the toy industry, including giants such as Hasbro Inc. and Mattel Inc. The original Toys “R” Us, the only national toy chain, left a huge holewhen it went under. It had been generating about $7 billion in sales a year in the U.S. through more than 700 locations, including the Babies “R” Us brand.

Walmart Inc., Target Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. have swooped in to fill the void. They have all expanded toy assortments and marketing, including a printed toy catalog from Amazon. Other non-traditional chains jumped into the category, including grocery stores and Party City Holdco Inc.

There is also a question of how many toymakers will do business with the new Toys “R” Us after many lost money when the former company announced liquidation in March 2018, just months after filing for bankruptcy.

MGA on Board

MGA Entertainment Inc., one of the best-performing toymakers in the world, is already on board to sell at the re-imagined Toys “R” Us shops, said Chief Executive Officer Isaac Larian, who said he has been pitched the plan. His company’s properties include Little Tikes, L.O.L. Surprise! and Bratz dolls.

“This market needs a self-standing toy store, that’s for sure,” Larian said in an interview. “We will sell them inventory.”

Related: Tears ‘R’ Us: The World’s Biggest Toy Store Didn’t Have to Die

During the chain’s bankruptcy, lenders led by Solus Alternative Asset Management and Angelo Gordon took control of the company’s assets. After results didn’t improve, they opted to shutter operations in the U.S. Units in Australia and other regions also closed, with divisions in Asia and Canada acquired by new owners.

This group tried to sell the intellectual property, but opted to keep it to garner a better return. As owners of the intellectual property, they have been collecting licensing and other fees from the units still operating and selling them private-label goods. The lenders then formed Tru Kids with the goal of reviving the brand in the U.S. and other regions it exited. It has since hired several industry veterans and signed a deal to bring Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us back to Australia through a partner.

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CAUGHT!: Snapchat gender swap filter helps student catch cop looking for teen hookup

A 20-year-old college student in the San Francisco Bay Area used Snapchat’s gender swap filter to expose a police officer allegedly trying to hook up with an underage girl, NBC reports. 

The filter, which allows people to see what they would look like as the opposite gender, has become immensely popular among Snapchat users, despite its problematic stereotyping. 

San Jose Police Department arrested Robert Davies for contacting a minor to commit a felony.SAN JOSE POLICE DEPARTMENT

Ethan, who did not disclose his last name in fears of retaliation, told NBC Bay Area that he was looking to catch pedophiles because his friend had been sexually assaulted as a child. But even he didn’t think he would end up catching a police officer. “I was just looking to get someone,” he said. “He just happened to be a cop.”

He set up his Tinder profile with his gender-swapped photo as a 19-year-old with the name Esther. Then, he matched with San Mateo police officer Robert Davies.

“I believe he messaged me ‘Are you down to have some fun tonight?’” Ethan said. “And I decided to take advantage of it.”

According to CBS, Ethan later matched with Davies on another app called Kik, which has a reputation as a shady platform for millennials and teens. Ethan and Davies then connected on Snapchat, as well.

Posing as Esther, Ethan told Davies that she was 16 and asked if it would be a dealbreaker. Davies said it wouldn’t.

According to screenshots shared by NBC Bay Area, once Ethan revealed she was 16, Davies said, “Yeah that might be an issue.” But he continued to engage in the chat even after learning Esther was a minor. Ethan said the messages soon “got a lot more explicit.”

“Through the messages, I would just—on purpose—get these little bits of information about him so it would be easier for the police to track him down,” Ethan told NBC Bay Area.

He would screenshot the chats on airplane mode, fearing that if Davies was being notified that his messages were being captured, he might block Ethan.

After Ethan tipped off Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers, San Jose detectives launched a month-long investigation into Davies, culminating in his arrest last week, Gizmodoreported. Davies has since been put on paid administrative leave and charged with communicating with a minor to commit a crime.

In a statement, San Mateo Police Chief Susan Manheimer said this “is in no way a reflection of all that we stand for as a Department, and is an affront to the tenets of our department and our profession as a whole.”

Ethan has told NBC Bay Area that this was his first and last bust, but people on social media are applauding him.

Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear filters.

— Brian (@Protodude) June 11, 2019

With great filters, comes great responsibility

— KeyLow (@KeyLow920) June 11, 2019

use the filter for good 

— Proud Bulba (@ProudBulba) June 11, 2019

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A Former Cop Was Sentenced To 12 And A Half Years In Prison For Fatally Shooting An Unarmed Australian Yoga Teacher

“Uber took my daughter past the point of no return.”

The family of a 12-year-old Florida girl who died by suicide after taking an Uber alone is demanding the ride-hailing company make changes to enforce its policy of not allowing minors to use the service without an adult.

On the morning of Jan. 10 while her parents were sleeping, Benita Diamond downloaded the Uber app on her mother’s phone and requested a ride to a downtown Orlando parking garage, where she killed herself.

“I believe that if the driver had questioned or followed the rules or denied a ride, my daughter would be here today,” the girl’s mother, Lisha Chen, said during a press conference Thursday.

Uber requires all account holders to be at least 18 years old and prohibits children from riding without an adult. Drivers are instructed to decline ride requests if they suspect the person requesting the ride is underage and may request ID to confirm, according to the company.

“If a rider is underage, please do not start the trip or allow them to ride,” Uber’s website states.

But, according to her family, the 12-year-old was able to create an account without her parents knowledge on Jan. 8, using just a name, an email address, and a gift card she received for Christmas. Two days later, an Uber driver picked up the 4-foot-11-inch seventh-grader and drove her to the City Commons Parking Garage.

“At no point was she asked her name, was she asked her age — no questions were asked why a little girl under 5 feet tall dragging a polka-dot backpack was out in the wee hours of the morning by herself,” the family’s attorney, Laura Douglas, said.

An Uber spokesperson said in an email to BuzzFeed News that the incident had not been reported to the company over the last six months and that it was now investigating and planned to “take appropriate action.”

The spokesperson said that when the company receives a report of an underage rider it investigates to determine whether the driver or account holder should lose access to the app.

“Drivers are asked to report situations where a rider is underage to Uber for further review/investigation by our 24/7 customer support team,” the spokesperson said.

Benita’s parents described their daughter as a happy child who excelled in school and at playing the piano and performing jujitsu. They said she did not have a history of behavioral issues or mental illness.

“Everybody was shocked because nobody suspected she had any problems,” Chen said, adding that they still don’t know why she killed herself.

Ronald Diamond, the girl’s father, said their daughter wrote in a suicide note that she thought she would have more difficulty getting an Uber and that she was “basically … past the point of no return now.”

“I think if Uber had followed their policy, without a doubt our daughter would still be here. That would have been the one red flag that we would have caught,” Diamond said. “Uber took my daughter past the point of no return.”

The family is considering filing a lawsuit against the company in the hopes that Uber will better enforce its policies and make changes to prevent minors from creating accounts.

“I want other families not to go through this,” the girl’s grandfather Richard Diamond said. “It’s not just about suicide. It’s about all the other things that horrific happen to young kids when they’re on their own.”

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ON VACATION: A couple found dead in Dominican Republic!

An American woman died of respiratory failure in her Dominican Republic hotel room days before a Maryland couple was found dead of the same cause at the same resort, a hotel staff member told ABC News.

Miranda Schaupp-Werner was found dead at the Grand Bahía Príncipe hotel in La Romana on May 25 — five days before Edward Nathaniel Holmes, 63, and Cynthia Ann Day, 49, were found dead in their hotel room.

Schaupp-Werner, 41, “died suddenly and inexplicably in her hotel room…after arriving and having a drink from the in-room mini-bar,” family spokesperson, Jay McDonald, said in a statement to ABC News. She was healthy before she died, McDonald said. She had arrived in the Dominican Republic the day she died, McDonald added.

Her husband, Daniel Werner, was with her when she began experiencing physical distress and collapsed, McDonald said.

Schaup-Werner died of respiratory failure and pulmonary edema, according to the hotel. An autopsy performed on the couple determined that they died of the same causes, according to the Dominican Republic National Police.

The family became alarmed after learning of the similarity of Holmes’ and Day’s deaths and the possible implications, such as whether they’d been poisoned, and has contacted the State Department to request an investiation, McDonald said.

“No toxicology report was done as part of the cause of death inquiry, nor were Mrs. Shaup-Werner’s glass and drink tested,” McDonald said.

A spokesperson for the hotel declined to comment further on Miranda Schaupp-Werner’s death.

The U.S. Department of State confirmed to ABC News that Schaupp-Werner was an American. ABC News has reached out to the State Department for additional comment on her death.

Local police said they are aware of Schaupp-Werner’s death but have not opened a criminal investigation into it because her death does not appear to be suspicious.

Police are investigating the deaths of the couple, as they were initially considered suspicious since Holmes complained of chest pains the day he died but refused to see the doctor that was called, police said.

The couple’s bodies showed no signs of violence, police said.

Holmes and Day arrived at the hotel on May 25 and were scheduled to depart on Thursday, police said. They were found unresponsive by hotel staff after they missed their scheduled check-out time on Thursday, according to a statement from the hotel.

“We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss,” a State Department official said on regards to Holmes’ and Day’s deaths.

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WATCH VIDEO: Where Are The Central Park 5 Now?

Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, and Kharey Wise were just teens when they were coerced into confessing to a rape they didn’t commit.

The “Central Park 5” case was one of the most publicized of the 1980s: five teens were falsely accused and convicted of raping a woman in Central Park and it would take years before they were exonerated.

Now, 30 years later, Ava DuVernay’s new four-part Netflix film “When They See Us” has prompted a reexamination of how the teens, mere boys, became victims of a vicious and false narrative that landed them behind bars. 

Trisha Meili was a 28-year-old investment banker out for a jog in Central Park on April 19, 1989. She was attacked by a serial rapist, Matias Reyes, but that wouldn’t be proven until years later following his confession from prison. Reyes, who was later convicted of raping multiple other women including a pregnant victim he also killed, hit Meili in the back of the head with a tree branch. He then dragged her off the jogging path and into the woods where he violently raped her, beat her with a rock, tied up with her own shirt and left her for dead.

Investigators chose to focus on a large group of mostly African-American boys who happened to be in the park around the same time of the rape. People had made 911 calls to police that night regarding groups of teens harassing people in the park.

As “When They See Us” shows, investigators honed in on five boys in particular: Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, and Kharey Wise. They all maintained their innocence and said they were coerced into confessing. The new series depicts the boys as confused, thinking that they could go home if they told police what they wanted to hear. The DNA found at the scene did not match any of theirs. Meili testified twice during the trial, under the identity “the Central Park Jogger,” and stated she didn’t remember the attack.

The boys, who came to be known as the “Central Park 5,” were sentenced to between seven and 13 years in prison for the attack. Their case became highly publicized and sensationalized, so much so that even Donald Trump weighed in on it. The five were exonerated in 2002 after Reyes confessed. District Attorney Robert Morgenthau withdrew all charges against the boys, by then men, and their convictions were vacated. Wise, who was still in prison, was released.

In 2014, the city of New York settled with the five wrongly convicted men for $40 million. Additionally they filed a $52 million lawsuit for extra damages, a suit that is still reportedly ongoing. Three of the members, Salaam, Richardson and Santana were given honorary diplomas from their former high schools in 2017, according to the New York Times.

So where are the “Central Park 5” now and how are they doing individually?

Raymond Santana

After spending five years behind bars, he is now the father of a teen daughter, according to “When They See Us.” He lives in Georgia but still appears to have strong ties to where he grew up. He founded his own apparel company called Park Madison NYC. Some of the apparel features the names of the “Central Park 5.” Musical artist Nas sports the gear in one of the company’s posts. One of the shirts even features a mugshot of himself. A post of that shirt states, “I created this shirt and called it the ‘Raymond Santana Tribute Tee’ because I wanted to recognize the ups and downs, the road I traveled, to become the man that I am today.”

Santana has pushed for criminal justice reforms in New York, including trying to mandate that all interrogations be recorded, according to AM New York.

Kevin Richardson

After five and a half years behind bars, Richardson is now married and the father of two daughters, whom he lives with in New Jersey. He travels to speak about his experience and advocates for changes in the system, according to the Innocence Project.

“There was such a media frenzy, during that time . . . we were physically scared to come outside,” he recounted during a 2017 talk.  He and Salaam talked about wrongful convictions and criminal justice reform at a Fashion Institute of Technology talk the same year.

Antron McCray

After six years behind bars, McCray is married and a proud father of six. He lives with his family in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the first of the five to leave New York City, according to “When They See Us.”

He has mostly stayed out of the spotlight. However in May, he did an interview with The New York Times, “I’m damaged, you know? I know I need help. But I feel like I’m too old to get help now. I’m 45 years old, so I’m just focused on my kids. I’m not saying it’s the right thing to do. I just stay busy. I stay in the gym. I ride my motorcycle. But it eats me up every day. Eats me alive. My wife is trying to get me help but I keep refusing. That’s just where I’m at right now. I don’t know what to do.”

He also told the publication he still struggles with complicated feelings towards his father, Bobby McCray, who testified in 1990 that he instructed his 16-year-old son to confess to a crime he knew he didn’t do.

Yusef Salaam

After spending seven years behind bars, Salaam also now resides in Georgia, where he lives with his wife and 10 children. He does public speaking, focusing on pushing for policy change in the criminal justice system. His website, Yusef Speaks, states that he “has traveled all around the United States and the Caribbean to deliver influential lectures and facilitate insightful conversations as he continues to touch lives and raise important questions about race and class, the failings of our criminal justice system, legal protections for vulnerable juveniles, and fundamental human rights.”

Salaam is a published poet and has been the recipient of several awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from President Barack Obama in 2016 and an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Anointed by God Ministries Alliance & Seminary in 2014.

“Determined to educate the public, Yusef eagerly shares his story with others. In speaking out against injustice, he conveys the importance of continuing one’s education—whether formal or otherwise,” his site states. “He also touches on the effects of incarceration and the disenfranchisement of economically disadvantaged people and its devastating impact on both their families and the community at large.”

Kharey Wise

Wise was the eldest of the five and appeared to have been given the worst “deal” out of all of them. Because he was 16, he could be interrogated without a guardian present and, as the new Netflix series depicts, he may have been coerced the most. He may have also been particularly vulnerable, despite being the oldest.  In Sarah Burns’ 2011 book “The Central Park Five: The Untold Story Behind One Of New York City’s Most Infamous Crimes,” she wrote that he “had hearing problems from an early age, and a learning disability that limited his achievement in school.” Plus, he wasn’t even a suspect to begin with. He only went down to the station, as the series depicts, to support his friend Salaam. He spent most of his 14 years behind bars in adult facilities, including the infamously rough Rikers Island.

After he was released, Wise changed his first name from Kharey to Korey. He is the only member of the five who chose to stay in New York City. He both established and funded the Korey Wise Innocence Project at Colorado Law School which offers pro-bono legal counsel to wrongfully convicted people.

“You can forgive, but you won’t forget,” Wise in the 2012 Central Park Five documentary. “You won’t forget what you lost. No money could bring that time back. No money could bring the life that was missing or the time that was taken away.”

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WOW! Jay-Z named world’s first billionaire rapper!

Nine years ago, two unlikely lunch partners sat down at the Hollywood Diner in Omaha, Nebraska. One, Warren Buffett, was a regular there. The other, Jay-Z, was not. The billionaire and the rapper ordered strawberry malts and chatted amiably, continuing the conversation back at Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway offices.

Buffett, then 80, walked away impressed with the artist 40 years his junior: “Jay is teaching in a lot bigger classroom than I’ll ever teach in. For a young person growing up, he’s the guy to learn from.” This moment, which was originally captured in our 2010 Forbes 400 package, made it clear that Jay-Z already had a blueprint for his own ten-figure fortune. “Hip-hop from the beginning has always been aspirational,” he said.

Less than a decade later, it’s clear that Jay-Z has accumulated a fortune that conservatively totals $1 billion, making him one of only a handful of entertainers to become a billionaire—and the first hip-hop artist to do so. Jay-Z’s steadily growing kingdom is expansive, encompassing liquor, art, real estate (homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, Tribeca) and stakes in companies like Uber.

His journey is all the more impressive given its start: Brooklyn’s notorious Marcy housing projects. He was a drug dealer before becoming a musician, starting his own label, Roc-A-Fella Records, to release his 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt. Since then he’s amassed 14 No. 1 albums, 22 Grammy awards and over $500 million in pretax earnings in a decade.

Crucially, he realized that he should build his own brands rather than promote someone else’s: the clothing line Rocawear, started in 1999 (soldfor $204 million to Iconix in 2007); D’Ussé, a cognac he co-owns with Bacardi; and Tidal, a music-streaming service.

Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean, the superproducer behind some of Jay-Z’s biggest hits (“On To The Next One,” Beyoncé’s “Upgrade U”), looks at Jay-Z as something others can model: “It’s bigger than hip-hop … it’s the blueprint for our culture. A guy that looks like us, sounds like us, loves us, made it to something that we always felt that was above us.”

“If he’s a billionaire now, imagine what he’s about to be,” Swizz Beatz says. “Because he’s only just starting.”

What’s Jay-Z Worth?

To calculate his net worth, we looked at the artist’s stakes in companies like Armand de Brignac champagne, applying our customary discount to private firms. (He owns 100% of Armand de Brignac and has partial ownership of the other companies.) Then added up his income, subtracting a healthy amount to account for a superstar lifestyle. We checked our numbers with a roster of outside experts to ensure these estimates were fair and conservative. Turns out, Jay-Z really is a business, man.

Armand de Brignac

$310 million

Jay-Z has used his music to shill the $300 gold bottles of the “Ace of Spades” champagne since launching the brand with the 2006 video “Show Me What You Got.” More recently, his verse on Meek Mill’s “What’s Free” put a half-billion-dollar value on the wine, which seems like a bit too bubbly a number.

Cash & investments

$220 million

A vast investing portfolio includes a stake in Uber worth an estimated $70 million. He reportedly purchased his piece for $2 million back in 2013—and then wired founder Travis Kalanick another $5 million in an attempt to increase his holdings, but was rebuffed.

D’Ussé

$100 million

Jay-Z’s cognac, a joint venture with beverage giant Bacardi, moves almost 200,000 cases and has grown nearly 80% annually. “Jay-Z resonates with consumers who are attracted to the ultra-premium lifestyle,” says Eric Schmidt, Beverage Marketing Corp.’s Director of Alcohol Research.

Tidal

$100 million

In 2015, Jay-Z submitted a bid to purchase the Scandinavian streaming service’s parent company for just shy of $60 million. He relaunched Tidal later that year with a roster of celebrity investors including his wife, Beyoncé, and other music luminaries, from Kanye West to Calvin Harris.

Roc Nation

$75 million

This wide-ranging entertainment company started over a decade ago as part of a joint venture with concert giant Live Nation. Roc Nation represents some of the top stars in the entertainment through its sports agency (Kevin Durant, Todd Gurley) as well as its record label and artist-management arms (Rihanna, J. Cole).

Music catalog

$75 million

Before the beginning of his stint as Def Jam’s chief in 2004, Jay-Z negotiatedthe eventual return of his master recordings from the aforementioned label that helped launch his career; in a separate deal with EMI, he clawed back his publishing rights. Wise move: his hits now clock close to 1 billion streams annually.

Art collection

$70 million

In the song “Picasso Baby,” Jay-Z boasted about a “Basquiat in my kitchen corner.” He probably wasn’t kidding. For over a decade, he’s been scooping up masterpieces like Basquiat’s “Mecca,” purchased in 2013 for a reported $4.5 million. “He’s rapped about it all in detail,” says Fab 5 Freddy, a contemporary and friend of the late painter. “Jay-Z helped educate millions of hip-hop fans mentioning Jean-Michel.”

Real estate

$50 million

After welcoming twins in 2017, Jay-Z and Beyoncé bought a pair of homes to match: a $26 million East Hampton mansion and a $88 million Bel Air estate. Jay-Z also owns a Tribeca penthouse, snagged for $6.85 million in 2004.

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