- Nelly’s girlfriend Shantel Jackson says the sexual assault allegations against the rapper are false. She says the women who accused the Nelly are lying because she was “at those venues, in the dressing rooms, and on that tour bus” where the victims claimed it happened.
- Dr. Simone of ‘Married to Medicine’ said her marriage is over. The reality star plans to divorce her husband Cecil Whitmore. She says “I have reached a place where I am in a marriage where I do not feel loved.”
- NAACP is suing the Trump Administration for a decision to terminate the temporary protected status, or TPS, of tens of thousands of Haitians living in the U.S.
- Janet Jackson presents Missy Elliot with the ‘Visionary’ award at Essence magazine’s pre-Grammy event. Janet Jackson gave a very heartfelt speech that brought Missy Elliott to tears. Janet said, “Some women are able to make their mark in some of these fields, but there’s only one woman who has made her mark in all of these fields.”
- Vanity Fair gives extra limbs to Oprah and Reese Witherspoon. The photos appear to show Oprah with three hands and Witherspoon with three legs.
Democracy needs journalism it can trust.
This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.
For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.
Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.
We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.
If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.
Related Stories
