Guilty pleasures
By NewsPress Now
Ice Spice announces highly anticipated debut album ‘Y2K’ will arrive in July
NEW YORK | Ice Spice’s long-awaited debut album, “Y2K,” is almost here.
The Bronx rapper, celebrated for her sweet, lackadaisical flow, will drop her first full-length album on July 26. It is produced by her longtime creative collaborator RIOTUSA, who also worked on her critically acclaimed debut EP, 2023’s “Like…?”, with its cheeky earworms, “In Ha Mood” and “Munch (Feelin’ U).”
He also produced her most recent single, “Gimme A Light,” which will be featured on “Y2K.” It samples Sean Paul’s 2002 dancehall single of a similar name, “Gimme the Light.”
Around “Y2K,” Ice Spice will tour extensively this summer, spending most of July on the European festival circuit before heading back to North America on July 30, where she will headline Washington, D.C.’s The Anthem.
She’ll hit many major cities in the U.S. as well as Toronto before concluding Aug. 31 in Miami Beach, Florida. RIOTUSA and rapper Cash Cobain will support.
Ice Spice broke out last year, hitting the Top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart four times: for two collaborations with her hero Nicki Minaj — “Princess Diana” from “Like…?” and “Barbie World” from the blockbuster film — as well as her feature on Taylor Swift ‘s “Karma” and 2023’s song of the summer, “Boy’s A Liar, Pt. 2” with U.K. hyperpop singer/producer PinkPantheress.
She also received four Grammy nominations for the 66th annual award show, including best rap song and best new artist.
Former prosecutor settles lawsuit against Netflix over Central Park Five series
NEW YORK | Former Manhattan prosecutor Linda Fairstein and Netflix announced Tuesday they’ve settled the defamation lawsuit she filed four years ago over her portrayal in the streaming service’s miniseries about the five Black and Latino teenagers known as the now-exonerated Central Park Five.
Fairstein had argued that the 2019 four-part series “When They See Us” defamed her by portraying her as a “racist, unethical villain” and attributed actions, responsibilities and viewpoints that were not hers.
The case was expected to go to trial later this month. Fairstein said in a statement that “the decision to conclude this fight was not an easy one,” expressing confidence she would have presented a “compelling case to the jury.” While Fairstein will not receive any money as part of the settlement, Netflix has agreed to donate $1 million to the Innocence Project, a nonprofit that works to exonerate people who’ve been wrongly convicted.
Viewers of the series will also now see a disclaimer that states, “While the motion picture is inspired by actual events and persons, certain characters, incidents, locations, dialogue, and names are fictionalized for the purposes of dramatization.”
“This is what this case was all about – not about ‘winning’ or about any financial restitution, but about my reputation and that of my colleagues,” she said in a statement. “It was about setting the historical record straight that the villainous caricature invented by the defendants and portrayed on screen was not me.”
Fairstein was the top Manhattan sex crimes prosecutor in 1989 when the five teenagers were charged with a vicious attack on a jogger in Central Park. The convictions were overturned in 2002 after convicted murderer and serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to committing the crime alone. DNA linked him to it.
Fairstein, who became a best-selling crime author after retiring from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, observed the boys’ interrogation but didn’t personally try the case.
She was dropped by her publisher and resigned from several boards she served on after “When They See Us,” which dramatizes the events surrounding the trial, debuted.
Ava DuVernay, who directed and co-wrote the series, and Attica Locke, a writer and producer of the series, were named as defendants in the defamation lawsuit. DuVernay said in a statement posted on the social media platform X that she still believes that Fairstein was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the five teens.
“As the head of the Manhattan Sex Crimes unit, Linda Fairstein was in the precinct for over 35 hours straight while the boys were interrogated as adults, often without parents present,” she said, claiming that Fairstein knew what was happening in the interrogation rooms.
DuVernay accused Fairstein of not being willing to face a jury of her peers.
“I hope that one day Linda Fairstein can come to terms with the part she played in this miscarriage of justice and finally accept responsibility” she said.
“We are heading towards a brand new day, and I’m excited about where this is going,” said Charbel Barakat, vice chair of the district’s board. “I only wish we could have gotten here sooner.”
Woody Rodriguez, director of external affairs for the Disney parks, told board members that the agreement will allow the company to make substantial investments in Disney World.
The agreement between Disney and the Central Florida Tourism and Oversight District would last for the next 15 years. The district provides municipal services such as firefighting, planning and mosquito control, among other things. It was controlled by Disney supporters for most of its five decades until it was taken over by the DeSantis appointees last year.
Under the deal’s terms, during the next decade or two, Disney would be approved to build a fifth major theme park at Disney World and two more minor parks, such as water parks. The company could raise the number of hotel rooms on its property from almost 40,000 rooms to more than 53,000 rooms and increase the amount of retail and restaurant space by more than 20%. Disney would retain control of building heights due to its need to maintain an immersive environment.
In exchange, Disney would be required to donate up to 100 acres (40 hectares) of Disney World’s 24,000 acres (9,700 hectares) for the construction of infrastructure projects controlled by the district. The company also would need to award at least half of its construction projects to companies based in Florida and spend at least $10 million on affordable housing for central Florida.
The settlement in March ended almost two years of litigation that was sparked by DeSantis’ takeover of the district from Disney supporters following the company’s opposition to a Florida law critics dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.”
The 2022 law bans classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades and was championed by the Republican governor, who used Disney as a punching bag in speeches until he suspended his presidential campaign this year.
As punishment for Disney’s opposition to the controversial law, DeSantis took over the governing district through legislation passed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature and appointed a new board of supervisors. Disney sued DeSantis and his appointees, claiming the company’s free speech rights were violated for speaking out against the legislation. A federal judge dismissed that lawsuit in January, but Disney appealed. As part of the March settlement, Disney agreed to put on hold the appeal of the federal lawsuit.
Before control of the district changed hands from Disney allies to DeSantis appointees early last year, the Disney supporters on its board signed agreements with Disney shifting control over design and construction at Disney World to the company. The new DeSantis appointees claimed the “eleventh-hour deals” neutered their powers and the district sued the company in state court in Orlando to have the contracts voided.
Disney filed counterclaims that included asking the state court to declare the agreements valid and enforceable. Those state court lawsuits were dismissed as part of the March settlement.
YouTube toughens policy on gun
videos and youth
WASHINGTON | YouTube is changing its policies about firearm videos in an effort to keep potentially dangerous content from reaching underage users.
The video sharing platform owned by Google said Wednesday it will prohibit any videos demonstrating how to remove firearm safety devices. In addition, videos showing homemade guns, automatic weapons and certain firearm accessories like silencers will be restricted to users 18 and older.
The changes take effect June 18 and come after gun safety advocates have repeatedly called on the platform to do more to ensure gun videos aren’t making their way to the site’s youngest users, potentially traumatizing children or sending them down dark paths of extremism and violence.
Katie Paul, director of the Tech Transparency Project, said the change was welcome news and a step in the right direction. But she questioned why the platform took so long to issue a new policy, and said her group will look to see how effectively YouTube enforces its new rule.
“Firearms are the number one cause of death for children and teens in America,” said Paul, whose group has long sought stronger age controls on online gun videos. “As always with YouTube, the real proof of change is whether the company enforces the policies it has on the books. Until YouTube takes real action to prevent videos about guns and gun violence from reaching minors, its policies remain empty words.”
Last year, researchers at Paul’s group created YouTube accounts that mimicked the behavior of 9-year-old American boys with a stated interest in video games. The researchers found that YouTube’s recommendations system forwarded these accounts graphic videos of school shootings, tactical gun training videos and how-to instructions on making firearms fully automatic.
One video featured an elementary school-age girl wielding a handgun; another showed a shooter using a .50 caliber gun to fire on a dummy head filled with lifelike blood and brains. Many of the videos violated YouTube’s own policies against violent or gory content.
YouTube said the policy changes were designed as an update to reflect new developments, like 3D printed guns, which have become more available in recent years. YouTube requires users under 17 to get their parent’s permission before using their site; accounts for users younger than 13 are linked to the parental account.
“We regularly review our guidelines and consult with outside experts to make sure we are drawing the line at the right place,” said company spokesman Javier Hernandez.
Along with TikTok, YouTube is one of the most popular sites for children and teens. Both sites have been questioned in the past for hosting, and in some cases promoting, videos that encourage gun violence, eating disorders and self-harm.
Several perpetrators of recent mass shootings have usedsocial media and video streaming platforms to glorify violence, foreshadow or even livestream their attacks.
Expanded College Football Playoff
will begin on
Dec. 20 in prime time
The first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff will kick off with a first-round game on Dec. 20 and conclude with the title game one month later in Atlanta.
The CFP announced its entire schedule on Wednesday. The four first-round games will be on Dec. 20 and 21. ABC and ESPN will televise games on Friday and Saturday night with an 8 p.m. EST kickoff, while TNT will have the Dec. 21 afternoon games at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. The afternoon games will go up against a pair of NFL games with Houston-Kansas City at 1 p.m. and Baltimore-Pittsburgh at 4:30 p.m.
Mike Mulvihill, Fox president for insights and analytics, thinks there will be room to accommodate both audiences. Fox has the Ravens-Steelers game as it goes up against a CFP late afternoon matchups.
“I think it will be fine for the NFL and college football to coexist on that date. I think both events will rate just fine,” he said.
The four first-round games, which will be played on college campuses, will be announced on Dec. 8. TNT has a pair of games through a sublicense with ESPN.
ESPN’s $7.8 billion deal with the CFP, which was announced in March, allowed it to sublicense games to other networks. Financial terms of the sublicense were not announced.
The quarterfinals, semifinals and championship will air on ESPN.
The top four conference champions will receive first-round byes. The quarterfinals will begin on Dec. 31 with the Fiesta Bowl at 7:30 p.m. New Year’s Day will kickoff with the Peach Bowl at 1 p.m. followed by the Rose Bowl in its traditional 5 p.m. spot and the Sugar Bowl at 8:45 p.m.
The semifinals are the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 and Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10. Both have 7:30 p.m. start times before the championship game takes place on Jan. 20 in Atlanta.
ESPN will announce its schedule for most of the bowl games on Thursday.
—From AP reports
—From AP reports
