Texas
MSNBC Host Ali Velshi Highlights Suspect Police Reports of Uvalde Shooting
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: CHANDAN KHANNA / Getty The aftermath of the tragedy of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas has been racked with pain and confusion. This has only been heightened by conflicting reports about the police response to the shooting which were showcased during a primetime news program. On Thursday night (May 26th), anchor Ali Velshi began the MSNBC “Prime” program by addressing the concerns over the shifting accounts of what transpired as the mass shooting unfolded at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday afternoon (May 24th). “In the aftermath of any horrific event, information is spotty. Our understanding of what happens evolves over time, but even by those standards of breaking, and developing news, the inability of officials to give a consistent, and coherent ac...
Gov. Greg Abbott Uses Racist Chicago Trope After Uvalde Shooting
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: ALLISON DINNER / Getty The horrific mass shooting that took place in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas has rocked the nation and stirred up more pleas for gun control. But right-wingers – including the governor of Texas – are using a racist trope about the city of Chicago to deflect from the issue. Right-wing politicians and media have begun to use a misleading and racist trope about gun violence in the city of Chicago as a way to deflect from the grisly Tuesday (May 24th) mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. At a press conference held in Uvalde on Wednesday (May 25th), Texas Governor Greg Abbott said: “I know people like to try to oversimplify this…There are ‘real gun laws’ in Chicago. There are ‘real gun laws’ in New York. T...
Steve Kerr Demands Changes To Gun Control Policy At Press Conference
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Tom Pennington / Getty Steve Kerr was supposed to join a pregame press conference, but instead addressed the tragedy in Uvalde. The Golden State Warriors head coach called for changes to gun control laws, which he’s done in times past. Steve Kerr: “When are we going to do something?” Coach Steve Kerr spoke at a pregame press conference ahead of Game 4 between the Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday (May 24). Instead of talking basketball, Kerr spoke about the Uvalde school shooting and pleaded with elected officials to take action. “Since we left shootaround, 14 children were killed, 400 miles from here. And a teacher,” Kerr said, visibly shaken by the news. He added, “When are we going to do something? I’m tired. I am so tired of ge...
Twitter Blasts NRA & Others In Wake Of Uvalde Shooting Tragedy
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: ALLISON DINNER / Getty The school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that left 19 children dead is still sending shockwaves of outrage throughout the nation. As typical of these tragedies, the NRA found itself trending and many on Twitter are blasting the association. The NRA Endures More Criticism The victims of the Uvalde shooting had their names published in several news outlets, cementing the tragedy. We learned through the various reports that the lone gunman attended Uvalde High School, and purchased two assault rifles just after turning 18. Much like the Buffalo Tops shooter, the gunman faced little resistance in obtaining high-powered weaponry. In both cases, nothing ahead of the purchases alerted the retailers who sold the weapons. The NRA, which st...
Taylor Swift Reacts to ‘Unbearable Heartbreak’ Following Texas School Massacre
Taylor Swift has spoken of her heartbreak for the latest “unfathomable” massacre, which has left at least 18 school children dead in Uvalde, Texas. Swift broke a months-long self-imposed Twitter hiatus to share an impassioned video from Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, whose team prepared to play at the home arena of Dallas Mavericks, several hundred miles from the scene of the slaughter. “Filled with rage and grief, and so broken by the murders in Uvalde. By Buffalo, Laguna Woods and so many others,” she writes. “By the ways in which we, as a nation, have become conditioned to unfathomable and unbearable heartbreak. Steve’s words ring so true and cut so deep.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Speaking ahead of game 4 of the NBA Western C...
Weekly Report: BitMEX founders fined, California hunting first-mover advantage in Web3, and more
Here are this week’s top stories from the cryptocurrency space: Pantera Capital aims to boost its presence in India with scaled investments Argo Blockchain’s Helios Facility is now energised and set to start mining next week The three BitMEX co-founders have each been ordered to pay a $10 million civil monetary penalty Rapper Ice Cube supports Dogecoin and spurs the largest commercial transaction of DOGE in an NFTs purchase California aims to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for Web3 technology Pantera Capital doubles down on crypto firm funding in India Cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund Pantera Capital has divulged that it’s enhancing its investment push in India. According to Paul Veradittakit, a partner at the firm, Pantera has closed around ten deals in India, notably the...
Black Teen Barred From Texas School Over Dreadlocks Hairstyle
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Screenshot / Click 2 Houston The absurdity of school districts creating a stigma over Black hairstyles is back in the news, as a teenager has been barred from attending a Houston-area school over having dreadlocks. According to local reports, a mother in East Bernard, Texas was shocked when a school official told her that her son, Dyree Williams, cannot enroll because he has dreadlocks and his mother refused to cut them. “The boys cannot have hair past their ears. I explained to her that my son has locks in his hair, and well, she was like, ‘Well he’s going to have to cut those,’” the boy’s mother, Desiree Bullock, said to the local news station. They had relocated to the area from Cincinnati, Ohio in February. The East Bernard ISD student handbook does s...
Texas regulators order virtual casino to stop selling NFTs
A virtual, Cyprus-registered casino Sand Vegas Casino Club faced an emergency cease and desist order from Texas and Alabama state securities regulators. The company is ordered to “stop a fraudulent investment scheme tied to metaverses”. On April 13, the Texas State Securities Board reported issuing the order, accusing Sand Vegas Casino Club, Martin Schwarzberger and Finn Ruben Warnke of illegally offering nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to fund the development of virtual casinos in metaverses. Allegedly, Sand Vegas offered 11,111 NFTs to raise funds for its metaverse casinos. The firm offered those who purchased Gambler NFTs and Golden Gambler NFTs a share of the future casino’s profits. By Sand Vegas’ projections, owners of Gambler NFTs could expect profits between $1,224 and $24,48...
Trans In Texas: Houston Rapper Uncle Tino Won’t Fall Down Greg Abbott’s ‘Rabbit Hole of F–ked-Up S–t’
As Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas continues to double down on his anti-transgender rhetoric, including calling on state officials to investigate supportive parents of transgender children for “child abuse,” Billboard is speaking with transgender artists in Texas about the ongoing fallout throughout the state. Below, Houston rapper Uncle Tino shares his story. For 27-year-old rapper Santino Alcoser, being a trans man is an important part of his identity as a recording artist. It’s just not the entirety of his identity. “I’m very much of the mindset that I can prove myself as an artist, period,” he says over a Zoom call with Billboard. “Whether or not I’m queer or trans has nothing to do with that.” Performing under the name Uncle Tino, Alcoser has clawed his w...
Willie Nelson Had Trouble Voting in Texas Primary Due to New Voter Suppression Law
Not even a superstar like Willie Nelson was spared from the effects of Texas’ new restrictive voting law. According to reporting by the Associated Press, the iconic singer and his wife had particular difficulty obtaining absentee ballots in order to vote in the state’s primary election earlier this month, which took place on March 1st. Nelson’s wife, Annie D’Angelo-Nelson, told the Austin American-Statesman that she and her husband had to apply for the ballots twice, with their first attempt being rejected because of the new law’s stringent identification requirements. Thankfully, the couple was able to work through the mix-up and apply again, but D’Angelo-Nelson commented that the possibility of other voters with less determination and understanding of the absentee requirements being reje...
Comedian Primetimestein AKA Alex Stein Delivers Harsh Bars For Vladimir Putin At TX Council Meeting
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Mikhail Svetlov / Getty Alex Stein, also known as comedian and social media star Primetimestein, forged a living out of trolling public political gatherings with over-the-top antics. Stein went viral this week after taking the podium at a Texas council meeting to deliver some murderous bars towards Vladimir Putin in defiance of the Russian leader’s attack on Ukraine. During the gathering in Plano, Texas, a modestly dressed Stein approached the podium for his three-minute address to the council, but all hell broke loose once he hit play on a Bluetooth speaker and began spitting hot fiyah in denouncing Putin. Trying to grasp the lyrics isn’t going to be our task today. Just check out the video Stein posted below and witness the lyrical barrage yourself. Ple...
Austin mayor embraces Web3 tech and crypto payments
Mayor Steve Adler of Austin, Texas, has fully embraced the discovery of what blockchain technology and crypto payments can bring to his city by proposing two new initiatives. The first initiative aims to ensure that Texas’s fourth-largest city promotes the benefits of blockchain technologies and “promotes equity, diversity, accessibility, and inclusion” in the technological ecosystem. To that end, May Adler directed the city manager to explore how the city can utilize Web3 and blockchain in 20 fields from smart contracts, supply chain management and insurance to arts, media, fundraising and identity verification. “The City Manager is directed to ensure the City is helping to create an environment within city government and in the community generally that supports the creation and developme...
