It was back in late November 2018 when Meek Mill was a guest on CNN. The rapper and criminal justice reform advocate spoke with the network’s host Michael Smerconish about growing up in Philadelphia, his work with Reform Alliance, and his time behind bars. On Thursday (June 4), Meek Mill revisited that interview and shared a clip of the dialogue to his Instagram page.

 
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“I always dreamed to have been on CNN and being able to express myself and speak for the voiceless young men of America,” Meek Mill said in the clip. “The first step, I would say, I grew up in America in a ruthless neighborhood. We are not protected by police. We’re not. We grew up with people selling drugs in our neighborhood, on our front steps. We grew up in ruthless environments. We grew up around murder. You see murder seven days a week I think, if you grew up in my neighborhood, you see seven people die a week, I think you would probably carry a gun yourself.”

He asked the host, “Would you?” Michael Smerconish replied, “Uh, yeah. I probably would.” In the caption of the video, Meek wrote, “OTHERSIDE OF AMERIKKKA AND IM STAYING THERE FOREVER!” Check out the clip of Meek Mill revisiting his time on CNN below.

As former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's mugshot circulates online following his arrest, George Floyd protests rage on across the United States. Atlanta is one of the latest cities to erupt in civil unrest, and the CNN building has become a target considering there is reportedly a police precinct inside. According to a report made by the New York Post, protestors chanted for police to quit their jobs while destroying patrol cars and setting items ablaze, and as community leaders in Atlanta and beyond, Killer Mike, T.I., and Bernice King have asked for irate citizens not to burn down their beloved town.

"What you're seeing live on CNN is vandalism in the lobby of CNN Center in Atlanta," tweeted Brian Stelter, a CNN correspondent regarding the mayhem. "So disturbing to see. FYI: Our control rooms and newsroom employees are several floors and locked doors away. The coverage continues, no matter what."

At a press conference, Killer Mike gave a tearful plea as he spoke directly to his fellow Atlanta residents. "We have to be better than burning down our own homes because if we lose Atlanta, what else we got?” he asked. "It is your duty to not burn your own house down for anger with an enemy. It is your duty to fortify your own house, so that you may be a house of refuge in times of organization." Watch the various clips below.

A CNN reporter and camera crew who were covering the protests against George Floyd's murder by police in Minneapolis were arrested by Minnesota state officers on live television. On Friday (May 29th) morning, reporter Omar Jimenez was taken into police custody along with members of his crew, and was held there for over an hour before they were released.

The Minnesota State Patrol made a statement indicating that, "in the course of clearing the streets and restoring order at Lake Street and Snelling Avenue, four people were arrested by State Patrol troopers, including three members of a CNN crew. The three were released once they were confirmed to be members of the media." However, footage shows that this account is simply untrue. "This is not accurate," CNN responded. "Our CNN crew identified themselves, on live television, immediately as journalists."

"A CNN reporter & his production team were arrested this morning in Minneapolis for doing their jobs, despite identifying themselves — a clear violation of their First Amendment rights," the network said in another statement shortly after the arrest. "The authorities in Minnesota, including the Governor, must release the 3 CNN employees immediately." Gov. Tim Walz later apologized and indicated that the arrests should not have happened in the first place. 

Following his release, Omar Jimenez told his CNN colleagues that he and his crew, producer Bill Kirkos and photojournalist Leonel Mendez, were trying to move out of the officers way while they were conducting arrests. However, a protestor had run by them and was arrested, which somehow led to their arrests as well, despite identifying themselves as media. "There was no animosity there; they weren't violent with me," Omar said of the arresting officers. He indicated that one officer told him, "I'm just following orders." Another CNN reporter, Josh Campbell, was also approached by police while covering the protests, but was not arrested. "I identified myself," Josh, who is a white man, recalled. "They said, 'OK, you're permitted to be in the area.' I was treated much differently than (Jimenez) was." 

On Friday morning around 8:45am CT, Omar tweeted a photo of himself reporting to the camera, while police guarded the Target store that was looted by protestors late Wednesday (May 27th) night in the background. "And we’re back," he captioned the photo.

50 Cent, like many others, is outraged that a black CNN reporter, Omar Jimenez, was arrested along with his crew while they were covering the protests in Minneapolis, while his white colleague, Josh Campbell, was not. Early Friday morning (May 29th), CNN reported that one of their correspondents had been taken into police custody along with two members of his reporting crew.

The arrest was captured on live television, the footage from which shows Omar, along with producer Bill Kirkos and photojournalist Leonel Mendez, clearly identifying themselves as journalists. However, they were held in police custody for over an hour before being released. Gov. Tim Walz later apologized for the senseless arrest, insisting that it should never have happened.

The arrest of Omar and his crew was upsetting enough, but it was brought to the public's attention that another CNN reporter, Josh Campbell, had also been covering the protests in Minneapolis at the same time. Josh, who is a white man, indicated that police had in fact approached him as well, but allowed him to continue reporting. "I identified myself," Josh recalled. "They said, 'OK, you're permitted to be in the area.' I was treated much differently than (Jimenez) was." This difference in treatment lead many to believe Omar's arrest was racially charged, including Fif.

"One they let walk away, one they took to jail," 50 wrote on his post, which shows a photo of Josh and a photo of Omar side-by-side. "This sh*t is sad." Following the arrest, CNN political analyst Bakari Sellers commented on the significant role that race played in the situation. "We have a white reporter on the ground, and we have a brown reporter on the ground," Bakari noted. "They are a block apart. The brown reporter is arrested and the white reporter is telling us what's happening. We saw a reporter who is educated, who is brown, who is doing his job better than anybody ... (who) was in harm's way, letting the American people see what's going on, on the ground. He complied. He said he would move...You almost have to laugh not to just be furious."

A few hours after they were released from police custody, Omar and his crew returned to the streets to continue covering the riots. "And we’re back," he tweeted.

Many times, when a person is victimized due to racial or ethnic discrimination, they call for the other person or persons involved to be dragged through the mud. Christian Cooper, the black birdwatcher who was threatened by a white woman named Amy "Central Park Karen" Cooper (no relation) has come forward to say that while her actions were steeping in racism, he doesn't believe that she should be receiving death threats. The public was outraged after a video surfaced showing an irate Amy telling Christian that she would be calling the police on him after he asked her to leash her dog. She went on to say that she would alert the authorities that she was being threatened by a black man, and while she was on the phone with dispatch officers, she changed her voice to make it sound as if she was under duress.

Joe Rogan's latest podcast guest is Tim Pool, an independent news journalist, who previously broke ground at VICE News, where he actually helped found the VICE News vertical. He's been on Rogan's podcast in the past, de-bunking various news stories, and mainstream media outlet coverage. Today he's back, and you guessed it, the conversation is centered around Coronavirus and the media's coverage of the pandemic.

Approximately thirty minutes into the new episode, Tim Pool reveals that Chris Cuomo, a CNN news anchor, faked his entire COVID-19 diagnosis-- if you've been keeping up with the news, you've surely seen this headline circulate constantly, and the various updated on the news anchor's alleged bout of Coronavirus and how it was affecting his daily life.

"You know they faked that whole thing, right?" Tim Pool asks Rogan, referring to Chris Cuomo and CNN.

Tim Pool goes on to explain the story:

"Chris Cuomo was spotted thirty minutes from his house, on a property with a new construction being built. A guy on the bike saw him, they got into it. Chris Cuomo goes on his radio show and says, 'I want this jackass on a fat-tire bike coming up to me...' The guy on the bike said he called the cops, and says he threatened me. So this basically confirms the encounter. Chris Cuomo then shot a segment for CNN of him emerging from his basement like, 'this is what I've been dreaming of, finally getting out of the basement, seeing my kids.' But he was witnessed seeing his kids somewhere else."

You can watch that basement clip in question below.

The White House was dealt a heavy blow recently as it’s being reported that a staffer to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has tested positive for COVID-19. CNN reports that as of Monday (March 16), Vice President Pence had not been tested for coronavirus, but that may have changed during the days that followed.

Win McNamee / Staff / Getty Images

Pence’s press secretary Katie Miller issued a statement regarding the news. “‪This evening we were notified that a member of the Office of the Vice President tested positive for the Coronavirus,” she said. “Neither President Trump nor Vice President Pence had close contact with the individual. Further contact tracing is being conducted in accordance with CDC guidelines.”

CNN also reports that two people who attended the recent American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s Policy Conference in Washington also tested positive for COVID-19. Vice President Pence, along with other politicians, were present at the gathering. Deadline states that President Donald Trump has reportedly completed a coronavirus test and the result was negative, as was the test for his daughter Ivanka Trump.

Meanwhile, while initial quarantine mandates for the United States were set in place for approximately two weeks, the White House has stated that some effects from the COVID-19 pandemic could last as long as 18 months.

For years, there have been rumors surrounding the death of James Brown. It was just over 13 years ago that the world lost an icon after the 73-year-old reportedly died of congestive heart failure resulting from pneumonia complications. It seemed rather cut and dry at the time, but a woman named Jacque Hollander has come forward in recent years with accusations that both James Brown and his third wife Adrienne Brown were murdered. Adrienne passed away in 1996 following complications related to recent plastic surgery.

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We reported on Hollander’s findings last year after she was highlighted in an exposé published by CNN. At the time, Dr. Marvin Crawford, the man responsible for signing James’s death certificate, revealed that he’d changed his mind about the cause of death. “He changed too fast,” Crawford said. “He was a patient I would never have predicted would have coded. … But he died that night, and I did raise that question: What went wrong in that room?” 

Many loved ones of the Godfather of Soul share in concerns that he may have been murdered, and on Wednesday (February 12), Hollander met with Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr. in Atlanta. Now, according to Howard, no official death investigation has been launched. However, thy have taken the mounds of paperwork gathered by Hollander, will interview witnesses, and weigh the evidence provided before moving forward. An investigation into whether or not a case can be made.

This has been a painstaking effort by Hollander who has reportedly amassed thousands of pages of documentation and interviewed 140 people in connection with the deaths of James Brown and his wife Adrienne. Police have reportedly refused to investigate in the past, so Hollander hopes that the D.A. will find some evidence to inquire further about the beloved legend.

When TMZ broke the news that Kobe Bryant had perished in a helicopter crash, news outlets scrambled to obtain more information. First, the unbelievable news prompted publications to confirm that Bryant was, indeed, deceased. After that, social media lit up with misinformation that was being reported on from your neighbor next door to major news media outlets. We would all later learn that Bryant passed away, but information about the others involved would take a bit more time to confirm.

Ethan Miller / Staff / Getty Images

In those few hours before the world would learn about all of the others that lost their lives in the accident, including Bryant's 13-year-old daughter Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, television reporters were sharing unsubstantiated information that they'd picked up from social media. ABC News correspondent Matt Gutman shared on-air that Bryant died alongside all four of his daughters, a report that sent shocked the wrold. Of course, we now know that isn't true, and because of his mistake, Gutman has been suspended by ABC News.

"Reporting the facts accurately is the cornerstone of our journalism," an ABC News spokesperson reportedly said in a statement to CNN. "As he acknowledged on Sunday, Matt Gutman's initial reporting was not accurate and failed to meet our editorial standards." On Wednesday (January 29), Gutman issued a public apology. "We are in the business of holding people accountable. And I hold myself accountable for a terrible mistake, which I deeply regret," Gutman said. "I want to personally apologize to the Bryant family for this wrenching loss and any additional anguish my report caused."

The award-winning reporter has been apart of the ABC News family since 2008 and has been responsible for covering some of the nation's most controversial and harrowing incidents. Gutman isn't the only reporter who found themselves disciplined for comments involving Kobe Bryant since the basketball icon's death; The Washington Post reporter Felicia Sonmez was suspended after she tweeted about Kobe Bryant's rape case scandal in the wake of his death.