The former Broward County sheriff’s deputy who did not enter a Parkland, Fla., high school during the massacre there receives more than $100,000 in an annual pension, the state revealed, triggering outrage among the parents of slain students and renewed accusations of cowardice. In a Wednesday statement, the Florida Department of Management Services said Scot Peterson began receiving his $8,702.35 monthly pension in April after the county attorney general, Michael Satz, found no charges against him that would force Peterson to forfeit his pension. “The department will continue to monitor the ongoing investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and will continue to follow the law,” spokeswoman Nina Ashley told The Washington Post in the statement. Peterson took a defense position outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and did not enter the building, even as a gunman killed 17 people in the February incident, videos released by police showed. President Trump called a Peterson a “coward,” and Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said he was “disgusted” and “just demoralized” by his actions. Peterson resigned Feb. 22, eight days after the killings, amid intense public scrutiny. He served a total of 32 years as a deputy on the force. The recent revelations about Peterson’s compensation, which would total more than $100,000 annually, sparked a backlash among two vocal parents of students killed in the Parkland shooting. “This infuriates me in ways people cannot comprehend. My daughter would still be alive if this person did his job,” Fred Guttenberg, father of slain student Jaime Guttenberg, said in response to the news, first reported by the Sun-Sentinel. Andrew Pollack, who lost daughter Meadow in the shooting and filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Peterson in April, also criticized the former deputy. “The coward of broward, Scot Peterson is getting over $8k a month pension! He hid while my daughter and 16 others were slaughtered!” Pollack said on Twitter. “How in the hell is he getting this? That money should go to actually securing our schools!” He told the Sun-Sentinel that the funds should be used for school safety measures or scholarships for wounded students. Peterson’s attorney, Joseph A. DiRuzzo III, did not respond to a request for comment. He has staunchly defended Peterson, saying the former deputy believed the shots were coming from outside the building. Because of that, DiRuzzo said, Peterson “took up a tactical position” to try to assess the situation. The video footage captured Peterson hurrying across the campus as the massacre was unfolding and then — while, police said, the shooting continued — standing outside for several minutes without seeming to take cover. Peterson should have gone in “and addressed the killer,” Israel said. “Killed the killer.”

You don't have to look far to find pictures of my daughter online. I'm a writer who often uses her image to headline my pieces. I have a public Instagram feed where I routinely show her grinning face. And, on Facebook, my public page often highlights stories of her antics. She's 4 and hilariously adorable. I'm a proud mama who's in the stage of parenting where my life still kind of revolves around hers. So, it's really not surprising that I share as much about her as I do. But I don't do any of this naively. When I was in elementary school, my dad spent years working as an undercover cop. By the time I graduated from high school, he was a homicide detective who often shared stories from the job around our dinner table. I know that there are bad people in this world. But I also decided a long time ago that I wasn't going to limit my life because of those people. I'm always analyzing risks and benefits, and with this, I sort of feel like we live in a digital age—everyone else is sharing their images too, so why should I be afraid to share ours? My recent chat with a private investigator who specializes in recovering missing children might have just changed that stance. Brenda Paradise is licensed in both Texas and Alaska. She's been finding missing people for about eight years. She and I first connected when I interviewed her about a missing boy in my home state of Alaska (whose story did not have a happy ending). At the time, we talked mostly about that case. But Paradise did say one thing then that always stuck with me: She told me that one in three runaways are approached for pornography, prostitution or by child traffickers within 48 hours of leaving home. Within 48 hours. It was that stat that made me call her more recently, curious about what she knows, hopeful that she might have tips for how parents can better protect their children. We've all seen the stories that tend to reach a fever pitch in our feeds—the ones about mamas who swear someone was following them through Target, eyes on their children, ready to swipe their toddler at a moment's notice. I can't be the only one who has felt sympathy for these mamas and their fears, but I've also wondered how often kids are truly being snatched by strangers right under their parent's noses. Statistically, not often. But the cases Paradise works on aren't usually young children who have been trafficked. Instead, she finds that it's teen runaways who tend to be most at risk. As she explained to me, she hates that word: "runaway." It implies that just because they left of their own accord, they've remained gone of their own accord as well. And that simply isn't always the case. Those runaways are all too often approached by child traffickers quite quickly after leaving home. In fact, it may even be that it was a trafficker who convinced them to leave—posing as a peer online and forming a relationship that ultimately ends with the instruction to "Pack a bag and meet me here." Once that happens, recovering those kids can be difficult. Especially when law enforcement views them as "just another runaway." Paradise got started in this line of business when a friend of her daughter's disappeared seven years ago. Alexandria Lowitzer was 16 years old when she got off the school bus on April 26, 2010. She spoke to her mom on the phone while walking to work to pick up a paycheck from her first job. Only, she never arrived. And she was never found. There have never been any confirmed sightings of her, nor any evidence regarding what may have happened to her. Alexandria didn't run away. She was simply taken. And whoever took her made sure she would never be found. Realizing how easily this could have been her daughter, Paradise began pursuing a change in career. Today, she's worked on more than 500 missing person's cases. She has a 95 percent recovery rate. Of those who have been found, 1 percent were victims of trafficking. That may not sound like a lot, but keep in mind that most kids (98 percent) who are caught up in child trafficking rings are never found. And of those who are, there can be a lot of misreporting going on, specifically because these kids are often confused about what happened to them and ashamed about the role they may have played in their own abductions. According to the Ark of Hope for Children, the average age of childhood victims is between 11 and 14 years old. There has been a 7 percent increase in child trafficking victims over the last three years. Of those who are taken, there is an seven-year-average survival span. As Paradise explained, there's no such thing as "stranger danger" these days. The internet makes kids think they know everyone, purely because of shared friends. Parents don't realize that something as simple as giving their child a game with an online connection opens them up to predators. Everything has a tracking device. Facebook can tell users where their friends are. Proud parents display bumper stickers with their children's school listed on them, boasting their activities ("My Daughter Is a Cheerleader at Colony High School!"), even sharing their jersey numbers and other identifying information. Predators can easily find more than enough information to take any tween or teen they want. Here's how it happens: A trafficker might happen upon your child's photo online. With a quick search, they're able to find your name and place of business. Once they have that, they might follow you home from work one day. Then they spend a few days watching your house, getting a feel for your routine, paying attention to what you're posting online. Maybe your child has practice next week and you get stuck late at work. That's when the trafficker approaches your kid and says, "Hey, are you Sally's kid? The one who drives a black Honda Pilot? Your mom has been in an accident. She's OK, but her car is totaled and an ambulance had to take her to the hospital. I saw the whole thing happen. She was really worried about you, and asked me to come get you and bring you there." Just like that, your child is getting into a car with a stranger. One who knew just enough about you and your life to convince your kid they were legit. You might think your child would never fall for it, but the truth is that most kids would go into a bit of a panic upon hearing their parent had been in an accident. With the right details, they are easy enough to convince. So, what happens when a child goes missing, either because they chose to run away or because they were tricked? According to Paradise, after the first 24 hours, the chances of finding them alive go down dramatically. It all depends on how big the trafficking ring is. And yes, these rings are everywhere. Some may keep kids local, while others will try to get them out of the country. We don't always know what happens to the kids after they're taken, because too often they go missing and are never found. These kids can't tell their stories because they've just disappeared. Based on cases in which recoveries have taken place, though, Brenda explains that sometimes it's a local drug dealer, looking to use your child to pay a debt. Sometimes they are used for drug trafficking or sold to pedophiles. The traffickers work to quickly get these kids addicted to drugs, which makes it easier to manipulate them and traffic them out of state. If law enforcement gets too close, traffickers are more likely to kill the child and dump the body where it's not likely to ever be found. While Paradise is quick to explain that this happens to teenagers far more often than young children, she says it's never too early to start protecting your kids. Make your photos private. Be careful about the information you put online. Talk to your kids in an age-appropriate way about strangers and never getting in a car with someone they don't know. You might want to think about using a family password, as well, so that if anyone ever tries to tell your child that you sent them to pick them up, your kid knows to ask for that password first. As for me, I'm not sure if I'll change my posting habits just yet. But my conversation with Paradise did leave me feeling a little more wary and a lot more invested in starting to talk to my daughter now about how to avoid some of these dangers. In a perfect world, we would never have to have those conversations. Unfortunately, the world we live in is far from perfect.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has determined that the U.S. intelligence community was correct in assessing that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the aim of helping then-candidate Donald Trump, contradicting findings House Republicans reached last month. “We see no reason to dispute the [intelligence community’s] conclusions,” the committee’s chairman, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), said Wednesday in a joint statement with its vice chair, Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), who added: “Our staff concluded that the ... conclusions were accurate and on point.The Russian effort was extensive, sophisticated, and ordered by President Putin himself for the purpose of helping Donald Trump and hurting Hillary Clinton.” This marks the second of four interim findings the intelligence committee has said it will address before tackling the more consequential question of whether Trump and his associates colluded with Russia to influence the election’s outcome, allegations the president has denied and sought to discredit. The committee, which earlier this month released related findings on election security, is expected to publish a comprehensive final report this fall. Wednesday’s announcement comes amid growing Republican scrutiny of the investigation led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, whose team also is examining whether Trump’s campaign coordinated with the Kremlin and if the president obstructed justice in a bid to limit the probe’s scope. The Senate committee’s findings clash with the House GOP’s determination that the intelligence community did not follow its own best practices in concluding the Kremlin favored Trump in the election. The dispute — and the questions it now raises about which record of events is most accurate — could complicate the Republican Party’s messaging heading into the 2018 election season. Trump has taken umbrage at the intelligence community’s determination that the Kremlin favored his candidacy over Clinton’s. The president cheered the House Intelligence Committee’s report, claiming on Twitter that it vindicated him by finding there was no evidence his campaign colluded with Russia. Although the Senate Intelligence Committee has yet to weigh in on the collusion allegations, Burr and Warner have hinted for days that their panel’s interim findings on the intelligence community would depart from those reached by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee. “I’m not sure that the House was required to substantiate every conclusion with facts,” Burr told reporters last week, promising the Senate panel would “have the facts to show for” its conclusions. Warner said Monday that, “Everyone that we’ve ever had testify still stands by the full findings of the ICA,” referring to the intelligence community’s assessment. “We’ve had all the Obama officials, we’ve had all the Trump officials. Every person,” he added. Asked Wednesday about the discrepancy between the two panels’ conclusions, Rep. Devin P. Nunes (R-Calif.), the House Intelligence Committee’s chairman said, “That’s nice.” He declined to elaborate. Nunes, who became the subject of an ethics inquiry last year, delegated day-to-day oversight of the panel’s Russia investigation to Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-Texas) but remained peripherally involved, approving subpoenas and other related actions. “I’m confident in the people who did our work, that they got it right,” Conaway said, adding that, to sort out the discrepancy, the intelligence agencies would likely have to declassify documents on which their findings were based. House Democrats, who roundly disagreed with the House GOP’s findings, praised the Senate Intelligence Committee’s conclusions. Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), the House intelligence panel’s ranking member, said in a statement that he “fully concur with the conclusion of the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee that the ICA’s determination that Russia sought to help the Trump campaign, hurt Hillary Clinton and sow discord in the United States is fully supported by the evidence.” On Wednesday, Senate Intelligence Committee members met in closed session to discuss their findings with former Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr., former CIA director John Brennan, and former National Security Agency director Adm. Mike Rogers. None has wavered from the conclusions about Russian interference in the election, according to senators who were in the room. Former FBI director James B. Comey had also been invited to testify about the findings to the panel, but did not attend.

The Boston Celtics on Wednesday, as has been the case as the undermanned team somehow soldiers on in the NBA playoffs, were asked if Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward would be available should the team advance to the NBA Finals. On this occasion, it was Celtics head coach Brad Stevens’ turn to state the obvious in an arguably needless exercise. Suffice to say, Stevens’ response should not be considered hardly surprising in the least. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge previously had to address Hayward’s lack of availability for the postseason during the team’s Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Philadelphia 76ers. Again, it was made clear by Ainge that Hayward, lost for the season on opening night due to a dislocated ankle and fractured tibia, would not be playing until next season at some point. On the Irving front, there has been no expectation that the point guard would make an appearance in the playoffs after being shut down in March. Two procedures followed on his troublesome left knee, which resulted in an expected recovery time of four to five months. The Celtics, without Hayward and Irving, have performed brilliantly — and perhaps unexpectedly — this postseason in the two superstars’ absence and now are only two wins away from a berth in the NBA Finals after holding court at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers courtesy of convincing Game 1 and 2 wins at TD Garden. That said, it’s foolish to believe a few more weeks in the postseason may somehow lead to either Hayward o Irving suiting up anytime soon.

Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson argued Wednesday that the U.S. is experiencing a "growing crisis of integrity and ethics" in his first public speech since leaving the Trump administration almost two months ago. "When we as people, a free people, go wobbly on the truth even on what may seem the most trivial of matters, we go wobbly on America," Tillerson told the graduating class of cadets at the Virginia Military Institute. While he did not mention President Trump by name, Tillerson did reference an "accepting of alternate realities" and warned that the country is in danger if Americans can't agree on basic facts. "If our leaders seek to conceal the truth and we as people become accepting of alternative realities that are no longer grounded in facts, then as an American people we are on a pathway to relinquishing our freedom," Tillerson said. Tillerson emphasized that what makes America different from Iran, China, Russia, and other adversaries is its commitment to fact-based truths. And he expects doomsday if the U.S. starts accepting alternate realities not based on a set of facts. "If we do not as Americans confront the crisis of ethics and integrity in our society and among our leaders in both private and public sector, and regrettably at times even the nonprofit sector, then American democracy as we know it is entering its twilight years," Tillerson said. Tillerson always emphasized the importance of following a moral compass and maintaining personal integrity when he gave remarks to employees at the State Department. He pressed that sentiment in his short departing remarks. "Never lose sight of your most valuable asset, the most valuable asset you possess: your personal integrity," he said before leaving the department and heading home to Texas in March. "This can be a very mean-spirited town. But you don't have to choose to participate in that." Tillerson, who has maintained a very low profile since leaving office, put this speech on his calendar back in January and those close to him say that he did not want to back out of the commitment. There is no expectation that today's speech was the beginning of a Tillerson publicity blitz. The former Exxon-Mobil CEO explained that he never wanted the top job at the energy giant, echoing comments he had made at the State Department about never wanting to be America's top diplomat. Tillerson also told the cadets that his best job over 20 years ago when he was the Exxon divisional manager with responsibility over a large part of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. "Best job I had ever had. It has all been downhill since," Tillerson said as the crowd laughed. He then went on to discuss his hope for the class: that they would live happy lives through focusing on ideals that unite people while holding their integrity close.

TMZ spoke with the 73-year-old on May 16 after doctors implanted stents in his blood vessels. The website said he "seemed alert and coherent." ""I'm ok. It will take a long time to heal," he told the website. "Staying in the hospital a few more days. Not allowed to get excited." On May 15, TMZ reported that Thomas would not be attending his daughter's highly-anticipated royal wedding because of the surgery needed to repair damage caused by a recent heart attack — a heart attack, he believes, was brought on because of a recent letter his son, Thomas Markle Jr., sent to Prince Harrydiscouraging him from marrying Meghan. Doctors, Meghan's dad said on May 15, had to "go in and clear blockage, repair damage and put a stent where it is needed." Thomas also indicated that he would not travel to England because of the surgery. His heartbreaking admission came just a few hours after he indicated that he hoped to walk his daughter down the aisle at the May 19th royal wedding. To say this has been a roller coaster of a week for Meghan's dad would be an understatement. Just a day after Thomas decided he wasn't going to attend the royal wedding amid a paparazzi scandal, he decided he wanted to attend and walk his daughter down the aisle. Thomas told TMZ in the morning of May 15, "I hate the idea of missing one of the greatest moments in history and walking my daughter down the aisle." He then added, "Of course I'd walk her down the aisle. This is a historic moment. I'd like to be a part of history." © Matt Dunham/AP/REX/Shutterstock Meghan Markle leaves a Memorial Service to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence at St Martin-in-the-Fields church in London on April 23, 2018. Thomas even said Meghan wasn't angry with him about the paparazzi scandal in which he sold pictures of himself getting ready for the wedding to an agency. He told TMZ that Meghan tried calling him on May 14 but he wasn't near his phone. He claims she then texted to tell him she loved him, and she mentioned that she was concerned about his health after his recent heart attack and subsequent chest pains. Thomas also said he now feels that his agreement with the paparazzi agency wasn't a violation of trust, but rather a "stupid" mistake.

The Celtics beat the Cavaliers 107-94 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference decider. Those figures will be the only ones that count toward a Finals ticket, but there are countless other statistics that tell a more complete tale. Here’s a few stats from the series so far that show why the Celtics are in control: 32.2 The net rating Marcus Smart posted in Game 2. Stephen Curry has a 17.1 net rating so far in the playoffs. 9-0 The Celtics’ record at home in the 2018 playoffs. The team’s two-game lead in the Eastern Conference finals is a continuance of another theme: this year’s Celtics squad does not lose playoff games in Boston. 14 The number of points Jaylen Brown scored in the first quarter on Tuesday night. Brown’s early scoring provided a much-needed counterbalance to LeBron James, who went for 21 of the Cavaliers’ 27 points in the opening period. James scored another 21 points throughout the remaining three quarters to finish with 42 points (16-of-29 shooting), 12 assists, and 10 rebounds. 46.7 The usage percentage for James in Game 2. For comparison’s sake, the highest usage percentage on the Celtics was Brown, at 25.7 percent. 3 The dismal number of total points scored by the Cavaliers’ starting backcourt, J.R. Smith and George Hill, in Game 2. Their counterparts, Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier, had 41 combined points for the Celtics. 15 The number of times Cleveland turned the ball over in Game 2. James alone had six turnovers. The Cavaliers have 25 turnovers through two games, while the Celtics have 17 turnovers and 14 steals. 24.6 The Cavaliers’ 3-point shooting percentage through two games.

A man was caught on video threatening two women working at a restaurant in Manhattan, saying he would call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement because they spoke Spanish. "Your clients and your staff are speaking Spanish to staff when they should be speaking English," he said in a confrontation with the manager. "This is America." The video went viral on Facebook after Edward Suazo posted it Tuesday. He said his wife and her friend witnessed the argument at a Fresh Kitchen in midtown. "My guess is they're undocumented, so my next call is to ICE to have each one of them taken out of my country," the man said in the video. "If they have the balls to come here and live off my money — I pay for their welfare. I pay for their ability to be here." After activist and journalist Shaun King posted the video to Twitter, activists identified the man as Aaron Schlossberg, an attorney with his own law firm with an office near the restaurant. INSIDER hasn't independently verified the man's identity and Schlossberg didn't respond to multiple requests for comment. Schlossberg's LinkedIn page indicates he studied abroad in Spain while in college and is fluent in Spanish. Issac Saul, an editor at the publication A Plus, saw a man who appeared to be Schlossberg last year at a protest, standing with people carrying pro-Donald Trump signs. The rally was held to oppose a speech by the Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour and to support far-right counter-speakers, who included Islamophobic activist Pamela Geller and commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, best known for appearing to condone pedophilia and coining phrases like "feminism is cancer." At the rally, the man who appeared to be Schlossberg shouted at members of Neturei Karta — a fringe group of extremist Jews who are defined by their commitment to anti-Zionism based on a reading of scripture that forbids the presence of Jews in the land of Israel until the coming of the messiah. "You are not a Jew," Schlossberg said to the Neturei Karta members. "He's pretending to be Jewish and he's making everybody else feel like that's what Jews think." After King and other left-leaning activists identified the man as Schlossberg, his law firm's Facebook and Yelp pages was flooded with negative comments.

President Trump visited first lady Melania Trump at Walter Reed Medical Center on Wednesday, his third trip to the military medical center this week as the first lady recovers from kidney surgery. White House pool reports indicated Trump arrived via helicopter at the Maryland hospital just after 4:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. Trump's visit comes minutes after his wife's first public statement since the Monday operation to treat a "benign kidney condition." "A sincere thank you to Walter Reed Medical Unit @WRBethesda & to all who have send good wishes & prayers! I am feeling great & look forward to getting back home @WhiteHouse soon," the first lady tweeted Wednesday. The president told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday that the first lady is "doing really really well," but did not comment further on her condition. Stephanie Grisham, the first lady's communications director, issued a statement on Monday saying that the "procedure was successful and there were no complications," but added that Trump would likely stay at Walter Reed for the rest of the week. The president also tweeted about his wife's condition Monday, thanking well-wishers. "Successful procedure, she is in good spirits. Thank you to all of the well-wishers!" he wrote.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is evaluating whether to remove a painting of an upside-down American flag — a military distress signal — that deported veterans painted on a border fence separating San Diego and Tijuana five years ago. The mural aimed to raise awareness of the struggles of deported U.S. military veterans, a group that has gained increasing attention amid the Trump administration’s efforts to tighten immigration rules and step up deportations. Advocates say there are hundreds or thousands of U.S. military veterans who have been deported, but the specific number is unclear. Many are forced out of the country because they didn’t officially apply for citizenship while in the service and were at some point convicted of a crime. Officials with CBP said that the agency’s San Diego office has received public complaints about graffiti on federal property, specifically along the south side of the border wall with Tijuana, an area known as “Friendship Circle.” Ralph DeSio, a CBP spokesman, said that as the agency began to investigate the complaints, “it became obvious that skilled artists applied some of the ‘graffiti’ with the intent of creating murals to send a specific political message and/or to beautify the border wall.” DeSio said the sector’s chief agent decided to reach out to the artists to engage them in conversation before making any final decision, noting that it is important to understand that the murals were applied to U.S. government property without permission: “The Chief Patrol Agent has not made any final decision and is currently reaching out to those involved with creating the murals in an attempt to offer them a voice.” Navy veteran Amos Gregory — a muralist who leads Veterans Alley, a project that includes murals about the realities of war on Shannon Street in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood — worked with deported veterans to create the border painting five years ago. He said it wasn’t until just recently that officials seemed to care about it, noting that veteran artists first started getting calls from border officers after President Trump recently visited the area to inspect border wall prototypes. “Since when was Border Patrol in the position of curating art?” Gregory said, noting how the mural has been there for years without causing a stir, until just after Trump’s visit. “It’s just ironic. It has to be connected.” The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and DeSio declined to comment on who complained about the graffiti, saying only that it was a member of the public. Gregory said he hopes the mural can stay on the wall, as it honors deported veterans such as Alex Murillo, who worked on the mural and wrote his name on it. Murillo and others were told by recruiters that they would automatically obtain citizenship through military service. While they can obtain citizenship, they must apply and file paperwork, in some cases while they are deployed to war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of those who were deported are green-card holders who were honorably discharged from service but were convicted of a crime after returning to civilian life. Murillo was deported in 2012 after he completed a three-year sentence for transporting marijuana in Arizona. Murillo often visits the steel mesh fence where the mural is painted to hold meetings through the slats with advocates trying to get him and other deported veterans readmitted to the country. He wears a “U.S. Navy,” T-shirt, with the word “Deported,” on top. Once deported, veterans say they can’t access their benefits for counseling or education. “The mural was never meant to be disrespectful. We are simply saying — and any military member would get it — that deported veterans are in distress,” said Murillo, who has four children and two grandchildren in San Diego and Phoenix. “We love the U.S. We just want attention to our issue and to come back home.” After 14 years of living in Mexico, Army veteran Hector Barajas-Varela, 40, became the first known deported veteran to be naturalized as a U.S. citizen. He was in exile for so long that he started “The Bunker,” a support house for deported U.S. military veterans — currently more than 30 — in Tijuana. There are now others throughout Mexico and one in the Dominican Republic. Last April, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) pardoned Barajas-Varela for the crime that led to his deportation, saying he showed he had worked hard to help his fellow veterans. Barajas-Varela is even featured in a photo standing in front of the upside down flag, which was used as the cover for “Discharged, Then Discarded,” a report from the American Civil Liberties Union. U.S. Rep. Mark Tanko (D-Calif.) and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus sponsored a forum on the issue on Capitol Hill last week, pressing to help deported veterans come home. © Provided by WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post Tanko wants recruiters to make it clear that noncitizens who serve in the U.S. military are granted the right to citizenship, but that they must apply for it. He also wants immigration officials to specifically ask those being deported if they are U.S. military veterans, Tanko said. “It’s a travesty and it’s heart-wrenching,” he said in an interview after the forum last week, noting that he also would be looking into concerns about the mural at the border. “They served their country but now spend their lives in exile from the country they defended. It’s just wrong.”

NEW YORK — Residents in the Northeast cleaned up Wednesday, a day after powerful storms pounded the region with torrential rain and marble-sized hail, leaving at least four people dead and more than 200,000 homes and businesses without power. Connecticut officials said two people in New Fairfield and Danbury were killed Tuesday in separate accidents when trees fell on their trucks, including a woman whose 3-year-old child escaped injury. In New York, falling trees in Newburgh claimed the lives of an 11-year-old girl in a parked car and a woman who was driving. More than 157,000 utility customers in New York were without power midday Wednesday. In Connecticut, the state's two major utilities reported 88,500 customers without electricity Wednesday afternoon, down from a high of 120,000 outages. Gov. Dannel Malloy said damage was being assessed across the state for possible disaster declarations, with the most hard-hit areas being in southwestern Connecticut. "There is a tremendous amount of damage," he said. "I think there are going to be a lot of people without power for days." (AP Photo/Denis Paquin) The storms downed trees and power lines across the region. Several lightning strikes led to structure fires in New Jersey and Massachusetts. Weather officials confirmed two tornadoes in Putnam County, an EF2 with peak winds of 110 mph and an EF1 with peak winds of 100 mph, and a third tornado in Newburgh in Orange County, an EF0 with peak winds of 85 mph. New York's Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. reported 78 mph wind gusts on Tuesday and about 1,000 lighting strikes per hour. The National Weather Service said the strong thunderstorms created a small weather-generated tsunami off the New Jersey coast. Known as a meteotsunami, it resulted in fluctuating water levels for several hours. But there were no reports of damage from the abnormally high tides reported in areas from Perth Amboy in New Jersey to Delaware's Fenwick Island. Roads in many towns were impassible and some schools canceled classes on Wednesday due to the damage. Airlines also canceled and delayed flights in and out of the region. In New York City on Tuesday evening, thousands of commuters were stranded in Grand Central Terminal after rail lines were temporarily suspended due to downed trees on the tracks. Concourses were packed with passengers waiting for service to resume.

Mike Budenholzer has reached an agreement to coach the Milwaukee Bucks, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the situation until the team makes an official announcement. Budenholzer comes to the Bucks from Atlanta, where he coached the Hawks to a 213-197 record in five seasons. He guided the Hawks to the playoffs in his first four seasons, including a spot in the Eastern Conference finals in a 60-22 season in 2014-15. He was named coach of the year that season. Budenholzer takes over a team loaded with potential featuring 23-year-old All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Budenholzer is tasked with improving the Bucks, who were the seventh seed and lost to Boston in the first round in April, and maximizing Antetokounmpo. After Toronto dismissed Dwane Casey, it expressed an interest in Budenholzer, but the Bucks moved fast to ensure they got who they wanted. The Hawks were 24-58 this season and in a rebuild situation. Budenholzer didn’t want to be part of that, and first-year Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk wanted to hire his own coach. He did that, landing Philadelphia assistant Lloyd Pierce. ESPN first reported Budenholzer's hiring.

John Bunn was just 14 when he was jailed for the murder of an off-duty correction officer in Brooklyn. He was finally able to clear his name Tuesday, when a judge formally exonerated him after 27 years. He's 41 now. He wept as he hugged his attorneys in court. He approached the judge and held both of her hands and rested his head on the bench. "It has been 27 years, I've been fighting for my life and I've been fighting for my innocence," he said. Bunn served 17 years in prison before he was freed on parole in 2009. Two years ago, he won the right to a new trial. Now, prosecutors have said they won't retry him -- leading to a full exoneration. "I didn't deserve any of that stuff that you all did to me," Bunn said to prosecutors. "They won't admit and say that I'm an innocent man. But I'm an innocent man, your honor, and I have always been an innocent man," Bunn said in court. "You all convicted and had a wrong man in prison, and you all still have somebody on the loose that killed someone." The shooting Rikers Island correction officers Rolando Neischer and Robert Crosson were shot while sitting in a car at a Brooklyn housing project at around 4 a.m. on August 13, 1991. The suspects were two men who wanted to steal their car, according to court documents. Neischer was hit five times and died from his wounds. Police got an anonymous tip that led them to Bunn and his co-defendant Rosean Hargrove, who was 17 at the time. Crosson identified the two men in a photo lineup and was the only witness at their trial, which lasted just one day. Two bicycles were found at the scene along with blood and multiple fingerprints. During the appeal, a district attorney, who reviewed the case testified they didn't match Bunn or Hargrove, according to the documents. The intervening years During the proceedings Tuesday, the judge place much of the blame on a disgraced former NYPD detective, who's been accused of framing suspects during his career. Prosecutors have reviewed dozens of his cases for possible malpractice. She also criticized the way the justice system handled the case. "In one day they picked a jury, they had openings, they had witnesses, and a conclusion on a murder trial which I do not consider justice at all," Judge Shawndya Simpson said. Bunn's lawyers told reporters he deserved an apology. "It would be nice to have that stated to him so that he could really feel fully vindicated, but we don't have that and it is unfortunate they didn't go there," said Glenn Garber, the director of the Exoneration Initiative. Hargrove's conviction has also been thrown out and he won't be retried. Bunn told CNN affiliate WPIX that he taught himself to read in prison. In the years since his release, he has collected more than 20,000 books for New York inmates, he said. He created the A Voice 4 the Unheard literacy project last year. "I just feel overly blessed and thanking God that we reached this point," Bunn told reporters outside the courthouse.

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) said Wednesday he intends to launch a discharge petition in an effort to force a House vote on reinstating the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) net neutrality rules. "It's about protecting small businesses, students, innovators, entrepreneurs and competition. These are the policies that every American benefits from and it enables our modern economy," Doyle said at a press conference after the Senate passed a bill reinstating net neutrality. "That's why I have introduced companion (Congressional Review Act) in the House and I'm going to continue to work with the leadership in the House to bring this to the floor," he added. Congressional Review Act (CRA) bills allow Congress to overturn agency decisions with majority votes in each chamber, and a signature from the president. In addition to the CRA, Doyle said he intends to launch a discharge petition on Thursday morning. If 25 Republicans and every Democrat in the House sign the petition, it would force a vote. Doyle urged citizens to phone their lawmaker and encourage them to sign the petition. He said those who don't support maintaining net neutrality will be held accountable at the polls in November. At the same press conference, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called on Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to bring the CRA to the House floor, urging Republicans to back it. The Senate version of the bill passed on Wednesday, 52-47. Three Republicans - Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and John Kennedy (La.) - joined their Democratic colleagues in supporting the bill. Most Republican lawmakers have downplayed the need for net neutrality rules, arguing it is a case of overregulation. The FCC voted 3-2 along party lines in December to repeal its Obama-era Open Internet Order.

Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal attorney, solicited a payment of at least $1 million from the government of Qatar in late 2016, in exchange for access to and advice about the then-incoming administration, according to several people with knowledge of the episode. The offer, which Qatar declined, came on the margins of a Dec. 12 meeting that year at Trump Tower between the Persian Gulf state’s foreign minister and Michael Flynn, who became Trump’s first national security adviser. Stephen K. Bannon, who became chief White House strategist, also attended, the people said. Cohen did not participate in the official meetings but spoke separately to a member of the Qatari delegation, Ahmed al-Rumaihi, who at the time was head of the investments division of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. Details emerged last week on how Cohen leveraged his relationship with Trump to receive millions of dollars from companies eager for insight and entree into the new president’s inner circle. They included AT&T, the global pharmaceutical giant Novartis, a Korean defense contractor and Columbus Nova, a New York-based investment firm with ties to a Russian oligarch. All have confirmed payments to Cohen. But news of the Qatar solicitation marks the first time Cohen is believed to have pitched his influence directly to a foreign government. A spokesman for Rumaihi, after first saying he would be available for an interview, said he was no longer available late Wednesday. The private company Rumaihi — who is no longer in government — founded last year, Sport Trinity, did not respond to a request for comment. The Intercept reported Wednesday that Rumaihi had confirmed the solicitation, and his refusal to pay Cohen, in an interview. Cohen and his lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. Qatar’s embassy in Washington declined to comment on the revelations. Cohen’s offer to Qatar came as he was bragging to others that he could make millions from consulting on Trump and that foreign governments would be interested in having his expertise. At the time, Cohen was also angling, unsuccessfully, as it turned out, to enter the White House, telling associates that he might become counsel or chief of staff. As Cohen collected clients, he texted associates articles that described him as Trump’s “fixer” and asked them to spread them around. Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, which conducted raids last month on Cohen’s New York residence and office, are investigating his activities. Cohen’s attempts to sell access were first publicly alleged last week by Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for Stormy Daniels, an adult-film star who was paid $130,000 by Cohen before the election to keep quiet details of an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Trump, who said last month that he knew nothing about the Daniels payment and did not reimburse Cohen, reported an apparent reimbursement payment to his lawyer on financial disclosure documents released Wednesday. Meanwhile, Avenatti has expanded his public allegations against Trump and those around him. Early this week, he tweeted a photograph of Cohen and Rumaihi, taken on the day of the December 2016 Trump Tower meeting. Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Thani was one of a number of senior foreign officials who visited transition headquarters at Trump Tower between the November election and January inauguration. Requested by Qatar, the session followed a meeting between then-candidate Trump and Qatari Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2016. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton canceled a separately scheduled meeting with the ruler due to what her campaign said was a scheduling conflict. Qatar, whose natural gas resources and small population have made it the richest per capita country in the world, is home to the Middle East headquarters of U.S. Central Command and a major U.S. air base where 10,000 American troops are stationed. It is a substantial purchaser of U.S. defense equipment and a major investor in this country. Its government was deeply interested in continuing close relations, and there was, the people knowledgeable about the meeting said, a lot to talk about at the Dec. 12 Trump Tower meeting. These people spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly about sensitive issues. Rumaihi was one of several Qatari officials accompanying the minister. Five days earlier, he had first encountered Cohen at a breakfast fundraiser in New York, where businessmen and transition officials were chatting about the new administration and exchanging contact information. The two also met later in the week at a New York hotel restaurant, where Cohen discussed Trump’s plans to solicit investment in a massive U.S. domestic infrastructure program. Rumaihi told him that Qatar expected to invest in the program, and Cohen offered to help find projects for Qatar to sponsor, in exchange for a $1 million up-front fee. Rumaihi, these people said, declined to pay. The subject came up again at Trump Tower, when Rumaihi and Cohen, neither of whom attended the meeting between the foreign minister and Flynn, chatted outside. The next day in Doha, the Qatari capital, the government announced it would invest$10 billion in the infrastructure program. Four months later, on the eve of Trump’s first presidential trip abroad to Saudi Arabia, Qatar’s main rival in the Persian Gulf neighborhood, Saudi Arabia announced it would invest $20 billion in the U.S. infrastructure fund. It was immediately following Trump’s trip to Riyadh that the Saudis, along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, said they were severing relations with Qatar and instituting a blockade of its territory. Qatar’s more eclectic and liberal foreign and domestic policies had long irritated its neighbors in the region, and Trump’s visit had apparently convinced the Saudis that he would take their side in a dispute. Trump tweeted his support for the Saudi-led move, saying he had heard in Riyadh about Qatar’s support for terrorism. It was not until September, just before his meeting with Tamim, that Trump was convinced by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to take a more balanced view of the situation. Since then, the president has repeatedly called, to no apparent avail, on all parties to the Gulf dispute to settle their differences and focus on uniting to fight the Islamic State and other terrorist groups. But the diplomatic conflict among them persists, with the Saudis, Emiratis and Qataris each spending millions in this country on lobbyists, public relations groups and campaigns to denigrate each other and showcase their close relations with the United States.

Hall of Famer Terrell Owens is still in amazing shape, and he apparently hasn't given up on a potential return to professional football. Owens last played in the NFL in 2010, though he spent 20 days with the Seahawks in 2012. Owens has remained adamant that he could still perform at a high level if a team gave him the chance, however, claiming that he could still deliver "800 to 1,000 yards" a season in the right system back in 2016. Last year, Owens said it was a "joke" that he wasn't on the field. On Tuesday, Owens shared some footage from a workout in L.A., and called out Odell Beckham Jr. and Dez Bryant to come train with him.

Rapper Wale has joined the Warner Bros. Records roster and is due to release his sixth full-length album in 2018. He arrives at the Warner Music Group label via Rock Ross’ Maybach Music Group and immediately drops a brand new track, “Black Bonnie” (feat. Jacquees), today. Wale’s previous three albums were released by Atlantic Records, a subsidiary of WMG, so his WBR deal is a homecoming of sorts. The signing was celebrated at a dinner at Crustacean in Beverly Hills on May 15 attended by Ross, WMG CEO Stephen Cooper and WBR co-chairman and COO Tom Corson as well as influential curators, like Spotify’s Carl Chery, and other executives from the greater Warner family. Said Corson in announcing the signing: “[Wale] is a pillar in the hip-hop community and beyond; with his cultural relevance and lyrical prose, he continues to elevate the game. Wale is truly a force to be reckoned with and we look forward to a successful partnership for years to come.” “I felt their passion, commitment, and enthusiasm from day one,” added Wale. “They believed in my vision wholeheartedly, and I am ready to show and prove.” Wale first came onto the scene in 2006 and saw his first release, “Mixtape About Nothing,” two years later. The collection’s nod to “Seinfeld” garnered widespread acclaim and launched Wale’s music career. Subsequent albums “Ambition” (2011), “The Gifted” (2013) and “The Album About Nothing” (2015) all charted in the Top 3 of the Billboard 200 while his 2011 single “Lotus Flower Bomb” was a hit featuring Miguel.

Lele Pons, a Latina digital star with a massive social-media following of over 35 million, is the new host of “La Voz México,” the Mexican version of “The Voice” singing competition. The top-rated “La Voz México” is produced by Televisa will air on its Televisa flagship network in Mexico. The show is based on the original format developed by Endemol Shine. The next season of “La Voz México,” hosted by Pons, will premiere Oct. 14, 2018. Eleonora “Lele” Pons was born in Caracas, Venezuela. After rising to fame with her comedic Vine videos, she’s made the leap to platforms including Instagram, where she has 24 million fans and was the most-watched celeb on Instagram Stories, and YouTube, where she has 9.6 million subscribers. Last year, the 21-year-old digital influencer co-hosted MTV Latin America’s MTV MIAW awards (originally called the MTV Millennial Awards). She also was a presenter at the 2017 Latin Grammy Awards and Univision’s Premio Lo Nuestro 2018 awards. Among other projects, Pons starred in YouTube Red’s 2016 “We Love You” romantic comedy and co-wrote her first book, “Surviving High School,” a novel about her experiences with bullying. Pons, a classically trained opera singer, also has launched a new foray into music: Earlier this month, she released her first single with Matt Hunter, “Dicen,” which already has over 22 million views on YouTube. She’s also collaborated in videos with such artists as Justin Bieber, Marshmello, Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Anitta and Zedd.

YouTube today made a positive move with the creator community by dramatically expanding music credits on the platform. According to an announcement, “Music in this video” credits the artist, songwriter, label and publishers behind than half a billion music videos. The feature will provide credits and music discovery information on both music videos as well as user-generated content that features recorded music. The move follows a similar recent one by Spotify, although theirs does not include publisher information. More information and visuals can be found in this blog post. The move has received several high-profile cosigns. Elton John said, “Songwriters are the heart and the soul of songs, so it’s wonderful seeing them get the credit they deserve. There is so much more we can do to establish a better situation for music creators and this is great step forward.” Björn Ulvaeus of Abba noted, “The songwriter is every bit as important as the artist and deserves recognition. This is a great initiative.” Martin Bandier, Chairman and CEO of Sony/ATV, the world’s largest music-publishing company, said, “Songwriters are essential to the success of the music industry, but too often their critical role gets overlooked. It is why I have long called for all online music services to properly acknowledge their contribution by displaying writer credits. This move by YouTube is an important step forward to deliver that goal and one which Sony/ATV welcomes. Robert Ashcroft, CEO of the performing rights society PRS, said, “Unlike with CDs, and LPs before that, songwriters are not generally credited for their work on digital services and platforms; I welcome the steps that YouTube is taking to right this wrong and look forward to supporting their efforts on behalf of all our members.” Veteran hitmaker Rodney Jerkins said, “I’m known to the public as a music creator, but I consume music just as much as I create it. “As a consumer, I remember as far back as when I was a young boy and I would read the credits inside the CD jackets. When I read, “produced by,” I wanted to know the significance of these credits and know more about who was being credited. These credit inserts inside the CDs encouraged me to learn more about the creative process of song writing and production and lead me to be a successful music producer. As a curious consumer, my appetite for this song information is still as strong as it was when I was a kid. “As a long-time music creator, my experience has revealed to me how extremely critical it is for all music creators to have access to accurate song credits. The ability to identify a contributor to a song production–and how they contributed–makes future collaborations much more efficient and productive, which leads to less frustration for the creator, and better quality music for the consumer. In today’s digital world, achieving accurate and comprehensive song credits is more attainable than ever. What YouTube has done by making credits a priority to its platform, will allow a better music experience for all.”

When it comes to performing live, the band remains the gold (and platinum) standard. U2’s May 15 opener of its two-night stay at Los Angeles’ Fabulous Forum (the second is tonight) marked just a little under a year since the band sold out two dates at the Rose Bowl on their victory lap “Joshua Tree” tour, which ended up grossing $316 million for just 51 shows. Presumably, those who craved hearing the likes of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “With or Without You,” “Bullet the Blue Sky” or “Where the Streets Have No Name” got their fill last time, because none of those concert staples is on the current set-list for the band’s new Experience + Innocence tour. This latest trek builds upon the previous 10-city North American outing in which the album titles were reversed. Like that series of shows, the new indoor-arena concerts once more boast a giant, two-sided LED screen that bifurcates the venue three-quarters of the way from front to back, allowing the band to interact with the images. Featuring a catwalk that leads to a secondary stage, if rock ‘n’ roll is indeed in senescence, U2’s current tour ups the ante for both the future arena concert (with its sphere-like wraparound video and cell-phone-generated augmented reality stunts) and the do-not-resuscitate concept album. All of which follows a timeline that incorporates the group’s history – from the war-torn streets of Dublin to the “last band that matters” elder statesmen. The tour may have begun just two weeks ago, May 3, in Tulsa, but the group is already a well-oiled machine. Refusing to lean on nostalgia or the hits, the Experience + Innocence tour relies heavily on U2’s last two albums, with nearly half (12) of the 26-song, two-and-a-half-hour show devoted to them (nine from “Experience,” three from “Innocence”). Throw in such deep, rarely-played-live cuts as “October” entries “Gloria” and “The Ocean,” “Pop” track “Staring at the Sun” and the most pointedly political song of the night, “Achtung Baby” Trump-le-oeil skewering “Acrobat” (in which Bono dons a top-hat and goes white face a la Rolling Thunder Dylan or Cabaret MC Joel Grey to evince his “Sympathy for the Devil” Mr. MacPhisto character from the notorious Zoo TV tour) and you have the recipe for consumer unrest. Nonetheless, when it comes to performing live, U2 remains the gold (and platinum) standard, the one band you’d show to future intelligent races to explain just how much emotional succor white, middle-class boomers and Gen Xers receive from four Irish expats — men who wrap themselves in red, white and blue, as U2 did for “American Soul,” their love letter to the country and the music they revere. Like the giant LED, the set is divvied into two halves, opening with Bono solo behind the screen, his face projected and split into various abstractions, crooning, “Love is All We Have Left,” bookended near the end by “Love is Bigger Than Anything,” echoing the band’s oft-described Christian roots. The set list veers song to song from despair (“Blackout”) to hope (“Lights of Home”), youthful exuberance (“I Will Follow”) to desperation (“Red Flag Day”), culminating in a four-song interlude from the previous “Innocence” tour that ends the first half, capturing Bono and the band’s early days surrounded by violence (“Cedarwood Road,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “Raised by Wolves”) and punctuated by the death of his mother (and subsequent refusal by his father to acknowledge the loss) while still a teenager (“Iris [Hold Me Close]”). “Boy searches for manhood and loses his innocence,” Bono explains, unveiling the show’s mythic themes of loss and discovery. “Wisdom is the recovery of innocence at the far range of experience,” reads a message on the sprawling screen. The final half of Experience + Innocence features an interpolation of David Bowie’s “Jean Genie” in the middle of “Vertigo,” a Bono harp solo at the close of “Desire” and The Edge’s going acoustic on the deep “Pop” track, “Staring at the Sun,” which Bono describes as from the band’s “psychedelic period in the ‘90s.” “Acrobat” and “Staring at the Sun” are both accompanied by horrific images of torchlight-bearing Nazis marching through the streets of Charlottesville, while a lunar landscape is utilized as a backdrop for a yearning “You’re the Best Thing About Me.” The band goes into fabled North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith’s four-corner offense for its surging Martin Luther King tribute, “Pride (In the Name of Love),” an individual band member occupying each point in a square that stretches across the entire floor. “We dream with our eyes open, our hearts open, our hands open, our minds open,” preaches Reverend Bono, indicating we can’t experience the American dream if we’re not awake, a clear nod to a welcoming immigration stance. Kendrick Lamar’s fiery rap opens the kinetic “American Soul,” with The Edge, as he’s done all night, carving out rich, thick melodies using Picasso-like riff sketches. Say what you will about Bono’s ego-stroking flair, but when he’s in revivalist mode, there’s no rock frontman more inspiring. “We need each other,” he insists. “There is no them, only us,” as an intro to their hopeful benediction “One,” accompanied by a pair of #metoo-inspired hashtag movements in #womenoftheworldtakeover (“because if you don’t, the world will come to an end”) and #povertyissexist. Bono asks at one point, “What’s the future like, Edge?” “It’s better,” his lifelong sidekick offers, as the concert closes with “13 (There is a Light),” a message to his own kids and future generations. “If there is a dark/Now we shouldn’t doubt / And there is a light / Don’t let it go out.” With that, Mr. Hewson plucks a giant light bulb from an onstage replica of his childhood home, echoing the very same image that began the “Innocence” tour and closes this one, leaving us with a feeling of both empowerment and infinite possibility. Maybe U2 – and its fans – have finally found what we’ve been looking for all along. Concert Review: U2 Light Up the Forum on Experience + Innocence Tour

DJ Khaled and Kendrick Lamar topped this year’s BET Awards nominations, with six and five nods, respectively, including video of the year, best collaboration, and album of the year. Lamar has two noms in the album category for both his solo effort “DAMN.” and “Black Panther: The Album,” which he spearheaded. DJ Khaled also has a record in the race with “Grateful,” plus more nominations for his collaborative work with Rihanna, Bryson Tiller, Jay-Z, Future, and Beyonce, as well as his video for “Wild Thoughts.” Lamar was also recognized for his collaboration with Rihanna on “Loyalty” and the video for “Humble.” Both are also up for best male hip hop artist. Other 2018 nominees include Migos, with four nods, including best group and album of the year; and SZA with four nods as well, including best female R&B/pop artist and best new artist. Tiffany Haddish, Lupita Nyong’o, Taraji P. Henson, Chadwick Boseman, Donald Glover, and Sterling K. Brown are among the stars up for acting awards. The 2018 BET Awards will take place on June 24 at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater. Here is the complete list of nominees. Best Female R&B / Pop Artist Award Beyonce SZA H.E.R. Rihanna Kehlani Best Male R&B / Pop Artist Award Bruno Mars Chris Brown The Weeknd Khalid Daniel Caesar Best Group Award Migos A Tribe Called Quest N.E.R.D. Rae Sremmurd Chloe X Halle Best Collaboration Award Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B – “Finesse (Remix)” DJ Khaled feat. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller – “Wild Thoughts” DJ Khaled feat. Jay-Z, Future & Beyonce – “Top Off” Cardi B feat. 21 Savage – “Bartier Cardi” French Montana feat. Swae Lee – “Unforgettable” Kendrick Lamar feat. Rihanna – “LOYALTY.” Best Male Hip Hop Artist Award Drake Kendrick Lamar DJ Khaled Jay-Z J. Cole Best Female Hip Hop Artist Award Cardi B Nicki Minaj Remy Ma DeJ Loaf Rapsody Video of the Year Award Drake – “God’s Plan” Cardi B – “Bodak Yellow” Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B – “Finesse (Remix)” DJ Khaled feat. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller – “Wild Thoughts” Kendrick Lamar – “HUMBLE.” Migos feat. Drake – “Walk It Talk It” Video Director of the Year Award Benny Boom Director X Ava Duvernay Chris Brown Dave Meyers Best New Artist Award SZA H.E.R. Daniel Caesar GOLDLINK A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award Lecrae feat. Tori Kelly – “I’ll Find You” Snoop Dogg feat. B. Slade – “Words Are Few” Ledisi & Kirk Franklin – “If You Don’t Mind” Marvin Sapp – “Close” Tasha Cobbs Leonard feat. Nicki Minaj – “I’m Getting Ready” The Best International Act Award Booba (France) Cassper Nyovest (South Africa) Dadju (France) Davido (Nigeria) Distruction Boyz (South Africa) Fally Ipupa (Congo) J Hus (U.K.) Niska (France) Tiwa Savage (Nigeria) Stefflon Don (U.K.) Stormzy (U.K.) Best Actress Award Tiffany Haddish Lupita Nyong’o Issa Rae Angela Bassett Letitia Wright Taraji P. Henson Best Actor Award Chadwick Boseman Michael B. Jordan Donald Glover Sterling K. Brown Denzel Washington Daniel Kaluuya Young Stars Award Yara Shahidi Ashton Tyler Caleb McLaughlin Lonnie Chavis Marsai Martin Miles Brown Best Movie Award “Black Panther” “Girls Trip” “A Wrinkle in Time” “Detroit” “Mudbound” Sportswoman of the Year Award Serena Williams Venus Williams Skylar Diggins-Smith Candace Parker Elana Meyers Taylor Sportsman of the Year Award Stephen Curry LeBron James Kevin Durant Dwyane Wade Odell Beckham Jr. Album of the Year Award “DAMN.” – Kendrick Lamar “Ctrl” – SZA “4:44” – Jay-Z “Culture II” – Migos “Black Panther: The Album” – Kendrick Lamar & Various Artists “Grateful” – DJ Khaled BET Her Award Janelle Monae – “Django Jane” Lizzo – “Water Me” Mary J. Blige – “Strength of a Woman” Remy Ma feat. Chris Brown – “Melanin Magic (Pretty Brown)” Chloe X Halle – “The Kids Are Alright” Leikeli47 – “2nd Fiddle” Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice Award SZA feat. Travis Scott – “Love Galore” Cardi B – “Bodak Yellow” Kendrick Lamar – “HUMBLE.” Drake – “God’s Plan” Migos feat. Cardi B & Nicki Minaj – “Motor Sport” DJ Khaled feat. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller – “Wild Thoughts”

Dwayne Johnson has confirmed the start date for Disney's Jungle Cruise movie. The live-action film is based on the Adventureland theme park ride and takes loose inspiration from the type of globe-trotting Hollywood adventure movies that Indiana Jones (also an Adventureland ride in Disneyland) is descended from. Jungle Cruise's visual effects supervisor Jake Morrison has even referred to the film as "Dwayne Johnson's Indiana Jones", lest anyone think that Disney and The Rock aren't hoping for a franchise out of this one. Naturally, both Johnson and Mirrson have name-dropped Pirates of the Caribbean as another source of inspiration for the Jungle Cruise movie. The whimsical ride turned blockbuster series seems to have finally run out of gas after five movies, but it was the hot new thing in Hollywood when Gore Verbinski's The Curse of the Black Pearl hit the scene in 2003. According to Johnson, Verbinski's film (itself as much a throwback to Errol Flynn's swashbucklers as an adaptation of the Disney park ride) left a lasting impression on him, starting from the very first trailer. The Rock posted a video to Instagram that shows him about to sign what he says is "the biggest contract of my career" for Jungle Cruise. During the video, Johnson announces that Jungle Cruise begins shooting in Hawaii next week on Monday, May 21 and reveals that he's dreamed of starring in a movie based on an "iconic" Disney ride ever since he saw The Curse of the Black Pearl trailer (and, presumably, the actual movie). In typical fashion, the actor then ends his social media update on a funny, self-effacing note. Jungle Cruise the movie takes place in the early 20th century and follows riverboat captain Frank (Johnson) as he takes a scientist (Emily Blunt) and her brother (Jack Whitehall) on a journey to find a mystical tree in South America. Edgar Ramírez and Jesse Plemons costar as a pair of villains who, naturally, want the film's magical MacGuffin for themselves and compete with Frank in the race to find the tree first. Rounding out the ensemble is Paul Giamatti as a harbormaster who, while not necessarily a bad guy, is decidedly "crusty". Pretty much everything Johnson turns to box office gold nowadays and save for Indiana Jones 5 (which isn't arriving until 2020), there aren't any other studio tentpoles competing for the same niche as Jungle Cruise. The film is being directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who is similar to Verbinski in that his background in schlocky B-movies (Non-Stop, The Shallows) makes him an intriguing pick to adapt a Disney theme park ride for the big screen. Jungle Cruise may not become the box office behemoth that Pirates of the Caribbean was, but it has enough working in its favor to give Johnson and Disney the hit they're hoping for.

T'Challa may not be the only one to suit up in Black Panther 2 and beyond. The introduction of Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War paved the way for him and his country of Wakanda to be a prominent force in the MCU moving forward. Fans instantly became fans of what Chadwick Boseman brought to the role, but director Ryan Coogler's ability to flesh out the world in Black Panther helped make it a box office juggernaut. One of the biggest parts of Black Panther that audiences responded to was the richness of the world and these characters. T'Challa's solo film is more of an ensemble, since it gave Okoye (Danai Gurira), Shuri (Letitia Wright), Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), M'Baku (Winston Duke), and Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) plenty of time to shine. Fans are even already waiting for the day Shuri becomes the new Black Panther, and it may not be too long before someone else other than T'Challa suits up. Screen Rant spoke to Black Panther producer Nate Moore as part of the film's release on home video. During the interview, we asked him about the chances of seeing other versions of Black Panther on the big screen. Even though the role is still Boseman's, they aren't putting any mandates that he must be the only one to take on this mantle. One thing I like to tell Ryan is, the Black Panther is a mantle as much as it is a person, so we're not restricted by anything, because the truth is, there's a lot of different ways to go back to Wakanda and have a good time and continue to explore the themes that made the first film so resonant. If Marvel does decide to have some fun and give different characters the chance to be the Black Panther, they've got quite a few different options to play with. The suit is traditionally for whoever is the ruler of Wakanda and there is precedence in the comics for Shuri to become the Black Panther. Whether that happens in the immediate future or isn't until Black Panther 5, Shuri seems like the best bet to explore as a different take. However, Nakia could one day have a path to the title if she and T'Challa marry. There's also the chance that M'Baku could become the ruler of Wakanda eventually, providing for a very different take on the character. As interesting as it may be to see some other versions of Black Panther, that is hopefully something that isn't going to happen for an extended period of time. Boseman is terrific as T'Challa and only has three appearances (and just one solo movie) done so far. There's still room to explore the character even if he isn't the Black Panther, which was a big part of Black Panther, but we still need to see how his reign plays out for a few more films. One day down the line it'll be time for someone else to become the Black Panther, but right now there's still plenty to do with Boseman's take.

Epix has given a series order to “Pennyworth,” a Batman prequel focusing on the early life of Bruce Wayne’s butler and surrogate father Alfred Pennyworth. Hailing from Warner Horizon Scripted Television and “Gotham” executive producers Bruno Heller and Danny Cannon, “Pennyworth” will tell the story of the title character’s time as a former special-forces officer living in London and working for Bruce Wayne’s father, Thomas Wayne. The series will not be directly related to “Gotham,” on which Pennyworth is played by Sean Pertwee, but will give a new take on the character. Said Michael Wright, President, Epix, “As genuine fans of these classic DC characters, as well as the incredibly talented Bruno Heller and Danny Cannon, we couldn’t be more excited to make Epix the home of this series. We can’t wait to work with Bruno and Danny – along with Peter Roth, Susan Rovner, Brett Paul and the team at Warner Horizon – on this fantastic origin story.” Heller and Cannon said, “Michael and his colleagues have created the perfect venue for original storytelling, and all of us working on ‘Pennyworth’ are thrilled to be on the Epix slate.” “Gotham” is set to end its run on Fox with a 13-episode final season in 2018-19.

“It: Chapter 2” has found another addition to its cast of Losers, as Andy Bean is set to play Stanley in “It: Chapter 2,” as per sources . Earlier on Wednesday, James Ransone announced in a since-deleted tweet that he would be playing adult Eddie in the pic. Young Stanley was played by Wyatt Oleff in the first film, and Bean now joins Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, and Bill Hader, who play Beverly, Bill, and Richie, respectively, in the sequel. Bill Skarsgard is also set to return as Pennywise. Director Andy Muschietti is back to direct, with Gary Dauberman penning the script. The sequel will bow on Sept. 6, 2019, with production expected to start this summer. “Chapter One” of “It” followed the first half of Stephen King’s eponymous novel, telling the story of a group of children who are terrorized by Pennywise the Clown and forced to face their own demons to defeat him. “Chapter Two” will follow the last half of the novel, when the characters return to their hometown years later as adults to face Pennywise once again. The first film was a massive hit, grossing $700 million worldwide, including $327 domestically. Bean was most recently seen in the HBO series “Here and Now” and the Starz series “Power.” He is repped by TalentWorks and Magnolia Entertainment.