Kobe Bryant and daughter Gigi laid to rest in private ceremony

NBA legend, Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant, were laid to rest in a private ceremony last Friday.

Entertainment Tonight reports that the ceremony was held at Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona Del Mar, California. Although Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, took part in planning a public memorial for the Lakers star and their daughter, she also wanted a private funeral to mourn his loss.

READ MORE: Vanessa Bryant says her ‘brain refuses to accept’ that Kobe and Gigi are gone

“Vanessa and the family wanted a private service to mourn their loss,” a source tells ET. “The ceremony was extremely hard for everyone as it’s still hard for them to grasp they lost two beautiful souls.”

Kobe and Gigi transitioned on January 26 after the helicopter they were riding in tragically crashed in Calabasas, California. Seven other people, including a few of Gianna’s teammates and their parents, lost their lives in the accident. The passengers were headed to a tournament at Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks when their helicopter went down. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

In addition to Vanessa, Kobe and Gigi are survived by three other children, including Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months.

A public memorial service for Kobe and Gianna will be held at 10 a.m. on February 24 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where the athlete played with the Lakers for the entirety of his 20-year career. The 2-24 date was chosen because “24” is the jersey number Kobe wore and “2” was Gigi’s jersey number.

The memorial will be attended by family, friends, NBA players and officials, season ticket holders and local politicians, according to TMZ Sports. The remaining seats will be ticketed and offered up to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

READ MORE: Date set for Kobe Bryant and Gigi’s public memorial service at Staples Center

So far, there has been no word as to how the public can get tickets. However, police say if people don’t have tickets, they won’t be allowed to come near the Staples Center that day. Police plan to block the streets near the Staples Center to enhance security and control traffic.

The memorial will be broadcast on TV and police are encouraging people who don’t have tickets to stay home and watch it.

The post Kobe Bryant and daughter Gigi laid to rest in private ceremony appeared first on TheGrio.

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White Supremacist Propaganda Doubles for 2nd Straight Year With Subtler Messaging, According to New Report

Distribution of white supremacist materials—from pamphlets to signage to bulletins—spiked by more than 120 percent between 2018 and 2019, says a new report published by the Anti-Defamation League.

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Drake partners with Caffeine app to stream URL rap battles

Rapper and entrepreneur Aubrey “Drake” Graham signed a partnership with new streaming app Caffeine to live stream URL rap battles, according to uproxx.com.

Caffeine is a streaming app geared toward fans of eSports. Their exclusive partnership with Drake will allow the URL to be streamed live for free for the first time since its inception. Prior to this collaboration, URL battles were streamed live on HD pay-per-view but now even the casual fan can watch, too.

In an announcement on CNN.com, Caffeine’s founder, Ben Keighran, explained the rationale for the partnership.  “Drake, if you look at his career in the last ten years, is defined as the biggest artist in the world,” he said. “This is a guy that can catch the attention of not just the entertainment world, but the gaming world as well.  The first thing we’re bringing out with him is not actually a video gaming thing,” Keighran said, noting that the partnership allows Drake to “do whatever he wants.”

The Canadian native has long expressed his love for battle rapping. In 2015, Drake skipped the Grammy ceremony despite being nominated in order to attend a rap battle event called Blackout 5 in his hometown of Toronto in which his brand, OVO, was the sponsor according to blogto.com. He is also no stranger to battle rap in his own right. Throughout his illustrious career, he’s battled with rappers like Meek Mill, Tory Lanez, Pusha T, Common along subliminally responding to other rappers who took shots at him.

Last November, the actor partnered with Canopy Growth Corpo. to launch the More Life Growth Co., a fully licensed producer of cannabis, based in Toronto. More Life Growth is centered around wellness, discovery, and overall personal growth with the hope of facilitating connections and shared experiences across the globe. Drake holds a 60% ownership interest in the More Life Growth Co., with Canopy Growth retaining a 40% ownership.

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Drake partners with Caffeine app to stream URL rap battles

Rapper and entrepreneur Aubrey “Drake” Graham signed a partnership with new streaming app Caffeine to live stream URL rap battles, according to uproxx.com.

Caffeine is a streaming app geared toward fans of eSports. Their exclusive partnership with Drake will allow the URL to be streamed live for free for the first time since its inception. Prior to this collaboration, URL battles were streamed live on HD pay-per-view but now even the casual fan can watch, too.

In an announcement on CNN.com, Caffeine’s founder, Ben Keighran, explained the rationale for the partnership.  “Drake, if you look at his career in the last ten years, is defined as the biggest artist in the world,” he said. “This is a guy that can catch the attention of not just the entertainment world, but the gaming world as well.  The first thing we’re bringing out with him is not actually a video gaming thing,” Keighran said, noting that the partnership allows Drake to “do whatever he wants.”

The Canadian native has long expressed his love for battle rapping. In 2015, Drake skipped the Grammy ceremony despite being nominated in order to attend a rap battle event called Blackout 5 in his hometown of Toronto in which his brand, OVO, was the sponsor according to blogto.com. He is also no stranger to battle rap in his own right. Throughout his illustrious career, he’s battled with rappers like Meek Mill, Tory Lanez, Pusha T, Common along subliminally responding to other rappers who took shots at him.

Last November, the actor partnered with Canopy Growth Corpo. to launch the More Life Growth Co., a fully licensed producer of cannabis, based in Toronto. More Life Growth is centered around wellness, discovery, and overall personal growth with the hope of facilitating connections and shared experiences across the globe. Drake holds a 60% ownership interest in the More Life Growth Co., with Canopy Growth retaining a 40% ownership.

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Andrew Yang disappoints supporters and withdraws from 2020 presidential race

Andrew Yang has officially ended his campaign to become president.

On Tuesday in Manchester, New Hampshire, the entrepreneur told his supporters, who came to be known as the “Yang Gang,” that the math didn’t add up to a successful run.

READ MORE: Dave Chappelle joins the ‘Yang Gang’ places his support behind Andrew Yang

“While there is great work left to be done, you know I am the math guy, and it is clear tonight from the numbers that we are not going to win this race,” Yang said, according to CNN. “I am not someone who wants to accept donations and support in a race that we will not win. And so, tonight I am announcing I am suspending my campaign for president.”

Yang said he ultimately decided to hang it up when he was “persuaded that the message of this campaign will not be strengthened by my staying in this race any longer.”

Still, Yang pointed out the success of his campaign in that it propelled him to outlast “over a dozen senators, governors and members of Congress to become the most exciting force in this entire race.”

“The Yang Gang has fundamentally shifted the direction of this country and transformed our politics, and we are only continuing to grow,” Yang said, reported CNN.

Yang became a presidential candidate in 2017, although few paid attention to him back then. He told CNN even his family asked “president of what” when he told them he was running. He would go on to build a devoted campaign by backing such measures as a universal basic income and the legalization of marijuana.

READ MORE: Andrew Yang calls on LeBron James to join the Yang Gang

Yang had a poor showing in Iowa, receiving just 1 percent of the vote, despite spending millions of dollars and a lot of time campaigning in the final weeks before the caucuses. His showing was also dismal in New Hampshire.

People will be sure to follow Yang’s next move to see what role, if any, he may be presented with by Democrats.

The post Andrew Yang disappoints supporters and withdraws from 2020 presidential race appeared first on TheGrio.

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