A Paris hotel has apologized to Serena Williams after its 5-star Michelin restaurant turned her away, despite being empty at the time.
Serena took to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday to complain that she was turned away from The Peninsula Hotel restaurant.
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“Yikes @peninsulaparis I’ve been denied access to a rooftop to eat in an empty restaurant of nicer places [sic] but never with my kids. Always a first.”
A Community Note added context to her post, saying the retired tennis champ was not denied access. “Rather, the restaurant was fully booked.”
In response to her post, the hotel wrote on it’s official X account that they were in fact “fully booked” that night.
The Peninsula Hotel wrote: “Dear Mrs Williams, Please accept our deepest apologies for the disappointment you encountered tonight.”
“Unfortunately, our rooftop bar was indeed fully booked and the only unoccupied tables you saw belonged to our gourmet restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, which was fully reserved. We have always been honored to welcome you and will always be to welcome you again.”
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Serena, who speaks French fluently, is currently in Paris with her husband, Alexis Ohanian, and their two daughters Olympia, 6, and Adira, born August 2023.
Serena joined other stars who were torchbearers in the Olympics’ opening ceremony.
The tennis legend has won four Olympic gold medals during her career.
Simone Biles fell off the balance beam during the gymnastics finals at the Paris Olympics because the arena was too quiet.
“None of us liked it,” she said afterwards.
During her routine, Simone landed awkwardly and fell off the end of the beam.
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She got back on the beam and finished her routine.
Simone was one of four gymnasts to fall off the beam during the unusually quiet and “weird” finals on Monday.
Simone and teammate Sunisa Lee are used to music and noise in the gym while they practice. Simone said the beam finals was “really weird and awkward.”
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“The beam final is always the most stressful, but usually we have like, music or background noise, whatever that may be,” Simone said. “And honestly we do better in environments when there’s noise going on because it feels most like practice.”
She added: “So today, like, you could hear some of the Android ringtones going off, the photo clickers, whatever that was, and so you know you’re trying to stay in your zone, and then people start cheering and then the shushing gets louder.”
“We’ve asked several times if we can have some music or some background noise. I’m not really sure what happened there, but yeah, not our favorite. None of us liked it,” Simone continued.
Italy’s Alice D’Amato won the gold in the balance beam. Simone finished 5th.
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Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won the gold medal in the floor final. Simone (left) won the silver, and teammate Jordan Chiles (right) took home the bronze.
Simone won 4 medals — including 3 gold — at the Paris Olympic Games. She has now won a total of 11 Olympic medals – 7 of them gold.
She is the second most decorated women’s gymnast of all time.
Former President Donald Trump commented on rapper Young Thug’s YSL RICO case in Fulton County, Georgia. Trump said Young Thug is being “treated unfairly.”
Trump appeared on Adin Ross’s livestream on Monday, Aug, 5, where he discussed Vice President Kamala Harris, the economy, and the Black Journalists conference that he attended recently.
Then the conversation turned to jailed rapper Young Thug (Jeffery Williams) who was arrested in 2022 on RICO charges.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis also indicted Trump on RICO charges last year.
The RICO statute originally targeted mob figures, drug dealers, and other organized crime.
“I heard it from other people where they say [Young Thug] is being treated very unfairly. He’s got to be treated fairly,” Trump said, as the audience applauded behind him.
Young Thug faces life in prison if convicted on over 50 felony counts or murder and gang charges.
Last month, a judge removed Judge Ural Glanville from Young Thug’s case after he held a secret meeting in his chambers with a key witness without informing the defense.
Donald Trump speaks on Young Thug and his RICO case on Adin Ross’ stream.
Mobs of rioters in Middlesbrough UK blocked traffic at a major intersection to ask drivers their skin color.
In a livestream video, rioters set up checkpoints in the street to ask drivers if they were “white and English” before letting them through.
UK RACISTS STOP CARS TO CHECK SKIN COLOUR
Among the many repellent scenes of racist violence and abuse coming out of the UK this weekend was this in Middlesbrough in the North of England: far-right yobs blocking traffic to check if the drivers are White. The video shows… pic.twitter.com/fmogwkua2s
Rapper T.I. was arrested at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport on Sunday night.
According to TMZ, the “U Don’t Know Me” rapper, who was born Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., was taken into custody because he shares a similar name with a man wanted in Maryland.
TMZ reported that a man named Clifford Harris has a warrant out for his arrest in Baltimore. The suspect is wanted for domestic violence toward a woman and stalking in June.
When T.I. attempted to go through airport security in Atlanta, he triggered alarm bells, which led to his arrest.
He was taken from the airport to Clayton County Jail and booked while awaiting an extradition hearing.
“Since the warrant was issued out of state, the arrest triggered an automatic extradition hearing,” TMZ reported.
T.I.’s attorney, Steve Sadow, told TMZ T.I. was released within 2 hours of his arrest after a phone call to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.
Jhene Aiko’s fans dragged her longtime boyfriend, Big Sean, for refusing to marry her after 8 years together.
The rapper responded to the backlash by explaining that Jhene has a lot of work to do before he will propose to her.
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“It’s a little personal, you know what I mean?” Sean told Power 105.1 FM host Charlamange on Friday, August 2. “But just to be real with you, like any people who have dealt with love, we’ve had our ups and downs, you know what I’m saying? And I think it’s still finding the right navigation through it all.”
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Sean continued: “To me, marriage symbolizes like the best relationship… I would like to, and I don’t like putting our personal business out there like that either, but there’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” Sean added.
Charlamange offered some advice: “Well, take it from somebody who’s been with their woman for twenty-six years, right? It’s always gonna be ups and downs, period. The work’s never gonna stop.”
Sean, 36, was engaged to “Glee” actress Naya Rivera. But they called off the wedding in April 2014. She died by drowning in 2020 at age 33.
After dating pop star Ariana Grande from 2015 to 2016, Sean began dating Jhene, also 36. The couple welcomed a son, Noah, in November 2022.
American Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles laughed off criticism of his painted nails.
Lyles won the 100 meters at the Paris Olympics in 9.79 seconds to become the World’s Fastest Man.
Lyles, 27, spoke exclusively to Us Weekly about some of the criticism he faced for showing up to the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony with the word “ICON” painted on his nails.
“I’m a person who knows that a lot of people have different opinions and they have them for different reasons,” Lyles told Us Weekly via Zoom from the Olympic Village in Paris.
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“To be honest, I’m so confident in myself that it doesn’t really matter. I think it’s funny at times.”
Retired NBA star Dwyane Wade, who has a trans child, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “And he got his nails painted. Say something.”
One X user wrote: “I genuinely don’t have a problem with Noah Lyles. I like the energy he brings to the sport. But that painting of the nails s–t [is] for the ladies bruh.”
Another person wrote, “Noah Lyles has his nails painted …This is just at the halfway point of the opening ceremony. Disturbing thus far.”
Lyles has a chance to win another gold medal in the men’s 200m final on Tuesday, August 6, in Paris.
He is seen celebrating with his coach after winning the first gold medal for the U.S. in the men’s 100m in 20 years.
The Democrats claim the image compares the enthusiasm for Michelle Obama in 2008 with the excitement Harris’ nomination has generated today.
However, X user Raheem Kassam says the Democrats posted the photo to show who’s really calling all the shots.
Kassam wrote: “For those wondering, this picture is from DNC 08, during Michelle Obama’s speech. It’s their way of telling you who is really in charge, as has been the case since 2008: the Obamas.”
For those wondering, this picture is from DNC 08, during Michelle Obama’s speech. It’s their way of telling you who is really in charge, as has been the case since 2008: the Obamas. pic.twitter.com/ASOH7uYJ79
The NYPD Gun Violence Suppression Division executed a massive pre-dawn raid in the Bronx on July 31.
Over 30 gang members were arrested and charged with 176 felony counts.
18-year-old aspiring drill rapper Nay Benz (pictured above) was the most prominent gang banger arrested.
Benz, whose real name is Nadine Asamoah, is a gang leader and “trigger puller.” Benz and other members of the Slattery gang are accused of terrorizing their Bronx neighborhood.
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Nay Benz raps about killing opps on “Jail Freestyle” — her first track since being released from jail in March.
I’ll let it flock ’cause I’m lovin’ the sound
Give a f**k if his mother around
Me and bro two deep tryna put ’em down
Spot him, we got him, he dead on the ground
“Every single drill [rap song] is exclusively about shooting the ops. And it’s really disparaging. You know, disgraceful if you will,” Assistant Chief Jason Savino said. “They describe the way individuals fall when they’re shot. They describe individuals as they’re laying there, really clinging on to life, and disparaging remarks, and really mocking the opposing gangs.”
One by one, unrepentant gang bangers were perp-walked in front of news cameras. The age of the suspects ranged from 16 to 26.
FOX 5 New York
Several women were arrested, including a suspect who is 8 months pregnant. “I love you, babe!” she shouted at her gang banger boyfriend.
When FOX 5 reporter Lisa Evers asked if a suspect is a “trigger puller”, the suspect replied: “I don’t pull no triggers, the only thing I pull is your mother.”
“When you look at these videos, there is no remorse. There’s no regret,” Chief Savino said. “They are absolutely firing bullets without remorse, regret, and without regard for anybody that’s around.”
Chief Savino called the suspects “some of the worst” gang bangers he has ever seen.
The investigation, which began last July, was accelerated possibly because Vice President Kamala Harris will accept the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this month.
Harris, a former prosecutor, is known to be tough on gang crime.
