To the POINT DN

Editor’s Message

The curious case of Carlee Russell

I don’t know what happened to Carlee Russell (the young woman who was missing for 48 hours in Alabama) but I’m dumbfounded by the number of folks who immediately cast doubt on her story because she was found. Could it be that whoever took her felt like it was too much media attention so they dumped her? (Shout out to the amount of media coverage this story got because you know usually Black women can’t get a story on the Classifed page). Could it be that she had a mental breakdown? I understand the doubt that “things don’t add up.” But people feeling like their prayers “were wasted” (which I saw a lot of comments about on social media), makes me question, are we as a society jaded to immediately think the worst? And whether she was truly abducted or something concocted in her head that blew out of control, she’s going to have some healing to do. Of course, I will be disappointed if this turns out to be a hoax, but the main thing is that she’s home. And isn’t THAT what everyone wanted? We’ve got to stop feeling entitled to explanations from people’s trauma. Either pray genuinely or don’t pray at all. Tat’s just my two cents.

Biden back doors student loan forgiveness

payments from borrowers with deferments and forbearances as well as those who made partial or late payments to assist with forgiveness. Tough this is a major feat, cue the complaints that it’s not enough.

Hip-Hop old school vs new school

Dr. Dre is sparking controversy after weighing in on new school rap. During a conversation with Kevin Hart on his Peacock show, Hart to Heart, the legendary producer gave a nuanced answer that did not crush today’s hip-hop but didn’t necessarily give them all of their props either. He said, “Hip-Hop is what it is. Anybody that’s talking about the state of hip-hop right now, when talking about it from a negative place, sounds like somebody’s f**kin’ grandfather. Tis is just what it is. Hip-Hop is evolving. If you don’t like it, don’t listen to it, you know what I’m saying? I’m keepin’ it all the way 100 with you. Most of this sh*t, I don’t like. I don’t listen to. But I’m not hatin’ on it. I’m never gonna hate on it.”

President

Joe Biden is still trying to work on student loan forgiveness, despite a ruling from the Supreme Court striking down his forgiveness plan. Biden’s administration has announced they will automatically forgive $39 billion in student debt for 804,000 borrowers. Tis aid is due to adjustments to the student loan system’s income-driven repayment plans. According to those plans, afer 20-25 years of repayment, borrowers will have the rest of the debt canceled by the government. Tis would vary depending on when they borrowed as well as their plan and loan type. Payments that made borrowers closer to being debt-free weren’t accounted for in the past, per the Biden administration. It will also count

Te criticism from many modern day rappers is that those who look down on today’s hip-hop are playing the exact role that previous generations did when hip-hop frst came into prominence. I agree. Hip-hop is a genre that is meant to evolve. Te core of the genre is taking something that’s already been done and using it to create something unique and fresh. Hip-hop is not going to sound like it did 30 years ago. Just as our parents and grandparents thought Too Live Crew and Too Short were vile and disgusting, today’s rap stands on its own merit for those that appreciate it. Now, having said that…I agree with Dre about today’s hip hop. Te mumbo-jumbo makes my head hurt. I guess that makes me someone’s grandma...

ON THE WEB

• Top 5 Texas’ most Googled injuries

• OpEd: Is Gov. Abbott ‘touched or just cruel & unusual’?

• Buy from a Black Woman + H&M tour