Swiss-based venture capital firm, BaseTech Ventures AG joins tecnet equity in FOEX’s Board of Directors to support the company’s growth strategy.

A crocodile bit the arm off a tourist in a Mexican lagoon, according to a report Monday.

“The road to El Dorado starts now!”

This new challenge brought together the likes of Shonda Rhimes and Weird Al.

“How many of us would be here now, without the immigrants and the refugees?”

Because nobody puts baby in a box.

Because nobody puts baby in a box.

Yara Shahidi won the Youngstars Award at the 2017 BET Awards on Sunday night and delivered a speech that exemplified exactly why she was so deserving of the honor. 

The 17-year-old “Black-ish” star expressed gratitude for her peer group, fans and family before taking a moment to acknowledge the late Tamir Rice, who would have turned 15 years old on Sunday. Rice, who was killed in a fatal police encounter in 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio after a cop, is one of many young black men who have died during encounters with police and Shahidi took it upon herself to recognize him onstage before thousands of audiences members and viewers at home.

“Today is Tamir Rice’s birthday, and so admist this celebration I’d love to honor his life,” Shahidi said. She also acknowledge BET “for celebrating our culture so beautifully when it isn’t celebrated everywhere else as it should be.” 

Shahidi, who is heading to Harvard University next fall, has been outspoken about the injustices black people face and has consistently used her voice and platform to raise awareness around police brutality and racism in America. 

“Thank you for supporting blackness and our contributions to society,” she said to the crowd onstage. “This is so appreciated and so necessary for my generation to see.” 

Watch her full acceptance speech above. 

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“She’s Gotta Have It” is among Spike Lee’s standout films, and now the groundbreaking 1986 movie is being adapted into a 10-episode series for Netflix. 

On Sunday, Netflix aired a special commercial during the BET Awards featuring its black-led shows that ended with a teaser for Lee’s new series, announcing that it will be released this Thanksgiving. It officially marks Lee’s first TV series. 

The film, which followed a young black woman in Brooklyn ― played by actress Tracy Camilla  ― who is busy juggling life, school, friends and lovers, became an instant classic and grossed more than $7 million at the box office. It also helped to catapult Lee’s career and helped pave the way for black independent filmmakers. 

“‘She’s Gotta Have It’ has a very special place in my heart,” Lee said about the film, according to Deadline. “We shot this film in 12 days [two six-day weeks] way back in the back back of the hot summer of 1985 for a mere total of $175,000. Funds that we begged, borrowed and whatnot to get that money.” 

“We are getting an opportunity to revisit these memorable characters who will still be relevant and avant-garde 3 decades later,” he wrote. 

Lee is set to direct all episodes of the TV series, which will also be executive produced by his wife, Tonya Lee Lewis, whom he gave credit for pitching the idea to transform the film into a series. 

“It was my wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, producer in her own right, who had the vision to take my film from the big screen and turn it into an episodic series,” he said. “It had not occurred to me at all. Tonya saw it plain as day. I didn’t.”

Check out Netflix’s announcement drop in the video above. 

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The BET Awards is undoubtedly one of the biggest nights celebrating black excellence in the entertainment industry. 

Iconic stars filled into the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday to celebrate the work of distinguished artists across the fields of music, film and more.

Beyoncé dominated the list of nominees with a total of five nominations, given the influence of her latest album, “Lemonade,” while her sister, Solange, was also up for several awards from her latest release, “A Seat at the Table.” Rappers J. Cole and Chance The Rapper were nominated for awards across various music categories, while stars like Taraji P. Henson and Mahershala Ali were up for awards in acting categories. 

Check out the full list of nominees below and the winners who were announced throughout the night:

Best Female R&B/Pop Artist
Beyoncé
Kehlani
Mary J. Blige
Rihanna
Solange

Best Male R&B/Pop Artist
Bruno Mars
Chris Brown
The Weeknd
Trey Songz
Usher

Best Group
2 Chainz & Lil Wayne
A Tribe Called Quest
Fat Joe & Remy Ma
Migos
Rae Sremmurd

Best Collaboration
Beyoncé Ft. Kendrick Lamar — “Freedom”
Chance The Rapper Ft. 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne — “No Problem”
Chris Brown Ft. Gucci Mane & Usher — “Party”
DJ Khaled Ft. Beyoncé & Jay Z — “Shining”
Migos Ft. Lil Uzi Vert — “Bad and Boujee”
Rae Sremmurd Ft. Gucci Mane — “Black Beatles”

Best Male Hip-Hop Artist
Big Sean
Chance The Rapper
Drake
Future
J. Cole
Kendrick Lamar

Best Female Hip-Hop Artist
Cardi B
Missy Elliott
Nicki Minaj
Remy Ma
Young M.A.

Video of the Year
Beyoncé — “Sorry”
Big Sean — “Bounce Back”
Bruno Mars — “24K Magic”
Migos Ft. Lil Uzi Vert — “Bad And Boujee”
Solange — “Cranes in the Sky”

Video Director of the Year
Benny Boom
Bruno Mars & Jonathan Lia
Director X
Hype Williams
Kahlil Joseph & Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

Best New Artist
21 Savage
Cardi B
Chance The Rapper
Khalid
Young M.A.

Album of the Year
24K Magic — Bruno Mars
4 Your Eyez Only — J. Cole
A Seat at the Table — Solange
Coloring Book — Chance The Rapper
Lemonade — Beyoncé

Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award
Cece Winans
Fantasia Ft. Tye Tribbett
Kirk Franklin Ft. Sarah Reeves, Tasha Cobbs & Tamela Man
Lecrae
Tamela Mann

Best Actress
Gabrielle Union
Issa Rae
Janelle Monáe
Taraji P. Henson
Viola Davis

Best Actor
Bryshere Y. Gray
Denzel Washington
Donald Glover
Mahershala Ali
Omari Hardwick

Youngstars Award
Ace Hunter
Caleb Mclaughlin
Jaden Smith
Marsai Martin
Yara Shahidi

Best Movie
Fences
Get Out
Hidden Figures
Moonlight
The Birth of a Nation

Sportswoman of the Year Award
Gabby Douglas
Serena Williams
Simone Biles
Skylar Diggins
Venus Williams

Sportsman of the Year Award
Cam Newton
Lebron James
Odell Beckham Jr.
Russell Westbrook
Stephen Curry

Centric Award
Fantasia — “Sleeping with the One I Love”
Kehlani — “Distraction”
Mary J. Blige — “Thick of It”
Solange — “Cranes in the Sky”
Syd — “All About Me”
Yuna — “Crush Ft. Usher”

Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice Award
Beyoncé — “Sorry”
Bruno Mars — “24K Magic”
Drake — “Fake Love”
Migos Ft. Lil Uzi Vert — “Bad And Boujee”
Rae Sremmurd Ft. Gucci Mane — “Black Beatles”
The Weeknd Ft. Daft Punk — Starboy”

Best International Act: Europe
Booba
Mhd
Craig David
Emeli Sandé
Giggs
Skepta
Stormzy
Wiley

Best International Act: Africa
Aka
Babes Wodumo
Davido
Nasty C
Stonebwoy
Tekno
Wizkid
Mr Eazi

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LGBTQ Pride marches ensued across the U.S. this weekend and the signs did not disappoint.

Thousands of people hoisted colorful signs of resistance above their heads as they flooded the streets of New York, Minneapolis, San Francisco and other cities during the annual demonstration.

Many signs carried traditional Pride messages of love and unity while celebrating the LGBTQ community and their push for equal rights throughout history.

Other signs took aim at President Donald Trump, whose administration and policies have been largely condemned by LGBTQ community members. Last week, six top experts resigned from Trump’s advisory council on HIV and AIDS, a major issue affecting the LGBTQ community, over the president’s lack of policies to combat the HIV epidemic.

Other signs demanded justice for those disproportionately affected by police brutality, including people of color and those in the LGBTQ community.

Black Lives Matter activists carrying banners that read “No Justice No Pride” delayed the Pride march in Minneapolis. The demonstrators claimed the event was furthering “white supremacy” by ignoring the verdict that found a policeman not guilty in the shooting death of Philando Castile in a suburb of St. Paul last year.

New York City began its 48th Pride March this year with what some interpreted as a sign from Mother Nature ― a rainbow shining over the city skyline.

Check out the roundup below for some of the most powerful signs from this year’s NYC Pride march and other LGBTQ pride events across the country. Prepare to be Babashook!

Warning: Some of these signs and images could be considered NSFW.

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With a great “Spider-Man” movie comes a greatly diverse cast.

Marvel and Sony’s new spin on the story, “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” includes actors from all different backgrounds, ethnicities and ages taking on pivotal roles. Zendaya and Jacob Batalon play Spider-Man’s friends, Laura Harrier is his love interest, and Marisa Tomei plays a younger version of Aunt May.

Everyone seems flipped around in one way or another, and the actors are into it.

At the “Spider-Man: Homecoming” press conference in New York on Sunday, Latino actor Tony Revolori thanked producers for giving him the role of Flash Thompson, which is traditionally a white character.

“Thank you to Jon [Watts], Amy [Pascal] and Kevin [Feige] for casting a 5-foot-8 brown guy to play a 6-foot-2 blond, blue-eyed guy,” said the actor. 

The actors and producers of “Spider-Man: Homecoming” were asked about the inspiration behind the casting during the press conference, and producer Amy Pascal stepped up and dropped the mic.

“I would say the inspiration for it was reality,” said Pascal.

Yup. Reality.

The response was met with applause and “amens” from the cast and audience. 

It appears everyone in production was on the same page from the beginning. Director Jon Watts previously addressed the diversity topic, similarly telling The Daily Beast:

Peter Parker goes to high school in Queens, and Queens is one of ― if not the ― most diverse places in the world. So I just wanted it to reflect what that actually looks like. 

By looking at the “Spider-Man: Homecoming” cast, it’s clear this is not the same old “Spider-Man” movie we’ve become accustomed to. This is something better, and it has the positive social media reviews — and will likely get the box-office numbers — to prove it.

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” swings into theaters July 7.

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Marijuana is often used as a tool by police officers to search your car.

In many cases, the mere odor of weed serves as probable cause to pull you over and rifle through your belongings. States that have decriminalized it are still grappling with the legality of using marijuana for warrantless searches.

In the case of Philando Castile, who was shot to death by a Minnesota police officer during a traffic stop last year, we saw the devastating effects the smell of marijuana can have on an officer’s perception of motorists. Though marijuana is decriminalized to some degree in the state, St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez would later tell investigators that he thought he was in danger because he smelled weed:

“As he was pulling out his hand I thought I was gonna die, and I thought if he has the guts and the audacity to smoke marijuana in front of the five-year-old girl, and risk her lungs and risk her life by giving her secondhand smoke … then what care does he give about me?”

It may come as no surprise, then, that states that have legalized marijuana are seeing a dramatic decline in warrantless searches.

NBC News did a deep dive into reports by the Stanford Open Policing Project, which collected data on 60 million traffic stops and searches by highway patrol officers in 22 states.

In Washington state and Colorado, NBC News found that searches were cut by more than 50 percent within months of legalization. Washington state saw a 50 percent reduction within three months, while Colorado saw a more gradual reduction, but searches still dropped by more than 50 percent within a year.

Legalization can lead not only to fewer warrantless searches, but an increase in the public’s trust of officers, the site found.

That said, full legalization may not have helped Castile. The report found that ethnic minorities are still stopped and searched disproportionately to white drivers in states where weed is legal.

Marijuana prohibition has always been racist. HuffPost’s Nick Wing reported in 2014:

According to a 2013 study by the American Civil Liberties Union, blacks across the nation were nearly four times more likely than whites to be arrested on charges of marijuana possession in 2010, despite data that suggested they use the drug at about the same rate. In some states, blacks were up to six times more likely to be arrested. This disparity isn’t new, and plays into broader arrest data: A study published in the journal Crime & Delinquency this month found that by the age of 23, nearly 50 percent of black males have been arrested, compared to 44 percent of Hispanic males and 38 percent of white males.

Data collected by the Stanford Open Policing Project implies that not much has changed today.

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