Entertainment
Alleged mastermind behind Young Dolph’s killing is 2nd to stand trial in Memphis shooting
The trial of a man charged with organizing the daytime ambush killing of rapper Young Dolph at a Memphis bakery in November 2021 began on Monday.
Hernandez Govan, 45, faces charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and attempted murder. He is not accused of shooting Young Dolph, but prosecutors claim he directed the two people who did. He rejected the state’s offer to settle with a guilty plea last month, CBS affiliate WREG reported.
Young Dolph, whose legal name is Adolph Thornton Jr., was a rapper, independent label owner and producer who grew up in Memphis and was admired in the city for his charitable works. The 36-year-old was in his hometown to hand out Thanksgiving turkeys to families when his visit to his favorite cookie shop turned into an attack that shocked the entertainment world.
Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP, Pool
City officials and community activists pointed to the killing as a symbol of the dangers of gun violence in Memphis, where more than 300 homicides were reported that year.
Memphis prosecutors have portrayed the killing as part an effort by Anthony “Big Jook” Mims to get revenge on Young Dolph for diss tracks aimed at Big Jook and the record label he helped run for his brother, Yo Gotti.
Big Jook was shot and killed outside a restaurant earlier this year.
Testifying against Govan on Monday was Cornelius Smith Jr., who has admitted to being one of the two shooters who ambushed Young Dolph. Smith previously was the main witness against Justin Johnson, who was convicted of first-degree murder in 2024 after Smith named him as the second shooter. Smith had previously testified that Big Jook put out a $100,000 hit on Young Dolph, as well as smaller bounties on all the artists at Young Dolph’s record label, Paper Route Empire.
Smith is charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder but has pleaded not guilty and does not yet have a trial date. Johnson was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in September 2024. He was later sentenced for two other convictions from the trial: conspiracy to commit murder and being a felon in possession of a gun.
Smith testified on Monday that “I didn’t know anything about Paper Route having no hits,” before Govan told him about them. He said Govan hired him to “do the hits” and was going to take $10,000 as his cut. Govan was also the person who told him and Johnson that Young Dolph would be in Memphis for the volunteer event, so “that’s our opportunity,” Smith said.
Meanwhile, Govan’s defense attorney, Manny Arora, tried to paint Smith as an unreliable witness who would say anything to try to get a lighter sentence.
Arora pointed to previous testimony where Smith recalled a chance encounter with Big Jook. At the time, Smith implied that Big Jook was the person who hired him. After Smith was arrested, his attorney called Big Jook’s attorney and received somewhere between $38,000 and $50,000 in cash. Smith said Monday that he did not know who had supplied the money.
Smith also testified that he previously heard that Govan might be working with the FBI. Arora asked why Smith would take a job from Govan if that were the case. Smith said that Govan was “innocent until proven guilty.”
Young Dolph began his career by releasing numerous mixtapes. His studio albums include his 2016 debut, “King of Memphis.” He also collaborated on other mixtapes and albums with fellow rappers Key Glock, Megan Thee Stallion, T.I., Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz and others. Young Dolph had three albums reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200, with 2020′s “Rich Slave” peaking at No. 4.
He was among the musical stars that The Grammy Awards paid tribute to during its memoriam segment at the 2022 awards.
In a 2024 interview with The Associated Press, Carlisa Brown, Young Dolph’s sister, called her brother’s killing a “very senseless murder” and added that his family wants everyone involved to get the justice they deserve.
The attack that killed the rapper wasn’t the first time he was targeted. In 2017, Young Dolph was approached by three men and shot over “beef,” according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He was critically injured but survived. Earlier that same year, he was involved in another shooting, where at least 100 bullets were fired at his SUV.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have released a major statement to mark a big day amid reports of new family tension at home.
According to royal expert Rob Shuter, Prince Harry is fuming over Meghan Markle’s decision to post new photos of their 4-year-old daughter, Princess Lilibet, on Instagram.
Meghan’s tribute for International Day of the Girl might have won hearts online, but it reignited one of the couple’s oldest arguments — privacy.
Amid this development, Meghan and Harry shared a joint statement to mark the day.
They shared the statement via their Archewell Foundation.
They said, “Last year, in celebration of International Day of the Girl, The Archewell Foundation joined Pivotal Ventures and the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation to support a partnership between Girls Inc. and #HalfTheStory: an initiative designed to provide digital wellness programming for young girls in underserved communities across America.
“On this International Day of the Girl, The Archewell Foundation is proud to see #HalfTheStory continue to expand this work. Over the summer, #HalfTheStory, launched the New York State x #HalfTheStory Teen Tech Council, ensuring youth voices are represented in shaping what healthy educational environments look like in a digital age.”
They continued the Archewell Foundation uplifts organizations like #HalfTheStory, “today and every day”, that empower young people and young girls to shape their digital futures and to ensure that every child has the tools, confidence, and support to thrive both online and offline.
King Charles is reportedly in a difficult position after a newly uncovered email between Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein raised fresh concerns about the Duke’s past statements.
The newly discovered email was sent shortly after a photo was published of Andrew with Virginia Giuffre, which suggests he was still in contact with Epstein at a time despite claiming that their ties had ended.
Speaking on the matter, royal commentator Ingrid Seward said that the message paints a troubling picture of Andrew’s involvement with Epstein.
She told People’s Channel that the situation reflects poorly on the Duke of York and the royal family, putting King Charles in a tough spot.
“It’s very damning. And it just looks like he was in total cahoots with Epstein. And unfortunately for him and for the Royal Family, I don’t think this is the end of it, I think.
“There’s a lot more to come out. That’s the trouble. It’s an ongoing situation.”
The expert further noted that the email “just looks appalling for the Yorks,” adding that it puts pressure on Charles as “everyone’s asking” what he is going to do.
“Now, I think his hands are quite tied because – it is my opinion only – I don’t know this, but his mother obviously wanted Charles to look after Andrew,” she continued,
“The Queen knew that he was had a lot of problems and she must have entrusted his care to his elder brother.
“Because otherwise I can’t imagine that Charles wouldn’t have felt obliged to get Andrew out of there.
“But I think he’s tied between his mother’s wishes and his situation is as King and Head of State.”
HUAUCHINANGO: Standing near the lifeless body of her sister, Rosalia Ortega was grateful to have found her in the river of mud that suddenly swept away her house as torrential rains pounded her Mexican mountain town.
At least 47 people have died since Thursday as floods have wreaked a trail of destruction in the hardest-hit states of Hidalgo, Puebla, Queretaro and Veracruz.
“We’re sad, but at least we’re going to give her a Christian burial,” Ortega, 76, told AFP in the town of Huauchinango, in Puebla, a state east of Mexico City that according to official reports saw nine deaths and substantial damage.
The disaster zone is the Sierra Madre Oriental, a mountain range that runs parallel to Mexico’s east coast and is dotted with villages where telecommunications and other services have yet to be restored.
On Thursday, well after dark, a rain-swollen mountain river overflowed its banks in Huauchinango and within minutes robbed local residents of their homes and, in some cases, their loved ones.
That’s what happened to Maria Salas, a 49-year-old cook sheltering from the rain with an umbrella, watching two soldiers guarding the entrance to her neighbourhood.
Salas lost five relatives when their house collapsed, and her own home was destroyed by a landslide.
“I can’t get my belongings, I can’t sleep there,” she said. “I have nothing.”
The grieving families are struggling to pay for funerals and, if anything is left over, to recover something from lost or damaged homes.
Huauchinango, with 100,000 residents, is one of the largest communities in the disaster zone and one of a very few that could be accessed Saturday.
Rivers of mud
The floodwaters swept away everything in their path, forming heavy rivers of mud that even rendered intact homes unusable.
“It was knee-deep,” says Petra Rodriguez, a 40-year-old domestic worker whose house was surrounded by water on both sides.
She, her husband and two sons managed to escape, holding hands so that if the water took one of them, “it would take us all,” she said.
In another part of town, teacher Karina Galicia, 49, showed AFP her mud-damaged, musty house. She and her family were able to run out; had they not, “we would have been buried,” she said.
In less damaged houses, neighbours worked to remove water with plastic bottles, brooms and shovels.
Adriana Vazquez, 48, climbed a rough path strewn with stones and mud to see if anything was left of a relative’s house.
What she found was a jumble of wood and tin houses levelled by a landslide. Soldiers were using a backhoe to remove a pile of debris from the street.
Her relative “answered the telephone,” Vasquez said, but she could hardly hear anything and hoped that was due to a poor connection.
About 100 small communities are uncontactable due to road closures and power outages that have complicated telephone services and travel.
Mexico has been hit by particularly heavy rains throughout 2025, with a rainfall record set in the capital, Mexico City.
Meteorologist Isidro Cano told AFP that the intense rainfall since Thursday was caused by a seasonal shift and cloud formation as warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico rises to the mountaintops.
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