Atatiana Jefferson‘s family will reportedly receive an $11.25 million settlement for her shooting death. Former officer Aaron Dean was convicted of shooting and killing Atatiana inside her own home in Fort Worth, Texas, on Oct. 12, 2019.

RELATED: UPDATE: Sean Grayson, Officer Convicted Of Fatally Shooting Sonya Massey, Reportedly Dies Months Into Serving Prison Sentence

Atatiana Jefferson’s Family To Receive $11.25 Million Settlement

The Fort Worth City Council approved an $11.25 million settlement for Atatiana Jefferson’s estate on Tuesday, August 25, according to CBS News.

Ex-police officer Aaron Dean shot Atatiana in Fort Worth, Texas, during a safety check in 2019. Not only that, but she was killed in front of her 8-year-old nephew in her own home. Dean was later found guilty of manslaughter instead of murder and received an 11-year prison sentence.

The family’s lawyer, John J. Coyle, said that no settlement could restore Atatiana’s life.

“Atatiana Jefferson’s death was a profound tragedy that never should have happened. She was a beloved daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, aunt, and friend – a young woman with a bright future whose life was taken far too soon,” said Coyle. “No settlement can restore that life or erase the pain her family and loved ones have endured. Through The Atatiana Project, that collective grief and determination became a force for positive change. The Project has transformed tragedy into opportunity and remembrance into action, creating programs and initiatives designed to empower young people, strengthen communities, and open doors that too often remain closed. That is the legacy we should celebrate.”

The 28-year-old pre-medical student and graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana. In addition, Atatiana also worked in the pharmaceutical equipment industry as she saved for medical school.

It’s unclear how soon the family will receive the settlement because it still requires probate court approval.

Jefferson Was Killed Inside Her Own Home

Atatiana Jefferson was murdered by the police on October 12, 2019. Jefferson and her 8-year-old nephew, Zion, were playing video games when they heard a noise outside. He later testified that they had burned hamburgers, and her front door was left open to let out the smoke.

After a neighbor reported her doors were open to a non-emergency police number requesting a safety check, the police arrived at Jefferson’s residence at approximately 2:25 a.m. Within one minute and 17 seconds of their arrival, Dean fatally shot Atatiana.

Zion testified that after they heard a sound, his aunt got her gun and moved towards the window, per ABC News. Body cam footage captured Dean approaching the window when all of a sudden he yelled, “Put your hands up, show me your hands.” Then he shot Atatiana through the glass.

Afterward, Dean claimed that he saw Atatiana’s weapon and thought she was a burglar, but Prosecutor R. Dale Smith noted that he never told his partner he saw a gun.

“What officer would allow one of his partners to run into a house where they thought a burglary was happening without saying, ‘Hey, there’s a gun in there?’” Smith asked. “He never said there was a gun, because he didn’t know.”

What Is The Atatiana Project?

Ataiana’s family founded The Atatiana Project after her murder, a nonprofit organization that provides children with educational, career-oriented programs in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) Careers in which they are disproportionately underrepresented. 

“This organization was created in honor of Atatiana Jefferson who, while with her nephew, was murdered in her home by a Fort Worth police officer,” reads the website. “The project continues the work Atatiana was doing at the time of her death —exposing youth to STEAM. For underserved communities, this will bridge educational gaps and open career paths.”

RELATED: Say, WHAT?! Florida Police Officer Accused Of Monitoring His Estranged Wife 717 Times With Flock Cameras

Tombstone had absolutely everything going for it. It had one of the best Western casts ever assembled, some of the most quotable dialogue the genre has ever produced — courtesy of the soon-to-be former writer-director Kevin Jarre — and a gorgeous landscape. Behind the scenes, it was a wagon wreck. Jarre was fired after several weeks of filming, leaving the production facing the unenviable task of somehow getting an ambitious Western back on track. According to Michael Biehn, who starred as Johnny Ringo, Kurt Russell deserves an enormous amount of credit for making sure Tombstone survived that upheaval.

Speaking exclusively with Collider while promoting Onslaught, Biehn opened up on the madness behind the scenes and explained that a huge chunk of the movie, as well as extensive pre-production, had already happened by the time he was dismissed from his position. For his part, Biehn was pretty open about his opinion as to why Jarre was deposed.

“Kevin, who created it, did all the pre-production on it — the wardrobe and everything. Pre-production is really setting up the entire movie as far as what the movie is going to look like. They shot with Kevin for four weeks, and then they fired him. I know why, because he wanted his way or the highway, and he was not very collaborative. He had Kurt there, he had William Fraker, the DP, who was an Academy Award winner, and he had a bunch of great actors around him. He just didn’t listen to anybody.”

The problem was enormous. Biehn says Jarre’s original screenplay ran 142 pages, which he estimates would have resulted in a roughly two-and-a-half-hour movie. After Jarre’s dismissal, Russell worked alongside writer and producer Jim Jacks, to determine what the movie absolutely needed and what could be sacrificed. The result was a brutal weekend of cuts:

“Kurt was responsible, and they brought in a writer. Over the weekend, they cut about 40 pages out of that script, so everybody lost a lot. The Cowboys always felt we got the raw end of that deal as far as some of the stuff that got cut out, because you never see the Cowboys unless they’re around the Earps, and that’s not the way it was in the script at all. They had a whole different life that they lived away from Tombstone. When I say life, two or three scenes.”

Kurt Russell Saved ‘Tombstone’

Biehn explained that Russell then worked with the team to effectively rebuild the movie around the material they could realistically shoot. “Kurt is a very special human being, too. Kurt had to work with a writer, work with a producer named Jim Jacks at the time, and they had to cobble that together. They had to ask themselves, ‘What do we really need here, and what can go?’ So he cut a lot of that out.”

And Biehn is unequivocal about the importance of Russell’s contribution to the movie that ultimately reached cinemas:

“It’s because of Kurt Russell. He made the decisions of what stayed and what went. The love story between him and Dana Delany was really, really trimmed down. If I was him, I would’ve been pulling my hair out a little bit by the time he wrapped that thing.”

Russell’s involvement shouldn’t be confused with actually editing the finished film, however. Biehn stressed that Russell departed almost immediately after production to make Stargate and wasn’t involved in cutting the completed footage. His role was in helping slash and reshape the screenplay during production so Tombstone could actually be finished.

Whatever happened behind the scenes, it worked. Biehn noted that Tombstone wasn’t initially greeted as a classic — he remembers major reviews barely mentioning Johnny Ringo at all — but its reputation grew enormously through home viewing. Today, he says it’s “very rare” for him to encounter someone who isn’t in love with the movie.

Onslaught is in theaters on September 4. Tombstone is streaming now on Disney+.

Advertisement

Release Date

Advertisement

December 25, 1993

Runtime

130 minutes

Advertisement

Director

George P. Cosmatos

Writers

Advertisement

Kevin Jarre

Producers

Bob Misiorowski, James Jacks, Sean Daniel

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Dawson’s Creek alum Busy Philipps is opening up about her recovery after being diagnosed with a brain tumor.

“I’m grateful that I’m alive,” Philipps, 47, told People in an interview published Wednesday, August 26, revealing that a Prenuvo full-body scan in February confirmed the presence of a grade 2 oligodendroglioma, a rare slow-growing tumor.

Philipps, who didn’t have any obvious symptoms in advance, said that she thought about canceling her scan since it was scheduled one day after her former Dawson’s Creek costar James Van Der Beek died from stage III colorectal cancer.

“‘Should I cancel it?’” Philipps recalled asking her ex-husband, Marc Silverstein, who responded, “Maybe it’s the best thing you could do for your friend this morning. Go get that scan.”

After the Prenuvo scan confirmed the presence of a tumor, Philipps was admittedly “hyperventilating” while still “trying to breathe.”

Immediately, the actress was focused on consoling her two daughters. (Philipps and Silverstein, 55, are the parents of Birdie, 17, and Cricket, 13.)

“[Birdie] was kind of beside herself and really, really scared and overwhelmed with emotion,” the Girls5Eva alum recalled of her eldest child. “I just kept saying to her, ‘Birdie, you’re just not in the movie where your mom dies your senior year of high school. That’s just not the movie that you’re in. I promise you.’”

As for Cricket, Philipps noted that her youngest daughter was much calmer about her diagnosis.

“Her reaction when I told her was like, ‘OK. You’re going to be fine?’ And I was like, ‘I’m totally going to be fine,’” Philipps said. “And she’s like, ‘OK.’”

Philipps ultimately underwent a procedure in March, with doctors removing a 2.6-centimeter mass from her brain.

“It is considered malignant, but it has the best prognosis of all of the malignant gliomas,” Philipps’ neuro-oncologist, Dr. Alexandra Miller, told People. “It’s sort of defined as a cancerous tumor based on the ability of the tumor to regrow over time, rather than it looking very malignant under the microscope.”

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

Philipps’ procedure was successful, and she told the outlet that she “wasn’t in pain at all.” However, she faced a setback in April when she contracted staphylococcus on her incision and needed a follow-up surgery to debride and clear the wound.

While the actress’ surgery was successful, she will need to get regular scans to monitor a potential recurrence.

“What am I? The luckiest girl in the world?” she quipped.

Joseline Hernandez has sparked reactions after opening up to her 9-year-old daughter, Bonnie Bella, about her past as a stripper.

RELATED: Social Media Is Sharing Mixed Opinions After Eva Showed Off The Dress Mimi Faust Made Her Wear To Her 8th-Grade Dance

Joseline Hernandez Opens Up To 9-Year-Old Daughter Bonnie Bella About Past As A Stripper

On Tuesday, August 25, The Shade Room reposted a clip from Joseline Hernandez’s family reality show, ‘The Grandma Is The Baby.’ In the clip, the pair appeared to be sitting down at Hernandez’s maternity shoot — as she’s expecting her second child with her husband, Balistic Beats — and their conversation became very candid.

Hernandez told her daughter that she “started stripping at a very young age.” Then, she asked her if she knew what a stripper was. In turn, Bonnie Bella said that a stripper is a “person who dances naked.” Then, the clip cut to a confessional scene where Bella explained that her mom is “so honest” with her because she doesn’t want her to be surprised by any withheld information as she gets older.

Social Media Is Sharing Reactions To Stripper Conversation

Social media shared reactions to Joseline Hernandez’s transparent conversation with her 9-year-old daughter, Bonnie Bella, in TSR’s comment section.

More On Joseline Hernandez & Her 9-Year-Old Daughter Bonnie Bella

As The Shade Room previously reported, Joseline Hernandez is expecting her second child. This, with her husband, Balistic Beats. To note, Hernandez shares Bonnie Bella with her ex, Stevie J. Earlier this week, photos were shared from her recent maternity shoot.

“Our family is growing… and so is the LOVE! From a family of three to a FAMILY OF FOUR! 🍼💙 We’re so excited to welcome our newest blessing into the world and share this beautiful new chapter with all of you,” Hernandez wrote alongside photos of the shoot.

RELATED: Royal Reveal! Joseline Hernandez Breaks The Internet With Maternity Shoot As Fans Can’t Stop Talking About Bonnie Bella (PHOTOS)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have reportedly touched down in the U.K. amid news of their planned move.

BBC first reported that the couple were expected to arrive across the pond on Wednesday, August 26, with their two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5. A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex told the outlet, “This is not something we would comment on.”

According to The Telegraph, the Sussexes landed at Birmingham Airport around lunchtime. (Us reached out for comment.)

News broke one week earlier that Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, were relocating to the U.K. for an extended period of time, six years after stepping down from their senior royal roles. Their children will reportedly start school abroad in September.

Related: What to Know About Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Move Back to England

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are heading back to Britain — kids in tow. Six years after stepping down as senior working royals and decamping to California, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are relocating their family to the United Kingdom for an extended period. News broke of the move in August 2026, with multiple […]

The couple are expected to keep their home in Montecito, California, where they moved after their royal exit in 2020, and will maintain a vacation residence in Portugal.

“Harry is not as happy in the U.S. as he is in the U.K.,” a source exclusively told Us, adding that the pair “aim to be somewhere outside of London,” rather than directly in the city.

According to the insider, “They are open to a new chapter.”

While the twosome are not likely to resume any official royal duties, Harry will be spending more time supporting U.K.-based charities and patronages. Meghan, meanwhile, will continue running her As Ever brand overseas.

Related: Will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s U.K. Move Change Their Royal Roles?

Advertisement

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to return to the United Kingdom, but will they resume their duties as senior working royals? News broke on Wednesday, August 19, that Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, planned to move back to England in time for their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, to start […]

“Harry still operates as if he were a member of the royal family when he evaluates opportunities,” the source told Us. “He’s seen royals who have left the royal family, like Sarah Ferguson, whose path he does not want to emulate. He wants to do things that are a right fit for him, but that can be very limiting. And, of course, they need to find ways to make money, so they are eager to find partnerships that are the right fit and fruitful for them.”

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

Us understands that King Charles III was informed of his son’s plans to return to the U.K. just days before the news made headlines. Tensions previously grew between Harry and his family — including brother Prince William — as he and Meghan left their positions as working royals.

Former royal butler Grant Harrold told Us that Harry’s move back to the U.K. isn’t likely to “completely heal” his relationship with William, 44.

“It will take a lot more than that,” Harrold said earlier this month. “Too much happened. It will be a situation where actions mean more than words. … I think they will be poker-faced and play happy families, but behind the scenes, it will take a lot more.”

There is something inherently unsettling about the overly cheerful world of children’s television. The colorful sets, catchy songs, talking objects and giant costumed characters are designed to make kids feel safe. Buddy takes all of that childhood comfort, twists it into something deeply disturbing and somehow manages to make the result as funny as it is horrifying.

Directed by Casper Kelly, the filmmaker behind the cult Adult Swim short Too Many Cooks, Buddy is exactly the kind of horror comedy that could have fallen apart almost immediately. A murderous orange unicorn from a 1990s-style children’s television show sounds like a great five-minute joke. Stretching that premise into a feature film is another story.

Somehow, Kelly makes it work.

The movie introduces audiences to It’s Buddy!, an impossibly upbeat children’s program hosted by Buddy, a towering orange unicorn voiced by Keegan-Michael Key. Buddy sings, dances and teaches his young friends important lessons, all while surrounded by the type of talking furniture, puppets and colorful characters that would have felt perfectly at home on television three decades ago.

Then one of the children stops playing along.

That is when Buddy begins revealing what kind of movie it really is.

Buddy [credit: BoulderLight Pictures]

As Buddy’s cheerful personality becomes increasingly threatening, Freddy (Delaney Quinn) and the other children begin questioning the world around them. Their attempt to escape Buddy’s increasingly dangerous playground eventually leads beyond the familiar television set and into a much stranger world.

Meanwhile, Cristin Milioti plays Grace, a mother in the real world who begins experiencing the disturbing feeling that someone is missing from her life, even though she cannot quite understand who that person might be.

It would be easy for Buddy to rely entirely on the joke of turning a Barney-like children’s character into a killer. Instead, Kelly keeps expanding the idea. The movie jumps between the television program, the outside world and increasingly bizarre environments that make it feel as though audiences are slowly discovering just how large Buddy’s nightmare actually is.

The production design is a huge part of why it works. It’s Buddy! genuinely looks like something pulled from a VHS tape sitting in a box since 1997. The cheap-looking sets, overly enthusiastic songs, goofy characters and dated television production aren’t merely background details. They are essential to the movie’s personality.

And once the violence begins, that artificial happiness makes everything happening on screen considerably more disturbing.

Keegan-Michael Key is particularly effective as Buddy. He never needs to completely abandon the character’s upbeat children’s-host personality to become frightening. In fact, Buddy is often at his creepiest when he is desperately trying to maintain that smile and convince everyone that they are still having fun.

Buddy [credit: BoulderLight Pictures]

The supporting cast is equally game for the insanity. Patton Oswalt voices a talking backpack named Strappy, while Michael Shannon appears as the cowboy puppet Willie. Topher Grace also stars alongside Milioti, but it is young Delaney Quinn who gives the movie much of its heart as Freddy.

Most importantly, Buddy understands exactly what kind of movie it wants to be.

This is not restrained horror. It is strange, bloody, absurd and intentionally ridiculous. Kelly throws children’s television, slasher horror, dark comedy and surrealism into the same blender and rarely seems interested in asking whether he has gone too far.

Buddy [credit: BoulderLight Pictures]

That commitment is what makes the movie so much fun.

Not every gag lands, and there are moments when Buddy threatens to stretch its central joke beyond its limits. But whenever the movie begins feeling comfortable, Kelly usually introduces another bizarre character, disturbing revelation or wonderfully ridiculous piece of violence to pull audiences back into Buddy’s world.

There is also something surprisingly effective underneath all the blood and comedy. Buddy plays with the strange relationship adults have with the television shows they loved as children. Looking back, some of those programs were genuinely bizarre. Giant creatures demanded participation, characters stared directly into the camera waiting for children to answer them and everyone repeatedly insisted that viewers were their friends.

Buddy simply asks what happens when one of those characters actually means it.

The answer is one of the strangest horror comedies of the year.

Buddy isn’t interested in reinventing horror. It just takes an incredibly fun idea and commits to it with enough creativity, nostalgia and unapologetic weirdness to make the whole thing work.

You may never look at a friendly children’s television mascot quite the same way again.

Mumbi Maina knows just how far a dream can take you.

The actress reached an international audience through the Netflix series “Sense8,” before later reuniting with the Wachowskis’ creative world for “The Matrix Resurrections.”

In this exclusive interview with The Blast, Mumbi speaks about how those experiences changed both her life and her understanding of what was possible as an artist. She also gets candid about Hollywood’s portrayal of Africa, recalling one bizarre encounter involving a supposedly “Kenyan” accent.

Mumbi Maina credits her international work on “Sense8” and “The Matrix Resurrections” with transforming both her career and her understanding of what was possible as an artist. In our conversation, she said the projects had “shifted the trajectory” of her life “in the most wonderful and fulfilling ways.”

Mumbi broke into the global spotlight with the Netflix show in 2017, before later joining “The Matrix Resurrections,” reuniting her with filmmakers and cast members from the sci-fi series.

In a 2023 interview with TRACE, Mumbi recalled receiving an email about a mysterious project called “Ice Cream” during the COVID-19 lockdown. With several “Sense8” cast members involved, she initially thought it was a documentary series being made while production on “The Matrix” remained paused.

Then came another email making the connection clear. “I was done, finished,” Mumbi recalled, describing tears, prayers and jumping around the house. She kept the news largely secret for months, telling only her lawyer-manager while waiting for her German visa.

Mumbi Would Be ‘Ecstatic’ To Return To ‘The Matrix’

3

Stepping into productions of that caliber expanded Mumbi’s creative outlook and exposed her to a level in the industry she had long dreamed of experiencing firsthand. “I could never have properly understood how eye-opening and inspiring being in those environments would be,” she told us.

Just as important was the way she was treated once she got there. The actor recalled being met with “grace, kindness and professionalism,” adding that she felt valued for her work and presence. The experience also reinforced her belief in the wider impact art can have and showed her the value of working alongside people deeply invested in their craft.

That influence has stayed with her. We asked Mumbi whether she saw potential for more stories in the world of “The Matrix” beyond “Resurrections,” and whether she would return to the universe if offered the chance.

“Yes,” she replied. “That’s the thing about art. Just like the human experience, there’s always room to evolve. If [‘The Matrix’] did continue, I’d be ecstatic to return to that world!”

The Actress Weighs In On Questions Around African Storytelling In Hollywood

Mumbi’s experience navigating both African and Hollywood productions also gave us an opening to ask how she feels African stories and characters are being represented on the global stage.

The conversation about Hollywood’s handling of African stories has found new life with “Children of Blood and Bone,” particularly in its use of accents. The upcoming film, based on Tomi Adeyemi’s eponymous debut novel, has faced criticism well before its release.

To start, the casting of Amandla Stenberg and Thuso Mbedu drew complaints of colorism, and Adeyemi later said she had distanced herself from the film.

Reaction to the trailer has also been mixed. Reddit users criticized everything from the performances and costumes to the production, with several saying it felt disconnected from its Nigerian inspiration.

Mumbi Maina Recalls Producers Searching For A ‘Kenyan’ Accent

3

For Mumbi, it brings back memories of one particularly puzzling experience of her own. A few years ago, producers approached her about a voice-acting role after seeing her work on “Sense8.” She was cast, recorded the part, and thought everything had gone smoothly.

Then, through a friend who had no idea she had already landed the role, Mumbi discovered the production was looking for someone with a “Kenyan” accent. “We genuinely all scratched our heads at that because… what is a Kenyan accent?” Mumbi tells The Blast.

The actress was born and raised in Kenya and has lived there all her life. Even so, she says fellow Kenyans have occasionally told her that she has an accent. “I just talk how I talk,” Mumbi says. “And that raises a bigger question for me: who is the authority on what an African should sound like?”

Mumbi Maina Wants African Film To Follow The Afrobeats Blueprint

3

What made the experience even stranger was that the producers already knew exactly what she sounded like before casting her. Mumbi suspects they may have been searching for the generic “African” accent Hollywood audiences have heard for decades.

“I think that’s where the conversation becomes disheartening,” she says. “The narratives that are pushed about Africa aren’t always true to home.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean only Africans can tell African stories, in Mumbi’s view. For her, the bigger issue is how those stories are handled.

“I don’t know if it matters so much who is telling the story as much as how the story is being told, who is included in the process, and whether there is a genuine understanding of the people and culture it comes from,” she explains.

Mumbi ultimately wants African film to follow a path similar to Afrobeats, reaching audiences worldwide without losing the identity that made it resonate in the first place.