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BET Awards to Honor Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Jamie Foxx and Kirk Franklin

Snoop Dogg is seen at an event at the Paris Olympics. (Reuters)
Snoop Dogg is seen at an event at the Paris Olympics. (Reuters)
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BET Awards to Honor Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Jamie Foxx and Kirk Franklin

Snoop Dogg is seen at an event at the Paris Olympics. (Reuters)
Snoop Dogg is seen at an event at the Paris Olympics. (Reuters)

The BET Awards will celebrate its 25th anniversary by honoring four legendary performers — Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Jamie Foxx and Kirk Franklin.

Carey, Snoop, Foxx and Franklin will receive the Ultimate Icon Award at next month's awards show, where Kendrick Lamar is the leading nominee.

BET says the Ultimate Icon recipients were selected due to their impact on entertainment as well as their community impact and advocacy.

Here’s more to know about the show:

Who's nominated at the BET Awards?

Lamar earned 10 nominations earlier this month, including an album of the year for his highly-acclaimed project “GNX.” His ubiquitous diss track “Not Like Us,” emanating from the Drake feud, received nominations for video of the year and viewer's choice award.

The rap megastar made waves with his Grammy triumph, winning song and record of the year for “Not Like Us.” He followed up with a groundbreaking halftime show, becoming the first solo hip-hop performer to headline the coveted slot. He is currently on the Grand National Tour with SZA.

Doechii, Drake, Future and GloRilla tied for the second-most nominations with six. Metro Boomin pulled in five nods, while SZA and The Weeknd each scored four.

Who are the show's performers?

Rap icon Lil Wayne, rapper GloRilla and singer Teyana Taylor will hit the BET Awards stage.

The lineup of performers also includes rapper Playboi Carti and singer Leon Thomas.

Who will host the show?

Kevin Hart is expected to bring the funny as host of the awards show, celebrating its 25th anniversary.

The comedian-actor, who hosted the BET Awards in 2011, called this year's ceremony a “black-tie affair.”

“It’s a chance to reflect, cherish and honor life’s unforgettable moments,” Hart said in a statement. He has a history with the network, hosting “Comic View: One Night Stand” in 2008. He was an executive producer and one of the stars of “Real Husbands of Hollywood” and launched adult animated comedy “Lil Kev” on BET+.

Will there be any tributes?

The BET Awards will offer tributes to former popular hosts and performances, including the network’s once-flagship program “106 & Park.”

“'106 & Park' was more than just a music countdown show; it was the heartbeat of Black youth culture and one of the highest-rated BET programs for over a decade,” said Scott Mills, BET's president and CEO. The weekday show launched in 2000 and lasted for more than a decade.

The show thrived with a video countdown, interviews and performances.

The show will reunite past hosts A.J. Calloway, Free, Julissa Bermudez, Keshia Chanté, Rocsi Diaz and Terrence J. The tribute will feature performers such as Bow Wow, Amerie, B2K, Jim Jones, Mya, T.I. and Mr. 106 & Park.

It is not yet known whether Carey, Snoop, Foxx and Franklin will receive individual tributes during the ceremony.

The awards will air live on June 9 from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. EDT.

Are there any other standout nominees?

There's a competitive list of top-notch actors looking to take home the top award in their category.

For best actor, the category includes Aaron Pierre, Aldis Hodge, Anthony Mackie, Colman Domingo, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Joey Bada$$, Kevin Hart, Sterling K. Brown and Will Smith.

For best actress, the nominees include Andra Day, Angela Bassett, Coco Jones, Cynthia Erivo, Keke Palmer, Kerry Washington, Quinta Brunson, Viola Davis and Zendaya.

Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Simone Biles, Angel Reese and Jalen Hurts are among the sports stars competing for awards.

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Entertainment

George Clooney’s Long Love Affair with Venice Enters a New Chapter

George Clooney, left, and Amal Alamuddin arrive in Venice, Italy, on Sept. 26, 2014, for their wedding. (AP)
George Clooney, left, and Amal Alamuddin arrive in Venice, Italy, on Sept. 26, 2014, for their wedding. (AP)
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George Clooney’s Long Love Affair with Venice Enters a New Chapter

George Clooney, left, and Amal Alamuddin arrive in Venice, Italy, on Sept. 26, 2014, for their wedding. (AP)
George Clooney, left, and Amal Alamuddin arrive in Venice, Italy, on Sept. 26, 2014, for their wedding. (AP)

George Clooney just makes sense in Venice.

Like many people, he considers it one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Unlike most, however, he also owns a 15-bedroom villa a few hours away on Lake Como that famously co-starred in “Ocean’s Twelve.”

In the nearly 30 years since he attended his first Venice Film Festival with “Out of Sight,” he’s become something of a fixture. It’s a place where he’s enjoyed many significant moments, from his wedding at the Aman Venice to the debut of “Good Night, and Good Luck,” which earned him his first Oscar nomination for best director.

Last year he attended with “Jay Kelly,” in which he plays a movie star who travels to Italy for a lifetime achievement award. Life will imitate art this year as Clooney receives the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award on the festival’s opening day.

Here is a look back at some of Clooney’s most memorable Venice moments.

1998: 'Out of Sight'

As legend has it, Clooney’s long term love affair with Venice began with the festival’s premiere of Steven Soderbergh’s Elmore Leonard adaptation “Out of Sight.” Then 37 and doing press alongside Jennifer Lopez, the actor would also make another big jump soon: Leaving “ER” the following February.

2003: ‘Intolerable Cruelty’

This Coen brothers joint, co-starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, premiered out of competition at the 60th Venice Film Festival, alongside titles like “Matchstick Men,” “Once Upon a Time in Mexico” and “The Dreamers.” Clooney’s nearby Italian residence was already as famous as him, and a stakeout spot for amateur and professional paparazzi.

In a profile that fall, while shooting “Ocean’s Twelve,” Vanity Fair writer Ned Zeman observed: “That an affable, self-effacing Kentucky-born Hollywood actor is fast becoming the most popular public figure in Italy says a little about Italy and a lot about Clooney, who isn’t Italian, doesn’t speak Italian, and lives here only in summertime.”

2005: ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’

Clooney’s acclaimed black-and-white dramatization of journalist Edward R. Murrow’s clash with Joseph McCarthy began its successful run in competition at the 62nd Venice Film Festival. Though it lost the Golden Lion to Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain,” it did go on to pick up six Oscar nominations including for Clooney’s directing.

2007: ‘Michael Clayton’

Tony Gilroy’s “Michael Clayton,” which nabbed Clooney an Oscar nomination for his turn as the titular law firm fixer, played in competition at Venice. The top prize went again to an Ang Lee film: “Lust, Caution,” which also beat out the likes of “I’m Not There,” “Atonement” and “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.”

2008: ‘Burn After Reading’

This Coen brothers comedy featuring Clooney and Brad Pitt opted to debut out of competition in the opening night slot. Clooney said it completed his “trilogy of idiots” for the Coens, following “Intolerable Cruelty” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

“Looking at the parts we are playing, I’m very concerned about what you think of us,” Clooney said at the press conference. Pitt, who’d won the festival’s acting prize the year prior, added: “Like George ... I’m not sure if I should be flattered or insulted.”

2011: ‘The Ides of March’

Another opening night, out of competition slot debut for this Clooney-directed campaign thriller starring Ryan Gosling and Philip Seymour Hoffman. As usual, Clooney was peppered with political questions in which he observed that, “It’s a very difficult time to govern.”

2013: ‘Gravity’

Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity” opened the 70th edition of the Venice Film Festival before going on to win seven Oscars. Clooney, of course, attended the premiere alongside Sandra Bullock and he was self-deprecating about his role: “There were only two parts and Sandy had the other one, so I felt like this was the only one I could get away with.”

2014: George and Amal get married

Venice's canals were packed with paparazzi for the wedding of one of Hollywood’s favorite bachelors. On Sept. 27, Clooney, then 53, and Amal Alamuddin, then 36, exchanged vows in front of 100 of their closest friends and family, including Bono and Matt Damon, at the luxury hotel Aman Grand Canal, originally a grand palazzo built in 1550. She wore a custom Oscar de la Renta dress, of French lace, pearls and diamanté accents. He wore a black wool/cashmere Giorgio Armani tuxedo.

2017: ‘Suburbicon’

Clooney returned to the festival with another of his directing projects, “Suburbicon,” a dark comedic satire about a seemingly idyllic 1950s community with Damon and Julianne Moore. This festival was especially notable for it being the Clooneys’ first public appearance since the birth of their twins, Alexander and Ella, a few months prior.

2023: Spotlight on Amal

This time George was the plus one to Amal, who was receiving an award from the Diane von Furstenberg and The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation for her work as a human rights lawyer. The power couple gave the festival some much-needed star power amid the actors' strike with an appearance at the adjacent DVF Awards. “I am here in Venice with my husband; he is a rising star,” she said that night. “I just wanted to say, you, my love, like this city, take my breath away.”

2024: ‘Wolfs’

Clooney and Pitt reunited for the Jon Watts action comedy “Wolfs,” which played out of competition. But the spotlight was less on the film and more on the off-screen drama of the Apple TV-produced film only getting a limited theatrical release, and his then-recent New York Times op-ed urging US President Joe Biden to end his reelection bid.

“The person who should be applauded is the president who did the most selfless thing anyone’s done since George Washington,” Clooney said. “All the machinations that got us there, none of that’s going to be remembered. And it shouldn’t be. What should be remembered is the selfless act.”

2025: ‘Jay Kelly’

In “Jay Kelly,” Clooney played a very Clooney-esque movie star on a self-reflective journey through Europe. He was absent from the press conference with co-stars Laura Dern, Adam Sandler and Billy Crudup due to a sinus infection, but he rallied for the red carpet premiere, cutting a glamorous figure with Amal by his side.

During the making of “Jay Kelly,” filmmaker Noah Baumbach had to put together a montage of that character’s career, which would play during a tribute ceremony. While it’s well-established that Clooney is definitely not Jay Kelly, in this case, he was. The montage was made entirely from Clooney’s own films — a surprise to the actor who had no idea what was coming when he sat down in the theater to film the movie's last scene.

Clooney was taken aback, first by all the “bad haircuts” and then by the realization of just how much time had passed.

“There’s a line in this film, ‘All my memories are movies,’” Clooney told the AP. “That’s not true with me. But my memories of movies are not the scenes or the movie. It’s the experience.”

He added: “What a lucky life I’ve lived.”

Entertainment

Saudi Communications Ministry, Savvy Sign MoU to Develop Gaming, Esports Talent at LEAP 2026

The areas of cooperation include delivering Savvy Academy's Next-Gen program through national academies, helping raise awareness of career pathways and employment opportunities in gaming and esports. (SPA)
The areas of cooperation include delivering Savvy Academy's Next-Gen program through national academies, helping raise awareness of career pathways and employment opportunities in gaming and esports. (SPA)
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Saudi Communications Ministry, Savvy Sign MoU to Develop Gaming, Esports Talent at LEAP 2026

The areas of cooperation include delivering Savvy Academy's Next-Gen program through national academies, helping raise awareness of career pathways and employment opportunities in gaming and esports. (SPA)
The areas of cooperation include delivering Savvy Academy's Next-Gen program through national academies, helping raise awareness of career pathways and employment opportunities in gaming and esports. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and Savvy Games Group signed on Monday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop national talent, build career pathways, and support the growth of startups in the gaming and esports sector.

The agreement, signed on the sidelines of the tech event LEAP 2026 in Riyadh, aims to contribute to the development of the sector and boost its competitiveness.

The MoU establishes a framework for cooperation between the two sides to leverage MCIT's talent pool and programs.

It also provides for expanded collaboration with national academies, particularly Tuwaiq Academy and the Saudi Digital Academy, to equip national talent with the skills and expertise required in the labor market.

The areas of cooperation include delivering Savvy Academy's Next-Gen program through national academies, helping raise awareness of career pathways and employment opportunities in gaming and esports.

The cooperation will also make the Masterclasses program available to participants in the ministry's programs to develop their technical and professional skills and bolster their readiness to join the sector.

The MoU also provides for the integration of Savvy Academy's Nine66 Incubator Program with the Center of Digital Entrepreneurship incubator, expanding support for entrepreneurs and improving startups' access to specialized programs, expertise, and growth opportunities in the gaming sector.

Entertainment

Former Gang Member Found Guilty of Murdering Tupac Shakur

Friends and family members of rapper Tupac Shakur, including his sister Sekyiwa Shakur, second left, line up to hug Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal, right, after a jury found Duane Davis guilty of first-degree murder in his trial related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)
Friends and family members of rapper Tupac Shakur, including his sister Sekyiwa Shakur, second left, line up to hug Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal, right, after a jury found Duane Davis guilty of first-degree murder in his trial related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)
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Former Gang Member Found Guilty of Murdering Tupac Shakur

Friends and family members of rapper Tupac Shakur, including his sister Sekyiwa Shakur, second left, line up to hug Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal, right, after a jury found Duane Davis guilty of first-degree murder in his trial related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)
Friends and family members of rapper Tupac Shakur, including his sister Sekyiwa Shakur, second left, line up to hug Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal, right, after a jury found Duane Davis guilty of first-degree murder in his trial related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

Duane "Keffe D" Davis, a former Los Angeles gang member, was found guilty on Monday by a Las Vegas court of the 1996 murder of chart-topping rapper Tupac Shakur.

Thirty years after the rap legend's death, the jury found Davis, 63, guilty of murder after just a few hours of deliberation.

"Count one, murder with use of a deadly weapon, guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon," the foreperson of the jury announced to the court.

Davis, who faces possible life in prison without parole, addressed Judge Carli Kierny after the verdict was announced and stated his intention to appeal.

The one-time leader of the South Side Compton Crips was accused of ordering the September 7, 1996, killing of the hip-hop artist after his own nephew had been beaten by members of Shakur's entourage at a Las Vegas casino.

"Duane Davis, in the culture of gangs, could not let that stand," prosecutor Binu Palal said during closing arguments. "So what did he do? He acquired a firearm, got his group together, and went hunting for Mr. Shakur."

Shakur, who was in Las Vegas for a Mike Tyson heavyweight fight, was shot about two hours after the casino confrontation by a gunman in a white Cadillac that pulled up at a red light alongside the BMW in which the rapper was riding in the front passenger seat.

According to prosecutors, Davis handed the gun to someone sitting in the back seat of the Cadillac and ordered that person to shoot Shakur, who died six days later.

Davis is the only person who was in the Cadillac that evening who is still alive.

The driver of the BMW, Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight, was wounded.

The killing of Shakur, also known as 2Pac, has been one of America's most celebrated cold cases, prompting endless debate among music fans over who did it and why.

Davis, whose Crips were one of a patchwork of rival gangs that ran parts of Los Angeles in the 1990s, is the only person to have been charged in connection with the shooting of Shakur.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 13.

- Confession -

The investigation into Shakur's murder sputtered for decades because of a lack of evidence, but the case was revived when Davis's memoirs were published in 2019.

Davis has repeatedly boasted over the years of involvement in Shakur's murder -- in interviews with law enforcement and media and ultimately in his autobiography, "Compton Street Legend."

He has since backtracked and pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.

Palal, the prosecutor, played clips from Davis's various alleged confessions as part of his closing arguments.

Michael Sanft, Davis's defense attorney, characterized his client's confessions as fiction and lies partly designed to promote his book.

"You're reading a book that is fiction and not fact," Sanft told the jury. "But the state wants you to believe that this is somehow a confession, that he was there and present at the time of the shooting."

Sanft said there was no evidence implicating Davis in Shakur's murder other than his own statements.

In the run-up to the trial, Davis's lawyers tried in vain to keep the book from being introduced as evidence, along with remarks he made in an interview with police in 2008.

Shakur, who was 25 when he died, was a key figure in a hip-hop rivalry pitting the US East Coast against the West Coast.

Known for hits like "California Love" and "All Eyez on Me," Shakur -- the son of a Black Panther -- was raised in Harlem and Baltimore, but quickly became the epitome of California hip hop when he signed with Los Angeles-based Death Row Records.