Rapper Boosie Badazz was sentenced on Friday (Jan. 9) to no prison time following his guilty plea on gun possession charges.

At a court hearing in San Diego federal court, Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo sentenced Boosie (Torence Hatch) to time served, plus three years of supervised release and a $50,000 fine, for illegally owning a gun after earlier felony convictions.

The light sentence comes after Boosie struck a plea deal with prosecutors in August after he said he was “tired of fighting.” But even under the terms of that deal, the feds had recommended a stiffer sentence of two years in prison.

“I’m blessed not to be in prison right now,” Boosie said in a video statement released after the hearing, adding that he planned to accelerate touring and artistic projects that had been stalled during the case. “I’m just grateful right now.”

Boosie was first charged in June 2023 with being a felon in possession of a firearm — meaning he violated a federal law that prohibits people with felony convictions from owning guns. The rapper had previously been convicted of drug charges in 2011, along with numerous other earlier convictions.

The details of Boosie’s arrest were unusual. Local authorities spotted a handgun tucked in his waistband while monitoring the Instagram feed of a “known gang member” in San Diego — then used a helicopter to track him in real-time in an allegedly gang-associated neighborhood. After a traffic stop, he was found with a matching Glock pistol in the vehicle.

Following years of procedural ups-and-downs, the case against Boosie was scheduled for a trial last summer. But in August, the rapper said he would accept a plea deal to “get on with my life.” The feds later revealed that they had promised a two-year sentence in return for the guilty plea. Last week, they formalized that request to the judge, citing the rapper’s “difficult upbringing which likely contributed to his current predicament.”

In the lead-up to sentencing, Boosie’s lawyers asked for less: No prison time at all and just two years of probation. The possession of the gun was a “serious but isolated lapse in judgment” and rather than any kind of “ongoing criminal behavior,” they said, and it had had no victims: “Mr. Hatch did not discharge a firearm or cause harm.”

In his statement following the hearing, Boosie suggested that he would seek even further to clear his name by seeking a pardon from President Donald Trump — an outcome he has already hired lobbyists to seek: “Praying for a pardon now, you know.”

Billie Eilish is using her platform to amplify protests against the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has come under fire (even more than usual) for the killing of a Minnesota woman earlier this week.

On Friday (Jan. 9) — two days after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis — the pop star shared several back-to-back posts condemning the organization. The first one was a graphic calling ICE a “federally funded and supported terrorist group,” with the original creator describing the agency’s actions as “tearing apart families, terrorizing citizens, and now murdering innocent people.”

The second post Eilish reshared on her Story calls on the country to “abolish ICE,” listing 32 people who reportedly died in ICE custody last year. The third encourages U.S. citizens to call their representatives in Congress to demand that ICE be defunded, and for the officer who fired the deadly shot in Minneapolis to be arrested and charged immediately.

Billboard has reached out to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.

ICE’s actions under the Donald Trump administration have been polarizing since he took office a year ago, but backlash has reached an all-time high this week following the scene in Minneapolis. The DHS, the president and Vice President JD Vance have all claimed that Good was trying to run over the agents with her car leading up to the shooting, and that the officer in question was acting in self defense; however, widely circulated video footage of the incident shows that Good had actually been driving the opposite way.

Even Trump struggled to explain what happened after he personally watched the video of the shooting in the Oval Office with a New York Times reporter also in the room. “Well … I … the way I look at it … it’s a terrible scene,” the newspaper reports of the twice-impeached POTUS’ reaction to the footage. “I think it’s horrible to watch. No, I hate to see it.”

Eilish has long been vocal in her opposition to Trump’s policies, endorsing his opponent, Kamala Harris, in the 2024 election. Prior to Friday, the nine-time Grammy winner had also shared other posts condemning the ICE raids in her home city of Los Angeles.

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The 2026 Peach Bowl is headed to Atlanta. The college football playoffs continues with a showdown between the No. 5 Oregon Ducks and the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers on Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Oregon has been on an impressive redemption run after being demolished as the top seed last season. But, so far this season, the team has been dominating on both sides of the ball, including allowing just 16.3 points per game on defense while the offense scored a whopping 39.2 points per game. On the flip side, Indiana has had a perfect run this year with being the only undefeated record remaining in the FBS.

The 2026 Peach Bowl, at a Glance:

Who will come out victorious during the 2026 Peach Bowl? Well, you’ll have to watch to find out. We created a guide to streaming the college football game live online for free and without cable. Keep reading below to learn more.

How to Watch the 2026 Peach Bowl Oregon vs. Indiana Game Online for Free

While ESPN Unlimited doesn’t currently offer a free trial, there are other streamers that offer ESPN online free. If you want access to ESPN and additional channels, you can take advantage of DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV and Fubo, which are all offering free trials or promos right now. Some of them can give you free access to ESPN for up to a week.

Here are all the ways to watch ESPN online, including ways to stream ESPN online for free.

DirecTV is offering a five-day free trial, which will let you watch ESPN and more for free. The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network is included in all of the streaming packages. In addition to unlimited DVR storage, you’ll get access to local channels and the ability to stream on as many devices as you want.

With prices starting at just $4.99 for a day pass, Sling TV includes ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN 3 (for ABC simucast) with it Sling Orange and Sling Orange + Blue packages — which features dozens of channels that can be streamed on up to three devices at the same time. Sling Orange + Blue features FS1 and the NFL Network too

Please note: Sling TV’s pricing and channel availability depends on your local TV market.

Fubo is another great option you can take advantage of to watch ESPN online. The streamer offers a seven-day free trial that’ll give you access to ESPN free and more than 240 live TV channels. The service offers a promo that’ll get you up to $30 off the first month, which can get you access to ESPN and more for as low as $54.99 (reg. $84.99 per month).

For the most content options, Hulu + Live TV gives you access to the entire Hulu library in addition to more than 95 live TV channels — including ESPN for just $82.99 per month.

And, unlike the rest of the options, you can also expand your content library by bundling Hulu + Live TV with Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited. You’ll not only have all of the Hulu library to watch, but also exclusive and original programming available exclusively on ESPN Unlimited.

ESPN Unlimited is the official streaming platform for ESPN, and a subscription includes instant access to games and more exclusive content for $29.99 per month. You can save almost 17% off by purchasing an annual subscription for $299.99 per year. There is no free ESPN Unlimited trial, but it does include exclusive on-demand videos and access to content from what was formerly known as ESPN Insider.

In addition to live sports, ESPN Unlimited has original shows to stream on-demand, plus game recaps and analysis, a shorter version of NFL Primetime and full replays of historic NFL matchups.

To expand your savings and content offerings, currently, you can bundle ESPN Unlimited with Hulu and Disney+ for a single monthly price of just $29.99 per month for all three services for 12 months of streaming.

Taylor Swift took over Toronto in late 2024, and the results have come in.

In November 2024, the blockbuster pop star played to 240,000 concertgoers across six sold-out nights at Rogers Centre during the first of two Canadian stops on her globally successful Eras Tour.

A new city of Toronto costs and benefits report found that the three levels of Canadian government brought in an estimated $39.7 million from direct and indirect spending from Swift’s Eras Tour in 2024 and an economic impact of an estimated $282 million.

The report also shows the city spent over $3.6 million in anticipation and during Swift’s two weekends of concerts.

The information was revealed in a briefing note from the city’s department of economic development and culture, which unpacked the impact of Swift’s stop in the city and what it means for the future of large-scale events. The report was presented to city council members last April and has now been provided to Billboard Canada.

Locally, the biggest expense was $2.6 million for the Toronto Police Services. The report specifies that included traffic management, safety and security, as well as pre-concert merchandise sales, post-concert activities, hotel security and staffing at the concerts themselves, as well as paid duties for Metrolinx and Rogers Centre.

Other major costs included $1.7 million for increased TTC (public transit) service over two weekends. The city reported that TTC revenue increased by $588,000 in comparison to the weeks leading up to Swift’s first show.

Additional costs — tallying up almost $600,000 — included funds for emergency staffing, marketing, infrastructure changes, signage and fan activations — which the city says they made up by the time Swift hit the stage.

“While these initiatives incurred costs, the initiatives delivered significant value by driving economic activity, promoting the city’s reputation on a global stage and laying the groundwork for improved delivery of future events,” the report reads.

During Swift’s stay, the economic impact was an estimated $282 million during the 10 days of the singer’s Toronto tour dates. Coined the “Swift lift,” the report noted a 45% increase in week-over-week spending in the city.

Of the total $282 million earned in economic impact, $152 million was a result of direct spending. Commerce sales company Moneris reported that the increased spending benefitted multiple sectors, including clothing stores, hotels, movie theatres and restaurants, which came during what is typically a “slower season” — proving Swift’s impact.

Read a full breakdown here. 

Quebec Superior Court Approves Class Action Lawsuit Against Ticketmaster for ‘Unreasonable’ Service Fees

The Quebec Superior Court has approved a class action lawsuit against Ticketmaster over the platform’s service fees.

Initially filed by Montreal law firm Paquette Gadler in August 2024, the lawsuit claims that the service fees charged by the ticketing service violate Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act and the Quebec Civil Code.

Earlier this week, in a ruling dated Jan. 5, Justice Eleni Yiannakis said the case met the conditions for a full trial. A date has yet to be set.

Ticketmaster has faced similar criticisms and lawsuits related to ticket buying issues, from bots and resellers to high inventory demands and costs.

According to court documents, the firm notes that Ticketmaster’s fees fluctuate based on ticket prices instead of the actual cost of the service provided. It’s a pricing model they call “excessive, unreasonable, abusive and disproportionate.”

The lawsuit was filed in August 2024 on behalf of the plaintiff and Montreal resident Felipe Morales, who bought four tickets on Ticketmaster in 2022 to see Bruce Springsteen perform in New Jersey the following year.

While initially buying tickets, Morales selected four floor tickets for $225, but was kicked out when his “transaction could not be finalized,” as cited in the lawsuit. In the following minutes, he returned to the purchase page, but had to select lesser-than-ideal seats. He proceeded to pay $1,000 per ticket, but was faced with an extra $599 in fees on top of the total $4,000 ticket price.

Morales claims that he “suffered harm” from what he describes as the platform’s “illegal and wrongful actions.” Additionally, he notes that Ticketmaster’s service fees are not on par with what he was provided, noting that they increase as ticket prices go up — the lawsuit found that the platform’s fees can reach up to 75% of the base ticket price.

In addition, the class action includes Quebecers who bought tickets through Ticketmaster for any concerts in North America since July 2021, as Morales is “certainly not the only person to have suffered damages caused by the Defendants’ fault in this matter.” This includes purchases made at a venue’s box office, on Ticketmaster’s website (including their Admission Network) or their mobile app.

“Fees are split between the venue and Ticketmaster to cover the essential costs of supporting the show from staffing the venue to funding anti-fraud technology and payment processing,” says a spokesperson in a statement to Billboard Canada. “Ticketmaster‘s share of service fees is typically around 5-7 % of the total ticket price. We believe the most fair and transparent approach is showing fans the total cost upfront, which we’ve done in Canada since 2018. These fees are also scaled with the ticket price to help keep lower-priced tickets as affordable as possible.”

Read more here.