Mayor Sylvester Turner and Houston Police Department announce decrease in homicide rates during a news conference
Mayor Sylvester Turner and the Houston Police Department announced today that for the first time in more than a year, Houston’s homicide rate is showing a decline. As of today, there is an unofficial number of 187 homicides in Houston thus far in 2022 compared to 192 homicides at this time last year. The nearly 3% decline in the city’s homicide rate is an indication of the efficacy of the One Safe Houston initiative, a comprehensive public safety plan aimed at holistically addressing and in some cases rebuilding the public safety ecosystem in Houston.
“I commend HPD for the work it is doing,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner. “We have put more officers on the streets through overtime and cadet classes. There is still too much gun violence in our city and too many guns in the hands of dangerous and violent individuals, but our work and that of the Houston Police Department is making a difference.”
As of this morning, HPD is showing decreases in all 4 major violent crime categories. The reported number of robberies are down about 14%, while reported rapes have decreased by 33% and aggravated assaults have lowered by more than 9%.”
“Thank you to our citizens for your continued support. We need you to help us solve violent crimes and that increased interaction with our citizens is working,” said Executive Chief Assistant Matt Slinkard. “To the hard-working men and women of HPD and our fellow law enforcement officers in this region, thank you for doing what you are doing. Collectively, we are making a difference.”
One Safe Houston is a $50 million investment funded by the American Rescue Plan and focuses on four key areas:
• Violence Reduction and Crime Prevention
• Crisis Intervention, Response and Recovery
• Youth Outreach Opportunities
• Key Community PartnershipsThe City of Houston plans to launch a gun buyback program in July and in partnership with Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis’ office.
For more information on the One Safe Houston initiative, please visit https://www.houstontx.gov/onesafehouston/.
Overall Violent Crime and Homicide Numbers in the City of Houston are trending down for the first five months of 2022
Uvalde mass shooter was not confronted by police before he entered the school, Texas official says
The 18-year-old gunman who killed 21 people at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, was not confronted by police before he entered the school, a Texas law enforcement official said Thursday, contradicting earlier comments from authorities and raising further questions about the police response to the massacre.
CRIME STOPPERS OF HOUSTON FUGITIVE FRIDAY
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The World’s 10 Highest-Paid Athletes for the Last Year
Forbes released its top 10 highest-paid athletes within the last 12 months on May 11 and PSG’s Lionel Messi came out on top. Three soccer players made the list—all in the top four—but the NBA had the most representation with four of their stars cashing in the most.
Messi led the list once before in 2019, but it’s worth noting his earning are down roughly $22 million from his last year in Barcelona. LeBron James is second on the list and broke the record he set last year for the highest-paid NBA player to ever appear on the list.
Combined, all the athletes on this year’s list earned $992 million over the last 12 months, which is a 6% drop from 2021, but the decline can be explained by Connor McGregor’s absurd $180 million total last year after he made roughly $150 million from the sale of his Irish whiskey brand.
Here’s the complete list of the top 10 highest-paid athletes of the last 12 months and their total earnings:
1. Lionel Messi, $130 million
2. LeBron James, $121.1 million
3. Cristiano Ronaldo, $115 million
4. Neymar, $95 million
5. Stephen Curry, $92.8 million
6. Kevin Durant, $92.1 million
7. Roger Federer, $90.7 million
8. Canelo Álvarez, $90 million
9. Tom Brady, $83.9 million
10. Giannis Antetokounmpo, $80.9 million
Tom Cruise Is About To Earn 100X His Original Top Gun Salary From The Highly-Anticipated “Maverick” Sequel
Thirty-six years ago, on May 16, 1986, “Top Gun” debuted in theaters. The movie became a global phenomenon, earning $360 million at the box office. And on Thursday, May 25, 2022, after more than two years of COVID delays, the highly-anticipated sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick,” will finally be released.
If you’re a guy who is currently between 35-45 years old, the original Top Gun was nothing short of a life-changing world event. I was too young to see it in theaters (in 1986 I was 4), but once the movie came out on the nascent VHS technology, I was taken by its mighty wings at Mach 3 with my hair on fire straight to the danger zone for life.
I watched the VHS so many times, my parents had to hide it from me. But I found it and kept watching. Over and over. When we were in the car, I made the whole family listen to my cassette copy of the soundtrack. Over and over.
Ask any guy in the aforementioned age range, and I guarantee you at some point in their early life they dreamed of being a pilot. Excuse me, not just a pilot. A “naval aviator.” And just like the aforementioned sentence, Top Gun quotes and memes have become an innate language in our daily vocabulary.
Fun fact: Mark Zuckerberg sprinkled Top Gun quotes and references in random places in the first version of TheFacebook.com. For no reason at all, the original footer line of the site read: “Too close for missiles. Switching to guns.” Mark Zuckerberg was born in 1984 and is currently 38 years old. He gets it.
So, needless to say, most guys between 35 and 45 are likely making the pilgrimage to a movie theater this weekend to buy a ticket for “Top Gun: Maverick.” And if the movie proves to be as successful as all indicators are… indicating, Tom Cruise is about to buzz the tower with an aircraft carrier-sized payday.
How much did Tom Cruise make for Top Gun 1?
First let’s step back a bit. Tom Cruise earned $50,000 for his breakthrough role in 1981’s “Taps.” His salary jumped to $75,000 for another star-making role in 1983’s “Risky Business.” That same year he earned $500,000 for a movie called “Legend” which I literally had not heard of before 20 minutes ago. And I think I know why. Legend was a bomb. It made $24 million on a $23.5 million budget. It has a 40% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Top Gun’s producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson were probably shitting their pants when Legend bombed. Right as it was bombing, they were in the midst of filming Top Gun.
Since his Top Gun contract was negotiated before Legend’s bombing, Tom Cruise’s $2 million salary was safe. But to be clear, Tom’s $2 million salary was 13% of Top Gun’s entire budget. And FYI, earning $2 million in 1985 is the same as earning around $5.4 million today.
Thankfully for all involved, Top Gun was a smash hit, earning $360 million at the global box office. It was the highest-grossing film of 1986.
How much will Tom Cruise make from Top Gun 2?
Top Gun set Tom Cruise on a path to becoming the highest-paid actor in the world. He earned $3 million for “Cocktail” in 1986, $3 million base and $9 million total after profit participation for 1988’s “Rain Man” and $9 million for “Days of Thunder” in 1990. In the early 1990s he was commanding $12-15 million per movie.
In 1996 Tom took on a new role: Producer
In 1995 Tom and his former agent Paula Wagner established Cruise/Wagner Productions on the Paramount studio lot and set out to find a project to develop. At some point they were made aware of the fact that Paramount already owned the rights to the “Mission: Impossible” television series. Not only was Tom a fan of the show as a kid, he was intrigued to learn that Paramount had struggled for years to find a way to develop the asset into a film franchise. Cruise and Wagner soon struck a deal with Paramount to make “Mission: Impossible” their first production project.
Released on May 22, 1996, almost 10 years to the day from the Top Gun release, “Mission: Impossible” went on to earn $460 million on an $80 million budget. Between his acting salary, and more importantly, producing fee, Tom went on to earn $70 million from the movie.
He earned $75 million from the sequel and another $75 million for the third installment. By our count, Tom has earned around $300 million to date thanks to the “Mission Impossible” franchise.
Thanks to this franchise and around 20 years of similarly-amazing paychecks, heading into Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise’s net worth is $600 million.
There’s a simple reason Tom makes so much money when he is the star and producer of a film. Not only does he typically set aside around $20 million for himself to cover his acting duties, he also receives a generous share of his projects’ backend points.
I reached out to a well-placed producer source today to learn more about Tom’s backend deal. According to my source, Tom Cruise is literally the only actor left in Hollywood who is still able to command a share of what is called “First Dollar Gross” on his own movies. First dollar gross literally means revenue, not profits. The dirty little secret in Hollywood is that no movies ever make a profit. A $500 million blockbuster ends up losing money thanks infamous studio accounting. So if an actor has points on backend profits, it might never result in extra money. But first dollar gross? That means if a movie makes $500 million and an actor has 10% of first dollar gross, he or she gets $50 million. First dollar gross is paid out even before movie theaters take a cut!
And according to my source, for “Top Gun: Maverick” Tom Cruise will be receiving 20% first dollar gross. That is truly unprecedented in today’s Hollywood.
So, when I pay $20 tomorrow to see “Top Gun: Maverick,” $4 goes straight to the bank of Tom Cruise.
If Top Gun: Maverick grosses $1 billion worldwide, which it is projected to do, Tom Cruise will earn…
$200 million
If that happens, Tom will earn 100 times his original Top Gun salary. And honestly, this might be one of the only examples in film history where the payday is totally justified. This sequel would not exist without Tom’s acting, marketing and producing prowess.
If Tom does indeed earn $200 million, he will set the record for the largest single-film acting payday of all time. In doing so, Tom will slide Bruce Willis’ inflation-adjusted “Sixth Sense” payday into second place.
And remember boys, no points for second place.
‘Everyone is Buying In’: Texans WR Brandin Cooks Sees Unselfish Roster
Veterans aren’t required to attend voluntary OTAs. Houston Texans receiver Brandin Cooks isn’t like most veterans.
Cooks chooses to be the leader on the field and in the locker room for the Texans entering his third season with the franchise. He wants to see better results in 2022 after some moderate development down the stretch from last season.
One thing Cooks noticed early on practice is the willingness of players in practice. For the first time in what feels like ages, there’s an urgency at practice for Houston.
“The biggest thing that I see right now is that everyone is bought in and everyone’s unselfish,” Cooks said Tuesday following practice. “I think that’s where a great offense starts at, just unselfishness.”
Mills is looking to build off last season in which he finished second among rookie passers in touchdowns (16) completion percentage (66.8) and passer rating (88.8). Houston spent the offseason making sure to fortify the offense in free agency with additions such as running back Marlon Mack, offensive lineman A.J. Cann and retaining tight end Antony Auclair.
In the draft, the Texans general manager added weapons such as Alabama receiver John Metchie III, Oregon State tight end Teagan Quitoriano and running back Dameon Pierce. The Texans also added protection in the trenches with the addition of Texas A&M offensive lineman Kenyon Green and LSU offensive tackle Austin Deculus.
“We’ve got a lot of special guys on this side of the ball that we added, not just at the receiver position but in the backfield, whether it’s from tight ends, the offensive line,” Cooks said. “I think Nick did a great job in the draft and free agent-wise.”
New coach Lovie Smith laughed when asked about the urgency of the team in practice, wondering what was missing last season. Then again, he can see it too. Of the 90-man roster, roughly 95 percent of players were in attendance because they wanted to be there.
Those are promising numbers for a team looking to take the next step in returning to contention.
“That urgency to get it better, to correct some things, and I think just knowing, too,” Smith said. “We brought back a lot of guys, the core of our group was brought back this year for setting that tone. There is a sense of urgency for us to get it right and be ready.”
WANTED: Suspect responsible for Indecency With A Child (Sexual Contact)
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Como México No Hay Dos – Vicente Fernandez
Vagabundo y trovador
Para todos mi amistad llevo en la mano
Soy así de corazón
Vagabundas por el mundo mis canciones
Van rodando como yo
Y es de orgullo el que me nombren mexicano
Como México no hay dos
Ni hay sol que brille mejor
Si aquí la Virgen María
Dijo que estaría, que aquí estaría mucho mejor
Y no lo diría nomás por hablar
Caray, en el extranjero
En el extrajero, cuánto más quiero yo a mi nación
De la unión es lo mejor
Sus naranjos y suspiros hechos de uva
Sus manzanas de color
San Francisco, Hollywood y sus artistas
Casi fue nuestra nación
Pero yo prefiero un tarro de tequila
Como México no hay dos
Ni hay sol que brille mejor
Si aquí la Virgen María
Dijo que estaría, que aquí estaría mucho mejor
Y no lo diría nomás por hablar
Caray, en el extranjero
En el extrajero, cuánto más quiero yo a mi nación
México en la piel – Luis Miguel
Vestida con el mar de Cozumel
Con el color del sol por todo el cuerpo
Así se lleva a México en la piel
O como un amigo en Yucatán
En Aguas Calientes deshilados
O lana tejida en Teotitlán
Así se siente México
Así se siente México
Así como los labios por la piel
Así te sabe México
Así se lleva a México en la piel
O la artesanía en San Miguel
Poder montar el cerro de la silla
Así se lleva a México en la piel
Para hacer llorar a esa canción
En el sur se toca con marimba
En el norte con acordeón
Así se siente México
Así como unos labios por la piel
Así te envuelve México
Así te sabe México
Así se lleva a México en la piel
Como bienvenida en Verzacruz
La emoción de un beso frente a frente
Así se lleva a México en la piel
Descubrir un bello amanecer
Tener la fresca brisa de Morelia
La luna acariciando una mujer
Así se siente México
Así como unos labios por la piel
Así te envuelve México
Así te sabe México
Así se lleva a México en la piel
Second defendant sentenced to 30 years in prison for murdering 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes
The second of two men responsible for the 2018 drive-by shooting death of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Thursday.
Eric Black pleaded guilty to murder earlier this year in a plea deal that capped his possible sentence at 35 years in prison in exchange for testifying against his co-defendant, Larry Demetricus Woodruffe.
Woodruffe, 27, was sentenced to life in prison without parole after being convicted of capital murder in April by a Harris County jury for killing the young girl on Dec. 30, 2018.
On Thursday, visiting state District Judge Vanessa Velasquez sentenced Black.
“Jazmine Barnes’ death was a tragic and heartbreaking example of needless and pointless gun violence, and she and her family deserved justice and they got justice,” Ogg said.
Jazmine and three of her siblings were passengers in their mother’s Dodge Avenger and were driving near their home in northeast Harris County. Woodruffe was riding in a car driven by Black when Woodruffe opened fire on the family’s vehicle. Woodruffe and Black apparently thought the car belonged to a rival. Jazmine has hit and killed. Her mother was wounded by a bullet to the shoulder.
“For the family of Jazmine Barnes, we’re grateful that we finally reached a resolution that’s just,” said Assistant District Attorney Alycia Harvey, who prosecuted the case.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office investigated.
