Larry Birkhead's magical encounter with Anna Nicole Smith at the Kentucky Derby led to a whirlwind romance that lasted for over two years

When a statement announcing the sudden death of Lil Tay, a 15-year-old viral rapper who rose to fame as a nine-year-old on Instagram, was posted to her account earlier this week, it led to an outpouring of grief and sorrow. But that has given way to confusion and relief in equal measure, after TMZ reported that she is now very much alive. In a statement from Tay’s family, she said: “I want to make it clear that my brother and I are safe and alive, but I’m completely heartbroken, and struggling to even find the right words to say. “It’s been a very traumatizing 24 hours. All day yesterday, I was bombarded with endless heartbreaking and tearful phone calls from loved ones all while trying to sort out this mess.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Lil Tay rose to fame as the “World’s Youngest Flexer” who rapped and showed off a lavish lifestyle across social media aged just nine, garnering 3.2m followers on Instagram. However, the account went dormant in 2018 after a video was posted online in which she appeared to be coached by someone off-camera, whom many suspected was her brother Jason. Tay was also reportedly caught in the middle of a custody battle between her parents, Angela Tian and Christopher Hope, which had been going on in court since about 2018, around the same time the influencer’s account went dormant. The account resumed briefly that October with bizarre and concerning activity, including a video of the girl crying that was posted and then taken down. The posts were later scrubbed, but led to allegations of abuse by her father, amid the custody dispute. In 2021, activity briefly restarted on the account, with several posts accusing Christopher Hope of physical and mental abuse and of stealing all of Lil Tay’s money. Hope denied the allegations and sent a cease and desist letter to Instagram. An unsigned statement posted to the account on Wednesday said the star’s death at 15 was “sudden and tragic” and “entirely unexpected”. It also said her older brother, Jason Tian, who had at one point been in control of her account, had also died, and that both deaths were under investigation. Both Lil Tay’s father and former manager had refused to confirm or deny her death, with the latter calling for “cautious consideration” in handling the news. Speaking to Insider, her father, Christopher Hope, declined to comment on the Instagram post and declined to answer whether his daughter was alive. Her former manager, Harry Tsang, also declined to confirm or deny her death. “Given the complexities of the current circumstances, I am at a point where I cannot definitively confirm or dismiss the legitimacy of the statement issued by the family,” Tsang told Insider on Wednesday. In a follow-up 24 hours later, Tay was thanking Meta for helping to get her Instagram account back, and had removed the fake death statement. She said: “My Instagram account was compromised by a 3rd party and used to spread jarring misinformation and rumors regarding me, to the point that even my name was wrong. My legal name is Tay Tian, not 'Claire Hope'.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

FIFA announced Monday it had imposed a three-year ban on former Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales following his forced kiss on the lips of...

Pop star Lana Del Rey has declared she has been using money from ticket sales on her tour to do good in the cities she has been performing in - insisting she just loves touring

The Paris Air Show opens Monday after a four-year break with the aerospace industry bouncing back from the Covid-19 pandemic but under pressure...

Police in Circleville, Ohio, on Wednesday fired an officer who unleashed his dog on a Black man during

Manchester City have won the treble, making Pep Guardiola the first manager in history to have achieved the feat on two different occasions. He previously won the treble at Barcelona.

The half-human, half-Vulcan Mr. Spock doesn't bleed like the rest of us. And the reason is due to two real-life Siamese twins.

Opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq hit an unbeaten 50 to steer Pakistan home in their tricky chase of 131 against Sri Lanka and win the first Test...

Like bomb squad technicians who just snipped the last wire on a ticking device, Joe Biden and top Republican Kevin McCarthy are breathing a sigh of relief after reaching a...

Michael Beale watched Rangers battle back from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 against TSG Hoffenheim in Germany then revealed he was “glad pre-season is out the way”. John Souttar and Ben Davies missed the friendly due to a sickness bug and with Conor Goldson working his way back to full fitness, veteran defender Leon Balogun, one of eight signings this summer, and 20-year-old Johnly Yfeko started in central defence. Rangers trailed to goals from Pavel Kaderabek and Ihlas Bebou before skipper James Tavernier reduced the deficit after the break with a penalty after Ozan Kabak brought down Cyriel Dessers. Tavernier then provided the cross for Sam Lammers to head home and level the scores. Brazilian striker Danilo, signed from Feyenoord on a five-year deal on Friday, and Dujon Sterling, who had recovered from a knock, came on in the second half to make their first appearances, along with several other substitutes. Rangers have also lost to Newcastle, beaten Hamburg and lost to Olympiacos in preparation for their cinch Premiership opener against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on August 5 and Gers boss Beale is keen for the real action to start. He told Rangers’ official Twitter account: “I was frustrated at half-time because even though we had a disastrous 24 hours with illness in the camp, I thought the two goals we let in in the first half were really poor. “And actually we created some big chances ourselves and our last pass was out. “I thought in the second half, we were very good. There was chances at both ends but the least we deserved was a draw. “We were decent enough in possession, poor defensively and we improved in both areas in the second half. “But the most important thing, again, was to face some challenges, try to problem-solve and overcome them and it was a good challenge today. “It’s amazing. You come here with two defenders in Leon and Johnly and you end the game with no central defenders and these are scenarios that might happen in the season. So it wasn’t ideal in terms of preparation, everything like that. “Overall, it was a really good friendly. The pitch was dry, the heat in the stadium, everyone could feel as well which made it a slow game at times but yes, food for thought and I’m glad pre-season is now out of the way. “I can’t say I overly enjoy pre-season because I just want it out of the way, I want the games to be out of the way. “We are integrating a lot of new players and we are also integrating Tom Lawrence and Kemar Roofe back from long injuries. “We’ve had illness and injury and everything in between preparing for this game. It was our fourth game in 12 days and it’s been heavy on the legs, but it’s out of the way now and we get this nice normal week to Kilmarnock. “We have the fantastic opportunity on Tuesday to train in front of our fans in an open day and then it will be onto business into the weekend. “We’re looking forward to going to Kilmarnock and starting the season.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Stuart Broad announces his retirement from cricket at end of final Ashes Test England surge into pole position to win final Test and level Ashes series Darcy Graham returns to Scotland action with double in warm-up win over Italy

U.K. consumer group Which? has called on Nintendo to open an independent investigation into the persistent Switch Joy-Con drift problem.