CNN
 — 

Kendrick Lamar is continuing his streak as the hottest rapper in the game right now.

The nominees for the 2025 BET Awards were announced Thursday. Lamar led with ten nods, including album of the year for “GNX“ and video of the year for his viral hit, “Not Like Us.”

Lamar was followed by the man he engaged in an epic hip-hop beef with, Drake, as well as fellow rappers Doechii, Future and GloRilla, who had six nominations each.

The following is a list of the nominations:

Drake and PartyNextDoor, “$Some $Sexy $Songs 4 U”

Chris Brown, “11:11 Deluxe”

Doechii, “Alligator Bites Never Heal”

Beyoncé, “Cowboy Carter”

GloRilla, “Glorious”

Kendric Lamar, “GNX”

The Weeknd, “Hurry Up Tomorrow”

Future and Metro Boomin, “We Don’t Trust You”

Best Female R&B/Pop Artist

Ari Lennox

Ayra Starr

Coco Jones

Kehlani

Muni Long

Summer Walker

SZA

Victoria Monét

Best Male R&B/Pop Artist

Bruno Mars

Chris Brown

Drake

Fridayy

Leon Thomas

Teddy Swims

The Weeknd

Usher

41

Common and Pete Rock

Drake and PartyNextDoor,

FLO

Future and Metro Boomin

Jaquees and Dej Loaf

Larry June, 2 Chainz, The Alchemist

Maverick City Music

SZA Featuring Kendrick Lamar, “30 For 30”

Doechii Featuring JT, “Alter Ego”

Teddy swims Featuring Giveon, “Are You Even Real”

Dee Billz Featuring Kyle Richh, Kai Swervo, KJ Swervo, “Beckham”

Lil Wayne, Wheezy and Young Thug, “Bless”

Future, Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar, “Like That”

Kendrick Lamar and Sza, “Luther”

Tyler, The Creator Featuring Glorilla, Sexxy Red and Lil Wayne, “Sticky”

The Weeknd Featuring Playboi Carti, “Timeless”

Cardi B

Doechii

Doja Cat

GloRilla

Latto

Megan Thee Stallion

Nicki Minaj

Rapsody

Sexxy Red

BigXThaPlug

BossMan Dlow

Burna Boy

Drake

Future

Kendrick Lamar

Key Glock

Lil Wayne

Tyler, The Creator

Key Glock, “3AM in ToKEYo”

Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”

Kehlani, “After Hours”

Doechii, “Denial is a River”

Drake, “Family Matters”

Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us”

The Weeknd Featuring Playboi Carti, “Timeless”

Future, Metro Boomin Travis Scott and Playboi Carti, “Type S**t”

Anderson .Paak

B Pace Productions and Jacquees

Benny Boom

Cactus Jack

Cole Bennett

Dave Free and Kendrick Lamar

Dave Meyers

Foggieraw

Tyler, The Creator

41

Ayra Starr

BigXThaPlug

BossMan Dlow

Dee Billz

Leon Thomas

October London

Shaboozey

Teddy Swims

Common and Pete Rock Featuring Jennifer Hudson, “A God (There Is)”

Pastor Mike Jr., “Amen”

Fridayy, “Better Days”

Yolanda Adams Featuring Sir The Baptist and Donald Lawrence, “Church Doors (Terry Hunter Remix)”

Maverick City Music, Jordin Sparks, Chandler Moore and Anthony Gargiula, “Constant”

Tamela Mann, “Deserve to Win”

Rapsody, “Faith”

GloRilla Featuring Kirk Franklin, Maverick City Music, “Rain Down on Me”

Chris Brown, “Residuals”

Doechii, “Denial is a River”

Drake, “Nokia”

Future and Metro Boomin Featuring Kendrick Lamar, “Like That”

GloRilla, “TGIF”

Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us”

Kendrick Lamar and SZA, “Luther”

Latto, “Brokey”

Any Gabrielly (Brazil)

Ayra Starr (Nigeria)

Bashy (United Kingdom)

Black Sherif (Ghana)

Ezra Collective (United Kingdom)

Joé Dwét Filé (France)

Mc Luanna (Brazil)

Rema (Nigeria)

SDM (France)

Tyla (South Africa)

Uncle Waffles (Swaziland)

Abigail Chams (Tanzania)

Ajuliacosta (Brazil)

Amabbi (Brazil)

Dlala Thukzin (South Africa)

Dr Yaro (France)

KWN (United Kingdom)

Maglera Doe Boy (South Africa)

Merveille (France)

Odeal (United Kingdom)

Shallipopi (Nigeria)

TxC (South Africa)

Mary J. Blige, “Beautiful People”

Beyoncé featuring Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts, “Blackbird”

Doechii, “Bloom”

Tems, “Burning”

Cynthia Erivo Featuring Ariana Grande, “Defying Grafity”

Summer Walker, “Heart of A Woman”

Tems, “Hold On”

FLO and GloRilla, “In My Bag”

“Bad Boys: Ride or Die”

“Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F”

“Luther: Never Too Much”

“Mufasa: The Lion King”

Rome
CNN
 — 

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost – now known as Pope Leo XIV — is the first pope from the United States.

The 69-year-old from Chicago is known as a leader with global experience. He spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments.

His election represents continuity with the papacy of the late Pope Francis, and he is expected to continue Francis’ reforms of the church as well as his focus on poverty and marginalized people.

Here’s what else you should know about the new American pontiff:

Prevost was born in Chicago. But inside the Vatican, where he eventually lived and worked, he was considered the “least American” of the US cardinals.

He worked for a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and was later appointed bishop of Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, where he served from 2014 to 2023.

He speaks fluent Spanish and Italian – both of which he displayed during his first address to the public in St. Peter’s Square.

The late Pope Francis “respected him and thought of him very highly,” according to CNN’s Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb. “Clearly Pope Francis saw in him something – he saw him as a capable leader.”

Lamb met the new Pope Leo XIV when he was a cardinal and said he came across “a very thoughtful person, a very measured person.” Overall, he came across understated.

Pope Leo is a member of the Augustinian religious order, which is spread across the world. He led the order for more than a decade as its prior general.

The new pontiff used his first remarks to say he is a son of St. Augustine, and he quoted the saint’s famous phrase: “For you, I am a bishop, with you, after all, I am a Christian.” That reflects the idea that all the people in the church hierarchy – from leaders to everyday members – walk together.

Pope Francis appointed Prevost to be the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, which is in charge of assessing bishop candidates and making recommendations for new appointments.

He also served as the president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

“From very young, he was appointed to leadership roles,” said Elise Allen, CNN’s Vatican analyst. “He’s seen as somebody who is calm and balanced, who is even-handed and who is very clear on what he thinks needs to be done … but he’s not overly forceful in trying to make that happen.”

“I still consider myself a missionary. My vocation, like that of every Christian, is to be a missionary, to proclaim the Gospel wherever one is,” Prevost said in an interview with Vatican News shortly after he moved into his leadership role in Rome.

He once said in an interview his time in Peru was the life experience that shaped him the most.

“He’s somebody that, even though he’s from the West, would be very attentive to the needs of a global church,” Allen said. “You’re talking about somebody who spent over half of his ecclesial career abroad as a missionary in Peru.”

Leo is a dual citizen of the United States and Peru. The American-born pontiff obtained Peruvian citizenship in August 2015, according to Peru’s National Migration Registry.

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte called his election a “historic moment for Peru and the world.”

The last pope to take the name Leo, Pope Leo XIII, was a pope on the side of the poor and who stood up for workers.

Leo XIII, who was pope from 1878 to 1903, had a strong emphasis on workers’ rights and Catholic social doctrine – so the choice of that name for the new pontiff makes a strong statement.

He is in line with Francis on the direction of the church and on the process to foster a more inclusive global church, but he is expected to lead as his own man.

Leo is expected to lean more progressive on social issues like migration and poverty but fall more in line with moderates on moral issues of Catholic doctrine.

In order to a get a two-thirds majority in the College of Cardinals, he would have had to have had broad appeal, even among more moderate or conservative members.

Prevost earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and went on receive his diploma in theology from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago.

He was eventually sent to Rome to study canon law, and later in his career, he taught canon law in the seminary in Trujillo, Peru.

“I consider myself quite the amateur tennis player,” Prevost said in an interview with the Augustinian Order shortly after he became a cardinal. “Since leaving Peru I have had few occasions to practice, so I am looking forward to getting back on the court.”

He also said in his free time he liked reading, walking and travelling to “new and diverse places.”

CNN’s Christopher Lamb, Jimena de la Quintana, Abel Alvarado and Elise Hammond contributed to this report.

London
CNN
 — 

The Bank of England has cut its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, citing lower UK inflation.

The move, which had been widely expected, brings the main cost of borrowing in Britain to 4.25%. It is the fourth cut the central bank has made since it started reducing rates in August last year.

The central bank said in a statement that “substantial progress” on reducing inflation over the past two years has allowed it to gradually cut rates.

But it also said that “uncertainty surrounding global trade policies has intensified” since US President Donald Trump’s tariffs have ignited a trade war in recent weeks.

“Prospects for global growth have weakened as a result of this uncertainty and new tariff announcements, although the negative impacts on UK growth and inflation are likely to be smaller,” the central bank said.

Bank officials thought the global trade war was likely to drag on the UK economy, according to the minutes of the bank’s Wednesday policy meeting.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said he welcomes reports that the United Kingdom and the United States are set to announce a trade deal later in the day.

“It will help to reduce uncertainty,” he said, adding that the UK is “a very open economy” that is affected by the consequences of Trump’s tariffs and trade policies applied to other countries.

“I hope the UK agreement, if it is indeed announced this afternoon, will be the first of many,” Bailey added.

Last month, he said he was concerned about the potential “growth shock” to the UK from Trump’s tariffs.

In an interview with CNBC, Bailey said the “sheer level of uncertainty” Trump’s trade policy injected into the global economy means that businesses are more likely to hold off making investments and consumers will be less willing to spend.

In April, a closely watched survey of UK businesses already showed a contraction in output. The PMI index based on the survey registered its lowest level since November 2022.

Also in April, the International Monetary Fund downgraded its economic growth forecasts for numerous countries, including the United Kingdom, and joined a chorus of warnings from economists and business leaders about economic damage from US tariffs.

Bailey, in his interview with CNBC, said the higher US tariffs could also lower UK inflation. That would give the Bank of England more room to cut rates if the economy needed a boost.

Bailey cited the potential for goods to be redirected from the United States to Britain. One way this could happen is if the UK sees an influx of low-priced Chinese exports, diverted from the US. More goods on the market mean more competition, which tends to lower prices.