Month: September 2020

Donald Trump’s tax returns have long been the Holy Grail of those who, well, want to hold the president accountable to the law. For years a man so unpopular he was booed at a public wake has blocked any and all attempts to access them, hoping that his supporters won’t smell anything fishy about his finances. But almost four years shy of his 2016 presidential win and just over a month until Election Day 2020, The New York Times has gone and belatedly obtained those long-elusive returns. And guess what? It’s not pretty.

Let’s start with perhaps the most shocking revelation, which is that the president — a purported billionaire and self-described business genius — only paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016, the year he won the presidency. Ditto the following year, his first full year at the job. In other words, there’s a chance that you paid more in federal income taxes than a man whose name still remains on a number of buildings in New York City (and around the country).

But at least that was more than he had paid previously. According to The NYT, “He had paid no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years — largely because he reported losing much more money than he made.”

What’s more, it appears Trump’s financial worries are about to come home to roost. As per The NYT:

As the president wages a re-election campaign that polls say he is in danger of losing, his finances are under stress, beset by losses and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt coming due that he has personally guaranteed. Also hanging over him is a decade-long audit battle with the Internal Revenue Service over the legitimacy of a $72.9 million tax refund that he claimed, and received, after declaring huge losses. An adverse ruling could cost him more than $100 million.

But wait, there’s more! It turns out that a lot of the Trump empire’s businesses aren’t exactly money-winners, forcing him to create a dense latticework of schemes to stay afloat. From The NYT:

The picture that perhaps emerges most starkly from the mountain of figures and tax schedules prepared by Mr. Trump’s accountants is of a businessman-president in a tightening financial vise.

Most of Mr. Trump’s core enterprises — from his constellation of golf courses to his conservative-magnet hotel in Washington — report losing millions, if not tens of millions, of dollars year after year.

His revenue from “The Apprentice” and from licensing deals is drying up, and several years ago he sold nearly all the stocks that now might have helped him plug holes in his struggling properties.The tax audit looms.

And within the next four years, more than $300 million in loans — obligations for which he is personally responsible — will come due.

Trump this week is scheduled to make his first appearance on the debate stage with his rival, former vice president Joe Biden. There’s something else Biden can use, on top of the stuff about escalating COVID-19 deaths, astronomical unemployment, kids in cages, palling around with dictators, yada yada. If things get really rough, Biden can always just say Trump’s a horrible businessman and wreckless spender who’s drowning in debt.

(Via The NYT)

Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are used to weathering criticism, having endured plenty of it during a tumultuous final season of the HBO show. But recently inspired still more controversy, when word broke about their next project: a Netflix show about a world where slavery didn’t end in the United States. But it turns out that controversy has very little to do with Benioff and Weiss themselves.

Instead the culprit is really Liu Cixen, author of The Three-Body Problem, a series of novels Benioff and Weiss hoped to adapt. Cixen recently made controversial comments about Uyghur Muslims in an interview with The New Yorker, which drew criticism from a number of conservative voices and politicians in the United States, who called on Netflix to stop work on the project. Netflix responded to the criticism on Saturday, issuing a statement that distanced the streaming service from the author’s comments but defended the show in a statement, according to Variety.

The streamer has stood firm in a responding letter, repeatedly pointing to the fact that “Mr. Liu is the author of the books, not the creator of this series.”

“Mr. Liu’s comments are not reflective of the views of Netflix or of the show’s creators, nor are they part of the plot or themes of the show,” wrote Netflix vice president of public policy Dean Garfield in the letter.

Netflix made sure to not condone the statements and clearly stated the author isn’t involved in the show’s creation on Netflix, but it’s an inauspicious start for the series, to say the least.

D.K. Metcalf has emerged as a nearly unstoppable force in his second season in the NFL. The massive Seahawks receiver has a breathtaking combination of size and speed, and has become a favorite target of Russell Wilson as the recipient of Wilson’s phenomenal deep ball ability.

However, rookie Trevon Diggs of the Cowboys might’ve come up with a unique way to keep Metcalf out of the end zone, putting his new strategy to work on Sunday. Metcalf torched Diggs on a go route and Wilson put a perfect pass on him for what should’ve been a walk-in touchdown. Instead, it ended up as a Seahawks turnover because Metcalf pedaled off and, for some reason, decided to stroll into the end zone holding the ball like a loaf of bread.

As such, Diggs darted in from behind and punched the ball out of Metcalf’s hands and through the back of the end zone for a touchback to give Dallas the football at the 20 and keep the game tied at 9-9.

Wilson was, rightfully, upset at what transpired and Metcalf could only shake his head on the sidelines after the embarrassing end to what should’ve been his latest highlight reel touchdown. One can assume that Metcalf will learn from this play and hold the ball much more tightly, even when he’s dusted a DB on a go route in the future. For now, though, the Cowboys get a gift thanks to the effort of Diggs and carelessness of Metcalf.

While Purple Rain stands as Prince‘s most popular and recognizable album, many will crown his 1987 album, Sign O’ The Times as his best body of work. Since its release three decades ago, the album has been praised and celebrated time and time again, with the most recent example its 2017 induction into the Grammy Hall Of Fame. Another example dates back to 2004 when Rolling Stone labeled it “the most complete example of [Prince’s] artistry’s breadth, and arguably the finest album of the 1980s.”

Thirty-one years after its release, the late singer’s estate released a super deluxe edition of the album along with a two-hour Prince performance on New Year’s Eve in 1987. The show, which was a benefit concert for The Minnesota Coalition For The Homeless, took place at Paisley Park and sports an incredibly smooth performance alongside jazz legend Miles Davis.

The performance was released alongside the super deluxe version of Sign O’ The Times which includes a boatload of unreleased songs and edits to Prince’s original work, amounting to 65 additions and alterations in total. Among the new additions fans can find “Can I Play With U?,” which stands as Prince and Davis’ only collaboration from their respective careers, and the full remastered audio from his 1987 show in Utrecht, Netherlands.

You can watch the two-hour performance featuring Miles Davis, who appears at the 1:43:00 mark, in the video above. The super deluxe edition of Sign O’ The Times is out now via NMG/Warner. Get it here.

[via Okayplayer]

Prince is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

One week ago the Atlanta Falcons blew a 29-10 fourth quarter lead to the Dallas Cowboys in which they allowed Dallas to recover one of the slowest and weirdest onside kicks in NFL history. In that game, the NFL’s NextGen Stats had them at a 98 percent win probability, before their implosion.

On Sunday, the Falcons looked to bounce back against the Chicago Bears, and once again looked to have a stranglehold on the proceedings when they took a 26-10 lead into the fourth quarter, and, once again, had a 98 percent win probability. The Bears had already benched Mitchell Trubisky for Nick Foles after the former No. 2 overall pick threw one of the worst interceptions of the week, and Foles entered the game and immediately marched the Bears down the field only to throw a pick in the end zone of his own.

The Bears would have a ton of chances, including a 4th and goal from the 17 that saw Anthony Miller drop a touchdown pass that would’ve pulled them within, potentially, one possession. However, the Atlanta Falcons were not going to give up on their dream of blowing two assured wins in back-to-back weeks, as the offense stalled out and the Bears would indeed proceed to score 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, punctuated by this dime from Foles on 3rd and 9 with just under two minutes to play.

Still, this left the Falcons with ample time to drive the field and swipe a victory away from the jaws of defeat, as the Bills did earlier in the afternoon when they blew a 28-3 lead to the Rams (something the Falcons know all about) only to see Josh Allen win it in the closing seconds.

The Falcons are not the Bills and Matt Ryan is not Josh Allen, though, which is a truly incredible sentence to write. Ryan ended up tossing a game-sealing interception as they crossed midfield, putting a bow on two of the worst meltdowns in NFL history, in back-to-back weeks.

It’s the first time a team has blown two 15-point leads in the fourth quarter in a single season in more than 20 years, and happened in two consecutive weeks. The Bears scored all 20 of their points in 4:17. The Falcons win probability charts look like the stock market in early and then late March.

As a Browns fan, even I cannot imagine the depths of despair of watching this Falcons team with any sort of investment. Godspeed to you all. They play again next Monday night in Green Bay.

So far in 2020, BTS has granted their vast fan base two albums with February’s Map of the Soul: 7 and July’s Map of the Soul: 7 – The Journey. While a pair of albums is more than most artists release in a year, K-pop group shows no signs of slowing down as they’ve announced another album set to release before the end of the year. Making the announcement on Twitter, the band revealed that they will release a deluxe album titled Be on November 20.

In the tweet, the group included a link that prompts their fans to download an app called Weverse where a press release for the album from the band’s label, Big Hit Entertainment, can be viewed. The press release reads, “Hello. This is Big Hit Entertainment. BTS’s new album “BE (Deluxe Edition)” will be released on Friday, November 20.” The announcement later says, “‘BE (Deluxe Edition)’ contains the most ‘BTS-esque’ music yet,” giving fans an extra reason to be excited for the upcoming album. The press release also reveals the group’s goal with their upcoming album. “The latest story from BTS begins by declaring that “even in the face of this new normality, our life goes on” and imparts a message of healing to fans and to the world.”

The announcement arrives after the group went to a record store to perform “Dynamite,” “Save Me,” and “Spring Day” for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert.

While Lil Wayne may be celebrating the release of the deluxe re-issue of Tha Carter V, the rapper now has another reason to celebrate: another year of life. On Sunday, the rapper turned 38 years old and his mentee and frequent collaborator Drake took the opportunity to honor who he called “My GOAT” in an Instagram post.

Sharing pictures that date back to their “HYFR” video shoot and Drake’s infamous Lil Wayne impression on Saturday Night Live, Drake attached a touching caption to the picture.

“More life to the man that gave me everything I have!!! My GOAT and not just on some emoji sh*t,” he said to begin the post. Drake also referenced to Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter II album to close him message saying, “Sometimes I wanna drop a tear but no emotions from a king…shall be…so I be…who I be…that’s me…that’s Weezy F Baby and please say the mothaf*ckin…”

The Instagram post arrives weeks after Lil Wayne’s longtime associate Cortez Bryant revealed that Lil Wayne and Drake have previously considered hosting another joint tour following the success of their 2014 Drake vs. Lil Wayne tour. The Instagram post on Wayne’s birthday is not the first time this year that Drake has took to the app to our his longtime mentor. Last month, Drake honored the New Orleans rapper in response to an interview that finds Wayne praising him.

“This man believed in me after so many never called again or just didn’t see it to begin with,” Drake replied while also calling him the “most selfless artist ever.”

You can see Drake’s Instagram post above.

When LeBron James gets new teammates there is always a process of learning to play with the legendary star, especially when putting other stars next to him. From Miami to his second stint in Cleveland, there was always a bit of time where he and his new teammates had to learn about each other and understand one another both on and off the court.

This period of learning about one another can lead to some points where James and other stars grate against one another. So it should come as no surprise that when talking about Anthony Davis, following the Lakers 4-1 series victory over the Nuggets, James said that he sometimes annoys Davis. He compared it to the movie Step Brothers.

For anyone that hasn’t seen Step Brothers, two full grown adults still living at home with their mom and dad, respectively, are suddenly forced to live together when their parents get married. There’s great animosity between the two as they seek to establish dominance over one another, but eventually, they find some common ground between one another and become best friends.

This is actually a very fitting description for how James has traditionally interacted with fellow star teammates. They grate on each other until a common ground is found. Once they’ve gotten past what annoys them about each other they form a true contender. The Lakers are four wins away from an NBA title and Davis has been spectacular in these playoffs with LeBron supporting him the entire way. It certainly seems like they just became Best Friends. Bring on the bunk beds!

Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana and his wife, Jennifer, were at their home in Malibu, California on Saturday when a 39-year-old woman reportedly entered their home and attempted to kidnap their baby grandchild, per TMZ Sports.

The woman apparently entered through an unlocked door of the house and picked up the baby, before being confronted by the Montanas, who “wrestled” the baby away from her.

Our law enforcement sources say the intruder walked away with Montana’s grandchild to another part of the house where she was confronted by Joe and Jennifer. They wrestled the baby away from the woman. The intruder then ran out of the house.

The woman was eventually arrested and charged with kidnapping and burglary charges after L.A. Sheriff’s deputies who were already in the area were alerted and found the woman after she had left the Montana residence. It’s a pretty terrifying situation, but thankfully Joe and Jennifer Montana were both home and nearby, and were able to thwart the attempted kidnapping in progress before something terrible happened.

The 49ers legend has four Super Bowl rings and is one of the all-time greats, but nothing he did on the football field will ever be as important as what he and his wife did on Saturday at their home.

Blackpink is gearing up to drop their upcoming full-length project The Album next month, but before they do so, the K-pop announced a new live event to precede the album’s release. Making the announcement on their social media pages, Blackpink said they’ll hold a “Comeback Live” event to commemorate the release of The Album. The event will take place October 1 on VLIVE, the day before the album’s release, at 2 am BST or 9pm EST on September 30.

The rollout for the album, which the flyer promotes as Blackpink’s “1st full album,” began with their “How You Like That” comeback single, which broke the record for the biggest video premiere ever on YouTube as 1.65 million viewers arrived to see the new video. Shortly after, the group would perform the single on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and release its follow up weeks later with “Ice Cream” featuring Selena Gomez. The single was also highly-anticipated as fans waited weeks before its arrival to find out who the guest feature would be due to Blackpink keeping it a secret.

In addition to the live event, Blackpink also announced an all-access documentary entitled BLACKPINK: Light Up The Sky. The documentary will premiere exclusively October 14 on Netflix.

The Album is out 10/02 via YG Entertainment/Interscope Records. Pre-order it here.