Month: July 2022

After being laid to rest (aka canceled) by CBS last month, fan-favorite reboot Magnum P.I. was rescued by NBC for not one but two more seasons with a 20-episode order split over the two seasons of the reboot. The move came after an extensive social media campaign from the show’s stars and dedicated fanbase.

The cast has been reacting to the stellar news, thanking NBC for taking a chance on the show, which stars Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum, the former Navy Seal who is now a private investigator. The series also stars Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, Amy Hill, and Tim Kang. Season five is expected to begin shooting later this summer.

The stars shared their excitement on social media, with Hernandez joking that he will have to “dust off the Aloha shirt.” Stephen Hill also tweeted “aloha nui loa a hui hou,” which translates to “love you so much.”

The series is a reboot of the classic 1980s drama starring Tom Selleck that ran for eight seasons. As fans know, NBC infamously cancels most of their sci-fi shows: Manifest, Debris, The Event, and the cute little alien show Surface from 2005 that will NEVER be forgotten! But a two-season order is pretty optimistic, and the fans are undoubtly ready for it.

(Via Deadline)

It is an exciting time for Cardi B as she has released her first single in two years, “Hot Sh**,” featuring Kanye West and Lil Durk–or, at least it should be. The Grammy-winning rapper sat down for an Apple Music 1 interview with Zane Lowe and kept it very honest about the struggles she endured with this record, specifically its music video.

“Oh my goodness, I don’t want to talk about the video” the Invasion of Privacy artist reveals in the interview, “because this video has brought me so much drama. So this is the first time I ever do CGI. I’m very particular on how I like my things, and I really like when things look super realistic. I like building sets, or I like to be in a place.

She continued later saying “I couldn’t maneuver or move how I wanted to, because I was very confused. After I finished the video, I find out that this s**t takes so long. I did this video around March, and it’s still not even ready yet. And it’s just so frustrating that I’m like, ‘You know what? Just put the f***ing song out. I don’t even give a f**k anymore. I’m over it.’”

Elsewhere, she spoke on connecting with Kanye West and why she enjoyed his verse so much. “Kanye gave me this verse a couple of months ago when he was just all over the media, because of all of the things that were going on,” Cardi stated in reference to his drama with ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her new beau Pete Davidson. “I like how his verse, it’s personal, but it’s not that personal.”

Despite the negativity surrounding Ye, Cardi sees more within him. “I’m so happy that he gave me this verse,” she continued. “And I had a lot of conversations with Kanye West. I learned so much about him and he’s such an amazing, sweet person. I’ve been feeling like, I wish a lot of people have conversations with him so they could just see the real him.”

“Hot Sh**” is the lead single for Cardi B’s forthcoming album, though no title or release date is set yet as she last announced there were some technical difficulties to work out. In the meantime, check out her new single above.

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

Ever since former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson gave her explosive testimony to the January 6th committee last week, all anyone can really talk about is the story she told about a very petulant President Donald Trump really, really wanting to follow his fans to the Capitol.

According to Hutchinson, when the then-president was told in no uncertain terms that he was being taken back to the White House, he allegedly attempted to choke out a Secret Service agent and commandeer the presidential limo, a.k.a. The Beast, by grabbing the steering wheel.

In some ways, the idea of Trump acting like a James Bond villain (Goldlittlefingers) actually makes him seem a little bit more badass than most people thought. But several people have decried Hutchinson’s testimony as absolute hogwash (she, however, “stands by all” of it). While Trump himself threw cold water on the story by claiming he’s far too weak to take on a Secret Service agent—”These guys lift 350 pounds. I don’t,” he told Newsmax—another ex-Secret Service agent has a different idea about why it would be nearly impossible for the former president to manage such feats of strengths: he’s too damn fat.

Insider spoke with several former Secret Service agents, many of whom questioned Trump’s physical wherewithal to actually accomplish the superhero-ish moves Hutchinson described. And while they did remain anonymous, they didn’t mince words when it came to why they weren’t so sure about Hutchinson’s testimony, with one agent—in the understatement of the year—claiming Trump is “not the most agile human being.” Then he took it even further:

“Trump’s not a little guy, right? And the space to actually be able to lunge towards the wheel is not that big. I don’t mean to sound disparaging to the former president, but just his girth would prevent him from actually getting to the steering wheel.”

While Hutchinson’s retelling of the story was compelling, and her testimony has since come under scrutiny by a handful of Trump insiders, the idea of the portly former president trying and failing to take control of The Beast might be even more juicy (and could explain why he purportedly threw his ketchup-loaded lunch plate at a White House wall later on).

UPDATE: As it turns out, Trump was not shuffled around in the Beast on Jan 6th — he was transported around via an armored SUV, so it is actually possible for the obese former president to have grabbed the steering wheel after all, it appears.

(Via Insider)

Everything really is bigger in Texas—including the jackassery of its lawmakers. Not content with simply being the state that waited more than TWO F**KING YEARS to acknowledge the Emancipation Proclamation and finally tell enslaved Black people that they were free, the Lone Star State now wants to whitewash the brutality of its past misdeeds altogether, lest its young people get the exact right idea about the atrocities of slavery.

As Raw Story reports, a group of state educators have submitted a proposal to the Texas State Board of Education that when second-grade social studies students get to that part of American history where our lawmakers thought it was totally cool to violently capture African people from their home country, ship them halfway across the world, then trade them like chattel, we might want to use a less damning word than “slavery.” Their choice? “Involuntary relocation.”

The proposed language change comes in response to a recently passed state law which instructs educators to avoid discussing topics that could make students “feel discomfort” and that, as Raw Story writes, “slavery can’t be taught as part of the true founding of the United States and that slavery was nothing more than a deviation from American values.” As such, the proposal actually states that teachers should “compare journeys to America, including voluntary Irish immigration and involuntary relocation of African people during colonial times.”

Ummmm…

Fortunately, not everyone in Texas is as apathetic or as ignorant as its top lawmakers like governor Greg Abbott, who thought it would be funny to bus migrants to Washington, DC; lieutenant governor Dan Patrick, who’s currently attempting to push a “Don’t Say Gay” bill similar to Florida’s in the state; or senator Ted “The Ooze” Cruz, who, well, just—yuck.

Stephanie Alvarez, a University of Texas Rio Grande Valley professor who is a member of the group that’s pushing this change—but was not at the meetings where this language switcheroo was decided—says she finds the whole idea of attempting to erase this tragic part of history “extremely disturbing.”

Harvard University history professor Annette Gordon-Reed, meanwhile, sees it as disturbing and dangerous—and a way to set the country back. “Tell children the truth,” she told Raw Story. “They can handle it.”

(Via Raw Story)

Following a disastrous 2021-22 season in which the team won only 27 games, the Portland Trail Blazers are aiming to retool around Damian Lillard. The first step was a deal to acquire Jerami Grant prior to the 2022 NBA Draft and, in searching for long-term upside, the Blazers and newly hired front office voice Mike Schmitz tapped Shaedon Sharpe with the No. 7 overall pick. However, the Blazers still had work to do, and one task was a decision on the status of veteran big man Jusuf Nurkic.

On Friday, we learned that the team wasn’t going to let him get away. Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Nurkic will stay in Portland on a 4-year, $70 million contract.

Nurkic has faced injury issues in the recent past, appearing in only 101 games over the last three seasons. The 27-year-old big man did take the floor on 56 occasions in 2021-22 and, while the Blazers did take steps to indicate Nurkic was banged up late in the campaign, it is possible he could’ve exceed that 56-game mark.

While Nurkic is not an elite defender, he brings an adequate skillset on that end of the floor, and he averaged 15 points and 11.1 rebounds per game in his final season under contract. Nurkic also entered the offseason as Portland’s best and most natural target at the center position and, with the Blazers seemingly wanting to win now, his return was paramount. It remains to be seen what the future holds, but this has been a fruitful partnership between player and team that will continue.

Sometimes you come across something that makes you smile out of sheer uncontrollable delight. Oftentimes when that feeling takes over, it’s about something small but sweet. These world famous orchestras pranking their conductors on their birthdays is the wholesome dose of serotonin you need right now.

In this short video clip from British classical radio station Classic FM, three separate orchestras prepare like they’re about to play the piece when their conductors—maestros Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Roger Norrington and Lahav Shani—come onto the stage. But what each of the three conductors is expecting is not what the orchestras play, delighting all with surprise renditions of “Happy Birthday.” One orchestra, the SWR Sinfonieorchester, got very creative with its birthday serenade, masterfully remixing it with the first movement of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony. It was an incredible mashup, and the 84-year-old Norrington looks truly impressed and moved to a few tears.

Music moves people in a way that not many things can. It connects with a piece of our soul that requires closed eyes to get the full effect. Hearing these professional musicians play their instruments just as beautifully when playing “Happy Birthday” as when they play the classical masters is a delight. The crowds cheered when the orchestras completed their tributes, just as loudly as they would’ve with a masterfully executed symphony.

Life can be hard sometimes and a little levity can lift just about anyone’s spirits. Seeing the audience join in on the birthday fun added to the joyful atmosphere. May all of these conductors enjoy their birthdays, and have many more to come. This was such a sweet moment to be captured on film and shared with others.

(Spoilers for Season 3 of The Boys will be found below.)

The Boys keep on doing the thing, meaning that they’re somehow managing to stun their audience after last week’s “Herogasm,” which has been called the show’s best episode. Other than featuring a Supe orgy and confirming that The Deep can’t give up the octopus obsession, the episode culminated in a knock-out, throw-down fight between Homelander, Soldier Boy, Butcher, and a naked Hughie. The whole rivalry between the unfrozen Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) and Homelander (Antony Starr), two “great whites” who are warring over the whole concept of a Compound V “upgrade,” led to that climactic battle, but this week, it led somewhere else.

During the final moments of “Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed,” The Boys dropped a stunning twist that actually makes too much sense. Homelander was apparently test-tubed from Soldier Boy’s sperm, meaning that — you guessed it — we’ve got a figurative Darth Vader/Luke Skywalker realization (from The Empire Strikes Back, obv) in the making. Of course, there’s also plenty of other, quieter revelations (including Black Noir’s past), but yes, there’s every reason to believe that Homelander’s pitch-black soul will finally crack in half when he gets a load of this.

And let’s just say that viewers were stunned, too. What does this say about Butcher’s plan regarding Soldier Boy being the only one who can defeat Homelander?

Could Homelander and Soldier Boy actually team up, and can anyone survive the resulting mess?

The Boys‘ is currently streaming on Amazon, and next week’s the Season 3 finale.

After a hot start to the 2021-22 season, the Chicago Bulls tapered off as they dealt with some key injuries and entered this offseason considering some changes. Their main priority was getting Zach LaVine back in the fold as star hit unrestricted free agency, and for a brief moment it seemed he might see what else was out there for him on the market.

However, the Bulls came correct with their contract offer to the star and as free agency opened, LaVine agreeing to a 5-year, $215.2 million contract to stay in Chicago was reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic. Charania added that LaVine’s deal includes a player option on the final year.

LaVine is coming off of back-to-back All-Star campaigns in Chicago, taking a leap as a scorer both in volume and efficiency, averaging 25.8 points per game on 49.1/40.4/85.1 shooting splits over the last two seasons. With LaVine back in the fold, the Bulls attention now shifts to what else they can do to upgrade the roster around LaVine and DeRozan, with the expectation being they’ll try to bolster their frontcourt, either in a splash move that sends Nikola Vucevic out, or in a smaller addition to bring a bit more defense and rim protection to the roster.

Chicago will hope that Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso can get healthy for a full season and they can take a step forward as a contender in the stacked East, with LaVine as the centerpiece and now being paid like it.

Wiz Khalifa is a businessman — he has his own weed brand, Khalifa Kush, as well as HotBox, a collaboration with the virtual restaurant brand NextBite.

Now, Khalifa is launching with a naturally occurring psilocybin and mushroom wellness brand called Mistercap in collaboration with the Canadian company Red Light Holland. In the Netherlands, they’re working on magic truffles and hope to launch home-grown, non-psychedelic mushroom kits in the U.S., Europe and Canada by the end of the year.

“We’ve been working with Wiz Khalifa and his team to collaborate and create a brand that encompasses our joint belief for the affordable and equitable access to naturally occurring psilocybin responsibly,” Red Light Holland’s CEO and director Todd Shapiro said in a statement. “Wiz Khalifa is a global icon with tremendous reach who is uniquely positioned to help us spread the message and end the stigma surrounding psilocybin while focusing on mental health and wellness.”

He added: “When we launch the MISTERCAP products, including the MISTERCAP website, social media channels and merch – we plan on launching BIG TIME – so stay tuned, because Wiz Khalifa x Red Light Holland together are not afraid of shaking things up and making some much needed helpful noise. Together we are demonstrating that mushrooms are important, the future and can be very sexy!”

R. Kelly has been found guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering in a federal trial and sentenced to 30 years in prison, but the judge in the case apparently wants to take more proactive steps to keep Kelly from backsliding upon his release. In addition to the long prison sentence, Judge Ann M. Donnelly has ordered R. Kelly to receive treatment for “an unspecified sexual disorder,” according to TMZ.

Additionally, after his release, Kelly must avoid all contact with minors unless the minor’s family member is present or in a therapeutic setting with a responsible adult chaperone. Finally, Kelly faces five years of supervised release at the end of his prison sentence. Prosecutors originally recommended more than 25 years of prison for the disgraced singer due to the threat they feel he presents, so Judge Donnelly has certainly gone above and beyond.

US attorneys likely believed that such a sentence is warranted because of both the evidence that came to light during the trial and the decades of alleged misconduct in which Kelly engaged according to witnesses. While his 1994 wedding to a then-17-year-old Aaliyah was widely-known, in the years since, Kelly was accused of child pornography and keeping women and girls in a “sex cult,” manipulating or outright abusing them to keep them compliant.

Kelly faces another trial on child porn charges in Chicago next month. He plans to appeal his conviction.