We’ve told so many stories about pets escaping from their homes, but this is one you’ve probably never heard before.

In June, a 150-pound African sulcata tortoise named Elliot got out of his family’s yard, setting off a wild goose (tortoise?) chase within his Arizona community. Yes, you read that correctly, a pet tortoise got out and had to be found.

On the morning of June 19, Cindy Iverson went out to her yard after letting her dogs out and discovered that a storm had blown the back gate open. This set up the perfect opportunity for Elliot to escape.

---

“We panicked,” Iverson told PEOPLE. “We looked everywhere. They’re so nomadic. They just walk and walk, these tortoises. Once they get out, they can walk miles and miles.”

At the time, the weather was very hot, and Iverson and her husband Gary were worried about 12-year-old Elliot’s safety. Because of the heat and the tortoise’s ability to walk for long distances, Elliot could end up in real danger if he wasn’t found quickly. So Cindy reached out to her neighborhood email list and put out the call.

“Immediately, one person replied and said, ‘Hey, I lost my turtle a couple years ago, a girl delivering DoorDash saw a tortoise last night, had her dad Google to see if anyone lost a tortoise, and they contacted me,'” she told PEOPLE.

That neighbor told Iverson that the delivery driver had freed Elliot from a drainage ditch. The sighting gave Iverson hope that Elliot would be found. It also showed her that the community was rooting for them and wasn’t going to let anything happen to the tortoise. So the Iversons shared the story more widely using NextDoor and the Oro Valley Community private Facebook page.

“The whole community just came together in terms of watching for him. We put up flyers, we put up pictures, stuff on people’s mailboxes. We actually saw a van driving around last night, really slow along with us, trying to find him. So, it was just an incredible outpour of people trying to help us out,” Gary told local television news station KOLD News 13.

The Iversons have had Elliot since he was a baby, and it’s clear how much they love him. They could have never anticipated how much their community would show up for them in their time of need. Though they’ve lived in Arizona for more than 20 years, they’re newer to their neighborhood and haven’t really had a chance to get to know many of their neighbors. Clearly, that didn’t matter when it came to finding their beloved pet.

“It really gives you a sense of community, of friendship and knowing that if this happened to somebody else, we would be right there with them as well, trying to help them out. Oro valley has a really strong community in trying to help each other,” Gary said.

About a day and a half after the Iversons discovered Elliot’s disappearance, they got a call that Elliot had been found. He was about a half mile away from home, caught in the fence of a horse farm. Naturally, he was hungry and thirsty, and had allegedly had an encounter with a cactus. But all in all, he was in good shape. Because of where he was situated, the family was unable to use a car to retrieve him, so they decided to cart him home in a wagon.

“He came right to me when he saw me, but we tried to put him in the wagon, and he was having no part of that. So we just pulled the wagon, and he followed us all the way across that property, across the neighbor’s property, to our car, and then it took two of us to lift him in the SUV and trot him home,” Cindy told PEOPLE. It’s good to see he was still ready to walk despite his ordeal.

Elliot’s escape showed his owners what community can be. It’s really heartwarming to see a whole group of strangers step up and join in to help, even though they didn’t have to. Thankfully Elliot is safely home, and the Iversons are planning to reinforce their fence so he can’t escape again. We love a happy ending.

The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from Nav, Quavo and Takeoff, EST Gee and more.

Do you all hear buzzing in your ears? Is your soul feeling a bit more impenetrable than usual? That’s probably because the queen, Beyoncé, has finally released her highly anticipated album Renaissance. While that is sure to be the talk of the weekend and foreseeable future, I know you need your dose of hip-hop too. Column all-stars Wynne and G Perico are back with heaters, along with some other talented artists.

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending July 29, 2022.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

Buddy — Superghetto (Deluxe)

Buddy is back with a supersized edition of his March album Superghetto. The four new records include “Long Day (Pussy Crazy)” featuring Gwen Bunn and an alternate edition of “Hoochie Mama” featuring Tyga.

Wiz Khalifa — Multiverse

It’s time to “Roll Up” your paper planes because Wiz Khalifa is back! Multiverse is a 17-song effort featuring Girl Talk and two guest appearances from They.

Doe Boy — Catch Me If You Can

The enigmatic Doe Boy is miles ahead of the competition on his latest release Catch Me If You Can. The nine-song project only carries one feature in G Herbo, but Doe Boy has plenty of energy to keep your ears tuned in.

Lil Shordie Scott — The Twin Society

Lil Shordie Scott taps Destin Laurel and Ken Carson for his latest EP The Twin Society. With a mix of all lowercase and fully capitalized song titles, the rapper is sure to have you feeling dazed much like the project’s cover art.

K Camp — Vibe Forever

K Camp’s latest album Vibe Forever is aptly named. The artist blends rap, R&B and soul seamlessly, and does so once again on this LP with the help of Ne-Yo and Doe Boy.

Hotboii — Blinded By Death

Hotboii has seen it all and shares his story on his latest album Blinded By Death. The project is anchored by two Lil Uzi Vertt appearances plus verses from Kodak Black and Big30.

Girll Codee — Shaabiggaa & Hiii Siddity

Girll Codee doesn’t settle for just one letter, nor do they settle for mediocrity when it comes to the raps. Media legend Sway adds some vocals to the project, in addition to an appearance by Hoodcelebrityy on standout record “Chaa Chaa Chaa.”

Lil Migo — King Of The Trap 2 (Deluxe)

Lil Migo’s deluxe version of King Of The Trap 2 adds six new records to its original iteration. OJ Da Juiceman, Blac Youngsta, Maui Mac, Fresco Trey, and Duke Deuce all join the fray, and there’s a special appearance from who I am now dubbing “Big Migo,” Quavo.

Singles/Videos

Wynne — “Where 2 Next”

Ah, Wynne wins again. “Where 2 Next” is a warning shot to the haters and a look ahead at the greatness that is coming for her down the line. Men from her past will surely be hurt by “Damn, you had your chance but you fumbled a ten / Now I hug you from the side cause I’m f****** your friend.”

Meyhem Lauren & Daringer ft. Conway The Machine — “Red Pesto”

“Red Pesto” sounds as decadent as the title conveys. Meyhem Lauren and Conway The Machine rap in a comfortable, backpack rap pocket with ease. Lauren’s raspy voice especially floats all over the Daringer production.

Lil Blood ft. Drace Love — “Wig On A Pig”

“Wig On A Pig” is a fun, upbeat record from Lil Blood and Drace Love. They dance at a house party while women kiss one another and twerk with fury.

Young Dolph — “Hall Of Fame”

It is always great to hear new Young Dolph. “Hall Of Fame” is a fair title for this brooding trap record when you look at all he accomplished musically, especially as an independent artist.

G Perico — “Eventually”

G Perico has been releasing new music at an impressive rate, and “Eventually” is another fun banger. Perico dismisses the competition, and says despite the fact he is doing well, he still wants to “smoke n*****.”

Goldenboy Countup — “I’m Ready”

Goldenboy Countup is prepared for whatever in “I’m Ready.” He raps with aggression on the bass-heavy track, outlining his drug transactions, how much money he has, and all the cars he owns.

Jay Worthy & Harry Fraud ft. Kamaiyah — “Good Lookin”

“Good Lookin” has a vintage feel to it. Jay Worthy and Kamaiyah make it feel modern though, over Harry Fraud’s dynamic production. “You got to pay for my time, cause I’m good lookin’.”

Nate Joël — “She Likes To Dance”

Nate Joël is incredibly gifted. You might be familiar with many of his viral freestyle videos, but the boy can make a great song as well. “She Likes To Dance” blends his lyrical excellence with a catchy hook and production you can’t help but dance along to. He even flexes the vocals a little bit, going back and forth between bare-knuckle rapping and melodic runs.

Karlae ft. Yung Mal — “My Type”

Karlae dons her YSL chain with pride in the “My Type” visual. In a room where dollar bills line the walls, she and Yung Mal quite literally read the room as they affirm that money is their type. Me too, y’all.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

When Joey Badass made his debut at 17 years old in 2012 with the ornery, staunchly nostalgic 1999, he was declared the second coming of “real hip-hop” – i.e. Brooklyn-accented, sample-heavy boom-bap rap of the sort that dominated New York radio for a significant chunk of the ‘90s. For what it’s worth, the city has had a long history of anointing teenage rhyme heroes to save the genre from itself. LL Cool J, Nas, and The Notorious B.I.G. have all been slotted onto that lofty pedestal – the difference was, that Joey would seemingly save rap by going back in time, rather than warping it light years ahead.

The problem is that in the years since, Joey has appeared distinctly disinterested in filling that role, eschewing the mantle of hip-hop savior for something a bit more down-to-earth. While his follow-up releases evolved his sound and style, they also became more erratic; his last full-length release, All-Amerikkkan Badass, came out in 2017. In the meantime, Joey branched out creatively, becoming something of a trailblazer in a different respect than the one many expected him to. While it’s commonplace now for rappers to transition into other fields of entertainment – acting, modeling, directing, and so forth – Joey had already secured his first major role in the cyberpunk series Mr. Robot just a year after dropped his “official” debut album, B4.Da.$$.

And now, he’s returned with just his third full-length studio album. Titled 2000, its name suggests a return to the spirit of that much-magnified debut, 1999. A lot has changed since then; the man himself is 10 years older, with all the wisdom and experience implied. He’s had plenty of success, but he’s also had disappointments. With all the fanfare surrounding him when he started, many expected him to be somewhere in the range of a Drake or J. Cole or Kendrick Lamar – the upper echelons of rap (himself included). While his talent arguably justifies the comparisons, and lyrically, he might well be up there, the way he is perhaps most similar to them is in his and Kendrick’s shared iconoclasm.

Which is probably why it’s so jarring that the very first voice we hear on 2000 is Diddy’s. At one point, the mogul would have been seen as the antithesis of Joey’s youthful rebellion. After all, Diddy wasn’t just at the forefront of hip-hop’s excessive jiggy era, he was its chief architect. But his presence is instructive; on 2000, Joey’s mission objective seems to be to reconcile his present conditions with the keep-it-real expectations assessed to him – to finally make whole the disparate segments of his overall career. It’s like he wants us to appreciate his success outside of music as sort of a replacement for his near absence within it. As a target, it might be a little out of his reach, but that doesn’t mean that the effort isn’t worthwhile.

For one thing, Badass can still get down on the mic like nobody’s business. For another, his ear for beats that deftly tightrope the often opposing demands of the mainstream and his established lane has only grown more adept. “Make Me Feel,” “Brand New 911” featuring Westside Gunn, “Zipcodes,” and “One Of Us” defy the stigma that often follows traditionalist hip-hop of being dreary or weighed down by gloomy or repetitive samples. Instead, they are breezy, like driving down the highway at twilight with the top down, and he sounds confident and light on his toes, like a boxer dancing in the ring, knowing his opponent is too slow to keep up. You believe him when he calls himself a “walking industry loophole.” He earns the Nas co-sign that appears on “Cruise Control.”

He’s also gotten better at emotive storytelling. The crown jewel of the album is the not quite melancholy “Survivors Guilt,” on which he relays his remorse at not doing more to prevent the death of his friend and fellow Pro Era founder Capital Steez. It’s the most vulnerable and honest we’ve ever seen him, dropping the brusque New York swagger for a quiet confessional. You even want to forgive him for the crass “pause” he throws in while baring his brotherly love for Steez. Unfortunately, he also missteps when he tries to do two “songs for the ladies” back-to-back. The second one, “Show Me” is fine, if rote, but if hearing Diddy at the top is jarring, hearing the endlessly problematic Chris Brown on “Welcome Back” might give you whiplash.

I think, in the end, the thing barring Joey from that coveted higher plateau of hip-hop notoriety – aside from adherence to an anachronistic philosophy of rap sonics and his groundhog-esque ability to go missing from the arena that counts most – is the thematic haziness that surrounds all of his projects. He sounds like he’s perpetually ciphering on the block with his boys. Occasionally, they’ll touch on a thread and consider it for a few verses, but then the stream of consciousness will carry another subject along for them to latch onto. It feels ephemeral and carefree, but in a way that never really sticks to your ribs. Ironically, it seems Joey himself hasn’t really changed much since 2012, he’s just got more to talk about. It sounds nice, but I wish that the words held more weight.

2000 is out now on Pro Era/Cinematic Music Group/Columbia Records. Get it here.

The defamation lawsuit against Alex Jones is not going well for the conspiracy peddler. Jones is facing over $150 million in damages after being taken to court by the Sandy Hook families for falsely asserting that the deadly school shooting was a hoax. The trial is less than a week in, but the legal team for the families has already delivered damaging testimony from former Infowars employee Rob Jacobson who worked for the show from 2004 to 2017 after being personally hired by Jones.

In a video deposition, Jacobson revealed that he felt “complicit” about Jones’ radio show pushing the conspiracy theory even though he was not directly involved with the segments. However, Jacobson testified that he tried to put a stop to the Sandy Hook lies, but was mocked for his efforts. Via HuffPost:

“When [Sandy Hook] would come on the screen, I would make it my business to go in to the writers and explain to them as clearly as possible … what those ethics are and why they are violating them and what the damage could possibly be,” Jacobson said.

“I must have been in that room four to five times, at least, and only to be received with laughter and jokes,” he added.

After his deposition was played, a “nervous” yet “frustrated” Jacobson further elaborated on the experience for the jury during Friday’s proceedings.

“I mean, it’s one thing to make a mistake,” Jacobson said. “It’s something else to have it pointed out to you not just once, but over, and over, and over and over again, and to not only hear the damage that you’re doing to people outside of your zone, but to actually laugh about it.”

Jones was not present in the court during the testimony, but he did appear earlier in the week and yelled at reporters that the whole thing is a “kangaroo court.”

(Via HuffPost)

New details from Jared Kushner’s upcoming memoir are giving us rare glimpses into the Trump White House and it sounds like being part of that administration was like trying to survive in the gladiator pits.

CNN is sharing excerpts from Kushner’s Breaking History: A White House Memoir, which is set to hit shelves next month. In it, the former president’s son-in-law lets loose on his number one enemy in the early days of Trump’s reign and, it’s exactly who you think it’d be. Kushner, who had no political or policy-making experience before Trump gave him a White House job, admitted he clashed with campaign manager Steve Bannon on more than one occasion and even labeled him a “toxic West Wing presence” and a “black belt in the dark arts of media manipulation.”

In fact, Kushner attributes most of the negative press about his role in the administration to leaks provided to reporters by Bannon himself. On one occasion, Kushner asked Bannon to stop leaking information on another Trump team member, senior economic adviser Gary Cohn and Bannon reacted by violently threatening the man.

Another time, Bannon blew up at Kushner for trying to do damage control by giving an interview to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman explaining why Trump had kicked both Bannon and then-chief of staff, Reince Priebus, off Air Force One.

“‘How f—ing dare you leak on me? If you leak out on me, I can leak out on you 28 ways from Sunday,’” Kushner writes.

Of course, in the end, Bannon’s bad behavior was pardoned by Trump — something Kushner oddly supported despite being the guy’s favorite punching bag for years.

“Seriously?” Trump said to Kushner, according to the book. “You would really be for that? After everything he did to you?”

“Bannon single-handedly caused more problems for me than anyone else in my time in Washington. He probably leaked and lied about me more than everyone else combined. He played dirty and dragged me into the mud of the Russia investigation. But now that he was in trouble, I felt like helping him was the right thing to do,” Kushner writes.

But the most hilarious nugget to come from the book is how proud of himself Kushner was once Trump gave Bannon the boot.

“Admitting that I didn’t yet have any major policy successes to show for my seven months in government, I joked, ‘At least I was able to get Steve Bannon fired. That partially saves the world from immediate disaster,’” Kushner writes, noting that his friend told him, “You don’t get credit for that…you’re supposed to do that.”

(Via CNN)

Thanks to social media, it’s a pretty regular occurrence for celebrity deaths to trend on Twitter, even if they aren’t real. But for some reason, it seems like the world is trying to tell us that America’s sweetheart Weird Al Yankovic is dead, despite the fact that he is very much alive.

In the second episode of Amazon’s new sci-fi show Paper Girls, one of the characters mentions that Weird Al is “dead,” to which her friend says “What? He’s probably just old.” Of course, we quickly learn that she is talking about her pet hampster, Weird Al. The episode is aptly titled, “Weird Al Is Dead.” The exchange is a silly moment, followed by the group of paper girls talking about their pets. But…it gets weirder.

As it turns out, this isn’t the first episode of a TV show to be named “Weird Al Is Dead.” Y: The Last Man released an episode in October with the same exact title. Understandably, Weird Al himself is concerned.

So what’s the deal with this?

Both Paper Girls and Y: The Last Man are based on comics written by Brian K. Vaughan, who is known for being one of the writers on Under The Dome and Lost, where he coincidentally also wrote the season five episode “Dead Is Dead.” At least he didn’t bring Weird Al into that smoke monster-infected world.

While Vaughan hasn’t explained the connection, the official Paper Girls Twitter pointed out, “No Weird Al’s were harmed in the making of Paper Girls.” Good!

Holy moly, it was a great week for music and animal lovers. Of course, amazing acts and heartwarming fur baby stories are always welcome at Upworthy, but they really made up the bulk of our reasons to smile this week.

Why? Because these weren’t just moments of “aw, how cute,” or “wow, what talent,” although we absolutely love those simple pleasures. Many of these stories offered a glimpse of what humanity can accomplish at its best—what can happen when we make a concerted effort toward protecting nature, or when we allow people to express themselves authentically, or when we honor our inherent interconnectedness. There weren’t just 10 reasons to smile this week, but 10 reasons to feel hopeful about where we’re going collectively.

And those 10 reasons are below.

---

1. 78-year-old Joni Mitchell makes surprise appearance with Brandi Carlile at folk festival.

The one, the only, THE Joni Mitchell joined fellow singer Brandi Carlile on stage at the Newport Folk Festival, playing some of her most beloved classics including “Big Yellow Taxi,” as well as a rendition of “Both Sides Now” that left everyone in tears. You can read even more about her incredible comeback here.

2. Sweet dog loves pats so much, she made a sign for strangers to let them know.

See on Instagram

Tubs the Blue Staffy made sure to let everyone know she is a friendly good girl who welcomes gentle pats. To no one’s surprise, people were quick to accept her invitation.

3. Flowers were planted along the road to reduce speeding and it worked incredibly well.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Long Newnton Parish Council planted flowers by the roadside to help improve biodiversity (BBC). Turns out, the beauty of the flowers cause motorists to literally “slow down and smell the roses.” Now the money raised from a crowdfunding campaign will go to plant even more flowers and hopefully reduce speeding on even more roads.

4. A musical fairy absolutely wowed everyone on “America’s Got Talent” with a Disney classic.

“Freckled Zelda” showed up in full costume, ocarina and all, for her performance of “Colors of the Wind” from the movie “Pocahontas.” By the end, even Simon Cowell was impressed. And so were we.

5. Native birds of Miramar increased by a whopping 51%.

Radio New Zealand (RNZ) announced that Wellington’s Miramar Peninsula saw a spike in several native bird species, like pīwakawakas, riroriros and tūī. This was largely due to community efforts to eliminate the surplus of natural predators in the area.

6. A positive moment in history resurfaced, giving us all a breath of fresh air.

See on Instagram

A step in the right direction, and hopefully the first among many.

7. People fell in love with the security guard moved to tears at a Kendrick Lamar concert.

@dejaihvu Mans shoulda just bought a ticket 😩🤣 #kendricklamar #thebigstepperstour #houstontx ♬ original sound – Dejaih Smith

Security guard Devyn Sanford was caught on video sobbing to Lamar performing “Love.” That touching video of his pure joy went viral on TikTok gaining 11 million views.

8.  Man had one cat, then no cats, then two cats. 

See on Instagram

The best copycat story ever. Now he has double the chonks to love.

9. An adorable baby sloth was born at a zoo in Mississippi.

Baaaaaaaby sloth, do, do, do, do, do do. This little guy’s name is Lumpawaroo. Lumpy for short. You’re welcome.

10. There are now double the amount of tigers in Nepal.

By tackling poaching and using government intervention strategies like replacing livestock eaten by tigers (thus reducing conflicts between the tigers and farmers), Nepal now has an estimated 355 big cats in the country, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Compare that to the 121 estimated in 2009. Wow.

CMG’s 2022 takeover continues with another new release from the Memphis-based label’s Louisville slugger, EST Gee. Collective Music Group shows no signs of letting up this year even though the group just dropped a compilation album, Gangsta Art, two weeks ago. While EST Gee was all over that project, it seems he hasn’t quite satisfied his creative itch, following up today with “Blood.” If you know Gee’s past work like his 2021 mixtape Bigger Than Life Or Death, you know what to expect here.

It’s a good thing EST Gee is on his grind since his “Lurkin” labelmate Mozzy just turned himself in on gun charges today. The Sacramento native is due for a year in prison on those charges, but with his crewmates going so hard in the meantime, he’s set to return to more collective wealth. Much of it will be generated by Gee, who has been a hotly demanded feature artist, collaborating with French Montana on “Keep It Real” as well as a supposed joint project with fellow Louisvillian Jack Harlow.

Meanwhile, the label continues to grow; earlier this month, CMG announced signing Memphis rapper GloRilla, whose song “FNF” has been burning up the streets independently since its release. It’s looking like a CMG summer.

Listen to EST Gee’s new single “Blood” up top.

Many people do not like going to hospitals. Whether it is the poor handling of patients, the deathly connotations that come with the physical buildings, or the excessive medical expenses, they are not places that people want to end up. King Princess puts this on full display in the video for “Let Us Die” and draws parallels to a love that is difficult to maintain.

The video opens with the 23-year-old entering a waiting room and notifying the attendant that she is there to see a doctor only to be met with rudeness. From there, she experiences one of the worst hospital visits ever by being force-fed Jello, working out on an elliptical, and having an oxygen mask forced onto her face, among other things.

The climax of the video comes in the form of a dolled-up woman with a long, sharp nail on her index finger performing open heart surgery in front of a crowd of attendants who lick the blood that spews from her heart off of their fingers and faces. It is a jarring display of giving one’s self over to the bad side of courtship.

“Let Us Die,” which notably features drum contributions from the late Foo Fighters member Taylor Hawkins, arrives as part of King Princess’ new album Hold On Baby. Ahead of the new album, the Brooklyn singer shared the singles “Change The Locks,” “Too Bad,” “Cursed,” “For My Friends,” and “Little Bother” featuring Fousheé.

Check out the gory video for “Let Us Die” above.

Hold On Baby is out now via Zelig Records. Listen here.

Despite the fact that Baby Yoda is a cultural icon who will be famous forever, it turns out that there were some more important people on the set of The Mandalorian, like the guys who played Mando himself. As it turns out, there were a few of them.

While Pedro Pascal gets most of the credit for being the titular character, there are two other stuntmen who get to wear his iconic metal armor, Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder. Pascal has previously referred to Wayne and Crowder as the show’s “other two daddies” which is heartwarming if you don’t think about it too hard.

Pascal recently opened up to Entertainment Weekly about the trio’s bond, and how he couldn’t have played the role without them — literally. “It’s been a collaborative process from the beginning,” Pascal explained. “I was given the opportunity to establish physical specificity in some ways at the start of the show, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t observing and picking up from what they’re doing and handing over so much of it as well. They do the heavy lifting.”

The actor praised Crowder, who he had worked with before on several occasions for “[defying] gravity. He is one of the most expertly athletic human beings. When I knew he was going to be putting on the suit for this, I was like, ‘Yes! I’m gonna look so cool!’” And he really did look so cool while walking around with his cute little green alien baby!

While the newest season of The Mandalorian won’t be out for some time, Pascal says that the story of Grogu and Din is in good hands. “I think it was so easy to trust how much Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni love Star Wars and [how they’re] taking that love and developing new ways of telling Star Wars stories,” Pascal told the mag. “That’s a big safety net. But there were things, like, will this character be compelling? Will people want to follow him through these adventures? Will the richness of this parent-child relationship really reach everyone? So to see all of that surpass expectation is really exciting.” As long as we get more Baby Yoda memes, the fans will be happy.

The Mandalorian is currently streaming on Disney+.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)