Month: July 2022

For the last year-and-a-half, the Democrats have controlled the White House, the House, and the Senate. So why can’t they get anything done? In part thanks to two stubborn Democratic senators: Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema and West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, who are both very popular with Republicans. The latter recently scotched yet another crucial bill, this one concerning climate change and tax loopholes. It came as no surprise to anyone paying attention, but one of his fellow senators was even more incensed than most.

Bernie Sanders went on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, and when host Martha Raddatz claimed Manchin had “abruptly pulled the plug” on the bill, he took umbrage with her choice of words.

“No, Martha, he didn’t abruptly,” Sanders shot back, interrupting her. “He didn’t abruptly do anything. He has sabotaged the president’s agenda. If you check the record, six months ago, I made it clear that you have people like Manchin, [Kyrsten] Sinema to a lesser degree, who are intentionally sabotaging the president’s agenda, what the American people want, what a majority of us in the Democratic Caucus want. Nothing new about this.

“The problem was that we continued to talk to Manchin like he was serious. He was not,” he continued. “This is a guy who is a major recipient of fossil fuel money, a guy who has received campaign contributions from 25 Republican billionaires.”

When Raddatz quoted Manchin, who said he was concerned about inflation, Sanders gave a sarcastic, drawn-out, “Really? Is that right?”, calling it “the same nonsense that Manchin has been talking about for a year.”

Sanders also talked about how Manchin’s state is one of the poorest in the country. “You ask the people of West Virginia if they want to expand Medicare to cover dental, hearing, and eyeglasses. You ask the people of West Virginia whether we should demand that the wealthiest people and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes. Ask the people of West Virginia whether or not all people should have healthcare as a human right, like every other country on Earth, that’s what they will say,” he said. “In my humble opinion, Manchin represents the wealthiest people in this country, not working families in West Virginia or America.”

In the meantime, Manchin continues to insist he’s still a Democrat, not a DINO (Democrat in Name Only). He also unconvincingly claimed he was shocked that far right judges he helped elect to lifetime positions lied when they said they wouldn’t overturn Roe v. Wade.

You can watch Sanders go off on Manchin in the video above.

When he suddenly passed away at age 28, Jak Knight seemed about to break through. He’d already accomplished so much. He was a writer on Big Mouth, on which he also voiced a few characters, including Devin’s ex-husband DeVon. He’d co-created the Peacock comedy Bust Down, on which he also starred, alongside Chris Redd, Sam Jay, and Langston Kerman. And he’d been an increasingly acclaimed and visible stand-up.

“Whenever I was on a lineup with Jak Knight, I knew it was going to be a wildly funny night,” wrote fellow comic James Adomian on Twitter after news of his death was reported.

To honor a comic whose rising star was cut short, Comedy Central has put together a best-of compilation, which shows how much we lost.

“I call white women ‘swans.’ They’re white, they’re majestic, and people get upset when I chase them through parks,” he jokes in the opening bit. He proceeds to talk about many things: sex, female presidents, the idea of a male Melania (who he describes as basically like having Kevin Federline in the White House), and, of course, Trump.

“Trump’s my president the same way my stepdad is my stepdad,” he says in one segment. “I didn’t see it coming. He’s really annoying on Twitter, and he’s only here because a woman didn’t do a good enough job.” The reaction is a mix of laughs and gasps.

You can view it all in the video above. In the meantime, the cause of Knight’s death remains unknown.

Alan Dershowitz may be the most hated Democrat amongst Democrats. The celebrity lawyer has a habit of making the worst bedfellows, be they Donald Trump or Jeffrey Epstein. That’s ostracized him from his party, to the point that he’s persona non grata whenever he spends his summers on the wealthy playground that is Martha’s Vineyard. This year he hasn’t been yelled at by Larry David (yet), but he’s still getting nothing but cold shoulders. How is Dershowitz making things better with his fellow rich vacationers? By going on Newsmax to complain about it.

“I have essentially been excluded from the Democratic Party,” Dershowitz whined. “There was recently an event on Martha’s Vineyard for Jewish Democrats – who would be the first person you would think of as a Jewish Democrat on Martha’s Vineyard – me, but I wasn’t invited because I’m now cancelled essentially from the Democratic Party.”

Dershowitz — who defended Trump at his second impeachment trial, which could have banned him from ever running for president again — detailed the extent of his ostracization:

“The library won’t allow me to speak on Martha’s Vineyard, the Community Center, the major synagogue, all of them have canceled me because I had the chutzpah to defend the constitution on behalf of a president of the United States that they all voted against – the fact that I voted against him, too — and then I remain, in my mind a Liberal Democrat doesn’t much matter … If I don’t follow the party line down to the extreme, I am cancelled. People refuse to attend events if they know I’m gonna be there and that’s why several friends of mine have who have invited me for years to events in their home or concerts that they’ve sponsored have apologetically said, ‘We’re sorry we can’t invite you because if you come everybody will leave.”

Alas, going on a Trumpy network doesn’t seem to have calmed things over with fellow Democrats.

(Via Raw Story)

You cannot mess with Beyonce in any way. Whether it comes to music or anything, really, the Lemonade artist manages to rise above it all. While feelings about her acting career tend to be polarizing, her success is beyond undeniable. Yet, Beyonce Knowles is not afraid to acknowledge moments where she isn’t presented in the best light.

Vulture recently revisited Austin Powers In Goldmember and learned that the film’s makeup artist, Kate Biscoe, said the 40-year-old felt she looked too skinny on the movie’s poster. Biscoe, asked someone on the crew, after Beyonce walked away: “Is that the first time that you’ve ever had an actress ask to make her body bigger?”, to which he replied “Yes. It’s going to cost me thousands of dollars, but I am going to do it.”

Though this was an unfortunate situation, Beyonce has provided much entertainment throughout her acting career. Prior to Austin Powers In Goldmember, she first entered the cinematic universe with Carmen: A Hip Hopera in 2001. Since then, the “Irreplaceable” artist has had major roles in Dreamgirls, Obsessed, and The Lion King. As for music, Queen Bee released “Break My Soul” in June and Renaissance is set to release on July 29th.

LeBron James has worn Nike throughout his basketball career after wearing Adidas while he was in high school. James famously signed a contract with Nike right before he entered the NBA, although much has been made of the fact that legendary Adidas executive Sonny Vaccaro wanted his company to offer James a 10-year contract worth $100 million.

That ended up being too rich for some decision makers’ blood, and Nike was able to swoop in and offer James a more lucrative deal that has turned into a lifetime contract. All of that serves as the backdrop for Saturday afternoon’s Drew League game in which James played — the league’s uniforms are made by Adidas, and as noted by several people on Twitter, James looked like he covered up the Adidas logo on his jersey before he played.

Here are some of James’ highlights from the game — it can be hard to see, but you can notice that most of his teammates have an Adidas logo at the center of their chest.

Saturday’s game was the first time James played in Drew League, the annual summer pro-am in Los Angeles, since the 2011 NBA lockout. He teamed up with DeMar DeRozan, who is a fixture at the Drew and also appeared to not have the Adidas logo on his jersey (DeRozan, like James, is a Nike athlete). James was outstanding, earning player of the game honors in a thrilling 104-102 win. James scored 42 points, pulled down 14 rebounds, and registered four steals in his first organized basketball game since April.

Mental health has evolved from a stigma to an everyday conversation over the years. Now more than ever, it is important to have public figures with a lot of influence raising awareness about the issues many people encounter on a daily basis. Selena Gomez has been one of the many celebrities to use her platform to advocate for mental health, and Britney Spears wasn’t shy about her admiration.

Today (July 16), the “Gimme More” artist took to Instagram to offer Selena Gomez praise with a picture and a lengthy caption. Spears first mentioned how Gomez surprised her at her wedding: “She came to my wedding … the three most beautiful women in hollywood … @drewbarrymore, @parishilton … I had no idea !!! I was SO HAPPY !!! She told me “I just want you to be happy” three times.”

The 40-year-old then went on to acknowledge Selena Gomez’s work on the mental health side, saying “I appreciate ALL the mental health speeches she does for our generation … Two hour specials with representatives … You’re such a special person and I had to share this picture … I thought it would make her happy”

It is always big to get recognition from major acts in your field that came before you, but this must be twice as good given how committed Gomez is to this cause.

Check out Britney Spears’ Instagram post above.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen LeBron James play basketball. James and the Los Angeles Lakers missed the play-in tournament last season, and between that and the fact he sat the team’s final few games due to an injury, James has not taken the floor since April 1.

That changed on Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles. It was reported that James would suit up in Drew League, the annual pro-am summer basketball showcase based out of a high school in southern California, marking the first time since the 2011 NBA lockout that James would make an appearance in the league.

James played for MMV Cheaters with another NBA All-Star, DeMar DeRozan, who is a staple in the league. It led to quite the highly-anticipated event, with fans packing into King/Drew Magnet High School to watch the action.

From the jump, James imposed himself on the game, whether it was with one of his trademark fadeaway jumpers from the midpost or by making things happen in transition.

DeRozan, unsurprisingly, looked at home at the Drew…

…while James was relentless, making clear that he was bringing his very best on a Saturday afternoon in the summer.

At one point, USC guard Boogie Ellis got ahead of James in transition and decided to lob it off the backboard, which James caught and dunked so hard that he nearly pulled the backboard down.

James even came close to getting an incredible poster out of his cameo, although the big man who had a chance to contest his shot made a business decision at the last moment.

At the half, Cheaters held a 62-55 lead over Black Pearl Elite, with James’ 26 points leading all scorers. But the third quarter saw things flip — BPE got scorching hot while Cheaters could not hit a shot for a long stretch of the game, putting James, DeRozan, and co. in a position where they entered the fourth quarter trailing, 89-83.

James was on the end of a lowlight during the frame, as he got lost in the sauce on defense and gave up an open fadeaway jumper in the paint.

Cheaters came out swinging to start the fourth, with James and DeRozan leading the charge to get back into the game.

While BPE battled, Cheaters took a 99-97 lead into the game’s final two minutes after James hit a pair of shots from the free throw line. And with 1:22 left, James looked like he put the exclamation point on the win — DeRozan attracted the defense’s attention and dumped it to James as he darted down the lane for a two-handed slam.

BPE did not stop playing, and while it took some time to respond, the team got a three, forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds, and converted a layup to make it a 1-point game with 5.5 seconds left. James got the ball after a timeout, stepped up to the free throw line, and went 1-for-2, opening the door for the upset. That did not come to fruition, though, as Ethan Alvaro of BPE’s final attempt of the game was an off-balanced three that hit the front of the rim.

For his efforts, James got named player of the game.

James and DeRozan were not the only NBA players who were on the bill on Saturday, as it was reported that Kyrie Irving was going to play in an earlier game. That, however, did not come to fruition, although it was subsequently reported that Irving was slated to play later in the day.

One of baseball’s brightest young stars is apparently on the trade block. According to a report by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto turned down a lucrative contract offer from the team, which is now ready to listen to calls on the 23-year-old All-Star ahead of next month’s trade deadline.

The contract would be the biggest in baseball history, as Soto would have been paid $440 million over the life of the deal. However, because the contract would span 15 years, Soto would make a hair over $29 million each year — this would be considerably lower than the record for average annual value for a MLB player, which is $43.3 million a year Max Scherzer makes, and quite a bit lower than the AAV record for a position player, which is Mike Trout’s $37.1 million.

Despite the fact that Nationals GM Mike Rizzo recently said the team is not going to trade Soto, Rosenthal reports Soto rejecting the offer changed things considerably.

Soto’s rejection of $440 million, however, altered the equation, sources said, leaving club officials believing that if they cannot sign him for that money, they never will. The Nationals view their exploration of a Soto trade as due diligence. He is under club control for the rest of this season and then two more. The team does not need to trade him immediately if it does not get a desired offer.

While Soto is having a down season by his lofty standards, he is still hitting .247 with a .895 OPS and 19 home runs. The Nationals are 30-62, the worst record in the league.

Britney Spears draws attention to her Instagram feed for her nude and racy photos, occasional promo posts for what she’s working on, and a lot of stream of consciousness posts. But one thing she does not make a habit of sharing are clips of her singing. You know… the thing that made her famous in the first place? So on Friday, in between folding laundry at her home, Spears surprised fans by posting two video clips of herself singing a different version of “Baby One More Time.”

She explained that this was a re-imagination of the song that she wanted to release 14 years ago, but she wasn’t able to because of the limitations of her conservatorship. “Well I have asked for what I wanted for 14 years,” she said. Adding that, “I share this because I am aware of my love and passion to sing … and my own family made a fool of me.” Spears even sang a couple of F-bombs in there for good measure.

“I haven’t shared my voice in an extremely long time … maybe too long,” she wrote. “And here’s me playing at my house with a different version of “Baby” … the WORD as in WORDS … Show me how you want it to be … tell me baby cause I need to know … give me a f*cking sign … HIT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME !!!”

The version of the song seems especially triggering for Spears and the conservatorship that she no longer lives with. “They stood at my door and told me I can’t have my keys to my car and told me I couldn’t leave on my own … “SORRY MAAM … we have to follow the rules”!!!,” she wrote. “They made me feel like nothing … every single one of them !!! Like I said before … they took away my rights … my womanhood was ruined !!!”

Back in March, word broke that Bruce Willis was retiring from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, a rare brain disorder that impacts cognitive abilities. But he’s not entirely going away from the public eye. For the 34th anniversary of the original Die Hard, his wife, Emma Heming Willis, posted a video of him returning to the scene of the crime.

The video begins with a black-and-white image of Willis atop the Fox Plaza building, which was used — shortly after its completion, in 1987 — as the exterior shots for Nakatomi Plaza, the setting for the film that turned the actor from TV star to movie star. He can be seen looking poignantly over Los Angeles from the roof. The video then proceeds to a montage from the film, made when he still had a couple seasons left on Moonlighting.

The video is made even more moving by a key line towards the end of Die Hard, when his thief-battling NYPD cop declares, “I promise I will never even think about going up in a tall building again.”

News of Willis’ diagnosis shocked the world, and it even led to the Razzies rescinding a trophy they’d awarded him (from an entire category devoted to him). It even led Kevin Smith, who directed him in the comedy Cop Out, to apologize for complaining about their time working together.

(Via Deadline)