Month: February 2023

When it comes to the race for the Republican presidential ticket in 2024, Donald Trump has reserved most of his ire for Ron DeSantis, who hasn’t even announced his campaign yet. In fact, the former president only has one rival: his old employee Nikki Haley. The former governor of South Carolina was the U.S. ambassador to the UN in his administration. Trump has used kid’s gloves on her so far, only giving her a little bit of grief. But on Wednesday, it was Haley who not-so-subtly came for him.

During her formal presidential campaign announcement, Haley reiterated a sentiment she’d expressed before, namely that the GOP needs some new blood. “America is not past our prime. It’s just that our politicians are past theirs,” she told the crowd at one point.

She soon went further than that. “In the America I see, the permanent politician will finally retire. We’ll have term limits for Congress,” Haley said. “And mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.”

Haley didn’t name names. Her statement also clearly referred to someone else in particular: sitting president Joe Biden, who turned 80 last November. Then again, she said 75 years old. Trump is 76, and he turns 77 in June. That said, he’s mentally fit, right? After all, he used to brag — relentlessly, weirdly — about passing a very basic cognitive test. So maybe he’ll be fine. Still, Haley’s message was clear: The GOP needs to move on from cranky old bullies, even ones who’d call someone like Ron DeSantis “Meatball Ron.”

(Via Mediaite)

The 2023 NBA All-Star Game will be missing some big names, as three starters — Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Zion Williamson — all were ruled out for the game due to injuries, vaulting Anthony Edwards, De’Aaron Fox, and Pascal Siakam into draft pool for Sunday’s game.

Joel Embiid was among those moved into the starting lineups, but it’s possible that Adam Silver will need to make another late call-up, as the Sixers center detailed how he is not healthy right now following Philadelphia’s win over the Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

It’s a credit to Embiid that he’s been able to play through his foot injury and help the Sixers climb into third in the East, now two games up on Cleveland. It also should be noted that, in an era where load management and stars resting has become such a big point of frustration, the league should be pleased that Embiid is looking at the All-Star break as a chance to get rest and try to get healthy, rather than the middle of the regular season. While the NBA certainly won’t be thrilled if they have to make another replacement, the talent pool in the league is as deep as ever and there are still some players out there who were genuine snubs. If they have to take a little shine off of an exhibition contest (that still features plenty of the biggest names) in order to have stars playing in regular season games and making a point to be in the lineup each night, they should be thrilled at that trade off.

Hopefully Embiid can use the upcoming time off to get closer to 100 percent, as the Sixers have title aspirations that are dependent on the big man’s health.

Steve Lacy had a great 2022 with the release of his prolific LP Gemini Rights, which contained the massive hit “Bad Habit.” The song was so big (especially on TikTok) that it drove many people to his shows, some of whom did not have the best concert etiquette. One fan threw a camera at him on stage, so Lacy smashed it, creating controversy.

He responded at the time with a statement on his Instagram: “i don’t believe i owe anyone an apology. maybe i couldve reacted better? sure. always. i’m a student of life. but i’m a real person with real feelings and real reactions. i’m not a product or a robot.” Now, months later, he’s able to crack jokes about it in a new interview with Nardwuar.

“If somebody’s looking at you on stage, how do they know you’re having a good time?” the eccentric interviewer asked around the 12:20-mark. “Um… if I smile or say something stupid, yeah,” Lacy answered.

“And how do they know if you’re having a bad time?” Nardwuar then asked. Lacy answered before laughing, “I’m probably smashing a camera down on the floor.” He continued, “No, they won’t know. But I’m also very vocal about it. I’ll say some sh*t like, ‘Bear with me, you guys, this is a rough night.’ I don’t hide.”

Nardwuar also asked the singer what he thought of the sped-up version of “Bad Habit.” He said he didn’t “really have any thoughts” while giggling. He said, “Let the streets do what they need to do.”

Watch the full interview above.

Over the weekend, The New York Times claimed that Donald Trump was beta testing some of his patented childish nicknames for one of his likely 2024 rivals: Ron DeSantis. As you may recall, the first one he made public — “Ron DeSanctimonious” — was widely seen as not one of his better efforts. He could do better. Now maybe he has: The report said he was thinking of calling the Florida governor “Meatball Ron.” It’s mean, even for him, so much so that it upset one of his biggest cheerleaders, who’s disappointed the former president could stoop so low.

“I happen to like Meatballs,” tweeted Fox News host Mark Levin. “But this will turn off a lot of conservative voters. Not a wise move if true. I hope it’s not.”

If there’s one thing Trump has never done it’s come up with insulting nicknames for fellow Republicans. Like calling Marco Rubio “Little Marco.” Or Ted Cruz “Lyin’ Ted.” Or the racist name he awarded his former administration team member Elaine Chao (whose husband would still support him). He certainly didn’t get popular with GOP voters by being a schoolyard bully. In fact, going back to what worked before might be how he engineers a much-needed, much-feared comeback with conservative voters.

Trump has offered a vaguely worded denial that about the DeSantis nicknames, even while repeating his first poorly-received effort. But given how popular “Meatball Ron” was, even among Trump’s detractors, maybe he’ll bust out it at his next rambling rally.

(Via Mediaite)

Ice Cube has an interesting crossover with sports. Last year, he performed at a NASCAR race in Los Angeles. He actually runs his own basketball league called Big3 as well. Now, he’s being quoted by one of the greatest athletes of all time.

LeBron James has been celebrating breaking the NBA’s all-time scoring record last week, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. James is still soaking in the historic accomplishment. The Los Angeles Lakers star took to Instagram yesterday (February 14) to share his excitement. In doing so, he used Ice Cube’s “It Was A Good Day” lyrics.

“Last week messed around and got a triple…..” he wrote. “I mean a Scoring Record! Man what!!! This is still not hitting me yet. So surreal!! Wow wow wow man.” (The original Ice Cube lyric is, “Last week, f*cked around and got a triple double.”)

He continued, “To all my fans who captured that moment there inside Crypto Arena that night( YOU’RE AMAZING & THANK YOU) and to all my fans all over the United States and The World( YOU’RE AMAZING & THANK YOU). The journey continues!”

Big3 announced last year that they’d be including Snoop Dogg in their endeavors. “Snoop is always at the cutting edge. He always wanna be first. When we said we was gonna start selling teams, he hit me right away saying, ‘I need to be a part of that,’” they explained in a statement.

Larry June and The Alchemist are up to something. Before “60 Days,” their collaborative single out today (February 15) begins, an enticing message displays across the screen: “Larry June x The Alchemist THE GREAT ESCAPE MMXXIII.”

It stands to reason that “60 Days” is kicking off a larger rollout between the Bay Area rapper and the Grammy-nominated producer, and if this Sean Kelly-directed video is any indication of their vibe for 2023, sign me up.

“60 Days” finds June and The Alchemist sequestered in a mansion up on the hill. June takes in his scenic surroundings from an exercise bike, relishes in his luxurious cars and reflects on his road to riches.

“First game, touchdown, played for four seasons,” June raps with a content, relaxed delivery over even smoother instrumentals. “She made a thousand first night, I told her she can keep it / Two days in Napa Valley, I’m eating Saganaki / I’m riding dirty through the traffic, took the matte Ducati / I get impulsive, if I want it, then I go and cop it.”

The Alchemist even dropped a few bars — calling himself “a big bowl of macaroni” and referencing former NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress’ 2008 incident when he accidentally shot himself in the leg. “Stick shift Aston, I’m diggin’ in my trick basket / Fixin’ plays, cut up the pot and split the change,” Alchemist spits. “A lot of sh*t could happen in 60 days.”

June and The Alchemist have separately made a lot happen over the last year. June released his Spaceships On The Blade album last August. The Alchemist produced on Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-nominated Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. More recently, Uproxx’s October cover star Freddie Gibbs told XXL that he’s working on four joint albums and hinted that Alchemist is one of the producers involved.

So, who knows what will have happened 60 days from now.

Watch the “60 Days” video above.

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

Poker Face was effectively pitched to the world (and maybe even Peacock) as Columbo but with Natasha Lyonne. That’s not entirely accurate. For one thing, Lyonne’s Charlie Cale isn’t even part of law enforcement, let alone a homicide detective. For another, there’s a continuing story. But it’s still a murderer-of-the-week program, where, like Columbo, we learn who the murderer is before our hero starts a-sleuthin’. The first four episodes all debuted on the same day, but the remaining six have been scheduled to come out every week on the same day.

When is the next episode of Poker Face?

Poker Face episodes bow on Thursdays, which means that the next episode — its seventh — arrives on February 16, on Peacock. This week’s episode is called “The Future of the Sport,” and here is the plot description on its IMDb page:

While working at a go-kart complex, Charlie becomes involved in a bitter feud between an aging race car driver and a hotheaded young upstart, whose rivalry has explosive consequences.

It’s likely Tim Blake Nelson plays the “aging race car driver,” while Charles Melton plays his young rival. So who kills who? You’ll find out when the episode goes live on Thursday, February 16.

On Wednesday, February 15, mere days after its Super Bowl ad aired, Poker Face was renewed for a second season, giving Charlie — who, again, ain’t even a cop — still more chances to risk her life to bust murderers.

New episodes of ‘Poker Face’ are available on the Peacock every Thursday.

Pusha T teased an upcoming installment in DJ Drama’s Gangsta Grillz mixtape series in late December, but the Virginia rapper proved on Valentine’s Day that his talents don’t necessarily translate to literal grilling. I’m sure Drake took notes.

A since-expired Instagram Story posted by Virginia Williams, Pusha’s wife, exposed that he struggled to cook her the perfect Valentine’s Day dinner. Williams apparently posted a screenshot from her text exchange with Pusha, who asked very basic questions about grilling a steak (as captured by 2Cool2Blog):

“Heat it first?” Pusha texted. Williams confirmed that was, in fact, the first step before instructing him to “add oil or butter make sure bottom is coated.” She added, “I flick one little drop of water in it to see if it’s hot enough. The steak is thick so you prob have to cook a little longer on each side.”

And that’s when Pusha sent the very sad state of the steak, to which Williams simply replied, “Zang. Did you burn it?”

Williams wrote atop the screenshot, “Happy Valentine’s Day @kingpush [crying emojis] sorry I wasn’t home to cook your steak.”

Pusha commented on 2Cool2Blog’s post, “This is crazy…” Steven Victor, Pusha’s longtime manager, thought it was hilarious (“Ghahahahaahah”), and Quality Control’s Wayno Clark chimed in with three crying-laughing emojis.

In October, Bully and Soccer Mommy teamed up alongside Speedy Ortiz and Snail Mail to cover Pavement at an exhibition in New York. The collaborations between the four artists aren’t over; Soccer Mommy and Snail Mail recently covered Avril Lavigne at a performance in Baltimore, and now Soccer Mommy hopped on a new Bully track called “Lose You.”

The groovy, reverb-drenched track has a bewitching bassline and Alicia Bognanno’s vocals are as powerful as ever. Soccer Mommy’s contributions are the first time Bully invited someone onto a track, and it’s safe to say it paid off. Read what Bognanno said about the song below.

“When ‘Lose You’ came about, it was the first time I’ve considered having someone else sing on a Bully song. I love Sophie’s voice and have always admired everything she does, so to me, it was a no brainer. Watching her soar out of the Nashville scene and dominate indie music worldwide has been a joy. Writing ‘Lose You’ was a way for me to work through the pain and reality of impermanence. It doesn’t make it any easier, but reflection is often followed by growth and to me that’s what life is all about.”

Listen to “Lose You” above.

Editor’s Note: If you are having thoughts about taking your own life, or know of anyone who is in need of help, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.

The mental health of teens has been widely discussed over the past few years. Lockdowns early in the pandemic put a much greater emphasis on teens and their social-emotional development and highlighted how isolation contributes to mental health concerns. But as things returned to normal, or as normal as they can be, the teen mental health crisis didn’t seem to let up.

Now, the CDC is saying the crisis is actually getting worse, specifically for teen girls. In the fall of 2021, the CDC conducted its Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the results are in: A startling 57% of teen girls—nearly 3 in 5—reported feeling “persistently sad or hopeless,” while 30% said they had seriously considered dying by suicide, an increase of 60% since 2011. These numbers are the highest they’ve been in the last decade, according to the CDC.

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey has been conducted every other year for the past 30 years and includes the responses of 17,232 high school students living in the United States, so the new data is concerning.

Kathleen Ethier, director of the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health, told NBC News, “Our teenage girls are suffering through an overwhelming wave of violence and trauma, and it’s affecting their mental health.” According to the CDC data, there has been a dramatic increase in violence against teen girls reported, with 1 in 5 saying they experienced sexual violence within the past year. And 14% of teen girls reported being forced into having sex, which is an increase from 2019.

This survey doesn’t discount the mental health struggles of teen boys. It simply shows that teenaged girls are showing an elevated response. In fact, overall more than 40% of boys and girls reported feeling so sad and hopeless that it interfered with their schoolwork or extracurricular activities.

And teenagers that identified as part of the LGBTQ community were even more likely to report mental health struggles. Rates of suicidal thoughts among LGBTQ youth continue to be staggering with 45% seriously considering suicide in the past year. They are also more than four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers. According to the CDC, 22% of LGBTQ youth attempted suicide in the past year.

Open and honest communication with teens about mental health and mental health resources can be helpful. As a therapist, I encourage parents to make sure their kids have crisis hotlines stored in their phone, like 988 and the Trevor Project numbers, 1-866-488-7386 for calls and 678-678 for text.

Because here’s the thing, teens are notoriously private and are likely to tell their friends they’re struggling before they inform their parents. It’s important for them to have the tools to make those connections when they need it most. In fact, the CDC numbers do not show an actual increase in acts of violence or harassment against teens. Rather, they show teens are reporting incidents at a greater frequency. But there is still likely a significant gap between incidents that occur and those that are reported.

The teen years are hard for a lot of reasons, but with the increase of violence against girls, it’s hitting them a little harder. Being there to support them through this time without judgment, even when you don’t understand, can be a big help.