Month: June 2023

Ever since Vladimir Putin launched his Ukraine invasion in February 2022, he has been unable to escape reports that he’s hiding in bunkers while fearing for his life, not to mention his position of autocratic power. Recently, however, word emerged that the Kremlin began plans to build the ultimate bunker, and as if on cue, we are finding out why that is likely the case. I mean, other than those drone attacks that are now plaguing Moscow.

Many months ago, we heard that the Russian army was resorting to using crappy ammo that’s so outdated and degraded, it could very well blow up in soldiers’ faces at any given moment. Now, the Daily Beast reveals that Putin is finally admitting that Russia is suffering enormous losses in this war and isn’t equipped with enough weaponry at all:

“In recent days, we have seen significant losses in Ukraine, they exceed the classical figure,” he said, according to the Kremlin.

The Russian president also confessed that Russian forces were dealing with artillery problems, adding in his remarks that “Yes, we still do not have enough of these modern weapons, but the defense industry, the country’s military-industrial complex is developing rapidly.”

The outlet follows up with word of recent Russian failed offenses near Bilogorivka, Bohdanivka, Severne, and Nevels’ke. As well, Ukraine and U.S. figures point towards a loss of over 200,000 Russian troops since the invasion began. The White House National Security Council also claims that 100,000 Russian casualties have gone down in the past six months, which does not bode well for Putin riding this out without running out of current troops and prospects to recruit. He’d better build that bunker faster because he might really need it soon.

(Via The Daily Beast)

With the federal indictment against Donald Trump now unsealed, even Fox News is stunned by the “overwhelming” amount of detail contained in the 44-page document. Along with photographic evidence of classified documents stored in a bathroom, the former president is also caught on tape admitting he had top secret intel pertaining to a military operation and confirming that it’s not declassified while showing it to an individual without a security clearance.

Fox News legal commentator Jonathan Turley did not hold back his thoughts on the “damning indictment” and praised the special counsel for making a clear cut case against the former president.

“You know, there are indictments that are sometimes called narrative or speaking indictments. These are indictments that are really meant to make a point as to the depth of the evidence. There are some indictments that are just bare bones — this is not,” Turley said. “The special counsel knew that there would be a lot of people who were going to allege that the Department of Justice was acting in a biased or politically motivated way.”

According to Turley, the Trump indictment is a “heart stopper” that has a staggering amount of witnesses on the record. Via Mediaite:

It’s overwhelming in details. And, you know, the Trump team should not fool itself, these are hits below the waterline. These are witnesses who apparently testified under oath, gave statements to federal investigators, both of which can be criminally charged if they’re false. Those witnesses are directly quoting the president in encouraging others not to look for documents or allegedly to conceal them. It’s damaging.

Turley ended his thoughts by noting that the testimony from Trump’s own lawyers is particularly “interesting,” and bad news for Trump’s case.

“This indictment talks about these conversations with various lawyers who are not identified by name,” Turley said. “You can see how the government succeeded in forcing these lawyers to appear in the grand jury, because these are statements that would go directly to allegations of an effort to conceal.”

(Via Mediaite)

Rock icon David Bowie and supermodel Iman’s daughter, Alexandria “Lexi” Zahra Jones, 22, shared an adorable clip on Instagram of herself dancing with her father as a young girl while listening to “Sing a Song of Sixpence.” The clip is beautiful to behold because Bowie clearly loves spending time with his daughter and has a big smile while singing along to the tune with his instantly-recognizable voice.

He also plays a classic “I got your nose” game with his daughter, just like every other dad would.

Bowie passed away in 2016 from liver cancer when Alexandria was just 15 years old.

“My forever sunshine,” Jones captioned the video. “Never fell for that ‘I got your nose’ shiet,” she added.

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“My goodness, this is priceless—he’s singing and playing to his best audience, you. You have his infectious smile and laughter. Thank you for this,” brendamcnallytwistik wrote in the comments.

See on Instagram

The video shows Bowie as a normal, down-to-earth guy. The image of him in Carhartt pants with white middle-aged-guy sneakers runs counter to his multiple public personas. Throughout his career, he embraced some other-worldly personas such as Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke and the Blind Prophet. Here, he’s just Dad.

According to people close to him, Bowie was a very nice, humble and funny guy in real life.

“Sometimes, because he was my friend, I forgot that he was David Bowie,” comedian Ricky Gervais told The Telegraph. “He was David Jones, a normal bloke. I think people assume he sits around in a silver suit with orange hair. But he’s just a guy who was brilliant at what he did and never stopped creating. He never let me down.”

People did a piece on Bowie’s neighbors after he died, and they shared Gervais’ thoughts. “He was a very reserved person, very kind in the eyes,” Danilo Durante, who owns local Italian café Bottega Falai, told People. “He would sit here and write, scribbling away in a little notebook. Considering how he was singing and acting on stage — a rockstar, you know — he was a normal guy.”

“He was startlingly nice,” Allison Glasgow, who worked at his local bookstore, added. “He just looked like this friendly Irish guy. I was always struck by how completely unassuming [he was]. He would walk into the space, and you wouldn’t know it was him until he opened his mouth.”

See on Instagram

Bowie and Iman worked hard to keep Alexandria out of the public eye for most of her life. But now, in her early 20s, she’s put herself out there publicly through Instagram. She has a personal account and one where she shares her artwork.

“Art has always been a rock in my life for as long as I remember,” she wrote on her Instagram page. “As a kid, I was always doodling and painting in art class and during my free time. It wasn’t until my mid-teens that I became serious and started finding and refining my style. That’s when I developed a deeper passion and I knew I wanted to create and share my pieces with the intent to encourage others to create their own.”

Apple Music has joined the celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary with a series of exclusive tracks by various rap artists. The latest is Baby Tate, the Atlanta rising star who is currently surging on TikTok thanks to her resurfaced track “Hey Mickey!” and its new remix featuring Saweetie. Tate pays homage to a hometown hero with her exclusive track, “My Biznazz,” which finds the second-generation performer covering Ludacris’ classic 2001 hit “Rollout (My Business).”

Baby Tate is a few months removed from the release of her Mani/Pedi mixtape, as well as a 2022 that saw her collab with Babyface, assist fellow ATLien JID on his new album, and lyrically spank Hitmaka for making questionable comments about female rappers.

Meanwhile, Ludacris has been receiving increased acknowledgment for his contributions to the hip-hop canon recently, getting a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame (albeit for his acting rather than rapping), landing a slot on the upcoming Hip-Hop 50 lineup for Rock The Bells Festival, and being flawlessly sampled by the younger hip-hop generation.

Baby Tate’s “Rollout” cover, “My Biznazz,” is proof of his impact, as she seamlessly spits every word from the original — with some minor modernizing updates. You can listen to her hometown homage above.

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

Following confirmation that Donald Trump is facing federal charges for the mishandling of classified documents after his term in the Oval Office, the indictment from the Department of Justice has been unsealed and it contains a treasure trove of scathing allegations.

According to the 44-page document, the former president is facing 37 counts of violating national security laws, which stems from both Trump’s handling of classified documents and his alleged refusal to return them to the federal government. The documents were reportedly all over both of Trump’s golf resorts in Florida and New Jersey, and some documents were allegedly stored in a shower as well various bedrooms and bathrooms.

More damning for Trump, the former president is caught on tape showing military intel to an individual while openly admitting that the information is classified. Via The Daily Beast:

“TRUMP told the individuals that the plan was ‘highly confidential’ and ‘secret,’” the indictment notes. “TRUMP also said, ‘as president I could have declassified it,’ and, ‘Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.’”

The indictment also includes allegations that Trump attempted to game scenarios with his attorneys where he lied to the government about the documents.

“I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes,” Trump reportedly told one of his lawyers. “Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?”

You’ll be surprised to know that plan didn’t work. It was not better.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Selena Gomez’s schedule is filled to the brim. Whether she’s taking meetings for her cosmetics line Rare Beauty, filming for one of her shows on the Food Network, or popping into session studios for her forthcoming album, Gomez is swamped. However, the “My Mind & Me” singer still wants to find love.

In a viral video, the entertainer confessed that she is indeed single, and it’s a struggle. While attending a soccer match with friends, Gomez sporadically belted out her relationship status. As weird as it may sound, the hilarious moment was captured on video and uploaded to the actress’ TikTok page.

The post is captioned, “The struggle, man lol,” while in the video, Gomez can be heard yelling to the players on the field, “I’m single. I’m just a little high-maintenance. But I’ll love you soooo much.”

Gomez may be against dating apps, but she doesn’t mind putting herself out there in person. Gomez has been linked to several other musicians in the past, but those whispers are often muffled by the star. Earlier in the year, rumors began to circulate online that she was dating The Chainsmokers’ Drew Taggart. The pair was spotted out bowling together. However, Gomez quickly took to social media to cut those down, writing in her Instagram Stories,”#IAmSingle.”

Janelle Monáe’s new album, The Age Of Pleasure, was released earlier today. Today is June 9, and as many surely noticed when the release date was announced, that date can also be written as 6/9. Given the sexual meaning of 69 and Monáe’s frequently NSFW promotional cycle for the project, it makes one wonder if Monáe chose that date on purpose. Well, Monáe has now given her perspective.

On Elvis Duran And The Morning Show today, Monáe was asked at the start of the conversation if the 6/9 release date was intentional and she responded, “I mean… it’s not… hey, I don’t make the rules. Listen: I didn’t create those numbers to land on this day. […] It’s also World Sex Day. So it was just perfect timing, you know? Right? Don’t we want more pleasure? We want more babies, sometimes babies can come from sex, you know? […] And sometimes it’s just strictly for us.”

While Monáe wasn’t explicit about the 69 connection to the album, it seems at the very least, it was a coincidence she was happy to roll with.

Check out the interview above.

The Age Of Pleasure is out now via Wondaland Arts Society/Atlantic Records. Find more information here.

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

Janelle Monáe’s new album, The Age Of Pleasure, was released earlier today. Today is June 9, and as many surely noticed when the release date was announced, that date can also be written as 6/9. Given the sexual meaning of 69 and Monáe’s frequently NSFW promotional cycle for the project, it makes one wonder if Monáe chose that date on purpose. Well, Monáe has now given her perspective.

On Elvis Duran And The Morning Show today, Monáe was asked at the start of the conversation if the 6/9 release date was intentional and she responded, “I mean… it’s not… hey, I don’t make the rules. Listen: I didn’t create those numbers to land on this day. […] It’s also World Sex Day. So it was just perfect timing, you know? Right? Don’t we want more pleasure? We want more babies, sometimes babies can come from sex, you know? […] And sometimes it’s just strictly for us.”

While Monáe wasn’t explicit about the 69 connection to the album, it seems at the very least, it was a coincidence she was happy to roll with.

Check out the interview above.

The Age Of Pleasure is out now via Wondaland Arts Society/Atlantic Records. Find more information here.

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

Doja Cat’s upcoming album might’ve been titled Hellmouth, but social media is wishing hellfire and brimstone on her rumored new relationship with J.Cyrus. Earlier today (June 9), TMZ shared photos of the “Say So” rapper’s Los Cabos, Mexico vacation. In the sun-kissed images, the entertainer is seen kissing the former Vine star. So, is Doja Cat dating J.Cyrus?

Neither Doja Cat nor J.Cyrus has shared a direct statement regarding the rumors. The comedian may have subtly addressed the internet’s uproar, though: Cyrus took to his Instagram Story to upload a photo of a clown with the caption, “The Internet isn’t real,” between vacation photos.

Instead of addressing the rumors, the musician uploaded a video to her Instagram profile, seemingly promoting her forthcoming album.

Fans of Doja Cat are urging her to cut her losses now and walk away from the relationship due to J.Cyrus’ past controversy.

In the past, Doja Cat has spoken candidly about her battles with depression due to the stresses she has faced as a public figure. The pushback from this rumored romance could cause the singer to spiral if fans continue to criticize her online. Supporters of the Grammy Award winner hope this doesn’t become another romantic saga similar to Taylor Swift and Matty Healy.

Doja Cat’s upcoming album might’ve been titled Hellmouth, but social media is wishing hellfire and brimstone on her rumored new relationship with J.Cyrus. Earlier today (June 9), TMZ shared photos of the “Say So” rapper’s Los Cabos, Mexico vacation. In the sun-kissed images, the entertainer is seen kissing the former Vine star. So, is Doja Cat dating J.Cyrus?

Neither Doja Cat nor J.Cyrus has shared a direct statement regarding the rumors. The comedian may have subtly addressed the internet’s uproar, though: Cyrus took to his Instagram Story to upload a photo of a clown with the caption, “The Internet isn’t real,” between vacation photos.

Instead of addressing the rumors, the musician uploaded a video to her Instagram profile, seemingly promoting her forthcoming album.

Fans of Doja Cat are urging her to cut her losses now and walk away from the relationship due to J.Cyrus’ past controversy.

In the past, Doja Cat has spoken candidly about her battles with depression due to the stresses she has faced as a public figure. The pushback from this rumored romance could cause the singer to spiral if fans continue to criticize her online. Supporters of the Grammy Award winner hope this doesn’t become another romantic saga similar to Taylor Swift and Matty Healy.