Month: July 2023

After another Finals run that fell short of a title, the Miami Heat entered this offseason poised to make a big move. They were connected with the pursuit of Bradley Beal before he landed on the Phoenix Suns as his preferred destination, as well as briefly being mentioned as a possible suitor for James Harden.

However, they have since moved on to targeting Damian Lillard, who has made clear to the Blazers that he wants to be in Miami when the season starts, but to this point a deal has not been made and the two sides sit at a stalemate. Landing Lillard is what will make this summer a success for Miami, so that looms over everything, but in the meantime we’re going to take stock of their offseason thus far and the moves they’ve made in the Draft, free agency, and trades.

Draft: B

The Heat added a high-floor wing in Jaime Jaquez Jr. out of UCLA with the 18th overall pick, as he seemingly fits Miami’s culture extremely well as a tough-nosed player. The question, at this point, is whether Jaquez is still part of the Heat when the season starts or if he’ll be headed off to the Blazers in a Lillard deal. In any case, this is what our Brad Rowland wrote on Draft night when the Heat took Jaquez, giving them a B for the selection, if only for it being a bit earlier than most expected Jaquez to go.

I’m a sucker for Jaime Jaquez, and I’ll admit that. This is a substantial rise from where most had him during the season but, well, this is about where I had him the entire time. Miami is also a wonderful landing spot because the Heat do a fantastic job putting players in positions to succeed. Jaquez’s toughness and feel for the game fit beautifully with the Heat.

Free Agency/Contract Extensions: B

So far the Heat have been fairly quiet on the free agent market, which isn’t a surprise given how important landing Lillard is in determining how desirable a destination they are for potential vet minimum signees. Re-signing Kevin Love was a perfectly solid move given how good he was in their postseason run. Thomas Bryant gives them a big for the regular season rotation that can space the floor. If they land Lillard, there will likely be another flurry of signings to fill out the roster. Josh Richardson’s return to Miami is a very nice signing on the minimum as they needed to bolster their guard depth with Gabe Vincent and Max Strus departing. Losing two starters from their Finals run is no small thing, but they’ve mitigated those losses solidly so far, and, obviously, would be more than fine with those departures so long as they land Lillard as well.

Trades: INC

It’s impossible to fully hand out a grade to the Heat until we know whether they’ve successfully dealt for Lillard. If so, this offseason is an A+, as they’ll have added a near-perfect complement to their star duo of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo for what figures to be an outgoing package that is not near the same impact of Lillard on the court (with all due respect to Tyler Herro). Having an elite scoring guard like Lillard alongside Butler (who is a tremendous scorer, but not at the same volume) and Adebayo (who is maybe the most versatile big man defender in the NBA) would make them one of the favorites in the East.

If somehow the Blazers find another trade partner and send Lillard elsewhere, then this offseason is a step back for the Heat. The only trades they’ve made otherwise are salary dumping Victor Oladipo to OKC and a sign-and-trade sending Max Strus to Cleveland, opening up some roster space (and a trade exception) by bringing back only a second round pick thanks to the involvement of the Spurs. Losing Strus and Vincent without landing Lillard would seemingly drop them behind the top teams in the East and create an uphill battle to return to the Finals in the near future.

Taylor Swift brought the Eras Tour to Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium a few weeks ago, where Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce had hoped to pass on his number to the pop star. Given Swift split from Joe Alwyn and Kelce is also single, he figured he’d try.

However, as he detailed on his recent New Heights podcast episode, it didn’t go so well.

“I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings, so I was a little butthurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her,” Kelce said, as the bracelets had his digits on them.

“She doesn’t meet anybody — or at least she didn’t want to meet me, so I took it personal,” he added (jokingly about taking it personally, it would seem) in a conversation with his brother, Jason.

Even with his failed dating attempt, he still enjoyed the concert and was shocked by the Swifties’ excitement. Especially their dedication to creating costumes from any and all of Swift’s past eras to wear.

“I’ve only seen Arrowhead filled like that for Chiefs games with that much excitement, and everybody was dressed in pink and purple going crazy for her. It was wild. It was a wild show,” Kelce praised.

Check out the full episode here.

So, it looks like aliens might exist, and furthermore, that the United States may be in possession of a body. Extraterrestrial enthusiast and Blink-182 singer Tom DeLonge, naturally, is pumped. He tweeted today (July 26) a graphic that reads, “Tom Was Right Aliens F**king Exist,” captioned with a smiling face wearing sunglasses emoji.

As for what DeLonge is talking about: David Grusch, a former Air Force intelligence officer, testified before a House Oversight subcommittee in Congress today. This comes after a June interview in which he claimed the US government is in possession of UFOs — or UAPs (“unidentified aerial phenomena”), as the US government refers to them. He said, “Well, naturally, when you recover something that’s either landed or crashed […] sometimes you encounter dead pilots and, believe it or not, as fantastical as that sounds: It’s true.”

During today’s testimony, he was asked under oath, “Do you believe our government has made contact with intelligent extraterrestrials,” to which he responded, “Something I can’t discuss in a public setting.” He was then asked if the US has the bodies of the pilots of crashed UAPs, and he noted that “biologics came with some of these recoveries,” later specifying that they were “non-human.”

Find the full hearing below.

Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.

Since the last update of this weekly R&B and Afrobeats column, we’ve received plenty of music and news from the genre’s artists.

Tinashe announced her new album BB/ANG3L with her sultry single “Talk To Me Nice” and Snoh Aalegra seems to be gearing up for a new album with her soothing record, “Be My Summer.” Burna Boy hopped on Byron Messia’s summer hit “Talibans” for a remix aptly titled “Talibans II” while Victoria Monet shared the tracklist for Jaguar II. Elsewhere, Chloe announced the second leg of the In Pieces Tour, Beyoncé gave somewhat of an update on those Renaissance visuals, and Kehlani performed at the WNBA All-Star Game.

Here are some more releases on the new music front that you should check out:

Fridayy — “When It Comes To You”

Philly singer Fridayy isn’t letting up any time soon as he returns with his latest single, “When It Comes To You.” His haunting yet captivating vocals fill up the room over the song’s cloudy beat as he professes his love to a new woman in his life. The track is also the second single from his upcoming debut album, set to drop in August.

Mahalia — IRL (Deluxe)

A week after releasing her second album IRL, Mahalia returns with a deluxe edition that adds six songs to the original release. Four of the records — “Bag Of You,” “Letter To Ur Ex,” and “Plastic Plants” — have already been released while “Slowly” and “Mani Pedi” stand as the previously unheard records. Mahalia also added a live edition of “Terms And Conditions” to the deluxe.

Roy Woods — “Test What You Know”

It’s been years since we received a deluxe project from Roy Woods, but luckily that streak is about to end as the Brampton singer prepares to release his sophomore album Mixed Emotions on July 28. Ahead of its release, Woods returns with the project’s fourth single “Test What I Know,” a single that captures the intimate moments between him and a secret lover.

Ama Lou — “Silence”

Ama Lou is back with yet another impressive release ahead of her upcoming debut album I Came Home Late. “Silence” is a moody and enchanting record that the singer uses to embrace silence in a way that others might not. The record comes after her previous single, “Caught Me Running.”

Jahkoy — “More Than Anything”

The journey continues for Toronto singer Jahkoy as he gears up to release his upcoming project Pretty Conversation. The latest offering from that project is “More Than Anything,” a record that the singer says dates back to an encounter he had with a woman during his time as an opening act for Kehlani’s SweetSexySavage Tour. He adds that the record is “an outside look on a lover who is telling someone that they mean more than material things and the superficial things life has to offer.”

Capella Grey — Here, Damn.

While fans wait for his upcoming album Vibe Responsibly, Volume 1, Capella Grey returns to numb the wait with a new EP. Here, Damn. delivers seven songs that are a nice and succinct preview of what’s to come Vibe Responsibly, Volume 1.

Crayon — Trench To Triumph

Don Jazzy’s Mavins record label is home to stars like Rema and Ayra Starr but the talent on the imprint doesn’t stop there. Crayon and his debut project Trench To Triumph is proof of that. The project arrives with 13 songs and features from Oxlade, Magixx, Ayra Starr, Victony, and more and there’s a high chance you won’t skip a song through one listen.

Young Jonn — “Sharpally”

After rising to prominence in the afrobeats world with records like “Dada” and “Xtra Cool,” Nigerian singer Young Jonn is looking to keep up the momentum with his latest single, “Sharpally.” It follows the successful “Aquafina” from earlier this year and it arrives as a lively record that should find space in on the afrobeats dancefloor.

Mr Eazi — “Chop Life, No Friend”

Finally, Mr Eazi is preparing to release a new solo album, his first since 2018’s Life Is Eazi, Vol. 2 — Lagos To London. The untitled project has two singles to its name, “Legalize” and now “Chop Time, No Friend.” The latter is a playful and lighthearted record from Eazi that arrives as a message to simply enjoy life. “It means when you are eating, you don’t think about anybody,” Eazi says of the new song’s title. “You are just focused on your enjoyment.”

Lyfe Harris & Ye Ali — “Sex & Empathy”

Ye Ali and Lyfe Harris, a duo that proves to be successful time and time again, strike the match one more time for their latest record “Sex & Empathy.” The duo gets intimate as they sing about their respective relationships and the two things they want from their lovers: sex and empathy.

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

As Barbie continues to break box office records, Mattel is plotting the future of toy-based entertainment and hopefully not taking any of the wrong lessons from the Greta Gerwig film’s success.

“Everybody hopes that when you create a movie that there is going to be a franchise,” Mattel Films head Robbie Brenner told Variety about the MCU (Mattel Cinematic Universe). “That’s the hope — that it goes on and on and it’s a gift that keeps giving. But, in this day and age, you just want to get the first one right.” The future first ones include movies based on Hot Wheels (“grounded and gritty,” according to producer J.J. Abrams), Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots (starring Vin Diesel), and Magic 8 Ball (“a PG-13 thriller”). There’s also Major Matt Mason (this guy) with Tom Hanks, the Peter Farrelly-produced Wishbone, and Thomas & Friends from World War Z director Marc Forster.

The two most potentially promising movies based on Mattel toys are Polly Pocket, written and directed by Lena Dunham and starring Lily Collins, and Barney. “I don’t know that it’s necessarily going to be darker. It’s just going to be unique — more of like a Being John Malkovich or an Adaptation,” Brenner said about Daniel Kaluuya’s “A24-type” purple dinosaur movie.

If Christopher Nolan releases his next thoughtful epic on the same day as the View Master movie, we’ll have another Barbenheimer on our hands. Or maybe Barbie/Oppenheimer was a once-in-a-generation phenomenon, and the reason Barbie is a hit is because it was made by a talented writer and director, not because of the IP. One of the two.

(Via Variety)

Netflix is sitting at a pivotal place right now, which is not unlike what happened to TV and movies during the pandemic. That is to say, content will likely be slowing down in movie theaters due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and Netflix is here to keep the popcorn flicks going when you are done rewatching Barbenheimer and are actively awaiting Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two. With that spirit in mind, Gal Gadot stars in her own new action film for the streamer, which will also soon include a majority of the The Fast And The Furious films within its back library.

Additionally, new seasons of fan-favorite shows like Heartstopper and The Lincoln Lawyer are coming along with a new batch of Untold sports scandals for the taking. Speaking of scandal, DEPP V. HEARD takes a “documentary” approach to a certain notorious celebrity trial. There also might be the next Squid Game in town (hold tight on that verdict), and another series on the opioid crisis will cover the serious side of the streamer while the temps stay far too hot outside.

Here’s everything coming to (and leaving) Netflix in August.

Heartstopper: Season 2 (series streaming 8/3)

Amid many other series cancellations on Netflix few years ago, this series received a doubled-down renewal after the romance series landed on over 50 Top 10 lists around the globe. This season, Charlie and rugby-guy Nick must continue to navigate their love with prom coming and a Parisian field trip, among all the necessary things that one must do in school. Mostly, though, this is about the romance and friends who circle ’round in various ways.

Heart Of Stone (film streaming 8/11)

Gal Gadot is following up Red Notice (which was the only movie that mattered at one moment) with a new yarn, in which she stars as Rachel Stone (yes, that’s right), who is an MI6 elite agent who happens to also be a secret member of a secret organization that none of her colleagues know about. Jamie Dornan plays the boss agent of Rachel, whose lives begin to collide, of course. This sounds like an action-filled-yet-glossy watch for when the movie schedule gets derailed by the ongoing strikes.

Zombieverse: Season 1 (Netflix series streaming 8/8)

Pay attention to this one because this show could be the next Squid Game. This reality series plops “survivors” into Seoul, South Korea, amid the outbreak of a zombie virus. Various challenges must be completed while the undead remain a constant threat, and we truly are awash with zombie disgustingness these days on TV, aren’t we? No word yet on how this shall be received by viewers of The Walking Dead and The Last Of Us, but it would be mildly surprising if this series isn’t a success.

Painkiller (series streaming 8/10)

Following in on the heels of Netflix’s The Pharmacist and Hulu’s Dopesick, this project presents a fictionalized retelling of the real-life opioid crisis in the U.S. That is to say, prepare for an origin story and ongoing presentation of OxyContin’s disastrous effects upon American lives, along with a dive into the system that allowed this drug to flourish. The story will follow both Barry Meier’s same-named book, along with Patrick Radden Keefe’s New Yorker article, “The Family That Built the Empire of Pain.” Look for Uzo Aduba, Matthew Broderick, Taylor Kitsch, and more on the screen.

DEPP V. HEARD (documentary streaming 8/16)

Let the warring PR sides roll? Surely, you have already heard about this defamation trial that made a spectacle of alleged domestic abuse, and this project promises to dive in to question everything that went down. It remains to be seen whether this will be an even remotely objective project or lean in a more sensational direction. (Take a guess.)

The Fast And The Furious (films streaming 8/1)

As with Heart Of Stone, this news might ease the pain of knowing that some blockbusters probably won’t hit theaters on their original release dates later this year. Several heaping helpings of Vin Diesel and the Fam are coming when a majority of The Fast And The Furious franchise movies arrive on the streaming service. Mind you, this won’t be the complete set, but at least you can revisit a substantial chunk of the movies when no one was going to space.

Avail. TBA
Guns & Gulaabs
Risqué Business: Taiwan

Avail. 8/1
Untold: Volume 3
2 Fast 2 Furious
Bee Movie
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
Coming to America
Despicable Me
Despicable Me 2
Eat Pray Love
Fast & Furious
Fast Five
The Fast and the Furious
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Friends with Benefits
It’s Complicated
The Jerk
Just Go With It
Lost in Translation
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted
No Strings Attached
Pawn Stars: Season 14
Poms
Terminator Genisys
Ugly Betty: Seasons 1-4

Avail. 8/2
Mark Cavendish: Never Enough
Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food
Soulcatcher

Avail. 8/3
Head to Head
Heartstopper: Season 2
The Last Hours of Mario Biondo
The Lincoln Lawyer: Season 2 Part 2
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

Avail. 8/4
The Big Nailed It Baking Challenge
Fatal Seduction: Volume 2

Avail. 8/7
Gabby’s Dollhouse: Season 8

Avail. 8/8
The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburgh Part 2
Untold: Johnny Football
Zombieverse

Avail. 8/9
Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop

Avail. 8/10
Jagun Jagun
Marry My Dead Body
Mech Cadets
Painkiller

Avail. 8/11
Down for Love
Heart of Stone

Avail. 8/12
Behind Your Touch

Avail. 8/14
Paddington
The Wiggles: Ready, Steady, Wiggle: Season 4

Avail. 8/15
Ancient Aliens: Season 5
Ballers: Seasons 1-5
Jared Freid: 37 and Single
Untold: Hall of Shame

Avail. 8/16
At Home With The Furys
The Chosen One
DEPP V HEARD

Avail. 8/17
My Dad the Bounty Hunter: Season 2
The Upshaws: Part 4

Avail. 8/18
10 Days of a Bad Man
Love, Sex and 30 Candles
Mask Girl
The Monkey King

Avail. 8/22
LIGHTHOUSE
Untold: Swamp Kings

Avail. 8/23
The Big Short
Destined with You
Sausage Party
Squared Love Everlasting
The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On: Season 2

Avail. 8/24
Baki Hanma: Season 2 Part 2
Ragnarok: Season 3
Who is Erin Carter?

Avail. 8/25
Killer Book Club
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah

Avail. 8/30
Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones
Miss Adrenaline: A Tale of Twins
The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On: Season 2

Avail. 8/31
Choose Love
Karate Sheep: Season 2
One Piece

And it’s your last chance to stream these titles:

Leaving 8/12
Knightfall: Seasons 1-2

Leaving 8/14
Winx Club: Seasons 6-7

Leaving 8/15
Les Misérables

Leaving 8/24
Jobs

Leaving 8/31
A Knight’s Tale
If Beale Street Could Talk
InuYasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time
InuYasha the Movie 2: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass
InuYasha the Movie 3: Swords of an Honorable Ruler
InuYasha the Movie 4: Fire on the Mystic Island
The Italian Job
Mean Girls
Moving Art: Seasons 1-3
Open Season
Open Season 2
Paranormal Activity
The Ring
Salt
Scream: Seasons 1-3
She’s Gotta Have It
Sister, Sister: Seasons 1-6
Sleepless in Seattle

A congressional hearing on UFOS — or UAPs unidentified aerial phenomena — has people losing their mind on Twitter over what initially seems like a conformation that aliens are real. During the House subcommittee hearing, self-proclaimed UFO whistleblower and retired military officer Major David Grusch not only testified that the U.S. government has been aware of alien activity since the 1930s, but it has actually recovered “non-human biological pilots from crashed crafts.”

Via the Associated Press:

Grusch said he was asked in 2019 by the head of a government task force on UAPs to identify all highly classified programs relating to the task force’s mission. At the time, Grusch was detailed to the National Reconnaissance Office, the agency that operates U.S. spy satellites.

“I was informed in the course of my official duties of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program to which I was denied access,” he said.

As lawmakers from both sides of the aisle demanded more transparency and reporting on UAPs from the military, the Pentagon swiftly denied Grusch’s testimony.

“Investigators have not discovered any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently,” Defense Department Sue Gough said in a statement.

As expected, the UFO hearing sparked strong reactions on social media. Comedian Michael Ian Black couldn’t even bring himself to crack a joke.

“Congressional hearing on UFOs just ended. Serious, diligent. Absolutely stunning testimony,” Black tweeted. “Hard to walk away from this thinking anything other than there’s something profound happening on our planet that we do not understand.”

Others, like journalist Sam Biddle took a more skeptical approach to Grusch’s testimony, which contained some pretty wild claims that should make everyone pump the brakes a little bit.

“It is stunning to me how many people are taking this testimony seriously after he suggested UFOs come from another dimension and were covered up by Mussolini and the Vatican,” Biddle tweeted. “This is nutcase stuff.”

And then, of course, the jokes started flying as folks found themselves awkwardly underwhelmed after essentially hearing that aliens are real.

You can see some of the reactions below:

(Via Associated Press)

The Orlando Magic had a strong close to their 2022-23 season and, as such, came into this summer fairly optimistic about their future. While the Magic could’ve created some cap space to make a big move, they chose a patient approach to this summer, as they are taking the long view with their talented young roster.

Their core is in their frontcourt with Paolo Banchero coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign as Orlando’s hopeful star of the future, Franz Wagner continues to show tremendous promise as a big two-way wing, and Wendell Carter Jr. has thrived since being traded to Orlando from Chicago. The backcourt remains a bit of a puzzle the Magic are trying to sort out, with Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony, and Jalen Suggs all young guards trying to cement their status as a core piece. That is what Orlando spends this next year figuring out, as they’ll have to start making decisions on extensions in the near future. For now, they’ll be happy with the growth they’ve seen and have cautious optimism for another step forward in 2022-23 with even more young talent coming on board.

Here, we’ll grade out their offseason moves from the Draft, free agency and contract extensions, and trades.

Draft: B-

Orlando had a pair of lottery picks thanks to the Chicago Bulls, and used those to address their backcourt further selecting Anthony Black Jr. at No. 6 overall and Jett Howard at No. 11. Their exact fit is a bit murky, but the Magic took a swing on upside with both as they are still in the mode of adding talent and seeing what sticks at the guard spots. On Draft night, our Brad Rowland gave Orlando a B for picking Black Jr. and a C+ for the Howard selection, explaining those grades as follows.

This was a tricky spot for Orlando. Not only did the Magic enter the night with two of the top 11 picks, but some of the top-rated players remaining on the board were somewhat duplicative with Paolo Banchero and/or Franz Wagner. As a result, Anthony Black is the choice, and he is a versatile, talented perimeter player. Black’s primary question mark on the offensive side is his perimeter shooting, which could be a clunky fit in Orlando, but Black gives the Magic another ball-handler with the size to be a menace defensively.

This is probably the most surprising pick of the draft to this point, but it also makes some sense. Orlando is in need of shooting and, while Gradey Dick was a higher-rated prospect for most scouts, Howard brings size and shooting. His defensive questions could also be insulated within Orlando’s structure.

Free Agency/Contract Extensions: B-

The only real move the Magic made this summer was adding Joe Ingles on a two-year, $22 million deal, as they look to bring a veteran presence to a very young locker room. It’s more money than Ingles was going to get elsewhere, but on a short-term deal it’s a price Orlando is happy to pay to bring in someone who has been on very good teams in the past and can help bring along some of the youngsters — while also being a steady hand on the court. They also re-signed Moe Wagner on a two-year, $16 million deal after he had a very solid season in Orlando, averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and providing some frontcourt depth behind Carter Jr. Those aren’t moves that particularly give the Magic a clear path to take a step forward next season, but they also didn’t really need to do that this summer given so many questions linger about their backcourt long-term. Having a ‘B-‘ summer of signings is perfectly fine for a team with very few open roster spots, as they didn’t do anything wild to ruin the progress they’ve made.

Trades: INC

Like the Hornets, the Magic have not made a trade this summer as they want a bit more time to evaluate their young talent before consolidating it. That will have to happen in the fairly near future, as Cole Anthony will be a free agent and Jalen Suggs will be extension eligible next summer, but in the meantime they’ll remain patient and see how this upcoming season pans out. Should they get off to a strong start, they have ample ammunition to make a trade to bolster their roster at the deadline, but for now they’ve been quiet on the trade market.

Sinead O’Connor is dead at 56 year old, according to a report from The Irish Times.

The Dublin-born singer’s debut album was 1987’s The Lion And The Cobra, and overall, she released ten albums, the latest being 2014’s I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss. She was best known for her No. 1 single, “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which was originally written by Prince for his side project The Family. O’Connor also stirred up controversy as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on October 3, 1992, when she protested the Catholic Church by tearing a photo of Pope John Paul II live on air.

This post is being updated.

Do you know a good lawyer? Donald Trump could use one.

The former president, who is facing over 500 years in prison, has been looking for an attorney to represent him as he faces a third indictment for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, to no avail. The hiring process has been difficult because, first of all, Trump isn’t the easiest guy to work with.

Rolling Stone reports that “one attorney who was approached about work declined, [as] they were dissuaded by the lengthy track record of Trump’s personal lawyers suddenly finding themselves in legal jeopardy while working for Trump.” Other attornies are concerned that an association with Trump would mean losing other, less MAGA-inclined clients.

It’s never great when the term “suicide mission” gets thrown around.

Some attorneys who’ve discussed the investigation with Trump and his close associates believe the case is a certain loser for the defense, arguing, among other things, that Trump’s loss at the initial trial is a foregone conclusion in Washington, D.C. The district is a deep-blue area and still carries the memory of the January 6th attack. And in the past several weeks, some of Donald Trump’s top legal and political advisers have been privately calling the job of defending Trump against an indictment in the election 2020 case a “suicide mission.”

I know at least one lawyer who’s free.

(Via Rolling Stone)