(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Power Book IV: Force episode will be found below.)
This week’s episode of Power Book IV: Forceseason two, which is titled “Crown Vic,” is laced with a lot of surprises. For starters, Walter Flynn is killed at the halfway point thanks to a plan orchestrated by Claudia and Vic to take out their father and take over the family organization. With this plan, Claudia assumed that she would take over the organization, but she was informed that it would actually be Vic. This causes her to also try and get Vic killed in the ambush, but the plan backfires and she’ll certainly pay for this attempt later on.
On a less serious note, this episode also featured a surprise appearance from… Glen “Big Baby” Davis! Yes, the retired NBA athlete who played for the Boston Celtics (where he won a championship), Orlando Magic, and the Los Angeles Clippers, has a role in this week’s episode of Power Book IV: Force.
What Is Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis Doing In Power Book IV: Force?
Davis plays the role of King Kilo, an inmate at the Southville Prison where Diamond was previously incarcerated. Kilo is also the leader of the RD gang in Chicago who was responsible for ambushing Diamond at a local diner. Diamond knows that Kilo did not call for the attack, and in order to restore peace between Kilo’s RD gang and his own CBI crew, Diamond comes up with the idea to reach out to Kilo and propose a truce. Kilo accepts Diamond’s offer under the condition that he can receive half the profits made from the distribution of product in Southville. Tommy Egan initially turns down the offer, but later on in the episode, he changes his mind for the sake of restoring some amount of peace to their lives.
Last summer, Davis shared some details about his upcoming role on what we now know is Power Book IV: Force during an appearance on the All The Smoke Podcast with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes. Davis also explained how a past role on Shameless helped to land the role on Power Book IV: Force.
So, after Shameless, which was a great role and great opportunity because that shoe does so well, I got another opportunity with a show called Benched, which is another lawyer show. Then I had more opportunity with Lincoln Lawyer… They gave me a couple lines, but just that little part book me another gig for Power.
When I got the call, I was like what the f***. I got a call from the writer, but I was at an event, and I told 50, yo, I act. I’m like, I’m on Shameless, and he just seen me on Lincoln Lawyer. So, he called me up with the writer, and I’m talking to him.
They were like, bro, we got you; you’re going to be a character on Power. It’s a blessing. It really is a blessing, man. I was a theatre major in college… Entertainment is my thing and to do what I love again is really a blessing.
New episodes of ‘Power Book IV: Force’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am ET/PT and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm ET/PT.
(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Power Book IV: Force episode will be found below.)
In last week’s episode of Power Book IV: Force “The Devil’s In The Details,” multiple characters found love, but this week’s episode focuses on the varying family dynamics in the show and the high emotions that exist between them. In episode five, “Crown Vic,” we’re met with a shocking turn of events for the Flynn family. Claudia and Vic devised a plan to have their father Walter ambushed during a dinner at Walter’s house, which Vic would attend. However, the plan takes an unexpected turn when Claudia realizes that Walter’s death does not mean that the Flynn family business would be hers for the taking. As a result, she purposely withholds information from Vic and sends him to the family dinner without the knowledge that the ambush is arriving 30 minutes earlier than expected. Luckily for Vic, he’s able to escape the massacre and ensure that Walter is killed, but it’s not until afterward that he realizes that Claudia tried to set him up. With this new knowledge, Vic decides that it’s time to take out Claudia. He sets up a deal with The Feds to create a scenario that can make that happen with putting him jail.
Tommy Egan is also dealing with a serious matter regarding his own family, specifically with his nephew D-Mac. In the aftermath of D-Mac murdering a cop, whom he had no idea was one in the first place, Tommy begs D-Mac to stay out of the streets but the youngster fails to listen. Following a conversation with his dad, Tommy and JP decide that it’s best to send him far away and out of trouble until the coast is clear and any investigation surrounding the cop’s death dies down. The decision is a tough pill for D-Mac, Tommy, and JP to swallow but Tommy’s mother is the one who takes the news the worst out of anyone. In a matter of a few moments, she’s in an emotional spiral that results in her relapsing and erasing all of the progress she made in breaking from her addiction.
To conclude the family theme, we’re left to discuss Diamond and Jenard. The two brothers are brought back together this week when they’re both informed that their father Big Syd is in the hospital and not doing well. Throughout the episode, we’re able to see what Diamond’s relationship is with his father, and to put it bluntly, it’s awful. Yet, despite an initial intense argument at the hospital, the two are able to put aside their differences for an honest moment where Big Syd explains why he always resented Diamond Unfortunately for Jenard, he was not able to put aside his issues with Diamond as he left the hospital once he noticed Diamond was there. As a result, Jenard, who is spiralling with a soon-to-be out of control drug addiction, was unable to say a final goodbye to his father. On a more positive note, he and Diamond talk things out at the hospital and reached a point where they can reconcile and be on good terms once again.
That’s enough recapping from me though, let’s get into the top five Power Players based on what went down in the “Crown Vic” episode.
5. The Heroin Dealer
This was another tough week for picking out Power Players, so we had a dig a bit. We welcome a heroin dealer into the rankings this week! (For probably the last time.) It’s not just any other dealer, no, it’s the one that was able to provide Jenard with a new and certainly more addicting high in this week’s episode. But that’s not why he’s here. In exchange for the supply of heroin that he gave Jenard, this dealer was able to get a gold chain from Jenard — which was stolen from someone else — and possibly some designer clothing. Like I said, we had to dig deep a little, but the dealer made off with a new chain and maybe a new friend(?) Who knows. Now, let’s get into the real Power Players.
4. The Feds
STARZ
The Feds made some big moves this week. After establishing the task force between federal investigators and local Chicago police as well as taking in some of the lower-level drug dealers, The Feds swung big in an attempt to accomplish their ultimate goal of taking down Tommy Egan: they brought Vic Flynn in for question. They had crimes and a witness that they could connect to Vic, but after questioning him for a bit, they allowed him to walk out with the hope that he would find himself in a trap and need their help. That moment came when Vic returned to them with an offer to give up his sister Claudia. The Feds pushed for Tommy Egan to be a part of that deal, and after a brief hesitation, he agreed. Things seem to be going well for The Feds, but if you know anything about the Power Universe, you know that it won’t always be that way for them.
3. Vic Flynn
STARZ
If Claudia had it her way, Vic would’ve been dead by the end of the episode. This means that together with her father’s death, she would’ve been left to take over the family business, something she’s both secretly and openly wanted to do since the beginning of Power Book IV: Force. Unfortunately for her, Vic was able to make it out alive from the ambush and soon enough he pieced everything together. He figured out that Claudia switched the plans on him behind his back and he also figured out that confronting her about it would do him no good. So, he faked a smile, thanked her for “going through” with her part of the deal and protecting him, and immediately made his way to The Feds to set forth his plan of getting back at his sister. In this situation, Vic will mostly come out on top and escape from his past without having to face any time for it because he got immunity in exchange for agreeing to give up Claudia and Tommy.
2. Diamond
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This week’s episode was an emotional one for Diamond as both he and Jenard had to deal with the impending and eventual death of their father Big Syd. In the first scene with his father, who is sick and in a hospital bed, it’s clear that he and Diamond did not have the best relationship. They quickly get into an argument and Diamond leaves before he returns some hours later. It’s during this moment that Big Syd admits that his ill feelings towards his oldest son, whom he called the stronger and tougher one between him and Jenard, came from the realization that his son didn’t need him, that he’d always be fine on his own. Furthermore, and most importantly out of all of this, it seems like Diamond was able to squash his beef with Jenard as he welcomed him back to CBI. Though, it remains to be seen if that actually happens as a lot has changed for Jenard since the split. Still, Diamond was able to reconcile with his brother and receive closure from his father. I’d call that a win under the circumstances at hand.
1. Tommy
STARZ
For much of the season, the Power Players list has been defined by people who were able to make the necessary moves to get what they wanted, increase their power and respect, and/or increase the fear they instilled in others. This week, Tommy once again claims the top spot, but not for doing any of the above. Instead, it’s for having the power to do something that was for the best despite not really wanting to do it. We’re talking about his decision to send D-Mac far away from home to make sure he was just as far away from trouble. D-Mac didn’t listen to Tommy’s multiple commands to stay home and away from the streets, especially after he shot and killed a cop. So when push came to shove, against the wishes of his mother and JP, Tommy sent D-Mac to a faraway place as a result of him not being able to listen to his dad and uncle. Tommy tells D-Mac that the move isn’t permanent and nearly says that he loves him. Still, not having your nephew around will take a bit of a toll on Tommy, especially as his mother and JP cope (the former more than the latter it seems so far). However, what needed to be done was done and I’m sure everyone will thank Tommy in the long run, or so we hope.
New episodes of ‘Power Book IV: Force’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am ET/PT and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm ET/PT.
This weekend, U2 begins a series of shows at Sphere in Las Vegas. Ahead of the show, the band had dropped a new single called “Atomic City.”
“It’s a love song to our audience,” said Bono about the song in a statement…”’where you are is where I’ll be’.”
On the song, the men of U2 have channeled in the vibrance of the “Atomic City” — which is a nickname for Las Vegas — and are ready to simply have pure fun. And with their illustrious catalog, the band has surely earned the right to party.
“Come all you stars falling out of the sky / Come all you angels forgetting to fly / Come all who feel we’re not on our own / All UFOs come on your way home,” sings Bono in the song’s opening verse.
In the song’s accompanying video, the band surprises fans with a late-night performance of the song in downtown Las Vegas on Fremont Street. The video arrives as a full-circle moment, as it takes place where they shot the video for “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” 36 years prior.
U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere kicks off Friday, September 29, and runs untiI December 16. You can find more information about the series here.
Latto isn’t the one to play around with. On her new single, “Issa Party,” our cover star fires some warning shots at people who’ve been trying to throw dirt on her name.
Latto puts her haters and naysayers on notice, warning them that they can look forward to a surprise from her if they don’t stop trying to play her.
“B*tch, I’m red, not green, lil’ ho, stop playin’ with me / I hate borin’ b*tches, they be throwin’ off my energy,” she raps on the song’s opening verse.
Fellow Georgia rapper Baby Drill pops in, warning that he’s about that action, both on and off of the internet.
“Drill just beat another body, take a shot, let’s celebrate / Twitter beef, don’t do the back and forth, pull up shootin’ for days,” he raps.
On the song’s chorus, the two interpolate Waka Flocka Flame’s hit song, “Grove St. Party.”
Latto and Baby Drill have been teasing the fiery collaboration over the course of the past week. The song’s accompanying video is set to premiere in the near future, and ahead of the video, Latto teased the clip by transforming the famed Atlanta strip club Magic City into Latto City.
In the meantime, you can listen to “Issa Party” above.
Jung Kook has another hit on his hands. Tonight (September 29), the BTS singer dropped a new solo track — “3D” with Jack Harlow.
On “3D,” Jung finds himself intrigued by a new woman and hopes to get to know her in every way. Over a groovy, rhythmic R&B-inspired beat produced by BloodPop and David Steward, Jung delivers silky vocals, continuing the smooth, captivating story he began with Latto in “Seven” — his debut solo single he released this past July.
“So if you’re ready / And if you’ll let me / I wanna see it / In motion / In 3D,” sings Jung on the song’s chorus, channeling the likes of early aughts Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams.
Harlow, who was missing from the radio and TikTok stratosphere for a bit this past summer, reminds us that he hasn’t gone anywhere. On his verse, he maintains confidence in the status he gained over the past year as both a superstar and a ladies’ man.
“Take a chick off one look / And when they get took, they don’t ever get untook,” raps Harlow on his verse.
So far, Jung is two-for-two in his solo run, demonstrating his ability as a global hitmaker as he continues to experiment with his sound.
You can see the video for “3D” above.
Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Lil Yachty isn’t slowing down. Tonight (September 28), the multifaceted rapper and singer, who dropped his psychedelic rock-influenced album Let’s Start Here back in January, has shared a new single, “The Secret Recipe.”
On “The Secret Recipe,” Yachty reminds us of his rap prowess, which is what brought him to instant fame in the mid-2010s.
Over a jazzy, instrument-driven beat, Yachty treats us to clever wordplay, channeling a newfound confidence as he freestyles effortlessly.
“I don’t smoke weed, already blunt, all of my cars, I had to hunt / My doggy young as hell but still will step, we call him runt / Like window shoppers, I see through every front,” raps Yachty.
J. Cole then hops in, delivering a verse equally as structured, reaffirming his GOAT status. He also notable calls out industry folk using social activism for clout.
“I started saying less / I had to stop it / Peeped how they profit off of racial stress / Some activists got so rich, they probably wished we stayed oppressed.
In the song’s accompanying video, the two rappers are seen in an empty arena, rapping their asses off, while making it look so damn easy.
You can see the video for “The Secret Recipe” above.
Damian Lillard is now a member of the Milwaukee Bucks after a three-team blockbuster saw the Portland Trail Blazers finally move the star nearly three months after his July trade request, but they did not meet his demands to be sent to the Miami Heat.
By all accounts that have come out in the day since the trade got completed, Portland cut off dialogue with Miami after their initial conversations in July. On Thursday night, Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, who is particularly close with Lillard, presented Dame’s side of the negotiation process and his frustrations with how Portland handled it. Much of it is similar to what others have reported about Portland not speaking with Miami and how Lillard eventually had his agent Aaron Goodwin speak with the Nets and Bucks quietly to inform them he would accept a trade there, but it does provide more specifics and details about the process.
The most interesting parts are the note about the league intervening with a meeting between Blazers GM Joe Cronin and Damian Lillard after things had grown so fractured behind the scenes the two sides weren’t speaking, as well as what came of the ensuing sitdown between the Blazers executive and Lillard. In that meeting, Cronin made it clear he’d ask of a lot from the Heat — there was a report recently they asked for one of Bam Adebayo or Jimmy Butler, at one point — and Lillard replied that if the Heat weren’t going to be an option, he’d rather just return to the Blazers.
Cronin’s response was no, which left Lillard “shocked.”
In the Sept. 5 meeting, Cronin conveyed that if he was forced to do a deal with Miami, he had every intention of going after every attractable asset. Lillard knew then he was unlikely to end up in Miami.
Lillard then said if a deal couldn’t be worked out with the Heat, he would prefer to rescind his trade request and return to the Trail Blazers.
Cronin’s response to the seven-time All-Star was that there was no coming back.
Lillard was shocked, sources said. He said it was discouraging to hear he couldn’t return, but added that he didn’t want to be somewhere he wasn’t wanted, and he ended the meeting.
It certainly feels like this was two sides attempting to exert as much leverage as they could on one another, with Cronin ultimately winning that battle as Lillard and Goodwin went back to the drawing board to identify teams beyond Miami he’d go to. Overall, once Lillard made his trade request, the team seemed pretty comfortable moving on, and I would venture to go as far as say the Blazers, once they made the decision to draft Scoot Henderson, were probably fairly happy Lillard was the one who issued the trade request so they could hit the reset button in full without being the ones making the decision to trade one of the franchise’s all-time greats against his wishes — they just also didn’t want to be boxed in to dealing with just one suitor.
As such, Cronin wasn’t willing to try and put the genie back in the bottle, and Lillard was either not willing to or didn’t feel he could make things so uncomfortable they’d be forced to trade him to Miami only. The result is the “sour taste” Lillard noted in his first comments to Haynes after the trade. Even so, you won’t find too many people that feel bad for Lillard, as he got dealt to a situation that is extremely good for him in terms of the basketball fit and chance to win a title. The Bucks are title favorites with Lillard and his fit with Giannis is, on paper, about as good as you could hope for (as it would’ve been with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo). That gives Cronin and the Blazers plenty of cover for making the deal they did, even if it was about more than just seeking out the best package and spite played a role.
Eventually, Lillard will get his due in Portland as a franchise legend and fences will be mended, but it’s extremely rare for a star to ask out and for it to end without hurt feelings on one side or the other. In this case, Lillard was the one who didn’t get everything he wanted and his last gasp push to just return to the Blazers was rejected as a plan.
Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!
Most historians have credited the Greeks with creating the study of triangles’ sides and angles, but this tablet presents indisputable evidence that the Babylonians were using the technique 1,500 years before the Greeks ever were.
Mansfield and his team are, understandably, incredibly proud. What they discovered is that the tablet is actually an ancient trigonometry table.
“The huge mystery, until now, was its purpose – why the ancient scribes carried out the complex task of generating and sorting the numbers on the tablet. Our research reveals that Plimpton 322 describes the shapes of right-angle triangles using a novel kind of trigonometry based on ratios, not angles and circles. It is a fascinating mathematical work that demonstrates undoubted genius.”
u201cAussie mathematician cracks code of famous 3,700-year-old Babylonian clay tablet https://t.co/f7h6oIfBDru201d
— China Xinhua News (@China Xinhua News) 1503639811
“The tablet not only contains the world’s oldest trigonometric table; it is also the only completely accurate trigonometric table, because of the very different Babylonian approach to arithmetic and geometry. This means it has great relevance for our modern world. Babylonian mathematics may have been out of fashion for more than 3,000 years, but it has possible practical applications in surveying, computer graphics and education. This is a rare example of the ancient world teaching us something new.”
The tablet predates Greek astronomer Hipparchus, who has long been regarded as the father of trigonometry. Mansfield’s colleague, Norman Widberger, added:
“Plimpton 322 predates Hipparchus by more than 1,000 years. It opens up new possibilities not just for modern mathematics research, but also for mathematics education. With Plimpton 322 we see a simpler, more accurate trigonometry that has clear advantages over our own.”
“A treasure trove of Babylonian tablets exists, but only a fraction of them have been studied yet. The mathematical world is only waking up to the fact that this ancient but very sophisticated mathematical culture has much to teach us.”
People were understandably excited by the news.
u201cA 3,700 year olf Babylonian tablet revealed as the world’s first trigonometry table https://t.co/AQlpsndM92u201d
But all in all, Twitter users were pretty impressed with the Babylonians’ skills.
And they figured it out 3,700 years ahead of me…and counting.— Marty (@Marty) 1503631905
u201c@prophiphop And we’re over here trying to figure out how to do trig with our TI-83s… man I love it when the ancients show what real intelligence is.u201d
Almost 100 years ago, nine newspapers joined forces to create a national spelling bee to help promote literacy. Now the Scripps National Spelling Bee has become so popular that was televised for 27 years on ESPN before moving to its own network in 2022.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is a serious competition with students who have studied arduously to memorize root words, phonetic rules and unusual spellings in the hopes of being crowned the nation’s spelling champion. The honor also comes with a $50,000 cash prize, so the competition is fierce.
But that didn’t stop one competitor from bursting into giggles at being asked to spell the word “sardoodledom.”
During the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee, 11-year-old Kennyi Aouad approached the microphone with serious concentration when it was his turn to spell. But when the judges told him the word he was to spell and he repeated it, he burst out laughing.
“Sardoodledom” isn’t a word most of us have ever even heard, much less recognize. (It means “mechanically contrived plot structure and stereotyped or unrealistic characterization in drama”—basically “melodrama”—according to Merriam-Webster.) It does sound a bit funny saying it out loud, and even one of the judges started giggling at the young contestant’s reaction to it.
Watch Kennyi lose it repeatedly as he tries to make it through his turn:
Despite how serious the competition is, these kids are still just kids and people loved seeing his joyful reaction to a silly-sounding word.
“His laugh!! I love that in the seriousness of spelling bees, he was able to be himself. This made me smile!” wrote one person.
“So cute. Smart with a touch of sense of humour,” wrote another.
“Talk about breaking the tension!!” shared another. “I love it and he got it right!”
If you’re curious, Kennyi placed 34th in that year’s spelling bee. He would go on to compete again, however, and tied for 5th place in the 2009 bee.
There never seems to be any downtime when you’re the default parent. You know, the parent that the kids go to first when they want anything, especially food. They’re also the go-to person for school forms and bedtime stories, and the parents that the school reaches out to when a student is sick has to go home.
Some parents are the default because there’s an imbalance in the home, which forces them to assume most of the day-to-day child-rearing responsibilities. In other families, one parent is the default because the other is busy with work or other obligations.
Popular TikTokker Jordan Klein wondered why she becomes overwhelmed halfway through the day while watching her children. “I have three boys, ages 5, 3, and 1, and I continuously lose my sh*t. Sometimes it comes out. Sometimes,” she said in a recent post. “I lose my sh*t right around 2 or 3 p.m. every day without fail. My husband works from home. But he does not lose his sh*t consistently. So, what’s going on?”
To get to the bottom of her situation, she conducted a scientific study where she counted the number of requests she gets from her children on a given day, and the results were unbelievable.
This validates my burn out, right? #momtok #momsoftiktok #sahm #boymom #toddlermom #toddlersoftiktok #3under5
This validates my burn out, right? #momtok #momsoftiktok #sahm #boymom #toddlermom #toddlersoftiktok #3under5
“I downloaded one of those little counter clicker apps on my phone where I could just push the screen, and it ticks up one number, and I was just gonna hit it every time one of my children …made a request,” Jordan said in her TikTok video.
Just ten minutes after downloading the app, her kids made 86 requests of her. She even didn’t count repeats, and kids love to repeat themselves. “I guarantee you that if I were to ask my husband how many requests a day he gets at work… it’s in the single digits, for sure,” she added.
And they say being a stay-at-home mom isn’t a full-time job! “This validates my burnout, right?” Jordan captioned her post.
“I feel this completely, and point it out often to my husband. Like yall, Dad is RIGHT THERE. Ask him,” CrochetFeen wrote in the comments. “I have 3 kids too and ‘Mom’ is now a triggering word,” Sandra added.
The quasi-scientific experiment gives Jordan some excellent ammunition when talking to her husband about how they divide parenting duties. Even if it doesn’t mean he takes over the default role after work, it at least makes a great case that Jordan deserves more than a few lengthy breaks throughout the day and a few days off every month.
There is only so much stress and mental anguish that parents can take before they are no longer effective and cannot provide a happy and healthy home for their children. When evaluating domestic responsibilities, we often consider having a professional job more stressful than raising children. However, Jordan’s experiment proves that parenting can mean a lot more emotional labor, and families should take a second look at how default parents are valued.
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I love that in the seriousness of spelling bees, he was able to be himself. This made me smile!” wrote one person.