Year: 2024

As far as Donald Trump‘s comically blatant lies go, him claiming that he never said “lock her up” about Hillary Clinton isn’t going to make the “false or misleading statements” Wikipedia. But it’s still not great.

In an interview with Fox News that aired over the weekend, the former president and convicted felon said, “I beat her. It’s easier when you win. And they always said ‘lock her up,’ and I felt — and I could have done it, but I felt it would have been a terrible thing. And then this happened to me.” Trump continued, “I didn’t say ‘lock her up,’ but the people said ‘lock her up, lock her up.’ Then, we won. And I say — and I said pretty openly, I said, all right, come on, just relax, let’s go, we’ve got to make our country great.”

[Arrested Development narrator voice] He said “lock her up.” A lot.

So many times, in fact, that when the clip from Trump’s interview was played on The Daily Show during Monday’s episode, host Jon Stewart was left speechless. After slamming his desk with his palms and looking like he was in the middle of a Pepe Silvia-style psychotic break, Stewart finally snapped out of it and scolded the Fox News hosts for not correcting Trump.

You can watch The Daily Show clip above.

This AI stuff has gotten out of hand lately. There’s no telling if any song is real or if someone typed a prompt. And, as if to drive home the point, no less an authority on the subject than Drake (of course) has put in an appearance to either troll fans or prove just how unfazed he is by his recent battle with Kendrick Lamar.

A few minutes ago, someone called Snowd4y dropped a new song called “Wah Gwan Delilah” on SoundCloud, purporting to feature Drake himself. The song is a clear riff on the 2006 Plain White T’s hit “Hey There Delilah,” employing Caribbean patois to replace the standard greeting in from the original’s title.

Either the mixing on Drake’s vocals is weird, or fans just can’t believe that he’d really do something this corny, so X.com (formerly Twitter.com) has lit up with fan responses wondering if the track is authentic or AI-generated. (For what it’s worth, according to the Drake subreddit, Snowd4y’s whole thing is doing a cheeky satire of a Toronto rudeboy, so perhaps the whole thing is meant to be a joke that fans are, of course, taking way too seriously.)

Complicating matters is the fact that Drake himself has posted a screenshot of the song from SoundCloud on his Instagram Story, writing “@snowd4y wake up the city ” Whether this means that he’s amused by the audacious stunt by Snowd4y or that he really does support the track remains unclear.

You can check out the track from SoundCloud below.

The WNBA is in the spotlight right now, as the league’s years-long increase in popularity is heading to a new level due to a rookie class that features former Iowa standout Caitlin Clark. Unfortunately, this has led to an uptick in the league — and especially Clark — getting caught up in the 24-hour news and take cycle that can lead to pundits saying some absolutely insane things on live television.

For example, on Monday morning, we had a tense back-and-forth between Stephen A. Smith and Monica McNutt on First Take regarding Smith’s lack of WNBA coverage over the last few years, and several hours later, we got … whatever Pat McAfee was going for here. It’s been a lot, especially as Clark and the Indiana Fever have struggled to pick up wins early on in the year and Clark has gotten a few “Welcome to the WNBA” moments.

With all this going on, Kendrick Perkins decided to address the way Clark (and the league as a whole) gets discussed by “powerful men” who are doing more WNBA coverage than ever before.

“Now, we’re starting to see a lot of powerful men start to cover the WNBA,” Perkins said. “And there’s gotta be some fairness in that — they should be able to voice their opinions. But they also have to be responsible to do their homework when covering the WNBA.”

Perkins specifically pointed out the need to be “careful” with the language that guys like Charles Barkley, LeBron James, Smith, and Shannon Sharpe have used recently while discussing the league, then turned his attention to McAfee and his remarks from earlier in the day.

“Pat McAfee, I think he owes everyone an apology, especially Caitlin Clark,” he said. “You cannot call her out of her name like that. No one can come to his defense and it’s unacceptable. At the end of the day, you have to respect the WNBA, respect the women that are playing, respect the women that are covering the game, and you have to make sure you do it in great fashion, if you’re a man that’s jumping into that atmosphere.”

Public discourse about minimum wage and living wages has been ongoing for years, with people debating whether the government should mandate a minimum hourly pay for workers.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the first federal minimum wage law in 1938, setting the lowest wage a worker could be paid at 25 cents per hour. Nearly a century later, the federal minimum wage is $7.25/hr, holding steady since 2009, with people lobbying to raise it to at least $15/hr for over a decade. However, in addition to federal law, each state has its own laws, a handful of which establish a state minimum wage higher than $15, a handful of which don’t have a set minimum wage at all and everything in between.

Cost of living has also been a hot topic as inflation has squeezed everyone’s wallets and certain cities and states have become utterly unaffordable, especially for people in low-wage jobs or who who are just starting out in their careers. So how do minimum wage and cost of living correlate state-by-state? Are there any sweet spots with a high(er) minimum wage and low(er) cost of living?

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While there’s no perfect storm of super low cost of living and super high minimum wage—for instance, Washington, D.C. has the highest state minimum wage at $17/hr, but housing costs 140% more than the national average—there are some states where the ratio is far more favorable than others. According to Insider Monkey, here are the top six states where you can get the most bang for your minimum wage buck.

6. New Mexico

The Land of Enchantment offers a relatively decent living for its $12/hr minimum wage thanks to the state’s below average cost of living. According to Rent Cafe, housing in New Mexico is 8% lower than the national average, monthly utilities are 9% lower, food is 4% lower, transportation is 3% lower and healthcare, goods and services are 2% lower.

According to Smart Asset, Albuquerque, New Mexico ranks as No. 10 in U.S. cities where minimum wage goes the furthest.

5. New Jersey

The Garden State’s relatively higher-than-average cost of living is counteracted by relatively solid minimum wage of $14.13/hr. Most of the cost of living in New Jersey is wrapped up in housing, which is 30% higher than the national average, according to Rent Cafe, and utilities, which are 12% higher. Goods and services are 5% higher, but healthcare is 2% lower than the national average. Food and transportation are 1% and 2% higher, respectively.

4. Connecticut

With both a cost of living and minimum wage slightly higher than New Jersey, Connecticut rolls in at No. 4 with a $15/hr minimum wage. Where the Constitution State hits hardest is in utilities, which Rent Cafe places at 30% higher than the national average, and housing, which is 24% higher. Healthcare and goods and services are both 9% higher, while transportation and food are just 1% and 2% above average.

3. Missouri

The Show-Me State says, “Show me the money!” with its somewhat respectable $12/hr minimum wage, which goes pretty far with its relatively low cost of living. Housing is the biggest cost benefit Missouri offers at 18% lower than the national average. But utilities, food, healthcare, and goods and services are also all below average, with only transportation landing right at the national average.

Additionally, St. Louis clocked in at No. 5 for a minimum wage real-world value of $13.68 when adjusting for the city’s lower-than-average cost of living.

2. Washington

With the highest state minimum wage in the nation (unless you count Washington, D.C.), Washington’s $16.48/hr puts it in second place when accounting for cost of living. Make no mistake, Washington isn’t cheap overall, with a cost of living 15% higher than the national average. Housing and transportation hit hard at 29% and 27% higher than the national average, respectively. Healthcare is pricey as well at 20% higher than average. Food costs 12% more, but utilities clock in at 7% less than the national average.

Two cities in Washington hit the top 15 for highest real minimum wage value, though, with Seattle at No. 13 and Spokane at No. 2.

1. Illinois

If you want the best bang for your minimum wage buck, head to the Prairie State with its $13/hr minimum wage and 8% lower than average cost of living. Housing in Illinois is 22% lower than average and utilities are 10% lower. The only expense that comes in higher than average for Illinois is transportation at 3% above average, which isn’t enough to keep it out of the top spot.

However, there are some minimum wage sweet spots in certain U.S. cities that aren’t reflected in these state rankings. According to Smart Asset, Denver, CO, is the city where minimum wage goes the farthest in the nation. Colorado comes in at a respectable 7th place in state minimum-wage-to-cost-of-living ratio, but Denver has its own mandatory minimum wage of $18.29/hr.

A citywide minimum wage is part of what puts Seattle at the No. 13 spot on that same list. Seattle is one of the most expensive cities in the U.S., but its $19.97 minimum wage for most workers changes the ratio in its favor.

Other cities in the top 10 include Buffalo, NY; Minneapolis, MN; Tucson, AZ; St. Paul, MN; Phoenix, AZ and Stockton, CA.

The minimum wage conversation may vary widely across the U.S., with different costs of living and different state laws on the books. But if you’re looking to move someplace where your wage will go the furthest, these six states will likely be your best bet to check out first.

Magnet fishing is one of the more unique hobbies that people got into during the pandemic and it has remained popular even in its aftermath. The idea is simple: anglers drop a heavy magnet into a waterway and see what they can pull up.

It’s pretty common for people to find guns, knives, fishing tackle, scrap metal and even the occasional bicycle. The hobby is popular on YouTube, where there are hundreds of thousands of videos related to the topic.

The hobby is fun for those who get a kick out of finding buried treasure, but it’s also great for the environment. Anglers with magnets that can pull anywhere from 400 to 2,000 pounds have done a great job of removing dangerous waterway debris.

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A couple who got into magnet fishing during the pandemic made an incredible catch in the Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens on Friday, May 31, that earned them a spot on the New York 1 News. James Kane and Barbie Agostini threw a rope with a magnet into a river and pulled up a safe with an estimated $100,000 inside.

An American couple has managed to hook a safe filled with nearly AU$150,000 while magnet fishing in a New York lake.

James Kane & Barbie Agostini join us to tell us about the valuable find. pic.twitter.com/VqJTKa0qnM

— The Project (@theprojecttv) June 3, 2024

“We pulled it out and it was big stacks of freaking hundreds,” Kane told New York 1. “These are thick stacks—they’re soaking wet, they’re pretty much destroyed.”

Agostini thought Kane was joking when he said there were stacks of money in the safe. “He showed me and once I saw the actual dollars and the security ribbons I lost it,” she said.

To avoid legal trouble, the couple contacted the police to ensure that the safe wasn’t connected to any crimes. “There were no IDs, no way to find the original person, in the safe. [The police] were like: ‘Well, congratulations!'” Agostini said.

The police said they had never seen a discovery like it before.

Kane told New York 1 that they got into the hobby during lockdown. “We were bored during COVID lockdown and I’ve always had this itch to become a treasure hunter … so we discovered something called magnet fishing,” Kane said. He calls the hobby “the poor man’s treasure hunting.”

A couple in Queens were stunned to find $100,000 in cash inside an old safe they dredged up while magnet fishing in a NYC lake.

The two anglers, James Kane and Barbie Agostini, used a strong magnet to fish in the water on Friday afternoon. They felt something bulky on the end… pic.twitter.com/JczNL2ngq6

— Evoclique (@Evoclique_) June 2, 2024

Even though the money was soaked and covered in mud, the couple may be able to spend it. They sent it to Washington, D.C., to be cleaned and inspected. “To clean it up takes 6 months to 3 years,” Kane told The Project. But we believe this one’s not gonna be that long.”

One wonders why a safe with so much money wound up in a river. Was it stolen by thieves who ditched it because it couldn’t be opened? Did a jilted lover steal the safe from someone and throw it into the lake so it would be lost forever? Unfortunately, no one knows.

The couple also recently found 6 or 7 vintage guns in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn and a few grenades from World War II.

Do you have a treasure hunter deep inside you who wants to try magnet fishing? Clay Copeland, founder and president of Brute Magnetics, a magnet fishing equipment company in North Georgia, says it’s a relatively affordable hobby.

“Even our highest [priced] Brute Box is $200. There are not many hobbies you can get into and get top-of-the-line equipment for a couple of hundred bucks,” he told Mapquest. “That was intentional on our part to open this up to a wide variety of people because it is such an interesting and fun hobby that you just never know what you’re going to find.”

Copeland says magnet fishing is a lot of fun for families with kids. He magnet fishes with his 5 and 7-year-olds regularly.

“When we throw the magnet out and bring it back … just seeing that joy in their face when something is coming up, it’s the greatest thing ever,” he said.

Spymaster Jackson Lamb will return to Apple TV+ for fourth and fifth seasons and perhaps more. The role that Gary Oldman was perhaps born to portray will continue for much longer, and that’s a damn fine thing because no shortage of demand exists for espionage-fueled shows that appeal to both the Dad TV crowd and the rest of the binge-friendly audience, too. If you want some f*cked up, subversive agents to spice up the usual spy-thriller vibes, then Oldman and frenemies have you covered.

Oldman appears as the cantankerous spymaster who has a gas problem and isn’t afraid to let it out. He heads up the Slough House faction of British intelligence screwups who have been relegated to purgatory as originally written by Mick Herronthe’s South Horses book series, which contains eight titles about MI5 agents (and a ninth to come) so far. In other words, there’s plenty of source material, and Apple TV+ has been firing off seasons in rapid succession. In fact, Slow Horses is one of the only Apple TV+ shows to be renewed for a fifth season (another one being For All Mankind starring Joel Kinnaman), so let’s get prepared for what shall come next.

Plot

The dysfunctional agents of Slough House not only endure Lamb’s bodily functions but are essentially sentenced to an unending run of dull and miserable days filled with rote administrative tasks. That would be the official plan, but that wouldn’t make a very entertaining set of books or a TV show, so they end up on missions that are essential to maintaining the fabric of British society. And you know what? These characters aren’t “with it” but are refreshing compared to the usual breed of dashing, beautiful, and perfectly coiffed spies that we usually see onscreen. As well, Gary Oldman is loving this job and would be cool with ending his career — “to be able to sort of wrap it all up” — with this show. As he further told Deadline, “I would consider myself very honored and very lucky to be able to do that.”

In the fourth season, expect the story to follow Herron’s fourth book, Spook Street, and “open with a bombing that detonates personal secrets, rocking the already unstable foundations of Slough House.” The season will provide followup on River getting his hands on the “Footprint” file, which is supposedly destroyed, but of course copies exist. First, the Slough House agents will get sucked into a terror attack carried out on a packed shopping district.

Also, will River hook up with Louisa? On that last question, showrunner Will Smith promised Decider that the subject would grow “messy”:

Yeah, we’ve definitely played with that, I would say. And I think that comes from their performance, that comes from that hug as much as anything. And I think people would want to see them together, but all I could say is we’re going to be true to the character dynamics of the books. But it’s definitely — the question will not go unanswered. Put it that way. It’ll be in a Slow Horses way. And it will be messy. I can’t give too much away.

Additionally, expect the “messy” to extend into showing the audience where (via Indiewire) Jackson Lamb lives:

“In Season 4, it will be the first time we can see inside Lamb’s flat, Lambs house. What was really fun: Will said to me, ‘What do you think? What posters would he have on the wall? Would he have any posters or anything?’ You’ll catch it, only in passing really, but books are everywhere. I said, ‘What about a leg broken on the coffee table, but he’s put the books to level it up?’”

Just a hunch: the audience is ready to see this majestic mess.

Cast

Deadline reported that the fourth season’s cast will receive several new cast members including Hugo Weaving, Tom Brooke, Ruth Bradley, Joanna Scanlan, and James Callis. They will join Oldman and regular cast members Kristin Scott Thomas, Olivia Cooke, Jack Lowden, Jonathan Pryce, Steven Waddington, Rosalind Eleazar, Saskia Reeves, and Paul Higgins.

Release Date

Smith duly revealed (back in December 2023) that the fourth season “won’t be later than this time next year. So you won’t have to wait longer than a year.” In other words, expect this to happen before the end of 2024.

Trailer

No trailer has surfaced yet, but please enjoy this joint interview of Gary Oldman and Jack Bowden discussing Lamb’s “tough love” on his underlings:

With her debut album Born In The Wild coming soon, Nigerian singer Tems is soon to ascned to global superstar status. After becoming the first African-born artist to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (thanks in part to Future and Drake) and penning for both Beyoncé and Rihanna, she’s ready to take the next step in her journey as an artist with Born In The Wild. Here’s everything to know about the upcoming album.

Release Date

Born In The Wild is due 6/7 via RCA / Since ’93. You can find more info here.

Tracklist

1. “Born In The Wild”
2. “Special Baby (Interlude)”
3. “Burning”
4. “Wickedest”
5. “Love Me JeJe”
6. “Get It Right” Feat. Asake
7. “Ready”
8. “Gangsta”
9. “Unfortunate”
10. “Boy O Boy”
11. “Forever”
12. “Free Fall” Feat. J. Cole
13. “Voices In My Head (Interlude)”
14. “Turn Me Up”
15. “Me & U”
16. “T-Unit”
17. “You In My Face”
18. “Hold On”

Features

Features on Born In The Wild include North Carolina rapper J. Cole and burgeoning Nigerian Afrobeats performer Asake.

Artwork

Singles

So far, Tems has released two singles, “Me & U” and “Love Me JeJe.”

Tour Dates

Europe:

6/12 — London, UK @ Eventim Apollo
6/15 — Paris, France @ L’Olympia
7/4 — Oslo, Norway @ Sentrum Scene
7/8 — Berlin, Germany @ Tempodrom
7/10 — Cologne, Germany @ Carlswerk Victoria
7/12 — Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
7/16 — Montreux, Switzerland @ Montreux

North America

8/22 — Miami Beach, FL @ The Fillmore
8/24 — Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Cafe
8/26 — Dallas, TX @ Gilley’s South Side Ballroom
8/28 — Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
8/30 — Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy
9/01 — Washington, DC @ The Anthem
9/03 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia
9/05 — New York City, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
9/07 — Toronto, ON, Canada @ History
9/11 — Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena
9/13 — Montreal, QC, Canada @ L’Olympia
9/15 — Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
9/17 — Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom
9/22 — Vancouver, BC, Canada @ The Queen Elizabeth Theatre
9/25 — Seattle, WA @ Showbox SODO
9/27 — San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
9/29 — Las Vegas, NV @ The Theatre At Virgin Hotel
10/1 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre

Africa

10/19 & 25 — TBA

Asia

11/5 — TBA

Australia

11/09 — Melbourne @ Margaret Court Arena
11/12 — Brisbane @ Fortitude Music Hall
11/15 — Sydney @ The Hordern Pavilion

When we previously checked in with Benoit Blanc, Netflix had just scooped up the rights to the then-untitled Knives Out sequels, and Rian Johnson was ready to expand the universe beyond just the normal knives we’ve come to know and love.

Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery hit the streamer in 2022, and now that Blanc has recovered from Edward Norton’s shenanigans, he’s off to solve another case with a fresh new cast of characters (and suspects).

The third installment in the mystery franchise will be titled Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, and the film is swiftly coming together. It feels like every day we wake up with a brand new cast announcement of a potential murder suspect or comic relief sidekick.

There are a lot of things to keep track of when it comes to this movie, so here is everything we know so far about the highly anticipated sequel. Get your knife sharpener ready.

Plot

Just like the two installments before, the plot is shrouded in mystery, but will follow the same formula. According to Netflix, the installment will be a “brand-new murder mystery in an as-yet-undisclosed setting, surrounded by a new colorful cast of suspects.” It’s not giving much to go on, but that’s the mystery of it all.

We do know that Johnson looks to classic whodunits for inspiration. Earlier this year, Johnson posted about working on the third film. “I love everything about whodunnits, but one of the things I love most is how malleable the genre is. There’s a whole tonal spectrum from Carr to Christie, and getting to explore that range is one of the most exciting things about making Benoit Blanc movies.” As always, there will be some red herrings and twists, so who knows what to expect.

Cast

The Knives Out franchise has adopted a reputation for having a cast jam-packed with fan-favorites. Daniel Craig will return as Benoit Blanc, the world-famous investigator who somehow finds himself surrounded by murder suspects. So far, Wake Up Dead Man includes Thanos himself Josh Brolin, Tortured Man Andrew Scott, That ’70s and That ’90s Show‘s Mila Kunis, tennis hopeful Josh O’Conner, Civil War‘s Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, Kerry Washington, and former Cruella, Glenn Close. There’s also a good chance that more stars will be added to the cast before the production begins this summer. Also plan to see a slew of impressive cameos.

It was also revealed that Jeremy Renner has joined the cast, though it’s not clear if he will portray a new character or himself, who already exists in Benoit Blanc’s world in the form of hot sauce.

Finally, we can at least hope for the return of Hugh Grant as Benoit’s possible romantic partner who loves to bake.

Release Date

Netflix is giving a very generous release date of “2025” so it could really be any time next year. But filming begins this summer and will likely wrap by the fall, so it’s likely that the third Knives Out will be released some time next summer or early fall.

You might remember that Glass Onion had a limited theatrical release a month before landing on Netflix, but due to its massive success, Netflix might opt for a longer release, though it has not been confirmed.

Trailer

Still no trailer quite yet, but feel free to study this clip for clues:

You can catch Glass Onion on Netflix, while the first Knives Out is available to rent on demand.

“Make the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it comes to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to live afresh.”

—Henry David Thoreau

No one escapes this world without a regret or two.

Time and time again, when we hear the final regrets of the dying, they’re not about wishing they’d made money or worked more hours.

They’re almost always about wishing they had the self-confidence to pursue their dreams or the time to stay in touch with loved ones.

Recently, A Plus in partnership with Strayer University’s Ideal Year Initiative, put up a chalkboard on a New York City street and asked passersby to write down their biggest regrets. The people who wrote on the blackboard were from different walks of life, but their regrets were alarmingly similar.

Watch the full video below:

This article first appeared on 9.16.17

An English doctor named Edward Jenner took incredible risks to try to rid his world of smallpox. Because of his efforts and the efforts of scientists like him, the only thing between deadly diseases like the ones below and extinction are people who refuse to vaccinate their kids. Don’t be that parent.

Unfortunately, because of the misinformation from the anti-vaccination movement, some of these diseases have trended up in a really bad way over the past several years.

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Wellness involves a lot of personal choices and the tradeoff between personal liberty and shared public good.

Measles is the starkest example. There were about 61 cases of measles in all of 2012, but in just the first seven months of 2014, there have been nearly 600.

As this chart shows, vaccinations are not like taxes rates or even freedom of speech. The impact of one’s personal health choices can have a significant impact on the population around them, in their communities and even on a national level. It makes that trade-off all the more complicated and one not easily distilled into one convenient political or religious ideology.

Obviously, the topic of vaccinations has become immensely more complicated since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020. But history teaches us valuable lessons and information is power. No matter how you feel about vaccines today, this chart is a reminder that medical science can be used for incredible good. Without breakthrough vaccinations in the past, many of us would likely not be here to have the debate about our personal choices now and into the future.

This article originally appeared on 11.21.14 and this infographic is based on data from 2012.