There are many legal woes on Donald Trump’s docket, and he’s already been indicted on criminal charges and found guilty of defamation and sexual misconduct. But possibly the most damaging to him could be the one involving his hanging onto classified government documents. Surely it won’t help his case that there’s audio of him admitting to taking one such record — and admitting that he knew it wasn’t declassified.
As per CNN, sources have discussed hearing a recording made in the summer of 2021 of a meeting Trump held at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. (That’s the one where his ex-wife Ivana is buried.) During the chat — which was with two people working on the autobiography of his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, who was not present — Trump admitted that he held onto a classified Pentagon document about a potential attack on Iran.
The recording — which has not been made public but has been described by multiple sources — was discovered as part of the Justice Department investigation into Trump concerning his mishandling of government records. It has been described as an “important” piece of evidence, and it doesn’t sound so hot for the former president:
The recording indicates Trump understood he retained classified material after leaving the White House, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation. On the recording, Trump’s comments suggest he would like to share the information but he’s aware of limitations on his ability post-presidency to declassify records, two of the sources said.
At the time, multiple people were making recordings of Trump’s meetings and conversations with journalists and biographers. Evidently on this recording, the sound of paper rustling, though it’s not clear if Trump was waving around the classified document in question.
Trump has repeatedly claimed, falsely, that as president he could simply declassify documents with his mind, instead of following official processes. That the recording allegedly features him admitting said document wasn’t yet declassified undercuts that argument.
Anyway, add this recording to the tall pile featuring him incriminating himself along with the call about Ukraine and the Access Hollywood one that failed to end his political career. Given that people were recording his meetings two years back, there may be more en route.
For years, rap fans have maintained that Drake’s greatest foe and rival is not Kanye West or Pusha T, but Kendrick Lamar. While neither rapper has released any overtly disrespectful material mentioning the other by name, fans are convinced that Drake and Kendrick have been subtly shading each other for nearly a decade despite Drake giving Kendrick a leg-up on his 2011 album Take Care and even going to his concerts.
Baby Keem and Kendrick’s new song “The Hillbillies” has added fuel to the flame, with fans noting Kendrick using a similar flow to Drake and wondering whether it’s yet another subtle jab at the Canadian star. As one fan noted, “Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem used Drake’s Sticky flow and this is how it came out.” Another noted the similarity between Drake’s Honestly, Nevermind track “Sticky” and Kendrick and Keem’s use of Jersey club drums and similar cadences, writing, “Now give Drake his credit for predicting dance music was the new wave cause Hillbillies is just Kendrick’s version of Sticky.”
Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem used Drake’s Sticky flow and this is how it came out pic.twitter.com/wzWxch9iaN
Yooo everyone fucking with that new Kendrick!! Now give Drake his credit for predicting dance music was the new wave cause Hillbillies is just Kendrick’s version of Sticky https://t.co/VqIz4913kxpic.twitter.com/VKh3RRCkmD
However, some fans have interpreted the use of the so-called “Sticky flow” a sneaky dig at Drake, with one comparing their lyrics and asserting that “kendrick is not jacking drake he’s CLOWNING HIM.” Others are using the wording of Keem’s own tweet promoting the track as evidence it’s meant to be a parody or spoof of Drake’s, noting that Keem himself called it “Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – The Hillbillies (Sticky Dub).”
how these dumbass drake fans can’t see that kendrick is not jacking drake he’s CLOWNING HIMpic.twitter.com/uZ4u3tPdmr
There is, of course, the third option: that it’s a homage, made out of respect for Drake’s efforts in pushing the boundaries of hip-hop. After all, the use of “dub” is a nod to the Jamaican dancehall practice of “dubbing” popular hits with remixes and covers. In fact, the soundclash battles upon which hip-hop was founded stem from DJs competing to find or mix the rarest dubs in order to draw bigger crowds and responses with their respective sound systems.
Now, whether it’s a diss, a dub, or a case of follow-the-leader, it’s still pushing forward the genre and the culture — and goes to show how both Drake and Kendrick aren’t just fixtures of rap, but pioneers in guiding it to its future.
Nearly three years ago, That ’70s Show actor Danny Masterson was charged with rape in Los Angeles. That development happened two-and-a-half years after Netflix fired him from The Ranch due to the mounting sexual assault allegations against him. And that development went down after several years of these cases stalling out in the LA county court system, so it’s safe to say that this has been quite an ordeal for the plaintiffs in these cases.
Along the way as well, a jury deadlock led to retrial on three counts of rape by force or fear while the DA’s office declined to charge him in two other cases, due to statute of limitations and insufficient evidence issues, respectively. Variety now reports that on Wednesday, two of the three counts of rape led to convictions with the jury deadlocking on the third. For the two convictions, he could serve 30 years behind bars:
Masterson was accused of raping three women at his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003. The jury convicted him of raping two women in 2003, but could not reach a verdict pertaining to an allegation from November 2001 involving a former girlfriend.
Throughout this case, the Church of Scientology has arisen in discussion, given that Masterson is a prominent celebrity member of the L. Ron Hubbard-founded organization, and four accusers previously sued both Masterson and Scientology while alleging that they were stalked and harassed by church affiliates after they accused Masterson of sexual assault. Back in 2017, Leah Remini (an ex-second-generation Scientologist) interviewed Masterson’s accusers to spread awareness of the cases. When the previous jury deadlocked in 2022, Remini vowed to never stop fighting against the church.
Masterson will return to court at a later date for formal sentencing.
The owner of the townhouse in Greenwich Village Taylor Swift once rented and sang about on her album Lover is putting the property up for sale, according to the New York Post. Only the richest Swifties will be able to afford it, though, as the owner has listed it today with an asking price of a whopping $17.9 million. It was originally listed for rent in November at $45,000/month, but now, it looks like the owner — who once said he had no clue who Taylor Swift even is — is looking for buyers too.
The townhouse reportedly maintains its original brick facade but has been modernized inside, with a garden-level pool, a roof deck, a gym, massive windows, and even a futuristic-looking bathroom. Swift rented the place in 2016 as she waited out renovations on her nearby home in Tribeca — just part of a property portfolio the Post puts at $80 million. In 2019, the “Cornelia Street” place’s owner, David Aldea, told Variety that when she met with him to rent it, he said he didn’t actually realize it was THEE Taylor Swift of “Blank Space” fame.
“I’m just not a pop-culture guy, and I even said to someone, ‘I’m meeting a person named Taylor Swift who wants to rent my home,’” he said. “Now, mind you, I knew her songs because I had them on my running playlist. I just didn’t match the name to the song. I know, it’s silly.”
Speaking of folks not knowing their Swiftie trivia, there were likely more than a few fans wringing their hands in frustration during last night’s episode of Jeopardy! The clue “Windermere, Thirlmere & Grasmere are 3 of the sites that helped give a 19th-century literary group this name” stumped all three contestants, but thanks to the singer’s track “The Lakes,” Swifties knew the answer (in the form of a question) was “what are the Lake Poets?” Better luck next time.
“A whole new dark age!” Stuck vocalist Greg Obis shouts in “The Punisher,” the opening track on the Chicago-based band’s latest album Freak Frequency. It sets a tone for the project as a whole, which, according to Obis, is about “the inverse relationship between the slowly declining US empire and the seemingly endless escalation of paranoia, fear, and violence within it.”
Freak Frequency is haunting and frenzied, but still manages to be upbeat despite the subject matter thanks to the songs’ quick tempos and angular riffs as heard on tracks like “Time Out” and “Make It Up.” To celebrate Freak Frequency‘s release, Obis sat down with Uproxx to talk Fugazi, eggnog, and sleeping at a strangers’ mom’s house in our latest Q&A.
What are four words you would use to describe your music?
Unhinged, Ornate, Political, Simmering. (Pat Flegel once said we sound “kooky”).
It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
I do get a bit squeamish sometimes writing such explicitly political music! I fear it will be cemented in its time like Crisis of Conformity or something. It’s unavoidable that the music is going to be tied to this moment (but I guess all music is, really.) I guess I would hope that people will remember it as tackling the topics of the time with enough nuance and broadness to remain fresh after all of these years, and approached with a unique sense of humor and a novel synthesis of disparate musical influences.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?
I mean, saying Chicago is definitely cheating because we live and play here all the time. But Chicago is genuinely a great city to play cause people are genuinely excited about music here, which is sadly not the case in every city. People show up and get excited here. I am not alone in this sentiment, I hear this from other bands all the time! Maybe they’re just being nice to me. Anyways, if I can’t choose Chicago, Winnipeg!
Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?
Wow what a tough question! I do my best not to idolize people, and there are so many people who have been massively influential to me. But for the sake of argument, I’ll just say that Ian Mackaye of Fugazi was exceptionally formative to me in my youth. His very strong convictions, willingness to carve his own path, commitment to supporting other artists, powerful work ethic, and his ceaseless pursuit of new horizons for Fugazi’s music were really important to me growing up. I would say now that perhaps I’m a bit turned off by his punk dogmatism, as the world is a very grey and complicated place. But I would certainly not be the person I am today without him and his music.
Where did you eat the best meal of your life?
Tough to say what has been the best in my life, but I’m going to go with the dinner I had at Giant in Chicago last year. Like, every single thing I ate was pretty mind blowing to me.
What album do you know every word to?
A Distant Fist Unclenching by Krill.
What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?
Hard to me to say what is the best I’ve ever attended, but I can say that seeing J.R.C.G. live at Empty Bottle last year was one of the most visceral aesthetic experiences I’ve had in quite a long time.
What is the best outfit for performing and why?
I am in the process of trying to figure this out now! I like to wear things that are sort of loose fitting and breathable as I get pretty hot on stage and tend to move around a lot. I feel like DEVO got it right with the jump suits, however it’d be a bit on the nose for me to co-opt that at this point.
Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?
John Vanderslice is my favorite poster on Instagram, honestly. I’m a very big fan of his engineering and his music, and love when he posts about that stuff, but mostly it’s him sharing deeply unhinged videos from TikTok. It’s been harder and harder for me to take enjoyment from Twitter lately but Dril is evergreen.
What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?
“Revenge” by Smirk. We don’t really do a lot of ironic listening in the car of music we don’t like. I think going forward I want to play “Master Of Puppets” by Metallica more often.
What’s the last thing you Googled?
Crisis of Conformity.
What album makes for the perfect gift?
Songs From The Big Chair by Tears For Fears. You know what’s the problem with that album? Nothing.
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?
In another band, we did a hail mary “ask people at the show for a place to crash” because the show had only been booked a couple of days before after a different one had fallen through. This young man who played the show very kindly offered to let us crash at “his place,” which turned out to be his mom’s house. The three of us crammed into his childhood bedroom, and we heard his mom come out of her room and scold him for “bringing home strangers again.” We got up first thing and high tailed it out of there.
What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?
I’ve got none!
What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?
When “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel comes on MeTV FM, I lose my mind. They also played the entire X-Files theme song on air around halloween once, which also made me lose my mind.
What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
This is going way back, but when I was little my immediate older brother and I would take the CTA from Oak Park to the Belmont and Clark area to go to the alt-friendly shops like Chicago Comics, The Alley, Belmont Army Surplus, Hollywood Mirror. One time when we were coming home, the temperature dropped really rapidly in a way that I remember being kind of scary (I was probably like 10 or 11). Some guy on the train platform straight up gave us his fake leather bomber jacket off of his back so we could huddle under it. To this day it kind of blows my mind how anyone could do that.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
Lifting weights isn’t for jocks, it’s fun and makes you feel good and being healthy is cool. Also, don’t start smoking.
What’s the last show you went to?
This past Friday I went to see Cola at Sleeping Village with support from my bandmate Ezra Saulnier in Red Tunic and Eli Winter. Great show!
What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?
I have been known to get sucked into a Marvel movie from time to time, most recently Guardians of the Galaxy.
What’s one of your hidden talents?
I make a mean aged eggnog. Melkbelly can attest to this.
Freak Frequency is out May 26 via Born Yesterday. Find more information here.
Ever since Miles Morales made his comic debut in 2011, fans have been hoping (and begging and waiting) for a live-action Spider-Man movie featuring him as the titular arachnid superhero. Peter Parker already has three separate sagas about him, so it’s only fair for Miles to step up. No offense to Tom Holland, though.
With the highly-anticipated premiere of the latest animated feature Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, it seems like producer Amy Pascal is ready for the world to see Miles in a movie of his own. When asked if a live-action movie would be in the works, Pascal told Variety, “You’ll see all of it. It’s all happening.” That’s the closest thing we will get to a “yes” at this point, but it works!
Not only will fans finally get a live-action Miles Morales movie that has been teased for so long, but Hailee Steinfeld is also ready to take on her own Gwen Stacy movie. “This is like my dream job, sign me up over and over again,” the actress told Variety. “I got to be comfortable! And it’s a dream to be in a space that feels so comfortable but also creative and free and just exciting to be a part of.” Now that Steinfeld is on board, producer Avi Arad said that a Spider-Woman film could be coming “sooner than you expect.”
As for the less-promising news, Pascal also confirmed that Holland’s Spider-Man will return for another round of superhero fun, but the production has been halted due to the WGA strike. “Are we going to make another movie? Of course, we are,” she confirmed. “We’re in the process, but the writers strike, nobody is working during the strike. We’re all being supporters and whenever they get themselves together, we’ll get started.”
Even though the next Holland-led film might be a ways away, fans can expect the next installment in the Spider-Verse saga to hit theaters next year, so there will be plenty of Spidey content to come. Sorry if you are arachnophobic.
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse hits theaters on June 2nd.
As the Heat and Nuggets get set to meet in the 2023 NBA Finals, plenty of people have noted the two teams have not had a very friendly recent history.
A year ago, Nikola Jokic and Markieff Morris got into it after Morris aggressively fouled Jokic at midcourt during a blowout win by Denver, with Jokic retaliating by drilling Morris in the back, leading to an extended absence for the veteran forward.
While Morris was being tended to, Jimmy Butler was barking at the Nuggets sideline, apparently ready to fight someone, which many assumed to be Jokic for taking a cheap shot to Morris from behind.
Given Butler and Jokic are the two lead stars of the Finals, much has been made of that apparent beef this week, but on Wednesday at media day, Butler insisted that incident wasn’t in the minds of Miami and that his beef wasn’t with Jokic — noting the person he was mad at knows who they are.
It’s now fair to wonder if the person Jimmy was telling to “bring that shit to the back” is a member of this current Nuggets squad, and it’ll certainly be worth monitoring if (or really more likely, when) things start to get chippy in this series. That said, Butler seems to not want the focus coming into the series on anything between he and Jokic, so that should settle that and the two can go to work on the court to determine who hoists their first Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Roll call for summer! We don’t know about you, but the wanderlust vibes hit us hard during the most beautiful months of the year. Visions of exploring new cities, visiting family and friends, and admiring lingering sunsets all come to mind once June hits. Even Joe Biden seems to love summer travel, launching new initiatives to protect flight passengers when things go awry.
Whether you’re scouting flights to attend a music or craft beer festival, aligning dates for a national park permit, or looking to hit some family-friendly excursions, the current flight booking options are at your fingertips. With various options to book via an airline’s direct website, using scouting apps like Going.com (aka Scott’s Cheap Flights), using a VPN, or setting Google Alerts, scoring a cheap flight deal is just another part of your next adventure.
If your days are a little bit flexible, wide-window summer planning is where Google Flights reign supreme. The website allows users to quickly scan all airline flight options and find the cheapest flights available with what they call a “Price Guarantee.” This means that users are further protected by offering refunds if prices drop after it’s booked. Once you see the best flight for you, you can then head directly to the airline’s website and book from there, so you can still rack up and save up those airline miles.
To help you get hyped for summer, I searched for the cheapest nonstop flights from Los Angeles for various weekend, week-long, and two-week-long trips across June, July, and August. The key to actually saving money and finding the cheapest flights is by selecting flexible dates with no specific destination. Happy travels!
Other Half/Weldwerks/Mispilion River/Bell’s/istock/Uproxx
If you’re an IPA drinker you’ve probably seen the “DDH” added to the name of some of your favorite brews. You might even know that it stands for double dry-hopped. What you might not know is what the hell that means. Don’t worry, it’s chill — there are way too many beer terms to learn anyway. Besides, we’re here to help you expand your beer knowledge.
As many drinkers know, when brewing IPAs, brewers add hops during the kettle boil portion of the process. This adds both hop aroma and flavor to the beer. Dry-hopping is when brewers add more hops during conditioning or fermenting to add even more flavor without any extra bitterness. Double dry-hopping is simply dry-hopping the beer two times. This occurs at different times to heighten the aroma and flavor at different points in the process.
Now that you know a little more about the process used to create this hoppy IPA style, it’s time to find a few to drink. To help us with this, we turned to the professionals. We asked a few well-known craft beer experts to tell us the best double dry-hopped IPAs to drink right now. Keep scrolling to see them all.
Fresh is always going to be best for DDH IPAs. I had Solar Lemur recently from our friends over at Fifth Hammer which tasted great. The best advice I can give is to find a local brewery you like and grab the freshest one they have.
Tasting Notes:
This New England-style IPA is really juicy, fruity, and hoppy. It’s bursting with lots of mango, papaya and gooseberry.
Hop Butcher Double Grid is a great example of a DDH IPA. It’s bursting with tropical flavors with no shortage of dry hop. It is juicy but still has enough bitterness to keep you coming back.
Tasting Notes:
This flavorful, hoppy beer leads with big aromas of orange, pineapple, and mango with a full mouthfeel. All in all, a terrific IPA.
Although dry hopping has been around since the 1800s, we are currently living in the golden age of the hop, and double dry-hopped IPAs allow brewers to cram even more hop aroma and flavor into their beers. I’m always sucker for Mosaic hops and the Double Mosaic Daydream from Other Half Brewing in Brooklyn, New York ticks all the right boxes for me.
Tasting Notes:
This is an exceptional beer. It’s hazy, smooth, and an absolute fruit bomb. Mosaic hops impart great aromas and flavors.
Double Dry-Hopped Pliny the Elder by Russian River. The standard Pliny is already legendary for its intense hop flavor and gripping bitterness; this version is dry-hopped twice during fermentation with about four pounds per barrel.
Tasting Notes:
This gives it a bright and pleasant aroma laden with resinous cannabis fading into notes of melon and tangerine. Surprisingly, the additional plant matter doesn’t add an iota of roughness to the beer’s bitter side. It remains squeaky clean and dangerously easy to drink.
Not Today, Satan by Mispillion River Brewing in Milford, Delaware is an outstanding double dry-hopped IPA. It’s generously dosed with El Dorado, Centennial, Mosaic, Columbus, and Cascade hops. It clocks in at 7.3% ABV with 55 IBU.
Tasting Notes:
It’s just a tasty hop explosion in your mouth and nose. I love how the hoppiness of the brew teeters on the edge of too much.
Hacienda DDH Closer Everywhere
Hacienda
Garth E. Beyer, certified Cicerone® and owner and founder of Garth’s Brew Bar in Madison, Wisconsin
ABV: 7.1%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Hacienda Beer Company lets the juice loose with their DDH Closer Everywhere. This is the beer that launched this brewery and it’s still a tried-and-true brew today.
Tasting Notes:
This popular IPA is loaded with stone fruit flavors, a citrus nose-bomb, and a juicy-fruit finish. It’s a can’t-miss DDH IPA.
Weldwerks Brewing’s DDH Juicy Bits is able to generate amazing tropical flavors with Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops.
Tasting Notes:
The hops provide an enjoyable medley of papaya, passion fruit, peach, orange, and melon notes both on the aroma and on the tongue.
Hill Farmstead Difference & Repetition
Hill Farmstead
Charlotte Herndon, taproom and events manager at Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing in Framingham, Massachusetts
ABV: 6%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Hill Farmstead Difference & Repetition. This IPA features Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops. If I decided to go for an IPA, I want to go for something extremely fresh that doesn’t hide behind anything. The blend of hops found in Difference & Repetition set the standard for the band of brothers found in a solid, hopped-up beer.
Tasting Notes:
The trifecta of Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe delivers a balanced flavor profile tailored perfectly for a DDH beer.
Bell’s Double Two Hearted Ale is my go-to DDH IPA because it’s a showpiece for Centennial hops. This double IPA version of the classic Bell’s Two Hearted has much more hop aroma and flavor (and ABV) than the original.
Tasting Notes:
It has a beautiful malt backbone that supports the piney, resinous, citrus aromatic glory that are Centennial hops.
Instead of naming any larger distribution breweries, I will say there is a local duo of brewers in Fort Lauderdale at Invasive Species that always deliver with their DDH IPAs. They keep their methods of brewing rather secret, but I suspect that it is their liberal use of raw materials that delivers the quality. One of their best is called Protect Ya Neck. It’s double dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic hops.
Tasting Notes:
This hazy, DDH IPA is known for its juicy, fruity, and tropical fruit flavors with a floral, herbal, citrus-centric finish.
Little Willow Unmarked Trail
Little Willow
Rob Day, vice president of marketing for Jack’s Abby in Framingham, Massachusetts
I’m going to go super local with Little Willow Unmarked Trail. They are a newer outfit, and this style rarely surprises me anymore, but from the first sip, this was bursting with great fruit flavors and pure balance. The best part? This beer isn’t even double dry-hopped. They take it one step further and triple dry-hop it.
Tasting Notes:
Everything was in order from malt, to sweetness, to hops to booze. If you get a chance to try this great example of a double dry-hopped IPA, you definitely should.
Latto has been having a ball lately appearing on other rappers’ remixes but when it came time to upgrade her own hit, there was apparently only one person she could call. “Put It On Da Floor” has been tearing up the charts since its release, with fans quoting its opening line ad nauseam on social media. So when it came time to announce the remix for the hot single, Latto and her latest collaborator, Cardi B, referenced that fan-favorite lyric, staging a dramatic reveal in which Latto would “rip the plastic” — in this case, a plastic shopping bag — off her surprise guest. Only, things don’t go as planned; check it out below.
Cardi B is the perfect addition to the single, as Cardi was one of Latto’s earliest champions in the industry, putting her in the video for “WAP” alongside Rubi Rose and Sukihana. The remix caps a streak of remixes for Latto that saw her contribute to new releases from the likes of TiaCorine (“Freaky T“), Mello Buckzz (“Boom Pt. 2” featuring an appearance from those signature animal print panties), and Lola Brooke (“Don’t Play With It” also featuring Yung Miami). Meanwhile, this latest appearance could signal the impending start of Cardi’s long-awaited comeback, along with a feature on her husband Offset’s new solo album and Cardi’s promise that her new album is coming soon.
The “Put It On Da Floor” remix is out this Friday via RCA and Atlantic.
Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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