Category: News

Social media is often a flashpoint for misinformation and disinformation, and one of the worst offenders is Twitter. A prime example is a rumor that swept the app calling Fugees member Pras Michel an “FBI informant” after his testimony in the federal money laundering case against him last Tuesday.

<em>Rolling Stone reported that Pras made the unusual move to testify in his own defense after consulting with his lawyers and “the universe” according to Mother Jones reporter Dan Friedman. However, in the report, Rolling Stone noted that Pras had met with FBI agents over the course of the investigation into his association with Malaysian financier Jho Low and whether Pras had helped Low, a foreign national, make campaign contributions illegally in the 2012 election. Low is also under investigation — and currently a fugitive — for allegedly stealing $4.5 billion from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.

Obviously, this is a complex case and those “hip-hop Twitter” gossip accounts aren’t exactly legal geniuses. But it doesn’t take a genius to extrapolate “FBI informant” from the report — just a dire misunderstanding of the facts of the case. And once there’s a hot take circulating online, it doesn’t take long for it to start circulating, true or not, as long as it’s inflammatory enough.

In hip-hop, the term “informant” carries a lot of baggage, so of course, “Pras is an informant” is one hell of a takeaway.

In reality, Pras is simply on trial because he allegedly took money from Low and put it into Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign and lobbied Donald Trump’s administration to stop investigating Low and extradite Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, an associate of Steve Bannon. Michel said he met with FBI agents to discuss sending Guo back to China but denied doing so on behalf of the Chinese government (Guo fled to the US in 2015 to escape fraud, corruption, and rape charges, according to Mother Jones. Guo sought asylum, claiming to be a whistleblower).

The rumor probably won’t stop circulating now, but here’s yet another reminder that Twitter gossip is not a trustworthy source — especially not now that old emerald mine nepo baby Musk is in charge.

The week got off to a big start Monday when two big media figures, of two very different stripes, were abruptly out of their jobs. Fox News announced they had decided to “part ways” with their biggest star, Tucker Carlson, effective immediately. Meanwhile, over at CNN, Don Lemon — who’d been in hot water over comments he made that were seen as sexist — was either given the ax or agreed to part ways, depending on who’s telling the story. Both bits of news caused big stirs; the Tucker one in particular drew jeers and cheers. But one Fox News alum is taking both of their sides.

On SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Show, the disgraced former Today host weighed on both Carlson and Lemon. Of the former, she deemed it a “terrible move” by Fox but a “great thing” for Tucker. It’s not yet known what prompted her old employers to split with their biggest star, but whatever the reason, Kelly thought it made no sense:

“If this is a reaction to the Dominion lawsuit, why is Maria Bartiromo there? Why is Jeanine Pirro still there? Why is Suzanne Scott still there? The CEO of Fox News. She got them in far more trouble with her executive emails panicking about Dominion and the audience than anything Tucker did behind the scenes. I realize the left hates Tucker’s guts. I get that this is a joyful day for them. But internally at Fox, they always had that gauge, at least under Roger Ailes, of how to ignore those critics and do what was right for the channel and its audience and the truth.”

Kelly also predicted it would be “great for Tucker,” whom she’s not “worried” about. “I predict Tucker goes independent,” she told listeners. “Tucker launches a podcast or digital show and crushes it. Absolutely crushes it. … A lot of people think he’s going to run for office. I don’t think so. I just don’t think so. Tucker’s got way more influence sitting behind a microphone than he does standing on a debate stage.”

As for Lemon, she felt compassion for him after he claimed he’d been terminated without any direct notice from CNN brass.
“No, no, he’s, he’s not wrong,” she said. “I mean, everybody knows I’m not exactly Don Lemon’s fan, but he’s not wrong that if that’s true, that he was just told by his agent he was fired and they didn’t have the balls to tell him man to man. I mean, that’s just classless. He’s got a right to complain about that.”

Kelly has been with SiriusXM since 2021, two years after leaving NBC over comments she made about blackface. During her tenure thus far, she’s railed against Dr. Fauci and student loan forgiveness. It’s not surprising that she’d side with talent over management, even if she and Fox News parted amicably so she could make a failed attempt to be a nice and normal host of a nice and normal morning show.

The Houston Rockets have decided on their next head coach, as they look to take a positive step forward after three straight dismal, tanking seasons. Houston has reportedly landed on former Celtics coach Ime Udoka, who was suspended for the year and ultimately fired by the Celtics for an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

Udoka was expected to take over the Brooklyn Nets job after they fired Steve Nash earlier this year, but Brooklyn chose to move forward with Jacque Vaughn rather than Udoka as they were already dealing with the Kyrie Irving debacle at the time they were also facing heat for trying to hire Udoka after his suspension. While the Rockets reportedly did their “due diligence” on Udoka, there are plenty of questions that remain about the circumstances that led to his ouster in Boston that still have not come to light and we may never get a complete picture of. The hire will certainly raise questions about the off-court issues that led to the Celtics, coming fresh off a Finals run, moving on from Udoka.

From a purely coaching perspective, it’s not hard to see why the Rockets made this move given Udoka’s reputation as a strong defensive coach. The young Rockets could use some structure and discipline on both ends, which was a hallmark of Udoka’s Celtics squad. How he fares in getting this Rockets group to buy in will be rather fascinating to watch given the struggles Houston has had in recent years.

If political satires, Oscar-winning dramas, and underrated comedy gems are your thing then you’ll definitely want to check out HBO’s May lineup.

The streaming platform just dropped its content plans for the month and they include a satirical drama about the wildest political scandal in American history (starring Woody Harrelson, naturally) and a new season of the best comedy series you’re probably not watching. Yet.

Here’s everything coming to HBO and HBO Max this month.

White House Plumbers (limited series premiere 5/1)

From the minds that gave us Veep comes this mostly factual, entirely satirical retelling of the wildest f*ck up in the history of American politics. Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux play Watergate masterminds E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy, the “White House Plumbers” who hoped to sabotage Richard Nixon’s political opponents and ensure a second term in office. Instead, their bumbling ineptitude resulted in a governmental scandal that would live in infamy and the toppling of the presidency they were trying to protect.

The Other Two: Season 3 (streaming 5/4)

Picking up three years after the events of season two, one of Max’s most underrated comedies returns to give fans an update on the Dubek siblings. One is getting married (and having a mid-career crisis), one is premiering his heavily-delayed-due-to-Covid masterpiece, one is transitioning from child stardom, and one is announcing a summer slate filled with Maria Menounos reality shows. And mom? She’s amassed more power than ever.

Here’s what’s new on HBO and HBO Max this May:

Avail. 5/1
Absolute Power, 1997 (HBO)
Alpha Dog, 2006 (HBO)
American Honey, 2016 (HBO)
As Tears Go By, 1988
Betrayed, 1988 (HBO)
Black Mass, 2015 (HBO)
Blue Valentine, 2010 (HBO)
Calvary, 2014 (HBO)
Coffee and Cigarettes, 2003
Daddy Day Care, 2003 (HBO)
Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who!, 2008 (HBO)
Dreamer: Inspired By A True Story, 2005 (HBO)
Eat Pray Love, 2010
The Forbidden Kingdom, 2008 (HBO)
Heartbreakers, 2001 (HBO)
The Hole In The Ground, 2019 (HBO)
Hustle & Flow, 2005 (HBO)
I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry, 2007 (HBO)
The Karate Kid, 2010
Kingsman: The Secret Service, 2014 (HBO)
The Last Castle, 2001 (HBO)
Lord Of Illusions, 1995 (HBO) (Director’s Cut)
Lucky You, 2007 (HBO)
Man Of The House, 2005 (HBO)
Mid90s, 2019 (HBO)
Midnight Sun, 2018 (HBO)
Mirror Mirror, 2012 (HBO)
Mirrors, 2008 (Extended Version) (HBO)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, 2016 (HBO)
Paper Moon, 1973 (HBO)
Paranoia, 2013 (HBO)
Parasite, 2019 (HBO)
The Rookie, 2002 (HBO)
Shark Night 3D, 2011 (HBO)
Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow, 2004 (HBO)
Soapdish, 1991 (HBO)
Some Like It Hot, 1959 (HBO)
Sorority Row, 2009 (HBO)
Step Brothers, 2008
White House Plumbers, Limited Series Premiere (HBO)
Windtalkers, 2002 (HBO)

Avail. 5/2
1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed, Documentary Premiere (HBO)
Batwheels, Season 1
ERUN ALL NIGHT, (HBO)

Avail. 5/3
Fifty Shades of Grey, 2015 (HBO) (Unrated Version)

Avail. 5/4
The Other Two, Max Original Season 3 Premiere

Avail. 5/5
Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, Season 1

Avail. 5/8
Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who!, 2008 (HBO)
Legion of Super-Heroes, 2023
Sky Captain and The World Of Tomorrow, 2004 (HBO)
The Conjuring, 2013 (HBO)
Two Sides of the Abyss (Die zwei Seiten des Abgrunds), Max Original Premiere

Avail. 5/11
Rick and Morty, Season 6

Avail. 5/14
We Baby Bears: Little Falling Star, Season 1G

Avail. 5/15
I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry, 2007 (HBO)
Land of Gold, 2022
Unbreakable, 2000 (HBO)

Avail. 5/16
Angel City, Three-Part Documentary Series Premiere (HBO)
Men in Black, 1997
Men in Black II, 2002
Men in Black III, 2012

Avail. 5/19
The LEGO Batman Movie, 2017
Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, 2001 (HBO)
Parasite, 2019 (HBO)
Spy/Master, Max Original Premiere

Avail. 5/20
Love to Love You, Donna Summer, Documentary Premiere (HBO)

Avail. 5/22
Kingsman: The Secret Service, 2014 (HBO)
San Andreas, 2015

The Atlanta Hawks will face a win-or-go home scenario in Game 5 without the services of star guard Dejounte Murray.

The NBA announced a one-game suspension for Murray after he confronted official Gediminas Petraitis following Game 4, bumping into him as he gave him some choice words in his ear.

Murray continued to yell back at Petraitis as his teammates steered him towards the tunnel, and it was reported shortly after that the league would be investigating the matter. They ultimately decided Murray’s actions crossed the line by making contact with an official, which they have always frowned upon, and suspended him for a game for “making inappropriate contact with and verbally abusing a game official.”

Murray has been the Hawks’ most consistent offensive performer of the series so far, scoring at least 23 points in every game against the Celtics. Without Murray, Atlanta faces an uphill battle as Boston will focus even more of their energy on pressuring Trae Young, who now will have an even greater creation burden in Game 5. Young has had back-to-back big nights to help Atlanta pick up a split at home and force the series back to Boston, but without Murray, he won’t have much in the way of on-ball help when the Celtics send extra attention his way to get the ball out of his hands.

With the increase in AI-generated content, it’s getting harder and harder to know what was made by a human and what was just thrown together by a robot. Some things you can definitely tell are not real (it’s always the teeth) but as technology advances, it seems impossible to tell the difference between a real Grimes song and a fake Grimes song. Though let’s be honest, Grimes has never been shy about her desire to be a computer.

Now that AI is taking over art, music, and basic conversation, the next logical step would be to start creating AI-generated movies, which is something that Joe Russo of the Russo Bros duo thinks will happen very soon. Too soon, maybe!

Russo, who directed Avengers: Endgame, a real movie that is inhabited by dozens of CGI superheroes, thinks that AI-generated movies are on the horizon. He also admits that he is on “on the board of a few AI companies,” so we are in for a whole new batch of AI movies, whether we want it or not. Russo told Collider, “What you could do with [AI] is obviously use it to engineer storytelling and change storytelling,” he explains. Though the word “obvious” is doing quite a bit of heavy lifting in this scenario. He continued:

So you have a constantly evolving story, either in a game or in a movie, or a TV show. You could walk into your house and save the AI on your streaming platform. “Hey, I want a movie starring my photoreal avatar and Marilyn Monroe’s photoreal avatar. I want it to be a rom-com because I’ve had a rough day,” and it renders a very competent story with dialogue that mimics your voice. It mimics your voice, and suddenly now you have a rom-com starring you that’s 90 minutes long. So you can curate your story specifically to you.

Does this seem a little risky? Yes. Does it also sound like a Joaquin Phoenix movie? Yes. But it also does seem to be a place that many artmakers are heading, especially with the usage of various “aging” technologies that keeps Harrison Ford in business.

Russo believes that AI can be utilized specifically in the gaming community. “Say you want Fortnite to be more of a horror game, right? Then you could ask the AI to ramp up the horror elements of it,” he explained. “So again, you could curate your experience.I think that’s where it’s going. How quickly we get there, I don’t know, but that’s where it’s going.”

If we don’t need actors or storytellers or even directors anymore, then…what are we left with? Should those people be forced to get real jobs, like plumbers or accountants? Imagine Joaquin Phoenix as a handyman. It’s impossible! Let the actors act!

(Via Collider)

Aaron Rodgers is finally a New York Jet. After months of chatter about Rodgers’ future and the star quarterback outright saying he wanted to be traded to the Jets, the two sides reached an agreement on Monday that allows them both to move forward for draft week.

The deal sees the two sides swap first round picks this year, as well as some late round picks exchanging hands, with the biggest prize for the Packers being a second round pick this year and a conditional second next year that can become a first round pick if Rodgers plays 65 percent of the snaps for New York in 2023. It’s a fascinating trade in that the market for Rodgers was almost non-existent beyond New York, but Green Bay still held enough leverage in the negotiations to get some value in return for the former MVP.

It was also fascinating because we got to watch the process of Adam Schefter breaking the news live on air, as he was doing a hit with NFL Live when the text came in, leading to some truly tremendous television as the crew learned the details of the trade as Schefter was receiving the information.

Schefter having to shush Marcus Spears because the big fella got too excited about the Packers getting a first for Rodgers — before learning it was a swap of No. 15 for No. 13 — is spectacular, as is Laura Rutledge being the one able to hold things on course amid the chaos of the live report. It’s also pretty great watching all of them process what the return was for Rodgers in real time (as Schefter sorts it all out himself), with Mina Kimes agreeing with Rutledge that the conditional pick is the real star of the trade, as that could be a good pick for Green Bay depending on how things go for New York and Rodgers.

In season two of Power Book II: Ghost, rapper and actor Redman was brought on to play a character named Theo Rollins. That character is the brother of Davis McClean who is played by Method Man. As many of you know, Redman and Method Man have been close friends for years and they even formed the rap duo Method Man & Redman in 1994.

Redman appeared in three episodes of Power Book II: Ghost during season two, and fans really enjoyed seeing him and Method Man on screen. Unfortunately for them, Redman was surprisingly replaced by Jordan Mahome in season three and it left fans to wonder what caused the switch. Well, it turns out that Redman’s refusal to get a COVID vaccination caused him to be replaced on the show. “I walked away from it because they wanted me to be vaccinated and I’m not vaccinating s***, ” Redman said during an interview with HitStory Makers at the end of 2022.

Method Man previously spoke about his excitement about working with Redman on Power: Ghost during an interview Vibe. “It’s always dope to work with somebody you’ve worked with over the years, but just not somebody that you’ve always worked with, but someone that you trust as far as stage performances and things like that,” he said. “So anytime you put Redman and Method Man on-screen together, not only are you going to get chemistry, you going to get synergy, as well as professionalism.”

You can hear Redman’s response about his Power Book II: Ghost absence above.

New episodes of ‘Power Book II: Ghost’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am EST and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm EST.

Nothing in fast food is as hype as breakfast. Maybe it’s the limited window of availability or maybe it’s just because there’s something so satisfying about a carb-loaded sandwich first thing in the morning, but the drive-thru line at your favorite fast food chain is never as packed as at the early hours of the day. Clearly, there is something extra special about breakfast food.

In our time covering fast food, we’ve raced against the clock to grab many a breakfast sandwich… but we’ve never put breakfast food to the trusty blind taste test. Until now! That’s right, we woke up super early this morning (after Coachella weekend no less) to grab as many breakfast sandwiches as we could to put them to the blind taste test.

Who makes the ultimate breakfast sandwich? Let’s find out.

Methodology:

For this blind taste test, we decided to focus on sausage-based sandwiches since they seem to be the most popular.

Acquiring the sandwiches for this blind taste test was relatively easy, if time-consuming — each of the four fast food restaurants selected for this tasting was located on the same street (Pacific Coast Highway, it’s more glamorous than it sounds) so it took a total of 30 minutes to grab all the sandwiches and about 10 more minutes for me to arrive back home. Because of time and distance, I had to drop Wendy’s from this blind taste test. We’ll get them in the next breakfast round!

Altogether it was a 40 minutes transit time — not perfect, but each of the sandwiches was still warm-to-hot and I think time doesn’t have as strong an effect on a breakfast sandwich as it does on something like a cheeseburger, where the sauce can soak into the bun causing a soggy mess. Here is this morning’s tasting class:

• Carl’s Jr. — Grilled Cheese With Sausage and Egg
• Chick-fil-A — Sausage Egg & Cheese Muffin
• Jack in the Box — Sausage Croissant Sandwich
• McDonald’s — Sausage McMuffin with Egg

Once home, I donned my blindfold and had my girlfriend serve me each sandwich one at a time. The blindfold helped ensure that I couldn’t easily identify where each sandwich was from since two of the sandwiches used noticeably different bread buns. I thought I’d be able to pick them out by feeling, but I was wrong — all four felt super greasy to the touch.

Let’s get to tasting!

Part 1: The Tasting

Taste 1:

Very soft buns here, they have a squishy airiness to them and feel buttery to the touch. Biting into the sandwich I’m getting a bland unseasoned egg flavor and a spicy meaty finish. It’s incredibly dry and kind of a chore to chew through. Not a fan of this one.

Taste 2:

A leap up from taste 1, this sandwich is also super soft to the touch, and a lot less greasy. Biting into it I’m getting some salty notes, a hunt of black pepper, a savory meat flavor, and some butter on the finish. The egg here is very wet and it mixes well with the melty cheese.

Taste 3:

Near perfect. There is a soft airiness to this sandwich, each component is distinct, the buns are nicely toasted, the sausage is smokey, savory, and very peppery, the egg has some moisture but not too much to the point of being off-putting, and the cheese provides a perfect salty contrast to the pepper. The flaw? Those are thicccc bread slices and it makes this… very bread-y (send me the Pulitzer pls & thanks.).

Taste 4:

There is something in this sausage that the other sandwiches don’t have, it’s earthy… possibly oregano? Whatever it is, it’s delicious. While the sausage is good I’m a little less wowed by the other components. The bun here has a nice butter-forward flavor, but this sandwich is a bit too bready. I’m not tasting enough egg or cheese.

Part 2: The Ranking

4. Jack in the Box — Sausage Croissant Sandwich (Taste 1)

I know, it’s hard to believe this would rank lost because the idea of a sausage sandwich on a croissant is a good one, but Jack in the Box can’t nail the execution here. Never mind that this bun isn’t flakey like a real croissant (it’s pumped with preservatives making it come across as indistinguishable from boring white sandwich bread) but JiB just didn’t even bother to season it.

The sausage is bland, the egg is bland, the bread is bland… this sandwich has nothing going for it.

The Bottom Line:

Great idea, poor execution.

Find your nearest Jack in the Box here.

3. Carl’s Jr — Grilled Cheese with Sausage And Egg (Taste 4)

I wanted to rank this one higher because the sausage was easily the best of the lineup, but the rest of this sandwich just didn’t deliver. I think that comes down to the thickness of the toast, it’s so bready that it drowns out all the flavor from the cheese and egg.

In a sandwich that’s billed as a ‘grilled cheese,’ you expect more cheese, but it’s just not here.

The Bottom Line:

A great flavor, but too much bread for its own good.

Find your nearest Carl’s Jr. here.

2. Chick-fil-A — Sausage Egg & Cheese Muffin (Taste 2)

Each individual component of this sandwich is tasty and well seasoned, but for whatever reason it just doesn’t all come together like our number one choice. It could be because it doesn’t have an identity of its own, it’s clear that Chick-fil-A is trying hard to be McDonald’s here, and they just can’t pull it off.

It’s a shame because the quality control at Chick-fil-A is on-point but the weakest component here is the English muffin bun. It doesn’t have that same addicting craggily texture that McDonald’s has, it’s too soft and spongey and could do with more toasting or grilling time. If Chick-fil-A had its own bun idea here, it might work out better but, as it stands, it feels like an imitation of a classic rather than a classic itself.

The Bottom Line:

A pale imitation of our number one choice.

Find your nearest Chick-fil-A here.

1. McDonald’s — Sausage McMuffin with Egg (Taste 3)

McDonald’s Sausage McMuffin with Egg is the perfect breakfast sandwich. A perfect balance of peppery, meaty, salty, and savory flavors, each component of this sandwich delivers everything you expect it to and, as the cherry on top, it’s served up on a perfectly toasty English muffin bun that manages to be both crunchy enough to add texture and soft once you bite it.

A lot of breakfast sandwiches suffer from being a bit dry, but not this one, there isn’t a single thing we’d change about this sandwich and that says a lot for its quality. Next to the fries, this might be McDonald’s best menu item.

The Bottom Line:

The Sausage McMuffin with Egg sets the standard for what a great fast food breakfast sandwich should be.

Find your nearest McDonald’s here.

Succession was all about Alexander Skarsgård’s character, Lukas Matsson, this week. Of course, I am exaggerating but the episode still felt 90% Skarsgård, which is never a bad percentage when it comes to plugging him into an HBO show. Interestingly enough, however, the Roy siblings began their trip across the pond with Kendall declaring that it was an occasion to “bleed the Swede.” Little did anyone realize that the Swede was bleeding himself.

This was a True Blood easter egg, for sure. Yet for an obnoxious tech-bro character who dude fakes everyone out, Matsson has a legion of fans among the viewership. Let’s get real, though. The appeal spawns from fandom for the actor, who was kind enough to let his abs do some of the work in this scene.

No one was mad to see it happen. Play it again, Skarsgård.

That scene had such an effect that it couldn’t be dampened by a later revelation of Matsson’s dubious pastime/fetish. As revealed to Shiv during a late night conversation, Lukas has a crush on his comms director, so he sends her his blood as a token of his affection. That’s not good PR, as Shiv points out while adding, “Deniability is difficult, given she has so much… of your blood.” And no one can deny that hearts were still pumping, “sicko” or not.

HBO’s Succession airs on Sunday nights at 9:00pm EST.