Category: News

Every holiday season,
millions of kids send letters asking for everything from a new bike to a pony. Some even make altruistic requests such as peace on Earth or helping struggling families around the holidays.

But wouldn’t the holiday season be even more magical if our pets had their wishes granted, too? That’s why Chewy Claus is stepping up to spread holiday cheer to America’s pets.

Does your dog dream of a month’s supply of treats or chew toys? Would your cat love a new tree complete with a stylish condo? How about giving your betta fish some fresh decor that’ll really tie its tank together?

Or do your pets need something more than mere creature comforts such as life-saving surgery?

via Chewy

“At Chewy, we know pets are a part of the family and we wanted to give them a way to truly participate in the holiday season this year,” said Orlena Yeung, VP of Brand Marketing at Chewy. “Through Chewy Claus, we are hoping to spread joy while recognizing the most important gift that keeps on giving—the love and companionship of our pets.”

To submit your letter to Chewy Claus, just go to
be.chewy.com/chewy-claus or mail a letter to:

Chewy Claus
3251 Hollywood Blvd #401
Hollywood, FL 33021

Not only could your pet’s letter make their holidays even merrier, it will give back, too. For every letter submitted to Chewy Claus, Chewy will donate one pound of food to Greater Good Charities (up to 15,000 pounds). Further, for every product purchased during the Season of Giving, Chewy will match up to $1 million per week in a pet food and supply donation to Greater Good Charities, for a potential total of $10 million.

I’ve got a new dog this year, a one-year-old boxer mix named Archie and I know what he wants this holiday season.

via Chewy

The first letter sent to Chewy Claus came from
True & Faithful Pet Rescue in Venice, FL. The rescue, which focuses on saving senior dogs, was one of the many victims of Hurricane Ian. Their wish was simple; they asked for food for themselves and those in their community.

Chewy Claus delivered by providing a 20-thousand-pound truckload of food to True & Faithful and other shelter and rescue partners in the community. Chewy also assembled a team of volunteers to hold a clean-up day and donated the necessary funds to rebuild their beloved dog beach.

via Chewy

“We are so grateful for Chewy’s support in rehabilitating our space and not only donating thousands of pounds of food to our community, but also providing the help and funds necessary to rebuild our beach,” Lisa Letson, Founder of True & Faithful Pet Rescue told Upworthy. “The beach is our senior dogs’ happy place, where they can live their best lives for the time they have left. It really is a dream come true for us.”

Chewy is the best place to shop for pets this holiday season because it’s the gift that keeps on giving. It’s simple: when you shop, they donate. Chewy will also match customer purchases in the form of a product donation up to $1M per week for a potential total of $10M throughout the season of giving. That means pets living in shelters and rescues will receive toys, treats, food and other essential items this holiday season. Plus, if you write a letter to Chewy Claus, your pet may get their holiday wish and pets in need will get theirs, too—a win win win. Isn’t that what the season is all about?

Willie Nelson is 89 years old, with his 90th birthday coming up in April, and he’s still unbelievably productive. Earlier this year, he released A Beautiful Time, his 72nd solo album and his fourth since 2020. Well, the nominations for the 2023 Grammys were announced yesterday (November 15) and they showed that it’s not just about quantity with Nelson, as his new work is still picking up nominations for music’s biggest awards show.

All in all, he walked away with four nominations: Best Country Solo Performance (“Live Forever”), Best Country Song (“I’ll Love You Till The Day I Die”), Best Country Album (A Beautiful Time), and Best Roots Gospel Album (The Willie Nelson Family). Impressively, those nominations stem from three different projects; “Live Forever” is from Live Forever: A Tribute To Billy Joe Shaver and “I’ll Love You Till The Day I Die” appears on A Beautiful Time.

What may be the most surprising about all this is that Nelson actually isn’t this year’s oldest Grammy nominee. That title goes to 96-year-old Mel Brooks, whose All About Me!: My Remarkable Life In Show Business is nominated for Best Audio Book, Narration, And Storytelling Recording. Other notable older nominees include 88-year-old John Mayall and 86-year-old Buddy Guy, whose projects (The Sun Is Shining Down and The Blues Don’t Lie, respectively) are up for Best Traditional Blues Album.

On a related note, earlier this year, Tony Bennett became the second-oldest person to ever win a Grammy; he was 95 years and 243 days old at the time.

Find the full list of 2023 Grammy nominees here.

Former Bond girl and RHOBH star Denise Richards experienced a terrifying road rage incident earlier this week in Los Angeles. TMZ broke the news and has photos of the truck in which Richards was a passenger while her husband, Aaron Phypers, drove while they noticed that a van was following them.

TMZ describes the scary incident as a “life-threatening” one after the van’s driver “was getting irritated, shouting at them while trying to squeeze in front of them.” The van eventually passed the couple (who was in route to Popsicle Studio, where Denise still worked a full day on Monday after the incident), who later noticed bullet holes in the back of the vehicle. As PEOPLE further reports from a source, the situation accelerated: “[Aaron] could tell — he kept making rights because they were clearly being followed. The guy was obviously pissed behind him.” The source adds that the Denise and Aaron “couldn’t figure it out,” which left them feeling “frantic.”

On Twitter, Denise addressed the subject in a late Tuesday-night tweet, which was a response to a user who wished ill will upon her. “Thank you. I would never wish any harm on anyone. What I experienced yesterday with my husband, not that you care,” Denise wrote. “Was the most terrifying situation I have ever been in. I’m sorry a shot didn’t graze my neck… a**hole.”

As for the “why” of this incident, there’s clearly no rational explanation for road rage, but TMZ relays how “[w]e’re told Aaron was having a tough time finding the place,” and the man apparently flew off the handle. PEOPLE also points out that Aaron attempted to shake the man to no avail. Thankfully, both Aaron and Denise are in one piece, although there’s been no mention of this road-rager’s whereabouts.

(Via TMZ & PEOPLE)

Karin Dreijer is set to release a new album as Fever Ray next March. The album, Radical Romantics, will be supported by a tour, which is set to kick off in Norway.

On their There’s No Place I’d Rather Be tour, Fever Ray will play several dates in Europe, including Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Brussels. In May, they will arrive to the US and play in select cities, including New York, Boston, Chicago, and Oakland.

Upon the announcement of the tour, Dreijer took to Instagram to let fans know that they can expect not only songs from Radical Romantics, but all of the fan favorites as well. “atm preparing rehearsals and working on new productions from the whole catalogue,” they said in the post’s caption. “hope to see you!

Check out the tour dates below.

03/23/2023 — Oslo, NE @ Sentrum Scene
03/24/2023 — Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA
03/25/2023 — Gothenburg, SE @ GBG Film Studios
03/27/2023 — Riga, LV @ Hanzas Perons
03/28/2023 — Tallinn, EE @ Noblessner Foundry
03/30/2023 — Warsaw, PL @ World Wide Warsaw Festival
04/01/2023 — Amsterdam, NE @ Melkweg
04/03/2023 — Brussels, BE @ Cirque Royal
04/04/2023 — Cologne, DE @ E-Werk
04/06/2023 — Luxembourg City, LU @ Den Atelier
04/07/2023 — The Hague, NE @ Rewire Festival
05/03/2023 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5
05/05/2023 — Boston, MA @ Roadrunner
05/07/2023 — Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed
05/10/2023 — Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater

Radical Romantics is out 3/10/2023 via Rabid Records. Pre-order it here.

LCD Soundsystem appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert last night to play their first new song in five years, “New Body Rhumba.” Released in September, it appears on the soundtrack for Netflix’s upcoming film, White Noise, as it rolls during the end credits scene. Directed by Noah Baumbach, the song was written specifically for the movie.

An upbeat track, “New Body Rhumba” is inherently catchy, even from the first listen. With layered chants, creative clapping, and a steady drum beat, the band appears to have a genuinely fun time performing it. Lead singer James Murphy also uses the microphone to shift his voice throughout, as the song’s verses are his clearest vocals. Halfway through, the energy shifts, and so do the lights. Reflecting off the disco ball to create a space-like stage design, it mirrors the electronic, futuristic sound — and the themes of the movie.

“new music alert. noah baumbach asked me to make a song again — this time for his brilliant new film WHITE NOISE,” Murphy shared on the official LCD Instagram. “we’d both read the book, and we’re friends, so there you go.” The film arrives in theaters on November 25 and on Netflix starting December 30.

In addition, LCD Soundsystem are kicking off their 20-show residency at Brooklyn Steel on November 18. More information on dates and ticketing is available here.

Watch LCD Soundsystem perform “New Body Rhumba” on Colbert above.

Jeopardy!‘s primetime spinoff series Celebrity Jeopardy! is facing criticism for an unfortunate clue involving Brian Laundrie, who confessed to killing his fiancé, Gabby Petito, while they were traveling across the United States in a van together.

“In 2021, fugitive Brian Laundrie ended his days in Fla.’s Myakkahatchee Creek area, home to these long and toothy critters,” the clue read. There are plenty of ways that Celebrity Jeopardy! could have come to the correct answer — “What are alligators?” — without bringing up a real-life murder case. Like, “This long and toothy critter ate Chubbs’ hand in Happy Gilmore.” You’re pretty sick, Celebrity Jeopardy!

In the summer of 2021, Petito and Laundrie went on a cross-country trip together in a repurposed van, but on Sept. 11, Petito was reported missing by her family, who had not heard from her.

It was later revealed that Laundrie had returned home to his parents’ house with the van 10 days before Petito was reported missing. The case made national and international headlines and by Sept. 17, Laundrie also was missing.

Petito died from strangulation, while Laundrie’s remains were found in the Florida park; the cause of death was ruled a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A notebook was discovered alongside his body, which “revealed written statements by Laundrie that took responsibility for Petito’s death,” according to People. It’s a sad story, and no one can understand why Celebrity Jeopardy! brought it up for a clue about gators — including Laundrie’s family. “The entire Laundrie family is appalled and concurs with all of the comments on social media on how distasteful this was. I believe an apology is due,” the family’s attorney wrote in a statement. Others on social media were also bewildered.

For what it’s worth, contestant Joel Kim Booster got the right answer right.

(Via TMZ)

During an October concert, Harry Styles got hit in the crotch by a flying object. Now, fans are continuing to hurl things on stage: At his Los Angeles show on November 14, Styles got hit right in the eye by a Skittles candy.

Video of the between-songs incident shows Styles gesturing to the crowd before recoiling pretty drastically at the apparent impact, then wincing and rubbing his eye as he continued to acknowledge his fans.

As The Independent notes, Styles frequently touched or rubbed his eye and was often squinting for the remainder of the show. The publication also reports that Pauli Lovejoy, a member of Styles’ band, confirmed on Instagram Live that it was a Skittles candy that struck Styles. She said Styles is fine but noted, “Do me a favor: don’t throw no more Skittles on stage.”

Fans were pretty upset with the Skittle thrower, like one who tweeted, “don’t throw sh*t onstage that’s going to hurt him what the actual f*ck is the point of throwing skittles bro harry styles is not going to eat your random f*cking dirty skittles stop it.”

Meanwhile, Styles is one of the most-nominated artists at the 2023 Grammys, as it was revealed yesterday he had picked up seven nominations.

Yesterday (November 15) was a big day for many artists, as the nominations for the 2023 Grammy Awards were announced. Taylor Swift picked up a nomination in one of the “big four” categories, as “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” is up for Song Of The Year, and she’s absolutely thrilled about it.

In an Instagram Story shared last night, Swift wrote, “So many reasons to lose my damn mind today but… All Too Well 10 is the song I’m the most proud of, out of anything I’ve written. The fact that it’s nominated for Song of the Year at the Grammys, an award I’ve never won, that honors the songwriting… it’s momentous and surreal. Just got off the phone with @lizrosemusic, my co writer on ATW, and reminisced about how we started writing together when I was 14. She believed in me then and we are nominated together now. It’s just so cute I can’t cope. I want to ramble about the magic and mystery of time and fate and reclaiming my art but instead I think I’ll go scream for ten minutes straight. And think about how this wouldn’t have happened without you.”

Previously, nominated for Song Of The Year were Swift’s “Cardigan,” “Lover,” “Blank Space,” “Shake It Off,” and “You Belong With Me,” but none of them managed to take home the award. Swift has done well at the Grammys overall, though: Not counting the 2023 show, Swift has been nominated for 42 Grammys and won 11 of them.

For 2023, Swift is also nominated for Best Song Written For Visual Media (“Carolina” from Where The Crawdads Sing), Best Music Video (All Too Well: The Short Film), and Best Country Song (“I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”).

Find the full list of 65th Annual Grammy Awards nominees here.

Taylor Swift is no stranger to breaking records. With Midnights, she earned her 11th Billboard No. 1 album and the biggest first week for an album in 7 years. With that same LP, she also broke Spotify’s record for most streamed album in a single day.

Now, with the Grammy nominations announced, she’s making more history. According to Billboard, she is tied for the all-time record for most Song Of The Year nods after her 10-minute version of “All Too Well” was nominated today. She’s tied with Paul McCartney and Lionel Richie. Of course, that also means she has the most for a female artist.

Last month on Jimmy Fallon, she explained her immense productivity. “I love writing songs, poems, stories, scripts,” she said. “I love writing those things because there’s a part of it I don’t quite understand how it comes to fruition. There’s something so mysterious about writing but I’ve found that the more I write the more I keep writing. I don’t know what’s been going on but in the last six or seven years, I’ve just been constantly making things and the more things I make the happier I am. So I just continue to do it. I’m just happy you guys like that.”

Last week, one billionaire told Elon Musk to hold his beer. Sam Bankman-Fried, the young head of the Larry David- and Tom Brady-promoted cryptocurrency exchange FTX, took at least some of the press away from Twitter’s new, chaotic king. What did he do? Help tank his company overnight, losing billions in investors’ money, which was suddenly nowhere to be found. Details are still rolling in, many of them so outlandish and strange that the inevitable Hulu limited series all but writes itself. Late last week, Gawker reported that not only did some of the twenty-something higher-ups share the same home in the Bahamas, they also shared the same therapist. Now he’s talking to the press.

In new interviews with Vice and The New York Times, Dr. George K. Lerner opened up about his unusual role in the company that’s since gone under. He told Vice that was less an psychoanalyst and more of an “in-residence coach,” talking to 100 employees, including 20 to 40 on a “semi-regular basis.” These conversations were, he said, “focused on employee happiness and retention and organizational structure.” In a sense, it’s not that unusual; some have compared it to the therapist character on Billions (which Lerner says he hasn’t seen).

Bankman-Fried — who’s been mostly chilling since his company imploded, prompting multiple investigations — was simply one of his patients, and Dr. Lerner suggested he didn’t know him that well. But he thinks he knows him enough to think he’s no criminal mastermind who would fleece millions out of billions.

“I just can’t see him doing that, honestly,” Dr. Lerner told NYT. “I mean, I guess maybe I would have to sit down with him and understand why. But I have difficulties making that jump.”

Dr. Lerner shot down or minimized some of the stranger claims about the twentysomething FTX highers-up, some of whom have said they were in “polycules” with each other. Still, it was no den of vice, Lerner claimed.

“It’s a pretty tame place,” he said. “The higher-ups, they mostly played chess and board games. There was no partying. They were undersexed, if anything.” Mostly they just worked. In his chat with Vice, he even said he tried to help them find partners in a place without much nightlife.

Dr. Lerner also shot down the idea that they were powering through work high on Adderall. He prescribed them medication, but mostly for A.D.H.D. He also claims he gave Bankman-Fried, who has nervous habits, the fidget spinner that became his trademark (along with his shorts).

They also weren’t burning through money. Dr. Lerner described Bankman-Fried as frugal. “You’ve seen how he dresses,” he told NYT. “They really didn’t spend much money.”

So where does the truth lie? Were they a band of drugged-up hedonists working one of the priciest scams in history? Were they inexperienced screw-ups in way over their head? Only time will tell, but even Dr. Lerner thought he was part of a strong group of folks.

“You know, those people really felt like it was a family,” he said to NYT. “I think that’s why it’s so devastating for all of us for this to be over.”

(Via Gawker, Vice, and NYT)