Category: News

Things aren’t so hot for the Trump family right now. The Jan. 6 hearings began late last week, and they were a ratings bonanza, with plenty of bombshells. Then there’s the New York State investigation, which will find the big guy himself actually sitting down for a deposition. His oldest son, Don Jr., is also partaking in that, but in the meantime, he’s out there doing something his old man used to do, and not well: try and sell some steaks.

A video recently made the rounds of Don Jr. standing in front of a grill, rhapsodizing about Good Ranchers, a MAGA-friendly mail-order meat company. “They’re one of the only companies out there selling 100% American meat to your door 100% of the time,” he said — whatever that means. For Father’s Day, the prolific video ranter was offering supporters a Father’s Day deal, in which you can score two 18 oz. ribeyes with a special code, which of course is “MAGAKING.”

Don Jr. isn’t the only one in the family hawking Good Ranchers steaks. As caught by Salon, his fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle released a similar video last month.

The Good Ranchers site features endorsements from conservative outlets like The Daily Wire, Blaze Media, as well as Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens. One small matter: Late last year, the company’s accreditation with the Better Business Bureau, the non-profit that focuses on marketing trust, was revoked, citing failures to, among other things, address complaints “quickly and in good faith.”

Was it wise for Don Jr. to get into the steak business? After all, it can only serve to remind people that his father not only prefers his steaks in the most gross way possible, but about one of many, many failed business ventures. That would be Trump Steaks, which was sold “exclusively” through Sharper Image and QVC. It lasted two months, quite a bit shorter than Tour de Trump (two years), Trump Shuttle (about three) and Trump University (about seven). Maybe Don Jr.’s next trick can be re-re-releasing Trump: The Game.

Roddy Ricch was set to bring his talents to this weekend’s Governors Ball in New York City, but unfortunately for him and those who hoped to see him perform, he was arrested before he could take the stage. According to TMZ, the Live Life Fast rapper and his crew were stopped at a security checkpoint at the festival, and according to law enforcement, a loaded firearm was discovered inside the vehicle that he was taking to the festival. Officers said they found nine rounds of ammunition and a large-capacity magazine. As a result, Roddy along with two others in the vehicle were taken into custody.

In total, Roddy faces four charges in the matter including criminal possession of a weapon, possession of a large capacity ammo feeding device, and unlawful possession of that device. Roddy’s arrest occurs just six months after he dropped his long-awaited sophomore album Live Life Fast. More recently, he teamed up again with Post Malone for their “Cooped Up,” a song that received the visual treatment not too long ago. The duo also performed the track together on Saturday Night Live.

As for Governors Ball, this marks the third act that was unable to perform this weekend. It began with Migos dropping out of the lineup for unknown reasons. They were replaced by Lil Wayne, but he also missed his set due to flight issues.

Roddy Ricch is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Jiří Procházka (29-3-1) submitted Glover Teixeira (33-8) to win the light heavyweight belt at UFC 275 from Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

Teixeira worked to keep Procházka at range with a slew of head kicks to open the fight. Teixeira earned an early takedown and tested Procházka’s ground game with a nonstop attack that led him to nearly earn the challenger’s back. Procházka found his way back to his feet, but it was Teixeira taking the challenger to the ground and taking full mount with more than a minute left in the round before taking his back. With just 20 seconds left in the round, Teixeira got too high on Procházka‘s back, slipped off and was the recipient of haymakers on the ground.

In the second, a confidence boost saw Procházka let his hands fly with big shots that sent Teixeira into panic mode and a desperate takedown attempt. Back on his feet, Teixeira staved off a slew of shots and sent the challenger on his back with a huge counter left hand. The champ moved into full mount again, but Procházka was able to shift the champ into side control. Teixeira moved back into full mount to end the round, dropping bombs with big elbows that cut the challenger open.

Procházka continued to jab Teixiera into oblivion to open the third round, landing shot after shot to the champ. Midway through the round, Teixeira yet again found an opening and earned a takedown. But this time, Procházka more easily got back to his feet and continued to drop haymakers until Teixeira dropped for a takedown, but Procházka flattened him. In half guard, Procházka continued to let his hands fly, but Teixeira reversed into full guard.

To open the championship round, Teixeira brought the fight to Procházka with a much more aggressive start. Teixeira sent Procházka stumbling with a combination before landing a big takedown. From side control, Teixeira moved into full mount ad locked in an arm triangle but couldn’t finish the fight. With a minute left, Procházka flipped, reversed and was suddenly in control with Teixeira on his back taking shots. The two scrambled with reversals over the final minute until the final buzzer.

In the fifth and final round, Teixeira had Procházka rocked and tried to lock in a front choke. Procházka slipped out and earned top control. He allowed Teixeira back to his feet and the two continued to shoot away. Procházka appeared to be out on his feet as Teixeira landed shot after shot. With two minutes left, the champ got a takedown and moved into full mount. With a minute remaining, Procházka took Teixeira’s back and earned the submission.

Valentina Shevchenko (23-3) earned a split decision victory to retain her flyweight belt against Taila Santos (19-2) at UFC 275 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

Shevchenko was measured with her strikes to open the fight, attacking Santos and pushing her back against the cage. Santos and Shevchenko scrambled to the ground and the challenger took the champion’s back, attempting to lock in a rear-naked choke, but never quite locking it in before the buzzer signaling the end of the round.

In the second, Shevchenko again tried to push her gameplan, but it was Santos earning the takedown and holding ground control. Late in the round, Shevcheno landed a judo throw takedown, but it was Santos who won the scramble and earned top control through the end of the round.

A bit less aggressive to open the third, Shevchenko avoided the clinch and opted to stand and throw hands. Late in the round, Santos worked Shevchenko into the cage and earned yet another takedown, moving to the champ’s back and trying to lock in a choke for the finish. Santos could never quite get under her chin and again exhausted the round with ground control.

Knowing she likely needed a finish, Shevchenko came out firing to open the championship round. An accidental clash of heads appeared to close Santos’s right eye. Late in the round, it was Santos taking points with yet another big takedown. In the fifth and final round, it was Shevchenko going for takedown after takedown, earning time on the ground and looking for opportunities to finish the fight.

Since earning a unanimous decision victory over Joanna Jedrejczyk back in 2018, Shevchenko had been dominant in the flyweight division, taking out all six challenger that have dared to step foot in the Octagon with her.

Santos had been on a roll heading into her showdown with Shevchenko, losing her only UFC fight by decision in her debut. After that loss, Santos rattled off three decision victories before earning a submission over Joanne Wood and a shot at UFC gold.

Two years removed from a decision victory in one of the best UFC fights in the organization’s history, Zhang Weili didn’t let her UFC 275 bout with Joanna Jędrzejczyk go the the judges again. Weili (22-3) knocked Jędrzejczyk (16-5) cold out in the second round Saturday night at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

Weili and Jędrzejczyk opened the fight right where they left off two years ago, exchanging big shots. Midway through the round, Weili got Jędrzejczyk on the ground and looked for a finish with a ferocious ground-and-pound. As Jędrzejczyk maneuvered her way around the mat, Weili continued to follow until the bell.

The second round saw a composed Jędrzejczyk continuing to battle Weili until a counter spinning backfist put her to sleep for the gigantic knockout.

For Jędrzejczyk, who hadn’t fought in two years since her loss to Weili, this will end up being her final bout, as she called it quits on an extraordinary career following the loss.

The win positions Weili for what should be a title shot against Carla Esparza, who defeated Rose Namajunas for the belt in a snoozer at UFC 274. Namajunas would certainly vouch for a rematch against Esparza, losing the title via decision, and with two consecutive wins over Weili just a year ago.

Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio got fined earlier this week following comments he made to reporters about the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. After being asked to explain a post he made on his Twitter account where he criticized the congressional inquiry into the insurrection, Del Rio called what happened a “dustup” and referenced the summer of 2020 in which millions of Americans took to the street in protest of police brutality following the murder of George Floyd.

“Why are we not looking into those things — if we’re going to talk about it — why are we not looking into those things?” Del Rio said, per ESPN. “I can look at images on the TV, people’s livelihoods are being destroyed, businesses are being burned down, no problem. And then we have a dustup at the Capitol, nothing burned down, and we’re going to make that a major deal. I just think it’s kind of two standards, and if we apply the same standard and we’re going to be reasonable with each other, let’s have a discussion. That’s all it was. Let’s have a discussion.”

The comparison was patently ridiculous, and after he issued up an apology, Commanders coach Ron Rivera fined him $100,000 and excoriated him in a statement that said Del Rio’s comments “do not reflect the organization’s views and are extremely hurtful to our great community here in the DMV.”

Still, $100,000 is a drop in the bucket for Del Rio, and he will remain the defensive coordinator on a team whose defense was ranked 27th in DVOA last season. The whole situation caught the attention of Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed, who called for Commanders players to respond to these comments.

Del Rio has since deleted his Twitter account.

John Cena is many things: a wrestling god, a movie and TV star, a pretty good dancer. He’s also a gregarious person. According to The Wall Street Journal, the hulking Renaissance Man is making news after coming to the aid of a Ukrainian boy with Down syndrome who needed a hero to get him through tough times.

Misha Rohozhyn, a 19-year-old who has the disorder and is unable to speak, was forced to flee the embattled nation along with his mother Liana, finding themselves in the Netherlands. Liana wanted her son to be able to cope with having his life upended. So she told him that what they were really doing was looking to meet John Cena.

Cena, who was in London shooting a project, caught wind of this story. So he did the right thing: He boarded a one-hour flight and met Misha and Liana, documenting it for posterity. In the video, Cena tells Misha, “I’ve come a very long way to see you.”

He wound up praising the two. “Misha’s ability to embrace persistence. That’s extraordinary,” he said. “Those words “Never Give Up”— we’ve all thought about those in our life. They’re very powerful. They’re two great examples of how persistence can lead to joy even through the toughest of times.”

When video of Cena meeting Misha and Liana was made public, people were incredibly moved.

Cena has a habit of granting the most wishes for the Make A Wish Foundation, having done so at least 650 times, more than any other celebrity.

(Via WSJ)

Texas trio Khruangbin has put forth a pretty strong 2022 year so far. Their four months removed from the release of their Texas Moon project with Leon Bridges, which is the companion release of their 2020 drop Texas Sun. The former project comes after they dropped a remix edition of their Mordechai effort last year. This past weekend, Khruangbin took their talents to Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Festival which has been ongoing since the beginning of the month. It was here that they performed a special edition of a 2018 song with a hip-hop legend.

During Khruangbin’s set, they invited Yasiin Bey on stage to perform a hip-hop version of “Maria Tambien.” The original song is housed on Khruangbin’s 2018 album Con Todo El Mundo, and the new take of the song is an incredible listen that was a part of a just-as-incredible set from the Texas trio. Khruangbin and Bey also delivered their own renditions of Incredible Bongo Band’s “Apache” classic and Dick Dale’s “Misirlou” during Bey’s time on stage with the group.

This is also not the first time that Bey performed the hip-hop version of “Maria Tambien” as he previously did so during a 2019 concert in Chicago.

You can watch Khruangbin and Mos Def perform “Maria Tambien” in the video above.

AAA video game get put in the spotlight during this time of year. We all clamor to see what PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo has coming, or what major project is coming out of studios like EA or Ubisoft. However, while those major companies take up a lot of the oxygen, there are usually tons of indie showcases for fans to check out.

On Saturday, Guerilla Collective and Wholesome Games both put on showcases of indie games that will come out in the near future. We saw way too many games to possibly highlight all of them, so here are 10 that stuck out.

Alaloth: Champions of The Four Kingdoms

Alaloth: Champions of The Four Kingdoms has the look of a game that is going to put the player on a grand adventure. Every detail of the environments shown is similar to how someone might view their personal DnD campaign. It’s an action RPG with an overhead view. It feels similar to something like Diablo or the recentl- released Lost Ark. It’s going to appeal to a certain kind of player so be sure to check out some gameplay footage before getting it for yourself. We’ve seen this game at a handful of summer games showcases so far, but this latest trailer gave us a release date for the end of the month so we won’t have to wait too much longer to finally play it.

Boundary

What if you gave astronauts guns and had them fight in space? That is the entire premise of Boundary and it honestly sounds really fun. We’ve had plenty of games take place in space stations, but what about actually happening in space? That is what Boundary is offering us and that small hook is all we need to be intrigued. Most of the trailer showed us multiplayer gameplay, so this might be a PvP only experience. That’s fine, because the premise feels unique enough to justify not having a single-player option of some kind.

The Last Worker

The Last Worker is going to be one of those games that makes people think about the world. The player takes on the role of the lone human in a packaging plant. You have never once made a mistake, and that’s why you’re the only one who has kept their job, and this has led to a lot of pride. However, as a resistance group contacts you for assistance in figuring out a deep mystery involving the plant, you’re forced to dive deeper into areas you’re not supposed to be in. The game has promised commentary on capitalism, horror elements, and some comedy thrown in for good measure. It has a strong voice cast to support it, which adds to the game’s potential.

Slope Crashers

Remember how fun Snowboard Kids was? Okay so take that, make all the characters animals instead, and we have Slope Crashers. Everything that an arcade snowboarding game needs to be successful is present throughout this trailer, like cartoonish characters, fun power-ups, and over-the-top level design. It even has split-screen multiplayer to invoke that classic feeling of playing on a Nintendo 64. There’s a demo available for anyone who wants to give it a try, and we can’t wait to see more from this game in the future.

Alterium Shift

If there were any JRPG fans not already paying attention to Alterium Shift, they definitely are now. This game takes direct inspiration from classic JRPG’s like Final Fantasy but adds some of its own twists to the formula. The big hook of Alterium Shift is how the player can choose three different characters, each with a unique class, and all of them will go on their own separate adventure. Of course, since this is a JRPG, we’re sure there will be a lengthy story full of twists and turns along the way.

A Frog’s Tale

A Frog’s Tale is another turn-based RPG, but instead, it stars a frog battling against enemies like flies, snakes, and owls. It feels like the kind of adventure that is much more down-to-earth and meant to tell a more personal story. Since the trailer was shown during the Wholesome Direct, we’re assuming the stakes never get too big, and that’s okay! A nice easy RPG is exactly what you want sometimes. As long as it plays well and has a good hook, we’re gonna put the time in.

Kitori Academy

Kitori Academy! is a wholesome game where the player is able to go on a magical adventure in a school for magic. It has a really cute art style and looks like an all-around good time. A lot of us have been wanting to experience what it’s like to be a witch or wizard, and this is going to give us that opportunity. We’re excited to play this one.

The Spirit and the Mouse

The Spirit and the Mouse lets players take on the role of a mouse exploring a city, finding collectibles, and completing quests. However, the trailer shows that the player is no ordinary mouse. They have electrical powers that will help the mouse complete these quests and all of that just sounds delightful. What was maybe the most impressive about the trailer was how everything looked. There’s a beautiful shade to everything that really makes colors pop in a way that other games don’t try to do sometimes. This is going to be a great world to explore and get into the tiny details through the eyes of a random electrical mouse.

SCHiM

SCHiM is a game where the player takes on a little shadow creature and gets them from place to place. What’s really unique about this game is the art style and how the game incorporates that into its gameplay. Everything has a hand-drawn style and the shadows are created through shading and movement. Part puzzle game, part platformer, SCHiM looks like a really fun time. We’re interested to see how deep this game goes. Is it going to just be a bunch of individual puzzles or is this an adventure with a heartfelt story behind it? We can’t wait to learn more.

Lonesome Village

Lonesome Village is a puzzle game but also a social simulation game — think Stardew Valley but with more puzzles. The game stars a fox and has a really adorable art style to it. We’re really excited to see what this game looks like when it launches, but for now, we can be enraptured by how cute it looks. Of course, as with any social sim you need a good hook to keep players invested and we assume that’s where the puzzles come in. A strong set of puzzles and some cute villagers to talk to in our downtime sounds really relaxing.

When Disney+ aired Loki last summer, the spin-off show had a lot of surprises. One of them was about the nature of the trickster god: It was revealed he was bisexual and gender fluid, making him the first openly queer lead character in the MCU. They didn’t show him getting any kind of action, which caused some critiques, but it was still a milestone, and the actor who plays him is fully behind the move, even saying it has basis in Norse mythology.

“Back from my early days of researching the character in the ancient myths, the identity of Loki was fluid in every aspect and in gender, in sexuality,” Hiddleston told Lily James during Variety’s Actors on Actors (as caught by IndieWire). “It’s a very ancient part of the character and I think I thought about it. … It hadn’t emerged in the stories we’ve told. And I was really pleased and privileged, actually, that it’s came up in the series.”

Hiddleston called the move “a small step,” and that there’s “so much more to do,” but that the MCU “has to reflect the world we live in.” He added, “So it was an honor to bring that up. It was really important to me. It was really important to [director] Kate Herron and [showrunner] Michael Waldron, and I’m pleased that we could bring it into our story.”

So perhaps the next time you see the semi-villain, he’ll do a little more than simply acknowledge that he goes both ways.

(Via Variety and IndieWire)