Category: News

The New Orleans Pelicans went through the entirety of the 2021-22 NBA season without the services of Zion Williamson. While things ended up working out pretty well for the team this year — they made the play-in tournament, got the 8-seed, and put together a really impressive group of players who gave the Phoenix Suns headaches in the first round — not having Williamson as he recovered from offseason foot surgery was a major disappointment.

Every time it sounded like progress was being made towards Williamson making his season debut, something popped up that kept him on the sidelines. And eventually, time ran out, and by the time the Pelicans’ year came to an end, the closest we came to seeing Williamson play was a few clips he tossed onto social media.

On Thursday, the team made the announcement that everyone’s been waiting to hear: Williamson has gotten the all-clear to play basketball again.

“The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that recent imaging of Zion Williamson’s right fifth metatarsal showed continued improvement,” the team said in a statement. “Williamson has been cleared in his return to play progression without any restrictions.”

The big question surrounding Williamson now is whether or not he will sign an extension with the team, something he indicated he will do during his end of season press availability.

Cardi B‘s take on the Uvalde, Texas school shooting earlier this week has drawn criticism as some fans chastise her for urging consideration for victims’ families over seeking solutions for the ongoing gun control debate. “These mass shooting events are not the time for political parties or you ‘social media politicians’ to be pushing agendas,” she admonished on Twitter. “People have died! Y’all don’t care or have any consideration for what these families are going thru or how they feel or what they want. Think b4 speak.”

And while this take is admirable for its compassion, unfortunately, many deem the situation to be too dire to allow much more time to slip by. With only 146 days in 2022, the year has seen 212 mass shooting incidents, meaning that the next one may very well be around the corner — and for some folks, that’s too long to wait to urge action from the nation’s lawmakers, who have been reticent to cross the gun lobby since 1998, when the first of these widely publicized school shootings took place at Columbine High School in Colorado.

“If we don’t talk about it now we won’t ever have the conversation,” one fan replied. Cardi responded by pointing out some of the arguments she’s seen taking place on her timeline since she tweeted her thoughts about another recent mass shooting. “I seen people have debates on white supremacist mass shooter are getting more coverage then black supremacist who plotted a car in a crowd? LIKE ARE YOU SERIOUS?! both are terrible! Imagine victimizing a mass shooter to push a agenda? While these family just lost a love one.”

It seems, though, that people seem to have missed her point, which she clarified a few tweets later. “Baby I was just repeating what they said and how stupid and irrelevant and inconsiderate they sound comparing events to push their agendas,” she explained. “Im literally tweeting WHAT THEY SAID ABD HIW STUPID IT SOUNDS.” Unfortunately, it seems like this is one of those situations where context is being confused because of the constraints of the Twitter format. Cardi hasn’t said that we shouldn’t talk about gun control, only that making these bad faith false equivalencies helps nothing. That hasn’t stopped some of the replies from focusing on an entirely different problem, though.

“It’s interesting that y’all here acting like y’all care but not the person that made the original tweet,” Cardi noted. “Then I go to yall page and I see wat y’all about !DEUM YALL DONT LEAVE YALL BULLSHIT STAN SHIT ON THE SIDE FOR ONCE!”

And it seems that once again, Cardi has a point. Arguing on Twitter isn’t going to get anything done, and lashing out in trivial stan wars while people are suffering is just the worst kind of self-involvement. However, two things remain true: 1. Whenever Cardi tweets about current events or politics, she’s almost certain to face a backlash, even when she’s right; and 2. The families in Uvalde, Texas who are grieving deserve consideration and support — and the best way to give it to them is for our elected officials to actually make an effort to prevent shootings like this one in the future.

It never fails. After a tragic mass shooting, social media is filled with posts offering thoughts and prayers. Politicians give long-winded speeches on the chamber floor or at press conferences asking Americans to do the thing they’ve been repeatedly trained to do after tragedy: offer heartfelt thoughts and prayers. When no real solution or plan of action is put forth to stop these senseless incidents from occurring so frequently in a country that considers itself a world leader, one has to wonder when we will be honest with ourselves about that very intangible automatic phrase.

Comedian Anthony Jeselnik brilliantly summed up what “thoughts and prayers” truly mean. In a 1.5-minute clip, Jeselnik talks about victims’ priorities being that of survival and not wondering if they’re trending at that moment. The crowd laughs as he mimics the actions of well-meaning social media users offering thoughts and prayers after another mass shooting. He goes on to explain how the act of performatively offering thoughts and prayers to victims and their families really pulls the focus onto the author of the social media post and away from the event. In the short clip he expertly expresses how being performative on social media doesn’t typically equate to action that will help victims or enact long-term change.

Of course, this isn’t to say that thoughts and prayers aren’t welcomed or shouldn’t be shared. According to Rabbi Jack Moline “prayer without action is just noise.” In a world where mass shootings are so common that a video clip from 2015 is still relevant, it’s clear that more than thoughts and prayers are needed. It’s important to examine what you’re doing outside of offering thoughts and prayers on social media. In another several years, hopefully this video clip won’t be as relevant, but at this rate it’s hard to see it any differently.

Two mass shootings in less than two weeks. It sounds like some faraway land where citizens fight for their right to freedom. But it’s not some far off land, it’s here in our own backyard. America has a problem—it’s the only developed country in the world that has more mass shootings a year than there are days. We are 144 days into the year and there has already been more than 200 mass shootings, 27 of which were school shootings. Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, is the latest to join that growing list with 19 children and two teachers dying in an elementary school designated for second, third and fourth graders.

Parents and other adults who have lost children at the school are reeling from this unspeakable act of violence. And adults raising children in this country are joining those parents in their grief, but know that collective grief is not enough. People are feeling helpless and want to take action to combat those feelings. It gives our hands and minds something to focus on as our hearts heal.

Here are five things you can do if you’re feeling helpless about gun violence in America.

Connect with advocacy groups

Many gun safety advocacy groups have local chapters or you can connect with them online. Everytown for Gun Safety is the largest gun violence prevention organization in America. Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America has chapters in every state and a bunch of resources on their website. Giffords and Brady are two other nonprofits furnishing statistics, resources and ways to get involved. All of these organizations are there to help people have a voice in creating gun laws that make the most sense for the safety of American citizens. No one wants another mass shooting, and joining the fight with one of these organizations can put your anger and frustration to good use.

Run for office

Running for national office may be a privilege reserved for those who can afford to not work for a lengthy period of time leading up to the elections, but that’s not so much the case with local elections. And a lot of change is enacted at local and state levels. You don’t have to run to become a member of Congress to elicit change. School boards, county commissioners and other local influential positions can be of great benefit to your community. If you’re interested in finding out more about how to run for an office, look for information on your state’s secretary of state website. If you identify as a woman and are unsure of what office to run for, you should check out She Should Run. As well as having a starter kit, trainings and meetings, the organization also has a quiz to help you narrow down the office that would suit you best.

Get involved in other areas of public service

If running for office isn’t your thing, research your local and state candidates and find the ones who support the causes that are important to you and who share your views on preventing gun violence. Your support to their campaign can be in the form of monetary donations, helping with phone banks, texting, canvassing or helping put up signs. Any and every form of support helps for candidates who don’t have deep pockets or big donors.

Active participation in politics may be a bit too much for some people. But you can always write your member of Congress or state senator. If you’re computer savvy, you can even create a form letter and share it with others to make it easier for them to contact their representatives. You can also call your state representatives and leave them messages so they know your voice.

Peacefully protest

Something that will help you move from a place of feeling helpless and stuck is to protest. You can organize protests in your area or you can join protests that are already scheduled. You don’t have to be a member of an organization to show up. Grab a piece of poster board and some markers and go exercise your First Amendment right. You have the power to enact change. Every action has a ripple effect and if enough people are speaking up and stepping up, change is bound to happen.

We have to do what we can as adults because active shooter drills should not be part of learning to write your name. Calls from school should be because your child has a tummy ache, not because they’re not coming home. Teachers should only need to worry about correcting minor behaviors and teaching math, not how to teach their classroom to barricade a door. America, we have to do better, and the best way to change outcomes is by putting in the work.

There may not be a rapper who loves basketball (or at least is open and enthusiastic about their love of the game) as much as Drake. (Literal professional basketball player J. Cole may be an exception.) Drake is a courtside fixture at NBA games and he’s been an official “global ambassador” of the Toronto Raptors since 2013. Naturally, Drake has started passing that passion onto his son Adonis, who was recently seen adorably mimicking LeBron James’ mannerisms while shooting on Drake’s home court.

Speaking of cute Adonis videos, Drake recently offered up another one on his Instagram Story. In a selfie-style video, Drake asks his son, “Yo, where’d you learn to shoot like that?” Adonis shrugs and playfully replies, “I don’t know.” Drake then noted he just made four out of five shots and added, “You’re cash right now.” Drake again asked how Adonis became such a sharpshooter and the boy replied with an even bigger shrug, “I shoot at school!”

In other recent-Drake-Instagram-post news, he shared a photo of himself with the Haim sisters yesterday, writing, “Just met the Beatles.” The band re-shared and added, “We’re the Beatles.” The trio’s The One More Haim Tour brought them to Toronto last week, so that’s why the four were able to meet up and snap a pic.

Check out the video above.

Amber Heard testified on Thursday that she’s received “hundreds of death threats” every day during ex-husband Johnny Depp‘s defamation case against her. “I am harassed, humiliated, threatened every single day — even just walking into this courtroom [and] sitting here in front of the world, having the worst parts of my life things I’ve lived through used to humiliate me,” she said. “People want to kill me and they tell me so everyday. People want to put my baby in the microwave. They tell me that. Johnny threatened, promised me if I ever left him, he’d make me think of him every single day that I lived.”

The trial has made Heard “relive the trauma” of Depp’s alleged abuse, she said. “I received hundreds of death threats regularly, if not daily, since this trial started — people mocking my testimony about being assaulted… I hope no one has to go through something like this. I just want Johnny to leave me alone. I’ve said that for years now.”

Heard added that she’s “not a saint” and she’s “not trying to present myself as one, as you all know,” but “I selfishly found relief in being able to use what I’ve lived through to advocate for others. Though I would not wish this situation on my worst enemy, if it gives a voice to someone who doesn’t have it… but as I stand here today can’t have a career or have people associate with me for the threats and the attacks they have to endure.”

Closing arguments in the $50 million defamation trial begin on Friday, May 27.

(Via EW)

If you’re wondering what Ted Cruz’s definition of “American exceptionalism” is, it’s this: Sandy Hook denier Alex Jones just received close to $8 million in a bitcoin payout a week before yet another mass shooting at an elementary school claimed 19 lives.

Let’s back up a bit. Jones has been battling a defamation suit in court brought by the victims of those Sandy Hook students after the InfoWars host built a massive following and a streaming empire on the BSconspiracy theory that the massacre at Sandy Hook was all a hoax. Jones lost that suit after he “called in sick” to a deposition in order to host a new episode of his show. He would have likely been forced to pay the families damages but he decided to declare bankruptcy in order to avoid having to cough up his own money. Since then, Jones has been begging his viewers for donations, referring to his court battles with grieving parents as “a war” and urging his supporters to “attack” them by giving him money.

“To prosecute a war, we need prayer, word of mouth, and money. Money is a symbol that the enemy has used against us, and is bringing us down with. You must use that money to attack,” Jones said on a May 18th taping of his show. “If you don’t go to infowars.com forward-slash crypto and donate…then you have abdicated and signed over your rights. Because God gave you champions that will fight. God gave you people that will not back down, who will never give in, who do not have it in their DNA to submit to Satan. But if we do not have your backing, we cannot take this on, and we will be subjugated, and you will be destroyed.”

And it seems at least one anonymous donor took that battle cry to heart. According to Hatewatch, Jones received a $6 million bitcoin donation just one day after the May 18th episode of his show aired. The crypto payout came from the same donor who gave him $2 million in bitcoin earlier this year. This windfall comes as Jones continues to sow doubt amongst the public about the mass shooting epidemic the country is facing.

Following the tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Texas, Jones called the event “very opportunistic.” And more, via Newsweek:

“I don’t want to say this was staged, but we have specifically said, with two years of our leading mass shootings, that with all the pre-programming, that mass shootings are coming, terrorists are going to attack and we have got to take the guns. Then I’m like, well I would predict a lot of mass shootings right before elections and like clockwork, it is happening. To me, it is just very opportunistic what is happening.”

The only bit of good news to come from this is that, by Jones asking for donations and receiving such a large one, a judge has ruled that his suit should be removed from bankruptcy protection so that the court can determine how much he’ll need to pay the victims families. Since, you know, he has the money to do so now.

(Via Hatewatch & Newsweek)

One of this month’s “On The Up” artists to watch, Brooklyn duo Momma have a penchant for crafting nostalgic indie rock tunes that harken back to acts like The Smashing Pumpkins and The Breeders. Led by Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten, Momma are set to tour with Snail Mail this summer following the July 1st release of their new album, Household Name. Each single from the impending release has seemingly topped the last and the newly released “Lucky” is a total ripper of a track.

Fuzzed out guitars and Friedman’s choice lyrics about yearning for her partner have a gravitational pull. “How’d I get so lucky?” she asks on the track. “I wrote it after my significant other and I had to spend an unknown amount of time apart from each other on opposite sides of the country,” Friedman said in a statement. “I wanted it to feel anthemic, like a sappy and sentimental love song, but I still wanted to speak on how exciting it feels to know you found true treasure with someone you are in love with.”

Watch the video for “Lucky” above and check out all of Momma’s upcoming tour dates (both headlining and supporting Snail Mail) below.

08/12 — Providence, RI @ Fete Music Hall !
08/13 — Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground !
08/16 — New Haven, CT @ Toad’s Place !
08/17 — Asbury Park, NJ @ The Stone Pony !
08/19 — Richmond, VA @ The National !
08/20 — Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa !
08/21 — Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre !
08/23 — Orlando, FL @ The Beacham Theater !
08/24 — Tampa, FL @ The Ritz Ybor !
08/26 — Birmingham, AL @ Saturn !
08/27 — Knoxville, TN @ The Mill & Mine !
08/28 — Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall !
08/30 — Bloomington, IL @ The Castle Theatre !
08/31 — Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre !
09/02 — Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall !
09/03 — St Louis, MO @ The Pageant !
09/04 — Columbus, OH @ The Athenaeum Theatre !
09/06 — Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre !
09/07 — Millvale, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre !
09/09 — Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore !
09/12 — Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall #
09/14 — Toronto, ON @ The Drake #
09/16 — Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village #
09/17 — Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club #
09/20 — Seattle, WA @ Barboza %
09/21 — Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios %
09/23 — San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop %
09/24 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo %
09/25 — Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room %
09/27 — Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar %
09/30 — Austin, TX @ Mohawk — Indoors ^
10/01 — Dallas, TX @ Three Links ^
10/02 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall — Upstairs ^
10/04 — Atlanta, GA @ The Earl ^
10/07 — Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s #
10/08 — New York, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg #

! with Snail Mail
# with Waveform*
% with Pardoner
^ with Teethe

Household Name is out 7/1 via Polyvinyl Record Co. Pre-order it here.

Capella Grey seems to only know how to elevate. The Bronx artist burst onto the scene in 2021 with the track “Gyalis,” forcing his way into the conversation for song of the summer, if not the year; It bubbled outwardly from just being a New York bop to a worldwide smash. As a result, he found himself in the studio with many greats on the artist and production side. While fans have been patiently, or impatiently, awaiting his next move, he announced today on Instagram that he has a record coming called “OT” featuring Ty Dolla Sign.

A moving graphic of the two artists and a quick trailer accompanies the announcement, as Grey sits with his lady to watch a movie before Ty calls him to ask where he is. The two are on opposite coasts, but it sounds like the “Psycho” artist is trying to convince the 26-year-old to come out west. The trailer closes with Capella singing ,”Why would I take a shorty OT,” meaning “out of town,” which makes it very clear what his intentions would be on that trip.

Capella is no stranger to big collaborations, as “OT” will follow the March record “Confujawn” featuring Grammy-winning songwriter and artist Nija. In 2021, “Gyalis” was remixed by Chris Brown, Popcaan, and a slew of other artists. Most recently, Chloe Bailey tried her hand at a “Gyalis” cover.

Check out the “OT” announcement above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Doja Cat has come a long way since dropping her debut album, Amala, in 2018. While that album mostly flew under music fans’ radars, after breaking through with her jokey track “Mooo!” and follow-up singles “Tia Tamera” and “Juicy,” many revisited the album and its lead single “Go To Town” — although, according to Doja herself, she’d rather they didn’t.

In a YouTube segment accompanying her recent Elle magazine cover story called “Thirst Trap,” Doja got challenged to answer some potentially controversial questions or take a shot for each one she abstained from answering. One of those questions was, “What song or verse do you regret putting out and why?” In the video, Doja waffles a bit about whether or not to answer because “then I’m just giving more attention to it,” but ultimately decides to tell viewers, “Don’t go and listen to ‘Go To Town’… I don’t like that one.” Sorry, Doja, but…

Her explanation reflects her musical perfectionism. “It’s not a bad song. I don’t think that I was very lyrically or vocally evolved in that era… That song is really difficult to listen to for me. Don’t waste your time.” This lines up with previous statements Doja has made about Amala as a whole; she’s called it unfinished and rushed in the past, attributing both to her overindulgence in weed and partying while recording it. However, she’s certainly made up for it since with Hot Pink and Planet Her, and she has vowed to really lean into her rap proclivities on her fourth album, for which she says she wants 9th Wonder to make beats.

Watch Doja Cat’s “Thirst Trap” segment above.