Category: News

Comeuppance can be a beautiful thing—or confusing as hell to OAN viewers. On Tuesday, as The Daily Beast reports, the conspiracy-loving news network aired a 30-second segment in which they confirmed that there indeed was no widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election and that Donald Trump lost said election fair and square. It was an abrupt about-face by the right-wing channel, and one that was no doubt surprising to its viewers. But devoting half a minute to reporting the truth wasn’t by choice. It was apparently part of a settlement brought against the network by two Georgia election workers.

According to The Daily Beast’s William Vaillancourt, the pre-recorded segment (which you can watch above) “notes that an investigation by state officials into unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud made by ex-President Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani turned up nothing.” As the narrator of the segment states, “The results of this investigation indicate that Ruby Freeman and Wandrea ‘Shaye’ Moss did not engage in ballot fraud or criminal misconduct.”

They also make sure to subtly note that the segment was aired under possible duress by stating that “a legal matter with this network and the two election workers has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties through a fair and reasonable settlement.”

The lawsuit, which was brought by Freeman and her daughter Moss, claimed that the two of them—both Georgia election workers—were mercilessly harassed both online and in person by Trump cronies attempting to overturn the results of a fair election, and looking for people to blame. The mother and daughter duo’s names were first mentioned by The Gateway Pundit, an unhinged, conspiracy-filled website, then became a regular part of The Big Lie discourse.

As The Daily Beast reports:

In January 2021, when Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to try to “find” votes to overturn the state’s election results, he mentioned Freeman’s name 18 times. Freeman was also visited by a publicist for Kanye West, who threatened her in an effort to extract a confession about committing election fraud.

And if that weren’t enough, video of the pair doing their jobs was hyped up by Rudy Giuliani—and Sean Hannity—who falsely claimed that it showed “blatant, clear, obvious” fraud. While speaking to Georgia State House Republicans about the video during a Zoom meeting in December 2020, Giuliani at one point can be heard saying, “We should try to get this on Newsmax and OANN.”

Wish (sort of) granted!

(Via The Daily Beast)

From the time she was a little girl, Abby Recker loved helping people. Her parents kept her stocked up with first-aid supplies so she could spend hours playing with her dolls, making up stories of ballet injuries and carefully wrapping “broken” arms and legs.

Recker fondly describes her hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as a simple place where people are kind to one another. There’s even a term for it—“Iowa nice”—describing an overall sense of agreeableness and emotional trust shown by people who are otherwise strangers.

Abby | Heroes Behind the Masks presented by CeraVe

www.youtube.com

Driven by passion and the encouragement of her parents, Recker attended nursing school, graduating just one year before the unthinkable happened: a global pandemic. One year into her career as an emergency and labor and delivery nurse, everything she thought she knew about the medical field got turned upside down. That period of time was tough on everyone, and Nurse Recker was no exception.

“You had patients that were here one minute and gone the next and the emotional impact took a toll, but we stuck together,” said Nurse Recker. She and her unit eventually found their footing and learned how to work as a team to adapt to the overwhelming influx of COVID-19 patients. Right as they got into a groove, on August 10, 2020, with nearly no time to prepare, a historic “derecho” storm hit the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Courtesy of CeraVe

A derecho packs fast-moving gusts, but instead of spiraling like a tornado or hurricane, the winds of a derecho move in straight lines. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the storm caused $7.5 billion in damage across South Dakota and Ohio, ranking it as the costliest thunderstorm in U.S. history. Every single Cedar Rapids resident was impacted.

“During the spring we tend to have lots of storms, so we’re used to tornados and other types of bad weather, but nothing like a derecho. I don’t think anyone in Iowa had even heard of a derecho until that August day,” said Nurse Recker. “After the storm hit, we were all trying to figure out what had happened; we didn’t even know there was a name for a storm like that!”

Suddenly, the hospital was filled with people experiencing storm-related injuries. The emergency room was packed, as people who depend on electricity to run their oxygen tanks or dialysis machines were pouring in with nowhere else to go. Just as they had done when the pandemic hit several months before, Nurse Recker and her team pulled together, working back-to-back 12-hour shifts and running on adrenaline.

It occurred to Nurse Recker in the middle of this chaos that she might not have a home to go back to. Instead of panicking, she focused on the people in front of her, putting their immediate needs above her own. It wasn’t until she got into her car to leave the hospital that she took the time to absorb the devastation. A tree had fallen, narrowly missing her car, and was wedged under her front bumper. To this day, she still doesn’t understand how her vehicle wasn’t completely crushed.

This ability to persevere under extreme pressure is what makes nurses so amazing at what they do. CeraVe’s ongoing commitment to the nursing community seeks to recognize inspiring healthcare workers such as Nurse Recker through Heroes Behind the Masks Chapter 2: A Walk In Our Shoes, a campaign featuring inspiring nurses from across the nation.

“Nurses share in some of the most joyful moments of a patient’s life but are also witness to some of the toughest moments, which can be a taxing part of their jobs that often goes unrecognized,” said Jaclyn Marrone, vice president of marketing for CeraVe. “To express our sincerest gratitude, we’re honored—to provide a platform for these incredible stories to be told, inspiring both the nursing community and beyond.”

Nurse Recker says that while sometimes there are situations where there isn’t a good solution and there’s no way to predict the future, she feels good knowing that there are people who have her back.

“I am fortunate enough to work at a job I love and am passionate about. When you love what you do and get to see the positive impact you have on people, it’s hard to be negative. Looking at what I get to do for people each and every day and how I get to impact their lives in a positive way makes it all worth it,” said Nurse Recker. “We know when people are coming to the hospital they are not at their best but the most important thing we can do is just be kind. A smile and thank you go a long way.”

Follow along in the coming days for more uplifting stories brought to you by CeraVe.

It’s been a hot minute since we’ve received a solo project from Lil Uzi Vert. While he’s given us several fire features, as well a collaborative mixtape with Future, Uzi hasn’t given us a full-length project of his own since 2020’s Eternal Atake. Yesterday, Uzi took to his Instagram story to give us an update on his new music.

“This time less talkin’ more working,” said Uzi. “Going back in classic mode. I been [through] 2 much this time around. Nothin’ can break me.”

Uzi may be referring to The Pink Tape, his long-anticipated follow-up album to Eternal Atake. He first announced The Pink Tape last year, teasing it all throughout 2021. While attending an event at the 40/40 club last year, Uzi said of the album, “…it’s going through the mixing process right now because last time I dropped an album, it did really well,” Uzi said. “[Eternal Atake] was actually my highest-selling album but it was a little bit experimental on the mixing part, not the actual music, so this time, I went experimental with the music and traditional on the mixing.”

While it was originally planned for October of last year, Uzi revealed he is deciding to take his time on The Pink Tape to make sure “it won’t suck.”

Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Bob Odenkirk‘s career arc from SNL writer to sketch comedy legend to Emmy-nominated star of arguably the best drama (if not show) on television is pretty remarkable. He’s a triple threat, and as we know, triples is best.

Odenkirk never considered trying something other than comedy — until he worked with his good buddy Chris Farley.

“I was on stage with Chris Farley and Jill Talley at Second City, and we were improvising a scene, and Chris was so funny,” the Better Call Saul star recalled on Tuesday’s episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers. In the middle of the scene, his mind was drifting (it happens when you do seven shows a week) when he had a thought: “I should be in a drama.” Odenkirk was “loving [Farley’s] presence so much and he was so wonderful and I thought, ‘I can’t compete with that.’ So put me in a drama and I’ll be so funny,” he said.

Odenkirk didn’t make the immediate leap to drama, and even his role as Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad initially leaned towards comedy. But as the seasons went on, he was given the opportunity to flex his dramatic acting muscles (and later, actual muscles in Nobody). If performing with Farley hadn’t put the “I should be in a drama” thought in his head, he might not have accepted the part on Breaking Bad, and therefore, there might be no Better Call Saul. A world without Kim Wexler? No thanks.

You can watch the Late Night with Seth Meyers interview above.

Original Percy Jackson star Alexandra Daddario has voiced her support for Leah Jeffries‘ casting as Annabeth Chase following public statements by author Rick Riordan that called out racially-charged trolling. Daddario, who played Annabeth in the films, backed Jeffries after Riordan caused #LeahIsOurAnnabeth to trend with his strongly worded rebuke.

“Leah Jeffries is going to be an incredible Annabeth!!!” Daddario tweeted.

In a lengthy post on his official website, Riordan pushed back on detractors who criticized Jeffries taking over the role for the Disney+ series. Riordan said the casting decision was his, and as the author of the Percy Jackson books, he knows what’s best for the characters:

If you have a problem with this casting, however, take it up with me. You have no one else to blame. Whatever else you take from this post, we should be able to agree that bullying and harassing a child online is inexcusably wrong. As strong as Leah is, as much as we have discussed the potential for this kind of reaction and the intense pressure this role will bring, the negative comments she has received online are out of line. They need to stop. Now.

The author didn’t hold back in his remarks and made sure to directly point out what was happening. “You are judging her appropriateness for this role solely and exclusively on how she looks. She is a Black girl playing someone who was described in the books as white,” Riordan wrote. “Friends, that is racism.”

(Via Alexandra Daddario on Twitter)

A few weeks ago, Post Malone took to Instagram Live to share quick previews of some upcoming music. One of those was “Cooped Up,” a collaboration with Roddy Ricch. Now, Malone has offered a more official teaser and noted the song is coming this week.

The 30-second teaser video doesn’t reveal much: None of the song can be heard and it mostly features footage of Malone smoking in the dark. The caption is where the info comes from, as Malone offers the song’s release date, writing, “Cooped Up with @RoddyRicch Thursday 12pm ET.”

The song is a meeting of chart champions, as Malone has four No. 1 singles to his name, his latest being 2019’s “Circles.” Ricch had his first (and so far, only) No. 1 single the next year when “The Box” topped the Hot 100. This won’t be their first collaboration, as Ricch (and Tyga) featured on a remix of Malone’s “Wow.”

The new single is set to appear on Twelve Carat Toothache, which currently has a June 3 release date. That’s not the only major life event Posty has on the horizon: He’s getting ready to perform on Saturday Night Live and become a father.

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

Tove Lo has been unveiling shimmering songs, like the recent bombastic “No One Dies From Love” and the dark pop anthem “How Long” for Euphoria. But yesterday the Swedish singer decided to bring an Olivia Rodrigo song to her P3 Session, performing her own rendition of “Good 4 U.”

The “Habits (Stay High)” singer makes the hit her own by making it piano-driven, transforming it into a heartfelt ballad. Deeper in, the song is imbued with synths that are first haunting and then more danceable. It’s an emotional rollercoaster. People note in the comments that, by the end, this version of “Good 4 U” sounds like it’s all hers.

A while ago, Tove Lo introduced Crypto Tits, a collection of artwork made with crypto artist Blake Kathryn and featuring new music from Tove Lo herself. The title is a nod to her 2017 track “Disco Tits,” and a portion of the proceeds from the collection with benefit the organizations Black Girls Code and Carbon 180. She explained, ‘I’ve been exploring the NFT space for a while now and it’s super inspiring to me. Blake’s creations feel like new and different worlds to me and I love to create immersive experiences around my albums and shows, so this process was just awesome and mind expanding.”

Ah yes, the coveted Donald Trump endorsement. Several years ago, no one could have ever dreamed that a U.S. president who lost a reelection campaign (and spurred on an insurrection) would inspire such a far-right frenzy to nab his approval, but we’ve never seen anything quite like MAGA devotion. However, all Trump touches does not turn to (gaudy) gold. The streak (a 55-0 one) is finally broken with the loss of a Kentucky gubernatorial candidate who Trump persisted in supporting despite sexual harassment allegations from several women.

This news does not bode well for Dr. Oz (whose Trump endorsement actually inspired a MAGA mutiny) or J.D. Vance (who Trump reportedly endorsed after Tucker Carlson passed on word of a rival’s “disgusting” sex life) or Lauren Boebert (who Trump endorsed the day after her House rebuke for a string of Islamophobic remarks). What happened in Kentucky, though? The Trump-endorsed Charles Herbster got defeated in the GOP primary by Jim Pillen (a vet and “hog producer”), even after Trump decided to keep endorsing Herbster despite the red flags of eight women who alleged that Herbster either groped or forcibly kissed them at political events. Via Mediaite, Trump addressed those accusations and defended his guy:

Trump endorsed Herbster last year, before the allegations surfaced. Nevertheless, Trump held a rally for the businessman earlier this month and defended his pick.

“He’s been maligned, he’s been maligned, he’s been badly maligned and that’s a shame,” Trump said. “That’s why I came out here it would have been easier for me to say I’m not coming out but I defend people when I know they’re good. He’s a good man.”

And thus, an endorsement streak is no more, even after Herbster demonstrated the ultimate loyalty (as revealed in the above campaign billboard) of adding a “Trump won” (obviously, he did not win) to his campaign paraphernalia. So watch out, Dr. Oz. And the same may even go for the Trump-endorsed Marco Rubio, who must be sweating like crazy against a real contender of a Senate rival, Val Demings in Florida.

(Via Mediaite)

Danny Boyle was the original choice to direct the 25th film in the James Bond franchise, which later became No Time to Die. But the Oscar-winning filmmaker left the project due to “creative differences” and was replaced by Cary Joji Fukunaga (who has since been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women). In an interview with Esquire UK, Boyle revealed what his “topical” Bond film would have been about out.

“I remember thinking, ‘Should I really get involved in franchises?’ Because they don’t really want something different. They want you to freshen it up a bit, but not really challenge it, and we wanted to do something different with it,” Boyle said. “Weirdly — it would have been very topical now — it was all set in Russia, which is of course where Bond came from, out of the Cold War. It was set in present-day Russia and went back to his origins, and they just lost, what’s the word… they just lost confidence in it.”

Boyle noted that No Time to Die used a similar plot device as the scrapped script he wrote with John Hodge. “The idea that they used in a different way was the one of [James Bond’s] child, which [Hodge] introduced [and which] was wonderful,” he explained. Would Boyle be interested in directing a future 007 movie? “I don’t think so.” There goes the Sex Pistols chance to sing the theme song.

(Via Esquire UK)

Olivia Rodrigo is one of today’s biggest pop stars, but she got to that position thanks in large part to the influence that rock has played on her music. She has been eager to show appreciation to her rock forebearers (like with all the covers she’s been busting out on tour) and she did so again yesterday after meeting Jack White.

Rodrigo shared some photos and videos from their meeting, including a clip of her gleefully crying while hugging White. She wrote, “got to meet my hero of all heroes today. still crying. thank u @officialjackwhite for being so kind to ur biggest fangirl. everyone go listen to fear of the dawn!!!!!” White later re-shared Rodrigo’s post and wrote, “I had the chance to meet a talented singer and musician today named @OliviaRodrigo, she’s very cool, very real and very much a lover of music. She’s also introducing another set of youth to the love of vinyl records as well. Respect. -jack white III.”

To White’s point, Rodrigo put a significant focus on vinyl during the Sour album cycle; Ahead of the album’s release, she shared a video of herself giddily seeing the detail-filled vinyl edition of the album for the first time. She also wrote, “I’ve discovered so many of my favorite albums through vinyl records and it’s the coolest thing in the world to get to hold one with songs I wrote.”

It paid off, too: The album had one of the biggest vinyl sales weeks of the past 30 years, which helped propel the album back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.