Category: News

On Wednesday, a man armed with a pistol and a knife, among other weapons, was arrested outside the residence of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. “Nicholas John Roske, 26, of Simi Valley, California, was charged with attempted murder of a Supreme Court justice after he called authorities and said he was having suicidal thoughts and wanted to kill a specific justice,” according to the Washington Post.

Roske reportedly targeted Kavanaugh because he was “upset” by the very real possibility of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and the recent school shooting (although, sadly, not the most recent school shooting) in Uvalde, Texas.

Speaking of: Ted Cruz is treating what potentially could have happened to Kavanaugh more seriously and with more urgency than what actually happened in his home state of Texas, where 21 people, including 19 kids, were killed less than three weeks ago. The senator is also blaming the “deranged” Democrats, because Ted Cruz gonna Ted Cruz.

“Early this morning, a sick individual tried to murder Justice Kavanaugh. That lunatic was following through on the deranged rhetoric from elected Democrats who have incited violence, threatened justices, and urged people to commit crimes,” Cruz tweeted along with video of his appearance on Fox News, adding a Trump-like “it’s dangerous!”

Cruz wanting instant retribution for an incident involving guns is rich, considering recent comments. He’s also being widely mocked for his libs-owning outrage with his solution to stop school shootings: fewer doors. Thoughts and prayers to Ted’s mentions.

Earlier this week, Big Thief announced they were playing a couple of shows in Tel Aviv, Israel. While Tel Aviv is band member Max Oleartchik’s hometown, the announcement generated some controversy given the long-running Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Now, the band has decided to cancel those concerts.

In a statement when the show was announced, the band noted they “understand the inherently political nature of playing there as well as the implications” and explained, “Over the last seven years we’ve traveled constantly around 3 of our members’ home country, the United States, meeting each other’s families and childhood friends and sharing in the joys and sorrows of a complicated, beautiful and tumultuous home. We have grown so close. It is important for us to share our homes, families and friends with each other in order to gain a deeper understanding of one another and the people and places that have made us who we are. It is important for us to go where we have family to share space and play for them. It is foundational. It is in that spirit that we made our decision to play in Israel.”

That was followed by the cancelation news and a new statement today, which reads in part, “Our intent in wanting to play the shows in Tel Aviv, where Max was born, raised, and currently lives, stemmed from a simple belief that music can heal. We now recognize that the shows we had booked do not honor that sentiment. We are sorry to those we hurt with the recklessness and naivete of our original statement on laving in Israel and we hope those who were planning to attend the shows understand our choice to cancel them.”

Find both statements below.

“We are excited to announce two shows in Max’s hometown, Tel Aviv, Israel @barby.tlv on July 6th and 7th.

Accompanying this announcement, we would again like to clarify our motivations and intentions for playing in Tel Aviv, Israel, with as much transparency as possible.

Over the last seven years we’ve traveled constantly around 3 of our members’ home country, the United States, meeting each other’s families and childhood friends and sharing in the joys and sorrows of a complicated, beautiful and tumultuous home. We have grown so close. It is important for us to share our homes, families and friends with each other in order to gain a deeper understanding of one another and the people and places that have made us who we are. It is important for us to go where we have family to share space and play for them. It is foundational. It is in that spirit that we made our decision to play in Israel.

We are well aware of the cultural aspect of the BDS movement and the desperate reality of the Palestinian people. In terms of where we fit into the boycott, we don’t claim to know where the moral high ground lies and we want to remain open to other people’s perspectives and to love beyond disagreement. We understand the inherently political nature of playing there as well as the implications. Our intention is not to diminish the values of those who support the boycott or to turn a blind eye to those suffering. We are striving to be in the spirit of learning.

With this in heart, the show’s profits will be donated to NGOs that provide medical and humanitarian aid to Palestinian children, including joint efforts between Palestinians and Israelis working together for a better future.

With love,
Big Thief.”

“We will be canceling our 2 shows in Tel Aviv.

We would like to start by clarifying a few things from our first post. When we spoke of loving ‘beyond disagreement’ and not knowing ‘where the moral high ground lies,’ that was in specific reference to playing shows in Israel during a time when BDS is calling for a cultural boycott. This was not in reference to the Israeli occupation and the displacement of Palestinians.

To be clear, we oppose the illegal occupation and the systematic oppression of the Palestinian people. We believe in total freedom and self-determination for all Palestinians.

Although we have much to learn, these basic realities were never in question for us. We acknowledge that aspects of our previous post were written unclearly and in avoidance of the magnitude and importance of this conversation. We also recognize there are limitations in our perspectives based on our various layers of privilege. We said we are ‘well aware of the cultural aspects of the BDS boycott’ and we have since realized that that is not the case.

Since announcing these shows in Israel we have been in constant dialogue with friends, family, BDS supporters and allies, Palestinians, and Israeli citizens who are committed to the fight for justice for Palestinians. It has been the only thing on our minds and in our hearts.

Our intent in wanting to play the shows in Tel Aviv, where Max was born, raised, and currently lives, stemmed from a simple belief that music can heal. We now recognize that the shows we had booked do not honor that sentiment. We are sorry to those we hurt with the recklessness and naivete of our original statement on playing in Israel and we hope those who were planning to attend the shows understand our choice to cancel them.

We recognize that withholding our cultural labor alone cannot be the only action we take. We have more learning to do so we can take more informed action.

As a band, we consider each other family, forever reaching to understand each other. In your responses to our actions, you have helped us to realize that we were in avoidance of entering this discussion about Max’s home in a more thoughtful way.

We are committed to growing from this, and moving forward with the transparency, accountability, and import that such a situation requires.

With love,
Big Thief”

Jared Kushner has never seemed much like a ride-or-die kind of guy. So when The New York Times reported that on November 5, 2020 — days before the presidential election was officially called for Joe Biden — Kushner told his wife Ivanka Trump that it was time for them to high-tail it out of D.C. and move to Miami, no one was surprised. While Kushner was happy enough to play the doting son-in-law during Pa Trump’s presidential campaign and four years in office, the mere whiff of failure seemed to have Jared dreaming of palm trees and beach volleyball.

While Trump was a lame duck president, he and his lackeys spent their final days in office attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election (and still are). But it seems that Kushner had other things on his mind, like what his next move should be, professionally. Like so many other on Team Trump, he decided that writing a memoir was the way to go, and that’s apparently what he started working on to pass the hours during his final weeks at the White House.

As Peter Baker writes for The New York Times:

While still in the White House, [Kushner] began writing a memoir focused on Middle East peacemaking. In the weeks to come, as Mr. Trump would continue to insist that he would remain for a second term, Mr. Kushner set about chronicling the first. He even took an online MasterClass on how to write a book, taught by the prolific best-selling novelist James Patterson. In the course of a two-week stretch after the election, he batted out 40,000 words of a first draft. The final version is set to be published in August.

No word yet on whether Trump will provide a blurb for the cover, or whether Kushner’s tome will be classified as memoir or fiction.

(Via The New York Times)

There’s a moment during Ms. Marvel where Kamala Khan (played by Iman Vellani) is pleading with her parents to attend an event and to trust her, then makes a reference to how it’s not like she’s going to do cocaine. For the record, I haven’t been tracking the MCU’s use of drug references, but it instantly struck me as something different. Dialogue we don’t usually hear from this universe. Ms. Marvel is a different kind of show, in that, at least so far, it’s as much about being a teenager in high school as it is being a superhero. And Ms. Marvel’s co-creater, Sama Amanat, is hoping that people who have never watched the MCU before (there has to be some left, right?) will want to watch Ms. Marvel.

It was 2013 when Amanat (who is now Director of Content and Character Development at Marvel) co-created the character of Kamala Khan for Marvel Comics. After cycling through a few names for her character – according to Amanat, “Drone” was considered – they decided a teenage girl from New Jersey, with strict parents organically, would look across the river to New York City and be infatuated with Carol Danvers who had just changed her title from Ms. Marvel to Captain Marvel, so Ms. Marvel was available.

Ahead, Amanat takes us through how Ms. Marvel came to the MCU and also the time President Obama called Amanat “a superhero” and how she really should bring that up more often.

Ms. Marvel, the character, who was created not really that long ago is now in the MCU. Are you on cloud nine?

I certainly am. I feel like I just, I don’t know what cloud I’m on because it’s all so hazy and dizzy and crazy and lovely at the same time. I feel so happy that Marvel wanted to continue to tell her story in this way and that I was able to be a part of it on top of it. So it feels really wonderful and also really nerve-racking, now putting her out there in the world in the biggest way possible. I just hope people will love her and her world.

Right, obviously this is a very popular character in the books, but so many people are going to be introduced to this character who don’t know her yet because of this series.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think people who love Kamala obviously are going to gravitate towards the series. I think what’s really exciting for us is there’s going to be a whole new world of Marvel fans, and non-Marvel fans, I think, that are going to be coming to the show and experiencing something different. And that’s what I’m really most excited about is bringing in even just more fans and people who might not necessarily be – and Kevin Feige was saying this earlier – might not necessarily be Marvel fans. But, perhaps, this will be their first Marvel experience and then they’ll want to go experience the rest of the universe. I think that is really special and cool.

President Obama called you a superhero…

Oh my God. That was like…

I would never let anyone forget that if I were you.

Yeah, exactly. It’s so funny you say that. I actually should talk about that more! I don’t know why I don’t.

Seriously, you really should. Everyone would know that if I were you.

Coolest experience of my life was introducing Barack Obama at the White House. Definitely very trippy. And the funny thing that happened actually, and it was great: It was at a women’s summit and it was really cool. I did the intro and then he comes up to me, gives me a kiss on the cheek, greatest moment of my life. I’m walking away and then of course my heel gets stuck on the carpet.

Oh no.

And the President of the United States is right there, and I’m struggling to get off stage. So it was a very me moment, but truly that’s definitely one of the honors of my life.

I would not have guessed Ms. Marvel would be the first I would hear the word cocaine in the MCU.

That’s actually so funny you say that because we thought a lot about that.

I bet you did.

Are we going to get in trouble for this? Is this the first time we’re doing it? And whatever. And it just felt like, what was funny about it also was just Iman’s performance, about her stumbling into that wording and her stumbling into that… It’s just so funny because she doesn’t mean to say it, and then she says it, and she’s like, “Oh, wait. What did I just say?” I think that’s why it worked, just because we’re not trying to talk about drugs. She’s like, “I don’t do drugs or drink or do any of that stuff.” And just, “Let me go to the diner. That’s all I’m asking for.” So yeah.

So when do you first hear this is officially happening? When do you get that news? Because when you first even created this character, correct me if I’m wrong, that’s the year Iron Man 3 came out…

Wow, right.

So to get from there to now, what happens?

We heard some rumblings relatively early on after the character was created because it was such a success. And I think a lot of people are like, when is there going to be a TV show? What are you guys going to do next? And apparently, I’m hearing this for the first time, that’s what Kevin was getting: Questions like that all the time himself. And so I think he was very much attuned to it. And he’s constantly thinking about how to expand the universe, so I think this was sort of in the arena of potentially to be in development. I only really found out it was official about, I think, maybe four years ago? Four or five years ago where I was like, okay, they’re going to do this. This is amazing. I hope I could be a part of it. That would be wonderful. I’ve been at the company for 12 years now, so I kind of understood what their development process was, but the idea of Ms. Marvel, is it really going to be a show? Is it really going to be a movie? I didn’t really believe it until that moment. Really until the moment where they announced it at D23, and they’re like, “And Ms. Marvel,” and there was such a huge, amazing moment. God, and now we’re here. It’s crazy.

I understand why, in the comics, Kamala uses the Ms. Marvel name. But I’m curious with you, did you debate that? Between that or something completely new?

Yeah, 100 percent. We actually were – G. Willow Wilson and I – were thinking a lot about the name of the character. And we had some pretty bad names at first while we were ideat-ing what the story was.

Can you say one?

Drone.

Yeah. Ms. Marvel is better than Drone.

Drone? Ew, I was like, that’s just… is she boring? What is that? Is this her power? Or she can go whip around and spy on people. I don’t even know what we were thinking. Oddly, it kind of all happened at the same time. We’re realizing that we wanted to tell a story about identity and a young woman of color looking across the river and seeing these big, beautiful superheroes who look nothing like Kamala save the day every day, save the world every day. And then having the mantle of Ms. Marvel open – Carol Danvers had become Captain Marvel – and I felt like it was a really cool branding opportunity to just grab onto. People know what Ms. Marvel is, so let’s lean into it. And of all the people that Kamala would be a fan of, it makes sense for it to be Carol Danvers, right?

She’s blonde, beautiful, tall, strong, blue-eyed, everything Kamala Khan is not. And let’s tell the story through the metaphor of that. We don’t have to talk so much about it, but we can just show it. So I think it kind of all worked. It worked with the story that we were telling, and it also helped that Ms. Marvel was a familiar name for a character, and we kind of just jumped onto it.

Like you said, a lot of people who may not even be fans of the MCU are going to watch this because it’s about a kid in high school and really reflects that extremely well. But you’re kind of talking to kids, and with everything going on right now in the news, espicially with guns, do you think about that? It seems like a scary time.

I do. I definitely do. I have nephews and nieces who are Kamala’s age and younger and older, and I’m very conscious of how influenced, one, not only by entertainment, but they’re influenced by Marvel content, very much so. And so this is, I think, one of the first shows where not only are we speaking to that audience in terms of just the pure demographic of the characters and the age of the characters, but really in a way that I think is we’re diving in. We’re delving into the world. We’re going to high school. We’re going to her community center mosque. We’re going to her living, having dinner at the dining table many times. It’s a very immersive experience.

And I think ultimately, when they have a resilience and an ability to really sort of amplify their own platforms and their own voices and try to use it for good, despite the challenges and the difficulties that might be out there, they actually have this inner strength within them. And I think that’s because Kamala and her friends and her community have that, and hoping that they’re able to find that in their own communities or find communities who will be able to offer that to them. I think that’s incredibly important.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

The Los Angeles Angels were in a bit of a slump heading into their Wednesday night game against the Boston Red Sox. The team was in the midst of a 13-game losing streak that dated back to May 22 when they had a 4-1 win against the Oakland Athletics. As you would expect any team to do, the Angels sought out ways to finally get a win, and one way they came up with was to change the music that played for each player during their walk-ups. Prior to the game, the team announced that each player would walk up to different songs by Nickelback.

ESPN reporter Alden González revealed that the coaches made the decision in hopes of shaking things up for the team. Gonzalez also provided a list of the songs that would be played during the game and for which player. DH and pitcher Shohei Ohtani picked “Photograph,” right fielder Jordon Scott Adell selected “Rockstar,” first basemen Jared Walsh went with “How You Remind Me,” and third basemen Matt Duff picked “Someday.” Other songs that were selected by Angels players included “If Today Was Your Last Day” (Juan Lagares), “When We Stand Together” (Brandon March), “This Afternoon” (Jack Mayfield), “Animals” (Kurt Suzuki), and “What Are You Waiting For?” (Tyler Wade).

While the Angels’ attempt to cure their losing ways was quite ambitious, it proved to be unsuccessful as they fell to the Red Sox 0-1 for their fourteenth consecutive loss. But hey, at least they had some good humor about it as you can see in the tweet above.

You can see González’s initial report and the full list of songs for the Angels players’ walk-ups above.

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

Draymond Green has been a central focus throughout the NBA Finals, for better or worse, as the outspoken defensive leader of the Warriors has had two rather dreadful performances in Golden State’s losses in Games 1 and 3, and a sensational outing in their Game 2 win.

Adding to the fact that he always attracts attention with his postgame commentary in a press conference setting, Green dives deeper into each game on his own podcast, The Draymond Green Show. Green has happily touted himself as part of the “New Media,” along with CJ McCollum, JJ Redick, and other current or recently former players who are jumping into the sports media space and offering strong pushback to the takesmiths that dominate the airwaves.

However, as one would expect, Green’s podcast can be a lightning rod for Warriors fans and others when the team is playing poorly, as it’s an easy thing to point to as being a distraction, whether true or not. After fouling out of Game 3 with just two points on the night and the Warriors defense struggling as a whole, Green described his play as “sh*t,” but didn’t take kindly to being asked if the Celtics are able to glean insight into Golden State’s plans from his podcast content.

Green bristles at the question, saying it’s “reaching” to even suggest that and scoffs at the idea him talking about forcing Boston into contested shots is approaching any X’s and O’s talk.

Steve Kerr was asked something similar prior to Green and likewise shrugged it off, joking he doesn’t listen to Green’s podcast and noting it’s just the way it is now.

It’s certainly fascinating to watch play out in real time, as Green is the first player with a podcast to reach the NBA Finals — and maybe more importantly, the first to reach the Finals and have wild swings in his production and effectiveness from game-to-game. If Green was playing great and the Warriors were up, it wouldn’t be a topic, but it’s definitely on the minds of some fans, whether Green wants to engage in it or not.

More than three years ago, the music world was shocked by the news of 21 Savage’s Immigration And Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest. In a statement following his arrest, ICE revealed that the rapper was actually from the United Kingdom and that he came to the United States legally on a visa in July 2005. The visa expired in July 2006 and Savage unlawfully stayed in the country. Savage later received help from Jay-Z and Roc Nation as he was later released from ICE custody. As of today, the case has not been fully resolved as Savage is still in a fight for legal immigration status.

During a recent appearance on My Expert Opinion with Math Hoffa, 21 Savage spoke about the arrest and revealed that Meek Mill had a hand in getting him legal assistance. “They detained me ’cause they said I had felony conviction, but the felony conviction got dismissed,” Savage explained. “And I called Meek while I was in jail and told Meek, ‘Bro, I just got locked up.’ [Meek] called Jay-Z, and Jay-Z put a lawyer on my case … [he] played a role in getting me out of there.” He then shared his gratitude for the help Jay-Z gave him to fight the case.

[Jay’s] ain’t just doing that shit for anybody, just ’cause you rap …,” Savage said. “It’s like you gotta be from a certain cloth … I don’t feel like he’s just doing that for anybody. I ain’t Roc Nation or any of that sh*t.”

The most recent update in Savage’s case came in April. His lawyer Charles Kuck revealed that a 2020 charge for possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm was affected his fight for legal immigration status. As a result, the immigration case was put on pause until the charges could be resolved.

You can check out the full episode of My Expert Opinion in the video above.

Meek Mill is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

After getting run out of the building in Game 2, the Celtics came back home clearly looking to make a statement against the Warriors in Game 3. With both rims properly set to 10 feet, Boston came out on fire to start the game, jumping all over Golden State to take as much as a 15-point lead in the first quarter.

Keying the early run for Boston was Jaylen Brown, who knocked down his first three shots on the way to a 17-point first quarter.

The Celtics would open their lead up to as many as 18 in the second quarter, as the Warriors finally got their offense going but could not get any stops against a Boston team clearly looking to push the tempo and use their athleticism to their advantage. Where Brown was lethal scoring, Tatum started the night facilitating as Golden State sent extra attention his way and he accepted it and found the open teammate, before eventually asserting his scoring will.

The lone bright spot for the Warriors in the first half was Klay Thompson shaking off his shooting woes as he got himself going in the second quarter on the way to a 15-point half, keeping Boston from completely running away with the game.

Golden State would trail by 12 at halftime, and at that point everyone was awaiting whether they would find the same third quarter dominance they had in the first two games of the series. Sure enough, the Warriors came out swinging out of the locker room, led by Stephen Curry who brought Golden State all the way back into their first lead of the game at 83-82.

However, Boston would find a response they hadn’t had in previous third quarters on the road, stemming the tide at least a bit to only lose the quarter by eight and take a four-point edge to the fourth. As was the case early in the game, Boston was able to pull ahead by double digits once again thanks to some improved defensive effort, holding the Warriors to just 11 points in the quarter as the Celtics ran away to a 116-100 win.

The exclamation point on the victory came in the form of an Al Horford to Robert Williams lob, that precipitated both teams emptying the benches in a double-digit game with just over two minutes to play.

For Boston, it was an impressive bounceback performance as their stars led the way, with Tatum (26 points, nine assists, six rebounds) and Brown (27 points, nine rebounds, five assists) putting forth terrific all-around games. They got a big boost from Marcus Smart (24 points, seven rebounds, five assists), who continues to be something of a barometer for the Celtics’ offense’s overall success, and much improved two-way efforts from Al Horford and Grant Williams, who each reached double figures.

On the Warriors side, they finally saw Klay get going (25 points, 5-of-13 from three) and Curry continues to play well (31 points, 6-of-11 from three), but Draymond Green was dreadful and fouled out with just two points, one game removed from a scintillating defensive performance, and their bench gave them nothing with 18 combined points. They’ll need to find a more balanced attack and get a much better defensive effort, headed by Green, if they’re to snag Game 4 and reclaim homecourt advantage, if not they’ll go back to San Francisco facing elimination.

J. Cole is finding his rhythm during his second gig in a professional basketball league. Last month, the Dreamville rapper signed a contract with the Scarborough Shooting Stars as a part of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. This came after he briefly signed with the Rwanda Patriots as a part of the Basketball Africa League during the summer of 2021. Cole’s time with the Shooting Stars has been going well, and earlier this week, Cole had the best came of his career in a 99-81 win against the Newfoundland Growlers.

In the game, which took place on Tuesday, Cole stepped in and knocked down two 3-point shots for a career-high of six points during 19 minutes of play during the game. Cole also snagged two rebounds and logged one steal in the win. Afterward, Cole took to Instagram to celebrate his game. “Shattered my previous career high,” he wrote in an Instagram caption with laughing and praying hands emojis.

Cole’s success with the Shooting Stars has come mostly from behind the three-point line. In his debut with the team, Cole scored his first basket from behind the arc. The June 7 game for the Shooting Stars made for their second win of the season bringing their win-loss record 2-3 on the season.

You can view highlights from Cole’s game and see his comment in the post above.

The long-threatened hearings for the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot begin tomorrow night, and it will be aired on every major place, save, of course, Fox News. Though its members have long promised a big show, it has little chance of ending with Trump escorted to jail. The committee simply doesn’t have the power to punish those accountable. But what they can do it tee up reams of lawsuits that could leave Donald Trump — and some of his cronies, including those in Congress — with nothing.

Indeed, the committee has amassed what one of its members has called “the biggest data effort in the history of congressional investigations,” including interviews with more than 1,000 witnesses and at least 14,000 documents. That could help lawsuits that are already in action, like the one from eight Capitol Hill officers attacked on the fateful day, who are suing Trump, his campaign, Roger Stone, the Proud Boys, and others who were involved.

“What the committee can’t do is hold people accountable. But that’s where criminal prosecutions and civil litigation comes in,” Edward G. Caspar, that group’s attorney, told The Daily Beast. “If you think of the three means of seeking accountability for those responsible for the attack—congressional hearings, criminal prosecution, civil litigation—they’re like a three-legged stool. The committee can shine a very bright light on the evidence and present it to the public. That’s something the others can’t do.”

In other words, they’ll provide attorneys representing clients with plenty of evidence, including videos and transcripts and testimony provided under oath, to bolster lawsuits, against Trump and others.

Trump is already in plenty of legal hot water. The day before the hearings are set to begin, it was revealed he had agreed — alongside Don Jr. and Ivanka — to actually sit down for a deposition regarding another case against him: the one from the New York State Attorney General’s Office looking into his business’ practices. It’s been argued that, after that case is done with him, he may have nothing left but his pensions. After the Jan. 6 hearings, he may not even have those.

(Via The Daily Beast)