Category: News

There’s a new COVID variant, and it doesn’t sound so good. According to The New York Times, it’s called the Omicron, and it was first detected in South Africa, with cases already popping up in the U.K. and suspected cases in Germany. It’s still early days, so it is so far unknown whether or not it’s resistant to the vaccines that have withstood previous variants, such as the Delta. It’s important to remain calm. But of course, that is not what’s happening over at Fox News.

As per Mediaite, the network kicked off Saturday by having the weekend hosts of Fox & Friends recklessly speculate about how it’s all a conspiracy theory hatched by Joe Biden. Rachel Campos-Duffy, Will Cain, and Pete Hegseth (the latter already not a trusted source on health issues) put their brains together and wondered if a virus — which has been allowed to fester and mutate by either a shortage of vaccines or, in the U.S. and parts of Europe, irrational resistance to it — was being controlled by a world leader they routinely depict as out of it.

“[He] has said we can’t fix the supply chain problem until the pandemic is over, until Covid is over,” Campos-Duffy told viewers. “And now we see these new variants. So that’s the answer: more lockdowns, more lockdowns, more fear and therefore he doesn’t have to do his job of fixing the supply chain because ‘we’ll keep this whole thing going.’”

“Always a new variant,” Cain quipped, which led Hegset to claim that, thanks to Biden, “you can count on a variant about every October, every two years.”

Campos-Duffy laughed, saying Hegseth is “probably right,” but joking that they “could speed up. The variants could come more quickly.”

To her credit, Campos-Duffy earlier warned that Omicron “could possibly wreak more havoc on our economy and American way of life.” But Fox News viewers still need their red meat, no matter how top brass really feels about the vaccines their hosts trash on air.

Besides, news of Omicron’s emergence was only made public the day before, and though word is that it’s a more virulent, more transmissible strain, research still needs to be conducted to see if, among other matters, it can’t muscle its way through the various vaccines used to treat COVID.

But there is one thing you can do in the meantime: Get vaxxed, if you haven’t already. And if you have and enough time has elapsed, get a booster.

(Via Mediaite)

The biggest college football game of the regular season took place on Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor. The second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes traveled north to the Big House to take on the fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines, with a spot in both the Big Ten Championship Game and, potentially, the College Football Playoff on the line.

The first half was as hotly-contested as any in recent memory, with the Wolverines taking a 14-13 lead into the locker room. It was at this point that the unique construction of Michigan Stadium — which forces both teams to use the same tunnel to get to their locker rooms — led to some of the on-field tensions briefly boiling over. Josh Pate of 247 Sports caught the incident on camera, with both teams being held back from going after one another as the Wolveries tried to file into their locker room.

While there were no punches thrown or anything, there was a whole lot of chatter between the two teams, with a few Ohio State players flipping the bird to their Big Ten East counterparts. We also looked to have a little back-and-forth in the foreground, as a dude in a Michigan visor and someone in an Ohio State hat exchanged pleasantries. The Game is always really, really tense, and with the stakes that come with this year’s game — both in the Big Ten/Playoff races and Michigan trying to keep Ohio State from tying the series record with their ninth win in a row — they’ve very much been amplified.

DJ Khaled might only be 46 years old, but the DJ, producer, and all-around hip-hop mogul is already a legend. A curator of taste and vibes, there’s no one like Khaled when it comes to orchestrating the perfect collaboration. And it sounds like he’s done it again — ever the business man, during his own birthday party, Khaled let the crowd know that a new collaboration with Drake is about to drop. “I got some new music with Drake coming out real soon,” he said. “This sh*t sounds crazy too. The vocals are in!”

Caught on camera opening up a lavish present — a Rolex complete with green diamonds — Khaled jokes around with Drake on FaceTime (subtle flex right there) about the luxurious gift, then decides to let the whole crowd know how deep his connection with Drizzy goes. I suppose the perfect way to ring in your own birthday is by celebrating business ventures, but it’s still funny to see Khaled get so worked up about new music during a personal event. Check out the clips from the party in the tweets above, and definitely keep an ear out for whatever this DJ and Drake are going to be dropping on us soon.

Zachary Levi got some fine career stimulus when he scored the title role in Shazam!, as the superheroic alter ego of a gentle Philadelphia teen. Comic book movie roles ain’t nothing to sneeze at. Instead of a one-off gig, you get paychecks for as long as they keep your character around. Congrats to the guy from Chuck! But it wasn’t his first superhero rodeo. He was up for another key role, and not getting it, he thinks, is what got him the one he did get.

/Film caught Levi’s appearance on The Playlist podcast The Fourth Wall, where he reveals he auditioned for the role of Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy, for his pal James Gunn. That, obviously, went to someone else.

James and I knew each other, we were friends, we would have game nights at each other’s homes, had a lot of mutual friends. And so he had asked me to come in and read for Star-Lord, and I did, and then that led to the next step, and then all of a sudden I was camera testing. Oh man, I wanted that role so bad, like so, so, so, so bad. It came down to me, one other guy, and Chris Pratt, but Chris was always their favorite and he was hesitant to take it, which is understandable, I mean it’s a big franchise thing, it’s Marvel, does it work out, does it not work out? Is this what everyone is going to know me as for the rest of my life? All of those things that go through your head.

But one door closes, another opens, as the saying goes:

But eventually, and I think smartly, [Pratt] decided to take the job and so it didn’t go my way or anyone else’s way for that matter, but I hoped I left enough of a good impression with James that when I was auditioning for ‘Shazam,’ and his very dear friend, and manager, and sometimes producing partner, Peter Safran, calls up James because this is how our industry works … Fortunately, I was in good standing with James, I try to be in good standing with as many people as I can be and try to be a decent person, and I think between that and how well James thought I did in the Star-Lord test, he said, ‘Yeah man, you really should give Zach an opportunity at this. I really think he could be great.’

“Was that the thing that sent it all over for me? I don’t know that, but I’m sure it was part of that conversation, absolutely. I’m indebted to James that he would believe in me enough to remember that and pass that info on.”

So it all worked out in the end. Meanwhile, Pratt is due for Vol. 3 of Guardians — and Mario, and Garfield — while Levi has Shazam! Fury of the Gods, where he gets to hang with no less than Dame Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu. The creator, as they say, has a master plan.

(Via /Film)

Although he’s a legend in his own right, Charles Barkley let it be known that he really wants to meet one of rap’s biggest stars – Eminem. On a recent appearance for The Paul Finebaum Show Barkley said Em is one of the few people who he really wants to meet but hasn’t crossed paths with yet.

“I’d like to meet Eminem,” the former player turned sports commentator said. “I am a big fan of his. I got to meet Snoop Dogg last year. I’ve met Dr. Dre before. I’ve met Denzel, which was awesome. There are very few people that I have not had the opportunity to brush around in my amazing, amazing life.” That amazing life, of course, included a lengthy career in the NBA that resulted in an entry into the Hall Of Fame, an NBA MVP award, and a stint playing basketball in the Olympics.

So, if there’s anyone in this equation who should be excited for this meeting, it could just as well be Eminem! He showed face recently for a venture outside of music when his Mom’s Spaghetti restaurant opened in Detroit. That would’ve been a great place for Barkley to show up in order to meet Em? Either way, surely these two will cross paths soon — especially now that Eminem has heard this high praise. Check out the interview up top, the subject of Eminem comes up around the 4:11 mark.

Last week, Selena Gomez quietly announced the launch of her new “mental fitness” site, Wondermind, a partnership between Gomez, Newsette CEO Daniella Pierson, and her mother, Mandy Teefey. Gomez has been open about her own struggles with mental health in the past, even recently discussing quitting music entirely — though she later walked that comment back — and her desire to help others who struggle comes through crystal clear in Wondermind.

“You work out your body, but what about your mind?” the site asks, before launching into a more detailed breakdown of what “mental fitness” really is. “To us, mental fitness means creating a routine; working through your feelings to better understand your mind — with the right tools and community to support growth. It means committing to a daily practice, even when you feel out of your comfort zone (which shows it’s working!). Here at Wondermind, there’s no judgment. Just progress. Keep going, you’ll get there — and one day before you know it, it will all be second nature.”

Soon, the trio will also be launching a podcast that speaks to the same concepts. For now, they’ve put together a video, above, that helps explain the vision, and also have a newsletter that anyone can sign up for by visiting the website right here.

It’s been nearly four and a half years since Paramore dropped an album, namely 2017’s After Laughter, which gave the band their third top-10 album as well as a Gold certification. Since then, the band has been fairly quiet, at least as a unit. Meanwhile, lead vocalist Hayley Williams launched her solo career with two albums: 2020’s Petals For Armor and 2021’s Flowers For Vases/Descansos. At long last, after a number of hints, it seems like Paramore is finally gearing up to drop a new album, as Williams recently revealed.

“Before I go, thank y’all so much for the incredible support these last couple years,” she wrote in a newsletter according to NME. “I know we didn’t get to properly come together to sing and vent and sweat it all out…but I do think that Petals and descansos lived exactly the lives they were meant to.” She added, “Besides, Paramore can’t be ‘on a break’ forever now can we? I love y’all. See you sometime next year?”

Williams also thanked her bandmates for the support they gave her as she crafted her two solo albums. “In the thick of it all, I wrote. Enough to make up 2 solo albums,” she wrote. “The kind of albums I swore I’d never make! Because how dare anyone, most of all me, think for a second that my loyalty to Paramore had dwindled.” She added, “The guys were by my side nearly the entire process. If not actually working on the project with me then cheering me on. I even got to write with a few friends outside of – but very much connected to – Paramore, who taught me so much and gave me so much to be inspired by.”

Williams concluded her message with a shoutout to a close collaborator. “Petals would likely not even exist if not for Joey Howard, his bass guitar, and a drum machine!!” she wrote.

Now that he’s out of jail, Bobby Shmurda, aka Ackquille Pollard, is taking Covid-19 seriously, back in the game, and listening to… Adele? The Brooklyn rapper had some thoughts about a potential collab with the 30 star, but frankly, his idea isn’t very realistic. Though Shmurda may or may not have been spinning 30 when he had the thought of Adele working on a “strip club anthem” with him, there’s nothing on Adele’s new record that would suggest she’d be down. However, would it be epic? Oh it certainly would be, so we have to give Shmurda credit there, for the creativity.

“You know what the world needs,” the rapper began. ” #BobbyShmurda & #Adele to make a Strip Club Anthem.” As one would necessarily need to do in these situations, Shmurda followed the sentiment up with a crying smiley emoji. Perhaps Bobby noticed that within three days, 30 became the best-selling album of the entire year, and those numbers were just as motivating as his desire to make an anthem that sends the club up. Or, maybe he figured if Drake is friends with Adele, then she’s probably worth getting to know. Here’s a better idea, Bobby, hop on the remix of the fifteen minute version of “I Drink Wine” — win win.

Joe Exotic may have technically run against Donald Trump in 2016, but when he got in legal trouble he knew to ask him for help. During the former president’s last weeks in office, the star of Tiger King, the Netflix documentary series that took the nation by storm early in the pandemic, asked if he could make him one of his 11th hour pardons. Trump did not, and Exotic was pissed. And in his new memoir, he’s still pissed, though it seems more at himself.

The book is called Tiger King: The Official Tell-All Memoir, and it’s released as its author is still languishing in a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, serving a 22-year sentence on 17 charges of murder-for-hire and animal abuse. As per The Daily Beast, it’s a predictably flamboyant read. The first sentence goes like this: “Dear American Public, can you believe that b*tch Carole Baskin is out there free as a bird while I’m sitting here rotting away in prison?”

But Exotic reserves some ire for others. Among them is Trump, who seems to have considered intervening but did not, pardoning the likes of the recently indicted Steve Bannon instead. Exotic says that Trump snubbing him left him looking like a “dumbass,” though he doesn’t let himself off the hook. “Word has it I should have written a big check and I would have gotten that pardon, too,” he writes.

It’s a game-recognizes-game moment, one convicted criminal knowing that the way to the heart of another legally troubled figure is through cold hard cash.

Meanwhile, the Tiger King sequel was recently dropped on Netflix, and though Baskin attempted to get her and her cats removed over contractual hiccups, she, alas, failed.

(Via The Daily Beast)

MyPilllow CEO Mike Lindell’s Thanksgiving “marathon” (the “Thanks-A-Thon”) aims to overturn the 2020 election, which feels like his 25th time to unsuccessfully do so. In actuality, it appears that he’s using the four-day, 96-hour-long fundraising event to scrounge up donations for his legal fund. It doesn’t seem to be going so well, given that he paused the live stream to eat Thanksgiving dinner and claimed that “millions” were probably watching, when only dozens truly tuned in to watch his energetic shenanigans on the Freedom Patriot Network YouTube channel.

In the midst of all of this, Lindell called for a protest outside of Fox News headquarters, and approximately 10 people showed up (all shouting “Shame on FOX!”) to protest how the conservative news network was discussing other topics instead of (nonexistent) voter fraud. Well, it was time for a new trick, so at around 11:30 p.m., Lindell decided to throw in what he had left to receive donations for what he’s calling a “Legal Offense Fund.” Via Business Insider, even the tiniest donation will score donors a “free” copy of Lindell’s memoir, subtitled From Crack Addict to CEO, and Lindell described an excerpt to sweeten the deal:

“If you donate anything, even if it’s $10, I’m gonna send you a free book,” Lindell said, referring to his memoir, titled “What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO.”

Lindell also described the contents of his memoir, including a chapter where he writes about digging through a carpet for crack cocaine.

According to the website of The Lindell Legal Offense Fund, individuals can donate amounts ranging from $10 to $50,000. The website claims that the money donated will be used to “save our country.”

Lindell professes to be using this “Offense Fund” (“we’re always on the offense”) to fight for freedom, although it’s not entirely clear what he means by that statement. He has, however, been sued by Dominion Voting Systems for $1.3 billion over his unyielding claims that the 2020 election was rigged. In response to that lawsuit, Lindell sued Dominion for $1.6 billion. He’s also, as mentioned above, embroiled in a public battle with Fox News, which is still running his ads for now, but who knows what will happen after he sent 10 protesters to their headquarters. And the Thanks-A-Thon continues!

(Via Business Insider)