Category: News

Within hours of Amazon introducing its new personal robot, Astro, leaked internal documents revealed that the $999 Alexa on wheels is allegedly plagued with problems including an obvious inability to navigate stairs. More specifically, Astro has a tendency to hurl itself down them, which is not exactly great considering the little guy isn’t the sturdiest thing.

The internal documents also revealed a slew of alleged privacy issues, but sources say those aren’t exactly a major concern at the moment because, to be any sort of surveillance threat, Astro would need to stop killing himself first. Via Vice:

“Astro is terrible and will almost certainly throw itself down a flight of stairs if presented the opportunity. The person detection is unreliable at best, making the in-home security proposition laughable,” a source who worked on the project said. “The device feels fragile for something with an absurd cost. The mast has broken on several devices, locking itself in the extended or retracted position, and there’s no way to ship it to Amazon when that happens.”

“They’re also pushing it as an accessibility device but with the masts breaking and the possibility that at any given moment it’ll commit suicide on a flight of stairs, it’s, at best, absurdist nonsense and marketing and, at worst, potentially dangerous for anyone who’d actually rely on it for accessibility purposes,” the source said.

Following Vice‘s report on Astro’s alleged suicidal tendencies, Amazon released a statement to The Verge disputing the claims and asserting that the robot is a good, solid boy who doesn’t fall down the stairs.

“These characterizations of Astro’s performance, mast, and safety systems are simply inaccurate,” Amazon said. “Astro went through rigorous testing on both quality and safety, including tens of thousands of hours of testing with beta participants. This includes comprehensive testing on Astro’s advanced safety system, which is designed to avoid objects, detect stairs, and stop the device where and when necessary.”

However, as The Verge notes, the leaked documents “recontextualizes” the invite-only process that will allow users to get their hands on Astro. The process reportedly includes a survey, and one of the questions asks what type of stairs do you have in your house. We’re guessing the correct answer is “none.”

(Via Vice, The Verge)

How race and racism are handled in schools has been an issue for decades, but the debate has been pushed into the spotlight in the past couple of years as the Black Lives Matter movement has gained momentum. Hysteria over critical race theory (or what people think critical race theory is) has overtaken school board meetings and resulted in legislation governing what can and can’t be talked about in the classroom when it comes to race and racism.

A viral photo of a class presentation listing the pros and cons of slavery illustrates how vital it is to incorporate racism education in schools. The watering down of American slavery has gone on for far too long, and no matter what the assignment was here, this kind of slide has no place in a classroom.

I would walk out of class. https://t.co/IXcjEAnBOA

— Sir James The Second🏳️‍🌈 (@YesSirJames)
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The image, which seems to have first been shared in 2016, shows what appears to be a student presenting a slide with the title, “IS SLAVERY ALWAYS BAD?” followed by a list of “pros” and “cons” of enslaving people.

According to the presentation, the pros of slavery include:

– Slaves would be beneficial for some companies due to faster work performance

– Not all slaves are treated with neglect

– Most slaves have food, shelter, and clothing

– Slavery can be viewed as an opportunity to pay off debt.

And the cons listed were:

– Slaves were sometimes harshly beaten

– Slaves have little to no freedom

– Families may be separated

– Slavery goes against human rights.

Hoo boy. Lots to unpack here.

We don’t know what class this photo came from—maybe history, maybe a debate class—but it doesn’t matter. There is one, and only one, correct answer to the question the slide poses. YES, slavery is always bad. End of discussion. There are things that are simply not debatable, and slavery is one of them.

But unfortunately, it’s far too common for Americans to engage in these kinds of “let’s weigh the pros and cons before determining if making Black people work for free, using violence and family trauma to keep them enslaved for centuries, was really as evil as it sounds” arguments. It’s been happening in textbooks and classrooms throughout our history. It’s wrong. It has always been wrong.

@arthur_affect The other issue with pro/con “analysis” is that it doesn’t adjust the weight of any factors.

The ch… https://t.co/Z1kHAN5v7l

— Leonard C Suskin (@Czhorat)
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We don’t even have to stretch our imaginations very far to understand why it’s wrong.

Imagine a slide asking, “IS GENOCIDE ALWAYS WRONG?” with a list of pros that include “A smaller population would be beneficial for some due to fewer mouths to feed” and “Many people killed in a genocide aren’t tortured before they die.” No. We don’t do that. Never ever.

Imagine a pros and cons list like this for domestic violence. Pro: Abusers get what they want. Con: Sometimes the abused get physically injured. Ridiculous, right?

Imagine asking high schoolers to make a pros and cons list for drunk driving. No. That would be asinine.

@dril And it saves money on cabs.

— Pet Food Taster (@jedgarnaut)
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But some people treat slavery as if it’s debatable how bad it was. I once had someone try to convince me that slavery wasn’t all that bad because “many slaves were considered members of their owner’s family and weren’t mistreated.” As if being enslaved was not mistreatment in and of itself. The mental gymnastics some Americans will do to make slavery sound better than it was is astounding.

@FreiheitKrieger @YesSirJames @BlackKnight10k My wife grew up in Alabama and their text books said slaves enjoyed b… https://t.co/ZyYgU3UynU

— My dog thinks I’m cool. (@timbell72)
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The fact that this slide was made and presented to a classroom in the 21st century is an indication that education about racism in schools is necessary. This slide is racism, and the fact that that’s not obvious to everyone is exactly the problem.

@ResistanceRages @YesSirJames Pros: Employers save money
Cons: Literally a human rights violation

Lecturer: IDK t… https://t.co/ZLmvUJ0UI1

— Ross Thompson (@Octalthorpe)
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This kind of presentation is what happens when you teach slavery as if it were just another policy decision and not the racist, dehumanizing evil driven by white supremacy and greed that it was. We need to teach history honestly and thoroughly, explaining the racist ideology that led to racist chattel slavery in the United States and the racist oppression that followed emancipation. Otherwise, we end up with this kind of whitewashed, false-equivalency pros and cons list that has no place in a civilized society.

Why on earth must the Sixers always be so weird? For whatever reason, few (if any) teams provide the constant drama that come from the fellas in Philadelphia, and this year, things are going to a new level due to Ben Simmons’ insistence that his basketball career continues elsewhere. As such, Philly is stuck in a pretty unforeseen holding pattern, as a 25-year-old All-Star who is under contract for another four years is just not going to play until he’s given the trade he wants. For a team with aspirations of winning a championship behind an MVP candidate in Joel Embiid, all the eyes are on this, and in classic Sixers fashion, things are going to be awfully weird until the situation resolves itself and it can figure out what it is — and, for that matter, will be — with Simmons gone and some collection of players and picks in.

Roster:

Seth Curry
Andre Drummond
Joel Embiid
Danny Green
Tobias Harris
Aaron Henry (two-way)
Isaiah Joe
Furkan Korkmaz
Tyrese Maxey
Shake Milton
Georges Niang
Paul Reed
Grant Riller (two-way)
Ben Simmons
Jaden Springer
Matisse Thybulle

Projected Vegas Win Total: 51.5

Biggest Addition: Andre Drummond

Philly didn’t exactly go out and reshape its roster during the offseason, and it must be said that the team’s biggest addition is not on the roster yet, because it is “the best player they get back in a Ben Simmons trade.” But among the players they brought in, Drummond is probably going to be asked to answer a very important question, one that the Sixers have struggled with for years: How can they remain a good basketball team while Joel Embiid sits? Maybe he can’t get the job done, at which case Paul Reed might get some run, but Drummond will assuredly get some opportunities.

Biggest Loss: Ben Simmons

Who knows, maybe we’re here in a month and Simmons decides he wants to return to the team. But while he is on the roster, the assumption is that Simmons will never play for the Philadelphia 76ers again, in large part because, well, he doesn’t seem like he wants to. This leads to…

Biggest Question: What do they get back for Ben Simmons?

There is no more interesting question in the NBA right now than what Philly gets back for Simmons. The team obviously has the bar set exceedingly high, to the point that no team can really justify clearing it right now. At the same time, the Sixers do not seem in any rush to lower that bar, meaning it looks like we’re barreling towards a situation where Simmons just does not play basketball for a while as the season begins, drags on, and heads towards the trade deadline.

All of these questions, of course, will continue to exist. Will the Sixers be able to get a team, desperate to compete for something, to decide to part way with a huge package of players and picks? Will Philly ultimately decide the best thing is to just cut bait altogether? Will they get lucky and see another All-Star request a trade, so that they can offer up Simmons and, in all likelihood, cut to the front of the line by being able to offer Simmons? Who knows! It’s a legitimately fascinating situation, one that is going to hang over the team until Simmons is sent somewhere … or, you know, if he has a change of heart and plays for the team. But probably not. But maybe!

What Makes This Season A Success: They look like a team that can win a championship in the next few years. Having Joel Embiid means Philly is always going to be good (if he remains healthy, of course). Getting rid of Simmons means the team is officially building entirely around him, and it is pretty exciting to think about what that could look like. But it also has to be something that can make sure they win. Brooklyn and Milwaukee are both probably better right now, can Philly position themselves, through the Simmons trade and growth from some of their young guys, to pounce if either falter?

What Makes This Season A Failure: Everything stalls out. The Sixers have had a defined ceiling of “the conference semis” each of the last few years because that just keeps turning into the hurdle they can’t clear, for one reason or another. They cannot, with how much talent exists in the East, afford to continue to be stuck there. Of course, everything comes back to the Simmons trade, but even then, a falling off in form from Embiid, or Tobias Harris not rising to the occasion, or their young dudes not getting better would be a tough pill to swallow.

Donald Trump and the music industry have a fairly toxic relationship. In addition to a number of top-tier musicians, including Garth Brooks and Elton John, declining to perform at his 2016 inauguration, the 45th president couldn’t even get a Bruce Springsteen cover band to commit to playing. He’s further drawn the ire of the music industry by regularly using the music of dozens of well-known musicians at his rallies without their permission, and promptly receiving cease and desist letters. (There’s literally an entire Wikipedia page about it.) Among those musicians is Eddy Grant, who wrote, produced, and recorded the 1983 hit “Electric Avenue,” which Trump attached to an animated video and tweeted. But Grant wasn’t having it—and the courts are siding with the British musician.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Trump responded to Grant’s cease and desist with some sort of bullsh*t about how “the purpose” of his stupid animation (which he quickly removed… back when any social media network would let him use it as a platform) “is not to disseminate the Song or to supplant sales of the original Song. Here, a reasonable observer would perceive that the Animation uses the Song for a comedic, political purpose—a different and transformed purpose from that of the original Song.” But U.S. District Court Judge John Koeltl wasn’t buying it.

In his ruling, Koeltl described Trump’s use of the song as “wholesale copying of music to accompany a political campaign ad” and specifically noted that the Trump team’s reasonings for why the suit should be dismissed “misapprehends the focus of the transformative use inquiry.” Further, the judge notes: “While it is true that the animation is partisan political commentary and the song apparently is not, the inquiry does not focus exclusively on the character of the animation; rather, it focuses on the character of the animation’s use of Grant’s song.”

In other words: Trump’s attempt to stop the suit dead in its tracks failed, and Grant’s legal team is free to continue on with the appropriate legal process and, as the long says, “And then we’ll take it higher.” You can read the full ruling here.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

The late night talk show world is back in the age of President Trump, as a titillating new book by former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, a.k.a. the White House press secretary who never held a single press conference, is dishing some hilarious details on what really went down when Trump was in charge. While much is being made of the bombshell that Trump underwent a secret colonoscopy—without anesthesia!!—as he didn’t want to be the “butt” of every late night talk show’s jokes (you can hear what Jimmy Kimmel had to say about that here), Stephen Colbert wanted to “travel a few inches down the old taint highway to the president’s junk.”

Pulling another gem from Grisham’s book, The Late Show host shared the president’s bizarre—and terrifying—reaction to Stormy Daniels’ declaration that Trump’s penis had an “unusual” shape with “a huge mushroom head.”

“After Stormy Daniels spilled the beans on his frank, the president called Grisham ‘from Air Force One to assure her that his penis was not small or toadstool-shaped,’” Colbert explained, adding that, “It’s all going to be in next season’s American Crime Story: Mushroom Dong.” In Colbert’s mind, “Sarah Paulson plays the mushroom dong and she just transforms. Unbelievable! Every day, seven hours in the chair for makeup.”

You can watch the full clip above, beginning around the 6:50 mark.

Kali Uchis may have released her album Sin Miedo (Del Amor Y Otros Demonios) in 2020, but it’s gotten a lot of recent attention thanks to TikTok. The album’s tracks “Fue Mejor” and “Telepatía” went viral on the platform, the latter of which has been used in over 1.7 million videos. Capitalizing on the album’s newfound attention, Uchis prepped a remixed version of the LP which includes a song with SZA.

After previously teasing a snippet of their collaboration, Uchis and SZA officially dropped a remix to “Fue Mejor” on Wednesday. The instrumentals stay the same on the new version of the song, but PartyNextDoor’s verse is swapped out for SZA’s smooth addition. The singer delivers the majority of her lyrics in Spanish, a first for the TDE singer.

Along with releasing the official collaboration as a single, the duo shared a sultry single to celebrate the new track. The visual opens with Uchis strutting her stuff in a parking garage and sees both singers showing off their best dance moves atop moving cars, delivering sweltering choreography while speeding down the highway.

Watch Uchis and SZA’s “Fue Mejor” video above.

Sin Miedo (Del Amor Y Otros Demonios) Deluxe is out 9/29 via EMI/Interscope. Pre-order it here.

After the very ugly and public divorce between The Bachelor franchise and longtime host Chris Harrison, who not-so-judiciously decided to defend a contestant’s very racist past, the still unbelievably popular reality series has found its new host by digging into its pile of Bachelors past. As The Wrap reports, ABC has tapped Jesse Palmer, a former NFL player who logged a few years with the New York Giants and now spends time analyzing college football for ESPN and other sports outlets, to host the show’s upcoming 26th season.

Palmer also just so happens to have a bit of history with final roses, hometown dates, and fantasy suites, having served as The Bachelor way back in 2004, during the show’s fifth season.

ABC announced the news on Tuesday, but Bachelor Nation’s response to the news seemed mixed:

Palmer—who famously called the wrong woman’s name during his first rose ceremony as The Bachelor—didn’t find love on television, but he’s looking forward to being part of someone else’s love story. “For more than 20 years, The Bachelor has brought the world dozens of unforgettable love stories, including at one time, my own,” Palmer said in a statement. “Falling in love is one of life’s greatest gifts, and I am humbled by the opportunity to return to the show as host this season to offer the newest Bachelor advice gained from firsthand experience and I am grateful to play a small part in his journey.”

(Via The Wrap)

For some reason, TMZ thought it’d be a grand idea to find out what Bill Cosby thought of the recently concluded R. Kelly trial. The disgraced R&B singer was found guilty this week of an extensive list of crimes including racketeering and sex trafficking. The equally disgraced comedian, whose own 2019 conviction for sexual assault was recently overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on a technicality, gave a comment through his spokesperson Andrew Wyatt.

Asked by one of TMZ’s seemingly omnipresent flock of cameramen what Cosby thought of the result of Kelly’s trial, Wyatt said, “We talked about it today and the first thing he said, he was like, ‘Look, the guy was railroaded.’”

Of course, in both cases, massive amounts of evidence were given of the two stars’ deeds. In Cosby’s case, dozens of women came forward to give testimony that he had a pattern of drugging women to have sex with them — something Cosby himself admitted to doing in 2005. Cosby’s recent conviction was overturned thanks to a “non-prosecution agreement” made by prosecutor Bruce Castor. When new witnesses came forward, another prosecutor pushed for a second trial before the statute of limitations on the crimes expired.

Likewise, Kelly previously dodged justice when the defendant in his 2008 rape case refused to testify — but that opened the door for the new case, in which Kelly was accused of running a criminal empire that allegedly intimidated and bribed witnesses, paid to have documents faked so he could illegally marry a teenaged Aaliyah, and coerced a number of girls and women into having sex with Kelly and members of his entourage.

Naturally, plenty of observers on Twitter are only too aware of the details of both cases and had plenty to say about it. See responses to Cosby’s thoughts below.

Former Blossom and Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik has made it clear that she’s gunning for the Jeopardy! hosting gig, permanently, while she shares hosting duties with Ken Jennings following Mike Richards’ short-lived hosting debacle. She even recently told Glamour, “There’s no other job I would rather have… I absolutely have never had a better job.” So, she’s definitely all-up in this Jeopardy! business after initially accepting an offer to host primetime events for the franchise.

When Mayim appeared on The Late Late Show With James Corden, the host congratulated her on the new job around the 6:00 minute mark above. And when Corden broached the subject of how much attention the ongoing hosting ordeal has received, Mayim seemed surprised. “I was the headline on CNN three days in a row. Who knew people were so passionate about who hosts Jeopardy?” Well, every Alex Trebek fan could have seen the level of interest coming, but as far as Mayim feels about the hosting controversy, she feels like the host shouldn’t attract too much attention to themselves. Here’s what she offered:

“I mean, I’m just trying to read the clues. You know, just let me read the clues. The thing about Jeopardy!… we spend our whole lives wanting to be seen, you know, and this job is like, people should think the least about me as possible. Meaning, it’s my job to be the host, just like read the clues.”

That could be read as very subtle commentary (and I’m totally reading into this) as hoping that the show will soon no longer be overshadowed by the Richards fallout. Whatever the case, Mayim handled the subject diplomatically, unlike how she (earlier in the segment) discussed how she upset Neil Patrick Harris as a teenager, which led to them not speaking for a number of years.

The former friends (which have since made up) had a falling out when Bialik attended Rent and declined to participate in the standing ovation. She told her boyfriend, “I don’t want to stand for this,” and when she looked up, Neil was staring at her. Backstage, he confronted her after reading her lips: “Why did you say you weren’t going to stand up?” That’s awkward, but not nearly as awkward as the Mike Richards hosting debacle.

It’s been a busy year for Michelle Zauner, as she’s dropped two Japanese Breakfast album: Jubilee and her soundtrack for the video game Sable, the latter of which just came out a few days ago. Now she’s offered a different spin on Sable highlight “Better The Mask” by sharing an in-studio performance video of it, featuring her on piano accompanied by some strings.

Zauner says of the track, “I wrote ‘Better the Mask’ during lockdown. To pass the time, I found myself turning to the piano, practicing intently for the first time in years, and putting together what would become my favorite song I’ve ever written. ‘Better The Mask’ also features the first string arrangement I devised solely on my own.”

She previously told Uproxx about how she approached the soundtrack, saying, “It’s a coming-of-age story, so my influences were super different for it. I was thinking a lot about Alan Menken and how he crafts this universal feeling and a song that everyone can relate to. That was actually a really lovely experience for me and took me to a very different place in my songwriting, because I feel like so much of what I do for Japanese Breakfast is rooted in specific detail. I was doing these broad strokes of human feeling, like, what’s it like to feel uncertain about the future? Or coming of age, or discovering what path do you want to pursue? Instead of filling it with all these kind of little details, you have to sort of do these broad strokes but also make it compelling. So that was really fun for me.”

Watch Zauner perform “Better The Mask” above.

Sable is out now via Sony Music Masterworks. Get it here.