Category: News

It’s been 20 years since the 9/11 attacks, and an anniversary memorial ceremony was held in New York City to honor the lives lost. During the event, Bruce Springsteen arrived to deliver an impromptu performance, singing “I’ll See You In My Dreams” off his 2020 album Letter To You. Before he performed, Springsteen delivered touching words to the crowd. “May God bless our fallen brothers and sisters, their families, their friends and their loved ones,” he said.

His brief set came after a moment of silence was held to honor those who died during the attack two decades ago. Springsteen himself was also impacted by the 2001 tragedy. After 9/11, the singer returned to the studio to record his first album with his E Street Band in nearly two decades. The result was 2002’s The Rising, which was inspired by tragic events. The album also went on to win a Grammy for Best Rock Album.

Springsteen’s performance came after Springsteen and Barack Obama announced that they will publish a book based on their popular Spotify podcast Renegades. It will arrive on October 26 through Penguin Random House and Higher Ground and it’s available for pre-order here.

You can watch Bruce Springsteen’s performance in the video above.

Tom Cruise is no stranger to long film shoots. Principal photography on Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick’s swan song, lasted over a year-and-a-half. Runner-up appears to be on the already delayed Mission: Impossible 7. Filming began on September 6, 2020. Now, just a hair over a year later, it’s a wrap on one of the longest and most tumultuous film shoots in Hollywood history.

Director Christopher McQuarrie broke the news on Saturday, in a post that lavished praise upon the production’s “indomitable, unstoppable, unrelenting cast and crew.”

The seventh in the long-running series had quite a production. It wasn’t just the hair-raising, death-defying stunts that ate up all the time. They also had to do it in the midst of a once-in-a-century public health crisis, and partly before vaccines had been made. Production had to be shut down more than once after COVID outbreaks. There were at least two reports of Cruise berating crew members who weren’t following safety protocols.

“Even under the best of circumstances, it should have been impossible,” McQuarrie wrote. “Even having seen it, we can’t believe what you’ve achieved.” He concluded that the cast and crew were “the best in the world.”

So kudos to the ever-patient people who helped make Mission: Impossible 7 a reality. You’ll get to see the fruits of their labors when the film hits theaters in on September 30, 2022 — just over two years after they shot their first shot.

(Via Deadline)

College GameDay decided to divert from its usual formula of “alum of the home team or a country singer” for its guest picker on Saturday. With ESPN’s long-running pregame show headed to Ames for the Cy-Hawk Trophy showdown between Iowa and Iowa State, GameDay actually tabbed a well-documented Hawkeye, Ashton Kutcher, to pick the games.

Kutcher unsurprisingly picked Iowa to win the game, but before he antagonized the Cyclone-centric crowd with a pick everyone saw coming, the Iowa State faithful decided to get a joke off at his expense. Earlier this year, Kutcher got caught up in the wave of celebrities who revealed that they’re not particularly big fans of bathing all that frequently, and as a result, the fine folks in Ames decided to shower the former That 70’s Show star with “take a shower” chants.

It’s unclear of Kutcher heard them or not, but this was a pretty good bit of banter by Iowa State fans. But of course, the game will be decided on the field, and in what might be an ominous bit of news for the home team, GameDay‘s Lee Corso decided to don the Hawkeyes headgear this week.

The matchup between the ninth-ranked Cyclones and the No. 10 Hawkeyes kicks off at 4:30 p.m. EST on ABC.

The 20th anniversary of September 11 saw former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama making public appearances, first at Shanksville, Pennsylvania — where Flight 93 crashed — and at Ground Zero in New York City. Meanwhile, Donald J. Trump and his son are going to a boxing match. The pair will be doing color commentary during the fight between Evander Holyfield and Vitor Belfort — a move that has drawn criticism considering what the day represents. And to make matters worse, Don Jr. went on Twitter to see if anyone on there had some good questions for his infamous pop.

“I’ll finally pushing him on the burning question,” Jr. wrote. There are plenty of burning questions one could ask a former world leader who created controversy pretty much every day of his term. But he went with some silly ones: “Are aliens real and what’s up with Area 51?” He then invited others to join in. “Shoot me some other questions here!”

Some people had some real questions.

Others wondered what their angle was.

Some hit Jr. with some real zingers.

To some, Donald and his namesake doing boxing commentary seemed like a forecast of their grim futures.

And some pointed out that the 20th anniversary of one of the nation’s worst tragedies was an odd one for a former president to yak over two guys fighting.

In any case, the two will spend the evening talking over a boxing match, and it’s a safe bet that at least one of them won’t be talking about boxing.

Blackpink broke multiple records with their sophomore album, which was simply called The Album. The full-length effort arrived last October, and since then, the group has continued to impressive performances and videos as well as individual releases from members like Rosé and Lisa. Now they’ve broken yet another record: They became the most subscribed artist on YouTube, surpassing Justin Bieber with a total of 65.2 million subscribers.

The South Korean group broke the record in rather quick fashion: It was only five years and three months ago that they launched their official YouTube channel. (Meanwhile, Bieber’s channel was launched 14 years and nine months ago.) The release of Lisa’s solo single, “Lalisa,” seemed to help propel the group towards the new record. The song was released alongside another track, “Money,” which gave fans a diverse taste of what she has to offer as a solo act.

Blackpink’s brand new record comes after they celebrated five years of being a group with the film BLACKPINK The Movie. They also teased a project entitled 4+1 to celebrate the big anniversary. As for the members’ solo work, Rosé continues to progress, having recently released covers of Paramore’s “The Only Exception” and Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You.”

Last week, a disturbing video went viral. It was from a school board meeting in Rutherford County, Tennessee, and it showed a young student being mocked and heckled by anti-mask adults for sharing a story about how his grandmother died of COVID. It was yet another dispiriting reminder of the uphill battle the nation faces to reach the other side of the pandemic. But at least this one has a happy ending: The mask mandate the student was advocating for got approved after all.

Last Tuesday, the student, Grady Knox, took the podium at a school board meeting that was filled with the kinds of anti-mask protesters that have been filling such gatherings nationwide. Undeterred, he spoke about the loss his family had faced because of people who hadn’t taken a once-in-a-century public health crisis seriously.

“This time last year, my grandmother, who was a former teacher at the Rutherford County school system died of Covid because someone wasn’t wearing a mask,” Knox said. As he spoke, adults began giving him a hard time.

“If they laugh at me about, like, a personal story about my grandmother, that’s just disrespectful,” Knox later told reporters. “I was like shaken a little bit.”

Board member Claire Maxwell later said she was “ashamed” at the antics of the anti-mask adults, including a woman seen in the video, holding a sign that reads “Let our kids smile,” who cracks a smile at Knox’s tragic story. But the joke was on them: According to WKRN out of Nashville, The mandate wound up passing after all. In other words, don’t give up the fight against those making the pandemic worse than it is already.

(Via The Daily Beast)

The early slate during the second week of the college football season includes a pair of high-profile games, both of which feature Big Ten teams. Ohio State is getting the Big Noon treatment from Fox, as the third-ranked Buckeyes are playing host to the 12th-ranked Oregon Ducks. Once that wraps up, the attention turns to ABC, as the 4:30 kick between Iowa and Iowa State adds a little more intrigue than usual — both are undefeated, with the 10th-ranked Hawkeyes traveling to Ames to take on the No. 9 Cyclones with the Cy-Hawk Trophy (and a whole heck of a lot of bragging rights) on the line.

Here’s your entire early slate on Saturday, all times are EST.

Illinois vs. Virginia, 11:00 AM, ACC Network

Western Kentucky vs. Army, 11:30 AM, CBS Sports Network

VMI vs. Kent State, 11:30 AM ESPN3

#12 Oregon vs. #3 Ohio State, 12:00 PM FOX

Alabama State vs. #25 Auburn, 12:00 PM, SEC Network

South Carolina vs. East Carolina, 12:00 PM ESPN2

Pittsburgh vs. Tennessee, 12:00 PM, ESPN

Kennesaw State vs. Georgia Tech, 12:00 PM, ESPN3

Norfolk State vs. Wake Forest, 12:00 PM, ACC Network/ESPN+

Youngstown State vs. Michigan State, 12:00 PM, Big Ten Network

Miami (OH) vs. Minnesota, 12:00 PM, ESPNU

Indiana State vs. Northwestern, 12:00 PM, Big Ten Network

Tulsa vs. Oklahoma State, 12:00 PM, FS1

#13 Florida vs. South Florida, 1:00 PM, ABC

Morgan State vs. Tulane, 1:00 PM, ESPN+

Wyoming vs. Northern Illinois, 1:30 PM, ESPN+

Middle Tennessee vs. #19 Virginia Tech, 2:00 PM, ACC Network/ESPN+

Rutgers vs. Syracuse, 2:00 PM, ACC Network

Duquesne vs. Ohio, 2:00 PM, ESPN3

Toledo vs. #8 Notre Dame, 2:30 PM, Peacock

Purdue vs. UConn, 3:00 PM, CBS Sports Network

Robert Morris vs. Central Michigan, 3:00 PM, ESPN3

UAB vs. #2 Georgia, 3:30 PM, ESPN2

#5 Texas A+M vs. Colorado, 3:30 PM, FOX

Murray State vs. #7 Cincinnati, 3:30 PM, ESPN+

Ball State vs. #11 Penn State, 3:30 PM, FS1

Georgia Southern vs. Florida Atlantic, 3:30 PM, Stadium

Boston College vs. UMass, 3:30 PM, NESN

Buffalo vs. Nebraska, 3:30 PM, Big Ten Network

California vs. TCU, 3:30 PM, ESPNU

Temple vs. Akron, 3:30 PM, ESPN+

Air Force vs. Navy, 3:30 PM, CBS

Mercer vs. #1 Alabama, 4:00 PM, SEC Network

South Alabama vs. Bowling Green, 4:00 PM, ESPN+

#10 Iowa vs. #9 Iowa State, 4:30 PM, ABC

South Carolina State vs. #6 Clemson, 5:00 PM, ACC Network

Long Island University vs. West Virginia, 5:00 PM, Big 12 Network/ESPN+

Illinois State vs. Western Michigan, 5:00 PM, ESPN3

It was just a little over a year ago that Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion released their chart-topping collaboration “WAP.” The track was received well by their fans, but it was also lightning bolt for criticism, from certain critics to Republicans. The track is another example of dominant women in music making men feel uncomfortable, something Megan Thee Stallion said she is absolutely fine doing.

“I’m starting to see how much more ignorant men are than I thought,” she said during an interview with Adenuga for The Evening Standard. “When you’re a woman who’s not a threat, men don’t really bother you,” she added. “And then as you grow into your own and as you become somebody who doesn’t need a man or somebody who is so independent… men like that damsel in distress type of role and that’s not me.”

Megan said that her choice to not play that role is “what kind of gets under a lot of men’s skin.” She notes that it makes “a lot of them uncomfortable and I feel like that’s my job.”

“I’m not a normal woman,” she pointed out during the conversation. “I’m not a normal person, and if my un-normalness offends you, well, I’m obviously doing something right and, baby, look the other way.”

You can read Megan’s full conversation on The Evening Standard here.

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

The first week of the college football season provided a friendly reminder of why I have my principles. Week 1 was good to me aside from taking favorites, something I rarely do, and watching the Illini lose, pitifully, on the field and San Diego State scuffle to a win but not a cover has scared me straight.

We’re getting back to our principles for five Week 2 plays, which includes the glory of a service academy under and a home underdog catching more than five touchdowns in a semi-rivalry game. Here’s how we did last week:

Last Week: 2-3
2021 Season: 2-3

It’s time to right the ship quickly and get back to winners.

UMass (+37) vs. Boston College (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET)

The Minutemen are horrific, but we cannot let Boston College be a 37-point road favorite. I don’t care that Pitt beat UMass by 44 in Week 1. I don’t care that the Minutemen plus the points are my own personal Lucy with the football. This is about refusing to believe Boston College can cover this number if UMass scores any points at all, and as such we are going down with the ship.

Air Force at Navy UNDER 40.5 (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET)

Service academy unders are really the only principle you need in life. Yeah the number is low but they come in under the total at something approaching an 80 percent clip, so just hold your nose and take it. Wind that clock, fellas.

Cal at TCU UNDER 47.5 (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET)

Two teams that play fundamentally sound defense and like to run the dang ball? Sounds like an under to me. Cal struggled to put up points against Nevada last week and while we can’t take a lot from TCU beating up on Duquesne, I’m going to make the relatively safe assumption they’re still a Gary Patterson team. This number feels three points high and we’ll hope we can slide in without too much of a sweat.

Iowa (+4) at Iowa State (Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET)

I’m not sure why this is above a field goal given that the Hawkeyes looked better last week than the Cyclones did, but I’m happy to take the candy. This rivalry game is almost always just a “take the underdog” game anyways, because it tends to come down to the last possession on either side.

Appalachian State (+8.5) at Miami (FL) (Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET)

Teams that play Alabama in Week 1 tend to not be right for a couple of weeks after getting physically (and emotionally) worn down by the Tide. This seems to be a popular bounceback pick given that the line keeps moving towards the Canes, but I’m going to work the other direction and take the Mountaineers who had a nice, breezy win over ECU in their opener and come in much fresher and happier. I wouldn’t be surprised if the ‘Eers have a late lead in this one, in fact.

More than fourteen years ago, Elvis Perkins made his official debut with Ash Wednesday. The 11-track effort took nearly a decade to create; the first half was written around 2000 and the second completed after the tragic death of his mother Berry Berenson Perkin,s who was killed on American Airlines Flight #11, which struck the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He honored both the 20th anniversary of the tragedy and his mother’s passing with a performance on CBS’s This Morning: Saturday.

Perkins performed three songs from Ash Wednesday: “While You Were Sleeping,” “Emile’s Vietnam in the Sky,” and the album’s closer “Good Friday.” He delivered the performance with his longtime band Dearland, which includes Berry Berenson Perkins’ godson Wyndham Garnett and Nick Kinsey, who was Wyndham’s elementary school friend and who knew and loved Elvis’ mother. The singer also sat for an interview, where he discussed the making of Ash Wednesday and the memories of his late mother.

The performance comes after Elvis released Creation Myths last fall. The album is comprised of nine songs with production from Sam Cohen, and it touches on Americana and folk sounds.

You can watch Elvis Perkins’ performances on CBS’s This Morning: Saturday in the videos above.