Category: News

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is famously level-headed, and not just compared to her predecessors in the Trump administration. Even she’s shutting down someone like Fox News’ Peter Doocy, she does so without resorting to the snide snootery of a Kayleigh McEnany. But she does push back when she feels she has to, and on Monday she decided that she wasn’t going to let one of congressman Jim Jordan’s attempted gotcha tweets slide.

Jordan — one of the more vocal Trumpists in Congress and best known as the bosom buddy of Matt Gaetz, who’s under federal investigation for potential ties to a sex trafficking ring — has a habit of going on Twitter and throwing red meat to people who don’t know better. His latest attempted attack compared average gas prices last year to now. Back then, they were $2.21. Now they’re $3.07. Under these stats, Jordan simply wrote “President Biden’s economy!”

Give him this: At least he’s actually acknowledging Biden is president. But there’s a lot of context missing, such as: Maybe there were a couple very different things happening this time last year? Or maybe listing what gas prices were like before.

Well, Psaki was happy to help him out. “You forgot to mention that gas prices are the same now as they were in June 2018. Or that this time last year unemployment was 11.1% — today it’s 5.8%,” Psaki wrote. “@POTUS agrees families shouldn’t pay more at the pump – that’s why he’s opposed to GOP proposals to raise the gas tax.”

She also got some help from White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain. “Gas was cheaper in 2020 because the pandemic limited travel — and the unemployment rate was over 13%,” he informed Jordan. “Today: gas prices are where they were in 2018, unemployment is below 6%, and growth is the highest in 40 years. June 2020 v. June 2021? Happy to have that debate!”

People were quick to cheer Psaki on for not letting a Republican politician’s obfuscations slide.

Some were even worried about Jordan after.

As collaborations become more and more commonplace in mainstream music, it’s not surprising to see the trend spread to indie music, too. Like Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen recently did, Alex Lahey and Gordi collaborated on a track called “Dino’s” earlier this year, and performed it on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert as part of the show’s #PlayAtHome series. The song comes after Lahey’s most recent album, The Best Of Luck Club from 2019, and Gordi’s Our Two Skins from 2018, which explored identity and isolation.

Their collaborative track is about something else entirely than the subject matter covered on their respective last projects. Like any and all residents of East Nashville with taste will be quick to realize, the song is a tribute to one of the best dive bars in the country. Dino’s is a local haunt for all kinds of Nashville crowds, and has apparently stolen the hearts of these two Australian musicians, too. Note the appearance of a Dolly Parton cutout, and fellow Australian musician Julia Jacklin in the clip as well. And if all this wasn’t delightful enough, Palehound has also released a remix off “Dino’s” — available here — and all of the proceeds from the song for the month of June will to Black Rainbow, a charity supporting indigenous people in Australia.

So check out the performance above, then head over to support a good cause and hear the remix.

Helado Negro has been extremely prolific over the last few years, and it looks like 2021 will be no different. Following up his critically-acclaimed 2019 release, This Is How You Smile, the artist born Roberto Carlos Lange is back with a new song cycle and an introductory single. “Gemini And Leo” seizes on current generation’s obsession with star signs and how they might influence relationships, and introduces Negro’s seventh full-length album, Far In, which will be released on 4AD this October. This Is How You Smile received honorable mention in the Uproxx Critic’s Poll in 2019, and was something of a breakout record for Negro, even though he was already a veteran at that time.

This new record includes a host of collaborators, like Jen Wasner of Flock of Dimes, Kacy Hill, Buscabulla and Benamin. Check out the full tracklist below and the wonderful animated music video above, directed by Jacob Escobedo.

Far In tracklist:

1. “Wake Up Tomorrow” (Feat. Kacy Hill)
2. “Gemini And Leo”
3. “Purple Tones”
4. “There Must Be A Song Like You”
5. “Aguas Frías”
6. “Aureole”
7. “Hometown Dream”
8. “Agosto” (Feat. Buscabulla)
9. “Outside The Outside”
10. “Brown Fluorescence”
11. “Wind Conversations”
12. “Thank You For Ever”
13. “La Naranja”
14. “Telescope” (Feat. Benamin)
15. “Mirror Talk”

Far In will be out 10/22 via 4AD Records. Pre-order it here.

The Democratic Party is in a rare position these days: It controls both the Senate and the House, to say nothing of the presidency. And yet they can’t get as much as they’d like, in part because Republicans keep shooting down debate thanks to an old tool: the filibuster. And they can’t get rid of that thanks primarily to two Democratic senators who oppose its elimination: Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. Many have pleaded with them to reconsider but so far to no avail. Now we know Sinema’s reasons why she’s staying resolute, but people aren’t buying it.

On Monday, The Washington Post published an editorial from the sometimes flamboyant congresswoman, where she got to offer her defense of an opinion some find offensive.

“The best way to achieve durable, lasting results? Bipartisan cooperation,” Sinema writes, referring to the current congressional gridlock, where Republican leaders are outspoken about not cooperating. Her argument? That if you destroy the filibuster now, the bills Democrats are finally able to pass may one day be undone when they cede power to the other side:

To those who want to eliminate the legislative filibuster to pass the For the People Act (voting-rights legislation I support and have co-sponsored), I would ask: Would it be good for our country if we did, only to see that legislation rescinded a few years from now and replaced by a nationwide voter-ID law or restrictions on voting by mail in federal elections, over the objections of the minority?

But many called her argument out, saying it effectively told Democrats to never do anything bold lest it be voted out later. (In related news, the Affordable Care Act — one of Obama’s major accomplishments — was recently upheld for the umpteenth time by a Republican-heavy Supreme Court.) In other words, the reviews were not kind:

Some pointed out that the backfire of which she speaks may come because of her.

Some accused Sinema of effectively siding with the minority party over the majority of voters.

Some pointed out that she doesn’t seem to get that the filibuster is preventing them from enacting helpful legislation.

Others reminded her that the restrictive voting laws currently being enacted all over the country by the GOP puts her own job at risk, too.

Some thought it was just dumb.

Even her friends didn’t like it.

While those who haven’t liked her didn’t exactly change her mind.

In her piece, Sinema brags about being an “independent,” but it’s becoming increasingly clear that she’s so independent that no one actually agrees with her. Except for that one guy.

SNL went out with a bang last season, bringing a fitting end to an abysmally stressful year. But it may — or may not! — be the end of something else: Pete Davidson, long one of the show’s most talked-about stars, has teased that he’s thinking of ending his tenure. In late May, the performer talked about not returning for an eighth season. And now, almost a month later, he’s still not sure if he’s coming (back) or going.

Davidson talked about his future with the show in a new interview with Gold Derby. “Speaking for myself, I don’t know what the plan is,” he said. “Everything is kind of up in the air right now just depending on scheduling. It is my seventh year, and that’s what the contract is usually for.”

While he sounded a little more sure back in May, now it really does sound like he’s sitting on a fence. “I gotta talk to Lorne [Michaels],” he said. “It’s a big cast; there’s a lot of new guys in there, and there’s a lot of great new talent that it’s their time to shine. I have no idea what’s going on right now.”

He did, however, have nothing but good things to say about the Season 46 finale. “It was really emotional. I’ve worked with these guys for a quarter of my life,” he said. “I started there with acne and left with tattoos. It was a very crazy, long period of time and I wasn’t ready for the season to end yet because I was really having so much fun…The last show was a full audience for the first time and just hearing that full laugh was so emotional. It made me very emotional to be able to perform in front of a full crowd again.”

In fact, the whole season was a keeper. “This was my favorite season so far,” Davidson said. “The most where everybody was just like let’s put on a show and have fun and write some weird, silly s— because everybody’s so stressed out. It was definitely the weirdest batch of sketches I’ve ever seen. And the weirdest circumstances. But I think the most memorable season I’ve had there.”

So stay tuned for more. In the meantime, you can watch his whole interview here.

(Via EW)

There’s a little old saying that goes something like this: just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. It’s an adage uttered with more and more frequency in the current entertainment landscape, and one a whole lot of folks were thinking back when Hasbro announced they were partnering up with Paramount and an impressive team of writers to create the “Hasbro Cinematic Universe” back in 2015.

While the details were a bit fuzzy then — and are honestly no clearer now — according to The Hollywood Reporter, the partnership was meant to create “an interconnected onscreen universe featuring Hasbro’s G.I. Joe, Micronauts, Visionaries, M.A.S.K. (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand) and ROM brands,” with Transformers role in all of this undefined. It’s now been nearly six years since this announcement was made, and it’s still up for debate whether or not the whole cinematic universe plan is going to work out for them because, well, not a whole lot has actually happened within that established universe, despite Hasbro and Paramount putting out two Transformers films since then. However, it looks like things are about to change. Maybe.

On July 23, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins is hitting theaters, and marks the official reboot of the G.I. Joe series or — at the very least — a spin-off that could very well turn into a reboot. You see, in Snake Eyes, several characters already in the two previous G.I. Joe films have been recast, including Snake Eyes himself. While it’s true Paramount and Hasbro could write the film off as an alternate universe if it performs poorly, its success could be a jumping-off point for a new G.I. Joe saga and that anticipated connected universe — which seems perhaps optimistically anticipated by the studio considering a sequel is already in development. However, Snake Eyes isn’t the only feature in the works, nor the only one with a whole lot of vagueness surrounding its continuity.

Two Transformers movies, a new G.I. Joe film, and movies based off Rom the Space Knight and M.A.S.K. are still in the works over at Paramount, even if that aforementioned writing team that was intended to work on them has reportedly disbanded and, according to Transformers and G.I. Joe producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, “never really worked very well, unfortunately.” It would appear a lot of work is going on but isn’t being talked about, which could indicate either big plans, big hesitations, or, more likely than not, both.

While plans for other Hasbro properties feel a lot more open and are moving forward fairly smoothly (hell, see John Frances Daly’s Dungeons and Dragons movie) the ones attached to the HCU seem half-hearted and ambiguous. While combining a studio’s franchises into a singular universe has obviously worked quite well for both the MCU and to a slightly less extent the DCU, the undertaking is massive and certainly doesn’t work out for everyone. Right now, it feels as if Hasbro might be finding the whole thing a bit overwhelming and is unsure of when to fully commit to the idea, and is therefore repeatedly testing the waters and looking for feedback rather than diving right in. Just like the HCU at large, only time will tell how this all works out for them.

Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Suns and Clippers in Phoenix was a lot of fun to watch despite each team being without two of their top stars. Chris Paul and Kawhi Leonard were both not in the lineup for Game 1, with the Clippers forward dealing with a sprained knee while the Suns guard is in COVID-19 protocols after a positive test on June 16.

With Game 2 coming on Tuesday, there weren’t many expecting much to change on the Leonard or Paul fronts, and we got confirmation of that on Monday when both teams listed the two superstars as officially out. Leonard’s injury is a bit of a mystery in terms of a timeline, but typically sprained knees mean weeks, plural, missed and he has been out for less than one at this point. Paul, meanwhile, has to clear the league’s protocols with negative tests and then go through the necessary health and conditioning checks to get back on the court, and it remains to be seen if that could happen by Game 3 — Paul was reportedly vaccinated in February and the league tweaked its protocols to allow for a shorter quarantine for vaccinated players who test positive depending on their medical circumstances.

We’ll have to wait and see if he can be cleared by Thursday, but Game 2 figures to be a similar matchup to what we saw on Sunday. The Suns were able to come out on top in that one, thanks in large part to the efforts of Devin Booker with a 40-point triple-double (the first of his career). Paul George was terrific in the absence of Leonard and will need to be again on Tuesday, with someone other than he and Reggie Jackson picking their level of play up to try and even the series before they head to Los Angeles.

Conservative comedy has always had a problem with one major thing: being funny. Fox News’ attempts to create their own The Daily Show have been quickly cancelled disasters, and though the newish Gutfeld! — giving a platform to host Greg Gutfeld, who has usually either been one of the ensemble on The Five or consigned to the middle of the night with Red Eye — hasn’t been cancelled yet, the reviews ain’t good. But on Friday night’s show, a miracle happened: Something kind of funny happened.

One of Gutfeld’s guests that night was Michael Bishop, best known under his alter ego, Blothar the Beserker. Blothar is one of the current lineup in GWAR, the longtime metal band best known for their cool name as well as dressing up in ridiculous alien costumes and forging a bizarre backstory.

Gutfeld’s a big GWAR fan. He used to have Dave Brockie, aka Oderus Urungus, who died in 2014, come on Red Eye with some regularity. When introducing Blothar, who appeared in costume, with huge horns, the host referred to the group as “the greatest heavy metal band of all time,” claiming they make “The Beatles look like four hacks with bad haircuts.” (Okay, though apart from arguably “Helter Skelter,” the Fab Four weren’t metal.)

This was Blothar’s Fox News debut, and his job was basically making Gutfeld and off-screen staffers laugh. He told his host that Oderus “spoke very highly of you, which wasn’t hard because he was always high.” He talked about how the band dealt with the pandemic, saying, “We were glad for the break so we didn’t have to be around each other. I don’t have to tell you about the smell of GWAR.”

Blothar also discussed their new tour, managing to sneak the words Napalm Death and Eyehategod onto Fox News.

Was this the most intentionally funny thing to ever appear on Fox News? Possibly not. After all, there are all those times Oderus appeared on Gutfeld’s other show, which aired while most of the country was sleeping. But it was a rare chance for the network to air something silly as opposed to emphatically spun nonsense intended to keep their older viewers in a constant state of paranoid agitation.

You can watch Blothar’s maiden Fox News voyage in the video above.

(Via Metal Injection)

She was the first African-American bachelorette in the Bachelor franchise. She did so well that she was asked back as the lead for a season of The Bachelorette, and has continued to be involved with the franchise with the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast. But earlier this year, Rachel Lindsay stepped away from the franchise entirely, and not only because of the infamous interview, which she conducted, with now-former host Chris Harrison, in which he defended a contestant accused of racism. No, the problems run much deeper than that.

In a blistering new essay for Vulture, Lindsay lays out a work environment that, she says, treated her like a “token.” She had wanted to help diversify a show profoundly lacking in color. Instead she attracted the ire of what she called “The Bachelor Klan” — toxic fans who made her life hell. (On Harrison’s eight-figure settlement after leaving the show, she quips, “And if he spends all of that, I’m sure the fans will somehow blame me, too.”)

But there were also issues with those in charge. In her season of The Bachelor, the 21st, she eventually found herself the last remaining Black contestant. She found the producers orchestrating a confrontation between her and eventual winner Vanessa Grimaldi, who accused her of bullying.

“Immediately, I felt my Blackness was on display,” Lindsay wrote. “I knew the audience was going to look at me as an angry Black female.” During filming of the scene, she consciously tried to maintain her composure. But afterwards she confronted the production team, telling them, “You do not understand what it is to be a Black woman in this house full of white folks and for a white woman to cry in your face and call you a bully.”

Lindsay also accuses them of leaning on stereotypes and reaching for “low-hanging fruit,” like casting Lee Garrett, a contestant with a history of racist tweets that came to light only after the season started airing. She says at first she thought they didn’t know about these tweets, but eventually she had second thoughts:

“Let’s say the producers didn’t know about the tweets — you still brought on a guy who has no experience with Black people, who is from Mississippi. You brought him on knowing he was ignorant. You brought him on to see what could happen. You can play the ‘We didn’t know he was racist’ card, but there’s no way you didn’t know he would cause a problem in the house.”

Last summer, as Black Lives Matter protests popped up around the nation in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, she got a call from an executive producer of The Bachelor saying they were casting their first black lead. Initially she was skeptical, telling them that, “What you really need to do is apologize,” adding, “For 18 years, you’ve been part of the problem.” After they put out a statement pledging to do better, she thought change might be coming after all.

But it wasn’t:

Instead, the cycle repeated itself. Watching Matt’s season felt like reliving my own. The focus was on his white mother and his popular white friends in the franchise. This man runs a nonprofit. He’s close with his family. But they gave us his whiteness. The end of the season centered on the absentee-Black-father narrative, yet again playing into a stereotype.

Still, Lindsay reserves most of her ire for the large portion of their fanbase:

The franchise has spent 19 years cultivating a toxic audience. They have constantly given it a product it wants: a midwestern/southern white, blonde, light-eyed Christian. Not all viewers are like that. My Higher Learning co-host and I have divided it — there is a Bachelor Nation, and there is a Bachelor Klan. Bachelor Klan is hateful, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and homophobic. They are afraid of change. They are afraid to be uncomfortable. They are afraid when they get called out.

You can read the rest of Lindsay’s account at Vulture.

A year ago a woman in Pearland, Texas helped save her husband’s life because of her quick thinking and the sweet, four-on-the-floor disco beat of the Bee Gees.

After finishing a two-mile run with her husband Quan, Ganesa Collins watched him fall to the ground. “We sat on the bench, and he was in front of me,” Collins told ABC. “I was standing behind and stretching, and he just went face forward. His head hit the dirt.”

She quickly called 911 and the operator said he was having a heart attack.

“My husband had some issues with heart disease about five years ago, and he had a stent put in. A pretty minor procedure,” Ganesa said.

Ganesa started giving her husband chest compressions with the 911 operator helping her count on the other end of the line. Suddenly, her American Heart Association training kicked in and she began administering compressions while singing the Bee Gees 1977 disco megahit “Stayin’ Alive.”

We’re not sure whether she sang the song in the beautiful soaring falsetto of Barry Gibb, but that would have made the scene even more impressive.

A study by the University of Illinois College of Medicine found that the song has the perfect beat for performing CPR. It contains 103 beats per minute, which’s close to the recommended chest compression rate of 100 every 60 seconds.

“I sung over her and sung out loud while I was performing CPR,” she said.

A police officer arrived on the scene and began administering compressions. Quan was rushed to a local hospital where he was in a coma until it was discovered that he had a blood clot in his stint that caused the heart attack.

Doctors performed double bypass surgery on Quan and now he’s now doing much better. Ganesa wanted to share her story to remind people to get CPR training. “My husband is able to live another day,” Ganesa said. “We just have so much perspective.”

A recent study found that training people to give chest compressions to the rhythm of “Stayin’ Alive” helped them to remember the correct rhythm five months later.

“Properly performed CPR can triple survival rates for cardiac arrest, but many people hesitate to jump in because they don’t feel confident about maintaining the proper rhythm,” said researcher Dr. David Matlock of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria.

Those who are familiar with the hit from “Saturday Night Fever” are more likely to jump in and help due to their musical training.

Plus, who doesn’t feel confident when they first start thinking of the slinky main guitar riff and John Travolta walking down the street in Brooklyn eating a folded slice of pizza?

“This was a small study, but the results are encouraging enough that a further study, using a larger and more diverse population, is warranted,” said Dr. Matlock. “A number of pop songs have the right rhythm for CPR, but of course the meaning of ‘Stayin’ Alive’ is pretty powerful when you are trying to save someone’s life.”

The American Heart Association produced a video starring former physician turned comedian Ken Jeong to share the life-saving power of disco.

Ken Jeong – Leslie Chow American Heart Association Hands-Only CPR Video

www.youtube.com

There is something beautifully propulsive about the beat to “Stayin’ Alive” that seems to echo the basic rhythms of the human body. Combined with lyrics about perseverance it feels like the perfect metaphor for the human condition.

Next time you hear someone utter the blasphemous ’70s catchphrase “Disco sucks,” kindly remind them that, “No, disco saves lives.”

Bee Gees – Stayin’ Alive (Official Music Video)

www.youtube.com