Category: News

As far as freshman congresspeople go, Madison Cawthorn hasn’t achieved the notoriety of a Marjorie Taylor Greene or a Lauren Boebert. Perhaps he’s not up for the job. He couldn’t even spread 2020 election lies without badly fumbling the job. The worst thing he’s done is inexplicably visit Hitler’s vacation home. But there’s one thing he’s better at that anyone else: He’s missed more votes than any new representative in Congress.

According to the data analysis firm Quorum, Cawthorn missed over a dozen congressional votes in April alone. Indeed, the five freshmen who’ve missed the most votes are all Republicans, who seem to spend most of their time harassing colleagues and getting kicked off of committees. Cawthorn was not ashamed at his poor record, though.

“To that, I really laugh,” he said on the conservative program Real America’s Voice News. “It shows how the Democrats feel about the nuclear family in America right now. I was doing the only thing that I find more important than my service in Congress, and that’s my service as a husband.”

He blamed Congress for letting “votes pile up” the week he was on his honeymoon with his wife, Cristina Bayardelle, who he married last year. Besides, they weren’t bills he thought were important anyway.

“Every single vote that came up was some Democrat garbage, so I was happy to be able to not actually have to vote on those,” Cawthorn said. “They’re eliminating our voices. They’re not allowing us to debate on the House floor. And, I’m telling you, if I had to choose between voting with Nancy Pelosi or spending time with my beautiful wife, I’ll choose Cristina every time.”

But people on social media were not buying his excuse.

Cawthorn isn’t the first Republican lawmaker to effectively blame his family for why he didn’t do his job. Ted Cruz infamously put the blame on his kids when he fled to Mexico for vacation while his state of Texas was experiencing a freak winter storm.

(Via Insider)

The Zack Snyder people badly want Warner Bros. to restore the Snyderverse (though Zack Snyder himself seems to be against it), but it looks like at least one of its major players is going to be a bit busy: As per Deadline, Henry Cavill is in talks to play another semi-immortal in the reboot of Highlander, helmed by John Wick co-director Chad Stahelski.

The Highlander series originated in 1986, with Frenchman Christopher Lambert as a Scottish warrior who discovers he’s part of a lineage of immortal asskickers. Mentored by a Spaniard played by actual Scotsman Sean Connery, our hero winds up battling a fellow unkillable sort (Clancy Brown) amidst songs by Queen. It was not a hit but its cult became so strong that a sequel emerged in 1991. That one proved a critical-derided bomb that nevertheless kept the franchise puttering over three more films, three TV shows, books, comics, etc., etc., etc.

Presumably this latest revival will amp up the fights, coming from a former stunt coordinator helmed all three John Wick movies. (His co-director on the first, David Leitch, went on to make Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Hobbs & Shaw, and the forthcoming Bullet Train.) But should the reboot prove successful, there probably won’t be only one.

(Via Deadline)

The nightcap of Saturday’s four-pack of first round playoff games will see two familiar foes meet, as the Nuggets welcome the Blazers to Ball Arena in Denver. These two faced off in a thrilling seven-game series back in 2019, which Portland emerged with a win, and despite being the 6-seed they enter this series as the slight favorites over Denver.

There are a few reasons for that, including the health of the two teams. Denver is down a significant chunk of their backcourt coming into the series, with Jamal Murray, Will Barton, and PJ Dozier all out for Game 1, with the possibility that Barton returns later in the series. Still, they have the presumptive MVP in Nikola Jokic and a legit lethal scorer in Michael Porter Jr. who figure to give Portland all they can handle on the offensive end. The Blazers have gotten healthy at the right time, most notably with Jusuf Nurkic returning to anchor an improving defense. Their newly formed backcourt trio of Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and the trade deadline acquisition Norman Powell has given opponents fits in the second half of the season and after rattling off a 10-2 closing stretch, the Blazers enter this postseason on quite the heater.

Game 1 TV Info

Tip Time: Saturday, May 22; 10:30 p.m. ET
TV Network: ESPN

Game 1 Betting Lines (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Series Prices: Blazers (-122), Nuggets (-103)
Spread: Nuggets -1 (-110), Blazers +1 (-110)
Total: Over 227.5 (-112), Under 227.5 (-109)
Money Line: Nuggets (-115), Blazers (-104)

Game 1 Player Scoring Props (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Norman Powell O/U 17.5 Points (Over -118/Under -108)
Jusuf Nurkic O/U 14.5 Points (-113/-113)
Michael Porter Jr. O/U 23.5 Points (-120/-107)
CJ McCollum O/U 22.5 Points (-120/-107)
Robert Covington O/U 7.5 Points (-115/-105)
Damian Lillard O/U 28.5 Points (-115/-105)
Nikola Jokic O/U 28.5 Points (-143/+112)

The favorites to win the Eastern Conference will get their postseason underway on Saturday night, as the Brooklyn Nets play host to their division rival in the Boston Celtics for Game 1 of their first round series.

For the Nets, it’s an opportunity to get their Big 3 all on the court together in a meaningful game, where every minute is a bit of added experience for a group that has barely logged more than 400 minutes together this season due to various injuries. Still, Brooklyn is an overwhelming favorite in the series and in Game 1, which isn’t a surprise for a team featuring Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving. On the other side, they’ll face a Boston team coming off of a win in their first play-in game over Washington, where Jayson Tatum had 50 points to carry his squad into the postseason. While he’s without his fellow wing star in Jaylen Brown, the Nets will have to be careful with Tatum who is more than capable of monster offensive outbursts. Boston is hoping he can have a few of those and Kemba Walker can carry a bigger load to make this a much more competitive series than the oddsmakers project it to be.

Game 1 TV Info

Tip Time: Saturday, May 22; 8:00 p.m. ET
TV Network: ABC

Game 1 Betting Lines (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Series Prices: Nets (-1430), Celtics (+700)
Spread: Nets -8 (-107), Celtics +8 (-114)
Total: Over 229 (-113), Under 229 (-108)
Money Line: Nets (-375), Celtics (+290)

Game 1 Player Scoring Props (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Blake Griffin O/U 10.5 Points (Over -103/Under -125)
Jayson Tatum O/U 30.5 Points (-108/-118)
Joe Harris O/U 11.5 Points (-106/-121)
Kevin Durant O/U 25.5 Points (-113/-113)
Kyrie Irving O/U 23.5 Points (-108/-118)
Jeff Green O/U 9.5 Points (-103/-125)
James Harden O/U 22.5 Points (-107/-120)
Marcus Smart O/U 13.5 Points (-103/-125)
Evan Fournier O/U 16.5 Points (-107/-120)
Kemba Walker O/U 24.5 Points (+107/-136)

The opening day of the 2021 NBA Playoffs will start with a pair of rematches from last year in the Bubble, as the Bucks will host the Heat in the early game, while the Clippers will welcome the Mavericks to L.A. in the second game of the day. In Orlando, the Clippers took down Dallas in six games, and the series odds point to a similar expectation this time around.

After working to dodge the 3-seed at the end of the regular season to stay away from the Lakers half of the bracket, the Clippers will need to shake off a bit of rust in Game 1 as their starters haven’t played meaningful basketball in well over a week. Paul George will get his first chance in Game 1 to start trying to rewrite his playoff narrative, one that mirrors the Clippers organization as a whole. On the other side, the Mavs will follow the lead of Luka Doncic and hope he can produce more heroics like in last year’s series and that this time around having Kristaps Porzingis on the floor for the entirety of the series can yield a different result.

Game 1 TV Info

Tip Time: Saturday, May 22; 4:30 p.m. ET
TV Network: ESPN

Game 1 Betting Lines (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Series Prices: Clippers (-300), Mavs (+400)
Spread: Clippers -5.5 (-114), Mavs +5.5 (-107)
Total: Over 229 (-113), Under 229 (-108)
Money Line: Clippers (-240), Mavs (+195)

Game 1 Player Scoring Props (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Dorian Finney-Smith O/U 9.5 Points (Over -106/Under -121)
Luka Doncic O/U 27.5 Points (-118/-108)
Marcus Morris O/U 13.5 Points (-115/-110)
Kristaps Porzingis O/U 21.5 Points (-118/-108)
Paul George O/U 25.5 Points (-113/-113)
Kawhi Leonard O/U 26.5 Points (-113/-113)
Ivica Zubac O/U 7.5 Points (-134/+105)

The Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat will meet for Game 1 of their first round series on Saturday afternoon at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, as the Bucks look to avenge last year’s five-game series loss to the Heat in the Orlando Bubble.

This year’s teams feature a number of familiar faces from last year’s series, with the Heat still being led by Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Goran Dragic, albeit with some new blood among their supporting cast. For Milwaukee, it’s still Giannis Antetokounmpo at the center of everything along with Khris Middleton, but with one major new addition in the form of Jrue Holiday.

Both teams will be looking to set the tone in Game 1, with Jimmy Butler claiming to be “stupidly locked in” heading into the series and Giannis trying to keep his team loose and level-headed this time around, noting in the Bubble he felt they got “too low” after losses.

Game 1 TV Info

Tip Time: Saturday, May 22; 2:00 p.m. ET
TV Network: ESPN

Game 1 Betting Lines (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Series Prices: Bucks (-305), Heat (+240)
Spread: Bucks -5 (-110), Heat +5 (-112)
Total: Over 227 (-113), Under 227 (-109)
Money Line: Bucks (-195), Heat (+160)

Game 1 Player Scoring Props (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Jrue Holiday O/U 18.5 points (Over -130/Under +105)
Bam Adebayo O/U 18.5 points (-113/-113)
Trevor Ariza O/U 10.5 points (-113/-113)
Giannis Antetokounmpo O/U 29.5 points (-113/-113)
Brook Lopez O/U 11.5 points (-113/-113)
Khris Middleton O/U 20.5 points (-125/-103)
Jimmy Butler O/U 24.5 points (-113/-113)
Duncan Robinson O/U 12.5 points (-125/-103)
Donte DiVincenzo O/U 10.5 points (-106/-121)

The Grizzlies hold the distinction of being in the NBA’s only two play-in tournaments, and after a narrow loss to Portland in the Bubble last season, Ja Morant and co. delivered big time in a do-or-die game against Golden State on Friday night, winning 117-112 in overtime.

On the road in San Francisco, Morant scored 35 points to go with six assists and four steals, as well as the Grizzlies’ last two buckets in the final minute of overtime to clinch the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and a meeting with the Utah Jazz in the first round.

The game was crazy from the jump, with Memphis storming out to an early lead before starting center Jonas Valanciunas — who was great in both rounds of the play-in — picked up his second foul and left the court. That gave the Warriors space for their own run and they finished the first period down just one.

Another key for Memphis was Dillon Brooks and the defense he was able to play against Stephen Curry. Despite not carrying the reputation of the Lakers’ perimeter defenders, Brooks made Curry work really hard off the ball, and without Andrew Wiggins or Juan Toscano-Anderson stepping up in quite the same way that they did against L.A., the Warriors didn’t quite have the juice.

A hot shooting night from Morant overall, a couple huge threes from Grayson Allen, and a great night from unsung rookie Xavier Tillman Sr. helped the Grizzlies put together an upset victory.

Still, the Warriors came back to force overtime despite 21 turnovers because Curry hit some circus shots late, while Jordan Poole got to the line on a three-point attempt then made a massive three, and then somehow found Wiggins on a lob to tie it at 111.

But once Memphis downsized and put Tillman and Allen in the game in overtime, Morant was able to go to work with a spaced floor and put in the two buckets that would clinch a huge win for the Grizzlies, sending the team to the postseason for the first time since the last Grit n’ Grind team made it back in 2017.

Animal abuse was the seedy underbelly not always the focus of the Netflix smash hit Tiger King, but according to reports the former animal preserve for the imprisoned Joe Exotic was raided by federal authorities.

Exotic, the star of Tiger King who is still in jail as a result of a murder-for-hire plot, is seeking a pardon for his crimes. But another person involved in the show, who took over after the zoo was closed, is in hot water for the condition of the animals at the Tiger King Park in Thackerville, Oklahoma.

According to NPR, Jeff and Lauren Lowe were running the ranch when 68 lions, tigers, lion-tiger hybrids and a jaguar were seized over a three-day period in May. The raid was part of an investigation into the wellness of the animals that stemmed from violations of animal welfare laws after operating the park without a license.

“The Lowes have consistently failed to provide their Big Cats with a diet containing the necessary nutrients to allow them to grow properly and thrive,” the affidavit says.

During a December 2020 visit to the park, inspectors found that boneless chicken was the only food available for the big cats, which doesn’t fulfill the animals’ nutritional needs. When asked for a list of supplements that the animals were receiving, the facility named a horse weight-gain supplement called Gleam & Gain, which does not provide the necessary diet for big cats, according to authorities.

The affidavit says the impact of the poor diet could be seen in the animals, several of which appeared to be suffering from stunted growth, lameness, neurological abnormalities and skin lesions.

The details of the animals’ condition is heartbreaking, but officials said the animals would be moved to other preserves where they would hopefully be treated better. While no real consequences seem to be on the way for the Loews, without animals it seems like it would be difficult to keep the facility made famous by Tiger King up and running.

In today’s “What century is this again?” news, a high school in St. Johns County, Florida is under the spotlight for its bizarro Photoshop attempt to eliminate all evidence of girls’ breast tissue in its yearbook photos.

Dozens of female students at Bartram Trail High School have had their yearbook photos edited to have their cleavage removed, causing an outcry from students and parents. Reporter Ben Ryan of Action News Jax out of Jacksonville investigated the story and shared examples of some before and after photos on Twitter, explaining that the before photos were deemed “inappropriate” by the school.

This is a before and after yearbook photo taken of Bartram Trail 9th grade high school student, Riley O’Keefe.

Sh… https://t.co/IR2aoqqR7b

— Ben Ryan (@BenRyanANJax)
1621547060.0

Students and parents said that at least 60 photos were edited like this—some of them badly—to erase all traces of cleavage from girls’ chests. The school confirmed that the number was actually 80, all of them girls. (This is not the first time something like this has happened. A Utah school came under fire for the same thing a few years back.)

We’re not talking deep, plunging necklines here. The photos Ryan shared on Twitter show scoop neck shirts and v-neck sweaters that just happen to show a crease where breasts come together at the top as breasts tend to do.

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One student, 9th grader Zoe Iannone told Action News Jax that she felt confident that she had looked good and was within the school’s dress code when she went to school that day, but that changed when she saw her edited photo. “When I sent it to my mom and all of us saw it, I felt very sexualized, like that was what they were worrying about,” she said.

Ninth grader Riley O’Keefe, featured in the above photos, told Action News she had worn the same outfit to school and had been told it was fine. Seeing the edited photo in the yearbook made her feel uncomfortable, and she decided to speak up about it for girls who might not feel comfortable saying something.

“You’re not only affecting their photo, it’s not just for protecting them, you’re making them uncomfortable and feel like their bodies aren’t acceptable in a yearbook,” she said.

“You’re not only affecting their photo, it’s not just for protecting them, you’re making them uncomfortable and fee… https://t.co/IbgaC40KcT

— Ben Ryan (@BenRyanANJax)
1621549735.0

The school sent Ryan this statement:

“Bartram Trail High School’s previous procedure was to not include student pictures in the yearbook that they deemed in violation of the student code of conduct, so the digital alterations were a solution to make sure all students were included in the yearbook. At this point the school is offering refunds to any parents calling about this issue. The school is receiving feedback from parents/guardians/students on making this process better for next year.”

The school said it offered to refund parents’ yearbook money, but the damage was already done. Students and parents told Ryan they understood what the school was trying to do, but that they went too far.

“Our daughters of Bartram deserve an apology,” one anonymous mother said. “They are making them feel embarrassed about who they are.”

Another mother told First Coast News that her daughter was being bullied after the photo edits made her a target.

Digitally altered yearbook photos angering parents in St. Johns County

youtu.be

As of this afternoon, Ryan was unable to get any interviews with or additional responses from the school.

School dress codes have been under fire for some time now, as stories of girls being sent home for wearing outfits most people would not consider immodest have repeatedly gone viral. But these girls were not in violation of the school’s dress codes, and photoshopping cleavage out of photos is just strange. Someone is looking for a problem where one doesn’t exist, and placing the blame for the fictional problem on the wrong parties.

If someone sees a fold of skin at the top of a shirt in a high school yearbook and starts thinking dirty thoughts, that’s on the viewer, 100 percent. There may be some people who think zero cleavage should ever be seen anywhere, but that’s neither realistic or reasonabled. Unless you’re wearing a turtleneck, cleavage happens with most fashionable clothing. And it happens more for some girls than others. Cleavage is literally just skin and tissue being pressed together—no one is showing actual cuppage or nipples or anything of the sort in these photos.

All this kind of policing does is make girls feel weird about their bodies and ashamed of the way their breasts come together at the top. It’s unnecessary, controlling nonsense and it needs to stop. People can rightfully debate where a line should be drawn when it comes to appropriate yearbook photo attire, but a little bit of cleavage definitely should not be that line.

We work hard at Upworthy to bring you humanity at its best to counter all of the negative stories that get far too much attention. As part of that commitment, we’ve started making lists of the positive news stories we come across each week that make us especially happy.

Some of them have been shared on our platform, while some we didn’t quite have the time to get to, but still believe they deserve some attention.

What made you smile this week? Share it with us in the comments.

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1. Cranes are returning to Ireland for the first time in 300 years

Cranes: Flying giant returning to Ireland after 300 years https://t.co/XZwpGsD7F2 https://t.co/8gqijpanCB

— Amit kumar (@amit_aka_AB)
1621100737.0

The crane is an important figure in Irish folklore but sadly has been missing from the country for three centuries. Over the past two years, a few have reappeared during mating season and ecologists hope they will re-establish their population.

2. School bus driver says kindergartners’ relentless questioning made armed hijacker let them go

.@ABC NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Hero bus driver Kenneth Corbin speaks out about how he kept his cool and kept children safe d… https://t.co/Bl24wI7mYh

— Good Morning America (@GMA)
1621251680.0

A school bus driver in South Carolina was honored for thwarting an attempted hijacking. However, he says the true heroes are his kindergarten passengers who peppered the hijacker with relentless questions.

3. Sister memorializes her deceased brother with Masters dissertation

Molly Schiller lost her brother six years ago to a heart condition. She just submitted her Masters dissertation researching the condition that took him from her.

4. Marcus Rashford: British soccer player becomes youngest to top Sunday Times Giving List

via Wikimedia Commons

Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, 23, was honored for successfully lobbying the UK government to continue providing free school meals during the coronavirus lockdown. He has since formed a child poverty task force, linking up with some of the nation’s biggest supermarkets and food brands.

5. This is what inclusion looks like

Kudos to Tumble Activity for giving disabled people what they deserve. All spaces should be designed and built with different abilities in mind.

6. A Sikh man becomes the first fan ever inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame

Today was a dream.
In the greatest building basketball has, the name Superfan Nav Bhatia will be immortalized.There… https://t.co/YikavjSXH7

— Nav Bhatia Superfan (@superfan_nav)
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Toronto Raptors superfan Nav Bhatia’s name was immortalized over the weekend when he joined the ranks of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Wilt Chamberlain in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Bhatia became the first fan ever inducted because for being a wonderful example of how sports can bring people together.

7. Boy gets 3D-printed hands, grips bottle for the first time

Boy gets 3D-printed hands, grips bottle for first time | CNN Video https://t.co/i08Lzg0jfm #innovation… https://t.co/j18q3AgF8B

— Change Healthcare (@Change_HC)
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Thanks to a 3D printer, 11-year-old Gavin Sumner can grip and hold things for the first time in his life. He looks pretty happy about it.