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The Weeknd And Ariana Grande All But Confirm They Have A New Remix On The Way

A few weeks ago, The Weeknd indicated that there is still more to come from the After Hours era, tweeting, “p.s. this chapter isn’t quite done yet … still tying some loose ends.” At the time, he didn’t make clear what exactly that meant. Now, though, it looks like we know one thing that may be coming soon: a new remix of “Save Your Tears” featuring Ariana Grande, which both artists teased on social media yesterday.

Both Grande and The Weeknd shared the same audio clip on social media and tagged each other in their posts, all but confirming the collaboration. The video runs for eight seconds, and during that time, isolated, reverb-heavy vocals from the pair, singing what seems to be a melody from “Save Your Tears,” can be heard.

The pair have of course collaborated multiple times, once on Grande’s “Love Me Harder” from her 2014 album My Everything and again on “Off The Table,” from Grande’s 2020 album Positions. Of course, it’s also widely believed that the two were once linked romantically.

Meanwhile, Grande has also recently spent some time revisiting one of her recent albums, as she shared a behind-the-scenes clip of herself recording some vocals on “Positions.”

Check out the teaser clip above.

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Nikola Jokic’s 47-Point, 15-Rebound Performance Was Quite The Answer To Stephen Curry MVP Buzz

Stephen Curry stole the show during the early NBA slate, erupting for 49 points and his fourth 10-three pointer game in his last five to beat the Sixers on national TV, and with that performance, the latest in a ridiculous 11-game run, there was plenty of conversation about whether he should be entered into the MVP discussion.

That MVP race is one led, for most, by Nikola Jokic in large part due to his consistent effort throughout the regular season, as he has dominated from start to finish for a Denver team that is looking to hold on to a top-6 seed in the West without Jamal Murray in the stretch run. With Curry buzz circulating the NBA space when Jokic and the Nuggets took the floor against Memphis, the frontrunner did as well as one could hope by responding with a sensational performance of his own. After a slow start, Jokic took control of the game and never let go, scoring 47 points, pulling down 15 rebounds, and dishing out eight assists in a wild, 139-137 Denver win in double overtime against Ja Morant and the Grizzlies.

He was tremendous down the stretch, particularly in closing things out in double overtime when he put in nine of his 47, including…whatever this shot was that is emblematic of the shot-making he’s displayed all season no matter the defensive effort of the opposition.

Ja Morant was phenomenal for Memphis, as he has been all season, with 36 points, 12 assists, and eight rebounds, but the Grizzlies simply couldn’t find answers for Jokic — which to be fair, no one has really had this season. When doubled, he always makes the right pass to an open shooter, and when left in 1-on-1, there’s simply nothing most defenders can do with him. His quickness has improved to beat bigger centers off the bounce and his craftiness and size allows him to simply get to a spot and put up a shot, always on his time and in his own, weird rhythm that no one can disrupt. The MVP conversation will surely continue, and what Curry and Joel Embiid and others are doing this season are worthy of heaps of praise and celebration. But provided he continues on as he has been, it is still Jokic’s award, and if anything, the amount he’s going to be asked to do for Denver with Jamal Murray out is likely going to continue forcing him to put up ridiculous numbers for Denver to win games, which would seal the deal in the season’s final month.

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Our Weed Writers Name Their Favorite Cannabis Pre-Rolls On The Market

4/20 is upon us. And few things hit the spot on the great stoner holiday like a quality pre-roll — one so good that it will get you blasted until (or into!) tomorrow. Taking a smooth drag from a joint or blunt, coaxing out that intoxicating smoke, and enjoying a euphoria-inducing head change on the morning of 4/20 feels… almost ceremonial in nature.

So don’t waste your time smoking mid-tier weed to kick off herb’s big day. Get things rolling by reaching for quality.

With weed now legal in 16 states (big shout out to New York, fashionably late to the party as always) and Washington D.C., there’s a lot of product out there. But let’s face it, it’s not all good; some of it is downright unsmokeable. That’s why we put together this list of the best pre-roll joints and blunts currently on the market.

Let’s dive in without any more delay — so that you can make the most of your holiday!

3CFarms Gelato 33 5-pack (Jackie Bryant)

Weedmaps

Strain: Hybrid (Indica Dominant)
Dominant Terpenes: Limonene. Caryophyllene. Myrcene.
THC: 21.59%

Average Retail Price: $42.95

The Experience

Covered in orange hairs, these pre-rolls are sweetly citrus-heavy in both taste and smell.

The Bottom Line

This is a mellow cultivar with a pleasant head and body high. It’s not too overpowering, so it’s ideal for socializing.

Stone Road Girl Scout Cookies 5-pack (Jackie Bryant)

Stone Road

Strain: Hybrid
Dominant Terpenes: caryophyllene, limonene, linalool
THC: 22.7%
CBD: 0.07%

Average Retail Price: $20

The Experience

True to its name, these Girl Scout Cookies half-gram pre-rolls have an almost sweet floral smell and taste. These are half-gram joints, which are easy to finish in one setting whether the smoker is one person or puff-puff-passing.

The Bottom Line

22 percent is something of a Goldilocks THC percentage — not too high, not too low, but just right. The perfect high. This is a cerebral, upper of a high that’s perfect for daytime toking.

Connected Gelonade Pre-Roll (Dane Rivera)

Connected

Strain: Sativa Dominant
Dominant Terpenes: Limonene, Caryophyllene, Myrcene
THC: 25.2%

Average Retail Price: $19

The Experience

A cross between Lemontree and Gelato 41, this Sativa dominant strain out of California company Connected took first place for Sativa flower at the Cannabis Cup. As soon as you light up the one-gram pre-roll, you’ll understand why. Featuring a citrus-forward flavor with hints of mango and a strong diesel aroma, Gelonade packs a creativity-focused high energy high.

The Bottom Line

A great uplifting daytime strain for those looking for a good high that won’t drag you down into couch-lock territory.

Caviar Gold Cavi Cone (Dane Rivera)

Strain: Indica, Sativa, or Hybrid.
Dominant Terpenes: Not Available.
THC: 48-52%

Average Retail Price: $20

The Experience

Caviar Gold’s claim to fame is that the brand produces the highest potency pre-rolls on the market, and in 2021 that’s still true. With a THC level that hovers around a jaw-dropping 50 percent — thanks to each pre-roll being dipped in 92 percent true liquid THC and then dusted in kief — the Cavi Cone is so strong it’ll get you blasted to the moon … the moon of a far off parallel universe.

Each Cavi Cone is available in a number of strains and flavors, but they’re essentially interchangeable as they’re all pretty strong. So unless you’re an experienced smoker, look elsewhere. But if you’re into a mind-expanding, body-tingling experience, it rarely gets better than this.

Unfortunately Caviar Gold doesn’t make a habit of listing the terpene profile for each flavor of Cavi Cone. So you’ll have to shop along the archaic lines of indica, sativa, or hybrid.

The Bottom Line

A powerful pre-roll not for the faint of heart. Unless you’re an experienced heavy smoker, the Cavi Cone probably isn’t for you. If you’re in Snoop-Rogen range, be sure to grab a Cavi Cone to turn your 4/20 into a near psychedelic adventure.

St. Ides x Mission Green 2g Diamond-Infused Blunt (Dane Rivera)

St. Ides

Strain: Hybrid
Dominant Terpenes: Not Available.
THC: 30%+

Average Retail Price: $45

The Experience

Wonderfully fragrant, this two-gram diamond-infused blunt from St. Ides and Weldon Angelos’ Project Mission Green features whole nuggets of St. IDES potent indoor flower blended with THCa crystals and hand-rolled into a thick slow-burning blunt. The smoke is remarkably milky and smooth (perfect for blowing smoke rings, a 4/20 pastime) with a high that hits you almost instantly. It goes straight to your head for a cerebral experience that’ll turn anything you’re doing into the funniest thing to happen all day (no matter how mundane).

A portion of sales from each Mission Green blunt will go directly to Mission Green to help secure the release of people serving time for cannabis offenses.

The Bottom Line

Powerful and flavorful, the Mission Green blunt is a giggle-inducing slow-burning option for those looking to stretch out their 4/20 experience with a single blunt. Once you’re high enough, put it out and place it back in the glass tube it comes packaged in.

Cannabiotix Cereal Milk Pre-Roll (Dane Rivera)

Cannabiotix

Strain: Hybrid (Indica Dominant)
Dominant Terpenes: Limonene, Caryophyllene, Pinene
THC: 29%-33%

Average Retail Price: $14

The Experience

Although not the strongest pre-roll on this list, few things have gotten me higher in my life than this .7 gram pre-roll from Cannabiotix. Featuring a cross between Strawberry Lemonade and Thick Mint Cookies, Cannabiotix Cereal Milk features light green crystal-filled bud with notes of bright citrus and herbal pine that results in a joyful and slightly euphoric experience, despite this being an indica dominant strain.

Don’t expect couch-lock or a strain that will knock you out quickly. Instead, Cereal Milk will provide you with a relaxing but non-lazy high, great for lighting up before a beachside stroll.

The Bottom Line

Strikes a nice balance between indica and sativa, this hybrid strain will have you relaxed one minute, and breaking out into a giggling fit the next.

Lowell — Lowell Smokes 6-pack (Dane Rivera)

Weedmaps

Strain: Indica, Sativa, or Hybrid
Dominant Terpenes: Not available
THC: 17%-20%

Average Retail Price: $40

The Experience

It’s hard not to love everything about Lowell Farms 6-packs. They’re packed with high-quality herb grown in California, available in hybrid, sativa, and indica blends, and come packaged in a beautiful magnetic flip-top box complete with wooden matchsticks and a strip to light them on, giving you absolutely everything you’ll need to enjoy one of these mid-sized pre-rolls as soon as you open the pack.

The Bottom Line

The best pre-roll packaging on the market, Lowell Farms provides everything you need to need to get a strong but manageable high. Best of all, they’re just the right size and potency to get a good high without getting you so high that you’ll forget where you live.

Monogram No.1 Handroll (Dane Rivera)

MONOGRAM

Strain: Indica
Dominant Terpenes: Not Available
THC: 27.5%

Retail Price: $50

The Experience

Closing out our list of the finest pre-rolls is Jay-Z’s Monogram OG Handroll. Okay yes, a $50 joint is downright ridiculous, we don’t care if Jay-Z rolled it himself. But the OG Handroll really is quite a luxurious experience. Similar to a cigar, this heavy Indica strain burns remarkably slowly and evenly, enabling you to experience multiple sessions from a single joint.

But we’re going to go ahead and recommend against that. In order to enjoy the strain’s mix of sweet and skunky flavors and aromas, it’s best to just knock this baby out in one sitting. You’ll be left with a cerebral high that’ll stretch for hours and have you lost in thought.

The Bottom Line

Strong, luxurious, and pricey. Monogram’s OG handroll is best enjoyed as a nightcap, as it’s strong high will send you crashing.

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James Corden Gave A Passionate Explanation On Why The Super League Will Ruin Soccer

On Sunday, 12 of the richest clubs in European soccer announced the formation of a new Super League that will feature 15 permanent “founding” clubs and a rotation of five clubs each year that can qualify. It is a brazen cash grab from owners looking to ensure they get the massive payouts the Champions League provides each year, without the risk of not making it into the Champions League off merit — as some of the clubs in the Super League didn’t this year.

The announcement was immediately decried by, well, just about everyone in the sport, from fans, media, leagues, UEFA, coaches, and other teams. The idea of creating a closed league goes against the tradition of European soccer, which already favors the richest teams who can pay the best players but this takes away even the slightest hopes from smaller teams of getting that seat at the table. The coming fight from leagues, UEFA, FIFA, and fans is going to be fascinating to watch, and it’s rare to see such universal disdain for something from fans all over, including of the teams involved.

Among the most prominent die-hard here stateside is James Corden, who used his platform on The Late Late Show to explain to the American audience what makes this Super League so “disgusting” as he put it, and why he believes it will ruin the sport as we know it.

The comparison to if famous actors started their own Oscars to guarantee nominations is a funny one, but also pretty accurate and a helpful tool for a non-sports audience to understand what happens. Overall, though, it is a passionate plea from Corden, who seems resigned to the fact that this is happening, for fans to, if nothing else, never forget what they’ve done to smaller clubs and how they’ve tried to hide behind the pandemic as justification for this move. He points out the history of the sport and how so many of these clubs were started by workers and have long, rich histories in these communities, and how this threatens to take money away from all of them and funnel it further to the top teams. Financial inequities have always existed but this will make it even moreso and the future of all these teams and leagues are now in flux.

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Zack Snyder Originally Had A Very Different Title For ‘Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice’

Even though it ran longer than even most Martin Scorsese movies, the “Snyder cut” of Justice League seems to have gone down pretty well. It got (mostly) good reviews, a lot of people watched it, and there was nothing like the furor that descended upon another Zack Snyder picture: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That one grossed a pretty penny back in 2016, but it was roundly criticized for its relentless doom and/or gloom. But we now know that it was almost a teensy bit doomier and gloomier.

According to /Film, Snyder and co-writer Chris Terrio appeared at Justice Con over the weekend, and they got to talking about that title, which was also a sticking point for many, earning widespread social media mockery upon its reveal. Thing is, Snyder and Terrior agree: It’s not a great title, and it wasn’t theirs. Not that their attempts at naming their epic superhero grudgefest was much better.

“I remember when there was a back-and-forth that I had with the studio, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was like the only title that [Warner Bros. liked],” Snyder told the crowd. “The whole ‘v’ instead of ‘versus,’ it was like this crazy negotiation. I was like, ‘Guys, can’t we just do something like Son of Sun and Knight of Night, or something that’s a little bit more poetic?’ And they were like, ‘Absolutely not’ [Laughs]. I was like, ‘Is it a court case?’”

But there were other title ideas, which admittedly were less pretentious than Son of Sun and Knight of Night. One angle execs considered was not calling it “Batman v Superman” at all. Instead, they thought about prematurely leaning into the ensemble team that wouldn’t assemble for another year. They thought about calling it Justice League: Foundations or Justice League: Rising — an attempt, Terrio said, to “suggest that this movie was going to be the beginning of the Justice League, even though it didn’t really look like it.”

Terrio has already talked about how he doesn’t like the title they went with. “I did not name the script,” he recently told Vanity Fair. “In fact, I found out what the movie was called along with the rest of the world on the internet. I was not consulted on the title of the film, and I was as surprised as anyone. I would not have named it Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I don’t know exactly who named it, but I suspect it was the studio and I suspect it was marketing, to be honest with you. It might have been the first step toward creating ill will for the film…I heard it and I thought, it just sounds self-important and clueless in a way. Tone-deaf. The intention of the film was to do something interesting and dark and complex, not quite as Las Vegas, bust ’em up, WWE match as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”

Still, imagine a timeline in which you walked up to a movie theater cashier and uttered the words “Son of Sun and Knight of Night.”

(Via /Film)

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Stephen Curry Stayed Red-Hot Torching The Sixers And Little Brother Seth In Philly

Stephen Curry entered Monday night’s nationally televised tilt against the Philadelphia 76ers in the midst of a sensational hot streak. After missing five games in late March, Curry scored at least 30 points in ten straight appearances, and he converted ten three-pointers or more in three of the previous four games. With that in mind, it would’ve been fair to suggest that Curry was due for something of a cooling period but, after a barrage of ridiculousness against his brother Seth and the 76ers, observers will have to wait a bit longer for Steph to return to Earth.

Curry led the Warriors to an upset victory over Philadelphia, prevailing by a final score of 107-96 on the road. Along the way, he knocked down ten three-pointers once again, and he walked off the floor after a 49-point performance with a newfound buzz in NBA MVP discussions.

Prior to the fourth quarter, Curry’s performance was an exercise in consistency, as he scored 11 points, including a trio of three-pointers in the opening period. The final connection came at the first quarter buzzer.

Curry followed that up with nine points in the second quarter, reaching 20 at the half, but he obviously wasn’t done just yet. Curry did have his coolest shooting stretch of the night in the third period, but he still managed to score nine points and, in playing the entire 12-minute quarter, he was key in Golden State taking a five-point advantage.

Then, the fourth quarter arrived and Curry was, well, ridiculous. The two-time NBA MVP connected on all five of his three-point attempts in the closing period, making dominance look effortless.

Not only did Curry stuff the stat sheet with 20 points in fewer than seven (!) minutes of court time in the fourth quarter, but he put the game away with his brilliance.

When the final buzzer sounded, he racked up 49 points on 14-of-28 shooting, with 10-of-17 from three and 11-of-12 from the free throw line, adding five assists along the way. Fittingly, Curry’s showing ended with MVP chants reigning down while he was at the free throw line… on the road in the house of an MVP candidate in Embiid.

The win brings Golden State to just 29-29 on the season, and that type of team performance does not usually yield MVP consideration to a particular player. In this case, though, the Warriors are staggeringly better when Curry is on the floor, and this recent stretch of 30-point games, coupled with shooting that no player in history can match, might vault him back into the discussion. At the very least, Curry put on quite a show on Monday, and the Warriors picked up a needed win in the process.

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Jeanie Buss Discussed How Close Kobe Came To Joining The Clippers In 2004

Kobe Bryant completed a 20-year career with a single team, appearing in more than 1,500 games for the Los Angeles Lakers between the regular season and the playoffs. In that two-decade run, he amassed five NBA championships, 18 NBA All-Star appearances and a laundry list of accolades, and Bryant’s connection with the Lakers organization and fan base remains legendary. With that as the backdrop, there has plenty of speculation that Bryant almost ended up with the Los Angeles Clippers back in 2004, and that was a topic discussed recently by Lakers owner Jeannie Buss.

Buss joined All the Smoke with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, and she was asked just how close Bryant came to landing with the other NBA tenant of STAPLES Center.

“I never had that conversation with Kobe, but there was a game where he wore Clippers colors,” Buss said. “Not even the jersey, the colors. Very subtle. And I’m like, ‘He loves challenges,’ and that would have been a huge thing. I do think that was something that was very possible.”

In 2016, Bryant himself acknowledged that he was “very close” to signing with the Clippers in free agency, so it isn’t as if this is a mythical tale of some sort. In fact, it didn’t seem certain in 2004 that he would stick around with the Lakers, though Los Angeles ended up trading Shaquille O’Neal to the Miami Heat between the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. Whether that was the move that directly paved the way for Bryant re-signing is up for some debate, but he did put pen to paper almost immediatly after Shaq was dealt.

Imagining Bryant in a uniform other than that of the Lakers is jarring, which Buss, Barnes and Jackson all acknowledge in their discussion. That is especially true when considering where the Clippers were in 2004 (coming off a 28-54 season), but Bryant would win two more titles with the Lakers and retire as one of the greats of all-time. The free agency of 2004 remains an all-time “what if” but happily for the Lakers, it is just that, a hypothetical.

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NFL star Malcolm Jenkins is working to bridge the ethnic wealth gap by giving kids real money to invest

America’s ethnic wealth gap is a multi-faceted problem that would take dramatic action, on multiple fronts, to overcome. One of the ways to help communities improve their economic well-being is through financial literacy.

Investopedia says there are five primary sources of financial education—families, high school, college, employers, and the military — and that education and household income are two of the biggest factors in predicting whether someone has a high level of financial literacy.

New Orleans Saints safety, two-time Super Bowl Champion, and social justice activist Malcolm Jenkins and The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation hope to help bridge the wealth gap by teaching students about investing at a young age.


“It’s projected that by 2053 that African Americans will have on average a negative net worth, with Hispanics being right behind,” Jenkins said according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “How do we begin to chip away at that? The earlier you can get kids focused on saving money and investing and understanding how to make money, the better off you are.”

So Jenkins and his foundation are giving $40 investment account deposits to 1,000 students in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, and Louisiana. The Ogontz Revitalization Corporation will donate an additional $10 per student, bringing the total to $50.

The accounts are run by Goalsetter, a Black-owned family banking, and financial literacy app.

The students will not be able to withdraw the funds until they are 18 but can add to them all they like. In addition to the ability to save and invest, the Goalsetter App offers an engaging way for kids to learn about money.

The app provides five years of financial literacy tools, kid-friendly educational games, and fun quizzes.

via Goalsetter

There’s no better way to learn about a subject than by doing. Which, when it comes to finances, can be nearly impossible if you’re underprivileged. These accounts give kids the ability to watch their financial seeds grow over the years and create a habit of saving that will hopefully last throughout their lifetimes.

“Malcolm is saying, ‘I want you to know that this is for the long term. You’re going to be saving for your future because you do have a future and it’s a future that we’re going to help to prepare you for,’ ” Tanya Van Court, founder, and chief executive of Goalsetter, said.

Jenkins believes that financial literacy shouldn’t aim for stability but go the extra mile and focus on building wealth.

“I was always taught that if you work hard and that if you save your money that that creates financial freedom and financial stability, and that’s not how it works,” Jenkins told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“That’s not how you gain freedom. It comes through investing. It comes in making good decisions. It comes from estate planning. Life insurance,” he continued. “All of these different financial tools that are out there to create wealth for people. It’s really about creating that education as early as possible so you create the next generation of financially stable people.”

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The climate crisis has led to a strange new animal hybrid. Meet the ‘pizzly bear.’

Most of what we hear about climate change are the challenges and potential disasters it will lead to if not mitigated. What we hear less about are the odd ways in which it’s already altering our world—sometimes in big, visible ways.

Since satellites began recording Arctic sea ice levels in 1979, scientists have expressed concern about the melting ice. Not only does the planet rely on Arctic ice for regulating weather patterns, but wildlife who call the Arctic their home rely on it for survival. Polar bears are considered vulnerable to the impact of climate change, and though their numbers are holding fairly steady overall, their movement patterns are changing as their icy habitat melts.

At the same time, the movement patterns of their southern cousins, grizzly bears, are also changing. Grizzlies can be found as far south as Wyoming and up north in Alaska. But as global temperatures rise, grizzlies have moved farther north, even going as far as the high Arctic.

With polar bears moving south to find land and grizzly bears moving north to find colder temps, the two are crossing paths. The birds and the bees habit applies to bears, and since polar bears and grizzly bears share similar DNA, they are able to breed.

And they have. Hence the hybrid species known as the “pizzly bear.” Also known as “grolar bear”. Also known as “polizzly.” (If we have to deal with a climate emergency, we can at least take a moment to appreciate getting the word polizzly out of it.)


In all seriousness, though, the emergence of the pizzly bear hybrid is a sign of climate change’s impact. The first pizzly bear was officially identified in the wild in 2006, though people who live in the Arctic had reported sightings of the strange-looking bear prior to that.

As the Associated Press reported at the time:

“Northern hunters, scientists and people with vivid imaginations have discussed the possibility for years.

But Roger Kuptana, an Inuvialuit guide from Sachs Harbour, North West Territories, was the first to suspect it had actually happened when he proposed that a strange-looking bear shot last month by an American sports hunter might be half polar bear, half grizzly.

Territorial officials seized the creature after noticing its white fur was scattered with brown patches and that it had the long claws and humped back of a grizzly. Now a DNA test has confirmed that it is indeed a hybrid — possibly the first documented in the wild.”

Since then, eight more pizzly bears have been identified in the wild, and as of 2017 researchers had determined that all of them sprung from one female polar bear who had mated with two different grizzly bears. However, it’s unknown how many of the hybrid bears may actually exist.

Prior to their discovery in the wild, researchers knew that polar bears and grizzly bears could mate because they had already done so at Osnabrück Zoo in Germany. That zoo had kept their polar bears and grizzly bears in the same enclosure, and in 2004, two pizzly bear cubs were born. (Unfortunately, one of them was shot and killed in 2017 after she escaped from her enclosure.)


Rare Hybrid Bear of Polar Bear and Grizzly Bear

www.youtube.com

Larissa DeSantis, a paleontologist and associate professor at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, told The Independent that climate change “was definitely playing a role” bears cross-breeding. DeSantis studies the dietary habits of bears and how the climate crisis is impacting them.

“We need to study the effects of hybridization on these bears,” De Santis said. “Most of the time hybrids are not more vigorous than either of the two species, as grizzlies and brown bears have unique adaptations for their particular environments. However, there are a few examples where hybrids can be more vigorous and better able to adapt to a particular environment, particularly if the environment is deviating from what it once was. This requires further study and careful monitoring. Time will tell if these hybrids are better able to withstand a warming Arctic. These hybrids might be better suited for a broader range of food sources, like the grizzly bear, and in contrast to polar bears which are hyper-specialized.”

DeSantis says there is evidence that the pizzly bear hybrids are fertile, and there have been matings between a hybrid and a grizzly.

“This new type of bear is more resistant to climate change and better suited to warmer temperatures,” said DeSantis. So we may see more of these hybridizations, which would be kind of cool from a biological standpoint and a bad sign from an ecological standpoint. Hard to celebrate a new species when it’s a result of a crisis.

They sure are cute, though.

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Report: Kobe Bryant’s Estate Declined To Renew A Contract With Nike

For years, Kobe Bryant’s signature sneaker line was among Nike’s most popular, both during his playing career and after his retirement. Over the past year-plus since his tragic death, Nike has continued to release Kobe retro releases to great fanfare, but it appears 2021 might be the last year for Nike’s Kobe line.

According to Brandon Dunne of Complex, Nike’s deal with Bryant expired on April 13 and a renewal deal has not been reached with Bryant’s estate, which could signal the end of Nike’s Kobe line of signature sneakers. It’s still possible the Bryant estate will work out a new contract with Nike, but that the deal ran up without a new contract being worked out would seem to indicate there is a very real difference in what the estate wants and what Nike is offering. Nick DePaula of ESPN confirmed that report and said that, for now, Nike’s Kobe line is done.

What comes next is a matter of waiting to learn whether Nike will come forward with a new deal, if the Kobe estate will look elsewhere (like Adidas, which was the first sneaker company he had a signature with), or if they will simply move altogether to no longer allow for Kobe sneakers to use his name anywhere on the marketplace.

That last option is always a possibility and would be a more than respectable one.Immediately after his death, Nike removed Kobe merchandise from its website to avoid looking as if they were profiting off of his passing and to prevent others from doing the same by reselling Kobe sneakers and clothing. However, the chase for Kobe retros has still been tremenous and the way they’ve been moved on the secondary market at massive markups has, even more than the normal sneaker marketplace, felt wrong as Kobe fans are often priced out by resellers and others who use bots to gobble up available pairs before many can get them at retail.