Category: News

The Atlanta Hawks are armed with a whole lot of cap space in an offseason where the pool of available free agents isn’t particularly robust. As a result, if they want to spend big, they might need to look into some other avenues, and a report by Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports indicates that they might turn to the trade market to acquire talent.

Haynes brings word that the Hawks have some amount of interest in Gordon Hayward of the Boston Celtics. Word dropped earlier in the day, via Zach Lowe of ESPN, that Hayward and the Celtics extended the deadline for him to decide on his $34.2 million player option. Now, Haynes reports that the Hawks have a few potential avenues to explore a move for Hayward.

The Atlanta Hawks are in play in an attempt to acquire Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.

A sign-and-trade deal is a possible route, but Atlanta is equipped with the most cap space in the league at around $44 million and can simply sign Hayward to a hefty multi-year deal if he decided to decline his option.

Haynes went on to report that Hayward is interested in the Hawks as well, and that the team believes he could be another playmaker alongside Trae Young on the team’s offense. Hayward signed a big money deal to join the Celtics from the Utah Jazz during the 2017 offseason, but has struggled to consistently stay on the floor due to injuries. Last season, Hayward averaged 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in 33.5 minutes per game for the Celtics.

In 2019, Lizzo shot to stardom thanks to her breakout single “Truth Hurts.” The track helped her gain two of her three Grammy awards, as the song won in both the Best Urban Contemporary Album and Best Pop Solo Performance categories. Nowadays, she continues to work on her upcoming project, which will be her first body of work since her breakthrough. Successful though she is, the singer hopped on TikTok to make it clear that fame has plenty of downsides.

“Fame only puts a magnifying glass on the sh*t that you already have,” Lizzo said in the video. “If that sh*t is f*cked up, you’re just going to have even more magnified f*cked up sh*t situations where it doesn’t even seem valid or like you’re even like supposed to feel that way so it f*cks you up even more because you feel super f*cking ungrateful.” She then shifted her attention from herself to her listeners, sharing an important message.

“So, I’m just telling everyone now, anyone who has internal issues or has like any type of self problems that they need to work out, work out now,” Lizzo said. “Because money, fame, or success or even getting older doesn’t really fix that sh*t. Do the inner work, because if you don’t, it’s going to haunt you like a f*cking ghost.”

You can watch Lizzo’s TikTok in the video above.

Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Young Trump superfan Charlie Kirk is not a household name like Jacob Wohl. He rarely goes viral whenever he says something moronic, like Ben Shapiro. But the founder of the far right scholastic whistleblower Turning Point USA is still well-known enough that when he steps on it, people on social media delight in his misfortune. On Tuesday, Kirk did a live-stream video in which he railed against lefties for allegedly not liking Thanksgiving (or something). And not only did he say idiotic things, but he did so while looking like total crap.

His hair unkempt, his face unshaven and unwashed, his sweater hanging too loosely around his too visible neck, his demeanor very “divorced dad after a late night Wild Turkey session,” Kirk railed on liberals for not being more traditionally conservative. “The left has always hated Thanksgiving,” he began, and you don’t need to listen much further. Kirk is apparently mad that many are suggesting refraining from large — or even small — gatherings during the holiday, not because of a wildly out-of-control pandemic that is now worse than it’s ever been, but because they just hate America, or whatever.

Luckily, very few people listened to Kirk’s words. They couldn’t get past how pathetic he looked. Instead of pointlessly debating him on his weak arguments, people chose a more productive path: They mocked how sad and gross he looked, even with full knowledge that a camera was on.

Some compared Kirk to other, much more (in)famous young conservatives.

And some did — god bless them — take umbrage with the content of his speech.

As of this writing, Thanksgiving is just over a week away, and cases are skyrocketing all over — thanks in part to an outgoing president who not only has done little to stop it, but also held lots of rallies all over parts of the nation that are now seeing record cases and deaths. It’s not worth engaging people like Kirk, who hatch conspiracy theories rather than deal with facts that may make them and those they worship look bad. But it is worth reading up on safety protocols so you don’t recklessly endanger those you love, to make sure there’s actually another Thanksgiving next year.

Perhaps you’ve noticed, but 2020 has been a year. It’s been such a year that the only good thing that’s happened to humanity — Joe Biden winning the presidential election — is tainted by the fact that outgoing commander-in-chief Donald J. Trump refuses to concede, wasting everyone’s time with frivolous lawsuits over non-existent voter fraud. As a sign that everything has gone wrong, even the one of America’s most iconic Christmas tree kind of looks like butt this year.

On Tuesday, Rockefeller Center began installing their annual Norway spruce, which, for most years since 1931, has stood around 78 feet tall, looming over the famous Prometheus statue (and itself being dwarfed by the towering 30 Rock building). It’s a destination tradition for tourists and locals alike. Only problem: As the tree was being unloaded, it looked sad. To be exact, it looked 2020 sad — the kind of rank disappointment many of us have gotten depressingly used to during one of the most inventively awful and tragic years on record.

With its sparse and weak-looking branches, the Rock tree reminded a lot of people over social media about the same seasonal cultural artifact: the sad tree Charlie Brown nabs in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Of course, in the classic special, the tree’s crappiness reminds everyone to be grateful for what they got, and to remember to look out for those in need of some TLC. In real life, in the year 2020, a lamentable spruce only underscores that we’re trapped in hell — until, possibly, January 20.

In any case, a lot of people agreed that we’re all Charlie Brown now.

Although maybe it’ll look better once it has some lights! And a billion decorations to obscure its paltry branches! Then again, 2020 is not exactly a year for optimism. Good grief, indeed.

The Houston Rockets have reportedly been looking to find a new home for Russell Westbrook ever since he expressed his desire for a move. The issue is that Westbrook makes a ton of money, and even before you get to the fact that he’s getting older, finding a new home for him is tough financially.

Teams like the Charlotte Hornets and New York Knicks have been mentioned as potential destinations, but on Tuesday evening, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Washington Wizards could enter the fray. Charania brought word of conversations between Houston and Washington about a potential deal that could see Westbrook flipped for another point guard on a gigantic contract, John Wall.

Mentioning that the Rockets want more makes sense — trading Westbrook and, potentially, James Harden would signal that the team is on its way to a big rebuild, and getting Wall back does not help in that regard, even beyond the fact that he’s a massively unknown commodity right now due to the fact he hasn’t played since 2018 as he’s battled injuries. Washington could, theoretically, throw in young players like Troy Brown and Rui Hachimura if they really want this to happen, and if they would be willing to move on from their current pick, the team is slated to select ninth in Wednesday’s NBA Draft.

Dolly Parton somehow became even more of a national treasure on Tuesday when reports started coming in that legendary country-western singer had helped fund a highly promising COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna. Back in April, the “Jolene” singer had created the Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund, which donated $1 million to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The center played a key role in helping Moderna develop its 94.5% effective vaccine, and once word got out it was thanks to Dolly’s help, the singer quickly started trending as the Twitter reactions started rolling in. Folks already loved Dolly before, but now that she’s out here literally funding a cure for COVID, that love is through the roof.

Of course, no one is more surprised by this latest development than Dolly herself. She stopped by TODAY to share her reaction, and the whole thing was pure Dolly.

“I’m just happy that anything I do can help somebody else,” she told TODAY. “And when I donated the money to the Covid fund, I just wanted it to do good. Evidently, it is. Let’s just hope we find a cure real soon.”

You can watch Dolly reacting to the vaccine’s success and the outpouring of social media love below:

When Dolly isn’t helping folks get through a pandemic with her unwavering kindness and generosity, you can catch her moving late night hosts like Stephen Colbert to tears just by singing and then giving them some trademark sass. “I’d better hush before you cry yourself to death and can’t finish your show,” Dolly joked to a teary-eyed Colbert back in October. God, she’s the best.

(Via Dolly Parton on Twitter)

Much of the smoke about a James Harden trade in recent days has revolved around him going to Brooklyn, where he’d join forces with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on the Nets. That hasn’t been the only potential destination that has popped up in the Harden discourse, as the Philadelphia 76ers have been kicked around as a potential destination, too.

It’s not hard to see how a deal to Philly might work. The team could offer one of Joel Embiid or Ben Simmons as a starting point, and the Sixers recently hired former Rockets executive Daryl Morey to take charge in their front office. According to new reporting, Philly might also have something in its back pocket in its pursuit.

According to Kelly Iko and David Aldridge of The Athletic, one of Harden’s friends is Meek Mill, who is working to recruit Harden to his home city.

Philadelphia’s interest in Harden has grown in recent weeks, sources said. Morey’s ascension to the top decision-maker spot on the basketball side as president of basketball operations is an obvious link, given the history Harden and he share, but there’s also the lure of the Eastern Conference. Rapper Meek Mill has a longstanding relationship with Harden and has been trying to convince him to come to Philadelphia, according to a source. Billionaire Michael Rubin, a close friend of Meek’s and co-owner of the 76ers, is also very fond of Harden.

There is no guarantee that having Meek, a well-documented Sixers fan who had tons of support from the organization while he was in prison for a parole violation, is able to get his pal to Philly. But hey, any little bit helps.

Adam Deering made a big bet on himself back in 2002 and it paid off. The trouble was that, at the time, the people he needed help to make it happen — Royal Bank of Scotland in Urmston, Greater Manchester — didn’t have the same faith in him.

His story is a great tale about the power of believing in yourself topped by the oh-so-satisfying cherry of sweet revenge.

“I quit my job as a salesman aged 21 because I knew I had it in me to create a successful business, but I didn’t have a penny to my name so I needed a bank loan,” he told The Daily Mail.

“I presented them with a comprehensive business plan and asked for £10,000 ($13,250) but the bank manager didn’t seem to take me seriously at all,” he lamented. “I’d put my heart and soul into the business plan and I remember having my fingers crossed under the table as I nervously waited for the manager to go through it.”

“I was devastated when she told me I was too young and inexperienced and there was no way they could take a risk on me,” he added.

via The Peninsula Hotels / Twitter

Deering spent the last few dollars he had on renting an office space in Stretford, England, just outside of Manchester. But he couldn’t even afford a desk or chair so he was forced to cold call people while sitting on the office floor.

The early months of his new business were hard and he had no idea whether he’d succeed. “There were lots of times where I thought it was the end, but I refused to give up and it paid off,” he said.

Eventually, his business flourished. He sold his debt management firm six years ago for £5 million ($6,620,000). He now owns five multi-million pound companies, including debt management firm Hanover Insolvency and funeral company Pride Planning.

His property portfolio is worth millions of pounds.

Recently, he bought the building of the bank that rejected him 18 years ago and plans on doing a £500,000 ($662,000) renovation to turn it into apartments and a retail unit.

“To me, buying the bank building brings things back full circle and it shows that I was right to keep believing in myself,” he said. In addition to his various business ventures, Deering is also a motivational speaker.

“Building a business from scratch certainly isn’t easy and there are always times when you wonder if it is going to work out,” he said. “The key is to stay true to your vision and keep going, there will always be hurdles to overcome.”

Deering’s faith in himself when no one else had any allowed him to become the massive business success he is today.

“When I was turned down for the loan, it was tough but because I had a dream and I was so focussed on achieving it, I made it happen anyway,” he said.

Like many of us, Bill Gates can’t understand why some people are opposed to wearing masks. The Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist has been involved in public health for decades and a vocal advocate for masks throughout the pandemic.

The numbers don’t lie. Mask mandates have helped lower COVID-19 infection rates and studies show that if every American masked up, we could save 63,000 lives by March.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of Americans who are opposed to wearing masks because they believe they infringe on their individual liberties.

In doing so, they also put countless lives at risk because they continue to help spread the infection.

Gates shared his frustration with anti-maskers on his new podcast with actor Rashida Jones: “Bill Gates and Rashida Jones Ask Big Questions.”

“The idea that somebody’s resisting wearing a mask, that is such a weird thing to me,” the billionaire told Jones on the first episode of their podcast.

“What are these, like, nudists?” he said. “I mean, you know, we ask you to wear pants, and no American says, or very few Americans say, that that’s, like, some terrible thing.”

“If you want to get back to normal life anytime sooner, wear a mask, or don’t wear a mask and stay at home,” Jones said. “But, like, to ask for both things feels like you just want things to be better and they’re not, so you kind of just have to deal with what it is.”

“The mask helps you open up more things,” Gates said. The philanthropist believes many underestimate the risks of COVID-19, because they think it spreads like a cold or flu.

“These unbelievable viral loads that you see with coronavirus don’t occur with most of the other respiratory viruses,” Gates said.

If someone with a cold spent an hour in a room full of people, most would remain healthy. However, with COVID-19. a “high percentage” of people would catch the virus. “That’s like measles,” he said.

On the podcast, he also addressed the mixed messages health officials sent about masks in the beginning of the pandemic. “Our model of ‘flu with coughing’ turned out to be wrong,” he added.

But now, Gates said, “it’s overwhelmingly clear that the upside” of wearing a mask “is gigantic.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also appeared on the show. He offered some words of encouragement to those having a hard time coping with pandemic stress.

“One of the things we’re dealing with is a degree of essentially fatigue that people have about going through this,” Fauci said. “It’s amazing. It’s almost like a distortion of time, Rashida.”

“I want to tell people, ‘Don’t give up,” Fauci added. “This is going to end. Science is going to help us with a vaccine and therapy, and if we pay attention to the public-health measures, we can gain control of it.'”

The vaccine is on the way and the therapeutics for treating COVID-19 are helping more people survive the virus. But it’s hard not to imagine an America where it wasn’t allowed to thrive because far too many people mistook inconvenience for tyranny.

I’ve been writing for the people of the internet for more than a decade, so I’m used to my fair share of hate mail. I don’t generally share the details of my inbox with the public (choosing instead to send screenshots to my close friends so we can vent about the insanity of the world together), but two e-mails I received from people who had similar complaints about an article I wrote seem like they offer a lesson of sorts about how we should—and shouldn’t—communicate with each other.

A few months ago, I wrote an article about some people’s reactions to the murder of Cannon Hinnant, a 5-year-old North Carolina boy shot and killed by a neighbor while out riding his bike in front of his house. It was a terrible, tragic story. Anti-BLM forces quickly jumped on it, complaining that the national media didn’t cover the story like they would if the races were reversed (Hinnant was white, his killer was Black). A #SayHisName campaign accompanied the complaint, usurped from the BLM movement. My piece pointed out the reasons why that complaint was problematic.

You can read the piece here if you want the context for the emails I’m going to share with you.

As with many articles I write, the reactions were split. I got messages from people thanking me for expressing exactly what they had wanted to say, and messages from people who vehemently disagreed. I always a bit amazed when people take the time to track down my e-mail address to share their thoughts on what I write, and I generally appreciate it, even when they’re writing to tell me they disagree with me. But the disagreement messages for this article were on a whole other level.

If it were just the one horrible message, I’d write it off as just some whacko. But I got multiple messages and comments that were boiling over with hatred. I had to block one guy from my Facebook page for dropping in to address me—a woman he has never met—as a “hypocritical bitch” and a “f*cking c*nt” with no other arguments made. (Out of curiosity, I took a peek at his profile and found out he was a fitness/performance coach who had volunteered with a kindness initiative. Interesting, huh?)

But the cherry on top of this article’s hate mail sundae was this email from a man named Edger. Prepare now for a bunch of profanity. (You might also need a key for this: gfy = go fuck yourself, pos = piece of shit, msm = mainstream media.)

Here we go:

“Say his fucking name!

Your liberal pos article telling us not to compare Cannon Hinnant’s murder to the scam blm bs or politicize the tragedy is unbelievably fucked up bitch. THAT is exactly what you motherfuckers have been doing for six fucking months over this blm scam bullshit, so gfy you scumbag pos!!!

We are sick of you leftwing blm socialist scam artist destroying America and will fight to the death for our country. And we will win.

I pray one or better yet all of your kids get cancer and die, so you can feel the pain of what you liberals have done to this innocent family and Americans with your cold hearted liberal left wing politically motivated articles and tweets. All of you heartless and trashy liberal degenerates will pay dearly one day, God willing.

CNN, MSNBC and CNBC did not pick up the story until just a few hours ago and only after the outrage of their deafening silence was raised loudly by patriotic Americans, unlike you msm liberals pos assholes.

You pathetic pieces of shit do not come close to understanding how angry we all are, but you will in November, you corrupt vermin.
HOW DARE YOU EVIL FUCKING SCUM.
FU!!!”

So fun, right? Clearly, the dude has some issues, but this is really not too far off from public comments I receive on Facebook regularly on my articles. Our public discourse has devolved into radicalized idealogues spewing the anger and hatred their chosen media outlets keep them coming hooked on instead of actually discussing ideas and issues.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Another email I received on this article exemplifies the kind of disagreements we can and should have, even if we’re coming from totally different perspectives.

Hi Annie

First if I want to say I’m sorry you were subjected to all those vulgar tirades from those that did not like your article on Cannon. Those were uncalled for and just immature.

But that is not to say I agree with your article. There are some flaws or liberties you took with your argument. The 30 second google search on news stories does come up with hits, but most from Thursday or Friday of last week. When the murder took place on Sunday. One very local News to NC Did report it on Sunday night.

Second, you wrote, on average, three children are killed every day. But that includes those over the age of 12. I don’t think 16 thru 18 year old count as children. Those over the age of 12 make up half of the three children. If you focus on the 8 and under group(Which is more appropriate for this case), it’s more like one per day. And I’d be willing to bet, In not one case, did a man walk up to a child in the street and shoot him point blank in the face. Just the heinous of this crime should have made more of a National splash.

I am not asking for demanding justice. His killer was caught.

But in these days of all this racial unrest, I truly believe that, if the races were reversed, this would have been the first story on Good Morning America on Monday morning. Wouldn’t you agree? Or at least agree that is a good possibility? Of course I can’t prove that and can’t cite any examples of when this actually happened.

Anyway, I wanted to write and share my thoughts. I am just so tired of the media bias.

Mike

Now, that’s a message I can do something with.

The obvious lesson here is “Be like Mike, not like Edger,” but how do we get people to do that? As I said, I’ve been writing on the internet for 10 years. I’ve written about all kinds of contentious topics, from racism to breastfeeding in public. Up until this year, the foulest message I’d received was on an op-ed I wrote five years ago about not assuming every family does Santa Claus—a take that earned me a “Stop being such a whiny c*nt and stop f*cking up your kids” message to my personal Facebook page. I get messages like that regularly now.

There are ways to discuss our perspectives—assuming your perspective isn’t wrapped in denying someone’s humanity or basic human rights—with civility and reasoned arguments. I am happy to debate issues and do so frequently, but it’s impossible to have a discussion with someone who says they hope your kids get cancer and die. Hatred like that is cancerous itself, but unfortunately it feels like its metastasizing throughout the body politic.

I wish I had a perfect answer for how to stop it, but I don’t. All I know is that we won’t survive this if we don’t figure out something quick.