Category: News

Wine can often feel intimidating. There are terms to learn, regional differences to memorize, and various grapes to be aware of. Styles are nuanced and flavors are often subtle. It’s all a lot to take in and, frankly, can sometimes feel clogged with marketing bullshit and snobbish gatekeeping.

We say, “forget that noise.” Wine should be fun, drinkable, and, with any luck, affordable. The rest is ancillary. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is whether or not you actually dig what’s in your glass.

To help you get into wine without breaking the bank, we’re calling out ten bottles that all clock in under $10. These aren’t spectacular bottles — no need to exaggerate. But they do taste good while being very reasonably priced. That’s a pretty solid one-two punch. They’re also all fairly findable coast-to-coast or you can get them delivered by simply clicking on their prices.

Let’s dive in!

Yellow Tail Shiraz

ABV: 13.5%
Average Price: $5

The Wine:

This 100 percent Shiraz from Australia is the gold-standard of cheap-yet-quaffable red wine. This is the sort of wine that acts as a gateway for a lot of people, due to its wide-ranging accessibility at nearly every grocery store and liquor store across the nation.

Tasting Notes:

Red berry fruit mingles with a hint of anise-leaning-towards-licorice. A note of vanilla lingers in the background, as hints of cinnamon-forward spice add a nice depth to the sip.

Bottom Line:

Look, it’s five dollars a bottle. It’s not going to wow anyone, but it’ll certainly get you tipsy while offering a little something in the body of juice without any astringent alcohol.

Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling

ABV: 12%
Average Price: $6

The Wine:

This Washington State Riesling is a classic Pacific Northwest wine. The crisp body of this wine is dialed-in to amp up the clarity of the fruit, with an easy sense of the old-school German Reisling varietal.

Tasting Notes:

Citrus, dry, and mellow all come to mind. There’s a fruit orchard feel to the juice with a focus on stone fruits, pears, and plenty of grapefruit zest. The wine comes into focus with the citrus and a nice sense of apricots.

Bottom Line:

Pair this with a flight of raw oysters or a Dungeness crab salad. It really does shine as a raw seafood accompaniment.

Trapiche Malbec

ABV: 13%
Average Price: $7

The Wine:

This Argentine Malbec is a big, chewy wine. The grapes are all pulled from vineyards around the Andean foothills of Mendoza. The wine is built to be paired with the heavy, fiery proteins Argentina became famous for.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a real plumminess to this wine. The fruit leans more towards a ripe red cherry as the body maintains balance and heft. The end of the sip has a minerality to it that’s part mossy and part mushroom, with a final note of oaky vanilla.

Bottom Line:

If you’re eating steak and/or mushrooms, this is the wine for you. Again, it’s not going to be mind-blowing. But it’ll be perfectly satisfying.

La Vieille Ferme Rosé

ABV: 13.5%
Average Price: $7

The Wine:

This rosé from the Rhône river valley in France is a light, almost airy addition to any wine cabinet. The juice is a blend of late summer harvested Cinsault, Grenache, and Syrah berries. The end result is French sunshine in a bottle.

Tasting Notes:

There’s sharp citrus that’s punctuated by wildflowers and stone fruit. The fruit is peachy and vibrant, with a nice acidic underbelly to even things out. A note of cherry arrives late, rounding out the sip.

Bottom Line:

This is almost too easy to drink. Make sure it’s deeply chilled and enjoy it with a light meal or cheese course. Or just because.

Apothic Cab

ABV: 13.5%
Average Price: $8

The Wine:

This California Cabernet is a good value with a solid drinkability. There’s a real body to this wine that doesn’t overpower, making it a solid middle-of-the-road drinker.

Tasting Notes:

Blackberry jam, dark chocolate, and vanilla all mingle on your senses. An oaky sense helps tie the whole sip together and bring about a dry-yet-full-bodied finish.

Bottom Line:

This is a very easy wine to drink with dinner or after work. It doesn’t ask too much of your palate while delivering on familiar and tasty flavors.

Dark Horse Pinot Noir

ABV: 13.5%
Average Price: $8

The Wine:

This California Pinot has no business being this tasty at this low price point. Winemaker Beth Liston finds some of the best fruit in Modesto to create this powerhouse bottle of wine while still keeping the price low for you. It’s a great balancing act.

Tasting Notes:

Fruit — red berries in particular — really lead the way on this sip. That fruit marries mild notes of spicy oak and fresh vanilla pods. The velvet body pops with dried flowers as the fruit embraces your senses.

Bottom Line:

This is one of those bottles that feels like it should cost $20. Since it’s less than $10, you can easily buy two without hesitation.

Gnarly Head Cabernet

ABV: 14.5%
Average Price: $8

The Wine:

This California red from Lodi is a masterful blend from several local vineyards. Each vineyard’s grapes are chosen to add an extra layer of depth to the final product, which is very easy-drinking.

Tasting Notes:

Berry jams and Christmas spice mix with dried herbs and florals. The sip really leans into the dark fruit jams and black pepper spice with a nice hint of oak. The body is dry-yet-welcoming with a svelte texture.

Bottom Line:

This is a really solid pairing wine for meaty Italian pasta, pizza, or even some backyard BBQ.

Robert Mondavi Private Selection Chardonnay

ABV: 13.5%
Average Price: $8.50

The Wine:

This award-winning California Chardonnay is a solid bottle at a great price. This could easily be a $20 bottle given the quality of the juice, but it’s not. Advantage, you.

Tasting Notes:

Tropical fruit, apples, pears, and creamy butter balance nicely on this one. The apples and pears take on a baked quality with a note of cinnamon and more of that butter coming to the surface of the sip. A note of citrus cuts through the creamier side and leads towards an oaky yet still buttery finish.

Bottom Line:

Again, this is a really solid bottle for a steal. Make sure to really cool this one down and then pair it with a nice seafood feast.

Cupcake Light Hearted Chardonnay

ABV: 8%
Average Price: $9.50

The Wine:

This new line from Cupcake out in Calfornia aims to lower the caloric intake of your average wine without sacrificing the flavors. And we have to say: it holds up.

That’s not to say this is a perfect wine. It’s solid, affordable, and a nice break from the heftier ABVs on this list.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a very clear sense of acidic pineapple, pear, and creamy-but-slightly sour Greek yogurt up front. A hint of nuttiness and vanilla come through with a whisper of oak as the fruit and yogurt dominate the palate.

Bottom Line:

This is a nice change of pace while still being clearly a Chardonnay that hasn’t sacrificed any flavors.

Campo Viejo Rioja Tempranillo

ABV: 13.5%
Average Price: $9.50

The Wine:

This Spanish wine is a very easy sipper that charms as much as it satisfies. The Tempranillo grape grown in Rioja creates a deep red that doesn’t overpower your palate while still giving you plenty to ponder.

Tasting Notes:

Red berries, spicy oak, vanilla, and dry sweet grass greet you. The taste leans into the vanilla, oak, and berries while adding a layer of dark cacao near the end. The finish is long, velvety, and marries the dark chocolate to the spices and vanilla nicely.

Bottom Line:

This is a great entry point into the wider world of fine Spanish wines, especially those from Rioja. This is also an easy pairing wine that goes well with most meals, big and small.

The Liberator (Netflix series) — Based upon Alex Kershaw’s book, The Liberator: One World War II Soldier’s 500-Day Odyssey, this four-part series tackles the true story of the bloodiest World War II march to victory. U.S. Army officer Felix Sparks and his infantry aim to liberate Europe, and the visuals introduce a new, rotoscope-esque technology to visualize the CGI-live-action performance by its cast.

Eater’s Guide to the World (Hulu series) — Maya Rudolph narrates this serial tour of the Eater’s Guide to the World with all kinds of local culinary destinations. Epic meals are the mission, and adventures with kind and interesting souls along the way.

Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun (Netflix comedy sketch series) — Aussie comedy group Aunt Donna introduces their absurdist style to a whole new audience who may not be prepared for their wacky musical numbers. Ed Helms produces as part of Pacific Electric Picture Company, along with Comedy Bang! Bang!

Devils (CW, 8:00pm EST) — Patrick Dempsey’s character is still fighting to clear his character’s name after being lured into a deadly scandal in the London finance world. Yes, there’s an intercontinental conspiracy, why do you ask?

Coroner (CW, 9:00pm EST) — The realm of true crime podcasts becomes a case focus for Jenny and Donovan, but it’s awfully hard to solve a murder when there’s no body.

Jimmy Kimmel Live — Maren Morris

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Michael Strahan, Brené Brown, Patty Smyth

The Late Late Show With James Corden — Max Greenfield, Ashe and Niall Horan

Late Night With Seth Meyers — Ethan Hawke, Lewis Black

In case you need some early Christmas viewing material, here’s a fresh-ish offering.

Holidate (Netflix film) — Here we go, everyone. The holiday season has officially begun, according to Netflix, which drops a romantic comedy starring Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey. Both their characters loathe the holidays, including family gatherings and friend-loaded celebrations, so despite being strangers, they make a pact to do the “holidate” thing with each other for a full year. Because this is a romcom, they will obviously vow to never have romantic feelings for each other, but you know how that always ends, right? Oh, let’s just embrace the clichés, already. It’s 2020.

After reading a new Twitter thread diving into Geralt’s disability, Netflix’s The Witcher showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich has expressed her intent to explore this side of the character. The lengthy thread, which contained highlighted sections from the novels, was posted early Monday morning, and it clearly had an impact on Hissrich. She not only shared it with fans of the show the following day but also admitted that it will influence the way she writes Henry Cavill‘s Geralt in future seasons.

The thread written by a U.K.-based disability consultant opens with the fact that Geralt is disabled — following a battle injury that shattered multiple bones and caused nerve damage — which is unknown to some fans of the hugely popular video games. Publishers CD Projekt Red removed Geralt’s disability from the games, and the consultant offers a deep dive into the books to argue that the series should not make the same mistake.

“Why is it important that Geralt is disabled?” the consultant wrote. “It adds a lot to Geralt as a character and a protagonist. When you think about Geralt of Rivia, you think about a strong and capable (if sometimes reluctant) hero… That isn’t something you see very often in fantasy novels or the genre as a whole and as someone whose disabilities include osteoarthritis and nerve damage, it meant the world to see someone like me be a famed and powerful monster hunter.”

As the consultant notes, Geralt’s disability doesn’t appear until the final moments of the second Witcher novel, The Time of Contempt, which will presumably be adapted for the third season. This gives Hissrich plenty of time to make the necessary adjustments. “Geralt of Rivia is disabled and a hero and it’s important we don’t erase that part of him,” the thread concludes.

You can read the whole thread starting here, but be warned, it does contain spoilers for future seasons of The Witcher.

This week the best golfers in the world will descend on Augusta, Ga. for the Masters, which moved from April to November due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Augusta National Golf Club will look a lot different than in years past, as the typical bloom of azaleas in the spring is traded in for the orange and reds of leaves changing in the fall, but for those playing, it remains a familiar venue.

Jon Rahm is among the favorites to win the Masters this year, entering as the second-ranked player in the world and holding 10-1 odds to win his first major championship. Rahm’s recent form this year is a big reason for the optimism about his chances, but so is how he’s played at Augusta in recent years, with back-to-back top 10s. Unlike the other three majors that rotate venues every year, the Masters provides players with a familiarity unlike any other major and as such those that play well at Augusta National always feel good about their chances each year.

On top of that, Rahm seems to be dialed in during the practice rounds as he’s made a pair of holes in one, one on Monday at No. 4 and then a skipping shot across the pond on 16 that went viral on Tuesday.

On Monday, we got a chance to speak with Rahm over the phone after he taped a conversation with Ian Poulter and Rickie Fowler for Mercedes-Benz, which fans can watch on Mercedes’ Instagram page at 5 p.m. ET. The world’s No. 2 player walked us through Augusta National, why it’s such a great test of your overall game, the nuances and difficulties that aren’t as obvious on TV, why the short par-3 12th is such a difficult hole, and much more.

It’s unique to be headed to Augusta in November. How are you feeling and how are you feeling about your game as you get ready for this now final major of the year?

Well, I’m happy. I’m happy in my life, I’m happy in my golf game. So I’m really excited to get this week going. That’s the best way I can explain it.

You’ve had a couple top 10s in back-to-back years at Augusta and I think this is a course, maybe more than any other, that the experience and learning it makes such a difference. How much different do you feel when you step onto the grounds now compared to when you first went to Augusta in terms of the confidence and knowing the shots you’re going to have to hit?

Obviously I’m a lot more comfortable, and every time you play you learn something new. It’s amazing. Every time I get to play with some of the guys who have played here for a long time, and they can tell you certain things and it’s like learning from an Augusta National encyclopedia. It’s just amazing the info we can retain. It helps and it’s crazy how many shots and putts and chips, especially shots around the green, that we play out of muscle memory. It’s unbelievable. I’m pretty sure people that have played here a long time, like Phil and Tiger and any of the other players who have had great success, you could just bring them here with no practice rounds and put the course in tournament shape and they’d for sure be able to play. Because you’re just playing those shots and those putts out of muscle memory, right, and you can just feel how you have to hit it when you’re hitting a putt. It’s just crazy what happens, because we play here so much and it’s got so much trick to it. But every time you come back you’ve just got to get those feelings back and make sure is in order.

You mentioned on the talk with Rickie and Ian … something I really enjoyed you saying was how much the course changes and how much in tournament condition you have to learn when to be aggressive and when to play to spots. Like you talked about on 13 and knowing the places not to hit it. What has been the process of that and was that the biggest thing for you in growing comfortable and being able to have that success at this course?

Yeah, I think because when you see on TV you only see the leaders and you only see birdies and what you can do. You see the Sunday pins, like No. 2 how it all funnels in there. You see No. 4 how on the right you have the backstop. You see shots into No. 7 that funnel towards the pin, and many other shots – 13 with people using the backstop, 16. You see all these moments where balls go in or they go close, and you think, “Man, you can make a million birdies out here.” And that is so far from the truth. Yeah, you can, but they’re not showing you all the mistakes and how fast double bogeys can happen at Augusta National and actually how good of a shot you need to hit to give yourself a chance.

I don’t think people realize how hard that plateau on 6 and that tiny area on the top right is, and how small the back area of No. 1 green is on the back right or short left or back right of 4. It’s things you don’t realize, so the first time I came here I was so aggressive, and yeah I made a lot of birdies, but I still made a lot of mistakes. So it’s being able to pick your battles. Like Ian said, sometimes having 30 feet is not the worst thing. The best way I can explain it is, No. 6, if you have that back left pin and you keep it 30 feet short, maybe a little left of the hole, you have a straight uphill putt. It might be breaking at most a ball or a cup, but it’s 30 feet on perfect greens, so you might be able to make a few of those. There are other examples out there. The back left pin on 9, you don’t have to hit it all the way back there. If you hit it in the middle tier and leave yourself 25 feet, it’s not a big breaking putt, you might have a chance to make it. Those situations, you can put yourself in.

Now, the biggest thing I’ve taken from Augusta National statistically that play under par are the par 5s. Even those are not that far under par. They take turns each year on which one plays easiest – I think most years 13 plays easiest – which means pars are never bad on par 5s. You shouldn’t be pressing too hard to make birdies or eagles because you’re not really losing that much. Or holes like No. 3, which is 350 [yards], you hit a good drive and in my case you might have a flip wedge onto the green. If you make par you’re not really losing strokes to anybody, and I think that’s one of the lessons you can learn. Hit the middle of the green, two putt, that’s not a bad thing even down the stretch. You need to learn to pick your battles. Some days you’re going to hit it better than others, but even the days you’re hitting it good, it’s tough to give yourself that many birdie chances out here.

I think it’s funny, every person that goes to Augusta, I think the first thing they notice is that sloping. And it’s this tired thing where people who haven’t been get tired of hearing you just don’t understand how much everything is sloped from fairways to the greens, everything has so much tilt to it.

Oh my gosh [laughs].

And you don’t notice it til you walk the grounds.

Listen, I don’t think people understand how hard the lies we have in the fairways are. How hard, if you hit a good tee shot on 2 and you get it past the bunker, you have a severe downslope and the ball’s below your feet and you’re hitting a 6, 5, 4 iron into a sideways green, usually with a sidewind. I mean, it’s ridiculous how hard it is to hit that green and keep it on the right spot, right. It’s incredible, say No. 5 now. You hit driver on No. 5 you have the ball way above your feet on an uphill lie. If it’s into the wind you have a very long iron into a difficult green. Same with 8. That is extremely uphill and you’re hitting a wood or a long iron into it 200 plus yards on a severe uphill lie. Same on 18. The shot on 13, yeah you see it standing there, but they don’t realize how above your feet that ball is.

And like I said earlier in the interview, you see so many balls right, but missing left is not that good of an option either. So getting up and down from the right for par and up and down from the left for birdie is not easy. You see more pars and birdies from the left and a lot of pars from the right. It’s crazy how hitting that ball in the water you’re not losing that much either. It’s absolutely crazy. The shot into 14 with the ball below your feet, 15 if you hit it down enough you’re downhill with the ball above your feet again. It’s absolutely crazy all those lies can be and the undulations on the green and all those things, and I don’t think you can see all of that on TV as well. All the run ups on the green and the depth on certain bunkers – those bunkers on 18 are as deep as can be and most of the fairway bunkers are extremely deep, and you can’t appreciate that on TV. I really wish everybody could get to see it just to appreciate shots certain players hit in certain moments, because they’re better than what they look like on camera.

Absolutely. Do you have any favorite shots on the course? Any spots you really love when you get to that hole or an approach or tee shot you just really like?

It’s hard to pick one because I love so many of them, but I think for me especially when everything’s blooming, that tee shot on 11 is beautiful. It’s such a hard hole, but it’s simple. No bunkers, it’s just fairway, rough, and trees. It’s simple but it’s beautiful. It’s one of the ones I like the most.

On the flip side, what is one of the toughest shots you have to execute out there?

I think the toughest tee shot for me is 17. The toughest iron shot, by far, is No. 12, especially if it’s windy. If there’s no wind, it’s not difficult, but if there’s any wind, that hole can be diabolical. Because the amount of wind gusts you get, and that’s something that doesn’t get talked about enough is how much the wind can fluctuate in seconds.

And it swirls in that corner over at 12. You’ll see guys that are staring at 11 pin and the trees above 12 and they’ll be moving in a couple different directions.

Yes. It’s crazy because you can see the 12th flag moving one direction, the 11th flag moving another direction and you’re only 100 yards apart. You can feel something completely different to those two, and then the trees above 11 and 13 are also a discrepancy. So it’s absolutely nuts. You get to that tee, it’s crazy. What happened last year with Francesco, Tony, I think Poulter, and Brooks hitting it in the water, it was like five of the last six guys or four of the last six players. It’s not because they hit bad shots. I would dare to say most of those were good shots. It’s mainly the wind switches and the gusts and yeah you see guys go in the water, but missing it long is not a great option. You’re gonna make four not a five, but it’s not like you’re trying to hit it long on purpose. People don’t see on TV the shots that end up in the trees, because it happens [laughs]. It’s crazy how difficult it can get. If it’s not that windy it’s not the hardest shot in the world, but it’s intimidating for everybody.

You guys are supposed to get some weather this week. How do you prepare for a Masters where you could see rain and could see that wind messing around timing some?

Well when it comes to the course we just hope the greens don’t get too damaged. A lot of what Augusta National is and the way it plays is the greens. With the sub-air obviously they can manage that as well as possible. The fairways may play a little bit slower and a little bit longer, which means longer clubs into the greens and that’s the only thing I can say. There have been years where it’s rained and played long, I believe it was 17 there was some rain and it played a little bit longer. But we’re no strangers to the rain, we just hope it’s not too harsh and we can play through it and compete and play in the tournament without too many stops.

I know you guys talked about this and being used to not playing with fans this year, but that’s so much a part of Augusta and the atmosphere with the roars, especially down the stretch on Sunday. Is that something you’ve thought about it being particularly strange at this place, especially if you’re in the hunt on Sunday, not being able to hear out for those roars?

I think it’s going to be different in a good way, meaning hopefully we’re only going to experience Augusta National without patrons once. And I think we have to cherish those memories. We know whoever wins this year is going to be somebody who we’ll remember for a long time because they’re winning in November and it’s a different year. I think that’s going to be something to remember. We miss fans and we’ll miss the atmosphere, but I think it’s going to be different in a good way and how special of a year it is and how thankful we are to actually be playing the Masters this year.

You were part of what I think has been my favorite golf moment this year, and that was the finish to the BMW, with you and DJ.

Haha, thank you.

I want to ask you what was that like, because it wasn’t a major but it felt like a major moment with 1 and 2 in the world going at it?

It was extremely fun. It’s crazy because I started that week I was so far back of the lead I was like, let’s see if we can sneak into a top 10, top 5, and we got into that final round three off the lead and I was like, OK it’s going to take a good day. If I can shoot even par or under par, I can have a shot at the top 10 and maybe a top 5. And I started off on fire, birdied 1, birdied 4, then I birdied 10 and I was 3-under, and I was like, well, you know things are looking pretty good and maybe I can keep this going and have a chance. I sure played some good golf down the stretch and the birdies on 15 and 16 were key.

Everybody remembers that putt in the playoff, but that third shot on the par 5 on 15. The 6 iron I hit there and the 6 iron I hit on the next hole were really, really, really good. That birdie on the par 5 after having to chip out was a key momentum shifter for me to be able to be aggressive towards the end and play good. Obviously the playoff, to see what DJ did and for me to come back and hit a longer putt on top of him was surreal. You always dream of those battles and dream of coming out on top of those, and I’m just glad we could put on such a good show and such a good finish, because it was fun to play and I’m sure it was fun to watch.

It was. You’re partnered with Mercedes this week who is a big partner with the Masters, and what does it mean to be able to work with them and do this talk with Rickie and Ian and give fans a glimpse behind the scenes on a week like this where there won’t be patrons there?

Well, I’m just really thankful I was accepted a few years back as a Mercedes ambassador. Mercedes is a worldwide brand with a really high standard and they can be picky, they’ve earned the right to be picky with their ambassadors. So I’m extremely thankful to be one of them, especially this week. They’ve been supporting golf for so long in such a good way, especially the Masters too. It’s a unique week for all of us, and the fact that they put me, Ian, and Rickie together to have fun, messing around with the cars outside and then being able to do our interview and have fun with Michael and each other. It’s something we miss and something we’re trying to do as much as possible for the fans nowadays and bring a smile for people having a hard time. COVID hasn’t been easy for anyone and we’re extremely thankful to be competing like we have this year. So much like we’ve done on the golf course, we’re just glad we could put on a little bit of a show off of it as well.

Former Trump chief strategist and conspiracy podcaster Steve Bannon recently got himself permanently banned from Twitter. This may have been a long time coming, but he officially crossed the line by encouraging extreme violence against Dr. Anthony Fauci. And he tweeted a clip from his podcast-y online program, War Room: Pandemic, in which he called for the beheading of Fauci and FBI Director Chris Wray: “I’d put the heads on pikes. Right. I’d put them at the two corners of the White House as a warning to federal bureaucrats. You either get with the program or you are gone.”

In the aftermath of that hot mess, Bannon’s attorney dumped him (on those still-pending federal mail fraud charges), and Fauci said nothing. A week later, the NIAID director addressed the matter (as “unusual,” albeit “stressful”) while speaking with an Australian morning program: “When you have public figures like Bannon calling for your beheading, that’s really kind of unusual, I think.”

Here’s more of Fauci’s response:

“That’s not the kind of thing you think about when you’re going through medical school to become a physician. It’s noise, it’s meaningless. You know, people calling for you to be beheaded, fired, thrown into the fire pit, or whatever, that’s just noise. You don’t pay attention to that.”

Unfortunately, Fauci has had to pay some attention to threats of this nature, given that he recently had to beef up security for his family as people continue to lash out at him for advocating mask-wearing. Making matters even worse, the president has been trashing the doctor right and left, and threatening to have him fired, and so on. We all know what happened last week during the election, though, yet what remains less certain is what the heck Bannon will do without an attorney, since he likely violated bail conditions. Aaand that’s Steve Bannon’s problem.

(Via ABC 730 & CNBC)

As President Trump continues to beat the drum of fraud and cheating with no solid evidence to back it up, and as many Republicans seem hell bent on sticking with Trump to the bitter end, there are some Republicans who are putting country—and reality—before party.

One of those Republicans is Philadelphia city commissioner Al Schmidt. He and his office are in charge of the vote count for the city, which has come under a huge microscope with Pennsylvania being the state that pushed Biden over the threshold of 270 electoral votes. Trump’s team has been pushing hard to try to make Pennsylvania out to be a hotbed of corruption and illegal voting, but Schmidt says the allegations being made against Philadelphia’s ballot counting have no basis in reality.

Schmidt was interviewed by 60 Minutes over the weekend, where he described the “crazy” things he’s heard and how his office has been receiving death threats over it.

“From the inside looking out, it feels all very deranged,” he said. “At the end of the day, we are counting eligible votes cast by voters. The controversy surrounding it is something I don’t understand. It’s people making accusations that we wouldn’t count those votes, or people are adding fraudulent votes…just coming up with all sorts of crazy stuff.”

Schmidt said they’re getting “calls to our offices reminding us this is what the second amendment is for. People like us…for counting votes…in a democracy.”

Despite the tsunami of misinformation floating around social media, including from the president of the United States, Schmidt is holding firm. Regardless of party or personal loyalty, truth comes first.

When CNN asked what evidence of any widespread fraud Schmidt had seen in the count in Philadelphia, he replied, “I have not. If evidence of widespread fraud—or evidence of any fraud at all—is brought to our attention, we take a look at it and we refer it to law enforcement, as we always do in every election.”

“I have seen the most fantastical things on social media,” Schmidt continued. “making completely ridiculous allegations that have no basis in fact at all, and see them spread. And I realize a lot of people are happy about this election, and a lot of people are unhappy about this election. One thing I can’t comprehend is how hungry people are to consume lies and to consume information that is not true.”

The CNN host asked him to clarify what information was not true, to which Schmidt replied, “Just the other day I saw something that had a long list of people that they said were dead voters who voted in Philadelphia. So when we took a break between everything else that we’re doing, we looked it up, each one of them, to see what their vote history was. Not a single one of them voted in Philadelphia after they died. It’s one of these things that kind of bounces around out there, that echoes around, that people say from one to another they heard something, or they heard from someone who saw something that they think might have been x, y, or z. And it’s really impossible to keep up with those.”

Schmidt is not alone.

The international delegation of election watchers Trump invited to witness our electoral process released a preliminary report saying that they were impressed by the conduct of our elections and chastised Trump for his baseless accusations of systemic fraud. The New York Times called election officials in all 50 states to find out what evidence they had seen of widespread fraud, and guess what. All the officials they spoke to, from both parties, said that no fraud or irregularities had played a role in the outcome of the election.

Irregularities do occur in every election, and there are systems in place for catching and remedying them. And every investigation into voter fraud—including Trump’s own administration’s Voter Fraud Commission—has found that no evidence of widespread fraud. Any individual instances of fraud that have been found amount to a miniscule fraction of a fraction of a percent of total legitimate votes. The case for fraud just isn’t there.

And the accusation isn’t benign. Right now, we have a president who is not just contesting the election results, but behaving as if it’s a foregone conclusion that he’s going to remain in power. He’s vetting appointees for a second term. He’s making sweeping changes in Pentagon leadership. He’s undermining Americans’ faith in our electoral system, which puts the safety and stability of our nation directly in harm’s way.

The peaceful transfer of power is one of the defining elements of our democracy, a vital tradition that reminds us we have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. When the people have spoken at the ballot box, no matter who wins, the leaders of our government accept the result. In some elections, like Bush/Gore in 2000, results truly are so close that a challenge and recount is warranted. But we all know the legal challenges in this election aren’t about a close count. With Biden’s commanding lead of more than five million votes in the popular vote and winning key swing states by more than five figures, the result isn’t that close.

This refusal to concede is 100% the emotional response of a malignant narcissist who is incapable of admitting defeat of any kind. It’s the childish reaction of a man whose dad raised him to believe you’re either a fighter or a loser, and it’s not acceptable to be a loser. The fact that some prominent Republicans are coddling his delusions, feeding the misinformation machine that has led to millions of Americans not accepting an obvious result and undermining people’s faith in our free and fair elections, is baffling and embarrassing, but it doesn’t change the reality that Al Schmidt and other election officials keep reiterating.

Joe Biden is president-elect of the United States. And no amount of baseless allegations will change that.

Finding the best brewery in America is no easy task. There are over 8,000 craft breweries nationwide. That equates to fierce jostling in the quest for national prominence. Jostling that’s governed by industry groups, associations, and competitions — like the Great American Beer Festival (colloquially called GABF) — which help sort the wheat from the chaff (or the spent grain, as it were).

Each year, GABF awards medals for American craft beers, brewers, breweries, and brewpubs small and large. This year’s results were announced a couple of weeks back and covered 91 beer categories. That equated to over 8,000 entries being judged altogether. Among these, the “Brewery of the Year” competition grouped breweries by their size and function and broke them into categories accordingly. Then judges — industry folks like beer writers, brewers, and experts — picked the best in each subdivision.

This year’s GABF awarded seven breweries the honor of Brewery and Brewer or Brewing Team of the year. We’re breaking them down below with some info on what the brewery is all about with the beer we’d choose if we rolled up on their taproom in the near future.

Very Small Brewing Company: Five Branches Brewing

Location: Tarpon Springs, FL

The Brewery:

This brewery on central Florida’s Gulf Coast is owned and operated by U.S. military veterans. They run a small brewery with an attached bar and, naturally, offer beer-to-go, given that it’s late 2020. Their menu touches on classic styles from pale ales to pumpkin beers to well-aged stouts and lighter German lagers.

The One Beer We’d Order:

This is an easy pick. Five Branches also won a medal at GABF for their Doggin Wrench Imperial Stout. The brew took home silver this year. And given it’s imperial stout season, that’d be our order.

Small Brewing Company: Big ALICe Brewing Co.

Location: Long Island City, NY

The Brewery:

This New York brewery with spots in Brooklyn and Queens has spent the last five years picking up awards. The brews coming out of Big ALICe tend to lean into wild and fruity concoctions to wow your palate. They have 15 beers on tap currently, with an additional nine cans and six barrel-aged bottles to choose from.

The One Beer We’d Order:

Their Biere De Fierte is an annual release that blends the high ABVs of a Belgian tripel (9.8 percent in this case) with lemongrass and ginger before a stint in red wine barrels to mellow it out.

Mid-Size Brewing Company: Lost Forty Brewing

Location: Little Rock, AR

The Brewery:

Lost 40 takes its name and spirit from the wildlands still standing in the rolling, forested hills of Arkansas. The idea is to embrace the fruits of the wilds and fold them into well-made craft beer.

The beers are bright, fruity, and full of Arkansas mountain vibes.

The One Beer We’d Order:

Lost 40 has its annual release of Nighty Night 2020 coming up on November 21st. The imperial stout is a much-beloved release from the brewery and usually draws big crowds looking to taste this year’s suds as early as possible.

Brewery Group of the Year: Three Creeks Brewing Co.

Location: Sisters, OR

The Brewery:

Sisters, Oregon is an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise. And between that town, Bend, and Redmond, Oregon (all a short drive from each other), there’s an abundance of great craft brewing happening. The brewers keep everything focused on making accessible beers in cans and kegs that you can quaff between mountain bike or ski runs.

The One Beer We’d Order:

Case in point, their Crowd-Pleaser IPA is a great beer to start with on your Central Oregon beer journey. (If you can get there this year, that is.) The beer is a West Coast IPA that lets the Amarillo, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops shine next to a mild malty base. In short, it’s a crushable beer.

Small Brewpub: The Good Society

Location: Seattle, WA

The Brewery:

Good Society is the epitome of a neighborhood tavern. They have a killer in-house beer selection, the most chill of West Seattle vibes, and actually spend their time engaging with their neighbors to make their home a better place. Plus, their Belgian-style and French-style ales won gold at this year’s GABF.

The One Beer We’d Order:

While their Belgian won the award, we’d go with their good old Hausbier. It’s a German Kölsch that just hits the right spot of being bold enough to think about while being drinkable enough to last for a whole session.

Mid-Size Brewpub: Monkless Belgian Ales

Location: Bend, OR

The Brewery:

Back in Central Oregon, amongst the high desert junipers, Monkless Belgian Ales is doing some fine work. While their head brewer isn’t a monk (per the name), he’s as devoted to the science and execution of beer as any Trappist monk in Belgium.

The guy has a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, which translates to an understanding of beer on the deepest of levels.

The One Beer We’d Order:

This is a no-brainer for this time of year and that’s their seasonal drop Friar’s Festivus. The strong Belgian winter ale clocks in at a hefty 10.2 percent ABV.

The flavors are spot-on for a Belgian winter beer, with citrus, dark fruit, spices, and malty caramel leading the way.

Large Brewpub: The Freehouse

Location: Minneapolis, MN

The Brewery:

This downtown craft brewery and bar in the Warehouse District is a must-stop if you’re in Minneapolis, which is quickly becoming the most fascinating and diverse food and drinking scene in the U.S. And while the vibes of this spot are great, their beers do live up to all the hardware they’ve scored over the years.

The One Beer We’d Order:

I was lucky enough to drop in this place the last time I was in Minneapolis. And the beer is 100-percent worth the hype. But what really stands out are their beer cocktails, with whiskey, rye, and gin from their barrel collaborations. Their gose whiskey sour with J. Carver bourbon and their own gose beer was a nice, unique drink that hit the spot.

Don’t sleep on their brown ale either.

Pressure can seem like a strange word to use for a team that made the playoffs just once last decade and is picking first overall in the NBA Draft, but in the case of the Minnesota Timberwolves, it’s a strangely apt description of the situation in which they find themselves as they continue to build around Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell.

Minnesota can’t do anything about winning the Draft Lottery in a season with a weak class, nor can they change the fact that the building consensus is that the best player in that class is LaMelo Ball, a player who overlaps massively with Russell. Memphis’ James Wiseman, perhaps the second-highest profile prospect, isn’t a good fit with Towns. What the Timberwolves can do, however, and seem hell-bent on doing, is using the overall value of their picks at No. 1 and No. 17 to increase the chances that they come away from next week’s draft with a future star. There are several ways they can do that.

Drafting LaMelo Ball

Taking Ball is probably smartest according to pure value. A brilliant play-maker at 6’7 with the skill to score from just about anywhere on the floor, Ball could be the focal point of a top-10 offense one day. Even playing next to someone like Russell, the shooting and overall basketball IQ from Ball make it still a worthwhile endeavor to take him, and Minnesota has been sending out the message through reporters that they prefer having multiple ball-handlers.

Mileage will vary on Ball’s defense, as analysts like TrueHoop’s David Thorpe have been pretty harsh, while Mike Schmitz at ESPN is far more trusting of Ball’s overall intelligence and length to make up for his lack of effort last year in the Australian league. Players like Ball can be among the hardest to evaluate on this end considering how much focus they have on running the offense and how little emphasis their coaches place on asking them to execute a defensive scheme. It’s hard to imagine, though, that Ball’s smarts and size can’t make an impact on defense just like his older brother did at UCLA and early in his career with the Lakers.

Where Ball can likely be trusted is as a team defender, as Dan Olinger notes at The Step Back. Like Lonzo, he just sees the game and tries stuff that few would think to. But unlike Lonzo, he’s not as balanced or disciplined, perhaps because he didn’t get a year in a system like Lonzo did at UCLA. That doesn’t mean LaMelo is hopeless, though.

At the same time, Minnesota is not likely to be the Draft situation that insulates him. If you want Ball to use his length and instincts in rotation, Russell is almost certainly not the guy you’d pair him with. That could, however, be Josh Okogie or Jarrett Culver, two solid point-of-attack defenders. Yet that puts the team and coaching staff in a bind if the base gameplan on defense is full of cross-matches and odd positional choices.

The most interesting outcome is that Ball is simply better than Russell, and the Timberwolves’ front office has to make a bet that Ball can prove that to Towns quickly enough. That’s all a decision for down the line, and one that would be fairly gutsy, but that’s why Rosas was brought in, and sports teams tend to be rewarded when they do something gutsy in favor of accumulating the most talent possible.

Drafting James Wiseman

Another option is Wiseman from an upside standpoint, though Wiseman seems unlikely to develop the kind of shooting or defensive versatility that would make pairing him with Towns work. More likely is that Wiseman would be a bench guy in Minnesota while general manager worked the phones on a trade to flip him down the road. That’s a high-risk, high-reward way to handle things.

If the Timberwolves do just pick hold their noses and take Wiseman, it’s not as if they would be getting a hopeless player. Wiseman is already solid at many of the things a modern NBA big man needs to do. Right away, he’s probably going to be a strong rebounder on both ends, he runs the floor well and has the balance and sticky hands to finish in transition, he understands how to create quick advantages for himself as a post scorer, and he can block shots.

There’s at least a small chance Wiseman also develops a wider offensive skill set as a shooter or with a burgeoning face-up scoring game. That would certainly help his fit with Towns, who we already know can be effective even from the perimeter.

The issue is that defensively, both players are pure centers. Towns initially looked capable of switching onto smaller players but that seems unlikely now unless he slims down considerably. Wiseman is also not as mobile as you’d like and struggles to change direction or speeds when he has to guard smaller guys or come out to the three-point line in pick-and-roll coverage.

Some teams can exist these days with two bigs (Memphis is doing just fine with Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke), but Towns and Wiseman is a frontcourt that would struggle mightily to defend.

Drafting Anthony Edwards Jr.

Maybe the safest option here would be to draft Anthony Edwards Jr., the Georgia wing who presents the best combination of athleticism, shot creation, and upside in the Draft. In the case of the Timberwolves, Edwards is also the best positional fit. Edwards could join an intriguing Minnesota wing rotation that includes Culver and Okogie and inject some unpredictable athleticism to a team that, because of Russell and Towns’ unorthodox styles, is lacking in that area.

Still, many wonder about Edwards’ overall work ethic after seemingly poor conditioning during his nationally televised workout last week and his lack of hustle throughout the SEC season. Those worries seem a bit over-blown. More pressing fixes will likely come in Edwards’ decision-making and how he impacts winning without the ball in his hands.

Throughout the year, I’ve been higher on Edwards than most seem to. Folks around the Georgia program seem to really believe in his outrageous talent and competitive spirit, and are optimistic he can find new ways to impact the game. Remember, Edwards was not part of a high-level AAU program, nor did he go through the international basketball circuit like Wiseman, R.J. Barrett, or even Nico Mannion did. All year, head coach Tom Crean implored Edwards to be more active as an off-ball scorer and gave him assignments on defense that demanded his intense focus.

All that said, Edwards’ decision-making remains an issue and has been since scouts first saw him.

The results of Crean’s coaching were inconsistent. But go back further and watch Edwards’ high school tape or his scoring explosion at the Maui Invitational nearly a year ago, and it’s clear Edwards has just about every shot in his arsenal already, and is a bit younger than most of this class. The best version of Edwards is the best complement to Towns and Russell of anyone likely in contention at No. 1 and I feel optimistic he can get a lot better in the NBA.

Breaking with consensus and drafting someone else

There are plenty of wings who could also help Minnesota firm up that spot long-term, if the Timberwolves are willing to buck consensus. Ben Pfeifer of the Prep2Pro draft podcast and the USA Today RookieWire believes Florida State wing Devin Vassell offers the best path toward an elite wing for the Timberwolves. There’s also Isaac Okoro, who’s probably a little light on shooting when Culver and Okogie both struggle with their shots as well, but is a truly genius player. A big monkey wrench would be to take combo guard Killian Hayes or Deni Avdija, two strong two-way players who don’t have any one skill that pops but would fit nicely on a team like Minnesota with two stars in place already.

There has been so much buzz around so many different players now that it wouldn’t be entirely surprising if the Timberwolves just pivoted and took someone unexpected.

Trading the pick

That brings us to situations in which Minnesota backs out of No. 1. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer added fuel to the fire on this particular concept when he reported that not only are the Timberwolves interested in trading the 17th pick to move up for a second lottery pick, but that in particular, they like Tyrese Haliburton and Patrick Williams, both of whom would be more traditional fits alongside Towns and Russell.

Trade machinations are too dense here to imagine all the possibilities involving No. 17, but it’s worth considering how this informs what Minnesota would do in the event they could simply trade down. That may be the smarter move for a few reasons.

Most importantly, by trading back, they could potentially recoup a 2021 first round pick after dealing theirs to Golden State for Russell. The 2021 Draft seems like it could have a few star-level talents in it, like Cade Cunningham and Usman Garuba. Getting back into the 2021 while also grabbing a player like Haliburton or Williams that we know the Timberwolves are high on seems like the type of move general manager Gersson Rosas — who knows the value of the long game from his time in Houston — would be wise to make.

A team centered around Russell and Towns theoretically doesn’t need another traditional star. By taking a player like Haliburton or Williams, two dynamic two-way role players with upside, Minnesota could build a deeper and more cohesive squad around the two stars rather than upstaging one of them.

The most fun scenario for those who love gigantic, complex trades is the No. 1 pick becomes involved in something bigger, such as Atlanta’s reported pursuit of Holiday, as noted this week by Marc Stein of the New York Times. Imagine Minnesota moving back and grabbing a veteran player in one move, and we know they’re aggressive in deals like this after Rosas swapped out nearly the entire roster at last season’s trade deadline.

When push comes to shove, the top overall pick hardly ever moves. The last time it did, Boston moved down two slots and drafted Jayson Tatum. Rarely does the pick become part of a huge transaction. Because of the high value of being able to draft any player in the entire class, most organizations simply roll the dice and take someone. The rumors right now indicate that would be Ball, but draft night is sure to pose some big surprises, not the least of which could be Minnesota reversing course.

Pharrell is the latest musician to join the MasterClass ranks, as he has announce that he, MasterClass, and Uninterrupted are teaming up for a new film series, “The Power You Hold.” Today, he shared a six-minute episode titled “Building Empathy.”

The episode is described, “In ‘Building Empathy’ Pharrell Williams tells the story behind Something In The Water, an annual Virginia Beach festival which has transformed a weekend with a long-held negative reputation into one associated with goodwill and empathy.”

Pharrell starts the video by saying, “We always talk about love and how important love is, but you can’t love someone or something without relating to its existence. And in order to relate, you have to empathize. You have to put yourself in that place. People often say, like, ‘You don’t know what it’s like to be in my shoes.’ Well, that’s the point. You meet people, you enter conversations, you read things, your mind starts to open up, and you start to realize that there’s more going on in the world than you and your dream. So that’s where empathy comes in. That’s where I started to realize I needed to think about things differently.”

A synopsis for the series reads, “Uninterrupted & MasterClass have partnered to launch ‘The Power You Hold,’ a series of films examining issues of social injustice and systemic racism offering education and inspiration on ways to impact change.”

Watch “Building Empathy” above.

A little over years ago, Mxmtoon was recording her first EP from her parent’s guest bedroom. Fast forward to 2020 and the singer has gotten the opportunity to work with big-name musicians like Carly Rae Jepsen and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. Mxmtoon released her second EP of the year Dusk back in October, and now, the singer shares a visual to her Jepsen collaboration “OK On Your Own.”

Mxmtoon directed, shot, and edited the visual herself with animation help by illustrator Lulu McGregor. The clip offers some insight into how the singer has been holding up while quarantined in her New York City apartment and depicts how she can remain positive while isolated.

In a recent interview with Uproxx ahead of the visual’s release, Mxmtoon said collaborating with Carly Rae Jepsen and Bon Iver was a dream-come-true for her. “Working with Carly was a shot in the dark, she came up just because she’s such an influential singer and amazing advocate,” she said. “I’m such a huge fan of her, and it was amazing that she was open to it. I got to call her and I was like ‘you know what, you’re Carly Rae Jepsen, you can take it and run with it, just cut vocals however you want to.’ As for ‘Bon Iver,’ he’s so influential in the music industry and that project is something that’s been very inspirational to me.”

Watch Mxmtoon and Jepsen’s “OK On Your Own” video above.

Dusk is out now via AWAL. Get it here.