Category: News

“There’s only one thing more dangerous than a bad virus, and that’s a bad vaccine,” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s health emergencies programme, said in March. “We have to be very, very, very careful in developing any product that we’re going to inject into potentially most of the world population.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, experts have said that developing a vaccine and getting it through the necessary safety and efficacy protocols would take, at minimum, 12 to 18 months. Yet here we are, 7 months in, and Vladimir Putin has just announced that Russia has already approved a vaccine for the coronavirus.

According to the BBC, there are more than 100 vaccines in various stages of development and testing. Six of those have reached phase 3 trials, involving more widespread testing in humans. Russia’s vaccine is not among those six.

Meanwhile, hundreds of U.S. doctors have signed a letter urging the FDA not to rush or politicize vaccine trials.

“We are experts in virology, epidemiology, vaccinology, infectious disease, clinical care and public health,” the letter opens, before declaring the “urgent” need for a COVID-19 vaccine. “We are committed to promoting the broad uptake of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines. The need is urgent but all vaccines must be rigorously studied to determine whether their benefits exceed their risks.”

The letter expresses concern that public confidence in a vaccine will be greatly undermined by rushing the process, and that thorough safety trials must be followed through in order for doctors themselves to confidently recommend and administer one.

For those reasons, the doctors urged transparency in the process of trialing and documenting any potential vaccines:

“The foundation of public confidence in vaccine safety has long been, and must remain, the well-established and trusted FDA approval procedures. The public is typically and rightly able to comment on vaccine approval. It is important that investigators share Phase 3 trial design details. For example, Data Safety Monitoring Boards apply predetermined ‘stopping rules’ to decide whether a study should be terminated early based on the detection of early benefits, the likelihood of no benefit, or the emergence of serious safety problems. These stopping rules should be publicly available. There must also be continuous monitoring for unexpected severe side effects that might only become apparent after large numbers of people are vaccinated.”

Finally, they drove home the point that doctors can only recommend a vaccine if they believe it is safe, and that evaluating safety can only be done with a transparent process unmarred by politics.

“We can only perform as advocates if we ourselves are persuaded that the vaccine(s) truly is safe and effective. We must be able to explain to the public what we know and what we don’t know about these vaccines. For that to happen, we must be able to witness a transparent and rigorous FDA approval process that is devoid of political considerations.”

Russia’s announcement could very well push vaccine makers and the government to rush the development and trialing process, which would be a mistake. Vaccine development usually takes years, not months, and skipping safety steps in the name of competition or expediency could make public health problems worse, not better.

As always, government needs to listen to the health experts on this front. We need a vaccine as soon as possible, but we also need to make sure we utilize the knowledge and processes that will ensure any vaccine will be safe to administer, no matter which company or country gets there first.

Harassment on public transportation in New York is a disturbing part of everyday reality for women in the city. A study published by Gothamist found that 75% had experienced harassment and/or theft on public transportation, versus 47% of male participants.

This type of harassment can put women in physical danger but it also leads them to take alternative forms of transportation that are more expensive, resulting in an annual “pink tax” that average $1,200 more than what a man pays for the same services.

A video posted by “Caitlin,” an art student from New York City, showed the power of standing up to those who harass women on public transportation and she hopes that it will inspire others to do the same.

Caitlin saw a man harassing a woman, grabbing his genitals, saying he “didn’t really care that she had a boyfriend” and explicitly talking about how he was going to have sex with her.

“I started looking around to see who else was on the cart, and we appeared to be the only two women on the train,” Caitlin told Buzzfeed.

“There were three other men sitting somewhat near the situation,” she added. “Nobody else on the train seemed bothered by what was happening. The man then stood up and began walking towards her, grabbing his dick and blatantly staring at her.”

So Caitlin spoke up to the man and filmed the interaction on TikTok.

In the video, the man accuses Caitlin of being “all up in his business” for calling him out, but she refuses to back down.

“What am I supposed to do when you’re yelling at a random woman about your dick,” she retorted, “you’re sexually harassing someone and I’m not gonna let you do it when it’s not right.”

“I started looking around to see who else was on the cart, and we appeared to be the only two women on the train,” she continued. “There were three other men sitting somewhat near the situation. Nobody else on the train seemed bothered by what was happening. The man then stood up and began walking towards her, grabbing his dick and blatantly staring at her.”

According to Buzzfeed, Caitlin didn’t let up. She argued with him for another 20 to 30 minutes, even after the woman that was being harassed got off the train.

After she posted the video she created a follow-up where she discussed why she didn’t talk to the woman who was being harassed.

Caitlin hopes her video will inspire others to speak up when they see someone being harassed.

“In order to break the cycle, people have to be willing to call it out when they see it, and hopefully correct the behavior, or else these people will continue to think it’s acceptable,” she told Buzzfeed.

“The only reason I was able to stand up to that man was because I’ve been inspired in the past by other women doing the same thing,” she added. “Watching a woman find their voice and having the power to be who they want to be, unapologetically, is what inspires me daily. So, I just want this video to do the same to those who need inspiration.”

If nothing below suits your sensibilities, check out our guide to What You Should Watch On Streaming Right Now.

Rob Schneider: Asian Momma, Mexican Kids (Netflix stand-up special) — After all these years (and Adam Sandler movies), Rob Schneider’s first Netflix special has arrived to take on adulthood. Did you know that his daughter is Elle King? She shows up for an ending diet with dad.

Stargirl (CW, 8:00 p.m.) — The season finale has arrived with a surprise visitor as Courtney’s new generation of superheroes clashes anew with the Injustice Society of America.

Tell Me a Story (CW, 9:00 p.m.) — A secret relationship and a jealous third party might derail this show’s careful balance while Jordan’s still pushing back at at that pesky police investigation.

Netflix has also dropped many other comedy specials over the past few months, and here are the highlights:

Eric Andre: Legalize Everything — This New Orleans-filmed special shows Eric Andre once again busting through comedic boundaries while taking on the wars on sex, drugs, and… fart jokes? Alright. Seriously though, It’s the best comedy special of the year and highly relevant to the U.S. police-related discussion today.

Jim Jefferies: Intolerant — The Aussie comedian (who remains notorious for his gun-control opinion) pulls a 180 from where he was five years ago. He’s less focused on issues these days and grows incredibly banal at times, but he’s still uproariously funny. While reflecting upon the state of comedy today, he manages to dole out some hefty insight on life while telling an epic tale of the pursuit of lactose at all costs.

Pete Davidson: Alive From New York — From SNL to a ton of upcoming movies, Pete Davidson’s doing everything, and now, he’s got his very first Netflix original comedy special. Yes, he’s dropping all kinds of unfiltered anecdotes on everything from his SNL-related discomfort to his Louis C.K. beef and Ariana Grande relationship.

Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything — The Emmy and Grammy winning comedian brings his newest comedy special to the streaming giant. Look forward to anecdotes involving a full-scale Millennium Falcon replica and how home buying gets tied to the term “suicide squad.” Stick around for the post-credits bonus, in which Patton introduces another one-hour comedy special, Bob Rubin: Oddities & Rarities.

Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours To Kill — The legendary Jerry Seinfeld has dropped his second Netflix special. Expect him to keep mining everyday life to unveil comedy in the commonplace. Although the title of this special feels Bond-esque, Seinfeld doesn’t disappoint those expecting his trademarked sharp perceptions about everyday life.

Sam Jay: 3 In The Morning (Netflix standup special) — For her first hour-long comedy special with the streaming giant, SNL writer Sam Jay headed to Atlanta, Georgia to get witty, candid, and raw at The Masquerade club.

Marc Maron: End Times Fun — The long-time standup comic, GLOW star, and prolific podcaster unleashes his latest comedy special. Expect Maron’s thoughts on cell phones, vaccinations, and Tumeric. Oh, and he’s definitely talking about his ongoing beef with Marvel movie fans.

George Lopez: We’ll Do It For Half (Netflix stand-up special, Tuesday) — Somehow, this is Lopez’s first Netflix comedy special despite his storied stand-up roots. In one hour, Lopez dives into lessons that he’s learned from the Latino community, along with issues related to emotional support animals, gender reveal parties, and elevator etiquette.

Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (Netflix stand-up special) — The newest Netflix comedy special arrives today with Hannah Gadsby following up on Nanette with a second turn named after one of her dogs. Gadsby’s hope was that Douglas would “inspire comedy disobedience,” according to Netflix, and this LA-filmed special promises to upend all expectations.

After a dismal 2019 campaign, the Atlanta Dream entered the 2020 season with some optimism, focused chiefly on their young core and hopefulness that No. 4 overall pick Chennedy Carter could inject some life into an offense that struggled mightily without Angel McCoughtry.

Starting her WNBA career off in the first weeks of the Wubble, Carter looked the part, averaging 22.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game, bringing a swagger and confidence to the Atlanta offense that had been missing. Carter’s productivity has thrust her to the top of the Rookie of the Year race in the WNBA with top pick Sabrina Ionescu is out at least a month with an ankle injury, but unfortunately for Carter and the Dream, she too will now miss time with an ankle injury of her own.

Carter had to leave the Dream’s 92-83 loss to the Sun after just three minutes on Monday after hurting her ankle and Tuesday the Dream announced she will miss at least two weeks of play.

Injuries have been an unfortunate storyline of the Wubble, as some top players have been knocked out of action with various ailments, and for Carter and Ionescu it’s especially tough to have to miss time in what is already a shortened rookie season. Time to develop on the floor and gain experience at the pro level as a lead guard is critical, and both will lose out on that. Carter was sensational for the Dream and as a team they will have a tough time replacing her productivity and energy.

Hopefully moving forward she can make her return on the shorter end of the timeline and continue growing into her role as a leader on the court for Atlanta.

I’ll say this up front so that there’s zero confusion: Child sex trafficking is real, it’s heinous, and it’s been going on for a long time. Everyone who buys or sells a child or partakes in harming a child in any way should be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law. There is no place in civil society for people who sexually abuse children or who profit off of the abuse of children. Full stop. No question.

But we have careened into some twisted waters in our social discourse around child sex trafficking, to the point where the real issue of is being conflated with outrageous conspiracy theories that deflect from the real work being done to save children, put innocent people in harm’s way, and interfere with the integrity of our elections.

I wrote about this issue recently and was met with accusations of being paid off by powerful pedophiles (ugh, seriously?), a flood of people saying “No, you’re wrong!” while offering zero evidence, and a bunch of YouTube and Facebook videos that people seem to think are credible sources. I got fake screenshots of supposed Wikileaks emails that aren’t actually on Wikileaks when you search for them. I got people who only listen to fringe outlets that have no oversight or accountability claiming that my well-cited, real news sources were a part of the whole conspiracy. All of that stuff I could ignore. Whackadoodles are gonna whackadoodle no matter how many facts you throw at them.

But I also got a few people sharing a list of nearly 100 politicians and other powerful people who have been convicted of child sex crimes. That was different, because it was factual.

There have been dozens of politicians who have been convicted of sex crimes involving children, and the list itself was accurate. (One particularly viral version of the list linked the people with Ghislaine Maxwell—that part is false, but the crimes are real.) Politifact, in a fact-check of the Facebook post, even put together a Google doc with a news story corroborating each one on the list.

However, that list is not evidence of some sort of global cabal of evil, pedophilic overlords who are engaged in coordinated rituals of child sacrifice and child sex trafficking.

When you see a list of name after name and crime after crime, it’s easy to think “Wow, this is insane! So any politicians and powerful people are involved in this stuff!” It looks like a huge number. You have to scroll and scroll to get through all of those names and headlines. But let’s put our ability to reason to good use here.

That list —which includes around 60 politicians and 30 people adjacent to politics—includes elected officials at the local level all the way up to the federal government. And as far as I can see, based on the news stories, the convictions take place as far back as 1983. So we’re talking about 60 politicians over a span of 35+ years.

Do you know how many elected officials serve in the United States at any given time? Around 520,000. And over 35+ years, the total number individuals serving in those positions would actually be double or triple that number (or more) due to turnover (different people get elected, people retire, terms run out, etc.) But let’s just go with a nice, round, safely conservative 520,000.

60 out of 520,000 is 0.012%. That’s twelve-thousandths of a percent.

Of course, there are people who never get caught, much less convicted. So let’s say there were twice as many politician pedophile abusers as actually get caught. That would still only be 0.024%.

But let’s say it’s way bigger than that. Let’s say that there are actually ten times more pedophile politicians than the number who have been caught. Even then, that would be 0.12% at most. Twelve-hundredths of a percent.

Considering the estimates for pedophilia (depending on what ages are included) range from 1% to 5%, it doesn’t appear that politicians are any more likely than anyone in the general population to be pedophiles.

And how about those 30 who were not elected officials at all, but activists, donors, celebrities, and more? The list included people like Harvey Weinstein (who was a slimy sexual predator, but no evidence of being a pedophile), director Roman Polanski, Jared Fogle the Subway guy, radio host Ben Ward, some anti-abortion activists, a few political aides, a campaign chairman, a Christian Coalition leader, a pastor, and others.

If you take the categories those other people belong to—political aides and activists, celebrities, Christian leaders, etc. who are politically active—and add up all of the well-known people who fit those categories, what percent are these 30 people do you suppose? My guess is a tiny fraction, similar to the politicians.

There is no doubt that there are powerful people who abuse children. There is no doubt that there are famous people who abuse children. There is no doubt that there are people at every strata of society who abuse children. And though most sexual abuse is perpetrated by friends and family of the abused, there are definitely organized child trafficking operations. There are also legitimate questions about the extent to which individuals in Jeffrey Epstein’s social sphere were involved with his own well-documented sexual escapades with young teenage girls.

But none of that equals a secret Satanic child sex trafficking ring involving ritual child sacrifice among America’s most powerful politicians and celebrities using “pizza” as a code word for children. (And yes, I’ve searched the Wikileaks emails and read the pizza references. It’s literally just people talking about eating pizza, like all of us do.) The idea that high-profile people with full-time jobs who live their lives with a spotlight shined on them are spending their limited spare time running underground child abuse rings and using official email channels to secretly discuss pedophilic torture is just ludicrous on its face.

Yet the conspiracy theorists say, “Connect the dots!” But that’s exactly the problem. Anyone can connect disconnected dots to create whatever picture they want. That’s how we ended up with constellations named after animals and mythical gods, despite not really looking anything like the things they are named after. Conspiracy theories are like constellations—loosely constructed connections, blanks filled in with imaginary lines, and shapes that require you to ignore everything that interferes with the picture you’re trying to paint.

For instance, the sheer number of people who would have to be “in on” something like the Pizzagate theory makes it mind-bogglingly impossible. Let’s start just with the media element. I know that the QAnon people have convinced their followers that “the media” can’t be trusted, but the media is not one monolithic thing. “All mainstream media outlets are owned by four giant corporations!” I’ve been told. Well, no, that’s not actually true. But lets pretend that it is. The nature of corporations in a capitalist system is competition, right? So those media corporations would be in competition with each other, each one vying to break big news first. If there truly were news legs to something like Pizzagate, don’t you think one of them would have picked it up by now?

How about the politicians who pay investigators good money for opposition research so they can smear each other all the time over every little thing? Wouldn’t those in opposition to those who are supposedly part of this Satanic child sex trafficking cult be turning them in to the authorities if there were truth to it? Why, after four years, is all the Pizzagate “evidence” still confined to internet chatrooms and random YouTube videos and Twitter posts?

And how about law enforcement? Surely after four years, and with all the evidence people claim exists, law enforcement would be taking action against these people. And yet the Washington DC Metro Police Department has called Pizzagate “a fictitious online conspiracy theory.” Are they in on it too?

So people actually believe that huge numbers of politicians, celebrities, the media, corporations that own the media, and law enforcement are all part of some big web of conspiracy to traffick and hurt children? This, despite the fact that the many organizations that have been battling actual child sex trafficking for years and years have yet to endorse any of these outrageous theories?

This post by a woman who founded an organization that specializes in child welfare within the entertainment industry thoroughly addresses the vast majority of the false info floating around out there, differentiating between the nuggets of truth (which area always present in a conspiracy theory) and the many falsehoods. Politically-motivated individuals and groups are working overtime to get people sharing this garbage, so we have to counter it by spreading real, verified information far and wide as much as possible.

Child sex trafficking is an important issue, but it’s not new and it’s not what the Pizzagate and other theories describe. Getting attention on the issue is important, but not at the expense of truth. Kooky conspiracy theories pull vital resources and energy away from the real work being done to battle it and do real harm to people whose names get caught up in the web of it all. (Read this account by the man who owns Comet Ping Pong, the basementless pizza parlor where the Pizzagate sex trafficking ring was supposedly being run out of its basement.) This stuff is not harmless and it needs to be called out for the garbage it is.

Forrest Galante will never forget the first time he ever saw a shark in person. “I was 7 or 8 years old and was snorkeling with my grandfather,” the outdoor adventure TV personality told Upworthy. “We were in Mozambique where I grew up and I was holding my grandfather’s hand underwater as he guided me. It was a small reef shark. What seemed like this huge animal appeared out of nowhere, racing through the darkness and suddenly I was looking into its beautiful eyes. I was in awe but I also think I grabbed my granddad’s hand just a little bit tighter.”

25 years later, Galante, is a world-renowned conversation activist who hosts the Extinct or Alive program on Animal Planet. He has interacted with some of the planet’s most intriguing and intimidating creatures but it’s hard to think of a living creature that has more powerfully captured our collective imagination than sharks.

This year, Galante is hosting his schedule special as part of the legendary Shark Week series. In tonight’s episode, Galante travels to the northeast coast of South Africa, the “Land of the Lost Sharks,” where he looks to find the Pondicherry, a species of shark believed to have gone extinct decades ago.

Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel

On exploring the remove Maldives beach, where it’s believed most wildlife there has never interacted with humans:

“It’s phenomenal. It’s like getting into a time capsule. Must as I love Tiger Beach in the Bahamas, the sharks there see divers 10 times a day. Here, you’re seeing what the ocean was like hundreds of years ago. Before there was plastic floating on it. You really experience this feeling that anything can happen.”

On being part of the Shark Week legacy:

“It’s fantastic. The series is literally the same age as I am, 32. I have grown up with Shark Week. It’s something I’ve tuned in for literally my entire life. It’s kind of the Super Bowl of wildlife shows on television. Although I’d argue it’s much bigger than the Super Bowl because we’re talking about creatures who are literally older than trees themselves and are now being pushed to the brink of extinction.”

With most people stuck at home and looking for content that transports their imaginations out of the living room, what’s different about Shark Week this year?

“This style of entertainment is arguably more important than ever. It allows people who are stuck on their couch to participate in and promote conservation. It’s also harder than ever. I was supposed to be in 14 counties this year and instead, I’ve been to 2. I think a common misconception is that the coronavirus has been entirely beneficial for wildlife. In reality, it’s a double-edged sword. In some cases, wildlife is thriving. On the flip side, with governments being shut down and nobody able to enforce anti-poaching, we’re seeing a massive uptick. In Peru, you can go to a wet market to buy a yellow-footed tortoise to “cure” coronavirus. So, I think part of what’s important about Shark Week this year, beyond entertainment, is reminding people of how precious this environment is.”

What’s different to you about sharks vs. other wildlife you’ve interacted with?

“Life is incredible. Whether it’s a snail under a rock or a tiger shark swimming at you. We’re bipedal creatures meant to be on land. You have a lot of control there, you’re in a comfort zone. When you’re in the water, you’re living in an alien world. You’re in their habitat. It’s a three-dimensional space where we don’t belong. Sharks always bring a thrill to working with them. They’re an apex predator, they’ve been around a long time. At the same time, they’re disappearing. They’ve been targeted at an incredibly alarming rate.”

Everyone talks about the negative impact “Jaws” had on people’s attitudes toward sharks. With things like Shark Week, have you seen any positive changes in people’s perception of sharks?

“20 years ago, the perception was if you got in the water with a shark the thought was you’re going to die. Now, there’s a cool factor. On places like Instagram, there are bragging rights to working with the animals, going in the water with them. The common understanding has completely shifted. All these people having beautiful, stunning interactions with these creatures. Fear will only lead to destruction. Sharks aren’t meant to be feared, they’re just to be respected.”

The Phoenix Suns have been the NBA Bubble’s best team thus far, getting of to a scorching 6-0 start and entered Tuesday’s must-win (as they all have been for Phoenix) against the Sixers as the last unbeaten team in the seeding round.

It’s been a full month in the bubble for the Suns and the rest of the league, and that’s a long time to be away from your loved ones. To help give the Suns a little taste of home and give the starting five a nice, heartwarming surprise, the Suns had each of their families record their starter introduction and played the videos in the arena to the delight of the players.

It’s a great touch from the organization to try and add that little connectivity back to home and let players see their loved ones, even if just for a moment, before the game. You could see the excitement — and confusion — of the players as they realized what was happening. Deandre Ayton’s face when he was trying to place the voice of his sister was terrific, and Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson’s excitement to see their families was absolutely adorable.

As the bubble season wears on, one of the tasks of teams will be to find ways to keep players feeling right emotionally, and this was a terrific gesture from the Suns. LeBron James was even impressed by the Suns doing this for their players.

XXL‘s annually anticipated list of hip-hop Freshmen has hit the ‘net and as usual, garnered a tremendous response as those in the know celebrated their emerging faves and everyone else groused about being out of the loop. Of course, along with those reactions, the list also brought an inevitable third response: Fans expressing disappointment that their own favorite artists didn’t quite make the cut.

Of course, with only 12 spots to go around — a number that has fluctuated throughout the years but hasn’t strayed too much in either direction — someone you like is bound to get left off the final list. This year’s list, consisting of 24kGoldn, Baby Keem, Calboy, Chika, Fivio Foreign, Jack Harlow, Lil Keed, Lil TJay, Mulatto, NLE Choppa, Polo G, and Rod Wave, has the distinction of being about as close to perfect as these things have ever been, with no evidence of the “political” addition.

All of these artists definitely deserve to be here, and as we find out over the next few weeks which artists turned down spots or missed the availability window, it’s important to congratulate everyone who did make it for their accomplishment and acknowledge the hard work and luck it takes to get this far. Sometimes it’s just a matter of timing, as some artists big moments came just after the list was finalized.

That said, it’s always fun to play “What If?” with the list, especially because so many artists could qualify for a spot. However, let’s call the below seven artists something like a shortlist of names to watch for next year’s installment of the Freshman Class. Just because they missed out this year doesn’t mean they don’t deserve your attention now — and who knows? Maybe next year, you’ll be seeing these names on the big stage and thinking, “Hey, I know them!”

D Smoke

The inaugural winner of Netflix’s Rhythm + Flow, D Smoke is much more than just a reality competition TV star. The Inglewood-bred teacher-turned-rapper comes from a musical family that includes TDE singer SiR and put out two projects since the show aired that proved his win was no fluke and he has plenty of soul. Since then, he’s appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk and performed at the BET Awards, so it’s only a matter of time until he’s as widely known as the judges whose respect he earned.

Deanté Hitchcock

Following in the footsteps of fellow ATLiens like Gunna, JID, Lil Yachty, and now Mulatto, Deanté definitely deserves a place on the list after breaking the surface with his standout major label debut Better earlier this year. Hitchcock was one of 100 or so artists invited to the Atlanta recording sessions for Dreamville’s Revenge Of The Dreamers III. He’s also closely associated with Spillage Village, the crew consisting of Dreamville Peach State locals like JID and Earthgang, and Better proved that he can carry a full-length project with poetry and poignancy.

Don Toliver

It looks like it takes a tad bit more than a Travis Scott co-sign to make the Freshman Class. After appearing on Travis’ fan-favorite third studio album Astroworld in 2018, Toliver followed up with his Donny Womack mixtape in 2018 and debut studio album, Heaven Or Hell, this year. Maybe putting out his mixtape on the same day as his label boss’ monster hit album caused him to get overshadowed a bit, but with “No Idea” and “After Party” gaining popularity on TikTok, this Cactus Jack signee can probably expect way more attention by this time next year.

Guapdad 4000

The Bitcoin Batman was one of the standout artists to guest on Revenge Of The Dreamers III, stealing the show on songs like “Don’t Hit Me Right Now”, “Wells Fargo”, and “Costa Rica.” Toward the end of 2019, he released his debut studio album Dior Deposits, holding his own alongside the likes of 6lack on “Prada Process” and Chance The Rapper on “Gucci Pajamas.” Over the course of 2020, he displayed his unparalleled work ethic with the RonaRaps series and Falcon Fridays, and he’s constantly teasing new music with features from everybody’s favorite rappers. There’s no doubt he’ll be able to finnam his way onto next year’s Freshman list.

Flo Milli

In a case of bad timing, Flo Milli’s debut album Ho, Why Is You Here? landed at the end of July, long after the Freshman Class issue was being written up and edited. Of course, there’s no way the editors had any clue that she would parlay the TikTok success of her viral singles “Beef FloMix” and “In The Party” into such a massive reception that saw her being quoted by everyone from City Girls to Janelle Monae. Her quirky relatability and ferocious sense of humor have made her the heir apparent to the “next big female rap star” seat formerly occupied by Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Mulatto, and Rico Nasty.

Jucee Froot

As another Memphis product, Jucee Froot‘s in good company in vying for a Freshman roster slot. The difference between her and Key Glock or NLE Choppa is that she’s received even higher profile looks than they have, securing a spot on the Insecure soundtrack and sounding off on the Birds Of Prey album. With women emerging so powerfully in hip-hop these days, Jucee’s going to have a lot of very powerful voices rooting for her. Along with co-signs from her city’s godfather, Juicy J, and everyone’s favorite punk-rap rabble rouser, Rico Nasty, Jucee’s also got the bars to stick for a good long while.

Key Glock

Don’t count Key Glock out. While he may have fallen short this time around, he’s also built a back catalog of fan-favorites to call on when the time comes, dropping the joint mixtape Dum And Dummer with his mentor Young Dolph last year, then following up with not one, but two mixtapes in 2020: Yellow Tape and Son Of A Gun. With each project, his buzz grows louder and at the rate he’s releasing them, it won’t be too long before that buzz is an undeniable cacophony of fans demanding placement in the next Freshman Class — or that he outright bypass it altogether.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Sen. Kamala Harris of California was announced as Joe Biden’s running mate for the 2020 presidential election on Tuesday, becoming the first Black woman and first person of Indian descent ever to be tapped as the vice presidential nominee by a major party.

“I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picked @KamalaHarris — a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants — as my running mate,” the former-Vice President tweeted. “Back when Kamala was Attorney General, she worked closely with Beau [Biden’s son who passed away in 2015]. I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse. I was proud then, and I’m proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign.”

There was much rejoicing for the historic selection, including in the Maya Rudolph household, because it means she has a steady gig until at least November. And maybe four years after that. The Big Mouth star has portrayed Harris multiple times on SNL, including the season 45 premiere, earning praise from the senator. “That girl being played by @MayaRudolph on @nbcsnl? That girl was me,” Harris tweeted. And now “that girl” is going to see herself a lot on SNL (either in studio or virtually).

Congratulations to Kamala, Maya, Paul Thomas Anderson, and everyone really.

(Via CNBC)

On Tuesday afternoon, the Big Ten announced it was postponing its football season to hopefully be played in the spring. It was the culmination of weeks of back-and-forth that has seen players call for the creation of a players association and uniform guidelines and safety protocols, while university presidents, medical experts, and lawyers seemingly reaching the conclusion that there’s little room for football without taking on a tremendous risk.

Later in the afternoon, word emerged from the Pac-12 that they would be following suit in putting an end to the dream of fall football and pushing it back to (hopefully) the spring. On top of football, the Pac-12 will also halt all fall and winter sports through the end of the calendar year, re-evaluating the situation closer to January.

This was the expected result, as the two conferences had long been tied together as the two teams looking most skeptically on a season, and once the Big Ten announced its decision the Pac-12 swiftly came to the same conclusion. Now all eyes shift to the Big 12, ACC, and SEC, the latter two have been pretty vehement about playing football this fall. There are risks on all sides of the equation and like so much with the current situation in the world, there’s not a perfect answer. Still, given the emerging research connecting COVID-19 to heart problems like myocarditis and the unknowns of long-term impacts, the Big Ten and Pac-12 decided that it was not worth the liability to have football this season.

On the other side, as Clemson star QB Trevor Lawrence and others have pointed out, the regular testing and having football as the reward for good behavior and following protocols is something that would likely keep many players in line. However, the issue lies in the fact that once students are on campus, all it takes is one player going to a party or not following social distancing or mask protocols on campus to potentially bring it into the locker room between tests (given that while three days a week is robust, it cannot catch everything), which figure to be some of the closest confines of allowed indoor space on campuses, for it to potentially infect much of the team and bring those risks of severe symptoms or post-COVID recovery health problems into play. This was something Larry Scott noted in the Pac-12 release.

Scott noted that while the Conference’s detailed plan to keep student-athletes safe was working in accordance with the Pac-12 COVID-19 Medical Advisory Committee guidelines and state and local government orders, the situation was becoming more challenging: “Unlike professional sports, college sports cannot operate in a bubble,” he said. “Our athletic programs are a part of broader campuses in communities where in many cases the prevalence of COVID-19 is significant. We will continue to monitor the situation and when conditions change we will be ready to explore all options to play the impacted sports in the new calendar year.”

“We know that this is a difficult day for our student-athletes, and our hearts go out to them and their families,” added Scott. “We have made clear that all of their scholarships will be guaranteed, and that as a Conference we are strongly encouraging the NCAA to grant them an additional year of eligibility.”

Without a bubble, we’ve seen how team sports are at risk with what’s happened in Major League Baseball with the Cardinals and Marlins, and the current student-athlete model figures to shut down the opportunity to create an athletics bubble, as it would indicate they’re somehow different from other students. The result is a system unwilling to change facing a situation that requires adaptation, and as such they continue kicking the can and hoping, eventually, football as it is can return.