Category: Trending

Did you know Mike Pence is running for president? Strange but true. To most he’s the guy who could wind up sending Donald Trump to prison, should he be called to testify in court against someone who almost got him killed. Till then, he’s just one of a dozen-or-so people trying — and absolutely failing — to dethrone the aforementioned former president. But perhaps a campaign video in which he does a bad job pumping gas will help.

On Tuesday, the former veep dropped a video in which he complains about gas prices, which have risen again lately, though they’re still far short what they were this time last year. In the ad, Pence tries to ooze Everyday Joe vibes: He’s wearing an ironed button-down dress shirt — but with jeans! And he’s standing next to a blindingly bright red pick-up. But it’s when he puts that gas pump into filler neck that things truly go haywire.

As Pence waxes poetic about remembering the days of “$2 a gallon gas,” eagle-eyed viewers may notice that he forgets to do one key part of filling up gas: pressing the trigger and holding it down while gas floods into the car’s tank. Instead, he stands there holding the handle, rambling about Biden’s “war on energy.”

Listen carefully and you can even hear beeping that’s supposed to prompt Pence to select a grade of gasoline.

Still, at least he’s among august company. His GOP rivals are singularly unconvincing when they try to sound like everyday folks. As for Trump, he absolutely doesn’t give a crap that he doesn’t know what a Dairy Queen Blizzard is, and nor do his fans.

(Via Mediaite)

And even if you don’t know who Petrov was, he might be the reason you’re alive today.

In the 1980s, Petrov was a lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Union’s Air Defense Forces. He was in charge of watching the computers at one of the Soviety Union’s nuclear early warning centers. If the Americans wanted to start a nuclear war, Petrov would be one of the first to know.

At this time, the United States and the Soviet Union were embroiled in the Cold War. Each had stockpiled tens of thousands of nuclear weapons and a nuclear war, though horrific, often seemed imminent.

Suddenly, in the early morning of Sept. 26, 1983, a siren started to scream. If Petrov’s computer was to be believed, the Americans had just attacked the Soviet Union.

The word “LAUNCH” appeared in bold red letters across Petrov’s computer’s screen. Then it happened again and again — five missiles in all.

Petrov need to react. If a nuclear attack really was incoming, the Soviets only had a few minutes to save themselves and launch a nuclear counter attack of their own.

It was Petrov’s job, his duty, to alert his superiors — but something seemed off.

Petrov sat there, trying to figure out what to do. If the Americans were attacking, why were there only six bombs? Why not the thousands they were capable of? Why weren’t there corroborating reports from ground radar? Plus this particular computer system was new and unproven. It could be a malfunction.

Did Petrov really think this was enough evidence to potentially start a full-scale nuclear exchange? Kill millions of people? It was a heavy weight to bear.

“Nobody would be able to correct my mistake if I had made one,” Petrov later told the BBC.

After a few pregnant minutes, Petrov made his decision.

He picked up the phone and, though he couldn’t know for sure, told his superiors it was a false alarm. His level-headed thinking may have saved millions of lives.

He was right. It was a malfunction.

For his efforts, Petrov’s reward would be a long time coming. In the immediate aftermath, he actually got reprimanded by his superiors. It wouldn’t be until after the fall of the Soviet Union that the world learned just how close we all came to destruction and the one man who saved it.

Petrov reportedly died on May 19,2017 in a home outside Moscow. The news was not widely reported.

If you want to hear Petrov describe the incident in his own words, check out this interview with Petrov from the BBC.

This article originally appeared on 09.20.17

Have you heard the story of the girl throwing starfish back in the ocean?

It’s a parable about how some people will scoff at others trying to help because it won’t solve the entire problem. The moral of the story is that being a useful person isn’t about being able to solve entire crises, but doing your bit of good in the ways you are able and how that multiplies when many individuals do the same.

We focus so much sometimes on the hugeness of the issues in front of us that we forget we can (and should) do things because they are the right thing to do.

We can just do a little bit, and it adds up.The Avalon Theater’s surveillance camera in Milwaukee snagged footage of this unknown guy delightfully dancing down the street, picking up trash as he goes. An employee decided to set it to music and do a little zoom work (full video below).

He’s not solving all the world’s ecological problems here.

He’s just doing a bit of good in his corner of it and enjoying himself while he does.

Feeling inspired by his dancing good deed? Here are three ways we can do the same.

1. Sign up to do a little bit of beach or ocean cleanup.

I’ve done this before with my daughter at Lake Michigan. It’s a great way to spend a free morning on a weekend, do a little good for your environment, and commune with nature.

You won’t get the whole beach clean, but you’ll be a part of the solution. Image by Angie Aker, used with permission.

2. Be “that weirdo” who cleans things up when you see litter.

Be the friend that makes it a point to stop and throw things away when you see them. Tell people when you see them litter why it’s not cool. I told a friend that once when she threw something out the window, and she said my vehement reaction to what she did stuck with her the rest of her life and changed her habits.

3. Use your free time to give the Earth a little love.

Going for a hike or rowing around the lake? Bring some trash and recycling bags and stop at common picnic spots. You’ll be sure to find things you can throw out, and you don’t need to sign up for any official expedition to make yourself useful.

It just might put a jaunt in your step and inspire you to dance some litter over to a wastebasket near you.

Change what’s within your arm’s reach, and you just might change the world!

This article originally appeared on 06.28.16

“I don’t usually yell at my kids but he deserved it.”

This Dad gets an A++.

Actor and comedian Kevin Fredericks gave social media a masterclass in inspirational parenting.

In an Instagram video that quickly went viral, Fredericks yelled at his young son as they discussed his report card.

“I am so proud of you, you are doing amazing in school!” he tells his son, while holding a copy of his report card.

See on Instagram

What makes this video so special is most people know the fear of facing their parents after getting in trouble in school. And that fear is so rarely replaced with love and encouragement when kids are showing up, doing their homework and generally doing just fine.

And it’s not the only time Fredericks has shown off the power of positive parenting the impact it can have on children at school and beyond.

With good humor and humility, he shared a response on Twitter from a parent who pointed out it’s never a bad time to treat our children with compassion:

It’s so true that most people seeing the video are assuming it’s a video of a parent legitimately “yelling” at their child in anger for poor grades. In fact, Fredericks tagged his video with a note jokingly saying, “I don’t usually yell at my kids but he deserved it.”

It turns out there is a perfect time to yell at kids. With love, encouragement and acknowledgment of when they do the right thing.

This article originally appeared on 10.11.18

Mansplaining is not a science, but an art. It’s when a man explains to a woman what she actually means. It comes with the assumption that the speaker doesn’t know what she’s talking about, even if she’s literally an expert in the field. And it’s annoying AF.

Dr. Tasha Stanton, an associate professor of clinical pain neuroscience at the University of South Australia, encountered a mansplainer at an Australian Physiotherapy Association Conference. Her experience is pretty relatable, even if you don’t have “Dr.” in your title.

After talking with a man, he, unsolicited, told Stanton she should read a paper. A paper that she wrote. “Friends at conferences – please do not assume that the people that you talk to do not know anything. I just got told that I should read what Stanton et al found about pain,” she posted on Twitter. “I. Am. Stanton.” Mic. Drop.

u201cFriends at conferences – please do not assume that the people that you talk to do not know anything. I just got told that I should read what Stanton et al found about pain. nnI. Am. Stanton.u201d

— A/Prof Tasha Stanton (@A/Prof Tasha Stanton)
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The man had no idea who he had been talking to. Stanton said she knows she can’t expect someone to know what she looked like based on seeing her name on a paper. However, she should be able to expect that the person she’s talking to treats her like someone who knows her stuff. “Just to be clear: I would never expect people to know what I look like! The more hilarious part of this was that the earlier part of the conversation had more of a condescending tone with recommendations of what I should read, which happened to be MY paper,” she wrote.

Stanton said he was “visibly shocked. There was an “awkward silence” and “some attempted backpedaling.” But Stanton took it in good stride. “[W]e both had a laugh. I told him that it was a massive compliment that he recommended my paper, that I am glad he enjoyed it and found it useful … but that in the future he might want to be careful not to assume that other people don’t know things … especially when you are at a conference. We all make mistakes — I know I certainly have — but hopefully the message got across.”

u201cResponse: Visibly shocked, awkward silence, some attempted back-pedalling and then we both had a laugh. I told him that it was a massive compliment that he recommended my paper, that I am glad he enjoyed it and found it useful,u201d

— A/Prof Tasha Stanton (@A/Prof Tasha Stanton)
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u201cThis was the paper – actually a small proof of concept study about the possibility of cross-modal modulation (ability of one sense – vision – to modulation another sense – nociception- to reduce pain) in people with osteoarthritis. https://t.co/6bfh4KakyJu201d

— A/Prof Tasha Stanton (@A/Prof Tasha Stanton)
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After Stanton posted her experiences on Twitter, other women chimed in with their own experiences of getting mansplained.

“@Tash_Stanton As a graduate student, I was once standing at my poster, with my name tag on, and was basically asked when “Swann” would be coming. When I said I was “Swann” the person said “Oh, from your work I thought you would be a man.” He didn’t seem the least bit troubled or embarrassed.”

u201c@Tash_Stanton As a graduate student, I was once standing at my poster, with my name tag on, and was basically asked when “Swann” would be coming. When I said I was “Swann” the person said “Oh, from your work I thought you would be a man.” He didn’t seem the least bit troubled or embarrassed.u201d

— A/Prof Tasha Stanton (@A/Prof Tasha Stanton)
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u201cThis happened to me. nnWM prof: are you an undergrad or grad student?nnMe: professor. nnHim: whatu2019s your specialty? nnMe: courts, law & sociology. nnHim: You should really read the book u201cCrookCounty.u201dnnMe: i know. I wrote it. ud83euddd0ud83eudd28nn*gives Clair Huxtable stare*u201d

— Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve (@Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve)
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u201c@gal_bread @Tash_Stanton I created the first Child Impact Statements in the United States. Cities now adopt them and add pink or blue pages to policies to say how laws or policies will impact their children. It’s modeled after the UN rights of the child.u201d

— A/Prof Tasha Stanton (@A/Prof Tasha Stanton)
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u201c@Tash_Stanton Something like that happened to me once. Someone telling me that their organisation was doing this important thing. Went into the detail of it in quite a condescending way. I am the founder of this thing. nI kept my cool! ud83dude44ud83dude0fud83dude0eu201d

— A/Prof Tasha Stanton (@A/Prof Tasha Stanton)
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Stanton said it’s important to speak up when someone cuts you off by saying, “Well, actually…” It’s the only way we can grow. “It’s really important to be able to stand up and call it as it is because that’s not a great way to interact with someone at a conference,” Stanton told Good Morning America. “People will never learn if you don’t call it out.”

Why should someone refrain from mansplaining? If anything, it’s just good manners. “It’s not about trying to be the smartest or showing anyone up. It’s literally about connection and the best way you’re going to connect with someone is by actually asking questions about them. … that can result in an amazing collaboration that you might never have thought!” Stanton told GMA. “Don’t be that guy.”

It is astounding that this many women were able to chime in with their own experiences of being told to read something they wrote. The only silver lining to this story is that the mainsplainer didn’t chime in with, “Well actually, what happened was…”

This article originally appeared on 10.31.19

On July 28, Travis Scott finally delivered Utopia, and the reward was a No. 1 debut on this week’s Billboard 200 albums chart.

“I can’t help but wonder if, should we wait another decade, we’ll finally start to see the true influence of Utopia — even if the world itself seems further away from the concept than ever,” Uproxx‘s Aaron Williams wrote in his album review.

Scott will be able to gauge the album’s influence during his newly announced Utopia – Circus Maximus Tour, beginning at Chicago’s United Center on September 25 and winding through North America before a grand finale in Miami, Florida on November 27. But it seems that fans will have to wait to make plans to attend.

Hours after the tour announcement, The Detroit News reported that tickets will no longer go on sale this Friday, August 11, at 10 a.m. local time as planned.

“The tour has now shifted their timeline and tickets will NOT go on sale this week,” an unnamed venue represented confirmed to The Detroit News via email. “More information to come once we have new details.”

Scott billed a show in Rome, Italy on Monday (August 7) as the “first stop” of his Circus Maximus run, and it included a surprise cameo from Kanye West to perform “Praise God.”

Scott’s headlining North American Utopia – Circus Maximus Tour will be his first tour since the 2021 Astroworld tragedy, which resulted in 10 deaths and countless more injuries due to a crowd surge. In late June, Scott was cleared of any criminal charges.

The double strike that has shut down Hollywood has seen its share of clever signs. And why not? A lot of them are professional writers after all. (Some are even among the industry’s finest gag writers.) Actors have had some great ones, too. Mandy Patinkin had a top shelf sign nodding to his most famous film, The Princess Bride. Now Mad Men’s erstwhile Don Draper got in on the action, too.

As per Entertainment Weekly, on Tuesday Sarah Silverman posted some images on Instagram from the SAG-AFTRA/WGA picket lines. One showed no less than Jon Hamm holding an excellent sign, reading, “That’s what the money is for.”

That, of course, is a reference to a beloved line from Season 4, Episode 7 of Mad Men, aka “The Suitcase.” In the scene, Elisabeth Moss’ Peggy Olson accuses Don of stealing an ad idea that led to him getting a Clio award. Don argues that all Peggy did was give him a “kernel” of an idea, which he turned into the commercial.

“It’s your job,” Don charges. “I give you money, you give me ideas.”

“But you never say thank you,” Olson responds, near tears.

Then comes Don’s iconic retort: “That’s what the money is for!”

It’s a great episode; just ask the scene’s stars. Both Hamm and Moss told EW “The Suitcase” was their favorite.

“We had not only a great time making it, I got to work with one of my favorite people in the world [Moss], and we really got to kind of play the whole range of emotion in there,” Hamm explained.

Moss felt similiarly. “I felt like that was a real sort of combination of four years work and four years of that relationship between Don and Peggy,” she said. “Jon’s my favorite person to work with so for me to have so much with him was awesome.”

You can watch the scene in question in the video below.

(Via EW)

Congrats to Lil Uzi Vert, whose Pink Tape, their daring and rewarding third album, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It also became the first rap album to claim No. 1 on the chart in 2023. That seems like child’s play compared to what Uzi encountered during their GQ Hype photoshoot.

During the shoot, the Philly-bred artist was met by Anna DeGuzman, a cardist, mentalist, and magician, who was able to correctly guess that Uzi is allergic to chocolate and that they were thinking about Pop-Tarts, their favorite snack. DeGuzman made Pop-Tarts appear out of thin air, which Uzi ate, admitting, “I’m scared.”

Next, DeGuzman performed a few mind-boggling card tricks before asking Uzi for their phone. DeGuzman asked Uzi to “count from zero to nine out loud” and (yet again) flawlessly guessed the passcode for Uzi’s friend’s phone.

Once the phone was unlocked, DeGuzman used the calculator app for her next trick. She asked Uzi’s friend how old they were when they met (23) and multiplied that by how many albums Uzi has to their name (three). That was then combined with how much Uzi’s bracelet cost (300,000) and how much they have in their bank account right now.

“We got a random number. I don’t want to know what it is. We added, divided, subtracted, multiplied, everything,” DeGuzman said. Without looking at the phone, she guessed that the result was a seven-digit number. Uzi conceded that the number started with seven, leading to DeGuzman correctly guessing 7,311,995.

“Does that number mean anything to you?” DeGuzman asked Uzi.

“Yeah, I see it,” Uzi said, bewildered.

When separated, the number is Uzi’s birthday: July 31, 1995.

Watch the full nine-minute magic show above, and check out Uzi’s GQ Hype shoot below.

Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Like Martin Scorsese’s Silence, Under the Silver Lake is one of the most challenging but also most rewarding films on Andrew Garfield’s CV. But there was a point during the shoot that it nearly got deeply, unimaginably unpleasant for him. In a new interview, co-star Riley Keough revealed that there was one time that she nearly made him profoundly ill (but didn’t).

“I was in the makeup trailer and I was eating, like, a granola bar or something, and I was about to shoot a scene where I have to kiss Andrew,” Keough recalled during a new Vanity Fair video (as caught by Entertainment Weekly). “And the makeup lady was like, ‘Are there peanuts in that?’”

Keough said she wasn’t sure, prompting the makeup person to flee the room and flag down a producer.

“The producer came in and was like, ‘Riley, Andrew’s very allergic to peanuts and we have to shut the set down. It shouldn’t have been at craft, and I don’t know why they’re on set,’” Keough remembered.

Keough, of course, had no idea about Garfield’s condition. She remembers thinking, “Oh f*ck, that’s crazy.” She added, “But also thank God that this woman caught it, because I had no idea!”

In Under the Silver Lake, Garfield plays a broke young loner living in a surreal version of Los Angeles. Keough plays a neighbor with whom he becomes obsessed, first as a potential romantic partner. When she mysteriously disappears, he launches into an increasingly bananas search for her that involves numerous wackadoodle conspiracy theories — a subject Garfield wound up learning a lot about.

You can watch the full Vanity Fair video below.

(Via EW)

Tory Lanez has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the feet, according to Los Angeles court reporter Meghann Cuniff. Cuniff, who has been following and reporting the case via her independent newsletter, Legal Affairs And Trials, since the beginning, attended the sentencing hearing, which saw the judge, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Herriford, read out letters of support for the Canadian rapper, including one from Iggy Azalea. Cuniff’s work has earned her the affectionate nickname of “Meghann Thee Reporter” from followers online.

Tory was initially accused of shooting Megan in the summer of 2020 after a flirtation early in the year during quarantine that entertained and amused fans of the two rappers. Unfortunately, after party in the Hollywood Hills that July, Lanez was arrested for having a concealed weapon and Megan revealed that she’d been shot shortly thereafter, after initially telling police she’d cut herself on glass out of fear (this was just after the death of George Floyd).

A protracted dispute followed in which Lanez maintained his innocence, casting aspersions on Megan’s account of the shooting through surrogates and terrorizing her alongside DaBaby, who was also rumored to have had a fling with Thee Stallion. After multiple delays in the case, Tory was found guilty in December 2022 of assault with a firearm causing great bodily injury; concealing a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle; and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.

While prosecutors recommended 13 years in prison, Tory’s defense asked for probation and rehab, but only after trying and failing to have the trial declared a mistrial and to have Judge Herriford removed from the case. Tory is reportedly planning to appeal with the help of Suge Knight’s former legal team.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.