Vladimir Putin is in an odd spot, which admittedly is an odd thing to say about a man who launched a war that he thought was swiftly winnable but is still racking up thousands of deaths, month after month. Now, the Russian president is “celebrating” the one-year mark since he invaded Ukraine, and that lack of victory recently inspired him to throw a tantrum and pull out of a nuclear pact because the U.S. won’t recognize his prowess. Yet Putin has a new plan, according to U.K. intelligence, which says that Putin (via HuffPost) intends to “eventually exhaust” President Zelensky’s troops because Russia can’t seem to achieve straight-up victory on the ground or in the air.
Reuters also reports that Putin delivered multiple speeches leading up to this anniversary, for which he (by Reuter’s accurate description) arrives “empty-handed after a bloody winter offensive,” and he’s got a bunch of plans for launching intercontinental ballistic missiles in 2023. However, Putin’s only real plan appears to be hanging on until Kyiv decides that it’s weary and surrenders. That doesn’t seem like it will happen, however:
Moscow’s forces have made progress trying to encircle Bakhmut, but have failed to break through Ukrainian lines to the north near Kremmina and to the south at Vuhledar, where they have taken heavy losses assaulting across open ground.
Ukrainian forces repelled 90 Russian attacks in the northeast and east over the past 24 hours, the military said early on Thursday. Ukrainian military spokesperson Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov said Moscow was trying to use its advantage in troop numbers to exhaust Kyiv’s forces. “The enemy, despite significant losses, does not abandon attempts to surround Bakhmut,” he said.
Putin’s tactic appears to be the same one that a child would employ after asking for the same toy, over and over again, at the store. Eventually, some parents will decide to give into the kid, although that’s obviously not a strategy that works well long-term or for the betterment of society. Will Putin get his way, though? We may eventually find out.
The Philadelphia 76ers didn’t make any big moves at the trade deadline. While they swapped out Matisse Thybulle for Jalen McDaniels, Philly didn’t do anything close to the trade they made at the deadline last year, when they turned Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and draft capital into James Harden and Paul Millsap in a move with the Brooklyn Nets.
That continuity has played a big role in the Sixers’ success this year, as the team is 39-13 and three games out of the 1-seed in the Eastern Conference. Harden, of course, has been excellent for them this year, but as Georges Niang explained during a radio hit on Friday morning, Simmons no longer being around has had a big impact on the team.
As Niang went on to explain, Simmons not playing for the team despite being on a max contract meant that the front office had to figure out “where other role players have to step up and replace the passing, dribbling, rebounding, defense.” He also pointed out how difficult it was for the locker room to have no idea if Simmons would come back and join them at any point during the year.
“The team aspect is very important,” Niang said. “I think Doc Rivers does a good job buying into the team. So, when you don’t know who you’re gonna have, night in and night out, is he coming back? Is he this? I feel like the updates we were getting about him was, like, when I’d turn on my TV, I was listening to Stephen A. Smith. ‘He’s gonna be at practice tomorrow,’ and I was like, ‘Well, there he isn’t.’
“So, last year was difficult because you didn’t know who you had,” he continued. “And then the trade deadline’s coming up, and everybody’s walking in like, ‘Well, who’s being attached to him that’s going?’ So it’s just like, you had that uneasy feeling. Now it’s like, alright, yes, we did trade Matisse and we got Jalen, but you know who you’re going into war with every single night. And I feel comfortable with the pieces that we have, because we do have some great players in this locker room.”
Here at Upworthy, we have a handful of famous folks who regularly make our headlines for their consistent, continued awesomeness. The legendary Dick Van Dyke is one of them. The legend-in-his-own-right Kevin Bacon is another.
Both of these gentlemen are featured in this week’s roundup of joy, and we couldn’t be giddier about it. Is it possible to see Dick Van Dyke’s bright-eyed grin and not smile? Doubtful. Could someone watch Kevin Bacon sing with Kyra Sedgwick and a screaming goat and not be tickled? Unlikely.
This week’s list has plenty of additional delights as well, from a hilarious crash course in sibling rivalry to an unexpectedly stunning piano performance to an unassuming, crowd-pleasing kid named George and more. So many opportunities to smile! Enjoy!
1. Delighted crowd cheers louder and louder for a kid named George at his first hockey game
Welp, she definitely learned. Too real and too hilarious. Read the full story here.
3. Blind, neurodiverse 13-year-old blows everyone away playing a challenging Chopin piece on the piano
u201cThis is the incredible moment Lucy, a 13-year-old who is blind and neurodiverse, played a highly-complex Chopin piece, leaving @MikaSounds and @Lang_Lang speechless. nnThe Piano, presented by @ClaudiaWinkle, starts tonight at 9pm on Channel 4. nnStream Free on All 4. #ThePianou201d
Her disgust with fishing turned to sheer delight real fast. A day she’ll never forget for sure. (And Dad, too.)
5. A kid wrote to Costco’s CEO to ask for help with a school fundraiser. He personally responded.
We already knew Costco was awesome, and CEO Craig Jelinek just pushed that awesomeness over the top with a literally humongous donation. Read the heartwarming story here.
6. 97-year-old Dick Van Dyke brought a judge on ‘The Masked Singer’ to tears with his surprise reveal
Nobody expected it to be him behind the gnome costume. What a legend. Read the full story and see his performance here.
7. Shelter kitten pushes its sibling out of the way when a potential adopter stops by
Cutest sibling rivalry ever. Definitely gotta take them both. Read the full story here.
8. Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick sing a duet of Miley Cyrus’ ‘Flowers’ and they could not be cuter
Total #couplegoals. The screaming goat is the icing on the cake. Read about how their 35-year marriage has survived Hollywood and how they often sing with real goats here.
9. Speaking of goats, you may not think you need to see goats eating tomatoes, but really you do
Let’s allow ourselves to dance without embarrassment or apology like this little man and also remember how much it means to be someone’s backup dancer. Just goodness upon goodness.
Hope that brought some smiles to your face! Come back next week for more. And if you’d like to have these posts delivered to your inbox each week, you can subscribe to our free newsletter, The Upworthiest, here.
With Shazam: Fury of the Gods set to hit theaters next month, Helen Mirren stopped by The Graham Norton Show to promote her performance as the villainous goddess Hespera. There was just one small problem: Mirren has no idea what the movie is about. She knows she plays some sort of vengeful goddess alongside Lucy Liu, and that’s pretty much where here knowledge of the film taps out.
“Don’t ask me about the plot, it’s too complicated,” Mirren told Norton via Insider. “[Lucy Liu and I] are angry goddesses wearing unbelievably heavy costumes. It was very hot and uncomfortable and in fact, Lucy said at the end of the first day’s shooting, ‘They are trying to kill us,’ in all seriousness.”
As for how Mirren ended up playing a DC Comics villain, she was one of the millions of people who made the original film a surprising success.
“I wanted to do it because I loved the first ‘Shazam!’” Mirren said. “It was sweet and funny. I am not a big superhero-type person, but I loved the idea of it and happily signed up for the second one. It is great.”
Not for nothing, Mirren isn’t a stranger to blockbuster filmmaking. The iconic actress has become a permanent fixture in the Fast and Furious films, and she’s even confessed that she begged Vin Diesel for a part (and to maybe drive one of the cars).
“He found this great little role for me, which was perfect,” Mirren told The Hollywood Reporter last year. “I’d just never done anything like that before — one of those big, big movies. And, in my vanity, I just loved driving and really wanted to do my own driving in a fast car.”
Shazam: Fury of the Gods opens March 17 in theaters.
Indiecast is an indie rock podcast, which I feel like needs to be reiterated because of episodes like this one. In this episode, we discuss some very un-indie rock topics.
For instance, Ian and I go deep on Rolling Stone‘s recent article about the current state of Live, the ’90s grunge band famous for songs like “Lightning Crashes” and “I Alone.” Why are we talking about Live in 2023? Because things are bananas in Live-world at the moment! You have con men, QAnon conspiracy theorists, the AVN Awards, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Then we talked about Skrillex, who is back with two new albums, and the rise of early 2010s nostalgia. Oh, and we also answered a listener question about Incubus. Again, this is an indie rock podcast!
In the “meat” of the episode, we inducted four new albums into our Indiecast Hall Of Fame — in this round, we honor LPs released by Sunset Rubdown, The Elected, The Good Life, and The Fresh & Onlys. Finally, in our Recommendation Corner segment, we shouted out new records by Philip Selway and Model/Actriz.
New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 127 here or below and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Conspiracy monger Alex Jones is in the midst of bankruptcy proceedings after getting slapped with over a billion dollar in lawsuit damages for spreading lies about the Sandy Hook school shooting. However, Jones isn’t ducking the massive court bill that easily. There are justifiable concerns about how he can be bankrupt when he reportedly spends at least $100,000 a month and has $10 million in assets.
While investigating his spending, the Department of Justice reportedly noted that Jones spent $2,000 on a cat named Mushu, and the fiery Infowars host did not take the government’s interest in the cat well. Jones fired off a video to his legion of followers accusing the DOJ of trying to take the cat and equated the whole thing to child sacrifice.
“They spent probably five minutes of the meeting that was over 3 hours long, on my cat. They wanted to know if assets were hidden in the cat,” Jones ranted in the video below:
Alex Jones tonight says that DOJ appeared at his bankruptcy hearing today and told the court that they believed Alex bought this cat to hide some of his cash, and says they want to seize his cat for the Sandy Hook families. pic.twitter.com/vG9q5BponZ
Jones admitted the cat cost $2,000 but “we really do love it” and the DOJ was “very serious about the cat and its value and they may want the cat for Sandy Hook families.” Jones described the DOJ’s questioning over the cat as “harassment” and said “the deal’s broke, you aren’t getting the cat. This is next level.” Jones questioned: “What? You want my children next? You want to sacrifice my children or something?” Jones alleged the DOJ were questioning him over the value of the cat “to stir me up. It makes me really upset for this country.”
A defiant Jones ended his rant with a warning to the DOJ. “The line in the sand is, you cannot have my cat,” he said in what could become the spark for the next January 6. Or not, but definitely something to keep an eye on.
Lana Del Rey’s dad Rob Grant made a bit of a splash yesterday when word got out about his upcoming debut album, Lost At Sea (which features his daughter and production from Jack Antonoff). That’s set to drop in June, but now, we have Grant’s debut single, “Setting Sail On A Distant Horizon.”
The song is a tranquil, instrumental piano composition and Grant said of it in a statement:
“‘Setting Sail’ is a piano piece that I composed about the happiness and freedom I felt as I would set sail out of Newport, RI in my 25 foot sloop ‘Erewhon,’ heading out to the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. The piano begins slowly and then builds as the sails fill with wind, and the boat begins to heal, leaning into the heavy Atlantic swells. The piano carries you forward as the sloop gains speed, catching more wind, bound for the distant horizon.”
As press materials note, Grant has done a lot of different things in his life before music: “He’s been a Mad Man on Madison Avenue, writing copy for ad campaigns. A Restaurateur in Newport, RI. Establisher of a rustic furniture business in upstate New York. A boat builder. A real estate broker. A web domain collector. And a keen shark fisherman (he always puts them back).”
Listen to “Setting Sail On A Distant Horizon” above.
Lost At Sea is out 6/9 via Decca Records. Pre-order it here.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
Karol G is cruising toward a brighter tomorrow with her new album Mañana Será Bonito. After having conquered the reggaeton music scene, the Colombian singer is flexing her Latin pop star appeal with collaborators like Shakira, Sean Paul, and Romeo Santos.
With Karol G’s last album, 2020’s KG0516, she created her empowering “Bichota” persona to make her mark in the male-dominated reggaeton genre. Thanks to that “woman boss” spirit, Karol G had her breakthrough moment. Last year, she embarked on the Strip Love Tour, where she sold out arenas across the US. Karol G also scored the global hits “Provenza” and “Mamiii” with Becky G that led to her being named the most-streamed female Latin artist on Spotify in 2022.
Despite always trying to upkeep her tough “Bichota” exterior, in new album, Karol G reveals that she went through a “dark moment” at the height of her success. Mañana Será Bonito, which translates to “Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful” in English, allowed her to channel her emotions into a cathartic LP. She has come out on the other side smiling and wanting to transmit that feel-good vibe to her fans.
“There are songs for everyone,” Karol G said about her album. “There’s a song for people in love, if you have a broken heart, if you’re feeling crazy, or if you want to party with perreo. With everything that’s happening, I want to enjoy the present with my music and remember that tomorrow everything will be great. Tomorrow will be beautiful.”
Over Zoom, Karol G talked with Uproxx about her most personal LP, fulfilling her dream of working with Shakira, and what’s coming next in our latest Q&A.
Your first album, 2018’s Unstoppable, was stamped with the message #GirlPower. How do you feel to have proudly represented that in the reggaeton music scene?
That #GirlPower was the sign that I put for myself to be like, “Hey, you’re going to need this to be somebody in this industry because it’s going to be hard.” But now is when I really realize what girl power is, and it became the “Bichota” power. It’s been a process. That strength has been something I’ve been earning with experience, with my music, and with my work. It’s not something that I was born with. It was born in the moment when I told myself, “This is what I want to do and I don’t care.” But I’ve withstood a lot of blows and things like that, and that’s what really made me the woman with girl power that I am today.
In addition to empowering women with your music, you also have a big LGBTQ+ fan base. How do you feel to see your music connecting with queer people as well?
I feel like it’s something that came very naturally. My best friend, his name is Daiky [Gamboa], and he’s gay. He’s taught me a lot. Let’s say that he’s put me into a lot of different worlds that I feel a part of now. From him I learned about RuPaul and his show Drag Race, which I love and I’ve watched all of it thanks to him. I feel like having [Daiky] by my side has been very important for me to maintain that inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community. Above all, to be able to support them and inspire them, it makes me so happy. It makes me happy that they feel happy with my music and that they feel represented in a way with what I do. They have a love that’s very loyal and devoted. As an artist, it’s a connection that’s become very personal for me, so I’m very grateful to count on having the LGBTQ+ community by my side.
Why did you decide to name your new album Mañana Será Bonito?
It’s a very personal album. It was made at a moment in my life where there were incredible things happening, but I was experiencing internal turmoil and destruction that was very strong and very strange for me. I had a very dark moment in my life where the only thing I could do was turn to my family and my friends. I understood after that life wanted to show me that what I should value the most is having my family and my friends by my side. That was a very hard and difficult process to go through. I was disappointed by what was happening to me. It was a blow in many ways to my personal life. I always have a phrase that I repeat to myself when things are going wrong: “It doesn’t matter. We’re going to get through this. Tomorrow will be another day. Tomorrow will be beautiful. Tomorrow is going to be great.”
I started this album writing very dark songs. Very sad songs. Talking literally about all of the sadness that I had while trying to be strong in front of the world because I didn’t want people to see that vulnerable side of myself. From one moment to the next, I wrote songs that were happier. I could write songs about love again finally. I was very hard on myself during that process, having that “Bichota” brand where I couldn’t feel bad or sad. I always had to be strong. I had to recognize that I can be very strong being “La Bichota,” but I’m also human and I get hurt too.
Shakira previously collaborated with Beyoncé and Rihanna and now she’s collaborating with you in “TQG (Te Quedó Grande).” What do you think about that?
That sounds super crazy! I realized that when I was with her filming the music video because I didn’t remember that the only two girls she recorded with were Beyoncé and Rihanna. And then years later with Karol G! I was like, “Oh my God! This is not just any other singer.” She’s a legend. She is someone who has made the name of our country [Colombia] global. I was very nervous to shoot this video because I really wanted to do my best to push myself to the limit and be someone that she could feel proud to collaborate with. To study the choreography with her, to learn it with her, and have that closeness with her because of this song. It’s not a normal collaboration because everything about this is above and beyond. From the meaning of the song’s lyrics, the meaning and feeling of the video, it’s extremely special. I believe this is going to be the next level in female collaborations.
What was Shakira like in person when you were shooting the video?
She was very sweet! All the photos we have together, we are literally laughing. There was a lot of pressure days before to shoot this video. I was super afraid of how the vibe and energy would be like, but when we were on set, it was incredible. We had a great time. We helped each other a lot. We had a lot of admiration for each other. When she was filming, I was there. When I was filming, she was there. We were cheering each other on. Everything has been special.
Another big artist you worked with on this album was Romeo Santos. What was the experience like working on “X Si Volvemos” with him?
If you’ve heard Romeo Santos’ first reggaeton songs, they were, as he says, “So nasty!” Those songs didn’t have any filters in saying things. They were very nonchalant talking about sexuality and intimacy. One day I was hearing “Noche De Sexo” by him, and I thought, “He’s the person that I need for my song!” I called him and I showed him the song. He loved the song. He recorded the song. I believe that’s going to be one of people’s favorite songs. I like having him on the song because I feel like putting Romeo on it is like bringing back that “nasty” old school reggaeton.
You also collaborated with Sean Paul in “Kármika.” How did that song come together?
I met Sean Paul like 4 or 5 years ago in Jamaica. I have the pleasure of saying that I got to know Sean Paul in Jamaica at his home. I got acquainted with his studio and we had always said that we were going to collaborate. I had that song “Kármika.” I don’t know why the song sounded good to me to think that he would be great on it. I invited him to the song.
I’m a big fan of urbano music by women. I really like the women in the genre. I’m always looking out for new artists who are coming up and that made me a big fan of Bad Gyal. I saw an interview where she said one of her biggest dreams was to record with Sean Paul. I had this song with Sean Paul and I thought she could fit well on it. It was a moment for me where I could complete a checklist of goals. Sean Paul. Check! A song with Bad Gyal that I also wanted to do. Check! Fulfill Bad Gyal’s dream of recording with Sean Paul. Check! It’s a song that means a lot to me. She went crazy when I said that we would record the song with Sean Paul, that it would be the three of us.
What was the experience like to explore the dembow genre with Angel Dior in “Ojos Ferrari”?
This song was born in a moment when I was super single. I was like, “I want to party! I want to drink!” When we made the song, it gave me a vibe of going to the Dominican Republic to dance to this song. I wanted to put an artist from there on this song and dance. I’m crazy about Angel Dior. I like the music of the Dominican Republic a lot. I really like the artists from there who I believe are making incredible music. Angel Dior, I don’t know why in that moment, I was connected with him. I sent him the song and he recorded it, and I think it came out spectacularly.
What do you want accomplish next?
This year, I want to take things more easy. The last two years I was touring and making music by the ton to make this album. I didn’t have an obligation to make this album. I wanted people to have new music from me. I want my music to accompany people in any moment that they’re going through. Making this album helped me get through a lot of things. This year, I want to dedicate myself to other things, obviously connected to what I do. I want to study more. I want to learn more. I want to evolve as a woman in other aspects of my life. Let’s see what happens. I’m going with the flow.
Does that mean you’re taking a break from touring this year?
We’re doing three shows at the Coliseo in Puerto Rico [in March]. That’s like the opening to a tour of stadiums this year, starting with Puerto Rico. I feel like I need to take a pause. An intention of mine is take this opportunity to give my fans the best of me on my next tour. Something that they’ve never seen before. Different things. Next-level things. This year, I have like 10 shows all year. The tour will definitely be in 2024.
Mañana Será Bonito is out now via Universal Music Latino. Listen to it here.
People love to complain about how things were better Back In The Day, but that’s not always true. For instance, I’m glad no one says “TGIF” anymore. Instead, everyone celebrates the best day of the work week by singing “Friday Night” from Netflix‘s I Think You Should Leave. It’s a vast improvement.
OK, maybe not everyone, but definitely CBS 58 Morning News anchor Mike Curkov. He used the ode to riding shotgun in your car (with a “Honk If You’re Horny” bumper sticker, obviously) as part of today’s broadcast. “FRI. DAY. NIGHT: The @CBS58 Morning News has always been a place we can be who we are. We can be who we are. @ITYSL_memes Have a great weekend!” he tweeted, tagging a wonderful I Think You Should Leave fan account.
Imagine how confusing this must have been for the fine folks of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where CBS 58 broadcasts from, who don’t watch I Think You Should Leave. They’re having their morning coffee, or whatever, when suddenly, out of nowhere, Tim Robinson starts singing about driving through the city like explorers going sixty-five. I love it. They should do “The Bones Are Their Money” next.
He’s living the life, so much so that it appears he hasn’t had fast food in literal decades. At least it seems like that’s what admitted in his new interview on Zane Lowe’s Apple Music.
“When I was 19 I moved to Miami and my mom is a chef and she was very happy for the move because New Orleans is crazy. One thing she really wanted me to do was get a personal chef,” he said. “So from the age of 19 to now, I’ve always had a personal chef. I haven’t eaten any fast food forever. I don’t know what McDonald’s smell like. Only Gyms I know is Jim Jones. I can’t lift a weight. I don’t do no workout.”
Meanwhile NLE Choppa recently sang Lil Wayne’s praises and gave him flowers. “I feel like accolades never define the artist,” he said to the iconic rapper. “Personally, I feel like you supposed to have way more accolades coming your way. You should be to a point in time to where you just receiving accolades. I think it was a few days ago, you won an award. So, I just wanted to present my own accolade, physically giving you flowers and a note to let you know how much you inspired me and impacted my life. I have a skateboard too that I signed. I know you like to skateboard.”
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(@RonFilipkowski) 
