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Yesterday, photos from the first day of school in two different Georgia school districts revealed the startling reality that “safe” school reopenings aren’t happening in some areas. Now it’s come to light that one of those same school districts had a positive case in an elementary school classroom on the first day of school, proving that opening schools in an uncontrolled pandemic is simply not going to work.

According to WSVN News, a second grader at Sixes Elementary in the Cherokee County School District tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday. On Tuesday, the classroom was closed for cleaning and all 20 students in the class as well as the teacher began a two-week quarantine at home.

Just one day of school, and an entire class has already been shut down for the next two weeks, at least.

Cherokee County School District “encourages” students to wear masks, but does not require it. (It’s worth noting that Cherokee County School District has a dress code for students, which says students must cover their shoulders, can’t wear pants or skirts with frayed ends or pant legs that touch the floor, and must wear “appropriate undergarments” that no one will ever see—but they won’t require students to wear a mask during a pandemic. Seriously.)

Opening schools in an area where the virus is not under control is already a risky undertaking. Opening without very strict protocols in place—a mask mandate being one of the most basic—is simply foolish. The World Health Organization has recommended delaying reopening plans until an area has a lower than 5% positivity rate with coronavirus testing. Currently, Georgia’s positivity rate is higher than 12%—nowhere near what they should be in order to even consider reopening.

No one denies that students learning in person is important. No one denies that schools provide a much-needed service for many families. No one denies that there are no easy decisions and that schools and families are largely stuck between a rock and a hard place. But no one can deny that in-person schooling under the circumstances in many areas of the U.S. simply won’t work. We have too many cases. We don’t have the virus under control enough to do the testing and contact tracing necessary to make school reopenings actually work without constant disruption.

This classroom had to shut down for two weeks after the first day. That will have to happen every time a student or teacher tests positive—imagine the disruption that will cause throughout the school year as the virus continues spreading. If cases were low enough, it could be doable with mitigation measures in place. But at the peak of the outbreak, without stringent safety measures in place? Come on. No one is fooling anyone but themselves.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has encouraged school reopenings if they can be done safely. President Trump tweets in all-caps “OPEN THE SCHOOLS!!!” with no additional direction on how and when and where to do so safely. We know that children can get and spread this disease. We know that schools are petri dishes for the spread of all kinds of viruses. We know that teachers have expressed concern about reopening without clear safety protocols in place.

And we can guess what the outcome will be in these school districts that are allowing students to come to class without masks, gather for school photos without masks or social distancing, and crowd high school hallways as if life goes on as normal. It’s not good. Not for Georgia, and not for the U.S. as a whole.

Justin Vernon has worked with some noteworthy people in the music world over the years. He’s contributed to Kanye West material, he has a feature on Taylor Swift’s new album (which just became his highest-charting song ever), and he and now-Swift collaborator Aaron Dessner of The National teamed up as Big Red Machine for a self-titled 2018 album. Now Vernon has added more musical partners to his lengthy list of them on his new Bon Iver song, “AUATC” (short for “Ate Up All Their Cake”).

Most notable is the presence of a legend: Bruce Springsteen, who contributes vocals to the track. Also credited are Jenny Lewis, Phil Cook, Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner (who has been a member of Bon Iver since last year), and others.

The release of the song supports a number of causes, as the song’s YouTube description reads, “From celebrating art and music, to empowering women, to liberating incarcerated people, to fighting climate change, these organizations work tirelessly to foster a world that celebrates our humanity on a local, national, and global level. Please explore, support, and take action.” It then shares links for Minneapolis Sanctuary Movement, Red Letter Grant, Equal Justice Initiative, National Independent Venue Association, and 350.

“AUATC” follows the similarly titled “PDLIF” (“Please Don’t Live In Fear”), which he released back in April.

This song has been floating around for a while now. Vernon shared an unfinished version of it in the summer of 2018, and Vernon’s digital platform PEOPLE described the track as “a rough draft of a song Phil and Justin worked on last summer. We want to finish it but havent had time in the same space to do so. We’re open to ideas.” That version of the song was also said to include a sample of “live james taylor 1997 in there.” On a similar note, Vernon also tweeted when sharing the track, “Draft of a song me and @philcookmusic made last summer. I love the idea so much, dont know how to finish it. Also, Phil is my main musical teacher AND my life long brother.”

Watch the “AUATC” video above.

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

With the next season of Westworld not arriving anytime soon, HBO Max just unveiled its latest series that looks like it will scratch that sci-fi itch nicely. In the first trailer for iconic filmmaker Ridley Scott‘s Raised by Wolves, viewers are introduced to Mother (Amanda Collins), an android responsible for restarting human civilization on a mysterious and treacherous planet. As she tells the children the classic fairy tale The Three Little Pigs, it rapidly becomes clear that Mother and the children will be facing adversaries both human and other. Not to mention, the very interesting twist at the end of the trailer.

With imagery evocative of Scott’s work on Aliens, Prometheus, and The Martian, the upcoming HBO Max series seems primed to be an epic sci-fi tale that questions humanity’s place in the universe and the concepts of god and nature.

Here’s the official synopsis:

From executive producer Ridley Scott, Raised by Wolves centers on two androids tasked with raising human children on a mysterious virgin planet. As the burgeoning colony of humans threatens to be torn apart by religious differences, the androids learn that controlling the beliefs of humans is a treacherous and difficult task. The highly-anticipated series premiere will debut on September 3rd on HBO Max. Scott directed the first two episodes of the 10-episode series, marking his television series directorial debut for American audiences.

Fans of Scott have been waiting for Raised by Wolves to hit TV screens for awhile now. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series was originally supposed to air on TNT where it was picked up back in 2018. But as WarnerMedia re-examined its content strategy as it prepared for the launch of HBO Max, Raised by Wolves was shuffled over to the new streaming service.

“As we strive to set a high creative bar for HBO Max, there’s no better person to set that bar than Ridley Scott as he delivers his first season of yet another incredible vision realized,” chief content officer Kevin Reilly told THR back in December.

Raised by Wolves debuts on HBO Max on September 3, 2020.

Step aside Nicki Minaj’s Queen Radio, there’s a new musician-led show on Apple Music. On Wednesday, Lady Gaga announced she will be the host of her very own radio show, Gaga Radio. The first episode drops Friday and the singer will use her platform to discuss her music and activism.

For the show’s premiere episode, Lady Gaga will sit down with close friend and Chromatica producer BloodPop. The two will discuss the process of making of the record, complete with the challenges and triumphs they faced along the way including depression and self-doubt. During the first conversation, Gaga opens up about how cathartic the recording process was for her, saying she would “just stare into the open sky and chain smoke cigarettes and cry” after trying to write a song.

In a statement about Gaga Radio ahead of its debut, Gaga said she’s been brainstorming ways to garner a sense of community among her listeners and the world: “The last few weeks I’ve been figuring out different ways at home that I can be of service to what I would call the singular global community, one that I believe to be kind in nature, one that I believe to be very special to my heart and I believe to the hearts of many. And so I’ve been thinking of all the ways that I can be someone that contributes to the society and the world. I’m super thrilled, excited to have this show and this opportunity to play an incredible mix of music every week.”

Gaga Radio premieres 8/7 at 11 a.m. PT. Listen to it here.

With so much uncertainty surrounding the 2020 college football season, both in regards to what it will look like and how it can be completed safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Connecticut has decided to take a drastic step. It was announced on Wednesday morning that the Huskies’ football program would not compete this fall, giving them the distinction of being the first FBS university to make the decision to pass on playing football this year.

“We engaged and listened to the concerns of our football student-athletes and feel this is the best decision for their health, safety, and well-being,” UConn head coach Randy Edsall said in a release. “Our team is united in this approach and we will use this time to further player development within the program and gear ourselves to the 2021 season.”

Edsall’s players also put out a statement, explaining that they “are in full support” of the decision to pass on playing this year.

“We have many health concerns and not enough is known about the potential long term effects of contracting COVID-19,” the players said. “Additionally, we have not had the optimal time to train mentally & physically to be properly prepared to compete this season. We love this game and love competing. We came to campus in the beginning of July knowing there would be challenges presented by the pandemic but it is apparent to us now that these challenges are impossible to overcome.”

The Huskies were slated to play this season as an independent following their final year as a member of the American Athletic Conference this year. While no other FBS schools have announced a similar decision, some smaller schools have opted to not play this fall, while a collection of players from FBS schools like Minnesota, Penn State, and Virginia Tech have decided to opt out of this season with an eye on the 2021 NFL Draft.

(Via ESPN)

Fontaines DC earned critical respect from American indie music publications for their 2019 debut album Dogrel and for their new one, A Hero’s Death. While they are a very good band, they haven’t exactly dominated the charts on this side of the Atlantic: Their lone chart appearance in the US was a No. 14 peak for Dogrel on Billboard‘s Top Heatseekers tally.

That said, the Irish group is much more appreciated in the UK, where Dogrel peaked at No. 9 on the charts. Now, the band has a shot at going No. 1 in the UK with A Hero’s Death. Taylor Swift’s Folklore is also vying for the top spot on the August 7 chart, and it might be surprising to American music fans, but the race between Swift and Fontaines DC is actually really, really close.

The Official Charts Company, which is responsible for the official UK charts, publishes its weekly rankings on Fridays. Ahead of then, though, they offer a mid-week update. On Monday’s update, Fontaines DC led the tally while Swift was in third, after Folklore debuted in the top spot on the chart dated July 31.

However, it looks like Swift and her team are making moves to try and keep Folklore on top for a second consecutive week. EMI, Swift’s UK record label, brought the CD release of Folklore forward to August 4, presumably in an effort to keep the album at No. 1.

To compare both artists’ global reach, Fontaines DC currently boast about 961,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, which is a big number that’s far from paltry. However, Swift has about 46.1 million monthly listeners, which is nearly 50 times as many and 17th in the world.

Mad Men famously paid $250,000 for the rights to use “Tomorrow Never Knows” by the Beatles in a season five episode (Don was not a fan), but a TV show simply quoting a famous song can still cost tens of thousands of dollars in licensing fees.

For this week’s episode of the Office Ladies podcast, via Mashable, former-The Office co-stars/current co-hosts Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey spoke to Jen Celotta, who wrote season three’s “A Benihana Christmas.” Early in the episode, Michael discusses his plan to surprise Carol with two “all-inclusive” tickets to Jamaica for Christmas. It was a pricey present for Michael, and, as Celotta revealed, a pricier expense for the show:

“I wrote a joke where Michael says, ‘I got two tickets to paradise.’ And he says, ‘Pack your bags we leave day after tomorrow.’ At the sound mix, I found out from [producer Kent Zbornak] that was a $60,000 joke… I was like, ‘It’s a fine joke, but none of my jokes I’ve ever written have been $60,000 jokes.’ But I remember not so long after that we had some of our music budget pulled away from us, and I can’t help but think… [I] had no idea that because we sang that song, the song had to be cleared, and that joke was $60,000.”

More like Eddie money.

“A Benihana Christmas” also memorably featured Michael and Andy singing “Your Body Is a Wonderland” to their holiday party dates, but the process of getting the rights to that song was smoother, as John Mayer was a fan of the show. “One of my favorite shows on television, The Office, wanted to use my song, but it’s safe to say I don’t get asked to use ‘Wonderland’ for strongman competitions. I get asked so that people can goof on it. I initially turned the request down, but after hearing the details on the incredibly funny sounding scene, I decided to go for it,” Mayer wrote on his blog at the time. His only request: that he get a Dundie. Congrats to John Mayer, tall music dude.

You can listen to the Office Ladies episode below.

(Via Mashable)

As DC FanDome gets ready to drop towards the end of August, James Gunn is making it known that The Suicide Squad will have a big presence at the online fan event. But first, the director wanted to show off his awesome birthday present: brand new title logos for his sequel/quasi-reboot of the villainous mercenary squad.

“#TheSuicideSquad team just got me these amazing new official title treatments for my birthday today,” Gunn wrote on Instagram on Wednesday. “And the cast and I have so much more to show you guys on Aug 22 at DCFanDome.com. See you there!”

You can see the official The Suicide Squad logos below and in several languages:

The logos marked the second time Gunn pumped up DC FanDome in the past 24 hours. The online event is a “free, global, 24-hour virtual convention” that’s basically DC Comics’ own Comic-Con. Speculation is swirling that new revelations will come for The Batman, Wonder Woman 1984, and The Suicide Squad. While Gunn hasn’t confirmed (or denied) that a trailer is dropping at the online event, he is promising fans that they will be getting a good look at his film. Gunn also told a concerned Twitter user that his take on the Suicide Squad will be “100%, zero interference, no-holds-barred ME.”

You can see Gunn’s tweet below:

Of course, in these crazy times, the big question is how the pandemic has affected The Suicide Squad. So far, not at all. Back in April, Gunn confirmed that shooting had already wrapped before production shutdowns began sweeping Hollywood. Since then, his post-production team has been working without issue from home, and Gunn confidently tweeted that the film is “on or ahead of schedule.”

Boasting a massive cast that includes original Suicide Squad stars like Margot Robbie, Jai Courtenay, and Joel Kinnaman alongside newcomers Idris Elba, Pete Davidson, and Taika Waititi, The Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 6, 2021.

(Via James Gunn on Instagram, James Gunn on Twitter)

As more and more rappers take to Twitch to stream themselves playing video games, one rapper in particular is distinguishing himself as as much of a standout entertainer on the streaming platform as he is a musician. Soulja Boy, whose antics generally make for great viral meme fodder — see: his response to being told Drake is the most influential artist of the 2010s — has been playing Call Of Duty: Warzone on Twitch and clips have filtered their way onto Twitter, where the reaction has been one of hilarity and enjoyment.

The thing that makes him so much fun to watch is his typically exuberant, sort of unhinged reactions to the onscreen action. We’ve all gotten a little bit excited during a particularly rousing round of multiplayer, but Soulja Boy literally screams at the top of his lungs, shouting out his “All Money Gang” and celebrating winning a heart-pumping shootout long after all his enemies have been sent to respawn. Naturally, fans have thoughts, mostly in the realm of bemusement at his overreaction to a fairly typical gaming situation; one fan joked, “Soulja Boy don’t need Call Of Duty,” while another wondered, “Who let this n**** Soulja Boy get on Warzone?”

It seems, though, that most of the reactions are just joy at seeing the now 30-year-old rapper enjoying himself as the world falls apart around us all. At least someone is enjoying something while pandemics rage on and sharks invade the waters of the Los Angeles coastline. Watch Soulja Boy have way too much fun playing video games online above.

After Toronto-based four-piece pop punk outfit Pup shared their acclaimed third record Morbid Stuff last year, the group has stayed busy with other projects. Pup released a benefit live album in July that was available for only one day and ended up raising over $27,500 for charity. Now, the group returns with a lively cover of one of their favorite rock bands, Grandaddy.

Pup came together to record a cover of Grandaddy’s 1997 song “A.M. 180.” The group manages to capture the disgruntled energy of the original track while infusing their fuzzy and endearing sound. Speaking about their decision to cover the song, drummer Zack Mykula praised Grandaddy as one of indie rock’s “best kept” secrets: “Grandaddy are one of the unsung hero bands of indie rock,” says Pup’s drummer . “A best kept secret. I mean, forgive me for going ham, but this song is like a lily in an otherwise barren valley. An outstanding piece of songwriting, doing more with less than most any other song of the same caliber. So, that’s why we decided to cover it.”

Along with sharing the lively cover, Pup has unveiled a new edition of their zine, PupTheZine Vol. 4: Quaranzine. The booklet contains cut-outs of drawn Pup figurines, a postcard, each band members’ resume, guitar tabs for “Anaphylaxis,” a pedal board breakdown, a disc of a ska song written in while they were quarantine, and much more. About the zine, Pup said they had originally created it at the onset of the pandemic lockdown before the country turned their focus to elevate the Black Lives Matter movement:

“This zine was created in the first few weeks of our mandatory quarantine. It was printed and ready to ship before the full impact of COVID-19 was felt across the world and before the senseless deaths of George Floyd, Regis Korchinski-Paquet, and Breonna Taylor (to name but a few) further exposed the foundational white supremacy and structural inequality at the heart of American, Canadian, and other capitalist societies. We are grateful for the voices and perspectives of marginalized peoples that continue to play a central role in this worldwide awakening and in the sustained call to dismantle racist and patriarchal structures that have perpetrated violence in our communities. We stand in solidarity with all those trying to envision safer and more just communities and will continue to do our daily best in amplifying and uplifting these voices as we move forward in the world.

With that in mind, we hope you’ll view this thing for what it is: a time capsule. It is the four members of PUP, bored as fuck, fresh off a cancelled tour, trying to create something as silly as possible because, at the time, we wanted a distraction. Although it doesn’t necessarily represent our current emotional states, we had a good laugh making it and had a good laugh revisiting it all these months later. Honestly, that’s why we started making these zines in the first place. If you buy this thing, we hope it helps you find a bit of levity in what has been an incredibly bleak few months.”

Listen to Pup’s “A.M. 180” cover and find the Quaranzine cover art above.