Category: Worldwide

Gracie Abrams‘ long-awaited debut album Good Riddance is finally here. To celebrate its release this past Friday (February 24), Abrams stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! to perform “I Know It Won’t Work” from the album.

On the song, Abrams expresses her desire to rekindle a past romance but is forced to come to terms with the fact that the two aren’t meant to be.

“And part of me wants to walk away ’til you really listen / I hate to look at your face and know that we’re feelin’ different / ‘Cause part of me wants you back, but / I know it won’t work like that,” sings Abrams on the song’s chorus.

During the performance, the stage is lit black and white, as Abrams is joined by a live band, giving the punchy pop track an even more raw feel.

Self-awareness is a common theme on Good Riddance. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Abrams said she wanted to display a sense of maturity and accountability in her newer material.

“I think a lot of my songwriting in the past almost placed blame on others before reflecting on my own role in a situation,” said Abrams. “With Good Riddance, I wanted to grow out of that really desperately…. I wanted to be more thoughtful and more accountable.”

Good Riddance is out via Interscope. You can pre-save it here.

One of the best college basketball games of the season took place on Saturday evening when the 7th-ranked Arizona Wildcats played host to their in-state rivals, the Arizona State Sun Devils. Things came down to the last possible moment, when Desmond Cambridge Jr. threw up a prayer from beyond halfcourt that got answered and give the Sun Devils a gigantic win.

A pair of free throws by Azuolas Tubelis gave Arizona a lead early in the second half, and for the remainder of the game, Arizona State played catch up. They kept chipping away, and with just under two minutes left, the Sun Devils took an 84-83 lead, which the two teams would pass back and forth for the rest of the game. And with 29 seconds left, the sequence that looked like it was going to decide the winner happened, as Pelle Larsson hit a layup to put the Wildcats up by one, DJ Horne missed a jumper on the way back down, and Oumar Ballo split a pair of free throws to give Arizona an 88-86 advantage.

On the ensuing inbound with about three seconds left, Cambridge got the ball, dribbled once, and decided to put up a shot before the defense could get in a position to contest. It could not have been any more different, and while the crowd at McKale Memorial Center was stunned, the Sun Devils ran onto the floor to celebrate their 89-88 win.

With the win, Arizona State moved to 20-9 on the year with an 11-7 mark in conference play.

Remember when Tulsi Gabbard ran for the Democratic presidential ticket only three years ago? A lot has changed. Despite supporting eventual winner Joe Biden, she soon drifted quickly rightward. By the time she formally ditched the Democratic Party and started subbing on Tucker Carlson’s nightly Fox News show, few were surprised. And yet it’s still a bit of a shock to hear her airing Hitler comments that are too out-there even for Jesse Watters.

Gabbard went on Watters’ show so they could both rant against the Biden administration’s commitment to having a diverse staff. Watters said he was a “little tired of the diversity stuff.” Gabbard effectively told him to hold her beer.

Gabbard said their commitment to “identity politics” was one of the reasons she left the Democratic Party. She then paraphrased Republicans’ favorite MLK quote, saying that “we should judge each other not based on the color of our skin, but based on our character.”

And then she compared the Biden team’s diversity practices to the Nazis, who were, of course, famous for embracing other ethnicities:

“They are proud to be judging people, hiring people, selecting people based on race, and let’s be clear how serious of a problem this is. It’s based on genetics, race, based on your blood, your genes, and, where do we see that connection? Well, these are the very same geneticist core principles embodied by Nazism and Adolf Hitler. This should be something that is sickening and alarming to every single Democrat and every single American. We have seen where this, uh, philosophy can lead.”

Even Watters wasn’t having it, asking her, “You are saying the focus on genetics is in a way similar to what was going on in Germany?”

“You look at the core values and core principles of Adolf Hitler and Nazism what is it based on? It’s based on genetics this philosophy of geneticism and discriminating based on their genes,” she replied. “When they are standing there, saying we are proud to be selecting people solely based on race, that is alarming to men so many levels. You see them oh we we going to select someone based on their race, based on their gender, these immutable characteristics that we are born with, this goes against, again, the very vision our founders had for us.”

Watters politely disagreed, at least with one point. “I’m not sure about the German thing, but I think you are right on this point: they care about what they administration looks like but they don’t care about what we look like,” he told her, “and we’re out here saying hey, we need this, we need that can you — and they are not even looking at us.”

When you’re a former Democratic politician whose cuckoo Hitler comparisons lose even a Fox News host, you may have made a serious life mistake. But hey, at least she’s not falling for George Santos’ lies, clearing the lowest bar imaginable.

(Via Mediaite)

Cardi B recently got very candid about her experiences with her court-ordered community service. The “Up” hitmaker reveals that community service is a “spiritual journey” and has changed her for the better. Her court order stems from her 2018 case, where she pled guilty to ordering an assault — earning herself two misdemeanors — on two female employees at Angel’s Strip Club in New York.

Presumably due to her busy schedule, the rapper struggled to complete her community service on time. The court granted Cardi a two-month extension this past January.

“Community service has been the best thing that has happened to me,” Cardi tweeted on Saturday, February 25. “[It’s] almost like a spiritual journey because sometimes I leave these centers in tears.

She continued, “Those people that we leave behind, they just need somebody to talk and a lil push, and YOU might be able to change their life forever.”

To date, Cardi has fulfilled her community service requirement. Now maybe the busy mother of two can return to prepping her highly anticipated second album, which she teased earlier this year. When she’s not in the studio or taking care of her kids, you can bet she is working on expanding her empire, like her recent partnership with McDonald’s alongside her husband, Offset.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Major League Baseball’s new pitch clock is being put on full display at spring training this year. In an effort to speed up the pace of play, the League passed a new rule for the clock back in September, which gives pitchers 15 seconds to get a pitch off when the bases are empty and 20 seconds to throw a pitch when there are runners on base. If they don’t, a ball is automatically added to the count.

But the rule doesn’t just apply to pitchers. A catcher needs to be ready to go with 10 seconds left on the cock, while the hitter has to be ready with eight seconds left. That second thing made headlines on Friday when Manny Machado got hit with an automatic strike, and on Saturday, we got our first game decided by an automatic strike. The Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox were tied in the bottom of the ninth, 6-6, and Braves infielder Cal Conley was up at the plate with the bases loaded and a full count.

Unfortunately for Conley, the umpire ruled he was not set before the clock hit the 8-second mark, which meant he got hit with an automatic strike and the game ended.

Of course, in a regular season game, this would just go to extra innings. Instead, Conley gets to forever be known as the first person to strike out in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and a full count because he took a little too long.

February came in like a lion, which is to say mere days into the year’s shortest month it was announced Yellowstone might be coming to a premature end, and at the height of its powers. Rumor is that Kevin Costner’s schedule is conflicted with future shoots and producers are considering scrapping it and creating yet another spinoff, this one starring Matthew McConaughey. Thing is, weeks later there still isn’t any word on what’s happening in the world of Montana’s biggest ranchers. Maybe it’s all been much ado about nothing. That’s what one of its stars thinks.

Entertainment Weekly caught up with Wes Bentley, who plays John and Kayce Dutton’s adopted son Jamie. “The news that’s come out recently about the show is, you know, it’s above my pay grade. Different people making decisions,” he told the publication. “I know that they’re still working on… working things out with everyone, to make sure we shoot. And I’m confident we will. We always have before. I think it’s probably a bit of drama over nothing.”

Throughout the turmoil, Paramount has repeatedly claimed there was “nothing to report,” adding, cryptically, “Kevin Costner is a big part of Yellowstone and we hope that’s the case for a long time to come.” Meanwhile, when Costner belatedly delivered his Golden Globe acceptance speech, he didn’t even allude to the rumors. Anyway, surely your parents hope the guy from American Beauty is right.

(Via EW)

Future’s “Life Is Good” bars seem to be coming to life. The Atlanta rapper is reportedly interested in expanding his business portfolio and has plans to follow in the footsteps of other rappers like Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, and Wiz Khalifa by making his entryway into the medical marijuana business.

Trademark attorney Clarissa Harvey revealed on Twitter earlier this week that Future’s legal team has filed at least six trademark applications in several classes, for a line named “EVOL BY FUTURE.” The line may include smoking lounge services, vape pens, medicated oils and more, according to Harvey’s post. Additionally, there will be a link to provide a website featuring health information in the field of medical marijuana and cannabis.”

The attorney also referenced a tweet from 2016 where Future wrote “Love backwards #EVOL,” which is presumably the inspiration behind the name.

When it comes music, Future has no plans on slowing in that arena either. He recently announced that he’s working on a joint project with Metro Boomin, and he snagged an award for Best Rap Collaboration at the 2023 Grammys for his song “WAIT FOR U”, which features Drake and Nigerian singer Tems. He also recently graced the stage at Rolling Loud in Los Angeles with Playboi Carti and Travis Scott and announcing the extension of his One Big Party Tour, where he performed alongside some “friends” — including Polo G, Babyface Ray, EST Gee — this past January.

The Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Clippers played an instant classic on Friday night. Sacramento came out on top in double overtime, 176-175, in what will go down as the second highest-scoring game in NBA history.

The game marked the first time Russell Westbrook suited up for the Clippers, and while he was hardly the MVP that he was at his peak, the veteran guard turned in a nice effort. Westbrook scored 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting with 14 assists, five rebounds, and a steal in 39 minutes of work before fouling out in double overtime.

After the game, a member of the media asked a pair of Sacramento players about Los Angeles bringing Westbrook on board. This did not sit especially well with De’Aaron Fox, who had a NSFW response to the question.

“Thoughts about Westbrook or was it thoughts about us?” Fox asked. “Cause I don’t give a f*ck who’s over there. It doesn’t matter. We see the talent in this league, there are a lot of talented teams, obviously he added talent to this team. But we come in, we worry about us.”

Malik Monk echoed this sentiment by saying, “We here too, though. We coming at everybody.” The former Kentucky teammates were magnificent against the Clippers, as they combined to score 87 points in the win.

Nicki Minaj is taking more legal action against the Youtuber who called her a “cokehead.” The “Yikes” rapper requested a default judgment after the Youtber in question, social media personality/vlogger Marley Green aka “Nosey Heaux,” failed to respond to the defamation lawsuit she filed in September 2022, according to court documents obtained by XXL.

Minaj’s attorney, Judd Burstein, noted that Green “has not answered or moved with respect to the complaint,” and the time for her to do so has “expired.” The latter is also accused of making “vile comments” about the rap star’s one-year-old son.

Minaj is seeking nearly $75k in “punitive damages” since Green hasn’t responded to the lawsuit.

Court documents show that Burstein emailed a copy of the summons to Green’s lawyer, Bobby Samini, in October of last year and even extended the deadline to December. The court approved the request and extended the deadline to Janurary 16.

“Marley Green is a disgrace — someone so lacking in fundamental decency that she has posted vile comments about Nicki’s one-year-old son,” Burstein stated. “When this case is over, she will no longer be permitted to use the name ‘Nosey Heaux’ because we will take her trademark from her when she does not have enough money to pay the judgment.”

This article originally appeared on 01.31.22

Any parent knows that kids can be surprisingly astute little philosophers at the most unexpected times. One minute your child is throwing a tantrum because you sliced their sandwich wrong, and the next they are blowing you away with their deep preschool thoughts. It’s enough to give you whiplash, but it’s also one of the most fun things about being around kids. You never know what they’re going to say and sometimes what they say is just awesome.

Case in point: This 5-year-old who gave his mom some sage advice about handling her nerves.

Twitter user @Eprecipice (StressieBessie) shared the story in a tweet thread. She wrote:

“When talking about our agendas for the day, I told my 5yo I was a little nervous about a meeting I have today. He said, ‘Mama, I am nervous all the time. I know what to do.’ So friends, here is all the advice he could fit into the drive to school:”

1. “You gotta say your affirmations in your mouth and your heart. You say, ‘I am brave of this meeting!’ , ‘I am loved!’, ‘I smell good!’ And you can say five or three or ten until you know it.”

Okay, first of all, the fact that this kiddo knows what affirmations are is awesome. Some people have questioned whether this advice really came from a 5-year-old because of the vocabulary, but kids are sponges and affirmations aren’t rocket science. It’s become quite common for preschools and kindergartens to teach kids things like this, so it’s not actually surprising to hear him talk about affirmations. It’s just adorable to hear the ones he suggests.

When talking about our agendas for the day, I told my 5yo I was a little nervous about a meeting I have today. He said, u201cMama, I am nervous all the time. I know what to do.u201d So friends, here is all the advice he could fit into the drive to school:

— StressieBessie (@StressieBessie)
1643118594

2. “You gotta walk big. You gotta mean it. Like Dolly on a dinosaur. Because you got it.”

Okay, so this actually is sound advice. Researcher Amy Cuddy gave a whole TED Talk about how our minds respond to our own body language, and how using confident body language can actually release chemicals in our brains that make us feel more powerful and self-assured. So “walk big” like you mean it is legit.

2. u201cYou gotta walk big. You gotta mean it. Like Dolly on a dinosaur. Because you got it.u201d

— StressieBessie (@StressieBessie)
1643118788

3. “Never put a skunk on a bus.”

No idea what this means, but it’s definitely solid wisdom.

4. “Think about the donuts of your day! Even if you cry a little, you can think about potato chips!”

I’m genuinely not sure if this is referencing real donuts or not, which is part of what makes it delightful advice. Metaphorically, “the donuts of your day” could be the positive things that happened, and focusing on those instead of the negative is basic positive thinking. Then again, if you cry and think about potato chips, perhaps he’s just referencing comfort with food. Either way, totally feeling it.

4. u201cThink about the donuts of your day! Even if you cry a little, you can think about potato chips!u201d

— StressieBessie (@StressieBessie)
1643118922

5. “You gotta take a deep breath and you gotta do it again.”

Pretty much every therapist from every psychological school of thought will tell you that breathing exercises are one of the quickest ways to calm your body and mind. Simple, but seriously sound advice.

6. “Even if it’s a yucky day, you can get a hug.”

Even though that sounds like a pretty typical thought for a kid, it’s also good well-being advice. According to The Conversation, the chemicals released when we hug can help us manage stress, reduce anxiety and manage our emotions.

Smart kid.

He added one more piece of advice for good measure as well for those of us who tend toward distraction.

6. u201cEven if itu2019s a yucky day, you can get a hug.u201d

— StressieBessie (@StressieBessie)
1643119356

Extra addition from this afternoon: u201cDonu2019t get distracted and your feet will stay on the sidewalk and not too full of snow.u201d

— StressieBessie (@StressieBessie)
1643147180

Like a little Confucius, this one.

Seriously, if you ever want to hear some of the most oddly profound things you’ll ever hear in your life, spend some time interviewing a 4- or 5-year-old. They really do say the darnedest things. And if you’re nervous about something, just keep telling yourself you’re “brave of” it. If nothing else, it’ll bring a smile to your face remembering this delightful thread.