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SPOILERS for Black Widow will be found below.

Black Widow was Florence Pugh’s introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And to millions of people who didn’t see her in Lady Macbeth and Midsommar (everyone should watch Lady Macbeth and Midsommar). But in a way, the Paddington-befriending actress has been part of the MCU since Avengers: Infinity War. At least her vest has.

For my money, the best joke in Black Widow is Yelena’s (Pugh) affection for her vest. It’s tactical, it’s “so cool,” it’s the first thing she bought for herself after being released from Dreykov’s mind control, and most importantly, it has pockets. So many pockets for so many gadgets and gizmos, you wouldn’t even know. At the end of the film, however, she gives it to her “sister,” Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) before they depart. “I guess you should take this, I know how much you like it,” Yelena tells her. Natasha liked it enough that she wrote it during one of the most climatic scenes in MCU history.

Black Widow is sporting the vest during the Wakanda battle scene in Infinity War, the fifth highest-grossing movie of all-time (its sequel, Endgame, is number two). The direct connection between the Avengers movie and Black Widow was made by Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige, as Scarlett Johansson told Screen Rant.

“Well it actually is an important thing. It seems very superficial, but it actually is very unique, it’s a very meaningful thing. That’s totally a Kevin Feige thing. He loves all of that backstory stuff and things that connect characters to one another,” she said. “When we designed it then, it was really just a different look for the character, but it’s fun how Kevin’s mind works in this — he’s like an imagineer in that way, where he thinks of all the little hidden things that people will give, things that are seemingly innocuous, some heart. It’s an heirloom, it becomes an heirloom in this unexpected, funny way.”

It’s also making people very emotional.

(Via Screen Rant)

We’re now just a few weeks away from Billie Eilish’s highly anticipated second album, Happier Than Ever. That’s dropping at the end of the month, but ahead of then, Eilish shared a new song, “NDA,” today. To mark that occasion, she chatted with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. During that conversation, Eilish said she has “cried more in the last two weeks than I have my whole life.”

Eilish explained how tough promoting a new album can be, saying:

“I mean, listen: it’s a lot of work. Also, when you want to give your album a life, and a big one, and you want people to listen, you gotta do stuff to make that happen. You got to do shoots and shoots and shoots and shoots and shoots and shoots… and all of the things. And it’s been a pretty… punishing couple of weeks, I got to tell you. I have cried probably 30 times. Probably, I’ve cried more in the last two weeks than I have my whole life. But it’s okay, because, you know, life goes on and things pass. But the whole process overall has been much better. I feel so much more confident and happy in my life and my personal life and my brain and my creativity. It’s just: promo is tough. It’s tough, but it’s worth it, though.”

Check out the full conversation below.

Happier Than Ever is out 7/30 via Darkroom/Interscope. Pre-order it here.

MEGA-SPOILERS for Black Widow and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will be found below.

Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff finally got her solo movie with Black Widow, which sets up Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova as torch carrier into Phase Four and beyond. As is customary with Marvel movies, a post-credits scene went down, and it’s a significant one. Let’s talk it out, including what it means for the MCU and the assembling of Disney+ shows coming out way.

The post-credits scene takes following after the film’s climactic battle and the events of Avengers: Endgame. Yelena and Natasha had bid each other farewell as the former went with their “parents” and the newly freed Widows. The latter went back to Avengers-land, where she intended to free a few members and head towards the events of Infinity War. And obviously, Natasha sacrificed herself for the Soul Stone, beating Hawkeye to a determined scramble to leap to death. In doing so, Natasha meant for Hawkeye to return to his family and finally scrubbed her ledger free of the remaining red while helping to save half the life in the universe, along with her adoptive superhero family.

Well, we see Yelena (who finally got that dog) visit Natasha’s grave, where her moment of sisterly love is interrupted by a certain enigmatic The Falcon and the Winter Soldier character, who was the best honest-to-god surprise cameo in MCU history:

Yup, it’s the legendary Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. She prefers to be referred to as “Val,” and she’s allegedly allergic to the midwest (meaning that Natasha’s apparently buried in Ohio, where she at least knew three years of relative normalcy). And Yelena’s been working with Val? We need answers on that issue at some point, which it feels like we’ll receive in Hawkeye.

Yelena seems unimpressed to see Val, and they’re obviously not strangers. She remarks that she’s enjoying off-time and that Val should bugger off. “Coming here makes you look desperate,” Natasha’s sister quips. “I want a raise.” It’s clear that Val’s been doing more recruiting in addition to her enlistment of John Walker, the failed Captain America, near the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Yet it’s not entirely clear whether this scene actually follows that show or vice versa. Vanity Fair previously reported that Marvel Studios originally wanted to debut Val in Black Widow, but plans changed, so who knows? Maybe Yelena joined Val before John did (as U.S. Agent), but the order doesn’t really matter. Instead, we’re learning that Yelena at least semi-regrets joining up with Val, who’s annoying at best (with her nose-blowing intrusion) or nefarious at worst.

Interestingly enough, Val has a message for Yelena here. “I’ve got your next target,” she tells the trained killer. “Maybe you’d like a shot at the man responsible for your sister’s death.” With that, Val hands over a photo of Hawkeye while remarking, “Kind of a cutie, don’t you think?” Val’s lying, unless one counts Hawkeye’s failure to sacrifice him first as being “responsible.”

Is this hit at the behest of Power Broker/Sharon Carter, who’s obviously got a beef against the O.G. Avengers? If one were to heavily speculate on where this hit-revelation goes, and Yelena goes after Clint Barton to avenge Natasha, we can expect Yelena to pop up on the upcoming Hawkeye show, where she’d undoubtedly meet up with Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), who’s rumored to be taking over the Hawkeye mantle at some point, which possibly factors into setting up the Young Avengers. Yelena is highly speculated to join that group, but to do so, she’d need to wiggle out from under Val’s thumb first. If all is true, it’s a heck of a way to team up future MCU leaders.

All of this also means that — given that one must watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to pick up on this Val Easter egg — Marvel Studios is making it damn near impossible to opt out of any of the Disney+ shows. One can’t blame them, right? This is definitely one way to make me curious about Hawkeye, which wasn’t high up on my list of most anticipated shows. More Yelena would be a big selling point there.

Again, though, we don’t truly know who Val is, beyond not being the Power Broker. It’s possible that Val (and this is one place that Val goes in the comics) is actually Madame Hydra, who possesses a mysterious past with parents who were Leviathan sleeper agents. Val’s also been a leading S.H.I.E.L.D. member and once kicked Nick Fury’s ass during a training session. Well, we’re not likely to get answers anytime soon, at least until Hawkeye arrives, possibly in late 2021. She’s truly a wild card, but at least we know that the MCU’s not one-and-done with either Val or Yelena Belova, and no one can complain about that development.

‘Black Widow’ is currently in theaters and streaming on Disney+ via Premier Access.

Top Dawg’s first lady is joining the NFT game. While fans have been dying to hear SZA’s second full-length album, barely satiated by the release of her first single, “Good Days,” or her long-awaited collaboration with Doja Cat, “Kiss Me More,” she’s giving them a piece of her career instead. In what might be the first of many potential collaborations for an NFT, SZA is releasing her first NFT drop today.

Today, American Express announced their collaboration with her on “Amex Unstaged x SZA: The Collection.” The drop gives Amex card members the chance to purchase the NFT, which features photos from her recent performance for the brand. According to a press release, the “limited, one-of-a-kind collection” will be available on Fanaply, an NFT developer used in music, sports and entertainment. The NFT includes “never-before-seen photos” from SZA’s performance. Today’s initial drop is only open to the Amex card members who attended the show, while the next iteration, coming this Monday, will be open to the public. Each asset will be available for purchase — with an American Express card — at a price of $100 right here.

Check out some of the first looks at NFT photos below and learn more about the drop here.

The long and sultry days are officially upon us, and Netflix knows that you want to stay inside (more than you probably thought you did) this summer. The streaming service lined up all manner of content for you this week, from family-friendly fare to straight-up R-rated offerings. First up, Tim Robinson returns with a sophomore season full of his most refreshingly absurd and blunt and self-aware brand of humor. Next, the Fear Street franchise has a second installment of its own, only a week after the first edition dropped. Then comes the battle between cat people and dog lovers, and you know what? Maybe one can respect both sides of the pet-loving ballgame. That’s not all that you can choose from, although we chose the most bingeworthy selections, to make life a little bit easier.

Here’s everything else coming to (and leaving) the streaming platform this week.

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson: Season 2 (Netflix series streaming 7/6)

Get ready for more insanely absurdist (and almost therapeutically refreshing) sketch comedy from creator and writer Tim Robinson. He’s back with partner Zach Kanin for more of turning the most mundane and bizarre life moments into shouty hilarity, and guest stars this season include Bob Odenkirk, Sam Richardson, Paul Walter Hauser, Tim Heidecker, and many more. If you haven’t had the pleasure of digging into Robinson’s work, and you love Adam Sandler and Chris Farley’s exaggerated humor, yet crowned with an especially self-aware twist, you must plop this show into your queue.

Fear Street Part 2: 1978 (Netflix film streaming 7/9)

One week after Part 1’s release, the franchise goes back to Shadyside, where summer vacation’s on tap, which means summer camp and someone who wishes to commit murder. In short, a group of campers discover that their town’s horrifying happenings might be connected to what they’re going through now, and they need to shut down the impending perpetrator, fast.

Biohackers: Season 2 (Netflix series streaming 7/9)

An abducted women awakens with no memory of what transpired, but she does discover a note-to-self that proves to be quite useful in informing her that, well, she needs to figure out what the heck happened because she’s in imminent danger. She must then team up with someone that she doesn’t trust at all.

Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness (Netflix series streaming 7/9)

Based upon the survival horror video games (and surely, you’ve seen at least a few of the films) comes this Netflix original anime series that follows up on 2017’s Resident Evil: Vendetta CGI film with more franchise entries apparently on the way.

Dogs: Season 2 (Netflix series streaming 7/8)

The best friend of man everyone (who knows what’s good for them) is here to stake a claim on you. In this four-episode season, four lucky humans — an astronaut, a priest, a military contractor, and a university mascot handler — tell stories of these remarkable creatures and how they’re truly family.

Cat People: Season 1 (Netflix series streaming 7/8)

Well, some people side with the felines, rather than the canines, in the battle for human hearts. This show will explore exactly why “cat people” are so devoted even in the face of negative stereotypes while also revealing their powerful bonds with these somewhat stuffy and frustratingly independent creatures.

Here’s a full list of what’s been added in the last week:

Avail. 7/4
We The People

Avail. 7/5
You Are My Spring

Avail. 7/6
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson: Season 2

Avail. 7/7
Brick Mansions
Cat People
Dogs: Season 2
The Mire: ’97
The War Next-door
Major Grom: Plague Doctor
This Little Love of Mine

Avail. 7/8
Elize Matsunaga: Once Upon a Crime
Home Again
Midnight Sun
RESIDENT EVIL: Infinite Darkness

Avail. 7/9
Atypical: Season 4
Biohackers: Season 2
The Cook of Castamar
Fear Street Part 2: 1978
How I Became a Superhero
Last Summer
Lee Su-geun: The Sense Coach
Virgin River: Season 3

Avail. 7/10
American Ultra

And here’s what’s leaving next week, so it’s your last chance:

Leaving 7/14
Holidays

Leaving 7/15
The Princess and the Frog

After years of mixtapes and EPs, Yung Bleu earned his breakout moment at the end of last year when Drake dropped a remix of his 2020 track, “You’re Mines Still.” Within weeks, Yung Bleu became a more recognizable name and the “You’re Mines Still” remix would continue to grow in popularity, as it later reached double-Platinum status. Months later, the Alabama native is still on his grind as he gears up to release a brand new project, but before he does so, Yung Bleu called on Big Sean for his latest single, “Way More Close (Stuck In A Box).”

The track finds both acts detailing the struggles in their respective relationships. While things may be hard, neither desire to call it quits, rather, they hope to break out of the bad cycle and do what needs to be done in order to strengthen and boost their relationships.

“Way More Close (Stuck In A Box)” arrives with news that Yung Bleu’s next album, titled Moon Boy, will arrive on July 23. The effort comes equipped with 15 songs and Yung Bleu’s previously released single “The Baddest” with Chris Brown and 2 Chainz.

You can press play on “Way More Close (Stuck In A Box)” in the video above.

Moon Boy is out 7/23 via Vandross Music Group/Empire. Pre-order it here.

After two long years, South London native Dave is finally back in action. The rapper hadn’t shared much with fans sine the 2019 release of his debut album, Psychodrama, an effort that was highly celebrated in his hometown as it would take home the Album Of The Year crown at the 2020 BRIT Awards, among other awards. Now, Dave is gearing up to drop his sophomore effort, We’re All Alone In This Together, and he prepares its release with its lead single, “Clash” featuring Stormzy.

The collaboration is a brash effort that finds the two rappers talking highly about themselves and their jewelry, watch, and shoe collections, among other things. Dave even takes a moment to shoot his shot with Jordyn Woods, despite her current relationship with Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns.

In a recent interview with GQ, Dave shared what listeners can expect on We’re All Alone In This Together. “I feel like Psychodrama was me aged zero to 20,” he said. ” Now, I get to go from zero backwards in time and explore stories from before, stuff that led up to the events of the first album: heritage, history, culture, my family, the countries that we come from, the regressive state of humanity in where we are now. Migration is a massive thing for me – boats, freedom of movement.” He added, “The artwork represents that – the journey – all at the same time, as delivering life from the perspective of someone who has just come off the back of all this… It’s a massive change in character.”

You can listen to Dave and Stormzy’s “Clash” above.

We’re All Alone In This Together is out 7/23 via Dave/Neighbourhood Recordings. Pre-order it here.

Tropical Storm Elsa made its way through the eastern portion of the United States on Thursday, causing chaos and flooding in several regions of the coast. But its impact on New York City went viral after video of some disturbing flooding circulated on Twitter showing several waterlogged stations in the city’s MTA.

Torrential rains are tough for any region to handle, but the subterranean nature of much of New York’s sprawling subway system make it particularly susceptible to storm surges and flooding. Which is why Thursday’s storm and the sight of passengers struggling to walk through murky floodwaters shocked many online.

The 157th Street Subway was particularly rough, with people using garbage bags and other attempts at staying dry to get through the flooded turnstiles and to the still-running trains.

As the New York Daily News reported Thursday, that flooding was short-lived. And the station in question does tend to flood more often than others because of its design.

Station workers later confirmed the water was waist-deep when the Twitter video was shot around 4:30 p.m. A pump quickly got the water out, said a worker, and the entrance leading to southbound trains was cleared by 6:15 p.m.

“This has happened at this station before during heavy rain,” said another worker who at 7 p.m. had just finished sweeping debris left by the flood.

But that was of little help to those who had a train to catch and rely on public transportation to get around the city. It certainly had some people talking about infrastructure on social media to say the least.

And climate change.

Expressways flooded in New York, too, causing traffic nightmares all over the city.

The storm was the latest instance in recent weeks of severe weather impacting daily life in the United States, coming on the heels of record-breaking temperatures that also caused damage to utilities and public transportation. And another reminder of the impacts of severe weather and the human causes that continue to make those disasters worse.

While he’s appeared as a guest act on a number of tracks within the last couple of years, the music world hasn’t received an original solo track from Post Malone in almost two years. The singer’s last release came in 2019 with his third album, Hollywood’s Bleeding. For those who have been waiting for new music from Posty, the wait has come to an end as he returns with his latest single, “Motley Crew.” The new track finds him leaning towards the hip-hop-ish side of his catalog in the effort that’s paired with a video that places him on a racetrack. The NASCAR-themed effort captures Post riding around a track while partying with the likes of Big Sean, Ty Dolla Sign, French Montana, Tyga, and others.

Posty’s newest single could soon bring us to the arrival of his fourth album, but according to his manager, Dre London, there may be a lot more in store for fans in 2021. “This that smile while on FaceTime with @postmalone agreeing that the world deserves 2 Posty projects out this year!” London wrote in the caption of an April 2021 Instagram post. “Discussing dates to drop the 1st one sooner than u think! I won’t tell u the title name just yet maybe next week.” That title has yet to be revealed, but from the looks of it, supporters of Posty won’t have to wait too long to receive it.

Scroll up to watch the video for “Motley Crew.”

A home team’s starter getting blown out often means a long day of baseball for fans who were hoping for a fun day at the ballpark, but Daniel Camarena put on a show for San Diego fans despite a bad outing from the Padres’ starter.

Thursday’s series finale between the Padres and Washington Nationals started as a disappointing ace showdown between Washington’s Max Scherzer and San Diego’s Yu Darvish, the latter of which was chased from the game after allowing six runs on just three innings of work. But Scherzer himself was struggling as well. Padres superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a home run against Scherzer earlier in the inning, and with more than 80 pitches through 3+ innings of work.

With the bases loaded Camarena, a 28-year-old reliever who had himself given up two runs the prior half-inning, shocked everyone in the park by launching a low 1-2 pitch to right field for an improbable grand slam.

The reaction from in the park was absolutely wild, especially for fans of a team loaded with offensive talent and used to seeing home runs. Everyone basically lost their minds, including this guy who was caught hand jiving on live TV.

Multiple screams of “OH MY GOD” were heard on the Padres broadcast, and people in the crowd were caught saying the same thing, too.

It was quite a scene, capped by a reliever making his second career MLB appearance getting to wear a gigantic, spinning Padres wordmark chain to celebrate the dinger.

Camerena actually helped the Padres come all the way back to win in what was a wild game, as the grand slam was part of a seven-run fourth inning that also saw Scherzer get chased from the game. The Padres then walked off in the bottom of the ninth.

And everyone in the park will remember where they were when Daniel Camarena brought down the house in San Diego.