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Britney Spears isn’t the only member of her family singing gimme more. The “Mind Your Business” singer’s heated legal battle with her father, Jamie Spears, has reportedly come to an end.

According to TMZ, yesterday (April 26) Britney and Jamie reached a settlement in their dispute over misappropriation of funds during Spears’ 13-year conservatorship.

In the outlet’s report, sources revealed that Jamie will not be required to pay Britney anything. Instead, Britney is now allegedly responsible for covering her father’s attorney fees, which reportedly amount to over $2 million.

The same close affiliate alleges that Britney is “furious” over the results. After allegedly being “reassured” by her lawyer Mathew Rosengart, Britney believed that she could recoup her financial loss from that time in her life. Rosengart’s success in helping to end the entertainer’s conservatorship (with the public’s support via the #FreeBritney movement) supposedly led Britney to feel confident in her chances in court.

In Britney’s memoir, The Woman In Me, the singer alleged that her father controlled all aspects of her finances, including control over where she spent her allotted allowance. Back in November 2022, Britney took to Instagram with an emotional message after regaining control over her accounts.

“A year ago was my first time buying something with my own two hands,” she wrote. “My legs and hands were shaking for 15 minutes after I bought something.”

Without a doubt, fast food has gotten expensive. Maybe it’s inflation, maybe it’s corporate greed, maybe we’ve always been underpaying for quick and cheap food made at a mass scale… Okay, it’s probably a mix of all of those things.

Regardless, it’s clear that fast food is becoming prohibitively expensive and people are looking for other or cheaper options. We get it, we love a Five Guys cheeseburger as much as the next person, but paying nearly $15 for a single item of food is just too much for people trying to spend their money sensibly. Which got us thinking — there has to be some delicious and far less expensive alternatives out there right?

As much as we like the high-end cheeseburgers, there are still decently priced options out there. Yes, some of them aren’t quite as good as the flagship products you know and love (compare the Wendy’s Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger to the mighty Baconator) but some capture some of the magic of the bigger burgers, just in a smaller form factor. To guide you to the very best budget cheeseburgers, we’ve rounded up urgers that sit comfortably under $5 after tax, tasted them, and ranked them.

Since fast food prices fluctuate based on location, I’ve defaulted to the prices found in Los Angeles County (tax included), where I live, which generally tends to be on the pricier side. If you don’t live in LA, these burgers are probably even cheaper. Here are the best affordable cheeseburgers, ranked!

8. Jack in the Box — Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger

Price: $3.74

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

Jack in the Box burgers have always left something to be desired (except the excellent Smashed Jack) — this is a chain where the best food is items like the tacos, curly fries, and stuffed jalapeños. Soooooo… sorry to JiB fans, but this burger gets the bottom spot. Luckily, there isn’t a lot of difference in flavor between the Jr. and full-sized burgers here, all that seems to change is the size of the burger.

The Jr. Bacon features a thin beef patty, bacon, American cheese, ketchup and mayo. There isn’t a whole lot of flavor in the beef, it’s mostly meaty texture, with some gentle smokey notes from the bacon. Because the meat patty is so thin, the ratio of bread to meat is noticeably skewed. That leaves the ketchup and mayo to bring most of the flavor. Because of that, we’re ranking this one dead last.

The Bottom Line:

A bit breadier than your typical Jack in the Box burger, which isn’t a show stopper to begin with.

7. Rally’s — All American Cheeseburger

Price: $4.06

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

The beef leans very salty here, which, when combined with the American cheese, is almost to the point of being overwhelming. The pickles add some briney earthy contrast to the flavor palette and the mix of ketchup and mustard creates a sharp, sweet, and slightly bitter tang to the aftertaste which is quite distinct when compared to the other burgers in this ranking.

Unfortunately, that difference isn’t quite enough to make it rank much higher than this in our book. But hey, at least it’s not last place.

The Bottom Line:

A very salty cheeseburger that is good, but not great.

6. Burger King — Bacon Cheeseburger

Price: $3.99

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

Burger King’s burgers are huge so if you’re all about big burgers and aren’t into the smaller form factor of junior cheeseburgers, this is the restaurant for you. I’m surprised that a burger this big is only $3.99. Unfortunately, size isn’t everything.

Where this burger suffers is the flavor and texture of the meat. It’s dry, grainy, and charred to the point of tasting burnt. A thin layer of bacon adds a sense of smokiness and some extra crunch, while thick pickles bring in some earthy tones. The build is incredibly similar to Rally’s All-American Cheeseburger, but the individual ingredients all taste just a bit better and more elevated.

The Bottom Line:

Burger King’s Bacon Cheeseburger is big, meaty, and full of flavor, but it leans a bit too dry and bready to really shine.

5. Del Taco — Del Cheeseburger

Price: $3.99

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

It might come as a shock that Del Taco, a Mexican-inspired fast food chain that has more in common with Taco Bell than McDonald’s, has a cheeseburger in the first place. What’s more surprising is just how good it tastes.

Del Taco’s cheeseburgers are grilled to order (a thing not every fast food chain can claim) and topped with American cheese, tomato, burger sauce, shredded lettuce, and diced onions on a sesame seed bun. The beef patty is meaty and juicy, albeit a bit light on the seasoning, and the produce is crispy and fresh. The real secret weapon is that burger sauce though, it’s slightly sweet, tangy, and ups the savory quality of this burger.

The Bottom Line:

Way better than you’d expect a cheeseburger from a taco chain would taste.

4. McDonald’s — Double Cheeseburger

Price: $3.72

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

For many people, this classic affordable double cheeseburger is the best of the best at McDonald’s. For me, a person who eats fast food constantly for the various rankings we conduct, I think those people are wrong. The best McDonald’s Cheeseburger is the Quarter Pounder. Having said that, the Double is a close second.

This burger goes light on the toppings, the build is simple, you’ve got two meat patties, gently caramelized onions, those weird wet distinctly McDonald’s pickles, mustard, and ketchup on a soft and squishy bun. The meat is pretty light on flavor, it’s salty, but not very beefy. The caramelized onions are a nice touch, but there aren’t nearly enough here to make a difference.

Altogether, it’s a good burger, but isn’t satisfying the way a quarter pounder is, despite its double dose of meat.

The Bottom Line:

Not quite as good as a Quarter Pounder, but it’s cheap, salty, and gets the job done.

3. Wendy’s — JR. Bacon Cheeseburger

Price: $4.87

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

As a hardcore Wendy’s fan, I have to admit that this one landing in third in this ranking hurts. But I have to call it like I taste it and Wendy’s junior line of cheeseburgers isn’t nearly as good as its premium line of burgers. While the meat is still fresh and non-frozen because it’s substantially smaller than the usual quarter-pound patty, it lacks that sumptuous beefy goodness that I expect from Wendy’s.

This burger just doesn’t quite hit the way a Wendy’s burger should. The barely there beef flavor is joined by some delicious smokey crispy bacon, a single leaf of Romain lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo. It’s good don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t have that indulgent beefy flavor of the original, and it’s not nearly half as good as the Baconator.

The Bottom Line:

If you’re a Wendy’s fan, you’re going to taste the corners being cut here. Fortunately, it’s still fresh beef being grilled to order and the bacon is delicious — that’s something.

2. Sonic — Quarter Pounder Double Cheeseburger

Price: $4.87

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

Generally, I treat Sonic like Jack in the Box, it’s the sort of fast food restaurant I value more for its snacks than main courses, but I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious Sonic’s affordable Quarter Pounder Double Cheeseburger is.

The meat patties are thin, but you get two of them here, and they’re juicy, beefy, and nicely charred. Double meat means double cheese, which adds a nice salty savoriness to the mix. The pickles are on the wet side, but they have a nice tang, which is sandwiched between a layer of sweet bright ketchup and bitter yellow mustard.

The only thing I don’t love about this burger is the bun, which is a bit too thick and bready. Lucky the meat to bread ratio is better here than some of the single burgers on this list, which probably bumped this burger up a rank or two.

The Bottom Line:

Meaty, with a great charred flavor and a whole lot of cheese .

In-N-Out — Cheeseburger

Price: $4.52

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, “In-N-Out is overrated.” Trust me, I’ve heard it all before but you’re out of your mind if you can’t recognize that for under $5, this is the best cheeseburger in fast food, and it’s not even close. Every element of this cheeseburger is better than every other burger on this list.

The bread is spongey, yet perfectly toasted. The tomato and lettuce are crisp, ripe, and plentiful. The sauce is the perfect blend of sweet, tang, and savory. The cheese is hands down the best American cheese in all of fast food, and melts amazingly. And the beef is juicy, freshly grilled, and salty, joined by perfectly grilled onions that elevate the food to savory heights.

It’s a cheeseburger that isn’t lacking in any way, shape, or form. Is it as satisfying as the famous Double-Double? No, and we’d argue that spending just over $5 for that experience is well worth it, but by the parameters of this ranking, this is the burger we’re going with, and we feel damn good about that choice.

The Bottom Line:

Easily the best burger under $5. It’s juicy, satisfying, and an absolute steal at this price.

Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks moved into the driver’s seat of their first round series against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. Behind 22 points in a near triple-double from Doncic and a 21-point outing from Kyrie Irving, Dallas defended its homecourt and picked up a 101-90 win to move ahead in the series, 2-1.

J.J. Redick was part of the ESPN crew on the call of the game, and before things tipped off, Doncic decided to bust his chops in the aftermath of a recent report by Shams Charania of The Athletic. Charania reported that Redick is on the list of candidates for the Charlotte Hornets’ head coaching vacancy, and is in line to receive an interview for the position. As such, before the game, Doncic and Mavs player development coach God Shammgod went up to Redick before the game tipped off and screamed “CHARLOTTE HORNETS!” at him.

Redick and Doncic were actually teammates at the very end of the former’s playing career — while he wasn’t especially happy about the circumstances under which it happened, Redick was traded to the Mavs during the 2020-21 campaign and spent the final 13 games of his career with the team. It sure seems like he still has a good relationship with Doncic and Shammgod, although if he has to play them a few times a year as the head coach of the Hornets, maybe that’ll change.

No matter how Justified diehards felt about Justified: City Primeval as a whole, the final few moments of the first season were universally adored. Boyd Crowder surfaced and escaped prison to flee with his warden girlfriend, and everything might have fallen apart for Raylan Givens’ plans for a relaxing retirement.

Is that the end of Justified? Surely, it cannot be. Fanfiction will be written if FX doesn’t renew, and let’s casually mull over what we know about a reprisal and whether Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins are down for more.

Plot

The suggestion in the first season finale was that Raylan both wanted to answer that phone and dreaded the possibility of doing so. Should he choose to do so, daughter Willa would be awfully bummed out, but can Raylan resist? He is not a man of leisure. I think we can all envision Willa tossing the phone into the ocean, but assuming that didn’t happen, the dude almost certainly threw on his favorite hat and got the ball rolling to find Boyd.

Let’s also look at Exhibit A:

Walton Goggins submitted proof that he and “Raylan Givens” met up while they were both in Thailand to shoot different series. Goggins was onboard for HBO’s third season of The White Lotus, and Olyphant’s hair was preparing to dodge FX’s Xenomorphs for Noah Hawley’s upcoming Alien series. Surely, they bid each other hello due to being friends, but you know they had to discuss the second-season thing. That subject could not be avoided.

“Look at this beautiful Thailand surprise… got to meet up with Raylan Givens for lunch today,” Goggins wrote on Instagram. “Talk about comforts from home…Just what I needed. What a good man. The road we’ve walked.”

Yup.

And now for Exhibit B:

Walton Goggins also had too much fun dropping hints to my colleague, Jason Tabrys, about how important it was to watch the first City Primeval season “all the way to the bitter end.” Does that mean anything? Not in a concrete way, but let’s pretend that it does.

Goggins has since admitted that everyone involved with Justified: City Primeval wants to do more, and it’s a matter of lining up timing, and co-showrunner Michael Dinner agreed while stressing that the decision is in the hands of FX. Keep your fingers crossed.

With that said, Harlan County seems too — for lack of a better term — fraught with memories to take Raylan and Boyd back to that setting without getting the whole gang together. Additionally, Ava (Joelle Carter) has been (unbeknownst to Boyd) in the wind, and surely she would prefer to stay that way. There probably isn’t any chance of Boyd ever going legit enough to achieve his Dairy Queen dream, and let’s get real. He left the U.S. as soon as possible, and Raylan will need to follow him. Maybe they go to Aruba. What matters most is that they end up in the same room again, but we’ll have to hang tight for confirmation of more.

Cast

Not much else counts as long as Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins return as Raylan and Boyd to antagonize and begrudgingly respect each other. I wouldn’t be mad if fellow Deputy U.S. Marshals Rachel Brooks (Erica Tazel) and/or Tim Gutterson (Jacob Pitts) surfaced, but if this show goes international in setting, that seems unlikely.

Release Date

2025? That seems possible if a call is made soon. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the leading duo kept a confirmation a secret until the last possible moment, simply because they are squirrelly like that.

Trailer

Silly rabbit, no trailer exists yet. However, this old clip of a fight in the U.S. Marshal’s office is always worth another watch.

The Minnesota Timberwolves took care of business on Friday night with a 126-109 win over the Suns in Phoenix. As a result, Minnesota moved one win away from advancing in the postseason for the first time in two decades, as the team now holds a commanding 3-0 series lead over Phoenix.

Perhaps more importantly, the vibes are just in completely opposite places right now, as evidenced by a sequence that occurred late in the game. Suns guard Josh Okogie — who provided some much-needed energy in the fourth quarter — committed a hard foul on Rudy Gobert, and after a review, he got hit with a Flagrant 2 and an automatic ejection.

Amid all of this happening, the cameras caught Anthony Edwards, who had the time of his life by doing a D-Generation X crotch chop over and over with the biggest smile he’s ever had on his face. Seriously, this is the look of a man who is having a remarkably good time right now while someone else in his immediate vicinity is having an extremely bad time.

With this, Edwards joins Joel Embiid as the players who we have seen bust out the crotch chop during an NBA game this season. Now, we’ll have to wait and see if Edwards gets the two things that usually come for Embiid after he does this: a fine, and some love from Triple H.

As for the game, Edwards was nothing short of magnificent in the Wolves’ Game 3 win, going for 36 points on 12-for-23 shooting with nine rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Edwards and the Wolves will look to finish their sweep on Sunday night on TNT in a game that is scheduled to tip off at 9:30 p.m. EST.

Watching Rudy Gobert play defense is legitimately one of the most incredible things in the NBA. Gobert is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, is probably about to win the award for the fourth time, and is almost guaranteed to give your team an elite unit on that end of the floor just because of his presence and how his ability to protect the rim frees up the other four guys to fly around on the perimeter.

And then, there’s Gobert’s offense, which is also incredible to watch for a completely different reason. While he’s an outstanding lob threat, Gobert isn’t always the most elegant player with the ball in his hands, especially when he has to put it on a deck. As such, when he got the ball in the open floor during Friday night’s game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns, this happened.

That is about as clear of a travel as you will see, and watching the Suns bench understandably melt down over the lack of a call is completely understandable. But the best part of the clip is Richard Jefferson on commentary, who completely loses it over Gobert getting away with this one. Although I will push back on calling this a Eurostep, because with how much ground he covered, I don’t think Europe is big enough.

For the second game in a row, the Dallas Mavericks have taken down the Los Angeles Clippers. The two teams squared off on Friday night in Game 3 of their first round series, and in what can be classified as a slugfest, Dallas was able to defend its homecourt en route to a 101-90 win and a 2-1 series lead.

The first half was defined by two things: A dominant performance from Luka Doncic, and a total no-show by two of the Clippers’ biggest stars. Dallas was able to take a 54-41 lead into the locker room at halftime thanks to Doncic completely tearing up the Los Angeles defense, as the Slovenian star had 14 points, six rebounds, six assists, and a pair of steals.

Dereck Lively II especially benefitted from Doncic’s half, as the rookie gave the team 13 points off the bench.

And then, there’s whatever was going on with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. While James Harden showed up in the game’s opening 24 minutes with 14 points, the Clippers’ other stars struggled to get going — George had five points on 2-for-5 shooting, while Leonard had only three points on 1-for-2 shooting.

The third quarter was the start of the Kyrie Irving show. While the Clippers were able to slowly chip away at the Mavericks lead and got it down to six, Irving scored eight straight points for Dallas over the final 78 seconds to keep them afloat. And at the start of the fourth quarter, the team was able to carry that momentum over and go on an 8-0 run at the very beginning of the frame to start to make the result look inevitable.

They weren’t just getting it done on the offensive floor as their lead ballooned up to as many as 21 points, as the highlight of the game very well might have been Daniel Gafford meeting George at the summit and turning him away.

While things were tense between the two teams — Russell Westbrook and P.J. Washington were both ejected in the fourth quarter for some pushing and shoving — things never seemed to get out of the home team’s control in the game’s final frame. And by the time the buzzer sounded, both teams had already emptied their benches.

Doncic led the way with a near triple-double, going for 22 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, and two steals. Irving, meanwhile, had 21 points with six dimes, four boards, and a pair of steals. While the Clippers got good scoring contributions from Harden (21 points), Norman Powell (21 points), and Ivica Zubac (19 points), Leonard and George combining for 16 points on 7-for-18 shooting is just not going to get it done for a team that relies on its stars.

Game 4 between the Mavericks and the Clippers will take place in Dallas on Sunday afternoon. The game is scheduled to tip off at 3:30 p.m. EST on ABC.

The Los Angeles Clippers led after the first quarter in Game 3 in Dallas, but in the second quarter their offense stalled out and they could never get it started again. The Mavs pulled away to take a 13-point lead at the half and put it in cruise control the rest of the way, as the Clippers never really mounted a charge in the second half.

That didn’t mean the final 24 minutes weren’t without some fireworks, they just didn’t come courtesy of the offenses. In the fourth quarter, frustration built for the Clippers, particularly Russell Westbrook who got into it a few times with Luka Doncic before finally snapping and spinning the Mavs star around on a foul and getting in a shoving match with anyone who would step towards him.

Westbrook was ejected, as he was given a pair of technical fouls for shoving Doncic and shoving PJ Washington — and his push of the ref who tried to separate him probably didn’t help his cause. Washington also got T’d up and ejected for pushing Westbrook after coming to defend his star. It wasn’t exactly a hard shove from Washington, but the officials clearly were just trying to keep things from getting out of hand at any point towards the end of the game.

It was a frustrating night for the Clippers as they did not have their A-game (or B-game) and they didn’t exactly handle it well. Now they’ll have to regroup to find a response in Game 4 or risk going back to L.A. on the brink of a first round exit.

Despite blowing a 19-point lead, getting hit with haymaker after haymaker by Khris Middleton, and a less-than-stellar shooting night from behind the three-point line, the Indiana Pacers have a 2-1 lead in their series against the Milwaukee Bucks. In what will go down as one of the best games this postseason, the Pacers picked up a thrilling, 121-118 win in overtime.

The crowd in Indiana was revved up from the very start, and the team responded to the energy that filled the building. The Pacers looked primed to run the Bucks out of the gym in the first quarter, as the team’s speed and ruthlessness on the offensive end of the floor saw them lead by as many as 19 points and gave them a 17-point lead after one.

The second quarter didn’t follow the same script. Thanks to 21 combined points from Middleton and Brook Lopez — the former had 11 of his 19 first half points in the frame, the latter had all 10 of his in the second — Milwaukee was able to slow things down just enough to make things more respectable going into the half.

Sill, Indiana took a 67-55 lead into the locker room with the 1-2 punch of Myles Turner (15 points) and Obi Toppin (14 points) leading the way. Additionally, Tyrese Haliburton went for eight points, 11 assists, and five rebounds in the opening 24 minutes, as he consistently got his teammates good looks against the Bucks defense — as a team, the Pacers shot 27-for-53 (50.9 percent) from the field and 9-for-24 (37.5 percent) from three, while the Bucks were 19-for-45 (42.2 percent) and 2-for-13 (15.4 percent) respectively. If not for the fact that Milwaukee made nine more free throws on 10 more attempts, it’s easy to see how Indiana could have gone into the locker room with a considerably larger lead.

Slowly but surely, the Bucks were able to chip away in the second half. In the third quarter, they were able to get the deficit down to single-digits, with Middleton continuing to be steady and Damian Lillard scoring nine points in the frame to get the lead down to 90-83 heading into the fourth.

And then, to start the fourth, the Bucks went on a 10-2 run to take the lead after back-to-back triples from Lillard.

As the game went down the stretch, neither squad was able to pull away by landing the haymaker that sent the opposing team to the mat. But with 19.8 seconds left, the Pacers were able to land a major punch. The team led by one and had the ball, and while Haliburton bricked an attempt from three, Pascal Siakam reeled in the rebound, went up, made a layup, and got fouled as Lillard attempted to draw a charge.

Siakam missed the free throw, however, which cracked the door open. Middleton made a layup on the ensuing possession, with the Bucks opting to play the foul game instead of looking for a three. And while Aaron Nesmith knocked down both of his attempts from the charity stripe, Middleton came right back down and nailed a three with 1.4 seconds left.

While Siakam got a look on the final possession, his effort hit the back of the rim, which sent things into overtime. Things continued to be tight over the extra period, and with 14.4 seconds left, Nesmith came up huge again, as he beat the shot clock to put Indiana up three by drilling a triple in the corner.

But somehow, someway, Middleton did it once again. The Pacers ended up losing Middleton, who walked into a three at the top of the key and banked it in.

Indiana responded by going to Haliburton, but instead of trying to get him a three, he got the ball in the backcourt and picked up a head of steam, which he used to cook Patrick Beverley, get into the paint, and throw up a floater, which he made while getting fouled.

Middleton ended up getting a contested look with 1.6 seconds remaining, but it fell short. It was the only negative moment in an otherwise sterling night for Middleton, who had 42 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, while Lillard pitched in 28 points and eight dimes. For the Pacers, Turner’s 29 points and nine boards led the way, and Haliburton went for an 18-point, 16-assist, 10-rebound triple-double.

Game 4 between the Bucks and the Pacers will take place on Sunday evening at 7 p.m. EST on TNT.

M. Night Shyamalan has been spooking (mainstream) audiences since earning Academy Award nominations with 1999’s The Sixth Sense. Since that time, he’s been ebbing and flowing but still decidedly kicking with the likes of Dave Bautista, and now, his daughter is embarking upon her own seat-handle-gripping adventures with The Watchers. Let’s talk about what we know about the movie so far.

Plot

The Watchers is a gothic horror feature film based upon A.M. Shine’s same-named novel. Dakota Fanning stars as Mina, who ends up in a Shyamalan-esque forest because that is how this family rolls (which also makes sense because Ishana has helped direct Servant, her father’s Apple TV+ series). Our heroine “gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. When Mina finds shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night.”

As if that wasn’t troubling enough, the group apparently lives behind a one-sided mirror of sorts: “You can’t see them, but they see everything.”

As the below trailer will reveal, the creatures establish rules that must be followed apparently upon penalty of death. Between this movie, The Village, and The Happening, this family has plenty to say about nature and how it really doesn’t appreciate humanity.

Cast

The film also includes performances by Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouere, and Oliver Finnegan.

Release Date

The Watchers arrives on June 7, which could add up to a swell summer for horror movies, given that Russell Crowe will debut in The Exorcism on the same day. Additionally, The Strangers reboot/revival will also be in theaters a few weeks earlier. It will be triple the Stranger Danger.

Trailer