GoneTrending

Donald Trump waited a few days to say anything public about the mysterious death of Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny. It’s a surprise he said anything at all. The former U.S. president is good pals with the current Russian president and he doesn’t like to say anything untoward about him. So what did Trump say? He compared himself to who died in a Siberian penal colony, possibly because he was murdered, possibly for the reason authorities provided, namely “sudden death syndrome.” That made little sense, so he whipped out the comparison again, this time making even less sense.

Per The Hill, Trump participated in a Fox News town hall with his close friend Laura Ingraham. When asked about Navalny, Trump called him a “brave guy” for standing up to a notorious autocrat. He even seemed to suggest that Putin had him whacked.

“He went back, he could’ve stayed away,” Trump said about how Navalny sought treatment in Berlin after being mysteriously poisoned, only to return home. “And, frankly, probably would’ve been a lot better off staying away and talking from outside of the country as opposed to going back in, because people thought that could happen, and it did happen. And It’s a horrible thing.”

Trump then tried to make what happened to Navalny and what’s happening to him — which is to say being held accountable for his actions in various courts of law — are the same thing.

“But it’s happening in our country, too,” Trump said. “We are turning into a communist country in many ways. And if you look at it. I’m the leading candidate, I get indicted—I never heard of being indicted before—I get indicted four times. I have eight or nine trials… all because of the fact that I’m in politics. They indicted me on things that are so ridiculous.”

Asked about his civil fraud trial, which ended with him having to pay $354.8 million (plus interest), Trump coined a new term, calling that “a form of Navalny.”

He added, “It is a form of communism or fascism.”

Ignoring his increasingly bizarre vernacular, it’s fascinating to watch Trump — a longtime cheerleader for Putin, who even when he’s admitted he’s done wrongdoing has downplayed its severity — attempting to exploit Navalny’s death while not angering the Russian president.

Elsewhere during the town hall, Ingraham did her best to try to keep him from saying crazy things (which is to say she repeatedly failed). At one point Trump said that when you do mail-in voting, “you automatically have fraud.” Ingraham sheepishly tried to remind him that lots of mail-in votes came from old people in Florida who voted for him, but he rolled right over that point, even if it might cost him an election. Again.

(Via The Hill)

The inaugural No Values Festival boasts a promising line-up. Taking place at the Pomona Fairplex in California on June 8, No Values Festival will bring some of the biggest names in punk — including Misfits, Turnstile, Sublime, Iggy Pop, and many others.

Tickets for No Values go on sale this week, and thankfully, the festival is allowing several options for fans.

How much are tickets for the No Values Festival 2024?

General admission passes for No Values begin at $199, and will get fans entry into the venue. Another tier, called GA Some Values, will offer the same perks as regular GA, as well as a four-pack of collectible pins. GA More Values tickets offer fans a special entry land and preferred parking, as well as a limited-edition t-shirt.

VIP passes begin at $399, giving fans extra shade and seating options, special food and beverage offerings, air-conditioned restrooms, pin packs, t-shirts, and VIP entry and parking.

Fans can purchase tickets outright, or set up an installment plan beginning at $49.99.

Tickets will be available for purchase beginning Friday (February 23) via the official No Values website.

You can see the full No Values 2024 line-up below.

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

People start communicating from the moment they enter the world usually through cries, faces, grunts and squeals. Once infants move into the toddler phase the combine all of their previous communication skills with pointing and saying a few frequently used words like “milk,” “mama,” “dada” and “eat.”

Children who are born without the ability to hear often still go through those same stages with the exception of their frequently used words being in sign language. But not all hearing parents know sign language, which can stunt the language skills of their non-hearing child. Ronnie McKenzie is an American Sign Language advocate that uses social media to teach others how to sign so deaf and nonverbal kids don’t feel left out.

“But seriously i felt so isolated 50% of my life especially being outside of school i had NONE to sign ASL with. Imagine being restricted from your own language,” McKenzie writes in his caption.

The dad explains that he was the only deaf child on both sides of his family and no one spoke ASL to him outside of school. Because of his experience feeling isolated within his own family, he decided to build his social media platform around ASL literacy, his followers look forward to his daily lessons. Parents and teachers of deaf and nonverbal children thank him for the work he’s doing and often request certain signs to help them communicate.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ronnie McKenzie (@kingron4l)

McKenzie advocates that ASL become a language taught in elementary schools as a standard part of curriculum so students are able to effectively communicate with everyone around them. In one of his more recent videos, he teaches parents how to sign basic words children may need to know like, “pizza,” “don’t touch,” and “follow me.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ronnie McKenzie (@kingron4l)

Parents and educators jumped into the comments to ask for help learning more signs.

“I work in school, and I would like to know school materials like: paper, crayons, pencil, paint, brushes, or words like: homework, test, recess. Thanks,” someone writes.

“Can you do “gentle” or “careful”? Like for a toddler with a new baby at home,” another asks.

“I love this so much. My son is non-verbal and struggles with learning any way to communicate. I feel me trying to learn ASL is something that will help him- I appreciate you, we all do,” a commenter reveals.

Not everyone will pick up ASL quickly, but McKenzie’s approach to repeat the signs three times and give signs for different situations that people frequently incur is likely most helpful. When learning a language, even our first language, we pick up on words used the most in familiar situations so giving context to the signs can help it stick. Hopefully more people are inspired to learn from McKenzie to make the world more accessible to others.

The Rolling Loud 2024 festival line-up is already blazing. But today (February 20), the world’s biggest hip-hop festival announced a new partnership with Stiiizy, the world’s leading cannabis brand. Rolling Loud and Stiizy are teaming up to deliver a four-piece product line.

In the line are the 3.5G “Rockstar Zlushie” premium indoor cannabis, the 3.5G Rolling Loud OG premium indoor cannabis, the “Rockstar Zlushie” live resin liquid diamond pods, and five-pack 40’s “Rolling Loud OG” kief-coated, premium indoor cannabis-infused pre-rolls

“Celebrating hip-hop culture is at the heart of this collaboration and we couldn’t think of a greater brand to do it with,” said Rolling Loud Co-Founder Tariq Cherif in a statement. “The nature of our events and STIIIZY’s world are one in the same. We’re proud to showcase that through this collaboration.”

In addition to these new cannabis products, Stiiizy will unveil a 40-foot cannabis cultivation replica next to the Rolling Loud main stage. This replica is designed to immerse fans in the cultivation experience, and will offer an interactive photo booth for festival-goers.

“Imagine standing in an immersive cannabis installation while watching hip-hop legends perform your favorite songs,” said Cherif That’s the type of next-level experience STIIIZY brings and one we can be proud of.”

Rolling Loud takes place March 14-17 at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California. This year’s festival boasts an incredible array of performers, including Nicki Minaj, Post Malone, Future and Metro Boomin, and more. Fans can begin purchasing products from the Stiizy line beginning Friday (February 23) via Stiiizy‘s and Rolling Loud‘s websites.

You can see the full Rolling Loud performer line-up below.

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

Parasite came out a long time ago. How long ago? When it won Best Picture (and a slew of other Oscars), the pandemic had yet to fully kick in. It’s not that director Bong Joon-ho hasn’t been busy. In another timeline his follow-up, the sci-fi Mickey 17, would be set to arrive in late March, a month-and-change as of this writing. Last month Warner Bros. Discovery mysteriously yanked it from the schedule entirely. That prompted fear; was David Zaslav ready to do to Director Bong what he did to the makers of Batgirl and Coyote vs. Acme. Well, now you can chill, for now.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Mickey 17 is back on the release calendar, though everyone will have to wait: It won’t hit theaters until January 31, 2025, or about 10 months from when it was originally supposed to arrive.

For his chaser to Parasite, Bong chose to adapt Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel Mickey 7. Why the addition of 10 more to the title? We’ll have to wait and find out. Not much is known about how Bong adapted the source, but Variety says star Robert Pattinson plays an “expendable,” or a “disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize an ice planet,” who “refuses to let his replacement clone take his place.” If it’s anything like Bong’s other films, it will be brainy and fun in equal measure.

So for now, at least, Bong and Pattinson heads can breathe a sigh of relief, as it appears WBD won’t Zaslav their film out of existence to save a couple bucks. Then again, a lot can change in 11 months.

(Via THR)

New York City is the way it is today (which is to say way too wealthy) in part because of Donald Trump. In his younger days, long before his brain stopped working, he scooped up dilapidated properties and moneyed them up. Among his treasures today are the tall, black property that looms over 5th Avenue, as well 40 Wall Street, the skyscraper that juts out of Lower Manhattan. Alas, they might not be his much longer, should he neglect to pay some of his mounting bills.

On Tuesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James spoke to ABC News about the bombshell outcome of the civil fraud case she brought to trial against the former president. That ended with him ordered to pony up $354.8 million, plus interest, after being found liable of inflating his net worth to score better loans. But what if Trump simply doesn’t pay? James had an answer for that.

“If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” James explained. “We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers, and yes, I look at 40 Wall Street each and every day.”

Trump and his team have denied any wrongdoing, and besides, they’ve claimed, it’s not like their alleged crimes had any victims. Not so, said James.

“Financial frauds are not victimless crimes. He engaged in this massive amount of fraud. It wasn’t just a simple mistake, a slight oversight, the variations are wildly exaggerated, and the extent of the fraud was staggering,” she explained. “If average New Yorkers went into a bank and submitted false documents, the government would throw the book at them, and the same should be true for former presidents.”

James also shot down claims that holding Trump accountable in court would inspire a mass exodus of businesses from the nation’s finest city.

“Last I checked tourism is up,” she said. “Wall Street is doing just fine.”

So how much longer will the ugly building on Fifth Avenue bear the magnet understander‘s name? Perhaps that sad GoFundMe will collect enough from his sometimes cash-strapped fans to bail the poor guy out.

(Via ABC News)

A new punk festival is coming to Pomona Valley, California this summer. Over the course of one day (June 8), the inaugural No Values Festival is set to bring some of the biggest names in punk to the Pomona Fairplex. On the line-up are Sublime, Iggy Pop, Misfits, Turnstile, Black Flag, and more.

With a once-in-a-lifetime line-up, fans are ready to let their punk flags fly, and thus, can’t wait to get their hands on tickets.

How to buy tickets for the No Values Festival 2024

Fans can purchase tickets for the inaugural No Values Festival on the festival’s official website. No Values is allowing fans to purchase tickets outright, or set up a payment plan with a down payment of $49.99.

Passes at all tier levels include parking.

General admission passes for No Values begin at $199, and will get fans entry into the venue. Another tier, called GA Some Values, will offer the same perks as regular GA, as well as a four-pack of collectible pins. GA More Values tickets offer fans a special entry land and preferred parking, as well as a limited-edition t-shirt.

VIP passes begin at $399, giving fans extra shade and seating options, special food and beverage offerings, air-conditioned restrooms, pin packs, t-shirts, and VIP entry and parking.

You can see the full No Values 2024 line-up below.

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

Late last week Alexei Navalny, one of Vladimir Putin’s fiercest homeland critics, mysteriously died in a Siberian penal colony. Many, including President Joe Biden, put the blame on Putin himself. The cause of death authorities provided wasn’t exactly convincing; they claim he died of “sudden death syndrome.” All the stranger was what happened days later to a social media account belonging to Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya.

Per Reuters, Navalnaya’s Twitter/X account was mysteriously suspended. Some speculated that it was done at the behest of Elon Musk, a free speech advocate with a history of suspending accounts he doesn’t like (while un-banning scores of rabid anti-Semites and other harassing pests). But a few hours later it was back up, with an explanation.

“Our platform’s defence mechanism against manipulation and spam mistakenly flagged @yulia_navalnaya as violating our rules,” Twitter/X said in a statement. “We unsuspended the account as soon as we became aware of the error, and will be updating the defence.”

On Monday Navalnaya posted a video to the social media giant in which she vowed to continue her late husband’s work. “Three days ago, Vladimir Putin killed my husband Alexei Navalny,” she said. “Putin killed the father of my children. Putin took away the most important thing I had. The person who was closest to me and whom I loved most.

“We need to use every opportunity — to fight against the war, against corruption, against injustice,” she continued. “To fight for fair elections and freedom of speech. To fight to take our country back. Russia – free, peaceful, happy – the beautiful Russia of the future, of which my husband dreamed so much.”

While there’s been much furor over Navalny’s passing, it took a few days for Putin pal Donald Trump to address the matter. When he did, he predictably made it all about him. Putin and his cronies, meanwhile, have been trashing both Trump and the MAGA wing of the GOP.

(Via Reuters)

AC/DC is celebrating a very special milestone. Last December marked 50 years since the band’s first show — which took place on December 31, 1973 at Chequers Nightclub in Sydney, Australia. More than 50 years later, AC/DC has gained millions of fans and pulled in record-breaking album sales. To celebrate 50 years of legendary performances, and being one of the world’s biggest rock bands, AC/DC is reissuing nine of their classic albums on special gold vinyl.

The albums include Back In Black — which is the best-selling album of all time by a band—. Highway To Hell — which marked the band’s breakthrough album in the US —, The Razors Edge, Powerage, For Those About To Rock (We Salute You), High Voltage, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Who Made Who — AC/DC, and their 1991 Live album.

Each of the new editions of the album comes with a special 12 x 12 print featuring album-specific artwork, all of the works being suitable for framing. In addition to the band’s aforementioned nine classic albums, a press release teases additional drops arriving this year.

In the meantime, you can see a sneak peek of the vinyl editions below.

The AC/DC Gold Vinyl series is out 3/15 via Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings. Find more information here.

Remember Kari Lake? She was the Trump hater-turned-MAGA kiss-up who wanted to be Arizona’s governor. She lost that race, though like her hero she continues to claim she was cheated. Also like Trump, she’s run her mouth off a lot — a little too much, one could say. Among her targets was the late John McCain. Recently she’s tried to make nice with his surviving family, but his daughter, Meghan ain’t having it.

“Kari Lake is trying to walk back her continued attacks on my Dad (& family) and all of his loyal supporters after telling them to ‘get the hell out’,” the View alum wrote on Twitter/X, per The Daily Beast. “Guess she realized she can’t become a Senator without us.”

She concluded, ““No peace, b*tch. We see you for who you are – and are repulsed by it.”

Lake has a long history of torching Meghan’s late dad. During a campaign event in 2022, she told any “McCain Republicans” to “get the hell out.” She later added, “Arizona has delivered some losers, haven’t they?”

But on Monday, now as a Senate candidate, Lake tried to atone. “It was said in jest. And I think that if John McCain, who had a great sense of humor, would have heard it, he would have laughed,” she during a radio appearance. “I want everyone’s vote, whether you are a McCain … if you call yourself a McCain Republican, if you call yourself a middle-of-the-road Republican, a Trump Republican, an America First Republican, I want your vote.”

Perhaps Meghan was right and Lake did the math and realized she can’t win without those dreaded “McCain Republicans.” Sadly, it seems like she’s finding out the hard way that only Donald Trump can get away with acting like Donald Trump.

(Via The Daily Beast)