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The New Orleans Pelicans were back on TNT’s airwaves on Tuesday night for the first time since they got smoked by the Lakers in the In-Season Tournament semifinals. That loss prompted Shaq and Charles Barkley to call out Zion Williamson (again) for continuing to look out of shape, not running hard, rebounding well enough, and generally underperforming to his immense talents.

Williamson responded to those comments by saying he can’t control what people on the outside say, but if it’s coming from a place where they want what’s best for him, then he says “thank you.” On Tuesday night’s pregame show, Barkley and Shaq made clear that was the case, with Shaq noting “we only criticize guys we believe in” and Chuck saying he wants everyone to be great.

However, the two Hall of Famers didn’t think Williamson’s response was particularly encouraging. Shaq said he wants to see a fire lit under Zion and was hoping to get a more defiant response from him. Instead, Williamson shrugged it off, with O’Neal saying that shows him “he ain’t ready.”

What makes all of this so interesting is that you genuinely could not find two former players that are more equipped to speak from experience on what Williamson is going through with his weight and conditioning. Both Barkley and Shaq took time early in their careers to get their bodies right and learn how to dominate, which is why they’re so hard on Zion — Barkley once quipped Williamson looked like “me and Shaq had a baby.” For years, Barkley has offered to talk with Zion and provide some guidance, but that has not come to fruition in private so he continues to try and harp on it on national television. Shaq, meanwhile, just wants Williamson to take personal offense to it all and use it as motivation to prove everyone wrong and become the dominant player he could be, rather than brushing it all aside.

In December, most people are reviewing the best and worst of 2023, but Vanilla Ice would rather reflect on the 1990s. There is cause to believe this is his favorite hobby. In July 2021, the rapper told TMZ that he believed the ’90s is “the greatest decade ever before computers ruined the world.” Earlier this month, during an interview with VladTV, he revealed he knows “too much” about the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur.

Fifty-one minutes into the same VladTV interview, Vanilla Ice casually mentioned the late, infamous Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar “coming to my house” in the 1990s. He confirmed he “hung out with Pablo Escobar many, many times” as well as “everybody from Cocaine Cowboys.”

Ice continued:

“We were all friends. […] They would land helicopters in my house constantly on Star Island, come into my house. I had food just for them in the refrigerators. I had my maids and everybody and all them clean up after they left, and they would take me in the helicopter. We’d go to these great events and race boats and look at all the cool stuff that they were making. And I never questioned [because] we didn’t have Google. I don’t know who these people are. I thought they were businessman.”

Naturally, TMZ — like all of us — had some followup questions. Vanilla Ice caught up with TMZ Live on Tuesday, December 19, and added further context.

“Pablo was into racing boats, I was into racing boats, and he really did a lot of great things for the boat industry because the money he spread around to, I guess, traffic the drugs also spread into the racing boat community,” Vanilla Ice said. He also clarified that he was mostly “clueless” about the nefarious behavior of his unlikely friends. Watch the full clip here.

Teresa Kaye Newman, a teacher about to have a son, knows a lot about how to deal with children. So she created a list of 11 things she agrees with Boomers on when it comes to raising kids.

Newman believes she has credibility on the issue because she has 13 years of experience dealing with “hundreds and hundreds” of other people’s kids and has seen what happens when her so-called “Boomer” parenting principles aren’t implemented.

Of course, Newman is using some broad stereotypes in calling for a return to Boomer parenting ideas when many Gen X, Millennial and Gen Z parents share the same values. But, as someone who deals with children every day, she has the right to point out that today’s kids are entitled and spend too much time staring at screens.

Here are the 11 things that Newman agrees with Boomers on when it comes to raising kids.

11 Things I agree with boomer parents on raising children

@teresakayenewman

11 Things I agree with boomer parents on raising children, as a #teacher and soon to be mom.

1. No iPads

“All I’m going to say is my kid has a whole world to explore and none of that has to do with being stuck in front of a tablet.”

2. No smartphone until high school

“Kids that are younger than that age do not know internet safety to a point where I feel comfortable letting them have free reign of the internet.”

3. Teaching the value of education

“What I’m going to teach them is [education] has nothing to do with how much money you’re making or how successful you’ll be professionally. But you will still value it, nonetheless. You will go with it as far as you possibly can, and then once you’re done with it, you can do whatever you want.”

4. Respect your teachers and treat them well

“This may be biased because I am a teacher, but everyone who has gone through a professional degree program and has put in the time and is there, giving you the quality education, deserves some type of attention and deserves to be treated well.”

5. Be kind to elderly folks

“If they’re on public transportation and they’re sitting down and there’s an old lady standing next to them and there are no other seats available, my child will know to stand up and give that lady his seat.”

6. Yes ma’am

Newman will teach her kid to use the terms sir and ma’am when speaking to adults. “It does not matter your age or status in society, as long as they are respecting their pronouns, that’s how we’re gonna be talking to other people.”

7. Greetings and gratitude

“Simple greetings and simple terms of gratitude are just not being taught like they used to. I think it’s really sad.”

8. Consequences for poor behavior

“If they’re neglecting their schoolwork and not doing what they’re supposed to do, they get their technology taken away. … Simple things like this are pretty common sense and I’m not sure why they’re not being done anymore.”

9. Respect adult conversations and spaces

“They don’t get to interrupt 2 adults speaking to each other. They don’t get to come and butt in at an inappropriate time when 2 people are talking to each other.”

10. Clean your mess

“My child is going to put as much work in the house as we are regardless of whether he’s paying rent out of his own pocket or not. That’s because when my son becomes an adult, I want him to be a partner or a spouse or a roommate that someone is proud to have around.”

11. Bedtime

“I don’t care how old my kid is as long as he is living under my roof as a minor; he’s gonna have some sort of bedtime. But this staying up until 3 or 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning or pulling all-nighters like kids are used to … is absolutely not normal. And I’m not going to have a kid that’s staying up that late and then not waking up the next day.”

Hey, kids! Happy December! We know that school can feel like drudgery, and it’s been a few months since school started, and we want you to not hate coming here, so we decided to do something fun and festive that we think will create a sense of school pride and spirit! It’s school dress-up week!

What this means is that during the busiest time of the year, when your parents are already up to their ears in holiday prep, shopping for and wrapping gifts, planning and attending work parties and end-of-year recitals and concerts, trying to navigate the emotional complexities of holiday family drama, trying to make your Christmas magical by moving that frickin’ Elf on the Shelf every night, etc., we’re going to add to the to-do list by pressuring them to help you come up with specific outfits to wear to school for an entire week. Doesn’t that sound neat?

Dress-up weeks are fun on paper, and they can be fun when they’re kept super simple. “Wear red or green!” is easy enough. “Dress as your favorite Christmas character!” though? Not so much.

Parents are crying uncle on over-the-top dressup weeks, saying it’s just too much. A mom who goes by Mariah on X shared her frustration with how “ridiculous” the whole thing has become.

“I have 2 kids and 9 different dress up days next week,” she wrote, before laying out some of the significant problems with said days:

“1. It expects families to be able to go out at the drop of a hat and get multiple Christmas character shirts and ugly sweaters at the most expensive time of year. It’s just another way to alienate kids whose families can’t afford a bunch of extra stuff or the mental load of the extra work.

2. It also assumes EVERYONE in the school celebrates Christmas and creates a whole week out of dressing up for it. Most people do celebrate Christmas where I live but then it’s even more alienating for people that don’t.”

Then she offered a simple solution: “Have a PJ Day on the last day before break and call it good… please.”

Itxe2x80x99s just another way to alienate kids whose families canxe2x80x99t afford a bunch of extra stuff or the mental load of the extra work. nn2. It also assumes EVERYONE in the school celebrates Christmas and creates a whole week out of dressing up for itxe2x80xa6 2/3

— (@)

Mariah is certainly not the only parent to feel strongly about dress-up weeks—or months. Some parents shared that their young elementary school kids—second and third graders—had dress-up days the entire month of December leading up to the holiday break.

@noreen_shoop My 2nd graders too. Just a few more days and itxe2x80x99ll be break. One of ours was frosty the snowman day. Who buys 8 year olds white???

— (@)

It’s one thing when it’s high schoolers who might have the ability to take themselves to a thrift store or whip together some kind of outfit themselves, but for elementary school kids, it’s 100% on the parents.

Elementary dress up days are the absolute worst. I cannot relay to you, dear reader, just how deeply I detest them.

— (@)

Some teachers are even weighing in with why they dislike dress-up days as well, both for the annoyance and the lack of inclusivity.

@offgridteacher @effortfuleduktr Word.

— (@)

@riahthelee @mcgottman99 My classroom had kids of ALL religions (and no religion.) I would have been VERY vocal at a staff meeting if the idea of a holiday week centered around Christmas. No way would I stand for that for my Jewish, Muslim, & Hindu kids, or the ones raised in no religion. Yikes.

— (@)

Some people offered solutions that allow those who enjoy dress-up days to have their fun while taking the pressure off of everyone else. For instance, one teacher shared that her school dress-up days are always a specific way of dressing up OR wearing school colors. She said many of the students opt for school colors so no one feels like the odd one out for not wearing their PJs or holiday socks or whatever.

So announcement to parents might look something like this: Friday is comfy cozy day! Come wearing your PJs or dress in our school colors, blue and white

— (@)

She said it’s helpful for her as a teacher as well, since dress-up days are a lot of pressure and can mean spending extra money that a lot of teachers don’t have to spend.

I love it as a teacher too, because I don’t always have clothes that match the theme and I don’t feel like spending $$$ on clothes I probably won’t wear again. So I throw on my school hoodie and I’m good to go!

— (@)

What if schools moved the dress-up days to January, when the holiday hustle and bustle has passed and the long winter could use an extra dose of fun? What if they kept them super simple, sticking to colors or general things that are easy for everyone, like “Wear your favorite comfy pants” or “Silly hairstyle day” or something like that.

The bottom line is to not let school dress-up days turn into the road to hell paved with good intentions. Rein it in, folks, for the parents’ sake.

Donald Trump may be running for president, but there’s a little problem with his past credentials. As you may recall, three years ago the former president lost re-election. He didn’t take it well. Indeed, he helped inspire his violent supporters to storm the Capitol building to overturn the election. Perhaps he forgot about that. Alas, one state’s officials did not.

Per CNN, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that Trump can’t be on the presidential ballot because he violated the 14th amendment’s “insurrection ban.” Over the summer a number of scholars, some of them conservative, had argued that Trump qualifies for that ban thanks to his actions leading up to and including the Jan. 6 riot.

This doesn’t mean Trump is officially stricken from Colorado’s ballot. The ruling has been placed on hold until January 4. The matter will likely be sent to the U.S. Supreme Court, which currently leans rightward, with three judges appointed by the big guy himself.

Trump nor his cronies, including arguably Colorado’s most famous resident, have yet to comment on the matter. Surely Ron DeSantis is thrilled.

The 14th amendment was ratified in 1868, soon after the Civil War. Section 3 bars “any person who has taken an oath to support and defend our Constitution and thereafter rebels against that sacred charter, either through overt insurrection or by giving aid or comfort to the Constitution’s enemies.”

Some have argued Trump fits this to a T. Others have claimed the language is too vague to disqualify a guy who coaxed his supporters to D.C. on Jan. 6 and told them to “fight like hell” before they stormed the Capitol building.

(Via CNN)

It’s been a while since we heard new music from either ASAP Rocky or Rihanna, as the power couple has been busy enjoying parenthood. During this week’s launch party for Rihanna’s latest Puma sneakers, the singer offered some insight into parenthood, including a self-deprecating dig at one of her own signature features that youngest son Riot didn’t inherit.

She was also asked about possible collaborations between her and her boyfriend Rocky, responding, “We did that already — twice.” Of course, she was talking about their two boys, not songs, but if you were wondering whether they’ve also recorded any songs together, we’ve got you covered there.

Their earliest collaboration was the 2011 “Cockiness” remix, which transformed the sixth single from her sixth studio album, Talk That Talk. Produced by “A Milli” producer Bangladesh, dubstep-influenced track received mixed reviews and peaked at No. 17 on Billboard‘s “Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles” chart.

Meanwhile, although Rihanna has yet to appear on any of Rocky’s songs, she has appeared in two of his music videos. In 2013, the video for “Fashion Killa” from Rocky’s debut studio album Long. Live. A$AP. featured Rihanna and followed the couple on a shopping date. Then, in 2022, Rocky kicked off marriage rumors about the couple when his video for “D.M.B.” not only starred Rihanna but also featured Rocky wearing a grill reading “Marry Me.”

In her red-carpet interview Rihanna expressed optimism about any future collaborations, saying, “Anything Rocky and me collaborate on is going to be fire,” because of their shared creative sensibility. Check out the interview below.

(SPOILERS for this Power Book III: Raising Kanan will be found below.)

Jukebox is one of the most complex characters in Power Book III: Raising Kanan. For starters, though she is a part of Raq and Kanan’s family (she’s Marvin’s daughter which makes her Raq’s niece and Kanan’s cousin), Jukebox isn’t a part of the drug game but the effects of it have been heavy on her. It hit close to home for her in season one when a bad batch of crack made its way to Nicole, Jukebox’s then-girlfriend, and killed her. Jukebox isn’t an angel though, as she’s had her fair share of wrongs in the world, but that doesn’t take away from her sweet personality, ambition, and gritty spirit.

In season two of Power Book III: Raising Kanan, things turned dark for Jukebox when her father attacked her after learning about her relationship with Nicole. Their relationship turned sour and it wasn’t until the end of the season and the early episodes of season three that we’ve seen it return to normal. Jukebox has also taken her singing dreams more seriously thanks to some help from Lou-Lou who’s helped her record some songs. Most recently, in episode three of Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Jukebox auditioned to be in a girls singing group and we’ve yet to see how that’s turned out. Now that you know about Jukebox, let’s take a moment to spotlight Hailey Kilgore, the actress who plays her.

Who Plays Jukebox On Power Book III: Raising Kanan?

Hailey Kilgore holds the amazing voice behind Jukebox. Kilgore’s acting career dates back to a 2015 theater role in Portland Center Stage’s production of Our Town. In 2018, Kilgore had her breakout moment when she played Ti Moune in the Broadway revival of the musical, Once On This Island. She was later nominated for a Tony Award in 2018 in the Best Actress in a Musical category for that role. A year later, she was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Musical Theater Album category thanks to Once On This Island.

In a 2022 interview with Cassius Life, Kilgore spoke about playing Jukebox and the changes viewers could expect between seasons one and two of Power Book III: Raising Kanan. “In season one, Jukebox chooses to be sad. She chooses to let life be hard,” she said. “And I think in season two, she’s ready to fight that a little bit more head-on. For sure.” That proved to be true. Ahead of season three, Kilgore spoke about the future of Jukebox and Marvin’s relationship during an interview with the Fresh Pair Of IIs podcast. “It’s hard for Juke to kind of move past all the awful things that have happened with Marvin,” she said. “But I think it’s gonna keep doing this [motions finger up and down], in good ways, in beautiful ways, but then also in some difficult ways for sure.”

New episodes of ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am ET/PT and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm ET/PT.

Kevin Costner finalized his contentious divorce with Christine Baumgartner in mid-September, and earlier this month, word surfaced that Costner was already getting back out there, so to speak. And by that, we’re not talking about him rekindling his working relationship with Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. The former John Dutton has begun dating Jewel with TMZ previously reporting that the two are “flirty” and had been “trying to be discreet, but anybody who saw them could tell something was going on” when the pair attended the same November event on Richard Branson’s Necker Island.

People now catches up with a “source” who revealed that the pairing is “fresh” but not “new” while leaving things rather ambiguous otherwise:

“The relationship between Kevin and Jewel is fresh but not brand new. There is very big attraction on both sides.”

The source says Jewel is independent and not into dating for the sake of dating.

“Jewel likes Kevin’s type and Kevin likes to be in a relationship, so this is cool,” says the source. “He is having fun after his contentious divorce. He is glad that is over.”

The Daily Mail recently reported that Baumgarner isn’t shocked that Costner is moving on, and she’s relieved that he hasn’t chosen a “fame-seeking bimbo.” Well then.

Additionally, Jewel recently published photos from that Necker Island event, and yep, there’s Kevin Costner. Hopefully, he’s a little less stressed out these days without all the divorce and Yellowstone upheaval ongoing:

(Via People, TMZ & Daily Mail)

Imagine you’re getting ready to drop some bad news on someone. Say, breaking off a months-long relationship.

“I’m not sure how to say this,” you start. “This has been really great. Dating you has been a lot of fun. You’re really wonderful. And—” You roll out a string of platitudes and compliments, dreading and delaying the part that comes next, when you finally say “It’s over.”

You think you’re being nice. Protecting their feelings. You don’t want to be coldhearted, right?

Science, however, says there might be a better way.

A study from 2017 finds that, in most cases, a much smaller “buffer” before the bad news is actually preferable. According to the people who matter most.

Alan Manning, a professor of linguistics at Brigham Young University, and Nicole Amare, his research partner, were interested in what he calls the “information design” of giving bad news. Quite literally, how much stuff should you say or write before just getting on with it?

The procedure was simple: 145 volunteers were shown two similar but differently worded versions of the same message, side by side, and asked to choose which they found the least objectionable. (Stuff in the vein of, “Your car is being recalled” all the way to “Let’s break up” or “You’re fired.”)

Manning says, in most cases, there was a clear preference for the more concise message.

Participants also mostly responded that clarity and directness were more important than how considerate the message was.

The findings contradict a lot of the previous research, Manning says, which stressed buffers and positivity and silver linings. He says when you just talk to people, you get a different story: “When you ask people if they want the bad news straight-up, they almost always say yes.”

If bad-news recipients just want it straight, why do we tend to draw it out?

Manning says it’s because we’re looking out for ourselves. It’s easier and makes us feel better to beat around the bush a little bit.

Turns out, the whole thing is a practical exercise in empathy.

“One of the great challenges of growing up and being a fully functioning adult is being fully aware of other people’s needs around you and not just your own,” he says.

He hopes the study will help people become better deliverers of bad news, and, ultimately, take better care of each other. He urges us to think critically about how sensitive the message we’re delivering is and to respond appropriately. Don’t be callous, he says, and blurt out “I’m breaking up with you,” before even saying “Hi.” But a smaller buffer is almost always appreciated by the recipient.

It’s hard to break old habits. It’s even harder to be direct. But getting and giving bad news is part of our daily lives. It’ll be worth the effort to do it right.

This article originally appeared on 10.13.17

When blizzards line up to rip through the Northeast, schools close, flights are canceled, and people even board up their houses. Though missions and homeless shelters do what they can to provide safety to those who have no homes to go to, thousands of people still have to weather the cold outside.

At Carnegie Mellon University’s 2015 Impact-a-Thon, students were challenged to provide a temporary low-cost shelter for homeless people during the winter.

One team of students came up with the “Satellite Shelter,” an insulated sleeping bag that converts into a tented structure. The students used mylar, a reflective material frequently used in greenhouses and space blankets, and wool blankets to ensure the shelter would keep anyone in it safe from the cold.

“We wanted to make sure it was super-portable and durable so that it’s easy to carry,” said student Linh Thi Do, who worked on the project. “We have wheels on it so it’s easy to move from place to place.”

“Satellite Shelter” is a sleeping bag that expands into a tent for housing the homeless http://bit.ly/1t2FsZtu00a0pic.twitter.com/L7Jdqxy2RU

— Inhabitat (@Inhabitat)
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Solutions like this one are handy in an emergency. Perhaps, however, other cities should take note of the city of New Orleans’ success in providing long-term housing solutions for its homeless veterans. The only perfect solution to homelessness is giving people permanent homes to go to at night.

This article originally appeared on 01.26.15