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Donald Trump has so many legal headaches it can be tough to remember which is which. You might even forget one of them. For instance, remember the lawsuit brought upon the Trump Organization by New York Attorney General Letitia James? It was announced last September, with a trial set for this October, and it’s not to be confused with the New York case that got him indicted the first time. But before that gets underway, though, James has done something that should remind the public about her case.

As per NBC News, James has asked the state supreme court to sanction Trump, his two oldest sons, others connected to the former president’s business, and their lawyers. Why? Because they keep raising, as per James’ filing, “previously-rejected arguments” in their motions.

The filing mentions five separate instances where Trump’s lawyers have offered reheated arguments that have already been shot down. These arguments, James’ office says, were “borderline frivolous even the first time defendants made them.” They also argue that a “sophisticated defense counsel should have known better” than to do that.

James’ office is asking for a total of $20,000.

For the case itself, James is seeking $250 million in penalties over Trump and team’s alleged efforts to inflate Trump’s personal net worth in order to attracted better loan agreements. She alleges that over a 10-year period they engaged in more than 200 instances of fraud.

On top of that, there are those four indictments. And Trump’s beloved Twitter clone is also in trouble. The poor guy sure could use a break. Alas, he wasted what could have been a relaxing Labor Day weekend by being angry on social media.

(Via NBC News)

Cruise life might have taken a hiatus in 2020 (along with everything else), but post-pandemic business is booming. There are more people embarking on cruises than even in 2019, according to the Cruise Lines International Association (TIME). And with overall prices that are lower than a lot of mortgages and rents, many folks opt to cruise full-time.

So…is it just the competitive prices calling us to sea? The promise of adventure, perhaps? Or is it simply the 24-hour buffet that makes it so intriguing?

A psychologist and cruise enthusiast has some compelling thoughts.

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In her essay written for Psychology Today, Mary McNaughton-Cassill, PhD, argues that while cruises “may not be for everyone,” they do provide many psychological benefits that improve our mental health.

For one thing, cruises offer the luxury of pure leisure time, which McNaughton-Cassill says “Americans are starved for.”

And she has a point. When was the last time you didn’t have to use up precious mental energy wondering how dinner was going to be taken care of, who would watch the kids, whether or not anything needs to be cleaned, etc., etc. Even on our regular “days off,” many of us just spend it catching up on ignored chores (aka “housework). In a world where burnout and errand paralysis are very, very real, it’s no wonder why having everything taken care of is a grand fantasy.

Second, McNaughton-Cassill explained that going on a cruise all but forces someone to be without their phone for a bit, which helps ease feelings of loneliness.

Loneliness might have been an issue exacerbated by the pandemic, but it certainly existed before that—and has been on the rise since the 1970s. We know that technology is a double-edged sword in this arena, offering us constant contact through endless pings and social media but often very little community.

But while out at sea, where wi-fi is hardly worth the high price, you can put the phone away without a second thought, and instead enjoy the simple pleasure of connecting with new people. Everyone from the staff to the servers to your fellow travelers get to know you by name, which is a stark contrast to the social cut-off-edness of “real life.”

And for the introverts for whom this scenario sounds like a nightmare, you have the permission to bask in the sweetness of your own thoughts during your social media detox…which honestly could probably still help with the loneliness thing.

Lastly, McNaughton-Cassill notes that going on cruises exposes us to two very therapeutic things most of us get too little of—music and nature. We know that both are good for our physical and mental well-being, and cruise travelers, as they soak up the sun, enjoy the ocean waves, listen to live bands and maybe even dance a little, are certainly exposed to all kinds of these natural remedies.

It makes sense that in our busy, jam-packed lives, the thought of getting multiple needs met all in one go would be attractive to many people. But even if that sweet cruise life isn’t the right fit for you, finding ways to actually relax, unplug and nourish the soul are so very important. Hopefully if reading this didn’t inspire you to buy a ticket, it at least reminded you to book that overdue massage or slip back in that favorite book for a few hours.

Last year, Soul Glo shared their explosive new album Diaspora Problems, whose relentless, eclectic brand of hardcore resembles that of New York’s beloved Show Me The Body. The Philly-based crew is back today with a fiery new track called “If I Speak (Shut The F*ck Up)” alongside a very NSFW music video full of dildos.

“’If I Speak’ is a song about channeling one’s voice and perspective through art or another creative expression,” bandleader Pierce Jordan said in a statement. “You can hear when people spend more time online than on their music. You can tell when people are more focused on a visual statement than a sound.”

Pierce’s shouts are vicious against the tumultuous instrumentation: “If I speak, I’m coming through elbows first; I’m finna spin your beak / If I speak, it’s me on everyone in this b*tch there will be no peace.” It was this brutality that gave Diaspora Problems its perfect punch, from the rapid-fire “Gold Chain Punk (Whogonbeatmyass?)” to the chaotic “Jump!! (Or Get Jumped!!!)((By The Future)).” All 12 tracks kept up the energetic momentum, while also managing to incorporate unpredictable twists and turns.

Watch the video for “If I Speak (Shut The F*ck Up)” above.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden go way back. Did you know the current president used to be vice president, under Barry? Strange but true. Since serving twice the length of the Trump administration, the two have remained good buds. Obama has even vowed to aggressively campaign for Joe’s second term starting this fall. But they’ve had their disagreements, including on how to swear.

As per HuffPost, a new book, Franklin Foer’s The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House And The Struggle For America’s Future, recounts that Biden didn’t think Obama knew how to cuss right. Specifically he wasn’t great at spouting “f*ck you.” To him, Obama’s use of the cuss term lacked “the right elongation of vowels and the necessary hardness of his consonants.” That, Biden told him, “was how they must curse in the ivory tower.”

There are other cracks in the Biden-Obama bromance. One passage from Foer’s tome alleges that Obama didn’t always treat Biden great:

“Biden wanted to treat Harris with the respect that he felt Barack Obama hadn’t accorded him. He made a point of referring to her as the vice president, as opposed to my vice president. He was a stickler for asking her opinion in meetings—and making sure that her office was kept in the loop.”

Still, they remain close — close enough Biden once gave Obama a honey of a birthday present.

(Via HuffPost)

Stephen King is more than just the prolific author of horror doorstops. He’s also a dad joke hero, a champion of last year’s box office bomb Babylon, a top shelf dragger of Ted Cruz. None of that is what one would expect from the creator of The Shining and The Stand. Neither is this: King is a huge, huge fan of Lou Bega’s late ‘90s earworm “Mambo No. 5.” How big a fan? Enough that his passion for it almost got him divorced.

King spoke with Rolling Stone recently, in honor of his new novel Holly. In a bit teased out by The AV Club, the interviewer asked about his intense ardor for a song so cheesy that it inspired a solid Tracy Morgan sketch.

“Oh, yeah. Big time,” he said, adding, “My wife threatened to divorce me. I played that a lot. I had the dance mix. I loved those extended play things, and I played both sides of it. And one of them was just total instrumental. And I played that thing until my wife just said, ‘One more time, and I’m going to f*cking leave you.”’

Did his wife, Tabitha, who is still with him after over half a century of marriage, have a point? It’s up to you decide, though maybe the best way to revisit it is when it’s played over top a key scene from The Matrix.

(Via Rolling Stone and The AV Club)

Netflix recently announced that it would be focusing more on “premium long-form content” which probably means we won’t get any more of those niche baking shows everyone is always gabbing about, and instead we’ll have to endure a Stranger Things spinoff or two. With some new content, the streamer is also going to expand its focus on local content, documentaries, and gaming.

While speaking at a conference this week, Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters said that the company is looking to expand its gaming platform, which is currently available on mobile phones and soon on all other devices. “We’re excited about the performance that we’ve got in mobile, releasing more and more games, and we see every month our engagement goes up in that regard. But we have aspirations to go beyond that,” he said.

Earlier this year, Netflix announced that it would introduce a whopping 40 new games to the streamer, so you don’t have to go out and buy one of those overrated Playstions or whatever.

In addition to the games and local programming, Peters says that the next goal is for Netflix to eventually be price agnostic AKA there will be no default price-tier that the company encourages. As of right now, Netflix offers both premium and standard tiers, along with an ad-supported subscription. And he doesn’t care which one you use!

“I don’t want to be in the position where we’re steering people outside of that context into one place or another because I think that ultimately won’t serve the business well and will hurt us with users,” Peters said. Somebody give the man some money so he can pay Aaron Paul.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Elon Musk has been leaning ever rightward for the last few years, especially since forking over a fortune to destroy Twitter. But maybe hearing this news he’ll realize he’s picked the wrong team: Donald Trump, the possibly jailbound leader of the GOP, has chosen electric cars as his latest enemy.

As per The Hill, the former president took to his maybe doomed social media service to rail against Joe Biden’s push to make electric cars dominant in the motor vehicle industry. Trump zeroed in on Michigan, the top state for auto manufacturing jobs.

“The Great State of Michigan will not have an auto industry anymore if Crooked Joe Biden’s crazed concept of ‘all Electric Cars’ goes into effect,” Trump wrote. “CHINA WILL TAKE IT ALL, 100%. United Auto Workers, VOTE FOR TRUMP. Get your leaders to ENDORSE ME, I WILL KEEP ALL OF THESE GREAT JOBS, AND BRING IN MANY MORE. CHOICE IN SCHOOLS, AND CHOICE IN CARS!!!”

Auto manufacturing jobs have plummeted around 65% since their peak in the 1960s and ‘70s, though the number still remains higher than any other state. The Environmental Protection Agency has predicted that by 2023 two-thirds of new cars will be electric. Meanwhile, the Energy Department recently vowed to invest $12 billion in converting auto manufacturing facilities into plants for hybrids and EVs.

Still, Trump claimed in a separate Truth Social post that electric cars will “ALL BE MADE IN CHINA,” killing the auto industry in America.

Surely the news won’t go lightly for Musk, whose electric car company is, much like Twitter/X, also chaotic.

(Via The Hill)

Elon Musk has been leaning ever rightward for the last few years, especially since forking over a fortune to destroy Twitter. But maybe hearing this news he’ll realize he’s picked the wrong team: Donald Trump, the possibly jailbound leader of the GOP, has chosen electric cars as his latest enemy.

As per The Hill, the former president took to his maybe doomed social media service to rail against Joe Biden’s push to make electric cars dominant in the motor vehicle industry. Trump zeroed in on Michigan, the top state for auto manufacturing jobs.

“The Great State of Michigan will not have an auto industry anymore if Crooked Joe Biden’s crazed concept of ‘all Electric Cars’ goes into effect,” Trump wrote. “CHINA WILL TAKE IT ALL, 100%. United Auto Workers, VOTE FOR TRUMP. Get your leaders to ENDORSE ME, I WILL KEEP ALL OF THESE GREAT JOBS, AND BRING IN MANY MORE. CHOICE IN SCHOOLS, AND CHOICE IN CARS!!!”

Auto manufacturing jobs have plummeted around 65% since their peak in the 1960s and ‘70s, though the number still remains higher than any other state. The Environmental Protection Agency has predicted that by 2023 two-thirds of new cars will be electric. Meanwhile, the Energy Department recently vowed to invest $12 billion in converting auto manufacturing facilities into plants for hybrids and EVs.

Still, Trump claimed in a separate Truth Social post that electric cars will “ALL BE MADE IN CHINA,” killing the auto industry in America.

Surely the news won’t go lightly for Musk, whose electric car company is, much like Twitter/X, also chaotic.

(Via The Hill)

The Broncos hired Sean Payton this offseason to right the ship after a disappointing 5-12 season in which they fired their first year coach after 15 games and traded several first round draft picks to acquire Russell Wilson. Payton will be an immediate upgrade over former head coach Nathaniel Hackett who’s bizarre late game-decision making lead to several head-scratching losses last season. Furthermore, Hackett was touted as a quarterback guru who could help Wilson acclimate to a new offense, but Wilson had the worst season of his career under Hackett.

The jury is still out on whether Wilson is still a high level quarterback, but Payton is wasting no time trying to instill a new mindset into the Broncos quarterback and ensuring that last year is not seen as the new norm in Denver — he called Hackett’s coaching job one of the worst in NFL history. A recent ESPN profile by Seth Wickersham also revealed that Payton wants his quarterback focus less on his branding and more focused on football, telling his star in no uncertain terms that he doesn’t care much for Wilson’s desire to be liked by everyone.

Staffers seem cautious around Payton, not wanting to say something that prompts an outburst. Payton is the program, everything flowing out of his fierce ingenuity and ethic. He showed the team a video of a 2022 Ford Bronco driving off a cliff, letting players know last year is over. He told Wilson that to salvage his career he needed to focus less on Russell Inc. “Will you f—ing stop kissing all the babies?” he said. “You’re not running for public office.”

This comment comes as no surprise in regards to Wilson. His former Seahawks teammates, and even his coach, have not shied away from comments about Wilson’s demeanor. The Seahawks had a surprising season winning season last year after many expected a drop off after Wilson’s departure. Clearly the vibe between Wilson and the team were not good in those last Seattle years. It’s now up to Sean Payton to change that in Denver.

The Broncos hired Sean Payton this offseason to right the ship after a disappointing 5-12 season in which they fired their first year coach after 15 games and traded several first round draft picks to acquire Russell Wilson. Payton will be an immediate upgrade over former head coach Nathaniel Hackett who’s bizarre late game-decision making lead to several head-scratching losses last season. Furthermore, Hackett was touted as a quarterback guru who could help Wilson acclimate to a new offense, but Wilson had the worst season of his career under Hackett.

The jury is still out on whether Wilson is still a high level quarterback, but Payton is wasting no time trying to instill a new mindset into the Broncos quarterback and ensuring that last year is not seen as the new norm in Denver — he called Hackett’s coaching job one of the worst in NFL history. A recent ESPN profile by Seth Wickersham also revealed that Payton wants his quarterback focus less on his branding and more focused on football, telling his star in no uncertain terms that he doesn’t care much for Wilson’s desire to be liked by everyone.

Staffers seem cautious around Payton, not wanting to say something that prompts an outburst. Payton is the program, everything flowing out of his fierce ingenuity and ethic. He showed the team a video of a 2022 Ford Bronco driving off a cliff, letting players know last year is over. He told Wilson that to salvage his career he needed to focus less on Russell Inc. “Will you f—ing stop kissing all the babies?” he said. “You’re not running for public office.”

This comment comes as no surprise in regards to Wilson. His former Seahawks teammates, and even his coach, have not shied away from comments about Wilson’s demeanor. The Seahawks had a surprising season winning season last year after many expected a drop off after Wilson’s departure. Clearly the vibe between Wilson and the team were not good in those last Seattle years. It’s now up to Sean Payton to change that in Denver.