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Shortly after he was warned to not make inflammatory statements about those involved in one of his many criminal cases, Donald Trump made an inflammatory statement about someone involved in one of his many criminal cases. “I am reading reports that failed former Lt. Governor of Georgia, Jeff Duncan, will be testifying before the Fulton County Grand Jury. He shouldn’t,” the quick-to-temper tantrum former president wrote on Truth Social.

Trump not only spelled Duncan’s name wrong (it’s Geoff Duncan), legal experts agree he could be in big trouble for his remarks. Well, bigger trouble. He’s already in big trouble.

“This morning’s first attempt at witness intimidation,” attorney George Conway (yes, Kellyanne’s ex-husband) tweeted, while Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University, added, “Add witness tampering to the potential predicate acts for a Georgia RICO charge. O.C.G.A. § 16-10-93. This is blatantly unlawful stuff… This is exceptionally bad even for Donald Trump.”

“Trump needs to be behind bars without access to social media while he awaits trial,” posted Mark Jacob, former editor for the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times. “This is attempted witness intimidation. If Trump’s lawyers can’t stop him from committing mob-style witness intimidation, they should quit. Otherwise they’re accomplices.”

New York University law professor Ryan Goodman broke things down further:

Trump will somehow blame this on Hunter Biden. Guaranteed.

(Via Raw Story)

When most people think about Korean cooking, they probably imagine the enticing aroma, colors, and flavors of a plate filled with kimchi and bulgogi or a hot bowl of bibimbap. But when cooking influencer Kyong reflects upon his childhood, he has fond memories of his Korean mother cooking him a delicious and easy-to-prepare spaghetti and meatballs recipe.

“My parents were busy running their dry-cleaning business and couldn’t call off work or take long breaks like a traditional 9 to 5 job, so there wasn’t a lot of time to cook,” he recalled. “So, my mom learned how to make quick-and-easy meals, and her spaghetti and meatballs were my favorites.”

Is there any better example of the American melting pot than a hard-working Korean mother cooking an Italian staple for her family?

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Kyong and his fiancé, Mei, are popular chefs whose
Two Plaid Aprons Instagram page has over 500,000 followers. The couple met at Chef John Folse Culinary Institute of Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Two Plaid Apron’s Instagram and YouTube pages have dozens of videos that teach you how to cook everything from kimchi spam fried rice to chicken alfredo to crab rangoon. The recipes come from all parts of the globe, with a particular focus on Asian cuisine.

Two Plaid Aprons has partnered with O Organics to teach you how to make Kyong’s mother’s spaghetti and meatballs while also giving you an easy (and tasty!) way to help Americans suffering from food insecurity.

“Food is very important to us, not only because it fills our stomach, but also because we relate memories to food,” Kyong and Mei said. “So, we were incredibly happy to be able to partner with Albertsons and Upworthy to help fight food insecurity. O Organics is donating a meal for every product purchased at Albertsons stores, up to 28 million meals. This recipe uses 8 O Organic products. That’s 8 meals donated. That is incredible.”

Plus, with O Organics, you’re providing these families with nutritious meals. O Organics is committed to producing USDA-certified, affordably priced organic foods that support the well-being of all.

Food programs like this are even more critical during the summer. Did you know that 1 in 8 kids experience food insecurity in the United States, and 22 million of them rely on school meal programs unavailable in summer?

“For the more than 22 million children who depend on school breakfast and lunch programs, summer vacation means worrying about when they’ll eat next,”
Feeding America says.

Here’s how to make Kyong’s mother’s delicious spaghetti and meatballs using O Organics.

Yield: 2 Servings (10 Meatballs)

Spaghetti & sauce:

1 jar (25 oz) O Organic tomato basil sauce

8 oz O Organic spaghetti

1/4 large O Organic yellow onion, diced

1 TBSP O Organic extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

5 tsp sugar

Meatballs:

1/3 cup O Organic plain breadcrumbs

1/2 cup O Organic whole milk

1 lb O Organic ground beef (85% lean)

1 large O Organic egg

1/4 cup parmesan, grated

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 cloves garlic, grated

1 tsp salt

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, add the olive oil. Once hot, add the diced onion and sauté until translucent.

2. Add the jar of tomato basil sauce, salt, and sugar.

3. Cover the saucepan with a lid and allow the sauce to simmer for about 15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, make the meatballs. First, mix together the breadcrumbs and milk. Set aside to let soak.

5. In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef, egg, parmesan, garlic, salt, pepper, and the soaked breadcrumbs. Mix until everything is well combined and cohesive.

6. Use a small cookie scoop to portion the meatballs (2 scoops per meatball). Gently compact each portion in your palms and roll it into balls.

7. Once finished, give the simmering sauce a good stir and place the meatballs into the sauce. Make sure to arrange them in a single layer.

8. Cover and let the meatballs simmer in the sauce for about 30 minutes or until cooked. Make sure to swirl and/or stir the sauce occasionally. Be gentle to prevent breaking the meatballs.

9. While waiting, bring a pot of water to a boil and add the spaghetti. Cook according to the package instructions or about 12 to 14 minutes. Drain well and portion onto serving plates.

10. Top the pasta with the desired amount of sauce and meatballs. Enjoy!

Now that you’ve enjoyed Kyong’s mother’s spaghetti and meatballs. What are some of your favorite meals that you can make using
O Organics?

This weekend, All Points East returns to London’s Victoria Park with a lineup that includes Aphex Twin, Dermot Kennedy, Haim, The Strokes, and Stormzy. The 10-day festival kicks off Friday, August 18, with This Is What I Mean Day. Stormzy will headline, supported by Kehlani and Sampha, with Knucks, Lucky Daye, WSTRN, Ms Banks, and more set to appear. Gates open at 3 pm, and you can find the set times below.

3:00 PM – 4:15 PM – Gilles Peterson @ 6 Music Stage
3:20 PM – 3:45 PM – JayO @ Cupra North Arena
3:30 PM – 3:55 PM – Trebla @ East Stage
3:50 PM – 4:30 PM – Nippa @ West Stage
3:55 PM – 4:25 PM – Natanya @ TBA
4:05 PM – 4:35 PM – Amaria BB @ Cupra North Arena
4:15 PM – 5:10 PM – DJ Karaba @ 6 Music Stage
4:25 PM – 5:00 PM – Debbie @ East Stage
4:55 PM – 5:35 PM – Dankie Sounds @ Cupra North Arena
5:00 PM – 5:40 PM – Elmiene @ West Stage
5:00 PM – 5:30 PM – Tamera @ TBA
5:10 PM – 6:05 PM – Jordss @ 6 Music Stage
5:30 PM – 6:10 PM – Lucky Daye @ East Stage
6:05 PM – 6:55 PM – Ms Banks @ Cupra North Arena
6:05 PM – 7:35 PM – Rampage Sound @ 6 Music Stage
6:10 PM – 6:55 PM – Knucks @ West Stage
6:10 PM – 6:40 PM – Tay Iwar @ TBA
6:45 PM – 7:45 PM – Sampha @ East Stage
6:50 PM – 7:20 PM –- No Signal @ E3 Stage
7:30 PM – 8:30 PM – Kehlani @ West Stage
7:30 PM – 8:30 PM – WSTRN @ Cupra North Arena
7:35 PM – 8:30 PM – Dreamcastmoe @ 6 Music Stage
8:00 PM – 8:30 PM – Dexter in the newsagent @ TBA
8:40 PM – 10:55 PM – Stormzy @ East Stage

Mike Flanagan doesn’t miss in terms of quality and rarely in terms of viewership (with The Midnight Club being a rare miss on the second front). The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor fans were delighted at his most recent smash-hit followup, Netflix’s Midnight Mass, starring one deliciously unsettling Hamish Linklater and several Flanagan regulars, including Kate Siegel, Annabeth Gish, Rahul Kohli, Samantha Sloyan, and Carla Gugino. The latter stars in his upcoming project, The Fall Of The House Of Usher, which is (of course) inspired by the 1839 short story by Edgar Allen Poe.

From the looks of things, the story has been reinterpreted with a modern spin, and the limited series will find inspiration in other Poe offerings as well, but here is what we know so far about The Fall Of The House Of Usher, which will naturally incorporate some familiar faces while spooking you out.

Plot

The following synopsis should spark your curiosity (if you aren’t already in that state as a die-hard Flanagan fan):

From Mike Flanagan, the creator of The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass, a wicked horror series based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Ruthless siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher have built Fortunato Pharmaceuticals into an empire of wealth, privilege, and power. But past secrets come to light when the heirs to the Usher dynasty start dying at the hands of a mysterious woman from their youth.

Cast

The leading duo, Roderick and Madeline Usher, will be portrayed by Bruce Greenwood and Carla Gugino, respectively. The rest of the cast includes Mark Hamill, Carl Lumbly, Michael Trucco, Paola Nuñez, Henry Thomas, Kyleigh Curran, Samantha Sloyan, Rahul Kohli, Kate Siegel, Sauriyan Sapkota, Zach Gilford, Willa Fitzgerald, Katie Parker, Malcolm Goodwin, Annabeth Gish, and more. Here are a few more stills:

Release Date

Netflix’s The Fall Of The House Of Usher arrives on October 12, right on time for the Halloween spirit to get rowdy.

Trailer

No full-on trailer exists yet (dang it), but you can watch this ominous teaser of Carla Gugino apparently up to no supernatural good.

Netflix’s The Fall Of The House Of Usher will debut on October 12.

Belgium’s Pukkelpop Festival is returning this weekend with an incredibly great lineup. For those who are attending, they might be wondering who to catch, where they’re playing, and on what stage.

Thankfully, we have you covered. Here’s what to know about the 2023 set times for the three main days.

On Friday, Nessa Barrett will be on the Marquee stage at 3:25-4:25 p.m. Shortly after, Ethel Cain will play on the Club stage from 4:30-5:20. Other key acts to note are: Years & Years at 6:40-7:40 (Main Stage), M83 at 7:45-8:45 (Marquee), Boygenius at 9:55-10:55 (Marquee), and Billie Eilish at 11-12:30 (Main Stage). Throughout the rest of the night, DJ acts will keep the party going.

Then, for Saturday, the festivities continue with acts including Tom Odell at 2-2:50 (Main Stage), Fousheé at 3:45-4:35 (Club), Jessie Ware at 4:35-5:35 (Marquee), Turnstile at 5:35-6:35 (Main Stage), Muna at 5:40-6:30 (Club), Limp Bizkit at 7:35-8:35 (Main Stage), Steve Lacy at 10:35-11:35, and more.

Finally, for the final day of Pukkelpop 2023, Sunday’s acts feature Dropkick Murphys at 3:55-4:55 (Main Stage), Girl In Red at 5-6 (Marquee), Macklemore at 6:05-7:05 (Main Stage), King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard at 7:10-8:10 (Marquee), Florence & The Machine at 8:15-9:30 (Main Stage), and The Killers at 10:40-12 a.m. On the Boiler Room and Club stages, the festival continues until 3 a.m.

To view the complete list of set times, visit Pukkelpop’s website.

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

As Ron DeSantis continues to stumble on the campaign trail, the Florida governor has reportedly lost significant ground to not just Donald Trump but other Republican primary challengers. GOP insiders are now predicting that DeSantis is headed for a downfall, and frankly, they’re not surprised.

“The more he is met by people, the more they are not going to like him,” Florida State Senator Joe Gruders told The Washington Post. “The more he’s out there, the more his numbers go down. It’s not a good long-term scenario for him. I fully expected the downfall of his campaign a long time ago.”

According to Florida GOP insiders, DeSantis’ interpersonal skills are not the best. The governor reportedly has a “my way or the highway” approach to negotiations and “infrequently talked to some senior members in his own Cabinet, including his top law enforcement officials, or other leading Republicans.”

Via The Washington Post:

“It’s kind of what I expected to see,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), whose backing of Trump stung DeSantis, according to people close to the governor, said of the DeSantis campaign. He added: “In presidential politics, you have to be able to engage and connect with people. It’s through TV, it’s through interviews, it’s charisma. You know it when you see it … I never felt like it was something the governor would be able to do or accomplish.”

The damning Washington Post report on DeSantis’ flailing campaign arrived on heels of another GOP strategist recently telling CNN that the governor is getting “killed in the focus groups.”

“We always ask people who do you want to see be the 2024 nominee? And six months ago, Ron DeSantis, he would always come up. He was the first one. If it wasn’t Trump, it was him,” Sarah Longwell told Inside Politics via Newsweek. “People don’t even mention him right now. They’ve said [Senator] Tim Scott, they’ve said Vivek Ramaswamy and he’s just not even getting mentioned—there was one guy who liked him… That is brutal.”

(Via The Washington Post, Newsweek)

The SpongeBob SquarePants theme song poses the question, “Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?” The question’s answer will always be SpongeBob SquarePants (except for the various times his house was destroyed), but the question’s asker is sometimes different. It was this weekend, at least, when Tom Kenny, who voices the sponge, was joined for a performance of his show’s theme song by Slipknot leader Corey Taylor.

Both were at the Huntington Comic and Toy Convention in West Virginia this weekend, and backed by a full band, Kenny brought Taylor up on stage. After sharing a hug, Taylor noted, “This is the most nervous I’ve ever been in my whole career.”

After some more banter, they got into the song, with Taylor and Kenny trading off lines as the audience chimed in during the parts where it’s just a chorus of kids singing, “SpongeBob SquarePants!” The song is short and simple so the whole thing was over pretty quickly, but nevertheless, it was a fun collision of worlds.

Taylor actually has some previous experience with the song, as he’s covered it live a number of times before this. He sang it at a different convention last year, for example. Here’s another one from 2017.

Slipknot is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

In 2009, The Blind Side became a massive hit, grossing more than $300 million at the box office as Sandra Bullock earned an Oscar for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy. The Tuohy’s were the family that adopted Michael Oher as a senior in high school, helping him get his education and football career on track before becoming a star at Ole Miss and becoming a first round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. At least, that’s how the movie version of events goes.

Oher is now alleging the Tuohy’s used him and never actually adopted him, instead tricking him into signing a document to make Sean and Leigh Anne his co-conservators rather than his adopted parents, giving them the rights to make business deals in his name — including selling his story to make The Blind Side. In a 14-page petition filed in Tennessee court on Monday, obtained by ESPN’s Michael A. Fletcher, Oher and his attorney lay out the rather shocking details of how the Tuohy’s represented to both Oher and the public that they had adopted him, when in fact he had no legal familial relationship to them.

“The lie of Michael’s adoption is one upon which Co-Conservators Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy have enriched themselves at the expense of their Ward, the undersigned Michael Oher,” the legal filing says. “Michael Oher discovered this lie to his chagrin and embarrassment in February of 2023, when he learned that the Conservatorship to which he consented on the basis that doing so would make him a member of the Tuohy family, in fact provided him no familial relationship with the Tuohys.”

“Since at least August of 2004, Conservators have allowed Michael, specifically, and the public, generally, to believe that Conservators adopted Michael and have used that untruth to gain financial advantages for themselves and the foundations which they own or which they exercise control,” the petition says. “All monies made in said manner should in all conscience and equity be disgorged and paid over to the said ward, Michael Oher.”

Fletcher reports that the filing asserts the Tuohy’s and their two biological children made $900,000 total up front from The Blind Side, plus 2.5 percent of the net proceeds from the film. Oher, meanwhile, was given a separate contract — that he has no recollection of signing — that gave away his rights to 20th Century Fox Studios.

It is a bombshell filing that, if proven true, will hopefully see Oher get his rightful proceeds from the film, but what can’t be undone is the emotional distress of learning that the family you though adopted you and loved you had, instead, been using you to profit off of your journey and, in fact, you had no legal standing as a member of the family.

For eight years in Houston, James Harden and Daryl Morey made for a near-perfect match as a player-GM pairing. We don’t often think about that specific dynamic in sports, typically talking about how a player meshes with their coach more than a general manager, but, particularly in basketball, having a star who fits the ethos of the head of basketball operations makes the team-building process much easier.

Harden’s abilities aligned incredibly well with Morey’s obsession with efficiency. He was the poster child of modern basketball scoring, almost completely eschewing the midrange to attack the rim or shoot threes, setting the tone for a Rockets team that would do the same as a whole. The pair found a great deal of success in Houston, with Harden hoisting MVP trophies and scoring titles, while the team was a perennial contender in the West, albeit one that constantly fell short of the ultimate prize. That inability to reach the NBA’s summit ultimately led to Morey’s departure from the franchise after The Bubble, with Harden not far behind in demanding a trade to Brooklyn.

Two years later they would reunite, with Harden forcing his way to Philadelphia in hopes that he and Joel Embiid could do what he and Chris Paul (and Russell Westbrook) could not in Houston. However, early on he was not the same James Harden, lacking the same burst he once possessed as he battled hamstring issues. The result was another second-round exit for the Sixers, but one that at least came with some hope that a fully healthy Harden would raise their ceiling.

That summer, Harden and Morey concocted a plan to bring in a couple of old friends from Houston, with Harden taking a pay cut so they’d have the money to add PJ Tucker and Danuel House Jr., hoping to inject a bit more toughness into the Sixers roster. Harden hoped he’d become a Philadelphia sports legend with that act of selflessness, growing frustrated when he wasn’t given the credit he felt he deserved for knocking $15 million off of his deal to improve the team as a whole. That was the first tangible sign this could all go very wrong.

Harden expected something in return for his financial sacrifice. The problem was he was asking that of a team president who is notorious for not caring much about interpersonal relationships when it comes to negotiations. Given how close he was to Harden and how they’d partnered so well for a decade, many — clearly including Harden — thought even the cold, analytical nature of Morey wouldn’t look to squeeze his old friend on their next negotiation. And yet, we have years of evidence showing that when it comes to team-building, the human element rarely comes into play for the former Executive of the Year. And Harden, presumably, knew that.

That has long been considered Morey’s Achilles heel as the leader of a front office. He has thrown together combustible star combinations, showing little regard for the concept of team chemistry and believing that complementary skillsets matter far more than complementary personalities. He has frustrated agents and players in the past, rarely willing to reward past production on a future contract. And therein lay the problem facing Harden this summer. He was expecting to make up what he’d given up on the next deal with someone who handed out deals based on current and future value, hoping their longtime partnership would soften his stance.

The cracks in the foundation started showing as early as Christmas, when Adrian Wojnarowski first reported that Harden was seriously considering a return to Houston this summer. Those reports continued for six months, an effort to push Morey to put the long-term deal that James wanted on the table. However, after yet another second-round exit (where it should be noted Harden was great in two of the team’s wins against Boston) and it became clear the Rockets were moving in a different direction, Harden lost his leverage and Morey was not willing to budge on giving Harden the long-term max deal he was seeking.

Ultimately, we have reached the ending we all should’ve seen coming to this saga. We had a player wanting to be rewarded for his loyalty — after showing he was willing to issue two trade demands in successive years — from a front office led by a man who never rewarded anything but production and projections.

Now, each is trying to apply pressure in the only way they know how. Harden picked up his option and demanded a trade, with the Clippers as his only preferred destination. Morey is dipping back into the same playbook he used with Ben Simmons, looking to drag things into camp and beyond by insisting he won’t trade Harden for a package that doesn’t keep the Sixers in the title contender realm. Harden, for his part, is making it clear he’s got plenty in his bag of tricks to make life miserable for Morey and the Sixers if they don’t trade him, starting by torching Morey publicly on his tour of China.

They were once the ideal pairing of GM and star, but they were also destined for this kind of ending if external forces didn’t intervene. Both men are who they are, for better or worse. Harden, a 33-year-old star who still sees himself as the player he once was, deserving of a full max contract. Morey, a team president incapable of overlooking the signs of decline and potential red flags, even for the player he’s been closest with.

As a result, their relationship is seemingly irreparably fractured, with Harden pledging to never play for a team led by Morey again and Morey, fittingly, being “unmoved” by it all. We shouldn’t be surprised it came to this, but it doesn’t make it any less awkward to watch it play out.

Republicans have been railing against Eminem for over 20 years now, but that apparently won’t stop them from also trying to use his music to appeal to voters. Last year, they were recoiling from his Super Bowl Halftime Show and as recently as last week, Eminem’s anti-Trump stances were being derided on Elon Musk’s zombie Twitter six years after those fans stuck between the two controversial figures weighed with their nostalgia for “The Real Slim Shady” against their racist views.

Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican Presidential candidate who’s beginning his campaign ahead of next year’s elections, personified that struggle during a rally in Iowa on Saturday, rapping the iconic intro from Em’s most popular song, “Lose Yourself.” It’s… pretty painful to watch, actually. Steel yourself and hit “play” below — but stretch first, because you’re likely to pull a muscle from cringing so hard afterward.

I’m not sure which part is worse: His atrocious mic presence or the utter lack of interest from the crowd. Maybe it’s when he tries to get the lady onstage behind him involved and she snaps back to reality after clearly dissociating through his performance to avoid the secondhand embarrassment. Yike. The question this begs, though, is who is this for? Gen Z doesn’t have much fondness for Em and the fans who grew up with him have loudly moved on in recent years. Boomers hated him from jump, so which voting base does Ramaswamy hope to appeal to?

Meanwhile, the real Slim Shady actually performed the song himself for boxer Terence Crawford’s ring entrance late last month when he fought Errol Spence, Jr. Maybe Ramaswamy is hoping for some of that “Lose Yourself” luck, as Crawford dominated Spence on his way to a technical knockout victory and welterweight championship.