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Chris Christie showed he isn’t afraid to go into the lion’s den and call out Donald Trump in front of his biggest supporters. The former New Jersey governor is running for president, but unlike most of candidates in the Republican primary, Christie hasn’t shied away from hurling insults at Trump like “loser” and “petulant child.”

Christie’s latest slam on Trump took place at the Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference on Friday, which is a bold move considering Trump’s practically unwavering support amongst religious conservatives.

“He’s let us down because he’s been unwilling to take responsibility for any of the mistakes that were made, any of the faults that he has, and any of the things that he’s done,” Christie told the crowd. “And that is not leadership, everybody. That is a failure of leadership.”

However, the MAGA crowd clearly wasn’t in the mood for the attacks on Trump. Large portions of the audience started to boo Christie, who gave it right back to them.

Via Raw Story:

“You can boo all you want!” a defiant Christie shot back. “But here’s the thing: Our faith teaches us that people have to take responsibility for what they do, people have to stand up and take accountability for what they do!”

Interestingly, Christie did exactly what Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough wishes more Republicans would do.

“They’re scared to be leaders,” Scarborough said about GOP politicians. “They’re scared to stand up in a town hall meeting and tell people something that people may not want to hear; keep their head down and continue telling them that. They’ll be surprised if they do that, what happens, but they never take that chance.”

Well, Christie did it, and what happened was lots of booing.

(Via Raw Story)

Earlier this week, Rauw Alejandro and Bizarrap shared “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 56.” “God has never failed me, he has listened to my prayers,” Bizarrap wrote on his Instagram Story in Spanish, translated to English. “What a joy it gives me to finally release music together brother.”

Already, Alejandro is dropping new material. “Baby Hello” with Bizarrap is out today, and it’s taken from Alejandro’s highly anticipated forthcoming album Playa Saturno. It was teased at the end of the “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 56” video, so it’s not that much of a surprise to fans.

Alejandro has been the center of attention since he teamed up with world-dominating pop star Rosalía for the three-track project RR. Before it was even released, the two got engaged and became one of the most beloved celebrity couples. The press release said that RR “sonically chronicles their journey as a couple, tracing a roadmap of their relationship from the past to the present with hints at what the future holds. Their voices complement one another as they lock into a creative chemistry only partners could share. At the same time, their respective styles fuse into a fresh and fiery vision unlike anything else either of these trailblazers have crafted thus far.”

Listen to “Baby Hello” above.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) has announced its 2023 Kennedy Center Honorees and among them is Queen Latifah, the first female rapper to be honored by the Kennedy Center. This is fitting, as 2023 also marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop, and Queen Latifah has been a massive part of that history as an artist, manager, producer, and all-around ambassador for hip-hop since the late ’80s.

Her accolades include a Grammy Award for her 1993 single “U.N.I.T.Y.” (which she won over Snoop Dogg in a funny story he shared in his upcoming book), classic film roles like the one DJ Drama recently remade from Juice, and inspiring a generation of modern MCs/moguls like Lizzo and Megan Thee Stallion. She currently stars in a remake of the The Equalizer and still finds time to perform, with a headlining set at Rock The Bells Festival coming this summer.

The Kennedy Centered previously honored LL Cool J — the first rapper to receive the honor — and hosted a special performance of Nas’ seminal debut Illmatic with the National Symphony Orchestra, so Latifah’s in good company. The remaining four honorees this year are Billy Crystal, Renée Fleming, Barry Gibb, and Dionne Warwick.

Pat Sajak is stepping down as the (occasionally cranky) host of Wheel of Fortune at the end of next season, but what about Vanna White? Will she still be tapping letters for Ryan Seacrest, or Whoopi Goldberg, or whoever takes over? (Fingers crossed for Joe Pera, at least for the autumnal episodes.)

Puck reports that White is “negotiating to continue on Wheel beyond when her deal ends at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season,” and she’s looking for a well-deserved raise. She makes $3 million a season, which ain’t nothing — but Sajak’s paycheck is almost five times as much. White doesn’t have to talk to contestants, but she arguably does as much as her co-host.

White spends the same time on set as Sajak — more, actually, due to hair, makeup, and wardrobe obligations, my Sony TV source noted. She does way more publicity for the show than Sajak. She’s a personality, part of the show’s look, feel, and, let’s be frank, appeal. Her enthusiasm and silly button segments with Sajak at the end of each episode are fan favorites

White is just as associated with the Wheel of Fortune brand as Sajak, which gives her leverage in negotiations. Losing one host would be tough; losing two could be disastrous.

(Via Puck)

The Portland Trail Blazers may have been the team to watch heading into the 2023 NBA Draft. For weeks in the lead-up to Thursday night, there were questions about whether the Blazers would pull off a gigantic trade, whether that meant sending Damian Lillard to a contender and fully embracing a rebuild or moving the No. 3 overall pick to get help around Lillard right now.

Ultimately, Portland took the simplest approach and just used the pick to select Scoot Henderson, the G League Ignite guard who has the potential to be a future All-Star in the league. Naturally, that led to questions about what the future holds for Lillard, but in an interview with Taylor Rooks after he was drafted, Henderson laid out why he believes the best thing for Lillard would be to stay in Portland.

“Honestly, I think Dame should stay cause I think, if we combine our games, it’ll be over,” Henderson said. “We kind of complement each other’s games, we’re both fun to watch, ticket sales would go up, all that. All the good stuff would happen if he stays.”

Henderson went on to shout out Shaedon Sharpe, the team’s 2022 first-round pick who flashed during his first year in the NBA. For all the smoke around Lillard’s future and how he does not want to be part of a rebuilding team, he did say on a recent podcast appearance that he thinks he’s going to start next season as a member of the Blazers. But still, Henderson realized he had the chance to sell his Hall of Fame running mate on staying in Portland, so it makes sense he’d take it.

Coi Leray’s extended rollout for her second album, Coi, has included a string of singles including “Players,” “Bops,” “My Body,” and “Run It Up.” Now that the album is out, she’s keeping the party going with the video for “Get Loud.” The song is a bit of a poppy jock jam, and fittingly, the video takes place in a locker room, where Coi and her soccer team — which includes USWNT forward Trinity Rodman — turn up.

It’s fitting that Coi teamed up with another women’s athlete after collaborating with the WNBA on a new campaign featuring her song “Players.” It seems that the star really is all about sisterhood and solidarity, as she previously suggested with her idea to remake Lil Kim’s classic “Not Tonight” remix, “Ladies Night.” She reiterated the sentiment in an interview with Ebro Darden for Apple Music after Ebro asked her about her short-lived flap with Latto over “Put It On Da Floor.”

“My advice to the girls out there is moving forward, find a better way,” she said. “Rap beef is for the guys — and I don’t even think they should do it.”

Check out the “Get Loud” video above.

Coi is out now via Uptown and Republic. Get it here.

NPR Music wanted to celebrate Black Music Month off with a bang, bringing in Babyface and more for its beloved Tiny Desk Concert series. But that doesn’t mean the platform has forgotten about Pride Month. Muna made sure of that as lead singer Katie Gavin joked, “It’s very cool to see that everyone who works for NPR is gay.”

However, instead of their usual indie pop sound, they opted for a rustic country feel. The trio (Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin, and Naomi McPherson) is backed by fellow musicians Geo Botelho (on bass), Sarab Singh (drummer and percussion), Tia Allen (violinist), and Susan D. Mandel (cellist) gave a sample of what their full show consists of.

Muna’s setlist was short but impactful. The group started with their 2022 song “Loose Garment,” featured on their self-titled project, 2019’s
“Stayaway” off their album Saves The World and their 2021 queer love anthem “Silk Chiffon,” which originally featured Phoebe Bridgers.

Before closing out their set, Gavin was sure to tell the crowd, “We love being queer, and we find a lot of joy in it. We think, like, if the world is gonna change in the way that it needs to, it’s very important for our revolution to be based on joy, and what brings us joy, and chasing after that.”

Watch the full performance above.

The youngest Holocaust survivors are now in their late ‘70s, and the challenges that come with aging mean their needs have never been greater. That’s why the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany has agreed with the German Federal Ministry of Finance to provide $1.4 billion in direct compensation and social welfare services for survivors across the globe.

The agreement will bring the overall compensation that Germany has paid in Holocaust reparations to over $81 billion.

More than 128,000 Holocaust survivors will receive annual payments for the next 4 years of $1,370 per person for 2024, $1,424 for 2025, $1,479 for 2026 and $1,534 for 2027. The agreement also provides tens of millions for Holocaust education.

As the number of people who witnessed the Holocaust first-hand goes down every year, the greater the need to keep their memories alive to prevent it from happening again.

The beneficiaries of these payments are primarily survivors from the former Soviet Union who escaped the clutches of the Einsatzgruppen, the mobile execution squads of the Nazis tasked with annihilating whole Jewish populations. These units killed over 1 million Jewish people, mainly through mass shootings of hundreds and sometimes thousands of people at a time.

Nearly $105.2 million in compensation will go to home care programs to address survivors’ increased needs through 300 social welfare programs in 83 countries. These agencies will provide in-home care, food packages, medical needs and transportation for survivors in need.

“Every year, these negotiations become more and more critical as this last generation of Holocaust survivors age and their needs increase,” Greg Schneider, Executive Vice President of the Claims Conference, said in a press release. “Being able to ensure direct payments to survivors in addition to the expansions to the social welfare services we are able to fund is essential in making sure every Holocaust survivor is taken care of for as long as it is required, addressing each individual need.”

The reparations agreed upon by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany and the German Federal Ministry of Finance are a continuation of 71 years of the historic Luxembourg Agreements. The agreements were the first time in history that a defeated power compensated civilians for loss and suffering.

The atrocities of the Holocaust are beyond any measure of compensation, but the agreements highlight Germany’s commitment to take responsibility for Nazi atrocities.

“I am inspired that, as shown by the extraordinary results we have achieved this year, so many decades after the end of World War II, far from waning, the German government and its people continue to feel a deep responsibility to provide additional care to Holocaust survivors,” Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, Special Negotiator for the Claims Conference Negotiations Delegation, said in a press release.

“It has been nearly 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz and the need to negotiate for survivor care and compensation is more urgent than ever,” Eizenstat continued. “Every negotiation is a near-last opportunity to ensure survivors of the Holocaust are receiving some measure of justice and a chance at the dignity that was taken from them in their youth. It will never be enough until the last survivor has taken their last breath.”

Ted Cruz has had so many at-or-below-the-border adventures. Naturally, no one will ever let him live down his ill-advised decision to flee to sunny Cancun during Texas’ deadly 2021 ice storm. He has subsequently tried to be the comedian over Cancun, but people would not let that fly. Ted Cruz is not allowed to get away with Cancun jokes. Only other people can do that in a victorious way, and oh, their Cancun jokes will never die.

As well, Ted has been obsessed with the U.S./Mexico border situation, which he continues to insist is completely President Biden’s fault, as though it’s never been an issue before. The Texas lawmaker has even lurked in the bushes at the border in the dead of night while filming himself to attract attention for his cause. So naturally, these two sides of the Ted spectrum add up to quite a picture. This week, he bragged to Fox News, “I spend a lot of time at the southern border. I’ve spent a lot of time with our border patrol agents.”

Stephen King, who sometimes ignores Ted’s attempts to outwit the author, also does not waste fancy words when he does talk back to Ted. And this time, the horror maestro could not resist: “You’ve also spent a lot of time in Cancun. That’s pretty south, right?”

Well, it’s no “Dumbo,” but it will have to do. King must have used his supply of Dad jokes up last weekend, so it might take him time to replenish the supply.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse delves deep into various iterations of the iconic web-slinger thanks to its multiversal plot, but now, it appears the film itself has more than one version swinging around. Across the Spider-Verse editor Andrew Leviton has confirmed Twitter reports that audiences may see different scenes when watching the highest-rated film on Letterboxd.

Leviton responded to a fan who noticed that a scene with Miguel O’Hara, Spider-Man 2099 and his holographic helper Lyla now ends with a selfie instead of Lyla pointing at Miguel.

“I was wondering when people might start noticing…,” Leviton tweeted.

According to IGN, Leviton also shared the below tweet, which confirmed changes to The Spot’s dialog:

As for why Across the Spider-Verse has at least two different versions bouncing around theaters, the most likely explanation is the “update” that Sony Pictures sent out to fix an audio issue with the film’s opening scene. Some audiences were having issues hearing Spider-Gwen’s narration during her drum solo, which prompted the studio to push the update.

Via Variety:

While the sound issue was isolated to only a “handful of theaters,” a source close to the movie tells Variety that “all the prints” of the film have been updated, adding that it’s not entirely uncommon for distributors to send re-edited prints to exhibitors, “if the opportunity presents itself.”

Whether each theater had their copy of the film successfully updated, or when, could lead to audiences seeing slightly different versions of Across the Spider-Verse. Although, the dialog changes were something that wasn’t mentioned when the update was announced, but clearly, Sony did a little tweaking, which Leviton has now confirmed.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now playing in theaters.

(Via IGN, Variety)