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Bradley Beal is now a member of the Suns, as the Wizards finally traded their longtime star guard to Phoenix for Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, pick swaps, and a handful of second rounders.

That deal kickstarts a Draft week that could see some significant movement throughout the league, with just about every team picking after the Spurs seemingly being willing to part with their pick for the right price. Charlotte seems more likely to make the pick at No. 2 than not, as they’d need to be bowled over by an offer to drop out of that position, but Portland has plenty of motivation to move out of the No. 3 pick. The problem for the Blazers is they need to find a team willing to part with an impact veteran for that pick, and the right offer being out there will likely be dependent on whether Scoot Henderson is available.

Should they be unable to find a trade for that No. 3 pick and fail to land the kind of help they need to become a contender, it is possible that Damian Lillard joins Beal in finally asking for a trade. That is apparently what the Miami Heat are banking on, as they were the other reported finalist for Beal but somewhat oddly chose not to try and beat the offer the Suns made, which didn’t even include an actual first round pick going back to Washington. According to Chris Haynes, Miami refusing to budge off of a relatively low offer was because they have “genuine belief” Lillard may come available.

Now, we have heard of teams wishcasting Lillard onto the trade market for years, but any time a report about Lillard comes from Haynes in particular, it is noteworthy. Haynes is extremely close to Lillard — like, in each others weddings close — and even if this is a report about the Heat’s interest in the star, it’s hard not to feel like Haynes has unique insight into how Lillard is feeling privately. Publicly, Lillard continues to push back on the idea he’ll ask out, but others close to him, like CJ McCollum, seem to believe it’s a more real chance this summer than ever before.

While Miami would be near the top of Lillard’s wishlist, the Blazers would not have to send him to his absolute preferred destination if there’s a better haul out there to be had. Washington was at the mercy of Beal and his no trade clause, but Lillard doesn’t possess the same amount of power to totally dictate where he goes, even as Portland would likely look to work out a deal amicable to all parties. As such, there would be a big hurdle for Miami to clear in making an offer strong enough to get Lillard, who would command considerably more than what Washington got for Beal.

We’ll find out Thursday exactly what direction the Blazers are going in and whether the league will suddenly be on Dame Watch or not.

Stan Lee spent his final years as the purported father of Marvel. The comics legend died in 2018 at age 85, and he lived long enough to see many of the characters he co-created dominate the multiplex, and he filed cameos in many of those films. Jack Kirby, one of his collaborators, died in 1994, well before the brand he helped pioneer got a good shot in the arm. There’s a new documentary about Stan Lee on Disney+, and according to Kirby’s son, it paints a distorted view of what his dad and Lee created.

As per Deadline, Jillian Kirby, the comic legend’s granddaughter, posted a lengthy message from her father Neal, in which he takes umbrage with how the doc, entitled simply Stan Lee, shortchanges his father’s contributions to Marvel. Neal acknowledges that a doc about Stan Lee, which uses his voice on the narration track, is going to offer a skewed perspective on history. Still, Neal feels, it goes too far.

“It’s not any big secret that there has always been controversy over the parts that were played in the creation and success of Marvel’s characters,” Neal wrote. “Stan Lee had the fortunate circumstance to have access to the corporate megaphone and media, and he uses these to create his own mythos as to the creation of the Marvel character pantheon. He made himself the voice of Marvel.”

Neal argues that Lee simply couldn’t have been the sole inventor of some of the richest characters, which didn’t spring out of nowhere.

“It should be noted and is generally accepted that Stan Lee had a limited knowledge of history, mythology, or science,” Neal wrote. “On the other hand, my father’s knowledge of these subjects, to which I and many others can personally attest, was extensive. Einstein summed it up better; ‘More the knowledge, lesser the ego. Lesser the knowledge, more the ego.’”

He continues:

“Are we to assume Lee had a hand in creating every Marvel character? Are we to assume that it was never the other cocreator that walked into Lee’s office and said, ‘Stan I have a great idea for a character!’ According to Lee, it was always his idea. Lee spends a fair amount of time talking about how and why he created the Fantastic Four, with only one fleeting reference to my father.”

You can read Neal Kirby’s full statement in the embedded tweet above.

(Via Deadline)

After weeks of online discourse, Doja Cat released her pure rap single, “Attention.” Despite one popular naysayer, the song has received rave reviews online from hip-hop heads and Doja Cat’s fans alike. As a reward for the positive remarks, it seems that the entertainer wanted to treat supporters to what is coming down the pipeline.

During an Instagram live stream, Doja Cat joyfully leaked her upcoming single, “Balut.” In the comment section of the session, fans’ reactions were overwhelmingly uplifting. One fan wrote, “This is amazing.” Another added, “She’s like should I leak this or not?”

Although Doja Cat has been highly indecisive regarding her future musical drops, the rapper’s fan page echoed that the track played during the session does have a tentative name. “Doja has confirmed the title to be ‘Balut,’” wrote the fan page.

Both tracks, “Attention” and “Balut,” are expected to appear on the musician’s forthcoming album. At this time, the album is rumored to be titled Scarlet. In the past, Doja Cat announced that the project would be named Hellmouth. However, just as the classified green of the album has changed over time, so has the album’s title. Therefore, only time will tell what the song’s actual name will be.

Bradley Beal is officially on his way out of Washington. According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania, Beal is headed to Phoenix in a blockbuster deal that sees the Wizards get Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, and some pick swaps in exchange for the former All-Star guard.

Shortly before this, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Wizards were deep into talks with a pair of finalists, the Heat and the Suns, on a deal that would receive Beal’s blessing — Beal is the only player in the NBA who has a full no-trade clause, and would be able to veto any decision that the Wizards made if he wanted.

The news of a potential Beal trade began circulating in recent days in the lead-up to the 2023 NBA Draft, as it was reported that Washington and Beal’s representation would work together in the event the team decided to rebuild. One of the most productive players in franchise history, Beal was selected third overall by the Wizards in the 2012 NBA Draft, and has spent his entire professional career in the nation’s capital. Over the course of his career, Beal has averaged 22.1 points, 4.3 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 34.7 minutes per game and has earned three All-Star nods. He is about to enter the second year of a 5-year, $251 million maximum extension that he signed last offseason.

Beal’s agent confirmed to Woj the deal had been agreed to in principle.

He now joins a Suns team that has as much top-level talent as any in the league, and by moving Chris Paul it would seem they are fully embracing Booker as their nominal point guard with the starting unit — with Beal and Kevin Durant as more than competent secondary ball-handlers. The question, of course, for Phoenix is how they’ll build a team around their stars. Ayton is still a potential trade candidate, but they’d need to turn him into multiple positive role players, which isn’t a guarantee given his value is a question mark. For now, Suns fans can dream of the offensive firepower of their group and will wait to see how they round out the roster around their trio of All-Stars.

As for the Wizards, they now figure to be open for business, with Kristaps Porzingis’ player option decision looming, Kyle Kuzma entering free agency, and a rebuild apparently underway in the nation’s capital under a new front office. Chris Paul figures to be very available via trade going into the Draft, but also may end up just getting bought out prior to his guarantee date in late June.

Dreamville Records is a creative family, so the news that the label head J. Cole and signee Bas teamed up for a new single dropping soon isn’t a surprise. That said, Bas’ latest statement about their upcoming track has set the bar extremely high.

Taking to Twitter, the emcee posted, “I gave my bro DJ Moma an exclusive summer heater me and J. Cole cooked up this week. Pull up on my Everyday People fam in a city near you to hear it. The song not out nowhere don’t look.”

The duo has worked together in several different ways in the past. Bas made several appearances on the Creed III soundtrack, which was executive produced by Cole. The pair have also done a bunch of songs together, including 2021’a “The Jackie,” 2018’s “Tribe,” and 2016’s “Night.”

Bas’ lead single, “Diamonds,” from his forthcoming album, We Only Talk About Real Sh*t When We’re F*cked Up, was shared at the beginning of the year. This upcoming release might also appear on the album, based on previous statements.

According to the event series’ website, the next installment of Everyday People will go down on July 1 in Detroit, Michigan. Find more information here.

Is Donald Trump going to jail? Possibly. The former president was recently charged with the very crime he wrongly accused Hillary Clinton of doing. His favorite rally chant — “Lock her up!” — may even come back to bite him in the butt. But one Fox News host has either somehow seen into the future and learned he’s been acquitted, or he should find a better place to get his news.

As per Mediaite, Brian Kilmeade — whose attempts to sit in for the dearly departed Tucker Carlson have not gone well — took to Facebook with a curious headline: “CNN Hosts Go NUCLEAR As Trump Is Found Not Guilty And Refuse To Air His Speech”

Come again? Now, Kilmeade could have very well have gotten his words tangled up. Maybe he meant “Trump Pleaded Not Guilty.” After all, a judge has yet to set a trial for the case, which involves his mishandling of government documents, not the one involving alleged hush money payments. The case might not even go to trial.

Oddly, Kilmeade’s post includes a video to his show on Wednesday, in which he explains to viewers the obvious: that an arraignment is not the same as a verdict — a distinction his own headline contradicts.

As of this writing, two days later, the post remains in-tact.

(Via Mediaite)

In the past, the Grammys have received pushback for not keeping up with music’s growing genres. The coveted annual award ceremony has been looking to be more inclusive, announcing new categories, adjustments, and expanding eligibility requirements. But they made one decision that makes them technically less inclusive: Music generated solely by AI is excluded from being nominated. That prompted a joke from the one and only ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic.

Yankovic posted a headline from USA Today that read “Grammys exclude AI from winning awards: Only ‘human creators’ eligible.” The musician captioned it with some fun wordplay, writing, “Ugh. I keep telling them… I AM human!!!”

Fans chimed underneath the post with jokes of their own.

One person replied, “Hear me out, AI Yankovic, and you sing with Siri.”

“Well, considering you. Some people have wondered if you’re not an alien in disguise,” added another.

In an attempt to make the musician feel better, one person ensured that the ‘Al’ referred to in the story was him but rather someone else, writing, “Don’t worry. Clearly, they were discussing TV’s Al Molinaro from ‘Happy Days.’”

Ironically enough ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic has a total of five Grammy wins with a total of 16 nominations overall.

After five years, XXXTentacion fans are still grieving over his tragic death. Fortunately, the family has been to find some semblance of closure after his killer was formally sentenced to life in prison. To honor his legacy, XXXTentacion’s estate has finally authorized the release of his single “I’m Not Human,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert.

The song, produced by John Cunningham, is a stark reminder of one’s vulnerability. This raw honesty is highlighted in the second verse, in which the pair rap, “Lay you down when you go to sleep / And wipе your eyes evеry time you weep / Tell you that life is not that deep / Paintin’ pictures that I’m a freak, but I’m not a human / I’m tired of losin’, inflicting my bruises, humans are users / I’m not a human.”

Although “I’m Not Human” was previously released on SoundCloud in January to mark what would have been XXXTentacion’s 25th birthday, at the time it was not approved for release by the musician’s family. In a statement from the producer, Cunningham shared his excitement to finally drop the track on streaming platforms.

“As complicated and conflicting as posthumous releases can be, I feel I’ll hold this one in a special place due to the fact that I was able to have some small part in connecting two of the most pure and loving people I know,” said Cunningham.

Listen to the full track above.

Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Riding the school bus is generally an uneventful experience outside of the occasional fight or someone sitting in you seat. In Milwaukee, students and the bus driver had a more exciting trip than any of them planned. As the bus driver, Imunek Williams, was nearing the school to drop off a bus full of children, the bus started filling with smoke.

Williams, who is eight months pregnant, told WISN, “I started to smell something funny at the stoplight, and I just thought it was normal smoke coming from another car, because I always smell smoke or weird smells.”

But the smoke only got thicker as they continued to drive. It was then that Williams knew that she had to make a decision quickly to save herself and the kids entrusted to her care. The bus was only a half mile away from the school when the mom-to-be attempted to radio in the condition of the bus to dispatch.

“I couldn’t barely get what I was trying to say out because of the smoke was hitting me in the face in my eyes so I was just like OK forget the radio. Just got the kids off the bus,” Williams told WTMJ.

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It was clear that she was in a race against time with how quickly the bus was overcome with smoke. Thankfully, Williams was able to get all 32 kids off the bus and lined up along the fence before it burst into flames.

“I was the last person off once I get off, I turned around and I just seen flames,” said Williams told WTMJ. “I wanted to make sure that I was safe, baby was safe and you know if it was my kid on the bus I would’ve wanted one of the bus drivers to act the same way that I did.”

None of the children suffered injuries and the soon-to-be new mom was treated for smoke inhalation and was able to return to work the following day. You can watch the incredible story below.

Childcare in America has been an issue since well before most of us were born, and it continues to be a struggle for parents. Daycare costs are rough—at one point in time, I paid $276 a week for one child to attend a daycare center, and that’s not even the highest price I was quoted. But not everyone can afford the cost of childcare, and when you have multiple children who all need adult supervision, the cost can become astronomical.

The cost of childcare can cause some parents to make the decision to stay home while the other works if the family can survive on one income. In other instances, parents may be working from home while also juggling full-time parenting responsibilities. For parents in the latter category, one mom’s new email signature is serving as a reminder that childcare is expensive and school is out for the summer.

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Some folks who saw my email signature commented on it, so I wanted to share. The US is the only developed nation w/o subsidized childcare. Adding it would increase our GDP over 1 trillion dollars. Not a handout — it’s a smart decision when facing a recession and labor shortages. pic.twitter.com/iZGLMg1PJW

— Meg St-Esprit (@MegStEsprit) May 31, 2023

Meg St-Esprit was in the process of looking up babysitters and summer camps and realizing how unaffordable it was to try to accommodate four children when a “snippy” email came through, according to Today.com.

“In the moment, I was like: ‘This is how it’s going to be — people are going to need to know that this is how it’s going to be for the next couple months,'” St-Esprit, told Today.com. “I’m still good at my job. I’m still a professional. I’m also a mom of four kids and this is reality in America.”

St-Esprit is a freelance journalist based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, so while her job may allow her to have some flexibility, people still expect prompt replies to correspondence. This mom decided that instead of adding additional stress to her plate, she would be brutally honest in her email signature. Honestly, the signature is pretty darn accurate. There are plenty of families in similar situations that probably wish they could change their email signature to something similar.

The signature reads, “Please note I may be slower to respond to email in the months of June, July and August due to the United States’ inability to provide affordable childcare for working mothers.”

St-Esprit shared a photo of her email signature to Twitter where she received a lot of support from other parents. She wrote about the benefits of universal subsidized childcare for the United States, saying, “The US is the only developed nation w/o subsidized childcare. Adding it would increase our GDP over 1 trillion dollars. Not a handout — it’s a smart decision when facing a recession and labor shortages.”

While states do offer childcare assistance for lower-income families, the threshold can unintentionally cause parents to make difficult decisions to keep their childcare subsidy. I recall a phone call made by a parent who attended my child’s daycare. The mom was explaining to her partner that she was given a promotion, but after speaking to the daycare director, if she took the raise, she would lose her subsidy and they would suddenly be responsible for paying nearly $900 a week. My eyes bulged at the thought, and as she collected her twins from my son’s classroom, she pondered accepting the position but asking to keep the same pay because the new cost of daycare would essentially be a pay cut.

Today I went to my 4yo’s PreK Counts classroom for yoga with a special grownup. This is the only subsidized childcare my children have been able to access as middle earners and it’s been a GIFT. It also reduces educational costs long term because of the early education benefits. pic.twitter.com/hYUt5h129h

— Meg St-Esprit (@MegStEsprit) May 31, 2023

I have no idea what the outcome was in that situation because I was just a bystander, but the conversation stuck with me. It partly stuck out because I could’ve benefitted from a subsidy and partly because many middle-class families struggle with affording childcare but don’t qualify for any sort of program to assist.

In a different tweet, St-Esprit also mentions this in-between experience.

“Today I went to my 4yo’s PreK Counts classroom for yoga with a special grownup. This is the only subsidized childcare my children have been able to access as middle earners and it’s been a GIFT. It also reduces educational costs long term because of the early education benefits,” the freelance journalist wrote.

Surprisingly, through St-Esprit’s frustrated signature, she found solidarity in the email responses she’s received.

“I work with a lot of clients, so I thought maybe I should delete it,” St-Esprit told Today.com. “Then people started to reply to it, writing: ‘Side note: I love this.’ ‘Side note: Oh my gosh, this.'”

Obviously, there’s something a little wonky with America’s way of handling childcare. It’s especially noticeable in comparison with other industrialized countries that have found a way to not only offer extended paid parental leave but also provide subsidized childcare for working parents.