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Vladimir Putin might be starting to see the writing on the wall. He recently admitted that Russia is performing terribly in his abysmal war on Ukraine. Then again, he’s still referring to his invasion as a “special operation,” and I’m starting to wonder if that “lesser” term is a strategy to paint an inevitable loss in a less severe light. Whatever the case, we’ve heard that Putin’s army has been failing to provide ammo to the Wagner Group, and Russian soldiers are already using ammo that’s so degraded that it could blow up in soldiers’ faces when a weapon is fired. Not ideal!

Now, Business Insider is reporting that Putin’s current army (because he’s had to rush to replace so many dead or injured troops) is so untrained that they don’t know how to repair their own broken-down stuff. As a result, Ukraine reveals that Russian soldiers are forcing Ukrainian techs to do their dirty work:

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s National Resistance Center said in a statement that Russian forces are bringing aged military equipment back into service, but “lack mechanics who can repair damaged or outdated vehicles.”

“Therefore, the enemy is forcibly engaging specialists,” it said. The allegation, which Insider was unable to independently corroborate, comes as both militaries in the conflict face a squeeze on equipment and ammunition.

As well, CNN recently compiled a gathering of Russian accounts that describe advances by Ukraine’s counter-offensive amid heavy fighting. Ukraine has also vowed to whoop ass and “fight Putin’s forces bare-handed” if it comes down to it, so Putin had better get his ultimate bunker ready.

(Via Business Insider, CNN & The Independent)

Nikola Jokic made one thing clear after the Denver Nuggets won the first championship in franchise history earlier this week: He really did not want to stay for the team’s championship parade on Thursday. Jokic expressed on multiple occasions that his strong preference was to simply go home, and when he was informed that the parade would not happen until Thursday, he briefly turned into the most upset person in the history of the world despite winning a championship, like, an hour earlier.

But getting to celebrate a championship around teammates, coaches, and staffers of various levels of drunkenness changes things a bit. Jokic stepped up to the microphone and addressed the fact that he didn’t want to be there, and told the crowd that he’s changed his mind.

“You know that I told that I didn’t want to stay on parade, but I f*cking want to stay on parade, this is the best day of my f*cking life,” Jokic said. “This is amazing, you’re all gonna remember this our whole life, and to see you guys that came out on the street — actually, this one is for you. We love you, Denver, this one is for you.”

It is unclear if Jokic will be able to make it back to Serbia in time to watch his horses on Sunday, but if he can’t he seems like he gets that this parade is worth it.

The general consensus is that Donald Trump is in a world of legal trouble after being indicted on federal charges, with some going so far to say that the former president is “scared sh*tless.” However, Trump’s campaign is reportedly having a very different reaction to the indictment. That reaction: Cha-ching!

According to CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Trump campaign insiders were growing concerned as donations began to lag. However, just like with Trump’s indictment in Manhattan, the new charges brought a much-needed boost. Sure, there’s a possibility Trump could die in prison, but look at all that sweet cash.

Via Raw Story:

“When I was talking to someone about this potential federal indictment, I actually had someone say to me on the campaign, ‘Well, I hope it comes before the fourth quarter meaning that they were hoping that they could get that fund-raising boost again if there was a federal indictment, and now we see they actually have.”

“I’m told they were a little bit concerned about it, that there had been a lag in those fund-raising numbers and they weren’t sure if there is going to be some kind of fatigue,” she continued. “He’s already been indicted; the shock, the surprise, is it gone, is the outrage gone? Clearly it’s not.”

With Trump facing even more indictments down the road, including his involvement in the January 6 attacks as well as more federal charges for mishandling documents at his New Jersey golf club, the former president could have quite the racket here.

“Whether or not this is a sustainable model to have lagging fundraising in the middle and then have an indictment, which his team does believe there are more indictments are coming, obviously has yet to be seen like most things with Donald Trump,” Holmes said.

(Via Raw Story)

Doja Cat is back. The mercurial artist announced the release date for her return single “Attention” earlier this week after what appeared to be a mix-up with the pre-save link. This came after several months in which the mischievous rapper/singer appeared to waver on her upcoming fourth album’s title, genre, and even seemingly whether she wanted to even continue making music. She went through a half-dozen extreme makeovers — some temporary, others more permanent — and trolled her fans.

And yet, all those changes are actually true to Doja Cat’s character. She has always cycled through aesthetics, personalities, and sounds throughout her career; that she continues to do so just proves that she remains true to herself, despite fans’ concerns that she “switched up.” For Doja, switching up is core to the persona that she’s cultivated from the very beginning. With a new album on the way, no one knows what to expect — not even, it seems, Doja herself — but considering how things have been going so far, that’s probably a very good thing anyway.

From the beginning, Doja Cat has demonstrated a chameleonlike ability to transform to suit either the needs of the song she’s making or her own, often esoteric whims. Take her breakout song, “Mooo!” for instance. Doja had already been signed and releasing music for some years before the jokey track skyrocketed her to national notoriety. But “Mooo!” was obviously a huge departure from the spacey, bohemian vibe of “So High,” released three years before, or the lighthearted, poppy sensibility of the cunnilingus anthem “Go To Town” from the year before.

Instead, “Mooo!” was Doja at her goofiest; in the homemade video, she morphed into an anime cowgirl, showing that she didn’t take herself too seriously and wasn’t exactly married to either image of herself as an incense-burning hippie or a latex-clad pop vixen. And when the backlash against “Mooo!” from hip-hop traditionalists grew from a dull roar to a loud insistence that the accomplished but relatively unknown performer didn’t have anything else to offer, she transformed again.

On Doja’s next album Hot Pink, she embraced a truly bewildering variety of both genres and looks, while also insisting that she was taking music more seriously. That promise paid off with the embrace of a pop-punk aesthetic in the video for “Bottom Bitch” and couture looks in the one for “Rules.” Meanwhile, Doja’s musical experimentation broadened, from the glitchy techno of “Addiction” to the rhythm-n-bass of “Like That” featuring Gucci Mane to the nu-disco of “Say So,” Doja’s first-ever No. 1 hit single.

With the onset of the pandemic and the shutdown of live entertainment, Doja showcased her gift for metamorphosis with a string of live performances of her smash, reimagining “Say So” as a heavy metal rocker and an orchestral ballad. She attributes this to her boredom with performing the same song over and over again in mostly empty rooms, but where many stars would get by with adding a live band and reshuffling some choreography, Doja let her imagination run wild.

Since then, we’ve seen a lot more examples of Doja Cat’s penchant for reinvention throughout the rollout and tour for her third album Planet Her, and in the run-up to her next album. At first, she proclaimed it would be a double album, with one half entirely produced by 9th Wonder. Then, it was just one album, leaning more heavily into the hip-hop proclivities she gleaned from coming up in LA’s Project Blowed-inspired underground rap scene.

Of course, then Doja says her ADHD kicked in, prompting her to envision the album as a collection of R&B songs, then as punk. In the meantime, she underwent dramatic physical changes as well, shaving her head and eyebrows and railing against industry standards that demand women look “f*ckable” at all times. She adorned herself with a litany of tattoos, from 15th-century grotesqueries to anatomical diagrams. With her new aesthetics, she seems very much to be challenging the expectation of polished perfection that accompanied her prior pop-oriented efforts.

She changed the speculative title of her album from Hellmouth to Scarlet (at least, that’s what fans believe it’ll be called after some cryptic social media posts from Doja), implying a rebellion against traditional femininity either way. The term “Hellmouth” comes from the Buffy The Vampire Slayer franchise, which satirized horror conventions positioning women as frail victims or traumatized final girls with its high-indestructible, valley girl vampire killing machine.

And “scarlet woman” is a term that has long been bandied by the patriarchy to slander women who enjoy their sexual freedoms. It also evokes blood, like the cover art for “Attention” — a fluid whose association with women has always been one known to make men feel a little squeamish. Those wimps. So, it looks like Doja Cat is once again aiming to mutate into a new form, the consummate shapeshifter. This time, though, her new guise, whatever it is, will be for her and not for us. Even so, everybody wins.

In February, Iceland Airwaves revealed a lot of its 2023 lineup: Blondshell, Balming Tiger, Cassia, ClubDub, Daniil, Fetish, Fran Vasilić, Gallus, Kneecap, Kristin Sesselja, Lime Garden, LÓN, Love’n’Joy, Myrkvi, Nanna, Neonme, Squid, The Goa Express, The Haunted Youth, Trentemøller, Whispering Sons, and Yard Act.

More acts have been announced today (June 15). This includes Anjimile, Daði Freyr, Hatari, Elín Hall, GKR, Axel Flóvent, JFDR, Caleb Kunle, Dustin O’Halloran, Mick Strauss, and slowshift.

Last month, Anjimile announced his new album The King arriving in September on 4AD. He shared the title track at the time, too.

The second wave of artists were also announced recently, including Andy Shauf, Anna Gréta, Árný Margrét, Ásdís, Ash Olsen, Bombay Bicycle Club, Celebs, Cyber, DOMi and JD Beck, Donkey Kid, Eydís Evensen, Faux Real, Ghostly Kisses, Greyskies, GRÓA, Jelena Ciric, JJ Paulo, Jonathan Hultén, Kári Egilsson, Kónguló, Kusk & Óviti, Kvikindi, Madmadmad, Markéta Irglová, Monikaze, Mugison, Sandrayati, Sigrún Stella, SKAAR, Soffía, Sprints, Superjava, Superserious, and Tilbury.

The festival will take place from November 2 to 4 in Reyjavík. The venues include Reykjavík Art Museum, Gamla Bíó, Iðnó, Fríkirkjan Church, Gaukurinn and Húrra.

On a recent podcast appearance with Patrick Beverley, Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns said people will consider him as someone who “changed the game” once he retires. Towns adds onto that lofty declaration by saying kids rising through the ranks will be able to play a different way because of how he thrived in the NBA. That quote went viral, as many folks interacted with Towns’ quote, including Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.

The backlash didn’t end there, when ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins’ addressed Towns’ comments during Thursday’s episode of First Take.

“How can you change the game when at times we don’t even know you exist?” Perkins said. “I feel like with Karl-Anthony Towns, just stop with the interviews at this point, bruh. And who are the people that are gonna say you actually changed the game? You haven’t done it yet.”

As harsh as Perkins’ words may come across, his critiques seem quite measured and reasonable. Towns is a tremendous player and talent. He’s garnered three All-Star honors and two All-NBA nods since entering the league in 2015-16. Yet he also touts a history of going quiet offensively for too long in games and committing undisciplined fouls, and has been inconsistent during his three first-round playoff appearances.

He’s one of the greatest outside shooting big man ever, but needs to avoid those dormant stretches and clean up his decision-making before he enters the utmost echelon of bigs around the league, headlined by champions and two-time MVPs, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo. If he ever reaches that level, his hopes of changing the game will certainly be much more attainable.

Earlier this year, Adult Swim parted ways with Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland after he was charged with felony domestic abuse. “Adult Swim has ended its association with Justin Roiland. Rick and Morty will continue. The talented and dedicated crew are hard at work on season 7,” a tweet posted to the show’s account read. The charges were later dropped due to “insufficient evidence,” but Roiland is not coming back (he was reportedly barely involved with the show, anyway).

In a translated interview with the French publication Première, Adult Swim channel president Michael Ouweleen discussed how Rick and Morty will move forward without Roiland.

“He will be replaced in dubbing,” Ouweleen said. When asked if that means imitators, he replied, “No, not imitators… In any case, the idea is that we feel that they are the same characters. Listen: voices are obviously super important in an animated series. And, of course, none of us wanted to go through what we went through. But I’ve been in animation for a long time, and I know that what makes a series is its different parts coming together. If the voices are obviously a big part, there is also the writing of the characters, their design… I have reason to believe that the transition will go well.”

A Rick and Morty executive producer said that they’re “still in the recruitment process” of finding a replacement — or replacements, as Roiland voices both Rick and Morty, and many other characters, adding, “It’s a rather unique situation… I’ll take an example: there have been several great Bugs Bunny voice actors, and I love what Jeff Bennett has done with them. But it’s not Mel Blanc! And yet we recognize the character. I even think that for Rick and Morty we will do even better… It will be fine. It’ll be great.”

Rick and Morty season 7 premieres later this year.

(Via Première)

The Chicago Bulls decided to make a big bet on Zach LaVine last offseason, as the team agreed to a 5-year, $215.2 million max extension with him on the first day of free agency. On the heels of a year in which LaVine was productive but Chicago missed out on the playoffs, a new report indicates that the Bulls are looking around and seeing what they could potentially get back if they opted to move him.

According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, while Chicago’s willingness to make a deal is unclear, the team’s front office is “quietly gauging” how interested opposing teams are in acquiring his services.

Wishful executives will keep their eyes peeled on Portland and Damian Lillard, but it’s the Chicago Bulls who have started contacting teams, quietly gauging the trade interest in Zach LaVine, league sources told Yahoo Sports. It remains to be seen just how willing Chicago is to part ways with LaVine, or if it receives a commensurate offer for his services. LaVine has four seasons remaining on his five-year, $215 million contract, and multiple teams have indicated the Bulls are holding a steep valuation for LaVine — one that’s likely to exceed what Washington can ultimately net for Beal.

LaVine is guaranteed to be under contract in each of the next three seasons, and he has a player option ahead of the 2026-27 campaign, when he’ll turn 32 years old during the year, worth just under $49 million. While he had durability issues earlier in his career, LaVine started a career-high 77 games last season and averaged 24.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 35.9 minutes per game.

rThe Barbie movie will follow Margot Robbie’s Barbie bravely journeys into the real world with Ken (Ryan Gosling) after noticing things aren’t as perfect as usual in Barbie Land.

Karol G’s video for “Watati,” her single for the star-studded Barbie soundtrack with Aldo Ranks, follows the opposite script. The Colombian superstar visits Barbie Land, mimicking Barbie and Ken’s idyllic habits, like rollerblading on the beach, and posing for a mugshot in outlandishly colorful swimsuits.

The Barbie soundtrack was executive produced by Mark Ronson. Along with Karol G, it boasts Ava Max, Charli XCX, Dominic Fike, Dua Lipa, Fifty Fifty, Gayle, Haim, Ice Spice, Kali, Khalid, Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, PinkPantheress, Gosling (!), Tame Impala, and The Kid Laroi.

Lipa released the Greta Gerwig-directed film’s disco-pop theme song, “Dance The Night,” in late May. The main trailer, which arrived simultaneously, also featured Minaj and Ice Spice’s take on Aqua’s “Barbie Girl,” and PinkPantheress dropped her Barbie contribution, “Angel,” last week.

Watch the”Watati” video above and check out the main Barbie film trailer below.

Barbie: The Album is out 7/21 via Atlantic/Warner Bros. Entertainment. Find more information here.

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

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is now a two-time NBA champion, but since his first title came with the Lakers in the Bubble in 2020, Thursday in Denver was his first opportunity to enjoy a championship parade.

The veteran wing was a critical addition to the Nuggets this season, as he became part of the glue that connected the team on both ends between stars Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. As we learned on Thursday, he also brought a different skillset that was needed on this squad: elite partier.

While Nikola Jokic was at the parade out of necessity, wishing he was back in Serbia with his beloved horses, KCP was among the stars of the parade as he drank every beer in sight. At one point, he hopped off his bus and ran over to have a chugging contest with a fan, showing impressive form as he squeezed the can to force the beer into his mouth as fast as possible, slamming it back and then giving the fan a big hug.

Later, he started catching beers on the back of the bus and, like any guy who grew up in the 1990s, couldn’t resist channeling his inner Stone Cold Steve Austin, slamming two together and dousing his face with them.

This is excellent Stone Cold technique, because the goal of a Stone Cold is not to actually drink two beers but to get maybe a quarter of a beer in your mouth and the rest all over your face. KCP nailed that and appeared to be having the time of his life, enjoying the chance to finally get a championship parade for his second ring. As for how many beers he consumed on the afternoon, let’s go to the official count*.

*No confirmation on the bloody mary.