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Have you ever watched Ted Lasso and thought to yourself how fun it would be to have Ted coach your soccer team, or for AFC Richmond to be a real squad? Now, both of those things are becoming a virtual reality. EA Sports announced a collaboration with Warner Bros. on Wednesday that will see everyone’s favorite fictional coach and team joining the playable roster of FIFA 23.

It had been teased on Tuesday that something like this might happen, but actually having the ability to play as AFC Richmond was quite a surprise and something we weren’t expecting. Of course, Ted Lasso himself will be walking the sideline supporting his squad. If you’d rather create your own manager, or use a current day manager, to run AFC Richmond, then you can do that, too. Players will also have the option to join AFC Richmond as a player and play alongside other characters like Roy Kent, Jamie Tartt, Sam Obisanya, and Dani Rojas. Jason Sudeikis, star of Ted Lasso, commented on his appearance in the game via a press release.

“I am truly fortunate, and deeply grateful, to have had many special moments in my career thus far, and I consider this experience among the best of them,” Sudeikis said. “As long-time fans of EA SPORTS FIFA, having Ted Lasso and the whole AFC Richmond squad incorporated into the newest version of the game is truly a dream come true for myself and the rest of the fellas. Our cast and crew work tremendously hard on this show, and we are flattered that it resonates with so many folks. We look forward to our fans having the opportunity to play with, play as, and even play against their favorite AFC Richmond characters.”

This is one of the more unique collaborations we’ve ever seen in a game like FIFA 23. Usually, games that implement real-life celebrities or fictional characters keep it to a cameo appearance and nothing else. Letting people actually play as AFC Richmond is very cool and fans of the show are going to be really excited to take them to the championship.

FIFA 23 will be released worldwide on Sept. 30, 2022.

Last week, Mike Lindell was just minding his own business outside of a Hardee’s, as one does, when he was suddenly surrounded by FBI agents, who promptly seized his phone. Though Lindell — who has continued forcefully pushing the narrative that the 2020 election was stolen, even though Donald Trump himself no longer seems to much care — claimed not to have a computer and that his entire life was on that phone, he somehow found a way to get online and rant about the incident in that shouty way that only he can. (And despite the fact that he signed a document promising not to talk about it.)

Now that a few days have passed and he’s had time to digest what happened, along with his Hardee’s meal, the MyPillow Man is MyFired Up about the entire thing — and is suing both the FBI and the Department of Justice.

Lindell, who never does things quietly, sent a copy of his lawsuit to Insider, which accuses the organizations — and Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray directly — of violating his constitutional rights. Which part of the constitution does Lindell mean specifically? Well, take your pick, as the lawsuit cites a whole smorgasbord of Amendments: the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth.

Infamous conservative lawyer/Martha’s Vineyard’s least popular party guest Alan Dershowitz is among the lawyers representing Lindell in his suit, and is demanding that the pillow magnate get his phone back pronto — and that any intel obtained from it not be released. Which isn’t quite how FBI seizures work, but…

Lindell insists that the FBI must have had him under surveillance because, as Cheryl Teh writes, “he had not made his location at the Hardee’s publicly known.” (Does anyone broadcast being at a Hardee’s?) According to Teh:

The filing also stated that Lindell began “fearing for his and his friend’s lives” as FBI officers approached their vehicle. Per the filing, a conversation then ensued between Lindell and the officers about “Dominion Voting Systems,” indicted Mesa County clerk Tina Peters, and Lindell’s private plane travel. The officers also seized Lindell’s phone.

Lindell told Insider last week that the phone seizure was linked to an investigation into Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, a pro-Trump Colorado election official accused of facilitating an election-data leak.

Lindell is claiming that he was subjected to “unlawful detention.”

He also told Insider that it’s a good thing the agents hadn’t approached him at night, “Because I would have thought they were bad guys there. There was no sign that they were law enforcement, the way they surrounded me like that.” Apparently, he would have preferred to have been arrested and hauled to the nearest FBI office, “So I can get the word out to get rid of the voting machines.”

(Via Insider)

(Spoilers for Cobra Kai will obviously be found below.)

One of the greater joys of Cobra Kai‘s fifth season is the abundance of Chozen. The Karate Kid II antagonist even faced off in fine warrior form with ultimate karate villain Terry Silver during a very cinematic poolside scene in the season finale, and those karate and dagger moves completely belonged to actor Yuji Okumoto.

An opening shot, however, prompted Yuji to call in reinforcements in the form of a butt double. That refers to another poolside scene where Daniel LaRusso’s wife, Amanda, wandered into the backyard and saw their guest in the midst of nude sunbathing. One butt cheek slipped into view, and Yuji didn’t feel prepared to let his tush shine for the camera. As he told Entertainment Weekly, he didn’t feel like a 63-year-old guy (sensei or not) should be doing the sun’s out/bum’s out thing:

“When I saw that [in the script], I said, ‘Oh my God, seriously? I’ve gotta show my butt on camera?’ … I said, ‘I don’t know if they want to see an old dude’s butt. Maybe you should get somebody else to do this.’”

Fair enough. Yuji did add, however, that he was slightly bummed that they had Chozen use a large towel to cover up rather than a “small little face towel,” but whatever the case, this moment sure set the tone for the season. Miyagi-do sat in disarray, and they needed to get it together and start training again. That happened for sure, and we later saw Chozen whip out his hidden daggers and hold his own against Terry Silver, at least until he grew distracted out of fear for his friends. Yet he walked out with only “a flesh wound,” whereas Terry’s gone for good. Now, we await a Season 6 announcement.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

Taylor Swift has dropped a number of teasers ahead of her tenth studio album Midnights. In an uploaded Instagram video from last Friday (September 16), Swift takes fans through a fast-paced behind-the-scenes view of her recording process, with a number of surprise guests. “The making of midnights,” the caption reads.

Swift is shown first playing the piano, enjoying the snow, and hanging out with her cat Benji, before she starts showing some notable collaborators. Jack Antonoff appears in the video, as the two jam out together in a kitchen. Antonoff has produced on every one of Swift’s albums since 1989.

There is also a mystery figure in the video, which fans have wondered about, since their face isn’t in frame. They are wearing a sash that reads “Birthday” and Swift’s shirt matches what she wore to Antonoff’s March birthday party, where photos surfaced of Lana Del Rey with them too. However, Antonoff was wearing a different top than whoever is included on the making of Midnights video.

So, who is the mystery person? While Swift had worked with her boyfriend Joe Alwyn as a co-writer on Folklore and Evermore, the fans have ruled him out as well. There are some theories that it might be her brother, Austin, who is contributing to the album’s production. Adding credit to the theory, the song Swift used for the video was Niceboy Ed’s “Life You Lead,” which was relatively unheard of prior to her selecting it. Many believe that it might be Austin’s song, just under a pseudonym.

One thing is seemingly clear, though, that Antonoff will once again play a significant part on Swift’s upcoming album.

Midnights is out 10/21 via Republic. Pre-order it here.

Yesterday, Lil Nas X shared a video of his new Madame Tussauds wax figure, which is so convincing that he successfully used it to prank Lizzo, Olivia Rodrigo, and others into thinking it was actually him. Other artists haven’t been so lucky when they were immortalized in wax, as questionable figures of Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, and Rihanna bear at best a passing resemblance to the source material.

Plenty of famous folks have gotten the wax figure treatment aside from the aforementioned, like Taylor Swift, Brad Pitt, Jackie Chan, Grumpy Cat, and the list goes on and continues to grow. As new figures of varying quality emerge, it begs the question: Just how are these things made?

How It’s Made, the long-running documentary series that has been on the air since 2001, did a segment on wax figures in a 2011 episode. The Science Channel, the Canadian show’s home in the US, uploaded that clip onto YouTube about a year ago and it offers a detailed breakdown of what goes into the process.

The video is better watched than it is read about, but in summary, the subject of the figure has a bunch of measurements taken, mostly of the face, when possible. From there, a mold is made, which is then used to create a wax casting. Then, painting and other techniques are used to add realism to the figure.

Watch the How It’s Made segment above. Insider also spoke with Andres Lopes, a studio manager at Madame Tussauds, in a video from 2018, so find that below.

There was a three-year gap between seasons three and four of Stranger Things for… reasons. The wait for the fifth and final season of the Netflix series shouldn’t be as long, but don’t expect it to be, like, surprise-released in time for Halloween. The writers are still in the whiteboard portion of breaking down the season, as the @strangerwriters account revealed in a cruel tease on Twitter this week.

“Grid complete,” the tweet reads, along with a blurry photo of the season five story grid. Don’t bother yelling “ENHANCE” like you’re in a Jason Bourne movie, though. It won’t help. Believe me. But that hasn’t stopped Stranger Things fans from trying to decipher what the heck the whiteboard says — and/or thinking their internet connection stinks.

“Yall confession i woke up at like 4am and saw this on my tl and i spent like 20 minutes trying to fix my wifi cuz i thought that was why it was blurry literally got up from bed and restarted the router and everything,” @thvsinks tweeted, while @willeldefender wrote, “i tried unblurring a section but it just looks like a murder scene.”

Only one person has cracked the code:

As long as one of the squares reads “Steve has six little nuggets,” I’ll be happy.

(Via @strangerwriters)

Because the internet is dumb and full of terrors, the Food and Drug Administration was forced to issue a warning this week after a TikTok video went viral for its “NyQuil Chicken” recipe. You’d think this would go without saying, but cooking with cold medicine is obviously dangerous. Not to mention, NyQuil is easily the grossest tasting cough syrup on the market. Now, Dimetapp, that’s where the flavor is, but we’re getting away from the point here: Do not pour cough syrup onto raw chicken (or any food) and then cook it in an open skillet unless you want a lung full of liver damage.

Via FDA.gov:

The challenge sounds silly and unappetizing — and it is. But it could also be very unsafe. Boiling a medication can make it much more concentrated and change its properties in other ways. Even if you don’t eat the chicken, inhaling the medication’s vapors while cooking could cause high levels of the drugs to enter your body. It could also hurt your lungs. Put simply: Someone could take a dangerously high amount of the cough and cold medicine without even realizing it.

After the FDA was forced to warn people not to cook chicken soaked in NyQuil, naturally, the jokes started pouring in on social media. A lot of them (rightly) wondered about how far humanity has fallen. There were also plenty of gas about the seasoning power of Robitussin. Twitter is going to Twitter.

You can see some of the reactions below:

(Via Food and Drug Administration)

On the heels of her sophomore album, Age/Sex/Location, Ari Lennox stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to perform a medley of cuts from the record.

Joined a group of background singers, a cellist, a drummer, and a keyboardist, Lennox opened with the album’s opening track “POF.”

“What’s that they say / back in the day / ‘It’s plenty of fish in the sea’ / Will somebody explain / What’s with these lame / fish that be swimmin’ to me,” Lennox sings, sounding just as impeccable live as she does on the song’s studio version.

Lennox smoothly transitions into another Age/Sex/Location favorite, “Waste My Time,” a more sensual cut on which Lennox sings, “Waste my time, get on my line / ‘Cause I got the time to waste / Use that mouth / blow this back out / Back up every word you say.”

In an interview with The Breakfast Club, Lennox opened up about going to therapy, a decision she made earlier this year.

‘I was just tired of being a big ball of traumas,” Lennox said. “Just being unaware of what was going on inside. A lot of times, I can be so triggered, and it’s just like ‘Well, why?’…I’m starting to realize that it’s like a cycle, if you don’t realize you’re carrying all this weight, it comes out in different ways.”

Check out the performance above.

Age/Sex/Location is out now via Dreamville and Interscope. Stream it here.

We all know that small acts of kindness can turn into something big, but does that apply to something as small as a pair of socks?

Yes, it turns out. More than you might think.

A fresh pair of socks is a simple comfort easily taken for granted for most, but for individuals experiencing homelessness—they are a rare commodity. Currently, more than 500,000 people in the U.S. are experiencing homelessness on any given night. Being unstably housed—whether that’s couch surfing, living on the streets, or somewhere in between—often means rarely taking your shoes off, walking for most if not all of the day, and having little access to laundry facilities. And since shelters are not able to provide pre-worn socks due to hygienic reasons, that very basic need is still not met, even if some help is provided. That’s why socks are the #1 most requested clothing item in shelters.

Socks are a simple comfort not everyone has access to

When the founders of Bombas, Dave Heath and Randy Goldberg, discovered this problem, they decided to be part of the solution. Using a One Purchased = One Donated business model, Bombas helps provide not only durable, high-quality socks, but also t-shirts and underwear (the top three most requested clothing items in shelters) to those in need nationwide. These meticulously designed donation products include added features intended to offer comfort, quality, and dignity to those experiencing homelessness.

Over the years, Bombas’ mission has grown into an enormous movement, with more than 75 million items donated to date and a focus on providing support and visibility to the organizations and people that empower these donations. These are the incredible individuals who are doing the hard work to support those experiencing —or at risk of—homelessness in their communities every day.

Folks like Shirley Raines, creator of Beauty 2 The Streetz. Every Saturday, Raines and her team help those experiencing homelessness on Skid Row in Los Angeles “feel human” with free makeovers, haircuts, food, gift bags and (thanks to Bombas) fresh socks. 500 pairs, every week.

Raines is out there helping people feel their beautiful best

Or Director of Step Forward David Pinson in Cincinnati, Ohio, who offers Bombas donations to those trying to recover from addiction. Launched in 2009, the Step Forward program encourages participation in community walking/running events in order to build confidence and discipline—two major keys to successful rehabilitation. For each marathon, runners are outfitted with special shirts, shoes—and yes, socks—to help make their goals more achievable.

Running helps instill a sense of confidence and discipline—two key components of successful recovery

Help even reaches the Front Street Clinic of Juneau, Alaska, where Casey Ploof, APRN, and David Norris, RN give out free healthcare to those experiencing homelessness. Because it rains nearly 200 days a year there, it can be very common for people to get trench foot—a very serious condition that, when left untreated, can require amputation. Casey and Dave can help treat trench foot, but without fresh, clean socks, the condition returns. Luckily, their supply is abundant thanks to Bombas. As Casey shared, “people will walk across town and then walk from the valley just to come here to get more socks.”

Welcome to wild, beautiful and wet Alaska!

The Bombas Impact Report provides details on Bombas’s mission and is full of similar inspiring stories that show how the biggest acts of kindness can come from even the smallest packages. Since its inception in 2013, the company has built a network of over 3,500 Giving Partners in all 50 states, including shelters, nonprofits and community organizations dedicated to supporting our neighbors who are experiencing- or at risk- of homelessness.

Their success has proven that, yes, a simple pair of socks can be a helping hand, an important conversation starter and a link to humanity.

You can also be a part of the solution. Learn more and find the complete Bombas Impact Report by clicking here.

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is not going well, over seven months since he first drop-shipped troops who weren’t even aware of the mission. Ukraine’s been making significant gains in retaking territory, and the Kremlin has punished lawmakers who threatened to overthrow Putin over this war. Meanwhile, Russian troops never wanted to put boots on Ukrainian ground and have threatened to blow away their general and have even been shooting themselves in an effort escape the hellish conflict.

Putin’s been replacing troops through recruitment at Russian prisons that are also “hell holes,” and the situation has grown so dire that Putin’s not only threatening to use nukes but also announced mass mobilization events in Russia. According to CNBC, he’s increasing weapons production and gearing up to send another 300,000 Russians into battle, although he currently stresses that the mobilization is limited to reservists, at least for now:

A partial mobilization is a hazy concept, but it could mean that Russian businesses and citizens have to contribute more to the war effort. Russia has not yet declared war on Ukraine, despite having invaded in February, and it calls its invasion a “special military operation.”

Putin confirmed that military reservists would be called up into active service, but insisted a wider conscription of Russian men of fighting age was not taking place.

300,000 reservists is a lot of bods, even in comparison to Russia’s 144 million population (as of 2020). According to Fox News, Putin delivered a Wednesday speech to stress that his ability and threat to resort to nuclear weapons is “not a bluff,” and he stressed that if NATO’s “nuclear blackmail” continued, then “we will certainly use all the means at our disposal.” The world must miss the days when Putin’s Botox supply was foremost on his mind, rather than waging a dumb, dismal, and incredibly bloody war for his imperialistic ends.

(Via CNBC & Fox News)