The last time we saw Kim Wexler on Better Call Saul, she was breaking up with Jimmy. “We are bad for each other,” she said, which is the kind of thing you say after (literally) ruining someone’s life. “I have had the time of my life with you. But we are bad for everyone around us. Other people suffer because of us. Apart, we’re OK, but together, we’re poison.” She walks out of the door of their condo — and drives to… Florida?
Poor Kim.
Little is known about tonight’s episode of, the penultimate of the series, other than it’s written and directed by co-creator Vince Gilligan. And the title: “Waterworks.” We — and by proxy, Cinnabon’s employee of the year — were informed in “Breaking Bad” (the episode, not the show) that Kim is employed at Palm Coast Sprinklers in Titusville, Florida, which the Breaking Bad wiki helpfully notes is “located west of the Kennedy Space Center.” Cool. The company’s slogan is “Watering Your World Since 1978.”
You know what else happened in 1978? The Ramones released their fourth studio album, Road to Ruin, featuring the hit single “I Wanna Be Sedated.” Drugs, like the kind that Saul’s client Walter “Heisenberg” White cooked, make you sedated, and Gene / Jimmy / whatever on the road to reconnecting with Kim (including a heated phone booth call) with ruin their lives. IT’S ALL CONNECTED. Vince Gilligan, you’ve done it again!
After two consecutive shortened offseasons due to the NBA shuffling its schedule after shutting down at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the league finally got back on a regular schedule this summer, allowing for players and team personnel to take real vacations again (which is why trade rumors have come to a complete halt the last couple weeks) as well as the return of star-studded pickup runs and pro-am appearances.
The Drew League, Seattle Pro-Am, and more have seen the likes of LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan, Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Paolo Banchero, and more step onto the court in front of fans, but even more big names have gotten together in pickup runs to stay sharp in the dog days of the offseason. The biggest pickup run in the NBA these days is Rico Hines’ L.A. game, where the now-Raptors assistant hosts many of the world’s best players to get work in and earn some game-speed reps in the offseason.
Over the weekend, a clip of Scottie Barnes and James Harden went viral on social media, as the reigning Rookie of the Year put the clamps on the Sixers All-Star full-court, showing off his incredible defensive abilities against one of the best 1-on-1 players in the league.
That sequence earned Barnes plenty of buzz on social media, but it also got him some praise from Harden himself, who made sure to bring everyone together at the end of the run and talk glowingly about the competitive spirit of the run (which he missed after two summers off) and highlighting Barnes’ defense in particular, saying the young star is “a dog.”
“I like the competitive spirit that’s going on in here,” Harden said. “Like, Scottie picked me up full court. It’s pickup. First week of August. He don’t give a f*ck. He got that mindset. He a dog. Everybody should have that mindset, especially if you want to get paid, take care of your family. I love the work, man. We ain’t had a pickup in a couple of years, so this sh*t feel good to get back in the gym and competing for real.”
It’s a fairly stark difference from the beef brewing between Dejounte Murray and Paolo Banchero up in Seattle, where the two young stars went at it in Isaiah Thomas’ tournament and continued that on social media. Harden appreciates the young fella taking it to him because that’s what he needs to try and get in game shape and find that level he needs to get back to an All-Star level next season in Philly. For Barnes, he continues to earn his reputation of being one of the league’s best wing defenders already, with the most important recognition of those abilities coming from his peers.
Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.
This week saw Calvin Harris dropping a new collaborative banger and DJ Khaled and Benny Blanco also doing that. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
Calvin Harris with Stefflon Don, Chloe, and Coi Leray — “Woman Of The Year”
Harris recruited just about everybody in the music industry to join him on Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2, his new album that dropped last week. Among the highlights is the particularly female-forward “Woman Of The Year,” on which Stefflon Don, Chloe, and Coi Leray share the spotlight for the smooth and funky track.
DJ Khaled — “Staying Alive” Feat. Drake and Lil Baby
Speaking of people known for working with other people, DJ Khaled launched a new era last week with “Staying Alive,” the lead single from his God Did album set for release at the end of the month. Doing the heavy lifting here are Drake and Lil Baby, who go full MD in the song’s fun video.
Benny Blanco, BTS, and Snoop Dogg — “Bad Decisions”
Rounding out this week’s mega-collab trio is Blanco, BTS, and Snoop Dogg coming together on “Bad Decisions,” a misleading title in the sense that only good decisions could have led to this meet-up. The three parties came together to deliver a fun summer-ready tune, with Snoop’s signature personality adding a touch that sets it apart from the rest of the warm-weather pop dominating the season.
Carly Rae Jepsen — “Beach House”
Dating apps make meeting somebody easier in some ways, but harder in others. Jepsen chronicles that journey on “Beach House,” on which she goes through some disastrous dates on the fun summertime bop with an unsurprisingly catchy hook.
The Killers — “Boy”
The Killers can’t stop. Imploding The Mirage came out in 2020, Pressure Machine followed in 2021, and they returned today with “Boy,” an uplifting rocker in the vein of the group’s recent soaring material, albeit with a smidge more electronic influence this time around.
The 1975 — “Happiness”
Funky, disco-inspired music has made a significant comeback in recent years and now The 1975 are getting in on it, too. Their contribution is “Happiness,” a relatively subtle but groove-forward tune that adds a new wrinkle to the jaunty indie pop sound The 1975 have done such a nice job at cultivating.
Willow — “Hover Like A Goddess”
Willow has become a torchbearer of rock in the 2020s and she delivered another exciting hit of it last week with “Hover Like A Goddess,” the first taste of her newly announced album, Copingmechanism. It’s an infectious and in-your-face tune that bops along with a ska-influenced rhythm and a big chorus.
John Legend — “All She Wanna Do” Feat. Saweetie
When it comes to the biggest Legend news of last week, it’s got to be that he and Chrissy Teigen are expecting another baby. The runner-up news is pretty great, too, though: a new Saweetie collaboration called “All She Wanna Do.” The song is pure summertime pop, aided by a pace-changing verse from Saweetie.
Doechii with Rico Nasty — “Swamp B*tches”
This week, Doechii decided to get in and get going with her latest project: She announced She/Her/Black B*tch on Monday and dropped the five-track effort by Friday. It kicks off with “Swamp B*tches,” which has a menacing, early-Tyler-The-Creator-like beat and packs a lot into three minutes, including a Rico Nasty appearance.
Omar Apollo — “Highlight”
Apollo revealed last week that he’s going on a big tour at the end of the year. When he does, he’ll have a new song to perform, as that news was accompanied by “Highlight,” a patient, tropical-inspired head-bobber that’s a nice breather from this week’s mostly upbeat songs.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
If anyone thought that Kanye’s relative silence on social media signaled that the 45-year-old music producer and fashion mogul had finally done some growing up since throwing a tantrum over his ex-wife dating again earlier this year, it is my sad duty to inform you that he, in fact, has not.
After news broke of Kim Kardashian breaking up with Pete Davidson, Kanye was quick to return to Instagram, posting kind of a dark parting shot at Davidson with a spoof New York Times headline claiming that the comedian (who he’s still calling “Skete,” because Kanye is 13 years old at heart) was dead. However, he also couldn’t resist getting in a jab at his former protege Kid Cudi, adding a subheadline reading “Kid Cudi meant to play funeral but fearful of bottle throwers.” That’s, of course, a reference to Cudi’s recent performance at Rolling Loud Miami, which Cudi cut short after fans in the crowd threw bottles at him. Kanye made a surprise appearance during Lil Durk’s set, even though he’d dropped out as headliner just weeks before.
Kanye has made it a habit to alienate a lot of his former friends this year. During an appearance on the Drink Champs podcast, he threw Big Sean and John Legend, who were both signed to his previous label, GOOD Music, under the bus, prompting both to react in very different ways. Earlier this month, Chance The Rapper also addressed their friendship cooling off after a video surfaced of Kanye dressing down the younger Chicago rapper during the recording of his 2018 album Ye.
Panels are all about creating excitement for TV shows and movies, and Rosario Dawson certainly made that happen for The Punisher in Chicago over the weekend. Dawson appeared at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) and during a Q&A session may have let slip that a new show she hopes to work on, a potential Punisher reboot on Disney+, may also bring back a beloved actor from the Netflix version of the property.
Dawson, who played Claire Temple on the Netflix version of Punisher (among the streamer’s related shows), let slip that “Punisher is coming back” and that may mean Jon Bernthal may also be coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a result. The move would be big — Charlie Cox’s Daredevil and Bernthal’s Punisher thrived on Netflix. A revival of Daredevil has many fans hoping the same will happen to Punisher, and Dawson’s slip indicates that those fans will get what they want. But not everyone was sold that Dawson spilled the beans on much of anything just yet.
You can see video of the moment from the panel below, which is far less of a triumphant announcement than an offhanded comment for sure.
You can hear some in the crowd audibly react to her mention of Bernthal, but none of this is officially official at all. Which is probably why, later on Twitter, Dawson walked back the comments and made it clear that she’s not to be “trusted” when it comes to MCU news.
I can’t be trusted…! Getting intel from fans during signings is iffy apparently. My bad. I get excited. Confirmation is key when you’re told what you want to hear…
“I can’t be trusted,” Dawson said. “Getting intel from fans during signings is iffy apparently. My bad. I get excited.”
From the tweet it sounds like Dawson is blaming bad information from a fan, not anyone actually involved with the show. Which would make Dawson a pretty lousy reporter, unless she’s just trying to cover her tracks a bit after accidentally spilling the beans.
“Confirmation is key when you’re told what you want to hear,” Dawson said, which sounds like it’s more a personal hope than anything at this point. But given the buzz her surprise “announcement” made, it’s clear she’s not alone in hoping Bernthal returns to the fold.
The new HBO series Rap Sh!t isn’t the only premium cable TV show to spawn a potential rap hit. Starz series P-Valley apparently got in on the action Sunday night, recruiting its own real-life hitmaker to play a rap star onscreen. Megan Thee Stallion appeared in last night’s second-to-last episode of P-Valley‘s second season as her alter ego, Tina Snow, to perform an original song at the show’s titular strip club, The Pynk. A standout line: “Man, I’m outta here like pussy hair, y’all hoes be rippin’ me off.”
Intriguingly, the song is Meg’s fourth new one of the year after debuting the ferocious “Plan B” at Coachella, following up with its video in June, and swiftly returning with “Pressurelicious” featuring Future just a month later. Of course, her first single of the year, “Sweetest Pie” with Dua Lipa, gave her her highest chart debut even despite creeping out many of her fans with its body-horror-focused music video. Meg’s increased rate of release seemed to suggest that the follow-up to her 2020 debut album Good News was on the way soon — and she recently confirmed as much, declaring the album is finished in an Instagram post. After another post seemed to suggest a title, fans are more eager than ever to see what else Megan has in store.
Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Part of the territory of being in a successful and long-running band is fans wanting to share a moment with you. For Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, that’s fine, but he believes that “asking for a photo ruins it instantly.”
On Wednesday (August 3), an RHCP fan named Luke Vesely shared a brief video of himself and a couple others wrapping up a friendly-sounding conversation with Anthony Keidis and wrote in a follow-up tweet a couple days later, “@flea333 thank you (and AK) for being so kind and genuine while meeting us, you both are such rays of sunshine, you didn’t have to stop and chat but you did and i hope you know that you really impacted our lives. we love you and AK with all of our hearts! @ChiliPeppers.”
Another fan noted this sort of interaction with the band isn’t common and Vesely responded, “wow, that makes the meeting with him and flea way more special, perhaps he just felt comfortable in that moment, none of my friends nor i asked for a photo or autograph or anything we just talked so maybe that had to do with his interaction with us.”
wow, that makes the meeting with him and flea way more special, perhaps he just felt comfortable in that moment, none of my friends nor i asked for a photo or autograph or anything we just talked so maybe that had to do with his interaction with us
Flea confirmed those suspicions, sharing the tweet and adding, “It’s because you all generated a kind and gentle light, and you didn’t ask for a picture. We are always down to talk and chat, asking for a photo ruins it instantly.” In response to another user who asked what’s wrong with taking a photo, he added, “There’s is nothing wrong with it. But it ruins having actual conversation. It is a transaction.”
It’s because you all generated a kind and gentle light, and you didn’t ask for a picture. We are always down to talk and chat, asking for a photo ruins it instantly. https://t.co/ZbQPrquHes
Back in June, 100 days already passed since Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine. The Russians encountered more resistance and difficulty than expected with stalled convoys presenting a ridiculous look. Sure enough, we heard word of Russian troops sending up the mutiny vibe and threatening to blow up their general. And Putin lost a top commander (a.k.a., “The Executioner”) when he got whacked by a sniper, but that’s not all. As of a few weeks ago, Putin’s army had seen half (adding up to 75,000 soldiers) killed or wounded during the ongoing conflict.
Circumstances continue to grow more dire by the day with untold loss of life for Ukraine and Russia. Business Insider is now reporting that Putin is now down sixteen top generals since the war began. This information arrives via a UK Ministry of Defence report, which details how Putin canned six of those generals, and the other ten have gone missing (General-Colonel Aleksandr Zhuravlev notably did not show up for July 31 Navy Day) or been confirmed dead. Here’s now the overall military deaths stack up:
Russian losses from the war in Ukraine are estimated to be in the tens of thousands. US officials estimated on July 28 that more than 75,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured — about half of the number of troops Russia initially deployed in its invasion.
While there have been few definitive assessments of the total casualties on either side, Insider previously cited a defense expert saying in late June that Ukraine has lost more than 18,000 troops.
And it sure looks like no one is giving up soon with everyone in it to win it. “It” being Putin’s desire to be seen as a Peter The Great-like figure in terms of imperialistic tsar-ing. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Presdent Volodymyr Zelensky famously refused a ride of the country and has vowed to keep fighting. According to an ex-NATO general, Putin’s put a nine-month target on winning the war, but the Ukrainians won’t make it easy for him.
While everyone remembers Donald Trump‘s infamous military parade-slash-“Fourth of July celebration,” what they don’t know is the behind-the-scenes battle that took place between Trump and his generals, who were obviously not thrilled with the idea. According to a new exposé by The New Yorker on the frequent skirmishes between Trump and military brass, the former president became enthralled with the idea of a parade after visiting a Bastille Day celebration in Paris during his first year in office.
French president Emmanuel Macron knew Trump would love the tanks rolling down the streets, and sure enough, he flew home and immediately demanded a parade of his own. However, Trump reportedly made a specific (and insulting) request to Chief of Staff John Kelly and just wait until Jon Stewart hears this one. Via The New Yorker:
“Look, I don’t want any wounded guys in the parade,” Trump said. “This doesn’t look good for me.” He explained with distaste that at the Bastille Day parade there had been several formations of injured veterans, including wheelchair-bound soldiers who had lost limbs in battle.
Kelly could not believe what he was hearing. “Those are the heroes,” he told Trump. “In our society, there’s only one group of people who are more heroic than they are—and they are buried over in Arlington.” Kelly did not mention that his own son Robert, a lieutenant killed in action in Afghanistan, was among the dead interred there.
“I don’t want them,” Trump repeated. “It doesn’t look good for me.”
On top of demanding that his Big Man Tank Parade not have any “wounded guys” in it, Trump also reportedly criticized military leaders for not being loyal like “the German generals in World War II” a.k.a the Nazis.
“You do know that they tried to kill Hitler three times and almost pulled it off?” Kelly told Trump, who unsurprisingly denied the historical fact. “No, no, no,” Trump said. “They were totally loyal to him.” (They weren’t.)
There’s an old adage that if you learn a referee’s name, it’s probably for a bad reason. No referee better epitomizes than than Tim Donaghy, the former NBA official who was infamously caught in a gambling scandal that led to him spending time in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting wagering information through interstate commerce.
In the latest edition of Netflix’s UNTOLD docuseries, the Donaghy scandal takes center stage with a special twist in UNTOLD: Operation Flagrant Foul. For the first time, Donaghy and his co-conspirators, James Battista and Tommy Martino, discuss their involvement on video.
“This film is full of ‘he said, she said,’ but regardless of what is true and what is falsified by the wild cast of characters involved, the heart of this story for me is so much larger than Tim Donaghy, the calls and bets he made,” David Terry Fine, the director of the episode, said in a statement. “It’s a story about American greed, one in which no matter who or what you believe, the common denominator amongst all parties becomes clear: money and profit have taken precedence over the sanctity of a game on which many rest their hopes and dreams.”
UNTOLD:Operation Flagrant Foul debuts on Netflix on Aug. 30, 2022. You can see the trailer at the top of this post.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
(@StepbackAch) 
