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Back in the quaint old days, the biggest question about the MCU‘s timeline was why Captain Marvel didn’t help during the Battle of New York. The answer given in Endgame is that there were a lot of other worlds that needed her attention that didn’t have mighty heroes. Either that or movies are made in a certain order regardless of what time period those movies take place in. Logistics! They’re a bummer when trying to make heads or tails of the internal logic for a 20+ movie mega-franchise.

And things just got more complicated.

Disney+ now has Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness available to stream, and they’ve launched it within a chronological timeline of MCU order. That’s right. You can do that foolish marathon from Captain America: The First Avenger to Ms. Marvel without having to bring your sleeping bag to the totally clean floors of your local cineplex.

The little hiccup is that Multiverse of Madness lands smack dab between Eternals and Hawkeye, meaning Doctor Strange would have been available to lend a helping, swirling hand to Wanda during her WandaVision crisis and would have been aware of some tectonic shifts in earth history during Eternals. Of course, the bigger question about missing characters in the MCU involves another WandaVision mainstay not popping into Multiverse of Madness. There are spoilers in that link, so be careful.

Maybe a future movie will drop a line that makes sense of the absence. Or not! Maybe Doctor Strange just isn’t all that helpful. Or maybe it’s okay to love these movies without worrying too much about the timey wimey stuff. With so many characters, there will inevitably be some questions about why someone was AWOL when bad things were going down.

(via Marvel.com)

A shocking report released last month by Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe found that over the past nine years there has been a 53% rise in contamination of the most hazardous pesticides in European fresh fruits.

The analysis of more than 97,000 fruit samples found that nearly one-half of all blackberries and one-third of apples had toxic pesticide residue. These pesticides have been linked to serious illnesses such as birth defects, cancer and heart disease.

At the same time, Reuters reports that intensive “farming, forestry and urbanisation are fuelling the degradation of natural habitats” adding that most of Europe’s protected “species have a negative conservation status.”

In an effort to dramatically reduce the volume of pesticides in the bloc’s food supply and rehabilitate its natural habitat, the European Commission has proposed dramatic new environmental targets. The first would reduce the use of chemical pesticides across the EU 50% by 2030. Pesticides would also be banned for use in public parks and protected areas.

u201cAccording to new research by our partners at PAN Europe, the contamination of fruits and vegetables produced in the European Union by the most toxic pesticides has substantially increased over the past decade. https://t.co/y6SIIkdQ7Yu201d

— PAN North America (@PAN North America)
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The second would require EU countries to restore 20% of the bloc’s land to nature by 2030 and all degraded land by 2050.

In addition, the proposal would restore 15,500 miles of rivers and redirect them to their natural courses. It would also work to increase farmland bird populations.

“The aim is to cover at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030 with nature restoration measures, and eventually extend these to all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050,” the commission said, according to The Washington Post.

Frans Timmermans, the commission’s first vice president, will help the EU recover its natural habitat at a time when the planet is threatened by climate change.

“When we restore nature, we allow it to continue providing clean air, water, and food, and we enable it to shield us from the worst of the climate crisis,” Timmermans said according to The Washington Post. “Reducing pesticide use likewise helps nature recover, and protects the humans who work with these chemicals.”

The new proposal would be wonderful for the planet but the fast transition to pesticide alternatives would be a challenge to EU farmers. So the proposal allows farmers to use EU funds to cover the new costs for the first five years.

The proposal will have to be approved by EU member countries and lawmakers to take effect. Some are skeptical of making such drastic changes at a time when the bloc’s food supply has been compromised by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

However, the European Commission believes if there isn’t a switch to new farming techniques, the effect on the bloc could be disastrous as well.

“If we lose soil fertility, if soil erosion and degradation continue, that is going to be a major impact on our agricultural output,” the European Commission’s Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius told Reuters.

The European Commission’s proposal is a dramatic plan that could fundamentally change the face of Europe by reversing decades of damage caused by farming and urban sprawl. At a time when Europe is being challenged by war and the effects of climate change, returning the land to nature has never seemed like a better idea.

Roses are red, violets are blue, and rappers showing up late to shows should not surprise you. ASAP Rocky was booked to perform in Manchester, U.K. on Wednesday (June 22) as part of his five-show opening set for Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Global Tour. However, the “Fashion Killa” arrived so late to the show that the bookers had to pivot and rearrange the lineup to where he would perform after the expected headliner. While this may have been a welcome change in some areas of his home turf, the United States, the attendees were incensed and left the Emirates Old Trafford venue early.

ASAP Rocky did end up performing, but by the time he did the damage was already done. Several upset Red Hot Chili Peppers fans took their frustrations to Twitter and, admittedly, some got pretty clever or flat-out humorous with their complaints.

While this may be an unfortunate blunder, Rocky has had quite a year for himself. The “Goldie” rapper is enjoying life alongside his girlfriend Rihanna, who is set to give birth to their first child in two months. On the music side of things, he recently released “D.M.B,” and joined ASAP Ant and Snot for collaborations the months prior.

Check out the video of fans leaving the Manchester show early above.

Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.

Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the internet, and where to cop them. We’re loving the roundup this week. 2022 has definitely over delivered on notable sneaker drops, but as great as the sneaker drops have been this year they’ve all been a bit samey. I love amazing Air Jordan and Dunk drops as much as the next sneakerhead, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m kind of bored of seeing the same shoes in constant rotation in new colors.

This week is a remedy to that trend.

This week, Union LA is giving us two new colors of the Nike Cortez, an underappreciated but still classic silhouette, while Supreme supplies us with four new colorways of the Nike Shox Ride 2, as well as a refresh of the classic black and white Reebok Answer IV for the b-ball heads. New Nike Shox and Answer IVs, are we in the year 2000? Kiss dad shoes goodbye, we’re entering a whole new era.

Let’s dive into this week’s best sneaker drops.

Union LA x Nike Cortez Sesame/Off Noir

It’s been a minute since we’ve seen a Nike Cortez worth copping. It’s not that I don’t like the silhouette, it’s the opposite, it was actually my first Nike! The Cortez is so classic that all you need is a white leather pair with red or blue accents and you’re set. And that’s a colorway that Nike always has in stock, like a white and black AF-1. But anytime Los Angeles streetwear label and retailer Union links up with the Swoosh, we pay attention.

Union’s take on the Cortez does not disappoint, even as it rejects the classic colorways. Dropping in an earthy and warm Sesame colorway, which features a pink clay swoosh and a patterned upper over a cratered midsole, and a moodier Off Noir take, with Neptune Green accents and white speckles over the cratered midsole, the Union Cortez features a leather upper with canvas and suede overlays and dual branding.

It might be a departure from the classic look of the Cortez, but it highlights the design in a unique way that still feels like a tribute to what is arguably the sneaker most emblematic of LA.

The Union Nike Cortez is out now for a retail price of $150. Pick it up at Union or aftermarket sites like Flight Club.

Adidas Adilette 22 Slide Desert Sand/Magic Lime

It’s sandal season which is why the brands are going HAM on slides and Croc collaborations, this week we have the controversial Adilette 22, aka the shoe Ye raged about a few weeks back posting to his Instagram, “These shoes represent the disrespect that people in power have to the talent… This shoe is a fake Yeezy made by Adidas themselves.” To which…we have to agree.

The Adilette 22 is very much Yeezy Supply inspired, that’s undeniable, just look at the way it looks vaguely like geography (A lot of Yeezys look like rock formations) and uses earthy muted color tones. Even its whole design concept “What would slides look like in space?” smacks of Yeezy Supplies’ whole futuristic vibe, I’m just a little puzzled about why Ye is surprised and mad about it.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery, Adidas took inspiration from what already existed and turned it into something new, which is what the Yeezy 700 did with ‘90s dad shoe silhouettes. Hell, all of hip-hop changed multiple times following the beat of Kanye’s MPC 2000XL during his earliest run of records, we’re still living in a world forged by 808s and Heartbreak! Kanye should know this well.

The Adilette 22 will never be the Yeezy Slide, but, it’s still a pretty interesting slide, controversy aside and it’s selling out fast.

The Adidas Adilette 22 Slide in Desert Sand and Magic Lime are out now for a retail price of $55. Pick up a pair at the Adidas website.

Supreme Nike Shox Ride 2

My editor hates Nike Shox, so let me just apologize to him for forcing him to have to endure not one, not two, not three, but four consecutive pictures of Supreme branded Nike Shox. These sneakers are all the proof you need that trends and tastes are entirely cyclical, nothing is new, only recycled and recontextualized.

When Nike Shox first dropped in the year 2000 it looked like the future of footwear. Like wearing them would make you run faster, and jump higher. People did a lot of stupid shit in the era of Y2K and they were justifiably made fun of it by a younger generation of Millenials who flipped all of that on its head and embraced classic silhouettes and dad shoes, only to now look completely out of touch for not embracing the return of this retro futurist silhouette.

Nike Shox never would’ve gotten a Supreme collaboration in 2000, but in 2022 what did you expect? Another Supreme AF-1? This sneaker features a mesh and leather upper with a DURAPLUSH tongue and a molded logo in four colorways.

The Supreme Nike Shox Ride 2 is out now for a retail price of $188. Pick up a pair via the Supreme webstore.

Air Force 1 Mid x Off-White Black/White

Nike has steadily been rolling out Air Force 1 Mids so it’s no surprise to see the silhouette again this week, what is surprising — and a bit bittersweet — is seeing a new Virgil Abloh-designed pair. The Off-White Air Force 1 features a mid-top design with a lightweight and airy mesh upper with an all-over wood pattern graphic and a second set of Flywire laces.

The Off-White AF-1 Mid drops in a black and white colorway, both with contrasting spiked outsoles that give the sneaker a sort of post-apocalyptic vibe. Virgil was really reaching for the future with this one.

The Air Force 1 Mid x Off-White Black/White is out now for a retail price of $185. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS store or your favorite aftermarket site.

Reebok Answer IV White and Black

Inspired by the same pair Allen Iverson wore during his MVP 2000-2001 seasons the Answer IV is getting a refresh of the OG black and white colorway, complete with a zip shroud, DMX foam, and an outsole portrait of Iverson himself. The sneaker features a leather upper with synthetic lining and silver metal accents.

It’s a classic sneaker in a classic colorway and a must-cop for Iverson fans and anyone who loves a performance-focused court sneaker.

The Reebok Answer IV in White and Black is set to drop on June 23rd for a retail price of $160. Pick up a pair via the Reebok webstore.

MadWomen x Reebok Classic Leather

Made in collaboration with Berlin-based label MadWomen, this new iteration on the Reebok Classic Leather is part throwback part contemporary. The sneaker features that classic shape and silhouette but updates it with a new premium leather upper in chalk white atop an icy outsole with splashes of soft teal at the heel and tongue.

The Madwomen x Reebok Classic Leather is set to drop on June 23rd for a retail price of $100. Pick up a pair via the Reebok webstore.

Nike Air Jordan VI White and University Red

Last week we published a timeline of the best Air Jordan VIs and now here comes Nike a week later with a new AJ-VI in White and University Red, aka the ‘Red Oreo’ colorway. In truth, this isn’t exactly a new colorway so we can’t blame Nike for it not being on our list, the real reason is… in the wider pantheon of Jordan VI colorways, I think this one is just okay.

Amongst the sneakers dropping this week this is a must-cop, but when you start putting it alongside your AJ VI UNC, or a Carmine, or an Infrared 23, this just looks tame in comparison. And with its white and red colorway and speckled midsole, it looks like it’s trying too hard to recall the AJ III. Anyway, there is still a lot to love here, look at that all-white leather upper, the embroidered branding, and that beautiful icy outsole!

The Nike Air Jordan VI White and University Red is set to drop on June 25th for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.

Sneaker Freaker x Atmos x Asics Gel Lyte III Alley Cats

Australia’s Sneaker Freaker has linked up with Japanese streetwear brand Atmos and Asics for a new spin on the Gel Lyte III that is inspired by the stray cats that call the alleys ways of Melbourne and Tokyo home. The sneaker features a gray faux fur upper with purple paneling and phosphorescent accents om the stripes and laces that are meant to mimic the glowing eyes of cats.

The Sneaker Freaker x Atmos x Asics Gel Lyne III Alley Cats is set to drop on June 24th at the Atmos webstore for a retail price of $138.56. The sneaker will see a wider global release on July 4th.

If you haven’t heard by now, two married women kiss in Lightyear. This, the tiniest scrap of queer representation, has a handful of people up in arms. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the 89er Theatre in Oklahoma. Over the weekend, the movie theater in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, posted a sign promising/warning everyone attending Lightyear screenings that they would attempt as best they could to make sure nobody saw the kiss.

“Attention Parents: The management of this theatre discovered after booking Lightyear that there is a same-sex kissing scene within the first 30 minutes of the Pixar movie,” the sign read. “We will do all we can to fast-forward through that scene, but it might not be exact.”

So maybe you’d miss an important piece of dialogue, but that’s the cost of not seeing something totally normal. At the very least, you’d get a quick jolt of cartoon characters in triple time manically kissing. At the worst, the rest of the movie would stay on fast-forward because absolutely no human is good at clicking back to normal speed at the right time. Fortunately, for whatever reason, the theater confirmed that the sign was taken down and no showing got the flyby treatment. Unfortunately, someone thought putting up the sign (and presumably committing to the plan) was a good idea in the first place.

This kind of thing may seem silly, but it comes during an era of increasingly violent rhetoric against the LGBT+ community. As a group, they’re four times more likely to be victims of violent crime, threats are getting more brazen as they’re mainstreamed through a major political party, and two women can’t even kiss in a movie without it becoming “A Thing.”

The voice of Buzz in the new film, Chris Evans, put it bluntly, saying that the people who had a problem with the kiss are “idiots.”

Between slime puppy and a dick pic to dad, Succession has tried to be the most grotesque show on television. It comes close, but Amazon Prime’s The Boys takes the honor in a more literal sense: in the currently running third season alone, we’ve seen a man inside a bag of cocaine and we’ve seen The Deep eat a live octopus with whom he had sexual relations. The Boys is grotesque everywhere by design, but it’s the series’ main antagonist Homelander (Antony Starr) that embodies it. Homelander can fly. Red lasers shoot out his eyes. He wears a red, blue, and gold uniform with a cape. The only thing he does not have in common with his superhero counterpart Superman is blonde hair, combed to perfection like a 90s boy band member or Ryan Gosling in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. At first glance, Homelander might seem like Superman, but his personality and enjoyment of killing a lot of people very violently and terrorizing anyone he does not kill distinguishes him from his inspiration who saves the world and thinks glasses make him unrecognizable.

In the second episode of the third and current season of The Boys, Homelander pops up on national television in a passionate speech about how he is better and more powerful than everyone. “I don’t make mistakes,” he says. “I’m not just like the rest of you. I’m stronger. I’m smarter.” Homelander’s eyes bulge as if they’re about to pop out of their sockets and his thin lips widen as he screams, “I’m better! I AM BETTER!”

This speech has been simmering in Homelander for a long time. It’s the first time he’s ever allowed himself to be honest on such a large scale, instead of being a corporate superhero company’s golden boy. Antony Starr’s performance in this scene exemplifies how he creates fear, excitement, and comedy with a nightmarish stare or a menacing smile. Unfortunately, the performance in this scene is so good that some blissfully unaware fans of The Boys completely missed the point and actually think the character is good. Every scene Homelander is in escalates my heart rate and when a scene involving Homelander ends without bloodshed, I let out a deep exhale after involuntarily holding my breath.

Starr has developed the villain from a bad hero with an affinity for breast milk into a more tragic – but still terrifying – one. The character has evolved with Starr’s layered performance which is emotional but not forgiving. As Homelander’s weaknesses are exposed, including his lonely childhood and his desperate need for family and belonging, he becomes even more unhinged and violent. When he commits violent acts, including burning Elizabeth Shue’s eyes off and pushing his son off of a roof, Starr, even with CGI-ed red laser eyes, shows everything in Homelander’s face: brief relief from his pain and twisted, euphoric pleasure.

Although Homelander has similar arcs every season in that he discovers something Vought has been hiding from him and the betrayal makes him act out, and the character never changes, he only gets worse, Starr never makes it feel static or numb. Homelander nonchalantly kills enemies, innocent bystanders and even friends as casually as a normal person checks their mailbox but it never feels like a villain sticking around too long that it becomes exhausting and too convenient, like Ramsay Bolton of Game of Thrones. Starr’s approach to portraying such a misguided and violent character is similar to Bill Hader’s performance on Barry: they give you enough to hate the guy, but enough to love watching them. It’s a perfect, Thanos-approved balance.

By now, Homelander should be dead. Almost every character is part of a mission to kill him, and some, like the titular The Boys, have been on that mission since the show began. But Antony Starr’s chilling but compelling performance implies there’s more to Homelander than we think, but at the same time he is exactly who we see. The performance is what holds the show together and is, weirdly, the show’s heart. Starr gives Homelander emotional depth but no excuses, either, and is so good that the show is impossible without him.

Last week, Lil Durk announced at an Apple Music concert that the 7220 Deluxe version would be dropping on Friday June, 24. The original album, which dropped in March, has already topped the Billboard 200 chart on two separate occasions, and it prompted his label, Alamo Records, to pay the Chicago rapper an additional $40 million for subsequent releases.

Durk is putting that scratch to quick use with this Deluxe edition that features 13 new tracks, along with “Computer Murderers” which already appeared on the 7220 (Reloaded) edition. He just shared the tracklist and also revealed on his Instagram story that his kids were the ones who helped him pick the tracks. “I believe in they ears,” he wrote.

Among 7020 Deluxe’s featured guests, are Moneybagg Yo, on “Hear It Back,” Ella Mai and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie on “IYKYK,” Doodie Lo on “Did S**t to Me,” and EST Gee on “Burglars & Murderers.”

Check out the full tracklist below and check out Lil Durk’s 7020 Tour dates here.

1. “So What”
2. “Huuuuh”
3. “Hear It Back” featuring Moneybagg Yo
4. “Selling Lashes”
5. “Burglars & Murderers” featuring EST Gee
6. “Risky”
7. “Did S**t to Me” featuring Doodie Lo
8. “Smurk Outta Here”
9. “IYKYK” featuring Ella Mai and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
10. “Unhappy Father’s Day”
11. “Expedite This Letter”
12. “Two Hours From Atlanta”
13. “Hearing Sirens”
14. “Computer Murderers”

7020 Deluxe comes out on 06/24 via Alamo/OST.

Are you a Hacks head? Fresh off the renewal of the Jean Smart-led and Emmy-winning series, there is more good Hacks for you on the horizon.

Breakout Hacks star Megan Stalter, who plays the dysfunctional agent assistant to Paul W. Downs’ Jimmy on the second season of the HBO Max series, is developing a comedy pilot with HBO Max and A24 called Church Girls, according to a report from Variety. Per Variety, “Church Girls is a half-hour comedy that follows Beth Parker (Stalter), a 20-year-old Christian closeted lesbian as she wrestles with her sexuality and faith in God, while entering adulthood in suburban Ohio. The series is inspired by Stalter’s own experiences.”

This sounds like a perfect show for any recovering super Christian. As a former Catholic school kid who still suffers from Catholic guilt (I probably always will) I know I will connect to this show in many ways.

In addition to her memorable role on Hacks, Stalter can be seen on Peacock’s reboot of Queer As Folk. Stalter is also set to appear in her first leading role in a feature in the dark comedy Cora Bora from director Hannah Pearl Utt, co-starring Manny Jacinto (The Good Place) and Jojo T. Gibbs (Fresh).

(Via Variety)

More political pundits are weighing in on the Donald Trump vs. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis presidential debate and it sounds like there might be a new conservative despot in town.

After a Vanity Fair piece outlined media tycoon and former Trump ally Rupert Murdoch’s plan to replace the twice-impeached president as Fox News’ golden (shower?) boy, more experts are signaling the aging tyrant has fallen out of favor with the RNC. On a recent episode of Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough dragged Trump’s waning popularity within his own party, labeling him a “fat Elvis” while dubbing DeSantis as his heir apparent.

“Well, I mean, you look, at you look at his speeches, even the one this past week, they are all backward-looking and they’re all the greatest hits from 2016, and not performed well,” Scarborough said of Trump’s current media strategy. “With all due respect to the king of rock and roll, this is fat Elvis in 77, huffing and puffing and sweating and bloated and like, barely being able to get, y’know, the scarves out from around his neck, throwing them into the crowd. This is not a pretty sight. I just don’t think Republicans want this.”

Ouch, way harsh Tai.

Former RNC chair Michael Steele jumped on to reference a recent poll from The University of New Hampshire Survey Center showing DeSantis was pulling ahead of Trump saying, “Governor DeSantis has very craftily and stealthily in some sense positioned himself as a better version of Donald Trump.” Meanwhile, co-host Willie Geist blamed Trump’s “baggage” and his obsession with claiming the 2020 Presidential Election was stolen as the reason DeSantis now seems like a better candidate for the GOP to support in 2024.

You can watch the full exchange below:

(Via Mediaite)

Here is a disturbing MadLib sentence: children’s author J.K. Rowling was hoaxed into appearing on a Zoom call with who she thought would be Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, but it ended up being Russian prank duo Vovan and Lexus.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, the author was allegedly under the impression that she was going to be speaking with Zelensky about her charitable work when she was pranked by the duo who have successfully fooled Elton John, Bernie Sanders, and Kamala Harris in the past.

Rowling was asked a series of awkward questions revolving around her franchise when things got weirder and weirder. The duo joked that they were writing the Harry Potter killing curse “Avada Kedavra” on the Ukrainian missiles, asked what Boris Johnson’s gender is, and questioned if Dumbledore is really gay.

They also asked Rowling if she would consider changing Harry Potter’s “Z” scar on his forehead to a Ukrainian symbol instead, as the Russian military has used “Z” on their tanks during the invasion of Ukraine. Rowling replied, “I will look into that.”

The author’s publicist called the prank “distasteful,” and gave the following statement to The Hollywood Reporter: “J.K. Rowling was approached to talk about her extensive charitable work in Ukraine, supporting children and families who have been affected by the current conflict in the region. The video, which has been edited, is a distorted representation of the conversation.”

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)