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A bombshell new report published in The Guardian on Wednesday alleges that former President Donald Trump may have knowingly had COVID-19 in his first debate against then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on September 29, 2020.

The allegation was made by Trump’s fourth, and final, chief of staff Mark Meadows in his upcoming book, “The Chief’s Chief.” If what Meadows says is true, it means that Trump put countless lives in danger just to participate in the debate, including Biden who was 77 at the time.

In September 2020, there were no COVID-19 vaccines and treatments for the virus were less effective than they are today.

After Biden responded to a question on supply chain issues on Wednesday, a reporter asked the president about the allegation. His response was curt, to say the least.

“Mark Meadows has written a book revealing that President Trump tested positive for COVID three days before your first debate. Do you think the former president put you at risk?” the reporter asked.

“I don’t think about the former president. Thank you.” Biden said before walking away from the podium.

Reporter: “Do you think the former president put you at risk?” nnBiden: “I don’t think about the former president.”pic.twitter.com/QXCRrpnrmb

— Oliver Willis (@Oliver Willis)
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In his new book, Meadows says that Trump tested positive three days before his scheduled debate with Biden. The positive test came shortly after the administration’s Rose Garden ceremony for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. In the days that followed, the ceremony was discovered to be a super-spreader event, with nearly a dozen people who attended the event later testing positive for the virus.

Trump and his allies learned of the result during a helicopter flight aboard Marine One for a campaign event in Middletown, Pennsylvania.

Shortly after the result came through, Meadows had the former president take another test, this time with the newer, BinaxNOW system.

After a “brief but tense wait,” the test came back negative.

On the day of the debate, the Trump team arrived late so there wasn’t enough time to test the president. The debate operated on the honor system even though each candidate was supposed to test negative for the virus within 72 hours of the start time. “Nothing was going to stop [Trump] from going out there,” Meadows said.

The White House never mentioned the positive test three days before the debate, a completely irresponsible move that mirrors Trump’s cavalier attitude in how he handled the pandemic as a leader.

Will You Shut Up Man?’: Biden Blasts Trump For Interrupting.. Learn from history..pic.twitter.com/0itb6hHoUj

— ALI (@ALI)
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The first Biden-Trump debate was chaotic, marked by Trump’s incessant interruptions of the former vice-president. Biden also stumbled frequently during the exchange and became so frustrated with his opponent’s interjections that he demanded, “Will you shut up, man?”

Three days after the debate, Trump announced by tweet that he and his wife, Melania Trump, were positive for the virus. After a three-day stay at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Trump was discharged and returned to the White House.

Joe Biden would go on to win the 2020 presidential election that November.

Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas have got to be the most tireless and accomplished siblings since Bart and Lisa Simpson. While they haven’t saved a daytime TV clown from jail yet, or prevented their hometown from being flooded by an exploding dam, Billie and Finneas have won seven Grammy Awards together. In fact, they’ve also just been nominated for seven more at the 2022 awards, including Album Of The Year, for Eilish’s Happier Than Ever. Come next February, the pair will be heading out on the Happier Than Ever World Tour and the grind is just non-stop with these two.

Despite all this, Finneas revealed on the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast that the pair have already started working on the third Billie Eilish album. “We’re on the clay wheel and we’ve got clay on the wheel,” Finneas joked about being early in the process. He talked about how they’ve started writing songs, but they’re trying to make sense of what they have on their hands.

“We’ve got the net in the ocean, and we’re picking up detritus. And then you sift through all that, and you pick out the treasure, and then you have an album. I’m really excited. I think we’ve got a lot to say.”

Host Brian Hiatt tries to bait Finneas into saying whether they’ll be experimenting with this early material on the upcoming tour, but Finneas demurs, saying that the focus of the tour is definitely Happier Than Ever. “It’s 16 songs, we don’t want to step on the toes of an album like that,” he said, although there definitely seemed to be some hinting in the tone of his voice. The episode is a very cool spin with Finneas also providing some insight into producing pop music for both himself and his sister. Listen to it in full here.

Since his death in 1996, we’ve continually strived to better understand and appreciate the genius of Tupac Shakur. In 2015, the All Eyez On Me: The Writing Of Tupac Shakur exhibit at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles became the first such exhibition dedicated to the late rapper. Come next year, you’ll be able to fully immerse in a multimedia Tupac experience via the Wake Me When I’m Free collaboration between The Estate of Tupac Shakur and The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. It begins in LA and will be touring the globe for years to come. And now next week, you’ll be able to own a piece of Tupac’s jewelry as an NFT, which joins the previously announced drop of photos from his debut album.

Dubbed “The Immortal Collection,” a collection of Tupac’s infamous jewelry will drop via the MakersPlace NFT marketplace on December 15th. The collection is inspired by the jewelry that Tupac wore and even the jewelry that he designed as his career blossomed. It contains pieces like his 2PAC and diamond solitaire rings, as well as his Makaveli bracelet (above) and a medallion he wore in the last photo ever captured of him. A statement regarding the drop said the following:

“Working in close collaboration with his Estate, NFT Artists Impossible Brief and curators Digital Arts & Sciences were able to select pieces from his personal archives that had some of the deepest meanings and intentions attached to them. It is with Tupac’s personal vision and ideas, that they carefully created this digital assortment of the jewelry he designed and wore, marking the world’s first NFT authorized by The Shakur Estate. “

The pieces represent a look at some of the items that will be included in the Wake Me When I’m Free experience. Take a look at the four items below and get more info on “The Immortal Collection” here.

Nicki Minaj thinks that Jennifer Hough, the woman suing Nicki and her husband Kenneth Petty for harassment, is angling for a payday, according to legal documents the rap star has filed in response to the suit. TMZ reports that Nicki asks the court to sanction Hough, accusing her of falsely alleging harassment. In particular, Nicki’s lawyers maintain that Hough did not try to hide her number from Nicki as she previously stated and that Hough changed part of her story during a recent television appearance.

As evidence, Nicki’s attorneys claim that Hough texted Nicki after changing her number to tell her “US Marshalls are asking questions!!!” Meanwhile, regarding the interview, court documents filed by Hough say that her brother told her a lawyer representing Petty reached out to her with an offer of $500,000 to recant her 1995 testimony against him for sexual assault, while Nicki is also included in Hough’s harassment suit. Taken together, they believe these inconsistencies prove Hough is shaking down Nicki when her dispute should be with Nicki’s husband.

Hough filed suit against both this past August, accusing them of harassment, witness intimidation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She said that the couple’s representatives have badgered her relentlessly since 2019, hoping to get Petty removed from the sex offenders list, where he must be registered since being convicted of raping Hough in 1995. Petty has since insisted that she was a “willing participant” and Nicki has filed a motion to have the case dismissed. Neither has addressed Nicki’s prior insistence that the victim was white (disproven, obviously), nor that she was dating Petty at the time of the incident (disputed by Hough), neither of which would absolve Petty of sexual assault even if they were true.

Billions creator Brian Koppelman just dropped a trailer for the highly-anticipated Season 6, which will take the Showtime series in a bold new direction following Damian Lewis exiting the series after his character Bobby Axelrod took off into the sunset. (Lewis, understandably, wished to work closer to home in London following the death of his wife, actress Helen McCrory.) The new trailer puts the focus on Corey Stoll’s Mike Prince, who will be the prime target in the sights of New York Attorney General Chuck Rhoades, played by Paul Giamatti. Rhoades also seems to have an eye on Jerry O’Connell’s Steven Birch, who does not seem to be enjoying that experience one bit.

You can see the new Season 6 trailer below:

And here’s how Koppelman described the new Axe-less season to Entertainment Weekly:

“Billions season 6 really does have all the stuff you love about the tone and ensemble and feel,” co-creator Brian Koppelman told EW recently. “It is a Billions season, but it is structured differently; it’s the next evolution of the show. But the characters are still set. All the characters still have their own needs, desires, wants, and those needs, desires, wants might very well come into conflict with other characters on the show.”

Billions Season 6 hits Showtime on January 23, 2022.

(Via Brian Koppelman on Twitter)

PnB Rock’s new EP 2 Get You Thru The Rain drops this week, and to get you hype, he stopped by UPROXX Sessions to deliver an upbeat performance of one of the project’s six all-new songs, “Zaza.”

The Philadelphia rapper has been relatively quiet since releasing his 2019 album TrapStar Turnt PopStar, but hasn’t been completely silent in the past couple of years though. Earlier this year, he teamed up with King Von’s crew to release the video for “Rose Gold,” and more recently, he, Pink Sweats, and Swae Lee collaborated on the song “Forever Never.” 2 Get You Thru The Rain is set to feature DJ Luke Nasty on the previously released “High,” as well as Lil Baby and Young Thug on “Eyes Open.”

Watch PnB Rock’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “Zaza” above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

PnB Rock is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Four months ago, if you’d have said a hyper-violent Korean drama would be 2021’s most Tweeted about show, you’d probably have gotten more than a few strange looks. Now, however, it’s hard to imagine it any other way.

In what’s sure to come as little surprise, Twitter has officially revealed that Squid Game was the site’s most talked about television show on the social media platform, surpassing even the most anticipated of Disney+ shows (via Variety). Considering just how quickly the sleeper hit went from practically unheard of to a property worth a staggering $1 billion — and well on its way to getting a second season — there certainly was no shortage of discussions to be had about the hit Netflix series over on Twitter. It also doesn’t hurt that the show’s massive popularity ultimately impacted other sectors of entertainment, with the “real-life version” of the show created by popular YouTuber MrBeast becoming one of YouTube’s hottest videos of the year.

The official Twitter rankings were released earlier today as part of the site’s annual year-in-review report #OnlyOnTwitter, which is based on internal company data from gathered from January 1 through November 15, 2021. As for what other shows topped Twitter’s charts, WandaVision, Sesame Street, Saturday Night Live, Jeopardy!, Grey’s Anatomy, The Simpsons, Loki, The Walking Dead, and even Game of Thrones (despite it’s poorly-received final episode airing in 2019) all made the list.

When it comes to what movies garnered most buzz in 2021, 2018’s Black Panther — starring the late Chadwick Boseman — was by-and-large the most tweeted about film. However, it is worth noting that this includes all tweets about the movie’s upcoming sequel, Black Panther: Wakana Forever, which is currently slated to hit theaters November 2022. In addition to Black Panther, Godzilla vs Kong, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Suicide Squad, and Spider-Man: No Way Home rounded out Twitter’s top five, proving once-and-for-all that even in a post-Endgame world, superhero movies are going nowhere.

Former reality TV star Josh Duggar has been convicted of two counts of possessing child pornography after a six-day trial resulted in a guilty verdict. Duggar, who had previously embroiled his family in a molestation scandal involving his own sisters, attempted to claim that someone else accessed his computer and downloaded the illegal material, but the prosecution was able to prove that was not the case. Federal investigators effectively tied Duggar to the computer at a car dealership that the former 19 Kids and Counting star owned.

Via Associated Press:

The jury in Fayetteville, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock, found the 33-year-old Duggar guilty on one count each of receiving and possessing child pornography. He faces up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 for each count when he’s sentenced.

“Regardless of wealth, social status, or fame, our office will continue to seek out all individuals who seek to abuse children and victimize them through the downloading, possession, and sharing of child pornography,” said U.S. Attorney Clay Fowlkes of the western district of Arkansas, which prosecuted the case.

Despite his son being on trial for child porn possession, Duggar’s father Jim Bob is running for a state senate seat in Arkansas. According to his campaign announcement, the eldest Duggar will be running on a “pro-family” platform.

(Via Associated Press)

Fans on Twitter have found themselves flabbergasted by a news item that is currently spreading like wildfire revolving around influencer turned rapper Blac Chyna. Chyna is being accused of holding a woman hostage in a hotel room during a wild, “drug-fueled” party, and people aren’t sure what to think. While it isn’t the first time Blac Chyna has gone viral for unusual behavior, the situation is much different than her previous public outburst.

It doesn’t help that the story was initially reported by tabloid newspaper The Sun, which isn’t exactly known for its journalistic standards. According to The Sun, the woman and her friend were invited to Chyna’s hotel suite at the Sacramento Sheraton for drinks. The woman’s friend, who allegedly caught the incident on camera, said that Chyna became “agitated” and turned on them. “Suddenly out of nowhere Chyna just yelled at my friend to ‘shut the f*ck up’ or she’d beat both our asses,” he said.

However, he said that when the two tried to leave, “she shut the door behind me and kept my friend in the room.” After waiting in the hall for 20 minutes, members of Chyna’s entourage knocked on the door, at which point the woman can be seen fleeing the room and crying. The Sun reports that according to the Sacramento Police Department, “A dispute between two parties occurred, and the incident was resolved at the scene by the individuals involved. No injuries were reported.”

Fans on Twitter were less than credulous, posting their disbelief at the wild story. Check out their responses below.

And Just Like That…: Season 1 (HBO Max series) — Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) are back, along with the Big Apple, y’all. No Samantha will be found, given that Kim Cattrall declined to return, but there will be returning dudes, including Chris Noth’s Mr. Big, who will hopefully be far less of an insufferable cad. Yet there’s going to be a bittersweet aspect to this revival, given that Willie Garson (Carrie’s BFF, Stanford Blatch) recently passed away. All of those swirling moods will possibly disappear in a whirl of overwrought flower hats or something, but the show professes to be more inclusive this time around. It’s also still about friendship and the complications of life.

Anne Boleyn (AMC+ limited series) — Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim) stars in this reimagining of Tutor England’s era of King Henry VIII, and history will tell us that Anne, his second wife, did not fare well, given that no male heir surfaced from the marriage. The story leans toward psychological thriller rather than period drama, and the patriarchal society gets a feminist twist here. One mayor bonus here will be Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You), who portrays George Boleyn, brother of Anne. Expect a visionary take on a snapshot of time that people only thought that they understood.

Bloods: Season 1 (Hulu series) — This British comedy series (starring Samson Kayo and Jane Horrocks) about a group of wayward paramedics originally broadcast on Sky across the pond. However, Hulu acquired the joint and will exclusively be the U.S. host for multiple seasons to come, so that audiences on both sides of the pond can enjoy these unorthodox exploits.

The Housewives of The North Pole (Peacock film) — The NBC Universal streamer launches its first original holiday movie starring The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills‘ Kyle Richards and Breaking Bad‘s Betsy Brandt. Hopefully, there will be one billion arguments and Christmas tree tinsel and ornaments flying across the room. Let the drama roll.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC, 9:00pm) — Well, well, well. This episode is called “People Vs. Richard Wheatley,” so get ready for villainous Dylan McDermott.

Law & Order: Organized Crime (NBC, 10:00pm) — It’s Christmastime and Eli’s missing, so Stabler calls in Benson to help him get things done. And Wheatley is here, too, and thinking about the future.

The Late Late Show With James Corden — Governor Gavin Newsom, Hannah Waddingham, She & Him

In case you missed this pick from last week:

Santa Inc (HBO Max series) — In this stop-motion animated series, the perpetually jolly Seth Rogen voices what seems like Santa while Sarah Silverman plays the dedicated elf who’s seeking to become the first lady Santa. Let’s hope she kicks some butt and rises above all the dude candidates, and you’ll also hear the voices of Craig Robinson, Nicholas Braun, Maria Bamford, Leslie Grossman, Gabourey Sidibe, and Joel Kim Booster along the way.