GoneTrending

This week, Little Caesars unveiled their latest culinary invention, the Crazy Calzony. Instantly, the internet was left scratching its collective head — with opinions split between disgust and hunger-induced curiosity. At first glance, I wasn’t on board. I hate meme foods that look like they were made solely to create conversation. Call me crazy but I really want chains to do one thing and one thing only: make good food at an affordable (yet sustainable) price.

Was I being unfair to the Crazy Calzony? Maybe. Just because something looks like it was made to be memed doesn’t make it automatically bad. On paper, the thing sounds solid. So solid that I knew I had to try it ASAP.

The Crazy Calzony claims to be part pepperoni pizza, part calzone. Inside the crust, you’ll find a garlic white sauce, mozzarella cheese, and julienned pepperonis, with some parmesan sprinkled over the whole pie for good measure. To us, it looks less like a calzone and more like a Sicilian quadri pizza, where the crust is folded over, essentially creating a stuffed crust pizza. So it’s not like there isn’t precedent for this — though we doubt that’s what Little Caesars was going for.

The Crazy Calzony is available at participating Little Caesars nationwide for delivery or pickup at a price of $8.49. Beginning August 23rd it’ll be available as a Hot N’ Ready item. We tried two Crazy Calzonys this week to see if this thing is worth the buy — so that you don’t have to take the chance next time you end up at a Little Caesars choosing between this or a sensibly priced $5 regular pizza.

Let’s dive in!

Little Caesar’s Crazy Calzony Pepperoni Pizza/ Cheese Pizza

Crazy Calzony? More like f*cked up calzone. Seriously, let’s get this right out of the way, if your interest in this pizza revolves around the idea that you get the best of both worlds with the Crazy Calzony you’re going to be disappointed — this is nothing like eating a calzone. What makes a Calzone great is how many ingredients the form factor allows you to stuff inside of it (and the puff of an air-sealed crust). A calzone, unlike a pizza, isn’t about toppings, it’s about fillings, which are two very different things. Unfortunately, as far as fillings go the Crazy Calzony is lacking. You get little chunks of julienned pepperoni, but that’s it, it’s mostly a crust stuffed with cheese. Even the garlic white sauce gets consumed by that cheese, giving it a different consistency than the cheese on top of the pie, but aside from the mouthfeel being different, it’s very easy to mistake this sauce for more cheese, with some subtle notes of garlic thrown in there.

That’s not a problem for me, I love stuffed crust pizza. But I’m just warning the calzone-heads out there, this thing is going to keep you wanting if what you want is a calzone. This isn’t even a bad calzone, it’s just not a calzone at all.

Another thing that makes calzones great is how easily dippable they are, Little Caesars gets this which is why they supply their famous Crazy Sauce with this pie. But considering Little Caesars’ regular pizza is constructed in a way that the toppings magically hold up against gravity, you can also do that with a regular slice of Little Caesars’ pizza, so you don’t need this form factor for that experience.

At first bite, you’ll be greeted with an overwhelming amount of salt that settles into notes of butter and garlic, and then, unfortunately, the flavor ride is over. This isn’t the most complex of culinary experiences, but it is in no way bad, aside from the greasy fingers it’ll leave you. It’s great stoner food, so if you’re indulging the munchies, definitely get it. As we alluded to before, this is less like a calzone and more like a stuffed crust pizza, but I like it better than a normal stuffed crust pizza. The way the cheese spills over from the crust into the pie is a beautiful thing. If you’ve ever eaten a stuffed crust pizza and wanted even more cheese, this provides that.

Plus you get more crispiness.

I had both the all-cheese and pepperoni versions and for the most part, the experiences were the same. Both feature the julienne pepperonis in the crust, so vegetarians beware, this pizza is not friendly to you. As you can tell from the picture, the pepperoni pizza was assembled haphazardly, so overall it felt really lacking in the toppings department. Overall, the flavors here are good, and if you love Little Caesars it’s safe to assume you’re going to like the taste of this, but please, Little Caesars, if you’re listening, we have a very easy fix for the overall lackluster experience of eating this pizza — offer some fillings choices. Give us the chance to stick anything you’ve got into that crust.

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking for a calzone look elsewhere. If you’re looking for the evolution of the stuffed crust pizza, this is it! There is more cheese than your regular stuffed crust, and with the inclusion of the garlic white sauce, you get an extra flavor in there to keep things interesting.

For the best results don’t pick this one up Hot-N-Ready, instead order it online or in-store and go crazy with those toppings. Pepperoni, bacon, and green peppers seem like a winner paired with that garlic white sauce in the crust. Don’t stop at the Crazy Sauce either, if you have your own favorite dipping sauces at home, definitely utilize them — this pizza needs a little extra help in order to realize its full potential.

One of the most shocking facts of American life is that it takes an average of 21.1 years for the average borrower to pay off their student loan debt.

Most hope that after getting an education they can bear the burden of their loans by having a successful career. But some have their careers derailed or ended altogether by becoming disabled whether by an accident or disease.

This can put someone in a perilous situation that wasn’t their fault. They’ve lost the ability to earn an income but still have to make monthly payments for a degree that they may not need anymore.

The Biden administration announced Thursday that it will cancel the student loan debt for over 323,000 people who are “totally and permanently disabled” and have limited incomes.

The debt cancellation will total over $5.8 billion.

This is big. Let’s keep this momentum going and #CancelStudentDebt for all.
https://t.co/QValwpAYNg

— NextGen America 🗳✨ (@NextGenAmerica)
1629407400.0

The federal government had laws in place to help disabled people pay off their student loan debts. However, the system required regular income verification and was difficult for many to navigate.

In 2016, a federal watchdog group found that 98% of those dropped from the loan forgiveness program had their loans restored because they failed to keep up with the paperwork, not because they made too much money.

Under the new action, the federal government will erase student debt for the 323,000 Americans identified in Social Security records as being permanently disabled. The recipients won’t have to submit any further income checks or risk being eliminated from the program.

All of the loans are expected to be eliminated at the end of the year. Borrowers will be notified when their debt has been discharged.

“This is going to be a smooth process for our borrowers,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. “They’re not going to have to be applying for it or getting bogged down by paperwork.”

via Michael Fleshman / Flickr

Aaron Ament, president of the National Student Legal Defense Network, called it a “life-changing” step.

“This is a huge moment for hundreds of thousands of borrowers with disabilities who can now move on with their lives and won’t be trapped in a cycle of debt,” he said.

“With this simple and sensible change, more than 320,000 borrowers and their families are being freed from the burden of student loans that they should not have to repay,” Representative Bobby Scott, a Democrat from Virginia and chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, said in a statement.

The move comes as part of a broader movement by the Biden administration to lessen the burden of student debt for many Americans. The administration extended the student debt payment moratorium enacted in March 2020 through January 31, 2022.

Earlier this year the administration canceled $1.3 billion in student debt held by seriously disabled borrowers whose canceled loans were reinstated after they failed to show proof of their earnings.

Another wave of loan forgiveness canceled $8.7 billion in debt for people who were victimized by schools that made false promises or abruptly closed shop.

Currently, 42.9 million Americans hold $1.59 trillion in federal student loan debt.

Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story empire continues to expand, and he’s taking aim at another 1990s scandal in the Bill Clinton impeachment proceedings. But the trailer’s biggest piece of news is that we finally get a good look at Beanie Feldstein’s transformation into Monica Lewinsky.

The trailer for the “based on a true story” series opens with Feldstein’s Lewinsky sitting at lunch and talking about how she’s dating someone “important.” A shy Lewinsky pauses and seems to struggle to know what to say. The next shot is an image of the White House.

Feldstein’s transformation into the infamous White House intern may be a shock for people who last saw her play a high schooler in Booksmart, but the 28-year-old actress certainly looks the part as the center of one of the biggest modern scandals in American presidential history, non-Trump category. Here’s the show’s description:

Impeachment: American Crime Story examines the national crisis that led to the first impeachment of a U.S. President in over a century through the eyes of the women at the center of the events: Monica Lewinsky, Linda Tripp and Paula Jones. All three were thrust into the public spotlight during a time of corrosive partisan rancor, shifting sexual politics and a changing media landscape.

There’s a lot to discuss from the trailer, at least as far as the accuracy of the story it’s based upon, although Lewinsky’s role as an executive producer does lend credence to the truth of it all. But it certainly plays up the drama of the whole affair and the roles of other important characters who brought allegations against Bill Clinton that led to his impeachment. As for Clinton, the trailer only shows him briefly, as played by Clive Owen, at the end and on the other side of a phone call that starts with Lewinsky saying “Hey, handsome” into the receiver.

We’ll see it all play out when the latest American Crime Story hits FX on September 7.

Outkast‘s Big Boi and Organized Noise’s Sleepy Brown — who fall under the Atlanta collective The Dungeon Family — have announced a long-awaited release date for their collaborative album, The Big Sleepover. In tandem with the announcement, the duo released a dancehall-influenced single, “The Big Sleep Is Over” featuring Jamaican artist Kay-I, and an animated music video, which you can check out above.

First teased in 2019, The Big Sleepover is set to feature Big Boi and Sleepy Brown’s single “Intentions” featuring CeeLo Green, plus “Can’t Sleep,” “Lower Case,” and “We The Ones” featuring Killer Mike and Big Rube. (You might recall how Big Boi, Big Rube, Killer Mike, and Sleepy Brown all teamed up to perform the remix of “We The Ones” on The Tonight Show around Election Day.)

To cap things off, Big Boi and Sleepy Brown also mapped out a run of fall tour dates, including a Falcons pregame performance in Atlanta, which you can find below.

08/24 — Los Angeles, CA @ MLS All Star Game
09/01 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
09/02 – Evanston, IL @ Evanston Brewing Co
09/11 – South Haven, MI @ Gridlife Midwest
09/12 – Atlanta, GA @ Falcons Pregame Performance
10/01 – Wichita, KS @ Wichita Riverfest
10/06 – Charlotte, NC @ Underground
10/07 – Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre
10/08 – Charleston, SC @ Charleston Music Hall
10/09 – Columbia, SC @ The Senate

The Big Sleepover arrives on 9/3 via Hitco. Pre-order it here.

There was a stretch this offseason where Aaron Rodgers looked like he was going to have a whole lot of time on his hands as tension with the Green Bay Packers led to rumors that he was seriously considering retirement. That didn’t happen — Rodgers agreed to a new deal to stick around and possibly do a few more Lambeau Leaps before his football career comes to an end — but despite that, he still wanted to try his best to fill the late Alex Trebek’s shoes.

Rodgers, a well-documented Jeopardy! superfan, got the chance to guest host the show last season, and made a pretty strong case that he deserved the opportunity to be in contention for the gig. That didn’t happen, as Jeopardy! made the widely-scrutinized decision to hand the reins of the show (at least for non-special episodes) to Mike Richards, but on Friday, Rodgers confirmed that he would have been honored to take over if it could have worked with his football schedule.

“Yeah, I definitely would’ve,” Rodgers told Sirius XM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio when asked if he would have accept the opportunity. “I mean, if they would have figured out a way to make it work with my schedule, yeah, for sure.”

This interview happened before Richards resigned amid a flurry of controversy regarding things and actions from his past that had been unearthed following his appointment to the post. So now, Jeopardy! can go in one of three directions: 1. Have Mayim Bialik, who is set to host primetime specials of the show, take over full time, 2. Look for someone else or, 3. Just give the job to Rodgers.

femdot. is on his way to becoming a household name, but he already is to Chicago hip-hop heads. His 2019 album ’94 Camry Music was revered and he has collaborated with fellow Windy City favorites like Saba, Taylor Bennett, and Cole Bennett’s Lyrical Lemonade. Those co-signs are just one reason why femdot. is a name to know and one that the latest “Magnum Scenes” video sheds some light on.

The rapper starts the clip by speaking about his connection to his home and how it plays into his strengths as an artist, saying, “It’s a very authentic city. You can’t fake it here. You read through that. Relatability is probably my superpower as an artist. I only speak on what I know, so the music is a reflection of Chicago.”

Interestingly, femdot. finds himself where he is today after choosing rap over another passion of his: science. When he went off to college, Chicago was having a hip-hop moment thanks to the rise of artists like Chance The Rapper, which made femdot. want to devote himself to music. He explains why being back in Chicago was critical to making that happen for him, saying, “A lot of these rappers in the city started getting a look, and I’m like, ‘Man, I wonder what would happen if I was home.’ In Chicago, if you’re not around, you’re out of sight, out of mind. If you’re not home, that’s cool and people will love you and whatever, but it hit different when they know you feel this, too.”

Elsewhere in the clip, femdot. speaks about his childhood interest in music, the people he surrounded himself with, his philanthropic endeavors, and more, so check out the video above and explore the other scenes covered in this series here.

In an effort to encourage others to continue to be vigilant, Clarissa Explains It All actress Melissa Joan Hart revealed that she’s battling a breakthrough case of COVID-19, which she believes came from her children’s school. A breakthrough case means that Hart was vaccinated, but still caught the virus.

“Wanted to share this with all of you,” Hart wrote in the caption to her Instagram video posted on August 18. “I’m not posting this to be political or gain pity, I just want to share my journey. This isn’t up for debate, it’s just how I feel today on my page.”

In the roughly two minute long video, Hart urges everyone to not get “lazy” because the pandemic is still out there, and she now knows from first-hand experience. Via Entertainment Weekly:

“I am vaccinated, and I got COVID,” she said. “And it’s bad. It’s weighing on my chest, it’s hard to breathe.”

“I’m mad,” she continued, holding back tears. “I’m really mad because we tried, and we took precautions, and we cut our exposure by a lot, but we got a little lazy. And I think as a country we got lazy, and I’m really mad that my kids didn’t have to wear masks at school because I’m pretty sure that’s where this came from.”

Hart also became understandably emotional at the thought of her husband or kids needing to be hospitalized and how she couldn’t be there if that happened. “I just really hope [they] don’t get it because if someone has to be taken to the hospital, I can’t go with them,” Hart said.

Fortunately, Hart posted an update the next day that her symptoms had already improved, which has been the experience for the vast majority of people who experienced a breakthrough case.

“Feeling better today! Mask up, isolate, and test constantly!” Hart wrote in the follow-up post.

(Via Melissa Joan Hart on Instagram, Entertainment Weekly)

Earlier this month, Jason Isbell declared that for his upcoming tour with The 400 Unit, attendees will be required to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative test. He also threatened to cancel shows at venues that wouldn’t go along with that policy, and he meant it. He’s already called off some concerts, most recently today, when he axed an October 8 date in Mississippi. A troll decided to use that as an opportunity to go after Isbell, which Isbell handled like a champ.

In response to a tweet about the Mississippi cancelation, a Twitter user wrote, “No big loss! B lister at best.” Isbell decided to not disagree or see that as the insult it was surely intended to be, but instead explained why he’s perfectly happy with his current level of fame. He replied, “B list is the best list, though. I can go to the grocery store without being bothered, and I afford the good eggs.”

Isbell may be a self-proclaimed B-lister, but he’s working his way towards the A-list in the cinematic world: It was announced earlier this year that he and Sturgill Simpson joined the cast of Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon, which also features Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Jesse Plemons.

On the latest episode of People’s Party, Talib Kweli was joined by TDE rapper Isaiah Rashad for an interview that covered everything from the long gestation period of Rashad’s highly anticipated (and acclaimed! and charting!) sophomore effort The House Is Burning to big rap nerd stuff, like the merits of Magoo. But as fun as the interview was, it also offers a glimpse into who Isaiah Rashad is — a careful and well-studied student of hip-hop.

One of Rashad’s earliest teachers were none other than Atlanta hip-hop legends Outkast, who Rashad first discovered through a remixed version of Big Boi and Andre’s first album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik.

“The first time I heard that shit, was chopped and screwed,” says Rashad. “I didn’t even know what it really sounded like I was just like ‘what is this fucking craziest ass shit my cousin is playing,’ but after that, I got more into it.”

Rashad would go on to take inspiration from every Outkast album, taking detailed notes along the way.

“I knew I wanted to be a rapper as a kid but around a teenager is when I really started…got on Limewire, and stole all ya’ll shit, just to study it,” he says. “I’d be at work… writing down the lyrics that ya’ll would say and I would be trying to break it down and reformulate it.”

Through the careful study of the great MCs who came before him, Rashad was able to carve out his own unique voice to add to the hip-hop canon. Check out the full video above to hear more about Rashad’s early influences and his love for all things Outkast. Yes, even Idlewild.

When almost all of the nation’s schoolchildren were forced to embark upon remote learning, everyone struggled to stay afloat: families, students, and teachers. Despite the heroic efforts of educators and families, remote learning presented significant challenges for students, particularly those of lower socioeconomic status.

It’s not yet clear the significant learning challenges all students faced last year and the resulting impact as many students return to in person learning this Fall. Preliminary data suggests significant learning loss – particularly among children of color.

The ability to read and write is the foundation upon which an education is built, and research shows students of color and those in high-poverty communities fell even further behind during remote learning than their peers. For example, the sudden shift to remote schooling in Spring 2020 set White students back by 1-3 months in math, while students of color lost 3-5 months of learning.

This systemic inequity that has existed in the American education system for decades has disproportionately left students of color behind, and the COVID-19 school closures multiplied this challenge, impacting a generation of already at-risk youth. Disparities in access to computers, home internet connections, and direct instruction from teachers, all have played a role in this crisis since the start of the pandemic. Even prior to the pandemic, 65% of children in the U.S. were not reading at the proficient level, and 2/3 of U.S. children living in poverty don’t have a children’s book in their home.

Macy’s is a longtime partner of Reading Is Fundamental, the nation’s largest children’s literacy nonprofit organization; this year, they’re taking action to address this overwhelming problem via back-to-school shopping. Every time you shop at Macy’s in August, round up your in-store purchase to the nearest dollar up to 99 cents or donate online to help support children’s literacy. Every $4 donated purchases one book, and one hundred percent of donations go directly to literacy programs for local children.

Photo courtesy of Macy’s

Over the past 18 years, Macy’s partnership with Reading Is Fundamental has provided more than 14 million books and thousands of supplemental reading resources to kids across the country. Your support will have a direct impact on communities across the country by funding critical literacy needs in communities that have the greatest need.

“At Robert Head Start & Early Head Start, we ordered our books from [Reading Is Fundamental] last school year and were able to distribute them to the children during a time when children really needed extra support at home while school was often closed for weeks at a time due to COVID-19. It was really wonderful to watch the children select their own book from the rich variety.

“As staff, we enjoyed seeing the children’s eyes light up as they would select the book they really wanted. It also helped us to learn about their likes and in some ways their dislikes. We were able to provide several opportunities throughout the school year in which the children were given the opportunity to select a book as we actually had enough for each child to receive three books. The grant supported by Macy’s not only helped us during a time of need when the children were spending so few days in an actual classroom, it provided the children with the beginning of their own home library,” said Brenda Laurent, the Center Manager at Regina Coeli Child Development Center in Robert, LA.

Supporting students who struggled with and fell behind due to the negative learning impacts of the pandemic will require all of us to pull together. Improved literacy not only benefits today’s children, but future generations shaping the trajectory of our country.