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Rand Paul has had quite a week. His anti-COVID-vaccine and misinformation-loving stance got him suspended from YouTube. Not to be deterred, he then tweeted a deranged rant about freedom and resisting mask mandates, which led one of his state’s leading newspapers to wonder, “Is Sen. Rand Paul okay?” All of his clashes with Dr. Fauci and skepticism about the dangers of COVID then came back to bite him in the butt when he disclosed — 16 months after the fact — that his wife had purchased stock in a biotech company (Gilead) that manufactured the COVID-treatment drug Remdesivir.

The 16-month delay certainly didn’t meet requirements of the Stock Act (a 45-day deadline), and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez mercilessly shaded him while arguing that Congress members shouldn’t be allowed to privately own stock at all (because stuff like this tends to happen). Subsequently, the Lexington CBS affiliate caught up with Rand and captured his excuse (via Mediaite): “I typed it into the computer and I thought I pressed send.” Yup, Rand really said that. Here’s more from Mediaite:

“I apologize. I was bad on the reporting,” Paul told reporters while visiting Somerset small business Baxter’s Coffee with his wife.

“I had typed it into the computer. So, about two weeks after Kelley made the stock purchase, I typed it into the computer and I thought I pressed send but I didn’t.”

Rand Paul, physician and elected official, claims that he simply forgot to hit “send” while making what he said was an intended stock-purchase disclosure, well before the Stock Act deadline. That’s not too believable at all.

(Via Mediaite)

Today marked the release of the latest album from The Killers, Pressure Machine, which arrives just under a year after its predecessor, Imploding The Mirage. Believe it or not, the band is already talking about yet another new album.

A new NME interview with group notes that they have apparently been working on some “orphan songs” as Dave Keuning’s San Diego and are “figuring out” their next album. Brandon Flowers noted of the material, “It’s a little bit more canyon rock, maybe a little bit more traditional Killers, I guess.”

Vannucci described the music as “a bit heavier and more clench-fisted” than Pressure Machine, saying, “We were messing around on the stage for a virtual show the other month and it felt like there was this rock n’ roll thing happening. I could see us going in that direction: something a bit more energized.”

He also noted that after some band members have had various levels of involvement with the band’s endeavors in recent years, everybody wants in on what’s next; Keuning did not performing on Imploding The Mirage, while bassist Mark Stoermer wasn’t involved with recording Pressure Machine due to COVID precautions.

“I’m just supposing here, but I think the whole COVID thing made people realize how good they have it,” Vannucci said. “There have been some really kind remarks that I’ve never heard from the guys before that made saying, ‘Hey, I don’t want to not be on a record any more – so let’s do this.’ We’re very sobered up from the experience of being locked away. I do think that all four of us are going to be on this next record. We’ve already started messing around a bit, so that’s good.”

Read the full feature here.

Introducing, Selma Blair, the intimate documentary following actress Selma Blair’s life after her diagnosis with multiple sclerosis, now has a first trailer and already it’s a tough watch. The upcoming film captures the highs and lows of Blair’s battle with MS as she experiments with various treatment plans and ultimately undergoes a stem cell transplant, which of course comes with more complications and challenges of its own. Throughout the trailer, Blair shows off her signature humor and charm, while also being brutally honest about her fears that she was “shooting the final days of [her] life.” In an interview with Vanity Fair, Blair shared why it was so important to her to film the documentary, in spite of any fears or reservations:

“I had the conviction of thinking I had something to share. You keep opening windows or closing doors and finding tools. I hope my little life gives someone who needs it some hope or a laugh or more awareness of ourselves. I hope the film shows that MS varies. That people’s strengths and weaknesses vary. All the emotions of life make healing variable, too. For all of us.”

Introducing, Selma Blair is directed by Rachel Fleit, a filmmaker with her own autoimmune disorder who closely followed Blair throughout her treatment as well as conducted interviews with people close to the star shedding more light on her struggle. The trailer opens up with someone close to Blair explaining why the actress was so eager to control the narrative around her illness, telling Fleit that as a celebrity, she was subject to greater scrutiny and would most likely be assumed drunk or troubled if she were to be seen walking with a limp. According to Fleit, her goal with the film is to “show a different way of being in the world, but also to show a woman who fully embraces herself.”

This trailer comes mere days after a lot of conversation surrounding multiple sclerosis has emerged. Mere days ago, fellow actress Christina Applegate shared her own multiple sclerosis diagnosis on Twitter, to which Blair responded with public support.

Loving you always. Always here. As are our kids. Beating us up with love

— Selma Blair (@SelmaBlair) August 10, 2021

Introducing, Selma Blair is scheduled to release in theaters on October 15, a week before it becomes available for streaming October 21 over on Discovery+. However, regardless of if you see it in theaters or from the comfort of your own couch, tissues seem like a real must for this one.

South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone really are taking a bunch of money they made from the show and doing their best to make real life a bit more like their cartoon universe. While a marijuana grower based on one a character created in canon hasn’t come to fruition just yet, things are looking up for fans of authentic Mexican food in the state of Colorado.

Word came Friday that Parker and Stone did, indeed, make good on their offer to buy their beloved Casa Bonita. The restaurant featured in Season 7’s 11th episode is a real-life attraction featuring cliff dives, a treasure cave and live music. And now its fate lay in the hands of the animators that made it word famous.

The sale completes a wild fortnight of speculation about the fate of the restaurant beloved by Parker and Stone. They first mentioned they’d like to buy it last month while its parent company dealt with bankruptcy proceedings. While the place remained closed, a fan petition to let the duo buy the place gained steam despite its owners saying they had not reached out to actually buy the place.

But according to The Hollywood Reporter, the deal is now done.

The duo, who grew up in Colorado, were interviewed on Friday by Gov. Jared Polis where they broke the news.

Afterward, Parker told The Hollywood Reporter the deal had closed that morning. “We bought it,” he told THR. “It just feels natural.” Financial details were not disclosed, but Parker called the final price tag “fair.”

It’s unclear just how quickly the two can get the place up and running, but it’s sure to be a South Park-themed attraction when it does reopen. Parker claimed that the final sale would take place in the coming months, as the restaurant’s parent company is still in bankruptcy proceedings that started in April. But it’s certainly something to look forward to for fans of the show planning a trip to Colorado anytime soon.

(via THR)

Who ran the world this summer? Women, that’s who.

In Uproxx’s latest video series, Wom/n Worldwide, we’re giving a much-deserved shout-out to the fem superheroes that are filling up our timelines with some much-needed good news. And women? They’ve been BUSY this year. Host Drew Dorsey breaks it all down in this, shining a light on the athletes, activists, actors, and all-around badasses affecting positive change in their respective fields. From decorated Olympians like Simone Biles putting a spotlight on mental health — and inspiring us all to take self-care more seriously — to the hip-hop queens ruling the charts, and the women revolutionizing the film industry from behind the camera — we’re hyped for it all.

The Olympics are still on everyone’s mind so now’s a good time to remind fans of how superstars like Biles, Katie Ledecky, and Naomi Osaka changed the game when it comes to how we view excellence in sport, and a couple of 13-year-old skateboarding phenoms blew our minds in Tokyo too. Speaking of empowerment, plenty of female artists have been delivering body-positive bangers this summer — we see you Cardi B — as icons like Billie Eilish, Lorde, and Halsey get ready to drop new music this Fall. (Our playlists needed updating anyway.)

We’re also ready for the world to update its beauty standards so naturally, we had to applaud Nikkie Tutorials for leading the way, and if you didn’t have enough to watch already, we’ve got a couple more female-helmed films to add to your binge-watching queue. All that and an update on the historic Generation Equality Forum that took place in Paris this summer pops up in our inaugural episode.

Check it out above!

J Balvin channels art exhibit vibes in the video for his smooth new single “Que Locura.” As Balvin reflects — obsesses, really — over a past relationship, he quips that he’ll need a Men In Black neuralyzer to forget his lover. Meanwhile, in the video, Balvin makes himself part of an art show, being admired by attendees who mug the camera and dance to the tightly wound reggaeton beat.

The song is the first single from Balvin’s upcoming album José, which is due to drop on September 10. José naturally takes its title from Balvin’s real name (José Álvaro Osorio Balvín) and is his first project since releasing Colores in March of 2020 — just before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the music industry. He’ll be hoping for better luck this go-around, betting that the virus can be contained in time for him to get in all the promotion he didn’t get to do last year (which the Latin Grammy-winning Colores genuinely deserved).

Since putting out that album, though, Balvin’s profile has only grown outside his native Colombia, resulting in cross-cultural collaborations with the likes of Skepta (“Nirvana“), Bobby Shmurda (Eladio Carrion’s “Tata” remix with Daddy Yankee), Metallica (a cover of the band’s “Wherever I Roam“), and Skrillex (“De La Ghetto“). He also became the second major artist to get his own McDonald’s meal.

Watch the video for “Que Locura” above.

Jose is due 9/10 on Sueños Globales.

More than two years since he last appeared on an NBA court, former journeyman wing Lance Stephenson is looking to get back into the league. According to a report by Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the soon-to-be 31-year-old Stephenson will go through a workout in Las Vegas on Friday morning.

While the entire list of teams is unknown, the three perceived top teams in the Eastern Conference, along with one of the heavy hitters out West, will apparently be in attendance.

A former second-round pick by the Indiana Pacers, Stephenson eventually turned into one of the team’s most important role players as it made back-to-back runs to the Eastern Conference Finals. He then bounced around the league — Stephenson had stints with the Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Los Angeles Lakers, along with a brief return to Indiana squeezed in between those last two spots.

During the 2019-20 season, Stephenson went to China to suit up for the Liaoning Flying Leopards. He was among the best players in the league, averaging 26.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. He has said that his goal has been to get back to the NBA, though, going as far as to say that “it’s hard for me to watch basketball right now” during a recent cameo on Haynes’ podcast.

Matt Amodio has already made his name known to Jeopardy! fans with a somewhat annoying answering style, but whatever he’s doing behind the contestant’s podium is clearly working. Amodio won his 17th straight game on Thursday’s broadcast, becoming the third highest earner in the show’s regular season history.

That $547,600 (and counting) didn’t come easy, though, as the PhD student did plenty of research to prepare for his run including studying TMZ for gossip and potential celebrity questions. Watching Jeopardy! is also on that list, of course, and in an interview with Vulture, Amodio explained how big a fan he is of the show and his family tradition of watching while growing up. Interestingly, he said he’s a huge fan of a man he’s now chasing in the record books: Jeopardy! GOAT Ken Jennings:

I was a huge Ken Jennings fan. It was like a sporting event. If there was gear, I would’ve bought gear and a big foam finger to root him on from my living room. I’m a huge Ken fan. Need to say that again.

The interview with Amodio is very fun, and he admits that all this attention has been interesting to say the least. But he also addressed his habit of saying “what’s” to preface every answer, rather than a “who is” or “what is” that contestants usually say to be grammatically correct. That habit, and the reaction to it online, actually made the show clarify its rules to make sure people know Amodio’s not getting special treatment. And the Jeopardy! champ merely said he was trying to keep things as simple as possible to calm his nerves on stage:

I’ve never been on television before, so the one thing I was very concerned about going in was … however calm and collected I am now in my personal life, I might go on Jeopardy! and forget what my name is. I don’t know if I’m gonna have stage fright. I went in trying to think about what moving parts I can eliminate that I just don’t have to worry about. One less thing to go wrong. That was the reasoning behind the “what’s.”

I knew the show accepted that response as okay. Through watching I knew what the rules were, so I devised a plan within the rules to keep me from messing up. That motivated a lot of my strategizing going in. What can I do to make my life easier at that moment? Once that moment starts, who knows what is going to happen.

While that habit may be driving some fans crazy, it’s a pretty astute point about eliminating any potential barriers to performance on the show. While many players study the host’s clue delivery and practice on makeshift signaling devices, small things can get people off their game on the show, including the bright lights of the stage and the grueling filming schedule. While Amodio said energy drinks have been key to his run, so, too, has his preparation across a variety of methods. It’s all working for him here, and that success just might mean others replicate his style when they take the stage in the future.

[via Vulture]

While it’s not uncommon to see older musicians perhaps not look on the new generation of stars fondly, that’s far from the case with Elton John. In recent months, he has either collaborator with or otherwise shown appreciation for BTS, Rina Sawayama, Phoebe Bridgers, Teyana Taylor, 6lack, and Gorillaz.

He also performed with Dua Lipa at his annual Oscars party a few months ago, and now the pair is back together on a new remix of “Cold Heart.” The song was remixed by Pnau, an Australian trio that has counted John as a mentor for years now. The new version of the track interpolates recognizable parts from some classic John tunes, including “Sacrifice,” “Rocket Man,” “Kiss The Bride,” and “Where’s The Shoorah?”

John says of the track, “The last 18 months have been hard, but being off the road has meant that I’ve actually had time to get back to my roots as a session player and collaborate with some wonderful artists. And having the opportunity to spend time with Dua, albeit remotely, has been incredible. She’s given me so much energy. She’s a truly wonderful artist, and person, absolutely bursting with creativity and ideas. The energy she brought to ‘Cold Heart’ just blew my mind.”

Watch the “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)” video above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

If you spend much time on TikTok, you’ll no doubt be familiar with the pop stylings of London DIY performer PinkPantheress. Just signed to Parlophone, the 20-year-old has garnered more than half a million plays for the super-catchy “Break It Off” and has seen a similar amount of success for “Pain.” Now, she’s got a new one for us to listen to: “Just For Me.” Produced by Mura Masa, “Just For Me” is a hyper-quick pop bop, complete with delicate guitar strums and, of course, PinkPantheress’ helium-high vocals.

“‘Just For Me’ is a song based around unhealthy obsession and is almost a part two to ‘Pain.’”

At the moment, PinkPantheress remains a largely anonymous pop breakout; according to a few interviews she’s done, the songs she’s released were written in her college dorm in London (“I have my uni work to do, and I didn’t have the luxury of a recording studio or ‘creative me-time,’” she’s said). Aesthetically, PinkPantheress draws significant influence from Lily Allen, ’90s and ’00s pop and punk acts, and K-pop. “A lot of my melody choices are from pop-punk bands like Blink-182 and Good Charlotte,” she recently told Dazed. “Some of the more complex melodies derive from early Panic! At The Disco, the beat choices are inspired by a lot of K-pop, Linkin Park, Frou Frou, and British dance music.”

Listen to “Break It Off” above.

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