In just a few days, the late Pop Smoke’s second posthumous album, titled Faith, will be released. It’s an effort that his management spent months teasing after the success of his first posthumous album, Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, became one of the most popular albums of 2020. Just before Faith arrives, the tracklist for the project gets unveiled by the late rapper’s team.
Faith will have 21 songs, two longer than the standard edition of Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon. While potential guest features for the album have yet to be revealed, some rumored names include Cardi B, Dua Lipa, Kodak Black, and Lil Tjay. Cardi may have accidentally revealed that a possible collaboration between her and Pop exists after she posted a screen-recording of her phone that showed she was listening to a song called “CB POP.”
It’s pretty clear that Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian are two happy lovebirds, the couple having been seen on multiple occasions enjoying each other’s company. The two were first rumored to be a thing at the beginning of the year, which was later confirmed to People by a source close to the couple, who said, “They’ve been dating for about a month or two. They’ve been friends for a long time but it’s turned romantic.” Six months later, it seems like the two couldn’t get any closer after Kardashian channeled her inner vampire with Barker on Instagram.
Travis Barker
In a post on Barker’s Instagram, Kardashian left an interesting comment, writing, “I want to suck your blood.” Barker seemed to be all in on the spooky action, replying, “@kourtneykardash My favorite [blood drop emoji].” One fan was a bit put off by Kourtney’s initial message, commenting, “okay too much calm down,” but it seemed to do nothing to affect the couple’s blood thirsty feelings for each other.
Prior to this, Travis Barker connected with Willow to rock an underground show in their video for “Transparent Soul.” It came after he and Bebe Rexha delivered a chaotic video for “Break My Heart Myself.” He also connected with KennyHoopla for their collaboration “Hollywood Sucks.”
There’s a torrent of books coming out about Trump’s presidency, which tend to focus on the home stretch, when he lost re-election and became the first to pretend like he hadn’t. We’ve heard such stories as Eric Trump blaming data analysts for his father losing, but now we know about something that happened much earlier. According to Michael Wolff’s Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency (as per Axios), among the many who’ve come under 45’s easily stoked ire were Brett Kavanaugh, the second of three justices he named to the Supreme Court for a lifetime gig.
Kavanaugh, like Neil Gorusch and Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s other two Supremes, hasn’t been the nightmare many on the left expected — so far. That’s left Trump arguably as furious with him as progressives. He told Wolff, during interviews for the book, that he was “very disappointed,” whom he thought “hasn’t had the courage you need to be a great justice.”
Trump essentially had buyer’s remorse. “There were so many others I could have appointed, and everyone wanted me to,” he told Wolff. He then all but admitted that he wasn’t fit to serve on the highest court in the land. “Where would he be without me? I saved his life. He wouldn’t even be in a law firm. Who would have had him? Nobody. Totally disgraced. Only I saved him.”
Among the cases Kavanaugh didn’t lean pro-Trump on was the most important of all: overturning the election. Instead the Court quickly dismissed cases that made their way to the top as frivolous. Trump was big mad at all three justices, but, Wolff says, he “reserved particular bile for Kavanaugh.”
“I had plenty of time to pick somebody else,” Trump told Wolff. “I went through that thing and fought like hell for Kavanaugh — and I saved his life, and I saved his career. At great expense to myself … okay? I fought for that guy and kept him.”
Kavanaugh was seen as a safe choice for Trump until he went through the confirmation hearings that resulted in his Supreme Court seat. That’s when he was accused of sexual misconduct from an alleged incident during his high school years. But this certainly lends credence to the claim that Trump wanted his three Supreme Court appointees to bend the law in his favor.
The Los Angeles Clippers’ run to the Western Conference Finals happened in part without Kawhi Leonard. The team’s All-NBA forward suffered a knee injury during the team’s second round series against the Utah Jazz, and while they were able to come out on top in that matchup, they ultimately did not have the firepower with Leonard on the sideline to beat the Phoenix Suns.
While we did not know exactly what happened to Leonard, the injury to his knee was bad enough that he didn’t play with a spot in the NBA Finals on the line. And on Tuesday evening, we finally got an answer as to what happened, as the Clippers announced that Leonard needed to have surgery on his knee to repair an ACL that he partially tore. The good news, per the team, is that surgery went well.
“Kawhi Leonard underwent successful surgery today to repair a partial tear of his right anterior cruciate ligament,” the team announced. “There is no timetable for his return.”
Leonard has the potential to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, although it’s unclear whether this would have any impact on his plans during the offseason. A first-team All-NBA selection this year, Leonard averaged 24.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.6 steals in 34.1 minutes per game.
The Scotch whisky industry is dominated by a handful of big names. The likes of The Glenlivet, The Macallan, Glenfiddich, and Lagavulin tend to own the single malt conversation. But does that mean those well-known names are the “best” in any measurable sense?
That’s harder to say.
Sure, when you crack open a bottle of The Balvenie or Aberlour or Ardbeg, you can be pretty sure you’re about to enjoy some high-quality, well-made whisky. But there are dozens of other — often vastly underrated — single malt whiskies just waiting to be snatched off the shelves at your local liquor store. Many of which are bargains.
To help both your palate and your wallet, we decided to list eight of our picks for “underrated single malt Scotch whiskies” in the $40-$60 range. Perhaps you heard of them, maybe you haven’t. Either way, these bottles deserve a little more mainstream love.
If you want to try them, just click on the prices.
This award-winning bottle was recently re-launched with a higher proof than previous versions. Fans of higher proof scotches can definitely get behind this non-chill filtered, sweet, slightly smoky whisky that was aged for more than a decade in barrels that formerly held bourbon.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is all sweetness with aromas of candied orange peels, sweet vanilla, and barley. The palate is surprisingly soft and mellow with notes of sticky treacle, wood char, buttery caramel, and a nice nutty sweetness. There’s just a kiss of smoke and salt that makes this dram highly memorable.
Bottom Line:
For the price, we have a hard time finding a bottle as underrated at Deanston 12. It ticks all the single malt boxes. It’s sweet and has a slight salinity that makes it tastes like salted caramel.
Originally launched as a bottle for travelers to pick up in duty-free shops at airports, it’s currently not available at other locations. This creamy, decadent, almost dessert-like whisky is aged in a combination of American oak barrels and European oak barrels. This results in a buttery, rich whisky you won’t soon forget.
Tasting Notes:
Breathe in the aromas of toasted vanilla beans, fresh leather, dried cherries, and a nutty sweetness. The palate of this single malt reveals dry notes of woody oak, caramel apples, butterscotch, and subtle cinnamon sugar. It evolves into crème brulee and dried fruits at the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is a very complicated single malt. It’s bargain-priced but filled with so many different, unique flavors, it will take a few samplings to find them all.
While Cardhu is owned by Diageo, it doesn’t have the name recognition of many of the others (in the U.S. anyway). Though, you’ve definitely tasted it if you drink Johnnie Walker. This Speyside expression is aged for twelve years in American oak barrels, resulting in a subtly spicy, sweet, fruity whisky.
Tasting Notes:
Scents of dried fruits, crisp apples, clover honey, and charred wood appear on the nose. The sip reveals in the notes of buttery caramel, raisins, toasted vanilla beans, and a nice kick of spice at the end. This is a highly sippable, mellow whisky you’ll savor all summer.
Bottom Line:
Like many of the whiskies historically used for blends, after one sip you’ll wonder why you never tried this expression in its single malt form before. It’s the priciest bottle on this list, but well worth it.
This award-winning whisky begins by distillation using two different pot stills. The liquid is blended together. This results in a slightly smoky, fruity whisky that’s then aged for twelve years in a combination of ex-bourbon, re-charred, and refill barrels. The blending of these three barrels results in a highly complex, well-balanced juice.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is mostly fruit with hints of fresh pear, candied orange peels, and a nice kick of sweet, vanilla. Taking a sip brings you to a world of marmalade jam, caramel apples, crème brulee, and just a hint of sweet malts. The ending carries an added note of smoky peat that pulls everything together perfectly.
Bottom Line:
Fans who might be wary of trying seemingly harsh, peated whiskies from Islay should ease their way in with a bottle like Loch Lomond 12. The smoke is gentle and melds well with the other flavors.
Glengoyne’s tagline is that it runs “the slowest stills in Scotland.” This 12-year-old expression does taste like it was painstakingly made by true artisans. They never use peated barley. The whisky is then finished in sherry butts, giving this a unique, memorable, sweet flavor.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is filled with aromas of candied orange peels, sweet honey, wood char, and vanilla beans. The palate continues the sweet trend with hints of sticky toffee, cinnamon sugar, orange zest, and sugar cookies. There’s a nice, sherry sweetness at the finish that leaves you wanting more.
Bottom Line:
If you’ve never tried peated whisky or you simply don’t like it, this is a great bottle for you. Glengoyne goes out of the way to express that its whiskies don’t have any smoky peat. The addition of sherry, however, gives this an extra, almost dessert-like sweetness.
This award-winning whisky might be the best bargain in the single malt world. Known for its affordability to quality ratio, this Speyside single malt is aged in both ex-bourbon casks as well as sherry butts. The use of these two barrels imparts an extra sweetness to the flavor profile that far surpasses its price.
Tasting Notes:
Breathe in the aromas of candied orange peels, caramel apples, oaky wood, and cinnamon. The palate includes notes of butterscotch, vanilla, biscuity malts, and a nice, gentle kick of smoke at the very end. It’s fruity, rich, and has just the right amount of smoke.
Bottom Line:
For the price, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more complex, flavorful, sweet-sipping single malt Scotch. We’ll enjoy a dram of this value sipper any day.
A few years ago, Tomatin increased its 12-year-old expression’s proof from 80 to 86 and higher proof drinkers rejoiced. One of the distillery’s most popular expressions in the years since it’s first matured in American oak barrels before spending as long as nine months in barrels that formerly held Oloroso sherry.
Tasting Notes:
If you give this whisky a proper nosing, you’ll be treated to the aromas of dried fruits, almond cookies, and sweet, toasted vanilla beans. The palate swirls with charred wood, candied orange peels, subtle cooking spices, and butterscotch. The ending is very fruity due to the sherry finishing.
Bottom Line:
Fans of sherried single malts tend to stick to what they know. But if you want to branch out you’re your usual bottle of The Macallan 12, give this single malt a try. You won’t be disappointed.
Sure, many of the other whisky-producing regions get more press, but you definitely shouldn’t sleep on single malts from Campbeltown. Glen Scotia Double Cask gets its name because it’s aged in both first-fill ex-bourbon barrels as well as Pedro Ximénez sherry casks.
Tasting Notes:
This is a fruity whisky. The nose is filled with scents of raisins, apricots, and crisp apples as well as wood char and salted caramel. The palate features buttery caramel, more dried fruits, buttercream frostings, and subtle spices. Unsurprisingly, the finish is filled with sherry sweetness.
Bottom Line:
Another for the sherry fans, this sweet, fruity single malt is well-suited for after-dinner drinking. We prefer it neat (or with a splash of water) in a Glencairn glass as we sit on a back porch or patio.
As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.
The men’s USA Basketball team began its pre-Olympic run in disappointing fashion, to say the least. Gregg Popovich’s squad stunningly lost its exhibition opener to Nigeria, only to follow that up with a less maddening, yet still frustrating, defeat at the hands of Australia. Less than 24 hours after the defeat against Patty Mills and company, Team USA returned to action on Tuesday in Las Vegas and, this time, the results were much better in what became a 108-80 win over Argentina.
Team USA opened up in a much more encouraging way in this particular game, taking a 15-4 lead out of gate. In fact, Bam Adebayo caught a lob dunk for the first points of the day, and that gave the American team a lead they would never relinquish.
The U.S. led by 14 points at the end of the first quarter and, with few exceptions, led by double-digits the rest of the way. While much of the attention was paid to the offensive improvement, they also generated more chaos defensively, using their athleticism advantage to produce deflections and contest shots at a high level.
There were plenty of offensive fireworks, though, including a pair of absurd Zach LaVine dunks. One came just before halftime, with Kevin Durant then following that up with a shake-and-bake bucket in the closing seconds of the first half.
Team USA led by 16 points at the half and, while they could’ve given ground in the third, they did the opposite. The Olympic favorites stretched their advantage to as many as 25 points in the quarter, effectively putting the game away.
While it would be unwise to make too much of a singular performance, Team USA did look the part of a strong squad in this matchup. They shot 51 percent from the floor and 45 percent from three-point range, with all five starters in double figures. No one played more than 30 minutes for Team USA, with Durant and Bradley Beal leading the way with 17 points each and LaVine adding 15 points. Beyond the offense, they held Argentina to just 38 percent shooting while producing six steals and seven blocked shots.
Team USA will return to action on Friday with an exhibition rematch against Australia in Las Vegas. Between now and then, attention will be paid to Jayson Tatum, who missed Tuesday’s action with knee soreness.
The Weeknd had a monster year in 2020 thanks to his fourth album, After Hours. With a huge world tour set to begin next year, some might have expected the singer to rest up before hitting the road. But for the last few months he’s been teasing that he’s planning to release new music, which he hinted at again on Tuesday.
In a string of posts on Twitter, The Weeknd seemed to confirmed that a new project could arrive before the After Hours tour. “We gettin’ there [CD emoji],” he wrote, adding, “Really proud of this one. Wow… Massaging it now, being sweet to it. Giving it some tlc…” The singer then clarified what to expect. “Just so there’s no confusion, it’s a full body of work… [sunset emojis],” he wrote referencing “the dawn,” which he teased at the Billboard Music Awards back in May. He added, “The tour is gonna be MADNESS.”
The Weeknd first started teasing new music en route through a string of tweets back in April. “Made so much magic in the small quarantined room,” he wrote in one tweet before adding, “nothing’s ever random… now just piecing it all together… it’s so beautiful.”
Five years is a century in today’s franchise movie-verse, but that’s how long it’s been since Star Trek Beyond, the third in the big screen revival that began all the way back in 2009. Since then, the team led by Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk has effectively been on standby, weathering a number of potential fourquels. But now it finally has a director, and it’s the guy who responsible for all nine episodes of WandaVision.
As per Deadline, Matt Shakman — whose TV career spans episodes of dramas, like Six Feet Under, House, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, and Succession, and comedies, like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, You’re the Worst, Ugly Betty, and Psych — is the one who will get all of the Pine-era cast back together. (That is, minus Anton Yelchin, who died in 2016.) The news comes the same day Shakman received an Emmy nomination for WandaVision — one of seven other nominations, including Limited Series.
Star Trek Beyond, which was cowritten by its resident Scotty, Simon Pegg, mildly underperformed back in 2016, which was enough to put that wing of the franchise in jeopardy. But the other wings have thrived. There are now numerous Trek shows on streamers, even an animated one from a Rick and Morty alum. At one point Quentin Tarantino threatened to make his own, gleefully R-rated Trek movie as his swan song to filmmaking. But this news appears to put that one to bed.
Britney Spears‘ has allegedly found a new lawyer to represent her in her much-publicized conservatorship battle — provieded the judge overseeing the case greenlights the move. Former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart has reportedly agreed to team with the pop star as she continues her legal battle to have her father Jamie Spears removed from control over her life and fortune, which his daughter hopes will end their legal arrangement altogether.
Over the weekend, TMZ reported that Britney contacted a large law firm, Greenberg, Traurig, LLP, to ask Rosengart to join her team. Less than a week after the request, Rosengart agreed, but he will not be allowed to officially represent the singer until a judge approves the addition. A hearing for the matter will occur remotely on Wednesday, according to TMZ, who cited “multiple sources with direct knowledge.” However, according to the singer’s conservatorship, Britney is not allowed to sign off on contracts of any substance without the approval of her father.
TMZ reports that Rosengart will argue that Britney has a constitutional right to select the lawyer of her choice to represent her in the matter, without Jamie’s approval. He adds that she is entitled to due process in court, which should legally allow her to pick her own attorney.
The singer was forced to get a new lawyer after Sam Ingham, her former court-appointed attorney, resigned after representing her for 13 years. The decision came after Ingham was “extremely upset” that the singer claimed in court “that she never knew she could end the conservatorship.” He denied it, saying he “regularly gave Britney options, including requesting that the conservatorship should end,” which she chose not to act upon.
It’s been four years since Bill O’Reilly was forced to leave Fox News over sexual harassment allegations, though it’s not like he’s hurting. On top of the $25 million settlement he received, he’s got a weekly WABC radio show, makes frequent guest appearances elsewhere, and is a bestselling popular history writer. Later this year he’ll even go on tour with disgraced former president Donald J. Trump.
But the allegations that pushed him out of his old TV job were far from the first. In a new piece by The Daily Beast, a former colleague, Andrea Mackris, broke a 17-year-old NDA concerning sexual harassment accusations she made in 2004. It was a big deal at the time, though much of the press questioned the veracity of her claims. Now Mackris is opening up about O’Reilly’s purported actions, and the details are horrifying.
Mackris, who was a producer on The O’Reilly Factor off and on between 2000 and 2004, claims she was bullied by her lawyers into signing a $9 million NDA — $3 million of which went to her legal team. She says that O’Reilly frequently sexually harassed her, including over numerous dinners she felt obligated to attend. When she confronted him, asking him to stop, he wasn’t moved:
“Instead, he said, ‘I know, but I’m going to make you play.’ Here was my boss, a man who held my career and future in his hands, acknowledging that he knew I’d never consented but he didn’t care.”
Some of the alleged details have been made public before, including an infamous bit involving him saying he would soap her down in a shower with either a “loofah” or a “falafel thing.” But she revealed many more blood-curdling ones in the Daily Beast article, saying he would dictate his sexual fantasies to her, involving “vibrators and masturbating” and that he “needed a younger lover.” One time, she says, he suggested they have a threesome with one of her female friends.
Mackris had recordings of some of their conversations, but those were destroyed as part of the settlement. She claims that she signed it out of duress — that one of her lawyers told her, “No one believes you, and you’ll never be hired again, and if you walk out of this room like this, no other lawyers will work with you.” He added, she says, “You didn’t hire us to go to trial, you hired us to make him stop.”
Mackris says she’s been all but blacklisted in the industry. When she thought about writing a book about her experiences, a literary agent told her she was “DOA,” claiming she’s “not a sympathetic character because you took the money.” Nearly two decades later, the ordeal continues to consume her life, that she misses the profession she worked her whole life to master.
Meanwhile, O’Reilly’s latest tome, Killing the Mob, is currently #3 on The New York Times Book Review‘sHardcover Nonfiction chart.
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