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Donald Trump’s latest vacation from resort life in exile will come at CPAC Dallas on Sunday, with a speech that’s expected to be a greatest hits of trips down memory lane and lies about the election he didn’t win. The disconnect between Trump, his rabid supporters and reality is fairly distinct at this point. But perhaps nothing has made that clearer than the difference between more traditional cable news coverage of Trump on CNN and what’s played on right wing outlet Newsmax.

Over the weekend, for example, Newsmax’s Benny Johnson drew scorn on social media for comparing Trump to Batman for “throwing away” a life of privilege to get “their hands dirty.”

“Both Trump and Batman are rich, mysterious, unpredictable guys. They own skyscrapers in Gotham,” Johnson said. “They have a cult-like status, for throwing their privileged lives away and getting their hands dirty.”

He also showed a clip where a young child asks Trump if he is Batman, to which he repeats that he is. Johnson loves the clip, he says, and continues to explain why it’s the perfect comparison between the real-life failed blogger and the fictional superhero.

The journalist once fired for plagiarism saw his Batman riff accompanied by an image of Trump with its shadow altered to look like that of the caped crusader, something that’s been shared by other Trump sycophants like Dan Scavino in the past.

The comparison drew predictable eye-rolling from people outside of Newsmax’s viewing audience as it spread online. Meanwhile, over on CNN Jim Acosta continued his Saturday monologues railing against Trump, first comparing him to a clown before saying that comparison is “most definitely an insult to clowns.”

Acosta joked that we should “hide the flags” as Trump returns to the CPAC stage — he famously hugged one repeatedly at a prior experience. And he noted that Trump “seems to be spending his post-presidency playing president” with the campaign rallies and speeches he’s giving after a brief period of exile after an insurrection attempt. He also claimed some have called his previous comparisons of Trump to a clown simply wasn’t fair.

“An expert on the circus industry recently reached out to me and urged me to not compare Trump and his comeback tour to clowns at the circus,” Acosta said. “As that is an insult to clowns. I agree.”

Instead, Acosta said Trump is more like the stereotype of a “Karen” that’s circulated online in recent months, an impatient and usually incorrect customer demanding to see management for some perceived slight that may or may not exist.

“He’s more like one of those mask-hating customers at the grocery store. A Karen, or whatever the name would be in Trump’s case,” Acosta said. “You can almost hear him saying, ‘I want to talk to the manager about the election, I want to talk to the manager of Twitter or Facebook.’

“And the American people are kind of like the store manager,” Acosta continued. “We have to explain, ‘Well sir, you lied about the election, you incited an insurrection. You’re going to have to leave the store or we’re calling security. Please take your fake White House seal, and go play president somewhere else.’”

Metaphors are always a bit shaky depending on perspective, of course. And comparing Trump to something of an internet meme certainly minimizes the actual things the twice-impeached president has done and encouraged from others. But it’s certainly a vast difference in what’s being broadcast on the networks, and the audiences for which those networks are intended.

There’s no disputing the overwhelming quality (and quantity) of Kentucky bourbon. Over 95 percent of all bourbon is produced in the state. Brands like Jim Beam, Four Roses, Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey, Woodford Reserve, and Elijah Craig cast a wide shadow over those distilled, aged, and bottled in every other state in America.

But the truth is there’s a ton of high-quality, award-winning, swoon-worthy bourbons produced in states from New York to Tennessee to Washington to Virginia, Ohio, and even Wyoming. Many of which get unduly overlooked on liquor store shelves. Some of these make great value picks, too — though, the craft industry will (likely) never be able to meet the below $20 price tags of the big Kentucky distillers.

Below, you’ll find eight of our favorite bourbons that are all very wallet-friendly, falling in the $35 to $45 range. While that is nowhere near “cheap” bourbon, it’s certainly a great price for unique juice. If you want to try any of these bottles yourself, click on the prices to see if they’re available in your region.

Chattanooga Straight Bourbon 91 (Tennessee)

ABV: 45.5%

Average Price: $35

The Story:

Chattanooga’s 91 proof bourbon is something special. Made with a mash bill of yellow corn, malted rye, caramel malted barley, and honey malted barley, it’s matured in both charred and toasted American oak barrels. After the first two years of maturation, this bourbon is added to Chattanooga’s version of Solera aging — consisting of 100 barrels that are added to a 4,000-gallon charred, white oak Solera finishing barrel.

The result is a highly complex, rich bourbon.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is filled with the aromas of dried cherries, butterscotch, wood char, and just a hint of sweet cinnamon spice. The palate dances with toasted vanilla beans, toffee, oak, and subtle spices. The finish is dry, warming, and ends with a pleasing mixture of pipe tobacco and caramelized sugar.

Bottom Line:

For the price, this is truly a unique flavor experience. While technically a young whiskey, the Solera-aging technique means that it’s melded with much older bourbons.

Dry Fly Bourbon 101 (Washington)

ABV: 50.5%

Average Price: $40

The Story:

Dry Fly Bourbon 101 was the first legal bourbon made in Washington State, back in 2007. Made with locally sourced corn and triticale (a hybrid of wheat and rye), it’s aged for at least three years in charred American oak casks before it’s vatted, proofed, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Before taking your first sip, revel in the scents of oaky wood, toasted vanilla beans, molasses, and just a hint of peppery rye. Sipping this bourbon brings forth flavors of buttery caramel, nutmeg, sugar cookies, and a kick of spice at the end. The finish features equal measures of high-proof warmth and gentle sweetness.

Bottom Line:

If you’re a fan of higher-proof bourbon that still carries a sweet, mellow, caramel-filled flavor, this is your jam. Well-suited for slow sipping with a single ice cube, this just might become your new summer go-to.

Belle Meade Bourbon (Indiana)

ABV: 45.2%

Average Price: $45

The Story:

Award-winning Belle Meade Bourbon is made by blending sourced barrels from MGP of Indiana. This whiskey is so revered that it’s helped dispel old ideas about “sourced” whiskey being somehow inferior. This expression is known for its high-rye mash bill and mellow aging. The barrels are then brought down to Tennessee where they’re expertly blended and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is loaded with aromas of candied orange peels, toffee, maple candy, and almond cookies. The palate features dried fruits, caramel apples, vanilla beans, and subtly spicy, peppery rye. It all ends in a crescendo of sweet and warming spice.

Bottom Line:

This masterfully blended and matured whiskey belongs on your summer bar cart. Once you try it, you’ll want to slowly sip this expression from now until October. At least.

Watershed Bourbon (Ohio)

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $45

The Story:

This is a complex whiskey. First, Watershed crafts its own high-quality bourbon that’s then finished in barrels that held the brand’s apple brandy. Finally, the juice is blended with even more straight bourbon. The result is a well-balanced, fruity, sweet, rich whiskey that deserves to be sipped slowly.

Tasting Notes:

Right away, this is a boldly fragrant whiskey. There are notes of orange marmalade, caramel corn, woody oak, and subtle spices. The sip reveals flavors of cloves, toasted vanilla beans, wood char, clover honey, and almond cookies, with a nice herbal, sweet ending.

Bottom Line:

The finishing in apple brandy barrels gives this whiskey a truly unique flavor profile you won’t soon forget. We suggest either drinking it neat or mixing it into a classic old fashioned.

Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch (Wyoming)

ABV: 44%

Average Price: $40

The Story:

This award-winning whiskey from Wyoming is made using only locally sourced ingredients that are distilled, aged, and bottled on-site. Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch is truly a small batch gem. After one sip, it will find a permanent (not just summertime) spot in your liquor cabinet.

Tasting Notes:

Take a moment to breathe in the aromas of sticky toffee, wet grass, vanilla, and clover honey before your first sip. The taste is laden with crème brulee, fresh mint, cloves, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a gentle, nutty sweetness. The finish is medium, warming, and ends with a nice kick of buttery caramel.

Bottom Line:

If you’re looking to branch out from Kentucky-based bourbon and you’re not sure where to start, try Wyoming. This well-priced bourbon will make you rethink your ideas of what “value” bourbon actually is.

Woodinville Straight Bourbon (Washington)

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $42

The Story:

While Dry Fly started the bourbon game in Washington, Woodinville takes it to another level. The brand’s Straight Bourbon has won numerous prestigious awards in recent years, with good reason. Made with a mash bill of corn, rye, and malted barley, this small batch bourbon is mashed, distilled, and added to barrels at the distillery before being transported over the Cascade Mountains to the brand’s barrelhouse in order to age in over-the-top weather conditions.

The result is mellow, buttery, caramel-heavy, easy to drink whiskey.

Tasting Notes:

The nose features scents of clove, nutmeg, vanilla beans, caramel corn, and chocolate fudge. This evolves into a palate of sweet caramel, buttercream, woody oak, and just a hint of spice at the finish. The warm, sweet, rich final flourish leaves you craving more.

Bottom Line:

Recently, this whiskey won our Kentucky versus non-Kentucky bourbon taste test. If that’s not enough for you to give this award-winning whiskey a try, we don’t know what is.

Iron Smoke Straight Bourbon (New York)

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $45

The Story:

In recent years, New York has become a bourbon lover’s dream with the likes of Hillrock, Hudson, Kings County, and Widow Jane leading the charge. But we believe drinkers shouldn’t overlook a sublime, sweet, rich whiskey coming out of Fairport, New York called Iron Smoke Straight Bourbon. This four-grain, small-batch whiskey is made using locally sourced grains but gets an added kick in the smoky flavor department from the use of applewood smoked wheat.

Tasting Notes:

At first whiff, this is a classic bourbon through and through. There are notable scents of caramel, vanilla, and honey that pair well with wood char, and maple candy. The palate expands on this with the addition of dried cherries, raisins, more vanilla, and a nice kick of sweet applewood smoke at the very end.

Bottom Line:

There’s a reason this whiskey keeps racking up awards. It ticks all the bourbon flavor boxes with the addition of gentle, smoky applewood.

Bowman Brothers Small Batch (Virginia)

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $35

The Story:

Virginia is the home to American whiskey and the high-quality whiskeys coming out of A. Smith Bowman Distillery are a great example of the state’s tradition. Its 90-proof Bowman Brothers Small Batch Bourbon is distilled three times with a mash bill of corn, rye, and malted barley. The result is a mellow, easy-drinking whiskey with everything bourbon drinkers crave.

Tasting Notes:

Notes of caramel corn, sugar cookies, cloves, and cinnamon highlight the expansive nose. The palate is complex with hints of buttery caramel, toasted oak, vanilla pudding, fresh ginger, and cinnamon sugar. It all ends with a nice mixture of caramel sweetness and peppery rye.

Bottom Line:

This is one of the most well-balanced and well-priced bourbons on the market. The combination of vanilla, caramel, and peppery rye make this a solid choice for a whiskey sour or Manhattan.

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As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.

Just six months after drawing level in their career head-to-head, Dustin Poirier defeated Conor McGregor after a freak injury ended the fight at the end of the first round on Saturday night at UFC 264 in Las Vegas.

McGregor was aggressive out of the gate, tearing away at Poirier’s midsection and lead leg with a slew of kicks before landing a few shots up top. Poirier sent McGregor back with a few stiff combinations before his opponent grabbed him up in the clinch. McGregor attempted a guillotine, but Poirier escaped on the ground to take top position. McGregor and Poirier traded huge elbows on the ground before Poirier got to his feet and jumped back in. Poirier dropped bombs on McGregor from on top, but the former champion landed a huge up kick.

At the end of the round, McGregor stepped backward and suffered a broken leg to end the fight. You can see the video here, but be warned it is not an easy watch.

Poirier needed just a round and a half to put McGregor down in January, using stifling leg kicks and precise strikes to TKO the former double champion. It was a drastically different Poirier than in his first bout against McGregor in 2014, where he suffered a first-round knockout at the hands of McGregor.

Both fighters came into Saturday night with a clear opening in the lightweight division to earn No. 1 contender status. With Khabib Nurmagomedov retired, the gap is razor-thin between Poirier as the UFC’s top contender for Charles Oliveira’s belt and the likes of Justin Gaethje, Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson in the rankings. With the win though, Poirier looks in full control to see out a title shot against Oliveira.

Whether Tai Tuivasa is a spectator or competing in the Octagon, he’s always one of the most entertaining fighters on the UFC roster. Saturday night at UFC 264, it was the latter, as Tuivasa was welcomed to the cage to the smooth sounds of “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls before he stood toe-to-toe with former NFL player and current heavyweight fighter Greg Hardy.

Hardy gestured to the middle of the Octagon, where Tuivasa was happy to meet him. Tuivasa needed just over a minute to put the heavyweight on the mat with a counter right hook that rocked Hardy, followed by a counter left hook that put him on his back. He followed that up with a flurry of hammer fists before the ref called it a night for Hardy.

After the knockout victory, Tuivasa celebrated on the edge of the cage with a classic “shoeie.”

After the fight, Tuivasa jabbed at Hardy who he said, “wanted to bang with me. I’m not the right guy to bang with, pick another bloke.”

As for what’s next for Tuivasa, he wants to fight someone in the top 10 or top 15. He seemed less than concerned about his next opponent though, as the heavyweight contender continued to chug beers back on his way to the locker room.

Paige Bueckers took home a number of awards during her first year in Storrs, and on Saturday night, the rising UConn sophomore added to her already jam packed trophy case by winning the ESPY Award for Best College Athlete in Women’s Sports.

Upon accepting her award, Bueckers thanked God and people like her friends, family, coaches, and teammates before turning her speech to the lack of attention given to Black women in sports.

“With the light that I have now as a white woman who leads a Black-led sport, and celebrated here, I want to show a light on Black women,” Bueckers said. “They don’t get the media coverage that they deserve. They’ve given so much to the sport, and the community, and society as a whole, and their value is undeniable.”

Bueckers went on to cite awards voting in the WNBA last year, where 80 percent of the winners were Black, and how despite that, they got half of the coverage as white athletes who took home awards. Because of this, she focused on the media and how it does a poor job putting Black women in the spotlight.

“Sports media holds the key to storylines,” Bueckers said to applause. “Sports media and sponsors tell us who is valuable, and you have told the world that I matter today. And everyone who voted, thank you. But I think we should use this power together to also celebrate Black women.”

Bueckers closed by addressing a number of Black women by name and emphasized her thanks for all they’ve done.

“To Maria Taylor, Robin Roberts, Maya Moore, Odicci Alexander, to all the incredible Black women in my life, on my teams, to Breonna Taylor and all the lives lost, and to those names who I’ve not yet learned but I hope to share, I stand behind you and I’ll continue to follow you, and follow your lead, and fight for you guys,” Bueckers said. “So I just want to say thank you for everything.”

Kelsey Grammer will reprise his role as Frasier Crane very soon, with his Paramount+ version representing the third show on which he’s played the psychiatrist first made famous on Cheers.

The reboot, though part of a wave of old shows coming back for new episodes, is a long time coming for Grammer. And the star (and theme song singer) seems to have a clear direction for the show in several ways. For starters, the show will apparently take place somewhere other than Boston or Seattle. He’s apparently going to be wildly rich, too.

In an interview with New York Live, Grammer said parts of the plot for the Frasier reboot are already solidified, though not actually in his character’s mind.

“He thinks he’s gonna go off and do one thing, and sure enough, his life takes him in another direction,” Grammer said in the interview. “And he ends up rich beyond his dreams.”

Then there’s the matter of one important member of the show missing from the reboot. John Mahoney, who played the father of Grammer’s and David Hyde Pierce’s Frasier and Niles, died in 2018. Grammer said that the show will “deal with that some in the first episode,” which sounds like the role will not be recast. As for the rest of the characters? Grammer said that he’s “reached out to everybody,” but no one else from the original cast of Frasier has signed on just yet.

That could mean another major reboot to the plot and who Crane interacts with, but at least we know that a character already known for being stuffy and elitist will be extremely wealthy the next time we see him on TV.

[via Deadline]

Super Mario Bros. holds a special place in video game history for sure, but this week it lost its title as most expensive video game ever sold. Several copies of the decade-old game have hit the auction block in recent months and garnered record-setting sales prices, but this week a new champion emerged from Nintendo’s stable of NES classics.

Heritage Auction, which has handled a number of high-profile video game auctions in recent months, announced on Friday that a 1986 NES copy of The Legend Of Zelda sold at auction for $870,000, surpassing a pair of Super Mario Bros. copies that held the record at times over the last year.

The copy, rated a 9.0 by a grading service, beat a near-mint 9.6-graded edition of Super Mario Bros. that Heritage auctioned off for $660,000 in April of 2021.

“I had a lot of confidence in this game, and, yet, I still feel like the reality of today’s bidding exceeded my vision of how it would play out,” Heritage Auctions video games specialist Valarie McLeckie said in a statement. “Making history is never an easy thing. I’m just really proud we got to be part of this yet again.”

Given the skyrocketing perceived value of basically every collectable over the last year, it’s entirely unclear how long this game will actually hold the title Heritage says the particular variant of this copy may be one of two unopened copies in existence, but time will tell if this holds up or we find a new record-holder as more copies are uncovered.

In other Zelda news, a Japanese man was arrested for selling modded versions a more modern Zelda game: Breath Of The Wild. Kotaku reported that Ichimin Sho was caught selling the copies, for about $31 USD, that had versions of Link with modified abilities, special weapons and other tweaks requested by gamers.

He posted his services onto an unspecified auction site, describing it as “the strongest software.” He would provide modded save files that would give the player improved in-game abilities and also items that were difficult to obtain were made available as requested by the customer. In his original listing, he reportedly was charging folks 3,500 yen (around $31 USD) for his service.

Niigata Prefecture police spotted the listing and arrested Sho on July 8 for possibly violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Law. After being arrested, the man admitted he had sold modded saves and software before, telling police he had sold about 10 million yen (around $90,000 USD)in the past year and a half.

There’s also a group of more white hat Zelda modders that are reportedly recreating an Ocarina of Time demo that debuted a year before the game’s eventual 1999 launch. All of that involves, you know, actually opening up the game and tinkering. So don’t expect any of those stories to yield as lucrative results as the auction.

The United States men’s basketball team fell in its first game before the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The Americans took on Nigeria on Saturday night, and thanks to a scorching hot shooting performance by the Nigerians, they managed to come out on top, 90-87.

While this game was expected to be more competitive than their face off at the 2012 Olympics — the Americans won comfortably that day, 156-73 — no one expected Mike Brown’s Nigeria side to head to Vegas and pick up the win. But behind a 21-point performance from Miami Heat reserve guard Gabe Vincent and 17 from Caleb Agada of Israel-based side Hapoel Be’er Sheva, the Nigerians were able to overcome being viewed as a 28.5-point underdog.

In response to the win, the official Twitter account of the Nigerian basketball team took a well-deserved victory lap.

There was even a joke at the expense of Team USA center Bam Adebayo, who was eligible to represent Nigeria but opted to play for the Americans.

The American offense was stagnant for much of the night, but they had just enough firepower to stay in it late. Unfortunately for them, one of the strangest offensive possessions we’ve seen in some time capped off the night. Down by three with a hair over 13 seconds left, the United States appeared to run a play for Zach LaVine that simply took far too long. By the time he was fouled — he’d go on to miss both from the charity stripe — the amount of time remaining on the clock did not let them do much of anything.

It also didn’t help that the Nigerians played some spectacular basketball — the side played with a chip on their shoulders all evening, with guys like Miami Heat youngster Precious Achiuwa sending an attempted layup by Kevin Durant into the stands with authority.

With the caveat that this is an exhibition without three players expected to contribute due to their playing in the NBA Finals, this was a rough loss for the Americans, which enter every game during Olympic season with aspirations of winning big. USA Basketball will try to right the ship on Monday, July 12, during its next tune-up game against a pesky Australian team that has aspirations of winning a medal, even though standout guard Ben Simmons opted to pass on going to Tokyo.

Bo Burnham took the internet by storm earlier this year with a Netflix special called Inside. Created and filmed amid the coronavirus pandemic, it was an intimate and revealing look at Burnham’s unique style of comedy. Burnham announced the special in April of 2021, and it soon arrived on Netflix to remind everyone about the weirdness of the last year or so that was.

What’s followed is an album of the show’s songs, as well as widespread critical acclaim to boot. While many pieces of entertainment have hit streaming services during the pandemic with movie theaters shuttered, few have captured the emotions of actually living through it for so many. And now that work of art will hit now-open theaters for people to enjoy in a new context.

On Saturday, Burnham announced that the special would also be coming to movie theaters. Billed as one night only event, Burnham tweeted about the July 22 screenings in theaters nationwide.

The comedian soon tweeted that tickets were going fast, so they were adding showtimes and theaters in the coming days. Burnham’s website for Inside can search for the closest theater to you that’s playing the movie later in the month, so if you’re eager to watch some comedy about the internet and isolation among a group of strangers in a darkened theater you’ve got a date on July 22.

As Major League Baseball hits its All-Star break, the topic of the day for many fans around the sport was injuries. Some notable players begged off actually playing in the game, for example, as they want to rest or rehab injuries. And one team hoping to avoid disaster on the field and failing was the Atlanta Braves, who saw star Ronald Acuña Jr. go down on Saturday and need to be carted off the field.

The visuals were awful all around, as Acuña injured his right knee going after a fly ball in right field in the bottom of the fifth inning against the Miami Marlins. Acuña tried to stand and walk off under his own power but could not, bringing concerned members of the team and eventually the injury cart to his spot in the field.

As Acuña lay in pain on the field and a number of other Braves players went over to both check on him and retrieve the ball, Jazz Chisholm Jr. turned the play into an inside-the-park home run. Which is probably why the Marlins tweeted about the run-scoring play, including video of what clearly looks like a pretty serious injury to another team’s opponent with the phrase “Want to see Jazz hit an inside-the-park home run?”

The run made the score 5-3 Braves, but the tweet was widely seen as celebrating the injury of a significant piece to Atlanta’s postseason run and insensitive to say the least.

The Marlins account quickly deleted the tweet, but fans shared screenshots and criticized the account throughout the evening. The post had some extra curious context to it, as earlier in the series, Acuña had complained to umpires after being hit by a pitch. It was the second straight game the star got chin music, adding to the tension between the two clubs to say the least.

Absolutely no one should want to see players get hurt, especially ones as talented and fun to watch as Acuña. Hopefully whoever thought this run was worth celebrating with a post, especially given the context, will give the idea of tweeting something like that a second thought in the future.