Don Lemon signed off of his CNN show on Friday night with an announcement that made many think he was going off the air for good. The CNN Tonight With Don Lemon host apologized for setting “the internet on fire” after an abrupt signoff on Friday night that sounded to some like he was leaving the cable news network for good.
Friday’s broadcast included the note that the edition of his 10 p.m. show would be the final CNN Tonight.
“It’s been really, really great,” Lemon said. “This is the last night that will be CNN Tonight with Don Lemon.”
Many interpreted that comment that his show, and potentially Lemon’s time at CNN, was at an end. And as speculation ran wild on social media, Lemon went to Twitter with an impromptu video intended to put people at ease.
Hey everyone. Not what you think. I’m not leaving CNN. Tune in for the handoff on Monday at 10pE and I’ll explain. pic.twitter.com/oOwDferY2i
“Everybody calm down, I didn’t say I was leaving CNN. I just said it was the end of an era for CNN Tonight with Don Lemon,” Lemon said. “I’m not leaving CNN.”
Lemon apologized for getting everyone riled up, but later explained that the show is just getting a rebrand. Starting Monday, he will host a newly name show for the first time since he started with the network in 2014. Lemon posted on Saturday about the change, complete with a new graphic for the show’s new name.
Didn’t mean to set the internet on fire. What I said last night was true. CNN Tonight with Don Lemon is no more. I’ll be back on Monday with my newly named show Don Lemon Tonight. See you Monday at 10pE. pic.twitter.com/89GFXULV9m
“Didn’t mean to set the internet on fire,” he wrote Saturday. “What I said last night was true. ‘CNN Tonight with Don Lemon’ is no more. I’ll be back on Monday with my newly named show Don Lemon Tonight.”
Nicki Minaj went more than a year without dropping new music before she made her grand return on Friday. The Pink Friday rapper should absolutely be given grace for her time off, as it included the birth of her first child and the tragic death of her father. Nonetheless, Minaj stepped back into the music world by adding her beloved mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty, to streaming services with three new songs which included “Fractions” and “Seeing Green” with Lil Wayne and Drake.
Shortly after the release, however, Minaj was forced to hop on Instagram Live and address rumors that were floating around her. The rumors insinuated that Minaj was using drugs, specifically cocaine. During the livestream, she made it very clear that she has never used cocaine in her life.
“I don’t know if it’s just me, but I wouldn’t be embarrassed about any f*ckin drugs I did, that’s why I talk about the motherf*ckin drugs I do in my motherf*ckin music,” she said. “Always have, always f*ckin will. If I’m off em, I’m off em [child], but I want to make this clear so open everybody’s ears, clear your ears out. I have never, ever in my life with my hands on Jesus Christ, and y’all know how I feel about my Lord and savior. Never in my life, ever, not even once sniffed coke. ever.”
Minaj then explained why she felt it was necessary to address the rumors.
“I have a lot of friends, or acquaintances in the industry who do coke,” she added. “I don’t judge them for it but I’ve never tried it, never wanted to, never asked them to. Especially in the fashion world, that’s so common and normal, but yes.
“That’s the thing, when people used to lie about me I never used to clear my name and there was someone who took a major step and told that lie to people,” she continued. “And I never addressed it because I thought it was too ridiculous at the time to address but something just told me to now.”
You can watch a clip from the livestream above.
Beam Me Up Scotty is out now via Republic Records. Get it here.
After years of releasing mixtapes, Conway The Machine shared his official debut last fall with From King To A God. Just like the rest of the Griselda members, Conway wasted no time getting back to work as he returned with another project, La Maquina, in April. The eleven-track effort was highlight by features from Ludacris, JID, 2 Chainz, El Camino along with fellow Griselda acts Benny The Butcher and Westside Gunn. Just a little over a month removed from sharing La Maquina, Conway took his talents to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to perform one of the album’s tracks.
Sliding through with Ludacris and JID by his side, Conway took the late-night TV stage to perform “Scatter Brain.” The track is a favorite from La Maquina and the performance itself made for the rapper’s national television debut. The trio delivered their slick-lipped rhymes while pacing around an eerie stage that contained disconnected televisions, barbed wire, and floor-grazing smoke.
During a recent interview on Apple Music, Conway shared when fans could expect his next project.
“That should be coming out this summer. Like, June or July, and I’m excited,” he said. “We had to go through the channels I had to go through a lot of the stuff that had sample issues, and we couldn’t get some stuff cleared. So, songs didn’t make it, that got put out early on other projects. We had to make other songs and stuff to make up for it. It was a process but it’s finally complete.”
Turner’s coverage of NBA games is going to look a whole heck of a lot different next season. It had already been announced that Chris Webber and the network had opted to part ways ahead of the 2021 postseason, and now, a new report indicates that Webber’s broadcast partner will call it a career when the playoffs come to an end.
According to Andrew Marchand and Phil Mushnick of the New York Post, Marv Albert is a few months away from retiring. The report indicates that his decision to retire after nearly 60 years of calling a number of sports and Webber’s departure from the network are unrelated, and that the news of Albert’s tenure coming to an end will be finalized in the near future.
Sources said TNT, where Albert has been the lead play-by-player for more than two decades, recently began contacting NBA personnel to pay tribute to Albert during the playoffs.
TNT and Albert are expected to formally announce his retirement plans soon.
Albert will turn 80 in June, and has been calling games ever since he filled in on a New York Knicks broadcast for WCBS in 1963. Over his career, he’s called Knicks games for local broadcasts in New York, national games for NBC and Turner, Nets games for YES, and a number of other sports including NFL and NHL games for other networks.
Despite still working on her official debut album, HER is one of today’s most-awarded young acts. The Vallejo, California-born singer already has four Grammys to her name along with a Golden Globe which brings her halfway to the coveted EGOT title. This undeniable success is a result of years worth of hard work and perfecting her craft, which dates back to her early teenage days. In a recent interview on The Carlos Watson Show, HER spoke about a band she was almost a part of earlier in her career, one that included well-known names like Kehlani and Zendaya.
“Dylan Wiggins, who is D’wayne Wiggins’s son from Tony! Toni! Toné!, we used to be in a band together,” she said. “We used to perform together when we were really young.” She added, “Kehlani was actually in our band. We all used to sing together. Zendaya was going to be in it at one point. But yeah, they all grew up together. I came into the picture in Oakland and we used to perform together.”
Poplyfe, a teen pop group from Oakland, California that appeared on season six of America’s Got Talent, is the band HER is referring to. At the time of their involvement in the talent show competition, the band’s members ranged in age from 13 to 18. The group would make it far into the show as they finish in fourth place.
You can hear HER share the news in the video above.
Kehlani is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
To be 100-percent honest, high-proof whisk(e)y can be pretty hit and miss. More alcohol doesn’t always mean “better.” And with the proliferation of whiskey worldwide (especially bourbon), distillers and blenders often resort to creating expressions that are bigger, bolder, and stronger just to get your attention.
Many times, that translates to whiskey ABVs that inch towards 65 percent alcohol. Which is a lot. We’re talking 130 proof.
Still, when high-proof bourbons are crafted with care, they can absolutely be extraordinary. And today we’re turning our attention to some of these expressions, all 100 proof and above. We targeted bourbons that don’t get muted in your favorite cocktails but aren’t too hot to work as sippers — a delicate balance that few high proof expressions manage to pull off.
Below you’ll find eight of our favorites high-proof bourbons. Click on the prices to grab a bottle for yourself.
This highly coveted, 120 proof bourbon has a mash bill of 77 percent corn, 13 percent rye, and 10% percent malted barley. It’s aged for nine years in charred, white oak barrels to guarantee a smooth sipping whisky even with the heightened alcohol content.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll be greeted with aromas of charred oak, sticky toffee, toasted vanilla beans, and a slight hint of spice. The palate is filled with wood char, a nutty sweetness, buttery caramel, and cinnamon sugar. The finish is long, warming, and ends with a nice mix of butterscotch and spice.
Bottom Line:
For the price, it’s hard to find a better value high-proof bourbon. It’s just as great as a cocktail base as it is a sipper.
This award-winning, highly sought-after bottle is named for George T. Stagg who was instrumental in building the original Buffalo Trace Distillery, well-known as the most important distillery of the 19th century. It’s uncut, non-chill filtered, and matures for just under ten years in charred American oak barrels.
Tasting Notes:
Take a moment to breathe in the scents of vanilla beans, caramel, and subtly spicy rye. The palate is loaded with creamy chocolate, caramel corn, dried fruits, and a nice hit of cracked black pepper. It all ends with a mixture of fruit sweetness and a light smoky spice.
Bottom Line:
This is a highly coveted bottle that often sells for much more than its MSRP. If you can find it even close to $100, grab it and savor every sip. You might not get another chance to try it for a while.
Elijah Craig makes nothing but great expressions. You can’t go wrong with its Small Batch, Toasted Barrel, and its Barrel Proof offerings. The latter is uncut, non-chill filtered and hand-labeled with a batch number and each bottle’s particular proof.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find aromas of wood char, candied orange peels, dried cherries, and vanilla beans. The palate is full of sweet cinnamon sugar, buttery caramel corn, brown sugar, and a nice hit of peppery rye. The finish is warming, mellow, and ends with a great combination of sweetness and spice.
Bottom Line:
Like many barrel-proof expressions, one of the coolest aspects of this bottle is that no two releases are the same. The barrels selected and the proof changes for each one.
Named for Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr., the one-time owner of Buffalo Trace, this prohibition-style bourbon is bottled at 125 proof. It’s made from hand-picked, uncut, non-chill filtered barrels. Even with the high proof, it manages to be mellow, rich, and very easy to sip.
Tasting Notes:
Before you sip, you owe it to Buffalo Trace to fill your nostrils with the aromas of pipe tobacco, charred oak, vanilla beans, and subtle spice. Sipping this whiskey reveals a world of buttery caramel, sticky toffee, oak, dried fruits, and pleasing spice. The end is long, warming, and filled with spicy rye and sweet caramel.
Bottom Line:
Another hard-to-find bottle, E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof is the bold, badass expression from the brand that deserves to be slow-sipped using a single ice cube while you sit in a comfy chair and decompress after a long work week.
First launched in 2012, Larceny has since become of the most respected brands in the bourbon world. In 2019, Heaven Hill launched Larceny Barrel Proof, an expression that drops three times per year. While its proof varies based on each batch, it’s uncut, non-chill filtered, and age for six to eight years.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find notes of spicy cinnamon, toasted wood, vanilla beans, and maple candy. Taking a sip reveals dried fruits, buttery caramel, vanilla essence, almond cookies, and a gentle hint of spice. The finish is lingering, warming, and ends with a nice mixture of caramel and vanilla.
Bottom Line:
If you’re a fan of soft, wheated whiskeys, but you also enjoy high-proof bourbons, this is your jam. Plus, it’s really hard to beat the price.
Another throwback to a bygone era, 1792 Full Proof is uncut, non-chill filtered, and enters the bottle at the 125-proof cask strength. It’s well known for its rich, caramel, and vanilla-filled flavor profile that is — like so many on this list — nicely-suited for mixing or slow sipping.
Tasting Notes:
The aromas of caramel apples, sweet honey, vanilla beans, and wood char are prevalent. The palate is swirling with cinnamon sugar, caramel candy, butter cookies, and subtle candied orange peels. The ending is soft, mellow, and filled with notes of vanilla, caramel, and a hint of spice.
Bottom Line:
This 125-proof bourbon is extremely complex. It requires multiple samplings (and maybe a drop of water or single ice cube) to unlock all of the various aromas and flavors.
Angel’s Envy is a big name in the whiskey world due to its unique resting in the likes of rum barrels and port casks. Its Cask Strength expression was first launched in 2013. It carries no age statement, but it’s assumed to be aged between four and six years in former port wine barrels before being finished in ruby port wine casks.
Tasting Notes:
Breathe in the scents of charred oak, fresh leather, toasted vanilla beans, and dried fruits before taking your first sip. Tasting this complex whiskey reveals candied orange peels, wood char, buttery caramel, raisins, and subtle spice. It all ends with a nice dry, mellow, subtly sweet finish.
Bottom Line:
Like many of the expressions on this list, Angel’s Envy Cask Strength isn’t easy to find. In order to enjoy this nuanced, rich whiskey, you might have to pay over the brand-reccomended retail price.
Booker’s is the bold, brash, bad boy of Jim Beam’s Small Batch Collection. It’s uncut, unfiltered, and the highest alcohol content brand made by Jim Beam. This cask strength bourbon was aged between six and eight years. The best part? Every expression has a different name, comes from different barrels, and carries a different proof.
Tasting Notes:
While each batch is different, we tried the most recent expression: Batch 2021-01, also known as “Donohoe’s Batch.” On the nose, you’ll be treated to aromas of caramel apples, subtle, nutty sweetness, and a nice kick of cinnamon spice. The palate is filled with notes of sweet caramel, toasted oak, vanilla beans, cooking spices, and almond cookies. The finish is long, filled with pleasing heat, and ends with a combination of caramel and spice.
Bottom Line:
Drinkers eagerly await the newest Booker’s expression for a reason. Every bottle is uncut, unfiltered, and high-proof, and they each come with a unique story and flavor profile.
As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.
Nobody has a flair for the dramatic like Diana Taurasi, but it’s never quite looked like it did in a victory on Friday night over the Lynx, as Taurasi took the ball up the court with 6.8 seconds to go and nailed the dagger three to pull ahead in the game. That part wasn’t the surprise, but what turned the volume up on the whole scenario was that while Taurasi’s play moved along, the clock was frozen.
After a steal by third-year forward Brianna Turner, the clock never restarted, yet Taurasi ended up with enough time to get all the way to the opposing three-point line and make a shot before anyone realized.
About 10 real-time minutes passed while the referees reviewed the play, standing at the scorer’s table with a literal stopwatch and counting seconds while watching the replay. The officials ended up putting 1.1 seconds back on the clock after the review, and the Lynx didn’t get a shot off to close the game.
Taurasi finished just 3-13 from the field and 2-6 from deep but hit the game-winner when Phoenix needed her and the Mercury got a rare win in Minneapolis over their longtime rival, the Lynx.
Phoenix plays the Sun on the road on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.
After missing most of her rookie season with a knee injury, Sabrina Ionescu wasted no time getting back to her thrilling ways on Friday night, nailing a deep three with less than a second left to lift her Liberty to an opening-night win over the Indiana Fever.
There were so many insane parts to this play. First is that New York clearly did not need a three. They in-bounded the ball with 5.4 seconds left and were tied at 87. Ionescu didn’t care much for any of that, and went ahead and fired anyway.
The other insane thing is that Ionescu was ice cold most of the night. She started the game 5-16 from deep before hitting her first clutch three with 39.7 seconds remaining. And the Liberty went right back to her on the final play of the game, where she promptly delivered with a game-winner with 0.4 left on the clock.
The last insane thing here is that Ionescu’s shot was so sick that even her opponents couldn’t help but smile. Fever wing Victoria Vivians was caught with her jaw dropped in the aftermath of Ionescu’s dagger.
Ionescu is technically eligible for the Rookie of the Year again this season after playing basically two games in 2020, and this is a heck of a start to her campaign. New York has another chance against Indiana on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.
We’re just days from the start of the NBA’s first-ever play-in tournament, as we wait to see how Steph Curry, Ja Morant, and Jayson Tatum will wow us in a do-or-die situation. And on Friday, the league released a full TV broadcast schedule for the tourney.
If you’re wanting to build out your couch or bar schedule for the week, the first game on Tuesday is likely to feature both Tatum and LaMelo Ball, with Chuck, Shaq and Co. in the studio.
The next night, we will get LeBron James and Anthony Davis or Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum go up against the West’s eighth seed, which will be either Golden State or Memphis. Talk about star power!
But of course, the main event is the elimination games on Thursday and Friday. As usual, TNT gets the Eastern Conference and ESPN gets the Western Conference game. For reference, those games could feature — as an example — Morant vs. Curry. Or Ball vs. Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal.
If last year’s single-elimination play-in told us anything, it’s that we should be in for some awesome basketball. The game averaged 2 million viewers — more than many playoff games — and featured some high level hoops between Morant’s Grizzlies and Lillard’s Trail Blazers.
Well, all those have been confirmed now, along with plenty of other songs, as the tracklist for the album was shared by DMX’s label today. Their all caps caption stated the following: “EXODUS 1:7 OFFICIAL TRACK LIST (5/28). THE LEGACY CONTINUES.” Along with a photo of the tracklist, which features, among many others, appearances from Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, and yes, Jay Z and Nas on the same track together. Check out the list below and look for the full project dropping later this month on May 28.
1. “That’s My Dog” Feat. The Lox and Swizz Beatz
2. “Bath Salts” Feat. Jay Z and Nas
3. “Dog’s Out” Feat. Lil Wayne and Was
4. “Money Money Money” Feat. Swizz Beatz
5. “Hold Me Down” Feat. Alicia Keys
6. “Skyscrapers” Feat. Bono
7. “Male Stick Up Skit” Feat. Cross, Infrared, and Icepick
8. “Hood Blues” Feat. Westside Gunn, Benny The Butcher, and Conway
9. “Walking In The Rain” Feat. Nas, Exodus Simmons, & Mr. Porter
10. “Take Control” Feat. Snoop Dogg
11. “Exodus Skit”
12. “Letter To My Son (Call Your Father)” Feat. Usher and Brian King Joseph
13. “Prayer”
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