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Texas and neighboring states are in a rough patch right now, with a freak winter storm leaving millions without power, freezing in a part of the nation that hasn’t had weather this cold in decades, if not longer. One of Texas’ senators, Ted Cruz, has rightly called for disaster relief, and hopefully they get it quick. Two things, though: Not only was Cruz among a number of Republicans who made jokes last year when California suffered their own energy crisis, he was also one of the lawmakers who voted against the federal assistance after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Cruz along with fellow Texan senator John Cornyn joined forces to request federal assistance after learning that state and local government were unable to battle the severity of the storm on their own. They wrote:

“Prolonged sub-freezing temperatures, strained energy capacity, and treacherous roadways are just a few of the current dangers faced by all Texans. In the last three days, there have been 11 crash-related fatalities as road conditions deteriorate. More than 23,000 Texans have lost power, and frozen pipes have impacted water distribution across the state.”

This is all very noble! But where was this Cruz in 2012, when parts of New York and New Jersey were under water from a freak hurricane? And why did he think power outages in California last summer was a time to attack AOC and ilk? (On a related note, parts of the GOP, including Rep. Lauren Boebert, have blamed their ills on the Green New Deal, which hasn’t even been voted on, let alone enacted.)

And so, much like that time he tried to reach out to AOC only to be reminded that he helped nearly get her and many others killed by MAGA rioters, Cruz’s attempt at do-goodery only reminded many that he’s a jerk.

So just to recap: Both Ted Cruz and John Cornyn voted against Hurricane Sandy relief. Now their state needs financial assistance. It should get it, and it shouldn’t be thanks to them.

Jpegmafia dropped his latest project EP2! a couple day ago and now he has a new video for the track “Panic Room!” It finds the rapper standing in complete darkness, apart from a solitary beam of light pointed on him, moving from room to room as he carries a blurred-out object that appears to be a gun or weapon of some sort.

EP2! boasts seven new tracks, and unlike its predecessor, it’s an entirely solo effort. Prior to dropping EP2!, the rapper shared a mellow video for “Fix Urself,” which captures him and his girlfriend on a road trip and a nighttime walk.

Back in 2020, the rapper delivered additional videos for “Last Dance!” and “Living Single,” with the latter appearing on his previous record EP! He also sent off some final disses Donald Trump’s way on his track “Super Tuesday” after joining Lil Yachty and Trippie Redd to compete on “Rapper Warrior Ninja” for The Eric Andre Show.

Last year also saw Jpeg do collaborations with other artists, like Gorillaz for their track “MLS,” and Denzel Curry for a remix of “Bald.”

You can watch the video for “Panic Room!” above.

EP2! is out now via EQT/Republic. Get it here.

LeBron James is perhaps the most remarkable basketball player of all time. This isn’t trying to opine on the greatest/best conversation or whatever, but he is currently 36 years old and in his 18th season in the league, and despite that, he is right there at the top of the MVP race as the leader of the Los Angeles Lakers.

But even a player as good as LeBron James is capable of doing things that lead to them looking silly from time to time. An example of this came on Tuesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, when James tried to beat the third quarter clock by taking one step across the midcourt line and pulling up.

Two issues popped up, though. The first, James airballed. The second, the airball happened with 1.5 seconds left on the clock, giving the Timberwolves the ball and one more chance to score.

James surely could have taken another dribble or two and gotten a better look, but fortunately for him, the Timberwolves ended up just inbounding the ball and taking it to the fourth. Hopefully he tweets about this after the game, because it usually is pretty funny when James decides to laugh at himself after he did something during a game.

As the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Anthony Edwards faces lofty expectations. The Minnesota Timberwolves rookie has flashed an engaging personality in the early part of his professional career, however, and he seems to be having fun playing the game on a nightly basis. Another example of that arrived on Tuesday evening when the Wolves were facing the Los Angeles Lakers and, early in the third quarter, Edwards rose up for a three-pointer to give Minnesota the lead.

Adding some importance to the proceedings was the fact that he was guarded by LeBron James and, when the shot fell through the net, Edwards couldn’t contain his glee.

Above all else, this is a cool moment. Yes, it is only one play of many and Edwards is now competing directly with James in the same league. Still, it goes without saying that a young player like Edwards likely looked up to James prior to arriving in the NBA, and you can see it here that there is a genuine “well, that was wild” expression on his face.

Edwards is enjoying something of a breakout in the recent past, averaging 17.2 points per game in the last 13 contests for the Wolves. He has a long way to go, as most rookies do, but he flashed some of his intrigue and enjoyed a moment in the process.

Former president Donald J. Trump seems to be trying to inch his way back into the public eye. After being acquitted by the Senate for inciting the failed MAGA coup, he turned around and released a wild statement in which he blasted the person he helped save him from conviction — Mitch McConnell — whom he called an “unsmiling hack.” It was a classic Trump move. But the truth is his legal and economic futures are in danger, and on Tuesday he was hit with another headache: The NAACP is suing him and Rudy Giuliani for violating a law dubbed “The Ku Klux Klan Act.”

According to The New York Times, Trump and his personal attorney are accused of violating what’s officially known as the Enforcement Act of 1871, which includes “protections against violent conspiracies that interfered with Congress’s constitutional duties.” The lawsuit, which was filed by the NAACP, accuses not only Trump and Giuliani but also the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, a militia group, of inciting the violent riot at the Capitol, with the intention of stopping Congress from certifying the 2020 election.

The law is also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act because it was originally enacted to combat the KKK and other white nationalist groups, who had targeted black people in the years following the end of the Civil War.

For those keeping track, this is yet another legal hurdle Trump must face as a newly private citizen. New York State is investigating his financial dealings, while the state’s attorney general is looking into whether his company misstated assets to get bank loans and tax benefits. And then there’s Georgia’s D.A., who recently launched a formal investigation into his (and Senator Lindsey Graham’s) alleged election interference there.

The NAACP filed the lawsuit on behalf of Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi representative, who says he spent three hours hiding on the House floor while overhearing “threats of physical violence against any member who attempted to proceed to approve the Electoral College ballot count.” He also says he wouldn’t have brought about the suit had the Senate voted to convict Trump.

(Via NYT)

Max Wade, the kid who stole Guy Fieri’s yellow Lamborghini in 2011, while he was still in high school, just had his prison sentence reduced by 10 years.

Wade had been sentenced to 21 years to life back in 2014. Of course, the lengthy sentence wasn’t on account of stealing Guy Fieri’s car, which Wade pulled off by rappelling into the car dealership and driving off with the banana yellow Gallardo with the “GUYTORO” license plate, which he had parked in a storage locker for more than a year.

Wade was actually caught after a separate 2012 incident in which he pulled his motorcycle alongside a truck with two people inside and fired five shots into it, hitting neither. He was convicted on one count of attempted murder for the incident (this writer was actually in the court the day Guy Fieri testified).

Wade, 17, fired five shots into a pickup truck that was occupied by Landon Wahlstrom of Mill Valley and Eva Dedier of Terra Linda. The teenage couple escaped with minor injuries from flying glass.

Authorities alleged that Wade, who sold fake IDs to Dedier and other teens, was infatuated with Dedier and planned the shooting after learning of her relationship with Wahlstrom. [Marin Independent]

Using surveillance footage from Golden Gate Bridge cameras, police tracked Wade’s motorcycle helmet to the store that had sold it, tracing it back to Wade, and eventually tailing him to his storage unit. Wade tried to pull a loaded handgun from his waistband before he was tackled by police. Inside the storage unit, police found the Lamborghini, along with a replica police uniform, guns, ammunition, and radio signal jammers.

At one point, two of Wade’s associates attempted to bust him out of juvenile hall with a sledgehammer before his 18th birthday. Prosecutors later alleged that Wade had planned a jewelry heist complete with a getaway via helicopter. Grand plans, to be sure, but supposedly he had the specific helicopter picked out.

This week, The Marine Independent Journal reported that a judge had reduced Wade’s prison sentence by 10 years.

The ruling came after Wade’s lawyer, Charles Dresow petitioned the court to reconsider Wade’s sentence under Senate Bill 620, which gives judges discretion on whether to add extra time for gun offenses. Gun penalties, which can increase prison sentences by up to 25 years, were mandatory before SB 620, which took effect in 2018.

Wade’s extra time for the gun offense was reduced from 20 to 10 years, and he’ll now be eligible for parole in 2025. Of course, “eligible” doesn’t mean he’ll actually be getting out, though things seem to have a way of working out for Wade thus far. Sadly, it doesn’t sound like Fieri was present for Wade’s most recent court case, robbing us of the chance for another incredible courtroom sketch like this one. In a case that’s already given us that incredible sketch and this terrible rap song, who knows what the next few years will bring?

Draymond Green made waves on Monday evening, launching into a spirited rant about the “bullsh*t” double standard he believes is in place when evaluating NBA organizations when compared to players. The subject at hand was the treatment of players when they want to be traded when compared to when a team wants to move on from a player, and the discussion arrived on the same day the Cavaliers decided to sideline Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin the Pistons agreed not play to play Blake Griffin until a resolution could be found.

In advance of TNT’s doubleheader on Tuesday, Dwyane Wade shared agreement and support of Green’s statements, saying “I definitely agree” at the outset of a thoughtful, interesting answer.

“What it boils down to me, it’s no communication and there’s no respect,” Wade said. “The organizations are not looking at these players and just having respect for them, for who they are as men, for who they are as players.”

Later in the answer, Wade indicated the simple sentiment to a team to “have the simple conversation with a player” and went on to put things in further context.

“Players get booed when they come back when they leave in free agency, and organizations get celebrated when they give you a video when you come back after they’ve traded you,” Wade said. “I agree with Draymond. It is definitely a double standard.”

It will be interesting to see if anything changes with the standard operating procedure for organizations in these circumstances. Still, Green kickstarting the conversation is ultimately a good thing, even if many don’t agree with him at this point in time.

Lil Baby and Lil Durk have collaborated on a few occasions over the years, mostly on Durk’s projects, the most recent one being “Finesse Out The Gang Way,” off his 2020 release The Voice. The two also worked together on “3 Headed Goat” from Durk’s Just Cause Y’all Waited 2, but fans have requested they do more together. Apparently Lil Durk caught wind of this demand, and now he’s teasing a possible project on his Instagram story.

Lil Durk reposted an Instagram poll from a fan that said “Durkio x Lil Baby Tape?” with the options of “Yes” and “No.” He captioned the Instagram story post and said, “I ain’t see this but thissssssssss @lilbaby_1,” with a group of fire emojis. He also tagged Lil Baby to ensure that he caught wind of what their supporters want from them.

If the album arrives at some point in the future, it would not be the first time Lil Durk or Lil Baby were a part of a joint project with another artist. In 2017, Lil Durk dropped Supa Vultures with Lil Reese and Bloodas with Tee Grizzley. The following year, Lil Baby teamed up with Gunna for Drip Harder, a project that also saw a contribution from Durk on “Off White VLONE” with Nav.

Tuesday marks the three-year anniversary of Nipsey Hussle’s debut album, Victory Lap, which found the Slauson rapper take a moment to reflect on all the things that occurred during his decade-long rise, including his many celebrated mixtapes like The Marathon, Crenshaw, and Mailbox Money. Many fans took to social media to share their favorite songs from Victory Lap. Lauren London, meanwhile, who began dating Nipsey back in 2013, hopped on Instagram to reveal a fun fact about the rapper’s debut album.

“Fun fact: the voice that says ‘victory lap’ on the album is me,” she wrote. She also added that her son Kross was “on my hip” as she recorded the vocals for Victory Lap. Her voice can be found at the end of the album’s title track, with Stacey Barthe, and on “Real Big,” with Marsha Ambrosius. London also starred in Nipsey’s video for “Double Up,” featuring Dom Kennedy and Belly, where she plays the role of a former love interest to Nipsey.

The news arrives after M1 and Stic.Man of Dead Prez revealed that Nipsey intended to remake their classic 2000 album Let’s Get Free to complete his record deal with Atlantic.

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

Steve Bannon, who reeceived a pardon from Donald Trump before his administration ended, is already planning the former president’s political future — Even if he isn’t sure he’s fit to hold office at all. But unlike most people, he doesn’t think it should be another run at the White House in 2024.

The former Trump advisor apparently wants his former boss to run for office in 2022, not two years later when the White House may be up for grabs again. And the plan is for him to become a congressman, then apparently take Nancy Pelosi’s job. According to Newsweek, Bannon appeared at a Republican event in Boston over the weekend and laid out his grand design for Trump’s political future.

Speaking to a group of Boston Republicans on Saturday, Bannon laid out a longshot plan for Trump to return to Washington, D.C.—but not directly to the White House, The Boston Herald reported. Instead, Bannon wants Trump to run for a seat in the House of Representatives in 2022 and then manage to take the role of Speaker of the House away from Democratic Representative Nancy Pelosi of California.

“Trump is a disruptor, but he has a long-term vision because I absolutely believe in the marrow of my bones that he will be our nominee in 2024,” Bannon told the GOP group in a speech. “He’ll come back to us. We’ll have a sweeping victory in 2022, and he’ll lead us in 2024.”

While it’s actually not a bad plan, it seems extremely unlikely it’ll be one that interests Trump. Trump’s blog post of a statement about Mitch McConnell made it pretty clear that Trump wants to lead the Republican party, not from a House seat but as the figurehead once again in charge of the whole thing. Despite his penchant for holding grudges, the actual work of being a congressman — much like the work of being president, which he routinely ignored — seems unlikely to be of much interest to him. The other part of this plan, taking Pelosi’s job, would require Republicans to win back the majority in the House of Representatives, which they hope to do in two years.

It would be, however, extremely easy for Trump to win a seat in the House of Representatives. Republican stronghold districts seem to elect any QAnon lunatic they can find these days, so Trump can find a district in Florida and make that happen relatively easy. But what Trump seems to want to do these days is post on social media, which he absolutely cannot do, even if he were to be Representative Trump someday.