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The current COVID-19 “strategy” from the White House appears to be to push for theoretical “herd immunity” by letting the virus spread among the young and healthy population while protecting the elderly and immunocompromised until a certain (genuinely unknown) threshold is reached. Despite many infectious disease experts and some of the world’s largest medical institutions decrying the idea as “a dangerous fallacy unsupported by scientific evidence,” and “practically impossible and highly unethical,” the radiologist Trump added to his pandemic team is trying to convince people it’s a grand plan.

Aside from the fact that we don’t know enough about the natural immunity of this virus and the fact that “herd immunity” is a term used in vaccine science—not as a strategy of purposefully infecting people in order to get through an infectious disease outbreak —the idea of “infect the young, protect the vulnerable” is simply a unworkable strategy.

Look no further than the outbreak among the college student population in Pullman, Washington to see why.

Pullman, the largest town in rural Whitman County, is home to Washington State University, with the 20,000+ student population making up nearly half the county’s population.

Pullman and Whitman County kept the pandemic under control for a long time. The pandemic shutdown in March hit right around spring break at the university, and most students just stayed at their respective homes for the remaining two months of the school year in the spring. The county saw its first COVID-19 case on March 22, and over the next five months, there would be a tiny trickle of cases, with no hospitalizations and no deaths. Whitman County even had a three-week period with no new cases over the summer and was able to move to a new phase of reopening early.

As of August 20, there had been 138 cases total in Whitman County. No hospitalizations, no deaths. Washington’s pandemic response plan was working. Things were under control.

Then the students started returning to Pullman.

Even though WSU was holding all classes online, an estimated 12,000+ students came back to town anyway at the end of August. Some couldn’t get out of leases they’d signed. Some had no other place else to live. Some just wanted to come and have the college party experience, despite the governor’s ban on gatherings of more than 10.

And party they did. Reports of parties on Greek Row and in housing near the campus, with no masks and no distancing, poured in. In two weeks, cases in the county quadrupled, then kept climbing. Pullman was ranked by the New York Times’ coronavirus tracker as the #1 hotspot in the nation in mid-September.

By October 5, the county had 1614 cases—a more than 1000% increase in 7 weeks.

But because nearly all of the cases were college-aged, there were only a couple of hospitalizations and no deaths. More than six months after its first case, Whitman County still hadn’t seen a COVID death, even with this outbreak among the students. These statistics would have been a perfect argument for “let it spread through the young and healthy” idea—right up until it wasn’t.

A few weeks ago, the ages of the new cases started shifting and Pullman saw a sudden influx of hospitalizations. The first death came on October 6. There have been eight more since then.

Let me repeat that. Whitman County went from zero COVID deaths in nearly seven months to nine COVID deaths in two weeks.

That may not seem like a huge number to those in large cities, but it’s a stunning increase in a small, rural county that had had the virus under control. And yes, these deaths were all in the over-60 age group—because you can’t keep widespread infection among the young and healthy from infecting the vulnerable. You just can’t.

The virus is now in Whitman County’s long-term care facilities. Cases are also showing up in the hospital staff. It’s not like those populations weren’t already being protected—this is just how outbreaks work. An large increase in cases just among one age group leads to more opportunities for more people to become infected, which leads to an even greater increase in cases among the whole community, etc. The virus is indiscriminate in who it infects, and it’s virtually impossible to create perfect bubbles of groups that don’t overlap with one another.

Pullman’s current situation started with carefree college students acting like things were “back to normal,” partying with no masks and no social distancing. And now it has spread into the community that had done such a good job of keeping it at bay—exactly what residents worried would happen if and when the students returned.

Yes, this is anecdotal, but it’s reality. Protecting the vulnerable requires protecting the whole community as much as possible. That doesn’t necessarily mean we have to lock everything down for years—it means we need to choose what stays and what goes wisely and do things as safely as possible, with distancing and masks and handwashing and not holding group activities.

It means not buying into magical thinking that we can somehow push the virus through the less vulnerable population without killing people unnecessarily. We are seeing how that thinking plays out in real time in Whitman County.

Stan Van Gundy is getting back into the coaching game. According to Andrew Lopez and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the New Orleans Pelicans have opted to hand the keys of the franchise over to the former Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, and Detroit Pistons head coach. New Orleans has been in the market for a new coach since parting ways with Alvin Gentry earlier this year following the team’s inability to make the playoffs.

The news was confirmed by Shams Charania of The Athletic, who noted that Van Gundy will receive a four-year deal.

Van Gundy’s name has been in the mix for this job for a few days, as he was listed as one of the finalists for this position. It is unclear who all three of the other finalists were, but it had been reported that Tyronn Lue was one of them prior to his accepting of the Los Angeles Clippers’ vacancy.

While it is not a surprise that Van Gundy wanted to get back into coaching, he had found a niche as a broadcaster with Turner, both in the studio and as an in-game analyst, the latter of which led to him receiving plenty of praise. But now, he’s returning to the league, where he’ll be tasked with molding one of the brightest young rosters in all of basketball, particularly the 1-2 punch of Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson.

Nicki Minaj is just weeks removed from the birth of her first child, a baby boy. She hasn’t shared much info about the kid yet, as is her right, but somebody wanted their viral moment, so they shared a photo of a random baby and claimed it was Minaj’s. The tweet got over 100,000 likes and Minaj was displeased, writing, “116K likes. Not my baby. Not his name. Imagine doing this. Pls delete this person’s child from your page.”

Now, Minaj has given fans what they want: an actual photo of her child. It’s not a photograph of the kid’s face, though, but instead a shot of a hand holding a tiny baby foot.

After Minaj had the baby, she received kind messages from some of her musical peers, including Beyonce, who wrote, “Welcome to motherhood. God bless you and your family.” She thanked her and other for the thoughts, writing, “It meant the world to me. I am so grateful & in love with my son. Madly in love. My favorite liddo boy in the whole wide world.”

Meanwhile, like Beyonce also did, she shared a message about the situation in Nigeria, writing on Twitter, “Standing with & praying for the brave young people of Nigeria who are on the front lines of this senseless violence. Your voice is being heard.”

The last time Ty Dolla Sign hooked up with Post Malone, it was for the latter’s 2018 single “Psycho,” which helped propel Beerbongs & Bentleys to the biggest debut of 2018 and made it one of two hip-hop albums to go platinum that year. Now, Post returns the favor for Ty’s upcoming album with a verse on “Spicy,” the latest single from Featuring Ty Dolla Sign, dropping October 23.

The two artists sing-rap over a clap-ridden, guitar-driven beat with subtle Latin influences, delivering flirtatious lyrics about the women they plan to bed. Premiering the song on Apple Music, Ty told Zane Lowe that Post “took a f*cking hell of a long time to send it back… I was kind of impatient just because we started on this song, me and him, definitely sometime last year. And I’m like, ‘Yo, finish your f*cking verse. Finish your verse. Send it, send it, send it.’”

Eventually, Ty did get the verse from Post and credited his collaborator’s perfectionism: “Shout out to our brother, Post,” he said. “He’s about perfection, and we see it in his work, every time.”

Listen to Ty Dolla Sign and Post Malone’s “Spicy” above.

Featuring Ty Dolla Sign is due 10/23 via Def Jam Records. Pre-save it here.

Ty Dolla Sign is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

After weeks of hinting at new music, Ariana Grande finally shares some firm details about her upcoming single. The singer shared a countdown on her website this week which signaled her new era of music will officially start Friday.

It’s been over a year and a half since Grande shared her acclaimed record Thank U, Next, and it won’t be long before fans are able to hear its follow-up. Last week, the singer revealed in a succinct tweet that her next record will debut in October. Giving further information about her music, Grande’s website’s new countdown indicates that the album’s lead single, “Positions,” will be shared on Friday.

Along with specifying her “Positions” release, the singer’s website features a second countdown ending on October 30. Since Grande stated her entire album will arrive in October, many have concluded that the countdown is the singer’s way of sharing the record’s official release date.

Grande’s announcement arrives after she teased fans with a couple snippets of her new music. A six-second clip shared to social media gives a taste of a vocal track on one of her songs. Before that, the singer hinted that she had something special in the works with Doja Cat.

Check out Grande’s “Positions” single art below and see her release countdown here.

Jon Stewart has been a tireless advocate for ensuring that 9/11 first responders and veterans receive the proper care they were promised by the government for their service and bravery, which has not been the case over the years. On Tuesday night, Stewart stopped by The Medhi Hasan Show where he was joined by activist John Feal. The two brought attention to veterans who were injured in toxic burn pits while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan but have yet to receive necessary treatments.

In a notable moment, Stewart set aside his usual tactic of bipartisanship, and he specifically ripped into Republican Party for routinely dropping the ball when it comes to first responders and veterans. “It’s an inability to empathize or to understand that other people may be suffering issues that you don’t suffer,” Stewart said before launching into a scathing criticism of the GOP. Via Mediaite:

“They’re the party of symbolism. It’s paper patriotism. It’s the party that, if Colin Kaepernick takes a knee, they’ll never watch another football game again,” the comedian added. “They stand for the anthem, but when it comes down — everybody supports the troops until the troops need support, and then they disappear. And it’s too much money. We can no longer always have money for war and then not have enough money for the warfighter.”

Stewart’s pointed anger at the Republican Party likely also stems from recent reports that the Trump Administration has been secretly siphoning money from the FDNY World Trade Center Health Program. The former Daily Show host has been championing the program for years as a means to provide healthcare to 9/11 first responders, but reportedly, the Treasury Department has been quietly diverting funds since Trump took office. But as fans of the comedian know, he’s not afraid to take the fight directly to Washington as he did back in June 2019. After being greeted to an empty room during a scheduled congressional hearing, Stewart didn’t hold back on the glaring failure unfolding before him. “What an incredible metaphor this room is for the entire process that getting healthcare and benefits for 9/11 first responders has come to,” he said. “Behind me, a filled room of 9/11 first responders — and in front of me, a nearly empty Congress.” The moment went instantly viral, which should’ve been a warning to politicians.

When Jon Stewart speaks, America listens.

(Via Mediaite)

The NFL has gone to great lengths to ensure as few individuals as possible get infected with the coronavirus at team facilities or during the course of their work as players, coaches, and team personnel. But while Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is doing his part in Cleveland to keep the season moving along, the All-Pro pass-catcher also believes the virus is avoiding him on purpose.

After being sent home sick last week by the Browns, Beckham was asked about his run-in with illness and whether he was ever worried it may have been COVID-19. His response, in typical Beckham fashion, was that he had complete confidence in himself and his ability to avoid infection.

Leaving out whether the science of Beckham’s explanation stands up to scrutiny or whether he’s even right or wrong, it’s worth just sitting in the outlandish cockiness of a person who utters these words.

The full video of his answer is worth your time as well.

https://twitter.com/gifdsports/status/1318963141548691457

Rarely does Beckham say anything he does not truly mean, but with that little grin and the pause he takes as he gathers his thoughts to toss out a truly incredible take on his potential battle with this virus, shows that he is entirely serious about his odds here. Anyway, please wear a mask and wash your hands and keep your distance from others.

Amine puts on for his Portland neighborhood in the exuberant new video for “Woodlawn” from his summer album Limbo, filling the self-directed video with family, friends, and references to his hometown. Situated in the northeast section of Portland, Woodlawn is a mostly minority section of the city that has been undergoing a period of gentrification (which Amine spoke on in his debut album, Good For You, with “Turf”). To counteract the disappearing character of his section, Amine celebrates and displays the things that make it special to him.

In one scene, Amine seems to be enjoying a Trailblazers game in his room, which is decked out in team paraphernalia, while flanked as usual by best friends Yosief Berhe and Jonathan Ressom. In another, the crew off-roads in ATVs decorated with Limbo stickers, while for the group sequence, dozens of Amine’s friends dance to the song while wearing matching black outfits and Limbo masks.

The video for “Woodlawn” arrives a little under a month after the song made its television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with an innovative performance involving a hot air balloon. It’s the fourth video from Limbo after “Shimmy,” “Riri,” and “Compensating” featuring Young Thug. Shortly after the release of the album, Amine gave a live streamed performance on YouTube.

Watch Amine’s “Woodlawn” video above.

Not to get all Denzel GIF on you, but when I saw “Mel Brooks” trending on Twitter this morning, I feared the worst. He’s 94 years old… we’re in the middle of a deadly pandemic… his best buddy Carl Reiner passed away earlier this year. To my great relief, however, Mel Brooks is doing just fine. The reason the director of Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and The Producers, three of the funniest movies ever, is trending is because he endorsed Joe Biden for president in what’s apparently his first political video.

“My father, @MelBrooks, is 94. He has never made a political video. Until now,” his son (and World War Z author) Max Brooks tweeted, along with the hashtags #MelBrooks4JoeBiden, #BidenHarris, and #GrassrootsDemHQ. “I’m Mel Brooks, and behind me you see my son and my grandson, and they can’t be with me. Why? Because of this coronavirus, and Donald Trump isn’t doing a damn thing about it,” Brooks says in the video. “So many people have died, and when you’re dead you can’t do much. So I’m voting for Joe Biden. I like Joe. Why do I like Joe? Because Joe likes facts. Joe likes science. Joe will keep us going. Take a tip from me – vote for Joe.”

If Biden doesn’t tweet “vote for me, so 94-year-old Mel Brooks can hug his son and grandson” within the next hour, his social media team should be fired.

Ariana Grande and Adele have some very dedicated fans who often show their undying love by flooding Twitter with fancams and and supportive posts. But on occasion, their fans can turn ruthless. That’s what happened Wednesday when Grande and Adele fans, anxious for information on new music from the artists, mistakingly thought an indie record of the month company was sharing exclusive music from the pop stars.

Both Grande and Adele have been steadily teasing new releases, so when record club Vinyl Me, Please cryptically announced they had a “big new album” on the way, Grande and Adele fans swarmed their page with giddy excitement.

Much to the disappointment of the stans, Vinyl Me, Please’s “big new album” turned out to be Julien Baker’s upcoming record Little Oblivions, which she announced Wednesday with the lead single “Faith Healer.” In retaliation, the stans took over the record club’s replies with cries of distress.

Those familiar with Vinyl Me, Please’s platform were confused why Grande and Adele fans thought an indie company would be responsible for releases from some of today’s biggest pop stars.

Vinyl Me, Please attempted to thwart the stans by giving them a primer on Baker, describing her “incredibly raw, self-confessional” sound.

See the tweets from Grande and Adele stans above.