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What’s On Tonight: Election 2020 Comes To A Head, And Here Are Some Comedic TV Alternatives

2020 Election Night (Everywhere in America) — You know the drill here. Trump wants four more years, and Biden’s attempting to be one of the few to take out an incumbent president, and our country’s never been more divided. Polls start closing around 8:00pm EST. We’ll be keeping our eye on events all night long, and we’d love for you to join us.

However, if you prefer to be distracted tonight, Netflix has dropped a wealth of comedy specials this year, and here are the most eventful ones:

Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine (Netflix comedy-variety special) — She of the Trump lip-synching now has her own comedy special during a year when very little is, in fact, actually fine. Directed by Natasha Lyonne, Sarah Cooper brings us many vignettes on light subjects as well as the unavoidable ones: politics, race, gender, class, and other light subjects. Expect appearances from special guests including Maya Rudolph.

Eric Andre: Legalize Everything — This New Orleans-filmed special shows Eric Andre once again busting through comedic boundaries while taking on the wars on sex, drugs, and… fart jokes? Alright. Seriously though, It’s the best comedy special of the year and highly relevant to the U.S. police-related discussion today.

Jim Jefferies: Intolerant — The Aussie comedian (who remains notorious for his gun-control opinion) pulls a 180 from where he was five years ago. He’s less focused on issues these days and grows incredibly banal at times, but he’s still uproariously funny. While reflecting upon the state of comedy today, he manages to dole out some hefty insight on life while telling an epic tale of the pursuit of lactose at all costs.

Pete Davidson: Alive From New York — From SNL to a ton of upcoming movies, Pete Davidson’s doing everything, and now, he’s got his very first Netflix original comedy special. Yes, he’s dropping all kinds of unfiltered anecdotes on everything from his SNL-related discomfort to his Louis C.K. beef and Ariana Grande relationship.

Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything — The Emmy and Grammy winning comedian brings his newest comedy special to the streaming giant. Look forward to anecdotes involving a full-scale Millennium Falcon replica and how home buying gets tied to the term “suicide squad.” Stick around for the post-credits bonus, in which Patton introduces another one-hour comedy special, Bob Rubin: Oddities & Rarities.

Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours To Kill — The legendary Jerry Seinfeld has dropped his second Netflix special. Expect him to keep mining everyday life to unveil comedy in the commonplace. Although the title of this special feels Bond-esque, Seinfeld doesn’t disappoint those expecting his trademarked sharp perceptions about everyday life.

Rob Schneider: Asian Momma, Mexican Kids (Netflix stand-up special) — After all these years (and Adam Sandler movies), Rob Schneider’s first Netflix special has arrived to take on adulthood. Did you know that his daughter is Elle King? She shows up for an ending duet with dad.

Sam Jay: 3 In The Morning (Netflix standup special) — For her first hour-long comedy special with the streaming giant, SNL writer Sam Jay headed to Atlanta, Georgia to get witty, candid, and raw at The Masquerade club.

Marc Maron: End Times Fun — The long-time standup comic, GLOW star, and prolific podcaster unleashes his latest comedy special. Expect Maron’s thoughts on cell phones, vaccinations, and Tumeric. Oh, and he’s definitely talking about his ongoing beef with Marvel movie fans.

George Lopez: We’ll Do It For Half (Netflix stand-up special, Tuesday) — Somehow, this is Lopez’s first Netflix comedy special despite his storied stand-up roots. In one hour, Lopez dives into lessons that he’s learned from the Latino community, along with issues related to emotional support animals, gender reveal parties, and elevator etiquette.

Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (Netflix stand-up special) — The newest Netflix comedy special arrives today with Hannah Gadsby following up on Nanette with a second turn named after one of her dogs. Gadsby’s hope was that Douglas would “inspire comedy disobedience,” according to Netflix, and this LA-filmed special promises to upend all expectations.

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John Oliver Got Misty-Eyed While Voting For The First Time As A U.S. Citizen

Last Week Tonight host John Oliver may have already reached his biggest goal (that sewage glorious plant renaming in his honor) of 2020, but there was still another important box to check on his schedule. That would be voting for the first time as U.S. citizen after achieving that status last year, after which — as he told Stephen Colbert on Monday night (starting around the 2:00 minute mark above) on The Late Show — he had been “waiting for that to feel real.”

Even following receipt of his passport, he was looking for something to hit him hard, and as it turned out, stepping into the voting booth hit the spot. Imagine being the poll worker to see John Oliver walking in, and then seeing him realize that the time has arrived to make good on all his skewering of the U.S. system’s 2020 ridiculousness:

“Standing in line, I didn’t feel it. Giving my name and getting the ballot, I didn’t feel it. Scanning it into the machine and the machine saying ‘your vote has been counted,’ I nearly burst into tears. That is the truth. My eyes got misty, and I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can cry in a voting station.’”

Early voting was massive this year with nearly 100 million American (which is about two-thirds of 2016’s total voting turnout) getting it done beforehand. Only time will tell (and hopefully, not too much time) who will win the POTUS showdown during one of the most important election cycles of our time. We’ll be gathering here for coverage tonight when the polls close, so please circle back and join us.

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Chris Rock Reveals Which Modern Rappers He Likes Most — And Which One He’s Never Heard Of

During his recent appearance on Showtime’s Desus & Mero, Fargo star and hip-hop superfan Chris Rock shared his opinions on modern-day rappers from DaBaby to Youngboy Never Broke Again. Rock is something of an aficionado of the genre, often incorporating references to hot rappers in his stand-up, appearing on rappers’ albums, and even making one of hip-hop’s favorite debate subjects the title of his 2014 film Top Five.

Responding to Desus’ question “What music you out here listening to,” Rock instead asks the Bodega Boy to “name a new rapper.” When Mero suggests “NBA Youngboy,” Rock admits to not knowing much about the Baton Rouge rapper but offers Pop Smoke as an example of someone he’s into. He then confesses, “I still like Kendrick [Lamar] and J. Cole.” He also wonders, “Who’s the new album artist? I like DaBaby but is DaBaby [an album artist]? There’s a lot of guys dropping hot singles — which is lovely — but I like to [have] a whole experience I can marinate on… Kendrick is the truth. That’s what I’m fiending for: That experience.”

Rock recently contributed to such an experience himself, appearing on Busta Rhymes‘ new album, Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath Of God, which released this past New Music Friday.

You can watch the full interview above.

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The NBA Will Explore A Playoff Play-In Tournament For The 7-10 Seeds In Both Conferences

The NBA’s Orlando Bubble was a success for the league in just about every possible way. They managed to keep players and staffers safe and healthy thanks to a robust testing protocol and a strict adherence to protocols, and the quality of play was spectacular from the eight-game restart throughout the playoffs.

One of the big takeaways from the Bubble was how enjoyable the play-in format can be for teams battling at the bottom of the playoff race. While the East was decided without much fanfare, the chase for the 8-seed in the West was wild and saw teams like the Suns and Blazers play their best basketball of the season in pursuit of that final playoff spot. It’s an idea that had been kicked around for some time, but given how radical it is, it took a situation like we had with the 2020 season for the league to have a reason to implement a play-in concept to be able to test it. The success of that has given the league plenty of reason to want to continue it going forward in non-Bubble years, and expect a play-in tourney to be part of the agreement from the NBA and NBPA about the upcoming season.

Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe, the NBA is expected to propose a tournament that will pit the 7-10 teams against each other for the final two spots in each conference.

NBA and NBPA talks continue to include the likelihood of a play-in tournament for both the Eastern and Western Conference playoffs, a mechanism designed to incentivize more teams to aggressively pursue the late season competitively — and an avenue for the league, players and television partners to create more lucrative revenue streams, sources said.

The tournament would begin with No. 7 hosting No. 8, and the winner locking into the No. 7 spot. Meanwhile, No. 9 would face No. 10, with the winner advancing to play the loser of the 7-versus-8 matchup for the No. 8 seed, sources have told ESPN.

That the 7 and 8 seeds get to play each other for a guaranteed spot is good and rewards the full season performance, while still giving the teams in the hunt a chance to win two games in a row to earn their spot. With a shortened season expected, there’s plenty of financial reason for the league and TV partners to want a play-in tourney to add a few extra playoff games, essentially, and even moving forward this seems like something the league will want to keep because it keeps those teams on the fringe of the postseason trying their best throughout the regular season.

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Mark Cuban Shared An Update On Delonte West For Good Vibes On Election Day

It’s been a long and difficult journey for Delonte West since his NBA days. Several years ago, photos emerged of West that appeared to show him homeless and panhandling, causing great concern among his friends, former teammates, and coaches, many of whom were aware of the various struggles he’s faced with mental health and substance use issues throughout his life.

West has long suffered from bipolar disorder, an illness that plagued him during his playing days and has carried over into his life after basketball. Last month, new photos cropped up on Twitter that seemed to indicate that West was once again in a possibly dangerous situation.

Mavs owner Mark Cuban caught wind of this and quickly promised to come to West’s aid. Since then, Cuban has reunited West with his family and paid for him to enter a drug rehabilitation center. On Tuesday, Cuban Tweeted out an update on his progress, with photographs that show West looking happy and healthy at the recovery center.

West last played in the NBA in the 2012 season when he was with the Mavs. He played a total of eight seasons in the league before his struggles derailed his career. We can only hope that West keeps making progress in his recovery, as he’s been fortunate to have so many friends and fans who care about his well-being and have proactive about getting him on the right track.

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John Mulaney Finally Feels Cool After The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas Gifted Him His Jacket

John Mulaney hosted SNL for the fourth time this weekend, which had the rare occurrence of falling on Halloween. The comedian shared the stage with The Strokes as the musical act, and while the night went off without a hitch, Mulaney’s favorite moment actually happened after the filming had wrapped. Recalling his experience with Seth Meyers on Late Night, Mulaney described how Julian Casablancas gave him his jacket and sunglasses as a parting gift.

Recounting the story, Mulaney described how he wasn’t expecting the gesture:

“It’s making me so happy. This is the coat that Julian Casablancas of The Strokes wore on stage on SNL on Saturday. When we were shooting promos, he had on a really cool Knicks jacket. I said, ‘That’s a cool jacket, I gotta get that jacket.’ I said that out loud — you know rock stars have clothes where you’re like, ‘I’m never in my life going to see those clothes. I’m never going to walk into the store where they sell those clothes.’ So, I said that out loud thinking maybe he’d tell me where he got that jacket. But that didn’t happen, that’s alright. After the show, he came into my dressing room and he was like, ‘So, you wanted jackets.’”

After standing up to give the camera the full effect of the jacket, Mulaney said, “There’s nothing I can do with this, but I enjoy it so much. It’s so meant for a lead singer.”

While Mulaney thought he looked ironically cool, Meyers didn’t quite agree. “It’s amazing how much younger the glasses make you,” Meyers quipped. “Because then you look like a kid in a teen movie who it’s his first time at a party.”

The comedian also captured to moment of the gift exchanged and shared it on social media. “At 1 am, when the night couldn’t possibly get any better, Julian gave me his trench that he wore onstage and I acted like I wasn’t crying,” he wrote.

Watch Mulaney relay the story to Seth Meyers above, around the 1:40-minute mark.

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Phoebe Bridgers Has Promised To Cover A ’90s Classic If Donald Trump Loses The Election

Today is Election Day in the US, and there’s a lot in the line. It won’t be long before we know if Donald Trump will get a second consecutive presidential term or if former vice president Joe Biden will return to the White House but as commander in chief this time around. It turns out there’s even more riding on the results of the election than we thought: Phoebe Bridgers has promised that if Trump doesn’t get re-elected, she will cover Goo Goo Dolls hit and essential ’90s single “Iris.”

Bridgers took to Twitter this afternoon to declare simply, “if trump loses I will cover iris by the goo goo dolls.”

It turns out there’s a bit of history behind her song choice. In November 2014 — back when she only had one project under her belt, the independently released 2014 EP Killer — Bridgers tweeted, “Taking suggestions for what I’d like to call my Buck Nasty List: A list of songs I want to f*ck to before I die. And yes Iris is on it.”

“Iris” was of course a big song for the Goo Goo Dolls. It topped charts around the world in 1998 and was the band’s second top-10 single in the US, after 1995’s “Name.” It’s also their most commercially successful single and the band’s only song to achieve Platinum certification from the RIAA; It’s 4-times Platinum, in fact.

Goo Goo Dolls is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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The Sixers Are Expected To ‘Pursue’ James Harden, But The Rockets Call It ‘A Non-Starter’

Back when the Philadelphia 76ers were linked to now-former Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni, rumblings popped up that the team might try to find a way to pursue James Harden sometime during his tenure. D’Antoni ended up not getting hired (and is now in Brooklyn on Steve Nash’s staff), but the Sixers still brought on board an ex-member of the Rockets’ brass, and as a result, the Harden rumors still exist.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reports that following Philly’s decision to hire Daryl Morey, the team is not only expected to be interested in making a move for Harden, they will go as far as to pursue it. The downside for the Sixers, though, is that the Rockets apparently view moving the former league MVP a non-starter.

It is the least surprising thing on earth that Houston would pour water on any and all suggestions that they could trade Harden, as he is their franchise player and the person upon whom their hopes of winning a championship rests. Additionally, it would be a bit tricky to justify moving Harden while Russell Westbrook is still around, both because of how he’d fit with any of the four players the Sixers would need to include in this deal and because keeping Westbrook around in this scenario would be odd.

Morey is always going to make calls for anyone and everyone, so it is unsurprising that this report exists. As for whether it happens any time soon, that seems a little more unlikely.

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Live video shows a woman bravely saving a young girl from being abducted this morning

A London woman’s incredible instincts and bravery helped save a young girl from being abducted Tuesday morning. The unknown woman was walking in a residential area in Mitcham when she noticed a man behaving strangely and holding a young girl with his hand over her mouth.

In the video, the woman paces the man, demands that he “Let her go” and asks “What are you doing with her?” The man replies “This is my sister, this is man’s family.”

However, instead of believing the man, she trusted her instincts and kept up her pursuit.


“So what are you doing in the corner with her?” The man responded by asking: “Why are you stalking, man?” When the woman finally reached him, the man let go of the girl and ran away.

The video ends with the woman asking the little girl if she’s ok. Her response is hard to decipher, but she appears to be utterly terrified.

The video was posted to social media soon after by the woman’s sister.

“My little sister witnessed a man abducting a young girl whilst on her way to school. She noticed the man had his hands over her mouth whilst walking down Pitcairn Road (Mitcham) and was behaving in a strange manner,” they wrote.

“She called and alerted my mum and sister who called the police and left our house to attempt to find him.”

Security footage of the man grabbing the young girl surfaced soon after.

A better look at the attempted kidnapper appeared as well.

After news of the attempted abduction broke, local residents crowded around what they believed to be the attacker’s residence. The police had to tell them to stop interfering with the investigation.

Later Tuesday, police arrested a man named Kadian O Nelson in nearby Tooting who appears to be the attempted kidnapper.

via Twitter

Approximately 2,100 missing-children reports are filed every day in the United States. Although most of these filings are due to miscommunication between family members. Of the children who are abducted, most are taken by family members or acquaintances.

Twenty-five percent are taken by strangers. Almost all kids kidnapped by strangers are taken by men, and about two-thirds of stranger abductions involve female children.

Tips for preventing child abduction by Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital:

Have ID-like photos taken of your kids every six months and have them fingerprinted. Many local police departments sponsor fingerprinting programs.

Be aware of your kids’ Internet activities and remind them never to give out personal information. Avoid posting identifying information or photos of your kids online.

Supervise your children in places like malls, movie theaters, parks, public bathrooms, or while fundraising door to door.

Choose caregivers — babysitters, childcare providers, and nannies — carefully and check their references.

Avoid dressing your kids in clothing with their names on it — children tend to trust adults who know their names.

Talking to your children:

Never accept candy or gifts from a stranger.

Never go anywhere with a stranger, even if it sounds like fun.

Run away and scream if someone follows them or tries to force them into a car.

Say no to anyone who tries to make them do something you’ve said is wrong or touch them in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable.

Always tell you or another trusted adult if a stranger asks personal questions, exposes himself or herself, or otherwise makes them feel uneasy.

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The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s Induction Ceremony Has Been Permanently Moved To The Fall

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony always manages to capture indelible moments, like when The Cure’s Robert Smith had an infamously apathetic response last year to an interviewer’s question about their induction. This year, however, the ceremony will look quite different. Not only will it be held virtually, but it will also take place this month rather than in May — and it looks like the ceremony’s schedule change is now permanent.

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame CEO Joel Peresman addressed the shift this week, according to NME. Peresman said that rather than starting the nomination process in September and announcing the new inductees at the beginning of the next year, the entire process will be pushed back several months. “We moved the timing of the ceremony,” he said of this year’s event. “We’re going to move the ceremony permanently so it’s in the fall of each year because of COVID.”

Peresman continued, “We’re also moving the nomination process. Normally, the nomination process starts in September, we announce the nominees in October, and then we announce the inductees in January. This time the nomination meetings will happen in January, so we’ll announce the nominees in February and start that voting process then.”

While the future of live events in the US remains uncertain, Peresman is remaining optimistic about next year. Peresman added that he’s “hopeful by next fall in some form that we’ll be able to get together again.”

Even though the event is virtual this year, the lineup is still stacked with big-name artists. David Grohl will kick things off by announcing this year’s inductees, which includes Nine Inch Nails, The Notorious B.I.G., Whitney Houston, T. Rex, Depeche Mode, and the Doobie Brothers. Other artists that will make a digital appearance include Diddy, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Hudson, Billy Idol, Iggy Pop, Alicia Keys, Adam Levine, Chris Martin, Bruce Springsteen, St. Vincent, and more.

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony streams on HBO 11/7 at 8 p.m. ET. Watch it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.