RadioRob

Published by Radar Online MEGA The director of Leaving Neverland, an explosive documentary that told the story of two young boys who claimed to be sexually abused by the late Michael Jackson, slammed the newly announced biopic chronicling the King of Pop’s rise to fame, RadarOnline.com has learned. Dan Reed posted an opinion piece about the new project starring the performer’s 26-year-old nephew Jaafar Jackson and directed by Antoine Fuqua for Lionsgate. @jaafarjackson/Instagram; MEGA RadarOnline.com was the first to report news on a confidential and lucrative secret project in the works back in November. Court documents showed the Jackson estate, run by John McClain and John Branca, had informed the court of a potential new income revenue since revealed to be the biopic. MEGA “In an era when full-throated outrage accompanies anything that smells of delegitimization or insensitivity against a vulnerable group, it amounts to a deafening silence. No one is talking about ‘cancelling’ this movie, which will glorify a man who raped children,” Reed wrote, per The Guardian in an article published on February 5. Jackson’s family had previously blasted the two-part HBO documentary Leaving Neverland as a “public lynching” and “character assassination” as he was no longer alive and able to speak out about the disturbing claims. “Michael is not here to defend himself, otherwise these allegations would not have been made,” a statement from the family read at the time, following accusations made by alleged victims Wade Robson and James Safechuck. MEGA Relatives of Jackson have since thrown their support behind the new biopic, which Reed said may send a bigger message to the world and survivors of abuse, claiming it seems as though those “who grew up loving Jackson are willing to set aside his unhealthy relationship with children and just go along with the music.” In a message directly to filmmakers, he asked, “How will you represent the moment when Jackson, a grown man in his 30s, takes a child by the hand and leads him into that bedroom? How will you depict what happens next?” Never miss a story — sign up for RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free. MEGA “By sidestepping the question of Jackson’s predilection for sleeping with young boys, you are broadcasting a message to millions of survivors of child sexual abuse,” Reed declared. “That message is: if a pedophile is rich and popular enough, society will forgive him.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Trevor Hunnicutt and Nandita Bose WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden will on Tuesday deliver his State of the Union address three months after Republicans took control of the House of Representatives, a speech that may mark the unofficial start of the 2024 presidential campaign season. Here is what to expect. WHEN IS THE STATE OF THE UNION? Biden will deliver his second State of the Union address at about 9 p.m. (0200 GMT Wednesday). It will be broadcast live on major U.S. broadcast television networks and online. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? The speech could deliver Biden his largest television audience of the year. An estimated 38.2 million people watched the speech on U.S. television last year, according to data provider Nielsen. That audience will give Biden a chance to shape public perceptions of the debt limit, social spending, the Russian war in Ukraine and other topics as he plans to announce his re-election campaign in the coming weeks. It also gives him an opportunity to shore up support among Democrats, some of whom are concerned about his age and other issues. Biden turned 80 in November and, if re-elected, would be 82 at the beginning of a second term. WHAT IS BIDEN EXPECTED TO SAY? He is expected to use the speech as an unofficial beginning of the 2024 presidential campaign season, laying out a set of policy priorities that may or may not find support in Congress. He is expected to tout economic progress following the COVID-19 recession, draw sharp contrasts with the priorities of some Republican opponents and lay out “unity” agenda items that he believes should bring the two main parties together. The speech is weeks in the making and subject to many drafts between Biden, his speechwriters and various political and policy officials in the administration. Last year, Biden’s speech came just days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and focused heavily on explaining the U.S. response. WHO ATTENDS THE SPEECH? The speech is delivered during a joint session of Congress. All members of both the Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-controlled House are invited. Members of Biden’s Cabinet, the armed forces and the Supreme Court also attend. Partisan outbursts can occur. Biden was formally invited to give the address in January by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy will preside over the event and be accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also the president of the Senate. The president invites family members and other guests who sit in the First Lady’s view box from the balcony. Their presence can amplify points he is making in his speech. Members of Congress also invite guests. This year, guests will include the mother and stepfather of Tyre Nichols, the Black man who was fatally beaten by Memphis police officers, who were invited by Congressional Black Caucus chair Representative Steven Horsford. Missouri Democrat Cori Bush said she has invited Michael Brown Sr., the father of Michael Brown, whose 2014 shooting by a Ferguson police officer helped give birth to the Black Lives Matter movement. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, said he invited Roya Rahmani, who served as Afghanistan’s first female ambassador to the United States, to send a signal to the women of Afghanistan that they had not been forgotten, while Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik will bring Jeffrey Smith, a county sheriff from upstate New York. WHO ARE BIDEN’S GUESTS? The ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, Oksana Markarova, was invited by first lady Jill Biden. The White House called it a “recognition of sustained U.S. support for Ukraine nearly a year after Russia launched its unprovoked attack.” The White House has also invited Paul Pelosi, husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He was attacked by an intruder in their California home in October. Celebrities have also made the list with Bono, lead singer of Irish band U2, invited for his work to fight HIV/AIDS and poverty. The White House has also invited Brandon Tsay, who disarmed a gunman responsible for a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California. Other guests include cancer survivor Darlene Gaffney; Amanda Zurawski who was not able to obtain abortion services due to Texas’s abortion ban and Doug Griffin, who lost his 20-year-old daughter to a fentanyl overdose. WHO IS THE DESIGNATED SURVIVOR One person who does not attend is a single member of Biden’s Cabinet who will be picked as a “designated survivor.” That individual will be housed in a secure location and is tasked with taking over the government in case of a catastrophe that impairs the president and his other successors at the Capitol. The designated survivor for this year’s speech had not been announced as of late Monday. WHO WILL GIVE THE REPUBLICAN RESPONSE? Republicans have picked Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as White House press secretary under Donald Trump, to deliver their response. That speech is generally delivered shortly after the president finishes his. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Nandita Bose; Editing by Heather Timmons, Alistair Bell, Robert Birsel) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Tom Brady‘s latest sultry snap has fans drooling. On Monday, February 6, the legendary quarterback took to his Instagram Story to tease his 13.4 million followers with a stripped-down mirror selfie. mega “Deals a deal,” Brady wrote alongside a shirtless photo of him on his bed in a pair of boxers. The 45-year-old positioned one of his football-throwing hands directly over his private parts, while the other held onto his iPhone to take the picture. “Did I do it right?” the father-of-three asked his former New England Patriots teammates Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski. @tombrady/instagram The jaw-dropping upload comes more than six months after Brady took to Twitter with a promise to recreate the shirtless models’ poses from a Brady Brand photo shoot in June 2022 — but only if his post received more than 40,000 likes. “Hey @TomBrady we haven’t forgotten about this,” the NFL star’s apparel brand wrote on Monday morning alongside the resurfaced tweet. Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for! “How it started…” Brady captioned a screenshot of the Twitter exchange, which he posted on his instagram Story to provide background explanation before he shared the nearly nude selfie. The handsome hunk’s thirst trap comes less than one week after the recently divorced celebrity announced his retirement on Wednesday, February 1. mega “Good morning, guys, I’ll get to the point right away: I’m retiring for good,” Brady explained last week of the end to his well-acclaimed career as one of the greatest football players of all time. “I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning I figured I’d just press record and let you guys know first. So I won’t be long-winded,” the sports icon continued in regard to his first retirement exactly one year prior, which he back tracked on 40 days later. “I think you only get one super emotional retirement essay, and I used mine up last year,” the ex-husband of Gisele Bündchen quipped. “So, really, thank you guys, so much, to every single one of you, for supporting me. My family, my friends, teammates, my competitors, I could go on forever, there’s too many. Thank you, guys, for letting me live my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing. Love you all,” Brady concluded. View the full article

Published by AFP US President Joe Biden will have a huge audience in his State of the Union speech Washington (AFP) – An optimistic President Joe Biden will seek to lift the spirits of a tense nation Tuesday with a State of the Union address showcasing his efforts to fire up the US economy — and demonstrating he still has what it takes to seek reelection at the age of 80. After two years of managing the exit from the Covid pandemic, an end to the 20-year Afghan war debacle, the Western response against Russia’s Ukraine invasion, and extreme US political tensions, Biden feels he has much to celebrate. “I want to talk to the American people and let them know the state of affairs,” Biden said Monday. “Just have a conversation with the American people.” On Capitol Hill, he’ll address the full Congress, nearly every senior government member, and a vast television audience, buoyed by news that the economy is recovering strongly from the pandemic, with the lowest unemployment in 50 years. “This is a president who is incredibly optimistic,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. Biden will tap into his powers of empathy — honed in a series of personal tragedies — and show his skill at “connecting with the American people,” she said Tuesday on MSNBC. “Joe Biden is known for doing just that and he is the best messenger in the White House,” she said, “telling the stories of the last two years and, let’s not forget, the optimism.” But the dramatic downing on Saturday of a huge Chinese balloon by a US Air Force fighter leaves the unstable relationship with the communist superpower literally looming over the Biden administration. And there are troubles closer to home, with two new polls showing that well over half of voters do not want Biden, the oldest person ever in the presidency, to seek a second term in 2024 — and that includes members of his own Democratic party. Biden spent the weekend at the presidential retreat Camp David, huddled with top advisors and speech writers to finesse the speech. Tweaks continued “until the last minute,” Jean-Pierre said. Early Tuesday, the White House announced the guests of First Lady Jill Biden for the speech. These include Ukraine’s ambassador, Oksana Markarova and rock band mega star and HIV/AIDS campaigner Bono. The most eye-catching, though may be Brandon Tsay, the 26-year-old man who disarmed the gunman in a January mass shooting in California, and RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, the parents of Tyre Nichols, a man whose death after a prolonged police beating in Memphis, Tennessee, shocked the nation. Trouble ahead For Biden, here’s the good news. Inflation, which just a few months ago seemed a near-existential threat to the Biden presidency, is steadily ticking downward. Hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars are starting to flow out into programs passed under Biden to spur high-tech manufacturing and repair infrastructure. On Friday, new figures showed joblessness hitting that half-century low. This inspired Biden to boast: “I’m happy to report that the state of the union and the state of our economy is strong.” Even if Biden has yet to formally announce his 2024 candidacy, the speech — followed by two very campaign-like trips Wednesday and Thursday to Wisconsin and Florida — is expected to give him a big push. However, the Chinese balloon drama — Beijing claims it was an errant weather research balloon but the US government says it was a high-tech espionage device — shows how narratives in Washington easily take dangerous new turns. When Biden speaks, half of the Congress members in the chamber, as well as Speaker Kevin McCarthy sitting directly behind him, will be Republicans vowing to use their new, narrow House of Representatives majority to block his policies. “The state of the union is weaker and American families are suffering because of Joe Biden,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said. “But all they’ll hear from Biden are excuses.” Already, a major crisis is brewing over Republican refusal to extend the US debt limit, usually a rubber stamp procedure. Biden’s government warns of financial calamity, with major international implications, if Republicans stick to their guns, potentially pushing the United States into default. Those kinds of uncertainties, as well as doubts over Biden’s ability to serve a second term that would end after his 86th birthday, may be partly to blame for pessimism in the polls. An ABC News-Washington Post Poll found that 58 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said the party should find someone else for 2024. In his address, Biden will seek to “meet the meet people where they are, understanding that they are still indeed struggling,” Jean-Pierre said. View the full article

Published by AFP The entrance of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida: state lawmakers have introduced a bill to revoke Disney's special status as part of an ongoing spat with Governor Ron DeSantis over his 'Don't Say Gay' bill Miami (AFP) – Florida lawmakers on Monday introduced a bill that would allow the state to take control of the area around Walt Disney World that has until now been controlled by the entertainment giant. The move was the latest episode in a year-long dispute between the Republican administration of Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney, after the company criticized a law banning school lessons on sexual orientation. Disney’s special self-governing status was granted when the huge theme park was being built the 1960s. It gave Disney broad local management autonomy and exempted it from most state regulations. The new bill will be debated in the Florida House of Representatives this week before being sent to the Senate. It provides for the creation of a committee of five people, appointed by the governor and approved by the Senate, to take care of the administration of the zone once Disney’s special statute is revoked. DeSantis, who is widely expected to run for the White House, signed a law in April last year, and which is due to come into effect in June this year, eliminating Disney’s special status. Relations between DeSantis and Disney soured after Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke out publicly against a law pushed by the governor prohibiting the teaching of subjects related to sexual orientation or gender identity in primary school. Disney was initially silent about the law. But widespread criticism of the company, which employs more than 75,000 people in Florida, after it failed to publicly speak out eventually prompted Chapek to condemn it and suspend donations to state politicians. Disney’s theme park near Orlando is among the most visited in the world and the Disney brand remains a favorite with Americans. With its special status, Disney guaranteed a number of essential public services such as garbage collection or water treatment. Some elected officials fear that revoking the status will result in Disney debts of around $2 billion being transferred to local governments surrounding the park. View the full article

Published by OK Magazine TLC Jazz Jennings has entered the dating pool — which has turned out to be more of a rocky, dating dance. In the sneak peek of the Tuesday, February 6, episode of I Am Jazz, the transgender activist goes on a double date with a guy named Dayron, her brother Sander and his “lady friend.” TLC While the couple tries to loosen up with a fun-filled dance date, things go sour for Jazz and her man after he points out that she appears to be on edge, making matters worse. A blonde instructor named Maria leads the group’s private dance lesson, showing them moves while flipping her tresses. “Look! Look!” Jazz’s date says while watching the instructor, who adds, “You just wanna get a little groovy.” After watching Maria’s sassy demonstration, Jazz — who is wearing a tiara of flowers on her head — says, “Oh, oh! OK!” before joking: “I’m leaving my crown on. This crown is staying on.” Dayron then grabs Jazz by the arm and tries to get her to do the moves with him, but the whole situation seems to have Jazz on edge. “I’m getting a little uncomfortable because Maria does her hair flip, and Dayron is kind of like ‘Jazz, you do it! You do it!'” she admits in a confessional. TLC Though Dayron appears to try and calm the 22-year-old down by saying he doesn’t know why she’s “nervous,” as he reaches over to touch her arm again, the remark only pushes Jazz to get more inside her head. “I’m not nervous!” Jazz declares, going on to repeat herself while adjusting her flower crown. When Maria asks if they want a break or some water, Jazz quickly takes her up on the offer. “I would love some water. Yeah, that would be great. We’ve been dancing for long,” she insists, as she makes her way off the dance floor, with Dayron in tow. “Hearing Dayron say I seem nervous kind of takes me off guard because now I just feel uncomfortable because I feel I’m projecting negative emotions I don’t want to be projecting,” she explains in the confessional. Ahead of the latest season of I Am Jazz, the star teased that the biggest storyline “is my love life, and where I’m going with that, and do I, or do I not find love?” TLC Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for! “All those questions will be answered,” she hinted to a news outlet, admitting that dating has proven to be quite the challenge. On top of the regular stresses that come with getting to know people, Jazz adds that the reality of dating as a transgender person comes with additional obstacles. “I wish people understood that dating as a trans person is really hard because transgender people are immediately judged and ostracized for who they are,” the brunette babe emphasized, concluding that she wishes she wasn’t just defined by being a transgender woman. “I wish people could be like, ‘You know what? I don’t care that you’re transgender. You’re just a woman to me. You’re beautiful. And I see that in you.'” I Am Jazz airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC. People obtained the first look at the I Am Jazz episode and talked to the reality star about the upcoming season. View the full article

Published by Global Voices A screenshot of Google maps (Jakarta). Composed by Sydney Allen via Canva Global Voices has extensively cataloged the pressures, violence, hate speech, and oppression queer people face all over the world. Whether it is violence against trans sex workers in Azerbaijan, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Kazakhstan, opposition to the Gay Games in Hong Kong, or crackdowns on LGBTQ+ education in Brazillian schools, it is well documented that queer people often face a litany of abuse and discrimination that their cis-straight counterparts do not. The threat of persecution, violence, or judgement is why man… Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet The chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee is pressing the Department of Justice for details about a former FBI agent who was indicted for working for a sanctioned Russian oligarch and laundering the proceeds. Charles F. McGonigal retired as special agent in charge of counterintelligence for the FBI’s New York office in 2018. McGonigal allegedly began cooperating with an agent of aluminum baron Oleg Deripaska while he was still working for the FBI. Deripaska is under indictment for allegedly evading sanctions and obstructing justice. Dick Durban raised urgent questions in his open letter to A… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story A Christian school in Kansas City is being forced to close after its donations almost completely dried up ever since it came out in support of LGBTQ rights. The Kansas City Star reports that the Urban Christian Academy announced its support for LGBTQ rights last year and, by the end of the year, it had lost 80 percent of its funding. “Before publicly supporting the LGBTQ community, Urban Christian Academy raised nearly $334,000 in December 2021,” the Kansas City Star writes. “This past December, donations dropped to $14,800. All eight churches that helped fund the school withdrew their support… Read More View the full article

Published by Al-Araby The Taliban arrested Samir, a 21-year-old gay man from Faryab province, for the first time back last November after he had been repatriated to Afghanistan from Iran. They abused him with homophobic slurs and sent private photos from his phone — of him in women’s clothes and with his boyfriend — to his family. “They told my family this was proof I was gay,” he said. He was soon released, but weeks later the Taliban returned and detained him again. This time the abuse was physical — he was tortured so severely that he’s now deaf in one ear. “After this happened, my parents disowned me and threw … Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ has seemingly added the first transgender ‘Harry Potter’ character. The introduction of Sirona Ryan, a barkeep at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade, comes amid the J.K. Rowling transgender row. Although It’s not stated in the game if Sirona is transgender, one piece of dialogue about an encounter with a goblin called Lodgok suggests as much. Sirona says: “I’ve known [Lodgok] for years. We met when I was waiting tables here as a student — well before I bought the place. “He was cordial enough, but we weren’t friends then. His mistrust of wizardkind ran deep… Hadn’t seen him in years when he came in a few months ago. But, he recognised me instantly. Which is more than I can say for some of my own classmates. Took them a second to realise I was actually a witch, not a wizard.” Warner Bros. Games has insisted Rowling is “not directly involved”, though her writing has provided the “foundation” for the title. The acclaimed scribe first caused controversy when she took issue with an online article’s mention of “people who menstruate” by tweeting: “‘People who menstruate’. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” Among those who have since hit out at the author over her remarks are ‘Harry Potter’ actors including Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), as well as Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander), who featured in her ‘Fantastic Beasts’ films. The much-discussed role-playing title arrives on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC this Friday (10.02.23). PlayStation 4 and Xbox One follows on April 4 and Nintendo Switch players will have a while longer to wait with a date set for July 25. View the full article

Published by PsyPost In a guest editorial at the journal of Bioethics, Joona Räsänen of Aarhus University discusses the possibility of sexual loneliness as a neglected public health problem. A recent study found that between the years 2000-2002 and 2016-2018, the proportion of men between ages 18-24 who reported no sexual activity over the past year increased from roughly 19% to 31%. However, this trend did not apply to women. A similar pattern has been confirmed in other research as well. Despite this trend among men, there is also another pattern at play; there is a category of men who report having more sexual … Read More View the full article

Published by Relaxnews By Robyn BECK / AFP For once, men overshadowed women on the red carpet of the 65th Grammy Awards. Overalls, jumpsuits, oversized capes, and colorful or floral suits replaced the formal tuxedo, taking men’s fashion far away from its traditional codes. These sartorial choices reflect a keenness to shake up certain standards, and to pave the way for more diverse visions of masculinity. For once, men overshadowed women on the red carpet of the 65th Grammy Awards. Overalls, jumpsuits, oversized capes, and colorful or floral suits replaced the formal tuxedo, taking men’s fashion far away from its tr… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Tyler Clifford NEW YORK (Reuters) – An independent New York City police review board has recommended that the department punish dozens of officers for excessive use of force and other alleged misconduct during protests that followed the 2020 murder of George Floyd, according to a report released on Monday. Among the complaints, officers were found to have used batons and pepper spray on peaceful protesters in 140 instances. Dozens of allegations of abuse of authority, including officers refusing to identify themselves, concealing their badges and making false or misleading statements, were also substantiated, the report by Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) said. More than 600, or 43%, of misconduct allegations were closed after officers could not be identified, raising a big obstacle in the board’s review, the report said. “This report shows why the NYPD cannot continue to have a monopoly on discipline,” Molly Biklen, deputy legal director at the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement. “When New Yorkers took to the streets calling for racial justice in 2020, the NYPD responded with violence.” Thousands of protesters flooded New York streets for weeks in demonstrations against police brutality days after Floyd, a Black man accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died when a white Minneapolis police officer pinned his neck to the ground with a knee for several minutes in May 2020. Smaller-scale protests continued into early fall. The New York Police Department (NYPD) objected to many of the report’s findings, saying less than 15% of all allegations were substantiated. In a statement, it accused the board of exaggerating the extent of any misconduct, saying it involved less than 1% of 22,000 officers deployed during the protests. The less that 15% substantiation rate of allegations against officers confirms “that the NYPD’s response to the protests during the summer of 2020 was largely professional, commendable, and responsive to the unique circumstances that were present at the time,” NYPD Acting Deputy Commissioner Carrie Talansky said in a statement. Hundreds of officers were injured and the department had already implemented many of the 17 policy changes recommended by the board, NYPD said. “Protests against police brutality bred more instances of police misconduct,” CCRB Interim Chair Arva Rice said in the report. “If this misconduct goes unaddressed, it will never be reformed.” Of the 146 officers cited by the report, 89 of them should face internal charges, which can result in termination. The board recommended discipline, which can include the loss of vacation days, for the other 57 officers. The board, composed of 15 members appointed by the mayor, city council and police commissioner, has the power to conduct administrative prosecutions, but the commissioner has final say over any discipline. (Reporting by Tyler Clifford in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Trevor Noah poked fun at Prince Harry’s frostbitten penis during the Grammy Awards on Sunday (05.02.23). The 38-year-old star couldn’t resist mocking the prince’s intimate revelation about his icy agony – which he explained in his memoir ‘Spare’ happened during a 2011 charity walk at the North Pole – when he introduced James Corden to the stage. He quipped: “James Corden is a 12-time Emmy winner and the host of ‘The Late Late Show.’ “He’s also living proof that a man can move from London to L.A. and not tell everyone about his frostbitten penis.” Earlier in the evening, the former ‘Daily Show’ presenter had mingled with the A-list crowd at their tables during his opening monologue. He joked about Harry Styles’ flamboyant fashion sense when celebrating the ‘As It Was’ hitmaker’s six nominations. He quipped: “What can you say about this man that hasn’t been said? Incredible album. Mind-blowing tour. A 15-night run at MSG and the Forum. “Women throw their panties at this man, then he puts them on, and he looks better in them than they do. “Easily the world’s sexiest man. Are you kidding? There’s no competition. Sex symbol of the globe, especially now that they’ve killed off the green M+M. No competition.” He then praised Kendrick Lamar’s album ‘Mr Morale + the Big Steppers’, describing the record as a “therapy session that earned him multiple Grammy nominations.” He added: “All my therapy ever got me was helping me overcome my childhood trauma — useless.” Although she wasn’t there for the beginning, Trevor also praised Beyonce, joking she had been the one to inspire his departure from ‘The Daily Show’. He said: “Beyoncé is nominated for her album Renaissance, which by the way, was better than anything from the actual renaissance in my opinion. “The Renaissance was just pictures of grapes and stuff. Beyoncé took it to another level. I was so inspired by the lyrics of ‘Break My Soul’ that I actually quit my job. That’s how powerful that was. I just wish Beyoncé had also written a song about the importance of having savings before you quit your job, but maybe the next one.” But the South African comic wasn’t afraid to take a serious tone either, and ahead of the In Memoriam segment, he reflected on the importance of music in bringing people together. He said: “It’s Black kids and white kids rejecting segregation in the 1950s, and instead, blending R B, country and even gospel into rock and roll. “In the 1980s, a young black rapper from Queens and a Jewish white kid in his NYU dorm came together to make some of the greatest hip-hop of all time. They made a powerful new sound together because they were different. “Music isn’t just the harmony of sound. It’s the harmony of human beings of different races, genders, religions, identities, sexual orientations … rejecting division to find moments of joy and unity and harmony, and that’s what music is all about.” View the full article

Published by Raw Story Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that he believes Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will challenge President Joe Biden for the presidency in 2024 because his “cadence” sounds like former President Barack Obama. In a podcast recorded on Sunday, Cruz commented on a CNN interview with Buttigieg about a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon. “Just something I noticed listening to that — did you pick up on Buttigieg’s cadence?” Cruz asked his co-host. “He is mimicking Barack Obama.” Using a robotic voice, Cruz repeated some of Buttigieg’s quotes. “He’s doing this speed up and pause; speed up and pa… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Danielle Broadway LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The biggest names in the music industry gathered in Los Angeles on Sunday for the 65th annual Grammy Awards ceremony. Here is a list of winners in key categories: ALBUM OF THE YEAR “Harry’s House” – Harry Styles RECORD OF THE YEAR “About Damn Time” – Lizzo SONG OF THE YEAR “Just Like That” – Bonnie Raitt, songwriter (Bonnie Raitt) BEST NEW ARTIST Samara Joy BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE “Unholy” – Sam Smith & Kim Petras BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM “Harry’s House” – Harry Styles BEST RAP PERFORMANCE “The Heart Part 5” – Kendrick Lamar BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE “Broken Horses” – Brandi Carlile BEST R&B SONG “CUFF IT”- Beyonce BEST COUNTRY ALBUM “A Beautiful Time” – Willie Nelson (Reporting by Danielle Broadway; Editing by Mary Milliken) View the full article