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Erik Prince — founder of the mercenary firm Blackwater and brother to former, havoc-wreaking Education Secretary Betsy DeVos — has always been full of suspect behavior, long before he was reported to have tried to open a secret line of communication between the Trump White House and Russia. He’s also very press friendly, too, which led to him once telling USA Today that the Trump White House wanted to privatize a huge chunk of the war in Afghanistan. Now that everything has fallen apart over there, Erik Prince would also like to privatize the final moments of exodus from the country, and he’s charging $6,500 per head on private charter planes.

In other words, he’s profiting handsomely from Afghan misery following the withdrawal of U.S. troops after two decades. Following the Trump Administration’s did the dealmaking for “peace” that ultimately wasn’t honored and Biden’s botched execution of the U.S. exit, Afghan citizens are desperately hoping to escape the Taliban. Well, the Wall Street Journal says that Prince is openly discussing his expensive offer for seats on a chartered plane as Biden’s deadline (Aug. 31) to remove the remaining U.S. troops isn’t wavering. And here’s Prince, making some coin with “hundreds of empty seats” being witnessed on planes like his:

Erik Prince, the American defense contractor, said he is offering people seats on a chartered plane out of Kabul for $6,500 per person. U.S. and NATO forces are sending special rescue teams into Taliban-controlled areas of the city to spirit their citizens into the airport. And countless Afghans who thought the U.S. would protect them after having assisted the U.S.-led coalition forces in the past two decades are now realizing that they will most likely be left behind to face Taliban wrath alone.

Private rescue efforts are facing growing obstacles this week, just as the urgency grows. Chartered planes are flying out of Kabul with hundreds of empty seats. New Taliban checkpoints on the road to Pakistan have made driving out of the country increasingly risky. Confusing bureaucratic hurdles have prevented countless people from leaving Afghanistan.

There’s a stark difference between the mention of these mostly empty planes and photos of packed U.S. cargo planes as people are desperate to flee the Taliban at all costs. Meanwhile, The Independent is reporting that ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is attempting to fly at-risk women (for free) out of Afghanistan. Let’s just say that people noticed the contrast, and they’re disgusted with Erik Prince.

(Via Wall Street Journal)

In between changing his name, doxxing Drake, and rebuilding his childhood home inside Chicago’s Soldier Field stadium (how very Synecdoche, New York of him), Kanye West has found time to roll the Delta dice for his upcoming Donda listening party.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the rapper will not require proof of vaccination or a recent negative Covid test at his upcoming Donda listening party, taking place at Soldier Field on Thursday, August 26. Consequence points out that Soldier Field doesn’t have a roof or dome, which technically qualifies it as an outdoor concert, which means that it wouldn’t fall under Chicago’s indoor mask mandate. Still, there will be an audience cap: only 38,000 people will be permitted in the stadium, which has a max capacity of around 63,000.

“Kanye West’s performance is one of many examples that show that Chicago can be open and safe at the same time,” Chicago Park District spokesperson Michele Lemons said. “We have worked with Soldier Field on COVID-19 safety protocols, as we have other venues including Wrigley and Guaranteed Rate Fields, and feel this event can be safely held with the proper mitigation efforts in place.”

As for when Donda will actually be released, that still remains to be seen. The album was expected to be released after each listening event, but that has obviously not happened. This next event is on August 26, so at this point, one would assume the album currently has a planned August 27 release. But you know what they say about assuming: it makes an ass out of you and Ye.

It’s no secret that Olivia Rodrigo was one of the biggest breakout musicians this year. After releasing her debut single “Drivers License” in early January, the singer took to music industry by storm, consistently hovering at the top of the charts with various songs from her debut album Sour. In fact, Rodrigo’s music was so popular this year that she holds a majority of the tracks on Spotify’s new playlist that highlights the most-streamed tunes of the summer.

Spotify’s Songs Of Summer playlist officially debuted this week, which compiled a list of the most listened to tracks on their platform between May 29 to August 22. Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” topped the list, but that wasn’t the only song of hers that made an appearance. Rodrigo holds an impressive six of the 25 featured songs, including “Drivers License,” “Deja Vu,” and “Happier.”

The next most popular artist on the playlist behind Rodrigo is actually a tie between The Weeknd, Lil Nas X, Justin Bieber, and Italian rock band Måneskin, who all have two songs on the list. Ed Sheeran also makes an appearance for his single “Bad Habits,” which officially kicked off his new era of music earlier this summer.

Listen to Spotify’s Songs Of Summer playlist above.

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

It wasn’t until Alex Montenegro took her solo project Skirts on the road that she cracked the code of the music. On the debut Skirts album Great Big Wild Oak, Montenegro employed her touring band members to help pick apart her solo demos and give the project some space to grow and blossom. The resulting album is ten tracks of contemporary folk with a Southwestern twinge, with lyrics and arrangements that paint detailed sonic illustrations of Montenegro’s memories.

To celebrate the new album, Montenegro sat down to talk Joanna Newsom, being constantly inspired by new music, and radio flipping habits in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Dreamy, Open, Soft, Rockin’.

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

I hope that people have connected some of those songs to some of their memories and that they can look back in time, while holding the record in their hand and have it just be a part of that memory the same way I sometimes look back at my records. That would be cool.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

You can never beat the love you feel at home!

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

I worked in a record store for years and was constantly listening to new things and I feel that had a big influence on it’s own, constantly listening to new things and revisiting old things. Listening to “classic albums” that I never took the time to listen to before. There were many albums that made me feel “I want to write a song like that.” When I found out about Alex G I remember falling down a rabbit hole (as most do) and feeling incredibly inspired but I also have to give a shout to some all time favorites Rachel Levy, Joanna Newsom, Mr Justin Vernon, and Mr Sufjan Stevens.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

I’m not sure if I can remember the best meal, right now I’m craving a sandwich from a place in Dallas called Latin Deli so I guess that for now.

What album do you know every word to?

Lexie – Record Time!

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

Coldplay in 2009 because It was one of my first and I instantly fell in love with the experience and still remember it so many years later. That or Joanna Newsom with Robin Pecknold at the Orpheum in 2016 because I brought her flowers and threw them from the crowd and she caught them and someone caught it on video.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

Haven’t figured it out yet, but I will let you know.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

No one because they both are anxiety inducing.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

Probably “Wild Horses” by The Rolling Stones or “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” by The Band.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

“Coldplay superpages center”

What album makes for the perfect gift?

It depends on the person, I have a lot of experience with this after working in a record store. I don’t think there is one universally good album that works for everyone and if there is I haven’t found it yet

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

I guess the upstairs of a music/synth/pedal shop? I can’t remember exactly what it was but that was more cool than it was weird!

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

I am tattooless.

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

Nothing stops me from flipping the channel and that annoys many people that have sat in the car with me while I’m driving.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

I can’t pick a specific thing to mention, but I am very fortunate to have very sweet friends that are always doing extra nice things.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

“If you’re feeling sad be productive in some way and you will feel better”

What’s the last show you went to?

Joanna Newsom in Austin right before the pandemic got bad. I sat behind Andy Samberg and also unfortunately had a migraine.

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

I’m not sure if I have one, I more likely to stop at a crappy TV show like the Real Housewives or something along those lines.

What would you cook if Obama were coming to your house for dinner?

Oatmeal with “raisins” but the raisins are actually june bugs.

Great Big Wild Oak is out now on Double Double Whammy. Listen here.

On November 17, 2020 while flanked by Sidney “The Kraken” Powell, Rudy Giuliani delivered a bizarre, conspiracy-laden press conference that was made all the more bizarre by the hair dye melting down his face during the whole thing. America’s Mayor literally oozing from the skull launched a thousand hilarious memes, but for the CEO of Dominion Voting Systems, it was a surreal event that left him so viciously screaming in disbelief that his family rushed into the room to check on him.

In a New York Times Magazine feature on what it was like for Dominion to be dragged into the “Big Lie” that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen,” Dominion CEO John Poulos revealed his reaction to Giuliani’s press conference, which he called an “assault on democracy.” Via Business Insider:

CEO John Poulos told The Times that he yelled so loudly that his wife and two children came to check on him in his home office and found him crying uncontrollably.

“Oh, my God!” he screamed, according to the story. “I can’t believe what’s going on!”

He told The Times that his teenage children had never seen him emotional about his work and stared at him in shock.

While the experience has undoubtedly been frustrating for Dominion, the voting software company has aggressively fought back with multi-billion dollar lawsuits targeting the prominent pushers of the “Big Lie” who have falsely accused the company of altering election data. The lawsuit put the fear of God in Fox News and Newsmax, and it recently caused MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to flee the stage at his own Cyber Symposium after a judge ruled that the suit can move forward despite efforts to get it dismissed.

In other words, a beast was awoken the day that Giuliani dripped ooze from his face, and it sure as heck wasn’t the “Kraken.”

(Via New York Times Magazine)

Can you reach Lorde (on social media)? No, you can’t. Except for one place: The New York Times Cooking app.

Let’s back up. To promote her latest release, Solar Power, Lorde stopped by The Late Late Show to chat with host James Corden about how she’s left social media behind — for the most part, anyway. “I felt like my brain wasn’t working very well anymore,” she said of cutting social media out of her life. “It was horribly difficult, the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I was so crabby. I felt so disconnected. But it’s how my life is now.”

Still, there’s one place where Lorde does find a sense of “community,” as she told Corden: “I go on The New York Times Cooking app and I look at the comments,” she said. “That’s become a source of community for me. And you get all these weird little stories. Someone’s like, ‘I make this for my husband when he gets home from work. And he works as this.’ And you like, ‘Ahh.’ Every once in a while, you’ll get some crazy detail.”

This appearance was part of Lorde’s week-long residency on The Late Late Show, and last night she took to the stage to perform Solar Power highlight “California,” which you can check out below.

Lorde’s Solar Power is out now via Republic Records. Get it here.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!‘s week of guest hosts continued last night with Irish singer-songwriter Niall Horan, who may have gotten more than he bargained for with his boisterous guest Lizzo. Within seconds, the “Rumors” rapper turned the video interview into a flirt fest, declaring that “this is the sexiest call I’ve ever been on” and shamelessly bantering with Horan as he blushed and complimented Lizzo’s packed awards shelf.

At one point, just after Horan informed her that his fan collective has nicknamed themselves “the Horan-dogs,” Lizzo joked that Niall was giving her a “One Erection,” playing on the name of his former band. While she seemed to have great chemistry with Niall, Lizzo also revealed the raunchy come-on Cardi whispered in her ear while shooting the cover for their new single. “She whispered in my ear when we took that picture, ‘I want to lick your p*ssy,’” she shared, cracking up, before explaining the song’s scandalous Drake reference.

Lizzo certainly seemed to be having a ball, which was a far cry from some of her recent posts on social media in the wake of backlash against the song by haters. Cardi, Cardi’s husband Offset, and T.I. all came to her defense, while Facebook took action to ban some of the negative comments. However, she insisted that she has “No Tears Left To Cry,” referring to the Ariana Grande hit with an impressive vocal cover, quickly reverting back to her fun-loving self just in time to turn the former One Direction singer bright red with laughter.

Watch Lizzo’s interview with Niall Horan above.

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

Lorde rose to international prominence with “Royals” in 2013, when she was just 16 years old. The way Lorde tells it, though, her journey began a few years before that, at a school talent show when she was just 12 years old.

She reminisced about that while guesting on The Late Late Show last night, telling James Corden:

“I entered a talent show [at] my intermediate school, which I guess is like middle school. It was after lunch, so I got ready, I put my special outfit on and did a song, my friend played guitar. And somebody filmed it and somehow it ended up with the head of the record company in New Zealand that I’m now signed to. I got cold-called, it was insane. I never thought I would do anything like this. I was like a big nerd, you know, I just read books, and someone was like, ‘Would you ever think about doing music?’ And then I started writing songs and was like, ‘Oh, I’m obsessed with this, this is what I want to do with my life.”

This appearance was part of Lorde’s week-long residency on The Late Late Show, and also on yesterday’s episode, she took to the stage to perform Solar Power highlight “California,” so check that out below.

If people can learn one thing from Bill Phillips’ story, he hopes it’s this: Get f*cking vaccinated! Even if you’ve already had COVID. The Colorado fitness coach is set to be discharged from St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado, where he has spent the past two months fighting for his life during his second battle with COVID. Phillips and his wife Maria sat down with local NBC affiliate 9NEWS to share their story with the hope that others can learn from his mistake.

“It didn’t help that I could bench press 300 pounds or run a mile straight up a hill,” the once-strapping Phillips said of his decision to not get a COVID vaccine. “I made a mistake. I thought that since I had COVID in January of 2020, that I was immune to it.” When a test showed that Phillips had COVID antibodies, he decided not to get vaccinated, figuring it was unnecessary. In June of this year, he learned just how mistaken he was when he caught the virus for a second time; while he initially dismissed it as a sinus infection, he later had to be rushed to ER, and has remained in the hospital ever since.

“If we had waited even an hour longer, Bill might have just taken a nap and not woken up,” Maria said of just how close her husband came to losing his life. Phillips was intubated for 47 days and didn’t wake up for another 18 days afterward.

While Phillips is scheduled to return home today, it will hardly be a return to normalcy. “Bill was so strong and independent and worked out and did all these things,” Maria said. “Now he’s in a wheelchair. He can’t walk. He can’t exercise. He’s on oxygen.”

But Bill is looking at what he has gained. “I’ve been in a lot of pain and I have lost a lot, but I have gained a new outlook on life that is for sure,” Phillips said. And his advice for anyone who has yet to be vaccinated: “Get the shot. Get the vaccine. Get on with your life. Don’t take chances.”

You can watch the Phillips’ full interview above.

(Via Raw Story)

In an episode of the bad movie podcast How Did This Get Made?, guest Andrea Savage told a story about the 2006 holiday film Deck the Halls. Her friend, Gillian Vigman, was on the set of the box office dud and she witnessed star Matthew Broderick looking forlorn and muttering to himself, “I’ve hit rock bottom.” This was a man who was involved in a car crash that killed two people, but Deck the Halls was his “rock bottom.”

I thought about that anecdote after seeing this:

Rudy Giuliani keeps finding new rock bottoms.

The man once known as “America’s Mayor” was filmed shaving in public in New York City’s JFK Airport by Nick Weiss, who also spotted the disgraced attorney struggling to slurp soup. “It took him 15 minutes to have one bowl of soup because every time he’d bring the spoon up to his mouth, half would fall back into the soup. It was disgusting,” he told the Daily Mail. We’ve all seen truly vile things at the airport, but nothing on the level of Rudy Giuliani sanding away his facial hair in public after eating lobster bisque.

After he finished his soup, a woman served Giuliani a plate of brownies. That’s when he pulled out his razor, and used a tablet camera in selfie mode to shave, Weiss said. The most bizarre part, Weiss added, was that there was a “really nice bathroom” just paces away equipped with sinks, large mirrors, and showers.

Maybe he wasn’t shaving — maybe he was removing the black ooze streaking down his face again. Yeah, that’s probably it. At least it’s on brand for Rudy.

(Via the Daily Mail)