Pop Culture
Walmart Has A Heart, Will Close Its Stores on Thanksgiving This Year
Capitalism is going on holiday — at least for one day. Walmart has announced that it will close all of its stores on Thanksgiving this year. This marks the first time the mega-chain has done so since the late ’80s. Like many big-box stores, Walmart has been known to cash in on the shopping extravaganza that is Black Friday by opening its doors the day before on Thanksgiving. These “doorbuster” events typically draw massive crowds and, depending on what new electronic gadget is on sale, sometimes even turn violent. So has Walmart suddenly grown a heart big enough to trump the almighty dollar? Well, sort of. The company’s decision to close all 4,500+ of its stores on Thanksgiving is tied to the coronavirus pandemic. Walmart execs want to gift their employees with a day off, especially those ...
COVID-19 Denier Chuck Woolery Reveals His Son Has Tested Positive for Virus
Earlier this week, Donald Trump shared a tweet from former Love Connection host Chuck Woolery which accused the “CDC, media, Democrats, and doctors” of “lying” about the coronavirus. “The most outrageous lies are the ones about COVID-19. Everyone is lying,” Wooley commented. “I think it’s all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back, which is about the election. I am sick of it.” Just 24 hours later, however, Woolery was forced to reckon with those remarks after his own son came down with coronavirus. “My son tested positive for the virus, and I feel for those suffering and especially for those who have lost loved ones,” Woolery wrote in a follow-up tweet posted Monday evening. A short-time later, Woolery disabled his Twitter account altogether. In an interview on T...
Alex Trebek Once Unknowingly Ate Five Hash Brownies and Woke Up at a Friend’s House Three Days Later
Next Tuesday brings the release of Alex Trebek’s new memoir, The Answer Is… Reflections on My Life. As the New York Times reveals in a new profile on the Jeopardy! host, the book provides a few humorous personal andecdotes about the notoriously private television personality. Chief among them: Trebek unknowingly ate four or five hash brownies at a party in Malibu and woke up at the host’s house three days later. Trebek has actually shared the story in the before, such as in a 2015 interview with Howard Stern. “I went to this party in Malibu [in the 1970s], and they had hash brownies,” Trebek recounted at the time. “I love chocolate, and I ate four or five hash brownies. The party was on a Friday night, I didn’t leave their home until Monday morning. No exaggeration!” Trebek also acknowledg...
Tamar Braxton Hospitalized Following Suspected Suicide Attempt
Singer and television personality Tamar Braxton was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital on Thursday night after an apparent suicide attempt. According to TMZ, paramedics were called to the Ritz Carlton in Los Angeles after Braxton’s boyfriend, David Adefeso, found her unconscious inside of her hotel room. She appeared to have consumed an unknown number of pills in addition to alcohol. Adefeso told police that Braxton was upset earlier in the day and may have attempted to take her own life. In a statement released to Page Six, Braxton’s family said, “Tamar has had a very tough and emotional day – more information will be coming in the next few days. Please pray for her.” As a founding member of The Braxtons alongside sisters Toni, Traci, Towanda, and Trina, Tamar Braxton is a three-time G...
Chris Evans Commends Six-Year-Old Boy Who Saved His Sister From Dog Attack: Watch
The current state of affairs may seem endlessly bleak, but Bridger Walker is here to remind us that there’s still good in the world, and that it comes in all shapes and sizes. The six-year-old Wyoming native went viral this week after his aunt posted a video detailing how he’d saved his younger sister from a vicious dog attack. Walker suffered a number of injuries as a result of his act of heroism, and he ended up needing a two-hour surgery and 90 stitches on his face. When asked why he did he what did, Walker simply stated, “If someone had to die, I thought it should be me.” This selfless, heartwarming story made its way to actual superheroes like The Avengers, especially as it became known how much Walker loved them (he has his own Spider-Man and Captain America outfits). A number o...
Twitter Accounts for Barack Obama, Kanye West, Elon Musk Hacked in Massive Security Breach
Twitter accounts for a number of high-profile individuals including former president Barack Obama, former vice president Joe Biden, Kanye West, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, Warren Buffett, and others were hacked on Wednesday as part of an apparent cryptocurrency scam. The massive security breach also targeted major companies including Apple, Amazon, Uber, and Cash App, as well as cryptocurrency exchange sites such as Binance and Coinbase. Once the accounts were hacked, they transformed into crypto Nigerian Princes. That’s right, the cyber attackers utilized the oldest grift on the internet: the advance-fee scam. The zombie Twitter accounts advised their respective followers to send bitcoins to a secure address, promising that the money would be returned double the amount. This...
R.I.P. Joanna Cole, Author of The Magic School Bus Dies at 75
Joanna Cole, who combined wacky humor and plainspoken science in The Magic School Bus book series, has died at the age of 75. Her publisher Scholastic announced that she died last Sunday, July 12th. According to the New York Times, the cause was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a disease that leads to irreversible lung scarring. Cole grew up in Newark, New Jersey, and graduated from City College of New York. She spent time as an elementary school teacher, a librarian, and an editor for magazines and children’s books. Her authorial debut was called “Cockroaches”, and she later said it was inspired by her “low-budget New York apartment.” Her humor and inventiveness attracted Scholastic senior editorial director Craig Walker. Walker had been hearing from teachers that they wanted more...
Kevin Malone Tells the Oral History of The Office in New Podcast Series
This year marks the 15th anniversary of The Office, so what better way to celebrate than with a new podcast that explores the entire history of the beloved show? Enter An Oral History of The Office, a 12-episode series hosted by Brian Baumgartner, a.k.a. Kevin Malone, Dundler Mifflin’s resident chili expert (and klutz). Exclusive to Spotify, the podcast promises to cover everything an Office diehard could possibly dream of — from the first meetings held by co-creator Ben Silverman and UK Office creator Ricky Gervais and the unique search for cast members to the best bits and most memorable cold opens. Sweetening the chili pot for fans is Baumgartner’s list of special guests, some of whom might just be familiar: Steve Carell (Michael Scott), John Krasinski (Jim Halpert), Rainn Wilson (Dwigh...
Banksy’s New Artwork Was Inspired by Coronavirus and… Chumbawamba
Bansky is at it again. The secretive English street artist, known for his provocative takes on everything from the high society art world to Paris Hilton’s debut album, has commented on the coronavirus pandemic in his latest piece — all while sneaking in a Chumbawamba reference, because of course he did. Banksy announced his new piece via a video on his Instagram page. Entitled “if you don’t mask – you don’t get”, the artwork was “installed” on a London Underground train, and consists of his own tag sprayed in that familiar shade of N95 mask blue, surrounded by stenciled rats, a common motif in his work. One of the rats uses a face mask as a parachute while another sneezes, shooting blue liquid everywhere — it represents the novel coronavirus’ dynamic aerosol efficiency, duh! The enigmatic...
O.J. Simpson Parties in Vegas Without a Face Mask
O.J. Simpson, photo via TMZ For O.J. Simpson, the glove doesn’t fit… nor does the face mask. As TMZ reports, the If I Did It author was spotted partying it up in Las Vegas this past week. There was little in the way of social distancing, and only a few of the party’s attendees could be seen wearing facial coverings (Simpson was not among them). The Juice further flaunted CDC guidelines by exchanging hugs and other human-to-human contact with fellow guests. Nevada has seen an uptick in coronavirus cases in the last week; this past Friday alone resulted in 1,004 new cases, the second-biggest daily increase in the state since the outbreak began. At 74 years old and with a history of health problems, Simpsons is in a higher-risk category for coronavirus. Editor’s Note: Stay...
Disney World Reopens Parks Amid Spike in Coronavirus Cases
Amid a record number of coronavirus cases in Florida, Walt Disney World in Orlando reopened its gates on Saturday for the first time in four months. Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom them parks reopened on Saturday, while Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios will reopen on July 15th. In guidelines announced prior to reopening, Disney said that all visitors to Disney World would be required to practice social distancing and wear face masks at all times (get yours here). Disney is also employing touch-free temperature checks and having its cast members remind guests to follow its guidelines within the theme park. There will be also be no parades, firework shows, character meet and greets, or any other events that could draw a large gathering. USA Today, which has...
J.K. Rowling Won’t Stop Being Transphibic, Says Gay People Are Experiencing a “New Kind of Conversion Therapy”
J.K. Rowling Despite penning a 3,600-word pro-TERF manifesto, disgraced author J.K. Rowling still has more nonsense to spew regarding the transgender community. In a new series of tweets, Rowling argued that gay people who are struggling with mental health issues are being misguided into undertaking “a new kind of conversion therapy” that involves hormones and surgery. She also likened hormones — a common gender-affirming step in trans people’s transitioning process — to anti-depressants, and called those who used anti-depressants as “pure laziness.” It all started on Sunday, when Rowling liked a tweet that compared hormone to anti-depressants. “Hormone prescriptions are the new anti depressants,” the tweet in question reads. “Yes they are sometimes necessary and lifesaving, but they shoul...
