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05 Nov 2024

Bomb Threats To Polling Sites On Election Day in Georgia, Other States Linked To Russia

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Americans Go To The Polls In The 2024 Elections

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Officials in Georgia and Arizona extended Election Day hours at Black and Indigenous polling places due to multiple hoax bomb threats called in, with some linked to Russian interference.

The presidential election race between Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump on Tuesday (November 5) became more serious as several polling sites in Georgia, Arizona, and other states were beset by bomb threats, causing them to temporarily shut down. Federal and local officials have stated that they have credible information that the threats were part of election interference operations from Russia to create voter suppression. “The FBI is aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains,” the agency said in a statement released to the press. “None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far.” Other states reporting similar bomb threats include Pennsylvania,

“We identified the source, and it was from Russia,” said Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “They’re up to mischief, it seems, and they don’t want us to have a smooth, fair, and accurate election. Anything that can get us to fight amongst ourselves – they can count that as a victory.” There were more than one dozen threats to polling sites alone in Georgia, predominately in majority-Black and Democratic-leaning areas in the greater Atlanta area. In DeKalb County, seven locations received threats in one hour including churches.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes also blamed Russia for several bomb threats that were called in at polling stations in Navajo Nation communities. “We also have reason to believe, although I won’t get into specifics, that this comes from one of our foreign enemies, namely Russia,” he said to reporters in a news conference. Fontes also claimed that the threats came from a “.ru” email address, but whether or not it was a spoof is yet to be determined. He did say that federal and state officials are continuing to investigate.

Georgia extended their polling hours to close at 7:45 P.M., and Arizona stated the issue wouldn’t affect their polling. Federal officials have noted that it makes sense for Russia to inflict chaos during this time and warn it could increase over the next two months. “If chaos is the point, the most opportune window to create mischief is the post-November 5th pre-certification period,” said former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director Chris Krebs.

05 Nov 2024

Julian Casablancas Address Refusal to Vote: ‘The Two Parties Are a Joke’

The Strokes’ frontman Julian Casablancas has taken to social media to note his refusal to vote in the 2024 U.S election, and explaining his reasoning for doing so.

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Taking to Instagram on Tuesday (Nov. 5), the vocalist shared an image of a sticker which read “I Protested” instead of the typical “I Voted” illustration. In the caption, Casablancas explained that his post had been prefaced by a discussion with his mother, who expressed her disagreement with his decision to abstain from the democratic process.

“My beautiful sweet amazing mom just told me ‘I agree with you but right now vote at lease to keep trump from winning. Think of your children’,” he wrote. “I understand and respect that viewpoint of marginal incremental betterment, but respectfully do not think it is the path…

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“Like I told her, I am thinking of my children. The 2 parties are a joke… a horrible lie,” he continued. “The military and oil companies and banks are who we are voting for – and the media is their propaganda/entertainment wing. [And] with the way they cheated Bernie I see little point in choosing between these puppets… They want you to think it matters. That way nothing will change but it has to change.”

Casablancas’ post was met with widespread criticism in the comments, with fans on sites such as Reddit noting they were “super disappointed” in his decision. Fans on the same site were quick to point out that Casablancas’ bandmate, bassist Nikolai Fraiture, had shared his own sticker from his early voting experiences on Oct. 31.

Casablancas also caught the attention of music fans earlier in the week when he spoke to The Guardian for their ‘Honest Playlist’ feature in support of The Voidz’ new album, Like All Before You. In the discussion, Casablancas reflected on The Strokes‘ discography, noting that their breakthrough single “Last Nite” (which peaked at No. 5 on the Alternative Airplay chart in 2002) is a song he can “no longer listen to”.

“‘Last Nite’ by the Strokes is pretty dead to me. I’m not sure why,” he stated. “There are some others like ‘Reptilia’, ‘Hard to Explain’, ‘Someday’, ‘Take It Or Leave it’, ‘New York City Cops’ that are comparable in terms of crowd reaction that I’m not quite as sick of. If I heard it on the radio, I’d probably turn it off.”

05 Nov 2024

Angela Alsobrooks, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester Achieve Historic Firsts Winning U.S. Senate Seats

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2024 Democratic National Convention TW

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Angelo Alsobrooks and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester achieved historic firsts on Election Day with the pair becoming the first women and first Black women in their respective seats to win U.S. Senate seats. This would mark the first time that two Black women are serving in the Senate chamber at the same time.

Angela Alsobrooks, currently the County Executive for Prince George’s County in Maryland, faced former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in a race that most expected Alsobrooks to win in the heavily blue-leaning state. Hogan spent plenty in Maryland to flip Sen. Ben Cardin’s open seat but Alsobrooks ran a sharp campaign and banked on her strong record as a known elected official in one of the larger counties.

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, a congresswoman representing Delaware’s at-large district in the state, has been in politics since the 1990s. She served as deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services in 1993 and secretary of the Department of Labor in 1998 under the exiting Delaware Sen. Tom Carper during his time as governor of the state.

Alsobrooks and Blunt Rochester will bring the number of Black senators in the chamber to six. They are also just the fourth and fifth Black women to be elected to the Senate.

The pair follow a great path that was first laid by Sen. Carol Mosley Braun, who was the first Black woman elected to the Senate in 1992. Vice President Kamala Harris was elected to the Senate in 2016. Sen Laphonza Butler, who will vacate the seat at the end of her current term, was appointed to the seat to serve out the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s term which ends this coming January.

The excitement of the news of Senator-Elect Angela Alsobrooks and Senator-Elect Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester is spreading. We’ve got reactions from X below.

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Photo: Getty

05 Nov 2024

Future “Brazzier,” Kodak Black “Catch Fire” & More | Daily Visuals 11.5.24

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It’s been weeks since Future dropped off his latest mixtape, Pluto and though it hasn’t sparked any new memes centered around being a toxic boyfriend (those be hilarious), the man does have some bangers on the project and has dropped a visual for a fan favorite cut.

Coming through with some new visuals for “Brazzier,” the Toxic King politics in a parking garage with his crew and two big boy toys revving their engines before posing up a storm in front of a… giant spider?! Where the hell did that come from? Australia? Jesus!

Back in Florida, Kodak Black seems to mourn a bit differently than the average person and in his clip to “Catch Fire,” KB sparks a spliff as he attends an interesting funeral where the casket seemingly hovers off the ground and the women mourning are pretty damn sexy. Just sayin.’

Check out the rest of today’s drops including work from Smoke DZA featuring Memphis Bleek, Icewear Vezzo, and more.

FUTURE – “BRAZZIER”

KODAK BLACK – “CATCH FIRE”

SMOKE DZA FT. MEMPHIS BLEEK – “SELLING SMOKE”

ICEWEAR VEZZO – “MUSTY”

MAXO KREAM – “BIG HOE ME”

PARIS NIGHTS FT. DEJ LOAF – “PAID DUES”

DC2TRILL – “SHE WANNA BE MY FREAK”

5IVE MICS & FREEWAY – “THE DROP IS IN”

GEECHY – “OUT THE LOOP”

05 Nov 2024

Kelly Clarkson to Return as Host of NBC’s ‘Christmas in Rockefeller Center’

‘Tis the season, and Kelly Clarkson is helping ring in the holidays. The superstar is set to return for her second year as host of NBC’s annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center telecast.

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She announced the exciting news during Tuesday’s (Nov. 5) episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show. “Let’s talk about this incredible time of year. The city is so magical. I love the holidays in New York,” she told the audience. “Living here during Christmas is like you’re in a movie. There’s nothing like it in the world, especially the tree lighting ceremony, which is an iconic tradition.”

She continued, “I got to host it last year, and I thought, ‘Oh, this will be fun.’ […] Then, the tree lit up, and you would’ve thought, like, I don’t know, I found out I was going to survive something. I bawled. It’s so beautiful when you’re standing there. I’m especially excited though, because for the second year in a row, I’m going to host Christmas in Rockefeller Center.”

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Besides hosting, Clarkson is also set to perform some festive hits at the tree-lighting ceremony. The three-time Grammy winner will have a host of holiday tracks to choose from for her performance, including beloved holiday classics and originals from her two Christmas albums: 2013’s Wrapped in Red and 2021’s When Christmas Comes Around… Additional performers for the special will be announced at a later date.

Christmas in Rockefeller Center will air Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and will stream on Peacock.

Watch Clarkson’s announcement in the video above.

05 Nov 2024

Kai Cenat Working With Police After Being Swatted Multiple Times

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Celebrities Attend Los Angeles Lakers v Atlanta Hawks

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Over the last few years “swatting” has become the latest trend among Americans looking to annoy and disrupt the everyday lives of people they just can’t stand. Though it was mainly reserved for politicians, as of late celebrities have been swatted as people just have nothing better to do these days.

Now, it seems like streaming megastar, Kai Cenat, has fallen victim to the swatting trend as police were called to his residence right when he kicked off his highly publicized Mafiathon 2. According to TMZ, someone decided to swat Cenat right when he kicked off his month-long livestreaming marathon and called authorities to report a trespasser at Kai Cenat’s home. When police arrived they asked the people in the residence to leave while they combed the rooms to ensure things were on the up and up.

Once they realized it was much ado about nothing, the stream got back on track, but unfortunately, the swatting attempts didn’t end there.

Per TMZ:

The next day, though, cops got yet another call — this one being far more serious.

As KC documented on his stream, officers rushed to the scene after someone reported a shooting at the home … which was ultimately deemed a swatting call.

Unfortunately for Cenat, it didn’t stop there … ’cause on Sunday, cops got two more calls of alleged issues at the home.

After the last incident police are now monitoring calls made on Kai Cenat’s home and have a direct line to hit him on to make sure things are OK on his side. Though police are investigating the calls made, they haven’t made any arrests. With the rest of the month left to go, we won’t be surprised if another attempt or two are made. We just hope police catch whoever’s wasting everyone’s time with this childish game.

What do y’all think about the swatting trend on celebrities? Sound off in the comments section below.

05 Nov 2024

The VR Experience You’ve Been Waiting For? What to Know About Meta’s Quest 3S Headset

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Meta’s most budget friendly mixed-reality headset lives up to the hype. Last month, Meta introduced the Quest 3S headset — a smaller, lighter and more affordable version of the Meta Quest 3 with a few, internal and external upgrades.

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For starters, Meta Quest 3S retails for $299 — $200 cheaper than its predecessor. It’s also lighter and more comfortable than Meta Quest 3, and updated with new features such as dynamic spatial audio and increased resolution for Passthrough (which lets you mix your reality with VR).

Meta Quest 3S allows users to stream movies and more on a cinema-sized, VR screen, plus access games such as Beat Saber, Alo Moves XR, Just Dance VR, Wordle and Metro Awakenings along with streaming apps like Prime Video, Peacock, Netflix, Amazon Music, Twitch, YouTube, Xbox Cloud Gaming (available in BETA).

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Meta Quest 3S: Review, Where to Buy

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Meta Quest 3S 128GB — Get Batman: Arkham Shadow and a 3-Month Trial of Meta Quest+ Included — All-in-One Headset

The holidays are around the corner, and Meta’s latest VR headset is certainly giftworthy. With Meta Quest 3S users can explore Horizon Worlds’ Music Valley where music fans get a front-row seat to VR performances from Sabrina Carpenter, BLACKPINK, Doja Cat and other recording stars.

One of my main gripes with Meta Quest 3? The headset. It’s heavy and uncomfortable, but the Quest 3S offers a slight improvement on the weight issue along with other, notable upgrades such as adjustable Frensel lenses, a spacer for users who wear glasses and a rebuilt Meta Horizon OS interface with added support for social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Quest 3S is incredibly user friendly, especially if you’re already familiar with the Meta portal. Even if you’re unfamiliar, the device will walk you through steps to set things up.

The new 3S features Travel Mode, so you can use it on an airplane (Meta plans to expand it to be used on trains and other modes of travel) and hand tracking, which allows you to use your hands instead of the controllers.

The standard Quest 3S features 128GB of storage, but you can upgrade to the 256GB device for $399.99. Meta Quest 3S is available at major retailers such as Amazon, Target, Walmart, Best Buy and Meta.com.

Get a complimentary copy of Batman: Arkham Shadow and three months of Meta Quest+ with the purchase of an all-new Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S through April 2025.

05 Nov 2024

Taylor Swift’s Mom Andrea Is in Her ‘Chiefs Era’ With Cute Jacket Patch

Andrea Swift is just as big of a Kansas City Chiefs fan as her daughter is.

Taylor Swift’s mom attended the NFL game at Arrowhead Stadium with the “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” singer and her son Austin on Monday night (Nov. 4), where she was seen cheering on Tay’s boyfriend, tight end Travis Kelce, and she was seen rocking some adorable Chiefs gear.

In photos from the game circulating X (previously known as Twitter), Andrea is seen sitting inside the VIP suite wearing a black zip-up jacket with “In my Chiefs Era” written in Kansas City’s signature red font. Of course, the slogan is both in reference to the NFL team and her daughter’s record-breaking Eras Tour.

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See the photo here.

Taylor, meanwhile, arrived to the game rocking a black tank top and cut-off black denim shorts tied with a belt. She completed the look with an oversized, racer-style Chiefs leather jacket and fold-over, knee-high black boots. See her look here.

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In fan videos, she was seen waving and blowing kisses to fans after the game wrapped up. She also jokingly mouthing to the crowd that the game was “stressful” — which makes sense given that the Chiefs beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-24 in overtime.

05 Nov 2024

PartyNextDoor Gives Drake Collab Update: ‘The Album Is Getting Finished’

There’s been an update about the upcoming Drake and PartyNextDoor collab album.

PND hopped on his Instagram Live as he wraps up the European leg of his Sorry I’m Outside Tour and revealed his project with his label boss Drake is nearing the finish line. “Guys, I have one more show on this tour,” he told his followers. “Then the album is getting finished. That’s all I gotta say.” His last show across the pond is tomorrow, Nov. 6 at O2 Academy Brixton in London.

Drake and Party announced their joint album back in August while on stage performing together in Toronto. “I know all you girls are outside,” Drake told the crowd. When it gets a little chilly, PartyNextDoor and Drake album will be waiting right there for you.” Party then said that his favorite songs at the moment were the ones he was making with Drake for their upcoming project, telling Awaiz Punjani, “The one we doing right now – all 15 we doing right now.”

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Then, last month, engineer and producer OVONoel called the album “a classic,” during a recent appearance on OVO’s The Fry Yiy Show on SiriusXM. “You guys know what’s coming for you,” he said. “Party and Drake have a classic. We trying to put the finishing touches on it, so… Yeah, it’s a jam-packed month for me filled with the thing that I love to do the most, besides being the world’s greatest dad.”

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There’s still no official release date, so stay tuned as we’ll be sure to give you an update.

05 Nov 2024

Barry Keoghan Calls Girlfriend Sabrina Carpenter ‘Massively Talented,’ Says He’s ‘Incredibly Blessed’

Barry Keoghan is Sabrina Carpenter’s biggest fan!

The Academy Award-nominated actor discussed his relationship with the “Feather” pop star during a recent episode of Spotify’s The Louis Theroux Podcast, where he was asked directly, “Are you in a relationship with Sabrina Carpenter?” 

“Oh, I knew you’d do this,” Keoghan said with a laugh, before eventually explaining, “Listen, all I’m going to say is I’m incredibly blessed. Such a strong, independent lady who’s massively talented and yeah. Pretty special.”

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The pair first sparked dating rumors in late 2023, a few months before making their public debut at the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty in March. Keoghan also starred opposite Carpenter in the music video for her Billboard Hot 100-topping single “Please Please Please,” which is featured on Short n’ Sweet.

After Carpenter dropped the album on Aug. 23, fans were quick to speculate that the Work It star wrote some of the project’s songs about the Irish actor — particularly the NSFW “Bed Chem.” “I was in a sheer dress the day that we met/ We were both in a rush, we talked for a sec,” she sings on the track. “Who’s the cute boy with the white jacket and the thick accent? … Who’s the cute guy with the wide, blue eyes?”

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The Saltburn star definitely didn’t curb those rumors when he posted on Instagram Stories that “Bed Chem” is his favorite track on Short n’ Sweet. “just sayin m’darlin,” he added in his post, tagging Carpenter and including a link to her album. “Tap that link lads!!”