State Champ Radio Author: djfrosty
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Chip Somodevilla / Donald Trump / Greg Abbott
The Ls keep on coming for Donald Trump and his MAGA movement.
Knowing that momentum is not on the side of the GOP as we barrel towards the midterm elections, Donald Trump decided to do the one thing he falsely claims Democrats have been doing to him and rig the game to keep the House of Representatives and Senate Republican controlled throughout his disastrous second stint as President.
Trump hopped on the phone and proposed that Republican-led states should draw racially gerrymandered maps to pick up additional GOP seats, but now it seems that plan is epically blowing up in his face.
A three-judge panel, which features a judge he appointed, said nah to those maps, calling them an illegal racial gerrymander, delivering a massive blow to the GOP’s cheating plans.
Trump bootlicker, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, was the first to hop aboard Trump’s cheating train and quickly approved new maps that added more Republican voters to five Democratic-held congressional districts around Austin, Dallas, Houston, and South Texas.
How Democrats Responded To Republicans’ Cheating Efforts
Texas Democrats put up a good fight and opted to leave the state for about 2 weeks rather than participate in silencing their constituents.
Governor Gavin Newsom, who has been lighting Trump’s orange a** up by showing how ridiculous his behavior is on social media, responded to the GOP’s cheating by allowing California residents to vote on a measure calling for similar redistricting that would allow the Democrats to fight fire with fire; the measure soundly passed.
Of course, you know Trump and his administration will push for further litigation, and the DOJ, led by partisan hack Pam Bondi, has challenged the Texas district court’s decision, vowing to fight all the way to the Supreme Court.
Hilariously, the same Bondi called California’s legal vote on the matter nothing more than a “power grab” by Gavin Newsom.
Social media is using the moment to clown Trump and the GOP.
“Old Don bout to be BIG MAD! I couldn’t be happier for him and his flunky, Abbott,” wrote Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) on X, formerly Twitter.
Another user wrote, “The Democrats being the overwhelming winner of a redistricting war started by Trump is legitimately the funniest possible outcome.”
You can see more reactions below.
Northern Ireland rap trio Kneecap dropped a surprise drum & bass single, “No Comment,” on Tuesday (Nov. 18), a track the Belfast group said in an Instagram post is “all about the police witch-hunt against Mo Chara.”
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The latter reference is to the terrorism charge against MC Chara (born Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh), with the song taking on the legal action launched by British authorities against Chara that was thrown out of court in September on a technicality.
The provocative group added the messages, “Free Palestine. Free the 6 counties. F–k the peelers,” references, respectively, to the group’s support of the Palestinian people and advocacy for a Palestinian homeland, the slogan used by Irish nationalists in reference to six counties in Northern Ireland as part of a push to end British rule in the territory and a slang phrase denigrating the police.
The two-minute-long collaboration with DJ/producer Sub Focus was accompanied by cover art by enigmatic British street artist Banksy in the form of one of his signature murals in which a protestor is seen in shadow lying on the ground trying to protect himself from a judge threatening to hit him with a gavel.
The song’s mostly Irish-language lyrics hit on Chara’s legal entanglements with bars including, “It’s certain that we’re in the way/ In the West Bank and in Gaza/ We’ve made an example of you now, so silence Mo Chara/ That won’t ever happen,” as well as, “I’m misbehaving in badness/ Mo Chara’s wanted/ The air bubble bandit.” The song later takes on the paranoia that comes with sudden, controversial fame. “Have you ever been plastered on the news when you’ve got the heebie-jeebies?,” it continues, “Far from ideal/ Got death threats on my screen.”
In a statement to Pitchfork, the group said: “‘No Comment’ is all about getting harassed by the British state. Simple as. Us Irish are well used to it, been happening for centuries. Was a pleasure to work with Sub Focus on this, the man is a legend.”
Chara was charged in May with a terror offense for reportedly displaying the flag of the Lebanese Islamist political party and paramilitary group Hezbollah during a Nov. 2024 concert in London’s Kentish Town Forum, a group designated with terrorist status by the U.K. government. The charge was tossed out by a British judge in September, due to a technical error in the timing of when the charges were brought by London’s Metropolitan Police; Chara had steadfastly denied any wrongdoing in the case, though video footage from the show appeared to show him displaying a flag associated with Hezbollah.
The band continued to court controversy over the past year, including during their Coachella sets in April, which ended with a message that read: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F–k Israel; free Palestine.” The statement led to a number of prominent music industry figures, including Ozzy Osbourne manager Sharon Osborne, calling for them to be removed from the bill and for their work visas to be revoked.
The group has since been banned from several countries, including Hungary and Canada, over claims, respectively, that they pose a “national security threat” and that they made statements “that are contrary to Canadian values and laws.” They were also forced to cancel a run of shows in the U.S. and U.K. in the midst of the court case.Listen to “No Comment” below.
Source: Samuel Corum / Getty
A federal judge overseeing the Justice Department’s case against former FBI Director James Comey called out the largest DOJ for a “disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps” in the process of securing an indictment.
According to the Associated Press, Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick noted that the DOJ didn’t even provide defense lawyers with all the grand jury materials from the case.
“Those problems, wrote Judge Fitzpatrick, include ‘fundamental misstatements of the law’ by a prosecutor to the grand jury that indicted Comey in September, the use of potentially privileged communications during the investigation and unexplained irregularities in the transcript of the grand jury proceedings,” AP reports.
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“The Court recognizes that the relief sought by the defense is rarely granted,” Fitzpatrick wrote. “However, the record points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding.”
Judge Fitzpatrick’s 24-page opinion is a literal smackdown to the Justice Department’s actions leading up to the Comey indictment. The opinion points to how the DOJ’s rush to indict lead to procedural missteps, which gives the appearance that the independent arm of the law is working lockstep with President Donald Trump for “reasons separate and apart from the substance of the disputed allegations against Comey,” AP notes.
The Comey case and a separate prosecution of New York Attorney General Letitia James shows that the Justice Department is being weaponized to attack Trump’s political opponents. Both Comey and James filed several motions to dismiss these cases before the trials even began, claiming that the vindictive nature of the cases and the prosecutor who filed them, Lindsey Halligan, wasn’t even appointed properly.
Halligan apparently had no prior prosecutorial experience before being appointed as the interim U.S. attorney. Critics argue that making her the sole prosecutor for such high-stakes cases raises serious questions about competence and legitimacy and who may be pulling the strings behind the scene.
A different judge is expected to decide whether Halligan’s appointment can be challenged.
Drake is prepping his ninth studio album, Iceman, and its release is highly anticipated considering the aftermath of his feud with Kendrick Lamar and the UMG record label. In a new interview, Drake explained his embrace of livestreams to roll out Iceman to the masses, using unconventional methods to drum up interest in the project.
Drake spoke exclusively with Complex to share details about his strategy for the upcoming Iceman drop and why he decided to take the marketing path he employed for the release. Taking to his YouTube page, the OVO honcho’s livestreams revealed some of the potential directions for the album, and he shared with the outlet when he was ready for a shift in promotion tactics.
“I was asked by a creative partner what I love and hate about rolling out an album,” Drake shared in an email statement. “I expressed that I love the opportunity for a clean slate of thoughts and excitement, and messaging when it comes to the music. What I hate is the redundancy of this formulaic approach that’s [ingrained] in our brains from early label days. Single, video, single, video, album cover post, etc.”
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The streams have been well-attended as far as numbers go, although some fans have expressed confusion over the practice considering Drake’s superstar status. But for someone who has been on top for years, the artist born Aubrey Graham is looking for a spark.
“I have been dying to act and have been dying for a challenge,” Drake added. “The game is extremely calm seas right now. Nobody is rocking any boat on the water and so once we discussed a live stream rollout, it just sounded like the perfect mix of risk and reward for me.”
Livestreaming is big business, as evidenced by the meteoric rise of stars like Kai Cenat, IShowSpeed, and PlaqueBoyMax, and Adin Ross, along with grizzled veterans of the space such as DJ Akademiks. Because many millions of views are for the taking in livestreaming, it makes sense Drake made his way to the arena to reach old and new fans.
“I think I am always capable of recognizing when things are shifting and not being weirdly affected by it, not being jealous, not being thirsty, just finding how I can shine light or co-exist or make it a part of our ecosystem,” Drake clarified regarding his entry point into streaming.
Iceman‘s release date has yet to be announced. Check out the full Complex piece here.
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Photo: Getty
Source: Amy Sussman / Getty
Lil Nas X was almost a victim of his own celebrity. His lawyer says he is doing well after an episode that got him arrested.
As per Complex, Lil Nas X appeared at Los Angeles courthouse on Monday (Nov. 17) in response to charges levied against him stemming from an incident that occurred in August. According to police reports, the performer was spotted walking on Ventura Boulevard in his underwear at four in the morning. Authorities responded to multiple reports of a nearly naked man acting erratically. Upon arrival, the badges attempted to take him into custody, but the man born Montero Lamar Hill, allegedly resisted arrest and used “force and violence” to deter them from performing their duty, leaving three officers injured. He was charged with three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one count of resisting an officer; all felony charges.
Upon leaving the court, his lawyer briefly answered questions from the reporter Nancy Dillon from Rolling Stone about Lil Nas X’s well-being. “As you can see, first of all, Montero is doing amazing, doing great, and we’re super happy for him. We’re just looking forward to a positive resolution in this case, which we’re very confident of,” Drew Finding stated. The “Old Town Road” singer was spotted in tow with his team but did not speak to the press. Reports suggest that he suffered from an overdose of some kind, but the cause of his alleged erratic behavior has yet to be confirmed. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and is currently on bail.
You can see his lawyer speak on his client below.
Source: Sean Zanni / Getty
For months now A$AP Rocky has been teasing the release of his latest project DON’T BE DUMB. Now that he can put A$AP Relli’s civil lawsuit behind him (for the most part), the Harlem representative can fully focus on his next project, and that’s what it seems like he’s been doing, as he readies everyone for the potential release.
In a recent interview for Vanity Fair, alongside the likes of the new Running Man, Glen Powell, and LaKeith Stanfield, A$AP Rocky revealed that not only did film composer and songwriter, Danny Elfman “scored a bunch of songs” on his upcoming album, but that DON’T BE DUMB will be releasing before the year is out. While his fans remain skeptical, as it’s been eight years since his last album, Long. Live. ASAP., and DON’T BE DUMB has seen its release date pushed around for the last year, Rocky seems pretty confident that the elusive album will indeed hit digital shelves while the numbers on the calendar read 2025.
We’re not gonna lie, we won’t be holding our breath for this one. Not to say the man is lying, but just because we know things can change in a heartbeat in the music industry, and label execs may want another release date for numerous reasons.
Still, it’s good to see that A$AP feels like the album will indeed be releasing sooner than later, so there’s a chance that his fans will finally get to hear what Rocky’s been cooking in the lab for the past few years.
Do y’all think DON’T BE DUMB will actually see a release date before 2026? Let us know in the comments section below.
Trending on Billboard
Prepare to feel old, even if you’re young: Movies about classic rockers are now contenders for AARP Movies for Grownups Awards.
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, the biopic about a pivotal period in the life of Bruce Springsteen, is nominated for best period film, while its director, Scott Cooper, is up for best director. Becoming Led Zeppelin, a doc about Led Zeppelin, hard rock gods of the late ‘60s and ‘70s, is nominated for best documentary.
The Movies for Grownups Awards honor films and television projects that celebrate the voices and stories of those who are 50-plus. This year’s contenders for the top award, best picture/best movie for grownups, are Hamnet, A House of Dynamite, One Battle After Another, Sinners and Train Dreams.
Kathryn Bigelow, director of A House of Dynamite, and Paul Thomas Anderson, director of One Battle After Another, are up for best director, along with Cooper, director of the aforementioned Springsteen biopic, Guillermo del Toro (Frankenstein) and Spike Lee (Highest 2 Lowest).
Ethan Hawke is nominated for best actor for playing lyricist Lorenz Hart in Blue Moon. The film is set on the night of the opening of the groundbreaking musical Oklahoma!, which was created by Hart’s former collaborator Richard Rodgers and his new lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II.
Other nominees include Helen Mirren, recently announced as the 2026 recipient of the Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Award; two-time Oscar winner Sean Penn; and Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock.
Two documentaries directed by current stars that look at the lives of their parent(s) are also nominated for best documentary. They are Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, Ben Stiller’s film about his parents, the great 1960s comedy duo Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, and My Mom Jayne, actress Mariska Hargitay’s look at her mother, 1960s sex symbol Jayne Mansfield. The remaining nominees for best documentary are Cover Up, a look at investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, and Riefenstahl, about controversial filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl.
In the best TV series or limited series category, nominations go to Adolescence, Hacks, The Pitt, The Studio, and The White Lotus.
“These nominees prove that powerful storytelling transcends age,” Myechia Minter-Jordan, CEO of AARP, said in a statement. “At AARP, we believe representation matters—not just for audiences, but for the industry itself. By honoring these actors and creators, we’re shining a light on the richness, depth, and diversity of experience that deserves to be seen and celebrated.”
The annual Movies for Grownups Awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, Jan. 10 at the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, California. Alan Cumming, the Tony- and Emmy Award-winning host of TV’s The Traitors, will return to host the show, which will be broadcast by PBS’ Great Performances on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 7/6c.
The annual awards show raises funds for AARP Foundation, which works to strengthen older adults’ financial resilience.
Here’s the complete list of 2025 nominees for the Movies for Grownups Awards:
Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups
Hamnet
A House of Dynamite
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams
Best Actress
Laura Dern, Is This Thing On?
Jodie Foster, A Private Life
Lucy Liu, Rosemead
Julia Roberts, After the Hunt
June Squibb, Eleanor the Great
Best Actor
George Clooney, Jay Kelly
Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Joel Edgerton, Train Dreams
Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
Dwayne Johnson, The Smashing Machine
Best Supporting Actress
Regina Hall, One Battle After Another
Amy Madigan, Weapons
Helen Mirren, Goodbye June
Gwyneth Paltrow, Marty Supreme
Sigourney Weaver, Avatar: Fire and Ash
Best Supporting Actor
Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another
Delroy Lindo, Sinners
Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Michael Shannon, Nuremberg
Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value
Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Kathryn Bigelow, A House of Dynamite
Scott Cooper, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein
Spike Lee, Highest 2 Lowest
Best Screenwriter
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Noah Baumbach and Emily Mortimer, Jay Kelly
Bradley Cooper, Will Arnett, and Mark Chappell, Is This Thing On?
Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
James Vanderbilt, Nuremberg
Best Ensemble
A House of Dynamite
Jay Kelly
Nuremberg
One Battle After Another
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Best Intergenerational Film
Eleanor the Great
The Lost Bus
Rental Family
Rosemead
Sentimental Value
Best Period Film
Dead Man’s Wire
Marty Supreme
Nuremberg
Sinners
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Best Documentary
Becoming Led Zeppelin
Cover Up
My Mom Jayne
Riefenstahl
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost
Best Foreign-Language Film
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choi
Nouvelle Vague
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Best TV Series or Limited Series
Adolescence
Hacks
The Pitt
The Studio
The White Lotus
Best Actor (TV)
Walton Goggins, The White Lotus
Stephen Graham, Adolescence
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us
Noah Wyle, The Pitt
Best Actress (TV)
Kathy Bates, Matlock
Kathryn Hahn, The Studio
Catherine O’Hara, The Studio
Parker Posey, The White Lotus
Jean Smart, Hacks
Trending on Billboard Ariana Grande flew solo on The Tonight Show, appearing Tuesday (Nov. 18) without Wicked costar Cynthia Erivo — but that doesn’t mean she didn’t have a duet partner. The pop star made a theatrical entrance on the late-night program with a medley of iconic duets, performing opposite Jimmy Fallon and beginning with […]
Source: Simone Joyner / Getty
Drake may have thrown some shade at one of his old flames.
The Boy was posted up with Sexyy Red on the tennis court, working on his game. They snapped a flick together, and he captioned it, “I said tennis lesson she said where’s the bracelet or the necklace.” Trolls online quickly chimed in, but one comment stood out: “Serena Williams upgrade.”
In true Drizzy fashion, he liked the comments. SMH…
Some believe that like was deeper than it seems, considering Serena, the legendary tennis player, and the OVO rapper had a thing year ago. During Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance, Serena made an appearance. Not only did she come out, she danced to “Not Like Us,” which the internet immediately took as a shot at her old boo. Shortly after the performance, she cleared the rumors and denied any ill intent: “I would never do that, and it was sad that anyone would ever think that. But absolutely not. I have never had negative feelings towards him.”
Following Kendrick’s win in the beef, a wave of “leaked” Drake videos hit the internet. One clip stood out: Drake was working on the song “Too Good.” In the video, Drizzy is talking with his mom, where he admits the song was inspired by Serena. His mom jokingly mentions that Serena has a new man, and Drake replies, “I don’t know, Mom.”
Trending on Billboard Suno, the leading AI tool for making music, said on Wednesday it raised $250 million from a group of investors led by Menlo Ventures that values the company at $2.45 billion. Other investors in the series C round included NVIDIA’s venture capital arm NVentures, Hallwood Media, Lightspeed and Matrix. Related Founded in […]
