We all know recycling is a generally good practice, but it’s one of those things where it’s not really not just the thought that counts. If you recycle incorrectly, the goods you’re trying to preserve for reuse can be rendered useless. In the winter time, in particular, there are some seasonally specific recycling…

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CNN senior international correspondent Matthew Chance ducked for cover following an explosion and ran to a car following what he called a “relentless barrage” — as he was reporting from the frontlines of Ukraine’s war against the Russian invasion.

The harrowing report from the Eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut began with a Ukrainian soldier firing rounds from a machine gun.

“The battle for Bakhmut, where Ukrainian troops are battling Russia’s onslaught. These exclusive images are from the soldiers themselves,” narrated Chance as videos showed Ukrainian soldiers opening fire. “Their commanders tell us dozens are lives are now being sacrificed here every day.”

The segment then showed Chance and his convoy driving into Bakhmut where it is “heavy with thick smoke and danger.”

“Explosions ahead force us to pull over before another slams into a building close by,” said Chance, followed by a clip of the CNN correspondent taking cover following an explosion.

“Alright. Well, you can hear the incoming rounds, the incoming rounds from Russian artillery fire are really intensive here as we have entered the outskirts of Bakhmut, which is certainly from everything we’ve been told is now the most fiercely contested patch of ground in the entire Russia-Ukrainian conflict.”

The report then showed Chance and his convoy running to their car in order to flee the town in what was, as Chance put it, “the relentless barrage.”

Chance then went into an underground bunker, where cheap tech helps Ukrainians on the battlefield.

Ukrainian commanders said they need more guns and ammunition from the United States.

Watch above via CNN.

If you have a houseful of guests, or are engaged in a holiday baking marathon, a clogged dishwasher can really slow down your operation. Hand washing all your dishes uses more time and water than using your appliance—but getting a professional out to look at your dishwasher during the holidays can be hard to schedule,…

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ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith showed up 20 minutes late to First Take Tuesday morning after he got stuck in New York City traffic on his commute to work.

Smith was not present at the start of Tuesday’s First Take because he was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the West Side Highway in New York City.

Cameras caught Smith after he finally arrived, jogging as made his way from the car to the building.

As First Take discussed problems for the Los Angeles Lakers, Smith made it to the desk and was very annoyed about the traffic fiasco. Which didn’t stop host Molly Qeirm from poking some fun at him over his late arrival.

“We do have breaking news into First Take this morning; at 10:24 am, 12 seconds and counting, Stephen A. Smith has arrived,” Qeirm told the audience. “How are you feeling? The jog; did you pull anything? Are you okay?”

Smith was visibly irked over his late arrival, and obviously knew he’d never hear the end of it from his ESPN colleagues.

“Let me tell you something, man,” a bothered Smith said. “I’m done with New York! I’m done with New York! I was parked, and when I say parked, I mean literally parked on the West Side Highway. Parked on the West Side Highway!”

He explained how short the commute usually is for him but took ownership of his lateness.

“I have a great 15 minutes for me; I left at 8:45,” Smith added. “This is ridiculous, but I was late, my bad!”

ESPN colleague and former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson took a shot at Smith and told him, “you shoulda left at 7:30.”

“I know you’d say that,” Smith told Johnson. “I’m sure I’ll hear that from some people. I ain’t leaving at no damn 7:30 for a 10:00 show when I live 15 minutes away. It ain’t happening, okay? By the way, the traffic is so damn bad, I still probably would have been late if I left at 7:30. It’s ridiculous!”

Former NBA player and current ESPN analyst Tim Legler was on set before Smith and grinned as he listened to Johnson continue to rib Stephen A.

While Johnson continued to needle Smith over his 20-minute absence, Qerim offered a defense, agreeing about the brutal traffic as she tried to explain how awful her own morning commute was before Johnson cut her off.

“It’s your show, though, man,” Johnson continued. “How could you be late?”

Smith knew the situation he would walk into after he was taunted by Johnson and ESPN colleague and former NFL defensive lineman Marcus Spears, who had o just left the studio before Smith arrived.

“Listen, you think I didn’t know what I was in for with you and Swagu on the air?” Smith asked Johnson.

ESPN rolled video footage of Smith with a light jog into the studio with a security guard, who had Smith’s bags in his hands. Johnson made sure he pointed out that Smith used the security guard as his caddy as he walked into the building.

“Now look at you, you got a security carrying your bag,” Johnson said as he cracked a laugh. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

As ESPN continued to roll the footage of Smith’s jog into the building, Qeirm could not contain her laugh as Smith seemed annoyed that his late arrival was big enough news that the camera followed him in.

“Look at them; they’re spying on me, the whole bit,” Smith said with disbelief. “Camera overhead. I mean, what the hell is this world coming to?”

Johnson found it hysterical that Smith slowed down before he entered the building and pointed that out to everyone at the desk, “you gon try to walk cool once you got to the door.”

After Qerim finally told Smith that it took her two hours to get to work when it usually takes 45 minutes, Smith said he’d had it with New York City.

“I’m looking for a state with no income taxes,” Smith continued. “The taxes are too high in California and New York! Hell, I’ve been saying it for years, but that’s neither here nor there.”

Smith signed a five-year extension with ESPN in 2019, so his move to a state with no income tax might have to wait a little longer.

Watch above via First Take on ESPN.

Liberal advocacy group Demand Progress Action released a Mark Zuckerberg deepfake video pushing for tech regulation acts to be passed by Democrats before the end of the year.

The video released by Demand Progress Action is open about the fact that it’s not actually Zuckerberg speaking, showing the actor who portrayed the Facebook founder at the end of the bit. There is also a “Fake Zuck” message in the corner of the two and a half minute video.

The fake Zuckerberg offers a toast to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for “holding up new laws that hold us accountable.”

“So, I’d like to propose a toast. To Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Once again, you held up your side of the bargain by holding up new laws that would hold us accountable. Thank you for your service to me, and to all of my friends,” the deepfake says. The CEOs of Apple, Google, and Amazon are shown when he mentions “my friends.”

The two bills in question are the American Innovation and Choice Online Act and the Open App Markets Act, which would limit Big Tech companies promoting their own products over others and further regulations on app stores.

Bits of the deepfake ad will be running in places like Washington D.C. and New York, The Hill reported.

Demand Progress Action executive director David Segal told the outlet through a statement that the regulatory bills need to be passed before the end of the year when the majority in the House will be handed to Republicans.

“If Leader Schumer does not call a vote on these bills or attach them to a must-pass vehicle in the weeks ahead, he will have squandered Congress’s best chance to hold Big Tech accountable in a generation,” Segal said.

Pizza is a delicious convenience that most of us appreciate in that moment when we want a hot meal (that we didn’t have to prepare) delivered straight to us. But what comes next—storing the leftovers—can be tricky. Pizza boxes are not exactly easy to fit into the refrigerator, but you know you’re going to want to…

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I love Apple Music, but I’ll admit, at this time each year, I’m jealous seeing everyone’s Spotify Wrapped. Apple Music lets me imagine I have a sophisticated taste with an expertly curated library, while Spotify lets its customers bask in the embarrassment of their actual listening history. I, too, want to be humbled.…

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Spotify and Apple Music may be great for music discovery, but they don’t do a great job telling you more about who you’re listening to. You could know every lyric to “Don’t Stop Believin’,” but if you don’t know what year it came out, you’re going to let your trivia team down. (It’s 1981, by the way.)

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CNN public relations clapped back at Elon Musk for sharing a fake headline from the news network.

The chaotic saga of Musk’s time as Twitter CEO took another bizarre turn on Monday morning when he posted a picture of Don Lemon next to an alleged headline from the network that said, “Elon Musk could threaten free speech on Twitter by literally allowing people to speak freely.”

As Twitter’s fact-checker points out, the screencap and the story were obviously fake. The fact-checker links to an AP report from back in April that identified the head as an early example of false claims about how news organizations were covering the prospect of Musk buying Twitter. The headline originated from a satirical source, but went viral on social media at the time when a number of people thought the story was real.

CNN Communications rebuked Musk for spreading fake news, responding to his tweet with “This headline never appeared on CNN. Be better.”

Hours after getting called out, Musk responded to CNN by making it clear he found the whole situation amusing.

As for the fact-check, Musk settled for celebrating Twitter’s Community Notes hub.

Last year, it wasn’t even Thanksgiving and my 7-year-old had already let it spill. We were driving home from school with her 5-year-old brother our 6-year-0ld neighbor when out of the blue, she said it: “Santa isn’t real.”

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It would almost be too easy to forget about Thanksgiving and move on to December’s festivities—if it weren’t for that bowl of cranberry sauce that keeps getting moved around in the fridge. It’s great with turkey, but after the last bits have been devoured, the crimson sauce seems to be an outcast. There is absolutely…

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During a guest appearance on MSNBC’s Velshi, Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II suggested Democrats need to stop chasing suburban voters and pursue “poor and low-wealth voters” instead.

In a Sunday interview with MSNBC’s Ali Velshi, Barber, who runs a non-profit aimed at reviving the morals of America, discussed the importance of lower income voters in elections, particularly in the South, where that particular demographic often chooses to not vote at all.

“Those persons making under $30,000 a year voted 12 points higher for Democrats, according to exit polls,” Barber began. “Those making under $50,000 a year voted about 5% higher.”

“There’s not a state in this country where poor and low-wage voters do not have at least 30% of the electorate. And in every state where the margin of victories is within 3%, poor and low-wealth voters have over 40% of the electorate. So you can’t win by ignoring poor and low-wealth votes,” he continued.

Barber used Georgia and North Carolina as prime examples.

“In Georgia, for instance, 1.2 million people here are uninsured. 1.9 million workers make less than $15 an hour. That’s 47% of the workforce. You have to speak to them,” he said. “1 million voters in Georgia did not — poor and low-wealth voters who were eligible — did not vote, but the margin of victory in 2020, for instance, for the president was only 150,000 votes. North Carolina in 2020, a million poor, low-wealth voters who were eligible to vote didn’t vote.”

“The margin of victory was only 70,000. In Wisconsin 645,000 poor low-wealth voters didn’t vote in 2020, but the margin of victory was only 20,000. In Arizona, in 2020, for instance, the number of poor and low-wealth voters who didn’t vote was 756,000, and the margin of victory was only 10,000 votes,” he added.

Barber argued that the solution to this issue is for Democrats to stop “chasing” suburban voters.

“So you cannot ignore, and that’s one of the things we’re saying to Democrats and progressives — stop chasing the elusive suburban vote, but focus clearly and intensely on poor and low-wealth voters who tend to, when they vote, vote progressive if they’re targeted,” Barber concluded.

Watch above via Velshi on MSNBC.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) strongly denounced the meeting between former President Donald Trump, Kanye West, and commentator Nick Fuentes.

Tuesday evening, Trump made headlines by hosting the two for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago home.

West has been making plenty of headlines himself following a slew of anti-Semitic comments, leading to big name collaborations dropping him and a major hit to his personal finances. Fuentes is a controversial far-right podcaster and commentator, banned from major social media platforms for his white nationalist views.

On CNN’s State of the Union show on Sunday, host Dana Bash was joined by Hutchinson to discuss the meeting.

“I know as U.S. Attorney in Arkansas, you personally prosecuted white supremacist groups. What’s your reaction to seeing a former U.S. president associate with someone like that?” Bash asked.

“Well, I hope someday we won’t have to be responding to what former President Trump has said or done,” Hutchinson began.

“In this instance, it’s important to respond, and as you mentioned, the last time I met with the a white supremacist, it was in an armed standoff. I had a bulletproof vest on. We arrested them, prosecuted them, sent them to prison,” he added.

Hutchinson said the meeting was not the best example to set as a leader.

“And so, no, I don’t think it’s a good idea for a leader that’s setting an example for the country or the party to meet with an avowed racist or anti-Semite,” Hutchinson replied. “And so it’s very troubling and it shouldn’t happen. And we need to avoid those kinds of empowering the extremes. And when you meet with people, you empower and that’s what you have to avoid. You want to diminish their strength, not empower them, stay away from it.”

Bash pivoted the conversation to Trump distancing himself from Fuentes after the dinner made headlines. According to Politico, in a statement posted to Truth Social on Friday, Trump claimed he was unaware of Fuentes and said West had brought the commentator with him unexpectedly.

“This past week, Kanye West called me to have dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Shortly thereafter, he unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about,” Trump wrote. “We had dinner on Tuesday evening with many members present on the back patio. The dinner was quick and uneventful. They then left for the airport.”

On Sunday, Bash brought up the post, saying, “Trump has released multiple statements. What he’s doing is he’s denying knowing Nick Fuentes, but he is not condemning his views, let alone condemning Kanye West’s history of anti-Semitic comments, recent history. So it’s a pattern.”

“Well, I mean, you can have accidental meetings, things like that happen. This was not an accidental meeting. It was a setup — dinner with Kanye,” Hutchinson said.

“And so this happened. But you certainly have every occasion that the question of white supremacy or neo-Nazis or denying the Holocaust comes up — You’ve got to be absolutely clear in your communication that this is not acceptable dogma. It’s not acceptable conversation, it’s not acceptable history, and you have to disavow it — it is as simple as that,” he added.

As the conversation continued, Hutchinson focused his criticism on how Trump failed to condemn the ideology.

“What Donald Trump did, and his failure to condemn it, is really the minority of the party. It’s an extreme side of it, and that’s what you’ve got to distance yourself from. And he failed to do that,” Hutchinson concluded.

Watch above via State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash on CNN.

Sounding confident and knowledgeable at work is a good thing, but sometimes we can say things that we think highlight our value as employees, but actually give the impression that we’re pretentious or insecure.

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Twitter owner Elon Musk said he could support Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president in 2024, in a thread talking about freedom of speech and centrism.

The tech billionaire posted a series of replies over Thanksgiving weekend on the subject of free speech, “deplatforming,” and centrism in politics, all subjects he has previously weighed on in the past — views which arguably were the genesis of media and liberal fury at his purchase of Twitter. Not to mention the subject of Donald Trump.

“I’m fine with Trump not tweeting,” Musk wrote in reply to a tweet about Trump’s restored account. “The important thing is that Twitter correct a grave mistake in banning his account, despite no violation of the law or terms of service.”

“Deplatforming a sitting President undermined public trust in Twitter for half of America,” he said.

I’m fine with Trump not tweeting. The important thing is that Twitter correct a grave mistake in banning his account, despite no violation of the law or terms of service.

Deplatforming a sitting President undermined public trust in Twitter for half of America.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2022

He also added context that helped emphasize his argument is not about partisan bias but the principle itself, pointing out he was a “significant supporter” of former President Barack Obama‘s presidency, and that in 2016 he voted for Joe Biden over Trump.

As a reminder, I was a significant supporter of the Obama-Biden presidency and (reluctantly) voted for Biden over Trump

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 26, 2022

Since that time, Musk’s politics crossed the aisle, and he has supported individual Republicans as well as urging Americans to vote Republican in the midterms.

In his reply thread, Musk said that in 2024 he wants someone “sensible centrist” in office, and that Biden has not been that. When someone replied to ask him directly whether Ron DeSantis would fit the bill, he said yes.

But freedom of speech is the bedrock of a strong democracy and must take precedence.

My preference for the 2024 presidency is someone sensible and centrist. I had hoped that would the case for the Biden administration, but have been disappointed so far.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 26, 2022

Yes

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 26, 2022

DeSantis and his administration were highly critical of Twitter’s attempt to prevent Musk’s purchase of the company.

Musk added again that Twitter must be “fair” to all as he wrapped up his reply thread.

But Twitter as a platform must be fair to all

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 26, 2022

Musk previously somewhat pitched the idea of Ron DeSantis in 2024 in a separate thread, during which he also revealed that in 2020 he would have preferred Democratic candidate Andrew Yang for president.

After a year of rising prices resulting from inflation, many families are cutting back on their holiday spending—including when it comes to gift-giving. Making a rule about not giving presents to other adults is one thing, but you probably want to give your kids a holiday experience to remember (for something other…

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MyPillow founder Mike Lindell is planning on challenging Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel.

Lindell remains a vocal and loyal supporter of former President Donald Trump. He also continues denying election results, primarily the 2020 presidential election. His claims have led to a defamation lawsuit and a suspension from Twitter.

Despite some significant losses in the midterm elections, McDaniel is planning on running for reelection as the chair of the RNC.

In a livestream this week, Lindell called for new RNC leadership and suggested he would be up to the job.

“We need someone everybody, and I would step into that, if God willing,” he said. The clip of Lindell was flagged on Twitter by Ron Filipkowski.

Lindell later confirmed his plans to National File later, accusing McDaniel of failing in her role with the party.

“Ronna McDaniel has failed in her leadership,” he said. “We need a new input to get a different output.”

He also called the RNC “one of the most important organizations in our country” and claimed his own experience in business makes him a good fit.

“We need someone who knows how to run a business to lead one of the most important organizations in our country,” Lindell said.

The MyPillow CEO continues to claim he has evidence of mass voter fraud, though no actual proof has been found to back up his claims. Lindell claimed he would “drop everything” to present his supposed evidence to Elon Musk so he could get his Twitter account back.

“I would fly to him, do whatever it takes. I would hand- deliver it on a silver platter and say, ‘here you go, look at it,” Lindell told Steve Bannon this week. “You’re a very smart man. Look at this and do whatever you want to do with my Twitter account. But for sure I would like you to say, ‘hey, this guy got banned and he’s banned right now for no reason.'”

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump seemingly confirmed reports he hosted white supremacist Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago property during a meeting with Kanye West.

West, now going by Ye, posted a video describing his meeting with Trump where he claimed he asked the former president to be his vice president — Trump officially announced he’s running for president in 2024, while Ye claims he’ll be throwing in on another independent run.

Trump provided a statement on Friday, which was posted by Axios reporter Jonathan Swan, responding to the Fuentes drama.

“Kanye West very much wanted to visit Mar-a-Lago. Our dinner meeting was intended to be Kanye and me only, but he arrived with a guest whom I had never met and knew nothing about,” Trump said.

The statement was in response to an Axis report on Fuentes meeting with the former president.

Axios reporters Swan and Zachary Basu reported:

Fuentes, who frequently promotes racist and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, had been spotted with Ye at Mar-a-Lago, but reports erroneously suggested he did not have dinner with the former president.

Trump posted a slightly longer statement to Truth Social, though he again did not specifically refer to Fuentes or the man’s past racist remarks. The former president claimed the Ye dinner was “quick and uneventful.”

“This past week, Kanye West called me to have dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Shortly thereafter, he unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about,” he posted. “We had dinner on Tuesday evening with many members present on the back patio. The dinner was quick and uneventful. They then left for the airport.”

Ye said in his video that Trump was “really impressed” with Fuentes and claimed tempers got hot.

“So Trump is really impressed with Nick Fuentes, and Nick Fuentes, unlike so many of the lawyers of so many people that he was left with on his 2020 campaign, he’s actually a loyalist,” the rapper said.

Ye and Trump have been friendly in the past, but the rapper was more critical than ever after their latest meeting. In his video recalling the interaction, Ye said Trump was angered by the rapper’s 2024 campaign and offer to be his vice president. Ye also said Trump ended the meeting by insulting the musician’s former wife and the mother of his children, Kim Kardashian.

At the end of a year that saw inflation reach a 41-year high, there may not be much (or anything) left in your annual budget to spend on holiday gifts for friends and family. If that’s the case, and you haven’t already done so, now would be a good time to talk to loved ones you usually exchange gifts with, and come to…

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Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-CO) is taking umbrage with criticism she has received in the wake of the Club Q nightclub shooting.

Appearing on OAN (in a clip flagged by Ron Filipkowski), Boebert went after those calling out her history of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.

“I have been accused of just about every mass shooting there has been since the Left has learned of my name,” Boebert said. “Whether it’s Uvalde, or the King Soopers shooting in Boulder, Colorado, or the Buffalo, New York shooting. Or even Paul Pelosi getting hammered. I have been blamed for all of that.”

The Denver Post denounced Boebert in a scathing editorial, and Sarah Kate Ellis — the CEO of GLAAD — slammed Boebert and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in an interview with ABC News earlier this week.

“Stop creating and spreading lies about our community,” Ellis said. “Stop. Just stop. DeSantis, Lauren Boebert, stop it.

But Boebert brushed off the scorn she’s received as a mere byproduct of her victory in a tight race against Adam Frisch.

“I think the Left is pissed I won my election,” Boebert said. “And so they’re trying to find something to go after me about. I expressed my concern for the family, for the victims. And the way that they came after me is absolutely disgusting.”

Watch above, via OAN.

So, you’ve decided to bring a live tree into your home for a few weeks. How festive! Now, it’s time to determine what type of Christmas tree you’d like—or, more accurately, what qualities you’re looking for in an indoor evergreen. A particular look? A certain price point? A robust fragrance?

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The United States Department of Agriculture might not be the first place you think of when you’re unsure whether it’s okay to stuff the turkey the night before, but they have a hotline built to answer exactly these sorts of questions. Add 1-888-MPHotline to your contacts to be the hero everybody needs for Thanksgiving…

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Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images.

A new report explored the testimony of former Yeezy and Adidas staffers who said Kanye West created a highly sexualized and abusive workplace culture throughout his partnership with the company.

The rapper known as Ye has been under public scrutiny for weeks over his various anti-semitic comments, and he has seen major financial losses as Adidas and other business collaborators dropped him over the controversy. The scandal has also drawn a great deal of focus on West’s business behavior, not only because of his feuds with various companies, but also the reported revelations that he’s been pushing conspiracy theories and antisemitism for years.

Rolling Stone heard from several of West’s former team members who claimed that he would frequently play and talk about porn during business meetings. They said West also showed off his own sex tapes on such occasions, which also included “explicit video and photos” of his then-wife, Kim Kardashian.

From one incident described in the report:

In 2018, West took a meeting in Chicago with a young creative who considered it a job interview. The potential staffer described feeling on edge when, upon entering the room, he found West dancing around to his own music on full blast. The creative remembers West finally turning his attention to the interview — and nonchalantly pulling out his phone.

“My wife just sent me this,” West said, according to the creative. On West’s phone, the creative claims, was an intimate photo of Kardashian. “It was very revealing and personal,” the creative tells Rolling Stone. “I didn’t really react.” A source close to the creative recalls being told about the photo of Kardashian hours after the meeting. At least one other time in 2018, West showed an explicit video of Kardashian to members of the creative team at Yeezy, according to a person who says they saw the video.

That was hardly the only story about West showing porn to his business partners.

“He would be in a meeting and he’d be talking to you, and he’d rattle off in his laptop” to play a porn video, the employee tells Rolling Stone. “And he’s like, ‘I know it’s uncomfortable, but I kind of need this in the background to keep me focused.’ And you’d be like, ‘Uhhhhh, oh-kay.’”

Some of the staffers in the report signed an open to Adidas’ top brass, wherein they accused the company of turning a blind eye to West’s “predacious behavior” and the “toxic and chaotic environment” he had fomented at the company.

The letter writers describe additional incidents where West showed porn at business meetings, engaged in “mind games” with Adidas employees, made sexually-charged and derogatory comments to women, and partook in other abusive behaviors like “verbal abuse, vulgar tirades, and bullying attacks.”

“The most troubling behavior that should have been flagged by the executive team very early in the partnership is his manipulative and fear-based approach to leading the team, all while trying to assert dominance over Adidas employees in closed rooms,” the letter states.

The news that West showed explicit images to Adidas workers may not be hugely revealing, given that he has already shown off a video of himself making them watch porn.

Last month, West released a documentary about himself which includes footage of a meeting he had with Adidas executives. West was making the executives watch porn on his phone before accusing Adidas of wronging him throughout their business relationship.

When working with teams, I hear a lot of complaints about bosses. One of the most common is about a manager who doesn’t hold people accountable. Someone (or maybe a couple people) on the team consistently perform poorly in their jobs, and the boss doesn’t do anything about it.

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Terrible weather can make a winter home search uniquely stressful. We can’t make it any warmer out there, but here are a few things to consider if you’re buying a home in the winter months.

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Octavia Butler, the venerable science fiction writer and futurist, died unexpectedly in 2006. That spared her from witnessing just how terrifyingly prescient was her 1993 post-apocalyptic novel The Parable of the Sower. But it also robbed her of seeing her work, once relegated to the fringes of genre fiction, embraced…

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Nicholas Kamm/Pool, Getty Images

American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten is more dangerous than Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, according to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Pompeo, a possible 2024 GOP presidential candidate, told Semafor at the Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas that “making sure we don’t teach our kids crap in schools” is something he would run on.

“I get asked, ‘Who’s the most dangerous person in the world? Is it Chairman Kim, is it Xi Jinping?’” said Pompeo. “The most dangerous person in the world is Randi Weingarten. It’s not a close call. If you ask, ‘Who’s the most likely to take this republic down?’ It would be the teachers’ unions, and the filth that they’re teaching our kids, and the fact that they don’t know math and reading or writing.”

“If our kids don’t grow up understanding America is an exceptional nation, we’re done,” he added. “If they think it’s an oppressor class and an oppressed class, if they think the 1619 Project, and we were founded on a racist idea — if those are the things people entered the seventh grade deeply embedded in their understanding of America, it’s difficult to understand how Xi Jinping’s claim that America is in decline won’t prove true.”

Weingarten is head of the American Federation of Teachers, the second-largest teacher’s union in the United States, but number one for appearing in controversial news stories. Weingarten is frequently combative with conservatives and Republicans and does not hold back in her public opinions on controversial issues, including very prominently on the subject of parental input.

Weingarten’s response to Pompeo was in keeping with that publicly aggressive demeanor.

“He needs to fund his campaign,” she said. “He doesn’t have a base so he is trying to get millions from the anti-union, anti-public-education billionaires like Betsy DeVos.”

“Pompeo is desperate to be labeled as the extremist in the Republican presidential primary,” she added. “He’s using the same strategy, the extremist’s strategy that didn’t work for them in 2018, 2020, and ’22. And he’s flooding the zone with disinformation. And what’s dangerous about that is that it will lead to violence. He’s decided to use his campaign to foment hate and division.”

Weingarten previously agreed with a controversial letter sent to the Biden administration comparing angry parents to terrorists, and has said that parental rights bills are how “wars start.”

We’re in for expensive gas bills this winter. Whenever I so much as think about turning up the thermostat, I can hear my dad’s voice telling me to put on another sweater instead. But when sweaters don’t suffice, I turn to my trusty, cheap, easy-to-use space heater to cut costs on my central heating. But how much money…

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I received a notice in the mail some months ago that I was involved in a data breach a certain massive, multi-national telecomm company was settling. Like many people involved in such settlements, I was not offered a ludicrously small amount of money as a reward for being an unwitting victim. Instead, I was given the…

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Photos via Getty Images and Courtesy of Grant Wahl

A journalist covering the World Cup in Qatar was temporarily detained by security on Monday for wearing a Pride shirt.

“Just now: Security guard refusing to let me into the stadium for USA-Wales. ‘You have to change your shirt. It’s not allowed,’” tweeted CBS Sports analyst Grant Wahl, who was wearing a shirt with the Pride colors encircling a soccer ball.

About a half an hour later, Wahl was admitted into the stadium without having to change his shirt.

“I’m OK, but that was an unnecessary ordeal. Am in the media center, still wearing my shirt. Was detained for nearly half an hour. Go gays,” he tweeted.

Qatar has an infamous human rights record that includes persecuting LGBTQ people.

Wahl being delayed entry to the game on Monday comes as FIFA, which runs the World Cup, warned on Monday that teams wearing the “OneLove” armband would be penalized. This has caused several European countries to abandon plans for wearing it.

“FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play,” said a joint statement from the soccer associations of Germany, Netherlands, England, Belgium, Wales, Denmark and Switzerland. “As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games.”

Wahl’s encounter with security at the World Cup wasn’t his first. Last week, he was asked to delete a photo he snapped in the media center. He refused to do so.

It’s November, which means it is once again Black Friday season (the Friday after Thanksgiving now somehow lasting an entire month), and retailers across the internet—and the brick-and-mortar chains that remain—are dropping deals. Traditionally, this is the best/worst time to be a video game fan. The best, because…

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