(NOTE LANGUAGE) AMC was quick to renew its off-beat dramedy series Kevin Can F*** Himself for a second season, but the network just raised eyebrows with an announcement that the show’s second season would be its last, Variety reports.
The series stars Schitt’s Creek Emmy winner Annie Murphy as Allison McRoberts and Eric Petersen as her titular husband. The show’s conceit is that it plays out as a stereotypical sitcom focusing on a married couple in scenes where Allison is with Kevin, and then takes a dark turn when Annie’s character is by herself, showing that she’s plotting to kill her schlubby dope of a hubby.
The show had an 81% positive rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. A few weeks ago, Petersen told ABC Audio that he was psyched to start work on the second season.
“Any time you do something new — and this show truly is something new — I mean, that just in and of itself is an accomplishment to get something on the air that really is not like anything that’s been done before,” the actor said. “And then you sort of cross your fingers that people get what we’re trying to do with it, that they enjoy it, that they find it funny and engaging and interesting. And people have, which is awesome.”
He adds, “So we’re so excited that we got season two. We’re going to start filming here in January, so it’ll be coming out next year. And I’ve already seen a few of the scripts and they’re very good, so [I’m] very excited to get going.”
Following weeks of speculation, Dr. Mehmet Oz officially declared his candidacy for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday.
In a Washington Examiner opinion column announcing the run, Oz highlighted his medical experience as the undercurrent for his campaign launch, while also indicating a policy focus on the ongoing national pandemic response.
“During the pandemic, I learned that when you mix politics and medicine, you get politics instead of solutions. That’s why I am running for the U.S. Senate: to help fix the problems and to help us heal,” Oz said.
On his website, Oz added in his announcement, “Covid-19 became an excuse for government and elite thinkers who controlled the means of communication, especially social media and our major news agencies, to suspend debate. Dissenting opinions from leading scholars, even Nobel Laureates, were cancelled and ridiculed so their ideas could not be disseminated.”
He continued, “Doctors were forbidden from prescribing legal medications for the first time in our nation’s history. I tried to fund clinical trials to re-purpose an already widely used drug for possible benefits against Covid-19, but they were banned. Instead, government mandated policies that caused unnecessary suffering.”
In a video posted to Twitter, Oz said he is running as a Conservative Republican.
Oz joins a crowded Republican primary in what is shaping up to be one of the nation’s most-watched midterm races. As a pivotal 2020 campaign battleground that tipped the scales for President Joe Biden, Pennsylvania’s Senate race is now slated to help determine which party controls the Senate in 2022.
The current field of leading Democratic candidates includes Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Rep. Conor Lamb, state representative Malcolm Kenyatta and Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh, who is also a physician.
(OXFORD, Mich.) — Three students were killed in a shooting at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan, on Tuesday, authorities said.
They were a 16-year-old male student and two female students, ages 14 and 17, authorities said.
Eight others were shot and injured, including a teacher, authorities said. They were transported to three different local hospitals. Two were in surgery and six in stable condition with varied gunshot wounds, Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe said during a briefing Tuesday evening.
All parents of the victims have been notified, he said.
The suspected shooter, a 15-year-old male student, was taken into custody within five minutes, authorities said. A semiautomatic handgun has been confiscated, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said.
The student lives in the Village of Oxford and attended school Tuesday, authorities said.
Authorities said they believe he acted alone. The teen has not mentioned a motive, authorities said.
He is being held at the Oakland County Children’s Village and is lodged as a juvenile, McCabe said. The county prosecutor could choose to charge him as an adult, he said.
The suspected shooter’s parents have not granted him permission to talk to authorities and have hired a lawyer, the undersheriff said. Authorities are executing a search warrant at his house, he said.
Over 100 calls poured into 911 as the shooting unfolded, authorities said.
The shooting occurred primarily in one area of the school and there is a “fairly large crime scene,” McCabe said.
Oxford is about 40 miles north of Detroit.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer attended an evening briefing on the shooting, saying she wanted to be there “because I think this is an important moment for us to support one another, to support this community. And I want to thank our first responders.”
She called the incident a “uniquely American problem that we need to address,” and got visibly emotional discussing the tragedy.
“I think this is every parent’s worst nightmare,” she said, crying.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday afternoon, “My heart goes out to the families during the unimaginable grief of losing a loved one.”
Cardi B, Ciara and her husband, Russell Wilson, were among the celebrities looking to make the holidays brighter on Giving Tuesday. They partnered with Meta, formerly known as Facebook, to focus on humanitarian acts.
The “WAP” rapper premiered a new episode of “Cardi Tries” on Facebook Watch and hilariously worked as a grocery clerk in Canoga Park, California with Karrueche Tran. Following their antics chopping watermelons and cleaning up a dog food spill, the duo ended the episode by gifting the workers at the store with two weeks worth of paychecks, and a card shouting-out essential workers for all they did during the pandemic.
Ciara and Russell, quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, raised money for their favorite non-profit organizations as they hosted a Live Audio Room, dubbed “Get Into Giving Tuesday w/ Russell & Ciara,” to share more about their philosophy of giving.
As part of the “Giving Tuesday” campaign, Meta will match up to $8 million in eligible donations made to Facebook Fundraisers for nonprofits in the United States.
Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin‘s The Hanukkah Sessions continues on night three of the Jewish holiday with a rendition of the Barry Manilow hit “Copacabana.”
The pair stays true to the disco style of the original 1978 tune with the cover, which could comfortably sit on Foo Fighters‘ Hail Satin Bee Gees tribute compilation.
“Barry Pincus — not only one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th (or any) century, but a mega-mensch to boot!” Grohl says, referring to Manilow by his birth name.
You can listen to the “Copacabana” cover streaming now on YouTube.
Grohl and Kurstin launched The Hanukkah Sessions in 2020 with covers of eight different Jewish artists for each night of the holiday. This year’s series has so far included Lisa Loeb‘s “Stay (I Missed You)” and The Ramones‘ “Blitzkrieg Bop.”
Would you’d like to stay in a real-life location of a Christmas classic, or perhaps you just want to escape from all the noise, noise, noise, noise, noise, noise of the holidays?
In either case, Dr. Seuss Enterprises and the vacation rental platform Vacasa have your back: You and your friends — provided you have any, other than a dog named Max — can soon stay in the Grinch’s cave.
Located “Three thousand feet up, Up the side of Mt. Crumpit,” according to How the Grinch Stole Christmas — but in reality, carved into a stone mountain outside of Boulder, Utah — the home has been meticulously created to mimic the crib of the Christmas curmudgeon.
“There’s a kitchen stocked with roastable beast, Who-pudding, and an emergency stash of Who-hash,” Vacasa says of the 5,700-square foot lodging.
“A music room includes the Grinch’s organ alongside Max’s drum set leading into the study, main bedroom, guest bedroom, and more,” the booking platform promises.
Bookings will be taken starting Dec. 3 for stays Dec. 13 – 23 — all for the nightly rate of $19.57, in honor of the classic book’s 1957 release date.
So if your heart is three sizes too small — or once was — feel free to check it out, or at least take a 3D virtual tour of the Grinch’s digs.
(DENVER, Colo.) — Denver is making weather history this year as the city patiently waits to receive its first measurable snow of the 2021 winter season. This is the latest the city has ever waited for snow, according to the National Weather Service.
For a snowfall to be considered measurable by the weather service, it must be greater than a tenth of an inch.
Denver will begin the month of December without any snowfall for the first time in history — and there’s still no snow in sight for the near future. The previous record for the latest first snowfall in the city was set on Nov. 21, 1934.
The Mile High City has now gone 223 consecutive days without snow as of Tuesday, and is just 12 days away from passing the all-time record of 235 snowless days, a record that was set in 1887, 134 years ago.
“With no snow expected for the next several days, a move up to second place is certainly possible by next weekend,” the weather service said of the consecutive snowless streak on Monday. Currently, this year ranks as the fourth longest without snow, just behind a 224-day record set in 1889.
Sitting on the downslope of the Rocky Mountains at 5,500 feet above sea level, dry weather isn’t exactly abnormal for Denver. This is partially because during the winter months, weather systems, which generally form west to east, precipitate higher up in the mountains. As the system moves down the mountains toward the city, much of the leftover moisture evaporates.
Additionally this year’s Pacific jet stream, a high altitude wind current that can affect weather, is following a La Nina pattern, which could also be contributing to the region’s lack of snow and precipitation.
But the West has also seen the effects of climate change over the years as weather has gotten drier and winters have shortened.
The underwhelming snow figures come amid an ongoing drought in the western United States, where about 49% of the region is under extreme or exceptional drought conditions, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
In Colorado, 40% of the state is in a severe drought, and Denver has received between zero and 25% of its normal precipitation in the last 30 days, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System.
These conditions have led to increased fire danger in Boulder, where county authorities ordered stage one fire restrictions to be put into effect on Tuesday over the lack of moisture and above-average seasonal temperatures.
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office added in a press release that “moderate to severe drought conditions” and low resource availability could impact the ability to obtain “vital suppression resources” if a fire were to erupt.
The abnormally warm and dry weather has also begun to impact the famous Colorado ski season, which typically starts in the late fall.
One hundred fifty miles northwest of Denver, the Steamboat Springs Ski Resort has also seen less than average snowfalls. Crews were forced to generate more than 20 acres of snow across five trails using artificial snow blowers after the mountain initially delayed its season’s opening by one week, citing an “unseasonably warm” fall and little snow.
“Normally this time of year we’ve had more than 20 inches of snowfall, a 10-20-inch mid-mountain base and 200 hours of snowmaking under our belt,” Dan Hunter, vice president of resort operations, said in a statement. “This year we haven’t been able to capitalize on extended snowmaking temperatures and windows.”
Loryn Duke, director of communications for Steamboat Springs Ski Resort, noted that snowmakers this season have now logged just over 100 hours of snow production, with the resort now open to skiers. Duke said that the mountain would have been well on its way to 300 hours of production in past seasons by this point, with mild temperatures this year hampering snow generation efforts.
“Even though temperatures will continue to be on the warm side (for Steamboat and Colorado),” Duke said, “our crews will continue to work around the clock taking advantage of conditions prime for snowmaking and opening new terrain and lifts as soon as possible.”
(NEW YORK) — In a rare move, the National Labor Relations Board has ordered a union election do-over for Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama.
A date has not yet been determined for the second vote, but the looming new union election comes as the labor movement has gained new steam in recent months, propelled by unique market conditions and increased workplace activism seen in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the initial election in April, Amazon warehouse workers overwhelmingly voted against forming a union at the Bessemer warehouse despite high-profile support for unionization at the time from lawmakers and even President Joe Biden.
The order for a new election stands unless Amazon files a request for review with the NLRB, which the board could reject (allowing the second union election to proceed) or grant (which would reverse the order for a second election). It also has not yet been determined whether the do-over vote will be in-person or by mail.
The re-run decision comes after the objections to the initial vote last April that were filed by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which sought to represent the workers.
At the core of the union’s objections was Amazon’s installation of a Postal Service box outside the warehouse, which they said was aimed to make voting easier and improve turnout, but the union argued gave the impression that Amazon oversaw the election.
“The Employer’s flagrant disregard for the Board’s typical mail-ballot procedure compromised the authority of the Board and made a free and fair election impossible,” NLRB Regional Director Lisa Henderson wrote in her decision calling for a second election.
“By installing a postal mailbox at the main employee entrance, the Employer essentially hijacked the process and gave a strong impression that it controlled the process,” Henderson added. “This dangerous and improper message to employees destroys trust in the Board’s processes and in the credibility of the election results.”
Stuart Appelbaum, president of the RWDSU, welcomed the board’s decision in a statement, saying it “confirms what we were saying all along — that Amazon’s intimidation and interference prevented workers from having a fair say in whether they wanted a union in their workplace.”
“Amazon workers deserve to have a voice at work, which can only come from a union,” he added.
Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokesperson, called the decision “disappointing” in a statement, adding that the company believes in the benefits of direct relationships with employees without a union in the middle.
“Our employees have always had the choice of whether or not to join a union, and they overwhelmingly chose not to join the RWDSU earlier this year. It’s disappointing that the NLRB has now decided that those votes shouldn’t count,” Nantel said. “As a company, we don’t think unions are the best answer for our employees. Every day we empower people to find ways to improve their jobs, and when they do that we want to make those changes — quickly.”
“That type of continuous improvement is harder to do quickly and nimbly with unions in the middle. The benefits of direct relationships between managers and employees can’t be overstated — these relationships allow every employee’s voice to be heard, not just the voices of a select few,” Nantel added. “While we’ve made great progress in important areas like pay and safety, we know there are plenty of things that we can keep doing better, both in our fulfillment centers and in our corporate offices, and that’s our focus — to work directly with our employees to keep getting better every day.”
Union membership has dwindled in recent decades, falling to 10.8% in 2020 among salaried and wage-earning workers in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 1983, the first year the BLS collected this data, that figure was 20.1%.
Despite the slumping figures, approval for labor unions in the U.S. is at its highest level since 1965, according to Gallup data. Some 68% of Americans approve of labor unions in 2021, the highest recorded by Gallup since a 71% mark in 1965.
Some labor economists have attributed this gap between support for unions and union membership rates to increased employer resistance to unionization and outdated labor laws that make it difficult to organize in the workplace.
Selena Gomez let fans know she doesn’t enjoy it when people preach to her — especially when it’s about a very personal topic, like kidney transplants.
To sum up what happened, Selena on Tuesday shared a reaction video, known as a duet, to some drinking facts from Dr. Dawn Bantel, who states, “The CDC defines heavy drinking as 15 or more drinks a week for men… And 8 or more drinks per week for women.”
Selena cringed at the last line and appeared guilty, but it was all in good fun and she even captioned the duet, “It’s a joke.”
But a TikTok user failed to understand that the “Lose You to Love Me” singer was making fun at her own expense and attempted to shame Selena in the comment section. “So one of your best friends gives you her kidney and you continue to drink excessively,” they lambasted. “D*** Selena.”
Selena wasn’t amused by their knee-jerk reaction. Neither were some of her fans who tried to intervene, but Selena personally let them know their outrage was unwelcome.
“It was a joke a**,” she reiterated and, shortly after, the offended party deleted their comment.
Selena revealed in 2017 that she’d needed a kidney transplant as a result of her struggle with the autoimmune disease lupus. Her friend, Francia Raisa, donated her kidney and the two posed for a side-by-side photo following the surgery.
This isn’t the first time Selena, who reportedly stopped consuming alcohol in 2019 because of her condition, joked about drinking. She previously joked on TikTok that she drinks six days a week.
Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Harry Styles just earned his “beauty mogul” title after launching his new company, Pleasing, but it appears he’s added yet another feather in his cap — that of NFT maker.
VOGUE has the scoop. Last year, Harry turned heads when he wore a colorful patchwork JW Anderson cardigan and, since then, the outfit has become somewhat of a TikTok meme. Influencers who had a pair of knitting needles handy tried recreating it and sparked the #harrystylescardigan challenge over the summer.
So, what happened to Harry’s eye-catching cardigan? The Victoria and Albert Museum in London acquired the green, orange, yellow and red patchwork piece in 2020, where it remains on display today. But the sweater has gained new life in the form of an NFT.
Xydrobe, an NFT auction platform that focuses on virtual fashion, partnered with JW Anderson to digitize that $1,890 sweater — a process that took over 300 hours.
The lucky winner of the auction won’t be able to physically wear the cardigan, unfortunately, but they will be able to slip it on in the virtual world.
The auction starts Sunday, December 12 and will run for 48 hours on Xydrobe’s official website.
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, allow buyers to exercise sole ownership over a unique piece of digital media, such as individual songs, videos and images … and, now, cardigans.
