Kenny 'Babyface' Edmonds and Teddy Riley return for Instagram Live rematch after mishaps
Without further ado: Kenny "Babyface” Edmonds and Teddy Riley's Instagram Live battle.
After the R&B producers' first attempt at their much-hyped battle was derailed by audio issues over the weekend, Edmonds and Riley didn't miss a beat during their rematch Monday.
More than 500,000 people tuned in to watch the legendary producers' head-to-head battle of their extensive discographies, including the hits "My, My, My" by Johnny Gill (produced by Babyface) and Guy's "Let's Chill" (produced by Riley).
Despite the friendly competition, the producers were complimentary of one another.
"You are the king. You brought New Jack Swing to us all. You brought a movement," Edmonds told Riley, who is credited with the creation of the fusion genre in the ’80s and ’90s. "I'm honored to be in here with you, man."
"You inspired me," Riley replied. Edmonds said they "keep each other on our toes."
Instagram Live battle between Babyface, Teddy Riley postponed after sound, technical issues
The scales appeared to lean in Edmonds' favor when he performed a live acoustic version of "When Can I See You Again" on his guitar.
"Kenny brought out the guitar...oh I love it," tweeted Toni Braxton, whose hit songs "Another Sad Long Song" and "You're Making Me High" (both produced by Edmonds) appeared in the hits lineup.
But everyone collectively agreed that viewers were the ultimate winners, after the two music producers brought hundreds of thousands of fans together with music while social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"Congrats to both! So much talent! This elevated my mood! Love to @KennyEdmonds and @TeddyRiley1 y’all were groovin,'" Braxton added.
"We all won tonight witnessing @KennyEdmonds and @TeddyRiley1 go back and forth with pure greatness," Bruno Mars tweeted.
Riley and Edmonds first battled it out on Saturday, but sound and technical issues plagued the friendly bout. Riley appeared to prepare more for a concert, with a set-up that led to echoing and playback.
After about an hour of troubleshooting, the duo agreed to try again another time.
Monday's battle wasn't free from technical difficulties, either. Riley's screen appeared to freeze several times before his connection was lost. Riley and Edmonds finished the battle separately on their own Instagram feeds.
"Everybody, please stay safe," Edmonds said as he signed off. "Social distancing is important and we will catch you guys another time. Love you, take care everybody."
Earlier this month, Edmonds revealed that he and his family were diagnosed with COVID-19 and are recovering.
"I’m happy to report we have now tested negative and are on our way back to full health," he wrote on April 10, his 62nd birthday.
usatoday
Maine CDC reports 13 additional coronavirus cases, 1 death
Dr. Nirav Shah of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to review the numbers at his daily briefing at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
State health officials reported 13 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday as well as one additional death in Maine.
To date, 888 people statewide have tested positive for the COVID-19 disease caused by the coronavirus, although health officials acknowledge the number of individuals who have contracted the virus is much higher. At least 36 individuals have died from the disease, according to the latest figures from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The number of active coronavirus cases in Maine — calculated by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the case total — decreased by 17 and stood at 409 on Tuesday. Monday was the first day since March 20 that the number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases was held to the single digits.
The Maine CDC reported that 443 people have recovered from the COVID-19 and have been released from isolation. It’s the first time the number of people who have recovered is higher than the number of active cases.
Forty people were hospitalized from the illness as of Tuesday, with 16 of those patients being cared for in intensive care units. Among those patients, eight were hooked up to ventilators to assist their breathing after suffering respiratory failure.
Maine hospitals had a total of 317 intensive care beds on Tuesday, of which 149 were available, and a total of 336 ventilators, of which 281 were available. The state also has 369 alternative ventilators, according to the CDC.
Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine CDC, is scheduled to hold his daily briefing on the coronavirus situation at 2 p.m.
There is an ongoing debate in Maine and across the country about when governors will be able to lift the stay-at-home orders and other restrictions on individuals and businesses in order to begin “reopening” the economy. A key part of that equation, public health officials say, will be ramping up states’ testing capacity to better document infection rates.
Yet there appears to be a disconnect between governors and the White House — and particularly with President Trump — over the role the federal government should play in ramping up testing and states’ current capacity to conduct those tests.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ office said late Monday that an email from the White House providing a state-by-state breakdown of states’ testing capacity “does not appear to be accurate and is not representative of testing capacity within Maine – a concern shared by several other Governors with respect to their states.”
“This inaccurate document aside, what Maine needs most right is support from the Federal government to expand testing in a significant and meaningful way, including delivery of additional testing supplies,” Mills spokeswoman Lindsay Crete said in a statement. “In the meantime, the state will continue do its best to work with the Federal government and private vendors to obtain needed testing materials.”
Cumberland County remains the hotspot for COVID-19 in Maine, with 386 confirmed cases and 17 deaths, followed by York County with 186 cases and six deaths. The two counties added eight new confirmed cases between Monday and Tuesday but 17 people were added to the recovered list in Cumberland and York counties.
Meanwhile, Waldo County held steady with 43 total cases, eight deaths and five recoveries. The Tall Pines nursing home in Belfast has been the hardest-hit congregate care facility in the state, reporting eight deaths among the 38 confirmed cases there.
Maine has, to date, experienced lower infection and death rates per capita than many other states, according to COVID-19 tracking and analysis by The New York Times. But Maine is also believed to be behind most other northeastern states along the “curve” of the disease, which has an incubation period of up to 14 days.
As of Monday, Maine had a confirmed infection rate of 65 people for every 100,000 residents, placing the state in the bottom fifth nationally. The rate in New York, by comparison, was 1,272 cases among every 100,000 people while Massachusetts stood at 575 cases for every 100,000 residents, according to the newspaper’s tracking system.
Maine and New Hampshire have had three deaths per 100,000 people compared to 37 deaths per 100,000 Connecticut residents and 26 deaths for every 100,000 residents of Massachusetts.
pressherald
Here's How to Do the Bill Clinton Album Challenge on Instagram
Chances are good that at some point during the 45 times today you scrolled through Instagram, you've seen a few of your friends sharing a photo of Bill Clinton sitting criss-cross-applesauce on the floor with headphones on, holding their favorite album.
While it's certainly possible everyone went out and got really good at Photoshop, it's most likely they're using Bill Clinton Swag, an app that allows you to customize the photo with any album art you like and post your own "Bill Clinton Album Challenge" meme. Here's how to play:
Here's how to play the Bill Clinton album challenge:
There is a whole Instagram account dedicated to Bill Clinton holding your favorite album, appropriately named @bill_holding_your_fav_albums/. The account's bio also has a link to Bill Clinton Swag where, with a couple clicks, you can generate a custom image with whatever album artwork you like.
You just click on each blank spot of the template where a record album is, then use the search function to find the artwork you like. You can choose five different albums or you could just use the same one five times, which plenty of people have done to comedic effect.
Once you've got the albums you like, click the "Generate Swag" button. A downloadable image without a "preview" watermark will appear, and you can simply right-click and select "Save Image
Fair warning, though: demand on the site has been pretty high since the rise in popularity of this meme. You may need to try a few times to generate.
I've been on a Fiona Apple kick the past few days, so I made this one as an example.
If you really love your creation, you can even get it printed on a T-shirt. While some people are putting their favorite albums in the image, some are just trying to pick records it's hilarious to imagine the 42nd president of the United States listening to.
It's probably not a coincidence the Bill Clinton album meme trended on 4/20.
Bill Clinton certainly isn't the only president in history to have smoked marijuana nor is he the only one to admit to it, but he is the only one to claim he didn't inhale. It's such an iconic quote, the 4/20 memes basically write themselves. After all, whether or not Bill ever got high, it's hard to look at this photo of a guy in his 40s listening to records on the floor and not imagine he's baked out of his mind.
Some people make the inference even more obvious by doing some photoshop work outside of the Bill Clinton Swag Generator to give the former president a doob.
The possibilities are truly endless. Always wanted to see a Rhodes scholar enjoying the masterpiece that is The Spice Girls' self-titled debut with Aqua of "Barbie Girl" fame and The Vengaboys on deck? We got you.
And some people went nostalgic, not showcasing their favorites now but rather the music that moved them back in the day, you know, when you had to buy a physical copy of a record and people were more prone to actually listen to a full-length album and not just singles.
distractify
Chargers unveil new uniforms: Six styles, throwback helmets, plenty of bolts
The Chargers will play in the 2020 season with numbers on their helmets and sleeker lightning bolts all over the place.
The team unveiled its new uniforms Tuesday morning, with the immediate reaction on social media being quite positive.
“What was widely considered the best uniform in the NFL has been updated to include 60 years of Chargers history and make way for a new era of Chargers Football,” read a news release.
The numbers on the helmets are a throwback to the franchise’s early days in the 1960s. Lightning bolts can be found on the helmets, shoulders and down the pant legs.
“Bigger bolts and updated fonts souped up to be sleeker, sharper, more visually refined,” the team said in its announcement. “Rebalanced to symbolize speed, power, constant forward motion.”
Along with the dominant colors of powder blue and gold, the Chargers also unveiled “color rush” uniforms in royal blue and navy.
“We definitely have the sickest uniforms by far,” kicker Michael Badgley said in the team’s release.
There are six uniform sets in all.
“Whoever came up with it, you get two thumbs up from me,” cornerback Casey Hayward said.
And from receiver Mike Williams, “New stadium, new look. I rock with it.”
The Chargers are scheduled to move into SoFi Stadium for the 2020 season.
latimes.
Val Kilmer opens up in interview, new memoir after bout with throat cancer
he actor is set to co-star in "Top Gun II" and on Tuesday was interviewed by "Good Morning America's" Chris Connelly.
Kilmer's speaking voice is now much different because of a bout with throat cancer.
"I feel a lot better than I sound, but I feel wonderful," the 60-year-old said. "I was diagnosed with throat cancer which healed very quickly. This is a tracheotomy to help me breathe because the glands in my throat swelled up as well."
Kilmer went public with his cancer diagnosis in 2017 after initially denying reports he was ill.
His new memoir, titled "I'm Your Huckleberry" -- a famous line of his from the 1993 film "Tombstone" -- traces his career, including memorable roles playing legendary singer Jim Morrison in the big screen biopic about The Doors frontman.
Kilmer also shares in his book about his past romances, including with Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Cindy Crawford.
"You have to be committed with a woman that's as dynamic and as committed to their work as someone like Cindy Crawford, who was the number one model on the planet at the time," he said.
In 2017, Kilmer advocated to reprise his famous role as Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in the "Top Gun" sequel when the project was announced.
"Friends said it's official - #TOPGUN2 was announced today," Kilmer wrote in the caption of a photo he posted on Instagram showing him wearing a T-shirt with a drawing of his Iceman character on it. "I'm ready Tom- still got my top gun plaque! Still got the moves! Still got it!"
edition.cnn.
The Lyrid meteor shower of 2020 peaks tonight!
You may not be able to see the moon in the sky tonight, but if you look up for long enough at a dark, clear sky, you may catch some "shooting stars."
The annual Lyrid meteor shower peaks overnight tonight (April 21) and into the early hours of Wednesday (April 22), less than a day before the new moon. Without any glaring moonlight to obstruct the view, skywatchers will have an excellent view of the Lyrids this year — weather permitting.
From a dark, clear sky, observers in the Northern Hemisphere can expect to see as many as 10 to 20 meteors per hour during the shower's peak. Because the shower is active from mid- to late April, some Lyrid meteors may still appear before and after the peak, but tonight will be your best chance to see them.
The shower's peak will last for a few hours, but maximum activity is expected to occur around 2 a.m. EDT (0600 GMT) on Wednesday, according to the Observer's Handbook of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. That's about 20 hours before the moon reaches its new phase at 10:26 a.m. EDT (0226 GMT). That tiny sliver of a nearly-new moon still won't be visible in the night sky, because the moon will be below the horizon. In New York City, for example, the moon sets at 6:23 p.m. local time tonight and rises again at 5:50 a.m. tomorrow.
To spot the Lyrids, find a dark sky away from light pollution and look up — ideally while lying on your back, so you don't strain your neck. Lyrid meteors will appear to originate from a point in the sky on the border between the constellations Hercules and Lyra (home of the bright star Vega). This apparent point of origin, known as the meteor shower's radiant, will be in the northeast after sunset and almost directly overhead in the hours before dawn.
The radiant, or point of origin, of the Lyrid meteor shower is in the constellation Hercules, near the border with the Lyra constellation.
The radiant, or point of origin, of the Lyrid meteor shower is in the constellation Hercules, near the border with the Lyra constellation. (Image credit: SkySafari App)
Once you've located the radiant, don't just stare at that spot all night. Longer streaks tend to appear farther from the shower's radiant, so you might miss the best meteors if your eyes are glued on that singular spot all night (also, focusing on a single point in the dark for so long might strain your eyes).
So, since lying down on the ground is both more comfortable and will give you the best view of the entire sky, we suggest you kick back and relax to make the most of this brilliant, cosmic event.
space.
Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer's BFF challenge gets comically awkward
Are they real friends or just "Hollywood friends"?
Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer have known each other for 20 years, or so they say. You might have never known that if you just saw them play a "BFF Showdown" game on The Tonight Show.
Jimmy Fallon wanted to test the actresses to see who knew who better. Little did we know the whole segment was meant as a gag and not some terribly awkward situation gone even more wrong.
McCarthy botched the first question: "Where did Octavia go to college?" First, she said Spencer didn't go to school, but then changed it to Ft. Lauderdale University when her bestie said she absolutely did go to school. That, too, was the wrong answer.
It became more clear that this was all for laughs when Spencer then didn't know if McCarthy was married. "What do you mean? Ben!" McCarthy exclaimed of her husband, Ben Falcone. "He's not my cousin."
Fallon tried to keep things afloat but failed horribly when McCarthy and Spencer claimed to not be real friends, just "Hollywood friends." "When the camera stops, we stop," Spencer joked.
Watch EW's new daily series, Last Night's Late Night, every morning on Quibi.
Related content:
Melissa McCarthy battles Kelly Clarkson in Gilmore Girls trivia with embarrassing results
Octavia Spencer explains how Netflix's Self-Made hit close to home
Millie Bobby Brown sings Dua Lipa, 'Despacito' for Fallon's Whisper Challenge
ew
Enjoy This Powerfully Erotic Video of Stanley Tucci
here’s something about preparing some really basic drink for the object of one’s affections that’s irresistibly sexy. I appreciate a task done well, and if it’s easy in the first place, that helps ensure it will be carried off confidently, with a certain flair. Stanley Tucci teaching us all how to make a Negroni is the perfect avatar for this sort of behavior because he takes full control of the situation while wearing a shirt that is honestly pretty tight.
In the video, which was posted to Instagram on Monday, Tucci tells his wife, Felicity Blunt, who’s filming, that he prefers his Negroni shaken and with gin rather than vodka. I enjoy that he doesn’t shy away from talking about his dirty cocktail glasses and oranges that come from Florida presliced. These are the sort of quirky details that make a drinks tutorial intimate. I almost forget how much I hate Negronis.
As you can see, I’m enthusiastic about this video and also about Stanley Tucci … but maybe not to the extent that Chris Evans is. The actor chimed in on Twitter to say that Tucci used to make martinis for the cast in his trailer when they worked together on Captain America. So clearly, it’s a move of his, and it’s working. “However cool, fun, witty, and charming you think he is,” Evans gushed, “double it and you’re halfway there.”
I think I know what Evans is feeling. It’s the same thing I feel when a man remembers to put the giant ice cube in the tumbler before pouring whiskey over it to avoid any light splashing. Absurdly, obviously under his spell.
thecut
AOC deletes tweet celebrating oil crash, record low interest rates
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez deleted a tweet that appeared to celebrate oil prices plummeting as a result of the economic downfall caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“You absolutely love to see it,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) wrote Monday night on Twitter before deleting the post. “This along with record low interest rates means it’s the right time for a worker-led, mass investment in green infrastructure to save our planet. *cough*”
The progressive darling was referring to oil prices plunging more than $10 a barrel into negative territory, the first time in history.
As a result, the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled as much as 507.44 points, or about 2.1 percent, at the open after posting gains for two consecutive weeks.
After facing some criticism for the tweet, she took it down and sent out another post.
“This snapshot is being acknowledged as a turning point in the climate movement,” she wrote in her revised post. “Fossil fuels are in long-term structural decline. This along w/ low interest rates means it‘s the right time to create millions of jobs transitioning to renewable and clean energy. A key opportunity.”
Her new tweet was also a response to Twitter user @muckrakery, who had posted, “Oil prices now at ‘negative values,’ meaning oil producers have to pay people to take it off their hands and store it because when demand plunges (like now), that is less expensive for them than building more storage and/or shutting wells down.”
Enlarge ImageAOC's now-deleted tweet
AOC’s now-deleted tweet
On Tuesday, President Trump proposed establishing a relief fund for the oil and gas industry as a result of the economic plunge.
“We will never let the great U.S. Oil & Gas Industry down. I have instructed the Secretary of Energy and Secretary of the Treasury to formulate a plan which will make funds available so that these very important companies and jobs will be secured long into the future!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
nypost.
Yannick Ngakoue’s antics hurt the Jaguars and help the Seahawks
After months of Yannick Ngakoue and the Jaguars being at odds, it appears to have reached a boiling point. The Seahawks should cash in on this opportunity.
Yannick Ngakoue and the Jaguars have been at odds for months now. This seemed to have peaked on Monday during an argument on social media between Ngakoue and co-owner Tony Kahn. Keep your eye out for Ngakoue’s trade value to drop and the Seahawks to be in hot pursuit.
After being franchise-tagged, Yannick Ngakoue formally requested a trade. While the Seahawks were one of the teams to call in asking for the Jaguars trade demands, the price was simply too steep. In fact, it appears the asking price was too steep for just about every team in the NFL. A report dropped on Monday that not a single team has placed a formal offer in for the star defensive end due to the price tag the Jaguars have put on him.
This is where things got ugly. When Yannick Ngakoue read the report, he lashed out at co-owner Tony Kahn. The two biggest takeaways would be that Ngakoue and the team reportedly agreed that his last game in Jacksonville had already occurred. The other is that Ngakoue’s trade value just plummeted to record lows.
There is no denying the vast amount of talent that he possesses. He made it to the Pro-Bowl in just his second year in the NFL. Over the first four years in the league, he has amassed at least 8 sacks each season, including 12 in 2017. When you watch Ngakoue play, he has an excellent feel for the game. He attacks the offensive line like a chess game. He anticipates the opponent’s attack and counters it. His sky-high football IQ, excellent hand placement and precise footwork help make him one of the top defensive lineman in the NFL.
His work ethic and body of production is precisely why Jacksonville was trying to cash in on his exit. However, the process appeared to be much slower than Ngakoue was anticipating. After Monday’s melee on social media, Jacksonville will likely need to take what they can get in a trade. At this point, that is far less than their original asking price (likely a first and second-round pick).
This trade would allow Jacksonville an opportunity to start anew and still accrue a 2nd round pick. While this may be a disappointment to Jaguar fans, there will still be a plethora of vastly talented offensive tackles, running backs and wide receivers on the board in that range. This would help them continue to rebuild without the distractions and cap restraint of holding the star defensive end against his will.
For Seattle, this helps bring another bonafide star to the Pacific Northwest. Seattle would bring a player that is guaranteed to generate pressure on the quarterback for pick #59 instead of gambling on an edge in a questionable defensive end draft class. Now that the trade has occurred, an extension will need to be in place to help Seattle take on his cap hit.
What a contract extension could look like:
Terms: 3 years, $54 million
Avg: $18 million
Cap hits by year:
2020: $11 million
2021: $20 million
2022: $23 million
The contract comes a little lower than I originally had him in at. I believe the spat will cause more damage than just to his trade evaluation. First, Seattle will likely be unwilling to breach into 4-5 year contract range. This is simply to protect the team in case he becomes cancerous to the locker room (which I believe is unlikely).
Second, the team can point back that he wanted to get out so bad that he got into a spat on social media with the co-owner of the team. He specifically mentioned that his wanting to leave was not because of the money, but because of how his situation was handled. Seattle is one of the best-run organizations in the NFL. It is time to put his money where his mouth is.
Seattle was willing to offer Clowney a 3-4-year deal at $18.5 million. There is no reason to think they would not offer a similar deal to a younger, hungrier and less injury-prone star defensive end. Seattle ends upbringing in the star power that Russell Wilson publicly asked for and they do it without jeopardizing their draft capital. Let 12s call this a win-win-win.
12thmanrising
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