Drake appeared on Diddy's Instagram live dance-a-thon fundraiser to discuss his new album, Sunday night.
"I'm working on the album, I've been working on it for a while now," Drake tells Diddy.
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"Another silver lining is, when God does get you to sit down, I remember the last time I had to sit down was when I tore my ACL. And I made a great album out of that. Obviously God has us all inside the house right now sitting down, so the amount of focus I'm able to put into this album is probably way different than it would've been if I had to go through the residency in Vegas and be able to go meet up with Justin in Miami or whatever.
"Saying all that to say that, definitely, this is the most excited I've been about an album in a long time," he said. "A lot of little stuff has been trickling out but all the stuff on the album is fresh, it's brand new. I'm excited. This is probably the most music I've ever been sitting on. I'm hyped."
Drake recently went live with Joe Budden as well and hinted at a new album that will be arriving soon. He told Budden the two would do an interview when the music was ready to drop.
Lebron James, Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodrigez and more stopped in Diddy's Instagram live event as well.
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Diddy Hangs With Jennifer Lopez, Lebron James & More On IG Live
Diddy is hanging out with a bunch of celebs on IG live to raise money for healthcare workers.
Diddy is raising money for healthcare workers by hosting a dance-a-thon on Instagram live, featuring appearances from a number of celebrities.
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"We are having the WORLD’S BIGGEST DANCE-A-THON and YOU ARE ALL INVITED!!!! We are raising much-needed money for our healthcare workers in the underserved communities around the country!" Diddy said in an announcement on Instagram.
"So let’s ALL DANCE TOGETHER and raise money for our healthcare workers to let them know how much we appreciate them!"
One notable celeb who came through was Jennifer Lopez. The two dated 1999 to 2001. Lopez's current fiancé, Alex Rodriguez, also made an appearance and was exposed as a huge fan of Diddy's: "Puffy, you have to know this because I don't think you know this — this guy right here is your biggest fan. You and Mase like are his heroes, okay?" Lopez of her fiancé. "It's like every party we do, anything we do, it's like 'Put on Puffy and Mase.'"
LeBron James and his kids, Megan Thee Stallion, DJ Khaled, and more also came through. Check out some highlights in the Twitter clips below:
Tom Hanks Hosts "SNL’s" COVID-19 Episode As "America’s Dad"
Tom Hanks hosted last night's virtual episode of "Saturday Night Live."
Despite not having access to the studio, Saturday Night Live still aired last night, it just did it in a non-traditional manner from home. Tom Hanks appeared from the kitchen to perform the opening monologue, where he commented on his COVID-19 diagnosis.
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"Why me as host?" he begins. "Well, for one, I have been the celebrity canary in the coal mine for the coronavirus."
Hanks was diagnosed in March with COVID-19 while in Australia.
"Ever since being diagnosed I have been more like America's dad than ever before since no one wants to be around me very long and I make people uncomfortable," Hanks says.
"It's good to be here, but it's also weird to be here hosting 'Saturday Night Live' from home," he says. "It is a strange time to try and be funny, but trying to be funny is 'SNL's' whole thing, so what the heck, let's give it a shot."
He goes on to crack jokes about social distancing, Australian accents and more.
The entire episode features a handful of guest appearances including Larry David, Fred Armisen, Alec Baldwin and more. Pete Davidson even does a parody of Drake's "Toosie Slide," which you can check out here.
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Pope Francis Promotes Universal Basic Income In Easter Letter
Pope Francis advocates for universal basic income in his new Easter letter.
Pope Francis is advocating for universal basic income.
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During the coronavirus pandemic, the Pope has sent out an Easter letter to various social movements and organizations around the world. Within, the Pope explains why UBI may be the right decision: “This may be the time to consider a universal basic wage which would acknowledge and dignify the noble, essential tasks you carry out,” he says. “It would ensure and concretely achieve the ideal, at once so human and so Christian, of no worker without rights.”
“Street vendors, recyclers, carnies, small farmers, construction workers, dressmakers, the different kinds of caregivers: you who are informal, working on your own or in the grassroots economy, you have no steady income to get you through this hard time … and the lockdowns are becoming unbearable,” he wrote.
The United States is giving out $1,200 checks as part of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package; however, this is currently a one-time payment. The Internal Revenue Service reported that the first wave of checks was sent out Saturday.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, former U.S. Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang ran his campaign on a platform that heavily emphasized the importance of a universal basic income.
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Rudy Gobert Says He’s Back On Good Terms With Donovan Mitchell
Rudy Gobert says he is back on good terms with Donovan Mitchell after COVID-19 diagnosis.
Any beef between Utah Jazz teammates Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell has been squashed, Gobert said Sunday.
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Gobert, who was the first NBA player to test positive for COVID-19, was criticized for downplaying the virus and putting his teammates at risk. Soon after, Mitchell tested positive and the two players have reportedly been at odds since.
“It’s true that we didn’t speak for a while, but we spoke a couple days ago,” Gobert said. “We’re ready to win a championship. Relationships are never perfect,” Gobert said on Instagram live, Sunday. “But at the end of the day, we both want to win. We’re grown men, and we want to win.”
“There’s no fight,” Gobert added. “It’s all about thousands of people are dying every day, and it’s all about what we can do to help, what we can do to bring some positive. That’s what my focus is on now.”
Mitchell spoke about the situation in March on ABC’s Good Morning America: “To be honest with you, it took a while for me to kind of cool off and I read what he said and heard what he said,” Mitchell said. “I’m glad he’s doing okay, I’m glad I’m well. I’m just really happy, to be honest, Robin, that it wasn’t the whole [team].”
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NBA Players Will Need 30 Day Training Period Before Season Resumes: Report
NBA general managers and trainers will reportedly need a 30-day training period for players to get back in shape before games can begin.
There is reported concern rising among NBA general managers and athletic training staffers regarding the shape of the league’s players whenever the schedule does resume. Some sources have told ESPN that even when the league is ready to start again, they will need at least a 30-day training period.
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“But I need these guys pushing their bodies for at least 30 days prior to the first meaningful basketball game,” one general manager told ESPN’s Baxter Holmes. “And by meaningful basketball game, I mean a postseason game.”
“You’ll have [players] from one extreme to the other,” said an athletic training staff official. “So you’ve sort of just got to go with the mindset, ‘No one’s been training how they should be [and] everyone’s very out of shape.'”
Milwaukee Bucks Forward Khris Middleton explained how he’s been handling the time off during a phone call with reporters:
Since the practice facility is closed down, I don’t have any access to a basketball goal unless I go to one of my neighbors’ house to shoot outside. It’s really no basketball for me. Like Giannis [Antetokounmpo] said, it’s the treadmill, the jump rope, some weights and that’s it. I have a couple of basketballs I can just dribble in my house or outside, but no actual goal to go shoot on.
As of Sunday, there is no set return date for the NBA season.
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James Gunn Says "Guardians Vol. 3" & "The Suicide Squad" Will Not Be Delayed
James Gunn remains optimistic that "The Suicide Squad" and "The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" will both release on schedule.
James Gunn, director of both The Suicide Squad and The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, revealed on Twitter, Sunday, that neither film should be affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
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"Right now there’s no reason for #TheSuicideSquad release date to move. We are on or ahead of schedule. We were extremely fortunate to wrap shooting & set up editing from our homes (due to a post-production team & studio with foresight) before quarantine," Gunn said on Twitter.
He later added that the plans for The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 are the same: "Right now the plans with Vol 3 are also exactly the same as they were before coronavirus."
The Suicide Squad is scheduled to hit theaters on Aug. 6, 2021, and The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 does not currently have an official release date.
If Guardians were to be pushed, it would be far from the first film to suffer that fate. Black Widow, The Eternals, and Shang-Chi all had their release dates moved back.
Marvel films aren't the only movies affect either. The newest James Bond film, No Time to Die, as been delayed until November, A Quiet Place Part II is now set to release in September, Mulan has been moved to July, and more.
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Sturgill Simpson Tests Positive For COVID-19
Sturgill Simpson is the latest musician to test positive for the coronavirus.
Renown singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson has tested positive for COVID-19, as confirmed by a post on his Instagram.
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Simpson explains that he began experiencing symptoms weeks ago, but was refused a test until April 6. He cited “chest pains, fever, and pre-stroke blood pressure levels.” The long caption is accompanied by a picture taken of Simpson when he first went to the hospital on March 13.
“I spent an hour listening to a (highly condescending) Doctor refuse to test me because I ‘did not fit testing criteria’ and tell me why it was impossible that I had contracted the virus due to its extreme rarity and that it was not in western Europe yet during that same period (which we now know is incorrect) even though I was told by two nurses that I was the first person their hospital had walk-in requesting to be tested,” Simpson explains.
Simpson ends the post saying, “But hey, at least our Government-appointed task force headed by a man who does not believe in science is against mass testing and we now have a second task force in the works to ‘open America back up for business!’ Dick Daddy out.”
Simpson was touring when the coronavirus outbreak began.
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Mayor Bill De Blasio Beefs With Gov. Cuomo Over Closing NYC Schools
New York City’s mayor and the state’s governor are at odds over closing schools for the remainder of the academic year.
New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio announced, this week, that NYC schools would be closed for the remainder of the academic year, an announcement that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo contradicts.
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“Having to tell you that we cannot bring our schools back for the remainder of this school year is painful, but I can also tell you it is the right thing to do,” De Blasio said in a press conference, Saturday.
Just hours later, Cuomo expressed a different idea: “There has been no decision on schools,” Cuomo said, calling De Blasio’s comments mere “opinion.” “He didn’t close them, and he can’t open them,” he continued in a press conference upstate.
Saturday evening, De Blasio appeared on MSNBC to clarify the situation: “I’ll always work with the state of New York, I’ll always work with the governor,” De Blasio said, before explaining that his responsibility is to the students, not another elected official. “I have to do what I think is right to stop the coronavirus from holding the city in its grip to make sure we get out of this horrible moment in our city’s history and move forward.”
Cuomo has yet to respond to De Blasio’s latest comments.
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WWE Confirms Employee Tested Positive For COVID-19
A WWE employee has tested positive for the coronavirus, the company confirmed, Saturday.
WWE has confirmed that one of its on-air employees has tested positive for COVID-19.
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In a statement provided to Pro Wrestling Sheet, the company explains that the employee had no contact with anyone else from WWE after contracting the virus:
A WWE employee has tested positive for COVID-19. We believe this matter is low risk to WWE talent and staff, as the individual and a roommate became symptomatic in the days following exposure to two people working in acute health care on the evening of March 26, after WWE’s TV production on a closed set was already complete. The employee had no contact with anyone from WWE since being exposed to those two individuals, is doing well, and made a complete recovery.
WWE will resume recording live events, starting next week. The company explained in a statement sent to ESPN that “only essential personnel” will be present:
We believe it is now more important than ever to provide people with a diversion from these hard times,” the statement said. “We are producing content on a closed set with only essential personnel in attendance following appropriate guidelines while taking additional precautions to ensure the health and wellness of our performers and staff. As a brand that has been woven into the fabric of society, WWE and its Superstars bring families together and deliver a sense of hope, determination and perseverance.
The WWE has been prerecording shows amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
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