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After her $523M horror film breakout, Inde Navarrette wants in on Taylor Sheridan's next project
Hollywood's newest rising star Inde Navarrette wants to take her talents to the Taylor Sheridan universe.
Navarrette's profile absolutely exploded in the entertainment industry after she starred in the recent horror film "Obsession."
The film earned more than $523 million globally, and it was a refreshing reminder that original ideas are what audiences want to spend their hard-earned money on.
With her profile growing at a monumental rate, Navarrette would like to link up with the most powerful man in entertainment:
Taylor Sheridan.
Taylor Sheridan is writing the script for an upcoming "Call of Duty" film being directed by Peter Berg. Given the record both men have, expectations are sky-high for the film based on the popular video game franchise.
Navarrette would absolutely jump at the opportunity for a role in the film.
LIONESS STAR MICHAEL KELLY CALLS TAYLOR SHERIDAN 'ONE OF THE GREATEST STORYTELLERS' IN ENTERTAINMENT
She spoke with Collider about the upcoming project led by Sheridan and Berg and what it would take to convince her to join the cast.
"Nothing. It's a phone call. It's a text. if they call me, they're like, 'There's a car outside. You gotta go.' Definitely. I'm a big fan. I'm really excited to see what they do. As a fan, I would be excited. I'm a big fan. Yeah. Very excited," she explained to the outlet the following.
Sheridan is no stranger to working with major stars. Morgan Freeman, Kevin Costner, Sylvester Stallone, Nicole Kidman, Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Jeremy Renner, Zoe Saldaña, Sam Elliott, Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer are just some of the major names who have appeared in his projects.
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Appearing in any Sheridan project would probably provide a major boost for Navarrette's already blossoming career.
Would you like to see the "Obsession" star appear in "Call of Duty"? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.
Ted Bundy expected to be linked to another decades-old homicide nearly 40 years after his execution
Utah authorities are expected to link notorious serial killer Ted Bundy to another decades-old homicide Tuesday, nearly 40 years after he was executed and months after DNA evidence tied him to the killing of a 17-year-old girl.
The Summit County Sheriff's Office and county attorney are expected to identify the victim during a news conference Tuesday and reveal the evidence linking Bundy to the killing.
Officials are also expected to explain why investigators are closing the decades-old case.
The victim's identity has not been released, though the 1974 death of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith has long been listed as a cold case, The Associated Press reported.
Tuesday's announcement comes about six months after authorities in Utah County used DNA evidence to link Bundy to the 1974 killing of 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime.
Aime vanished after leaving a Halloween party to buy cigarettes on Oct. 31, 1974. Her body was discovered by hikers near American Fork Canyon days later.
Investigators determined Aime had been raped, strangled and murdered.
FORENSIC GENEALOGY UNMASKS COLD CASE SUSPECT AS STRANGLER, SEXUAL PREDATOR DECADES LATER: OFFICIALS
For decades, Bundy was considered the prime suspect in Aime's death. He began studying law at the University of Utah just two months before she disappeared.
The case remained unsolved for 51 years until investigators with the Utah County Sheriff's Office used new DNA technology to develop a male DNA profile from bodily fluids found on Aime's remains.
DNA BREAKTHROUGH LEADS TO ARREST IN GRISLY 33-YEAR-OLD COLD CASE INVESTIGATORS NEVER GAVE UP ON
The profile was entered into the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, which produced a match in Florida. Additional analysis ultimately linked the DNA to Bundy.
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"We bring this case to a closure and more importantly closure to the Aime family," Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith said at an April news conference.
'UNMASKING A MONSTER': GOLDEN STATE KILLER SERIES CHALLENGES TIMELINE OF JOSEPH DEANGELO'S CRIMES
The Utah County Sheriff's Office later shared the DNA profile with other law enforcement agencies in hopes of identifying more of Bundy's victims. Officials said at the time that they believed the breakthrough could help resolve another cold case, though they did not provide additional details.
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Bundy killed at least 30 women and girls across multiple states during the 1970s, the AP reported.
SERIAL KILLER'S EX-WIFE SLEPT BESIDE MURDERER FOR 8 YEARS, NEVER SUSPECTED HIS DEADLY DOUBLE LIFE
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In his final days, Bundy confessed to a series of killings, including crimes that had previously been unknown to police, though not all of the cases have been confirmed.
He has been linked to killings in Florida, Utah, Colorado, Oregon and Washington between 1974 and 1978.
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Bundy was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering two Florida State University students in 1979 and received another death sentence the following year for the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl.
He was executed in Florida's electric chair in 1989.
Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ilhan Omar's radical streamer ally rallies with embattled lawmaker after DC home raid
Far-left streamer Hasan Piker dodged his controversial past in an exchange with Fox News Digital on Tuesday, hours after teaming up with embattled Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., on the campaign trail to co-host an event in her home state of Minnesota.
He also dismissed his disagreements with Democratic Party leaders after he called Republicans "terrorists" and Omar said the GOP is the "pedophile protection party" during the stream on Monday.
Omar's decision to embrace Piker on the campaign trail marks a potentially risky political alliance, coming on the back of a high-profile raid on her Washington, D.C., home amid two dueling investigations — one for alleged immigration fraud, which could threaten her political future and citizenship status, and the other for fishy financial disclosure statement discrepancies.
The lawmaker's appearance with Piker comes after Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed drew backlash from his own party for campaigning with the controversial Twitch streamer earlier this cycle.
HASAN PIKER LASHES OUT AT REPUBLICANS, CALLS THEM 'TERRORISTS' IN EVENT WITH ILHAN OMAR
Fox News Digital confronted Piker at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport heading out of Minnesota after the Monday livestream. He was pressed on the criticism stemming from Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., and Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., after the two condemned Piker’s comments and pushed back on Democrats’ choice to engage with him on the campaign trail.
"Well, Angie Craig lost, and I think Klobuchar is going to make for a great governor," Piker told Fox News Digital while walking to security.
Klobuchar condemned Piker’s past statements as "reckless and unacceptable," while Craig called his rhetoric "polarizing and dangerous" and directly called out Minnesota Democrats, like Omar and Fateh, for hosting Monday’s event with Piker as a "mistake."
When asked if the two Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota were right to call out the rhetoric, Piker wrote off their disagreements as "the beauty of democracy," while also throwing jabs at Fox News.
"I know this is probably going to come across as confusing, because you work for Fox News, but we sometimes disagree with our leadership in the Democratic Party," he said. "And sometimes our leadership disagrees with us."
"But at the end of the day," he continued, "that's the beauty of democracy."
HASAN PIKER ADMITS HE HAS 'DIALED DOWN' HIS OPINIONS AFTER PUBLIC AND DEMOCRATIC BACKLASH
The controversy over the Somali-born congresswoman deciding to sit down with Piker with just over one week until the 2026 midterms exposes a divide among Minnesota Democrats — is it justifiable to work with Piker in order to rally his large, young, progressive base to get out and vote despite his heavily condemned commentary?
Piker was asked on Tuesday about his previous comments on Jewish people and Israel after prominent Democrats joined Republicans who have called the streamer antisemitic. He suggested that Jewish Americans were inviting violence against themselves over their support for Israel. He has repeatedly stood by his comments against Israel over its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.
"Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism," Piker told Fox News Digital.
"I will always fight against antisemitism and I find all bigotry to be morally repugnant and completely unacceptable. But I also find it a real shame to constantly complain about people who are outspoken on the issue of Israel's genocide."
It was after Democrats, including House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., began calling out Piker for his extreme comments that El-Sayed distanced himself after frequently making appearances side-by-side.
Another reason why Omar’s choice to engage with Piker has been questioned within the party.
Piker refused to comment on one issue though — his past comments claiming America "deserved 9/11."
"You made some comments on 9/11, do you still stand by them?" Fox News Digital asked Piker, at which point he ignored the question and walked through the line for security.
Both Piker and Omar attacked President Donald Trump during their event Monday night, with the Somali-born lawmaker ripping his "obsession" with Minnesotans. Piker, meanwhile, shamed Democrats for ceding on immigration arguments to Trump's agenda back in 2024.
REP ILHAN OMAR'S IMMIGRATION HISTORY FACES NEW SCRUTINY AS FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS SUBPOENA RELATIVES
"That's unacceptable. Migrants are not a national security threat. They are our neighbors. They are allies. They work alongside us. They are not the burden, but a benefit. They are what make this country strong, and they're what make it this country great," Piker insisted.
"Any Democrat that refuses to recognize that, in my opinion, is un-American," he concluded.
Omar is running for reelection and projected for a clear win, despite being under investigation by both Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for immigration fraud and questionable financial filings.
The Minnesota Democrat’s name has also come into question following HSI’s raid on her Washington, D.C., home, with a new federal court filing referring to her as "Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar," as first reported by Fox News Digital. A source told Fox that the language used for her name in the filing was reflective of the evidence compiled in the immigration fraud probe into Omar.
Omar has defended her name as "Ilhan Abdullahi Omar" and has also denied wrongdoing, accusing the Trump administration of targeting her for political reasons.
'The Pitt' star Noah Wyle's 'Sexiest Man Alive' crown sparks backlash as fans fume: 'You've got to be kidding'
Noah Wyle has claimed the title of Hollywood's sexiest man — but some fans think People should have gone back to the drawing board.
The 55-year-old "The Pitt" star has been named People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" for 2026, sparking a social media debate over whether the longtime TV heartthrob was the right man for the title.
"Out of all of the people in the world…this is who you pick? You’ve got to be kidding," one critic fumed.
NOAH WYLE, MATT DAMON, LEONARDO DICAPRIO STILL CAPTIVATING AUDIENCES WELL INTO THEIR 50S
Another took a swipe at Wyle’s competition, writing, "Not even the sexiest in that show."
And one commenter wasn’t about to let the announcement slide without a pun.
"More like Noah WHY-le! Ha ha but no seriously who’d you actually pick?" the user joked, while another asked, "is this a joke?"
"Poor Noah. I like him. Good actor but he’s not sexiest man alive. Come on," another wrote.
"Not bad... not great..." one person assessed.
The criticism came alongside plenty of support for Wyle, whose journey from "ER" favorite Dr. John Carter to leading man of "The Pitt" has brought him back into the spotlight.
"Thank you for getting it right finally!" one fan declared.
"This is actually an incredible win for anyone who grew up watching ER. why did it take Hollywood this long to give him the crown," another wrote.
MATT DAMON SAYS HOLLYWOOD'S 'RUTHLESS' NATURE HAS TAKEN HIM AWAY FROM FATHERHOOD MORE THAN HE'D LIKE
One admirer argued that Wyle brings more to the table than a handsome face, writing, "#NoahWyle does not just have the looks. He's the whole damn package. That's why he's The Sexiest Man Alive!"
"Just accept we have a 55-year-old as the Sexiest Man Alive! Noah Wyle, just know that you’re hot!"
Other social media users suggested alternative candidates.
"they could’ve just had patrick dempsey do it again if they wanted someone older," one commenter suggested.
Another backed a different contender, writing, "@Deancain would have been a good choice. Just saying."
And for fans still mourning last year's winner, one person offered a simple solution: "it’s not too late to choose jonathan bailey again."
For Wyle, the "Sexiest Man Alive" title marks another milestone in his Hollywood comeback.
The actor first became a household name as Dr. John Carter on "ER," spending years at the center of one of television's defining medical dramas before making his final appearance on the series in 2009.
Years later, he returned to the medical drama genre as Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch in "The Pitt," winning the Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series in both 2025 and 2026 and introducing himself to a new generation of viewers.
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Off-screen, the 55-year-old is a husband and father of three who has spoken candidly about the pressures of fame, his devotion to his family and his support for healthcare workers.
Wyle has three children — Owen and Auden from his first marriage to Tracy Warbin, and Frances with his wife, Sara Wells, whom he married in 2014.
Wyle himself admitted the honor caught him off guard.
"I thought that sounded like a prank — just not in a million years did I think that this would be an honor bestowed on me," he told People editor-in-chief Charlotte Triggs in an exclusive cover interview.
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His wife, Sara, was more enthusiastic, encouraging him to embrace a title he initially struggled to believe was real.
"She was very pleased that this reflects well on her taste," Wyle said. "She thinks I’m a good guy and that the kind of person that I am and the kind of father I am, the kind of husband I am, is worth promoting. I thought, ‘Okay, if you say so.’"
His children also had some concerns.
Wyle said his son immediately worried about the unwanted attention that could come with the new title.
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"My son is super practical. He was like, ‘Oh, this is going to make my life so much harder now. But that’s cool, Dad. But also, you invite a lot of haters too.’ My older daughter was just like, ‘No way, no way.’ Because I think she’s going to tease me about this for the next 50 years."
While speaking with People, he credited fatherhood with changing his priorities and said becoming a parent helped prompt his decision to leave "ER."
Get the Sexiest Man Alive issue early with People VIP in the People app, two days earlier than its newsstand release.
Trump accused of trying to 'force' Senate candidate on voters as GOP feud erupts
A growing intraparty fracture is roiling the South Carolina Senate race as a Republican congressman is accusing President Donald Trump of trying to force his handpicked candidate on Palmetto State voters.
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who lost to Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., in a runoff for the Senate GOP nomination earlier this year, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that he has no plans to help Graham in the final week before Election Day.
"The voters in S.C. are not buying the argument that everyone has to ‘settle’ for a candidate that has been propped up by special interest groups and a Republican president spending millions of dollars spreading false narratives about why Darlene [sic] Graham is qualified to be elected to the U.S. Senate for the next six years," Norman told Fox News Digital via text message in all capital letters.
He said the general election "is about attempts to ‘force’ a candidate on the voters of S.C. and regardless of the outcome, it didn’t have to be this way as the great people living in South Carolina deserve ‘better!!’"
TRUMP ENDORSEMENT BOOSTS SISTER OF LATE LINDSEY GRAHAM TO HISTORIC RUNOFF VICTORY
"Elections have consequences," Norman ended the message.
It’s a pointed attack at the leader of the Republican Party just a week before voters decide who controls Congress for the final two years of Trump’s presidency.
Graham, who was appointed to replace her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is running a closer-than-expected race in her Republican home state.
THE NINE KEY RACES THAT WILL DECIDE WHO CONTROLS THE SENATE, AND WHERE THEY STAND
Norman said he would refuse to campaign with or for Graham, no matter who asked him to help. He told Fox News Digital her campaign manager had asked his chief of staff if he would campaign with her, but that Norman refused.
That’s despite pressure from fellow House Republicans like Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., who told reporters this week, "As somebody who carried the conservative banner as long as he has, he should step into the arena," according to POLITICO. Like Norman, Fry lost his own bid for the GOP nomination for the late senator’s seat.
National Republicans are making the case for Graham, too, arguing that the GOP is united behind her.
"At the end of the day, Republicans are unified on beating Annie Andrews," Republican National Committee spokeswoman Emma Hall told Fox News Digital. "Democrats’ socialism has no place in South Carolina, and that’s why President Trump supports Darline Graham."
Norman’s decision comes after a bitter, whirlwind primary where he ultimately lost to the political novice in August.
Since then, Trump has returned to the Palmetto State to support Graham, holding a rally in Clemson, S.C., last week as election forecasters have signaled a more competitive race. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted the contest from 'Likely Republican' to 'Lean Republican' last week.
And Trump isn’t the only one trying to boost her candidacy. The Senate Leadership Fund, a political action committee closely aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., pledged $5 million in ad spending in South Carolina earlier this month.
Other big political names in the state are jumping ship from Graham, too. Two former South Carolina governors, Republican David Beasley and Democrat Jim Hodges, are reportedly backing Graham’s opponent, Annie Andrews.
TRUMP WON THIS RELIABLY RED STATE BY DOUBLE DIGITS. NOW A DEADLOCKED RACE IS BRINGING HIM BACK
Norman’s son, Warren, bucked Graham in an op-ed for FITS News last week. He wrote that he would "not be voting" for the lawmaker and contended that he was leaning toward Andrews.
"As of today, I’m leaning her way. It will be the first time in my life I’ve voted for a Democrat in a partisan election," he wrote.
"I know the concern many conservatives will have: isn’t a vote against Graham a vote for the liberal agenda? I’ve thought hard about that. Unfortunately, there is no true conservative to vote for in this election."
Norman previously told "The Nashional Briefing with Kelly Nash" that he would vote for Graham, but his family would not.
When reached for comment on Tuesday, the White House pointed Fox News Digital to Trump’s comments at his South Carolina rally.
"You must vote for Darline and Republicans, and just — you're going to be happy," Trump said. "I tell you, you're going to look back years from now. You're going to say it was truly one of the greatest votes you ever made. High-quality person, and she's going to be great."
Fox News Digital reached out for comment from Graham’s campaign.
Former rival dodges full-throated El-Sayed endorsement after bitter Senate primary
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., repeatedly stopped short of saying she was "fully behind" Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed when pressed on national television Sunday, months after he narrowly defeated her in a bitter primary and just days before the midterm elections.
CNN's Dana Bash first pressed Stevens on why she has yet to campaign alongside El-Sayed despite endorsing him after the primary. Stevens responded by pointing to her work campaigning for Democratic House candidates across Michigan.
But when Bash later asked directly whether she was "still fully behind" El-Sayed, Stevens again stopped short of saying yes.
"Look, I'm on the Democratic ticket," Stevens said. "I can't say that I agree with everything that's gone on."
Stevens instead highlighted her support for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson and House candidates, but not El-Sayed.
Bash pointed out that she had not mentioned him.
"Well, look, I would just say you asked me if I'm still on the team," Stevens responded. "I'm on the team."
HALEY STEVENS URGES EL-SAYED TO DITCH HASAN PIKER AFFILIATION AFTER MICHIGAN PRIMARY
The exchange underscores lingering tensions inside the Michigan Democratic coalition following a contentious Senate primary that exposed divisions over Israel, Iran and the direction of the party. Stevens' supporters included constituencies El-Sayed has been working to consolidate behind his campaign, particularly Black and Jewish voters, as he faces Republican Mike Rogers in the general election.
Stevens also suggested Sunday that El-Sayed has more work to do with some of the voters who backed her in the primary.
BLACK VOTERS RIP DEMS OVER TAKING THEM FOR GRANTED IN EL-SAYED'S BACKYARD: ‘HUSH US UP’
When asked whether El-Sayed had done enough to reach her former supporters in Michigan's Black and Jewish communities, Stevens pointed specifically to outreach she had urged him to make to Black voters.
"I had said to, you know, the coordinated campaign, I'm like, hey, give a speech in the Black community, right?" Stevens said.
"But yeah, I mean, that didn't happen," she added. "That speech hasn't happened."
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El-Sayed is facing former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in the closely watched race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, with the Michigan seat central to the battle for control of the Senate.
The contest has emerged as a test of the Democratic Party's progressive wing, with El-Sayed campaigning on policies including Medicare-for-all and an end to U.S. military aid to Israel, while Rogers has sought to portray him as outside Michigan's political mainstream.
College football’s Jerry Jones? Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell demands return on investment
If you’re going to take millions from a booster who is helping fund your football team, you should expect pushback when you fail to live up to expectations.
For those who haven’t noticed, we are no longer living in our fathers’ or grandfathers’ era of college athletics, when bags of money were dropped off on the back doorstep.
The $100 handshakes are still prevalent, but they’re essentially the equivalent of walking into a bar and dropping a dollar into the tip jar.
So when Texas Tech booster, and chairman of the board of regents, Cody Campbell takes to social media to comment on the Red Raiders’ loss to Cincinnati this past weekend, I can assure you he is trying to assure those who critique the program that this type of result isn’t what he's paying for.
"There is no excuse or reason to lose a game like this. We have to be better. @TexasTechFB," Campbell wrote in a post on X.
That statement was from a man who has poured millions into the Texas Tech football team in order to compete for a national championship this season. So, when this "owner" decides to vent his frustration for the world to see, I can promise you he means it.
Remember the term "return on investment" in relation to donors putting their money to use with the only real return is seeing their favorite team hoist a trophy at seasons end?
This is essentially where Cody Campbell is at when he takes to social media to let it be known that a performance like that is not acceptable for a man who is writing the checks every month.
That brings us to the current state of college athletics, where the once outside voices who contributed without getting a final say in roster moves outside of helping pay a player's salary are now influential voices that in some cases speak for the programs they help fund.
You think Texas Tech football coach Joey McGuire isn’t having conversations this week with Cody Campbell on piecing together the roster for 2027, or renegotiating deals with current players for a return next season?
I can assure you those talks have, and will continue, to take place over the next three months.
And, I promise you they are happening all across the country between high-dollar boosters and football coaches looking for the money needed to secure the next transfer portal addition.
While there is this pressure to hold onto what once was in college athletics, the 'pureness' of a sport that was a majority of the time still breaking the rules in some form or fashion through parking lot deals or the funneling of money to an athletes family, the world is obviously changing in short order.
So, it should not come as shock when a more-involved booster who was also at the forefront of the Brendan Sorsby saga this past summer when the former college quarterback was caught gambling on his own football team while at Indiana decides to let it be known they are not happy with the current product.
Is it right?
No, especially when that same person decides to get on social media and question whether the football program should cut off access to its coaches in relation to a local Lubbock radio station.
But, this isn’t a scene out of the movie "Blue Chips," where the head coach takes to the postgame press conference to lambast a booster for being too involved in the program by way of providing benefits to the athletes.
We got to this point when the NCAA opened the front door and invited this in by way of NIL, which should have taken place a decade ago. Yes, players deserved to be paid for the amount of money they generated for athletic departments across the country.
No, I'm not implying the swimming star should be paid in the same manner as the starting linebacker. But it takes someone like Cody Campbell to help fund these contracts, even down to the softball team that is competing for a national championship.
And, I promise you this is taking place on the campus of your favorite team, though it's most likely not as brazen as Cody Campbell.
While the Texas billionaire has been spending a majority of his time trying to garner votes for the Protect College Sports Act for his own reasons that most likely have more to do with Texas Tech having a place in this new world, he's still just a very rich alum who has earned the right to do whatever he pleases with his own money.
If Campbell wants to spend millions to ensure his favorite team has the resources needed to compete at the highest level, I can assure you the Texas Tech athletic department isn’t going to put him on a leash when he expresses his thoughts.
Why would it?
He is essentially the unofficial "owner" of multiple Red Raiders athletic programs.
If you think Campbell’s influence is interesting now, I can promise you more boosters like him are coming down the pipeline.
The difference is that they may not hold press conferences like Jerry Jones in the aftermath of a loss.
They’ll simply take to social media—and expect their teams to listen.
Nikola Jokic doubles down on calling out booing Nuggets home fans: 'They are not real fans'
Nikola Jokic drummed up conversation when he openly criticized what he later dubbed "not real" Denver Nuggets fans.
The team was booed in its home opener, which they wound up winning in overtime, largely because of Jokic's 35-15-10 performance for yet another triple-double.
The Nuggets rallied from down 23 to beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 141-135, but fans had made their displeasure known.
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"We got booed at our first home game, and I think those fans who booed us, they don’t need to come anymore," Jokic said postgame Saturday. "If you guys follow us, you know that we never quit, and we’ve come back from much worse situations. So if they ask me, they are not welcome anymore."
After a loss on Monday night, Jokic doubled down.
"I'm sticking to what I said... I think they are not real fans," he said.
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Jokic said he had "never" heard players being booed by their own home crowd.
The Nuggets are three years removed from their lone NBA title, and they finished with 50-plus wins in each season afterward.
The defense in the early going this season, though, is a cause for concern. They've allowed 141 and 134 points in back-to-back games, and in their first game of the season, they lost 96-84 to the Oklahoma City Thunder. At the very least, it's a rather inconsistent bunch to start.
Jokic is slated to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Jay-Z's Super Bowl halftime show selection has more than 99 vulgarity and profanity problems for the NFL
Jay-Z selecting himself to be the headliner of the Super Bowl LXI halftime show isn't the biggest issue we should all have with this production that will be watched by approximately one-third of Americans and broadcast in maybe 190 countries.
The audacity of Roc Nation, which Jay-Z founded and co-owns, picking Jay-Z to be the next Super Bowl's top-billed performer is something we all could get over.
Jay-Z simply searched for the best available act while looking into his mirror and selected the guy staring him in the face.
SUPER BOWL LXI GETS PAT MCAFEE TREATMENT AS ESPN ADDS ALTERNATE BROADCAST
The NFL equivalent would be Tom Brady picking himself as the greatest quarterback of all time. Or former general managers John Elway and Ozzie Newsome drafting themselves to play for their teams.
It's odd.
But Jay-Z's selection of Jay-Z is the least of the issues this move poses for the NFL, which outsourced to him and Roc Nation the halftime show selection process in 2019.
The problem, more than 99 of them, is what the NFL and Roc Nation are telling us about their comfort level with the N-word, the devaluing of women, violence, and presenting all those in one profanity-laced package to a worldwide audience.
And this is where we get to the bottom line: Make sure your kids are not in front of the television at halftime on Feb. 14.
As a non-Jay-Z fan – yeah, I'm the one – I relied on ChatGPT and Gemini to bring me up to speed on the legacy rapper's songs and lyrics.
It's only a mild exaggeration to say both AI platforms blushed as they filled the prompt with the titles and lyrics Jay-Z has made his billions on since the late 1980s when he got his start.
OutKick and Fox News Digital editors actually had to discuss what was OK to share in this column that would not stretch the boundary of good taste and editorial norms.
So here goes:
Jay-Z uses the n-word. A lot. It's like a punctuation with this guy.
He uses the f-word in a dozen of his songs – either in the lyrics or, in a couple of instances, the title.
He demeans women. He calls them "b—-es" and "h–s" as a group. And uses the appropriate singular word for each when addressing just one. And, again, this occurs in his song titles and lyrics.
Jay-Z also isn't shy rapping about male genitals and female genitals, using the d-word for one and the p-word for the other.
Vulgarity and profanity are rife in Jay-Z's work.
None of this, by the way, has hurt Jay-Z's business. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, he has sold between 33.5-36.3 million albums and 34 million singles in the United States.
But that's not the point, is it?
The point is that on Super Bowl Sunday, the NFL is paying Jay-Z to bring his colorful songs and lyrics to his largest audience ever. It is reasonable to believe many of the people that will be tuning in to watch a football game that Sunday have never heard even one line of a Jay-Z song.
So what happens next?
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Is the artist going to tone down or change his language? Is he going to avoid certain songs, such as "F— All Nite," or "F—WithMeYouKnowIGotIt," or "Money, Cash, H–s?"
Or is Jay-Z, who hired Jay-Z, going to be fine with Jay-Z being Jay-Z?
Did I mention that Super Bowl LXI will stream on Disney+ as well as ABC and ESPN?
Whatever happens, the NFL is complicit. Whatever words blare out of your home's television speakers on Super Bowl Sunday during the halftime show are NFL approved by proxy.
And you thought you were just getting treated to championship football.
Cuban exile-turned-congressman unloads on Dem Senate hopeful over Cuba remarks
EXCLUSIVE: A Cuban-American congressman whose family fled Cuba's communist regime slammed Florida Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon, accusing her of not going far enough in condemning the island nation's dictatorship.
Nixon, the Florida state representative running to unseat Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., pushed back after CBS News initially characterized her remarks during an interview aired Monday as a refusal to call Cuba a dictatorship.
"Do you consider that Cuba is a dictatorship?" the interviewer asked Nixon.
"That is what people have told me. I have never been to Cuba, and so I will have to take their word for it," Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), responded.
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In a now deleted tweet, CBS accused Nixon of refusing to answer the question, which Nixon responded to as "a serious failure of editorial reporting."
"To claim I declined to answer the question is categorically false. That is not journalism. It is misinformation," Nixon added in her online response. CBS has since re-uploaded the footage on X and apologized for the misleading language.
However, Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., whose family fled Cuba when he was young, told Fox News Digital that he still believes Nixon refused to acknowledge the island nation's regime.
"There is no ambiguity: Cuba is a communist dictatorship that has imprisoned, tortured, and murdered innocent people for decades," the congressman said. "Floridians deserve leaders who stand unequivocally for freedom, not politicians who whitewash the horrors of communism."
Cuba has been under communist rule since 1959.
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Ian Vallecillo, a South Florida lawmaker whose family escaped the totalitarian regime in Nicaragua, echoed Gimenez's claim in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"This is a perfect example of ideological cognitive dissonance. Acknowledging Cuba’s dictatorship means confronting the failure of a Marxist system she appears sympathetic to," the lawmaker stated. "Cuba is a nearly 70-year experiment in Marxism that has produced economic devastation, repression, and a brutal dictatorship. Yet these are the same people who constantly accuse Trump and Republicans of being dictators, while hesitating to acknowledge actual dictatorships that align with their ideology."
Vallecillo accused Nixon of "showing her true colors," who has a biased view of communist regimes since she and her fellow DSA members have spent "their lives defending a failed ideology and therefore cannot recognize that they are on the wrong side of history."
Nixon did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
During her interview, Nixon criticized the decades-long U.S. embargo on Cuba and expressed support for returning to policies implemented under former President Barack Obama, arguing that such an approach could help address the island's widespread blackouts and shortages of medical care.
In 2014, Obama began a diplomatic thaw with Cuba, restoring diplomatic relations and easing certain economic and travel restrictions imposed during the Cold War.
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The Obama administration also removed Cuba from the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism in 2015 and eased restrictions on certain forms of trade with the island nation.
Nixon and other DSA members have long argued that the U.S. embargo contributes to the deteriorating living conditions faced by the Cuban people.
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President Donald Trump’s administration has maintained that certain U.S. sanctions target businesses tied to Cuba's military, including Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), a conglomerate controlled by the Cuban armed forces.
According to reports, GAESA is worth over $14.5 billion and oversees 37% of the country's gross domestic product.
"That's not sanctions on the Cuban people. The Cuban people don't benefit from GAESA," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.