Don’t worry if you’ve pronounced Olivia Wilde’s name wrong, darling.
Most people don’t know that the 42-year-old’s real name, Olivia Cockburn, is actually pronounced like “Coburn.”
“It’s a…
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Germany didn’t just crash out of the World Cup on Monday night. For some, the defeat looked like something bigger: yet another national institution losing its nerve.
The 2014 World Cup champion, which has struggled at every major tournament since 2016, suffered a bruising defeat against Paraguay, losing 3-4 on penalties to be dumped out of the tournament hosted in the Americas.
But Die Mannschaft is not the only German national institution failing to live up to expectations.
“This national team plays the way this federal government governs: big on ambition, short on resolve. Everyone struggles on their own, no one takes responsibility, and when luck finally does appear, the goal doesn’t count,” wrote German Member of the European Parliament Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann on X, referring to a controversially disallowed goal made during overtime, which would have brought Germany victory.
There is “always a link between sport and politics,” said professor of political science Alexander Straßner — and Europe’s largest economy is no exception.
Much like its men’s soccer team, over the last decade, the country’s automotive sector and industrial backbone have lost much of their former shine.
When Germany crushed Brazil 7-1 in the 2014 World Cup semifinals before going on to win football’s most prestigious tournament for a fourth time, Volkswagen was on the verge of becoming the world’s largest automaker. Last week, that same company announced tens of thousands of job cuts, with major automotive supplier Bosch planning similarly large-scale layoffs.
Unemployment in the country has now climbed to its highest level since the Covid pandemic, and economic growth remains weak.
A nation once synonymous with delivering on performance, reliability, efficiency and engineering excellence is now better known for its chronically delayed trains, infrastructure mega-projects plagued by years of holdups and ballooning costs, and ailing automotive industry.
Germany’s international standing has taken a hit too: After Chancellor Friedrich Merz told students at a high school that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian regime, U.S. President Donald Trump responded by attacking the German leader on Truth Social and threatening Berlin’s nightmare scenario: a withdrawal of 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany.
Add to that the government’s very low approval ratings and the far-right Alternative for Germany party rising in the polls, many Germans don’t think Merz can turn things around.
The chancellor’s coalition government has struggled to deliver major economic reforms, with only a planned pension overhaul generating slight optimism among political observers.
Meanwhile, Merz seems unable to read the public mood — whether in politics or soccer.
“Even though the loss hurts: What a game, @DFB_Team! Your determination and team spirit throughout this World Cup inspired our country. We’re proud of you,” wrote the chancellor on X after the final whistle late Monday night, garnering ridicule and pushback from German fans.
German media outlet Tagesspiegel reported the post was accidentally published by a junior member of the chancellor’s staff, who selected the wrong prewritten message, but then altered its report saying that this version of events “apparently did not fully reflect the process.”
The end of Die Mannschaft‘s World Cup ambitions should not necessarily be taken as an irrefutable sign of Germany’s imminent defeat.
The country still has hope, argued Straßner: “In a political culture shaped by negativity … the decline of the West is always said to be just around the corner, with the state the national team held up as the latest omen. First the national team collapses, then society itself. That is utter nonsense.”
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Ella Mai has shared a music video for Do You Still Love Me? cut “Might Just,” which pays homage to the 1995 film Waiting To Exhale.
Directed by Alfred Marroquin, the clip finds Mai reckoning with an unfaithful partner, featuring a climax that finds her and friends burning the house she once shared with that loved one down to the ground. The video features appearances from Taylor Rooks, Coco Jones, and Ryan Destiny.
On the track, which features a beat by Mustard, Ella sings: “Don’t fix your tongue to tell me lies about how she means nothing/ It was too wrong, it was too real, babe.” Do You Still Love Me? was released to critical and commercial acclaim on February 6.
In other Ella Mai news, the London artist is gearing up for the North American run of her Do You Still Love Me? Tour. The shows begin on July 2 at Milwaukee Summerfest. The 28-date trek includes stops in Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, and more. She’ll wrap this stretch at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on August 28.
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Mai has been honest about how Do You Still Love Me? was a difficult album title to land on. She explained to VIBE in an interview: “We really struggled to come up with this title. I’m not even going to lie. We had finished the album, had the track list together, and everything. Mustard and I just couldn’t find something that felt like it told the story well enough. Mustard was really vouching for a different title. And I said to him, ‘Okay, why do you think that should be the title?’
The duo stumbled upon the title almost accidentally: “I was like, ‘Why do you think that should be it?’ He starts explaining it, and he’s like, ‘Because if you say that, then you can ask the questions. Or somebody can ask you the question, do you still love me? Or do you still…’ And I was like, ‘Wait! That’s the title.’ It kind of just stuck, and we rolled with it. Also, because it can be a closed question. It could be very open-ended also.”
Buy Ella Mai’s Do You Still Love Me? on vinyl and CD here.
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BJRNCK has recruited G Herbo for a new single entitled “Coming Home,” out now via Interscope/Geffen Records.
The track serves as the first taste from the forthcoming deluxe version of BJRNCK’s A Girl Like Me, which was originally released in October of 2025.
On the alt-R&B cut, BJRNCK works through the emotions of heartbreak, crooning: “We’ve been on some bull**** lately/ And at this point I’m going crazy/ I’ve been doing things that I shouldn’t really be doing/ Hoping that it gives me over you but it ain’t working out.”
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The video pays homage to the two artists’ shared hometown of Chicago, and reflects the song’s themes of heartbreak and attempts at reconciliation. heartbreak from opposite sides of the same relationship.
Regarding the track, BJRNCK said, “‘Coming Home’ hits different for me because it brought two Chicago natives back to where it all started. Getting G Herbo on a classic R&B feel, and then going back to the city to shoot the video, made everything feel authentic in a way you can’t fake.”
A Girl Like Me is BJRNCK’s debut, a sterling introduction to one of Chicago’s most exciting artists. In a 2025 interview with Crucial Rhythm, the singer reflected on what allowed her to unlock her creativity on the LP: “I would say completely write my songs. Most of my songs on the project I wrote by myself, which was new to me. I’ve been doing this for a long time, my confidence shrunk for a little bit over time. I was trying for so long, and I was like, maybe I wasn’t doing something right. I felt like I needed to have a writer or a certain producer,” she explained.
She honed in on creating inimitable work, songs that would stand the test of time.“Someone gave me really good advice: make songs that no one can take away from you. It’s songs that I searched for the loop or started myself, learning how to record myself and write myself. Not really caring if people are gonna like it or not. Being genuine in my music.”
Listen to BJRNCK’s “Coming Home” here.
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It was simply time for Kevin Costner to leave the ranch.
Two years after he exited Yellowstone, prompting the end of the series in its fifth season, the show’s creator Taylor Sheridan subtly shut…
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According to a recent poll, baby boomers beat millennials when it comes to regular bowel movements. With that said, experts say consistency trumps frequency.
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He is perhaps more cherished by the current generation of country stars than he was when he died in 1989. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
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Earlier this year, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives went on abrupt hiatus as Taylor Frankie Paul’s life turned upside down.
Now, things are slowly getting back to normal, including the mother of three working on her mental health.
It was recently revealed that she went to rehab.
Taylor apparently checked herself in on a doctor’s advice — a promising sign, one hopes.
How long was she in rehab?
On Tuesday, June 30, TMZ reported that Dakota Mortensen’s people allege that Taylor violated the restraining order against her.
She allegedly had a third party on her side contact a third party on his side in the hopes of setting up a visit with Ever, their 2-year-old son.
It’s worth mentioning that Team Taylor reportedly believes that Dakota is deliberately harassing her, and using frequent police calls and more as part of his strategy.
Taylor’s alleged motive was to make up for missing a previous visitation.
That one, she’d missed due to a one-week rehab stint.
People reports that Taylor voluntarily entered the rehab facility.
The report also details that she has since departed, which confirms TMZ‘s sources’ statements.
Allegedly, Taylor “checked into a facility upon the recommendation of her doctor.”
The insider emphasized that this was a “voluntary” stay for her health and well-being.
“She’s committed to getting better,” explained the source.
She’s taking the steps to get better
A separate insider explained Taylor’s decision to People.
“The people around Taylor want her to get help,” this second source explained.
Those who truly love and care about Taylor “want to see her get better,” the insider emphasized.
This source claimed: “Everyone is just trying to protect the kids.”
In addition to Ever, she shares 8-year-old Indy and 6-year-old Ocean with her ex-husband, Tate Paul.
As one might imagine for one of the titular spouses of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Taylor was formerly Mormon.
That means that she had a lot of prohibitions and social stigmas that most of us can only understand academically.
Most of us know that a religious prohibition does not mean that something never takes place.
However, it does mean less community support for people who struggle with issues, such as substance abuse or mental illness, if those around them are unfamiliar with the problems or even regard the struggle as “shameful.”
That is to say that the odds were already stacked against Taylor. We’re glad that she’s taking the steps to get her life in order.
Taylor Frankie Paul Voluntarily Checked into Rehab Amidst Alleged Harassment From a … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
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There’s a new place Victor Willis has gone.
The singer—who rose to fame as the lead singer of The Village People in the late 1970s—died on June 30, the band confirmed on social media. He was…
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