If you loved watching Post Malone and Aerosmith smash a guitar onstage at the VMAs, you’ll definitely want to watch the rapper’s new video for “Better Now.”

Released on Friday (October 5), the Adam Degross-directed vid chronicles Post’s touring adventures via a black and white compilation of his finest live moments. When he’s not performing in front of throngs of hyped fans, we see Post shotgunning a Bud Light, riding a scooter, wearing a tiara, and, of course, gleefully smashing an axe. All of this has nothing to do with the breakup-centric lyrics of “Better Now,” but it doesn’t really matter — this is about seeing Post in his element and proving why he’s a bonafide rockstar.

“Better Now” is yet another top 10 hit from Malone’s chart-topping sophomore album, beerbongs & bentleys. It’s been a banner year for the rapper, and he’s not slowing down yet — on October 28, he’s set to throw his inaugural Posty Fest, headlined by himself and Travis Scott. Check out the full lineup below.

It’s official: The U.S. government will soon regulate the distance between airline seats.

President Donald Trump on Friday signed legislation passed by Congress that extends FAA policy for another five years. The FAA Reauthorization Bill includes several provisions that will affect air travelers.

One provision that’s attracted the most attention is the “Seat Egress in Air Travel (SEAT) Act,” which directs the FAA to set standards for the size of airline seats. The agency has one year to come up with minimum requirements for seat width and for the space between seats.

While many have praised the bill as an attempt airlines to continuing to shrink seat sizes, there’s no guarantee that will happen.

The FAA will have to come up with regulations on minimum permissible seats sizes on commercial flights. But it’s unclear what rules the agency might ultimately adopt. It is possible that the FAA’s rules could ultimately end up codifying the tightest seating arrangements already offered on U.S. airlines.

Elsewhere, the FAA bill is also notable for what is not included.

IN PICTURES: 30 cool aviation photos (story continues below)

Lawmakers abandoned a plan backed by airlines to privatize the nation’s air-traffic-control system. And congressional negotiators dropped a proposal to crack down on “unreasonable” airline fees, a decision that frustrated airline consumer-rights groups.

Lawmakers abandoned a plan backed by airlines to privatize the nation’s air-traffic-control system. And congressional negotiators dropped a proposal to crack down on “unreasonable” airline fees, a decision that frustrated airline consumer-rights groups.

The FAA legislation also includes other stipulations. It bars carriers from involuntarily removing passengers who’ve already boarded, a rule with echoes of the passenger-dragging incident on United in April 2017.

The legislation also instructs airlines to create better communication protocols for informing customers about flight delays.

Other details in the legislation: The Department of Transportation would be instructed to set rules for service and emotional-support animals on planes including “reasonable measures to ensure pets are not claimed as service animals.” Live animals would be prohibited from being transported in overhead compartments.

Also, passengers would be barred from making voice calls in flight. Currently, no U.S. airline allows that, but the bill would preclude any from doing so.

“The many reforms in this law will help strengthen American leadership in aviation, create jobs, and improve safety and service for passengers,” Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said in a statement after the legislation was signed into law. 

“Because of this bill, our economy and passengers will benefit as airport construction projects will move forward, aviation manufacturing gets a boost, and passengers will gain new legal protections during the experience of air travel,” added Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Contributing: The Associated Press

TODAY IN THE SKY: Delta shows off first Boeing 777 retrofitted with new cabin interior

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By Samuel Stebbins, Grant Suneson and Evan Comen September 20, 2018 12:46 pm EDT

YouTube TV gave a long-awaited gift to it customers this week: It let them skip ads.

YouTube’s subscription TV service rolled out new DVR capabilities that let users pause, rewind and fast-forward their favorite shows, including fast-forwarding past commercials.

That sounds like a no-brainer, but the fact that Google-owned YouTube has only now introduced the ad-skipping feature on its TV service highlights the ongoing turf war between the traditional TV networks and the new breed of digital streaming services.

And what’s really interesting about the new DVR capabilities on YouTube TV is the one name that’s missing. Look closely at the list of networks supporting the new DVR functions and you’ll see NBC Universal, Disney, Turner, AMC and Fox.

Three letters that you won’t see are CBS.

YouTube declined to comment on why the new DVR features don’t support CBS, and CBS did not return a request for comment.

Fighting the last war

In fact, CBS’s absence is likely one of the legacies of Les Moonves, CBS’ former CEO who resigned last month after numerous women claimed he sexually harassed or assaulted them (Moonves has denied the allegations).

Moonves had a nearly unparalleled run of success at CBS. The network typically finished at the top of the ratings. And Moonves’ response to the rise of Internet distribution and the disruption that it brought was to fight it.

He argued TV couldn’t survive if commercials were removed and he stubbornly defended them. When CBS and the other top broadcasters brought a copyright suit against Aereo, Moonves was one of the most vocal critics of the service.

“If the government wants to give them permission to steal our signal,” Moonves told Reuters in 2014, “then we will come up with some other way to get them our content and still get paid for it.”

Aereo relied on tiny TV antennas to capture shows from over the free airwaves and then distributed the content via the web. Aereo prevailed in the courts until the case went to the Supreme Court of the United States, where it ruled 6-3 in favor of the TV networks. Aereo shut down soon after.

An absurd distinction

But prevailing in the courtroom is not the same as prevailing in the marketplace, and CBS is now the lone holdout clinging to the old ways.

Most TV broadcasters and cable-show providers now understand that TV viewers would generally much prefer not to sit through 30-second commercials. And most content owners are looking for ways to adapt.

At the heart of the YouTube TV update is a distinction that consumers don’t care about and shouldn’t have to think about.

It comes down to a difference between two versions of the same program: An “on-demand” version, which includes specially-inserted ads that cannot be skipped, and a DVR recording of the original show as it was aired live, which means users can fast-forward everything, including the ads.

For a long time, subscribers were prevented from accessing DVR versions on YouTube TV if a video-on-demand version of the show was available. This meant the content guys were bucking the wishes of their fans.

The other TV networks have had a change of heart and have cut deals with YouTube to give consumers DVR. In an era where viewers have so many choices —not just between TV shows but with videogames, Facebook, the web — that makes sense.

We don’t know what kind of financial terms YouTube offered to in order to get the networks to agree to the new licensing terms. There are billions of dollars of ad revenue at stake and as CBS shows, the chess match between the old guard and the new is still very much unresolved.

Just in time for the release of Marvel’s blockbuster Venom, Eminem has released the official video for his track of the same name. Unsurprisingly, it’s a dark and murky affair that has plenty of body-hopping symbiote action but, sadly, no Tom Hardy.

The “Venom” visual is a continuation of Em’s video for “Fall,” which ends with him smashing a CD copy of his (oft-panned) 2017 album, Revival. That disc houses an alien symbiote similar to Venom’s, and it causes a bunch of everyday people — and even a dog! — to spaz out and rap Em’s bars while haphazardly infecting one another. After working its way through the city, the virus eventually gets back to the Detroit MC, who in turn morphs into Venom itself in the vid’s final moments.

Along with appearing on the film’s soundtrack, “Venom” is the closing track on Eminem’s recent surprise-dropped album Kamikaze, which hit No. 1, becoming the rapper’s ninth chart-topping solo project. Venom hits theaters today (October 5).

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has praised the kingdom’s relationship with the current US administration just days after President Donald Trump warned that the Middle East nation wouldn’t survive “two weeks” without American support.

“I love working with him [Trump],” the crown-prince told the US-based Bloomberg publication, adding that the two leaders had “achieved a lot in the Middle East, especially against extremism, extremist ideologies, terrorism and Daesh [the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State in the Iraq and the Levant]”.

The 33-year-old said that it was normal for allies to have disagreements and one must ultimately accept that “any friend will say good things and bad things.”

“So you cannot have 100 percent friends saying good things about you, even in your family. You will have misunderstandings. So we put that in that category.”

At a Mississippi rally on Wednesday, Trump took a jab at Riyadh and said the country would not last “two weeks” if Washington withdrew its military support. 

“We protect Saudi Arabia. Would you say they’re rich? And I love the king, King Salman. But I said ‘King – we’re protecting you – you might not be there for two weeks without us’,” Trump said.

This was not the first time that Trump had criticised Saudi Arabia over the issue. As early as 2015, Trump was already saying Saudi Arabia ought to pay more if it wants US protection. 

If Saudi Arabia, which has been making one billion dollars a day from oil, wants our help and protection, they must pay dearly! NO FREEBIES.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 26, 2015

Trump’s criticisms have not been limited to Saudi Arabia alone. In his speech to the UN General Assembly, the US president in a similar vein cautioned other unnamed countries against taking advantage of the United States.

“Moving forward, we are only going to give foreign aid to those who respect us and, frankly, are our friends. And we expect other countries to pay their fair share for the cost of their defence,” Trump said at the time.

Trump also hit out at Washington’s NATO partners at a May summit in Brussels, lamenting that “23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they’re supposed to be paying for their defence.” 

Saudi spat with Canada

In August, Saudi authorities expelled the Canadian ambassador to Riyadh and severed relations with Ottawa, citing a series of tweets in which Canada’s foreign affairs ministry called for the release of jailed Saudi human rights activists, as the reason for the diplomatic flare-up. 

Asked why his reaction to Canada differed, the crown prince said the Canadians sought to impose their will on Saudi Arabia and infringe on its sovereignty.

“It’s totally different. Canada, they gave an order to Saudi Arabia on an internal issue. It’s not an opinion of Canada about Saudi Arabia as much as they are giving an order to a different country,” bin Salman said.

“Trump is speaking to his own people inside the United States of America about an issue. And you’ve got the answer now from me.”

Jailed activists 

Asked about the fate of Saudi activists detained prior to the lifting of the driving ban imposed on women, the crown prince said that they were not arrested for their activism but rather due to their “connections with agencies of other countries.” 

“They have a network, connection with government people, leaking information for the sake [of] these other governments,” he said. 

The Saudi government announced in late August that it was seeking the death penalty for five of the activists, including Israa al-Ghomgham, who is the first woman to face capital punishment for human rights-related work, according to rights groups. 

Bin Salman accused Qatar, which is under a land, sea and air blockade imposed by Saudi, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain, as one of the countries that provided support for the activists. 

The blockading quartet accused Qatar of abetting extremists, allegations that Doha has consistently denied. 

CLOSE

One of the key undecided senators on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court said Thursday she can’t yet comment on whether the FBI’s supplemental investigation is “entirely throrough” because she hasn’t had an opportunity to review it. (Oct. 4)
AP

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a crucial Republican swing vote in Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, received a playful prodding from the former governor of Alaska on Twitter.

“I can see 2022 from my house,” Sarah Palin tweeted on Friday afternoon, mentioning Murkowski. The tweet was widely viewed as a thinly-veiled threat to challenge Murkowski in her 2022 reelection campaign to the Senate.

“From my house” references a 2008 Saturday Night Live sketch mocking Palin, then John McCain’s running mate. To this day, many Americans believe it was Palin that said “I can see Russia from my house” when in fact the line was delivered by Tina Fey.

Earlier this year, Palin expressed a willingness to run for public office again, according to The Hill. The publication reported that she told Fox News host Mark Levin in April that she was glad she joined the McCain ticket and would do it again “in a heartbeat.”

On Friday Morning, Murkowski was the only Republican to vote against a procedural move advancing Kavanaugh’s nomination.

More: Sen. Susan Collins a ‘yes’ on Brett Kavanaugh, giving Republicans enough votes

“I believe that Brett Kavanaugh is a good man, I believe he is a good man. But it just may be that in my view he’s not the right man for the court at this time,” she said Friday after the vote. “This has truly been the most difficult evaluation of a decision that I’ve ever had to make and I’ve made some interesting ones in my political career.”

This isn’t the first time Murkowski has faced the potential consequences of her votes. She lost the Republican primary to a Tea Party challenger in 2010, winning re-election with a write-in campaign instead.

Contributing: Eliza Collins and Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY; Dan Nowicki, Arizona Republic 

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CLOSE

Leaders from both sides of the Senate Judiciary Committee remained divided as the Senate votes to advance the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
AP

Caught between his Trump-loving constituents and a Republican opponent, West Virginia’s Joe Manchin on Friday became the lone Democrat who will vote to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Manchin had previously bucked his party to confirm a Supreme Court justice, when last year was he one of only three Democrats to confirm Justice Neil Gorsuch. Those other two Democrats, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, have signaled they’ll oppose Kavanaugh’s nomination when the Senate votes this weekend.

“… based on all of the information I have available to me, including the recently completed FBI report, I have found Judge Kavanaugh to be a qualified jurist who will follow the Constitution and determine cases based on the legal findings before him,” Manchin said in a statement. “I do hope that Judge Kavanaugh will not allow the partisan nature this process took to follow him onto the court.”

Those of Manchin’s constituents who oppose Kavanaugh flooded his Senate office Friday, tearfully begging him to vote no.

“I thought this was a country where women’s rights mattered,” said Seonjae Kim, 26, an immigrant from South Korea, who choked up speaking to Manchin’s staff. “When we say the world is watching, that is quite literal. They have an opportunity tomorrow to not only send a message to America, but to the entire world.”

More: ‘I thought this was a country where women’s rights mattered’: Protesters storm Washington again over Kavanaugh

More: Senators who will decide if Brett Kavanaugh joins the Supreme Court

More: All eyes fall to Murkowski, a crucial Republican swing vote for Kavanaugh in Senate

Trump and his policies are overwhelmingly popular in West Virginia, and Manchin’s Republican opponent has been touting his ties to the president during the campaign. In a press release, Republican candidate and current West Virginia Attorney General Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said Manchin split from his party because it was politically expedient.

“President Trump had all the votes he needed to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh, but Manchin waited – making a craven political calculation – in order to try to save his political career,” Morrisey said.

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