NPG Records/Paisley Park Enterprises/Sony Music Entertainment
The 20th anniversary celebration of Prince’s 28th studio album, Musicology, continues with the digital release of “Magnificent,” which originally came out as a virtual B-side to the album’s title track.
This is the first time the song has ever been released to streaming services; it was sourced from master tapes discovered in Prince’s legendary vault.
It follows “United States of Division,” another virtual B-side, which was released to streaming services for the first time in early April.
Musicology was originally handed out to fans who attended Prince’s Musicology Tour, which ran from March to September 2004. It was released in retail outlets in April 2004.
(NEW YORK) — About 152 people across 30 counties in West Virginia have been exposed to measles, state health officials said Friday.
Earlier this week, the first confirmed case of measles in the state since 2009 was identified, according to the West Virginia Department of Health (WVDH). The patient was someone who was undervaccinated and had a history of recent international travel, the department said.
State health leaders said that since then, they’ve learned of dozens of exposed individuals including 128 West Virginia residents and 24 out-of-state contacts from four neighboring states.
Of the people who were exposed, 62% don’t have documentation proving they are protected against measles and are considered at risk, according to WVDH.
“The Bureau for Public Health is strongly recommending those exposed individuals with no evidence of immunity against the virus quarantine until May 9 or 10, 2024, depending on their last date of exposure,” the department said in a release.
The WVDH did not immediately reply to ABC News’ request for comment.
The news about the possible exposure comes amid a rapid increase in the number of measles cases during the first quarter of 2024, in part due to several localized outbreaks, including at a children’s hospital and daycare center in Philadelphia, an elementary school in Florida and a migrant center in Chicago.
As of Friday, 128 cases have been reported in 19 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than half of those infected were under 5 years old and 81% are unvaccinated or have unknown vaccination status, the federal health agency said.
Measles is a highly transmissible virus. It’s so infectious that a measles patient could infect up to 90% of close contacts who are not immune, either through prior infection or vaccination, according to the CDC.
The CDC currently recommends that everyone receive two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, with the first dose between ages 12 and 15 months and the second dose between ages 4 and 6.
Why does the US keep experiencing measles outbreaks?
One dose of the measles vaccine is 93% effective at preventing infection if exposed to the virus, and two doses are 97% effective, according to the CDC.
The WVDH said it is working closely with the Monongalia County Health Department, where the positive measles case was identified, to make sure health officials have adequate testing supplies and MMR vaccine availability.
“The Bureau for Public Health recommends the safe and effective MMR vaccination as part of a routine vaccination schedule for all children and adults,” the department said in the release. “With summer travel coming up and people going to and coming from countries that have seen sharp upticks in measles cases, the time is now to be sure you and your family members are up-to-date on their MMR vaccine.”
Queen fans can now own a piece of Roger Taylor’s drum kit and wear it around their necks.
The band has just unveiled a set of Taylored Spinner Pendants, a piece of jewelry made out of one of Roger’s Zildjian cymbals, offering up the tagline, “You heard it….now wear it!”
The spinners are individually handmade, and numbered with a silver and a bronze cut. There are three different designs offered: one with a car on it, another with a drum kit and a third, Radio Gaga, with a radio and the words “Ga Ga” engraved on it.
Each pendant comes with a 24-inch sterling silver chain with a Jolly Roger logo and a certificate of authenticity signed by Taylor, which includes a photo of the rocker taken by his daughter.
(AURORA, Colo.) — Former paramedic Jeremy Cooper has been sentenced to a four-year probationary sentence Friday after being found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the final case connected to Elijah McClain’s 2019 death.
Prosecutors accused the Aurora, Colorado, paramedic and his co-defendant Peter Cichuniec of administering an excessive amount of ketamine to sedate the 23-year-old McClain after an encounter with police on August 24, 2019. According to department policy, administering ketamine to sedate a suspect is intended “to minimize time struggling.”
The paramedics were accused of improperly assessing McClain medically before and after administering the dose of ketamine.
Both men were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in December. Cichuniec and Cooper were both acquitted of assault in the second degree with intent to cause bodily injury causing serious bodily injury. Cooper was found not guilty of assault in the second-degree unlawful administration of drugs.
Both had pleaded not guilty to their charges.
As part of his sentence, Cooper will serve 14 months in a work release program and complete 100 hours of “useful public service, ” according to Judge Mark Warner.
Cooper’s mother, Sheneen McClain, held back tears as she read an impact statement before the sentencing. She said Cooper “followed the crowd of cowards,” and did not show any remorse for his actions.
“I have already experienced so much and I am sure I still have much more to endure for my son,” she said.
Cichuniec was sentenced to five years in prison with a three-year period of parole for assault in the second-degree unlawful administration of drugs and criminally negligent homicide.
He received one year on the criminally negligent homicide conviction that will run concurrent to the five years for the assault conviction. The sentence for his offenses was reportedly expected to be between 5-and 16 years behind bars.
The death of the young Black man in an encounter with white police officers became another rallying cry for police reform in the wake of George Floyd’s 2020 death.
McClain’s death
The 23-year-old was confronted by police while walking home from a convenience store after a 911 caller told authorities they had seen someone “sketchy” in the area.
McClain was unarmed and wearing a ski mask at the time. His family says he had anemia, a blood condition that can make people feel cold more easily.
When officers arrived on the scene, they told McClain they had a right to stop him because he was “being suspicious.”
In police body camera footage, McClain can be heard telling police he was going home, and that “I have a right to go where I am going.”
Officer Nathan Woodyard placed McClain in a carotid hold and he and the other two officers on the scene moved McClain by force to the grass and restrained him.
When EMTs Cooper and Cichuniec arrived, McClain was given a shot of 500 milligrams of ketamine to sedate him and he was loaded into an ambulance where he had a heart attack, according to investigators.
McClain’s cause of death, which was previously listed as “undetermined,” was listed in an amended autopsy report as “complications of ketamine administration following forcible restraint.” The manner of death remained listed as “undetermined” as it was in the initial report.
McClain weighed 143 pounds, but was given a higher dose of ketamine than recommended for someone his size and overdosed, according to Adams County coroner’s office pathologist Stephen Cina.
Cichuniec and Cooper diagnosed McClain with “excited delirium,” after approximately two minutes on the scene, according to the indictment.
Excited delirium is characterized by the FBI as a “potentially deadly medical condition involving psychotic behavior, elevated temperature, and an extreme fight-or-flight response by the nervous system.”
State attorney Shannon Stevenson explained to the jury during the paramedics’ trial that the only time paramedics are allowed to administer ketamine is if the patient is suffering from excited delirium and is a danger to themselves and others.
The prosecution argued that Cichuniec and Cooper failed to give McClain adequate medical assessments before administering the ketamine when they arrived at the scene. Prosecutors also criticized the paramedics for waiting 6 minutes before checking McClain for a pulse after administering the ketamine.
“They intentionally injected Elijah McClain, who was laying on the ground, barely moving, struggling to breathe, with an overdose of ketamine without following a single step of their training and protocols,” Stevenson said during Cichuniec and Cooper’s trial. “They conducted no assessment. They didn’t speak a word to Elijah. They didn’t put a finger on him. And then they overdosed him with 150% of the dose someone his size should have gotten. And then they failed to even check on him until this pulse was gone. They knew better.”
Cooper’s defense attorney argued there is a lack of protocol for the situation these paramedics found themselves in, citing the aggravated police presence, the way paramedics say they had to estimate McClain’s weight with police on top of him, the way to determine who had authority at the scene, and the protocols to accurately assess if a patient is suffering from excited delirium.
McClain died on Aug. 30, 2019, three days after doctors pronounced him brain dead and he was removed from life support, officials said.
Former police officer Randy Roedema was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and assault in the third degree in McClain’s death. He was sentenced to over one year in the county jail in January.
Two other officers, Jason Rosenblatt and Woodyard, were found not guilty on charges of reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Rosenblatt was also acquitted on charges of assault in the second degree.
(AUGUSTA, Maine) — Democratic leaders in Maine are threatening to eliminate the state’s split-vote system for allocating Electoral College delegates if Nebraska Republicans move forward with their plan to do the same.
The two states are the only ones in the country to allocate some delegates proportionally by congressional district, which in 2020 allowed President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to each secure one delegate in states that were otherwise won by the other – Biden in Nebraska and Trump in Maine.
But in early April, Trump, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and other prominent Republicans endorsed a legislative measure that would change Nebraska’s allocation of Electoral College votes to a Trump-favorable, winner-take-all system. The state currently awards one vote for each of the state’s three congressional districts and then two for the overall winner of the state.
Now, Democratic leaders in Maine, the only other state in the nation that awards electoral votes by congressional district, are indicating they’d make a similar change — effectively negating any advantage Trump would gain under the proposed reform in Nebraska.
“If Nebraska’s Republican Governor and Republican-controlled Legislature were to change their electoral system this late in the cycle in order to unfairly award Donald Trump an additional electoral vote, I think the Maine Legislature would be compelled to act in order to restore fairness to our country’s electoral system,” House Majority Leader Maureen Terry, a Democrat, said in a statement on Friday. “It is my hope and the hope of my colleagues in Maine that the Nebraska Republican Party decides not to make this desperate and ill-fated attempt to sway the 2024 election.”
Earlier this month, Nebraska Republicans failed to whip the necessary 33 votes to break a filibuster in its unicameral Senate despite a nationwide pressure campaign from far-right conservative radio host and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. As a result, the proposal failed to advance before the end of the legislative session, effectively killing the bill.
But last week, Pillen — who has already signaled he will call a special legislative session on property tax reform — said in a speech that he would not hesitate to call a special session for “other unfinished business,” which he said included reforming Nebraska to a winner-take-all system, with the key caveat that he would only do so if legislators had the votes.
So far, no special session has been officially called.
(DETROIT) — The owner of a suburban Detroit business was charged with involuntary manslaughter after a building storing thousands of cans of nitrous oxide and butane exploded last month and a teenager was killed by flying debris, officials said.
Noor Noel Kestou, 31, of Commerce, Michigan, was taken into custody on Saturday at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City after authorities learned he had a one-way ticket to Hong Kong, police said. He was arraigned on Thursday in Macomb County, Michigan, and pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter, online court records show.
The fire and series of explosions occurred on March 4 at a warehouse in Clinton Township that was improperly storing canisters of butane and nitrous oxide, officials said.
Goo Smoke Shop/Select Distributors Wholesale Warehouse, a vaping products supplier, had recently received a semi-load of butane containers, over half of which was still at the facility at the time of the fire, officials said. More than 100,000 vape pens containing lithium batteries and pallets of nitrous and lighter fluid were also in the building, officials said.
The blast sent debris flying up to a half-mile in each direction, officials said. Turner Lee Salter, 19, was struck in the head and killed by a nitrous oxide canister about a quarter mile away from the fiery explosion, according to fire officials.
Fire crews spent over a week monitoring the site for “sporadic explosions, pop-up fires and continual smoke,” Clinton Township Police Capt. Anthony Coppola said at a press briefing Friday.
“This was like nothing any of us had ever seen and hope to encounter again,” Coppola said.
Involuntary manslaughter is the highest charge possible at this point in the investigation based on the evidence presented, according to Macomb County prosecutor Peter Lucido. The felony carries a maximum sentence of 15 years if convicted. More charges are possible, Lucido said.
Kestou had been cooperative in the investigation into the fire and explosion, officials said. As the owner of the business, he was the suspect from the beginning of the investigation, Lucido said. Detectives got an alert that he was planning to leave the country and a warrant was issued for his arrest, Lucido said.
“We don’t know what his ultimate goal was,” Lucido said at Friday’s press briefing. “Was it to stay out of the country with a wife and child here?”
His bond was set at $500,000 cash/surety only, which he has since posted. His bond conditions include that he must wear a GPS tether, surrender his passport, not leave the state and have no weapons, officials said. His next court hearing has been scheduled for May 7.
ABC News has reached out to Kestou’s attorney for comment.
The fire is believed to have started in the southwest corner of the building and the cause remains under investigation, Clinton Township Fire Chief Tim Duncan told reporters Friday. At this time, investigators “cannot exclude human involvement in this fire,” he said.
Federal authorities are also involved in the investigation, Duncan said.
ABC News’ Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.
If you’re a fan of SZA‘s acting in the “Kill Bill” video, you’ll see more of her skills pretty soon. Deadline reports the singer has secured her first feature acting gig, a role opposite Keke Palmer.
The pair will star in an untitled buddy comedy film that will be produced by Issa Rae and her Hoorae company, Sara Diya Rastogi, Poppy Hanks, Deniese Davis from ColorCreative, MACRO Film Studios’ CharlesD. King and James Lopez.
Rap Sh!t showrunner Syreeta Singleton wrote the screenplay and is co-producing the film; the Max show’s Lawrence Lamont will serve as director. In addition, Keke and her mother, Sharon Palmer, are executive producing.
The film is a creation stemming from Sony Pictures’ CoCre lab, a “previous pact between ColorCreative and Columbia Pictures to source and incubate emerging, diverse screenwriters to develop and write their first studio feature based on original ideas,” per Deadline.
It will see SZA and Keke come together again, following the Saturday Night Live episode in December 2022 in which Palmer took on hosting duties and SZA performed as the musical guest.
Looks like Mick Jagger is doing a little sightseeing ahead of The Rolling Stones‘ Hackney Diamonds tour kickoff in Houston.
The rocker just shared photos on Instagram from his visit to the Houston Space Center, where he apparently got to test out some of the equipment and meet some astronauts. They even welcomed him with a message on one of the big screens, reading “Welcome to Mission Control Mick Jagger” with his face in the middle.
He captioned the post, “Thanks @nasa for being so welcoming to us and great to be shown around by astronauts Josh Cassada, Bob Hines and Jessica Meir.”
The Stones will launch their tour on Sunday, April 28, at NRG Stadium in Houston. A complete list of dates can be found at rollingstones.com.
(NEW YORK) — Southwest Airlines famously allows passengers to select their own seats upon boarding, but the low fare carrier could be changing course.
Earlier this week, after the Dallas-based carrier reported a $231 million net loss from the first quarter of 2024, CEO Bob Jordan commented on the “disappointing” results and said they are “evaluating options to enhance our Customer Experience” which he said includes “onboard seating.”
“We are focused on controlling what we can control and have already taken swift action to address our financial underperformance and adjust for revised aircraft delivery expectations,” he continued.
On a webcast recording of the earnings call, Jordan said, “It’s been several years since we last studied this in-depth, and customer preference and expectations change over time.”
Jordan later spoke about the potentially massive shift to its open seating cabins as a means to drive up revenue, CNBC first reported.
“We’re looking into new initiatives, things like the way we seat and board our aircraft,” Jordan told CNBC.
While Southwest offers priority boarding groups for an additional fee, the company’s all-Boeing 737 fleet of single economy class aircraft is known by consumers and among airline competitors for its simplistic and affordable experience.
Southwest did not respond to ABC News’ request for additional comment and pointed to the quarterly earnings report.
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’ – New Line/WireImage
Peter Jackson‘s Oscar-winning epic The Lord of the Rings trilogy is returning to theaters for three days in June.
The extended and remastered cuts of 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring, 2002’s The Two Towers and the finale, 2003’s The Return of the King, will screen starting June 8 thanks to a collaboration between Warner Bros. Pictures and Fathom Events at participating chains, including Cinemark, AMC and Regal.
The acclaimed adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien‘s beloved sword and sorcery books begins with Fellowship on June 8, followed by The Two Towers on June 9 and The Return of the King on June 10.
The movies made a combined $3 billion in theaters. The Return of the King won 11 Academy Awards out of 11 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for Jackson, tying Ben-Hur and Titanic for the most Oscars won by a single film.
