System of a Down‘s Serj Tankian and Bad Wolves vocalist Daniel “DL” Laskiewicz guest on a new version of The Hu‘s song “Black Thunder.”
“I had discovered The Hu’s music from a YouTube video that a friend sent me and was instantly struck by their powerful and delightful merging of Mongolian folk and metal,” says Tankian in a statement.
“When they reached out to collaborate, I was intrigued,” he continues. “I appreciate the pride with which they represent their culture through music.”
The updated “Black Thunder” is available now via digital outlets and is accompanied by a video streaming on YouTube. It’ll also appear on the upcoming deluxe edition of The Hu’s 2022 album Rumble of Thunder, due out June 30.
The deluxe Rumble of Thunder also includes the previously released “This Is Mongol (Warrior Souls),” which features William DuVall of Alice in Chains.
The CMT Music Awards have added an other special tribute to Sunday night’s broadcast.
The network just announced that Gary Clark Jr. has been added to the show for a special tribute to the late guitar great Stevie Ray Vaughan. In addition, another guitar legend, Peter Frampton, has been added to the show as a presenter.
As previously reported, in addition to the Vaughan tribute, the show will feature a special tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd, featuring Guns N’ Roses’ Slash, ZZTop’s Billy F. Gibbons, Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes, BadCompany’s Paul Rodgers and more. The Black Crowes are also scheduled to team up with Darius Rucker for a performance of their Shake Your Money Maker classic “She Talks to Angels.”
The 2023 CMT Music Awards air Sunday, April 2, on CBS live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Bruce Springsteen released two albums, Human Touch and Lucky Town, both made following the breakup of the E Street Band.
Human Touch was the first album The Boss recorded, with E Streeter Roy Bittan and several studio musicians including Randy Jackson on bass guitar and Toto’s Jeff Porcaro on drums. It was supposed to be released in 1991 but he held it back and began working on Lucky Town, and then decided to release them both on the same day.
Human Touch was the more popular of the two albums, peaking at two on the Billboard album chart, while Lucky Town peaked at three. The title track of Human Touch, which was paired with the Lucky Town song “Better Days,” reached number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts.
Both Human Touch and Lucky Town went on to be certified Platinum by the RIAA.
Springsteen’s breakup with the E Street Band was only temporary. He reunited the band in 1997 to record some songs for a Greatest Hits album, and then in 1999 they got back together again for an extensive Reunion Tour, and have recorded several albums together since then. Earlier this year they kicked off another tour together, which hits New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
(ROME) — Pope Francis is expected to leave the hospital Saturday morning after spending three days recovering from bronchitis, according to the Vatican press office.
“His Holiness’s return home to Santa Marta is expected for tomorrow, dependent on his latest medical test results carried out this morning,” director of the Holy See press office, Matteo Bruni, said in a statement Friday morning.
Bruni said the pontiff’s hospital stay has gone well “with normal medical progress.”
Francis, according to the statement, ate pizza for dinner last night, had breakfast this morning, read his newspapers and then went back to work.
“I can confirm that, since he is scheduled to leave the hospital tomorrow, Pope Francis is expected to be present in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday for the Eucharistic celebration of Palm Sunday, the Passion of the Lord,” Bruni added in his statement.
Francis, 86, was taken Wednesday to the Gemelli University Hospital after complaining of some respiratory difficulties and had tests performed.
“The outcome of these showed a respiratory infection (excluding Covid 19 infection) that will require several days of appropriate hospital medical treatment,” the press office said at the time.
Bronchitis occurs when the airways in the lungs, which are known as the bronchial tubes, become inflamed.
It often develops as a result of viral infections including the common cold, influenza and RSV, according to the National Institutes of Health.
It’s unknown what treatment the Pope is receiving aside from an “infusion-based antibiotic therapy,” according to the Vatican. The NIH says most cases of bronchitis clear up on their own with a mix of over-the-counter medications to relieve coughing and loosen mucus, drinking hot tea or water, and inhaler medications if needed.
The overnight stay marked the first time the Vatican has publicly announced that Francis has gone to the hospital since he underwent surgery to have part of his colon removed in July 2021 due to intestinal inflammation.
It’s previously been reported that the Pope had part of one lung removed as a young man because of a respiratory infection.
President Joe Biden sent well wishes to Francis during remarks at an event Wednesday celebrating Greek Independence Day.
“The pope is ill now, so say an extra prayer for him,” said Biden, who — in 2021 — became the first Roman Catholic U.S. leader in more than half a century to meet at the Vatican with the head of the Catholic Church.
On Thursday, Francis sent a message of thanks to those who’d wished him well.
“I am touched by the many messages received in these hours and I express my gratitude for the closeness and prayer,” he said on Twitter.
Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter will be allowed to sue the woman accusing him of sexual assault, a Las Vegas judge ruled on Wednesday.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that earlier this week, District Judge Nancy Allf allowed Nick’s counterclaim against Shannon Ruth, who accused Nick late last year of assaulting her when she was 17, to move forward.
Nick’s counterclaim alleges that Ruth, now 39, is part of a conspiracy to “defame and extort” him and that she was persuaded to sue him by the family of another woman who’s accused Nick of sexual assault.
According to the paper, Ruth’s claim against Nick cost the band more than $2 million, due to the cancellation of promotional events surrounding their Christmas album that followed the news.
Ruth, who is autistic and has cerebral palsy, accuses Nick of assaulting her on a tour bus after a Backstreet performance in Tacoma, Washington. Her lawyers attempted to dismiss Nick’s counterclaim, and accused him of “harassing and intimidating” Ruth by filing it.
While the judge found in Nick’s favor, she did not grant the singer the attorneys’ fees he’d also requested.
If you are affected by abuse and needing support, or know someone who is, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). You can also chat online at thehotline.org or online.rainn.org, respectively.
(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) — Mourners will gather on Friday for the first of six funerals in the wake of Monday’s mass shooting at The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee.
Friends and family of 9-year-old victim Evelyn Dieckhaus were asked to wear pink and green to her funeral service on Friday afternoon.
“Our hearts are completely broken,” the Dieckhaus family said in a statement. “We cannot believe this has happened. Evelyn was a shining light in this world.”
The service for 9-year-old victim Hallie Scruggs will be on Saturday. Hallie’s funeral will be at Covenant Presbyterian Church — the church connected to the school where she was killed and where her father, Chad Scruggs, is a senior pastor.
Chad Scruggs told ABC News in a statement, “We are heartbroken. She was such a gift. Through tears we trust that she is in the arms of Jesus who will raise her to life once again.”
Saturday will also be the visitation and service for 61-year-old Cynthia Peak, who was a substitute teacher at The Covenant School.
Her family called her “a pillar of the community, and a teacher beloved by all her students.”
“Her favorite roles in life were being a mom to her three children, a wife to her husband, and an educator to students,” Peak’s family said in a statement. “We will never stop missing her.”
The service for the third child killed, 9-year-old Will Kinney, will take place on Sunday.
On Tuesday, beloved school custodian, 61-year-old Mike Hill, will be laid to rest.
He was a father of seven and a grandfather of 14.
“We pray for the Covenant School and are so grateful that Michael was beloved by the faculty and students who filled him with joy for 14 years,” his family said in a statement.
Former student Bex Lithgow called Hill “the kindest soul who loved all the students so much.”
The final funeral service will be on Wednesday for 60-year-old Katherine Koonce, the head of the school.
“Katherine was devoted to her family, her friends, and especially the children she cared for. She gave her life to protect the students she loved,” Koonce’s family said in a statement. “It is our privilege to honor Katherine’s legacy and to celebrate her remarkable spirit.”
A former local school administrator, Tricia Drake, told ABC News that her last conversation with Koonce was in August, discussing companies they used for active shooter training.
Drake said she knew Koonce had initiated her active shooter protocols on Monday when she saw footage police released from two of the responding officers’ body cameras. One of the videos shows a Covenant School staff member meeting an officer at the school’s main entrance, telling him, “The kids are all locked down, but we have two kids that we don’t know where they are.” The staffer is then seen using a key to unlock the door so officers could go inside.
“Students were in their classrooms, locked up, the professional outdoors to lead the Metro policeman. She had a key, what her headcount was, she knew exactly where the students would be, she was prepared,” Drake said. “I’m sure they had run those drills, and it’s because of Katherine and the foresight she had to make sure her staffers were prepared.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern seeking to hold the railroad company accountable for the derailment last month in East Palestine, Ohio and its toxic aftermath, according to court records.
The civil lawsuit on behalf of the EPA seeks injunctive relief and monetary penalties from Norfolk Southern for the response costs to the Feb. 3 derailment, including a nearly $65,000 fine for every day it violated clean water laws.
On Feb. 3, about 50 cars from the train derailed in a fiery crash on the outskirts of East Palestine. Concerned about an explosion, officials ordered an evacuation and then proceeded with a controlled release and burn of vinyl chloride.
The derailment and its aftermath have sparked a firestorm of criticism and concerns from residents about their health.
In the suit, the DOJ alleges Norfolk Southern violated provisions of the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants and oil into a local waterway and reduced spending on repairs and maintenance.
The filing also seeks to single out the actions of Norfolk Southern’s corporate board, noting its executives received approximately 80% of their compensation for performance metrics like increasing revenue and reducing the expenses of its railroad subsidiaries. As a result, the DOJ says that over the past four years there has been “a stark contrast between the increases in operating income and the drop in railroad operating costs.”
“The drop in operating costs includes reductions in spending to repair, service, and maintain locomotives and freight cars, perform train inspections, and pay engine crews and train crews,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit goes on to provide further details about the crash itself. At least 11 of the 38 rail cars involved in the crash were carrying hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, isobutylene and benzene residue. Five additional rail cars were carrying oil.
Federal officials note that the EPA is continuing to conduct soil and air sampling around the site of the crash. The Ohio Department of National Resources has reported that thousands of aquatic animals were killed in the weeks since the crash in a five-mile span of waterway from the site of the derailment.
The complaint asks for a judge to order Norfolk Southern to pay civil penalties of $64,618 per each day it violated provisions of the Clean Water Act and another $55,808 per day or $2,232 per barrel of oil or unit of hazardous substances spilled. The lawsuit also seeks an injunction ordering Norfolk Southern to take action to ensure it will safely transport oil and hazardous materials moving forward and continue to assist in efforts to mitigate the harm caused by the crash in East Palestine.
Norfolk Southern must respond to the suit in 21 days and it has not yet done so.
The company said in a statement about the lawsuit: “Our job right now is to make progress every day cleaning up the site, assisting residents whose lives were impacted by the derailment, and investing in the future of East Palestine and the surrounding areas. We are working with urgency, at the direction of the U.S. EPA, and making daily progress. That remains our focus and we’ll keep working until we make it right.”
Norfolk Southern has pledged funds for the community and school district and in an open letter on Feb. 13 said it “will stay here for as long as it takes to ensure your safety and to help East Palestine recover and thrive.”
Queen is back with episode 11 of their weekly YouTube series Queen The Greatest Live, where this time the band gives fans a look at their epic set closer, “We Are The Champions.”
The clip features footage from the end of their 1977 News of the World U.S. tour, where they first introduced the song as their “grand finale,” featuring the band bathed in a cloud of dry ice.
“We Are The Champions” is very triumphal,” Brian May has said about the tune. “It fits the occasion, whatever the occasion might be,” adding, “We always end our show with it because it’s the best last song we know.”
Coming next week: “Queen – Who Wants to Live Forever.”
(NEW YORK) — The first assistant director for Rust has been sentenced to six months unsupervised probation as part of a plea deal in connection with the fatal on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
David Halls, 63, was charged with negligent use of a deadly weapon in connection with the October 2021 shooting on the Santa Fe set of the Western. Halls had handed a Colt .45 revolver to Alec Baldwin that fired while the actor was practicing a cross-draw, striking Hutchins. Attorneys for Halls and Baldwin have said neither knew there were any live rounds in the firearm.
During a virtual plea hearing on Friday, Halls pleaded no contest to his misdemeanor charge. He answered the judge’s questions though did not make any further statement on the incident.
“He, like many others, is extremely traumatized and just rattled with guilt and so many other feelings of, what could I have done better? How could I have changed things?” his attorney, Lisa Torraco, said during the hearing.
Torraco asked the judge for a deferred sentence and argued that his role as safety coordinator was not to control how people handled firearms but to ensure there were safety meetings held.
“Mr. Halls is in a lot of pain and a lot of trauma. He was 3 feet from Ms. Hutchins when the firearm went off. No one expected this,” Torraco said.
Prosecutor Kari Morrissey argued that as safety coordinator, it was Halls’ responsibility to ensure that the firearm did not have any live rounds and that there had been previous safety issues on set involving firearm discharges.
“Obviously this was a very serious incident. A young woman lost her life,” Morrissey said while asking for a suspended sentence.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommers ultimately sided with the state, telling Halls, “I am not persuaded that a deferred sentence is appropriate for you in this case.”
In addition to six months unsupervised probation, the terms of the sentence include that Halls pay a $500 fine, perform 24 hours of community service, take a fire safety course within 60 days, testify in all hearings involving the shooting and have no contact with co-defendants or witnesses.
Baldwin and the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, were both charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter over Hutchins’ death. Gun enhancement charges for both were dropped in late February.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to his charges and has also denied pulling the trigger. Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney has said she intends to plead not guilty and has said she has no idea how live rounds ended up in the gun.
Both are scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on May 3.
Halls’ hearing comes days after Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced she was stepping away from prosecuting the case and appointed Morrissey and Jason Lewis to serve as special prosecutors.
Over the past few years, DJ and producer Kygo has been remixing classic songs by Whitney Houston, Donna Summer and Tina Turner, including “Higher Love,” “What’s Love Got to Do With It” and “Hot Stuff.” Now he’s turned his attention to a #1 hit by two of the biggest male music superstars in history.
Kygo has reworked “Say Say Say,” a number-one hit by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson that appeared on McCartney’s 1983 album Pipes of Peace. “I just feel honored,” Kygo tells Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1.
“I feel like everybody seemed like they were pretty happy with this, and they were on board,” he adds. “And Paul McCartney’s team was happy, and Michael Jackson’s estate. They all seem excited about this remix coming out…I feel like they were all just positive about it.”
Describing working with original tracks of the recording, Kygo says, “When you can hear Paul McCartney recording stuff and you can hear MJ’s recording stuff…it’s kind of surreal. It was the same feeling when I had suddenly got the Whitney Houston ‘Higher Love’ [tracks]…it’s a timeless classic track.”
