Coheed and Cambria has shared an acoustic version of the band’s new single, “Shoulders.”
Even without the electricity, the song’s main riff still brings the heavy, now with a twangy, more Western feel. The unplugged version also puts a greater spotlight on guitarist Travis Stever and bassist Zach Cooper‘s harmonizing backing vocals.
You can watch Coheed’s acoustic performance streaming now on YouTube.
The original “Shoulders” dropped in July. It currently sits in the top 20 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.
Meanwhile, Coheed has been working on a new album to follow 2018’s Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures.
(NEW YORK) — Eight Nigerians have been charged in the U.S. with running widespread internet scams for at least a decade from their base of operation in Cape Town, South Africa, federal prosecutors in New Jersey announced Wednesday.
The suspects, who were arrested in Cape Town and are awaiting extradition, have suspected ties to a transnational organized crime syndicate originating in Nigeria known as Black Axe.
From 2011 through 2021 the defendants allegedly ran schemes that involved their telling victims in the United States false narratives about traveling to South Africa for work and needing money after a series of unfortunate and unforeseen events, according to the indictment.
Other Americans fell victim to the defendants’ romance scams, believing they were in romantic relationships with someone using an alias and, when requested, the victims sent money and items of value to South Africa, the indictment said.
“The Co-conspirators often used aliases not only of the purported love interest of a victim, but also of other people involved in that person’s life, including a purported child, a business partner, or a friend, to bolster the perceived legitimacy of the stories portrayed, as a part of the Romance Scam or Advance Fee Scheme and to further induce the victims to send money on behalf of the purported love interest,” the indictment said.
Federal prosecutors quoted messages the defendants allegedly sent to victims, in one instance seeking a loan to fix a crane for a construction project:
“Honey, i don’t know how you will take this, i hate doing it but i have no other option, with profound sense of sadness and disgrace i am begging you to please loan me the balance, if possible a little bit more for upkeeping, i promise i will reimburse you once they come for inspection and give me the part-payment and that cannot be more than sometime next week.”
Sometimes victims were allegedly convinced to open financial accounts in the United States that the conspirators would then be permitted to use themselves to launder money.
Internet-based scams like the ones described in the indictment cost victims $600 million in 2020, according to the FBI.
“If you continue to be able to have a scheme that works you’re going to keep going back to it,” said George Crouch, special agent-in-charge of the FBI’s Newark Field Office.
He said the schemes allegedly perpetrated by the Nigerians charged this week were particularly insidious because they played on people’s emotions.
“Widowers, widows, divorcees, they really target those folks in a vulnerable state, pulling at their heart strings, all with the intent of separating them from their money,” Crouch told ABC News in a phone interview.
“Americans are too often victimized by criminal organizations located abroad who use the internet to deceive those victims, defraud them of money, and, many times, persuade the victims to wittingly or unwittingly assist in perpetuating the fraudulent schemes,” acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said. “The public should be on guard against schemes like these.”
The defendants are charged with wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.
Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney were among the stars who took part in the 2021 edition of the Robin Hood Foundation‘s annual charity gala, which was held Wednesday night at New York City’s Jacob Javits Center.
According to Rolling Stone, Springsteen was introduced by the event’s host, Saturday Night Live‘s Cecily Strong, and proceeded to deliver a short acoustic set that featured renditions of “Working on the Highway,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “Thunder Road.”
“For over 30 years, Robin Hood has been finding, fueling, creating, impactful solutions to lift families out of poverty here in New York City,” the Boss told the crowd of an estimated 3,000. “The funds raised tonight translate into real results for New Yorkers living in poverty. We appreciate your support.”
The Robin Hood Foundation has been supporting poverty-fighting programs in the New York area for over 30 years, and also helped organize the star-studded post-9/11 event The Concert for New York City, which McCartney famously headlined.
The gala took place on the 20th anniversary of the concert, and to mark the occasion, McCartney — who also helped put together the 2001 show — was honored with a special award.
Alicia Keys performed the classic Beatles ballad “Let It Be” before McCartney took the stage.
“I love New York,” he told the audience. “Many years ago, when I was a little kid in Liverpool, we saw New York in the movies. I never dreamed that I would be here getting an award like this from you fantastic people. But then years later, we did show up at JFK with my buddies, the Beatles. We went on The Ed Sullivan Show and, boy, that was something.”
The event, which raised $77.5 million, also featured a performance by the Jonas Brothers.
In a little skit they played out on Instagram, Courteney Cox busted her Scream co-star Melissa Barrera for being a little too obsessed with Friends.
The episode Cox posted online started with a guitar riff and a tilt up to a building, specifically 90 Bedford street in Lower Manhattan — more specifically, the building that was used as the exterior shots of Monica Gellar’s apartment on the hit sitcom.
The musical interlude, with the camera tilting up at the building, perfectly imitated the show’s trademark scene transitions. But in this case, Barrera walks towards the famous facade.
“Melissa, how are you?” Cox stops the actress in her tracks. “Where are you going?”
Barrera replies, “I’m just going home.”
Cox says, “Hm, that’s weird. I don’t think that’s your home,” before adding, “I’m actually really happy you joined the Scream cast, but this is not OK. This is off limits.”
“No, Melissa. No,” Cox continues. “There’s only so much. Come on, go back to the Heights,” snarkily referencing the younger actress’ role in In the Heights.
Barrera storms off, with a Monica-like “I KNOW!”
“Stop imitating me!” Cox yells, before huffing to herself, “Oh, so pathetic!”
The cute exchange got more than 560,000 likes on Instagram in less than a day.
The pair will share the screen again when the fifth Scream film comes out next November.
It’s not even Halloween, but plenty of Christmas albums and songs have already been released, or will be in the next couple of weeks. However, the Queen of Christmas is here to tell you that it’s too early to start pumping the holiday tunes.
In what’s become an annual tradition, Mariah Careyhas posted a video declaring that it’s not the proper time to start listening to or playing Christmas music — and especially not her number-one hit holiday classic, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
In the clip, a friend comes up to Mariah while wearing a hoodie decorated with a cartoon rendering of the diva in a Santa outfit. The friend asks, in a foreign language — which Billboardsays is Portuguese — “Look what I found today! Can I wear it?”
Mariah responds by wagging her finger and crooning, “Not yet!” followed by a sheepish smile and a shrug.
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” has hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the past two years. So far, it’s yet to be revealed what special Christmas content and activities Mariah has in store for fans this year, but you know it’s coming.
(NEW YORK) — The United States has been facing a COVID-19 surge as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread.
More than 730,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.9 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 66.8% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the CDC.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Oct 21, 8:53 am
CDC panel hours away from vote on Moderna, J&J boosters
A CDC committee is meeting Thursday to discuss and vote on booster shots for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, as well as if people can mix and match their booster doses.
On Wednesday evening, the FDA authorized Moderna and J&J boosters for some people and allowed for the mixing and matching booster doses.
The next step of the process is for the CDC panel to deliberate and ultimately vote on whether to recommend those boosters, and whether to allow mixing and matching. The CDC panel vote is expected around 4:30 p.m.
After the panel vote, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will make the final decision, likely within one day. The panel’s vote is nonbinding and the CDC is not required to follow the panel’s recommendations.
Boosting for eligible Moderna and J&J recipients would be able to start once Walensky gives the greenlight.
The FDA has made it clear that there is no preferred booster vaccine for the mixed dosage, but the CDC panel on Thursday is likely to discuss available data on what booster blend might offer the strongest immunity.
Oct 21, 1:01 am
US delivers 200M vaccine doses globally: White House
The U.S. has now donated and delivered 200 million COVID-19 vaccines globally, according to a White House official.
The figure is part of 1.1 billion doses President Joe Biden has pledged to more than 100 countries around the world.
“These 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have helped bring health and hope to millions of people, but our work is far from over,” Samantha Power, administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is assisting in the global vaccine effort, said in a statement. “To end the pandemic, and prevent the emergence of new variants, as well as future outbreaks within our nation’s borders, we must continue to do our part to help vaccinate the world.”
The Biden administration has received criticism for getting Americans booster shots while many around the world have yet to get one. Though the White House has insisted the U.S. can provide boosters to its citizens while funneling doses overseas — and working to increase vaccine production abroad.
Oct 20, 10:09 pm
US deaths estimated to continue to fall in weeks ahead, though thousands more lost
Forecast models used by the CDC are predicting that weekly COVID-19 death totals in the U.S. will likely continue to drop in the weeks to come, though thousands of Americans are still expected to lose their lives to the virus.
The model expects approximately 18,000 deaths to occur in the next two weeks, with a total of around 757,000 deaths recorded in the U.S. by Nov. 13.
The ensemble model estimates that 19 states and territories of the U.S. have a greater than 50% chance of having more deaths in the next two weeks compared to the past two weeks, and that four states and territories (Alaska, Nebraska, Ohio and American Samoa) have a greater than 75% chance of an increase over the next two weeks.
Oct 20, 5:21 pm
FDA authorizes booster shots for Moderna, J&J vaccines
The FDA authorized booster shots for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines for some populations Wednesday.
Moderna’s vaccine can be administered at least six months after the second dose for people ages 65 and up and those ages 18 through 64 who either are at high risk of severe COVID-19 infection or have occupational exposure to the virus, the FDA said.
The J&J booster can be administered at least two months after the single-dose shot to those ages 18 and up, the agency said.
The FDA, which authorized Pfizer’s booster dose last month, also said it will allow people to mix booster doses.
Halsey’s album If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power — produced by Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross — might be the project to finally score the singer some Grammys love.
But in a new cover story for Billboard, Halsey says as long as the album has longevity, they don’t care about the awards.
“The record is outstanding, and I’m really proud of what we’ve done,” they say. “The most important thing to me is that it continues to have a life and continues to grow and burns and burrows slowly with the audience instead of coming in fast and burning out just as fast, like most records seem to do these days.”
With or without a Grammy, Halsey says making the album has changed their life. “And seeing it work has given me a type of confidence that I think will change what my fifth album sounds like. [And] my sixth, my seventh, my eighth,” they say.
We may have to wait a bit for the next album, though, as Halsey enjoys being a new mom to son Ender. They say they’ll “probably do nothing” for the next couple of years.
“I’m glad we got to make this album when we did because being a mother to my son makes being a musician seem pretty boring,” Halsey says. “…[The] only expectation I have for myself is to be a really good mom, and the rest will fall into place around that.”
(INDIANAPOLIS) — Indianapolis Colts safety Julian Blackmon is out for the year after tearing his Achilles, the team announced on Thursday.
Black suffered the injury during practice on Wednesday.
The second-year player started all six games this season and recorded 34 tackles and one pass break up.
We will continue to trust our Lord! He had this planned for me from the beginning. It’s how we respond that matters! Let’s get this W this week!! https://t.co/8iEaxjvj5x
According to ESPN, this is the second serious injury Blackmon has faced in three years. In 2019, while at Utah, he tore an ACL during the PAC-12 Championship game. He recovered and played 15 games during his rookie season last year.
Blackmon becomes the 20th player the Colts have placed in injured reserve since the start of training camp.
Rise Against has announced a new EP titled Nowhere Sessions.
The six-track collection, due out November 12, is described as a “live expansion” of the Chicago punk outfit’s latest album, Nowhere Generation. It includes renditions of the Nowhere Generation cuts “Talking to Ourselves,” “Broken Dreams, Inc.” and the title track, as well as the 2008 song “Savior.”
Additionally, you’ll also find covers of the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic “Fortunate Son” and the Misfits ripper “Hybrid Moments.”
Nowhere Generation, the ninth Rise Against album, was released in June. Its title track is the first Rise Against single to hit number one on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.
Prentice Penny is sharing details about the fifth and final season of his hit HBO series Insecure.
After the season four finale left fans wondering whether main characters Issa and Lawrence could possibly ever get back together after Lawrence revealed that he accidentally impregnated his ex, Penny says it’s unlikely that fans will be “satisfied” with Issa’s relationship choices.
“They’re all going to feel like, ‘I want her with this person for this reason,'” Penny tells ABC Audio.
The showrunner admits that Issa’s love life was also a topic of “debate” in the writer’s room, noting that a happily-ever-after ending wasn’t necessarily on their agenda.
“We just tried to tell the most interesting story regardless of that and…not…let that weigh in too much,” he says.
While season five may not end with the perfect relationship pairings for fans, Penny does promise that the final season will offer “personal growth closure” for its characters.
“Not necessarily closure of the end of their story,” he explains. “Because one of the things that we kept getting tripped up on…was like, ‘How do we land the plane?’ And it was a lot of pressure…especially at HBO, where…a lot of finales get super scrutinized, like Game of Thrones and The Sopranos…where…people [are] like, ‘Why did they do this?'”
Pressure aside, Penny teases that the finale episode will be the perfect set-up for a continuation.
“We…realized…that the characters lives will continue, it’s just we’re not following them,” he says. “So we… started to ask the question, ‘Well, if we were doing season six, what would be an interesting place to start… from?” And that became…where we should end the show.”
Season five of Insecure premieres Sunday, October 24, at 10 p.m. ET.
