After an amazing 57 years, Grammy winners Kool & the Gang are not allowing the recent passing of two of their founding members stop the band.
Ronald Bell, the primary composer and producer behind many of their iconic hits, including their global anthem “Celebration,” died September 9, 2020, at the age of 68, while saxophonist Dennis “Dee Tee” Thomas passed away last month at age 70.
“It’s kinda heavy losing my brother last year, Dee Tee this year, and the whole COVID thing,” band leader Robert “Kool” Bell tells Grammy.com. “We’re trying to get through it and trying to move forward. Our dates are starting to come back.”
Kool & the Gang recently performed on a European mini-tour, and reopened the Hollywood Bowl with sold-out concerts on July 3 and 4.
The group released their first new album in eight years, Perfect Union, on Friday, inspired by President Joe Biden‘s campaign slogan of the same name.
Kool says Ronald was the driving force behind the project.
“My brother basically did most of the album and got us back into the studio before I lost him last year, but it’s good to be back out there,” he comments. “When Biden was running for president, he played ‘Celebration.’ When he won, ‘Celebration’ was one of the most-played songs around the world.”
Bell adds that his brother came up with the album’s first single, “Pursuit of Happiness,” which has a theme of peace and harmony.
“When Biden was making his speech for his nomination, he went into the Constitution and spoke about the pursuit of happiness and a perfect union,” Kool notes. “We have some dance stuff on the album, but this project is about pushing for world peace and people coming together.”
(CALIFORNIA) — The California ride-hailing driver suing over the controversial Proposition 22 law said he can “breathe a little easier” after a judge ruled it unconstitutional, but an ongoing legal battle still looms as industry giants ready an appeal.
Proposition 22 — a ballot measure backed by Uber, Lyft and others — defines rideshare and related gig workers as independent contractors instead of employees, a distinction providing them less labor protections under state law.
Corporations spent more than $200 million in support of the measure, according to The Associated Press. Proposition 22 was approved by California voters last November, winning 58% of the vote.
Last Friday, however, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ruled that Proposition 22 was unconstitutional and unenforceable after a lawsuit was brought forth by three drivers and the Service Employees International Union.
“The court ruling isn’t just about us drivers or Uber or Lyft,” Hector Castellanos, a full-time rideshare driver and one of the plaintiffs on the suit, told reporters during a call organized by the SEIU on Monday. “To me, it also means that corporations can’t spend their way out of following the law.”
“There’s a lot to celebrate, and now I feel like I can breathe a little easier,” Castellanos added. “Sometimes it’s hard to find the words to describe how much this means to me. But one thing for sure is that I’m excited to share this news with more drivers and continuing to speak out and to stand up for our rights.”
Fellow rideshare driver and plaintiff Michael Robinson added that he feels “relieved.”
“Prop 22 was deceptively written by gig corporations to protect their profits,” Robinson said during a press conference organized by the SEIU in California. “I want others to remember that and the court’s ruling as these same gig corporations try to take copy-cat laws on the road.”
“I’m happy that the court sided with drivers, but the fight is far from over,” Robinson said. “We’re going to keep putting a spotlight on how the gig corporations are putting their profits above their workers.”
“We won’t stop until we’re treated with the dignity and respect we deserve,” he added.
Cherri Murphy, a rideshare driver from Oakland, California, told ABC News Monday that she worked at Lyft for three years before she stopped as the pandemic hit last spring because she was worried about risking her and her family’s exposure to the virus. She still works as an organizer fighting for the rights of rideshare drivers in the state.
“This court ruling that Proposition 22 is unconstitutional is a major victory to all drivers across California,” she told ABC News Monday. “What it indicates is that this fight is not over, and it’s a major step of building a more powerful movement for protecting app-based drivers.”
Murphy said the law “disproportionately hurt African Americans, people of color, immigrants and low-wage workers,” and dubbed it a “corporate power grab.”
Lyft referred ABC News’ request for comment to Geoff Vetter, a spokesperson for a group dubbed the Protect App-Based Drivers & Services Coalition that is backed by Uber, Lyft and others and was a defendant in the SEIU suit.
“We believe the judge made a serious error by ignoring a century’s worth of case law requiring the courts to guard the voters’ right of initiative,” Vetter said in a statement. “This outrageous decision is an affront to the overwhelming majority of California voters who passed Prop 22.”
“We will file an immediate appeal and are confident the Appellate Court will uphold Prop 22,” Vetter added. “Importantly, this Superior Court ruling is not binding and will be immediately stayed upon our appeal. All of the provisions of Prop 22 will remain in effect until the appeal process is complete.”
Vetter also shared a comment from Jim Pyatt, a California app-based rideshare driver who supported Proposition 22.
“This ruling is wrong and disrespectful to the hundreds of thousands of app-based rideshare and delivery drivers like me who actively supported Prop 22,” Pyatt stated.
“It’s clear that the special interests behind this frivolous challenge are attacking the overwhelming will of the voters and the decisive wishes of drivers who fought to remain independent,” he added.
An Uber spokesperson told ABC News that it plans to appeal, and that the measure will remain in effect pending the appeal.
“This ruling ignores the will of the overwhelming majority of California voters and defies both logic and the law. You don’t have to take our word for it: California’s Attorney General strongly defended Proposition 22’s constitutionality in this very case,” company spokesperson Noah Edwardsen said in a statement.
“We will appeal and we expect to win,” Edwardsen added. “Meanwhile, Prop. 22 remains in effect, including all of the protections and benefits it provides independent workers across the state.”
Murphy told ABC News that Uber’s announcement does not come as a surprise.
“It doesn’t surprise me but yet it disappoints me,” Murphy said.
Scott Kronland, an attorney representing the SEIU in the suit, said during a call with reports Monday that Judge Roesch’s ruling is “solid” and “well-reasoned.”
“There were several ways in which the drafters of the initiative overreached and included provisions that conflict with our state constitution, which is the higher law, and therefore we expect that the ruling will be upheld on appeal,” Kronland said.
Alma Hernandez, the executive director of the SEIU California, added that she hopes the judge’s ruling will send a “clear” message to states elsewhere that try to enact similar legislation.
“When you’re going to try to go to the ballot to purchase your own law to deny workers basic rights, there will be a fight, and the law will be continued to be upheld by our courts,” Hernandez said.
“I know that this is a national agenda that these companies have tried to run across the country, and they’re trying to mimic Prop. 22 across in other states, but it serves as a warning that these fights will be challenged,” she added. “And they are not on the right side of history.”
Corey Taylor is encouraging all his fans to get vaccinated as he recovers from a battle with COVID-19.
The Slipknot frontman revealed that he tested positive for the virus last Friday, a day after he finished a solo tour. In a new video message posted Monday afternoon, Taylor shares that he’s feeling much better — his fever’s broken, and he no longer feels body aches — and credits being fully vaccinated for helping him in his recovery.
“This is the worst I’ve ever been sick in my life,” Taylor says. “Had I not been vaccinated, I shudder to think how bad it would have been. But because I had that extra little bit of protection, man, it definitely helped me get through it.”
To those who are “still on the fence” about getting the jab, Taylor has one piece of advice: “Go, go, go.”
“If you’re still on the fence, I’m telling you right now, it’s the best thing you can do for yourself,” he says.
Just a little update on how I’m recovering. Thanks so much to everyone who sent their best wishes and to friends and family who reached out. pic.twitter.com/haWwWZbdN3
(NEW YORK) — When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for people ages 16 and older Monday, it did so with a warning to parents and medical providers.
The vaccine — the first covid-19 vaccine to transition from an emergency authorization status to full FDA approval — should not be given to young children as off-label use, according to FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock.
“We do not have data on the proper dose, nor do we have the full data on the safety in children younger than what is in the EUA, and so that would be a great concern that people would vaccinate children,” Woodcock said. “We are not recommending that children younger than age 12 be vaccinated with this vaccine, it would not be appropriate.”
“They are not just small adults,” she said of kids. “And we’ve learned that time and time again and so we really would have to have the data and the appropriate dose before recommending that children be vaccinated.”
Dr. Robert Frenck, lead investigator of the COVID-19 vaccine trials at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, emphasized that clinical testing has not yet been done in 5 to 12-year-olds.
It’s likely that young children ages 5 to 12 will get a smaller vaccine dose. That’s not only because children are smaller, but also because they tend to have stronger immune responses than adults, Frenck said.
“In kids 5-12, we found that 10 micrograms, so one-third of the [adult] dose, gives you the same immune response,” Frenck said. “If they give it off label, and they give the 30 mg, I think they’re going to have kids in the 5 to 12-year-olds that are going to have a lot more reactogenicity. That means they’re going to have kids with fevers, headaches, and they’re going to feel bad.”
“As scientists we want to know,” Frenck said. “You don’t want to guess.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also urged caution, noting that while it is now “legally permissible” for doctors to administer the vaccine off-label for kids ages 11 and younger, the AAP “strongly discourages that practice.”
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was authorized for use in children ages 12 to 15 in May by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The two other COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, are currently available for anyone 18 years and older in the U.S. Moderna filed for emergency use authorization with the FDA for its vaccine in adolescents in June but is still awaiting a decision.
Here is what parents may want to know about the COVID-19 vaccines and kids to help them make decisions.
1. What is the science behind the COVID-19 vaccine?
Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use mRNA technology, which does not enter the nucleus of the cells and doesn’t alter human DNA. Instead, it sends a genetic “instruction manual” that prompts cells to create proteins that look like the outside of the virus — a way for the body to learn and develop defenses against future infection.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine uses an inactivated adenovirus vector, Ad26, that cannot replicate. The Ad26 vector carries a piece of DNA with instructions to make the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that triggers an immune response.
This same type of vaccine has been authorized for Ebola, and has been studied extensively for other illnesses — and for how it affects women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Neither of these vaccine platforms can cause COVID-19.
2. What is the status of vaccine eligibility for kids?
Pfizer has said it will submit vaccine safety data on 5- to 11-year-olds by the end of September. Moderna has said it will do so in the middle of the fall. It will then be up to the FDA on how quickly it grants the authorization.
In general, federal and industry officials said they expect the first vaccine shots for children ages 5-11 could happen by the end of this year or early 2022. Timing on a vaccine for children younger than 5 is less certain, but officials have said they hope a green-light for toddlers and infants will follow soon after.
Clinical trials are however still ongoing, and the FDA has signaled it wants to expand the pool of children signed up as volunteers. A larger pool of volunteers makes it more likely that even the rarest of side effects could be detected before it rolls out nationwide.
3. Why do kids need to be vaccinated against COVID-19?
While have not been as many deaths from COVID-19 among children as adults, particularly adults in high-risk categories, kids can still get the virus and just as importantly, they can transmit the virus to adults.
The American Academy of Pediatrics reported this week that children now make up 22.4% of all new weekly cases, and over 3.7 million children have been diagnosed during the pandemic.
“There are really two big reasons why kids need to get the vaccine,” explained Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News chief medical correspondent.
“One of them is that it is possible that they could be infected and then unknowingly pass COVID-19 to someone with a serious or underlying, pre-existing medical condition,” she said. “And also, though it’s very uncommon and unlikely, it is still possible that children infected with COVID-19 could become seriously ill or worse. We have seen that.”
“It’s important to think in ripple effects, outside the box,” Ashton added. “It’s not just your home environment that you need to worry about.”
4. Will kids experience the same vaccine side effects as adults?
Adolescents experienced a similar range of side effects as seen in older teens and young adults — generally seen as cold-like symptoms in the two to three days after the second dose — and had an “excellent safety profile,” Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said at a press briefing announcing Pfizer’s authorization.
“Based on all this available information, the FDA determined the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has met all of the criteria required to amend the EUA, which concluded that the known and potential benefits of this vaccine in individuals 12 years of age and older outweigh the vaccines known and potential risks,” Marks said.
Marks encouraged parents who were hesitant to vaccinate their children to speak with their pediatricians, urging confidence in the trial and data.
Moderna said its COVID-19 study with teens ages 12 to under 18 identified no “significant safety concerns.” The most common side effects from the vaccine were injection site pain, headache, fatigue, muscle pain and chills, according to the company.
The FDA will scrutinize Moderna’s clinical data before authorizing the use in anyone under 18.
5. Have there been any vaccine side effects for teens and young adults?
There have been more than 300 confirmed cases of heart inflammation in teens and young adults who have received COVID-19 vaccines, but the nation’s leading health experts say the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines remain safe for use.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said on “Good Morning America” in June the benefits of the vaccine for young people “overwhelmingly outweigh the risk,” echoing the findings of researchers at a CDC advisory committee meeting this week on vaccines.
Out of more than 26 million doses given to young people, the CDC has so far confirmed 323 cases of heart inflammation, called myocarditis or pericarditis, and is still monitoring more cases. Of the confirmed cases, the vast majority were temporary and resolved with monitoring and treatment.
“To put this in perspective, if we have a group of 12 to 17-year-olds who we’re working to vaccinate over the next four months and can vaccinate 1 million of them, which would be great strides, over the next four months we could expect 30 to 40 of these mild self-limited cases of myocarditis,” Walensky said on “GMA.” “And for that, if we were to vaccinate all 1 million we would avert 8,000 cases of COVID, 200 hospitalizations, 50 ICU stays and one death.”
The rare instances of heart inflammation occurred about 12.6 times out of every million second dose administered and were mostly among younger males about a week after the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, according to researchers at the CDC advisory committee.
Regulators at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) say they are preparing a warning to go along with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to make young people aware of the very rare risk.
6. How effective are the vaccines in children?
Pfizer announced in late March that its clinical trials showed the vaccine was safe and 100% effective in children ages 12-15, similar to the 95% efficacy among adult clinical trial participants.
Marks confirmed on May 10 that after a trial with over 2,000 children, Pfizer found no cases of infection among the children who had been given the vaccine and 16 cases of infection among the children who received a placebo.
No cases of COVID occurred in the 1,005 adolescents that received the vaccine, while there were 16 cases of COVID among the 978 kids who received the placebo, “thus indicating the vaccine was 100% effective in preventing COVID-19 In this trial,” said Marks.
Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is 100% effective in children ages 12 to under 18, the company said last month, in announcing results of their latest clinical trials.
In addition to its efficacy, the vaccine showed “no significant safety concerns” in the trial of more than 3,700 adolescent participants, according to Moderna.
7. Will kids get the same dose of the vaccines as adults?
The FDA has authorized the same dosing for 12- to 15-year-olds as adults with the Pfizer two-dose vaccine.
Pfizer is currently testing smaller doses of the vaccine in children ages 11 and under.
8. Could COVID-19 vaccines impact puberty, menstruation?
There is currently no clinical evidence to suggest the vaccines can have long-term effects on puberty or fertility, according to Ashton, a practicing, board-certified OBGYN.
Ashton noted that while there has been anecdotal discussion of the emotional event of finally receiving the vaccine temporarily impacting menstruation for adult women, the idea of the cause being from the vaccine itself “defies science and biology.”
It is really important to understand basic biology here,” Ashton said. “Women can have changes in their menstrual cycle and also have gotten the vaccine, that does not mean that one caused the other.”
“Right now there is no puberty concern. There is no fertility concern,” she added.
9. Will the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine be available for kids?
Johnson & Johnson announced in April that it had begun vaccinating a “small number of adolescents aged 16-17 years” in a Phase 2a clinical trial.
As of April, the trial was enrolling participants only in Spain and the United Kingdom, with plans to expand enrollment to the U.S., the Netherlands and Canada, followed by Brazil and Argentina.
10. Will COVID-19 vaccines be required by schools?
It will be up to each state’s government to decide whether a COVID-19 vaccine is required for school entry. Many colleges and universities in the U.S. have announced they will require students to be vaccinated from COVID-19.
Taraji P. Henson‘s Facebook Watch series, Peace of Mind with Taraji, is coming back for a second season.
Facebook Watch announced on Monday that Henson’s Daytime Emmy-nominated series, which focuses on mental health, is officially getting a new season with 10 episodes. Co-hosted by Henson and her best friend Tracie Jade, the series debuted in December 2020 and helped to shine a light on the “challenging mental health issues facing us today — especially those in the Black community.” Season two production of Peace of Mind with Taraji has already begun in Los Angeles. The new season will debut later this year on Facebook Watch.
In other news, HBO has revealed that the fifth and final season of Issa Rae‘s hit comedy, Insecure, will premiere in October. Although an official release date has yet to be announced, it was previously reported that filming for the final season had wrapped back in June.
Finally, it appears that Nicole Ari Parker may be the new Samantha Jones in the upcoming Sex and the City revival And Just Like That… According to The Guardian, Parker will reportedly replace Kim Cattrall as the fourth member of the New York friend group. The report comes after fans lashed out about the reboot without Cattral in her signature role as Samantha. Parker is said to play Carrie’s new best friend, documentarian Lisa Todd Wexley. As previously reported, three of the original show’s four main stars — Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon — are all set to return to the series.
Even though the show started shooting in July, the Sex and the City follow-up …And Just Like That will be coming to HBO Max before the year’s out.
HBO Max has announced the series, starring and executive produced by Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristen Davis, will debut this fall. There’s no firm date yet, but the streaming service dropped …And Just Like That into its newly released fall schedule.
…And Just Like That also stars returning SATC stars Chris Noth, Mario Cantone, Evan Handler and David Eigenberg. as well as Grey’s Anatomy‘s Sara Ramirez and Empire‘s Nicole Ari Parker, the latter of whom it’s speculated will replace Kim Catrall‘s Samantha Jones, albeit playing a new character.
(NEW YORK) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave a farewell address to constituents on Monday, two weeks after announcing his resignation and questioning the fairness of an investigation by State Attorney General Letitia James that found he sexually harassed multiple women, including current and former state employees.
“Let me say now that when government politicizes allegations and the headlines condemn without facts, you undermine the justice system and that doesn’t serve women and it doesn’t serve men or society,” Cuomo said. “I understand that there are moments of intense political pressure and media frenzy that cause a rush to judgment, but that is not right. It’s not fair or sustainable. Facts still matter.”
He went on to criticize James’ 168-page report — which included claims from 11 women, including one he allegedly retaliated against — comparing it to a firecracker that causes a stampede.
“The attorney general’s report was designed to be a political firecracker on an explosive topic and it worked. There was a political and media stampede but the truth will (come) out in time. Of that I am confident,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo said his resignation takes effect at 11:59 p.m. Monday and New York state Lt. Gov. Kathleen Hochul will succeed him as governor.
Cuomo’s resignation announcement came a week after James, a Democrat, released the results of a five-month investigation into the sexual harassment allegations against the governor.
“Specifically, we find that the Governor sexually harassed a number of current and former New York State employees by, among other things, engaging in unwelcome and nonconsensual touching, as well as making numerous offensive comments of a suggestive and sexual nature that created a hostile work environment for women,” the report by James reads.
Several women — including Lindsey Boylan, 36; Anna Ruch, 33; and Charlotte Bennett, 25 — have come forward to accuse the governor of unwanted advances.
The allegations added to Cuomo’s political woes as his administration is under investigation for its handling of nursing home deaths during the pandemic.
Cuomo’s fall from public grace comes after he emerged early in the pandemic as a star among Democratic leaders for his handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Dec. 13, 2020
Boylan was the first to accuse the governor of sexual harassment and kissing her against her will.
In December, she wrote a series of tweets sharing her allegations for the first time.
She tweeted, “Yes [Cuomo] sexually harassed me for years. Many saw it, and watched.”
“I could never anticipate what to expect: would I be grilled on my work (which was very good) or harassed about my looks,” she continued. “Or would it be both in the same conversation? This was the way for years.”
At the time, the governor denied the accusations.
“I believe a woman has the right to come forward and express her opinion and express issues and concerns that she has,” Cuomo said in December. “But it’s just not true.”
Feb. 24
Boylan expanded on the allegations in a Medium piece in which she accused Cuomo of acting inappropriately with her when she worked for the state’s economic development agency.
Boylan said she first encountered the governor in January 2016 and her boss at the economic development agency informed her Cuomo had a “crush” on her.
In October 2017, Boylan alleged that Cuomo invited her to play strip poker as they were on a government plane together.
One year later, Boylan said she was promoted to deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to the governor, a position she initially turned down “because I didn’t want to be near him.” She ultimately accepted following Cuomo’s insistence.
She also alleged that Cuomo kissed her on the lips without warning on one occasion in 2018 at his New York City office.
“As I got up to leave and walk toward an open door, he stepped in front of me and kissed me on the lips,” Boylan wrote. “I was in shock, but I kept walking.”
She resigned in September of that year.
“There is a part of me that will never forgive myself for being a victim for so long, for trying to ignore behavior that I knew was wrong,” Boylan said. “The Governor exploited my weaknesses, my desire to do good work and to be respected. I was made to believe this was the world I needed to survive in. … It was all so normalized … that only now do I realize how insidious his abuse was.”
When approached by The New York Times for comment on her claims, Cuomo’s press secretary, Caitlin Girouard, dismissed them as “quite simply false.”
Feb. 27
Bennett came forward to share her account to the Times in a story published Feb. 27.
She accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, alleging he asked questions about her sex life.
Bennett, who was first hired by Cuomo’s administration in early 2019, worked as an executive assistant and health policy adviser until November when she left his office.
Bennett alleged that on June 5 she was alone with Cuomo in his state Capitol office when he allegedly asked her questions about her personal life that she interpreted as insinuating a sexual relationship.
She claims he asked her if she thought age made a difference in romantic relationships, whether she was monogamous in her relationships and if she ever had sex with older men.
In that June meeting, she said Cuomo made her uncomfortable when he allegedly complained about being lonely in the pandemic and said he “can’t even hug anyone” and asked, “Who did I last hug?”
“I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared,” Bennett told the Times. “And I was wondering how I was going to get out of it and assumed it was the end of my job.”
She said she shared what happened with Cuomo’s chief of staff, Jill DesRosiers, and was transferred less than a week later to another job within the administration in a different part of the Capitol. She also said she gave a statement to a special counsel to the governor that same month.
In the end, Bennett said she decided against pushing an investigation because she liked her new job and “wanted to move on.”
In response to her allegations, Cuomo stated in a press release: “I never made advances toward Ms. Bennett nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate. The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported.”
Cuomo said Bennett was a “valued member” of his staff with “every right to speak out” and he disclosed that Bennett had spoken to him about being a survivor of sexual assault.
Bennett left state government in the fall and now lives and works in a neighboring state.
The same day Bennett’s account was published, the governor named former federal judge Barbara Jones to conduct a review of the claims. However, the move faced backlash and state leaders demanded a more independent probe.
Feb. 28
Cuomo bent to pressure and asked New York Attorney General Letitia James for a formal referral to create a special counsel with subpoena power to investigate the claims against him.
He issued a statement Sunday saying, “I never intended to offend anyone or cause any harm.”
He added that some of his comments “may have been insensitive or too personal,” “made others feel in ways I never intended” and “have been misinterpreted as unwanted flirtation.”
“To be clear I never inappropriately touched anybody and I never propositioned anybody and I never intended to make anyone feel uncomfortable, but these are allegations that New Yorkers deserve answers to,” he said.
That same day, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has clashed with the governor in the past, issued a statement denouncing Cuomo’s alleged behavior, saying, “the State legislature must immediately revoke the Governor’s emergency powers that overrule local control.” He called for two fully independent investigations into the personal misconduct allegations and deaths at nursing homes.
New York state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi also denounced the governor’s behavior, telling ABC News his alleged behavior was “inappropriate.” She had called on the governor to resign on Feb. 27.
“It’s abusive and it scares people because it’s terrifying and the governor of New York should not be acting that way,” Biaggi said.
March 1
The New York Times published an account of alleged misconduct from Ruch. Unlike Boylan and Bennett, she did not work with Cuomo.
She met him at a wedding reception in New York City in September 2019 and alleged Cuomo placed his hands on her bare lower back and face and “asked if he could kiss her.” She also shared a photo of the alleged incident with the paper.
She said the incident left her “uncomfortable and embarrassed” and she felt she “didn’t have a choice in that matter.” Cuomo ended up kissing her on the cheek, according to Ruch.
James also announced on Monday that her office would begin an independent investigation, which included subpoena power, into allegations of sexual harassment against the governor. James’ office told ABC News Monday evening it read Ruch’s account in the Times and will decide whether to incorporate it into the just-launched investigation.
March 2
Rep. Kathleen Rice has become the first New York Democrat in Congress to join mounting calls for Cuomo to resign in wake of the allegations.
Six Democratic state lawmakers also called for Cuomo to be impeached.
In a statement shared with ABC News, the lawmakers said Cuomo used his power to “belittle, bully and harass his employees and colleagues” and impeachment proceedings “are the appropriate avenue” for accountability. It further states Cuomo’s withholding of information in regards to nursing home deaths is “sufficient to justify impeachment proceedings.”
The New York Attorney General’s Office opted to incorporate Ruch’s account into the ongoing investigation into Cuomo, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The attorney general’s office will not limit the scope of the probe in case additional allegations surface. At the end of the investigation, a public report will be released.
By evening, the State Assembly and State Senate prepared a bill to curb Cuomo’s emergency powers granted during the pandemic. It will still allow Cuomo to extend existing emergency directives related to the pandemic but repeal other emergency powers.
“The legislation introduced today will repeal the temporary emergency powers immediately, while allowing executive actions critical to public health to remain,” state officials said in a statement.
March 6
Karen Hinton, a former press aide to Cuomo, claimed he behaved inappropriately with her when she worked as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Her account was published by The Washington Post on March 6.
She claimed Cuomo, summoned her to his dimly lit hotel room in Los Angeles and told the Post he embraced her with a “too long, too tight, too intimate” hug after a work event in December 2000.
Hinton, who was married at the time, claimed she pulled away from Cuomo, “but he pulled her back toward his body,” according to the Post.
“I thought at that moment it could lead to a kiss, it could lead to other things, so I just pull away again, and I leave,” Hinton said to the Post.
Hinton’s second husband, Howard Glaser, worked for Cuomo at HUD. He served as a top deputy to Cuomo in the governor’s mansion for five years.
Also, on Saturday, a fifth woman, Ana Liss, who served as a policy and operations aide to Cuomo from 2013 to 2015, came forward with allegations against Cuomo that were published by The Wall Street Journal.
She said the governor asked her if she had a boyfriend, called her sweetheart, touched her on her lower back at a reception and once kissed her hand as she rose from her desk.
“It’s not appropriate, really, in any setting,” Liss said to the Journal.
Cuomo’s director of communications, Peter Ajemian, denied Hinton’s account to the Post, saying: “This did not happen. Karen Hinton is a known antagonist of the Governor’s who is attempting to take advantage of this moment to score cheap points with made-up allegations from 21 years ago,” Ajemian said. “All women have the right to come forward and tell their story — however, it’s also the responsibility of the press to consider self-motivation. This is reckless.”
March 9
The Albany Times-Union reported that a sixth woman, a current member of the governor’s Executive Chamber staff, accused Cuomo of inappropriate conduct.
The staffer, who has not been named, accused the governor of inappropriately touching her late last year during an encounter at the governor’s mansion after she had been summoned there to do work.
She had not filed a formal complaint with the governor’s office. Her claims were recently reported to the governor’s counsel by other Executive Chamber employees, the Times-Union reported.
Cuomo said he was unaware of the sixth claim against him during a Tuesday call with reporters.
“I’m not aware of any other claim. As I said last week, this is very simple. I never touched anyone inappropriately. As I said last week I never made any inappropriate advances. No one ever told me at the time I made them feel uncomfortable,” Cuomo said.
On Wednesday, he followed that up with a statement, saying, “As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the Attorney General’s report.”
March 11
New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Thursday that the Assembly Judiciary Committee would begin an impeachment investigation.
“After meeting with the Assembly Majority Conference today, I am authorizing the Assembly Judiciary Committee to begin an impeachment investigation, led by Chair Charles D. Lavine, to examine allegations of misconduct against Governor Cuomo,” Heastie said in a statement. “The reports of accusations concerning the governor are serious. The committee will have the authority to interview witnesses, subpoena documents and evaluate evidence, as is allowed by the New York State Constitution.”
“I have the utmost faith that Assemblymember Lavine and the members of the committee will conduct an expeditious, full and thorough investigation,” he added. “This inquiry will not interfere with the independent investigation being conducted by Attorney General James.”
The investigation would be the first step in a bid to impeach the governor. But while the Assembly investigation may start the legislature down the path toward impeachment, it also has a stalling effect. It gives the Assembly speaker control of the process and staves off calls for an immediate resolution.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said the Assembly investigation will not conflict with the one her office is leading.
“Today’s action by the New York state legislature will have no bearing on our independent investigation into these allegations against Governor Cuomo. Our investigation will continue,” she said in a statement.
At least 121 members of the state Assembly and Senate, including 65 Democrats and 56 Republicans, have said Cuomo should resign, according to a count by The Associated Press.
March 12
Jessica Bakeman, who worked as a part of the Capitol press corp while working for Politico New York in 2014, accused Cuomo of behaving inappropriately with her in a first-person piece for The Cut published March 12.
She claimed that during a 2014 holiday party at the Executive Mansion, Cuomo grabbed her hand and refused to let go. Instead he “put his other arm around my back, his hand on my waist, and held me firmly in place while indicating to a photographer he wanted us to pose for a picture.”
He allegedly said to her, “Am I making you uncomfortable? I thought we were going steady.” She was 25 at the time.
She wrote: “I never thought the governor wanted to have sex with me. It wasn’t about sex. It was about power. … He wanted me to know that he could take my dignity away at any moment with an inappropriate comment or a hand on my waist.”
“The way Cuomo operates is by daring women to make an impossible choice: endure his abuse silently or speak up and risk your career,” she added.
The governor’s attorney did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment on this allegation. But Cuomo has generally denied any of the new allegations against him and urged the public to wait for the results of the attorney general’s investigation.
March 18
Bloomberg reporter Valerie Bauman tweeted on March 18 that she observed “rampant sexism and sexual harassment” during Cuomo’s tenure as New York Attorney General, from 2007 to 2010, when she covered Albany for The Associated Press. She was 25 at the time.
She said Cuomo never touched her inappropriately or said anything she felt she could report to her boss, but “he did make me uncomfortable, as did a lot of men in Albany.”
She said the current governor “did appear to take an interest in me.”
During one press conference in 2007 he made “unwavering eye contact.” After the event he “beelined” for her. “He took my hand, entered my personal space and looked into my eyes as he announced, ‘Hello, I’m Andrew Cuomo,'” Bauman wrote.
Shortly after that meeting, a Cuomo staffer called her and asked if she had an interest in working for the attorney general’s office. She declined.
Cuomo’s lawyer did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment on Bauman’s claims.
March 19
Alyssa McGrath, 33, was the first current Cuomo employee to come forward.
In a March 19 piece in The New York Times, she claimed Cuomo would ogle her body, remark on her looks, call her beautiful in Italian and make suggestive comments to both her and another executive aide.
She did not accuse the governor of making sexual contact with her, but she told the Times she believed his actions amounted to sexual harassment.
McGrath said the anonymous current aide who accused Cuomo of groping her in the Executive Mansion, as reported by the Times-Union, described the encounter to her. She said the aide told her the governor asked her to not talk about the alleged incident.
Cuomo’s lawyer, Rita Glavin, responded to McGrath’s allegations to the Times by saying that Cuomo “has greeted men and women with hugs and a kiss on the cheek, forehead, or hand. Yes, he has posed for photographs with his arm around them. Yes, he uses Italian phrases like ‘ciao bella.'”
“None of this is remarkable, although it may be old-fashioned. He has made clear that he has never made inappropriate advances or inappropriately touched anyone,” she added.
McGrath’s lawyer told ABC News: “The governor’s deflections are not credible. This was not just friendly banter. Ms. McGrath understands the common phrase ‘ciao Bella.’ As she herself says: ‘I would not call my parents to find out what that phrase means. I know what that phrase means.'”
March 29
Another woman, Sherry Vill, 55, came forward on March 29 in a press conference with attorney Gloria Allred with allegations that the governor inappropriately touched and kissed her in 2017.
Cuomo met with her during a tour of flood damage near her town in Greece, New York, Vill said. The governor took her by the hand, pulled her in and kissed her on both cheeks, Vill said.
“That’s what Italians do, kiss both cheeks,” the governor allegedly told Vill.
Vill described the incident as being “manhandled” and called the encounter “uncomfortable.” She said that she was afraid to come forward sooner because she feared retaliation.
She said she was not pressing charges or filing suit for this incident but was planning to meet with the state attorney general to discuss the matter.
Allred shared photos of Vill with Cuomo from the tour and a screenshot from a video where Cuomo appears to kiss Vill’s cheek.
“During times of crisis, the governor has frequently sought to comfort New Yorkers with hugs and kisses,” Glavin said. “As I have said before, the governor has greeted both men and women with hugs, a kiss on the cheek, forehead or hand for the past 40 years.”
April 7
On April 7, the female aide who alleged Cuomo groped her inside the Governor’s Mansion in November discussed the alleged incident with the Albany Times-Union.
The woman, a current aide to the governor who’s remained anonymous, claimed Cuomo “groomed her” for two years with a pattern of tight hugs and kisses on the cheek.
She said that one time he said to her, “Oh, if you were single, the things that I would to do you,” she told the newspaper.
The woman said to the paper that she was summoned to the mansion on a weekday in November last year to help Cuomo with an iPhone problem. When she reached his office on the second floor, he allegedly rose from his desk and groped her.
“That wasn’t just a hug,” she said. “He went for it and I kind of like was, ‘Oh, the door is right there.’ … I was mortified that a woman who works here is going to come in and see. … I was terrified of that happening, because that’s not who I am and that’s not what I’m here for.”
She said she told him, “You’re going to get us in trouble” and he allegedly proceeded to slam the door and said, “I don’t care” and he approached her a second time. This time he “reached under her blouse and his hand was grasping one of her breasts over her bra,” she said.
She said she didn’t remember telling him “stop,” but she did tell him, “You’re crazy,” which led him to finally stop.
“It definitely was a hit to his ego,” she told the paper. “And then it was almost like instantly he was done. … He turned around and walked back to his desk. He didn’t say anything. I walked myself out to the front door and nothing was said.”
A month after the incident, he allegedly told her to stay silent about the encounter.
She said she interpreted those comments as a threat. “I was a liability, and he knew that,” she said.
Rita Glavin, Cuomo’s attorney, told ABC News in response to this allegation, “The people of New York know the governor — he has spent 40 years in public service and in the public eye. He has repeatedly made clear that he never made inappropriate advances or inappropriately touched anyone.”
“The attorney general’s review of this claim and others, including evolving details and new public statements by complainants or their surrogates, must be thorough, fair and provide the truth,” she added.
Aug. 3
State Attorney General Letitia James announces the results of a four-month investigation into the allegations and releases a 168-page report finding that Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, including current and former state employees.
At a news conference, employment discrimination attorney Anne Clark, one of the investigators assigned to lead the probe, presented a litany of findings from the report, including specific examples of the governor allegedly making suggestive comments and engaging in unwanted touching that 11 women — some named, others anonymous — found “deeply humiliating and offensive.”
In one instance, the report describes how Cuomo sexually harassed a state trooper assigned to his protective detail, including “running his hand across her stomach, from her belly button to her right hip, while she held a door open for him at an event” and “running his finger down her back, from the top of her neck down her spine to the middle of her back, saying ‘Hey, you,’ while she was standing in front of him in an elevator.”
Clark said Cuomo met with investigators for 11 hours in July and offered “a combination” of denials and admissions.
“There are some incidents he admitted to but had a different interpretation of,” Clark said, “and there were other things that he denied or said he didn’t recall.”
Aug. 8
Melissa DeRosa resigns as Cuomo’s top aide. As secretary to the governor, DeRosa was the most powerful unelected bureaucrat in state government and stood loyally by Cuomo even through the sexual harassment scandal and allegations of undercounting nursing home deaths from COVID and the governor’s alleged use of state resources to write his book.
“The past two years have been emotionally and mentally trying,” DeRosa said in her resignation statement.
Aug. 9
The New York State Assembly Judiciary Committee said it will hold hearings through the remainder of the month to review evidence against Cuomo as well as hear expert testimony surrounding sexual harassment and the standards for impeachment.
Aug. 10
Cuomo, New York’s 56th governor of the state of New York, announces he will resign. He said he sees “the world through the eyes of my daughters” and now realizes why his throwback behavior made women uncomfortable in the #MeToo era.
He said he wanted his daughters to know that he never “intentionally disrespected women.”
“Your dad made mistakes, and he apologized,” Cuomo said.
Aug. 23
Cuomo gives farewell address hours ahead of leaving office just before midnight.
In his speech, Cuomo also sought to establish a legacy beyond the allegations that drove him from office, saying, “No governor in the nation has passed more progressive measures than I have.” He listed his accomplishments, including a refurbished LaGuardia Airport, a new Penn Station transportation terminal in New York City and marriage equality as cornerstones to what he called a “new paradigm of government that actually works.”
DeRosa also issued a statement on Cuomo’s immediate plans when he leaves the job he claimed a decade ago, one once held by his late father, Mario Cuomo. DeRosa said that Cuomo has spent nearly 25 years in public service, from being secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton administration in the 1990s to getting elected state attorney general in 2006 and serving as governor since 2010.
“And the way he does it, it’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” said DeRosa, whose resignation on Aug. 8 as the most powerful unelected bureaucrat in state government will also take effect Monday night. “He looks forward to spending time with his family and has a lot of fishing to catch up on. He is exploring a number of options, but has no interest in running for office again.”
Elton John is back on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in 21 years — and he has Dua Lipa to thank.
Billboard reports Elton’s song with Dua, “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix),” debuts at number 81 on the chart dated August 28.
Elton’s last appearance on the chart was on the tally dated July 29, 2000, when “Someday Out of the Blue” ranked at number 99 after peaking at 49.
“Cold Heart” also debuted at number three on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and at number 16 on the Adult Contemporary radio airplay chart, giving Elton his 74th career entry and extending his current record for the most AC hits of any artist.
Kelsea Ballerini kicked off her opening slot on the Jonas Brothers‘ tour with a tribute to Taylor Swift.
During the opening night of The Remember This Tour in Las Vegas on Friday, Kelsea dedicated part of her set to a medley of songs by her favorite artists, including that of the country and pop superstar.
“There is one particular woman who really paved the way for people like me,” Kelsea prefaced her performance, playing a few notes on her guitar before launching into “Teardrops on My Guitar,” as the crowd let out elated cheers upon hearing the first few lyrics.
Kelsea then offered an understated, acoustic rendition of the track, and the audience sang passionately alongside her.
“Teardrops on My Guitar” was released in 2007 as the second single off Taylor’s self-titled debut album. The multi-platinum song reached the top 15 of the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Hot Country Songs chart.
Kelsea continues on with the Jonas Brothers through the fall, when the tour wraps at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on October 27.
Following up her recent “Outta Town Freestyle” video, Megan Thee Stallion is once again slayin’ her haters with a new rapid-fire freestyle track and video called “Tuned in Freestyle.”
The clip, which was released Monday, captures Megan in a recording studio. Decked out in a lime-green top with matching hot pants and glasses, the “Hot Girl Summer” artist begins, “This goes out to all you tuned in, the hotties, the secret hotties,” then later raps, “Talk about something y’all like, stop talking ’bout me.”
She also references a couple of Pokémon characters, rapping: “I’m the hot girl, feelin’ like Charizard/ And he know he finna win if he get my card.”
The three-time Grammy winner appears on the cover of the September/October 2021 issue of Essence, which hit newsstands on Monday. Megan has six nominations, including a nod in the Artist of the Year category, for the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards, which takes place on September 12 in New York City.
