(NOTE LANGUAGE) Lala Kent‘s definition of sober is very different from Demi Lovato‘s.
The Vanderpump Rules star, who has been sober since October 2018, appeared on the Behind the Velvet Rope podcast and — when asked her opinion on Demi’s song “California Sober” — shared that she’s not a fan.
“You know, I don’t like to judge, but I actually think that that’s super offensive,” Lala said of the track, which depicts a lifestyle where hard drugs and alcohol are off the table but marijuana and wine are acceptable.
“There are people out there who have worked their a** off to never take themselves out of reality and to never place themselves in an altered state,” Lala continued. “When they have a cold, they don’t even take DayQuil or NyQuil. So to say that you’re ‘California sober’ or this type of sober is extremely offensive, I think.”
The 30-year-old reality star added that she doesn’t believe that “California sober” is a real thing. “You’re not sober,” she stated. “If you’re drinking and smoking weed, you’re not sober.”
Demi has been public about their sobriety journey following their near-fatal overdose in 2018. Most recently in their YouTube documentary, Dancing with the Devil, Demi shared that recovery isn’t a “one-size-fits-all solution” and said they work with a recovery manager to determine the best plan for them.
Actress Reese Witherspoon is set to reprise her iconic role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde 3, a movie slated to arrive in theaters next year.
Despite its 2022 premiere date, not much is known about the upcoming third installment — except that it stars Witherspoon and that she and actress Mindy Kaling are penning the script.
In a recent interview with E!’s Daily Pop, Kaling kept her lips sealed about the super secretive project, but did divulge one thing… it’s serious work.
“I’m having a great time writing it,” Kaling said. “It is the most corporate gig I’ve ever had so I can’t talk about it at all, but I hope we do a good job.”
Her reply aligns with recent remarks made by Legally Blonde stars Jennifer Coolidge and Luke Wilson, who both starred in the original movie as Paulette Bonafonté and Emmett Richmond, respectively. It’s unknown if either will be featured in the third film.
While Coolidge said she heard the movie “is going to be finished soon,” Wilson remarked, “We’ll just have to see what happens.”
Legally Blonde was released in 2001, followed by Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde in 2003.
In 2018, Witherspoon confirmed a third installment was forthcoming when sharing a post of herself lounging on a pool float with the caption, “It’s true… #LegallyBlonde3.”
(WASHINGTON) — Since the onset of the pandemic, children in the U.S. have faced multiple challenges and hardships. Tragically, recent data reveals that a staggering number of children have been faced with the most heartbreaking reality: the loss of a caregiver to COVID-19.
An estimated 119,000 children across the country have lost a primary caregiver due to COVID-19 associated death, and more than 140,000 children experienced the death of a primary or secondary caregiver, defined as co-residing grandparents or kin, according to data in an internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention document obtained exclusively by ABC News.
“This is yet another horrible byproduct of the pandemic and we as a global community must commit to supporting these children and families. The effects of this pandemic will be felt for decades,” Dr. Rebecca Katz, director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University Medical Center, told ABC News.
The data is provisional, and the CDC confirmed to ABC News that it plans to release official data next month.
The figures are particularly staggering in comparison to a JAMA Pediatric study published in early April, which estimated approximately 40,000 children in the U.S. had lost a parent to COVID-19.
Emily Smith-Greenaway, associate professor of Sociology & Spatial Sciences at the University of Southern California, called the new CDC figures “astounding.”
“These numbers demonstrate how the mortality shock of the pandemic is directly affecting tens of thousands of children. These are really intimately experienced losses that will certainly have consequences for children’s wellbeing going forward,” Smith-Greenaway said.
As more than 609,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the U.S., an analysis published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which tracks the extent of loss of kin due to COVID-19 with a bereavement multiplier, estimates that 5.48 million family members have grieved the loss of a loved one due to COVID-19 since last year.
Pamela Addison, a 36-year-old New Jersey teacher, and mother to two young children, lost her husband, Martin, to COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic.
As a single parent, Addison said she felt very alone and vulnerable as she struggled to care for children and find her place in a “new normal,” which no longer included her husband.
“My heart aches for them to know that they just have me now,” Addison said.
Addison said she’s doing the most she can to make sure they remember their father and the deep love he had for them. “Every night, they kiss their papa’s picture and tell him goodnight. My daughter taught my son to do that, and it’s an important part of our bedtime routine.”
The scale of COVID-19 related deaths is so large that even if a small fraction of those who have lost their lives had children under the age of 18, there would still be a significant number of children affected, Dr. Ashton Verdery, professor of Sociology, Demography, and Social Data Analytics at Penn State, told ABC News.
“There are substantially elevated death rates among adults in their 50s, a non-trivial fraction of whom still have children under 18,” Verdery said. “Each death can leave multiple children behind.”
According to the data, children of color have been significantly affected by the loss of a caregiver, something that reflects a disparity built on an existing inequality, even prior to the onset of the pandemic, according to Smith-Greenway.
“Black youth experience higher rates of familial loss earlier in life relative to white children–speaking to the racial inequality in mortality conditions. Specifically, we find that even as Black children represent about 14% of the U.S. child population, our estimates suggest they represent 20% of those bereaved,” she said.
A 2018 Pew Research study estimated that in 2016, 64 million Americans, or 20% of the U.S. population, lived with multiple generations, and 3.2 million Americans lived in households consisting of grandparents and grandchildren.
Children of color are often more likely to reside with grandparents, acting as their primary or secondary caregivers, according to Verdery, which further aggravates their disproportionate burden.
“The much higher death rates seen in communities of color, and more specifically, the greater death rates at younger ages owing to more exposure because of inability to socially isolate, employment situations, lead to the expectation that children of color will constitute an outsize share of those who lost a caregiver,” Verdery said.
Children who have lost a caregiver to COVID-19 will be particularly affected, according to experts, potentially experiencing long-lasting adverse health, educational and economic outcomes.
“Studies across the medical and social sciences routinely show that those who lose parents are at elevated risks of depression and related mental health challenges, have higher risks of criminal justice system involvement and higher rates of substance use, are more likely to drop out of schooling and less likely to attend college,” Verdery said. “Further down the line, we know all of those factors above place the individuals at greater risk of lower earnings, more unemployment, poor physical health, and relationship strains. To some extent, though the literature is more tenuous here, there is likely greater risk of early death.”
Although children are often resilient, and many who have been bereaved after the loss of a caregiver will be able to lead healthy and productive lives, “these youth are certainly ‘at-risk’ following a death and deserve adequate resources and support to try to help them navigate corresponding adversities,” Smith-Greenaway said. “These deaths leave holes in the lives of children that are not easily mended.”
After spending nearly a decade away, Big Time Rush is back.
On Monday, the pop band announced that they’ll reunite this winter for two live shows. Alongside a short video trailer of the band’s members reuniting, they shared, “BIG TIME RUSH LIVE! WE ARE BACK!”
“It’s been a minute, but we couldn’t be more excited to see you!” the caption reads. “Lets make up for lost time.”
The LA-based group will reunite for a show on December 15 at the Chicago Theater and on December 18 at Hammerstein ballroom in New York. Tickets go on sale Wednesday at 10:00 am CT on Ticketmaster.com. You can sign up for pre-sale access by visiting BigTimeRushOfficial.com.
Big Time Rush’s four members — Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, Carlos Pena Jr. and Logan Henderson — will all return to the stage later this year. The group originated in 2009 from the Nickelodeon seriesBig Time Rush, which ran for a total of four seasons, ending in 2013. During that time, the band released three studio albums and traveled on five tours.
Prior to this announcement, the foursome reunited virtually in June 2020 to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their song “Worldwide.”
(WASHINGTON) — COVID-19 restrictions were designed to stem the tide of the biggest public health crisis in 100 years.
As the virus began to recede with mass vaccination, many of the most burdensome were relaxed or dropped altogether.
But there was at least one that many states, and their businesses, were more than happy to keep.
Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia had special provisions in place during the pandemic that allowed restaurants and bars to deliver alcohol orders to their customers.
Mike Whatley, the vice president for state affairs and grassroots advocacy for the National Restaurant Association, told ABC News to-go alcohol options increased restaurant sales on average 5-10% during the pandemic.
“Many restaurants are alive today because of cocktails to go,” he told ABC News.
All but 11 of those states have kept their alcohol to-go rules in place following the end of their governors’ emergency orders. Economic and political experts say those states that are on the fence should consider following suit if they want to ensure a stronger post-pandemic future for their restaurants.
Although most states have relaxed their limits on indoor capacity for businesses, restaurants and bars are still relying on takeout customers to improve their revenues, Whatley said. Restaurants still haven’t regained 1.5 million jobs lost before the pandemic, a 12% loss, according to the National Restaurant Association.
Nearly two-fifths of restaurant owners said they still can not afford rent, according to statistics from the association.
“Until every single person feels comfortable eating in a restaurant, we’re not going to be back to normal,” Whatley said.
Alcohol to-go gives customers more options to enjoy their meals, and most importantly, gives restaurant owners a way to sell their more profitable cocktails and spirit drinks, Whatley said.
Massachusetts state Sen. Julian Cyr told ABC News that his state’s temporary cocktails to-go rule was fully embraced by residents and business owners, so there was no question to extend it. Cyr introduced a bill that passed in the legislature extending the rule until May 2022.
“I think broadly we realized this was an industry that was really hurt and we wanted to do something,” Cyr told ABC News.
The senator, who previously worked a restaurant, said alcohol regulation is one of the toughest hurdles that business owners have to cross in Massachusetts and other states, since they have to get approval from both their local and state liquor authorities.
“I think more broadly, this is an industry where we don’t provide enough state investment from government,” Cyr said.
Experts say that red tape and years of precedent concerning alcohol laws are stalling other states from implementing more permanent delivery laws.
Kajal Lahiri, a distinguished professor of economics at SUNY Albany, told ABC News that alcohol laws in states have been linked to more conservative beliefs on drinking, such as no sales before noon on Sundays.
Lahiri contended that changing those laws, even for something as economically beneficial as cocktails to go, isn’t a big priority for state legislatures given the other recovery struggles.
“I think this slipped past [legislators’] priorities,” Lahiri told ABC News.
New York was one of the locations that, as of July, didn’t extend its alcohol to-go laws before Gov. Andrew Cuomo ended his COVID state of emergency. A bill was introduced during last year’s session to extend the regulation, but was never voted on.
Several restaurant advocates, including the New York City Hospitality Alliance, have called on the state legislature to pass legislation that would make alcohol to-go permanent.
Representatives from the New York State Assembly and Senate didn’t immediately return messages for comment.
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, told ABC News that the governor would like to see the statehouse come up with a solution to alcohol on delivery.
“We know what a lifeline this was to the industry during this pandemic and are more than willing to work with the houses on a legislative solution,” Azzopardi said in a statement.
Lahiri, who has consulted with the state legislature on economic matters, predicted that New York and other states will join the other locations in extending the alcohol delivery laws.
Aside from the pressure applied by restaurants that need that service, Lahiri noted the pandemic has forced elected officials to reconcile that their older rules and regulations may be moot.
For example, canceling classes because of inclement weather was no longer necessary because of the rise in remote learning, Lahiri said. When it comes to restaurants, there are few cons to having them deliver their drink menu items.
“It is a new era and we have now realized the old ways of doing things aren’t the best,” Lahiri said. “I think it will be easy because we’ve lived with this. It’s not uncharted.”
(NEW YORK) — Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers declined a two-year contract extension that would have made him the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The new contract would have kept Rodgers in Green Bay for another five years. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has the largest contract in the NFL, which pays him an average of $45 million a year for ten years.
During the NFL draft in April, Schefter reported Rodgers did not want to return to the team. The team has said they will not trade him.
Rodgers has not participated in any off-season work with the team, including skipping the mandatory minicamp in June. Instead, he has been seen on vacation in Hawaii, hosting Jeopardy and playing in ‘The Match’ with Bryson Dechambeau against Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady and golfer Phil Mickelson.
Last year, Shinedown‘s Brent Smith told ABC Audio that a film revolving around their 2018 album ATTENTION ATTENTION would be released in 2021. Well, his promise has come to pass.
Deadline reports that the movie, described as a “cinematic experience” of the album, has been acquired by Gravitas Ventures and will arrive on digital and VOD on September 3. It features the band members — plus actresses Francesca Eastwood and Melora Walters — starring in a visual interpretation of the music.
Deadline further reports that according to Gravitas, the film is “a powerful and enduring statement about humanity, overcoming struggles, the importance of mental health, not being afraid to fail and the resolve of the human spirit.”
In a statement, Shinedown tells Deadline, “When we created ATTENTION ATTENTION, our vision was always to present the message as a sonic and visual experience. We’re really proud of what we created and are beyond excited to partner with Gravitas Ventures to finally bring the film in its entirety to the world.”
ATTENTION ATTENTION topped Billboard’s Alternative, Top Rock and Hard Rock Albums Charts when it was released, and also debuted in the top five on the Billboard 200.
As previously reported, Shinedown’s fall tour will kick off September 6 and run through October 9, with Ayron Jones, Theory of a Deadman, The Struts, Pop Evil and Zero 9:36 opening, each depending on the date. For the full list of shows and all ticket info, visit Shinedown.com.
Amid Britney Spears‘ ongoing conservatorship drama, the singer received an unexpected gift from fellow former Disney star Selena Gomez that boosted her mood.
The “Toxic” singer shared the adorable gift Gomez unexpectedly sent her on Thursday — a gorgeous purple tie-dye bikini along with several offerings from her Rare Beauty makeup line.
“Ok guys … great news,” Spears, 39 gushed in the caption. “When I woke up I got a very cool box with a bikini in it and my favorite three make up products from @SelenaGomez !!!!”
The Grammy winner endorsed Gomez’s makeup line in the appreciative caption and told fans, “Her shimmers are really fun and her spritz for your face before makeup is bomb and smells very good !!!!”
Spears noted that the gift came at the perfect time, too, hinting that she needed a little pick me up by closing her sweet message with, “Selena …. Thank you for surprising me with this gift … I’ve been looking for shimmers.”
The “De Una Vez” singer was ecstatic that Britney enjoyed the gift and wrote in the comment section, “This makes me so happy! I hope you enjoy it – love you so much.” Gomez, 28, also enclosed a crown and black heart emoji in the comment.
This isn’t the first time the two artists publicly supported each other. In May, Gomez shared an adorable throwback video of her younger self enthusiastically singing along to Britney’s 2000 song, “Don’t Go Knockin’ on My Door.”
Spears called the video “the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen” in the comment section, leaving a shocked face, red heart and dancing woman emoji.
(WASHINGTON) — A tri-partisan group of senators on Tuesday introduced legislation designed to claw back national security powers, delineated in the Constitution, from the executive branch that the Senate trio says have been flowing away from Congress after decades of inaction by lawmakers.
“The founders envisioned a balance of power between the executive and legislative branches of government on national security matters. But over time, Congress has acquiesced to the growing, often unchecked power of the executive to determine the outline of America’s footprint in the world. More than ever before, presidents are sending men and women into battle without public debate, and making major policy decisions, like massive arms sales, without congressional input,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee a bill cosponsor, along with Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, and Mike Lee, R-Utah.
The three-pronged National Security Powers Act would place Congress in a more proactive role of having to affirm executive action on more controversial arms sales — particularly of lethal weapons, including air to ground munitions, tanks, and armored vehicles, as opposed to the current method requiring lawmakers to reject a sale with a veto-proof majority; would replace the 1973 War Powers Act with new policy that would require congressional authorization of military operations by a President after just 20 days instead of the current 60; and require that Congress approve a national emergency declaration after 30 days from presidential enactment.
“The president can declare a national emergency and act on that for a 30-day period, but after that, if Congress chooses not to enact a law to approve of the move, (called a joint resolution of approval) — that ability for the president would expire after 30 days,” according to a senior Senate GOP aide briefing reporters on the proposal.
President Donald Trump, in a highly controversial move in 2019, declared a national security emergency on the southern border to build his wall in that space. There was bipartisan support at the time to stop him but not a veto-proof majority. The Murphy-Sanders-Lee legislation would “flip the script” and put Congress in a position to more easily stop such executive action.
What senators also discovered at the time was that some 30 national emergency declarations were still in effect going back decades. The proposed legislation would sunset those declarations without explicit Congressional approval, putting a five-year limit on future moves.
The tri-partisan proposal comes as Washington is moving to rescind a 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) approved ahead of the Iraq war. There is also growing support to rework or possibly end the 2001 AUMF that led to America’s longest war in Afghanistan where U.S. troops have just been sent home. Under the newly-introduced legislation, those AUMF’s would expire, and all future AUMF’s would require an expiration date.
The new legislation, which is sure to spark heated debate among hawks and those who doubt Congress’ authority to rein in executive powers where national security is concerned — despite the Constitution’s delineation that Congress has the sole power to declare war — would more strictly-define “hostilities” as any that require U.S. troops, as opposed to the current unwritten rule that basically requires U.S. service member boots on the ground.
“Presidents of both parties have usurped Congress’s prerogative to determine if, when, and how we go to war. Now America’s global standing, treasure, and brave service members are being lost in conflicts the people’s legislators never debated. In areas where the Constitution grants broad powers to Congress, Congress is ignored. The National Security Powers Act will change that and return these checks and balances to our government,” Lee said.
It is unclear where support lies for the proposal in Congress, particularly among leadership, and Senate aides close to the matter say that there was no consultation with the White House or Administration officials.
Still, the group says the time to act is now.
“Before it’s too late, Congress needs to reclaim its rightful role as co-equal branch on matters of war and national security. The bipartisan National Security Powers Act will make sure that there is a full, open and public debate on all major national security decisions, such as war making, arms sales and emergency declarations,” Murphy said.
(NEW YORK) — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos blasted to the edge of space and spent a few minutes outside Earth’s atmosphere Tuesday on the first crewed flight from his firm Blue Origin.
An elated Bezos could be heard calling it “the best day ever” after landing back on Earth.
The milestone launch in the modern commercial space race comes on the 52nd anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s moon landing in 1969, though the space-faring landscape has evolved by giant leaps since then as billionaires emerge as key players driving the new race to the cosmos.
Bezos, who holds the title of the richest man in the world per Bloomberg data, has said the spaceflight will fulfill a lifelong dream and he is also curious how it will “change” him.
Jul 20, 9:34 am
Crew exits capsule
After the capsule landed back on Earth, Jeff Bezos was seen through the window pumping his fists and giving a thumbs-up.
The Bezos brothers, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemon then exited the capsule with huge smiles on their faces and were greeted with cheers and hugs.
Jul 20, 9:26 am
Capsule lands back on earth
After an approximately 10-minute journey, the capsule floated back down to the earth via a parachute and touched down at approximately 9:23 a.m ET.
“It was so amazing, it was so amazing,” Daemen can be heard saying upon landing.
Jul 20, 9:22 am
Booster lands back on earth
The booster has returned to earth, landing successfully while the capsule carrying the crew has crossed the Karman line — the boundary between earth’s atmosphere and space.
“You have a very happy crew up here, I want you to know,” one of the astronauts can be heard saying.
Jul 20, 9:18 am
Capsule separates from booster, astronauts are experiencing ‘Zero-G’
Mission Control has confirmed the capsule has separated from the booster and the astronauts are now experiencing a few minutes of weightlessness.
Audio from the capsule captures the joyful moments the crew discovered they were in microgravity.
Jul 20, 9:13 am
New Shepard soars in first flight with humans aboard
The New Shepard spacecraft lifted off at around 9:12 a.m. ET, carrying the Bezos brothers, Funk and Daemen to the edge of space.
The spacetrip will be 11 minutes total.
Jul 20, 9:06 am
New Shepard is a ‘go’ for launch
The go poll is now complete, and New Shepard is officially a “go” for launch.
Jul 20, 9:02 am
Launch has been delayed by a few minutes
With the astronauts in the capsule and the hatch closed, there was a temporary pause in launch activities for approximately five minutes while Blue Origin staff did final checks. Launch activities have since resumed, and liftoff is just 11 minutes away.
Jul 20, 8:46 am
The hatch has been closed
The hatch for the New Shepard capsule has officially been closed, and the final checks are now underway ahead of the launch.
The Bezos brothers were seen waving and smiling through the windows of the capsule.
Jul 20, 8:46 am
Crew is buckling in their seats
The crew are now getting in their seats on the capsule and buckling-in ahead of the closing of the hatch. A communications check with each astronaut has also commenced.
Jul 20, 8:38 am
Led by Wally Funk, astronauts climb the crew tower
The astronauts, led by 82-year-old Funk, were seen climbing the tower and preparing to ingress the New Shepard capsule.
The crew arrived atop at the so-called astronaut safety shelter, with approximately 30 minutes to go before launch.
Jul 20, 8:24 am
Crew is en route to the launchpad
The four soon-to-be astronauts were spotted emerging from the astronaut training center around 8:15 a.m. ET and entering vehicles that will take them to the launchpad.
The Bezos brothers, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemon were greeted with cheers from Blue Origin staff as they cruised past mission control on the way to the launchpad. The launch remains on schedule for a 9 a.m. liftoff.
Jul 20, 8:12 am
Meet the history-making crew
The Amazon founder will be accompanied on the historic journey by his brother, Mark Bezos, as well as the oldest and youngest people ever to go to space, Wally Funk, 82-years-old, and Oliver Daemon, 18.
Funk is a trailblazing female pilot who trained to be an astronaut with the so-called “Mercury 13” program during the original U.S.-Soviet space race era but was then told they were only sending men to space at the time. Funk still blazed trails for women in aerospace, becoming the first female Federal Aviation Administration inspector.
Daemon is a Dutch student set to begin classes at Utrecht University this fall, and is the first paying customer for Blue Origin after the initial auction winner backed out. Daemon graduated high school in 2020, and has said he hopes his trip inspires other young people. Blue Origin said the anonymous bidder who paid $28 million won’t make it on Tuesday due to “scheduling conflicts.” The company has not disclosed how much Daemon paid for his seat.
Jul 20, 7:08 am
New Shepard rocket rolled out onto launchpad
Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and capsule is now on the launchpad at the company’s “Launch Site One” facility in a remote area in the West Texas desert, about 25 miles north of the small town of Van Horn.
The reusable suborbital rocket system, which launches and lands vertically, was rolled out early Tuesday morning, before its scheduled take-off at 9 a.m. ET.
“The launch team completed vehicle rollout this morning and final preparations are underway,” Blue Origin tweeted at 6:53 a.m. ET.
Jul 20, 5:50 am
Bezos jokes he’s not having his ‘last meal’
Bezos joked with reporters that he did not have his “last meal” before taking off on his space travel company’s first flight with people on board.
As the Amazon and Blue Origin founder served food to members of the press gathered at the remote rocket launch site in the West Texas desert, one reporter jokingly asked: “Is this your last meal?”
“Hey, did somebody say ‘last meal?'” Bezos, wearing a cowboy hat and sunglasses, responded to laughter. “I don’t think we should put it that way. Let’s talk about it in a different way.”
Chicken thighs, mac ‘n’ cheese and black-eyed peas were on the menu — a “favorite” recipe by Bezos’ grandmother. He also handed out copies of the recipe.
“Now, if you don’t like this, just keep it to yourself,” Bezos said to more laughter.
Bezos told reporters that he and his three crewmates had finished their training.
“We’re going to have a little refresher early tomorrow morning,” he added. “We have an early wake up tomorrow.”
What is happening and how to watch
Liftoff of the inaugural Blue Origin flight is scheduled for 9 a.m. ET from a rural complex just north of Van Horn, Texas. In total, the flight will be 11 minutes, with approximately three minutes spent above the so-called Karman line that is defined by some as the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. After re-entry, the astronauts are set to descend back to Earth in their capsule with a parachute-landing in the west Texas desert.
ABC News will carry live coverage of the event, which will also be streamed on Blue Origin’s website. The live broadcast will begin at 7:30 a.m. ET. Unlike most spaceflights, there are no on-site public viewing areas in the vicinity of the launch site. The newly-minted astronauts are set to have a press conference shortly after landing back on earth.
There is no pilot aboard the fully-autonomous capsule. While Blue Origin’s New Shepard has flown 15 test flights, Tuesday’s will be the first with humans on board.
The definition of “space” has emerged as a heated debate point in the new space race, as Sir Richard Branson took heat for not passing the Karman line (roughly 62 miles above earth) during his Virgin Galactic spaceflight earlier this month. Neither Blue Origin nor Virgin Galactic’s flights will reach Earth’s orbit, however, the way Elon Musk’s SpaceX missions have. Musk, also a billionaire player in the new space race, on Twitter has called out this “big difference.”
While the modern space race has become the arena of the ultra-wealthy at a time when a global pandemic on earth has exacerbated inequities, some argue the rise of private sector involvement has saved NASA money and accelerated technological advances — which in the long-term has the potential to open up space tourism to all who have been curious about the cosmos.
Still, the billionaire daredevils using themselves as guinea pigs for their private space tourism firms have not had the same support astronauts garnered during the original U.S.-Soviet space race. Animosity was exacerbated by reports that Bezos and Musk have avoided income taxes. A Change.org petition calling for Bezos to stay in space has garnered headlines and more than 160,000 signatures.
In an interview with ABC News’ “Good Morning America” just one day ahead of the spaceflight, Bezos said he is curious how briefly leaving Earth will “change” him.
“I don’t know what it’s going to mean for me,” Bezos said. “I don’t know, I’m very curious about what tomorrow is actually going to bring. Everybody who’s been to space says it changes them in some way. And I’m just really excited to figure out how it’s going to change me.”
