Jay-Z always knows how to throw a great party, and he’ll celebrate the 18th anniversary of his 40/40 sports club in Manhattan with his personal VIP list.
Hova sent out custom-made, hourglass invitations to Diddy, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Meek Mill, Lil Uzi Vert, Bobby Shmurda, Rapsody, Remy Ma and more to join him for the grand reopening of his club on August 28, according to The Source. The Roc Nation CEO is hiring 100 new staffers for the bi-level venue.
The name “40/40” represents the rare baseball achievement of hitting at least 40 home runs and stealing at least 40 bases in a single season. Only four MLB players — Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Canseco and Alfonso Soriano — have accomplished the feat.
In 2012, Jay and Beyoncé hosted a fundraiser for President Barack Obama at 40/40 attended by 100 guests, which raised $4 million at $40,000 a ticket.
Jay-Z also owns 40/40 clubs at the Atlanta airport and Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Clubs in Atlantic City and Las Vegas are now closed.
(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Henri is expected to become a hurricane on Saturday as it accelerates quickly up the East Coast toward southern New England.
Henri is predicted to touch down near Long Island and southeastern New England on Sunday afternoon, with winds nearing 75 miles mph.
Since the coastal Northeast is very close to the sea level, these areas are prone to flooding amid storm surge, which could reach as high as 4 feet in Queens and Long Island, as well as coastal Connecticut. In Rhode Island and southeast Massachusetts, the storm surge could reach 5 feet.
From Newport, Rhode Island, to Montauk, New York, wind gusts are forecast to reach up to 80 mph, and they may reach 60 mph in other coastal areas.
Hurricane watches have been issued for eastern Long Island, parts of Connecticut, Rhode Island’s coastal regions and southeast Massachusetts. Meanwhile, tropical storm watches have been issued for areas just north of New York City, including Westchester and Nassau counties.
It’s the first time in nearly 10 years that parts of New York have been issued a hurricane watch, according to the National Weather Service, which also noted that if Henri lands in New England as a hurricane, it’ll be the first direct hurricane landfall since 1991.
Fred, a tropical depression that passed by earlier this week, caused major flooding in parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts, areas that could see another 6 to 8 inches of rain from Henri.
(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Chaos has enveloped Kabul after Afghanistan’s government’s collapsed and the Taliban seized control, all but ending America’s 20-year campaign as it began: under Taliban rule.
On Thursday, protests broke out in Kabul with Afghan men and women waving the nation’s flag in defiance of the Taliban on Afghanistan’s Independence Day.
The U.S. has evacuated approximately 9,000 people since Aug. 14, according to a White House official, with 3,000 people evacuated Thursday and double that number slated to be flown out Friday. Pentagon officials have said their focus remains on maintaining the airport perimeter and increasing the number of evacuees out of Kabul.
President Joe Biden returned to Washington from Camp David on Wednesday and sat down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for an exclusive one-on-one interview at the White House, the president’s first interview since the withdrawal from Afghanistan. He is expected to address the nation on evacuation efforts Friday.
The Pentagon has said that 6,000 U.S. troops have been deployed to the country’s capital as the military races to evacuate people. Despite criticism, the Biden administration is sticking by its decision to withdraw troops from the country, though Biden told Stephanopoulos troops might stay beyond the original Aug. 31 date if it takes longer to get all Americans out of the country.
Here are some key developments. All times Eastern:
Aug 20, 2:02 pm
Biden addresses the nation, says ‘Any American who wants to come home, we will get you home.’
President Joe Biden, in an address to the nation Friday amid the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, touted “significant progress” in evacuation efforts, saying the airport in Kabul has been secured.
“Let me be clear, any American who wants to come home, we will get you home,” he said.
He said the U.S. is still working to get a “strong number” of how many American citizens are in Afghanistan and where they are.
Biden noted more than 18,000 people have been evacuated since July and approximately 13,000 since the military airlift effort began Aug. 14th.
Biden has faced fierce criticism for the withdrawal from Afghanistan and has defiantly defended his decision to withdraw all troops by Aug. 31.
“The idea that somehow, there’s a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don’t know how that happens,” Biden told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
During that sitdown, he also said he’s committed to getting every American out of Afghanistan even if it means potentially extending the mission beyond the deadline he set.
Meanwhile, the situation in Afghanistan remains dire, with crowds clamoring to get out from the airport in Kabul and reports of Afghans being targeted by the Taliban
Aug 20, 1:14 pm
Reports of Afghans targeted by Taliban
“Taliban fighters massacred nine ethnic Hazara men after taking control of Afghanistan’s Ghazni province last month,” according to a press release posted Thursday by Amnesty International.
“On-the-ground researchers spoke to eyewitnesses who gave harrowing accounts of the killings, which took place between July 4-6 in the village of Mundarakht, Malistan district. Six of the men were shot and three were tortured to death, including one man who was strangled with his own scarf and had his arm muscles sliced off,” the group wrote on its website.
Meanwhile, a private Norwegian intelligence firm also sent evidence of the Taliban rounding up Afghans on a blacklist of people who worked for the Afghan government or with U.S. and NATO forces, according to a U.S. official and a source familiar with the report.
The U.N. provided the report to the U.S. and other countries Thursday, according to the U.S. official.
But the source familiar with the report noted that the U.N. did not commission the report and cannot verify its authenticity.
Aug 20, 1:12 pm
No US airlift flights out of Kabul for hours due to Qatar capacity
For several hours Friday, there were no C-17 evacuation flights out of Kabul’s airport because the evacuee facilities at the Al Udeid Air Base near Doha, Qatar, are at capacity due to the number of Afghan evacuees being processed and housed there, according to a U.S. official.
A White House official has now confirmed that the commander on the ground at the Kabul airport has issued an order to recommence evacuation flights.
Flights will begin traveling with U.S. citizens and Afghan allies to Uzbekistan, according to a State Department official.
It will be one of many new countries that the U.S. will now send flights to.
Aug 20, 12:14 pm
‘Dissent cable’ warned of Afghanistan government collapse
U.S. diplomats at the embassy in Kabul warned Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the department’s leadership that the Afghan government was at risk of collapse as the Taliban offensive swept across the country, a source familiar with the cable confirmed to ABC News.
The dissent cable, as such classified memos are called, was sent July 13 and called for the Biden administration to begin an airlift operation immediately for Afghans who helped the U.S. and to use sharper language to condemn Taliban atrocities, according to the source. The cable was immediately brought to Blinken’s attention, according to the source, who said Blinken responded.
The source declined to detail what he said, beyond encouraging use of the dissent cable channel — but told ABC News that the “thoughts of the drafters reflected much of the thinking at the department,” which is why the State Department started relocating Afghan Special Immigrant Visa applicants and families in late July.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price issued a statement about the cable, declining to comment publicly, but saying Blinken reads every dissent, approves the replies and welcomes and encourages the channel’s use.
Aug 20, 11:45 am
White House tries to spin Kabul airport, embassy evacuation as successful planning
White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield defended the government’s response to the Afghanistan crisis and touted the airport evacuations as a success.
“We have taken control of the airport. Flights are leaving regularly. I would say that’s not something that happens without planning. That’s not something that just happens,” she said on MSNBC Friday morning.
“The president planned for multiple contingencies, that’s why he prepositioned troops in the Gulf who are able to move in immediately after Kabul fell, take control of the airport and begin to set up flights to get people out of the country,” she added.
Bedingfield also touted the fact that the U.S. Embassy was cleared without loss of life, despite the fact that crucial documents for Afghan allies, like passports, were destroyed, according to a Democratic lawmaker’s office. The destruction of passports could make it more difficult for Afghan allies to get evacuated, putting them in even more danger.
“48 hours after the fall of Kabul we evacuated all of our embassy personnel to the airport without a shot fired,” Bedingfield said. “That’s not something that just happens, that requires foresight and planning and that’s what President Biden and his team did.”
Aug 20, 11:29 am
DHS personnel deployed to Qatar to help processing Afghans
Agents from Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and officers from Transportation Security Agency have been deployed to Doha, Qatar “to conduct processing, screening, and vetting, with the goal of bringing to the United States Afghans who have worked for and on behalf of the United States and other eligible vulnerable Afghans in coordination with Department of Defense and Department of State,” a CBP spokesperson told ABC News on Friday.
Aug 20, 11:10 am
Pentagon requests to ‘reprogram’ $400M to pay for transport, housing of Afghan refugees
The Pentagon submitted a request to the House and Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday to “reprogram” $400 million to pay for the transport and housing of Afghan refugees.
A House Armed Services Committee aide confirmed the news, which was first reported in Punchbowl News.
“The Committee has received and is in the process of reviewing the reprogramming request from the Department,” HASC spokesperson Monica Matoush told ABC News in a statement.
This request comes on top of the $1.1 billion already approved by Congress in the security supplemental package for the “Special Immigrant Visa” program.
“Chairman Smith has been following the developments in Afghanistan very closely and continues to believe that our current focus must be the rapid evacuation of U.S. personnel, Afghan nationals that have supported the military, as well as their families, and other Afghan nationals that may be in danger due to their work on humanitarian or human rights issues. The Committee will keep this priority in mind as the reprogramming request is evaluated,” Matoush added.
Aug 20, 10:33 am
Biden to brief nation Friday as 6,000 slated to be evacuated from Afghanistan
As chaos continues to unfold in Afghanistan, President Joe Biden will address the nation at 1 p.m. on evacuation efforts amid mounting pressure to get Americans and Afghans who have supported the U.S. out of the embattled country.
After about 3,000 people were evacuated Thursday, the State Department said another 6,000 are slated to be evacuated on 20 flights Friday. Between 5,000 to 7,000 people will have to be evacuated daily to beat the Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline, Biden told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos Wednesday.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with their national security team to be briefed on the evolving situation on the ground in Afghanistan on Friday before Harris departs on a foreign trip to Asia in the evening, and the House and Senate will also receive unclassified briefings at 2 p.m. and 3:15 p.m., respectively.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby will also hold a briefing with Maj. Gen Hank Taylor at 2 p.m.
Aug 20, 9:08 am
Biden administration grapples with slow Afghanistan evacuations
Members of Congress will get more details on the state of affairs in Afghanistan in unclassified briefings Friday amid bipartisan calls for Americans and Afghan allies to be evacuated from Kabul faster after the Taliban takeover.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley will speak with members of the House of Representatives. Senators will also receive a briefing.
The briefing comes after another chaotic day at Kabul’s airport. The State Department said Thursday that 6,000 people were cleared to be flown out on 20 flights on Friday — the max capacity for each.
The number evacuated will have to be 5,000 to 7,000 per day to beat the Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline, President Joe Biden Wednesday.
In order for that to happen, though, those looking to flee the ravaged nation need to be able to access the airport and there is currently no clear plan to resolve that. State Department spokesman Ned Price had a sobering message for those hoping for a safe route.
“At this point, we don’t have the resources to go beyond the airport compound,” Price told reporters Thursday.
While talks continue with the Taliban about allowing safe passage to the airport, no resolution has yet been reached.
Aug 20, 1:25 am
US evacuated about 3,000 people from Kabul on Thursday
The U.S. evacuated approximately 3,000 people from the airport in Kabul on Thursday as thousands clamor to get out of the country in the wake of the Taliban taking over the government.
The White House confirmed the latest number of evacuees early Friday, among them nearly 350 U.S. citizens. The others on the 12 C-17 flights were family members of U.S. citizens, special immigration visa applicants and their families and vulnerable Afghans, a White House official said.
The official said 9,000 people have been evacuated since Aug. 14 and 14,000 since the end of July.
Not included in those totals were 11 charter flights facilitated by the U.S. military, the official said.
President Joe Biden is scheduled to discuss the evacuations from Afghanistan in an address Friday afternoon.
Aug 19, 8:13 pm
Consular surge will only be as high as 40 people total: Sources
The State Department announced earlier this week that it is “surging” staff to the international airport in Kabul to assist with the massive efforts to evacuate as many as 15,000 U.S. citizens and tens of thousands of Afghans who helped the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.
But the total number of consular officials who will help process people will only be as high as 40 people in total, according to two sources familiar with the plans — raising questions about whether that is enough staff to process the tens of thousands left to evacuate.
The State Department declined to confirm how many consular officials would be based at Kabul airport, but referred questions to spokesperson Ned Price’s comments earlier on Thursday.
“We’re always going to be evaluating what we could be doing differently, what we could be doing more effectively. If it turns out that we need additional consular capacity in Kabul, we won’t hesitate to do that, but right now we are confident that … with the additional reinforcements, we’ll have what we need,” he told reporters.
In comparison, there are more than 5,200 U.S. troops on the ground, securing the airport and evacuating Americans and Afghans on military cargo aircraft. The military is able to airlift between 5,000 and 9,000 people per day, Gen. Hank Taylor told reporters Thursday, but they have not had that many evacuees ready to go.
Crowds are unable to access the airport, blocked by massive congestion and Taliban fighters beating back crowds. U.S. forces have also deployed tear gas and fired into the air to disperse crowds. Over the last 24 hours, Taylor said, only 2,000 passengers were taken out.
Ministry has premiered a cover of The Stooges‘ “Search and Destroy.”
Al Jourgensen puts his signature industrial metal spin on the proto-punk classic for his band’s upcoming album, Moral Hygiene, due out October 1. He was originally inspired to cover the song after previously performing it with Billy Idol guitarist Billy Morrison and Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction during the pair’s 2019 Above Ground charity concert.
“We rehearsed it and the song was perfect but the show was running late and by the time we got on stage, I was in half time and singing the lyrics twice as slow,” Jourgensen recalls. “Fortunately Billy and Dave Navarro are professionals and they realized what was going on and sort of covered for me but I felt horrible.”
He continues, “Billy thought it actually sounded really good in half-time so he came to me with the idea of going into the studio and recording it that way. And I figured I owed him one.”
The “Search and Destroy” cover is available now for digital download. Its accompany video, which finds Jourgensen and Morrison rocking out together in the desert, is streaming now on YouTube.
Even though the COVID-19 pandemic continues to keep Kenny Chesney off the road, he’s making it a point to celebrate summer with No Shoes Nation.
The singer surprised fans with his beachy new “Beautiful World” music video today. The clip follows Kenny through a perfect day out on the water, complete with a sailboat, a seaside sunset and a chance to just lounge in the sand with his guitar.
Kenny says the “Beautiful World” video was his way of summing up his appreciation of the beauty of the natural world.
“I was thinking about that feeling, thinking about how I could maybe capture it — and give it back to the people, and it hit me: Show them some of the best days of my life out on the water,” he explains. “The beauty, the easy way the sun hangs in the sky and the water just goes on and on? It makes you happy just to see it.”
“Beautiful World” is on the track list of Kenny’s deluxe Here and Now project, which he released in May.
Earth, Wind & Fire has just released a brand-new single, “You Want My Love,” a reimagined version of their 1976 hit “Can’t Hide Love” that they recorded in collaboration with acclaimed producer Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and up-and-coming R&B singer/songwriter Lucky Daye.
The song, which is available now as a digital download and via streaming services, is the first release of a series of collaborative tracks that the R&B/funk legends plan to put out in the coming months.
“You Want My Love” features a vocal performance from Daye and guitars by Edmonds, who also co-produced the song.
To promote the new song, EWF’s Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson stopped by CNN’s New Day show this morning. During the interview, which you can watch on CNN.com, the band members discussed how the collaboration came about. They also talked about their excitement over getting to perform Saturday at the star-studded We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert, taking place in New York City’s Central Park. Earth, Wind & Fire will be joined by Daye and Babyface to give “You Want My Love” its live debut. The show will air live on CNN and some of its affiliated networks starting at 5 p.m. ET.
In addition, Bailey and Daye will take part in an live Instagram event with DJ D-Nice tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET.
“Can’t Hide Love” was written by Skip Scarborough and was originally recorded by the soul group Creative Source in 1973. Earth Wind & Fire’s version of the tune appeared on their 1975 album, Gratitude, and peaked at #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 the following year.
In Free Guy, Ryan Reynolds plays Guy, and Lil Rel Howery plays his best buddy, named, well, Buddy — two plain monikers that hint at their seemingly meaningless lives: they’re actually just background characters in a video game.
However, that revelation only comes to Guy when he dons a pair of glasses that lets him see that he and Buddy’s everyday lives — as, respectively, a bank teller and a security guard — are just cannon fodder for gamers in the real world.
That world-changing revelation doesn’t change their friendship, however, which is cemented in a moving speech Buddy gives at the movie’s climax.
“…[I]t’s always weird when you do speeches like that, you’re kind of like emotionally tied to it,” Howery said with a laugh at a recent press event. “I remember shooting it with [director] Shawn [Levy] and them…and I had to take a walk. I wasn’t like gonna tear up in front of y’all, but I was like, ‘Wow, that’s what that was.'”
He adds, “Buddy has a couple of those moments and which is what I loved about the character, is that, you know, his innocence came with how comfortable he was with his friendship…and that’s what I loved about that.”
Reynolds adds, “Rel and, I just immediately, from the moment we met, kind of clicked. I was a huge fan of his,” Ryan says before adding self-deprecatingly, “and I think we can all say he was a huge fan of [co-star] Taika [Waititi].”
He continues, “So it was great to get out there and mess around and play and sort of form that bond and put it up on the big screen.”
Free Guy is now in theaters from 20th Century Studios, which is owned by ABC News’ parent company, Disney.
Eddie Vedder is rocking around the clock with his cover of the R.E.M. classic, “Drive.”
The Pearl Jam frontman put his spin on the Automatic for the People opener for the soundtrack to the new film, Flag Day. While Vedder’s version stays true to the slow burning original musically, his baritone vocals give the track a different kind of vibe.
Along with the “Drive” cover, the Flag Day soundtrack includes a number of original Vedder tunes recorded with Irish musician and Once star Glen Hansard, as well as new music from Cat Power. Additionally, the album features the musical debut of Vedder’s daughter, Olivia, who performs songs titled “My Father’s Daughter” and “There’s a Girl.”
Fittingly, Flag Day stars another father-daughter pair: Sean and Dylan Penn. Both the film and its soundtrack are out today.
Selena Gomez took it upon herself to school her Only Murders in the Building co-stars Steve Martin and Martin Short on pop culture, especially on Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion‘s smash hit single, “WAP.”
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, the conversation came about when Short, 71, was raving about his “fabulous” young co-star.
“She was in the makeup chair…and right away I could tell within five minutes she was fabulous, funny, loose, and wanted the set to be the way we all ideally wanted,” he began. “And I think every time the three of us went back to our little holding area, and read the news from each other’s phones and laughed, and, you know, she tells Steve lyrics to ‘W.A.P.'”
His story was cut short by Gomez, 29, who chimed in with, “Why did you say W.A.P? It’s WAP.”
“Why can’t you say W.A.P?” Short asked his co-star, to which Martin, 76, replied, “Cause that’s not what they say.”
“That’s not what the kids say,” corrected Gomez.
To back up his younger co-star, Martin jokingly quipped, “That’s like calling the U.S.A., USA” — sounding out the letters like a word instead of saying each one individually.
The trio also confirmed that Gomez “certainly did” explain the meaning behind the summer smash — with Short quickly declaring that he had “known it for years.”
The interview proved just how much chemistry the three have, with the “Lose You to Love Me” singer laughing about the comedy legends, “As you can tell, I can barely keep a straight face.”
Motionless in White has premiered a new song called “Timebomb.”
The track certainly lives up to its name, thanks to big guitar riffs and snarling vocals. You can download “Timebomb” now via digital outlets, and watch its accompanying sci-fi-themed video streaming now on YouTube.
“Timebomb” is Motionless in White’s first new song of 2021. Last year, the group premiered a track called “Creatures X: To the Grave” to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their 2010 debut album, Creatures. They also released a cover of The Killers’ “Somebody Told Me.”
Motionless in White’s most recent album is 2019’s Disguise, which includes the singles “Another Life” and “Brand New Numb.”
