To commemorate November 6 — aka “Stranger Things Day,” aka the day Will Byers was sucked into the Upside Down — Netflix revealedStranger Things will return in 2025, as well as the titles for all eight remaining episodes of the streaming phenomenon’s fifth and final season.
“In the fall of 1987, one last adventure begins … ” Netflix teased in a series of title cards.
Here are the titles — let your imagination run as to what they could mean:
(WASHINGTON) — Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr — the first openly trans lawmaker in the state — has won her bid for reelection to the Montana House of Representatives after she was censured and barred from the House floor for almost two years. Her win allows Zephyr to take to the House floor for debate once more.
Zephyr’s censure stemmed from her pleas on the House floor against a gender-affirming care ban for transgender youth.
“If you are denying gender-affirming care and forcing a trans child to go through puberty, that is tantamount to torture, and this body should be ashamed,” Zephyr said in the April 18, 2023 debate. “If you vote yes on this bill, I hope the next time you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands.”
She later elaborated on the comments in an April 2023 interview with ABC News, arguing that gender-affirming support and care improves the mental health of trans children, who face higher rates of discrimination and bullying.
“I have lost friends to suicide this year,” Zephyr said. “I’ve had families call me when there have been … suicide attempts by trans youth, including one trans teenager who attempted to take her life watching one of these hearings on legislation targeting the transgender community.”
Republican lawmakers responded to her comments on the House floor by refusing to allow her to speak or comment on the House floor, she said. Some legislators, including House Speaker Matt Regier, argued she had broken House rules of decorum.
Demonstrators in support of Zephyr interrupted House business several days later to protest her silencing, and she showed her support by holding up her mic.
“Let her speak,” protesters chanted.
House Republicans voted to censure her in response, representing just over the two-thirds needed to bar her from the House floor.
“All representatives are free to participate in House debate while following the House rules. The choice to not follow House rules is one that Representative Zephyr has made,” said Regier in a statement to reporters following the censure. “The only person silencing Representative Zephyr is Representative Zephyr.”
Several of her colleagues argued that Zephyr was inciting “violence” and showing “flagrant disregard for the safety and well-being” of those at the House, according to one statement from the Montana Freedom Caucus.
Zephyr argued the real violence is the negative impact gender-affirming care bans may have on transgender youth.
The day after her censure, Zephyr could be found seated in the public area of the state capitol building, voting and participating with her laptop as close to the House floor as she was allowed.
“The people sent me here to do the work, and much of that work is on the House floor,” she told ABC News at the time. “I need to be as close as possible, so I can have the conversations with legislators and make sure that I can, at least in some way, make sure the voice of my constituents can be discussed.”
Zephyr filed a lawsuit against the state, Regier and Sergeant at Arms for the Montana House of Representatives Bradley Murfitt in an attempt to reinstate her legislative privileges and duties. The lawsuit was dismissed.
“The recent actions violate my 1st amendment rights, as well as the rights of my 11,000 constituents to representation,” Zephyr said in a tweet Monday. “Montana’s State House is the people’s House, not Speaker Regier’s, and I’m determined to defend the right of the people to have their voices heard.”
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office, which represented the state against the lawsuit, denounced the effort as “political activism masquerading as a lawsuit.”
“The ACLU is trying to use the courts to interfere with the legislature as it carries out its constitutional duties on behalf of Montanans,” said Emily Flower, Knudsen’s press secretary. “Any relief granted by the court would be a gross violation of the separation of powers.”
Meat Loaf scored his one and only #1 song with the track “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That),” from his multi-Platinum album Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell, the sequel to his 1977 debut, Bat Out Of Hell.
The track, written by Jim Steinman, who penned Meat Loaf’s other classic tunes “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” and “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” featured singer Lorraine Crosby and had an album run time of over 12 minutes.
The song went to #1 in 28 countries and was certified Platinum in the United States. It also earned Meat Loaf a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo.
The song’s lyric “I’d do anything for love, but I won’t do that” left fans wondering what the “that” was, with Meat Loaf saying it was one of the most common questions he was asked. He later explained it was just a repetition of the things he said he’d never do earlier in the song.
Pretty Little Liars alum Lucy Hale has been tapped to star in the forthcoming sci-fi thriller White Mars, according to Deadline. The film, set in an isolated research facility in Antarctica, follows microbiologist Sammie — played by Hale — who tries to save her fellow crew members from a malevolent entity bent on killing them all, per the outlet …
Variety reports Daisy Ridley will reunite with her Cleaner director Martin Campbell for the action thriller Dedication. Ridley will play Major Billie Jean Parker, “a decorated Marine Corps commander who is relieved of duty after a high-stakes mission in the Philippines results in civilian casualties, despite capturing anarchist leader Omar Romatas,” according to the outlet. She’s forced back into action by Romatas’ vengeful son, who launches an attack on an event she attends and takes hostages …
Grown-ish alum Yara Shahidi is in talks to star in the coming-of-age comedy Bloom, along with Sex Education‘s Kedar Williams-Stirling, Uglies‘ Keith Powers and Renée Elise Goldsberry, the Tony Award-winning star of Broadway’s Hamilton, according to Deadline. The movie centers on “a young and gifted Black artist,” played by Williams-Stirling, who moves to Italy on a college scholarship and “forges unexpected friendships and ignites a passionate romance, all within the captivating orbit of a defiant and opulent circle of wealthy young Black adults deemed ‘The Casa Rosa Kids,'” per the entertainment website …
(LONDON) — World leaders and top officials reacted to the unfolding results of the 2024 presidential election as the contest drew to a conclusion.
With former President Donald Trump significantly ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the White House and claiming victory, French President Emmanuel Macron offered his congratulations to Trump in post to X.
“Ready to work together as we have done for four years,” Macron said, referring to Trump’s first term. “With your convictions and with mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated both Trump and his wife, Melania. “Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback,” Netanyahu wrote on X. “Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America.”
“This is a huge victory,” Netanyahu added.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, newly-appointed Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also all offered their congratulations.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, also congratulated Trump and wished him success in a statement, saying: “We will remain steadfast in our commitment to peace, and we are confident that the United States will support, under your leadership, the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people.”
Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said during a press conference that his country is “not too worried about Trump being elected” because “there was not much difference between” the two candidates.
“From our point of view, it does not make any difference and the budget that has been considered and the measures that were foreseen for the economic security of the country, the necessary forecasts have been made and there is no reason to worry,” Mohajerani added. “Sanctions have greatly strengthened our internal strength and we have the ability to deal with them.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban — a longtime conservative ally of Trump — posted to X early Wednesday celebrating what he called “the biggest comeback in U.S. political history.” Orban congratulated Trump on “his enormous win,” which he described as a “much needed victory for the world.”
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote on Facebook of his hope that “Hungarian-American political cooperation will return to its peak form, because we have similar thoughts about peace, illegal immigration and protection of families.”
“And there is a better chance than ever before that there will be peace in Ukraine after almost a thousand days,” Szijjarto added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lauded what he called Trump’s “impressive election victory.” He wrote in a post on X that leaders in Kyiv “look forward to an era of a strong United States of America under President Trump’s decisive leadership. We rely on continued strong bipartisan support for Ukraine in the United States.”
“I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs,” Zelenskyy added. “This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together.”
When asked about the election results on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters he was “not aware of the president’s plans to congratulate Trump.” Peskov added: “Let’s not forget that we are talking about the unfriendly country that is both directly and indirectly involved in a war against our state.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, meanwhile, posted to X with a video of Harris reciting a psalm during the campaign. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning,” Harris said in the video. Zakharova wrote, “Hallelujah, I’ll add on my own.”
In a later post, Zakharova said, “Those who live by love for their country, and not by hatred for others, win.”
The Foreign Ministry issued a standalone statement Wednesday saying the country “will work with the new administration when it ‘settles’ in the White House, firmly defending Russia’s national interests and focusing on achieving all the goals of the special military operation. Our conditions are unchanged and well known in Washington.”
Former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram that Trump “has one quality that is useful for us: as a businessman to the core, he mortally dislikes spending money on various hangers-on” and “idiotic allies,” suggesting his election may be a curb on American aid to Ukraine.
“The question is how much will Trump be forced to give for the war,” Medvedev — who is now the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council — wrote. “He is stubborn, but the system is stronger.”
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko — one of Russia’s closest allies — said during a press conference that Trump is “an ardent capitalist who won the U.S. elections” while “all of Europe,” including Belarus, “is oriented toward socialism.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Trump’s leadership “will again be key to keeping our alliance strong.” He added, “I look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength through NATO.”
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, wrote on social media, “I warmly congratulate Donald J. Trump.”
“The EU and the U.S. are more than just allies,” she added. “We are bound by a true partnership between our people, uniting 800 million citizens. So let’s work together on a strong transatlantic agenda that keeps delivering for them.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a statement congratulated Trump on a “historic election victory.” He added: “I look forward to working with you in the years ahead. As the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defense of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on X, “Good work Mr. President.”
“Italy and the United States are ‘sister’ nations, linked by an unshakable alliance, common values and a historic friendship,” she wrote. “It is a strategic bond, which I am sure we will now strengthen even further.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described Trump as a “friend” in his congratulatory post to X.
“I hope that Turkey-U.S. relations will strengthen, that regional and global crises and wars, especially the Palestinian issue and the Russia-Ukraine war, will come to an end,” Erdogan said.
Polish President Andrzej Duda posted on X to Trump: “You made it happen!”
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic posted a photograph of himself standing with Trump in the Oval Office, writing alongside it: “Together we face the serious challenges ahead. Serbia is committed to cooperation with the USA on stability, prosperity and peace.”
The leaders of both India and Pakistan were quick to offer their best wishes. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote: “As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-U.S. Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership. Together, let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.”
Across the border in Pakistan, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said he is looking “forward to working closely with the incoming administration to further strengthen and broaden the Pakistan-U.S. partnership.”
South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol also tweeted a congratulatory message. “Under your strong leadership, the future of the [Republic of Korea]-U.S. alliance and America will shine brighter,” he said. “Look forward to working closely with you.”
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te congratulated Trump and also thanked President Joe Biden and Harris “for their firm support for Taiwan during their term in office,” according to a statement from the Taiwanese Presidential Office.
“No matter which political party has been in power, Taiwan-U.S. relations have not only become stronger but also continued to progress and deepen,” the office added. “Building on the existing foundation, we will work hand in hand with the new U.S. administration and Congress to create a new situation in Taiwan-U.S. relations.”
ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge, Bruno Nota, Morgan Winsor, Habibullah Khan and Joohee Cho contributed to this article.
(WASHINGTON) — As former President Donald Trump declared victory in the U.S. presidential election early Wednesday, shares of his media company, Trump Media & Technology, surged about 34% to about $45.49 in pre-market trading.
With U.S. markets yet to open, early indicators appeared to show Wall Street’s bullish view of a second term for Trump. As votes were still being, Dow futures were up, the U.S. dollar was strengthening and international markets were mixed.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures had surged about 2.9% by 6 a.m. in New York, having risen briskly from the 1.7% gain they had logged when former President Donald Trump took the stage in Florida at about 2 a.m.
S&P 500 futures traded up about 2.2% early Wednesday, while futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq market were up about 1.7%. Shares of Tesla, the electric-vehicle company headed by Trump ally Elon Musk, spiked about 14.5% in pre-market trades.
Trump owns a 57% stake in the Trump Media, which trades under the DJT ticker and is the parent of social media startup Truth Social. The company late Tuesday reported its third quarterly loss since going public in March.
Markets in the U.S. had surged on Tuesday, led by the Nasdaq’s 1.4% rise.
As Trump walked onto the stage in Florida early Wednesday, the dollar was strengthening. The U.S. Dollar Index traded up about 1.4% at 104.75, touching a level it hadn’t seen since early August. Yields on 10-year and 2-year Treasury bonds had also climbed overnight.
Trading in Asia was mixed Wednesday as international markets digested the election results. Japan’s Nikkei closed up 2.61% for the day, while Shanghai closed nearly flat, slipping just 0.09%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell, dropping 2.23% by the close after opening below Tuesday’s close.
The United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 Index climbed early Wednesday, rising about 1.43% moments after open. Germany’s DAX saw a similar rise, climbing about 1.3% in morning trading.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump is projected to win the presidential race by ABC News, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in a frenzied contest to stage an improbable historic comeback.
Trump ended up with at least 279 electoral votes after clinching wins in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Georgia and Wisconsin. Harris has won at least 219 votes. The race was marked by literal history, including two assassination attempts and 34 felony convictions against Trump, already having been impeached twice and faulted for mismanaging the COVID-19 pandemic response.
Maybe even more memorable was President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race after a ruinous June debate in which he struggled at times to form sentences.
Trump’s victory underscores just how deep voters’ frustrations were surrounding inflation and immigration, Republicans’ two top issues this election cycle as polls consistently showed Americans’ unhappiness with how Biden handled them.
His return to the White House also suggests that Democrats were not motivated enough by the prospect of electing the first female president and that its base’s fury over the Supreme Court’s revocation of constitutional abortion protections has waned since 2022.
For Trump personally, the win offers both political vindication and legal protection. Since his win, he and his brand were soundly rejected in 2018, 2020 and 2022. And once in office, he’d be able to undermine criminal cases against him surrounding his handling of classified documents while out of office and efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
“I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president,” Trump said in his victory speech.
Trump’s victory is likely to set off transformations in both parties.
His win will likely help cement his “Make America Great Again” brand of politics as the dominant strand of Republicanism for the foreseeable future, with Vice President-elect JD Vance seemingly well positioned to carry on Trump’s mantle after the current administration ends in a little over four years.
Democrats, meanwhile, will likely have to sift through the rubble to understand what voters found so unappetizing about them that they’d choose instead to support a twice-impeached convicted felon who had already been voted out of office once.
The former and future president has not substantively outlined his goals for a second term — at his debate with Harris he boasted of having “concepts of a plan” when it comes to health care — though he has warned that he could go after his political opponents and journalists. He also could use his familiarity with the federal bureaucracy to help install civil servants who are loyal to him.
He will at least have a friendly, GOP-controlled Senate, though the House majority remains up in the air.
Among the chief policy areas where Trump could leave his imprint are on the world stage, where he has forecasted less support for Ukraine; on trade, where he has boasted of tariffs of as high as 100% on some imports, and on immigration, where he supports a mass deportation force and eliminating the Temporary Protected Status program.
He’s also vowed to “drill, baby, drill” and lower costs, though his tariffs would likely raise the price of many goods, economists say, and he promised to eliminate tax on tips, overtime and Social Security benefits for seniors.
Perhaps more than anything, though, Democrats will be on the lookout for any form of retribution from a candidate who repeatedly dubbed his detractors the “enemy from within,” though he never went after Hillary Clinton after leading chants of “lock her up” in 2016.
Trump’s victory this year was far from assured.
Republicans across the spectrum panned Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol to stop certification of the 2020 election, with even allies like Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., suggesting the party should move on from the former president and his brand. That nascent push was largely abandoned weeks later when then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., ventured down to Mar-a-Lago to make amends and discuss House strategy.
Republicans’ disappointing 2022 election results tore open those divides once again. After an anticipated red wave instead gave way to the loss of a Senate seat and only marginal House gains, GOP leaders wondered if the time had come to elevate other lawmakers as the party’s future.
Buzz mounted around Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a younger Republican and culture warrior who could synthesize Trump’s brawler style into more widespread appeal, with Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis calling him the party “leader.” Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence offered more traditional conservative credentials in a snapback of sorts to a pre-Trump party.
Millions of dollars flooded a crowded 2024 GOP primary field, with DeSantis in particular leaning on a historically well-heeled and involved super PAC to proselytize his fighter credentials.
None of it mattered.
Pence dropped out before the calendar even turned to 2024. DeSantis ended his campaign before the New Hampshire primary after falling far short of expectations in Iowa. And while Haley stuck around for months, even drawing thousands of votes in primaries after she ended her own campaign in March, no candidate ever held a candle to Trump’s share of the primary electorate.
All of the 2024 contenders endorsed Trump except for Pence and former Govs. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas and Chris Christie of New Jsersy, none of whom made close to a dent in the nominating contest.
Even though he dominated he clinched the nomination as the GOP’s dominant figure and former president, Trump’s campaign was ultimately anything but conventional.
Trump was dogged by a slate of investigations into his handling of classified documents upon leaving office, his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and payments made to the porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016. He was able to fend off or delay many of the federal investigations he faced, and while he was convicted in a New York trial of 34 felony counts over the Daniels payments, his sentencing was delayed until after the election.
Compounding on the history of the election were two assassination attempts against Trump, the first of which, in July, saw him grazed in the ear by a bullet. Trump was able to use the threats to juice his fundraising and expound on his victimhood narrative, though they did not lead to any fundamental polling shifts.
But perhaps more than anything, Trump’s campaign was roiled by chaos in the Democratic Party.
Trump appeared to initially struggle to figure out how to attack Harris once she took over as Democrats’ nominee, even continuing to go after Biden.
However, Trump eventually settled on a line of attack that Harris had four years to fix the country’s woes, mocking her argument about what she’d do on Day One, arguing that day one was in 2021.
Still, Trump kept Republicans nervous by mixing in messages of grievance up until the very end of the race, veering off a script on inflation and immigration that operatives believed was more effective in winning over persuadable voters.
In the end, though, Trump’s playbook was just enough to win.
Shinedown bassist Eric Bass is launching a new solo project with a song called “Mind Control.”
In an Instagram post, Bass describes “Mind Control” as, “An invitation into the world that I’ve created. A world unseen.”
“In the song ‘Mind Control’ we hear the evil dictator, Devaren articulating his disdain for the citizens he has imprisoned, while at the same time battling inner conflict and a strange sense of remorse,” Bass explains. “Devaren personifies all of the darkness, depression, and confusion I have experienced.”
“In ‘Mind Control’ that darkness and confusion has taken over,” he continues. “Will it ultimately be defeated?”
“Mind Control” will premiere Nov. 13. You can presave it now.
Shinedown’s most recent album is 2022’s Planet Zero, which has spawned singles in “A Symptom of Being Human,” “Dead Don’t Die,” “Daylight” and the title track.
Back in 2020, when Teddy Swims was still relatively unknown, he released a single called “Broke.” Country star Thomas Rhett loved the song so much that he wanted to sing on it with Teddy, so they released a duet version. Now, four years later, they’re seemingly teaming up again.
On Instagram, Teddy posted a video of himself and Thomas performing a duet version of Thomas’ song “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Woman,” from the country star’s current album. It’s not clear if or when it’s being released, but in the comments, fans said they’d love to see the two sing the song on the CMA Awards, which air Nov. 20 on ABC.
The collaboration is a double full-circle moment for Teddy; after “Broke,” he ended up co-writing Thomas’ hit 2023 song “Angels (Don’t Always Have Wings).”
Teddy’s new album I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2) is coming out Jan. 24.
Over the five decades that Saturday Night Live has been on the air, almost every major pop and rock act has appeared on the show. So in honor of the show’s milestone 50th season, Rolling Stone has ranked its 50 greatest musical performances.
The highest a pop star ranks on the list is #13: It’s Taylor Swift‘s 2021 performance of the 10-minute version of “All Too Well,” which ended with snowflakes falling from the ceiling. Then comes Miley Cyrus‘ campfire performance of Pink Floyd‘s “Wish You Were Here” at #23 — it was part of the show’s 2020 Saturday Night Live at Home episode, broadcast during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The next big pop act to appear on the list is Billie Eilish at #27: Her 2019 performance of “bad guy” found her singing on a rotating set that made it look like she was dancing on the walls and the ceiling. Beyoncé is in at #33 with her 2008 performance of “Single Ladies,” during which she was joined by two dancers, one of which was a pre-GleeHeather Morris.
Olivia Rodrigo‘s 2021 performance of “drivers license” is in at #36; and the most recent performance on the list is Chappell Roan‘s from Nov. 2. She’s in at #49 for the debut of her new song “The Giver.“
Topping the list is David Bowie‘s 1979 performance of “The Man Who Sold the World,” during which he was carried to the mic by performance artists Klaus Nomi and Joey Arias, because he was encased in a plastic tuxedo that restricted his movements.
