Phil Campbell of Motörhead performs at the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 26, 2015 in Glastonbury, England. (Tabatha Fireman/Redferns via Getty Images)
Longtime Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell has died at age 64.
Campbell’s band the Bastard Sons, which includes his children, announced the news in an Instagram post Saturday reading, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved father, Philip Anthony Campbell, who passed away peacefully last night following a long and courageous battle in intensive care after a complex major operation.”
“Phil was a devoted husband, a wonderful father, and a proud and loving grandfather, known affectionately as ‘Bampi,'” the post continues. “He was deeply loved by all who knew him and will be missed immensely. His legacy, music and the memories he created with so many will live on forever. We kindly ask that our family’s privacy is respected during this incredibly difficult time.”
Campbell joined Motörhead in 1984 in place of Brian “Robbo” Robertson, who played in the band for a year following the departure of classic lineup guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke in 1982. The first iteration of the band with Campbell also included frontman Lemmy Kilmister, drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor and another guitarist, Michael “Würzel” Burston, turning the longtime trio into a quartet.
After several changes behind the kit, Motörhead brought in drummer Mikkey Dee in 1992. Following Burston’s departure in 1995, Motörhead returned to a trio with Kilmister, Campbell and Dee. That lineup remained intact until Lemmy’s death in 2015, upon which Motörhead disbanded.
Campbell played on 16 Motörhead’s studio albums. Outside of Motörhead, Campbell released three albums with the Bastard Sons, as well as a solo record in 2019.
Homes at Mondo’s Beach between the Solimar and Faria Beach communities west of Ventura have their sea walls tested Wednesday morning, January 06, 2016, as the third storm this season’s El Nino moves in with more rain and heavy surf. (Photo by Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — El Nino is increasingly likely to return later this year, bringing potentially significant impacts to our weather, the upcoming hurricane season and global temperature trends, though its timing and strength remain uncertain, experts told ABC News.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued an El Nino Watch on Thursday, meaning that conditions are favorable for its development over the next six months. NOAA’s latest forecast puts the chance of El Nino developing in June through August at 62%, with higher odds expected by the fall months.
El Nino refers to the warmer-than-average phase of the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a natural cycle where sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific rise and fall. The cooler-than-average phase is called La Nina, while near-average conditions are known as ENSO-neutral.
The current La Nina is expected to fade over the next month as equatorial Pacific waters warm, with ENSO-neutral conditions likely to persist through much of the Northern Hemisphere summer.
If El Nino forms, its potential strength remains highly uncertain. NOAA says there is roughly a 1 in 3 chance it will be strong by the end of the year, though current forecasts favor a weak-to-moderate event.
El Nino and La Nina events occur at irregular intervals, typically every 2 to 7 years. El Nino has been somewhat more frequent than La Nina in past observations, but both phases vary in timing and intensity from one cycle to the next.
Forecasters caution that El Nino predictions tend to be less accurate at this time of year and could change in the coming months.
“Keep in mind that because we’re making these forecasts during the spring season, a time of lower model accuracy, so there is large uncertainty,” said Michelle L’Heureux, physical scientist at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.
This is largely because spring in the Northern Hemisphere is when sea surface patterns across the tropical Pacific Ocean are in a transitional phase.
“Predictions issued at this time of year are typically less reliable due to the so-called boreal spring predictability barrier, a well-known limitation affecting ENSO outlook skill,” the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a statement.
There is usually a delay between the onset of El Nino and its associated effects, meaning it will likely be well into the second half of the year before impacts begin to unfold, based on the latest forecasts.
“An estimate for the length of time before consistent impacts are observed once El Nino forms is typically 1-2 months,” Jon Gottschalck, Chief of the Operational Prediction Branch at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center told ABC News. “This varies largely depending on other climate factors active at the time in both the tropics and extratropics, as well as the time of the year.”
Typical El Nino impacts across the United States
Impacts from El Nino, similar to La Nina, tend to be most consistent and pronounced from late autumn through early spring following the event’s onset, NOAA says.
Experts caution that the impacts on weather patterns are nuanced. Each season is different, and typical El Nino conditions don’t always materialize.
“Every El Nino is different in terms of timing, magnitude, and geographic extent, and such differences lead to variability in the impacts — on temperatures and rainfall, for example — on a global scale,” Andrew Kruczkiewicz, senior staff researcher at Columbia Climate School, said.
Typically, during El Nino, the northern half of the United States and parts of Alaska are more likely to see warmer than average temperatures, with near- to below-average temperatures favored along the southern tier of the U.S., most likely from Texas to the Southeast.
For precipitation, wetter than average conditions are typically observed along the southern tier of the U.S. in parts of California, the Southwest, Gulf Coast and Southeast U.S. Below average precipitation is frequently observed across parts of the northern Rockies, south-central Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley and Great Lakes regions.
El Nino typically increases the odds of above-average snowfall in the southern Rockies, south-central Plains, mid-Atlantic and coastal areas of the Northeast with below-average snowfall favored in the northern Rockies, northern Plains and Great Lakes regions.
“The more consistent impacts on precipitation and temperature don’t occur until the winter months — so for 2026-27,” L’Heureux added.
How El Nino could influence hurricane season activity
The impact of El Nino on this year’s Atlantic and Eastern Pacific hurricane seasons will largely depend on when it unfolds and how strong it gets.
El Nino conditions often suppress activity during the Atlantic hurricane season by producing unfavorable atmospheric winds. In the Eastern Pacific, the opposite occurs, with favorable conditions supporting above-average hurricane season activity.
“It will likely suppress the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season somewhat, with increased sinking air and upper level wind shear over the Atlantic,” said Andy Hazelton, an associate scientist at the University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies.
Vertical wind shear, which refers to changes in wind speed and direction with height in the atmosphere, is often a primary factor in below-average hurricane season activity. Strong vertical wind shear can tear a developing tropical system apart or even prevent it from forming, NOAA says.
Other factors, such as sea surface temperatures, also play an important role in tropical cyclone development and strength. Unseasonably warm ocean waters can partially offset the effects of unfavorable atmospheric winds. However, that will largely depend on sea surface temperature readings as the hurricane season ramps up, which is still months away.
“It’s a little early to say how far below average the Atlantic might be. That will also depend on what the Atlantic sea surface temperatures do – right now they’re average or a little below,” Hazelton added.
NOAA is expected to issue its official hurricane season outlook in May. The Eastern Pacific season begins May 15, followed by the Atlantic season on June 1.
Since El Nino is only one of several important variables considered, Gottschalck said it is important to wait until the outlook is released in May.
Global temperature records could be challenged again
The year 2024 ranked as the planet’s warmest year on record, following the last El Nino event, which emerged in mid-2023 and persisted through spring 2024, according to NOAA.
“The warmer ocean temperatures associated with El Nino, together with its tendency to favor warmer conditions in many areas, often contribute to warmer than normal global annual temperatures,” Gottschalck said.
Record highs in global average temperature often occur during El Nino years, but the phenomenon isn’t the sole reason for the record-breaking warmth, climate scientists say. Short-term El Nino temperature spikes occur on top of the long-term global warming trend, which is primarily driven by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.
“The WMO community will be carefully monitoring conditions in the coming months to inform decision-making. The most recent El Nino, in 2023-’24, was one of the five strongest on record and it played a role in the record global temperatures we saw in 2024,” WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said in a statement.
According to NOAA, 2025 ranked as the third-warmest year on record globally, trailing 2024 and 2023. The slightly lower ranking came amid recent La Nina conditions, which typically cause a temporary dip in global average temperatures.
Similar to the last event, El Nino typically has the greatest impact on global temperatures after it peaks, NOAA says, meaning a spike in global temperatures often lingers into the year following the event’s onset. The intensity of any upcoming El Nino will play a major role in whether global temperature records could be challenged in the near future.
According to the latest outlook from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, there is more than a 90% chance that 2026 will rank among the five warmest years on record, but the probability of it becoming the warmest year currently stands at about 1%. Those odds could rise significantly in 2027, depending on how the event unfolds.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump (R), and his son X Musk, speaks during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on February 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — One year after Elon Musk began an unprecedented attempt to eliminate swaths of the federal government, newly released deposition videos are providing a never-before-seen look at two of the people responsible for the largest mass termination of federal grants in the National Endowment for the Humanities’ history.
According to the depositions and other materials released as part of a civil lawsuit related to the funding cuts, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) relied on ChatGPT to identify more than $100 million in grants related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) that were later cancelled.
When President Donald Trump returned to office last January, he empowered Musk to slash federal spending as a lead adviser in the newly created DOGE. Within days, all agencies were directed to put DEI staff on leave and related programs were shuttered.
In lengthy depositions, two DOGE employees — Justin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh — defended the effort to cut “useless agencies” as part of DOGE’s attempt to reduce the federal deficit.
“You don’t regret that people might have lost important income … to support their lives?” an attorney asked Cavanaugh about the grant cancellations.
“No. I think it was more important to reduce the federal deficit from $2 trillion to close to zero,” Cavanaugh said.
“Did you reduce the federal deficit?” the attorney asked.
“No, we didn’t,” Cavanaugh said.
With backgrounds in tech and finance, neither man worked in government prior to joining DOGE last year. Cavanaugh said they originally determined which grants could be cut based on if they included certain words — like “DEI, DEIA, Equity, Inclusion, BIPAC, LGBTQ” — though the final decision about cuts was up to the head of individual agencies.
“Do you think it’s inappropriate in any way that someone in their 20s with no experience with grants for the federal government was making personal judgment calls about what grants to cancel?” an attorney asked.
“Um, no. I don’t think it’s inappropriate,” Cavanaugh said, arguing that he did not need formal education or experience to make informed judgments.
“So presumably you read some of these books that would have informed you on how to cancel a grant based on DEI,” the attorney asked.
“Um, I did not read a book, um, on how to discern whether a grant includes DEI or not. I read the actual description of the actual grant,” Cavanaugh said.
Fox said they instead turned to OpenAI’s ChatGPT to help sift through the thousands of grants awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
According to court filings, the men prompted ChatGPT by asking, “From the perspective of someone looking to identify DEI grants, does this involve DEI? Respond factually in less than 120 characters.· Begin with ‘Yes.’ o. ‘No.’ followed by a brief explanation.· Do not use ‘this initiative’ or ‘this description’ in your response.”
Fox was repeatedly pressed by attorneys to explain certain funding decisions, such as defunding a language center — described as a “wasteful, noncritical spend” — or projects related to Black history and civil rights.
“Why is a documentary about Holocaust survivors DEI?” an attorney asked.
“It’s a gender-based story that’s inherently discriminatory to focus on this specific group,” Fox said.
According to the depositions and legal documents, the men did not provide a clear definition for DEI or take additional steps to ensure the decisions were not discriminatory — arguing it was not necessary because AI software was not the final decision-maker.
“Did you do anything to ensure that ChatGPT’s perception of DEI as applied here wouldn’t discriminate on the basis of sex?” an attorney asked, prompting another objection.
“It didn’t matter,” Fox said.
DOGE’s efforts in multiple federal agencies and departments last year faced opposition and lawsuits, with critics raising concerns about the group’s effectiveness and its access to sensitive data.
Both Fox and Cavanaugh defended the funding decisions, arguing the cuts were necessary to reduce the deficit, though they never achieved their goals.
“Did you ever find it problematic that you were, alongside Nate, short-listing for termination projects that had hits on words like Black, homosexual, LGBTQ+?” an attorney asked, prompting an objection and follow up question.
“We were identifying wasteful spend in the government based on administration direction. That was the whole reason we were there, was to find savings,” Fox said, though he acknowledged the deficit was never reduced.
Their work cutting grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities was memorialized in a social media post by DOGE, which vowed that any future grants would be “merit-based and awarded to non-DEI, pro-America causes.”
According to the depositions, some of the saved funds were spent on the National Garden of American Heroes — a sculpture garden to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary.
Why does Mariah Carey think she belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? It’s all about the stats. Speaking to Billboard, she says, “I would say they should check out the 19 No. 1s…not everybody has those to their name.” Billboard also points out that, in her career, Mariah has covered songs by rock artists, including Def Leppard, Journey and Foreigner.
The Fray’s first new album in more than 10 years, A Light That Waits, just dropped on Friday. Meanwhile, their biggest album, How to Save a Life, has just been RIAA-certified for sales of five million units. The band’s Summer of Light tour kicks off May 11 in New Brunswick, Canada.
Shaggy has announced a new album called Lottery, due out May 15. The “It Wasn’t Me” singer has teamed with Robin Thicke for the first single called “Looking Lovely.”
Spice Girl Mel C has just announced a world tour starting in Montreal on Sept. 8. The North American leg wraps up Set. 25 in San Diego, before heading to the U.K, Europe, Asia and Australia. You can now sign up for an artist presale, which starts March 18 at 10 a.m. local time; the general onsale begins March 20. For full ticket info and presale, visit MelC.net. She’s also dropped a new single, “Undefeated Champion,” from her forthcoming album Sweat, due May 1.
Warped Tour 2026 Orlando lineup. (Courtesy of Vans Warped Tour)
The week of Warped has come to an end.
After confirming the lineups for its 2026 festival in Washington, D.C., Long Beach, California, Montreal and Mexico City, Warped Tour has unveiled the bill for its fifth and final stop: Orlando, Florida, on Nov. 14-15.
The Orlando lineup includes Bowling for Soup, Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, grandson, Hawthorne Heights, Hoobastank, Jimmy Eat World, KennyHoopla, Motion City Soundtrack, New Found Glory, Phantom Planet, Simple Plan, Sleeping with Sirens, Taking Back Sunday, The Paradox, The Used, Third Eye Blind and Thrice.
Warped Tour returned in 2025 after a six-year hiatus. The other 2026 Warped Tour stops take place in D.C. on June 13-14, Long Beach on July 25-26, Montreal on Aug. 21-22 and Mexico City on Sept. 12-13.
Durand Bernarr attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images)
The lineup for the 15th annual Blue Note Jazz Festival New York has been revealed, and Ledisi, Durand Bernarr and Big Freedia have been tapped as performers.
They are slated to take the stage during the monthlong event, which runs from June 1 to July 1. Ledisi will perform on June 10 at a location to be determined, while Durand will play two shows June 18 at the Blue Note Jazz Club. That same night, Mario will entertain fans with a show at Sony Hall, where Big Freedia will turn up on June 24.
Other musicians featured on the lineup are Destin Conrad, Slum Village ft. Chris Rob and Arrested Development, among others.
Tickets, the calendar and more information are available at bluenotejazz.com.
The Hollywood Bowl version of the event will take place June 13-14, with Arsenio Hall serving as host, and Patti LaBelle and Wyclef Jean among the night’s performers.
Olivia Rodrigo attends the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction (Disney/Michael J. Le Brecht II)
Olivia Rodrigo’s musical collaborator Dan Nigro posted a photo on Instagram not too long ago showing himself passed out on a couch with Olivia sitting next to him. The caption read, “Finishing records….” Now, her official fan site appears to be hinting that said records may actually be on the way.
Livie’s HQ, Olivia’s official fan account, wrote on X Friday, “#OliviaIsComing.” The account followed it up with a video showing a purple wall featuring a new “OR” logo painted on it, along with the entire side of a building painted purple with the same “OR” logo. The account also retweeted several fan photos and videos of the same wall.
Earlier this month, when Olivia was in Paris for Fashion Week, WWD posted a video of her being asked about speculation surrounding the title of her next album. She replied, “Oh, you think I’m going to give that away right now? No, no, no. I’m keeping that close to the chest.”
Olivia hasn’t released a new studio album since 2023’s GUTS.
Law enforcement respond near Temple Israel following reports of an active shooter on March 12, 2026 in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Police continue to investigate as emergency personnel remained on the scene. (Photo by Emily Elconin/Getty Images)
(WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich.) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on people to “lower the temperature” and call out antisemitism following Thursday’s attack on a Detroit-area synagogue that she said on Friday “could have looked a lot more like Sandy Hook” had it not been for security.
And while the governor and other leaders said law enforcement is trying to comb through more evidence about the incident, more information is coming to light about the man who was killed by security guards after he rammed his truck into the temple.
Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun said that 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, who lived in his city, had “lost several members of his own family … in an Israeli attack on their home in Lebanon.”
Baydoun joined other leaders in condemning the attack, which took place as children were inside the temple.
“This tragedy comes at a time when communities everywhere are confronting rising hate and senseless violence. No matter where violence occurs, whether in West Bloomfield or anywhere around in the world, harm against innocent people is something we must all stand firmly against,” he said.
“The tensions we see across the world too often find their way into our own neighborhoods, reminding us how deeply connected our shared safety is,” the mayor added.
The suspect was armed with a rifle, and the truck contained fireworks and an unidentified chemical agent that ignited soon after the crash, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
No staff or students inside the synagogue were hurt, and the synagogue noted that all 140 students as well as staff, teachers and security all returned home, Whitmer told reporters Friday morning.
The sheriff’s office said one synagogue security guard was hit by the suspect’s truck in the incident and was “knocked unconscious” but was expected to be okay.
Whitmer said she was angry at the situation and said the Jewish community has been on heightened alert because of the rise in antisemitic attacks, threats and rhetoric since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The Anti-Defamation League found that there were 9,354 antisemitic incidents across the United States in 2024, a 344% increase over the past five years.
“People like the person who attacked this community yesterday get fulminated by rhetoric that they see online and they see on television and hear on the radio. It radicalizes them,” Whitmer said.
Synagogues and other Jewish centers across the country increased their security following the attack in Michigan, according to several police departments including the NYPD.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and given the overall heightened threat environment, we’re continuing to deploy high-visibility patrols to Jewish religious and cultural institutions in the city,” the NYPD said in a statement.
The governor reiterated that there were children under a year old inside the synagogue during the incident.
“My friend Brian said this could have looked a lot more like Sandy Hook. Let’s not lose sight of that,” Whitmer said.
“This is not a political debate, this is targeting babies who are Jewish. This is antisemitism at its absolute worst,” she added.
President Donald Trump speaks alongside Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, as they tour the Federal Reserve’s $2.5 billion headquarters renovation project, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — A top federal judge in Washington on Friday blocked Justice Department subpoenas to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors after determining the government “produced essentially zero evidence” to support a criminal investigation of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, according to an unsealed court opinion.
“There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas’ dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will,” U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said in his opinion.
“A mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning. On the other side of the scale, the Government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime; indeed, its justifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the Court can only conclude that they are pretextual,” the judge added.
Acting U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro blasted Boasberg as an activist judge and has pledged to appeal the ruling.
The Justice Department’s probe centered on Powell’s testimony to Congress last year about cost overruns in a multi-billion-dollar office renovation project.
Powell rebuked the investigation in a video message in January as a politically motivated effort to influence the Fed’s interest rate policy.
The Justice Department’s move was met with heavy criticism from the Hill especially from key Republicans who stressed the importance of the Fed’s independence.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, warned Pirro’s office against attempting to appeal Boasberg’s ruling.
“This ruling confirms just how weak and frivolous the criminal investigation of Chairman Powell is and it is nothing more than a failed attack on Fed independence. We all know how this is going to end and the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office should save itself further embarrassment and move on,” Tillis said in an X post Friday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Sunday marks 50 years since KISS released their fourth studio album, Destroyer, and to celebrate the occasion the band has released a new line of products and merchandise.
The Destroyer anniversary collection includes a metallic gold and purple fire vinyl pressing of the album, which will ship March 27, as well as a limited purple liquid-filled vinyl edition, which will be released May 1.
In addition, there’s a Destroyer jacket, featuring an embroidered KISS logo, plus a pullover sweatshirt, raglan sleeved shirt and belt buckle, along with a T-shirt with the Destroyer cover, available only to members of the KISS Army.
Released March 15, 1976, Destroyer featured future KISS classics “Detroit Rock City,” “Shout It Out Loud,” “God of Thunder” and the ballad “Beth,” which became their first top-10 single. The album peaked at #11 on the Billboard Album chart, making it the third consecutive KISS record to make the top 40.
Within a year, Destroyer was certified Platinum by the RIAA, making it the band’s first Platinum record; it was eventually certified double Platinum.
