‘The Music of Billy Joel’ (Courtesy Music Of Presents)
Billy Joel is going to be the focus of New York City entrepreneur Michael Dorf’s annual Music Of concert series, and the lineup of artists celebrating Joel has just been announced.
This year’s concert is March 12 at Carnegie Hall, with a lineup that includes Joel’s daughter Alexa Ray Joel, Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas, Train’s Pat Monahan, Gavin DeGraw, OAR’s Marc Roberge, Matt Nathanson, country star Tanya Tucker, Americana artists The War and Treaty and Mary Chapin Carpenter andsinger/songwriter Rufus Wainwright, with more artists to be announced.
Joel’s eight-piece touring band will also be on hand for the celebration, serving as the evening’s house band.
For the first time ever, the show completely sold out before the lineup of artists was announced. Tickets remain for a live rehearsal show at City Winery on March 11.
The Joel concert will be the 21st Music Of tribute put on by Dorf. Since the series launched in 2004, the concerts have raised over $2 million for charity.
This year’s honoree was Patti Smith, with previous concerts celebrating the music of Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell, The Rolling Stones, Prince,R.E.M., Crosby, Stills & Nash and more.
Anthony Geary and Genie Francis attend The Paley Center for Media Presents “General Hospital: Celebrating 50 years and Looking Forward” at The Paley Center for Media on April 12, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
General Hospital actress Genie Francis is remembering her late co-star Anthony Geary, who died Sunday at the age of 78. Francis and Geary famously starred as Laura and Luke Spencer in the long-running soap opera for 37 years.
“Tony was a very warm person, very sensitive person, and incredibly funny,” Francis told ABC News. “I was very, very young and Tony was very protective of me. But we knew we were doing something very edgy.”
“[Television producer] Gloria Monty always said that we were going to change the face of daytime,” Francis continued. “And we were doing that. We were so excited. We didn’t want to leave when we were released. We’d sometimes sit on the stage and just talk about what we had done.”
Francis and Geary’s portrayal of the iconic couple earned both Daytime Emmy Awards and in 1981, when their characters married, about 30 million Americans tuned in to watch the wedding on General Hospital.
Geary opened up about his and Francis’ chemistry and success together in an interview with Good Morning America back in 2013.
“There are all kinds of successes but ours was different in that it was truly lightning in a bottle,” Geary said at the time. “It was the most unexpected place, a soap opera, which was about to be canceled, that took everyone’s interest and swept the nation. It’s a piece of history that I’m glad I took part in.”
Francis, now 63, said she will miss her longtime partner.
“I’m just heartbroken. I’m so sad,” said Francis. “But again, I am so lucky that I got to have this man as my first leading man. He ruined me. He ruined me for leading men for the rest of my life basically. Because I started with the best.”
Billy Joel hit #1 on the Billboard 200 chart with his 11th studio album, Storm Front.
The album featured Joel’s third #1 single, “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” along with the top-10 single “I Go To Extremes” and the top-40 ballad “And So It Goes.”
The album also boasted several songs that became fan favorites, including “The Downeaster ‘Alexa’,” and “Shameless,” the latter of which was later covered by country star Garth Brooks.
Storm Front earned Joel five Grammy nominations, including song of the year and record of the year for “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”
Billy went on to have one more #1 album, River of Dreams, which was released in 1993 and is widely regarded as his final rock album.
Trent Reznor and Ilan Rubin attend the “Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined” Art Exhibit Presented by Interscope Records and LACMA on January 26, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Interscope Records)
After surprising fans by letting go of drummer Josh Freese, Foo Fighters brought in Ilan Rubin of Nine Inch Nails for the gig. In a twist, NIN reunited with Freese, who previously played with Trent Reznor and company between 2005 and 2008.
Speaking with Consequence about the drummer swap, Reznor shares, “The reality of that scenario was it was a surprise to me that Ilan was joining the Foo Fighters.”
“Ilan is a great musician and had been a solid guy during his tenure in the band,” Reznor says. “But it presented a problem in terms of we knew there was another leg of the tour that we’re going to start in February [2026].”
As Reznor explains it, he was presented with two options: find a replacement for Rubin after the European leg of NIN’s Peel It Back tour ended in mid-July, or wait until after the subsequent U.S. leg wrapped in September. Because the second option meant they’d have to “find someone over the holiday break” ahead of the 2026 leg launching in February, Renzor went with option one.
“As soon as I heard the news, I thought I could call Josh and he could play the show tonight, ’cause there’s no doubt about his ability,” Reznor says. “ And that’s essentially in a shorthand what went down. He was available and willing, and it just made sense on a number of levels.”
“Being completely honest, we’re adults and we’re professional, but we’re also people with emotional feelings and a sense of camaraderie and intent and purpose,” Reznor continues. “I thought it would feel better to play that last wave of tours with someone that wants to be there, and that’s what went down.”
Jonathan Bailey and Ariana Grandes speak onstage as Universal Pictures presents a special ‘Wicked For Good’ Q&A at Saban Media Center on November 15, 2025 in North Hollywood, California. (Unique Nicole/Getty Images for Universal Pictures)
Could Ariana Grande and her Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey reunite onstage in London?
Deadlinereports the two actors are making plans to co-star in a revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine‘s Sunday in the Park with George, slated for a 2027 presentation at London’s Barbican Theatre.
The show was inspired by post-impressionist artist Georges Seurat‘s famous paintingA Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Its two central roles — Seurat and his lover, Dot — were originated on Broadway by Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters.
According to Deadline, both Ariana and Jonathan have “excelled” in these roles during early read-throughs. However, with “many moving parts” still involved in bringing the show to life, “there will be no official announcement until all of those parts are firmly locked into place.”
In November, Ariana toldThe New York Timesthat she has something “coming up soon.” The Times described it as “stage-related.” Ariana added, “It’s not on Broadway, but it’s something that I’m very excited about and inspired by.”
Rob Reiner and Nick Reiner attend the AOL Build Speaker Series in New York City, May 4, 2016. (Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic via Getty Images)
(LOS ANGELES) — Nick Reiner, the 32-year-old son of renowned director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer, is accused of killing his parents, and the case against him will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration on Tuesday, according to police.
The Reiners’ daughter found her parents stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on Sunday, sources told ABC News.
Nick Reiner had been living on his parents’ property, according to a former family security guard.
Nick Reiner was not at home when his parents were found, law enforcement sources told ABC News, and he was taken into custody near the University of Southern California on Sunday night. He’s been booked for murder and is being held without bail, police said.
Nick Reiner had been open about battling drug addiction since he was a teenager. In 2016, Nick Reiner worked with his dad on the movie “Being Charlie,” which was based largely on his struggle with drug addiction.
On Saturday night, Rob and Nick Reiner got into an argument at a holiday party, and at the party Nick was seen acting strangely, sources told ABC News.
Rob Reiner, a famed director, producer and actor, is known for massive Hollywood hits, including “The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally…,” “Stand By Me,” “This is Spinal Tap,” “A Few Good Men” and many more.
A neighbor told ABC News that actors Billy Crystal and Larry David were seen at the house after police arrived on Sunday.
“Billy looked like he was about to cry,” the neighbor said.
Rob Reiner and Singer, who met while Rob Reiner was directing “When Harry Met Sally …,” married in 1989 and share three children: Jake, Nick and Romy.
Rob Reiner is also survived by daughter Tracy Reiner with his first wife, Penny Marshall, who died in 2018.
Rob Reiner, the son of comedian Carl Reiner and actress and singer Estelle Lebost, first became famous on the Norman Lear TV sitcom “All in the Family.”
He played the role of Archie Bunker’s son-in-law, Michael Stivic, known as Meathead, from 1971 to 1978, winning two Emmys for the role.
“The Lear Family is devastated by the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner,” the family said in a statement on Sunday night. “Norman often referred to Rob as a son, and their close relationship was extraordinary, to us and the world.”
“Lyn Lear had remained very close with them and said, ‘The world is unmistakably darker tonight, and we are left bereft,'” the statement added.
Rob Reiner was also known for his advocacy work.
“This is a devastating loss for our city and our country,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. “Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns visits Ahmed al Ahmed, who was identified as the bystander who seized a rifle from one of the gunmen during the deadly shooting at Bondi Beach on Sunday, at a hospital in Sydney, Dec. 15, 2025. (@ChrisMinnsMP/X)
(SYDNEY) — A Sydney man is being praised as a hero for disarming one of the alleged shooters in the Hanukkah attack that left 15 dead and 42 injured at Australia’s Bondi Beach on Sunday, as seen in video obtained by ABC News
The video shows a man, identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, running towards one of the alleged shooters. He’s then seen disarming the alleged gunman before pointing his weapon back at him, prompting him to walk away.
The fruit seller was having lunch in the area with a friend when the shooting unfolded and he intervened, according to his brother, Huthaifa.
“I’m really proud about my brother,” he told ABC News.
“He’s a good man. He’s brave,” he said.
The father of two was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for bullet wounds. His brother said he is recovering in the hospital, but is not 100% yet.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns called him a “real-life hero.”
“Last night, his incredible bravery no doubt saved countless lives when he disarmed a terrorist at enormous personal risk,” Minns posted on Instagram while sharing a photo with al-Ahmed in the hospital.
“It was an honour to spend time with him just now and to pass on the thanks of people across NSW. There is no doubt that more lives would have been lost if not for Ahmed’s selfless courage,” he added.
At Sunday night’s National Menorah Lighting in Washington, D.C., Rabbi Levi Shemtov, the director of advocacy group American Friends of Lubavitch, praised al-Ahmed’s heroism and asked for prayers for his recovery.
“I ask all those across the community and beyond — here, and around the world — to please pray for the recovery of Ahmed al-Ahmed, someone who is not a member of the Jewish community, but gave up his safety and wellbeing to stop one of the gunmen and thus prevent even further loss of life. May he recover speedy and fully,” Shemtov said.
A GoFundMe page for al-Ahmed has raised almost $1.5 million with thousands of donations.
“We’re seeing an outpouring of love for Ahmed al Ahmed following his heroic actions at Bondi Beach,” the site posted on X.
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman also shared the fundraiser on his X account Sunday, donating $99,999.
Mohamed Fateh al-Ahmed told reporters that his son is “a hero.”
“He served in the police, he has the passion to defend people,” he said.
The victims of Sunday’s mass shooting ranged in ages 10 to 87, and the alleged gunmen are father and son, aged 50 and 24, officials said. Their names have not been released, but authorities said the father is dead and the son was hospitalized.
Six firearms were collected from the scene alongside two improvised explosives, according to officials.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the attack “an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism” and “an act of terrorism,” in a video shared on his Instagram account.
The U.S. military said on Monday it struck three more alleged drug boats in the Eastern Pacific, leaving eight dead. (U.S. Southern Command)
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. military said on Monday it struck three more alleged drug boats in the Eastern Pacific, leaving eight dead.
In a post on X, the military’s Southern Command said the strikes were made at the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Joint Task Force Southern Spear.
“Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were engaged in narco-trafficking,” the post said.
Officials said a total of eight “male narco-terrorists were killed during these actions,” three in the first alleged drug boat, two in the second and three in the third.
Southern Command shared a video that appeared to show the strikes on the vessels.
The military action on Monday marks the latest in a string of deadly strikes in the Pacific, with the Trump administration having killed at least 95 people in 25 strikes.
Actor Matthew Perry of the television show ‘The Kennedys – After Camelot’ speaks onstage during the REELZChannel portion of the 2017 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at the Langham Hotel on January 13, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
(LOS ANGELES) — The second of two doctors who were convicted in connection with Matthew Perry’s ketamine death is set to be sentenced on Tuesday.
Mark Chavez is one of five people charged and convicted in connection with the “Friends” actor’s 2023 overdose death. He pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, admitting to selling fraudulently obtained ketamine to another doctor, Salvador Plasencia, that was then sold to Perry in the weeks before the actor died from an overdose.
The two doctors did not provide the ketamine that ultimately killed Perry, who was discovered unresponsive in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home in October 2023 at the age of 54. Though federal prosecutors said they knew that the actor had a history of substance abuse and that the drug would be administered without medical supervision.
Chavez faces up to 10 years in prison, prosecutors said.
The government asked for a sentence of six months home confinement that includes a two-year term of supervised release as well as at least 300 hours of community service. Prosecutors said Chavez, a former operator of a ketamine clinic, provided Plasencia with vials of liquid ketamine and ketamine lozenges that had been obtained by submitting a fraudulent prescription in the name of a patient without that patient’s knowledge or consent.
“As the Drug Enforcement Administration and Medical Board investigators closed in on defendant’s illegal ketamine sales, defendant initially lied and tried to evade responsibility,” the government said in a filing ahead of sentencing. “To defendant’s credit, however, his story continued, and became one of accountability.”
The government said that once confronted with his criminal acts, Chavez “expediently accepted responsibility and agreed to cooperate with the government’s investigation.”
Chavez’s defense attorneys asked for three years of supervised release, arguing in a filing ahead of sentencing that his conduct was “limited and peripheral” and “far removed from the tragic events of October 28, 2023.”
They noted that Chavez had never met Perry, entered his home or administered medication to him, and that he did not supply the ketamine that caused his death. They also said he “accepted responsibility early in this case and signed a plea agreement prior to any indictment, agreed to cooperate, and voluntarily surrendered his medical license even before his detention hearing.”
“The consequences Mr. Chavez has already faced are significant,” his attorneys, Matthew Binninger and Zach Brooks, wrote. “Once a practicing emergency room physician, he lost his profession, suffered public disgrace, and now earns a living as an Uber driver. He has remained compliant with all terms of pretrial supervision and continues to demonstrate sincere regret for his actions.”
Both Chavez and Plasencia gave up their medical licenses after pleading guilty.
According to Plasencia’s plea agreement, one of his patients introduced him to Perry on Sept. 30, 2023, with the unidentified patient referring to the actor as a “‘high profile person’ who was seeking ketamine and was willing to pay ‘cash and lots of thousands’ for ketamine treatment,'” according to Plasencia’s plea agreement.
Plasencia contacted his mentor, Chavez, to discuss Perry’s request for ketamine and purchased vials of liquid ketamine and ketamine lozenges from him, according to the agreement.
In discussing how much to charge Perry, Plasencia said in text messages to Chavez, “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Lets [sic] find out,” prosecutors said.
Plasencia admitted to distributing 20 vials of ketamine, ketamine lozenges and syringes to Perry and the actor’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, between Sept. 30, 2023, and Oct. 12, 2023.
Plasencia administered ketamine to Perry at the actor’s home on several occasions and left vials and lozenges with Iwamasa to administer, according to the plea agreement.
Plasencia was sentenced to 30 months in prison earlier this month.
Iwamasa admitted in court documents to administering the ketamine on the day that Perry died, pleading guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 14, 2026, and faces up to 15 years in prison.
Two other defendants in the case — Erik Fleming and Jasveen Sangha — admitted to distributing the ketamine that killed Perry.
Prosecutors said Sangha worked with Fleming to distribute ketamine to Perry, and that in October 2023, they sold the actor 51 vials of ketamine, which were provided to Iwamasa.
Fleming pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 7, 2026, and faces up to 25 years in prison.
Sangha, allegedly known as “The Ketamine Queen,” pleaded guilty in September to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 25, 2026, and faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
