Teddy Swims’ new single, “Mr. Know It All,” may sound like a standard breakup song, but he’s actually singing about a phenomenon first identified by sociologist Robert K. Merton.
Merton coined the term “self-fulfilling prophecy,” along with its flip side, the “self-defeating prophecy,” also known as “the prophet’s dilemma.” Imagine doctors predicting a flu outbreak, prompting everyone to run out and get vaccinated. Because so many people get the flu shots, the outbreak never happens — and the doctors, the “prophets,” are criticized for being wrong.
In “Mr. Know It All,” Teddy applies those ideas to love. He becomes convinced his girlfriend is going to break up with him, so he either subconsciously sabotages the relationship — the self-fulfilling prophecy — or tries so hard to save it that it creates problems — the self-defeating prophecy. Either way, the outcome is the same: She leaves him.
“If you see the future coming, like something falling apart, you can have the … That’s So Raven effect, right? Where you do everything you can to keep it from happening and that’s why it happens,” Teddy tells ABC Audio. “Versus maybe the other side is self-fulfilling … because you see it happening and that’s what happens. And so it’s like you’re kind of doomed if you do, [doomed] if you don’t.”
“Love is kind of its own contradiction in a way, that way,” he explains. “You can protect it too hard and lose it or you can know it’s coming and just lose it. … So I just kind of got obsessed with that sort of prophet’s dilemma, and that’s ‘Mr. Know It All.'”
Sociology concepts aside, “Mr. Know It All” is the first single from Teddy’s still-unannounced new album.
Sir Brian May speaking at the announcement of the Jane Goodall Earth Medal, and the next Starmus science and arts festival, at the Royal Society in London.. (Photo by Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)
Queen’s Brian May has lent his guitar chops to a new song that will be featured in the upcoming movie Masters of the Universe.
The rocker appears on the track “Eternia” from British composer Daniel Pemberton, who has previously scored such films as Project Hail Mary and Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse.
“We Have The Power !!! HE-MAN rocks !!” May wrote on Instagram.
Masters of the Universe stars Red, White & Royal Blue star Nicholas Galitzine as Adam Glen/He-Man, the former prince of Eternia. The film, which also stars Camila Mendes, Idris Elba, Jared Leto and Alison Brie, hits theaters June 5.
This isn’t the first action film May has been associated with. In 1980, Queen recorded the soundtrack to the movie Flash Gordon, which featured the song “Flash,” a top-10 hit in the U.K. The band also recorded several songs for the 1986 film Highlander, including their classic “Who Wants to Live Forever.”
Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in the film ‘Michael.’ (Lionsgate)
Michael reclaimed the top spot at the box office this weekend, dethroning previous two-week champ The Devil Wears Prada 2.
The Michael Jackson biopic brought in $26.1 million in its fourth weekend of release. That brings its total domestic gross to $283 million.
The Devil Wears Prada 2, starring Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep, fell to the #2 spot with an $18 million haul, while the weekend’s new horror release, Obsession, debuted at #3 with $16.1 million.
Mortal Kombat II and The Sheep Detectives round out the top five with $13.4 million and $9.3 million, respectively.
Here are the top 10 films at the box office this week:
1. Michael — $26.1 million 2. The Devil Wears Prada 2 — $18 million 3. Obsession — $16.1 million 4. Mortal Kombat II — $13.4 million 5. The Sheep Detectives — $9.3 million 6. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie — $4.5 million 7. Project Hail Mary — $3.9 million 8. Top Gun/Top Gun: Maverick (2026 rerelease) — $3.1 million 9. In the Grey — $3 million 10. Is God Is — $2.2 million
Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) workers picket outside of Penn Station in New York, US, on Saturday, May 16, 2026. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — For the first time in 32 years, tens of thousands of New Yorkers are bracing to begin the workweek without the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)after workers at the busiest commuter railroad in North America went on strike over the weekend.
More than 300,000 daily commuters rely on the LIRR to get from Long Island to New York City. State and local officials were scrambling over the weekend to get contingency plans in place, but warned commuters to expect New York City buses and subways to be crowded on Monday.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards told WABC in New York that he is expecting his borough to be a bottleneck on Monday as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is planning to use shuttle buses to transport essential workers from Long Island to subway stations in Queens.
“That’s not enough when our buses are overcrowded,” Richards said of the shuttle bus plan.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Sunday that commuters will also be allowed to park in the Citi Field parking lot, which is within walking distance to the 7 train on the New York City subway system.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani asked subway riders to be patient, but cautioned them to “prepare for heavier-than-usual traffic, crowded transit options and additional travel time.”
LIRR trains came to a halt at midnight on Saturday after the union representing thousands of rail workers and the MTA failed to reach an agreement on a new contract.
Kevin Sexton, the national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), one of the five unions representing LIRR workers, told reporters that he and other leaders could not come to an agreement over salary increases and health care costs before the negotiation deadline ended.
“We are far apart at this point and we feel it’s unnecessary because we went through the process,” Sexton said of the strike.
MTA CEO Janno Leiber said during a Sunday press conference with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul that what the unions have asked for would force riders to “pay the cost of a labor settlement that blew up the MTA budget.”
“We said right up to the deadline that the unions had imposed, ‘Let’s talk, let’s keep talking,’ and we sat there in the hallway, so they couldn’t even avoid seeing us, that we were available to talk to them right up to and through the deadline,” Leiber said.
Leiber said the unions chose to “walk out” on the negotiations.
The LIRR unions called the job action an “open-ended strike,” telling ABC News that, despite claims from Leiber and Hochul, MTA officials had not reached out to them about negotiations.
It was unclear on Sunday afternoon whether any new negotiations are scheduled.
According to the union statement, talks broke down when the MTA added “healthcare takeaways and other concessionary issues to the table literally in the 11th hour before a midnight strike deadline. These regressive management demands had never been raised previously.”
But in an interview on Sunday with ABC New York City station WABC, Leiber denied the unions’ assertion that a disagreement over health insurance prompted the strike, calling it “complete nonsense.”
Lieber said the rail workers’ unions “rejected every single idea that we put on the table, and there were many.”
The unions are demanding wage increases of 14.5% over four years, WABC reports, while MTA officials have offered slightly smaller increases and a lump-sum payment in the contract’s fourth year to make up the difference. The proposed pay bumps are largely in line with contracts accepted by the LIRR’s conductors and New York City Transit workers, WABC reports.
In a statement released on Saturday, Gov. Hochul said the unions “represent the highest-paid workers of any railroad in the nation, yet they are demanding contracts that could raise fares as much as 8%, pit workers against one another, and risk tax hikes for Long Islanders.”
During her news conference on Sunday, Hochul struck a more conciliatory tone.
“The work you do is absolutely vital. I value your labor and I believe that you deserve fair wages and benefits. But this strike has put all of that at risk,” Hochul said.
The governor added, “Just three days of a strike would erase every dollar of additional salary that workers would receive under a new contract.”
Severe weather outlook for Monday, May 18, 2026. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — Residents in parts of the Midwest and Great Plains are bracing for another day of severe weather threats, including possible tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail.
The severe weather, expected to extend into Monday and Tuesday, is forecast to be especially active from north-central Oklahoma up into Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
The greatest risk areas, a level 3 out of 5 “enhanced risk,” according to the National Weather Service, stretch from east-central Nebraska up to southwest Minnesota and include the cities of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Grand Island, Nebraska. Large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes are possible in the enhanced risk area.
The new severe weather threats come a day after storms across the central part of the country prompted reports of tornadoes in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, and hail the size of baseballs in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska.
Thunderstorms near Concordia, Kansas, on Saturday produced estimated wind gusts of 90 mph, knocking down trees and power lines.
Hill City Airport in northwest Kansas reported wind gusts up to 82 mph. The strong winds also fueled dust storms in the area, which threatened driving conditions.
Thunderstorms on Saturday night prompted a flash flood emergency in central Grundy County, Missouri, including the city of Trenton, when six to eight inches of rain fell in a matter of hours.
The adverse weather conditions are expected to continue through the start of the workweek. On Monday, more than 30 million people from the central Plains to the Midwest are expected to be on alert for a potential outbreak of severe weather.
A level 4 out of 5 “moderate risk” advisory has been issued for parts of central and northeast Kansas into far southeast Nebraska, including the city of Topeka, Kansas. The risk for the area includes potentially strong tornadoes, hail larger than baseballs, and destructive winds.
A level 3 out of 5 enhanced risk advisory also extends from north-central Oklahoma into central Wisconsin, including the cities Wichita, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; and Des Moines, Iowa.
On Tuesday, a level 2 out of 5 “slight risk” advisory for severe weather is expected to stretch from northeast Texas to Michigan, and include potentially strong to severe thunderstorms.
Fire weather also impacting the Plains and Southwest Parts of the Plains and Southeast are also expecting critical fire weather conditions to continue into this week amid widespread warm, dry and windy conditions.
Several wildfires broke out in parts of Minnesota on Saturday and rapidly grew. The largest Minnesota wildfire, the Flanders Fire in Crow Wing County, has burned more than 1,100 acres and was 0% contained on Sunday morning, prompting evacuation orders in the city of Crosslake.
The Minnesota fires prompted Gov. Tim Walz to declare a state of emergency Sunday morning, including mobilizing the state’s National Guard.
Dozens of wildfires also broke out over the weekend across the Great Plains from Montana to the Dakotas, as well as in Texas and New Mexico over the last week.
On Sunday, the greatest wildfire threats are in areas of northwest Texas, including Amarillo, and parts of New Mexico and Kansas.
Red-flag fire danger warnings have also been issued from Arizona to southern Nebraska, as well as in California’s Central San Joaquin Valley. Severe to extreme drought conditions exist in some of the red-flag warning areas, where expected wind gusts topping 55 mph threaten to rapidly spread wildfires.
The extreme fire weather danger will continue into Monday in parts of far eastern New Mexico, far southeast Colorado, far southwest Kansas, parts of Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle.
Summer-like temperatures expected in the East Meanwhile, a big warm-up is expected for most of the East, where afternoon temperatures on Sunday and Monday are forecast to reach the 80s and 90s in many places.
The temperature in New York City is expected to reach the mid-80s on Monday and could hit the lower 90s in Washington, D.C.
It will be even hotter on Tuesday for a large swath of the I-95 corridor, with highs in the 90s from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia and New York City.
Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers performs onstage at The Beverly Hilton on February 01, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith reprised his role as Will Ferrell’s doppelgänger during Saturday’s episode of Saturday Night Live.
Smith took the stage as soon as the show began with the announcer introducing Ferrell as the host. He pretended to be the Anchorman star and launched into the opening monologue before the real Ferrell appeared and demanded Smith leave.
The episode’s musical guest, Beatles icon Paul McCartney, then joined Ferrell onstage, but kept insisting that the real Ferrell was actually Smith, telling him, “Get back behind the drums where you belong.”
Smith did indeed get back behind the drums to play alongside McCartney for his performances of “Band on the Run” and the new song “Days We Left Behind.”
As many have pointed out, Smith and Ferrell do bear a striking resemblance to each other, which they previously played into when they competed in a drum battle on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon back in 2014.
(l-r) Musical guest Paul McCartney, host Will Ferrell, and Marcello Hernández during Promos on Thursday, May 14, 2026 — (Photo by: Rosalind O’Connor/NBC)
Paul McCartney was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live where he performed a new song, two classics and even got to show off his comedy chops.
The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer gave fans a preview of his upcoming album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, dropping May 29, by performing the album’s first single, “Days We Left Behind.” He then broke out the classic Wings track “Band on the Run” for his second performance. He returned for a third song, performing “Coming Up” over the closing credits, with Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith backing him on the drum kit for all three songs.
Smith, who many people think looks awfully similar to the night’s host Will Ferrell, also played a part in McCartney’s first comedic moment. He came out to start the monologue pretending to be Ferrell, before Ferrell kicked him off the stage. The real host then took questions from the audience, going right to McCartney who asked Ferrell, “What do you think you’re doing, Chad?”
Ferrell then called McCartney up to the stage where he listed all the great songs he has written, all the while the former Beatle continued to think he was Smith, at one point telling him, “Get back behind the drums where you belong,” an obvious nod to The Beatles song “Get Back.”
McCartney later returned for another sketch, Mechanics, which poked fun at how it feels to talk to a mechanic. McCartney played the chief mechanic alongside Ferrell and Marcello Hernandez, who all badly explain to a couple what’s wrong with their car and how much it costs.
Harry Styles performs during his Together, Together Tour at Johan Cruijff Arena on May 16, 2026 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Anthony Pham/Getty Images for HS)
Harry Styles launched his Together, Together tour Saturday night in Amsterdam and thrilled fans with a setlist that was heavy on material from his latest album Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, but still included his biggest hits.
According to Setlist.fm, the show’s intro music was Elvis Presley’s version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” — the original version of that track inspired “Carla’s Song” on the new album. Variety reports the audience was next shown a video of Harry walking through a garden and receiving a phone call: a woman asking him, “Harry, are you coming out tonight?”
The show began with a track from the new album — “Are You Listening Yet?” — before a run of older favorites: “Golden,” “Adore You,” “Watermelon Sugar” and “Music for a Sushi Restaurant.”
Next up were two more new songs — “Taste Back” and “Coming Up Roses,” the latter performed with a string section. As per Variety, Harry ended what he called “act one of the show” with “Fine Line,” and promised that in act two, “We’ll be dancing.”
Act two opened with an instrumental called “Italian Girls,” as per USA Today, followed by “American Girls” and “Keep Driving.” He then played a series of songs from the new album, with “Treat People with Kindness” thrown in. The main show ended with a medley of “Carla’s Song” and “Satellite,” followed by “Aperture.”
The encore included “Matilda,” “Sign of the Times” and “As It Was.”
Here’s the set list, according to Setlist.fm:
“Are You Listening Yet?” “Golden” “Adore You” “Watermelon Sugar” “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” “Taste Back” “Coming Up Roses” “Fine Line” “Italian Girls” (instrumental) “American Girls” “Keep Driving” “Ready Steady Go” “Dance No More” “Treat People with Kindness” “Pop” “Season 2 Weight Loss” “Carla’s Song/Satellite” “Aperture” “Matilda” “Sign of the Times” “As It Was”
