Usher performs onstage during Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Friends 40th Anniversary Tribute concert at VyStar Amphitheater at The Bridge on August 30, 2025 in Stockbridge, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
Usher is an R&B legend in his own right, but in November he’ll be recognized as Billboard‘s Legend of Live honoree. The publication announced the news on his 47th birthday, noting the presentation will take place at the 2025Live Music Summit Presented by VENU. The event is set for Nov. 3 in West Hollywood, with tickets now available.
Also expected to take place at the Billboard Live Music Summit are panels addressing topics in live entertainment, and an awards ceremony honoring leaders and innovators in the field. There will also be a Live Nation-presented cocktail hour, networking opportunities, and a guided sound bath experience led by music executive and wellness strategist Brandon Holman and Zack Borer, co-founder of Amber Health.
Troy Sanders of Mastodon performs during LEVITATION Festival at the Palmer Events Center on September 26, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Amy E. Price/Getty Images)
Mastodon‘s Troy Sanders and Alice in Chains‘ William DuVall are among the artists set to perform alongside the band Metal Allegiance at a concert taking place Jan. 22, 2026, in Anaheim, California.
Metal Allegiance features former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick and bassist/songwriter Mark Menghi.
Other guests at the concert will include Testament vocalist Chuck Billy, Slayer guitarist Gary Holt and former Bad Wolves guitarist Doc Coyle.
“This is THE metal show to kickoff the New Year right!” Ellefson says. “This is where metal unites to get 2026 going around all things metal. We look forward to seeing you there for an annual metal summit called Metal Allegiance!”
Presales begin Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT, and tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday at 10 a.m. PT.
The Format pose backstage at ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.’ (Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)
The Format, the reunited band featuring fun. vocalist Nate Ruess and multi-instrumentalist Sam Means, has announced a U.S. tour for 2026.
The trek launches March 26 in Boston and will conclude April 19 in San Diego. Openers include Phantom Planet and Ben Kweller, depending on the date.
Presales begin Oct. 22 at noon local time, and tickets go on sale to the general public on Oct. 24 at noon local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit TheFormat.com.
The Format was originally active from 2002 to 2008 before going on hiatus while Ruess formed fun. with Jack Antonoff and Andrew Dost. They’d planned a reunion tour for 2020, but those dates were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Five years later, Ruess and Means again reformed The Format for a brief run of shows in September and October. They’ll release a new album called Boycott Heaven on Jan. 23, marking the first Format record in 10 years.
Britney Spears and Kevin Federline arrive to 2006 Grammy Nominees party, Hollywood, February, 2006 (Matthew Simmons/Getty Images for Rolling Stone)
Britney Spears‘ ex-husband Kevin Federline is expressing concern about the singer in his new memoir, You Thought You Knew.
That’s according to TheNew York Times, which has seen a copy of the book, due Oct. 21. According to the Times, Kevin writes about his marriage to Britney, which lasted from 2004 to 2007 and produced two children: sons Jayden James Federline, 19, and Sean Preston Federline, 20.
Kevin told the Times that he and Britney haven’t “spoken in years,” though he recounts troubling things he heard from his sons. The Times reports that he writes in the book that when they were teenagers “[t]hey would awaken sometimes at night to find her standing silently in the doorway, watching them sleep — ‘Oh, you’re awake?’ — with a knife in her hand.”
The Times also reports that Kevin writes, “The truth is, this situation with Britney feels like it’s racing toward something irreversible. It’s become impossible to pretend everything’s OK. From where I sit, the clock is ticking, and we’re getting close to the 11th hour. Something bad is going to happen if things don’t change, and my biggest fear is that our sons will be left holding the pieces.”
Elsewhere in the book, Kevin writes that everyone who “put so much effort into the” Free Britney movement “should now put the same energy into the ‘Save Britney’ movement.” He adds, “This is no longer about freedom. It’s about survival.”
In the book, Kevin asks that anyone “who has ever been moved by Britney” stand by her and her sons. He writes, “I’ve been their buffer for years, but now it’s bigger than me. It’s time to sound the alarm.”
In Britney’s own memoir, she accused Kevin of trying to convince “everyone that I was completely out of control” as he sought full custody of the boys.
Billy Joel performs at Allegiant Stadium on November 09, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Billy Joel will be celebrated with an upcoming tribute concert in New York City.
The Piano Man is the latest focus of New York City entrepreneur Michael Dorf’s annual “Music Of” concert series, with the Joel tribute set for March 21 at Carnegie Hall.
The Music of Billy Joel will feature 20 artists performing songs from Joel’s legendary catalog, with 100% of the net proceeds going to music education for underserved youth programs.
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.
Last year’s honoree was Patti Smith, with previous concerts celebrating the music of Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, R.E.M., Crosby, Stills & Nash and more.
A lineup for the concert has yet to be announced. VIP tickets are on sale at musicof.org.
YouTube personalities Dan Howell and Phil Lester attend the 7th Annual VidCon at Anaheim Convention Center on June 24, 2016, in Anaheim, California. (Tara Ziemba/WireImage/Getty Images)
YouTube stars Dan Howell and Phil Lester, who make up the popular social media duo Dan and Phil, have confirmed that they are in a relationship.
The pair confirmed their romantic connection, which has spanned 15 years, in a video posted to YouTube on Monday.
“Are Dan and Phil in a relationship?” Howell asks in the video, before Lester responds, “Yes.”
“One of the biggest conspiracies in the history of the internet: Is ‘Phan’ real?” Lester continues, referencing the pair’s portmanteau.
“We’re gonna talk about it,” Howell adds.
The pair then explain the backstory and rumors surrounding their suspected romantic relationship, with Howell stating that speculation around them became overwhelming.
“This became so big, we could not ignore it,” Howell says.
“It was kind of disheartening when you put so much effort into a video, and all the comments were like, ‘Oh my God, they touched,'” Lester says.
The couple, who have been making videos together for over 15 years, also discuss in the video why they waited so long to reveal their relationship.
“Is our sexuality, who we may or may not be dating, whatever’s going on between us two something that our audience has the right to know?” Lester asks.
They also describe the inception of their relationship, which spanned the entirety of their collaboration.
“We fell into it hard and fast in 2009, and here we are almost 16 years later,” Howell says. “We are a bizarre example of a relationship — like, we’ve been attached at the hip 24/7 for 15 years.”
He adds, “We are just more compatible with each other day to day than anyone we will ever meet.”
The British content creators have accrued nearly 3 million subscribers on YouTube since they first began posting together in 2009.
(WASHINGTON) — When a federal court concluded Louisiana’s 2022 congressional map violated the Voting Rights Act by discriminating against Black voters, the state legislature created a new map with a second majority-Black district to comply with the law.
In a blockbuster case that could be decided on the eve of next year’s midterm elections, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday will consider whether the use of race in drawing that extra district ran afoul of the Constitution.
“The key question is whether a state can take race into account, indeed whether a state must take race into account, or whether that violates the Equal Protection Clause,” said Sarah Isgur, SCOTUSblog editor and ABC News legal contributor.
The outcome of the case could determine whether Louisiana and many other states may have to redraw their maps in a race-blind manner, which could in turn impact minority representation and the balance of power in legislatures nationwide.
“This could be a monumental decision,” said Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center.
For decades, the high court has said that race cannot be a predominant factor in drawing congressional district boundaries, but it has also given states breathing room to consider race in order to ensure minority voters receive equal opportunity to elect representatives of their choice.
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has long been a guardrail against states “packing” Black voters into districts and “cracking” communities of color into other districts with an aim of diluting their electoral influence.
More than one third of Louisiana’s population is Black. Two of its six U.S. congressional districts are majority-Black — both are represented by Democrats.
A group of self-described “non-white voters” sued the state over the second majority-minority district, setting up a legal clash of two competing principles: Section 2’s requirement that minorities be given equal opportunity to participate in the electoral process, and the 14th Amendment’s equal protection guarantee of race-neutral treatment by the government.
“Section 2 has been absolutely critical in protecting voters against racial discrimination in voting, and it’s been working in terms of moving us toward a true multiracial democracy where race doesn’t matter,” said Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the Voting Rights Project at ACLU.
“But what we know and what was shown in Louisiana, and multiple federal courts have agreed with us on this point, is that we’re not there yet,” she said.
Louisiana and the voter plaintiffs argue in court filings that racial classifications are “uniquely odious” and unconstitutional. There should be “zero tolerance for any consideration of race,” the state told the justices.
“If the court accepts those arguments, it could effectively dismantle Section 2,” said George Washington University law professor Spencer Overton. “And if that happens, that could allow legislatures like Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, to dismantle districts where Black and Latino voters have an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice.”
“Even in states where legislatures are sympathetic to minority voters,” Overton added, “opponents of minority voting rights could bring lawsuits claiming that districts where voters of color have an opportunity to elect the candidates of the choice are unconstitutional racial gerrymanders.”
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority has signaled growing skepticism of racial classifications in other contexts, including college admissions, as well as the electoral process.
In a landmark 2013 opinion in Shelby County v Holder, the Court gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act which had required states with a legacy of racial discrimination to seek preclearance from the Justice Department before implementing changes to voting laws.
Eight years later, in a narrow 6-3 decision in Brnovich v DNC, the Court narrowed the scope of Section 2’s protections around rules governing the time, place or manner of voting.
“Section 2 is the only part that imposes meaningful requirements that voting districts be created for racial minorities,” Rosen said. “What’s at stake is whether there’ll be any teeth left to the Voting Rights Act at all.”
The court could uphold Louisiana’s map — and two majority-minority districts — though most legal analysts think it’s unlikely.
Alternatively, the justices could rule narrowly in favor of the challengers, finding the map relied too much on race as a factor and force the legislature back to the drawing board. A broader ruling could potentially address the future of Section 2 overall and clarify how and whether any consideration of race in gerrymandering might be legal.
A decision is expected by the end of June 2026 when the court’s term ends.
(WASHINGTON) — The House Judiciary Committee wants former special counsel Jack Smith to testify before the panel behind closed doors about his investigations into President Donald Trump.
Committee Chairman Jim Jordan on Tuesday requested an interview by Oct. 28 and is demanding documents and communications as well.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(RALEIGH, N.C.) — North Carolina’s GOP statehouse leaders say the legislature will meet next week to consider redrawing the state’s congressional districts, saying they want to bolster President Donald Trump as the White House continues to encourage Republicans to redistrict mid-decade ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
“President Trump earned a clear mandate from the voters of North Carolina and the rest of the country, and we intend to defend it by drawing an additional Republican Congressional seat,” state Rep. Destin Hall, the speaker of the North Carolina House, wrote in a blog post on Monday.
The Republican-controlled legislature was already scheduled to meet next week. Although North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein is a Democrat, the state’s constitution doesn’t allow him to veto redistricted legislative or congressional maps.
North Carolina’s congressional map is currently being litigated in multiple ongoing lawsuits, according to a roundup from NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice, over allegations the map racially discriminates and is a partisan gerrymander.
Currently, 10 Republicans and four Democrats make up North Carolina’s congressional delegation.
Sen. Phil Berger, the Senate majority leader, wrote Monday, “Picking up where Texas left off, we will hold votes in our October session to redraw North Carolina’s congressional map to ensure Gavin Newsom doesn’t decide the congressional majority,” referencing the the California governor’s Proposition 50 special election, when voters will decide if they want to adopt a map that could help Democrats flip five seats.
House Redistricting Chairmen Brenden Jones and Hugh Blackwell said in a joint statement: “We’re stepping into this redistricting battle because California and the radical left are attempting to rig the system to handpick who runs Congress. This ploy is nothing new, and North Carolina will not stand by while they attempt to stack the deck. President Trump has called on us to fight back, and North Carolina stands ready to level the playing field.”
In response, North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton called state Republican leaders subservient to Trump and guilty of corruption.
“North Carolina Republicans Phil Berger and Destin Hall are weak subservient cowards willing to steamroll the people of our state so they can give Donald Trump what he wants — power without accountability. Today, [North Carolina General Assembly] Republicans announced they will be tearing up our already brutally gerrymandered congressional maps and redrawing them to give more seats to Congressional Republicans. Let me be clear: maps should not give you power; voters should. When politicians pick their voters instead of voters picking their politicians, that’s not democracy. That’s corruption,” Clayton said in a statement to ABC News.
Stein responded on Monday to the GOP statehouse leaders’ announcement by slamming them for failing voters and calling out how the state legislature has yet to pass a budget.
“The General Assembly works for North Carolina, not Donald Trump,” Stein wrote.
“The Republican leadership in the General Assembly has failed to pass a budget, failed to pay our teachers and law enforcement what they deserve, and failed to fully fund Medicaid. Now they are failing you, the voters. These shameless politicians are abusing their power to take away yours.”
North Carolina Democrats are planning an anti-redistricting rally on Oct. 21 in Raleigh.
(NEW YORK) — Police in Kansas are asking the public for help in identifying a man taking a woman by force seen on home surveillance footage in a “possible abduction,” authorities said.
The incident happened early Sunday at approximately 2 a.m. in a neighborhood in Wichita, police said, though the circumstances that led up to the abduction are currently unclear.
The homeowner reported she had Ring doorbell camera footage “showing a female being grabbed by a male, and then forced away from the area,” Wichita Police Capt. Todd Ojile said during a press briefing Tuesday.
Responding officers canvassed the area for any other footage or witnesses, though the Ring camera video, which was released by the Wichita Police Department on social media, is the only footage of the incident, according to Ojile.
“Our main concern is the safety and welfare of woman seen in that video,” Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan said during the briefing. “Detectives have been working diligently, following every lead and tip we have received.”
A $2,000 reward is being offered for tips leading to the identification of the man or woman seen in the video, police announced Tuesday.
Authorities have checked missing persons reports filed so far this month, but did not find anything to match this incident, Ojile said.
The woman screams out in the video, though police have been unable to confirm what she said, according to Wichita Police Capt. Aaron Moses. Authorities processed the audio and reduced the background noise in hopes that someone will recognize her voice.
It is unclear if the man and woman left on foot or in a vehicle, Moses said.
Moses said police were “concerned” by the footage and “acted quickly to get that information,” and they don’t have anything to imply this is a hoax.
“Our priority here remains that female’s safety and verifying that she is safe,” Moses said. “So I would say, even if you are the female in this video and you’re concerned about calling us, please call us so that we can verify that you are safe, and then we will continue our investigation to what occurred.”
Police said they have reached out to regional and federal law enforcement partners for assistance.
