Gene Simmons on ‘Dancing with the Stars’/(Disney/Eric McCandless)
Sounds like we may be getting some new music from KISS.
During a YouTube interview with KISSbySienna, Gene Simmons gave fans an update on what they’ve been up to, and it’s good news for fans anxious for new tunes.
“KISS is in the studio now,” Simmons said when asked what they’ve been doing since retiring from the road in 2023. He then elaborated further, noting they had just recorded a song written by Paul Stanley.
“I can’t tell you more about it,” he said. “And that’ll be coming out at some point.”
This isn’t first time this year that Simmons has mentioned KISS making new music. In an April interview with Pollstar in which he and Stanley discussed the band’s upcoming Las Vegas avatar show, Simmons said the show would include “new songs,” adding that the tunes were “written by us. We have songs done.”
The KISS avatar show is expected to launch in 2028.
British singer Bonnie Tyler performs at Theater am Potsdamer Platz on May 3, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Jakubaszek/Redferns)
Bonnie Tyler has been put in a medically induced coma as she recovers from emergency intestinal surgery, a rep for the 74-year-old singer confirms to ABC Audio.
“Bonnie has been put into an induced coma by her Doctors to aid her recovery,” her rep says in a statement. “We know that you all wish her well and [we] ask for privacy at this difficult time please. We will issue a further statement when we are able to.”
On Wednesday, a post on the “Total Eclipse of the Heart” singer’s website revealed that she has been admitted to a hospital in Faro, Portugal, for the surgery. The post noted, “The surgery went well and she is now recuperating.”
As of now, Tyler’s website still lists her upcoming tour dates. Her next show is scheduled for May 22 at the SummerLUST Music Festival in Għaxaq, Malta. She has European and U.K. dates booked through Dec. 17 in Cardiff, Wales.
In this July 31, 2021, file photo, a Black Lives Matter activist holds a picture of Casey Goodson Jr. during a march and rally, in Columbus, Ohio. (Sopa Images via LightRocket via Getty Images, FILE)
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — A jury in Columbus, Ohio, reached a partial verdict on Thursday in the retrial of a former Ohio deputy Jason Meade, who was charged in the 2020 shooting death of 23-year-old Casey Goodson, Jr.
The jury found Meade guilty of reckless homicide, but failed to reach a verdict on the murder charge.
“We the jury, upon our oaths and law and evidence in its case find the defendant guilty of reckless homicide,” the judge read after a partial verdict was reached.
The judge said that the jury was hung on the murder charge and he declared a mistrial on that count. He also revoked Meade’s bond after the partial verdict was reached. The decision came after the 12-member jury communicated to the judge earlier on Thursday that they were deadlocked and believed it was “impossible” for the group to reach a “unanimous decision” on a verdict. The judge asked them to resume deliberations.
Meade’s first trial in Feb. 2024 ended in a mistrial after the jury failed to reach an agreement.
Goodson’s mother, Tamala Payne, welcomed the jury’s decision and said that Meade now “has to stand accountable for what he did to Casey.” “It gives us closure. It gives us peace. And now I’m sure I speak for my family when I say this, I know now, Casey can rest,” she added.
ABC News reached out to Meade’s defense attorneys, but requests for comment were not immediately returned.
Brian Steel, the president of the police union that represented Meade, spoke out during a post-verdict press conference, saying that he is “disappointed” in the jury’s decision.
Special prosecutor Tim Merkle said that the state is “pleased with the partial verdict.”
“We appreciate the hard work the jury did. They have spoken, and we’re pleased with that,” he added.
Merkle said that while the murder charge remains “unresolved,” prosecutors have not made a decision on whether they will pursue a third trial on that charge.
The jury, which is made up of nine women and three men, began deliberations on Wednesday afternoon and resumed on Thursday morning. Meade, who did not take the witness stand during the trial, pleaded not guilty.
On the day of the fatal shooting, Goodson had gone to a dentist appointment, prosecutors said, and was returning to his home while listening to music on his AirPods and carrying a bag of sandwiches when he was fatally shot.
Meade was working with the U.S. Marshals on that day in search of a potential violent fugitive when he fatally shot Goodson. Goodson was not the target of the search.
Meade’s defense team argued during the trial that the former sheriff’s deputy followed Goodson and pursued him after Goodson allegedly pointed a gun at other cars while driving.
At the center of the case was the defense team’s claim that Meade was acting in self-defense when he fatally shot Goodson, claiming that Goodson had pointed a gun at Meade before he was killed. Goodson was entering his home at the time.
Prosecutors disputed this claim and argued that Goodson’s fatal shooting was unjustified and said that the 23-year-old did not pose an “imminent threat” and was killed with his keys in the door as he tried to get inside.
A gun was found in Goodson’s possession with the safety on, according to police. Goodson was a legal gun owner and had a concealed carry permit, which was found in his wallet, police said. No body camera video of the incident exists because at the time, Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies were not issued body-worn camera equipment.
During the trial, which began with opening statements last week, the state called detectives, law enforcement officers, Goodson’s family, a medical examiner, forensic firearms and use of force experts to the stand. Meanwhile, the defense called one witness — a use-of-force expert — before resting their case. The jury was shown body camera footage of the aftermath of the shooting, a reenactment video that was produced by the FBI and before the trial began, the jurors visited the scene of the incident.
During the trial, special prosecutor Tim Merkle argued on behalf of the state that this case is about the “six shots in the back” that killed Goodson.
“Six shots in the back,” Merkle said. “The evidence will show that on Dec. 4, 2020, the defendant shot Casey Goodson Jr. six times in the back, killing him. At the time Casey had entered his house, he was carrying a bag of Subways and was listening to YouTube music on his AirPods.”
Kaitlyn Stephens, a defense attorney for Meade, argued that Meade’s fatal shooting of Goodson was a “justified tragedy” that occurred because Meade perceived a “threat” after Goodson “pointed a gun” at the sheriff’s deputy — a claim that prosecutors dispute.
“The evidence will show that Jason Meade was justified — a justified tragedy as such,” Stephens said.
“He’s going into the house with a gun. That is not an imminent threat, that is not an immediate threat, that is not a threat,” Merkle said. Stephens told jurors that the law requires them to consider the incident from Meade’s perspective “as a reasonable” law enforcement officer.
“Our defense will require you to answer two questions. Question one, did Jason believe he was about to be shot when he saw Mr. Goodson point the gun at him?” Stephens said. “And question two was Jason’s decision to use deadly force reasonable through the eyes of a reasonable police officer standing in Jason’s shoes without 2020 hindsight.”
Goodson’s family attended the trial, and his grandmother, Sharon Payne, his sister, Janae Jones and his uncle, Ernest Payne, Jr., testified on behalf of the state.
State Senator London Lamar, a Democrat from Tennessee, holds a copy of the proposed Congressional map for Tennessee during a special legislative session at the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville, Tennessee, US, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. Tennessee is considering redrawing its House congressional map following a key Supreme Court decision last week, a move expected to bolster Republicans ahead of what are forecast to be tough midterm elections in November. (Photographer: Madison Thorn/Bloomberg
(TENNESSEE) — As protesters accused them of racial gerrymandering, Tennessee state lawmakers passed into law on Thursday a new congressional map that could allow Republicans to flip the state’s lone Democratic-held seat, notching the GOP another win in the mid-decade redistricting scramble.
Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill into law Thursday afternoon.
The session was interrupted by chaotic scenes with lawmakers shouting over protesters’ voices and at one point forcing police clear the balcony above the House floor before it voted on the new map.
The new map breaks up the state’s current 9th Congressional District, which is primarily made up of Memphis, and the state’s only majority-Black district. The district is currently represented by Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen.
The legislature also passed bills on Thursday that will allow the state to legally redistrict outside of the normal once-a-decade cycle, as well as providing funding to help implement the new map in time for the 2026 elections.
Impact on the midterms and representation in Congress
With the map passed, it paves the way for President Donald Trump and Republicans to gain an additional House seat in the next Congress, increasing their chances of maintaining control of the House as they continue their redistricting battle across the country.
Tennessee Democrats will likely not have any representation in Congress next year if Republicans flip the seat and the map will dilute the Black vote by breaking up Memphis.
But legal challenges against the map are expected.
Cohen said Thursday he will file a lawsuit against the new map.
Cohen posted on X after the vote “[President Donald] Trump knows he HAS TO rig the game to keep his majority in November. And the TN GOP was willing to go along with it. It’s shameful. Next stop is the courts.”
Cohen had said earlier this week on CNN that the Republicans’ redistricting effort was a foregone conclusion, adding that he hopes the new congressional map can take effect in 2028 rather than 2026.
The speed at which the process occurred was remarkable — it was only last week that the Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s congressional map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, dealing a blow to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
And just one day after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, Trump posted on Truth Social that he spoke with Lee and that the governor said he would work to redraw the state’s congressional maps in order to net another GOP seat for Tennessee in the House. Lee called a special session the next day, April 30, to review the state’s congressional map.
Potential redistricting efforts are also currently underway in Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina, although each state has different procedural or legal barriers to overcome.
With Tennessee’s new map, Republicans potentially could flip 14 Democratic-held seats in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Florida. Democrats could pick up 10 from new maps passed in California, Utah and Virginia.
Acrimonious debate and protests in the state capitol
The proposed congressional map underwent much acrimonious debate and protest inside the legislature on Thursday before it was passed.
On the House floor, Democratic representatives condemned the map, saying it would dilute the Black vote in the state. At one point, chants of “our house!” started in the House gallery.
As the vote came up for the new map on the House side, chaos erupted in the room. A trooper was asked to clear out the balcony above the House floor as people protested.
Earlier, Democratic State Rep. Justin Pearson, who is running for Congress in the 9th District that will be broken up on the new map, said that “what is happening here is immoral and wrong.”
“This is about attacking, targeting and cracking District 9 into pieces for more political and racial dominance and white supremacy in the state of Tennessee. And we need to realize that the Callaisdecision that you all are basing your decisions off of that gutted the Voting Rights Act, that that Voting Rights Act was paid in blood,” Pearson said.
Pearson later confronted law enforcement officers, ABC affiliate WKRN reported, as they worked on clearing the House gallery of protestors. Pearson later said his brother KeShaun Pearson was arrested.
After the House passed the bill and it was taken up in the Senate, Republican state Sen. John Stevens spoke in support of the new map over audible protests and yelling.
“Tennessee is a conservative state, and I submit its congressional delegation should reflect that. The proposed map ensures that,” Stevens said.
He later said, “This bill represents Tennessee’s attempt to maximize our partisan advantage and allow Tennesseans to support a national Congress to be a Republican majority.”
But Democratic state Sen. London Lamar, who is Black, slammed the new map during debate as an attack on Black voters and said it “diminishes Memphis.”
“This map does not reflect Memphis. It diminishes Memphis. It slices our city into pieces and stretches our communities hundreds of miles away to places of different needs, different economies, different histories and different lived realities,” she said. “You cannot take a majority-Black city, fracture its voting power and then tell us race has nothing to do with it. Racism does not become less racist because it’s called partisan.”
Later, chants of “Hands off Memphis!” rang out and another lawmaker soon unfurled a banner that read “NO JIM CROW 2.0 – STOP THE TN STEAL.”
Kelly Clarkson on season 29 of ‘The Voice.’ (Trae Patton/NBC)
Fans of The Voice won’t get a chance to sing “Since U Been Gone” to Kelly Clarkson — because she’s coming back next season.
Kelly, Adam Levine and John Legend recently faced off in season 29’s Battle of the Champions, which Adam won. Kelly has now been announced as a returning coach for season 30. Adam has also been confirmed as returning for season 30, which will air this fall.
Kelly’s schedule should be a little easier to manage this fall, since she announced in February that the current season of her Emmy-winning chat show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, will be her last.
Season 30 will mark Adam’s 19th on The Voice. It will be Kelly’s 11th season on the panel. Those seasons were nonconsecutive, though, because both of them have left and returned to the show over the years.
Ken Martin, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, speaks to the reporters following a press conference, August 05, 2025, in Aurora, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
With six months until the high-stakes midterm elections, the Democratic Party is struggling to raise money and keep up with its GOP counterparts, leading to frustrations among some donors with Democratic National Committee leadership and its chair Ken Martin.
At the end of March, the Republican National Committee outraised the DNC $21.2 million to $11.4 million, according to new reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. The RNC reported having nearly eight times more cash on hand — $116 million to the DNC’s $13.8 million. In addition, the DNC is a little over $18 million in debt, according to FEC filings.
Democrats, though, are performing better than they did in 2018 at this point in the cycle when the party had raised $7 million and had little more than $9 million cash on hand. The party had just under $6 million in debt at that time, too.
Multiple Democratic bundlers, strategists and donors told ABC News that they are still angry over how funds were allocated during the 2024 presidential election — and frustrated at Martin’s unwillingness to publicly release a DNC audit that examined what went wrong for Democrats in 2024.
After Martin won his campaign to be DNC chair in 2025 following the presidential election, he committed to conducting a review of the 2024 election and making it public. However, Martin has yet to release the full audit, saying instead he’s focused on looking forward and has released “lessons” from the audit.
Democratic officials and leaders — including Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz, who is poised to become the No. 2 Senate Democrat after the midterms — have urged for the report to be released as they look toward the midterms.
“What’s in the report that you wouldn’t want publicized?” “Pod Save America” host and former Obama administration speechwriter Jon Favreau asked Martin during an episode released April 28.
Martin replied that there was no “smoking gun” and that he wants to “keep the focus on the lessons.”
A longtime DNC finance member, who spoke to ABC News on the condition of anonymity, noted many donors are still questioning how funds were allocated during the 2024 race and the unreleased results of the DNC’s promised audit.
The member said donors were upset that, despite the DNC’s massive fundraising during the 2024 election, Kamala Harris didn’t win a single battleground state. It raised concerns about allocations toward paid media, voter outreach and, most troubling for many donors, the amount of money that went to consultants.
But following the 2024 election and Martin taking over the reins at the DNC, there has been a shift toward investing in state parties long before elections, as well as podcasts, influencers and more modern forms of public relations and communications
Cooper Teboe, a Democratic strategist in California, told ABC News that donors are “feeling incredibly jaded, incredibly unhappy” with the DNC over the 2024 election — with some questioning whether their financial contributions make a difference.
“We’re coming off of record fundraising for Democrats that seem to really not move the needle,” Teboe said. “So, folks have been in a position of, well, does my money actually do anything? Does my money do anything to change the needle?”
DNC spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said the party is investing in ways that will help Democrats win.
“Democrats are putting our resources into the field, building infrastructure to power wins today and for years to come, and delivering overperformances all across the country, meanwhile Republicans are losing elections at a humiliating rate in spite of their billionaire donors,” Ehrenberg said in a statement to ABC News.
As frustrations with Martin over how he’s handling his job grow, a few members have started exploring options and rules for removing a chair, a source familiar with the situation told ABC News — although the source framed the efforts as very informal and focused on asking about the process.
“I don’t see Ken as a leader. The DNC reached out to me probably six months ago, and I told them to take me off their list, that it’s a waste of their time to send me anything, and the more they send, the less chances they ever have of getting me back,” said one longtime Democratic donor, who is now focused on individual candidates as opposed to the national committee.
Asked about his job to raise money for the party on “Pod Save America,” Martin said “the job of the DNC chair is singular: It’s to win,” adding that he has been helping the party succeed in that effort.
Michael Knapp, a DNC member, said he supports Martin’s work as chair, telling ABC News that Martin “came in with a clear mandate to shift the DNC towards long-term party building.”
“[Ken’s] investing in state parties, organizing, partisan voter registration, infrastructure … the things that actually win elections over time,” Knapp said to ABC News in a text message.
“On the fundamentals of the job, I think he’s very strong. The DNC’s raising significant grassroots money even while paying down inherited debt,” Knapp also said.
Daniel Weiner, director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s elections and government program, told ABC News that historically, the party out of power has had an “uphill battle with fundraising that’s not unique to this moment.”
“Frankly, over the years, the president has become much more habituated to raising the sort of big money that you would expect an incumbent to raise, and that Democratic incumbents have also raised, to some degree,” Weiner said. “And so we see the more traditional pattern emerging of the party in power just raises a lot more money than the party out of power.”
A longtime DNC finance member said frustrations with the DNC have led donors to focus on “individual elections as opposed to the DNC as an organization.”
While the national party is struggling to raise money, individual Democratic candidates are seeing a massive cash infusion ahead of November’s midterm elections, as donors show greater interest in investing in individual candidates.
Many of the Democratic Party’s top Senate candidates posted gainful fundraising hauls for the first quarter of 2026, massively outraising their Republican opponents, according to FEC filings.
“I think folks are very desperate for new leaders and new voices in the party, and I think that’s why you’re seeing the party infrastructure raising less, because the donors, both the donor class and the grassroots, want to see what is out there to define the future of the Democratic message and that’s just not going to come from the DNC,” Teboe said.
One senior Democratic official in touch with donors and party leaders told ABC News that while many big donors are frustrated by the results of the last election, an increasing number are expected to get off the sidelines and contribute more to various Democratic candidates and organizations through the summer and fall.
Snoop Dogg has rapped, acted, coached and commentated, but his latest project finds him voicing a character in a video game. Snoop now appears in the Stranger Than Heaven video gameand also contributed to the soundtrack. He voices Orpheus, a character who works on a ship that the main characters board on their journey to Japan to start a new life. Snoop previously appeared as a playable character in Def Jam: Fight for NY and also lent his likeness to the 2004 gameFear & Respect, which was never released.
A trailer for the final season of The Chi has been released and is now available to watch on YouTube. The show, which stars Jacob Latimore, Birgundi Baker, Luke James, Shamon Brown Jr., Michael V. Epps, Hannaha Hall and Jason Weaver, premieres May 22 on Paramount+ with the Premium Plan.
Ludacris is among those being inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame. Luda will be honored for his role in defining “an era with his sharp lyricism, charismatic delivery, and larger-than-life presence,” according to a post announcing the recognition. “From chart-topping hits to cultural anthems, his influence spans music, film, and entrepreneurship, shaping the sound and spirit of a generation while continuing to inspire artists worldwide,” the post says. Davido will also be honored during the ceremony.
Patti Smith performs during the Democracy Now! 30th Anniversary Event at Riverside Church on March 23, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images)
Patti Smith is one of the artists booked for Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment, a live event happening June 14 at Town Hall in New York City.
The event is being put on by the free speech advocacy group Committee for the First Amendment, founded by actress and activist Jane Fonda. It is described as “an evening of song, solidarity, and action that will celebrate the freedoms guaranteed by our First Amendment, of speech, religion, press, assembly, and protest.”
Fonda is also part of the night’s lineup, along with Bette Midler, Rufus Wainwright, Joy Reid, Sasha Allen and Broadway Inspirational Voices, with more artists to be announced.
“Music has long been a tool to stand up to authoritarianism, and I am honored to spend the evening with these fiercely committed, talented, and brilliant people to celebrate our First Amendment rights,” said Fonda. “As we continue to watch bad faith leaders take more and more power, it is critical that we gather together, raise our voices collectively, and stand united against this administration – and have some fun while doing it.”
Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment will be streamed online for free, with watch parties planned across the country.
Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster and the event’s website. Proceeds will support the Committee for the First Amendment’s work.
Javier Bardem and Amy Adams in ‘Cape Fear.’ (Apple TV)
The official trailer for the Cape Fear limited series adaptation has arrived.
Apple TV released the trailer for its psychological horror thriller based on the John D. MacDonald novel The Executioners. It’s also based on the 1962 film Cape Fear and its remake, which was directed by Martin Scorsese in 1991.
Amy Adams, Javier Bardem and Patrick Wilson star in the new series, which has Scorsese and Steven Spielberg as executive producers.
“A storm is coming for happily married attorneys Anna (Adams) and Tom Bowden (Wilson) when Max Cady (Bardem), the notorious killer they are responsible for putting behind bars, is let out of prison — and he wants vengeance,” according to an official description of the show.
The trailer starts with Bardem’s Max Cady, fresh out of prison, staring intently at someone.
“Let me ask you a question,” he says. “What is your worst fear?”
Later in the trailer we see him approach Adams’ Anna at an event.
“I had a good life once, too,” he tells her. “Are you afraid of me?”
Anna scoffs, before she says, “Why would I be afraid of you?” The trailer then cuts to Anna speaking with her husband, Tom.
“Is there any way Max could know about what we did?” she asks.
Cape Fear premieres its first two episodes to Apple TV on June 5. It will release a new episode every Friday through the finale on July 31.
Hayley Williams performs onstage during The Ally Coalition’s 11th Annual Talent Show at NYU Skirball Center on December 15, 2025 in New York City. (Valerie Terranova/Getty Images)
Hayley Williams is taking “The Hayley Williams Show” on the road.
The Paramore frontwoman has announced a new batch of solo headlining U.S. tour dates, spanning from Sept. 3 in West Palm Beach, Florida, to Oct. 12 in Southaven, Mississippi.
Registration is open now through Saturday at 3 p.m. ET for a presale beginning May 12 at 10 a.m. local time. Tickets go on sale to the general public on May 14 at 10 a.m. local time.
For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit HayleyWilliams.net.
The new dates follow Williams’ currently ongoing tour, during which she’s been performing her 2025 solo album, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, in full along with select covers. In contrast, “The Hayley Williams Show” dates will feature songs from all three of Williams’ solo albums, as well “some exciting surprises,” a press release says.
Previously announced “The Hayley Williams Show” dates include two shows each at New York City’s Forest Hills Stadium and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, which are sold out.
