These days a lot of streaming platforms offer games, both free and paid, in addition to movies and TV shows. And as of May 23, you can play a Jimi Hendrix-themed game on one of those platforms.
Play.Works The Jimi Hendrix Experience is a slots game that is now available on Roku and will soon be rolled out to other pay TV platforms. It’s the first time that Hendrix’s music has been incorporated onto a connected TV, or CTV, platform. As you level up on the game, you can see unreleased photos and hear music from across Hendrix’s catalog.
Later this year, Play.Works will launch a Jimi Hendrix trivia video game. Both the games are part of a partnership between Play.Works, Experience Hendrix LLC and Authentic Hendrix LLC, the official representatives of Jimi’s estate.
Experience Hendrix President and CEO Janie Hendrix explains, “It’s a step toward the future. We recently celebrated what would have been Jimi’s 80th birthday, and he continues to appeal to people of all ages and walks of life. The Play.Works game and video trivia are an excellent way to reintroduce his magic and music to a whole new generation.”
(NEW YORK) — A powerful typhoon is headed toward Guam, which could be the strongest tropical cyclone to impact the island in decades.
Super Typhoon Mawar could directly hit Guam with winds as strong as 160 mph — equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane. The strong tropical cyclone is expected to strike around noon local time Wednesday, which would be around 10 p.m. ET Tuesday.
A typhoon warning has been issued for the U.S. island territory, located in the western Pacific.
Rainfall could reach as high as 20 inches, and storm surge is forecast to reach as high as 25 feet. The super typhoon is already producing waves up to 45 feet in the ocean near Guam.
Guam’s Office of Civil Defense advised residents on Tuesday to seek shelter immediately, as Mawar is “expected to make a direct hit or very near passage for Guam.”
“There is a potential of a catastrophic and devastating event for Guam,” the office said in a bulletin.
Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero also urged residents on Tuesday to seek shelter immediately as “damaging winds” were expected to start soon.
“Please take all the necessary precautions in an abundance of safety before we feel the full strength of the super typhoon,” she said on social media.
One emergency shelter in northern Guam had already reached capacity, the governor said.
President Joe Biden declared an emergency in Guam due to Mawar and ordered federal assistance to support the response to the typhoon.
A super typhoon is used to connote a tropical cyclone with sustained winds of at least 150 mph.
Mawar could be one of the strongest typhoons to impact Guam since the 1960s — the start of the satellite era.
The most destructive typhoon to hit Guam was Karen in 1962, with 155 mph winds and wind gusts of at least 170 mph, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Most homes on the island were destroyed.
More recently, in 2002, Super Typhoon Pongsona moved near the island with 144 mph winds and gusts up to 173 mph, causing $700 million in damage at the time, according to NOAA.
Busta Rhymes and Jhené Aiko are helping with the launch of The Show: Sunshine Vibes Sessions at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The stars have been tapped as headliners for the concerts, which will take place this Memorial Day weekend.
Starting May 27 at the Soak Pool, Jhené will perform, as will others on the lineup, including Swae Lee, Saint Jhn and DJ Boof, taking on the 1’s and 2’s. The following night, Busta and Jeremih will take the stage with Boof once again handling DJ duties.
“We are thrilled to kick off the pool season this Memorial Day Weekend at SOAK,” Steve Sagan, Palm’s executive director of nightlife and daylife, told Billboard. “SOAK Pool promises to be an ultimate poolside party paradise, offering a vibrant lineup of high-energy entertainment, fantastic music, refreshing drinks, delectable food, and endless fun.”
Busta celebrated his 51st birthday on May 20, but the entire year appears to be busy for the star. He previously made appearances at Usher‘s Lovers & Friends festival and one of the New York stops of Janet Jackson‘s tour; headlined the Grammy’s HipHop50 tribute; and performed a sold-out show at New York’s Carnegie Hall.
“I assure you we are just getting started,” Busta told Billboard. “My new album is on the way, and of course, me and my longtime brothers, 50 Cent and Jeremih, are going absolutely earthquake every city starting this summer on the Final Lap Tour 2023.”
(WASHINGTON) — If the United States defaults on its financial obligations, millions of Americans might not be able to pay their bills as well.
With Social Security and other government benefits at risk amid a political stalemate over the government’s debt ceiling, experts and older Americans told ABC News that the consequences of the impasse in Washington could be dire, including for older Americans who need the money to pay for basic needs such as food, housing or health care costs.
A quarter of Americans over age 65 rely on Social Security to provide at least 90% of their family income, according to the Social Security Administration.
Fred Gurner, 86, of New York, told ABC News that he uses his Social Security payment for his $800 rent. But now there is real risk that his payment might not come in time in June — when the Treasury Department says the government might not be able to send him the money he counts on.
“It’s very stressful, gives me a heart attack,” Gurner said about how the issue has become politicized.
How are Social Security payments affected by the debt ceiling?
Since 2001, the United States has spent more money than revenue it has taken in overall.
To cover the difference, the United States Treasury issues debt through securities, according to University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business professor Olivia Mitchell. Backed by the United States, those securities are happily bought by investors who see it as a safe guarantee they’ll get paid back with interest.
However, the United States and Denmark are the only two countries to limit the amount of debt the government can issue, known as a debt ceiling, Mitchell noted.
Lawmakers can pass new laws that require government spending, but the debt ceiling will remain in place until lawmakers vote to increase it. That has happened 78 separate times in the United States since 1960.
If that debt ceiling does not increase by June 1, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that the country will not be able to satisfy all of its financial obligations.
Beyond not being able to pay interest and principal on government securities — which economists broadly agree would rattle the stock market and possibly damage the U.S. credit rating — the Treasury would be unable to issue new debt to cover expenses like Social Security, according to Mitchell.
The government projects to spend roughly $100 billion on Social Security in the month of June, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
“It’s going to be pretty tight for people for a while, unless Congress and the president can get together on this problem,” Mitchell said.
When would Social Security payments become delayed?
The Social Security Administration plans to send contributions to beneficiaries on four dates next month — June 2, 14, 21, and 28. Those checks would be the first ones at risk of being delayed, according to Max Richtman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
“Millions and millions of Social Security beneficiaries are worried about having the income to pay their basic bills,” he noted.
Lynda Fisher, 80, told ABC News that her budget relies on her monthly Social Security check and that a delay would complicate her essential spending, frustrating the 80-year-old who has spent her life contributing to the system.
“I paid into Social Security, and I paid into Medicare,” she said. “And now they’re trying to take it away. It’s not their money, it’s my money that I paid into.”
Richtman is now actively encouraging older residents to save money in anticipation of a delayed Social Security payment, fearing negotiations will not yield a compromise in time to avoid default.
On NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Yellen indicated that certain bills might be prioritized, including interest payments, Social Security and military contractor payments. However, Richtman expressed doubt that such a prioritization would be legally possible.
What does this mean for the future of Social Security?
Some Republican lawmakers have framed the debt ceiling fight as necessary to slow government spending; however, some economists, including Mitchell, see this as a “manufactured crisis” that threatens essential services, retirement savings and the overall economy.
“Every time one of these crises occurs, it’s signaling to the rest of the world, and to American investors that U.S. Treasuries are not as safe as we thought,” Boston University economics professor Laurence Kotlikoff said.
Kotlikoff expressed further concern that the Social Security system will have over $65.9 trillion in unfunded financial obligations over the indefinite horizon, based on the entity’s own report.
However, the debate over the debt ceiling appears unlikely to produce a meaningful solution to the broader Social Security shortfall, though, according to Kotlikoff, Mitchell and Richtman.
When will retirees receive their payments?
Mitchell and Richtman remained optimistic that Social Security recipients would eventually receive their checks once a deal is made, albeit with some delay.
“I’m pretty confident that payments would be fulfilled,” Richtman said. “That’s not much comfort to those people who will not be able to pay for their groceries, their utilities or their rent while they’re waiting to receive a back payment.”
(WASHINGTON) — If the United States defaults on its financial obligations, millions of Americans might not be able to pay their bills as well.
With Social Security and other government benefits at risk amid a political stalemate over the government’s debt ceiling, experts and older Americans told ABC News that the consequences of the impasse in Washington could be dire, including for older Americans who need the money to pay for basic needs such as food, housing or health care costs.
A quarter of Americans over age 65 rely on Social Security to provide at least 90% of their family income, according to the Social Security Administration.
Fred Gurner, 86, of New York, told ABC News that he uses his Social Security payment for his $800 rent. But now there is real risk that his payment might not come in time in June — when the Treasury Department says the government might not be able to send him the money he counts on.
“It’s very stressful, gives me a heart attack,” Gurner said about how the issue has become politicized.
How are Social Security payments affected by the debt ceiling?
Since 2001, the United States has spent more money than revenue it has taken in overall.
To cover the difference, the United States Treasury issues debt through securities, according to University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business professor Olivia Mitchell. Backed by the United States, those securities are happily bought by investors who see it as a safe guarantee they’ll get paid back with interest.
However, the United States and Denmark are the only two countries to limit the amount of debt the government can issue, known as a debt ceiling, Mitchell noted.
Lawmakers can pass new laws that require government spending, but the debt ceiling will remain in place until lawmakers vote to increase it. That has happened 78 separate times in the United States since 1960.
If that debt ceiling does not increase by June 1, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that the country will not be able to satisfy all of its financial obligations.
Beyond not being able to pay interest and principal on government securities — which economists broadly agree would rattle the stock market and possibly damage the U.S. credit rating — the Treasury would be unable to issue new debt to cover expenses like Social Security, according to Mitchell.
The government projects to spend roughly $100 billion on Social Security in the month of June, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
“It’s going to be pretty tight for people for a while, unless Congress and the president can get together on this problem,” Mitchell said.
When would Social Security payments become delayed?
The Social Security Administration plans to send contributions to beneficiaries on four dates next month — June 2, 14, 21, and 28. Those checks would be the first ones at risk of being delayed, according to Max Richtman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
“Millions and millions of Social Security beneficiaries are worried about having the income to pay their basic bills,” he noted.
Lynda Fisher, 80, told ABC News that her budget relies on her monthly Social Security check and that a delay would complicate her essential spending, frustrating the 80-year-old who has spent her life contributing to the system.
“I paid into Social Security, and I paid into Medicare,” she said. “And now they’re trying to take it away. It’s not their money, it’s my money that I paid into.”
Richtman is now actively encouraging older residents to save money in anticipation of a delayed Social Security payment, fearing negotiations will not yield a compromise in time to avoid default.
On NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Yellen indicated that certain bills might be prioritized, including interest payments, Social Security and military contractor payments. However, Richtman expressed doubt that such a prioritization would be legally possible.
What does this mean for the future of Social Security?
Some Republican lawmakers have framed the debt ceiling fight as necessary to slow government spending; however, some economists, including Mitchell, see this as a “manufactured crisis” that threatens essential services, retirement savings and the overall economy.
“Every time one of these crises occurs, it’s signaling to the rest of the world, and to American investors that U.S. Treasuries are not as safe as we thought,” Boston University economics professor Laurence Kotlikoff said.
Kotlikoff expressed further concern that the Social Security system will have over $65.9 trillion in unfunded financial obligations over the indefinite horizon, based on the entity’s own report.
However, the debate over the debt ceiling appears unlikely to produce a meaningful solution to the broader Social Security shortfall, though, according to Kotlikoff, Mitchell and Richtman.
When will retirees receive their payments?
Mitchell and Richtman remained optimistic that Social Security recipients would eventually receive their checks once a deal is made, albeit with some delay.
“I’m pretty confident that payments would be fulfilled,” Richtman said. “That’s not much comfort to those people who will not be able to pay for their groceries, their utilities or their rent while they’re waiting to receive a back payment.”
Jelly Roll has rolled out the track list for his forthcoming debut country album, Whitsitt Chapel.
The 13-song collection, which drops June 2, will feature Jelly Roll’s current single, “Need A Favor,” the recently released “Save Me” with Lainey Wilson, and a collaboration with Brantley Gilbert and Struggle Jennings.
Jelly Roll’s set to kick off his 44-city Backroad Baptism Tour on Friday, July 28, in Southaven, Mississippi. But before that, Hulu will premiere his upcoming ABC News Studios-produced documentary, Jelly Roll: Save Me, on Tuesday, May 30.
Here’s the full track listing for Whitsitt Chapel:
“Halfway To Hell”
“Church”
“The Lost”
“Behind Bars” (with Brantley Gilbert and Struggle Jennings)
“Nail Me”
“Hold On Me”
“Kill A Man”
“Unlive” (with Yelawolf)
“Save Me” (with Lainey Wilson)
“She”
“Need A Favor”
“Dancing With The Devil”
“Hungover In A Church Pew”
If you know that The White Stripes recorded an album called Elephant, you might’ve won some money on Jeopardy this week.
Picking from the category titled “Pop Culture 2003” during Monday’s episode, contestant Joe was tasked with solving the clue, “I’m going to Wichita to tell you Spin magazine’s top album of the year was their Elephant.” That, of course, refers to The White Stripes’ 2003 album — the “Wichita” line is also a lyric from lead-off track “Seven Nation Army” — but Joe responded, “What is Black Eyed Peas?”
While confusing Jack and Meg White for the “My Humps” group may be very funny, the mix-up isn’t as embarrassing as it might seem on the surface. We’re guessing that Joe was thinking of the very similarly titled Black Eyed Peas album Elephunk, which was also released in 2003.
Joe can also take comfort in knowing that another person on Jeopardy already confused The White Stripes with a different act. Back in 2018, a contestant responded to a clue accompanied by a photo of Jack White with “Who is Eminem?”
You can check out the Jeopardy! clip via the Jack White Reddit page.
Elephant, meanwhile, was reissued earlier this year in honor of its 20th anniversary.
(WASHINGTON) — In a closed-door meeting with House Republicans Tuesday morning, Speaker Kevin McCarthy told his conference he and the White House are “nowhere a deal” on the debt limit and spending, urging members to hold firm, sources told ABC News.
“I need you all to hang with me on the debt limit,” McCarthy told members in the room, according to sources. “We are nowhere near a deal yet.”
He spoke with nine days to go until the June 1 “X-date,” when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the government might risk default. On Monday, she stepped up that warning in a letter to congressional leaders, calling it “highly likely” the Treasury will run out of money in early June.
Working against that deadline, after meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House Monday, McCarthy called the talks “productive” not “progress.”
On his way back into the Capitol from meeting with Republicans Tuesday, ABC News asked McCarthy what progress has been made.
“Look, we met again last night. We’re not there yet,” he said.
About the time he spoke, White House negotiators arrived on Capitol Hill for another day of high-stakes talks. Biden adviser Steve Richetti, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young and Legislative Affairs chief Louisa Terrell arrived in a large black van and took a circuitous route to the speaker’s suite of offices.
“Just going to work. That’s it. Don’t have anything else. Off to do some more work!,” Ricchetti told reporters, joking that his team had probably had as little sleep as reporters.
They ignored all substantive questions about the talks and refused to say how long they would be in the Capitol.
“It really comes down to this,” McCarthy told ABC News. “Why are we in the problem we’re in? People have spent too much money. And the Democrats want to even spend more than we spent last year. That is not gonna happen,” he said.
McCarthy again outlined some of his demands: stricter work requirements for some federal aid programs and permitting reform for new energy projects.
“We’ve got to help people get back in the workforce with work requirements. You got to be able to have — cut this red tape where people can build again in America. There’s a lot of avenues out there that they’ve got to find. You’ve got to come to an agreement there,” he said.
“We can still finish this by June 1st in a timeline,” he said when asked about the deadline and just a few days left to sell any deal and get it passed by the House and Senate.
This, as members of both parties are raising objections, including House Republican hard-liners.
“Ninety-seven days the president didn’t want to meet, so we’re trying to condense everything in a short time frame. The House passed a bill and the Senate never passed one, so now it’s more difficult — what else do you have to negotiate with? From a lot of different perspectives. But we can still finish in time.”
When asked by reporters what he’d be willing to give up, McCarthy turned the tables back on Democrats.
“I passed a bill that raises the debt ceiling. So, what are you asking the senators? What are you asking the Democrats? What are you asking the president? Is the president going to hold fast and firm that he wants to spend more, create more inflation, make us more dependent on China? I don’t think so. I’m never going to give up on the American people. If you’ve watched anything about me, I won’t quit.”
House Democrats pushed back.
“Speaker McCarthy is beholden to the most extreme members of his conference,” chair of the House Democratic Caucus Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., told reporters.
“The speaker insists that there won’t be draconian cuts and yet continues to say the spending levels must go down. His position is simply untenable. Based on what Republicans have shown us with the appropriations bills, we are looking at a 30% cut across the board to the remaining domestic programs,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — As the Jewish community grapples with a recent surge in antisemitic incidents, many U.S. synagogues are increasingly turning to trainings led by security experts who can advise on what to do if there’s a violent threat on the premises.
Antisemitic assaults jumped 26% and acts of vandalism spiked more than 50% in 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Three out of the last five years have been record breakers for such incidents, the ADL said.
Non-profit Secure Community Network says it holds “countering active threat” trainings for the American Jewish community.
Following antisemitic incidents, the organization tends to see “big spikes” in requests for these trainings, a spokesperson told ABC News. A Texas rabbi credited a training with knowing how to respond when an armed suspect took four congregants hostage at a Colleyville synagogue last January. The hostages escaped and the suspect was fatally shot by police after a standoff.
The following month, requests for active threat trainings in synagogues and Jewish spaces rose to nearly 300 across the country, the spokesperson said.
“We were established to ensure that the Jewish community had access to the best practice information around safety and security preparedness,” Robert Graves, deputy director of Strategic Operational Development at Secure Community Network, told ABC News podcast “Start Here.”
Graves recently led one such training at a synagogue in Montgomery County, Maryland. The synagogue spoke to ABC News under the condition their name or specific location wouldn’t be identified.
“I’m a mom and, you know, I come here with my kids and it terrifies me, that I’m not going to be able to protect myself or protect them,” a congregant named Jen told “Start Here.”
“It’s hard. It’s very hard and it’s kind of discombobulating sometimes, but I feel like it’s one of the things that comes with the territory, sort of as being a Jewish person in the world today. But that’s where the training comes in. So you have to kind of remind yourself, ‘I am safe.’ And then you can let yourself into the moment,” she continued.
Montgomery County has the largest percentage of Jewish residents in the state — over 10% out of 1 million residents. Just last year, the local police department reported 48 anti-Jewish bias incidents in the county, which was up 55% compared to the previous year.
The Secure Community Network holds 40 to 50 active threat trainings in the D.C.-area Jewish community per year, the spokesperson said.
At one point in the synagogue’s history, the building was vandalized with a graffiti swastika in an incident that stoked fear among the community, a congregant said. But there haven’t been any threats or acts of violence targeting the synagogue, according to local police.
Still, the congregation keeps its doors locked at all times, even on the Sabbath and other holidays. Congregants use fingerprint access to gain entry to the synagogue. A security committee discusses security of their building and coordinates safety education, such as the training conducted by the Secure Community Network.
“These attacks, these shootings can happen anywhere. You know, synagogue’s just a place that a lot of us spend a lot of time, and sure, we are an enhanced target,” said another congregant, adding that he believes it’s still the best time and place to be Jewish, “compared to some of the things that our ancestors have been through.”
“One of our many narratives of the Jewish people facing oppression in the past [is] you know, through courage, rising up and changing this story and changing the outcome of this story,” the synagogue’s rabbi said.
While just over 2% the U.S. population self-identifies with the religion, Jewish people were the targets of 51.4% of 1,590 religiously motivated hate crimes reported in 2021, according to FBI data released in March.
The Secure Community Network was founded in 2004 under the auspices of The Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, according to their website. Along with safety training, the organization conducts threat assessments and offers consulting on safety and security matters. The organization also says it monitors and shares “credible threat and incident” information with law enforcement and others in the community.
Aerosmith‘s recorded their share of legendary albums that are packed with classic tracks, but unlike many of their peers, the band never really did one of those tours where they played one of their famous albums in its entirety. The reason? According to guitarist Joe Perry, it was just too boring.
Speaking to Kerrang, Perry says, “The closest we ever got to that was doing a version of Toys [In The Attic] front-to-back, but after we tried it a couple of times live, we realized that to maintain the energy of the show, we’d have to drop a couple of songs out. It wasn’t exciting enough, for me.”
“There are other songs that people would rather get to hear than being able to say they saw that album played in full,” he adds. “Any time you perform, you’ve got to treat it as the one time you get to play in front of that audience. You don’t know when you’re going to be back.”
And considering that Aerosmith’s upcoming Peace Out tour is billed as their farewell trek, it seems unlikely the band will ever attempt that again.
Perry also tells Kerrang that, having been rocking for 50 years, he feels the ultimate era of rock music was — big surprise — the ’60s and ’70s.
“You lived and died by how you played onstage. You could go out there and have a great single that was on top of the charts, but if you couldn’t deliver a great show live, you’d be gone, because there were all these other bands that could,” Perry say.
“It was about having your feet on the ground, standing in front of the fans, delivering.”
Aerosmith’s Peace Out tour kicks off September 2 in Philadelphia.
