Lynyrd Skynyrd revealed in March they decided to go on following the death of guitarist and original member Gary Rossington, and Skynyrd guitarist Rickey Medlocke thinks it’s a decision that just makes sense for the band.
Medlocke tells ABC Audio that the band, management and the families of Gary, Johnny Van Zandt and the others got together and decided, “Let the band go out and honor and pay tribute to what was great music and a great band.” Because at the end of the day, Medlocke notes, “We are still players, we love to perform. Lynyrd Skynyrd has always been a live entity, even the old band. The original band was a live entity.”
In fact, he says playing live was always what was important to them, sharing, “We grew up in a time, Johnny and myself, Gary, we never thought about being rock stars. We thought about going out and making our living playing music.”
And while Medlocke knows there will be some music fans who question the decision to go on, he’s not losing sleep over it.
“At some point, of course, all good things come to an end,” he says. “And for all those people out there that, you know, at one time or another beat us up over doing whatever we’re doing, guess what? At some point we’ll be gone and then they can go on to somebody else and beat somebody else up.”
Until that happens, fans have plenty of chances to see Lynyrd Skynyrd live. They’re set to play Brandon, Mississippi, on Saturday, April 29. And they kick off their Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour with ZZ Top on Friday, July 21. A complete list of dates can be found at lynyrdskynyrd.com.
Ted Lasso fans, halftime is over and the second half of the third season starts Wednesday.
We’ve seen six episodes, and just six are left in this season that’s going to mark a big change in the show in some way, shape, or form. Nick Mohammed plays Nate Shelley on the show — he started in season 1 as lovable, but turned villainous season 2. So how are fans treating him in season 3?
“I wouldn’t say it’s love. I would say less hate,” he tells ABC Audio. “I feel like whereas there was a real visceral reaction to what Nate did at the end of season two and, you know, maybe rightly so, I feel like people are now a bit more kind of intrigued as to whether we’re going to see some kind of accountability or a redemption or something.”
Fans will have to continue watching to see if that happens, but Mohammed did give a little hint about what to expect as the season goes forward.
“Narratively things sort of sort of step up … heading towards the season finale,” he shares. “And, you know, whether it’s the very end, very end forever and ever, who knows? We know that there’s quite a lot of unfinished business as far as Nate’s concerned.”
Brendan Hunt, who co-created the show and plays Coach Beard, also chimed in.
“Up through episode five, it’s been some real peaks and valleys. And, you know, the show is made of peaks and valleys, much like Earth,” he says. “But things got about as low as they can ever get in five. But then in six they all go to Amsterdam and everyone seems to have gotten something they need. So going forward, let’s see if those things bear fruit.”
(NEW YORK) — One of at least seven victims of rock-throwing incidents in Colorado, the last of which took the life of a 20-year-old woman, is sharing his story.
Nathan Tipton, a Lyft and Uber driver, had just finished driving a customer when, around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, he was driving southbound on Highway 93 and heard what “sounded like a shotgun blast,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
The sound “scared the heck out of me,” Tipton said.
He pulled over, but then “thought it was just wind damage, so I continued on home,” Tipton said.
As Tipton drove, he said he spoke on the phone to his wife, and she mentioned that the news was reporting that a woman was killed by a rock that struck her car.
Tipton then took a closer look at the driver’s side sliding glass door of his Chrysler minivan and said he saw “both those windows got shattered out — from what I imagine was a rock hitting my window.”
Tipton said he reported it to police and officers responded and took photos.
Tipton said no one was on the side of the road at the time his car was struck and he believes the object was thrown from a car driving in the other direction.
“When I found out that this series of events actually took a young lady’s life, I feel for Alexa and her family. It put me in a bit of a shock. My wife, it really got to her,” he said.
“Nobody should lose their child for a random act. … It’s heartbreaking,” said Tipton, a dad of three.
About 30 minutes after Tipton’s car was struck, around 10:45 p.m., 20-year-old Alexa Bartell was driving when someone threw a large rock through her windshield, hitting and killing her, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said.
In the hour before Bartell was killed, six other cars in the area had rocks thrown at them, according to the sheriff’s office. In two of those incidents the drivers suffered minor injuries.
Tipton said he’s grateful that he didn’t have an Uber or Lyft customer in his car at the time his minivan was hit.
To the suspect or suspects, Tipton said his message is: “Grow up … turn yourself in. Give this family some closure on what happened to their daughter. They didn’t deserve to have their daughter taken away from them.”
“I hope Alexa and her family can get some type of justice,” he added.
The suspect’s car may have been a light-colored pickup truck or SUV, the sheriff’s office said. A $17,000 reward has been offered, according to the sheriff’s office.
Anyone with possible information is asked to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Kansas City 5, Arizona 4
Seattle 5, Philadelphia 3
Cincinnati 7, Texas 6
Detroit 4, Milwaukee 3
Colorado 5, Cleveland 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
LA Angels 5, Oakland 3
Boston 8, Baltimore 6
Houston 5, Tampa Bay 0
Toronto 7, Chi White Sox 0
Minnesota 6, NY Yankees 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Francisco 5, St. Louis 4
LA Dodgers 8, Pittsburgh 7
Washington 5, NY Mets 0
Atlanta 7, Miami 4
Chi Cubs 6, San Diego 0
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Denver 112, Minnesota 109 (Denver wins 4-1)
Phoenix 136, LA Clippers 130 (Phoenix leads 4-1)
Atlanta 119, Boston 117 (Boston leads 3-2)
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Edmonton 6, Los Angeles 3 (Edmonton leads 3-2)
NY Islanders 3, Carolina 2 (Carolina leads 3-2)
Dallas 4, Minnesota 0 (Dallas leads 3-2)
(NEW YORK) — A wrong address, a mistaken car, and stray basketball – five times over six days, seemingly mundane interactions turned violent or deadly after one party pulled out a firearm.
Though the facts in each instance vary, experts tell ABC News that the cases broadly reflect the sheer numbers of firearms in the United States and elements of gun culture that have bled into vital legal frameworks governing self-defense.
“There’s absolutely a risk that the combination of loosening gun carry laws, relaxing self-defense laws, and politicizing self-defense through pardons and the like could lead to more incidents like the ones that we’ve seen,” law professor Eric Ruben told ABC News.
The incidents began in Kansas City, MO, when 84-year-old Andrew Lester shot 16-year-old Ralph Yarl after he mistakenly approached Lester’s home and rang his doorbell after looking for the wrong address. Two days later, Kevin Monahan, 65, shot and killed Kaylin Gillis, 20, when she and her friends pulled into his driveway mistakenly in upstate New York.
The same day, Antonio Caccavale, 43, shot at the car of Waldes Thomas Jr., 19, and Diamond Darville, 18, who drove into the wrong driveway while delivering groceries with Instacart in Florida.
On April 18, Robert Louis Singletary, 24, shot at a family, including a 6-year-old girl, after a stray basketball rolled into his yard in North Carolina. In Texas, that same day, Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr, 25, allegedly shot two high school cheerleaders after they mistakenly entered the wrong car.
Experts warn that the incidents reflect the sheer number of firearms in the U.S., with estimates suggesting there are more than 400 million firearms in circulation throughout the nation.
“The prevalence of guns is fueling what we’re seeing. We are seeing the idea that we are a shoot-first culture,” Johns Hopkins professor Joshua Horwitz told ABC News’ Pierre Thomas. “Everybody seems to be afraid, they’ve been told to be afraid.”
While each of these cases includes a different set of facts, similar cases often rely on a set of laws governing self-defense, according to ABC News legal contributor Kimberly Wehle.
The “castle doctrine” is a common law principle, codified by many state legislatures, that allows individuals to use reasonable force to protect themselves in their homes against intruders.
Florida expanded the idea of the castle doctrine in 2005, passing a law that permits residents to “stand your ground” if they believe they are preventing death or bodily harm, or a felony, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Ten states have since adopted laws with similar language about standing one’s ground.
However, some legal scholars believe this push for broader self-defense gun rights is a product of the U.S. gun culture rather than firmly rooted in the Second Amendment or legal traditions.
“The loosening of self-defense, this is actually a lot of the rhetoric, and a lot of the legal changes are actually contrary to the American legal tradition,” law professor Eric Ruben said.
Ruben said that multiple signals – including trial outcomes, public comments from politicians, and decisions to pardon notable defendants – have contributed to a meaningful social norm about using guns in defense.
“If we were trying to reduce violence, the norms are as important or more important than the letter of the law,” he said.
Trials of Kyle Rittenhouse, who fatally shot two men in Kenosha, WA, and George Zimmerman, who killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, were found not guilty after jury trials, strengthening the public perception of firearms used in self-defense, according to Ruben. Public statements by politicians who promise to pardon individuals who use guns in self-defense further strengthen the social norms of standing one’s ground.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently made such a public promise, tweeting that he was “working as swiftly as Texas law allows” to pardon Daniel Perry, an Army sergeant found guilty of murdering a protester in 2020, according to Ruben. Ruben noted that such comments further strengthen the public’s perception of acceptable self-defense gun use, which often is not aligned with the laws governing actual firearm usage.
Harvard professor David Hemenway explained to ABC News that Americans’ perceptions of self-defense gun use are often unrealistic. Research from 2019 found that a high percentage of guns used in self-defense are utilized in manners that are not socially beneficial, such shootings related to drugs, gangs, and escalating arguments, rather than home invasions.
When he examined data from National Crime Victimization Surveys, Hemenway found little evidence that self-defense gun use reduces the chance of injury or property loss. Studying self-defense gun use for over 20 years, Hemenway summarized his research to the idea that carrying a gun, even in self defense, makes people less safe.
“The evidence seems to indicate that this should not be a surprise what happened, and it’s sad,” he told ABC News about the recent incidents.
Nevertheless, America’s self-defense gun laws have bent in favor of more guns in the hands of more citizens.
“I think there is a narrative in this country being pushed by the gun industry and certain legislators that a person needs to be armed in public at all times to be safe,” Allison Anderman, Giffords Law Center director of local policy, told Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week.”
With last week’s string of incidents exemplifying seemingly mundane interactions gone wrong, experts worry the incidents will likely send a chilling public message about the danger of common mistakes.
“It is going to create a chilling effect to deliver an Amazon package, to trick or treat, to have a postal worker or a delivery service just make a common sense mistake,” Wehle said.
(TEXAS) — At least four people of interest have been identified in a shooting at an after-prom party in Texas over the weekend that injured nearly a dozen teenagers, authorities said Tuesday.
Eleven teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 were injured in the shooting, which occurred very early Sunday, just after midnight, at a residence on County Road 263, just north of Jasper in the Deep East Texas region, officials said.
The sheriff’s office initially said nine teenagers were injured, though have since learned of two additional victims in the shooting who went to the hospital the following day, according to Jasper County Sheriff Mitchel Newman.
Three of the victims remain hospitalized, while eight are recovering at home, the Jasper County District Attorney’s Office said.
The shooting occurred at an after-party that was attended by more than 250 people following the Jasper High School prom, authorities said.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety have increased the officer presence at schools within the county “out of an abundance of caution,” Newman said.
“We will bring those responsible to justice and want to remind the public that violence will not be tolerated in this county,” Newman said during a briefing Tuesday. “Our kids deserve to be safe.”
A motive in the shooting is unclear at this time, Newman said. Deputies are continuing to process evidence and statements and follow leads in the shooting to establish suspects and motives, he said.
“I don’t know if you can find a motive where you would go shoot 11 innocent children, but we’re looking for it,” Newman said.
A second shooting occurred within the city limits of Jasper around 12:45 a.m. Sunday that did not result in any injuries, authorities said. A vehicle involved in that shooting was seen at the after-party on County Road 263 and has since been processed for evidence, Newman said. Authorities are investigating a possible connection between the two shootings, Newman said.
The sheriff’s office was reluctant to release any additional information on the after-prom party shooting — including the caliber of weapon used and if there was more than one shooter — until an arrest is made in the case.
“We’re close to answering more questions, but until we get our answers and we get these people arrested where they won’t seek revenge on our children, then at that time we will release everything we’ve got,” Newman said.
The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Jasper County District Attorney’s Office are assisting in the investigation, Newman said.
The district attorney’s office is also offering support to victims of this “senseless and intolerable act of violence,” Jasper County District Attorney Anne Pickle said at the briefing.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office requested witnesses to send any photos or videos they may have from the party amid the investigation.
(WASHINGTON) — Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday declined an invitation to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing about Supreme Court ethics.
Sen. Dick Durbin, chairman of the influential panel, sent a letter to Roberts last week inviting him or “another Justice whom you designate” to appear before the committee on May 2 for a hearing “regarding the ethical rules that govern the Justices of the Supreme Court and potential reforms to those rules.”
Roberts replied on Tuesday that testimony by the chief justice is “exceedingly rare,” noting it’s only happened twice: once in 1921 and again in 1935.
He also attached a five-page statement on court ethics and practices signed by all nine justices, which Roberts said they all adhere to despite there being no independent enforcement of such rules.
The invitation for Roberts to appear before the committee came after ProPublica reporting revealed close ties between Justice Clarence Thomas and wealthy GOP donor Harlan Crow, including real estate Thomas and his family sold to Crow and extensive travel by Thomas that Crow facilitated or paid for. Those connections were not revealed on Thomas’ disclosure reports.
In his letter, Durbin, D-Ill., noted that the last time the Judiciary Committee heard from sitting justices on ethics was in 2011.
“Since then, there has been a steady stream of revelations regarding Justices falling short of the ethical standards expected of other federal judges and, indeed, of public servants generally. These problems were already apparent back in 2011, and the Court’s decade-long failure to address them has contributed to a crisis of public confidence. The status quo is no longer tenable,” Durbin wrote.
Durbin said last week the hearing would still take place even in Roberts’ absence and that there hadn’t been discussion of subpoenaing Roberts.
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s continued absence as she recovers from shingles means the panel is deadlocked between Democrats and Republicans, rather than Democrats’ normal one-seat majority, and only a majority of members could vote to approve a subpoena for Roberts’ testimony. It’s unclear if any Republicans would back such a move.
Democrats have been up in arms following the ProPublica reports.
“This is beyond party or partisanship,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted earlier this month. “This degree of corruption is shocking — almost cartoonish. Thomas must be impeached.”
Republicans, meanwhile, have largely fallen in line behind Thomas.
“I have total confidence in the chief justice of the United States to deal with these court internal issues,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said this week, suggesting any ethics reforms should be left to the Supreme Court to determine.
Crow has repeatedly maintained his relationship with Thomas included no wrongdoing and that he never tried to influence Thomas’ work on the court.
“We have never asked about a pending or lower court case, and Justice Thomas has never discussed one, and we have never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue. More generally, I am unaware of any of our friends ever lobbying or seeking to influence Justice Thomas on any case, and I would never invite anyone who I believe had any intention of doing that,” Crow said in a statement after the first ProPublica report was published.
In a statement, Thomas said, “Harlan and Kathy Crow are among our dearest friends, and we have been friends for over twenty-five years. As friends do, we have joined them on a number of family trips during the more than quarter century we have known them. Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable. I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure, and have always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines. These guidelines are now being changed, as the committee of the Judicial Conference responsible for financial disclosure for the entire federal judiciary just this past month announced new guidance. And, it is, of course, my intent to follow this guidance in the future.”
(NEW YORK) — President Joe Biden launched his reelection campaign Tuesday, capping off months of speculation over his electoral future and laying the groundwork for a potential rematch with former President Donald Trump.
Biden comes into the race with the benefits of incumbency, a string of accomplishments while Democrats controlled Congress and the virtual guarantee of clinching his party’s nomination over two long shot challengers. But he also faces tepid approval ratings, widespread apathy among Democratic voters and a campaign that will be very different from 2020, which was largely virtual amid the spread of COVID-19.
Democrats are bullish on Biden’s chances, touting him as a powerful voice against a GOP that is anticipated to either nominate Trump or another politician aligned with his brand of politics, which Biden has sought to label “MAGA” extremism as he highlights his support for abortion access, domestic manufacturing and other issues.
At the same time, Republicans are buoyed by polling showing the president facing headwinds, including from his own party — even though Trump’s approval ratings are also underwater — as well as what they call a long list of looming problems like inflation, immigration, crime and economic uncertainty.
Here are five takeaways as Biden’s reelection bid gets underway.
Biden has primary challengers, but don’t expect 2020-style race
As of now, Biden technically has two primary challengers — author Marianne Williamson, who also ran for the Democratic nomination in 2020, and lawyer and activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a member of the famed political family who is notorious for his anti-vaccine stances.
But both Williamson and Kennedy’s paths are expected to be choked off due to low interest from Democratic voters and a Democratic National Committee (DNC) that is in lockstep behind the president.
The DNC intends to empty its war chest to keep Biden in the White House and passed a resolution during its February winter meeting expressing its “full and complete support” for Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. That means the party won’t be hosting primary debates for Williamson and Kennedy to take shots at Biden and, overall, the two candidates will lack institutional support.
While some have chafed at this — and Williamson called it out on social media — it is in keeping with how past incumbent presidents have campaigned, including Trump in 2020, despite others technically seeking the GOP nomination against him then.
“Biden beat Trump because of what he was going to do ,and will now beat him again by talking about what he has done and how he will finish the job. So, while Republicans continue to tear each other apart in a blood sacrifice to MAGA extremists, he can just keep doing his job and doesn’t really need to hit the campaign trail hard until the general,” said Democratic strategist Eddie Vale.
“While the announcement means that fundraising and building the campaign infrastructure begins, the President and Vice President can continue to focus on their day jobs at least until the end of the year,” Karen Finney, a former DNC official with ties to the White House, added in a text message to ABC News.
Still, Republicans are eager for Biden to eventually hit the campaign trail, even if he isn’t likely to quickly set up events. They argue that he largely got a pass during 2020 because of the pandemic, something Trump often highlights.
“He can’t hide in the basement,” said GOP pollster Robert Blizzard.
Biden’s rollout is normal
Biden’s announcement, made in a video released on social media on Tuesday morning, comes more than a year and a half before the 2024 general election, but it echoes past announcements by incumbent presidents other than Trump.
Barack Obama announced his 2012 reelection on April 4, 2011, and George W. Bush announced his 2004 reelection campaign on May 16, 2003.
Trump marked an aberration from that pattern, launching his 2020 reelection campaign on his first day in office in 2017.
“This is how presidents usually run for reelection, especially when they have a really good record of accomplishments to run on,” Vale said.
Dem enthusiasm could be a problem: Will they rally?
Polling has repeatedly suggested Biden faces a challenge in winning majority approval overall and even from Democrats.
Biden’s approval rating sat at just 34% in an ABC News/Ipsos poll released earlier this month, and multiple surveys have suggested that a majority of Democratic voters would rather see someone else be the party’s presidential nominee next year.
Voters have also repeatedly expressed concerns over Biden’s age — at 80, he is already the oldest president in U.S. history, and he would be 86 at the end of a second term.
“Yes, they’d rather he be younger. But they’re all for him,” former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday of Democratic voters. “There’s a little, shall we say, sidebar stuff. But by and large, people understand there’s so much at stake in this election that it’s really important for us to go full strength, full strength Joe Biden.”
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., echoed that later Tuesday, saying he had “no doubts” about the president’s competence. “Next November … it’s going to be a pretty clear choice,” he said.
Other lawmakers also emphasized Biden’s legislative work with the two-year Democratic majority in Congress during his first term.
Democrats have sought to tamp down on concerns over Biden’s poll numbers, noting that when asked who they’d vote for in matchups with people like Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Democratic voters largely come home.
“The data point we should be focused on is not hypotheticals about who they want to run but who they say they are voting for, and Democrats have had unwavering support for President Biden in every head-to-head,” said Democratic pollster Molly Murphy.
High-profile Democrats have already started falling in line behind Biden, with Obama, his old boss, tweeting that Biden has “delivered for the American people — and he’ll continue to do so once he’s re-elected.” Likewise, Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who ran against Biden for the Democratic nomination in 2020, this time quickly endorsed him for 2024.
Not every Democratic figure approves of the early unity behind Biden, however. Progressive DNC member Nina Turner tweeted that the committee “refusing to hold a single primary debate is undemocratic and robs the voters of choice.”
Biden to continue focus on “MAGA extremists”
In the lead up to his campaign launch, Biden railed against “MAGA extremists” — a reference to Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan — and his Tuesday video suggests that he’ll keep up that strategy.
“Around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take on those bedrock freedoms, cutting Social Security that you paid for your entire life while cutting taxes for the very wealthy, dictating what healthcare decisions women can make, banning books and telling people who they can love, all while making it more for you to be able to vote,” Biden said in his announcement.
The video did not mention Trump by name, though the line coincided with images of Trump, DeSantis and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., seemingly allowing Biden to tie whomever the 2024 GOP nominee is to Trump even if the former president doesn’t win the primary.
“As we’ve seen in polling, they are speaking to and taking action to address the very real concerns Americans continue to have about threats to our democracy and basic freedoms in this moment of generational change,” Finney argued.
Republicans rejoice
Republicans, meanwhile, heralded Biden’s official entry into the 2024 race, boasting that his low approval ratings will clear a path to retake the White House next year.
Trump released an over four-minute video lambasting Biden’s record on the economy, foreign policy, immigration and more, saying it would be Democrats’ “worst nightmare” should the two debate and that “there has never been a greater contrast between two successive administrations in all of American history.”
When asked about Biden’s announcement, GOP pollster John McLaughlin, who does work for Trump’s campaign, said, “Wish the election were tomorrow.”
Finger Eleven is releasing a Greatest Hits compilation.
The 13-track collection, due out June 16, features the Canadian rockers’ signature song “Paralyzer,” as well as the top-20 Billboard Hot 100 hit “One Thing,” and the rock radio singles “Falling On” and “Living in a Dream.”
Additionally, you’ll find a previously unreleased cover of Pink Floyd‘s “Welcome to the Machine,” as well as a brand new song titled “Together Right,” which marks the first fresh material from Finger Eleven since their 2015 album, Five Crooked Lines.
“‘Together Right’ is about unity,” says frontman Scott Anderson. “It’s about the bonds between people and how far that bond can extend before it’s broken. The song has an optimistic-sounding chorus but it’s really a desperate plea from one party to another asking please stick around, let’s go down with this ship together.”
“Good Times”
“Paralyzer”
“Together Right”
“Living in a Dream”
“I’ll Keep Your Memory Vague”
“One Thing”
“Above”
“First Time”
“Falling On”
“Slow Chemical”
“Drag You Down”
“Welcome to the Machine”
On Tuesday, CBS and free streamer Pluto TV announced they’ll both be taking part in this year’s Tony Awards, with the latter airing The Tony Awards: Act One.
The broadcast will be a preshow of “live, exclusive content” that will run up to the 76th annual Tony Awards airing live on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ on Sunday, June 11.
Act One will stream from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET before the main event begins at 8 p.m., hosted by Academy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Ariana DeBose, from the historic United Palace in New York City’s Washington Heights.
