While The Clash broke up in 1986, there were rumors of a possible reunion in the ’90s. But bassist Paul Simonon reveals in a new interview that it wasn’t something he really wanted to do. In fact, he could have made a lot of money if he just said yes, but he turned it down.
Simonon tells Mojo that he, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones and Mick’s manager had discussed a possible reunion, but says “it didn’t happen for a lot of reasons.” He admits he was “pissed off” at Mick, who couldn’t understand why he didn’t want to reunite. “Mick said, ‘Why not? You’ll get a million pounds,’” Simonon says. “That pissed me off even more. So I said, “I don’t want a f****** million pounds.”
Simonon says Mick was shocked that he passed on the reunion, but also says he believes Strummer “would not have wanted to do it either.” As for why he was against the reunion, Simonon says, “For me The Clash story was over.”
Fans were also hoping to see a reunion when the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, but Strummer passed away before that could happen. Simonon said he had no plans to perform anyway. He notes, “I had no interest in those kind of awards things. I don’t want a pat on the back.”
(NEW YORK) — Chevrolet is saying bye-bye to the Bolt.
The Chevy Bolt hatchback, as well as its crossover Bolt EUV sibling, will cease production this year, General Motors has confirmed to ABC News.
The Bolt starts at just under $27,000 before federal and state electric vehicle incentives, making it the cheapest way to get into a new EV in the United States.
In a statement, a Chevy spokesperson called the Bolt a “huge technical achievement,” but went on to say that “as construction continues at the Orion Township, Mich., assembly plant in preparation for battery electric truck production beginning in 2024, Chevrolet confirmed Bolt EV and EUV production will end late this year.”
“When the Bolt goes out of production, the American market will have lost its last affordable EV,” said Ed Niedermeyer, an auto industry analyst. The next cheapest electric car on sale is the Nissan Leaf S, which has an EPA-estimated range of 149 miles on a charge. That’s more than 100 miles short of the Bolt’s 259-mile range.
Chad Kirchner, editor-in-chief of EV Pulse, said GM’s decision to ax the Bolt shouldn’t come as a shock.
“It’s not surprising at all,” he said.
In 2021, the Bolt was the subject of multiple recalls over its battery, made by LG Chem. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, rare manufacturing defects made during the production of those batteries “may pose a risk of fire when charged to full, or very close to full, capacity.” GM issued a statement at the time advising Bolt owners to park their cars outside, and at least 50 feet from other vehicles. The company said at the time it would replace the battery modules. NHTSA says about half of the affected cars have had that replacement done.
The Bolt was also developed before GM rolled out its “Ultium” platform – an electric vehicle architecture that underpins everything from GMC’s Hummer EV pickup truck to a midsize Cadillac SUV called the Lyriq.
The Bolt was launched for the 2017 model year. While it wasn’t GM’s first electric effort, it was the company’s first EV sold in all 50 states. And it sold well – the Bolt was the best selling non-Tesla EV in the last two quarters of 2022.
The company says more affordable Ultium-based Chevy EVs are going to launch soon, including an electric Equinox SUV that’s expected to start around $30,000. Even still, Niedermeyer says price remains a hurdle for wide-scale EV adoption.
“Weak profits in EVs and a lack of regulatory support for lower price points will continue to place the emphasis on expensive premium EVs,” said Niedermeyer. “Only by emphasizing that EVs are best suited to the weekday driving that starts and ends at home, and by aligning incentives for cars and chargers with the opportunity that use case presents, will truly affordable EVs become a widespread phenomenon.”
In the meantime, Kirchner said until the Equinox goes on sale, GM could be leaving market share on the table in the growing EV market.
“I think they’re leaving a fairly big hole in the affordability segment,” he said, adding, “I think that EVs are being priced out of a certain customer’s price range, and that is the customer that could benefit the most from an EV.”
Last year, Switchfoot told ABC Audio that they had “big plans” to mark the 20th anniversary of their 2003 breakout album, The Beautiful Letdown. Now, the band has officially revealed those plans.
On May 5, Switchfoot will release a rerecorded edition of The Beautiful Letdown, including new versions of the singles “Meant to Live” and “Dare You to Move.” The collection is dubbed The Beautiful Letdown (Our Version), presumably as a nod to Taylor Swift‘s Taylor’s Version albums.
Then in the summer, Switchfoot will launch a U.S. tour celebrating the anniversary, during which they will perform The Beautiful Letdown in its entirety. The outing runs from August 25 in Sugar Hill, Georgia, to November 12 in Los Angeles.
Tickets go on sale Friday, April 28, at noon local time, with various presales throughout the week. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit Switchfoot.com.
If you’re planning a trip to Nashville, be sure to stop by Gaylord Opryland for their exciting Once Upon a Spring events.
Open now through May 14, visitors can take part in numerous springtime activities, including the Delta Boat Adventure Cruise, Spring-A-Long Scavenger Hunt, Spring Selfie Spots and Spring Horticulture Trek.
Additionally, kids can enjoy the Adventure Kids’ Clubhouse and the Adventure Kids: Sprout into Spring Interactive Show, while adults can relax and rejuvenate at the Relâche Spa with various Time to Blossom Treatments.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug Tuesday to treat a rare form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
The drug Qalsody (tofersen) is expected to help people with a very specific mutation, SOD1, which applies to only 2% of the ALS population.
In a statement, the FDA said it estimates “there are fewer than 500 patients with SOD1-ALS in the United States.”
Among those who qualify, the drug has the potential to slow muscle degeneration by targeting SOD1 mRNA, or mRNA, genetic material that tells the body how to make proteins to reduce the protein being made.
Studies showed that the drug reduced plasma neurofilament light (NfL), a blood-based biomarker of axonal (nerve) injury and neurodegeneration, according to the FDA.
“Patients receiving Qalsody had nominally significant reductions in plasma NfL concentration at Week 28 compared to the placebo arm,” the FDA said in a statement.
The drug is given via a lumbar puncture — or a spinal injection — with three doses in 14-day intervals, followed by monthly dosing.
Researchers determined Qalsody to be safe with the most common side effects being pain, fatigue, joint and muscle pain and increased white blood cells in cerebrospinal fluid.
The drug was given conditional approval by the FDA under the fast track designation. Biogen, which makes the drug, will still need to complete additional and larger studies on its effectiveness.
It comes after the FDA approved another drug from Biogen, Aduhelm, in 2021 to treat Alzheimer’s disease despite a lack of evidence that it is effective.
ALS, also sometimes known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neurodewngerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain, leading to weakness and paralysis.
The disease often begins with patients experiencing muscle twitching and weakness in one arm or leg followed by having difficulty swallowing or slurring speech.
Patients’ conditions eventually decline to a point at which they are unable to move, speak, eat or even breathe on their own.
According to an 2017 estimate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 32,000 people in the U.S. live with ALS.
There is no cure, but some already approved treatments may help. It is always fatal, according to the ALS Association.
Disturbed has premiered the video for “Unstoppable,” a track off the band’s new album, Divisive.
The clip features a rotating tower of TVs displaying all sorts of creepy images, including flashes of the Disturbed members turning into monsters. You can watch it streaming now on YouTube.
Divisive, the eighth Disturbed album, was released last November. It also includes the singles “Hey You” and “Bad Man.”
Disturbed will launch a U.S. tour in support of Divisive in July. Breaking Benjamin and Jinjer will also be on the bill.
Is Katy Perry going to clone herself? On May 7, she’s scheduled to perform at the coronation concert for the U.K.’s King Charles in Windsor, England — and judge a live American Idol episode.
So how will she manage to pull it off? Katy tells Entertainment Tonight, “You’ll just have to tune in and wait and see. The hologram is finally real!”
More seriously, Katy tells ET that she’s grateful she gets to perform at the event. “I met His Majesty to be a few years ago and he named me as one of the ambassadors to his organization The British Asian Trust, which is an organization that helps fight to end child trafficking,” she said.
“So I’m also an ambassador for UNICEF, and it really aligned with my values. That’s mostly why I’m going, to be an ambassador and to say, ‘Hey, this is me from the USA.'”
Katy also acknowledged needing more than one of herself when asked if she’s going to attend the Met Gala, which takes place May 1 in New York City.
“I’m sending Zooey Deschanel in my place,” she told ET. People have long contended Zooey and Katy look alike — Katy even cast Zooey in one of her videos as a joke.
Viewers will be able to watch coverage of the coronation and the concert, which will also feature Lionel Richie, on ABC News and Good Morning America,as well as on various streaming platforms.
(WASHINGTON) — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Tuesday made a her case for a “consensus” on abortion, an issue that continues to divide conservatives. But she stopped short of adopting strict stances — such as embracing or rejecting a national ban at a certain week in pregnancy — beyond saying the government needed to have some role and stressed that she wanted fewer abortions in the country.
“My record on abortion is long and clear. … I want to save as many lives and help as many moms as possible. That is my goal. To do that at the federal level, the next president must find national consensus,” Haley said in remarks at the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America’s office in Virginia on Tuesday morning.
Haley, the first woman to serve as governor of South Carolina, reaffirmed her anti-abortion position, saying her priority as a candidate is to “save as many babies as we can while supporting women in difficult situations.”
But as leading Republicans like former Vice President Mike Pence have heartedly endorsed some sort of federal ban on abortion — and only days after prospective 2024 candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis quietly signed a six-week abortion ban into law — Haley took another stance.
“I do believe there is a federal role on abortion. Whether we can save more lives nationally depends entirely on doing what no one has done to date: finding consensus,” she said. “That’s what I will strive to do.”
“Abortion is a deeply personal topic for both women and men,” she said. “I understand why. Someone’s body and someone else’s life are not things to be taken lightly, and they should not be politicized. The issue should be addressed with sensitivity and respect, not judgment and hate.”
In the wake of Roe v. Wade being reversed by the Supreme Court last summer, a series of state-level laws on abortion access have since rippled across the country, leading to numerous legal and legislative battles.
Voters have also repeatedly backed abortion access when it is on the ballot, in Kentucky, Michigan, Vermont and elsewhere.
“The pro-life laws that have passed in strongly Republican states will not be approved at the federal level,” Haley said in her speech, a seeming nod to the belief that a national abortion ban is not politically feasible, even if she were president.
Haley did offer some broad ideas regarding abortion and reproductive rights, including supporting adoptive families, advocating for “pro-life doctors and nurses,” limiting elective late-term abortions, increasing access to contraception and, in a subtle rebuke of a minority of her Republican colleagues, opposing efforts to criminalize women who get abortions.
“Surely, we can all agree that abortion up until the time of birth is a bridge too far,” she said. “Only seven countries on earth allow elective late-term abortions. We’re talking brutal regimes like communist China and North Korea. We should be able to agree that contraception should be more available, not less. And we can all agree that women who get abortions should not be jailed. A few have even called for the death penalty. That’s the least pro-life position I can possibly imagine.”
In response to her speech, a Democratic National Committee spokesperson sought to paint Haley as an extremist “MAGA Republican” and pointed to her time as governor, when she signed a 20-week abortion ban in South Carolina in 2016.
“She’s already signed an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest that threatened to throw doctors and nurses in jail,” DNC spokesperson Rhyan Lake said, in part. “2024 Republicans are clamoring to prove they’d be the most extreme, anti-choice nominee in history in a desperate chase to out-MAGA each other, and they’ll stop at nothing to completely ban abortion nationwide.”
Before the tickets for U2’s Las Vegas residency have even gone on sale, the band is extending their stay in Sin City.
Noting that there have already been over 1 million requests for tickets, the Irish rockers just announced seven additional dates for U2: UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere, bringing the total number of shows to 12 … so far.
The additional shows, at the new venue the Sphere at The Venetian, all take place in October – October 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 21 and 25.
Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan registration remains open until Wednesday, April 26, at 10 am ET, with Verified Fan presale beginning Thursday, April 27.
(WASHINGTON) — The world’s second-largest tobacco company has agreed to pay what the Department of Justice is saying is “the single largest North Korean sanctions penalty in the history of the Department of Justice.”
The British American Tobacco subsidiary pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud and violating U.S. sanctions against North Korea by selling tobacco products to the country between 2007 and 2017, according to newly unsealed court documents. North Korea rakes in as much as $20 for every $1 spent in the production and trafficking of counterfeit cigarettes, and “a substantial portion of this profit is believed to flow back directly to the North Korean government, its military and its WMD program,” according to U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Matt Graves.
“To those companies and individuals thinking of evading international sanctions on North Korea, be forewarned. If you conspire with North Korea, you are helping to grow their illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic military programs.” Suzanne Turner, assistant director of the FBI’s Inspection Division, said at a press conference Tuesday.
The $508 million settlement BAT reached with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control — the “maximum statutory penalty available” — is OFAC’s “largest settlement ever with a non-financial institution,” according to Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson.
“The DPRK’s murderous repression at home and relentless pursuit of nuclear capabilities threaten not just its own people, but the entire international community. Allowing funds to illegally flow into the coffers of the DPRK is an unconscionable act,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew Olsen, who added that the case would “serve as a warning shot to companies” that attempt to evade sanctions.
The company noted steps it has taken so that it is “better equipped to lead a responsible and sustainable business.”
“On behalf of BAT, we deeply regret the misconduct arising from historical business activities that led to these settlements, and acknowledge that we fell short of the highest standards rightly expected of us,” Jack Bowles, chief executive of BAT, said in the Tuesday statement.
Beginning in 2007, BAT outsourced sales to North Korea to a third-party Singapore-based company, resulting in over $400 million in transactions passing through the banking system, according to the documents. North Korean buyers served as a front for the Hermit Kingdom, the documents add.
BAT says it has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with DOJ while its Singaporean subsidiary entered into a plea agreement with the Department of Justice.
The company also entered into a settlement with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, with the total amount payable to the U.S. through all three cases reaching $635.2 million plus interest.
