On Sunday, Kiefer Sutherland returns to TV with Paramount+’s new thriller series Rabbit Hole. The 24 veteran executive produces and stars as John Weir, an expert in corporate espionage, who takes on a routine job that lands him in the middle of a deadly conspiracy.
The show touches on some ripped-from-the-headlines topics, from fragile digital banking systems to an omnipresent security state and deepfake tech. Sutherland tells ABC Audio, “It’s alarming. But the truth is we’re in the middle of a technological revolution … our capabilities of manipulating information, manipulating other people’s images and voice imaging is changing dynamically by the week.”
He adds, “And, you know, and some of it can be used for good and some of it can be used for bad. We do a bit of both in the context of our show.”
His character is a master of this bleeding edge tech and its uses, but Sutherland explains even he gets in over his head. “The duality of that is what really attracted me to the character. He’s incredibly smart, easy, he’s sophisticated, he’s witty … he’s got a sense of humor, but he’s also incredibly vulnerable.”
Kiefer continues, “With every gift comes, you know, your Achilles heel. And he has a … finite gift with numbers where he can use numbers very fast in his brain to predict probabilities and likely outcomes. But if he runs into a situation that’s so complicated that he can’t round out that number, he starts to go down what we call the proverbial rabbit hole and starts to emotionally come undone.”
(WASHINGTON) — House Republicans narrowly passed H.R. 5, the Parents Bill of Rights Act on Friday, sending the proposal along to the Senate, where it is likely to fail.
The House bill, which has few champions among Democrats and advocacy groups, passed in a 213-208 vote Friday morning. Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., the bill’s sponsor, shook hands and fist bumped rejoicing members upon the bill’s passage.
“Today was a win for every mother or father, but most importantly for every student in America,” Speaker Kevin McCarthy said at a press conference following the vote, noting thousands of parents signed on to the bill.
Backers of the bill say H.R. 5 has five core principles: Parents have the right to know what their children are being taught, to be heard, to see the school budget and spending, to protect their children’s privacy and to keep their children safe.
“It is not an attempt to have Congress dictate their [schools] curriculum, or determine the books in the library,” Letlow explained. “Instead, this bill aims to bring more transparency and accountability to education, allowing parents to be informed and when they have questions and concerns to lawfully bring to their local school board.”
Letlow, a former educator, had over 70 co-sponsors originally, including McCarthy.
“I couldn’t imagine someone would oppose a Parents Bill of Rights,” McCarthy, who called education the great equalizer, told ABC News.
House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., has been a vocal advocate for the issue since gaveling in her first hearing in February. More recently, Foxx, who said the proposal “will help parents steer the educations of their children back onto the correct path where they can learn the skills they need for a lifetime of success,” said she feels good about the bill despite Democrats’ stated opposition.
“It had a good response in the Rules Committee [despite] the Democrats trying to demonize the bill saying it’s ‘banning books,'” Foxx told ABC News. “It has nothing to do with that, so, no, I feel really good about it.”
Parents who support the bill suggest the legislation was needed in response to widespread virtual instruction amid pandemic-fueled school closures.
“Parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their children. This includes their education, medical care, morality and religion,” Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, said at a House subcommittee hearing. “I want to be clear: These are inherent natural rights. Parental rights do not stop at the classroom door.”
But the bill was criticized by Democratic leadership.
“Their educational agenda is pretty simple: They want to ban books, they want to bully the LGBTQ+ community [and] they want to bring guns into classrooms, kindergarten and above,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said after the bill passed.
Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said he respects parents’ voices but worries Republicans’ H.R. 5 has become a “highly partisan” issue.
“They [Republicans] want to bring, you know, partisan rhetoric and fighting into the classroom,” Aguilar said. “We don’t think that’s right. We think that they continue to put politics over parents and that that is the focus of this bill and this piece of legislation.”
National Parents Union President Keri Rodrigues led a coalition of nearly 50 parent protesters to Washington this week. Her organization traversed the halls of Congress, knocking on members’ doors to make their voices heard in opposition to the bill.
“It [H.R. 5] has made a mockery out of what we are trying to do for our children,” Rodrigues said. “None of our priorities have been reflected in H.R. 5 because they’re attempting to do this to us without us.”
Rodrigues’ top educational priorities include making sure children are safe at school amid the threats of gun violence, bullying and mental health struggles.
“H.R. 5 is a bill that has been created by politicians in Washington instead of parents that it says they’re here to protect,” Rodrigues said, donning the group’s signature “Nothing About Us Without Us” shirts. “So, again, you’re trying to do something to us without our input. We’re saying, ‘No, thanks.'”
Meanwhile, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., has also proposed a countermeasure to the GOP bill. Her Bill of Rights for Students and Parents has several sponsors from leading members of the House’s education committee and dozens of advocacy groups.
Neither bill seems to have drawn interest from the Senate, and Republicans on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee told ABC News it’s not on the agenda.
“The House Republicans’ school control bill is Orwellian to the core,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. “It will not see the light of day here in the Senate.”
(WASHINGTON) — Republican members of the House Oversight Committee, including chairman James Comer, say they plan to tour a Washington, D.C., jail on Friday where some Jan. 6 defendants are being held.
The congressional delegation is being led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., one of the most vocal critics of the detainment of individuals charged in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Speaking with ABC News earlier this week, Greene said the visit would focus on the conditions of those being jailed, including what Greene claimed to be “reports of abuse.”
Greene claimed those being held pretrial are “not allowed to see their families, many times are not allowed to see their attorneys” and that “the food has been a major complaint. There’s been complaints of it tasting like cleaner.”
GOP members of the panel are expected to hold a news conference following the tour.
Two Democrats on the panel are expected to join 14 Republican members on the tour, according to a list of participants provided by Greene’s office: Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas.
Crockett framed her participation as a check on her Republican colleagues in a series of Twitter posts on Friday morning.
“Today, I will visit the jail where insurrectionists are being held as a member of the Oversight committee to ensure that the Truth is told & not another revisionist alternative reality. As a former PD & civil rights lawyer, I’ve seen inhumane conditions,” she wrote. “It’s important we don’t conflate their less than 5 star stay w/ the truly inhumane conditions that mostly black & brown folk have suffered through for decades.”
Most people charged with a crime in relation to the Jan. 6 attack have been released as they await trial. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. told ABC News earlier this month that there were “approximately two dozen defendants” in pre-trial detention and nearly all of them were charged with assaultive conduct.
Comer, R-Ky., told reporters on Wednesday members are “gonna try and see what it looks like” inside the facility.
“That’s part of what the Oversight Committee does with everything pertaining to the federal government, so we have some members that are going to hopefully tour that prison,” he said.
Greene and Comer sent a letter to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser pressing her for documents and communications regarding Jan. 6 detainees’ complaints.
The jail tour comes amid a wave of activity from House Republicans regarding Jan. 6 since they took over the chamber in January. They’ve created a committee to investigate alleged security failures and the previous House Jan. 6 committee’s work.
Nothing More has premiered a new version of “Best Times,” a track off the band’s latest album, Spirits.
The updated recording features guest vocals by Flyleaf‘s Lacey Sturm. You can listen to it now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.
“[Sturm’s] been a shining light and is one of those singers that makes you feel and believe every word out of her mouth whether you agree with it or not,” says Nothing More frontman Jonny Hawkins. “We knew her voice would take [‘Best Times’] over the top … and that’s exactly what she did!”
Spirits was released last October. It also includes the singles “Tired of Winning” and “You Don’t Know What Love Means.”
Nothing More will launch a U.S. tour in support of Spirits March 31 in Richmond, Virginia. The outing’s stop in New York City on April 9 will stream live online via the platform Veeps.
Sturm, meanwhile, reunited with Flyleaf last year after previously leaving the group in 2012.
Night Ranger has postponed a trio of shows after bassist/vocalist Jack Blades had to be hospitalized for an undisclosed ailment.
“First and foremost, we want to apologize to the fans,” the band shared in a statement posted to social media. “You guys know better than anyone we don’t take this lightly, earlier this afternoon Jack was admitted to the hospital. He is in good hands, but on the advice of medical staff we will not be able to perform any of our next 3 shows.”
They add, “We have to prioritise Jack’s health and safety, and we cannot thank you enough for your understanding. This is not the message we wanted to be sending and we cannot wait to rock with all of you again soon.”
The postponements began with Thursday’s scheduled show in Anaheim, California, and also include concerts Friday and Saturday in Ivens, Utah, and Stateline, Nevada, respectively. They have already been rescheduled to October. A complete list of Night Ranger dates can be found at nightranger.com.
He’s been teasing it for weeks, and now The Who’s Pete Townshend has finally released his brand new solo single, “Can’t Outrun The Truth.” The new tune was composed and produced by his wife, Rachel Fuller, under her nom de plume, Charlie Pepper.
Rachel previously shared that the song was inspired by the feelings of isolation many were dealing with during the beginning of the pandemic: “I really started to think about how unbelievably difficult this period of time was going to be for so many people.”
“Can’t Outrun The Truth,” which features cover art from renowned artist Damien Hirst, is Townshend’s first solo single in 29 years. He’s also released a video for the track, which is his first solo video in 40 years.
A portion of each “Can’t Outrun The Truth” download will be donated to the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Yellowcard has added more shows to the band’s upcoming tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of Ocean Avenue.
The outing now includes eight more shows, wrapping up August 18 in Portland, Maine. Tickets go on sale Friday, March 31, at 10 a.m. local time, with various presales throughout the week.
For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit YellowcardBand.com.
Yellowcard’s tour launches in July. It follows the group’s reunion show at last year’s Riot Fest, which marked their first live performance since breaking up in 2017.
In This Moment has released a new song called “I Would Die for You.”
The track was recorded for the new movie John Wick: Chapter 4. Both the film and its soundtrack are out now.
“I Would Die for You” follows in the footsteps of Jerry Cantrell‘s “A Job to Do” and Bush‘s “Bullet Holes,” which were featured in the second and third John Wick movies, respectively. The scores for all four films were composed by Tyler Bates, who used to play guitar in Marilyn Manson‘s band.
In This Moment’s most recent album is 2020’s Mother. Last year, they put out an EP called Blood 1983, featuring rerecorded versions of songs off the group’s 2012 album, Blood, in honor of its 10th anniversary.
Ever wonder how much Jay-Z is worth? According to Forbes, the rapper-turned-entrepreneur has a real-time net worth of $2.5 billion.
The publication reports Hov, who was named hip-hop’s first billionaire in 2019, makes millions from D’Usse and his Armand de Brignac champagne, with assets including Roc Nation and a fine art collection. His Marcy Venture Partners project also earned him $85 million in 2019.
Jay’s current net worth makes him #1,209 on Forbes‘ list of the World’s Real Time Billionaires. The $2.5 billion estimation, if correct, marks a significant increase over his $1.4 billion net worth last year. This may be the result of his decision to sell his 50% stake in D’Usse to Bacardi for a reported $750 million.
